Crimes of Passion

Chapter 11

Amari

I had my meeting with Rocky today. He was impressed by my sales so I now work for him officially. It sucks having to start from the bottom. Shit, I haven't sold in the longest time. I'm surprised I hadn't lost my touch. For now I'd be recieving 30 grams per week. Every Tuesday I'd report back to Rocky with the money I'd made and he'd give me my cut. I wanted to sell this all by Friday so he'd see I wasn't just any regular nigga. I meant business.

I invited Yvette to come over after school today. My mom has been asking about her nonstop ever since we got back from New York two days ago. She claims that she needs to meet the special lady that has me sprung. I don't where she comes up with this stuff. 

After school, I met Yvette at her locker and then we left for my crib. I'm guessing she wasn't familar with this side of the city because she looked very unsettled the entire bus ride.

"You scared?" I asked trying not to laugh.

"No... I mean, a bit. I've never actually seen the projects for myself. I've only heard about how it is."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Well, this is it. Don't worry, as long as you're with me you'll me safe." I said winking at her.

Yvette

"Come on, this is our stop." Amari said while getting up.

I immediately felt out of place once we got off the bus. God, my parents would kill me if they knew where I was. People were already starring at me since it was clear I wasn't from here. A group of girls mugged the hell out of me as we walked by. Two of them had babies, one was pregnant and the others looked like they had a box of crayons explode on them.

"This is my apartment." Amari said as we approached a decent looking complex. It wasn't as bad as some of the others we had passed. No boarded up windows or heavily rusted balconies.

As we walked into the building Amari nodded at some guys and did a quick handshake before got in the elevator. We got off on the 17th floor and went to the first door on the left. Amari took his keys out of his pocket and fiddled with the locks before opening the door.

"Ma, we're home!" He yelled.

"Coming baby! I just need to take these damn curlers out of my hair!" She yelled back.

I laughed.

"Well, I guess I'll just show you around." He said.

The apartment wasn't very big. The living room in our condo was probably bigger. Although it was small, it was still decorated nicely. Dark chocolate coloured sofas, family photos on the walls, and a couple very nice paintings. Amari's room was simple. A single bed, a small desk, and a dresser. What caught my attention was a picture of his dresser of himself, a lady who seemed to be his mother and another older lady.

"Who's this in the picture with you?" I asked

"My mom and grandmother." He half smiled.

"They're beautiful."

He smiled. "She passed away a couple years ago. I've dealt with death many times, but she was the only person I've ever shed tears for. When times we're hard she was our rock. She gave my mom hope for brighter days. When she died we both felt like a piece of us died with her."

I hugged him.

"I'm so sorry Amari. How did she die?"

"She had a heart attack."

"I'm sorry. But at least she's in a better place."

He smiled."She's with the lord."

Just as he leaned in to kiss me, his mama came running in.

"Oops! Am I interupting something?" She laughed.

Amari rolled his eyes. "Ma this is Yvette. Yvette this is-"

"I'm his mother, but please call me Shirley." 

We all laughed.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Shirley."

"You too baby. I've heard quite a bit about you."

"Ma, have you started on dinner yet?" Amari asked, changing the subject.

"Yes boy. We're having pork chops and mac and cheese. Oh, and for desert I have a surprise!"

"Sounds great!" I said.

We all sat and talked while waiting for dinner to finish. Ms. Shirley told me stories about Amari when he was younger and all about his grandmother. They didn't have a very big family, but I could see there was a lot of love as his mother spoke. I on the other hand told them about my huge ass family. Although I was an only child, my parents had plenty of siblings and I had more than enough cousins. Sometimes I wished we had a smaller family, but honestly I wouldn't trade them for anything.

"Dinner is served!" Ms. Shirley announced.

We all dug in right away. The flavours danced on my tongue. Goodness gracious!

"Ms.Shirley this is amazing!" I said.

"Thank you Yvette. I'm glad you like it."

After cleaning our plates, everyone was stuffed. Amari and I dropped on the sofa because we couldn't move.

"Are y'all ready for desert? I made chocolate lava cake!"

"Geez ma, we can barely move." Amari said.

"Bring it on!" I said.

I had such a weak spot for anything chocolate. It didn't matter how full I was, I'd still make space.

Around 7:30 Ms. Shirley left for work. Amari had told that she worked two jobs. She did night shifts at the grocery store and days at a hair salon. I admired her for that. She really worked hard to provide for her son and keep a roof over their heads. In a lot of ways she reminded me of my own mother. 

Amari and I talked for the rest of the evening. We talked about our hopes and dreams, our families, friends, our childhood, and our futures. I was so comfortable telling him all my personal thoughts and I could see he was too. Amari was so genuine and real when he spoke. I felt like I could listen to him forever. I almost couldn't believe that this was the same guy who wanted to take over as LA's top drug lord. I still don't know how he plans on getting Rocky out of power, but I could tell once he puts his mind to something, he wouldn't stop until he accomplished it. All aside, the more time I spent with Amari, the more I liked him and wanted to be with him. He was the one thing in my life that was unpredictable. It felt nice not knowing what was going to happen next with him.  It was nice to step out of my comfort zone. This was a feeling I wanted to last forever.

 Not much action in this chapter but the next few will be much more exciting!

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