Talisha

Hearing about Hope had me feeling so bad for Vixen and the babies. The mother of his child was gone. Hope was such a mellow woman. She didn't deserve this,  dying so young.

But I couldn't get how this happened. I sat on the phone with Ace one day after class and talked to him about it.

"What do you think could've happened to her?"

"I don't know. It's so unexpected." His voice sounded slightly sarcastic, as if he didn't notice it in his own voice. But I didn't say anything. But then it wasn't just that.  Ace was oddly quiet on the other line. "Look,  Talisha, maybe you should get some studying in."

"But I wanna talk to you, Ace."

"I wanna talk to you too Talisha. But I have some things to take care of.  Keep me posted on Hope, aight?"

"Okay. Bye." I hung up.  Yeah,  that was weird. I didn't question it.  I didn't want to.

I got up and went to the kitchen of our dorm and looked in the fridge for my Mickey D's leftover.

"Mickey!" I yelled when I found it missing.

"Bitch,  what?!" She yelled from her room in the back.

"Bitch, you owe me some McDonalds for eating the rest of my McChicken!"

"Whatever! It was only half a sandwich, damn!"

"You took my milkshake too,  hoe?" I said,  looking up in the freezer too.

"I'll buy you your little milkshake and half sandwich if you so passionate about it, damn!"

I rolled my damned eyes and slammed the fridge shut. I walked over to the couch and played on my phone for an extra thirty minutes before receiving a text from Deonté.

DeDOG_: call me ASAP.

I ain't waist time dialing up his number. "Hello?"

"Talisha,"

"What?"

"Buddah got out on bail."

"What?"

"He had his camp make his 70k$ bail."

"When was he released?"

"I don't know. I do know that Lotto helped him out. But this means war. I knew this niggah had something up his sleeve."

I felt my skin crawling and my sense of safety fall apart. He couldn't just keep his ass in jail where he belonged? "Deonté, I'm shaking."

"Don't be.  You know I'll protect you, baby. Rather you're next door or the next state away. I'll make sure to keep you safe." I needed to be called that by him again. It really did give me some comfort. Just a little to respond.

"Okay."

"Just watch you talk to up there, you hear me?"

"I hear you."

"Aight. I gotta get to class, I'll call you later."

"Deonté,"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think this is all tied up to Hope?" The question was eating at me ever since he brought up Lotto's name.

"Man,  I don't know. Vixen knows what's up and he's waiting on the autopsy results." I caught my chest as tears came running down my eyes.  "Oh my Goodness."

"It's gonna be okay,  Talisha, you hear me? I didn't tell you for you to be worried like this. Just stay alert. We can't be fucking with anyone on Pit's side. Word around was that they trading people after Pit went. They were on Buddah's side the whole time." I cupped my mouth at the shock. This wasn't real. It could not be.

I hoped that this wasn't a huge plot. It wasn't a coincidence that everyone around here was suddenly getting killed. They almost took Deonté and that alone almost killed me.  Pit, Hope, then who? Vixen? Was he save with his kids there at his aunts? Something about it gave me an eerie feeling. God,  be with that boy and his family in DC.

Deonté

I got off the phone with Talisha, and my blood was still boiling. If only she knew all of what I knew about this,  it would send her in shock. I in fact knew that Hope's death had something to do with Buddah. Vixen was already hip to it,  too.

I knew Buddah was plotting. Some wild shit.  I knew this because he gave me a call himself just a few hours ago. His voice got more raspy, I noticed.  He told me that he had everything set, and that there was no where else to hide. He was threatening to take out everyone I knew and loved.

I called up Kendra right after to get some type of idea as to what was going on in his mind. She said she was sorry, but there was nothing she could do about him anymore. While he was in jail,  his mother passed away from natural causes, and they didn't allow him to attend her funeral. "Man, when I told him, he started wailing on the other end. Just for two minutes though. It was weird. He was crying one minute, and got silent the next. I asked him if he was still there, and that's when the phone went dead." She told me. "He didn't return my calls, letters, nothing. I wish I could help you out more,  D, I'm sorry. But I will do all I can in my power to make sure he doesn't hurt no one else."

"That's all I ask, Kendra. Thanks."

The next day, I drove out to Gilly's Guns with a wad of my savings. I brought two caliber handguns and a pocket pistol. I added in a few packs ammunition for each.  It came up to over 1.2k$.

I wrapped up the pocket pistol when I got back to my dorm and sent it out to Talisha's direct dorming address. I packed the caliber and sent it off to Vixen's place.

I wasn't fucking around this time. They caught me slipping a few years ago, I wasn't going down again. I texted them both to expect exactly what I sent them in the mail. It scared Talisha, but she knew what was going on and why I was sending that over to her. Vixen simply told me good look, and that he'll put it to good use when  he needed to.

*

A few days later, Debo found me watching TV in the dark of my dorm, while everyone hung around campus outside.

"You still going to that dorm party tonight, Deonté? Lashawnté said she'll be looking for you."

"Nah,  I'ma pass, Debo."

"You sure,  niggah? C'mon. You deserve it. You got through scrimmage training like a pro."

"I guess. But I'm not down for it right now."

Debo patted me on my back, "aight, brotha. Stay easy. The party starts in two hours," he said and neared my dorm door.  "If you change your mind, let me know. I'll call the squad and we'll walk down there together."

"Aight."

When he left me alone in the darkness of my room, I gathered my thoughts. I been stuck in my dorm too much lately, paranoid that this niggah had someone, anyone around here, pull some shit out their sleeve.

I brought my new strap everywhere. To class. To the bathroom. To damn lunch. I had all my relationships on lock. My niggahs was the closest people I could trust, and I didn't even trust them like I did. Buddah could have one of them watching me, for all a niggah knew.

I looked at all them differently. I watched anyone who looked at me long enough.

I was becoming a prisoner in my own college.

Vixen

"We received the report of her autopsy, sir. Hope was injected with a purely lethal substance. It was injected via a needle,  on her upper arm. See, the unusual thing about that,  is that it's unusual for a suicide attempt to be on the arm instead of the wrist. But, it's still a possibility."

"So what you saying?"

"I'm saying that she could have committed suicide, or that this was a quick and clean murder. I suggest you open a case on this, Mister. Because this is something unusual."

"Thanks,  Doc. I appreciate the news. Bye." I hung up.

"Daddy? Who was that?"

"Nobody, Faith. Go play."

"But I wanna play with you."

"Daddy's not in the mood, baby. Maybe later."

"Please Daddy? Just one game of checkers?"

Her mom liked playing checkers. I sighed but took her hand. "C'mon, let's play some checkers, Faith."

I couldn't say no to her. Despite this pain I was feeling inside, I had to keep strong for Faith. I picked Kofi up from his crib and sat him on my lap as Faith set up the board on my bed.

It was then that I heard loud banging coming from downstairs. I froze, and waited to see if it wasn't just the neighbors next door.

Bang! 

   Bang-Bang!

I kissed Kofi on the cheek before I sat him on the bed. "Da Da?" He uttered, along side some other noises. I grinned for a second, but was quickly knocked out my pinch of happiness when the banging.

"Faith, I'm about to take the trash out. Lock this door after I leave out, okay?"

She didn't ask questions, but abided. "Okay, Daddy."

I managed to slip the caliber from my nightstand before walking out the door. With the metal grasped tightly in my hand, I walked down the stairs like any other day and looked through the peephole.

The niggah's name left me as I watched the familiar face bang on my door. "What you want?" I called out.

"It's Ace. I come with peace."

Pit's nephew? Lotto's cousin? Oh fuck no. "Get the fuck out here for I blow your top off, young!"

"On my Uncle Pitbull that I ain't with the shits. I need to share knowledge with you, I'm trynna save lives."

I stood fearful for a split second. As if I wasn't trynna do the same for my fam? I unlocked the doors and opened up. I had my glot posted behind my back. "Speak."

"Buddah know where you live, and I heard you and your family next, bruh. You gotta get out here as soon as possible."

"And how do I know you not setting me up?" I asked from behind the door. I eyed him veraciously. He looked genuine in the eyes, but I couldn't be too sure. He pulled out his cell and showed me the text messages between him and Buddah. He was right.  Buddah was on his way here.

"Good look,  Bruh." And I slammed the door on him. Fear bolted through me and I scrambled to get the clothes together. I put the kids in the car and drove the second nearest hotel at the Marriott.

Deonté

The two hours passed by, and I still wasn't feeling that party. I heard the music crank up a few rooms down, and heard people walking passed the door in the hallway. Gladys was out there, too.

I sighed and rolled up to get my mind off my worries. As I did, there was a soft knock at my door. "Who is it?"

"Guess who." Said a familiar voice. I got up and looked through the peephole. It was Lashawnté, standing out there as people walked passed her.

I sighed softly and unlocked the door. She smiled and waved. "Hey, Deonté."

I didn't realize how tired I looked. "Hey, Lashawnté. What's up?"

"Just stopping by. You going to that party across the hall?"

I shook my head.

"Oh. Well,  are you busy right now?"

I shrugged, uninterested. "Nah, not really. You can come in for a little while and chill if you want."

I let her in and popped a squat back on the couch and finished rolling.

"Uh... why is it dark in here?"

"The light be hurting my eyes," I said as an excuse.

"Too bright, huh?" She said as she sat beside me.  She spotted the blunt I had rolled and looked at me funny. "You smoke?"

"Yeah,  do you?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"You want  to for the first time?" I managed to grin.

"Nah, I'm good," She giggled. "I just wanna talk to you."

I smiled. "You must really like me, huh?"

She looked caught off guard. "Me? Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah," Iaughed. "It's aight though. You cool peoples. But I gotta girl." I informed her. She looked a little crushed at my words. "Oh? I'm so sorry."

"It's cool, it's cool. Don't trip." When reaching for my lighter, my gun slipped out my sweatpants and made a huge thump on the floor. Lashawnté jumped. "What was that?"

"Nothing... I dropped something..." I reached for the gun and tried  to quickly retreat it back in my pocket, but the girl started hollering. "Deonté, what the hell!"

"Sh, sh, calm down, girl."

She screamed and got to her feet. "What are you trying to do?!"

"What? Nothing?"

She  neared the door and tried unlocking it,  like she was stuck  in a room full of monsters. "Lashawnté, I wasn't bouta shoot you-"

"I'm reporting this to the dean!" She screamed before she ran out. I sat back, trying to piece together what the hell just happened here. What the fuck?

I sighed, but I ain't care. I sat the caliber on the coffee table in front of me. I collided the lighter to my blunt and inhaled. She'd calm her ass down once I explained it to her, but shit. Shawty is too much of a good girl for me. She didn't smoke, and she acting like seeing a gun with her own eyes was her death wish.

That alone just made me miss Talisha more. Getting ass wasn't nearly as drastic as not seeing her again. I picked up the phone and dialed her phone number. It was going on ten o'clock. Hoping she'd answer, she did at the last ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey,  baby."

After that, the conversation went on and on like normal. I told her constantly about how much I missed her,  and that me, Vixen and the kids was gonna come up there to New York to see her.

It was going on twelve, and I got an incoming call from V.

"Hold up, I'm about to add Vixen to the conversation." I added his call on three way, and that's when he just came out with it.

He was checked into the Marriott with the kids and said Buddah was plotting on his house.

"What?!" I roared and rose from the couch. "How you know?"

"Niggah Ace spilled the beans. He knows what's going on from the inside out."

"He do? "

Talisha

"He do? "

I was shocked at the name that was brought up. Ace knew some shit on this? I got quiet on my end as Vixen explained how Ace showed him the texts. I couldn't believe it, but then I could.

If it wasn't for our friendship, Ace prolly wouldn't have ratted out Buddah' plans. I was so grateful he did. Vixen said he was gonna need to move asap.

"Move here in Florida. Apply for FU." Deonté said. "That way we stay together. I can't sleep worrying about you there, Vixen. I just can't, brah. Move here."

"I will. I'll book a flight tomorrow."

"Cool. Because that niggah has my nerves on edge, for real."

"I thought I was the only one!" I spoke, wanting to cry.

"Shit,  me too. Imagine having to worry about two innocent kids under your wing." Vixen sighed.

I loved them. I didn't want anything happening to them, and Vixen was at high risk. Buddah was moving fast, and once we all cleared from the area, I would feel at some type of ease.

*

The next morning was bad. I didn't get any sleep at all. None of us did. Me, Deonté and Vixen simply stayed up all night talking. Talking about how to get safer. We even fell asleep on the phone. Deonté was the first to drop at 4. I stayed up a little later, being tired as fuck but still not able to sleep because Mickey was next door fucking her boyfriend. She was too damned loud for me to fall asleep.

Vixen had to stay up a little later until Faith and Kofi were sound asleep on the hotel beds, and he fed the need to watch them while they slept for another two hours,  just to calm his own paranoia.

I went out at 5, and that's all I really remembered after that. I got a phone call from an old friend of mine. Jazzy! I missed my twin. It had been a while since we spoke. The last time that I talked to her was at the prayer for D over a year ago.

"Hello, Jazzy?" I said excitedly.

"You bitch!" And the line went dead. What the fuck? Too shocked to call back, I ignored it for now and got ready for class.

There was soo much weird shit popping off, that I began to get numb to it all.

To be continued...

Thoughts?