I stood there watching her as she breathed heavily, eyes closed, mouth slightly parted. She opened her eyes catching eyes with me. "Thank you," she breathed out, anger apparent in her voice.

"Why are you here?" A question I felt like I'd already asked her one too many times. She looked at me with a look of bewilderment, "because I was hungry."

"So you come here?" This place was dead center in the middle of our community, the food was bomb but there were plenty of places she could have went that would have served her justice.

"This a place for all, not just Hispanics."

She had a mouth on her, I understood why Ramon jacked her up, he wasn't one to take back talk and side comments, he never took well to them and sometimes he went too far to prove a point.

I shook my head, "there are plenty of places to eat."

"I know" she said as she crossed her arms, "and this is one. The one that I chose, unbeknownst to me that your weak ass gang would be populating it. Otherwise I would have went elsewhere."

"Excuse me? You want to repeat that?" I dropped my arms getting closer to her, I towered over her, nothing but inches between us. I never took disrespect lightly, not when it came to me and mine.

She looked up at me, I watched her jaw tighten and the hint of fear in her eyes as she began replying, "you have some weak ass members in your crew. Wanting to harm someone who doesn't want to talk to them? That's some weak ass shit. And you all can't even check someone when they're wrong-"

I cut in, "don't talk shit like you know how shit run. I just saved your ass. " I couldn't stand someone who talked shit after you did them a favor.

She pointed back towards the restaurant "and all them other mothafuckas!? They sat back and watched the shit, all but one who still in the end didn't do shit to stop it."

"They called me!" I roared. "Matter of fact," I continued, "we talking way too much for my liking. Get the fuck on yo. In your fucking feelings, ain't got time for that shit." I began walking past her, making my way towards the door to go inside.

"In my fucking feelings?" she echoed. "Imagine if you had a fucking sister and my fucking people did that shit, you telling me she wouldn't have the right to be shook? The right to be fucking mad?" She started walking towards me as the waterworks were going to work in her eyes.

My sister automatically came to mind as she made the comment, that quickly flipping my perspective. "And the fact that I'm" she pointed to herself, "about to go home and deal with this shit by myself to calm the fuck down because I know if I mention it to anybody they'll be gunning for your asses, and I want this shit to stop. So yes, I'm in my fucking feelings and yes you're going to hear my mouth on how you need to better control your boys because I can guarantee it would never got that far with niggas who bang on my side."

By this point she was only about a foot away from me, veins popping out her head from how mad she was, tears steadily following from how violated she felt. I understood why she felt how she felt, but at the same time I felt like she was being dramatic as fuck. She made it seem like he successfully did what the fuck he wanted to do, or got damn near close to it. They were outside in a parking lot, not halfway in a car.

"I understand you upset," I started, "and I'm not going to take that away from you. But you not about to openly disrespect me and my set because of it. I stopped the shit and I will check him, which me controlling or not controlling them honestly ain't none of your fucking business."

Her leg was shaking as she stared up at me, I looked her up and down, my eyes lingering over her body and face. My first time truly realizing how beautiful she was, even in this state of distraught. Her skin the color of cocoa, her plump lips perfectly sized. Her ass and chest fitting her body perfectly, not too big, not too small. But there wasn't shit that could make me trust her.

She shook her head as she turned around walking to her car, "aye, excuse me!" Roberto came running out, "you want your food?" he asked as he held up the bag.

She turned back around looking at him, "hell yeah, all this bullshit I just dealt with." She started walking towards him as he made his way towards her handing her the food. She quickly grabbed it, making her way into her car. She started her car and drove off in record time.

"Shit, she is cute though." Robert beamed as he watched her car drive away. I shook my head as I made my way into the restaurant, ready to light Ramon's ass up for the bullshit he just pulled.

--

"Not, it was dumb as fuck, not smart at all." I argued with Ramon. I didn't want to make a scene in the restaurant so I had Ramon meet me at my place afterwards.

"Man, fuck out of here. She was getting smart, doing shit for giggles. I don't play that shit."

"Ramon, the world don't fucking revolve around you. You can't just react off of everything, and do what you want. We in a fucking war! Had that been any other girl it'd be they would be gunning for us right now. But since she on that 'I want peace' shit, that's the only thing that saved your ass. And that's if she really doesn't say anything!"

Ramon waved me off as he continued rolling up his blunt, "man, she probably is going to have them gunning for us and I don't give a fuck. I'm ready to bust. I ain't scared of no mothafuckas."

I shook my head, chuckling, but wasn't shit funny. He was really pissing me off. He was a selfish ass mothafucka, never thought about how things would truly play out in the end. Only cared about how he felt. "Okay, and when they raping your cousins or shooting up your moms crib don't act surprised."

He shrugged his shoulders, "shit, that's what happens in war."

I looked at him, astonished as fuck. It's like as the years went on he cared less and less. He could dig his own self in an early grave but I wasn't about to allow him to bring the rest of the mothafuckas down with him.

"You done?" he asked as he held a perfectly rolled blunt in his hand. He was only asking so that he could go smoke, I ain't smoke so I ain't allow for folks to light up in my house. I ain't touch any drugs since what happened with my mother, I know they say weed ain't really a gateway drug but I just don't fuck with the shit period. Anything that makes you feel like you ain't where you supposed to be or have you stuck I wasn't trying to fuck with.

"Yeah, be on your way."

"Bet." He got up, exiting my place as I took a seat on my couch. I took the TV off mute as the news played. I closed my eyes resting for a second.

"Another shooting took place today on Grandview Drive, authorities report that multiple shots were fired. There were three people injured but no one was killed."

I quickly opened my eyes upon hearing where it took place, my mom and sister lived over there. "What the fuck!" I screamed as I got up, panicking, looking for my phone. I ran over to it once I saw it on the counter, fifteen missed calls, seven texts messages. I started panicking more as I quickly found my sisters name and called her.

"Hello?" She answered on the first ring, sounding just fine.

I let out a deep breath, "where are you at?"

"I'm at my friend's, I just saw the news too. I'm fine."

"Where's ma?"

"I don't know, she's not answering her phone, but I'm pretty sure she's still at work."

"Stay where you at." I quickly hung up, calling my mother. Her phone just kept ringing until it went to voicemail. I called a couple more times just to get the same thing. I prayed that she was still at work, relieved that my sister was fine.

I went to my missed calls seeing that Roberto, Enriquez and a couple of others called. I called Roberto back first.

"Yo, did you see that shit on the news? Your folks good?"

I nodded my head as if he could physically see me, "yeah man, I did and my sister good, can't get in touch with my moms. But my sister said she should still be at work."

"Man, what the fuck. You think it had some shit to do with what Ramon did to that girl?"

"Shit," I thought about it for a second, she said she wouldn't say shit. But she ain't owe us no fucking loyalty. "Probably," I stated mad as fuck.

"We gotta bust back, you know if any of our boys were over there? They know some of us live over there so they probably went over there shooting in hopes of hitting one of us." I continued.

"Nahh, everybody good. But hell yeah we gotta bust back. Just say the fucking word. We ain't even hit back from when they shot at the court."

I stood there thinking for a moment, this was the week we were supposed to hit their courts anyway, but it was also known that a lot of the older men – the ones we were actually gunning for circulated the courts at night. "Tonight, tonight we on go."