A/N: Thank you so much for all the votes and reads on the previous chapter. Hopefully you guys will enjoy this chapter as well. Don't forget to comment & vote!!

Enjoy!!!






Must be nice
Having someone who understands the life you live
Must be nice
Having someone who's slow to take and quick to give
Must be nice
Having someone who sticks around when the rough times get thick
someone who's smile is bright enough to make the projects feel like a mansion~ LYFE JENNINGS


It's been two days since Rio went to jail and Ant was already taking over the hood.
People began bowing down to him and joining his movement.
Word got to Rio about Ant's sudden takeover and he was furious.
Sitting behind the glass with the phone to his ear Rio shook his head in disappointment.
"Ant is reckless out hea bruh." Black said.
Black and I had gone to the correctional facility to see Rio. Black wanted to give him status on what was happening in the hood.
"I need to get the fuck outta hea."
"What's goin on wit yo case?" Black asked.
"They tryna hold me on some bullshit. Sayin I didn't have a concealed handgun license." He said clenching his jaws.
You would think out of all the money Rio had and the kind of shit he was into he would at least have a gun license.
"We gon get you outta hea bro." Black assured him and Rio made eye contact with me.
I appreciated everything he'd done for me and to show him I was grateful I was willing to help him get out of jail but my feelings were not to be played with. Fuck his trust issues.
Looking away I crossed my arms under my chest.
"Let me talk to Lauren." Rio said.
Black tapped my leg to grab my attention handing the phone to me.
"Talk to him." He said standing up from the seat.
I hesitated but took the phone from his hand.
"Yeah?" I said into the phone as I took Black's seat.
"What's up shorty."
Rolling my eyes I didn't waste anytime getting to the point.
"What?"
"I wanna thank you for bein here for me, even after I was bein an ass." He said.
I didn't expect to hear those words leave his mouth. He never talked about his feelings since I've been knowing him.
"I want you to write these numbers down."
"Numbers for what?" I asked while grabbing a pen from my purse.
Ignoring my question he called out the numbers to me.
"What's this?" I asked looking down at the paper before me.
"It's a safe at my Mama's house. She don't know about it. It's in my old room closet behind a dry wall. Use that combination and take all the money out." He simply said while glancing up to Black. "Don't give it anybody."
I was surprised he was trusting me with all of his money.
I nodded my head.
"Can I trust you?" He asked.
The guard tapped Rio on the shoulder signaling him that his time was up.
"Yeah, you can." I assured him.
Putting the phone down I stood up from the seat and walked towards the exit with Black.
"What he ask you to write down?" Black asked as soon as we left the building.
"Nothin'." I simply said remembering that Rio said not to give it to anyone.
Unlocking the car doors I got into the passenger's seat and Black got into the driver's seat before pulling off.
"I have to stop at Rio's mother house." I informed him.
Nodding his head he turned up the radio and started in the direction of Celia's home.
*
Pulling into her driveway both of our eyes widened as we noticed two black SUV's parked in front of the garage.
"What the fuck." Black mumbled to himself.
Killing the engine he got out of the car first.
Observing the surroundings he noticed one truck belonged to Anthony.

Slipping off my seatbelt I stepped from the car and made my way towards the front door ringing the doorbell.
Celia smiled stepping to the side to let us in.
"Hey Rodney." She said greeting Black. "I was just having lunch with Anthony."
Black and I made our way into the kitchen to see Anthony sitting at the island.
Two men dressed in black stood behind him.
"Yo, what you doin' here?" Black asked as he ran up to Anthony.
One of the men snatched Black up before he could put a finger on him.
Celia walked into the kitchen and frowned at the scene before her.
"What is this? Put Rodney down." She ordered.
With Anthony's command the man let him go.
Fixing out his clothes Black turned towards Celia.
"What is he doin here?"
"I called Anthony because I can't let my son sit in jail. Knowing their history I know Anthony would be willing to help."
I shook my head in disappointment.
Celia pulled a black bag from the floor sitting it on top of the island.
She said she didn't have any money I thought to myself.
"Mario wanted me to hold this for him but in this situation he needs all the help he can get." Opening the bag she pulled out two kilos of coke sitting them on the island.
Anthony's eyes lit up in amazement.
"Ms. Celia--." Black tried to interject.
"Rodney, please." She stopped him.
"You don't have to do this." Black said.
"Anthony's the reason Mario is in jail." I blurted.
Celia facial expression changed as she turned towards Anthony.
"What?"
"You said you had somethin' for me. I'm not leaving until I get it." Anthony said standing up from his seat.
"This is suppose to help Mario!" She yelled.
Anthony sighed and lightly chuckled while signaling his men to pick the kilos up from the island.
"Rio is a grown man. I didn't tell him to pull that gun out--." Anthony went on to say but before he could finish his sentence Black punched him in the mouth knocking him to the floor.
It didn't take long for Anthony's "security" to hop in and pull Black off of him.
"Lets go." Ant said standing to his feet. "I got you." He said to Black as they made their way to the exit.
"You know where I be. Come see me!" Black yelled back.
The front door slammed closed behind them.
Celia stood in shock as tears fell from her eyes.
"What have I done?" She asked to no one in particular.
Black walked over to her and pulled her into his arms.
"It's going to be okay Ms. Celia." He said comforting her.
Remembering the combination I wrote down earlier I set out to find Rio's old bedroom.
I'd never seen the other parts of the house and as I made my way towards the staircase I noticed pictures lining the wall.
Stopping at the first picture Celia wore a huge smile as she held what look like a young Mario in her arms.
He looked so innocent and happy. The second picture was Mario's graduation picture.
The blue background matched his blue cap and gown. In his hand he held a rolled up piece of paper that was a prop diploma.
Smiling to myself I started up the stairs.
As I reached the top of the stairs the first door to the left was slightly ajar.
Pushing it further open I stepped into the room and immediately realized it was Mario's room.
The bed was made and looked untouched. Trophies and medals filled a bookcase on the other side of the room.
I bet he was an athlete. I thought to myself as I made my way towards his memorabilia reading the first trophy's plaque.
Remembering why I was in his room in the first place my eyes quickly scanned the room and landed on the closet.
Walking over to it and opening the closet door I was greeted by a large amount of clothes. Pushing them to the side the back wall came into view.
Noticing a cut-out I pulled the dry wall back and a black safe showed.
"What you doin?"
Stepping out of the closet I noticed Black and Celia staring at me.
"I uh--, I was just--, not really." I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Cussing myself for stuttering.
Black walked around me and pulled the safe from the closet sitting it on the bed.
Celia eyes were red and her cheeks stained.
"Is this what Rio had you write down?" He questioned.
"Yeah." I said softly.
"Why would he give you the combination and not me?" Celia questioned.
"I don't know." I said shrugging my shoulders.
Black examined the safe.
"Open it." He instructed.
Not sure if I should I pulled the paper from my purse.
Using the numbers the safe opened.
Slowly pulling the door open stacks of money fell out.
Celia covered her mouth with her hands.
Black picked up a stack that had a ten thousand dollar band around it.
Taking it from his hand I pulled the rest of the money out and closed the safe.
Stuffing every dollar into my purse I glanced at Black who stood in shock.
"We have to get back to the jail." I said half way out the door.
Black followed me out the front door and to his car.
Shortly we were arriving back at the jail. Dropping the money on to the table the bondsman gave me a displeased look.
"You can have a seat he has to go through processing."
Black took a seat next to an older woman holding a full box of Kleenex in her lap.
It seemed as if everyone were waiting for someone to be released.
Finding a seat next to a window I sat down and made myself comfortable.
I knew we were going to be here for awhile.
"You smoke?" A man asked.
Shaking my head he went on to the man sitting next to me.
I began drifting off to sleep but it wasn't long before Black tapped me taking a seat next to me.
"You good?" He asked.
Looking around the room I noticed it wasn't as crowded as before.
"How long has it been?"
Black looked at his watch.
"Not long at all."
I sighed and crossed my arms.
We sat there for what felt like a day. When Rio was finally released a smile came across my face as he walked through the steel doors.
He looked in need of a haircut and his facial was scruffy.
Walking up to me he pulled me into his arms.
"Thank you." He said pecking my forehead.
His light brown eyes lit up as butterflies took over my stomach. Rio had that affect on me.
Glancing at Black he dapped him.
"What up foolie." Black greeted him.
"Let's go. A nigga starvin'." Rio said grabbing my hand while walking towards the exit.
"Nigga, they ain't feed you?" Black joked as we made our way to his car.
Unlocking the doors everyone got in.
"Where you tryna stop?" Black asked as he pulled from the parking lot.
"Anythin' fast. I need to get out of these clothes." Rio said looking down at his shirt. "I smell like that place."
We stopped at McDonald's drive thru before Black dropped us off at Celia's house.
The entire ride to the house Black spoke about Anthony but being sure not to mention Celia giving him the drugs.
"Ima call you later." Black informed Rio before pulling off.
Walking towards the front door, Rio pulled the spare key from under the mat and walked into the house taking his food to the kitchen.
He took a seat at the island and pulled his food from the bag.
Sitting across from him I began sipping on my Sprite.
Celia walked into the room looking as if she'd still been crying.
"Ma, what's wrong?" He asked looking up from his food.
"I'm sure Lauren has told you."
He took a huge bite from his burger stuffing fries into his mouth afterwards.
"What you talking bout?" He asked in between chews.
"I gave Anthony the drugs."
She didn't hesitate getting to the point.
Rio stopped eating and frowned at his mother.
"Wait a minute, you what?"
"I thought he could help--."
Standing up from the island Rio's face contorted in anger.
"I told you not to give that to anyone." He made his way towards her. "You wonder why I don't trust you."
Tears fell from Celia's eyes as Rio brushed pass her and walked towards the guest house.
"The fact that my son can trust a complete stranger over me is a slap in the face." She said shaking her head and leaving the kitchen.
I followed Rio into the guest house. He sat on the couch in deep thought.
Taking a seat next to him I placed my chin on his shoulder while wrapping my arm around his.
"I don't know why I try wit her." He said softly.
I listened as he told me his story.
"When she met Mark everything changed. She had a good job as a CNA at a local nursing home making a lil money. We didn't have much but she made sure I ate everyday. Then she met Mark. He worked at the nursing home too. Everything started off great until he moved in with us and started beatin' her." Rio stared off into space as he reminisced.
I placed my hand in his as he continued.
"He got hooked on drugs and eventually she started using. The money started getting low, I wasn't eating everyday and he would sell everything in the house just so they could come up wit enough money for their next fix. It was a time where I would have to sleep on the floor." He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "Celia didn't care. All she was worried about was gettin' high."
Taking a deep breath he glanced at me to make sure I was still listening.
"I found out where my biological father lived. I went to his house, he slammed the door in my face and said I wasn't his kid. I could've killed that nigga." He said through gritted teeth. "I came home and Mark had beaten my mom so bad. She had came up on a lil money and she wouldn't give it all to him-- if I wouldn't have called the ambulance she would've bled to death."
Rio's entire demeanor changed as he said that.
"Eventually I got taken away and was put in my Grandmother's care. That's when I turned to the streets but when she passed away Celia had cleaned up. She'd gone to rehab and left Mark alone, so I thought. It took everything in me not to kill his ass when he was here the other day."
For some reason listening to Rio's story made me feel better about telling him mine.
His story wasn't as bad as mine but he'd gone through the same pain and hurt I had.
"I wanna be able to trust her and that shit she did isn't making it easy." He said.
"She was just trying to help." I said in her defense.
Rio stood from the couch.
"I gotta get outta these clothes." He said making his way towards the bathroom.
Closing the door behind him he started the shower water.
Getting comfortable on the couch I flipped through the TV channels until I landed on the action movie Taken 2. I'd seen the movie a thousand times and my favorite part was coming up.
Detracted by my thoughts I began thinking about how Rio was affected by his mother being on drugs. It must've taking a toll on him.
I wondered why Celia was still bothered with Mark after he tried to take her life. Then again, I was told drugs could make you do crazy things.
My thoughts were interrupted as I heard the shower water stop and the bathroom door open.
Rio sighed as he walked into the living room with a royal blue towel wrapped around his waist.
My mouth dropped as he stood in front of me with his abs glistening.
"Do you have any lotion?" He asked snapping me out of my trance.
"Uh--, I uh, lotion?" I stuttered.
"Yeah, lotion." He said smirking.
"It's in the bathroom under the sink." I assured him finally being able to speak.
Walking back into the bathroom Rio grabbed the lotion and went to his room to put on clothes.
Mesmerized by his looks I couldn't focus on the movie as my hormones began raging. Dirty thoughts filled my mind as he walked back into room dressed in jogging pants and shirt.
Making room for him on the couch he took a seat next to me. I tried to focus on the movie but my mind kept wondering about what his package was like under the towel he wore.
"You know the whole purpose of watching a movie is to actually pay attention to it." He said directing his attention to me.
"Please." I said rolling my eyes. "Who said I was checkin' you out?"
He chuckled. "I didn't say that, you did."
Embarrassed, my cheeks heated up instantly.
Softly grabbing the back of my head he pulled me into a kiss.
Just as our first kiss his lips were still soft against mine. Removing his lips he slowly made a trail of kisses down my jaw to my chin before kissing my neck and gently sucking. Letting out a light moan my juices started flowing. I wanted Rio so bad.
Making his way back to my lips his tongue entered my mouth as I gently bit his lower lip causing him let out a growl mixed with a soft moan. Hearing that turned me on more.
Standing up from the couch he grabbed my hand helping me up leading me through the glass doors to the bedroom.
Sitting on the bed I sat on his lap facing him, his hands roamed my body as we continued to kiss. The kissing became more passionate the more we got into it.
Fed up with the kissing Rio gently flipped me onto back so now he was straddling me. Propping myself up on my arms he helped me out of my shirt and then my jeans.
"Relax." He said kissing my chest down to my stomach.
My heart raced as he slipped my panties off.
Laying back on the bed I closed my eyes and lifted my legs to his shoulders allowing him to bring his elbows up and prop his head up.
My body jerked as I felt the warmness of his tongue touch me. I softly moaned as he started to gently nibble.
I covered my mouth so his mother wouldn't hear my moans.
Getting in the rhythm I began to thrusting my hips and grabbing his head pushing it further into me.
It wasn't long before I climaxed.
Rio definitely knew what he was doing I thought to myself as he stood up from the bed walking into the bathroom.
I heard the sink water start so I assumed he was brushing his teeth.
Walking back into the bedroom he climbed under the covers with me holding me in his arms.
"Good night beautiful." He said as he kissed my cheek.
"Good night." I said...but he was already lightly snoring falling asleep.

The next morning I woke up and Rio wasn't in bed next to me. Glancing around the room I came to the conclusion he had left.
Getting out of bed I walked into the bathroom and started the shower water. After taking a long hot shower I tossed on a pair of jeggings and jean shirt. I decided to wear my hair curly. It was easy wearing it that way. Low maintenance.
Taking a last look in the mirror I left the guest house. My stomach growled as I made my way towards the kitchen.
Walking into the kitchen I saw that breakfast was already made and I missed it.
Grabbing an orange from the fruit bowl I started peeling it while walking towards the living room.
My eyes widened as I spotted Celia, Rio and Alaina sitting on the couch. Rio looked pissed.
Turning to leave out the room Alaina stopped me in my tracks.
"Don't leave Lauren." She smiled.
Celina didn't bother to look up from the paper she held in her hand.
Making my way over to them I sat down next to her.
"I have something I wanna show you." She said.
"Don't do that." Rio snapped. "As a matter of fact you can go." He said dismissing her.
"What's going on?" I asked confused.
"Don't worry about." Rio said standing up. "You still here?" He asked Alaina.
Alaina took the paper from Celia and tried to hand it to me but Rio snatched it from her balling it up.
"You don't want her to know I'm pregnant?" Alaina blurted.
My heart stopped as the those words left her lips.