Zadia stared at him blankly. "No."
The man's eyes squinted, which pushed Abel to finally say something. "Sure, Martin." He said, nervously. "You can ask us anything. It's not a problem."
Zadia looked at Abel confused about what he was babbling about, it wasn't until she caught his line of vision, that she paled. On Martin's neck, in plain black ink, was the tattoo of the Los Ánarquistas name and familiar tigress. Zadia knew right at that moment, that Martin wasn't the one to be fucked with. "Have you guys seen a lady and a baby around here recently? The mother's Hispanic, barely speaks English and the baby is a couple months old."
The only person that matched that description, was Zadia's neighbor, the one that lived across the hall. Her mouth went dry, but she didn't fold. "I've lived here for a pretty long time and have never met a woman that matched that description." She lied easily. She never had trouble lying, she could be very convincing. "No one in their right mind would raise a baby here."
Martin's eyes pierced hers and when he tilted his head to the side, his smirk grew wider. "I'll take your word for it." He said, not taking her eyes off her. "Thanks for the help."
"No problem." Said Abel. He was trying to get Martin's prying eyes off Zadia but it didn't work.
"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you look?" He asked Zadia. "Because if they haven't, let me take the time out of my day to tell you that, you are very beautiful." He licked his lips. "Lemme get your number."
"Thanks, but no thanks." She said, before looking at Abel. "Let's go." They moved up the stairs some more.
"Your number." He shouted as they walked away. "That's all I need to get you out this dump!"
Zadia paid no mind to what he said. "Friends of yours?" She muttered to Abel.
Abel shook his head. "Not even close. He's just very known in my part of town. Seen him a couple of times when I was hanging with my boys. He was recruiting and shit." Abel said while lifting the bike. "That's the first time he's actually spoken to me."
"Besides the fact that it's obviously a bad thing, why haven't you joined? Most kids your age would already be jumping towards an opportunity like that."
Abel frowned at Zadia. "A gang isn't an opportunity, it's a death wish. Like I said yesterday, I'm not made for gang life and I don't wanna be a part of all that. I've got way too much respect for my moms, to be fucking up her image of me. Before she died, she worked three whole jobs just to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads. And not ever did she ask me to help, she just wanted me to live a better life than hers. That's all she ever asked for."
Zadia's skin raised. She felt goosebumps on her arms. "She sounded like a wonderful woman. It's dope that you have a mindset like that."
Abel shrugged. "She was." He put the bike down to catch his breath. "Yo, where's your apartment? This too many steps."
Zadia continued to walk, leaving him behind. "It's literally the next floor up, stop being so lazy."
"These legs weren't made for all these stairs." He groaned.
"Really, then what were they made for? Sitting?" She said, sarcastically.
"I would tell you the real answer, but it's pretty inappropriate."
Zadia rolled her eyes. "You're such a boy." She mumbled under her breath. She took her house keys out of her pocket once she got to her floor. "Remember, you're only staying here till school is over and then you're out. Don't touch anything and don't snoop, keep your thoughts to yourself and don't eat any of my stuff. If you break anything, you're paying for it."
ChApTeR - 2
Start from the beginning
