"Her daddy always taught her about the Bible and God but he never prepared her to meet the devil, also known as Josiah Lavonte Payne."
Trials, tribulations, betrayal and death are rooted in Bailey and Josiah's relationship. Will they overcome the ma...
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"Oh my fucking God, Grandma!! You really left me that sad ass voicemail just so I could come over here and open a jar of soup?" Josiah scoffs, slamming the opened jar on the table. "Matter fact why this soup in a jar anyways?"
"Aite na JoJo, watch ya damn mouth in my house! Don't be cussing and using God in the same sentence. I just wanted to see you hell, you never come over here anymore and I made the soup for yo brother. I had that bad ass lil boy across the street put the lid on. Ya brother didn't come get it so I'm bout to eat it." Hattie says while wiping up the spilled soup from the table.
"My bad Granny, you could've just said you wanted to see me. Talking bout some I can't do this without you. I thought something was wrong! You don't leave that kind of voicemail at 2:00 in the morning."
The whole time Josiah is talking Hattie warms her soup on the stove and sits down at the table, saying her grace before eating.
"Josiah, I'll leave whatever voicemail I want. I'm sixty eight years old. You don't tell me what to do... what was you doing that was so important? Probably was screwing sum hoe off the streets." Hattie asks him while spooning the vegetable soup into her mouth.
"I wasn't screwing nobody. I was chilling with this girl who is not a hoe at all. She different."
"I don't wanna hear nun bout her if you ain't gone let me met her. Knowing you, you'll find sum wrong with her soon. Let you tell it, ain't none of these women good enough for you."
"I just met her myself so nah I'm not letting you meet her unless we get serious. She really ain't giving me the time of day like I want her to so you might not ever meet her." Josiah says while pulling out his phone and scrolling through social media.
"So you basically saying you want her to give it up and she ain't?" Hattie smirks, looking her grandson in the eyes.
"Aite conversation over. I'm bout to head out granny. Please don't call me to open nun else tonight. Love you."
Josiah hugs his grandma and gives her a kiss on the cheek before walking towards the door.
"Love you too, JoJo. You and yo brother outta go to Bible class with me tomorrow night. You know my friends at church would love to see y'all."
"Goodnight grandma." He laughs before exiting the house.
Hattie is always preaching to her grandchildren about getting back in the church but the truth is neither of her grandsons can stand it. She used to force them to go when the accident first happened and all Josiah can remember is feeling judged. The members of the church were supposed to support them but all they did was look down on him and his brother. He knew then that the church scene wasn't for him.
Getting into his car, Josiah checks the time as he starts driving to his brother's house. It's already nearing 4:00am and he has to be at work in 4 hours. He already knows he's going to be sleepy as hell. The only good part about coming to his grandma's house is that his brother only lives 10 minutes from her. Keeping one hand on the wheel, Josiah uses his phone to call his brother.
"Aye bruh, bring the shit outside. I'm tired as hell and gotta be at work soon. Whatever went down can be talked about later." He says, hanging up the phone before his brother annoys him even more.
As soon as he pulls up, his brother walks outside empty handed which confuses Josiah, making him raise an eyebrow.
"Where the shit at, Gio?"
"That's what I was tryna tell you before you hung up JoJo. I was getting the shit outta my trunk and sum nigga robbed me. Hit me in the head with a glock, knocked me the fuck out. Once I woke up, all the shit in my trunk was gone." Giovanni explains while getting into Josiah's car and holding his hands up to the heater. That nightly fall wind ain't nothing to play with.
"Well shit, no wonder you didn't go get yo soup from Granny. So what exactly did the nigga take? Did you see who it was before he knocked you out?" Josiah asks, looking at the dried up blood on the back of his brother's head.
"Granny always telling my business and he took multiple bricks of cocaine, plenty weed, some pills and bout $2,500. Naw Ian see who did it but the streets gone talk soon and when I find out who did it, ima kill that nigga just like I did Uncle Lavonte." Gio says with his lips snarled upwards.
"Damn G, you bring that shit up about unc every time you talk about killing somebody. Nigga, that was self defense. You ain't no fucking killer cause if you was they would've locked yo ass up for murder. That was years ago and you ain't pulled a trigger since then cause it fucked you up that bad."
"Man fuck you JoJo! You need to be thanking me cause unc was bout to buss a cap in yo stupid ass. Ima re-up then let you know when I need some shit put into the jail" Giovanni says before getting out of the car, slamming the door behind himself. "and tell whatever bitch you was with that her perfume FUNKY AS HELL!!"
"Nigga that's grandma perfume! I hugged her before I left." Josiah yells out of the window before pulling off.
Although Josiah hates thinking about the day his parents were killed by their uncle, he always corrects Giovanni when he acts like a killer. His brother was a scared little kid when it happened and he's the same way now. He just puts on a show to make himself feel better about the situation.
After driving for a while, Josiah makes it back to his own house then goes inside and strips down to his boxers; getting into bed and falling asleep within minutes.
