❝ pretty little fears, music to my ears ❞
on his own for the first time, Tariq St. Patrick divides his time between school and hustling to pay for his mother's defense attorney. When he runs out of options, Tariq turns to a familiar drug game, in wh...
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❝ gettin' these ends. ❞
━ ★彡★
"Ma, what's up? What happened?" Diana asked, as her mother angrily walked into the kitchen. "I was at the bar with Davis MacLean. I go to open the safe, and the fucking money is gone. Any of y'all know anything about this?" Raelin skeptically watched as Diana looked off to the side with guilt.
"I mean, none of us would've taken that shit," Raelin spoke. "Contractor and his workers been in and out nonstop, but would they be dumb enough to take it?" Dru voiced. "Nigga said he ain't take it, so now he ain't saying shit." Monet blatantly replied. "Look, the money is gone, and I ain't getting it back. But we gotta come up with a million dollars in three days so Davis can take Zeke's case."
"A million dollars? That nigga serious?" Dru exclaimed. "Y'all, Davis did get Tariq's mom cleared off that murder charge," Diana reminded. "And she was definitely involved with that shit," Raelin remarked. "He's worth it." Diana continued. "And he's fine as fuck," Raelin muttered under her breath.
"Auntie, I don't want you spending all that just for me," Zeke spoke. "It's your fault we even in this mess, dumbass," Raelin mumbled again, only this time loud enough for everyone to hear. "How was I supposed to know not to use Ramirez's PBA card, no one tells me shit," Zeke replied back. "Ezekiel, when's the last time you saw Ramirez up in this bitch, huh? Common fucking sense should tell you something is up!" She exclaimed, "Not a fucking thought behind those eyes." Rae scoffed.
"Leave your cousin alone, Raelin," Monet warned her god-daughter, who put her hands up in surrender. "If Davis'll keep you from getting roped up and protect your draft prospects, he's worth it."
"Now, let's get this money. Dru, you stay here with Zeke. Make sure he gets in no more trouble." She ordered. "Ma, I can do a lot more than babysit a grown-ass man. Let me help." Dru complained. "I said what I said." She responded. "Diana, Cane, let's go."
-
"Hey, how's your family with this whole Zeke thing?" Brushaundria asked Raelin, as the class waited for the lecture to begin. Raelin sighed before answering, "It's been chaotic, to say the least, but we're working it out," She replied. while softly nodding. "How about you? How's everything going-"
Raelin was cut off by the sound of the door opening, she turned to see who it was and in walked Tariq and Lauren, hand in hand. She and Tariq held eye contact before she rolled her eyes and turned back to the front of the room. "Oh, shit, Lauren, you finally nailed that down?" Bru exclaimed, making Lauren shake her head and chuckle as she took her seat.
"Afternoon, class. Nice to see you all." Rashad Tate greeted, beginning the class. "Um, let's get right to it. I was very impressed with your papers discussing whether or not the ends justify the means."
"And I was surprised by the lines you were willing to cross to get to a specific outcome." Carrie continued. "I mean, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, Professor Milgram. Anybody that says different is straight-up lying." Bru spoke out. "Uh, Tariq, I was a little disappointed in your argument. You didn't answer the question." Councilman Tate stated.
"That's because the question itself was flawed. If you're doing it right, nobody should worry about how you did it." Tariq replied. "I know that's right, okay?" Brushaundria called. "Yeah, but that wasn't the assignment." Jackie voiced, earning an eye roll from Raelin.
"Well, some of you found it justified to cross ethical lines in your analysis if the action was benefiting someone else but not yourselves." Professor Milgram said. "Well, I don't know. I just feel like even if it's somebody you love, there's just certain boundaries you don't cross." Lauren expressed.
"But what if it was to protect yourself? Wouldn't the end justify the means in a life-and-death situation?" Tariq challenged. "Well, I guess I would have to be in that situation to really tell." She replied. "I just think you can't justify everything you do in life and still consider yourself a good person."
