Gangstress

March 1999 (3)

***Marshall's POV***

I got back from New York and the first thing I did was go over to Kim's to go see Hailie. I had missed her so much, and because I was travelling around a lot lately, I felt like I hadn't seen her in so long. It made me feel guilty, and like I was missing out on her growing up, but it was hard. I needed to work to be able to provide, so I promised myself once I started getting a steady income, and had solidified myself in the game, that I would slow down my work. 

I didn't even call Kim to let her know I was coming over, which in hindsight, was probably a dumb idea considering it was rather late for Hailie, but I just wanted to see her so badly. I pulled up and saw the lights in the living room and kitchen were on. I knocked on the door and waited for Kim to answer it. 

"Hey! What are you doing here so late?" Kim answered with a surprised smile. 

"I just got back from New York 'bout an hour ago, and I wanted to stop by and see Hailie, if that's aight?" 

"Yeah of course." She moved out of the way to let me in. "I put her down about a little while ago, but you can go in and give her a kiss if you want?" 

I nodded and we both started walking towards Hailie's room. "Sorry, I tried to get here as fast as I could." 

She shook her head. "It's fine. I understand. You can come by tomorrow, if you're not busy?"

"Yeah, that'd be dope. Thanks." I quietly creaked open Hailie's door and saw her sweet little head sleeping peacefully in her tiny bed. Fuck, I love her. I walked over to her and gave her a little kiss on her forehead. I whispered "I love you, baby." And she stirred slightly. I watched her, making sure she didn't wake up and then when I was sure I was in the clear I creeped back out of her room and shut the door. 

"Want a beer?" Kim asked me as we walked back down the hall. 

"Nah, that's okay. I should get home." 

"Ah, come on! I haven't seen you in awhile. How was New York? You've been spending a lot of time out there." She walked to the fridge and pulled out two beers anyway. 

"Uh, yeah it was good! I really enjoy it out there. And the party I went to was dope. Met a lot of huge New York emcees, so it was tight." She uncapped the beers and handed me one. I took it anyway. One couldn't hurt. 

"And that was Angel's party right?" We both sat down at her round kitchen table, and she sat down beside me. 

I nodded. "Yeah, it was." I took a few sips of my beer. 

"And how's that goin'?" I paused, unsure how to answer that without starting a fight. She scoffed. "Marshall, I'm just tryna be a friend. I've known you had a girlfriend for awhile. I'm not mad anymore." 

I nodded again and took a few more sips. "Aight. Uh, yeah, it's goin' well. I really like her, she's a super dope chick." 

"Aw, that's sweet." She smiled. "Have ya'll said 'I love you' yet?" 

"Nah. Not yet." I don't know why I lied, but it was just a knee jerk reaction. Maybe I didn't want Kim knowing those details of mine and Angel's relationship? 

"What? Why not? You said you loved me after like a week of us dating." She laughed. 

I laughed too. "Yeah, but I was sixteen and a virgin. I woulda told Big Bird I loved him if he was suckin' my dick." I drank more of my beer and all of a sudden it was completely done. 

She was killin' herself laughing at my joke and she got up and went to the fridge again. "That's true." She grabbed another beer and handed it to me.