Page 97 of Search My Soul (Taylor Family Saga #3)

“Yo, yo!” I roared as I sauntered up the driveway of Mama Lynnette’s house.

Today, she was throwing Pooh a party to celebrate him being drafted to the Philadelphia Pagers, so I had to come by and show my love.

Pure and I went to the NFL Draft and the pride in my heart was overwhelming.

My boy had really made it. Training camp would be starting in a few months, but he still needed to finish out the semester.

Ever since the situation happened with his girlfriend’s ex, I had been leery about him being home.

I wasn’t the type of nigga to fear anything, but something in my gut told me that the situation wouldn’t just go away.

Her ex hung with some rowdy ass niggas with a reputation.

I hit up a few of my youngins to put their ears to the streets to see what they were talking about.

They hadn’t said much, but I still wanted to make sure.

Now that he was leaving for a while, I would be able to have some peace of mind.

“I appreciate it, fam. Thank you for coming to the ceremony. I didn’t think you would be able to make it,” Pooh replied, standing up to hug me. He was surrounded by a few other young men. From their bloodshot eyes, I could tell they had been out here smoking.

“You already know I wasn’t gonna miss it.

Congratulations, youngin. These are for you.

Patience, Lovely, and Adore all got gifts and cards with money in them.

Pure and Dreamier sent some money, too, so I went ahead and made out one big check.

It’s a lot of money so make sure you take your ass to the bank and deposit it,” I advised.

His eyes grew wide with excitement, but he tried to keep it cool in front of his friends.

“I’ll go first thing in the morning. You know I’m headed back to school on Monday, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Mama Lynn has been calling me almost every other day.” A grin spread across his face, but he simply nodded his head.

“I’m so proud of you, man. You did everything you promised, and now you’re about to head to the NFL.

You’re the first person in your family to make it to college and now you’re about to become a professional athlete.

You’re not only representing for yourself, but all of us who didn’t make it this far.

I’m telling you, if you keep your head up and focus, the world is yours. ”

“Damn, you sound like a fan,” Pooh joked, causing his homeboys to laugh. I forgot that at his age they still cared about what others thought.

“You’re damn right I am. You’ve got so much talent, man.

Your brother and I used to plan our futures out down to the type of houses we would have.

He didn’t have a chance to live out his dreams. Hell, neither did I.

I want more for you though. You have the chance to do everything we couldn’t do.

Don’t mess this up.” I noticed the shift in his energy, so I turned to face him.

“What is it? I ain’t stupid, so I can tell you’re holding something in.

You might as well tell me because if not, I’m gonna find out on my own.

You don’t want that,” I warned. Pooh was like my little brother, so he knew I would do anything for him.

The only reason I was so hard on him was because I knew he had the potential to be something great, and I didn’t want him to get distracted.

“Now, Soul, I know damn well you didn’t come to my house and not give me a hug or anything. Boy, what’s wrong with you?” Mama Lynn shouted from the screen door. I dropped my head in shame because she was right. I was raised with better manners than that.

“I’m sorry, mama. I saw this fool out here and got to chopping it up with him. Please forgive me.” I jogged over to her, placing a kiss on her cheek.

“This conversation ain’t over, kid! I love you!” I pointed to Pooh, letting him know I wanted an answer when I came back.

“I love you too, bro. I got you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on in here so you can get yourself a plate. I made your favorite dessert too.”

“Caramel cake? Ahh, shoot. Today is getting better and better.” I rubbed my hands together as she led the way to the kitchen. I greeted the family members who were familiar to me. I’ve known them for so long, they were all like extended family to me.

“Hey, Soul!” I heard the moment I stepped into the kitchen.

“What’s up, stranger?” I opened my arms for Niqua, Pooh’s older sister. She moved out of state a long time ago, so I hadn’t seen her in a while.

“Nothing much. I was hoping I would get to see you before I left. Oh, this is my girlfriend, Tatum.” She stepped to the side and introduced me to her girlfriend.

She was a pretty, petite brown skinned beauty.

Niqua was a pretty, light-skinned woman with big curly hair, but she dressed in men’s clothes.

Her swag was better than most of the niggas in the neighborhood, and she used to always have the latest sneakers as soon as they dropped.

“How are you doing?” I kept it short and simple because I wasn’t the friendly type.

Plus, her girlfriend looked me up and down like she wanted to eat my dick right where I stood.

Niqua and I talked for a while as Mama Lynn asked me what I wanted.

I told her to give me some of everything.

I hadn’t had much of an appetite lately and I was making up for it now.

“All right, baby. I put some extra cake in there for you and some cornbread.” Mama Lynn passed me my plates that were inside of a plastic bag.

“Thank you. You don’t know how much I appreciate this. I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in a few weeks.”

“No, thank you. You have been a part of our family for a long time, and I consider you to be another son. Thank you for showing up for Pooh over the years. He needed a male figure in his life, and you’ve been there every step of the way.

I can’t believe my baby is going to play pro ball.

He’s been talking about this since he was knee high to a duck, and now it’s really happening.

” She began to tear up, but I understood her emotions.

“No thanks needed. I made a promise to my best friend, and we don’t break our promises. Plus, I love Pooh’s hardheaded tail. Boys from our neighborhood have a lot of obstacles against them, but a lot of them are good kids who just need an opportunity to shine.”

“You’re absolutely right. I was telling Nicholas the same thing the other night. He doesn’t even realize the blessings he’s about to step into. The world is at his fingertips. All I can do is?—”

Skrrrrr! Bow! Bow! Bow!

Everything happened so fast, I barely had enough time to react.

Gunshots rang out from the front yard. Screams of fear and panic sounded off throughout the house.

Meanwhile, the only thing on my mind was Pooh.

Those shots sounded too close for comfort, and that familiar sinking feeling in my gut returned.

Everyone else had dropped to the ground while I raced out of the front door with my gun drawn.

I had no idea what I was walking into, but in that moment, I couldn’t let that deter me.

“No! No! Please!”

“Oh my God!”

I heard various voices screaming, but my eyes zeroed in on the black Tahoe speeding down the street.

There were so many people in the front yard, but I noticed three bodies on the ground.

My heart knew before my brain could process the sight before me.

Pooh lay there on the ground, covered in a pool of blood.

All of this happened in a matter of minutes, but time seemed to be moving in slow motion as I raced over to him.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, but I couldn’t focus on anything else.

“Pooh!” I roared, pushing everyone out of the way to get to him.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I checked for the entry of the bullets.

His girlfriend Jayla wailed on the other side of him as I removed my shirt.

From what I could see, there were two or three bullets.

The one in his chest was pouring out blood like running water.

Using my shirt, I pressed it into his wounds.

“Don’t you fucking die on me! You hear me?” I shouted, applying pressure to the wounds as best as I could. His eyes were locked on mine as he choked on his own blood.

“Nicholas! Oh my baby! What happened to my baby?” Mama Lynnette screamed as she finally made her way outside. She raced over to where we were, taking Jayla’s place. She fell to her knees, alternating between praying, telling him she loved him, and begging him not to leave her.

“Don’t try to talk. The ambulance is on its way.

Hold on for me, bro. Keep your eyes open, okay?

” His bloody hand reached up to touch my arm as tears dripped from his eyes down the side of his face.

His body began to convulse as the ambulance pulled in front of the house.

The EMTs jumped out and immediately began to assess the victims. When I glanced back over to Pooh’s face, I lost my damn mind.

His eyes were wide open, but there was no longer any life in them.

The voices around me became muffled, and everything seemed like a bad dream. Mama Lynnette cradled his head in her lap as she let out a blood-curdling scream that tore my already damaged heart to shreds. Leaning down, I hugged my little brother for what I knew would be the last time.

“Baby, please! Don’t leave me! You promised me. Pooh, please. I can’t do this without you. Please . Please!” Jayla screamed hysterically as her friends tried to pull her up from the ground. She fought them until she no longer had any energy left. They wrapped her up in their arms as she sobbed.

“I love you, man. I’m so fucking sorry.” I never cried in public, but in that moment, I lost myself. God must have really wanted to punish me because there was no way this was the way things were supposed to end.