Heaven Can Wait

Chapter 7 Part 2

August

I was in the bathroom with a screwdriver while Olyviah sat on ma bed. I've been tamperin' with this house arrest bracelet for the past thirty minutes. The hell they secured these things with nowadays? They make sure the shit stays on and nobody can take 'em off. I should be a pro takin' it off since this wouldn't be the first time I had one.

Back in ma younger days our house was raided. I served some months in jail then was released on good behavior but they put me on house arrest. It wasn't even supposed to been me, I took the wrap for my brother. The Feds were trying to take him down for the longest.

The day I was arrested I'm glad my mother and my niece's weren't home. I just laid down for a nap when I heard glass breaking downstairs. At first I thought somebody was robbing us so I grabbed my strap for the headboard and tip toed out my room. That's when I heard the swat team runnin' up the stairs. I didn't know what to do and tried to think fast on my feet so I went to hide the gun. Then attempted to make a run for it out the two-story bedroom window. It was just my luck that the entire house was surrounded.

They knocked down my bedroom door and filed in holding up their guns. I put my hands up so they wouldn't shoot. Knowing a white officer had no guilty conscious of killing a black man with no remorse.

By the time my mom came to the house I was sitting in the back of the police car in handcuffs bein' questioned. I admitted to whatever they found it was mine and the charges for possession of a weapon.

She tried to fight with them saying that they had me mistaken for somebody else. It broke my heart to see my mama cry. I was a minor and she told them they didn't have any right barging into our home without a warrant.

You know they weren't interested in what she had to say but instead told her she could come down to the station. My brotha was livid when he found out he never wanted to see his baby brotha in such a fucked up situation. He preferred I told on him but I said nah because they would've taken him away for a long time. For everything he did the list of charges was endless. Mel would have been locked up for a while even worse sent to prison.

Since I was a minor the judge took that into consideration and didn't charge me as an adult. It was my first account anyway so my record was clean until now. I did my time in jail only person who visited me was Mel. I told him I didn't want my niece's to see their Uncle locked up and my mother well she was still upset. She didn't talk to my brotha for an entire two weeks since she knew he was the reason why I was there in the first place. After I served a good eleven months in jail I was able to go home.

They added 120 community service hours for me to complete in terms of my probation. I was young and dumb at the time. You would have thought it changed a nigga. Nah I went back to hustling.

Getting frustrated I sat the screwdriver on the sink and got up. Jay came in ma room calling ma name. I shouted saying I was in the bathroom. He leaned up against the doorway.

"How did your session go?" I asked.

"Not bad he just wanted to see what I was thinking about doing while we're recovering."

"Have you figured it out yet?"

"On the way back here I thought about it. I think I'm going to play basketball maybe produce on the side. In my years as a shorty you would always see me on the court challenging the neighborhood kids. I swear I thought I was the shit. Jermaine was untouchable couldn't tell me nothing. That's when I earned the nickname hops." He chuckled.

I zoned out on the rest of the conversation when he said a producer. That's crazy how all this time I never knew Jay was interested in music maybe he can produce for me and Olyviah we can most definitely use him.