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

Part Trenta

The internal shock was quite overwhelming. I didn’t even know what to feel. Now I was definitely confused—but my confusion and awe is different this time, because it is not toward my own problems. Now I was worrying about things that concerned me, but didn’t all at the same time.

Nicole didn’t hear the conversation I had with Ferg, and I didn’t intend to tell her. Coincidentally, she didn’t even ask. The three of us just came home like regular people, with no secrets or worries. At least as far as I knew, Nicole was the only one who really was regular.

When we walked into the house, I ignored everyone and went straight down to the recording studio. That’s the only place I could probably be alone at this point.

I slopped myself into the leather chair in front of the workstation and breathed a tired, wary sigh. To say that my life right now is ‘too much’ would be an understatement.

So…what now? First, Rakim is glad to have a child because that would be a serious commitment, an excuse to get away from it all (including me). And then he finds out that his child is no longer alive, because Izzy heartlessly aborted it. But now—the icing on this tall cake—he’s not even the father of the child he thought he was his, and the father is his best friend?

I felt genuinely sorry for Rakim. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself in his situation. Tears wouldn’t even help.

Laughter erupted suddenly from upstairs, and I realized that I was the only one really sulking. Everyone else was at least trying to remain happy, to distract themselves from the problems that lie right beneath their noses.

With another sigh, I went upstairs to join them—my family. Every last one of them has helped me in some way, or treated me like I belonged. That was something I had never experienced before the mob came along. If anything, that is the one thing I’ll always be most grateful for.

“Man, I miss things like that. Things like corner stores, and alleyways. We took them for granted.” Twelvy shook his head, remembering the old times of Harlem, and sipped on a clear drink. Danny nodded in agreement.

“I miss it more than y’all do. I haven’t been home for so long. For the last few weeks I was there, I wasn’t even able to enjoy it. Dealing with work and all.” Danny replied.

Danny’s work was drug dealing, one of the most stressful jobs next to being a mother. At least that’s how I see it. Then he had to deal with add-on stress of dealing with Mango…damn.

“I know, man.” Bari shook his head. The whole mob was in here, except for Dom. Where had he run off to?

“And Tremaine with her little chicken-head friends.” Nast smiled at me. I smiled in return, admiring how serene it was to just go over memories.

Rakim smiled a little bit, but he was quiet. I could tell he didn’t know about Ferg’s situation yet; if he did, he wouldn’t be silent and moping around. He would be lashing out on Ferg.

It would be unfair to stay upset with him. This is his time of need; I’ve had a few of mine. He just wanted someone to comfort him, to hold him and to tell him everything was going to be okay.

“Can I talk to you for a minute? On Danny’s side.” I whispered to Rakim after walking over to him. He looked at be blankly, and then followed me to Danny’s side of the house. We weren’t allowed in Danny’s bedroom, so I stopped right in Danny’s little sitting area with Rakim.

“What’s up?” He asked solemnly as we sat on the couch. I didn’t reply; I just studied him. His flawless, precise features, the ones that always made me shiver and melt inside whenever I saw him. I smiled, remembering rushing inside my apartment to gaze dreamily out the window at him while he engaged in some idle activities. It was because of him that I was able to share the experience of those activities with the rest of the mob, at least for one day. Those were precious memories.

I realized suddenly that Rakim was smiling, too. That was good. “I’m sorry for how I acted. I was in the wrong, as usual.” I admitted easily.

“Actually, not this time,” Rakim said. “I was wrong for telling you that I wanted to forget about you. You mean the world to me, Tremaine. You mean everything to me. I’ll never forget about you.”

Rakim’s heartfelt words made me feel something familiar inside, a feeling I only get around him. The emotion is a perfect mixture of pure happiness, love, and content.

And then there’s that unsullied connection—the kiss. The feeling of Rakim’s moist, soft lips against mine, the gentle vibration I feel every time our lips move and press against one another’s in perfect sync. These kisses never seem to last long enough.

When we broke apart, I licked my lips, still trying to taste the sweetness of the kiss.

“I love you.” Rocky whispered to me. I thought of him whispering these same words to his child, a son or a daughter. Would they sound the same? Or would the words mean more coming from him toward his child than it would toward me?

I rebuked the thoughts. Rocky and I were seamlessly in love, no matter what problems come along.  

“What are you thinking about?” He asked, running a single finger through my hair. I shrugged, still looking him in the eye.

“You.” I said confidently. “I just want you to know, regardless of what happens…I ride for you and die for you, Rocky.”

He smiled widely.

That’s when everything began to move in slow motion.

A yell rang from the main area, where the mob was just sitting peacefully. Both Rocky and I ran back to the main area to see what was happening, only to find a horrifying sight.

Purrp was the first one.

The officer wrestled him down to the ground and constrained him in handcuffs, and then passed him on to another officer to be taken outside. Then it the other officers did the same to Bari, Nast, Ferg, and Twelvy, all the while unnecessarily punching and hurting the guys. All I could do was watch in awe as it all took place.

Yams put up a hell of a fight, requiring three officers to finally get him outside. With the hungry expressions on each officer’s face, it wasn’t hard to tell who their true target was.

That’s when the slow motion stopped, and reality hit—hard.

“NO! YOU CANNOT TAKE HIM!” I screamed and shrieked, but it was of no use. My shrill cries didn’t seem to affect the officers as they viciously handcuffed Rakim. Danny wasn’t around. Nicole wasn’t around. No one could help me while they simply snatched him away.

I could feel and hear my heart tearing.

“Rakim Mayers,” the officer started, “you are under arrest for manslaughter and robbery.”

“You and your little posse too. We’ve had witnesses give complaints—all of you are going down.” Another officer added.

And then they took him away. They wouldn’t even let him look at me. I watched out the window as the mob, my family, my everything, was pushed into a large NYPD van and then driven away.

That’s when Danny, Dom and Nicole poked their heads out from behind the couch. They were hiding, when I needed someone to help me. Rakim was no longer around. The mob was taken away.

But Dom was still here. Dom managed to stay. And he looked as traumatized as he did the day that Rakim shot those men. I remembered briefly that day.

Y’all just wait! Wait until Mango hear about this!  We’ll have him and the 5-O on yo’ ass!

The one group of people that I knew sincerely cared about me were gone…and it was all the fault of my father.