Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give, #0)(61)

Because he got no room to judge me. “How was school today?”

“Wow, avoiding the subject, are we? Okay, cool. I’ll let you slide. School was fine. I found out I aced my calculus exam last week. Bam!”

“Ooohwee! That girl killing it!” We bump fists.

“That’s what I do.” Lisa unwrap a Blow Pop. She addicted to them. “How was your day off? With your lucky public-school ass.”

I laugh. “It was a’ight. I caught up on some sleep. You know me, I’m always tired. Then I visited Dre for a while. You and Connor hung out all day?” Hell yeah, I’m back on that.

Lisa smirk as she take her headphones and her Discman from her backpack. She wear them headphones around school to block out the gossip and whispers. Pregnant girls catch it bad.

“I’m gonna listen to some music and rest my eyes,” she says. “Let me know when the bus is here.”

Lisa slide her headphones over her ears. She never answer my question.

This Lisa and Connor shit really bugging me.

I swear, I’m doing everything I should to get her back. Like when we get to the Garden, I buy her a rib plate at Reuben’s since that’s what she craving. I check on her daily, walk her home from school, give her money, buy stuff to help her with all the aches and discomfort pregnancy bring. I’m being a good-ass boyfriend without being her boyfriend. Now this white boy sliding in with a teddy bear, and she grinning in his face?

I can’t win.

I walk Lisa from Reuben’s to Ms. Rosalie’s. She swear she can walk herself home but the streets too wild for her to be alone. A li’l girl got struck by a bullet a couple of days ago over some shit P-Nut started with the Garden Disciples.

There’s a red Honda parked in Ms. Rosalie’s driveway behind her Oldsmobile. “Tammy got a new car?” I ask Lisa.

“No,” Lisa says with a slight frown. “I don’t know who that is.”

I follow her onto the porch and hold the front door open. Lisa gasp. “Bren!”

Tammy’s older sister hop up from the couch and meet Lisa with a big hug. “Leelee!”

“Oh my God, stop calling me that,” Lisa whine.

“Never.” Brenda hold Lisa in front of her to check her out. “I don’t care that you’re having a baby. You’re Leelee and Tam will always be Teetee.”

Lisa roll her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Momma’s been bugging me to bring Khalil to see her.”

“I sho have,” Ms. Rosalie says. She cradle a tiny baby boy in the recliner as Tammy shake a rattle over him. Lisa told me Bren had him last month.

Suddenly, he all Lisa care about. “Aww! Hi, Khalil! Bren, he looks exactly like you.”

“You think so? He’s Jerome’s twin to me. Hey, Mav.”

I set Lisa’s food on the coffee table. “Whaddup? Ain’t seen you in a minute.”

“Me and Khalil’s daddy moved outta town, but we’re coming back to be close to Momma and Tam. We hope to find an apartment this week.”

“That’s dope,” I say. Only thing Brenda and Tammy got in common is their dimples and hazel eyes. Tammy quiet. Bren? Never. She the life of the party when there ain’t a party. Last I heard, she got pregnant by some dude and moved in with him. Lisa said that Tammy and Ms. Rosalie don’t like him, but Bren gon’ do what Bren gon’ do.

“You want your room while you’re looking for a place?” Lisa asks.

“Nope. We’re getting a motel. I don’t want Momma all up in my business.”

“Somebody needs to be,” Ms. Rosalie mumbles.

“Momma,” Brenda groans.

“I’m leaving it alone.” Ms. Rosalie give Khalil to Brenda. “I’ll go take those pork chops out the freezer. Somebody begged me to cook for them despite the fact I’m all in their business.”

“I love you too,” Bren says to her back and look at Khalil. “Grandma knows she was gonna cook for me regardless. I don’t know why she’s catching an attitude.”

“Hold on, Ms. Rosalie,” I say as I dig in my pocket. I count out a couple hundred dollars and give it to her. “A li’l something to help out. I ’preciate all you do for Lisa.”

“Boy, I don’t need your money. We’re fine.”

“Then you can put it aside for a rainy day,” I say.

Ms. Rosalie roll her eyes, but she stick the money in her shirt. She bad as Granny, keeping money in her bra. “Mmm-hmm. I’ll put this aside for Lisa.”

“You do whatever you wanna do with it,” I say.

She shake her head at me and go to the kitchen.

Lisa stare me down, all frowned up. “You sure have a lot of money lately.”

“Oh, you know. I took on a couple of odd jobs around the neighborhood.”

“Go ’head then, Maverick,” Brenda says. “Nothing wrong with a man hustling to provide for his. That’s how my boo do.”

“I guess,” Lisa says, biting her lip. She turn to Bren. “Can I hold Khalil?”

“Of course.”

Lisa take Ms. Rosalie’s spot in the recliner, and Brenda carefully give her Khalil. I sit on the arm of the chair. I forgot that newborns be so tiny—I didn’t get Seven till he was three months old. Khalil small as a doll. He seem to be looking at us or at the lights, I don’t know. He stretch and make li’l grunting sounds.