Jamal Pov
It shouldn't be this hard to find this girl. I heard she resigned in Atlanta. At least that's where the feds say she is. But there is no trace of her. She got me out here looking like a bum ass nigga for her. I'm rocking these clothes like i'm stuck in the 90s.
I found this gas station in this hood ass neighborhood. It looked like they got robbed a lot. I decided to go in and ask about shorty.
"Yo, B." I walked in and everyone turned to me. There was a dice game going on. People were drinking everywhere.This looked like a hang out spot.
"Who are you homeboy?" They sounded so country here. People in New York talk totally different.
"I want to know if you seen shorty." I grabbed the balled picture out my pocket. I kept it for years. It was a picture of Laney and I back in our fugitive days.
The guys all leaned in to look at the picture. They then started bagging away while looking at me in a weird way.
"Sorry for the introduction man. You're like a legend out here." One dude spoke. I wasnt even interested in what he was saying. I just wanted my girl.
"Where is Laney?" I asked. A dude came from the back wearing all black. He had jailhouse tatts all over him. He aint scare me like he thought he did.
"Who the fuck is you lil homie?" Dude disrespected me.
"Who the fuck is you, B?" He started moving closer to him.
"I'm the motherfucker keeping you live right now." He showed me the gun tucked in his baggy pants.
"Yo chill, Black. This Jamal. This your girl's old man." One lil homie explained. Black didn't look phased. He looked me up and down and smirked.
"Bitch introduce yourself better next time. You ain't in New York." Black smacked his lips and walked back to the back. I'm confused because everybody giving me this run around ass story.
"So in so many words you bitch ass niggas don't know where my girl is." I was pissed off now. They wasting a nigga time for no fucking reason at all.
"Oh she be hanging out over on Carter street." One boy finally told me. I shook my head at the young niggas. They was acting like they was talking to jay Z or somebody. I aint no fucking body.
"Anybody can tell me where that is?" I asked.
"You dont have GPS on your phone?" He asked.
"Nigga do it look like i got a fucking phone?! I just got out of prison lil nigga." I said.
"It's literally two blocks over. You'll see the sign." He said. I turned to walk out the door but i felt something. I dont know this feeling. Im not familiar with it.
"Yall sell some cheap flowers or something in here?" I asked. By time i turned back to them i saw Black standing there with them.
"For what?" Black asked.
"For my motherfucking girl." I told him. He laughed once again.
"Christian's girl.Don't come into her life fucking everything up for my girl. She worked too hard on forgetting you." Black said. I felt bad. It's probably best to stay out her life. She's better off without me. Her and that cornball deserve each other.
"So what about me?" I asked.
"Go back to New York big homie. You got a life outside of this." One lil guy said.
"Or you can go fuck her life up and drag her back into that lifestyle." Black said.
I just stood there looking stupid. For the first time i wish i was actually dead. I felt like i did all of this for nothing. Then i can't break lil homie heart because he crazy about Laney. Laney lil ass probably crazy about him too.
"Ya'll didn't see me here." I turned away from them and headed out the door. I belong in New York. Nothing but trouble comes from us being together. That's gone always be my shorty no matter what.
"Yo Jamal!" A voice called as i crossed the street. I turned and looked back and saw the same young guy from the store.
"Wassup lil homie." I said. He jogged across the street to meet me.
"I wrote this rhyme about you and Rich Porter and I want you to hear it." He sounded excited as shit.
"What you know about Rich Porter? Nigga i don't even know much about the nigga." I laughed. Rich Porter is a big OG everybody looked up to back in the day in the Bronx. They say the movie Paid in Full is made after him.
"I'm from the Bronx too but my mom moved to Atlanta about three years ago." He said. As he was talking i saw a girl walking along the sidewalk with her head down and her hands tucked in her jacket pockets. She looked like she was trying to avoid anyone talking to her. I knew that skinny figure from anywhere. I knew the long black hair that hung low. And i knew those brown eyes once they looked up at me.
She looked like she had saw a ghost. Maybe i was a ghost to her. Maybe i was even a memory to her.
"Wassup Shorty." Was all i could think to say. I'm so stupid. I was supposed to make a grand entrance and sweep her off her feet but i didn't want to. I really didn't want her to see me. Her knees got weak and she fell out right there on the sidewalk.
"I'll catch up with you another time homie. Let me take this chick home." I patted him on the back before walking over to Laney. I knelt down by her and scooped her into my arms. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked terrified.
"Jamal?" She whispered.
"Live and in the flesh shorty." I assured her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and lied her head on my chest.
"I've missed you." She told me.
"Want to show me how much you missed daddy?" I whispered to her. I've been in prison for a few years now. I couldn't help but fantasize about getting pussy. Laney's pussy at that!
"Take me home." She told me. She guided me to the apartment she lived in and I knew she wasn't living out this bullshit. It looked like it was infested by rats and roaches. But I guess you have to get it how you live.
Some people arent fortunate enough for this. I mean people are starving it here in these streets. I see homeless people outside of her apartment building right now. She hopped down and lead me up to her apartment.
"Don't talk about my living. I'm trying to make it." She said. Shorty know i aint here to judge. I just fuck with her the long way. Once she opened the door the first thing i saw was a big duffel bag on the table and a little boy on the couch watching cartoons.
Damn
There was this feeling of grief. No one died, but my soul slowly drifted away from my body. My heart ached at the sight of the consequences of my actions. I knew I deserved every part of this karma. I just wish I would have kept walking.
"Who's he?" A knot formed in my throat as I choked the words out slowly. Her eyes seemed unfazed at my obvious heart break.
"You've missed a lot." She explained. I had to take a seat so my knees wouldn't go weak. Everything was going in slow motion.
"Are you okay?" She asked. I looked into those brown eyes and saw everything I missed when I was away.
"That's your son?" I nodded my head over at little man. he looked at me and then to Laney.
"You can't get any of my chicken nuggets. Auntie Lori said she was going to eat them with me." He came straight out and told me. I was confused.
"Yes, but not biological. He found us." She told me. She looked at that little boy with so much pride. I felt relieved by her words.
"Us?" I asked so confused. Maybe i should have kept my black ass in prison. I don't know anything about anything.
"My boyfriend." She said. She looked unsure at me. I knew shorty had a boyfriend. Of course i knew she wouldn't wait to do.
"I'm sorry, Laney." That was all i could think to say. I stood up but she grabbed my arm.
"His name is Jamal." She giggled. I looked at little man and he looked at me.
"My name is Jamal too." I told him. He stood up and walked over towards me.
"Nice meeting you Jamal." He smiled showing those dimples like mine. It's like God needed to keep Laney and I connected. This little guy resembles me and Laney, but he's not our baby. He has my name. He has my smile. He has Laney's color, and hair.
"You remember that movie, The Odd Life of Timothy Green? It's like he's a gift from God." I told Laney causing her to giggle.
"My dad says that he will come back and take me to the park." He said. Laney started to look sad again.
"Who's daddy?" I asked him.
"Christian. He got lock-"
"Okay baby go play in the other room." Laney quickly covered his mouth and walked him to the other room.
I looked at the duffel on the table and had a curious mind. I unzipped the bag and saw thousands of dollars worth of cocaine. I quickly zipped it back once i heard her coming.
"I respect your man." I told her.She ignored that and came and sat at the table with me. She stared at me for about two minutes and jumped into my arms to hug me.
"I still can't believe you came back for me." She started to cry.
"You my shorty no matter what." I kissed her forehead and wiped her tears away.
"I'm sorry that i fell in love with someone else." She cried more. I just held her and rocked her.
"You thought I was dead. I didn't expect you to wait for no reason. Stop crying. It's alright." I told her.
"You don't know how lost and depressed I was about you. I had rage, Jamal. I escaped prison. I found my shorty and made him go on the run with me. I still have all of this money from all the people we robbed and murdered. We killed cops Jamal. I ruined Christian's life. He probably would never forgive me." She cried again.
"He doesn't blame you. Matter of fact the lil nigga love you. He loves you more than I ever could. He can provide better for you. He can make you that queen that you deserve to be." I told her. She stopped crying and looked at me.
"What about you?" She asked. I smiled and stroked her soft cheek.
"Don't worry about me. I got to get back to New York and live my life. We can always keep in touch." I told her. She hugged me tightly.
"I just got you back. You can't leave me again. Are you crazy?" She had a good grip on me. I just giggled.
"Shorty, you have a nigga that's head over hills for you. I can't come fuck that up. I have nothing good to offer you." I told her.
"I want to go back to New York too." She whined. I wish she could too but she can't. She can't unless she wants the police after our black asses again. They gone be watching us like a damn stalker. I don't have space for that lifestyle anymore.
"Atlanta loves you. I met Black .he seems like a real OG for you." I told her and she nodded.
"He protected me out here. He made sure Mya Johnson was cool." She said.
"Who?" i asked confused. She giggled and shook her head.
"I got something I want to give you." She hopped up out my lap and walked to the kitchen. She came back with a brief case and a smile.
"In here is 20 grand. This should be enough to get you back to New York and give you a decent life until you get back on your feet." She tried handing me the brief case but i just looked at it.
"I can't take that from you." I shook my head.
"I can make this back in a week. Just take it!" She pushed the brief case closer to me but i didn't take it.
"You know I'm a born hustler. I don't need this." She said.
"Yea you do. You need it to add onto the money you gone make from this cocaine you got sitting out on the table. What I tell you about moving like that, shorty?" I mugged her and her face dropped.
"You went through my duffel?" She grabbed it off the table and sat it on the floor under the table.
"You had it out in the open for anyone to see. You got to be smarter than that. I hope you done once you get old boy of of the pen." I told her.
"It's Lori's idea. We just want enough to get him out and pay these crooked pigs their cut." She sounded disgusted.
"That's my girl." I pulled her in and kissed her cheek. She moved her face so i was kissing her lips. I felt that same spark i felt back in the day when we would kiss after we had just robbed a bank.
"want to take a shower and wear some of Christian's clothes. I remember that same wack ass outfit you wore. She laughed. Maybe I could stay until Christian actual comes back.
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So who do you prefer
#LaneyandChristian
#LaneyandJamal
I'm sad that this story is coming to an end really soon. I have literally been writing this a minute now. This grew to be my favorite book I wrote on Wattpad. I want to give you all a chance to choose a banging exit for this story to take.