Page 9 of On Everything

Elijah continued staring out of the window.

I’m not dumb and Kairo been told me that Elijah and Emoney were supposedly robbing people now.

I’m sure that’s the reason their apartment is actually furnished with new furniture and a big ass tv in the living room.

They didn’t have any of this shit just a year ago, and I remember when they used to sleep on an air mattress that would be a pallet when they woke up.

“Bitch, Elijah told me that the Marlin Anthony Memorial Basketball tournament at Watson is supposed to be popping this year. How many teams you said are registered, Elijah?”

“Twenty-two. Me and the boys going to smoke all they asses though. We don’t give a fuck who they have coming.”

“So, do you want to go, friend? I think it will be fun to get you out the house there as your coming out party.”

“Well, as much as I appreciate your party invite, I was already going to the tournament because I have to work at it. The center is doing community outreach and asking for donations in the process. I will be out there with a tent selling shirts for $25 a pop.”

“Oh, damn. Well, good luck with that. I'm sure no one is buying a goofy ass shirt with stick figures holding hands over the sun.”

We all burst out laughing at Pernelle’s stupid ass. I knew she wasn’t lying, and I would be out there tomorrow for no reason at all. At least it was easy money that I didn’t have to make inside the center.

For the next few months, I'll take all the over time I can get.

I stayed over Pernelle’s place longer than I intended too and she and Emoney were leaning on each other sleeping now that Elijah was gone.

It was well past the 5:00 time that my apartment was supposed to be straightened up, and I was now anxious to see if anything had been done for me.

When I peeped out the window, I could see that the sun was almost set, and the darkness had started to cast over the buildings in the near distance.

I took a gulp of the lump in my throat and then stepped out of the door, telling myself I’m not the first woman to walk alone in the Bronx at night.

As much as my mama warned me about it, there were times she had no choice but to do this same thing herself.

When I made it to the corner of Pernelle’s building, I had the option of going to my building or visiting the bodega to grab something to eat tonight because I definitely wouldn’t be coming back out.

When I looked around, the block seemed pretty chill for right now, and when I spotted a patrol car roll by, I figured niggas wouldn’t be on no goofy shit with NYPD on the prowl.

I tugged at the bottom of my shorts and then walked to the right, going to the Bodega to get food.

When I walked inside, the doorbell jingled at the top of the door. The air in here was thick and greasy with a smell of worn-out incense in the air. I passed by the wall with all of the missing kids plastered on it first before my girl Silvia saw that it was me who had walked in.

“Ciara, how you been, girlfriend?”

She greeted me as I reached down to pet Santana, the cat they kept here to be lazy if not anything else. I’m not sure what Silvia and her husband named him, but to the hood, he was Santana. He was an overweight black cat who still wasn’t half the size of these rats running around here.

“Hey, Silvia. You good?”

I asked, still moving around the store.

“Yeah, I’m good. I haven’t had to kill any rats or beat nobody’s ass today, so I would say that today has been a good day. How are you? Why you pretty self out this late?”

“I’m coming from my homegirl’s spot.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Chopped cheese though, Papi.”

I told her husband, who manned the grill.

With the chopped cheese, I had a taste for a strawberry Fanta because they had the best sodas here.

The fridges in the back may hum loud as hell, but they keep these drinks way colder than any other bodega.

My mama always told me to never bring her a Dr. Pepper home from anywhere else when we lived in Castle Hill growing up.

Alot of the shit I do now as an adult, I saw her do growing up.

Shit, even be dumb over the wrong dudes.

I saw my mama put up with so much shit from men that I thought she was in a legally binding contract where she couldn’t leave them.

It would be men with nothing that she would take care of and move into our house when we barely had anything.

There were so many times a man would disrupt our lives by getting us kicked out, and one even burned down our unit that was in Castle Hill cooking crack.

Another part of the reason I put up with Kairo is because I compared the shit he did to what my mama went through and convinced myself back then that Kairo was just a normal man.

I know if I have a daughter I want to lead her by a good example.

So, thank God he never blessed me with a living child while married to Kairo.

Stepping to the back cooler in the store, I opened it and stood there for a hot minute just enjoying the breeze. Last night was probably the only time I felt good air in a minute because Ant’s AC in his unit blew ten times as cool as mine.

To be honest, Ant's apartment was a way better upgrade than mine in general. His bed was so soft, I felt like I was sinking into his mattress. Just thinking about the way his one bedroom apartment was set up had me wondering what Ant really does for a living. That and his visit from the notorious Hov had me side eyeing this whole personal trainer thing. Unless he is Hov’s personal trainer too, and if so, I would love to see those two work out.

The bell chimed at the front of the store, and I thought nothing of it until I heard yelling up front.

“Give me all your money! Give me your fucking money now!” My eyes went to the large circular mirror in the top corner that showed the reflection of the entire store. There were two black men in black hoodies and surgical masks over their faces with guns pointed over the register. Fuck, really.

“Hold on with yo’ broke ass!” I heard Silvia talking shit back to the robbers because this wasn’t the first time this store had been stuck up. Robberies were becoming more and more common in this area, but up until now, I’d never been caught in the middle of it.

I stood idle in the back of the store, hoping that they hurried up and got the fuck out of here. Who robs a deli? And especially one that is a staple in your hood? Everyone knows Silvia and Papi and to us they family. Down to the cat by the door that the hood gave a name.

“Give me everything you got! Empty the register and the safe! Hurry up! Put it in the bag!”

“Yeah, put it in the bag now!”

“Okay mutha fuckers. Give me time!”

They continued antagonizing them. The fact that Silvia and Papi weren't coming up off of the money easily, I knew how bad this could turn.

“I give you everything we got. Fuck out of here!” Silvia’s feisty attitude wasn’t funny right now because I needed her to give these dummies what they wanted. My legs were shaking like the city buses, and I could feel the sweat trickling further down my forehead every second that went by.

When I glanced to my left, the exit sign over a side door caught my attention.

I knew if I slid out of the back, I could run straight to my building from here.

I’m not trying to be caught in whatever crossfires they have because a shootout in this small ass store was definitely going to leave me leaking.

Fuck that, I’ve already been through too much shit.

I abruptly ran towards the door, causing commotion after knocking the end cap of chips down.

“Yo, get their ass. Who is that!”

I burst into the alley on the side of the building, running to the main street as quickly as I could. My heart was throbbing, feeling the presence of the man chasing me from behind. With every stride I took I felt like I needed to run faster.

“Help me! Help! Please help me!”

There were other people on the street, but no one jumped to my rescue.

They probably figured he was chasing me because of domestic violence, or I stole something from him.

This is New York, so civilians don’t get involved in other people's shit. You are taught at an early age to keep your head down and mind your business. There are people out here, but I’m pretty much alone.

“Slow down! Wait!”

The person yelled from behind me, and I was winded now and my heart was throbbing faster than my legs.

They were moving as fast as they could, yet I felt like I wasn’t running fast enough.

Looking back behind me, I saw that he was still on my trail but once I turned back around, it felt like I ran into a brick wall.

I instantly started to scream when I felt arms go around my body. It wasn’t until I finally looked up to his face that I stopped screaming when I saw that it was Hov I'd ran into.

“Calm down. Calm down! What you running from?”

“This boy robbing the Bodega up the street. I don’t know why he’s chasing me. I was just trying to get the fuck out of there!” I spoke in between my labored breaths.

“Alright, go inside your spot and lock the door. I’m about to check this shit out.”

Hov pulled his gun from his waistband and then walked off before he yelled at me.

“Hurry up and go inside! The fuck you just standing here for?”

His deep voice and the way he looked at me was a command that I didn’t think twice about taking. I ran back to my building and because the handle was broken, I got in easily.

I ran up to my floor, only stopping to breathe once I got to my door.

“Shit, shit.”

I fumbled with my keys in my pocket.

“Girl, what’s wrong with you?”

My neighbor Keisha asked as she herded her three kids past me in the hallway.

“Nothing, I'm fine.”

“Mm, okay then.”

My chest caved up and down until I was finally stable enough to put my key into the lock to go inside.

I turned the doorknob and then stepped inside the dark apartment feeling nothing but dread entering the place I hadn’t spent much time in since the murder.

It wasn’t until I flicked on the lights that I saw that my apartment was cleaned completely, and that wasn’t even the best part.

In the living room was a new couch, a new bigger t.v. up on the wall, and new end tables on both sides of my sofa. The wall was fixed and painted a nice cream color, and the wall behind my couch even had new artwork that didn’t look cheap whatsoever.

“Wow, is this for real?”

My heart started to beat just as fast as it did when I was running for my life just a few minutes ago. Why would Hov do all of this for me and what could I possibly do in return to pay him back?

He's completely transformed my apartment and doesn't even know me.