Angelo Simms

"Johan still not talking to you? What you did was fucked up Lo and you know it, just get with a random bitch but not with Chanel" Raheem said as I leaned back in my chair watching a stripper work on the pole. I thought Johan would be over it by now but he wasn't, I honestly felt like the nigga was going to cut me open because he was weird as fuck like that.

"You think I was wrong Kaine? He didn't even show any affection to the chick and I like her" I said defending myself. Kaine was in the middle of tossing money on stage as he seemed to become in tranced with a stripper. I elbowed him to get his attention but it was obvious he didn't give a fuck about what we were talking about.

"Let's just put it this way, Johan isn't good with feelings but he has idolized you since he was twelve years old, you're the big brother figure. He had feelings for this girl at one point and time and you pursing her after you saw how much it hurt him not only says a lot about your character but shows you don't give a fuck about his feelings and its fucked up" Raheem scolded.

"Is this about that Chanel bitch that's all over your tumblr? I don't think Johan likes her but I wouldn't want Malik slobbing down my old fuck buddies even though I don't give a fuck about them. It's a tough call, do what you want" Kaine said and I smacked my teeth.

A stripper came over and preceded to give me a lap dance as Kaine got up and went towards the bar. As the woman began to grind into me I did start to feel an ounce of guilt but it was only because Johan was family to me, I didn't have a real family anymore besides my cousins.

Even though I thirsted after his mother I considered him a younger brother and it never really crossed my mind that we weren't actually blood related because none of that mattered.

"Guess I'll stop fucking with the broad, it is what it is. I wouldn't want that shit done to me, I gotta be loyal to my young" I said bitterly. When I looked up I realized that Kaine hadn't returned and Raheem was going towards the bathroom which meant they left me alone.

"Relationship troubles? I'm a good listener" The stripper laughed as she turned to face me continuing to dance sensually.

"You ever fucked one of your home girls ex? They act like they don't want them so you try and pursue them?" I questioned as I watched her body.

"Ew no. That's a big deal, I can't sit in a friends face while I'm messing with someone they messed with, why would I be cool knowing my man fucked my friend? That's low key messy and why the friend code is in place for hookups" She said and I laughed.

"I think the friend code is stupid as fuck. You might miss your blessing trying not to hurt somebodies feelings when they'll eventually get over it" I defend

"But not everybody gets over that, that's wishful thinking. At the end of the day depending on how close I am with someone if one of my girls fuck with my ex then that's the end of our friendship. I guess you have to ask yourself is this girl really worth loosing someone close to you and if the answer is yes than choose the girl and if the answer is no find someone without ties to your friend" She said as the song changed and she stood up.

"And what's your name?" I questioned stuffing cash in her G string and she chuckled before she walked away without answering me.

The woman was a goddess and I didn't feel like anyone would believe me if I described the way the stripper looked to them. I watched her go to a different table and make rounds all the while I watched her.

Raheem eventually retook his seat next to me as he scrolled through his phone. I tapped his shoulder and he looked up at me before I nodded towards the woman.

"You know her? How long she been working here because I ain't never seen her sexy ass" I said as I watched her hustle some dude out of money.

"You mean Goddess? She's a fan favorite and she's a college girl, I've been trying to get at her but she rejected me twice" Raheem shrugged and I raised an eyebrow.

"So her name is really Goddess, I'm trying to talk to her. Her name fits her well" I commented and Raheem took a sip of his drink.

"Good luck with that" He said nodding towards her as she collected money and went on her way. I quickly stood up and walked over to her gently grabbing her arm and she stopped and looked at me.

"I don't think I made myself clear last time, I wanted to know your name so I can ask you out properly" I said and she looked me over before smiling politely.

"My name is Goddess and the answer would still be no" She said attempting to walk away and I stopped her.

"Can I know why? You don't even know me, I could be your future husband and this could be some funny story we tell out grandkids" I said and she nodded her head sarcastically.

"Look, Angelo is it? You seem like a nice guy but I'm not stupid, you're a known hoe and I want no parts of you but I'm flattered, I really am" She said touching my shoulder and I pulled back some.

"That's your opinion and I'll let you have that" I said stepping aside and she walked away. When I looked over my shoulder at Raheem he was laughing and pointing at me and I held up the middle finger before my eyes searched around for Kaine.

When they landed on him I frowned and walked over to where my cousin was obviously a little toasted as he rambled to the bar tender. I grabbed Kaine's shoulder to get his attention and he shushed me.

"Now as I was saying, my wife has really good pussy and if I could fuck everyday I would" Kaine rambled and I grabbed his arm roughly pulling him away from the counter and he stumbled over some spilling liquor onto his pants.

"Now it looks like I fucking pissed myself" Kaine over exaggerated. I looked at the time on my watch seeing that it was going on four in the morning. I motioned for Raheem and he came over and helped me escort Kaine out.

"Did he piss himself?" Raheem questioned with a chuckle and Kaine looked at me. He began to gag as he covered his hand over his mouth before spewing throw up all over himself and I quickly let go of him watching as he stumbled to the ground.

"Hell no. How are we going to bring him home to Ajani like this and it's so early in the morning, he gotta crash at your place" I said looking at Raheem who gave me a look of pity.

"Hell no, my oldest has to be up for school early, take him home to his wife or take him back to your place" Raheem said and I looked down at Kaine who slowly looked back at the both of us.

"Please don't take me home to Ajani she scares me sometimes, I think she's thought about slitting my throat before" Kaine said as I helped him up.

I gagged at the smell of liquor and vomit and Raheem grabbed a roll of paper towels he happened to have in his backseat. I covered my nose with my shirt and watched Kaine clean himself off as best as he could.

"You got a guest house right? Just go in there and shower and then sleep it off" I suggest and Kaine groaned as I helped him into the backseat of my car. He rested his head on the window and I shook my head before turning to slap hands with Raheem.

"See you later Lo and if she beats his ass in the driveway than record that shit and send it my way" Raheem said and I agreed.

"Angelo can we get McDonalds? I'm really hungry" Kaine slurred and I stared at him before shutting the back door again telling him to shut up.

I climbed into the car before pulling off and Kaine jerked forward some. He coughed and put his seatbelt on as he leaned back and sung along to 'What's Luv?' by Fat Joe and I ran a hand down my face and looked him in the rearview mirror as he bobbed his head.

"Shut up damn!" I shouted growing irritated and he stopped briefly before singing the chorus and I reached into the backseat and punched him causing the car to swerve.

Kaine stuck his tongue out and laughed and I shook my head. When we got to his place I waited impatiently for the gate to open up before pulling into his driveway.

"Get out" I said and he opened the door before stumbling out and falling onto the ground. Sighing I contemplated on just backing up and running him over but I cut the car off and got out.

I helped Kaine up and he stumbled to the door before I rung the doorbell a bunch of times and it took awhile before Ajani pulled the front door opened and looked at the both of us.

"Bwoy you stink" Ajani said covering her nose as she looked at Kaine and I. Kaine attempted to kiss her lips and she frowned as she tried to soothe Kieran who was crying. She had bags under her eyes and if looks could kill Kaine would be six feet under.

"You need to go take a shower and then go to bed" Ajani said taking a step to the side. Kaine put his head down and slowly began to unbutton his shirt before he eventually stripped down into his boxers and held his clothes to his chest before walking inside.

Ajani looked over her shoulder as she watched him walk to the Laundry room and sighed as I glanced at the baby in her arms.

"Thank you for bringing him home even if he's annoying" She laughed and I nodded my head and touched Kieran's hand as he made a sucking gesture with his mouth.

"Don't worry about it, that's my blood and I'm gonna aways have his back even if he pisses me off" I said quietly.

"Johan still not talking to you?" She questioned and I shook my head no. He didn't return my calls or texts even when I found some good looking broads for him to mess with.

"Still hoping he'll come around eventually. I guess I'll have to apologize though" I said with a shrug and she nodded before thanking me again. Just as she was about to shut the door I spotted Aaron who was walking passed sipping on a cup of something.

"Can I talk to him for a second?" I said and she nodded allowing me to come in. She locked the door behind me before going up the stairs letting out a yawn.

Aaron tried to follow her and I grabbed his blanket stopping him. He tried to walk away and I stopped him again and pushed him towards the living room knowing why he was avoiding me.

"I talked to Michael yesterday and he said Moses is doing better. They took him out of the induced Coma he's just a little out of it still"" I explain and Aaron nodded.

"I can't see him like that. What if he's not the same anymore? Ajani has an uncle that can't talk or function fully on his own and I'm scared of that" Aaron said as he looked down.

"Well I'm going to see him tomorrow and if you want I can come by and scoop you. Maybe you being around will make the nigga feel better or something" I said and he was quiet for awhile before he shook his head and declined.

"I'll go and see him eventually just not right now" Aaron said and I nodded not wanting to pressure him. I turned to walk away and Aaron grabbed my arm and stopped me from going any further.

"When you go and see him, can you tell me if he's still the same?" Aaron questioned and I laughed and agreed before looking at the time on my watch.

"Why are you up at this time anyway? Shouldn't you be asleep?" I questioned and Aaron looked down at the tea in the coffee mug.

"Ajani made me tea because I couldn't sleep. This is different than how we grew up, sometimes I feel like I'm in a movie. We even eat dinner at the table together. Sometimes I don't think I should be getting so comfortable, there's a bag in my closet that I'm still hesitant to unpack" Aaron said and I laughed.

"You just gotta start to move on from it, I hate to be that guy but it does get better" I assure and Aaron shrugged it off as he took another sip of his tea.

"I gotta go, I'm tired as fuck. Come lock the door" I said as I walked out. He followed me and as I opened the door I noticed Johan was just pulling up.

He got out of the car with Kemba and they were both smoking blunts. I tried to make eye contact with Jo but he brushed me off and roughly bumped into me.

"My bad batty bwoy, watch out next time" He said with a simple shrug and I chuckled to myself and I walked down the steps.

"I realize that our friendship and family bond is more important than some bitch. If you like the girl than go for her" I said and he chuckled.

"Why is this pussy talking to me? I thought I made it clear we weren't friends anymore" Johan said and I frowned before leaning on my car.

I went to apologize actually meaning it this time but he took a phone call and went inside. Shaking my head my eyes went to Kemba who'd stayed strangely quiet and not said any slick shit under his breath.

"The bwoy looks up to you, maybe you should remember that. Pursue the gyal if you want though, doubt boss man likes her" Kemba said puffing on the blunt. He offered it to me and I declined getting into the car.

Hard to imagine I met Johan when he was twelve and I took him under my wing. I'd never had a brother and I remember he'd follow me around because he hated Kaine a lot and Ajani was always with him so he needed something to do.

It eventually turned into a friendship and we'd come a long way from the days he'd call me a batty bwoy or a pussy. It was actually kinda hard seeing us regress back into how things were before over a bitch that wasn't even worth it.

The talk with Goddess at the strip club really opened my eyes though. It would've never worked with Chanel or any other broad that's dealt with one of my friends or family, I should've learned from Ohaji and Jade but I was so mad at Yoli's bitch ass.

The thought of her annoyed me and pissed me off all over again and the fact that she was talking so much shit. I wasn't going to stoop to her level and dog her ass out when I could, but when I said that bitch was dead to me I meant that shit.

-

Moses' hospital room was quiet and when I walked up a nurse was bringing in breakfast for him and the room was dark. His sister Antonia was outside of the room talking to some woman who had curves for days. My eyes raked over her body and when she turned to look at me she seemed taken aback as she extended her hand for me to shake.

"I'm Moses' sister Aubrey, did you come to see him?" She questioned as I smiled and shook her hand. I caught an elbow to the rib and when I looked over at Raheem he was shaking his head at me as if to say now wasn't the time.

"Yeah, I'm kinda like a mentor to him. How is he doing?" I questioned and she stepped to the side allowing me to see for myself. I walked into the room and the first thing I noticed was the large white bandage that covered the back of his head and the cast on his arm.

The nurse had served him his food and he thanked her in a weak voice as he kept his eyes closed. She walked out as we approached and Michael leaned down and whispered something in his ear and he opened his eyes a little bit.

"I must really be near death if you're coming to see me, yeah?" Moses questioned giving a small smirk. I laughed off what he said but he didn't look like he was in the best shape, he was a usual medium brown tone but his face just looked a little pale to me.

"You can still walk and shit right? You didn't get hurt any worse than what they originally thought?" I asked and he groaned and looked up at me before I noticed he was wiggling his toes which made me laugh.

"I have a groin injury they called it a third degree and you don't wanna know what this shit feels like" he said and Raheem leaned over at the mention of it before he sat down in a chair getting a shiver.

"I saw Aaron yesterday and I tried to get him to come but he's scared of you and this situation and I think it's something he'll have to do on his own" I explained and Moses closed his eyes as he placed his hand over his chest.

"Figures, he's always been a pussy" Moses said as he slowly looked at the food in front of him. It was a mound of eggs that didn't even look appealing and two strips of skinny pieces of bacon with a biscuit on the side.

Moses swallowed the lump in his throat before he opened his orange juice and took a couple of sips. Deejay came walking into the room and when he saw me he turned around and attempted to walk back out but I grabbed him and shoved him onto the ground.

"Where's my money? You took the stuff from Moses to distribute but instead you went ghost, so give me a good reason on why I shouldn't end your life" I said through gritted teeth.

"Moses tell him to give me more time, tell him it wasn't my fault" Deejay said nervously and my eyes went to Moses who was dosing off and Michael had to give him a gentle nudge.

"You took the drugs so it's your problem. I want my money by tonight or I'm going to shoot you in the fucking head" I said growing annoyed about the situation. Moses opened his eyes and Deejay quickly stood up and straighten himself up.

"He'll have your money, I promise" Moses said weakly and I glanced at him not wanting to bring him in the middle of the situation because it had nothing to do with him but he was a loyal friend.

"I hope you get better, you gotta hook me up with one of your sisters" Raheem teased as he touched Moses' shoulder and he laughed.

"You lucky I met Goddess last night, that woman is going to be the woman I eventually marry" I said confidently and Raheem laughed off my prediction as we walked out.

"Johan is at that Chinese food place, let's go pull up on him so y'all can make up" Raheem suggested and I shook my head.

"I'm not trying to make up with that nigga anymore, fuck him" I said folding my arms as we walked to the elevator and Raheem laughed.

"We're going though. I don't want y'all friendship to end like this" Raheem said sounding concerned and I rolled my eyes.

He was missing out, we'd been friends for awhile but I needed my space sometimes. I was having fun without him and I was learning a lot about myself, like I can't name anything right now but I'm talented.

After leaving the hospital Raheem and I rode up on Johan who was seated on a car and talking to a short white dude who we all usually bought jewelry from. A few cartel members were eating Chinese food and when they saw me they informed Johan.

"What's up Jo?" Raheem greeted and Johan nodded at him before biting into an egg roll. We glared at each other before I cleared my throat.

"This is the last time I'm apologizing to you so if you don't accept it than that's it" I stated wish a shrug and Johan didn't blink as he turned his attention back to his food.

"Bwoy what are you doing over here anyway?" Johan questioned Raheem who gave a simple shrug.

"I don't see how y'all can be eating that shit so early in the morning. I don't fuck with Chinese food like that and I ain't even about to touch that shit before twelve pm at least" Raheem said rubbing his stomach.

"Fuck around and accidentally eat a rat" I teased and Johan looked at me briefly before he hopped down off of the car.

He closed the container to his food before handing it off to Julez who stuck it into a bag. I'd heard that dumbass had accidentally shot himself and I couldn't say I was surprised.

"I'm over the gyal, do what you want" He said with a simple shrug and I folded my arms not believing him.

"Nah our friendship is more important, Chanel wasn't all of that. I took my anger from that Yoli situation and ended up screwing you over when I was mad at her. We're brothers and I don't want any bad blood between us" I said and Johan was quiet.

"Yeah, whatever you said" Johan said rolling his eyes as I slapped hands