Page 7 of June: When Gangstas Collide

I rolled over in bed, expecting my hands to rub Z’s precious belly, but her side of the bed was empty. I rolled over to glance at my clock. It was three minutes to six. Usually around six a.m., Zaria would wake me up because the baby was moving. It was something I enjoyed, and the fact that her ass wasn’t in bed let me know she was still upset.

I shot up because if she thought I was going to miss this moment, she had me fucked up. I didn’t even bother to throw on clothes as I hauled ass out of the bedroom in my boxer briefs. The sounds of her oohing and ahhing scared the fuck out of me. I rushed to the stairs and fucked around and missed a step, causing me to tumble down, “Goddamn! Fuck!”

I shouted.

Zaria’s laugh made me look up.

“Ain’t shit funny,”

I grumbled as I tried getting up.

I hadn’t heard her laugh that hard since the trip here. Her genuine giggle made me feel like we were starting anew from yesterday.

“I thought something was wrong,”

I told her.

“Yeah, he was kicking—”

“You mean she was kicking,”

I corrected her.

Zaria rolled her eyes as she walked back toward the living room.

“The baby was kicking, but this time it felt different. Probably in their acting a fool like their daddy,”

she hissed.

We had decided that we didn’t want to know the baby's gender until the baby was born. Zaria swore we were having a boy, but I knew we were having a girl. I still stood firm on not having a hard-headed ass boy. I didn’t want to go through the motions of trying to teach a little nigga how to be a king. At least with a girl, all I had to do was beat up every boyfriend she had while she sat pretty. It’s possible I was afraid of creating a monster. I was scared of having someone like me who would become worse than I am.

The thought of a tyrant, Clark, came to mind. I opened the front door and stepped outside and down the driveway. I wanted to see if anyone was at Grace’s house when I saw Preach taking off up the street on his bike. My eyes landed on an older lady strolling by with her dog. She stopped mid-walk and stared at me.

“Fuck you looking at?”

Her eyes traveled down my chest. That’s when I realized I was outside in just my drawers.

“Nah, sweetheart, this vegan dick is taken,”

I said, and I placed my hand over my dick and walked back toward the house.

I jogged up to the door and tried to open it, but I found that it was locked.

“Z, open the door!”

I shouted.

Her agitated voice came in on the door camera we had outside, “No.”

I dropped my head, then raised only my eyes to look into the camera.

“Fuck you mean no. Zaria Calloway, stop fuckin playing.”

“Who said I was playing. Tell me why the Caprice looks like that?”

I glanced over at my car and remembered the shootout and how Bishop side swiped it. “Shit!”

“That’s right, shit! Figure out how to get in because this door will stay fucking locked.”

I banged on the door a few more times, but she still wouldn’t unlock it. I don’t know what type of games Z was playing, but I wasn’t for the shit. I rushed to the side of the house and glanced at the very tree that little nigga Keith had been scaling a few weeks ago. “Fuck!”

Zaria had a nigga climbing up a fucking tree just to get into his crib. When I finally made it to the top, I glanced over to see Dio and Samara fucking on his balcony.

“Little nigga! Get yo, ah shit!”

My feet slipped, causing me to lose my balance and fall backwards, hitting the ground. I quickly got irritated. When I gathered myself, I stormed back to the front door, and without hesitation, my fist went through the glass. I stuck my hand inside and opened the door.

“June, what the fuck!”

“Z don’t even. It’ll be paid for. That’s the price you pay for fucking with me,”

I spat as I went up the stairs.

The morning was starting off shitty as fuck, and if it didn’t get better, I was going to lose my shit.

A part of me wanted to kick this muhfuckin door in, but I decided against it and rang the doorbell. It took no time for someone to answer. When she saw me standing there, she turned up her nose.

“What crawled up your ass?” I asked.

“What do you want? Look, just because you decided to move down the street doesn’t mean you can just come over here whenever you want.”

I stepped forward as she stepped backward.

“Tania? Right?”

I asked.

“Let me tell you something about me, your brother. Just as much as you don’t want to be related to me, I don’t want to be related to you. Your attitude smells like shit, and I thank God I didn’t have to grow up with it. I will come up in this muhfucka as many times as I please, whether you like it or not, because Grace wasn’t just your mother, she was ours. Do you know what that means? Didn’t think so,”

I said as I stepped inside.

“Clark!”

Indigo said, coming down the steps.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“It’s June.”

She came around and stood next to Tania. I stared at them both. It’s crazy how, although they were identical, they looked like me. A nigga really had siblings.

“I’m looking for Clark,”

I grumbled.

Indigo burst into laughter out of nowhere. Tania and I both glanced at her like she was crazy.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Tania asked.

I shook my head.

“I just need to know where I can find y’all’s grandfather.”

Tania smirked.

“You mean our grandfather. He’s at TSU, he’s the dean.”

I nodded slowly.

“Bet, oh, and Indigo, better kiss your nigga one last time, ‘cause I’m going to kill him,”

I finished and walked out the door.

Now that I know Clark is the dean, I wondered if he was the reason Samara didn’t get accepted, and if that was true, that nigga was going to pay. I picked up my phone to call her.

“Hey, Chevy,”

she answered.

“Don’t hey Chevy me. First off, you’re going to get Dio fucked up. Second, I need you to reapply for TSU.”

I could hear her sigh, “I got rejected and I’m—”

“Samara, do what I asked. You came to Toussaint for a fresh start, right?”

“Yes.”

“Ok then. Do you trust me?”

There was a brief pause. “Hello!”

I called out.

“Yes, Chevy, I trust you.”

“Ok then. Reapply. You are my fresh start, and I’m yours. I got you.”

“Love you, Chevy,”

I heard her say.

I didn’t know how to respond. Love? If Samara only knew she wouldn’t be able to love a monster like me. I had always been a person who made sure people were good, and she was no exception. Seeing how she was living before she arrived here made me want to see her win, and that was by any means. However, to extend that type of love, I didn’t know how I felt. I cared about her, I did, but love seemed far-fetched.

Did I have the capacity to love Samara like a parent? Yes. Have I? No.

The sound of her giggling brought my attention back to the phone.

“You don’t have to say it back. Just know I love you, Dad.”

She giggled again before hanging up.

I didn’t know what the fuck was happening, whether this was a part of my second chance or if this was the beginning of the end, because her calling me dad made me feel soft.