For The Love of Money

17

Zyier didn't come home the night of the funeral. He didn't come the night after that, and the night after that. As a matter of fact, last time Fatima saw her man was at the funeral, when he dissed her in front of everybody. She was glad that Xavier wasn't there to see him push her or a fight would have broken out. Fatima knew that he was hurting, she was hurting for him. And because he was hurting, she knew that he was out there doing something stupid like trying to avenge Damian's death or worst case scenario, he was dead too. Her heart began to pound as she thought about her man laying somewhere in the streets lifeless. She kept saying over and over how that street life was nothing to play with. No matter how many times she told him to stop with the drugs and the guns, she should have known that he wasn't going to listen to her. "I gotta find him." She said as she jumped up and put on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. Sliding her feet into her Nike slides, she grabbed her keys off of the dresser, and left out of the condo. Damian was already gone and she wasn't gonna lose Zyier the same way that her mama lost her daddy. "Where to look?" She asked herself as she drove down the streets of Atlanta trying to find him.
Pulling up to stiletto strip club, she knew Faith was in here and maybe she had seen him. "Hey where Faith at?" Fatima asked the bartender. She pointed to the back of the club, and Fatima walked back there. "Zyier?" She knew that voice anywhere as she walked to the back of the club. "What you doing here?" She asked walking up to him. "Man Fatima I'm not trying to hear that shit right now. I gotta get back in the game and get my dawg shit right. I'm the man now and I gotta do what I gotta do." He slurred his words making her roll her eyes. Obviously he was drunk. "And you think sitting up in the strip club with ass all in your face is gonna bring Damian back? What you wanna get back in the game and then die like he did?! I don't wanna lose you Zyier please come home. I can help you through this. Just let me help baby." Fatima pleaded with him when Faith walked up. "Tima? What you doing here?" She asked looking from her twin to Zyier and realizing they were arguing. "You good sis?" She asked stepping up to her sister, seeing the hurt in her eyes. "Yo man go home with your girl. You hurting my sister bruh. Take yo ass home." Faith said turning to look at Zyier. "I got shit to do. And sitting at home with her ass ain't gonna solve shit that I got to do." Zyier said taking a swig from the Hennessy bottle. "Take your ass home Fatima. You can't save me man. I'm too hood for a good prissy girl like you. Go back to your lawyer friends and all them stuck up bitches you run up." Zyier's eyes were blood shot red as he talked to his love as if she were nothing. Fatima nodded, tears running down her face as she turned and walked away. "Bitch you done lost your mind coming at my sister sideways!" Faith could be heard snapping in the background. Getting her in truck, Fatima drove until she came upon Xavier's house. He had company because another vehicle that didn't belong to him, was in his driveway. Getting out of the truck, she walked up to the door and rung the doorbell.