A/N: I'm hella whipped for Keith. That's all, enjoy the book. 

I was hit with yet another pillow. 

"I...throw...told...throw...you...throw...some crackhead...throw...was gonna shoot up that party!" she said, throwing our couch pillows between words. 

I ran and hid behind the kitchen counter, almost knocking over a glass cup. "You were joking!"

She chased after me, this time holding one of my slides. "You coulda died!" she yelled, throwing the shoe at me. I ducked and it hit the glass cup, shattering it to pieces. "Aw shit."

Momma walked over to the other side of the counter, she looked up at me with glossy eyes. 

Please don't cry. If she cries then I cry and Pop says real men don't cry.

She wrapped her skinny arms around my torso squeezing me tightly, my arms wrapped her shoulders, I rested my chin on the top of her head.

"Isaiah, you aren't allowed to go to any more parties, you hear me?" she decided, her voice cracking slightly.

"Okay." 

"I can't lose you," Momma said softly, her voice like honey. 

"I love you," I replied. 

She gave me a tight squeeze before letting go, quickly wiping her eyes. "Get outta here, go take care of Shareese while I clean myself up. I ain't about to let y'all see me cry." She waved me off. I gave her a gentle smile before leaving the kitchen.

Reese laid spread out on the couch, an ice pack on her head and a bag of peas on her ankle. She was still wearing her outfit from last night, her makeup was smeared and she was missing one of her nails. 

She let out a long groan. "Everything hurts." 

I laughed. "Well, maybe you shouldn't have jumped on bro's back. He slapped the shit outta you." I said sitting down next to her.

"Did you beat him up for me?" she asked, looking at the wrap on my hand.

"Just one punch, hurt like a bitch," I told her. 

Reese laid on my shoulder, she muttered a quiet 'thank you' while she played with my swollen knuckles. I didn't realize they were bleeding until I got home last night, momma was hysteric when she saw Reese laying in my arms with a bloody forehead. 

"Have you heard from Drake?" 

I sighed. I called him like twenty times last night and they all went straight to voicemail, same with his parents. "Nah, his phone is going straight to voicemail."

"Fuck," she swore. "If his bitch ass is dead I swear to–"

Her threat was interrupted by the doorbell ringing frantically.

"Isaiah if you don't go get that damn door!" Momma yelled from the kitchen.

"Isaiah if you don't go get that damn door." I mocked, getting up to answer it.

"Did you just mock me boy?" She yelled as I turned the knob.

"No!" I lied, the wooden door opening to reveal King, who was standing in the doorframe with a blunt between his teeth. 

*** 

"What the fuck were you thinking!" he fumed. "Punchin' a damn dog in the face? Tony was right when he said light skins were on some weird shit."

Maddogs lived around the Clawson area, which is nicknamed 'Dogtown', hence the name Maddogs. They weren't like the Hornets, instead of doing their deals on the down low the Dogs made it clear that they wanted to cause trouble. Starting fights, drive by's, robbing houses, all the gang shit you can think of. 

King always told me gangs were meant to create a family while still doing business. He says they support the people who got cheated by the system, unable to get jobs or go to college. They give people a home and protection from the streets. King always talks about how gangs like the Maddogs give the rest of them a bad rep. 

"How you just gonna come up in here and–"

"And you!" he cut me off, now directing his attention to Reese. "You dumb bitch, I fuckin' knew it had to be your crazy ass that jumped on that negros back like that." 

Reese's jaw dropped, she stood up from the couch and threw her hoops at me. "Nigga who the fuck are you calling a dumb bitch?" she barked. 

I never knew why, but Reese and King always some kinda beef between them. The first time I introduced her to my cousin they immediately got into a fight about some irrelevant shit like how big a girl's hoops should be. When Reese was twelve and King was fifteen, they actually fought each other, like full on throwing hands. 

Reese ended up winning. 

"You! You crazy bitch," King said. "I'm kinda glad that nigga hit you, maybe it'll knock some sense into your dumb ass." 

Shareese shot him a glare before she got up from the couch and threw her ice packs at me. I was prepared for them to fight but King and I were both caught off guard when she started looking around for something. She searched under the couch, in the kitchen, and she even went and looked outside.

"The fuck are you doing?" King asked confused.

She popped her head in from outside the front door. "I'm trying to look for who the fuck you think you're talking to cause it sure as hell can't be me, no sir." 

Reese and I laughed, King flipped us off and angrily sat down next to me, cursing under his breath as he played with one of his braids.

"Turn on the news." He ordered.

I complied, clicking the remote to change the channel. A woman was speaking in a serious tone, the bottom of the screen read: SHOTS BREAK OUT AT A HIGH SCHOOL PARTY, ONE DEAD, TWO INJURED. 

My heart dropped to my ass. I could only assume the worst about what happened, the news lady explained that they aren't releasing any information about the victims.

"Listen y'all, I don't know what's goin' on with yo friend, but y'all gotta watch your backs," King told. "Bobby ain't the kinda guy to mess with, and your boy started some shit he can't finish."

Reese sat on my lap, putting the ice pack back on her cut. "What kinda shit?" she questioned.

"I heard Drake's brother owes Bobby eight thousand dollars, don't ask me why cause I don't know. Probably some kinda deal they had," he explained.

Drake's brother got arrested last month, which means he never paid that dude his money, which means he's going after the next best thing to get his money, which is Drake. "Hugo's in jail, he can't pay Bobby back until he gets out," I mentioned.

King narrowed his eyes. "Do you think that nigga cares? He's 'bout to get his money one way or another, even if it means killin' someone along the way." 

Fuck.

"And you're dumbass clocked him in the face and your crazy ass hopped on his back," he pointed to me and then Reese. "Trust me bro, when my boss said my lil' cousin was involved in some gang shit I almost got arrested driving over here." 

I rubbed my hands with my face. "Fuck!" I yelled. "Reese this is your fault!"

She looked offended. "My fault? You punched him!"

"You started it!" 

"It don't matter who's fault it is! If your friends with Drake then you would be involved with it either way." King said stopping the argument. "The only thing y'all can do now is protect yourselves."

"What?" our heads snapped in his direction. 

"Let's go to my car."

***

"I think I just got secondhand high," Reese said, looking inside King's trunk. 

"I'll give you a gram for fifteen." He shrugged.

She laughed. "Like I would buy weed from you." 

"Your loss," King said, opening a large black bag, "You eighteen now right?" 

"Seventeen," I told him. "Reese is too, we got the same birthday."

King shrugged. "Close enough." 

He stepped back so we could see inside. The bag revealed two handguns, a bottle of pepper spray, a switchblade, and a whole lotta cash. King gave the pepper spray to Reese and picked up one of the guns. He turned on the safety before handing it to me. I stood there wide-eyed with it in my hands.

"King, I can't use this," I told him, my hands starting to shake. "Do you know what kinda shit happens with guns?" 

My cousin looked at me like it was obvious. "Well, yeah."

I gave it back to him. "I can't bring this into my house, you know my momma, she'll kill me." 

King rolled his eyes and lifted up my shirt, putting the cold metal in my sweats. "Isaiah, I can't let nothin' happen to you when I'm not here. I know you ain't about to go shoot somebody just because. Only use it if you have to." King's voice suddenly became serious.

"Where you gonna hide it so your momma don't find it?" Reese chimed in.

"You do your own laundry?" King asked. I nodded my head, I was trying to stay as still as possible so I wouldn't accidentally set it off. "Hide it in your underwear drawer. Put it in your back pocket when you go somewhere alone, alright?" 

I didn't have the balls to kill somebody, especially a gang member after money. I just wanted to go to my best friends party and have a good time, whenever I find Drake I'm kicking his ass. And what if I see Bobby on the streets? I don't know how to use a gun! I was running through all the different scenarios that could go wrong in my head, half of them ended up with somebody dead. 

King put his hand on my shoulder and looked me dead in the eyes. "I trust you. Don't fuck it up." 

I stayed silent, not knowing what to say. He made his way to the front of his car, we waved King goodbye as he pulled out of the driveway. Shareese went back inside to call her mom, letting her know that she was going to sleep over tonight. I sat on the concrete stairs of my home, pulling the gun from my pants and staring at it.

What did I just get myself into?

***

What's your opinion of Kingston?