Page 17 of Vaughn & Cori (D-Ville Projects #7)
Vaughn
You ain’t lost nothing yet, nigga.
Every time I think of the one line message sent with a video of me and Cori, I want to scream then go find the nigga responsible for the shit and let some off in his ass.
But I can’t do none of that right now, not without blowing my spot up to him and whoever else may care.
What makes things twice as hard is the fact that today’s the anniversary of Toya’s death and I can’t even spend the day with my son because I have to fix what Petey broke.
I fucked up. Because Petey’s such a clean freak, I never noticed any sign of him being here.
But once the video got leaked, I found small clues everywhere in the house, including the hidden cameras in the wall sockets.
I can’t help but shake my head at the thought.
The whole time I’ve been out looking for his ass, that nigga’s been right up under my nose watching me.
Instead of dwelling on the fact that he caught me slipping, I count backwards from ten while I finish stripping the paint off the front door and locks I plan to install.
I’ve already swept the house for anything else that shouldn’t be here.
The last thing to do is change the locks, but I’m trying to see something, so I’ve held off on doing that.
When night falls, I pack up and reach for my phone, forgetting I’d left the shit at Cori’s spot.
I’d actually left my truck there too and walked here because I’m tired of being the one watched.
Not only did Petey violate my shit multiple times, he’s now put the theory to test of what happens when a nigga tries me.
So now I have to sit and wait for him to make his move.
I don’t know why I’m waiting here, because after all the shit he’s done, no normal person would have the nerve to show back up, but tonight I have a hunch and experience that shows Petey ain’t normal.
It doesn’t take long for Petey to prove me right when I see his ass tiptoeing around back through the trail cameras I set up on my burner phone.
He scans the area, then peeps in the window before pulling out a key chained around his neck, trying the door and walks right in like he’s done this shit a thousand times.
And to think that the key he had once belonged to Toya is what turns my stomach.
This nigga got some nerve . I shake my head and blow out a breath, shutting the burner phone down.
Then I reach for the gun resting in my lap and wait. My body is tense and I don’t have time to do the counting shit as I watch the door open and close in the dark, then see the shadow of a man cross my path and go further into the house.
“You forget something, P?” I call out from the darkened corner behind the door and he spins around, shocked to see me sitting there.
So shocked it takes him a long moment to decide what to do before he takes off running back the way he came.
But I’m closer and faster, so it’s nothing for me to block his path and raise my gun to his head.
“Nah, nigga, go have a seat,” I say, nodding toward the main living area, not giving a damn if he can see it or not.
Tonight he’s going to have to use the light shining in from the windows and figure the shit out.
“Come on, V. This ain’t you, nigga.,” he says as he holds his hands up, backing toward the spot I have set up especially for him, and I can’t help but chuckle because this nigga thinks I’m soft.
“It’s not?” I ask, tilting my head in the dark with my gun still aimed in his direction. “There’s a lot of people looking for you, P. Unfortunately for them, you found me first.”
When he finally sits his ass down, I pull out the pre-rolled blunt, light the shit, and pass it to him as he looks at me with wide eyes, not knowing what to make of the offer.
“Take it,” I say, placing my gun on his temple with one hand and pushing the blunt into his hand with the other, laughing as he looks at it skeptically.
“Go ahead. It’s not laced,” I say, nudging my gun against his skin. “It’s not that good shit you used to though. Just the shittiest schwag I could find. I hope you choke on it, nigga.”
When he finally gives in and smokes the blunt, I can see the conflicting emotions cross his face.
Because on one hand he probably needs the shit right now, and on the other, he’s still confused as to why I’m giving it to him.
I used to wonder why he did the things he did, especially when I could use the insight to help Toya and Jay, but now I don’t give a damn. I just want to know one thing.
“What haven’t I lost yet?” I ask as I watch his eyes bounce around the room looking for a way out of this.
“I was just fucking with you, V, and I was high as…”
Before he can finish the lie, I bust him straight in his shit, knocking him backward in the chair and the blunt out of his hand. When he tries to pull himself up, I hit him again before leaning over him to ask the same question.
“What haven’t I lost yet?” I ask, picking up the burning blunt and tossing it in the trash can full of paint stripper soaked rags as I wait for his answer. This time he doesn’t bother to lie, he just gives me a bloody grin before spitting in my face.
“Fuck you, nigga,” he says, laughing and letting his head fall back, murmuring the words again… That’s when I snap.
The moment his head falls back in laughter, exposing his neck to me, it’s like an invitation.
So I accept the shit and choke his ass out.
I squeeze past his clawing at my hand with wide eyes and I refuse to let go.
Even when I notice the lick of flames starting to rise from the trash can.
When the light starts to leave his eyes, I think of Toya’s last night in the hospital and squeeze past the pain of watching her eyes do the exact same thing.
It’s like an out of body experience until I look at the growing flames and the smoke filling the room and realize it’s time for me to go as well.
I step back slowly from his body, then move a little faster to leave with everything I came with.
From the house, I take the forty minute walk to Cori’s spot on the other side of Brunswick Meadows, noting the time when I hear fire engines blare off in the distance.
It’s not as far a walk as it seemed this morning, especially with so much on my mind.
When I make it to her house, and key in the entry code to the door, I think about the house, Toya, and all the things I lost trying to save her.
When I think about my mom, Jay, and Cori, I know if a nigga thought I was ready to lose again they had me fucked up.