MARIE ✔️

E L E V E N

K A D E N

I never picked up the package and now I know everyone's gonna give me a fit about it.

Tough shit. For them.

I pull up to my house, which also counts as our "safe house". This is where we store everything, our guns, our alcohol, our weed. Pretty much everything.

Leo, Rhodes, and P, stand in the front yard waiting for me to pull up. They look pissed.

Oh well.

I park the car on the gravel and turn the engine off. They stare at me, attempting to give a strict stare, but they just look constipated.

I get out of the car and walk over to them, the gravel crunching under my shoes.

"Where were you, K.J?" Leo immediately asks. He runs a hand through his tight curls and sighs. "We couldn't get the stuff without you there. It's gonna take another month for it to come in."

"Then I guess we'll have to wait another month." I go to walk away, but I hear there footsteps behind me. I turn around and stare at them. "What the fuck do y'all want? You ain't got nothing better to do?"

"This isn't like you, man. You yelled at P for doing his job, a job you told him to do. And then you miss one of the most important shipments of the year?"

"I didn't tell him to go point a gun at a bunch of random kids. If he wants to tattle on me, he should do it right." I step up to Leo so that our chests are barely touching. "And like I said. We'll wait till next month."

Leo shakes his head as continues to stare at me. "You're the one who told us we should know what to do in any situation. Even when you don't say nothing." He says. "You usually don't care about this type of shit! He didn't even shoot no one and you acted like the world was gonna end."

I scoff, wanting to laugh in his face for being dumb right now. "You weren't even there. So don't tell me what you think I should know. I been running this game longer than all of you combined. If I say something, I expect no questions to be asked."

All three of them get quiet. Rhodes and P pretend like they're looking at something in the distance just so they don't have to stare at me.

While Leo is all eyes. He doesn't back down. I expect that from him.

"You're my best friend, Leo," I put a hand on his shoulder and pat it. "But if you ever pull some goofy shit like that again," I lean back and take my hand off his shoulder, "I won't see you as a friend at all."

His jaw tightens and his body becomes stiff.

"Is that clear?" I ask in a teasing voice.

He struggles to look at me, but when he does, all I see is anger. "Yes, boss."

I force myself to smile.

"Good."

With that, I go inside, leaving them behind.

I enter my dully lit room. The only light source being provided is the rising sun from the window. But it's not any help because grey clouds are starting to form outside.

We need to get everything from the truck before it starts raining.

I go into the bathroom and turn the shower on. I drag my white t-shirt up my body and throw it on the floor. I go to unbuckle my pants, but a knock on my door interrupts me.

I leave the bathroom with a groan and open the door.

Leo stands there in an uncomfortable stance. His hands are behind his back, and his feet are angled awkwardly at each other.