A Slum Love Crime. (A$AP Rocky Story)

Part Venti

Soft, moist-looking white leaves were sprawled across the side walk, sliding beneath my sneakers as I walked away from Benny’s house. Spring was coming, which meant that either Winter Vacation had come too late, or spring was coming too early. Either way, it added lightness to my mood.

This was the calm before the storm, the preparation for war. I could feel it. Everything had been too silent since last night. Kevon and Jordan weren’t asking me any questions about the situation. Benny wasn’t asking for any money. The guys held little conversation—and if they did talk, it was in whispers.

Something was about to happen; something major. They had a plan. They always do, right?

“Do you want to go back to school?”

I was taking a walk with none other than Rakim. He told me he wanted to take a walk with me, and this was the first conversation he made.

“I don’t know.”

I usually had to skip to keep up with his fast-paced walking, but now he was walking slower than even me. He was staring at the ground, too. Rakim was deep in thought, almost like he was asleep. As I stared at him, only one thought jogged through my brain…

Apologize to him. He’s waiting for an apology.

“You want to stay with us, don’t you?” He asked me. I nodded.

Then we went back to silence.

Soon, we were about five blocks away from Benny’s house and I wanted to go back. My legs were getting tired and my eyes were starting to burn from pollen. I didn’t say anything, though. Rocky obviously took me out here for a reason, and he seemed to be getting to that.

“So…when you went to see your mom with Dom…that was when she told you about your father, right?” He asked. I nodded. “And you said you heard music in the background?”

“Yeah. It was a barbecue; I could tell.” I replied.

Rocky shook his head. “Your mom was a nice lady, too. That’s why I hate Mango. He always has to take something good and back it bad.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tre, I don’t want to be blunt with you, but…Your mom’s a drug addict. Case closed. Mango sells her drugs and now she’s hooked on crack and him. That’s why she looked so different when you saw her.”

Surprisingly, his words didn’t affect me. I wasn’t dumb. I’d lived in Harlem long enough to tell what a junkie looked like. I just didn’t want to accept the fact that my mother had become one. Now that he said it, though, it was easier to get used to.

“I know.” I said lowly.

“Don’t blame him, though. That’s what he does to every woman that approaches him, and your mom fell into that trap. But we’ll get her out. As soon as we head over there, we’ll get her out.” Rakim seemed to say this as a chant, like he was promising me. It was like a soldier promises a loved one that he’ll get certain things done at war if he doesn’t…die.

“What do you mean ‘as soon as we head over there’?” I asked reluctantly. I didn’t want him to say it. Even though I wanted him to do that all along…I was second-guessing it.

Rakim stopped in his tracks. He sat down against a big, tall tree, snuggling into the roots. I sat beside him, enjoying the shade of the bushy leaves. He sighed heavily.

“I don’t really know what to do, Tremaine. I want to fix all of this. The guys want to fix all of this. But how? Where are we supposed to start? We find Mango, and then…? Ask him for the money back and apologize for not getting the job done? It’s too much for me. It’s too much for the guys. They shouldn’t have been involved. You shouldn’t have been involved. It’s all my fault.” He poured everything out to me. He was vulnerable, I could tell. I knew he was probably praying and wishing for something to happen, some miracle for something to get better…but it seemed impossible like this.

“Stop blaming yourself. You should be happy you warned the guys about it before it got too late. And you should be happy they want to help you without you even asking them to. You can’t blame yourself for getting me involved either, because I would be involved either way. After all, he’s my dad. So don’t act like any of this is your fault. It’s Mango’s fault for manipulating you like he did.”

Rakim couldn’t look at me. He couldn’t look at anything; his eyes were closed to hold back his tears. “You always try to make things like this better. At least you make me feel better. But as for the situation itself…there’s nothing you can really do, Tremaine.”

“But doesn’t making you feel better make everything else better? It does for me. I’m happy when you are, Rocky. And I’m sorry for making you sad like I did. I just got confused. I’ll never do that to you again.” I said, grateful for the opportunity to throw in an apology at that moment. Rocky seemed to already know that I was sorry, though.

“It’s fine. If you hadn’t taken me here, maybe I wouldn’t have known about the money being gone for a long time.”

And again, we were quiet. Cars smoothly drove along the road behind us and bikes sped across the sidewalks on either side of us. We were shielded in the soil by our big tree, though. It was safe here. This was our very own haven.

And I think you can guess what happened after a while. We picked up where we left off, right before Izzy interrupted us. It was the second time, just as bliss as the first time. It was beautiful. I wouldn’t ever experience something as amazing as that if it wasn’t for Rakim.

He kissed me ever-so-softly. I was overwhelmed in love as he engulfed me in his strong arms. All Rakim needed was a little support, which I was giving. All I needed was a little comfort, which he was giving. We needed each other. It was perfect.

“I can’t promise you things will be the same when this is all over, if it will ever end…” Rocky said when we pulled apart. “But by the time I get back, don’t let me hear anything about you and Kevon, please?”

“I promise you, nothing will happen. I’ll wait for you.” I replied.

Let’s see how long I can keep up my promise…