Page 11 of Don't Kross Me
Rico was no match against what Kross’ anger evoked out of him, so as much as he tried to keep up with him, he couldn’t. Rico was rolling deep with his people too, so once they noticed that Kross had the best of him, they climbed and hopped over pews from all over the church to come to his aid by jumping in, but Ezekiel wasn’t about to let his brother go out like that. Before Rico’s homeboys could even touch Kross, Ezekiel, Noonie and Los had their straps out and aimed at them.
“That nigga was talking big shit. Let him get worked by a nigga who don’t do too much talking!” Los throated out with a twitch in his eye. He was daring any one of these niggas to try something so he would have a reason to blast them.
Once guns were drawn, the funeral guests flooded out of the church like a stampede. Bullets ain’t have no name on them, sono one was willing to take any chances. It was full blown chaos, and it was sad that it all had to unfold at Cassie’s expense.
Ezekiel realized that Kross had beat Rico to a pulp, so he did his part by pulling his brother away. “All I been trying to do is be there for my lady and my son, but y’all keep fucking with me!” he snapped as Ezekiel used all his strength to put some distance between him and Rico.
“You got it, K! You good!” He desperately tried to calm his brother down. He didn’t know how well that was working for him since his eyes were so empty. It looked like his soul had departed from his body. He pushed Kross out of the church and through the crowd of guests who fled outside to find safety from the guns that were drawn. Everyone was left terrified and shocked after witnessing Kross’ rage.
Ezekiel was trying to push him back into his car, but he wasn’t going for that. He came out of his dress shirt and wife beater, his temper too hot to remain in a shirt. “I’m with all that! Who else wanna see me?!” Kross sneered as he beat on his chest. He was .38 hot and ready to get it in with anybody. Shit could get even uglier than it already had.
His empty eyes scanned the crowd of people as they watched his fury take over him. He could sense all the judgment, and that set him off even more. He wasn’t crazy like everyone probably thought he was. No one saw that he had been provoked and poked at for these past two weeks. He let enough slide!
“None of y’all gave a fuck ‘bout my lady! Cassie did her whole pregnancy by herself! She couldn’t call on none of y’all for support, but y’all crying at her casket like y’all was there for her!” he seethed, setting everyone straight. “The only people who made sure my lady and son was straight was her cousin, Amoura, and my people! Everybody turned their back on her when she made the choice to walk out my sentence with me! Y’all judged her and talked shit about her even though she was doingway better in life than y’all bum asses! All that fake love will fuck around and get you knocked off fucking with me and mine! I promise y’all that!”
With the help of Noonie and Los, Ezekiel pushed Kross into his Range Rover. “These motherfuckas police as hell, cuz. Get the fuck outta here now,” Noonie rushed him, not wanting him to make a return to prison so soon.
It took him a minute to snap back into reality, but once he did, all he could think about was Aniyis and how disappointed Cassie was of him for reverting back to who he used to be. He snapped in a moment where he should’ve just held his composure and took the high road for her sake.
Like Noonie suggested, he got out of dodge quick and sped off the premises of the church, leaving Cassie and the chaos he ignited behind. As he ripped through the streets, realization struck him, and his own disappointment began to set in. He fucked up his last moments with his lady because he lost his cool. After today, he would never get to see her or touch her again. Frustrated by his actions, he aggressively slammed his hand against the steering wheel.
“Fuck!” he roared as tears began to clog his eyes.
With his mind running rampant and his emotions heavy, he opted to go to his only safe haven, Aniyis. Once he arrived at the hospital, he let out a deep breath, not wanting to take any bad energy back to his son. After checking in, he made his way to the room and entered. Aniyis was in the same state he was in when he left him. Every update from the doctor concluded to the same thing: he was lucky to be stable. Although Kross was grateful, he needed something to change.
As he brightened the lights in the hospital room slightly, he was surprised by the sight of an arrangement of flowers and balloons that were set in the corner of the room. With his browsbumped together, he made his way over and picked up the card from the center of the flowers.
Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Get well soon, King Aniyis. Love, Gigi Raq and Pop-Pop,the card read.
It brought a sense of peace over Kross, knowing that his mother and stepfather came by to show some much-needed love to Aniyis like they promised.
He placed the card back in the center of the floral arrangement before making his way over to Aniyis’ bedside. He wasn’t sure if what he was about to do was the best idea, but he didn’t care. After seeing Cassie in a casket, he needed his son close, so he nestled his tall frame into the bed next to Aniyis and cradled him in his arms.
“It’s just me and you now, ‘Niyis. Just me and you.”
Chapter Five
Kross kept his eyes on the television that was mounted on the wall of Aniyis’ hospital room. He kept himself entertained with SportsCenter just like he would when he was locked up. He was his own biggest fan and was cocky enough to tell anybody that if he wasn’t a street nigga at heart, he could’ve definitely gotten his people out of the hood by going to the league to play basketball. He played himself pretty bad since all his good talent went to waste unless he was crossing niggas on the courts out in the yard. Just as highlights of last night’s game came on the screen, the door was pushed open and in sauntered in Amoura.
She came bearing a few bags in her hands, and instantly, Kross’ nose was hit with the nostalgic smell of wings from Down South Deli. It was the best chicken spot in the city, located in Little Haiti. He could recall him and his crew flooding the small restaurant with their entourage after a turnt night of partying downtown. It was one of the few restaurants that was open until the wee hours of the morning.
“Damn, that food smell good as fuck!” Kross rubbed his stomach, which was empty aside from the coffee he had earlier in the morning.
Amoura chuckled as she sat the bags down on the nearby table. The hospital was pretty strict about bringing outside food in, so she had to pull a stunt by hiding the food in her Telfar tote. The smell was a dead giveaway to Kross, but she still managed to bypass security.
“Yeah, I passed by when I was coming back and decided to grab some. I even got you a plate.” She smiled lightly as she proceeded to pull the plates out of her purse.
“Damn. Good looks, Amoura. I fuck with you,” he thanked her as she handed over the food.
Before digging in, he stood up and reached in his pocket to extract a stack of money. Amoura watched him oddly with her upper lip hiked up as he fingered through the cash until he found a twenty and extended it to her in exchange for the food.
“Boy, I don’t need your damn money,” she scoffed. “You never had nobody do a kind gesture for you before?”
He smacked his lips as he kept his arm extended so she could grab the money, but she wasn’t going for it. Upon realizing that there was no use in trying to get her to take the cash, he stuffed it back into his pocket.
“Ain’t nothing free in this world, and nobody is owed anything.”
Amoura folded her arms across her chest as she narrowed her eyes at him questioningly. “Granted, you’re right, but if the motherfuckas ‘round you expect to be paid back for a $11.99 chicken box, I think it’s time to start reevaluating the motherfuckas ‘round you.”
