It's Above Me Now.

22: Release, Recover, Reset

Cucumbers covered my eyes, and I felt my skin being moisturized. The massages I was receiving on my calves and hands felt oh so divine, as I sipped on the most expensive Dom Perignon from time to time. Buying out the city's most luxurious spa for the day has got to be one of the most ridiculous decisions I've made in my short-lived rich life, but it sure was worth all the penny. My spirit was thoroughly relaxed.

"This is by far the strangest thing I've seen in life. I feel like I'm in a parallel universe or some shit."

Lifting a cucumber from my eye, I saw my brother Dylan staring back at me with a very perplexed look on his face. He seemed like a mixture of mortified and amused, and quite frankly, I could care less about his judgment.

"Take a seat my brother." I announced. "I've got a white robe and masseuses for you as well. We're self caring today."

I heard Dylan snicker but in no time he was beside me stretched out in his own lounge chair. His own masseuses gathered around him, and I'm sure he was starting to feel the same contentment I was.

"We need to talk Mario." Dylan burst out, not even five minutes within sitting.

"Must we really?" I questioned sarcastically.

"Yes, we must." Dylan snapped, pulling the freshly laid cucumbers off my eyes and tossing them aside. "It's bad enough that you ain't tell nobody that you were hiring this motherfucker, and now he's roaming around Troupe like he's actually one of us."

"He works there, Dylan. He is one of us." I plainly answered.

"Oh, bite yo tongue! You don't even believe that shit. You probably still wanna take that motherfucker out for messing with Chanel behind your back. Cut the fake shit Chance!" Dylan barked.

Sighing heavily, I sat up from my lounge chair. So much for a relaxing day. The masseuses all gave me a kind, reassuring smile which I returned. Asking them all for a moment, Dylan and I watched them usher out so we could discuss whatever was bothering him now.

"You ain't keeping it one hunnid, and we better than that." Dylan said once we were alone. "The Chance I know would never let that stupid motherfucker Mario come near him and he still be breathing. You got a whiff of the good life and now you've gone soft on me man. The hardcore Chance is diminishing as we speak. I don't even know who you are right now."

I chuckled lightly. "I'm still the same, Dylan. Nothing has changed. I'm just looking at shit different and moving to suit. It's exhausting being angry all the damn time. Believe it or not, but I let the Chanel shit go. I can't afford to be this person you want me to be anymore. No cocky shit, but I got way too much going for myself. If Mario and I were to fuss and kill each other...what happens then? We're either in the cell or ground while the real problem is still alive and well, snickering because she managed to get her son and the man she took care of caught up. Fuck that. I'm changing the narrative. I'm moving smarter while doing minimal work. The job will still get done that way. Karin is the problem, her son is just a distraction."

Dylan frowned, but he seemed to be processing my statement. He poured himself a glass of champagne and I hoped he was really hearing me through that thick skull of his. I was handling things differently now, so that 'old Chance' he liked so much, was definitely a thing of the past.

"You right." Dylan expressed. "Karin is the problem. We still don't know why she's causing all this static with you, and now the others. Young T was walking home from Troupe the other day, and word on the street is that Karin put a bullet in his leg for not stating your whereabouts. That's why we can't forget that Mario is a product of her. Him being so close to us is risky, and you know it. Jacques and the others all think the same thing. But we'll let it ride out because we got faith in you. I just hope none of this don't blow up in yo face."

I smirked. "If that's your way of encouragement then I'm appreciative. I'll reach out to T and make sure he's straight. He a real one for holding it down."

Dylan nodded and gazed around. "I see why you booked out the place, this shit sure is peaceful. We so used to chaos that this shit seem foreign and weird to us, not knowing that this is exactly what we need."

"Got that shit right." I agreed. "Dylan, we were barely teenagers when Karin pushed us into the street life. She taught us and made us believe that that was the only way to go. We never got a fair shot to actually live life and make choices because fuckery was being pushed down our throats. I won't lie, the drug game has its thrills, its entertainment. But it also had its trials and tribulations. And we've managed to survive it all without being locked up or killed. It wasn't all bad, but don't you ever think of where we would be if Karin didn't come into our lives? We've now been given a second chance, no pun intended. We get to hold the reigns, and choose our paths. We get a do over, and I'm just doing it differently."

Dylan relaxed back into his lounge chair. "I wanna go to therapy. I've been thinking about it for a while, and I need to shake shit up on my end as well. For my daughter and for myself. I gotta make a start. Chance, we've been through some shit dealing with Karin. I'll be the first to admit that I still have PTSD from when she killed that man in front of us when we were fourteen. I can't unsee that shit. She ain't all to blame because let's be real, we still did our part. But you're right. We gotta move different if we want different."

I smiled, and held out my hand for a dap from Dylan. He gave in, and we shared a brotherly moment. Our growth was astounding, nobody could tell me otherwise. It was only up from here.

"Now, can I call back the massage people?" I asked. "You see that one shorty who was rubbing on my arm? She bad as fuck." 

"Shit, God created her Himself!" Dylan exclaimed. "But why she look like the one who was rubbing on my feet? They gotta be sisters."

"What father Future say...'I don't give a fuck if they were real sisters!'" I rapped.

Dylan and I burst out laughing, and I called back in the masseuses. For the remainder of the time at the spa, my brother and I soaked in all the finest this luxurious establishment had to offer. I must say, I had a grand time. The shorty I was telling Dylan about earlier even pulled me aside and showed me a better time. Today was an unusual activity for us, but it sure was one for the books. Life was finally changing for Dylan and I, and it was about time we started changing with it.