Page 2 of Chula
Once upon a time, it bothered me to no end. But then I met my crew and things changed. We formed our own family, became the ones the others could rely on. We didn’t need that fancy shit like those across town did. We just needed enough to survive.
“You over this shit already?” Tony asks me.
“I’m always over this shit,” I tell him. I pass Tony the joint, and he brings it to his lips as I look out at the street in front of me. Random druggies wander these streets looking for a free fix they won’t be getting from me. Just like anyone else out here, we have to eat too, and this is what I do to make money. Fuck, no one would hire me. I’ve been in and out of jail since I was ten. Who the hell would want that kind of person working for them? No one.
“Hey Marco!” Kim, the local whore yells. I just shake my head. I don’t want to deal with her shit today either, but here she comes.
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want,” she purrs as I stand to my feet and step into her space.
“Yeah, I do,” I tell her, lifting my hand to her cheek and running my fingers along her face. “But you’re not getting it here, Kim.” I shove her face away from me and step back away from her.
“Why not?”
“I don’t pay for pussy. That’s why not.”
“I can make it good, Marco.”
“Not for me, you can’t. You don’t know what I like.”
“I know what every man likes,” she says, sounding offended. She might be right, but she doesn’t know shit about me.
“Go down the fucking block, Kim. I don’t need any cops rolling up over here because you’re out,” I tell her as I point down the street. She huffs out a breath and stomps on her heels down the road. I shake my head, running my hand through my hair as Tony laughs.
“She’s something else,” he says.
“No shit. She’s always trying to make a dollar off my ass,” I tell him before moving back to my seat. Then I see Troy. Without looking over, I slap Tony’s leg and pass him a baggie discreetly. Troy walks up and tells me exactly what I knew he wanted, and I nod toward the alley. He walks down there, and Tony follows him. I lean back in my chair, legs spread wide as I watch the people across the street. I’m not sure who the hell they are, andit doesn’t really matter to me. People come and go around here. No one ever sticks around long.
It’s a woman, strung the fuck out on something, I can tell that much as she stumbles around picking up old fucking furniture off the curb and lugging it into the apartment. A little boy is standing with another girl, watching but not helping. The little boy clings to the girl, his arms wrapped around her waist. He reminds me of my little brother. He used to be like that. He used to hold onto me the way he’s holding on to her.
I shake my head, ridding myself of the memories. They aren’t doing me any fucking good now. So I bring the joint back to my lips and watch them instead.
The woman, I assume the mother, keeps moving shit she finds on the curb inside and up the steps into the apartment as the other two watch. The woman screams something, and the boy takes off running, but not the girl. She runs her hand through her long, dark hair before turning. Our eyes lock instantly. Fuck, she’s a lot prettier than I thought she’d be.
She looks up and down the block quickly before walking across the street toward me. I don’t move, just cock my head to the side and watch her, wondering what it is she wants.
“A dime,” she tells me, looking me in the eye.
“What makes you think I’m a dealer?” I ask her. She looks unamused by my response. Just then, Tony comes back out and takes his seat next to me, eyeing her up and down.
“What makes you think I’m stupid?”
“I didn’t say you were stupid, Chula.”
“Then are you going to sell to me or not?” She asks, pulling cash from her pocket but keeping it secured in her hand. She knows how to make a deal.
“No.”
“No?” she repeats, raising an eyebrow.
“I said no. Go home.” She huffs a laugh before stepping closer to me, and I debate standing and getting in her face. But she’s new around here, and she’ll learn she can’t fucking get what she wants when she wants it. Not from me.
“You’re not the only dealer in New York. Keep your shitty weed,” she snaps before turning on her heel and heading back across the street. Tony and I share a look before I’m on my feet and following her. When I’m close enough, I grab her wrist and spin her to face me.
“You better be real careful who you’re talking to like that, Chula.”
“Or what?”
