Page 45 of Welcome to the Table

Nobody knew about them because they only came out when they wanted to travel, but I told them they could never go back to the city, and they were cool with that.

I formed a bond with each of them and wouldn’t trade that shit for anything in the world.

They were rough around the edges at first, but after my extensive defense and gun training, they were an army by themselves.

It didn’t matter where I went, I knew they weren’t too far behind me.

When I moved, they moved, but in the background, and silently.

The only one who gave me issues was the nigga Blicky.

He didn’t listen at all and reminded me of Hellcat.

“Blackk?”

I heard him and focused on him. I had gone into my thoughts. I looked at him and smiled.

“What’s with all this cleaning shit? Do we need to clean our houses too?”

I hated that he was the only one who really paid attention to me. His brothers just went with the flow and minded their business. The one thing they didn’t know was about my OCD, and I would keep it that way. I didn’t need their little asses googling shit.

“Watch yo’ words, nigga. I needed to clean, and that’s what I’m doing. Go read yo’ ass a book or something, but I need to talk to y’all in a few, so keep yo’ phone on hand,” I told him as he handed me the bucket full of bleached water. He walked away, shaking his head.

Ignoring him, I got on my knees and began to scrub my driveway.

No blood was left, but her car was parked where I was scrubbing.

I knew it was mental, but I kept seeing the shit and had to rid myself of the sight, or I would lose it.

I scrubbed every inch of where her car was parked repeatedly until I made myself tired.

I used my hose pipe to spray the driveway until I felt the effects of the blunt that I smoked earlier kick in.

I knew I needed rest before this meeting because I didn’t know how the shit would go.

So, I needed all the energy that I could get.

I looked up and saw a silver G-Wagon coming from afar down the dirt road and knew I was in trouble.

Only a select few knew where I laid my head, and since I turned my phone off, I knew someone would come sniffing sooner or later.

I hurried to put my hose up and was glad the boys were in their homes so I wouldn’t have to explain who they were.

He was driving that wagon at least eighty miles an hour.

I saw the dust surrounding her car, so I knew she was pissed about me turning my shit off, but I had every right to.

They knew I wasn’t dead, and it had only been a few days, not weeks or months, since I talked to anyone.

I needed to process this meeting and make sure everything was in order and no stone was unturned.

Her car swerved as she put it in park, and it jerked forward. The driver’s side door opened before she could cut off the engine. Her body swung out of the car, and she slammed her door just as I started to walk toward her.

“Calliope motherfucking Black. Why the fuck is your phone off? Do you want me to flip this fucking dungeon upside down?” she spat as she walked her short ass toward me.

Athena was a short redbone and thought she ran everybody’s world.

I stood there with my hands folded, rocking from side to side, watching her hands fly in the air and her neck roll.

I wanted to laugh, but I knew she would pop the fuck out of me, and I couldn’t hit her back.

She had a mean left hook that I knew would knock me the fuck out if she swung it.

“I have spent days trying to figure out what the fuck happened when you left the house. Then, when your father left, nobody showed up, but I get it. Shit about to get hectic with the Colombia Point Dawgs, and we gon’ need all hands on deck, so I need you to get everything together on our end,” she told me.

I stopped rocking and stared at her.

“And why the fuck does it smell like bleach out here? What have yo’ ass been doing?” My mother looked behind me and saw the bucket and the other shit I had.

She threw her oversized Hermes bag over her shoulder. I had no doubt that she had a gun inside. She didn’t leave her house without her .45 somewhere on her body. I didn’t answer her. She looked at me with soft eyes, knowing why without me even telling her.

“When I came home that night, I found Klarity in her car with a gunshot to her head. I can’t get that shit out my mind.

I keep cleaning everything that reminds me of her.

I can’t take this shit. I scrubbed my house, and I came out here to scrub where her car was.

I need to get her scent out of my nose,” I told her, trying to see if she would give an inkling that she had something to do with it.

She looked just as shocked as I did the night I saw her.

“I said she was a snake, but fuck, I would have never killed her. I would have left that shit up to you. I knew you were in love with her, and that’s why I kept my hands and nose out of it. I just didn’t want the bitch in my house,” she told me honestly.

She came close and wrapped her arms around me. I bent down to her height and lay my head on her shoulder. I couldn’t be a monster with Athena. She brought out the soft side of me every time.

“Shit like this makes me hate Melph even more than I already fucking do,” she said, and I pulled away from her.

I never heard her speak like that when it came to that nigga.

“What you mean, Athena?” I asked with confusion all over my face.

“Oh, nothing. Just know a mother’s love is unconditional, and it will never leave you.” She kissed my cheek, and I slowly backed away, staring at her.

Athena was going through the motions of not having my father at home with her. It was on her. He was a bitch ass nigga to leave his wife and not say shit until the day before. That’s some shit I would never forgive him for when all this shit was over, but I wanted to talk to her about something.

“You ever thought that all this shit was a lie, and something bigger is happening?” I asked, and she looked at me.

“Like what, Calliope?” She folded her arms and switched her weight to the other side.

“Like Melph is doing this shit against his will. I don’t believe there is a snake in our family. I believe that Fanucci and his people are the snakes.”

I knew she was taking in everything I said. I stared her down, waiting for an answer.

“Don’t stare at me like that. Now, remember what I said about those mutts. They would try anything because they are protecting Melph, so keep yo’ eyes open and turn yo’ damn phone on. Do you even get a signal out here in the fucking woods?”

She brushed my words off, but my mind was trying to figure out what the fuck she was talking about.

“Stop overthinking. Everything good until it’s not, and then you know what you gotta do. Take that pit-bull off the leash.” That was her way of saying, let the monster in me roam free.

“What the fuck is Wisdom here for then? I thought that nigga came to town to take care of shit in Melph’s absence,” I told her, and she rolled her eyes to the sky.

“I don’t trust that nigga. I got eyes on him, too. The men stationed around the house work for me, not your father. Let me handle him. He ain’t gon’ last too long.” She chuckled like she knew some shit, but I didn’t respond.

“I need to get in touch with the other divisions of the Black Guerrilla family and make sure they are on point and know what’s going on as well.” I wasn’t ready for shit to get that real. Now wasn’t the time to bring those psychopaths back to the city. Leave their asses on ice for now.

“We can handle whatever for right now. They are always one phone call away, though. We got eyes everywhere. I just need to call Hellcat and make sure this nigga is still alive,” I told her, and she laughed.

“Oh, he and Hollygrove still breathing. They took Jaci shopping the other day, and she ran both of them crazy. You might need to speak with yo’ brother.”

I nodded my head in agreement.

“And trust me. The right woman who can handle your lifestyle will come along when you least expect it,” she told me, rubbing the side of my face before walking off to hop back in her vehicle. She sped off just as fast as she came.

I thought about what she said and knew it was a lie.

I wasn’t capable of love anymore. I couldn’t give my heart to another woman to break, or have to worry about a bitch using me for my money.

It was already hard for me to trust because of my family business, so I would fall into the gap and be single for a minute if I ever tried again.

After I watched her turn the corner, I jogged back to the house to get ready for this meeting.

I grabbed my phone and turned it on. The minute it came to life, all types of notifications started popping up.

Phone calls, text messages, and voicemails.

Hollygrove, Hellcat, and some other numbers that weren’t saved in my phone popped up.

Even Jaci called me a few times. I needed to take her out after this meeting because I hadn’t spent time with her since she had been back home.

I missed her, and she was the only one who would understand me.

Athena understood to a certain extent, but Jaci would understand me fully.

I decided to call Hellcat because this nigga had called and texted me over twenty times.

“Damn, nigga, you missing all the fucking action. I hope you plotting on some shit because we got some serious problems in yo’ fucking absence,” he yelled in my ear, and I wanted to hang up on his ass.

I grabbed my beard to calm my nerves as I ran up the steps. I already knew it was gon’ be some shit when it came to him.

“What’s the temperature, nigga?” I asked in code because we weren’t on my burner phone.