Page 3 of Welcome to the Table

I was angry. Hellcat knew I didn’t do hardcore drugs. Weed and a little drink were all I ever did. Disappointment ran through my veins as I continued to talk to him.

“Speak of the fucking devil, you talked this nigga up. Yo’ paw on my other line,” I told him and chuckled.

“Chime that nigga in. I wanna hear what he gotta say. Just in case that nigga got something to say about me,” Hellcat said.

I merged the calls, and Melph’s voice came booming in my ear.

“Calliope, where the fuck have you been!? I have been trying to reach you all night, and your mother is fucking worried. Nigga, how you turn yo’ fucking phone off and know we got business to discuss?

I see the fucking games you like to play when you in the fucking city, but that ain’t gon’ work for me.

” He tried to continue his rant, but I stopped him.

Hellcat must have muted his phone because I didn’t even hear that nigga breathing.

I pinched the bridge of my nose because I knew he was gon’ be on some bullshit when I did talk to him. I knew my duties as an underboss, and I took them very seriously.

“It doesn’t matter where the fuck I was. I didn’t die, and nothing is out of fucking place, so calm yo’ fucking voice.” I didn’t give a fuck that he was my father. You had to give respect to fucking get it. He grew silent, and I knew I had him. His breath hitched.

In and out.

Heavy and dragged.

He wanted to say more, but my mother had to be in close proximity, and he knew not to get too stupid when it came to talking to me reckless in front of her.

“Look, I was worried, son, and so was your mother. Hellcat wasn’t answering the phone either, so me and your mother were worried.” His voice went down a whole lot of notches, but I knew it was bullshit. Athena was worried, but not him. I knew my father like I knew myself.

We didn’t have the typical father-son relationship.

Well, we had it, but to a certain extent.

He didn’t really love out loud. He was proud if the pickups were on time, and if they weren’t, we had to kill someone.

That’s the shit he loved us for. Athena was a mom’s mom.

She loved on us out loud and behind closed doors, but don’t cross her because she was just as ruthless as we were.

Athena wouldn’t hesitate to put a nigga or bitch on their ass.

She loved us like a mother loves her sons.

She didn’t let the shit we did affect our relationship with each other.

Melph talked to me like I was that same little boy who shot that woman years ago, but I was a far cry from that.

I would push his shit back if shit got out of control.

I didn’t tolerate disrespect on any level, and he knew that.

“Nah, talk yo’ shit like you was when you first picked up the fucking phone. Don’t switch up now that Athena is close to yo’ ass.” Hellcat finally made his presence known.

The phone grew silent.

“This is how we conduct business now? Females cackling on three-way. What the fuck is going on? He been on the phone the entire time?” He asked question after question.

“Nigga, we ain’t bitches on the phone. Yo’ bitch ass just happened to call when I was talking to my big brother, and I told him don’t disconnect us, but to chime you in.

I can’t handle being on the phone with you alone.

Everything ain’t about fucking business.

We are regular fucking people who have regular conversations,” Hellcat yelled.

I hated the relationship they had, but that was on them. At the end of the day, the fucking day had to end, and I would always choose my fucking brother and mother.

“You think you so fucking smart and running around the fucking city like you ain’t got a care in the world.

We are elite, son, and all eyes are always on us, and I don’t think you realize that.

What happened last night should not have fucking happened.

” He was trying to lay the law down, but I knew Hellcat didn’t give one fuck about what he was saying.

“What if something worse had happened because of your dumb antics?” I knew Hellcat was about to cause hell.

“Whatever happened last night fucking happened, and nobody got hurt. I made sure of that, so stop underestimating me and my ability to protect my fucking brother. It happened, and everybody is okay. Nobody got killed, and I didn’t kill anybody, so what the fuck are we really talking about? ” Hellcat yelled.

I knew he was pissed, and shit was about to go left.

“I didn’t call for all that. I know there is a big second line that way today, and I want y’all to show them who the fucking Black Guerrilla Mafia is.

Pull out y’all nicest shit and stunt like y’all daddy.

Then, we have a meeting to discuss business.

I need y’all on time and dressed to impress.

It’s time to sit at the table and talk. Plus, your sister is coming home, and she needs to hear this also.

” When he mentioned Jaci, my antennas went up.

She was never brought to this side of our lives, so this shit had to be serious.

She was trained to defend herself, but not to the magnitude that we were.

“What you mean, Jaci is coming home? Why? She needs to stay in New York, where she’s safe.” I loved my city, but she was safer where she was.

Jaci was one of the three women in my life who held the keys to my heart.

I was her protector, and it broke a piece of my heart that I had to find this shit out over the phone.

This was typical Melph. He always dropped bombs at unexpected times.

If something happened to her, the streets would really witness the monster in me.

“You mean stunt like we always do.” Out of the entire conversation, that’s all Hellcat heard.

“Hellcat, did you not just hear Melph say that Jaci was coming home?” I hated when he had selective hearing.

“I heard what he said, but she’s probably already on her way, so what the fuck you want me to say?” he barked.

I was surprised that my sister was coming to the city because she had been gone since graduating from high school to avoid the street shit. Something had to be going on.

“We got it.”

I wanted to press him for a reason why Jaci was coming into town, but I didn’t feel like hearing this nigga’s mouth, and I had shit to do other than sit on the phone with them. I needed to get to Klarity because I knew she was losing her shit, not knowing where I was.

“Hold the fuck up. Why is Jaci coming to the city?”

I knew Hellcat was eventually gon’ process what Melph said. That nigga didn’t have no filter. If he wanted to know the answer to something, he was going to ask. I heard shuffling, and then Athena’s voice came through.

“Calliope, Jaci needs to come to the city. Don’t be upset. It was supposed to be a surprise because she wanted to come home, but Melph had to make it sound like something bad. She misses her brothers and wants to come to y’all.” Her soft voice calmed my enraged heart.

“You act like he's the only one on the phone,” Hellcat boomed.

“Boy, shut yo’ ass up. You and Jaci don’t have the best brother-sister relationship, so I didn’t think you cared.” Her voice changed.

“I love my sister, Ma. It’s your husband I don’t care too much for.”

I laughed. Hellcat didn’t have a filter at all when it came to Melph.

“That will be discussed in person and not over the phone wires.” With that, he disconnected the call.

“What you think this nigga wanna talk about?” Hellcat asked.

“I don’t know, and neither do I care, but I do know it is serious. This nigga always getting into some shit. I just hope it’s about him and not us. About this second line shit, you rolling?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

Hellcat lived for the attention the streets gave him.

Niggas bowed down to him, and bitches flocked to him like he was God.

I didn’t fuck with the attention like that because I was quiet.

They barely knew me in the streets. I heard they called me Monsta.

I ignored the shit. They didn’t know enough about me to even speak my name.

I kept a low profile for a reason. Hellcat got all the attention.

“Yeah, I gotta head to the house and check on some shit, tho. Get dressed and pick up my Spider. You know it’s been a while, so I really gotta put my shit on. Some shit the hood ain’t expecting,” I told him as I stood from my seat.

I threw on a pair of joggers and a white T and stepped into my Jordans.

I wanted to be comfortable because I didn’t know what the fuck Klarity would be like when I walked into the house.

Outside of my family, she was the only one who knew about the house.

Klarity owned my heart, and Hellcat thought I was stupid for fucking with her.

They didn’t have the best relationship, and my parents had never met her, only heard of her, but they would meet her at the meeting.

“Nigga, don’t bring sand to the beach. I’m about to get up with Banga and Hollygrove and tell them to pop they shit with us just in case niggas want to talk they shit. You know my Glock speaks for me, and I wanna have a good day before the bullshit,” he said and disconnected the call.

One thing he did say that was the truth; I was bringing sand to the beach, and that sand would be Klarity if she wanted to ride.