Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give, #0)(3)

“Y’all going to the party tonight?” Lisa ask.

Shawn throwing a house party like he always do at the end of summer.

“You already know Dre not going to no party,” Keisha says.

“Heck nah. We gon’ have all the fun. Ain’t that right, baby girl?” He kiss Andreanna’s cheek.

“Dag, man. It’s Friday night,” I say. “You can’t stay at home.”

Never mind, this Dre. He don’t go nowhere anymore. Having Andreanna changed him big-time. He stopped partying and hanging out. I think he’d stop being a King Lord if he could.

Ain’t no getting outta King Lords. Unless you wanna end up dead or damn near dead.

“I’m where I wanna be,” he says, smiling at Andreanna. He look at me. “You sure you going to the party?”

Dre know what’s going down today, the thing that might change my life. Problem is, Lisa don’t know. He bet’ not say nothing either.

“I’m sure,” I say.

Dre stare me down the way a big brother do a little brother who up to no good. It get on my nerves and make me feel like shit all at once.

I look at Lisa instead. “Nothing stopping us from going to the party. Gotta get one in before school start soon.”

Lisa drape her arms around my neck. “That’s right. Just think, a year from now we’ll be at college and going to all the parties.”

“Fa’sho.” The parties the main reason I’d go to college. If I go. I ain’t sure yet. “At tonight’s party? Everybody gon’ notice you when you walk in rocking this.”

I take the necklace outta my pocket. The pendant spell out “Maverick” in cursive. It’s made outta real gold with li’l diamonds along it. I got a dude in the mall to make it the other week.

“Oh my God!” Lisa gasp as she take it. “It’s beautiful.”

“Okay, Mav,” Keisha says. “I see you spending dough on your girl.”

“Hell yeah. You know how I do.”

“Them necklaces cost big money,” Dre says. “Where you get dough for that?”

Dre don’t know I sell more than weed with King, and I wanna keep it that way. It took a lot to convince him to let me sell weed in the first place. Even though Dre sling himself, he was on some “do as I say, not as I do” crap for the longest. I told him I wanted to help Ma out, and eventually he gave in. He only let me sell enough weed to pay a bill or two. If he find out what I got with King, he’ll have my ass.

“I did odd jobs around the hood like I always do,” I lie. “Saved up enough to get it.”

“Well, I love it,” Lisa says. She know what I do. She a real one for changing the subject. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, baby girl.” I kiss her again.

“Eww! Don’t be doing that in front of my baby.” Dre cover Andreanna’s eyes, making Keisha crack up. “Gon’ scar her for life.”

“If she ain’t scarred from looking at your face, she a’ight,” I say as a horn blare in the parking lot from a rusty Datsun.

One of the windows roll down, and this muscular, light-skinned dude call out, “Lisa! Let’s go!”

She roll her eyes with a groan. “Seriously?”

That’s her older brother, Carlos. He never liked me. First time I called Lisa, he interrogated me like he was the police. “How old are you? What school do you go to? What kinda grades do you get? Are you in a gang?” All kinds of stuff that wasn’t his business. When he met me, I was wearing gray and black, which proved I’m Kinging. Fool turned his nose up at me like I was a bug under his shoe. He home from college this summer, and I can’t wait for his ass to go back to school.

“What he doing here?” I ask.

“Momma asked him to take me school shopping,” Lisa says. “I have to get more of those ugly Saint Mary’s uniforms.”

“Ay, you be looking fine as hell in them plaid skirts.”

Lisa fight a smile, and that make me smile.

“Whatever, those skirts are still ugly.” She hop off the table. “I better go before Captain Nosy causes a scene.”

I laugh and take her hand. “C’mon. I’ll walk you over.”

She say bye to Keisha and Dre and cross the park with me. Carlos give me an evil eye the whole way over. Hater.

Me and Lisa stop beside the car. “I’ll come scoop you up at eight,” I say.

“See you at eight fifteen, then.” She smirks. “You’re never on time.”

“Nah, I’m gon’ be early tonight. I love you.”

First time I said that word to her, it tripped me out. I’d never told a girl I love her before, but I’d never had a Lisa before either.

“I love you too,” she says. “Stay safe, okay?”

“I ain’t going nowhere. You can’t get rid of me that easy.”

She smile and give me a quick peck. “I’m holding you to it.”

I open the passenger door for her. Carlos glare at me so damn hard. I flip him off when Lisa not looking.

“Why are you tripping?” Lisa asks, and I hear Carlos say something ’bout a “gangbanger park” as he pull off.

They only gone around a minute when an old Camry with a sunroof turn into the parking lot. Ma used to drive a Lexus. The Feds took it when they took Pops.