~~~~
(That same day, February 24th)
I never thought I was pretty, believe it or not. Lauren Phillips was pretty, shit, she was damn near perfect compared to me. I was just the offspring of a pothead who couldn't even keep her child from off the streets like she was. I never thought I was pretty because when I was younger, I didn't have much. I had maybe one baby doll named Lucy but my hair was always a mess, my clothes never fitted, I went hungry often and I was just unfortunate growing up.
But at the age of 17 and 16, I started taking care of myself better. My mama never taught me when I was young, so I had to learn on my own and with Terrance's money, I became...appealing than I ever was back then. Of course, I didn't think anything of it. In my mind, I was still that crackheaded baby with no eyebrows and scars...
But most people didn't see that up front...
I remember meeting a dear friend of mine once Molly got in with Mike and his boys. It was freshly after my breakup and I already had Chaz wanting to make love to me again, but then another one came around.
(That evening, 6:45 PM)
📍Fruitvale, CA
"Molly...I'm scared. These niggas the real deal and I have red hair for crying out loud" I said, checking my lips in the mirror as we sat in the car.
"Remember. Show no fear, we gotta get out here with the big boys, Ro. It's time to put on our big girl panties and go in there with our balls hanging"
"What if I left mine at home" I teased, laughing.
She gave me a look and turned off the car finally, by then some of the girls Molly also invited from our crew was crowding around our car for her to lead the way.
Well, this should be...fun.
*
Sitting at a huge circular table, me and the girls sat side by side while a few niggas from the mob sat in front of us. I had cold feet sitting in a place like this, this was truly a trap house and guns littered the entire crib. Anyone could lose their mind and blast all of us in bloody murder. Even more nerving though, was the looks I got from this one guy in particular.
His brown skin complexion and his thick eyebrows stood out most to me when I looked at him head on. He a small beard growing underneath and a cold stare with his eyebrows arched. I'm sure he was looking at the bright-ass red hair on my head, he probably hated the color red with a passion.
Then suddenly, multiple footsteps came our way and we all looked to the one known as Mike. The leader of a mob, wearing all black with a shinning bald head and thick facial hair. He looked like something, all of these niggas look like they could kill us on sight. I just need to be calm like Molly said, surly she wasn't scared of dying anymore.
"Hey doll face, these ya girls huh?" Mike said as Molly stood up to greet him with a kiss on the cheek and hug.
"Yeah, I told you I had some real cute-ass lookin' bitches with me. In the red locks, her name is Rowan. In the tank top, that's Jazi, next to her is Bonnie and that's Ava" Molly introduced us.
"Hello ladies. Nice meeting y'all but let's get down to business, you know. Since Molly here wants us to be partners in crime, I think the Mob needs to see a little something something before committing to y'all. So here's what I'm thinking..."
*
"No...I was just checking in to tell you where I am. I don't want to get in trouble"
"Wow. I thought I'd never see the day you take me serious, Rowan. I guess whooping that ass taught you the respect you have now for me. But aight, I want you home in the morning. No later than 11, ya hear?" Terrance said over the phone.
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow I guess" I rolled my eyes, talking.
I hung up a few seconds later and started texting one of my friends from school to tell her how the whole Chaz thing went. She was dying to know.
*Phone dings twice*📲
"Hey, you good out here?" Startled me as I looked up from my phone.
The voice came from the same guy who was staring at me cruelly all night. Now he was standing a few feet away, wearing sagging jeans and a black beater to outline his muscular chest. I was checking him out on the low though, how come he didn't catch my eye like this inside the house.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Why you ask?" I asked him as I sat in Bonnie's Jeep, waiting.
"I mean, you out here alone and shit when all ya little girlfriends are inside. What– were you talking to ya nigga at home" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets.
I laughed at his assumption. "I have no nigga at home, sir. I'm just waiting for my friends to take me home"
"Mhmm. That's hard to believe you don't have nobody out here holding it down for you. You taking any applications?" He flirted, sending blush marks to my cheeks.
"That was so cheesy" I chuckled. "Nah though, I'm not looking for a relationship right now. I got out of one recently and I'm still trying to recover"
"I feel you. Oh well, I know you don't know me but if y'all tryna bang with my crew, we should all get to know each other more. I can take you home if you want, I wasn't staying for the after party either" he said.
"Um...okay, sure" I said, standing up and reaching to grab my book bag out the back seat.
When I closed the back door, he escorted me to his car not too far from here. He stopped us at a black Dodge Charger and opened the door for me. I tossed my bag into the backseat instead and watched him get in on the other side. "My names is Reese by the way, what's yours?" He looked over before starting the car.
"Rowan" I smiled.
He smiled too, even showed a little teeth while his mustache shadowed over his plump and pink lips. "Pretty" he flirted. "I know we just met and everything but damn you are fine as hell"
"Thank you" I said, blushing uncontrollably at this point. My cheeks were so rosey red.
"So uh–where you from?"
"Uh...Oakland"
"Well obviously, smart-ass. What part specifically though, I ain't never see you around here before"
"Mmm....I don't think I wanna tell you. You might think that–never...nevermind"
"You're from West, aren't you?" He glance over as I adjusted my seat.
I nodded my head once he looked at me again and turned the other way. I was getting kind of nervous all over again since the Brotherhood wasn't too fond of people from West. Shit, maybe this wasn't ideally the best partnership for me specifically.
"I'm not a Red okay, please don't tell anyone–"
"Ma, chill. It's fine with me and I didn't think you were a red. I just knew you were from West because A: I never saw you and this my part of town and B: because you got that look about you too"
"What look? Is it that obvious? How the hell can you tell?"
"It's not obvious, girl...relax. I'm just a perceptive guy" he said smoothly.
"Yeah I noticed that by the way you were staring at me at the table. May I ask why you look like you wanted to kill me?"
"I think you're cute and that's not a good combination to have when we're about to become partners"
I looked over at him, seeing that he was serious about what he said. He didn't look back at me until he stopped the car at a red light heading back to Antonio. I really thought he was cute now too, so it wasn't just him appreciating me. He started looking finer and finer by the minute.
"So where are you heading tonight? If you want, we could go somewhere local for a little bit. Come to a bar with me, I'll buy you a drink and get you in even if you're underage if you want" he offered.
"Sure..."
(12:57 AM)
Laying my head on the window, I told him to go down the street a little more until we were on Chaz's block. I asked him to stop us right at the corner because I felt more comfortable walking to his house instead. Other than that, I un-hooked myself from his seat belts and looked his way with a smile. "Thanks for taking me out tonight, stranger"
"Nah, you're welcome. I'm glad you had fun, maybe you'll hit me up in the future"
"Like we're never going to see each other after this– we're on the same team now"
"I just wanna do this more often smart-ass but you mind if I come inside?"
"Oh...It's not my house and I don't think you'd want to..." I teased.
He rolled his eyes with jealousy. "I thought you said you ain't have a nigga waiting at home. What's his name?"
"Nothing, Reesey"
"Reesey huh? Do I look like a chocolate peanut butter snack to you?"
I chuckled. "Well do you want me to be honest?"
He turned to me after putting the car in 'park' and leaned over towards my side. "Make my day. It's bad enough we just met and you're not the type to give everything up on the first date but I respect that. Just know that you gotta another nigga waiting for you right here"
*
After the flirtatious conversation with Reese ended with a simple hug, I got out of his truck and watched him pull off. When he turned the corner, I started walking back up towards Chaz's house just a few homes down.
*gun shots in the distance*🔫
I looked up immediately from my phone after hearing the infamous sound I knew all too well at this age. Lord knows why my dumb-ass didn't stop and turn around, I just wanted to make it his house safely since I was not about to go home. I was cautious though, looking around constantly to spot any trouble sneaking up on me.
Finally, I was close enough to his house but stopped at the sight of a guy staring at Chaz's house itself. He stood up bow-legged with an assault rifle in his left hand, reminding me of how my ex used to look when he stood up. Wearing a ski mask over his head with a black t-shirt and jeans, I got a clear view of who I was watching.
It was too late when he noticed me and started running the other way, and I knew exactly who it was. That's what scared me the most as I ran over to the house in question. My heart dropped when I saw what Tyrell was looking at this whole time. Chaz's dead body at the base of his front steps with bullet holes littering his upper body.
"Chaz!" I screamed, feeling the tears beginning to fall.
I ran over to his body and fell to my knees once I saw that his eyes were still open and staring straight up into the sky. My heart ached so heavily from the sight that I couldn't bare to see him anymore. I ran back the way I came with tears running down my face. I should've seen this coming...
To be continued...
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Hey, thank you for reading this part😔😩Want more, just show me💕☺️
Q: Thoughts 🤔 🤭😓😓😤 Reese and Rowan😏 Chaz dying 😓
Fun Fact: Originally in Royalty, Rowan and Reese barely knew each other but I figure I throw this curveball😊 it makes sense that they don't talk because it's still complicated.