“Hurry up, lil nigga. I ain’t got all fucking day.”
He did as I asked, handing me the piece of paper and his ID.
I stepped back. “Aight now bust a U and get the fuck outta here before I change my mind.” I for sure didn’t have to say it twice because he backed away and busted the instructed U-turn without a second thought.
I was back in my truck busting the same U-turn a few seconds later. This time I was on the way to the hospital instead of home because what the fuck did Posydiann want?
When I pulled into Briar South Memorial in Lower Briar, I grabbed a baseball cap from my back seat and threw it on. This was one of those hood hospitals, so they didn’t pay much attention to who was coming in or out, but they collected IDs. Adrian had Junior here and it was so fucking unprofessional that I swore I wasn’t coming back in here.
I approached the front desk, immediately asking ol’ girl what floor Posydiann Murphy was on.
Dressed in zebra print scrubs with pink lining and a pair of big ass glasses, she popped her gum, typing on the computer.
“And you are?” she asked, never looking away from the screen.
“His cousin, Trey Dunning.” I gripped ol’ boy’s ID and the visitor’s pass. I’d studied it before getting out of the car. The last thing I needed was to walk in here and be remembered. “I was just up here yesterday, shorty. Is there a problem?”
She looked me over, then shook her head. “Nah, handsome, it’s not. Do you have your pass from yesterday?”
“Yeah, it’s right here.” I held it up.
She nodded. “Okay, let me just scan the barcode and your ID to check you in. He’s on the fifth floor, last door to your left.”
It took her about thirteen seconds to get me…well,Treychecked in, then she pointed me toward the elevator.
When I stepped on the elevator I was glad I was alone. Though the light flickered above, it was a smooth ride. I stepped off and followed the directions I had been given to Posydiann’s room.
I stepped in the doorway and immediately the nigga’s eyes were on me. He was serious for all of fifteen seconds, looking like he’d seen a ghost before a big ass grin filled his features.
“Yo, who the fuck you feeling like? Nick Fury. Out here faking your own death and going to the service.”
I laughed hard as hell, unable to hold it back because for a serious nigga he could crack a joke and break all the seriousness in every moment. Posydiann and I had come up together, same block, houses three doors apart. For about three summers when we were shorties, it was me, him, and Akillah getting into any and everything that had our mama’s ready to knock our asses off at the end of every night. Lucky ended up moving in with us a little later, as his mother had OD’d in Chicago and his pops was nowhere to be found when it was time to step up.
“But nah. I’m glad I was right. I told Akillah your ass wasn’t dead. That’s why I didn’t show up to that sad ass funeral.”
“Motherfucker was sad, wasn’t it?” I shook my head.
“Mama Gloria know you moving around here like a ghost?”
“Hell nah. I gotta handle everything and make sure everyth?—”
“Say no more. I get it. They safe though, not a soul is stupid enough to make a move on her or your youngin. They’re protected while you figure this shit out. Been protected since the day that news dropped. Believe that.”
I nodded. We didn’t talk every day nor did we hang out in the same circles, but I knew him and he knew me. I would have donethe same for him if needed. “You saying all that, but what the fuck happened?”
My eyes went to the bandage on his chest and the couple scrapes on his arm.
He laughed. “Same thing that happened to you. That nigga you share fraternal blood with had one of my regulars set me up in my own fucking hood. Believe that?”
“He really thinks he’s like that. Using chicks to do his work. You got a lead on him?”
“Nah. He’s hiding out. Akillah been turning shit up and down, nothing’s come up. I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s sitting in one of those bunker type things they found Saddam Hussein in. A fucking spider hole, I think that’s what they called it.”
I shook my head.
Silence filled the space.
“Look, I ain’t tryna overstep or be in your business but it’s some shit you don’t know. I know we ain’t close like we used to be, and shit, I’m speaking ain’t been vetted, but I’m hearing that mess with your setup went deeper than just your baby mama. Blood ain’t that thick, if you know what I mean. Niggas took a bands off your name.”
