Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give, #0)(62)

“He a’ight?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Brenda says. “I’ll probably have to change him soon.”

“Don’t you poop on me,” Lisa coos at him. “No, sir, don’t you do that.”

“Good luck,” says Tammy. “He got me earlier.”

Ay, I’m just glad it wasn’t me. I run my finger along Khalil’s slick black hair. He got a head full of it. “Dang. We gonna have one of these in a few months.”

“Y’all ready for it?” Brenda asks.

“No,” me and Lisa both say. Brenda and Tammy laugh.

“He’s so little and fragile,” Lisa says. “Don’t you get scared that you’ll break him?”

“Word,” I say. I toss Seven around, and he fine. I’m scared to hold Khalil.

Brenda chuckles. “I used to be. He’s not as fragile as he looks. I promise, your baby won’t be either. Y’all know what you’re having yet?”

“Maverick thinks it’s a boy. I know it’s a girl,” Lisa says.

She can get outta here with that. “Andre Amar ain’t a girl.”

“Dang, y’all picked out a name already?” Tammy asks.

“Just for a boy,” says Lisa. “It made sense to name the baby after Dre. We wanna do something different for a girl.”

“I’m sorry about your cousin, Mav,” Brenda says. “He was a real sweet guy.”

Months later, and the sympathy still hurt. “’Preciate it. You knew him?”

“Yeah. Jerome used to be one of his customers. He was one of Jerome’s customers, too.”

A door open down the hall, and somebody yawn loud.

“Man oh man,” a dude says. “I needed that nap after that drive.”

I know that raspy voice.

Red the hustler come into the living room, stretching and yawning. “Thanks for letting me catch a couple of z’s in your room, Tam.”

Tammy go “Mmm-hmm,” with a strong stank eye.

Hold up. Red is Brenda’s boyfriend?

He go over to her and kiss her on the lips. “I slept so good, I’m ready for whatever now.” He wiggle his eyebrows at Brenda.

She giggle. “Jerome, behave.”

I should’ve known his parents didn’t name him Red. Sometimes you don’t find out folks’ real names in the Garden until you go to their funeral and see the program. Red notice me and Lisa on the recliner. “My bad. Hey, y’all.”

“Hey, Red,” Lisa says, dry as hell.

“Whaddup, Mav? How you living?”

“I’m chilling. Long time, no see.”

“Oh yeah. I’m a man on the move. Gotta make that money after the damage you and your boy caused when you knocked over my shit.” He laugh, but it sound forced. He still mad.

“You gave me some fake sneakers,” I say. “We had to let you know that won’t fly.”

“Y’all lucky I’m forgiving.” He come over to the recliner. “How daddy’s buddy doing?”

Red lift Khalil from Lisa’s arms, and that’s when I see it—a gold watch with diamonds, glistening on his wrist. There’s a scratch on the face from the time it fell off during a water gun fight.

How I know? That’s Dre’s watch. The one that was stolen the night he was killed.





Twenty-One


Dre’s watch is all I see.

I ain’t bugging, I know my cousin’s watch. I always wished Granddaddy gave it to me. I only got one of his brimmed hats ’cause I was the youngest. Dre would rub that shit in my face too like that annoying big bro he was.

He wore it everywhere and all the time. What the hell is it doing on Red’s wrist now?

Red’s eyes follow mine to it. He step back. “Um, baby, I think Khalil need his diaper changed.”

Brenda come get Khalil, saying that Red could change the diaper himself. Red say something to Brenda while staring at me, but his eyes won’t meet mine . . . almost like he nervous.

What he nervous for?

He clear his throat. “I’ll be back in a little bit, baby.”

I snap outta it. Brenda beg Red to stay a little longer. He already heading for the door.

I hop up and start after him, but somebody grab hold of my wrist.

“Mav.”

I look down at Lisa. I forgot she was here that fast. “Huh?”

“Are you okay?” she says.

I gotta go after Red. Gotta go after Red. “Yeah, I’m straight.”

“Are you sure?”

A car door slam shut in the driveway.

“Yeah, I gotta go to work,” I tell Lisa. “I’ll holla at you later.”

I tug away from her and rush out the house, but I’m too late. Red disappearing down the street.

Mr. Wyatt got me working in the store today. This probably the easiest shift I’ve had on this job. I bag customers’ groceries as he ring them up. Simple. Yet I’m almost too distracted to do that.

Everybody in the Garden know that Red crooked as hell. That’s why he always got the hookup on good stuff—he get it dirty. He’d definitely buy a stolen watch, so he could’ve bought it from Ant.

There was this look in his eyes though. When he noticed me staring at the watch, dude was straight-up nervous. Would he be that on edge over a stolen—