Another Lifetime

Chapter Three: Relationships

Monse's POV:
I throw my duffle bag in my car and drive back to Latrelle's place. "You think you can tag lil Spooky's house tonight?" Is the first thing he asks when I walk in the house. He doesn't even ask if I'm ok. "Yeah." I nod and throw my bag on the ground. "I do something?" He laughs. "Nah, this is just what we do. You get orders from Big Lord and whatever you don't feel like doing, I do it for you." I walk away and he pulls me back to him. "I love you Monse and that's why I let you do things that won't get you killed. Dealing isn't safe especially when Santos keep stealing our territory." He reminds me. "Yeah but I'm not making any money either." I tell him. "You're right Monse but I can't even be over there. If I get near lil Spooky he'll kill me on sight." Latrelle explains. "And what if he sees me?" I ask even though I don't think he'd ever hurt me. "He's weak, he won't kill someone he doesn't have beef with." He laughs. "They're not all like that." I remind him. "Some of them don't give a fuck who you are and they'll just kill you without blinking but you know how to stay safe. You just tagged their shit during the day and they didn't even notice!" He smiles. "Well after this I'm done. No more tagging shit, I wanna put in real work." I tell him and he smiles. "If you do this, you can do what you wanna do." He promises. "For real?" I ask. "I never lie to you." He tucks a braid behind my ear and I kiss him.
Cesar's POV:
"I shouldn't have to deal with any of the petty shit!" I yell at Sad Eyes and I hang up. "What's wrong?" Odessa asks. "They all just see me as Spooky's little brother." I lay back down with her. "Trust me I get that. Do you know what it's like when your dad is this huge star, your mom has her own tv show, and your brother was recruited by like a million schools the day he was born?" She asks and I just stare at her. "Sorry, I know my problems aren't like your problems... sometimes I just feel a little ignored. Not by you!" Odessa says. "It's fine." Sometimes I forget how different we really are. "The Santos, they keep asking me to do all these small things." I go back to my problem. "Like what?" She asks. "Some Prophet keep tagging our shit. Apparently he's making his way towards my block." I explain. "And if he gets here that's bad?" She asks. "They don't respect me now and if my house gets tagged, I lose whatever power I have." I explain. "They can take it from you?" Odessa looks shocked. I get so tired of explaining everything to her. "No but if they don't listen to me, what's the point?" I sigh. "So, stop him. Hide and then handle him. I think you look sexy when you take care of things." She smiles. "Your brother would kill me if he knew we were talking about this." I remind her. "So?" She shrugs. "Whatever, if he asks we never talk about the Santos and you were never here." I kiss her. "Of course but I really like talking about all this. Who knows, maybe one day you'll finally let me-" I cut her off. "We're not having this conversation again." I roll my eyes. "Come on Cesar, we'd be one of the most powerful couples in LA." Odessa loves the idea of being a Santo but she's too bougie to put in work. "Why do you think this is so easy? You know what I have to do just to survive, you see how much I've given up." I yell and she looks sorry but I'm just tired of this.

**** later ****

I'm hiding outside waiting for the dumb ass who's about to fuck with me. Someone hops the fence next to my house. They unzip their bag and I see the green spray paint. I run at them and push them to the ground. I step on his chest and point my gun in his face. "You really fucked up." I pull back his hood and of course it's her. "Seriously?" She laughs. "You really fucked up?" Monse mocks me and I take my foot off her chest. "What was I supposed to say?" I ask. "Shoot me and leave." She sits up. "Well not me, don't shoot me." Monse laughs and I sit next to her. "Latrelle send you?" I ask and she nods. "What are you doing with a guy like him?" I say, seriously. "What are you doing with a girl like Odessa?" She retorts. "What?" I ask. "I mean she's really different from... us." Monse explains. "I think that's a good thing." I shrug. "Yeah, but how does she deal with all of this?" She asks. "If I'm being honest I think Odessa likes being around the Santos." I explain and she looks at me like I'm crazy. "This isn't about me. If you come back here they're gonna expect blood." I tell her. "Yeah and if I don't he's gonna-" she stops talking when someone walks towards us. "Go." I open my window. Monse doesn't question it and she goes inside. "You good?" I ask. "lil Spooky?" Locito says. "Man I thought you were a Prophet." He puts his gun away. "Nah, just talking to this bitch from another block." I lie. "Shit man, gotta hide that better if you don't want Odessa finding out." He laughs. "Thanks for the tip." I walk into my room and she's not there. "Monse." I whisper. "I thought you were somebody else." She opens my closet door. "You're safe, I covered for you, but there's Santos all over my house. Apparently no one listens to anything I say." I try to laugh. "So how am I gonna get outta here?" She asks. "I can sneak you out, put your hood up." I tell her. When I open my room door I see at least twelve people in my living room. "Change of plans, we gotta wait until everyone's gone." I explain. "Seriously?" She yells and I cover her mouth. "It's just one night." I smile.