Ashanti Renèe Robinson, NY 📍

"Talk to us." Jay told me as we sat in the living room.

"I think we were at the right place at the right time. Not for our benefit but for theirs."

"Who's?" Demarcus asked.

"OP." As soon as I said that they paid more attention to what I was sayin.

"Think about it w-"

"Ah shit." Jay said cutting me off.

"What?" I asked him.

"Everytime you say that you finna start spittin. Go head ma i'm listenin." I smiled and continued to talk.

"The dude you killed today was the same dude that seen us in the mall the first time we went. The same nigga you threatened." They nodded.

"Doesn't that seem odd? That out of any day of the week or any other mall in the area he was in the exact same mall as us at the exact same time. We first seen him at the food court. He was posted up like he was waiting for us. He approached us on some aggressive type shit. Grabbin me. So not only did he know we were there but he knew we came alone. Cause we all know damn well that if he knew ya was there with us he would've never stepped to me."

"So you think it was planned?" Demarcus asked me.

"Yea. It had to be. It was a target hit. There were hundreds of people in that mall. Why was Jo'nae the only one hit? And she was only hit because she was blocking me. So that would've been me. Jo'nae wasn't the one that was supposed to get hit." When I said that Jay's facial expression changed he had fire in his eyes.

"Relax Jay. She's safe now." Demarcus said putting his hand on his shoulder. He noticed to. "Tell me whatchu think went down."

"OP is mad about something. I don't know what it is but they are."

"We don't fuck with nobody from OP." Demarcus told me.

I automatically thought of the one bitch that fuck wit that used to fuck wit us but fw them now. I guess the guys did too because they locked eyes with me.

"Rachel." We all said in sync.

I open my phone and scrolled Instagram to find Rachel's page. Once I did I tried to see if there was any pictures of her and the dude.

"They don't have any pictures together." I told Jay

"Check Nicole's page." He told me.

"I don't have her Instagram."

"Check Jo'nae's page I'm pretty sure she still follows them."

I went on her page and went to her followers and she was still following both Nicole and Rachel. I clicked on her page and scrolled through her photos. I found a picture of her and the dude. I looked at the caption and it says "blood brother 4 lyfe." I scrolled some more and I found a family picture taken on Thanksgiving. She was there and so was he. The photo was captioned "From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving." I looked up at Jay and he looked down at me.

"What's wrong?" He asked me.

"The guy you shot today, the dude you killed was Nicole's brother."

"That makes more sense."

"Whatchu mean?" I asked him.

"She was that person that anonymously texted your phone when we was on the plane back home from Florida."

"How you know?"

"Cause, she said that she was gon get someone for you. A while later you guys get shot at, at the mall by her brother that is in a gang that just so happen to be our rivals. It makes since baby. Think."

I did think. He's right when we were in the airport she was staring me down like she was crazy. But how did she get my number though.

"Don't worry about it ma. Imma handle that you jus sit here and look pretty ight?" He kissed my forehead and went upstairs.

I leaned back in the couch and continued scrolling through Instagram. The same girl Jo'nae had showed me a picture of was in my recommended. I clicked on her page and scrolled through the pictures. One of them caught my eye. It was a picture of her, Nicole, and Rachel together at the club. Jay's club. With the caption. "Me n my bitchessssss👯‍♀️"

"Demarcus." I said looking up at him.

"Yea wassup."

"Ain't this that Laura girl you cheated on Jo'nae with."

"Please don't say that."

"Okay so what was it an entanglement?"

"Oh you got jokes? It wasn't supposed to happen I was drunk." He told me. "Anyways what is that you wanted?" He took my phone and looked at the picture and the date. It was the same date she walked up to him. The same date that fucked up his life. He silently gave me back my phone.

"Thank you." He said getting up.

"Whatchu you gon do?"

"I gotta handle something." He walked away towards his room.

I got up and went upstairs to Jay's room. He was sitting on his old bed looking outside. I stood at the door silently just watching him. I love this boy for real. I admire everything he does whether it's killing a mothafucker or simply tying his shoes.

I watched him as he looked out the window. He started to rub his hands down his face and let out a deep breathe. He was stressing. I walked in and sat beside him on the bed.

"What's wrong babe?" I asked him. He didn't answer me. He just started crying in his hands. I got up and stood in front of him.

"Why you cryin Jay Jay?" I asked him rubbing his back. He lifted his head up. The tears in his eyes broke me. I've never seen him cry before. I mean I did when he saw the baby in the ultrasound machine but not like this. This was a different cry this was a pain cry. He's one of the strongest people I know. Seeing him cry made me realize how serious this situation is. Not that I didn't already know that.

"I-It could've been you. I wouldn't know how I could deal with myself if it was. You're a strong woman. And I love and appreciate you don't forget that." I wiped his tears with my hand and kissed his lips.

"I love you more." I said pulling on his braids. He hugged me wrapping his arms around my body and resting his head on the baby bump. He gave her some kisses too. I felt a little kick. I can tell she already gon be a daddy's girl.

"I wanna sleep in Jo'naes bed tonight." I said as he pulled away.

"You do?"

"Yea. Is that weird?"

"No. You miss your bestfriend. You slept in my bed when I was locked up cuz you missed me. It's normal."

I smiled at him and we left the room. Once we got downstairs we passed Demarcus room and went into Jo'naes. It smelt like her and it was full of her vibe. The energy she gave off. I instantly smiled as I laid on her bed. I didn't want to get under her blankets because I didn't want my scent to rub into hers. We brought a blanket to throw over us. I laid my head on Jay's arm as he cuddled behind me. He held the baby and I as we fell asleep.