"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳"
Juice WRLD - Bandit
~
"I thought I shouldn't be over here"
Riley tried his best to hide the shakiness in his voice as he spoke, he felt he had the right to be, after warning him that a gang might be after him and they need to distance themselves, Khalil had suddenly invited him over for an important discussion. The thirteen-year-olds mind was running with many different reasons as to why Khalil would want him over, and it didn't help that he was beginning to panic, though he tried not to show this to Khalil. If the older man thought Riley was going to fold at any point...
He might silence him.
"I know what I said lil' man, but things change" Khalil spat, his voice harboring an edge to it that caught Riley off guard, "but I had to ask you some things-"
"And why ain't Q.C wit' us? Ain't he caught up too-"
"Lemme finish," the dreaded man glared, "I had to leave Q.C out, and I'mma get to that soon, but I gotta ask you a few thangs," when he paused, Riley stood up straight, "you know why Q.C an orphan right?"
"Uh... sumn' to do wit' trafficking, they got a life sentence both didn't they?"
Khalil chuckled, "sorta, his dad side of the family all a bunch of mafia niggas, his moms got popped for snitchin' after she agreed to be a witness against his dad in court, heard her body got dumped in a river," Riley found himself freezing, hoping those words weren't prophetic, "his pops got life for a whole bunch a different charges, none of the McAddams gave a fuck about Q.C so they sent him to some orphanage, then he got adopted by a nigga I know, I never told you who he was did I?"
Riley shook his head, "Daniel 'K.S' Harttem, the K.S stand for Kill Streak, nigga got bodies," Khalil chuckled, as though it were nothing, "anyway, I also gotta ask you this, Q.C been movin' weird lately?"
Riley though for a bit, then shrugged, "Ion know, he been actin' regular to me"
"Aw, and here I thought you was gonna gimme an excuse"
The young boy looked Khalil in his eyes, they were grey, empty looking too, it scared him. The older man took a huff of whatever he was smoking, Riley thought it smelt awful, and coughed, "him and K.S not gon' make it to christmas I'll tell you that"
"W-Watchu mean-"
"Watchu think I mean dumb nigga!?" Khalil snapped, "word on the street is lil' Q.C wanna go to the fed 'cause his weak ass scared, and K.S want me under so he can take over my block, shit ain't happening, they gotta go," the man tapped his foot, "they gotta die"
Riley never tried to talk back to Khalil, even back when he was just delivering for him, but this time he couldn't stop himself, "you can't just kill Q.C man! Ion give a fuck about nunna yo beef wit' that Daniel whatever nigga, but Q.C ain't do shit! We just kids bruh, we wasn't even involved in this gang shit, we just transported all yo shit, why yo gotta-"
"Shut yo ass up!" Khalil snapped, "I ain't give you no fuckin' options lil' nigga, you came to me askin' to make easy money, I gave you a choice and you took it, so don't talk like I forced you into shit," Riley sat back, looking away, "Q.C got snitch in his blood, his moms ratted out her own nigga, how am I s'posed to trust his ass?"
"I'll make sure he don't snitch!" Riley blurted out.
Khalil shook his head, "you really don't know shit about streets do you? Ain't not talkin' out, we gotta iron out all da rough patches before shit goes sideways and we all locked up" Khalil then glared at Riley, "I know you, ya mouth don't run, so I'mma let you leave, but if and when I shoot them nigga, if I even see yo ass near a police station, ya auntie pickin' out coffins, capiche?"
Riley wanted to defy him, to argue back, but he knew he couldn't, so he just nodded, "good, now go home, ain't shit else to discuss"
On his walk home, Riley was sure he looked like a corpse, he was staring vacantly at the ground, barely blinking, and just walking. Khalil wanted to kill Quincy, Khalil swore he was going to kill Quincy, and Riley couldn't do anything about it. They were both just runner boys, all they did was transport and deliver drugs, that's it, that's all it was supposed to be, how had it possibly gone this far?
When Riley got him, the building was empty. Carrie had gone to work and Huey was out with friends, meaning it was just him and, as he soon discovered, Newton. The boy went to his bedroom and slumped on his bed, he stared at the wall, being home alone wasn't fun anymore, he was always looking over his shoulder, he felt scared, a feeling Riley hated more than anything. He was soon joined by a certain doberman puppy, who was absolutely large by now, that found his way onto the young boys lap.
"Yo Newton... watchu think Granddad woulda said if he saw the shit I was now?" he then chuckled, "you never met him, shit, my bad," Riley then looked up, though still using a hand to pet the dog, "I think he woulda been extra pissed man... the typa pissed that had him sittin' in his lil' chair m-mad as hell"
Though forcing out a chuckle, the puppy raised his head inquisitively at the tone Riley was speaking in, his curious expression becoming worrisome whines when he saw a couple droplets fall from the young boy's cheeks.
"Man, no wonder he ain't stand my ass, a-all I do is fuck up," he used his other hand to grip his bedsheets, "Khalil gon' kill Q.C, I put all of us in danger man, all 'cause I wanted some fuckin' money," whether it was because of pure overwhelming emotion, or the fact that he knew he was gonna be alone with Newton for at least a few hour, Riley just let the tears fall, "this wasn't s'posed to happen! What am I gonna do? I can't tell nobody, Khalil got eyes every, I'm not gon' make it man, I'm not gon' make it... and it's all my fault, this ain't what Granddad wanted at all, no wonder he fuckin' hated me,"
Riley sniffled, and as he did so, Newton tried his very best to calm him, snuggling into him, placing gentle licks to his cheeks, the boy just took it, petting Newton all the while. Eventually, Riley got tired, and laid back, and found himself drifting off, Newton then curled up beside him, and though not falling asleep himself, stayed quiet and still so Riley could nap, finally getting a bit of rest.
~
"What are you doin' here?"
Carrie stared in awe, she felt her heart race as though she were a school girl once more. The woman worked at a hotel, meaning she often spent days and nights away, so imagine her shock when an all black Bugatti pulled up at her work, with a certain Shawn Belmont stepping out.
"What do you think? I'm here to take you out, we still haven't had our date, and I'm finally free"
Though her brain pleaded to say yes, she shook her head, "I'd love too Shawn, but I'm kinda workin'-"
"Just tell 'em Shawn Belmont needs you, I doubt they'll hold you back; better yet, I'll take you out, and I'll email your boss myself later on, how about that?"
Carrie stood still, thinking it over. Her boss could be a rather stingy, but he wasn't wrong, nobody in their right mind would say no to a Belmont.
So, she wasted no time in ditching her post and hopping into the bugatti with Shawn.
The man drove her all around, and at first she wondered if he was just going to take her sight seeing. She took in a deep breath, sometimes she couldn't believe it, the Shawn Belmont was interested in her, her! Regular Carrie Freeman, it was mind blowing. She would never in her life think a man of his calibre would even look his way, where was his super hot and rich model girlfriend?
The woman's thoughts came to a pause when Shawn parked the car somewhere, she was going to ask why on earth he had stopped until she saw the place they had stopped in front of.
Babylon.
Carrie's eyes stayed wide and in shock, Babylon was a designer brand she had always wanted to have, but could never afford, window shopping in their perfume and lingerie sections used to be her favorite pass time when she was a lot younger. Even now, she only had one Babylon item, a perfume she was gifted from Duchess on her birthday a few years back, and she had still yet to finish it.
Shawn got out of the car, before opening the door for Carrie and smiling, "what are you waiting for?"
Carrie stepped out, looking around somewhat nervously "we shoppin' here? Hate to burst ya bubble but I can't afford Babylon stuff"
"That's why you won't be doing any of the shopping, duh" he chuckled, walking with her to the entrance of the store, "just pick out what you want and I'll get it for you"
"Huh?" Carrie then shook her head, "you don't have to Shawn-"
"Exactly, I don't have too, but I want too" he then shot her another smile, a charming one, a smile that made her feel awfully giddy inside.
~
"Then Tommy told him to go die and the old man got mad, like, can you believe it?"
Jazmine was sat in the local McDonalds with her regular trio, though it was technically a school day, Xavier had convinced her and Larissa to skip with them, something she had found herself doing a lot lately. Xavier, who had his arm around Jazmine, then leaned forward and smirked.
"Wow, I can't believe why someone would get mad after being told to go die" he scoffed, which made Larissa roll her eyes.
The brunette then brought a large pink bottle out of her bag, "whatever dude, shut up"
"What's in that?" Jazmine asked, to which Larissa nonchalantly waved a hand.
"Vodka" she said in a manner so casually that you would be forgiven for thinking she was discussing an average soft drink. Jazmine said nothing, knowing that it was a product of her dating Tommy, though she'd be quite a hypocrite if she were to pretend Xavier hadn't convinced her to do things that may or may not have broken a few laws herself.
Larissa took a large swig of the drink, which made the mixed girl raise a brow, "doesn't vodka burn? I mean, I've never tried it but how are you just chugging it?"
"You get used to it after a while, to be honest I'm getting bored of it," Larissa then leaned back, smirking, "Tommy's getting us some harder stuff-"
"Aye!" Xavier cut in, "shut ya mouth, you're sayin' this waaay too loudly, we're not alone" he huffed, to which Larissa rolled her eyes yet again.
Tommy shrugged, "are you guys finished yet? I'm ready to bounce" he said in his usual blasé 'I couldn't care less if you paid me' manner.
The three agreed, with Jazmine just finishing her drink, before then leaving the McDonalds, not bothering to clean up after themselves. As they walked, Larissa continued to ramble on about one of the many chaotic nights her and Tommy had, with Jazmine nodded along and Xavier being too busy on his phone to care. It wasn't long until the two reached Tommy's place, he lived in a decently nice household, with a garden and everything, it made Tommy even stranger the more Jazmine thought about it.
Tommy, and Xavier, but mostly Tommy, was the epitome of a bad influence. He'd been to juvie so many times that if he wasn't in school, chances were it was because he was there. He'd have been in extra trouble, but his family was wealthy enough to pay officials off when it came for him to face actual consequences. Drugs, weapons and gang activity were all every day occurrences for Larissa's boyfriend, but you wouldn't expect it from someone who came from such a seemingly perfect background.
When the two entered the house, it was empty as usual. Jazmine took a seat on the couch alongside Larissa, whilst the boys went off to collect something. The mixed girl looked around, Tommy's living room was covered in plaques and certificates, all belonging to his incredibly accomplished parents ans older siblings. Again, he came from such an ideal background, with his whole family worth being in the millions, so how he had turned out the way that he had was a mystery.
At least Xavier had an excuse, his upbringing wasn't nearly as cookie cutter as Tom Stinton's was.
It took a while, when eventually Tommy and Xavier entered the room again, this time each holding two zip bags that had what looked to be some sort of ivory substance within it. Once she saw it, Larissa began clapping giddily, though Jazmine was still out of the loop, choosing not to say anything at all.
Tommy sat down, placing the zip bags onto the table then grinning deviously "coke" was all he said, which confused Jazmine, coke?
Coke...
Wait...
Coke!
"Woah!" The mixed girl felt herself, "this is so, but, we'll-"
Tommy rolled his eyes, "urgh, don't be so lame, look, Larissa's all excited, why can't you be more like her?"
Larissa nodded "I've never tried cocaine before, I didn't think you'd get some this quick Tommy!"
"I have my ways"
The three all laughed together, with Jazmine awkwardly shuffling her feet. She was okay with occasionally drinking with them, sometimes even smoking weed with them from time to time, but this wasn't that. This was hard, dangerous, illegal drugs, drugs that if she were caught with on her person or in her system would probably destroy her. This wasn't right, how would her parents feel if they saw her using substances like this?
But if you don't take it, they'll shun you.
Jazmine sighed, her and Larissa were best friends, but the brunette was completely infatuated with Tommy, so much so that if he distanced himself from Jazmine, so may she. Xavier and Tommy were practically brothers too, this was what they did, Jazmine didn't want to lose her friends or boyfriend all because she wanted to be a little goodie goodie.
Plus... what's the harm in one time?
"You wanna try it with us Jazzy? You don't have to" Xavier asked, looking at her as Tommy prepared the ivory substance on the table.
Jazmine sat still, she thought and thought, before then nodding, "yeah, I don't mind"
That was the day Jazmine Dubois began using cocaine.
Damn, maybe being a runner boy ain't all at :/
It seems Riley's in a lil pickle uh oh
And it seems Jazmine and Larissa are going down a dangerous path oh no
Also the next chap is called Off The Top, and Huey does smth stupid (but are we really shocked at this point???)
(My chapters seem to be getting shorter and shorter lol)