On the Come Up(93)

Jay hugs her the moment she can. Aunt Pooh and Scrap do their little handshake. Then Aunt Pooh looks at me.

I didn’t know that I’d wanna cry when I’d see her, but I swear I almost do. She holds her arms out, and I let her wrap me up in the biggest, tightest hug I didn’t know I needed.

She kisses the side of my head. “Missed you, Li’l Bit.”

“I missed you, too,” I murmur into her shoulder.

The four of us sit at the table. Aunt Pooh has to sit across from us though. Jail rules. It’s supposed to be so we won’t slip her any contraband, but it always feels like they’re saying she’s diseased or something. Jail seems isolating as hell, even when people visit you.

“I talked to your attorney this morning,” says Jay. “It’s one of those court-appointed ones. He thinks they’ll have you arraigned early next week.”

“Good,” says Aunt Pooh. “Sooner I can get outta here, sooner me and Bri can get our come up.” She holds her palm out to me across the table with a grin. I slap it. “I heard about your interview. I promise, I can handle that fool for you once I’m out. No question.”

Jay glances back and forth between us. “What interview? What fool?”

This definitely isn’t how I wanted her to find out. My leg suddenly won’t stay still.

“The DJ Hype interview, you know?” Pooh says.

Jay turns all the way toward me. “No. I don’t know.”

I stare straight ahead. If you look an angry black momma in her eyes, there’s a chance you will turn into a pillar of salt on the spot, like ol’ girl in the Bible.

“Yeah, Bri went on his show,” Aunt Pooh snitches. “He riled her up apparently. Accused her of not writing her shit, all kinds of nonsense. I heard you went straight off, Bri.” Aunt Pooh laughs into her fist. “Got folks in here even talking.”

I can feel Jay’s glare. It’s bad. Oh, it’s bad. I stare at the wall. Somebody carved “D wuz here” into the cinder block, and I don’t know what’s worse—the fact that they were bragging about being here or that they can’t spell “was.”

“Didn’t I tell you to lay low, Bri?” Jay says.

“It’s all good, Jayda,” Aunt Pooh says. “Don’t blame her. This on Hype.” She looks at Scrap. “How that other thing going?”

“They eating this shit up,” he bites out. “We gotta handle them.”

“Handle who?” I ask.

“That’s what I wanna know,” Jay adds.

“It’s them Crown bitches,” Scrap hisses. “They think it’s funny that most of the Maple Grove GDs got taken down. Now they moving in our territory and shit. Even bragging about how they took Law’s chain from Bri. Flaunting it around.”

“Aww, hell nah,” Aunt Pooh says.

The same words go through my head, but for an entirely different reason. Once again, this is not how I wanted my mom to find out.

She turns to me. “How in the world did they get your dad’s chain?”

It’s a question, not an accusation, but honestly, it should be an accusation. I should’ve done more to keep that safety net for us. I swallow. “They robbed me. I swear, I didn’t wanna give it up, but—”

“Robbed?” she shrieks. “Oh my God, Brianna! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I already sent a message to bitch-ass that did it. Just didn’t get the chain back,” Aunt Pooh says. “We working on that though.” She eyes Scrap, and he nods.

Jay looks from him to her. “What?”

“I got some new li’l homies running with me now,” says Scrap. “They down for whatever. Bri just gotta give the word.”

“Facts,” says Aunt Pooh, slapping his palm.

It feels like a boulder just dropped into my stomach. “It’s on me to give the word?”

“They took it from you,” Aunt Pooh says. “I mean, hell yeah, we down for whatever to get one over on them fools, but this your call ultimately.”

How the hell do I suddenly have an entire gang at my disposal?

Jay closes her eyes and puts her hands up. “Wait. Are y’all saying what I think y’all are saying?”

“It’s war,” Aunt Pooh says, as if it’s nothing. “Word is some of them snitched on us in the first place. That’s why the cops was watching. Now they trying to move in on our shit, clowning us, and got the nerve to brag about robbing my niece? Nah. It’s whatever now.”

We’ve started a gang war. People may lose their lives because of us. Shit, what if it comes back at me?

I don’t know how long it’s quiet, but it is for a while. Jay stares at Aunt Pooh with her mouth slightly open.

“Wow,” she says. “Wow, wow, wow.”

“Jay, you gotta understand,” says Aunt Pooh. “This ’bout respect! We can’t let them fools think they won.”

My mom’s eyes glisten. “They haven’t won. But you’re so lost that you’ve lost.”

“What?”

“You’re in jail, Katricia,” Jay says. “Jail! Yet you’re sitting here plotting some of that same street mess that landed you here in the first place. You don’t care that this has been hell for your family. You aren’t showing any remorse. You’re plotting!”