Zion POV
"Wait so your telling me that you sell drugs?"I asked in disbelief
"Yeah, but baby it's all for good reasons." He tried to reason but i just looked at him he had two heads.
"When is there ever a good reason for selling drugs!?!?!?" I yelled to the top of my lungs not caring what kind of commotion I was causing.
"Damn ma if you just hear me out instead of yelling my head off you'll understand."
"Ok. Go ahead."
"Go ahead?" he asked
"Yeah. Now before I get angry all over again." I said
"Ok this gon' be a long one so sit down," he commanded gesturing for me to take a seat on the bed. He started up again once I sat down. "I started selling drugs with my brother when I was 13 years old. He showed me the way around the streets and taught me how to be smart about my surroundings. After some time of being in the streets my brother and his friends had built something for themselves where all the niggas on the streets had nothing but respect for him and his crew. They wouldn't dare cross him and because I was his little brother they respected me too," August explained.
"But why did ya have to sell drugs out of all things to do?" I asked
"Life was moving to fast for us. My mama lost her job, the lights were about to be turned off and to top it all off Keisha was pregnant with Keke and Melvin was not about to have them go on no damn welfare. Mama thought me and Melvin got the money from helping out the neighbors and at the grocery stores."
"When am I gon see this brother everyone talkin bout? I mean he ain't here so where he at?"
"In the graveyard on Crosby Ave buried six feet under," he said looking me dead in my eyes.
"I'm sorry about that baby," I said
"When we found out about his death that's when mama discovered what we really been doin to make sure the lights was kept on. She said that if she ever found out that I was selling again I wouldn't have to worry about a nigga on the street killing me because she would do it herself," he said laughing. "But mamas little nine to five wasn't working and the girls needed some more money so I had to bring that dough in."
"Does Keisha know?"
"Yeah she found out but I know that she wont tell my mama. I mean she tried to get me out the game because she don't want what happened to Melvin to happen to me but she know when I have my mind set on something it's set on it." he said
"Oh." I said feeling a little stupid for not hearing him out first.
"See baby I don't do this because I think it's cool or because its what everyone else is doing so i wanna be down with them niggas but because I got to do this for my family. My brother taught me how to be a man partially before he left this world. He was like a real father to me. Unlike most older brothers who left their younger siblings he took me with him everywhere. We were joined at the fucking hip. I miss him so much man." He said scooting closer to me on the bed and putting his arms around my waist and I could actually see he's facial features turn from tense to relaxed when he talked about his brother. He actually looked sweet and compassionate for a second.
"How he died?"
"Someone shot him a three times in each eye and left him to die in an alley."
"So ya don't know who killed him?" I asked
"Nah everybody wanted to take his place and be the most respected nigga of these streets but nobody would even let the thought of killing him enter their mind. I ain't ever gon stop looking tho I'm gon find that son of a bitch one day."
