Page 75 of Adonis Gates

“I think you and Apollo need some time apart, then you need to go in and talk to him.” I finally broke the silence. “And apologize to him for…”

“I ain’t apologizing to him for shit,” he spat, cutting me off. “Lil’ mothafucka too disrespectful for me.”

“He’s a fifteen-year-old boy, Adonis.”

“With a mouth on him like someone our age,” he argued. “I don’t give a fuck about all that hormonal, trying to figure himself out shit. That ain’t a pass for him to disrespect me and he damn sure ain’t gon’ be talking to you crazy.”

“I understand that, but did you have to bust his lip and nose?” I frowned. “You could have broken it or really hurt him.”

He scoffed. “Nigga’s lucky I didn’t. How he end up outside anyway, Jruelle? You was supposed to be watching him.”

“Excuse me?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Iwaswatching him, but I wasn’t aware that I had to physically sit in the room and do it, or that I wasn’t allowed to go to sleep.”

“How he know to get up with them niggas? I took his phone and he been suspended, so there was no way for him to talk to them.”

“Oh, shit,” I palmed my forehead.

“What?”

“He came in while the girls were here and asked for my iPad…”

“Jru…”

“He asked to call Breanna about their homework,” I argued and he sucked his teeth.

“Really Jruelle? When does this nigga ever give a fuck like that about his homework?”

“I-I don’t know.” I answered feeling horrible. I should have listened to Adonis and not given Apollo the iPad, but he’d been in that room all day with nothing. “I didn’t think it would lead up to this.”

“But it did,” he shook his head. “And now that I think about the shit, you didn’t even call me when the nigga was jammed up at the police station. Why?”

“He-I’d just woken up,” I shrugged. “And I was caught off guard by it. He was saying they wouldn’t let him leave unless a parent came. I should have called you, but…” my words trailed off because I didn’t want to admit that Apollo had asked me not to.

“But what?”

“I’m sorry, Adonis.” I dropped my head.

“But what, Jruelle?” he asked again.

“He asked me to come and not to call you.” I mumbled.

He chuckled humorlessly, dragging his hand down his face.

“Boy, y’all two are something else.”

“Adonis…”

“AP is achild, so I expect him to do stupid shit, but not you, Jru. I thought you had more sense that what you obviously do.” He shook his head.

“Excuse me?!” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You’re excused. Don’t act like I don’t got the right to feel the way I do right now, my nigga.”

“You have the right to be upset, yes, but you don’t have the right to be disrespectful in the process. I did you favor.”

“Yeah? I won’t ask you to do that shit no more.” He mumbled and started off toward the door.

“Adonis…”