Page 7 of Fire & Roses: Harli

“That’s a bet.”

Chapter 5

Harli

Wrapping the towel around me, I walked into my room to get dressed. Just as I slid my shorts up, there was a knock on my door. Snatching the door open, I became face-to-face with Ryda. Her ass usually slept until noon, so I wondered what had my girl up at the ass crack of dawn. When I first moved to Golden Shores at eighteen, she was the first person I interacted with. Her ass was only being nosy, but once we started talking, I realized we were more alike than I assumed. We clicked instantly, and she moved in with me shortly after, and we’d been locked in ever since.

At a young age, I was forced to grow up and fend for myself due to my parents being hooked on drugs. Those same drugs claimed their lives months apart from each other when I was just fifteen years old. With no family to take me in and me refusing to go into the system, that left me living in a motel room and stealing to pay for my next night. I’d gotten good at picking pockets, hitting stores for food, and making sure that I was good despite my situation. Once I turned eighteen, I used my savings to get my spot in Golden Shores for more stability.

“Why yo’ ass up this early?” I questioned Ryda as I followed her into the living room.

“Girl, have you heard anything from Dice yet?” She countered.

“No, I haven’t. Is that what you’re sweatin’?”

“Hell yeah. I didn’t expect that those bikes belong to those crazy bitches. What if they come run down on us and kill us?”

“I ain’t never seen yo’ ass concerned ‘bout no bitches no matter how big or small you always stand ten toes down.”

“These ain’t some hoes in the club or bitches around here, these are fuckin’ professionals.”

“Look, we just gotta let this shit play out, but I need you not to be loosin’ no damn sleep over it. Dice said she sees the potential in us, so we gonna see what she meant by that.”

“Alright, we gonna see what happens, but I’m keepin’ my gun on me so I ain’t caught slippin’.”

“As you should just remember that so yo’ ass don’t get no charge and end up back in jail.”

“You right ‘bout that but speakin’ of jail. You heard anything ‘bout Doughboy?”

“Oh, yeah, that nigga got five years for that shit.”

“Damn. You talked to him?”

“Nawl, blocked that nigga off everything. His lil’ side bitch posted and tagged him on Instagram before I blocked both their asses. She gonna clearly be the fool to wait for him, but I’m not sticking beside his fat back ass.”

“Well, you know what they say. The quickest way to get over an old nigga is to get under a new one.”

“And what I say is ‘a dolla a day will keep them fuck niggas away.’ I got my mind on gettin’ to the money, not a nigga.”

“Ooh, but you had time for Trench’s ass the other day.”

“We just chopped it up, nothin’ serious, so don’t even do that.”

“Uh huh. If you say so, Harli.”

“Anyways, speakin’ of Trench, it’s his fault that my damn bike down and I can’t race right now. Got me missin’ out on money and shit because he wanna rematch. I’m ‘bout to go check on it, I’ll text you when I make it to the shop.”

“Alright, Twinn. Be safe.”

Getting into my black 2013 Honda Accord, I thought about the bike job on my way to the shop. Ryda scoped out the spot where the bikes were, and it was supposed to be an easy snatch and grab. With us doing more races, we thought it would be a good idea to upgrade our bikes. It went from us walking up on the bikes to being surrounded by Dice and her girls. That shit had me thinking it was the end for me and my girl, but we were spared, to my surprise. Now we’re playing the waiting game to see exactly what we were spared for. My phone vibrated in my pocket as I fished it out and noticed an unknown number on my screen.

“Hello,” I spoke into the phone with a voice deeper than usual.

“Where’s Harli?” the voice questioned me.

“Who this?”

“Dice.”