We made it back home and I showered and changed into my pajamas before going back downstairs to start counting.
B and Psycho had set everything up before going to do the same.
I took a handful of hundreds and began counting them until I got to fifty then would rubber band them together. All together this was supposed to be 235k so we'd be here a while. I had Malcolm slice up some fruit before he went to bed.
Riot walked in the office and closed the door. As I bent over to grab more money, I felt him stand behind me and press against my ass.
"Riot..."
"Hm?"
"What do you want?" I asked.
He rested his chin on my shoulder as his hand rubbed underneath my shirt.
"I just wanna touch you."
"Because?"
"Because you ruined my other opportunity tonight."
"She pissed me off."
"Yea, because she giggles too much."
"Mhm."
I looked to the side to see him and he placed a kiss on my lips.
I went back to counting and he let me go then took a seat.
"Which one of you knocked Benny out?" I asked.
"I don't know." he lied as he counted.
"Don't lie."
"I'm serious. I wasn't payin' attention."
"Hm." I knew he was still lying.
I sat down and the door opened.
Psycho entered and took a seat next to me to start counting.
Not too long after, so did B.
"You need to go to bed." Riot told him.
"What're you talkin' about?" B asked and sat down to count.
"The dark circles under your eyes and the fact they're always halfway open." Psycho added.
"You look tired as shit." said Riot.
"I'm fine."
"B, if I plucked you in your forehead you would be out like a light." I told him.
"I'm good. All of you just worry too much." He grabbed the money and started counting.
Riot stood up and snatched it from him.
"Go to bed, dumbass." he commanded.
"Riot, I'm fine." He grabbed more of the money.
Riot snatched that pile too and B groaned.
"Just let me do it." B instructed.
"No, you need to go to sleep." I told him.
"I don't need-..."
"You look half dead." Psycho said.
"Nah, he looks completely dead."
"I'm fi-..."
"How long do you usually sleep for?"
"Like two hours probably."
"That's so unhealthy, B."
"I DON'T NEED TO GO TO SLEEP!" he shouted with a slam to the table. "I JUST NEED TO GET SOMETHIN' DONE! I GOT SHIT TO DO JUST LET ME FUCKIN' DO IT!"
We looked at him.
I got up and walked around the table to his side.
I took his hand and tried pulling him up. "Come on." I told him.
"No, man. Just...Just let me do it..."
"You can finish tomorrow morning. Come on." I offered.
He stood out of his seat and walked with me as we left the room.
"When was the last time you slept?" I asked as we got in the elevator.
"Last night."
"I'll reword it. When was the last time you slept longer than three hours?"
He took a deep breath. "I don't remember."
We got out and made it to his room.
He just stared at his bed like he didn't want to get in it.
"I got so much shit to do, Lei." he stated.
"Look at me."
He turned his head to do so.
"You're doing a great job. You're hardworking and you're keeping us alive. It's okay for you to rest. The world isn't gonna fall apart. Everything will be just fine when you wake up. No one should be worked this hard."
I watched the tears in his eyes. He's so tired.
"Go on." I permitted and gently pushed him to his bed.
He crawled in reluctantly, he didn't even bother to get under the blankets. He laid on top on his stomach with his arms underneath his pillow.
"Can you set my alarm clock for 6?" he asked.
"Yea."
It was 2am. I wasn't doing that to him. He needed to sleep.
I bent down and kissed his head before walking out of his room and turning off his light as I left.
I headed back down to help count.
When I walked back in, Psycho and Riot were still counting.
"He alright?" Riot asked.
"Yea. Reluctant but he stopped fighting it."
"That's that bitch's fault." Riot claimed.
"Who?"
"Zachariah." Psycho answered.
"He gives B all these complicated ass tasks as if they're gonna make the gang any different. A hundred and eighty thousand motherfuckers with us and 65% came during B's reign in the past 8 years. But he tells him he ain't doin' enough. Now my brother's gonna go into fuckin' cardiac arrest tryin' to please some bitch that ain't gonna care about him whether he lives or dies! It's fuckin' bullshit!"
He was right.
"The motherfucker does a lot more shit than we think he does but he wakes up at the asscrack of dawn to get half of it done then goes to bed at 4 in the fuckin' morning. Asshole lives off of coffee and cardio workouts."
We all just counted the money as Riot went on a rant for his brother.
"He'd actually live a lot fuckin' better if he'd stop worryin' about what that fuckin' gorilla might think of him." he pointed out.
"Ain't that easy." Psycho said.
"How ain't it?"
"Zachariah's been treatin' B like he was some prodigy since we've been alive. All B knows is how to seek Zachariah's approval. He ain't nothin' without it. If Zachariah told him to jump off the roof, he'd go grab the ladder."
"That's sad." I stated.
"It's all he knows. Zachariah used to treat B like he was his favorite. Took him with him on drug deals they'd come back with ice cream. Taught him how to fight first. Was more concerned with him being educated than the rest of us. Used to talk about B's future with a wife and kid. We ain't never get that. Then he randomly turned on him whenever he gave him the job to run the gang. Zachariah used to compare himself to B and say that B wasn't doin' nearly as much as he used to and that used to cut B because it was the first time he'd ever disappointed that man. Then slowly it started eatin' away at him, 'cause he ain't ever get his father's approval again. Nothin' he did was good enough anymore. He's still workin' on tryin' to get it back."
"Ain't gonna happen." Riot stated as he put a rubber band around another stack.
"I always thought it would be when B finally got married." Psycho said.
"Nah, even then, he'd probably tell B that his wife ain't tall enough or woman enough or pretty enough and that shit would affect him too."
"Probably." Psycho agreed.
Listening to this made my heart ache for B. He didn't deserve that treatment. He's doing so well. He only ever goes up and we haven't experienced a decline in years. I could never ask for a better protector and boss. B deserved encouragement and praise.