Bando

11

Mya's POV

"Cory 'Cortez' Garnett was found dead this morning around 2 a.m. at the Platinum Gentlemen's Club on Rose Blvd. Police have no leads or suspects involved in this case yet. The victim was only 22 years old." The news reporter announced on TV as I cooked breakfast. I smiled a little, but it quickly faded away. Yeah, that nigga was a snake and a OPP. But he was like a brother to me. It hurts that he's gone, but it hurts even more knowing that he's been crossing me this whole time.

"Ohh, you cooking in here already?" Algee smiled as he came into the kitchen, rubbing his face.

"Out of the food that I could find." I said as I turned the stove off. "I see why you so skinny. You need some food in your life, bae."

"Whatever, man." He laughed. He turned his attention to the news, which was still talking about Cortez. "Damn. The life caught up to him. That's why I wanted you out of that shit, baby. I didn't want you to end up like him."

I grabbed the plates from the cabinet with my back still facing him. "I wouldn't. Cuz you won't kill me."

"Huh???" He confusingly asked.

I started fixing our plates, still not looking at him. "You heard me."

"What you tryna say? You think I killed Cortez??"

"I don't think it. I know it."

"Baby, I've been here all night. The only time I got up was for the bathroom."

I turned to him with both plates in my hands and placed them down on the island in front of us. "Algee, I am not a fool. I saw the gun powder on your shirt and blood on your shoe. When I felt you get out of bed, I knew exactly what you were going to do. I stayed up the whole time you were gone cuz I didn't feel safe and I was worried as fuck about you. I was so relieved when I saw you in the room again. You just don't know."

Algee dropped his head and sighed. "I didn't want to, but I had to."

"It's okay, baby." I rubbed his back and he looked up at me.

"Why didn't you stop me?"

"Besides Dad and Keith, I've never met another man who would put his life on the line for me."

He grinned. "If the tables were turned, you'll do the same for me."

3 days later

"Finally, I can lay down." I said to myself as I slid into bed. Algee and I spent all day cleaning out my old house, getting all of my belongings that didn't get destroyed. It hurts like hell to call it my old house and to see how it looks now. I worked so hard for that house and now it's.....gone.

As soon as I was about to drift to sleep, Algee came in and jumped on me. "I got something for you, baby."

"You still gotta wait a lil longer. I'm not fully healed yet."

He smacked his lips and chuckled. "I wasn't talking about that, baby. Not this time." He got off and sat next to me. "Sit up."

I huffed as I sat up and looked at him. He put an object wrapped in pink paper in my lap. "What's this?"

"Open it."

"This ain't no trick, is it? Cuz ima beat yo ass if it is. Boyfriend or not."

"Just open the damn thing, Mya."

I smacked my lips and rolled my eyes as I tore away the pink paper. My mouth dropped and eyes widened at what was revealed in front of me.

It was the same graduation picture of us I had in my house. It looked brand new in the gold picture frame it was in.

I rubbed my fingers across our picture. "Oh my God! How did you get this picture?"

"I had it for years. I would carry it with me everywhere I went. You never left my sight, even when I'm far away."

"Damn, why you gotta make me cry brah?" I wiped tears from my eyes as we both laughed. "You know I'm too gangsta for all this crying shit."

"Last time I checked, I didn't fall in love with a gangsta. I fell in love with this girl right here." He said, pointing to our picture. "Then, she grew up to be a beautiful, smart woman. And the love still ain't change."

"I love you so much." I said, pecking his lips.

"I love you more."

I looked at our picture again. "I really love this, baby. Hey, you heard from Keith yet?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Not yet." Keith was suppose to help us today at my old house, but he never showed up. We called him, but it kept going straight to voicemail.

"This isn't like him," I said in a worried tone.

He grabbed my hand and rubbed it, trying to comfort me. "Maybe he overslept, baby."

"Baby, you know him as well as I do. You know he's just like you in a way. Yall don't sleep all day. It's rare when yall do that."

Algee thought about it for a minute. "You right."

"Something's up. I can feel it. We need to go check on him. Now."