𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟

Chapter (9) I was there.

Shay.

So this Rochelle girl knows Taía, I don't even wanna know tbh. It doesn't seem good at all, I better not get caught on this corner. I just wish I could hear real quick. Let me see if my mic can pick it up.

"She's got siblings?" Rochelle asked.
"Yeah an older sister and a younger sister." Taía responded.
"How young is the youngest?" It seemed like Rochelle was getting excited hearing this.
"11, turning 12."
"I see, well I'll meet you back here in 2 days."

And with that Rochelle walked back to the matte black vehicle, parked on the pavement.
Taía seemed to be moving towards Shay.

Shit she's coming this way. I pull my hood up and light my spliff, pretending to have been minding my business. I don't think she recognised me, but it scared me for a second.

After it was clear, I make my way towards my cousin's car and hand her the spliff. She gives me a confused look, "something wrong?" I shake my head and gesture for her to drive off and she does.

Kaé.

Something isn't sitting right. Rochelle isn't here for nothing, she got something up her sleeve and all that. I snap out of my thoughts as I receive a call from Shay.
"Yea wassup?" I started.
"I just saw Taía and Rochelle talking in Loughborough."
"Continue." I pressed for Shay to tell me what she heard.
"They were discussing what Taía wanted to do about you and Lhelani being close. Then they ended on Lhelani's little sister, I think she's planning on doing something to her. Taía probably doesn't even know what she's doing."
"Keep an eye on them-"
"They're also meeting back at the bridge, 2 days from now."
"That's friday, ite cool. I'm going with you."
I hang up giving myself enough headspace to think clearly. I know Rochelle's crazy enough to plan a kidnapping on a child but does she have the balls to actually do it. Is that even a question?

I turn to Lhelani, who is looking at me worried. I could tell that she wanted to know who was on the phone but I won't say and I know she won't ask.
"I think you should go home, I'm gonna call you an uber." She paused for a second then nodded in response.

As she began to gather up her coat and jumper, I took my time to admire her. Think about what she might be feeling, how she probably mad that I've been getting distant on her. I want to apologise and tell her but she not ready. Even if she was I'd have to wait for Shay's cue because knowing this shit could get their relationship done for. Especially if Shay doesn't let her know first or at all.

"Your uber outside." She turned to give me a hug and rested her lips on my neck for a while. She withdrew from the hug and ran down the stairs to pick up her shoes.

When Lhelani left all I could think about was Rochelle and what she's capable of.

She murdered my brother. I repeated over and over in my head as I sat by my window. Damn, I've gotta get this out my head. I get up from the edge of my bed and walk to my closet, grabbing at the pile of tracksuits. I pull on my dark grey tracksuit and head to the door. I pick up my air force 1s from the shoe rack and push my feet in.

I make sure my phone is on Do Not Disturb and put both my headphones in. I dont expect anyone to talk to me as I walk and 'mind my business' whilst trying to forget my business. I get hella irritated when someone decides to speak when I'm trying to disconnect from the world.

I go to the corner shop and pick up a drink to go back home with. I end up checking the time, 23:26. I've been out walking crazy for hours now, enjoying my own company. Had to dodge a few mad people. Not a good idea to stop walking when they around, most of the time they harmless.

By the time I reach home, it'll probably be like 1 in the morning and if my ma home. She about to buss my ass until I go deaf. She doesn't want me out on the street because that's what she think about my brother's death. If I tell her it was more than the streets that took him, she won't be able to handle it. I just couldn't do it to her and even if I did she would want to know why I didn't tell her before. She don't need other people to worry about. I don't need her worrying about Rochelle's family, I wanna get that out of our lives.

~
Like I thought, I made it home at 1 in the morning. My ma was sleep on the couch, so i drew her blanket over her feet and made sure she was covered. I locked the front door, checking all the windows and then made my way upstairs to my room. I find the door wide open, the curtains by the open window blowing back and forth, and a square of paper on my bed. I know I didn't leave the damn window open, what the fuck? I open up the folded paper and read the message, 'She's not protected'.

It wasn't signed and it wasn't handwritten. Carefully typed and positioned in the middle of the paper. Who are they talking about? My ma? Lhelani? If this is Rochelle, I swear. Just thinking about who the message could be referring to, was getting me more mad than before. Why at my house and my mother's here?

I'm not about to sit up here in my ma house, living in fear for our damn safety. No actual time for that shit. Back in the US, shit was heavy protected, only thing you had to be conscious of was how ya 'bros' were moving around you. That was the easiest thing about life, now the hard shit gotta follow me about the world. Where my brother at when I gotta talk?

I throw the paper to the floor and strip the tracksuit off of my body. I sit in the middle of my bed and fall back against my pillows, closing my eyes. I try to force sleep on myself before I start thinking and thinking.

Lhelani.

Kaé sounded so cold when she told me to leave. That phone call must've been some news to her, I can't help but think that I recognise the voice on the phone. Even though I probably wasn't meant to hear the conversation but I could hear parts of it because of the silence surrounding the room.

It might be something Kaé has been doing since she was in America, because who would she need to keep an eye on? I get lowkey worried because I feel like Kaé doesn't know the ins and outs of the South London. Then I remember she's been here before I knew her.

She doesn't know quite a bit about me actually. Probably as much as I know about her, she doesn't know about me. I used to shot for my ex's older brother. I used to bang fraud with people who worked in the bank and I gave the money to my mum telling her that I earned it from weekend jobs.

I guess it's not necessary to tell her and what she's got going on is probably not necessary to tell me. I want her to want to tell me, not on any forceful shit.

{Author's note: I've been struggling to put out this chapter here😴. Some of my ideas just didn't work and I didn't meet the word count at first. So here's the final product. 🕺🏽}