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I owned my own franchises and made money with my eyes closed. I could have any bitch I wanted but I wanted a female that could make me feel like none of that shit mattered. Looking down at Sosa he was slowly waking up. I picked my foot up and stomped him right in his face and knocked his bitch ass back out.

“Get out!” Praylah yelled and I ignored her ass and kept walking out. She just didn’t understand how she was really a saving grace for this nigga right now. When I made my way outside, Honor was already loading my car with duffle bags of what I was sure was money and probably drugs. Honor was as cold as it got. If I told her to go strip a muthafucka down, she would do just that and take every single thing else a person had attached to them.

I jumped in the car and lit a blunt immediately to try to cool my nerves. Praylah's face kept popping up into my mental making it hard for me to concentrate.

“Everything there plus some new work that the nigga tried to get from some other niggas.” She pulled off slowly from Praylah’s block as I remained quiet not really knowing what to say.

“What you want me to do about that nigga? I can have some niggas run down on him tonight.” I shook my head no, and looked over at her as I released the smoke from my mouth.

“Let the nigga live for now. Praylah too green when it comes to that nigga.” I spat, disgusted with what I was even saying. If I wanted a nigga dead or even had a simple thought of offing a nigga, it happened and here I was for the sake of Praylah’s ditzy ass telling Honor to let this bitch ass nigga live. Niggas that violated usually got the worse treatment from me. If you violated me, I felt like it was only right for me to violate you even worse. Honor always said I went overboard with punishment. The voice in my head always said that I didn’t even do enough.

“She will come around big dog. Just gotta let her be and figure her shit out. She got to want better for herself. Don’t get caught up in that until she’s serious about you too.” Honor placed her hand on my shoulder, and I felt every word she was spitting. The only problem was my need for getting or having whatever it was that I wanted. Praylah, I wanted her like I wanted power over the streets. I needed her like I needed air to breathe. I hoped she didn’t think this shit was over like I was some pussy ass nigga.

The only reason I gave her delicate ass a pass today was because of her beautiful daughter laying in that living room sound asleep. I didn’t want my stepdaughter to meet me for the first time and think that I was some sort of monster. I only wanted Heaven to have good times and look up to a nigga. Fuck what Praylah was talking about and fuck her for the time being.

Chapter Sixteen

ERA

“Get this nigga in the chair and tell him to see about me!” I looked on with wide eyes at all three of my triplet uncles, they were at each other’s throats. While it was entertaining it all got taken to a whole other level and now Uncle Lenny, who was paralyzed from the waist down, wanted to fight from his wheelchair over a prostitute that Uncle Denny took from him.

Anytime Uncle Lenny felt like one of his brothers had disrespected him, he would demand for them to sit in a chair so he could fight them from his wheelchair. I sipped on my Stella Rose as I watched from behind my mom’s kitchen island at my uncles going at it over a hoe that had to be something big with the way Uncle Lenny and Denny were at each other’s throats.

“The bitch is my hoe! Both of you niggas owe me money. The pussy that I serve ain’t cheap and my prices is steep. Both of you nigga’s can fight but I want my doe ray meh around this muthafucka, understand?” Uncle Benny popped his collar and threw his hand behind his back. I stifled a laugh because he was always super smooth with his words. He instigated the most when it came to his brothers but never ended up being the one fighting. He was something else and always claimed that he was too purty to have a hair on his head misplaced.

Uncle Denny and Lenny wore their hair in short-tapered curls, they had salt and pepper colored hair while Uncle Benny had my mom dye his hair black every first of the month. His hair was always pressed going past his broad shoulders with a long beard that he made my momma press as well. The triplets were identical, but you could easily tell Uncle Benny apart from Lenny and Denny.

“I got your money, but I told this nigga not to sleep with Essence! She’s mine!” Uncle Lenny pounded his chest, and I couldn’t believe that he was this serious over a prostitute.

“You one crazy nigga. The hoe is mine, she married to the game Lenny. See, I done told you about paying for pussy. Especially the type of pussy I provide, Essence is a hoe of mine that will never walk away even if I gave her my famous walking papers. You know the papers when a hoe has too many miles on the pussy and the tricks don’t want it anymore. Why get mad if Denny pays to lay with her? You know how many niggas lay with her in a day?” Uncle Benny's voice was calm but I could now hear the frustration in his voice.

He hated breaking my uncles up whenever they fought but he always seemed entertained by the drama and the arguments they presented.

“I don’t give a fuck. Sit in that chair and come see about me nigga!” Uncle Lenny roared and Uncle Benny shook his head in defeat. He went and got a folding chair and sat it right in front of Uncle Lenny. Uncle Denny cracked his knuckles and gave Uncle Lenny a mean glare.

“I ain’t taking shit easy just cause you in that wheelchair nigga. I’m knocking your ass right out that muthafucka. When I’m done, I’ll pay this nigga Benny two thousand more dollars to fuck that pretty thang again!” Uncle Lenny couldn’t wait for Uncle Denny to get in the chair. His hands shook from anger as he rolled towards Uncle Denny and rolled his feet over causing him to yelp and scream out in pain.

“You stay away from her!” Uncle Lenny reversed and rolled over Uncle Denny feet again just as Uncle Denny limped his way in the chair. I could tell Uncle Denny was in pain, but he was trying his hardest not to show it. Both men got close until they were knee to knee and started fighting. Blow for blow they weren’t letting up on each other until Uncle Lenny’s arms got tired from swinging on Uncle Denny. Uncle Denny got the best of Uncle Lenny and knocked him back causing his wheelchair to roll backward into my mom’s glass crystal dove vase. They hoisted her flowers that some mystery man brought her every Sunday when she came from church.

I was still trying to figure out who the nigga was, but my mom was very sneaky and secretive thanks to her having three brothers that tried to stay in her business.

“Earlene beating all of our asses.” Uncle Benny shook his head and tried to pick the glass pieces from the vase up, but it was too late. My mom stood in the hallway with her curlers still in her head. She had the house phone glued to her ear with her shoulder holding it up. A lit blunt dangled from her thin lips as she blinked several times. Something she did whenever she was angry. She kept batting those false long curly lashes as if she was in some type of dream and her vase being broken was not real.

“Shirley, I’m fenna fuck some niggas up, bless they soul. I have to call you back.” I assumed that she didn’t give her friend Shirley time to say bye because she had already tossed her cordless phone onto her leather sectional couch and stomped from the hallway to the utility closet that was in the kitchen. She mumbled stuff the whole time, you could hear her rambling through the closet.

“My momma gave me that vase! I don’t know why these niggas like to lay up and chose they fights at my damn house. Oh, but they gone learn today! In Jesus name! They gone learn today!” She talked loud enough for all of us to hear. I looked at my uncle’s faces and felt a little sorry for them. They all had scary looks on their faces as Uncle Benny was already tucking his tail, smoothing his hair down he picked up his hat that had a white feather leaning on the left side and tried to smoothly walk out.

He was too late on leaving because my mom flew in the room like a bat straight from hell and went after him first. You know how a kid get they ass beat by their mom? The whole time a momma beats her kid’s ass she explains why she beating their asses. That’s what my mom was doing to my uncles right at this very moment with a broomstick. Every hit was connecting, and I cringed at every hit that landed. I could almost feel the sting and cringed while my mom huffed and puffed beating ass.

“Come on now Earlene! You gon’ make me sweat this fresh press out! I didn’t do anything.” Instead of my Uncle Benny covering his body or even his face, he kept checking his hair by running his hands through it. I giggled when he shook his head from side to side to make sure his silk press was still giving body and moving with each twist and turn of his neck.

“Get yo’ fake pimping limping ass out Benny! Lenny roll bounce ya ass up out of here and Denny you better follow ‘fore I get my deuce and start shooting!” My mom struggled to catch her breath but turned and walked out of the room. My uncles groaned and rubbed at the places that were obviously hurting them.

“Era come help ya uncle out.” Uncle Lenny asked. I opened the door and rolled him right out of the house. Saying my goodbyes, I decided to give my mom some space. We all had been crowding her space for the past couple of weeks. I didn’t like being at home by myself and lost in my thoughts, so I practically stayed over here where it was convenient. I got to laugh and feel loved because my mom and uncles were close. It wasn’t a day that passed by that you didn’t see or hear of them together.

Walking down the long hallway that led to my mom’s room, I could hear her sniffling. She looked up at me and wiped at her tears. My mom was angry and hurt and I knew it had to do with her vase.

“My mom gave me that! Them fools know how much I love that vase. Now they done broke it.” I sat next to her and pulled her in for a hug.