Greenville, SC
💲DAMIR💲
Damir stood in front of his grandmother's headstone. He crouched down and wiped away some dust that had built up on it.
In loving memory of Delores Green
A beloved mother, grandmother, and wife
"I miss you grams," he said while swiping his thumb across the oval-shaped picture of his grandmother imprinted on the tombstone.
He'd come here every month to give her flowers and sometimes just to think, it was his safe space.
"Life ain't been the same without you," Damir said shaking his head and he wasn't lying, everything just felt weird after his granny died. Wasn't shit the same, holidays, cookouts, or his birthday.
Damir's grandma was his whole heart, the woman's soul was so kind. She was one of them grannies that fed the whole block and she didn't ever let Damir just go outside with a popsicle for himself every kid had to have one in their hand.
Everybody mourned her death. She just wasn't Damir's granny, she was the neighborhood granny too.
"It's been a year and some months and my heart still ache like you died yesterday," Damir said letting out a shaky breath. He knew death wasn't easy and the pain he was feeling would probably never go away.
Damir stood up "I love you, granny," he said as he sat the flowers down by her headstone.
💲💲💲
Dope walked through the cold abandoned warehouse as his hands sat in the pockets of his black Moncler jacket.
His brown eyes scanned the room seeing partially naked woman slaving over the stove pouring sodium bicarbonate into pots of boiling water.
Others were weighing small bags filled with a white substance on a fish scale.
"Hey Dope," some of the girls said in unison waving at him while smiling. He greeted them back with a simple head nod.
Dope made his way to the back of the warehouse nearing his boss's office.
"You said you needed me boss," Dope said as he walked into the nearly vacant office with only a desk and one chair in it.
Kaine, Dope's boss had called him up earlier saying he needed him to come up to the warehouse on Mason Lane. Kaine said he needed to speak with him about something and Dope was already fully aware of what it was.
Dope shook his head as he watched a worker get up from her knees and brush herself off as she quickly exited the office while wiping the corners of her mouth.
"Yes I did son," his boss Kaine said as he stood up zipping up his flyer.
His boss fucked around with all the female workers. It's been plenty of times when Dope walked in on Kaine receiving head from a worker.
Kaine would even sometimes have sex with the workers and would slip up, getting them pregnant. Once he did that, he would make them get abortions and the few who refused were never heard from again.
Kaine was a ruthless man. He showed no mercy to anybody. Niggas envied and feared him at the same time. He was at the top of the chain and everybody knew not to fuck with him.
"You think about what I offered you," his boss said with his hands clasped together now seated on the black leather chair.
Damir ran his hand down his face.
Kaine's right-hand man decided to ride around high with large shipments of drugs in the back of his truck. He ended up getting pulled over which resulted in him getting some heavy time.
So Kaine thought Dope was the perfect replacement for the job. He was trustworthy, smart, and didn't play about his money.
The thing was, Dope didn't want the position. He was actually thinking about stepping down and getting out of the drug game.
He wanted to open up a successful business of his own. Dope didn't really jig with working for other people, it was time for the man to be his own boss.
Damir was forced into the drug business. His dad put him on the corner at the age of sixteen.
He was a fill-in spot for a nigga that had gotten locked up, so he was only supposed to be helping temporarily but once his dad saw that he was bringing in good money he kept him working.
At the time, Damir was one of the youngest ones in the business and was making the most. That's how he got his name "Dope, he sold that shit fast and was slick with it.
"I still gotta think about it," Damir said replying to Kaine.
"It's good money son, sleep on it. I need an answer by tomorrow." Kaine said to Dope. He really needed an answer today but he decided not to press him about it.
Kaine could sense that Dope wasn't up for the job. He was going to have to find another person to fill the spot. He needed to do so ASAP, the man needed to check up on his other warehouse location and he couldn't do that trying to keep us with this one.
Dope was surprised Kaine let it go so quickly. The two argued a lot since they were both hot heads. As much as he didn't like to admit it, Dope was similar to Kaine. He was also ruthless and people knew not to fuck with him either.
"Hey, do me a favor," Kaine spoke up just as Dope was about to leave out the office.
"What you need," Dope questioned him turning his head around.
"Could you stop over there by Hildon road, make sure ain't no fishy shit going on." Kaine asked Dope, he really didn't trust the worker he had over the other location at the moment and he needed to make sure nobody was trying to snake him.
"I gotcha," Dope said agreeing to the favor.
💲💲💲
Damir's mom Evelyn was coming out of the kitchen when her son startled her. "See, that's why you need to keep these damn doors locked," Dope said as he saw his mom jump.
"Boy I am grown and watch yo mouth," Evelyn said as she walked over to the couch sitting down.
Damir's mom was stunning, her brown skin was flawlessly smooth and had a natural glow to it. Her hair was slicked back into a low ponytail as she still had her blue scrubs on. The forty-year-old woman could easily pass as Damir's older sister.
"Where Isis badass at," Damir said wondering his little sisters' whereabouts.
"I dropped her off at her friend's sleepover" Damir's mom said while taking a bite out of her spicy chicken sandwich.
Isis had begged her to stop at Chick-fil-a before she went over to her friend's house "and you know she would've been at yo feet right now begging to go with you." Evelyn said looking over at her son. Damir chuckled, nodding his head agreeing with what his mother said.
The eight-year-old girl was spoiled rotten and it was all Damir's fault. She had him wrapped around her little finger and could get anything she wanted from him.
"You know your dad called today and she didn't even want to talk to him," Evelyn told Damir.
Damir shrugged his shoulders. Shit, he couldn't blame her. The nigga barely called and when he did he didn't have shit to say anyway.
Dope looked at Kaine as a father more than Dom. To Damir, his dad was a cornball, he didn't fuck with him. His dad was one of the main reasons he wanted to get out of the street business. He didn't want to end up like him. A bum ass nigga in jail who couldn't do right by his kids or his girl.
"He asked about you too" Evelyn spoke, knowing her son wouldn't care. Damir sucked his teeth "all that nigga can do is ask about me. What, his pussy ass too scared to call me?"
Evelyn looked over at her son eyeing him "What I told you boy, stop using that kind of language in my damn house," she said nudging him.
"I'm sorry mom," Damir apologized while looking down at his phone. He had gotten a message from Ms.Erica.
Ms. Erica was a close friend of his late grandmother. Damir used to pick his grandma up from Erica's house or sometimes join the two in church.
They got closer when Delores passed away now viewing her as a second grandma. She was sweet and treated him like her own.
After all this time of knowing her, he wasn't aware that she had a granddaughter. Damir thought, remembering the girl who opened the door for him.
Damir's head flew up as he earned a hard smack on the back of his head by his mother. "Boy, I know you heard me," Evelyn said, thinking her son was ignoring her.
"I didn't, what you say," Damir said wincing, rubbing the spot she hit him at. Evelyn turned her head sideways pressing her lips together, looking at her dramatic son.
"I said don't yo ass come over here tomorrow bothering me cause I got a date," Evelyn said getting up to go throw away her trash.
Damir instantly got up following his mother "you ain't got no date." Damir said thinking his mother was playing. He ain't care about his mother dating, he just needed to meet the nigga.
"I do, so I'm going to need you to pick up your sister and have her spend a night with you 'cause we might end up back here," Evelyn said watching a stank face grow on her son's face.
"Ew, mom ion wanna hear that shit," Damir said covering up his ears.
Damir's mom hasn't dated since their dad Dom got locked up and honestly, Damir would be happy to see his mom back dating.
"Speaking of, when you gone bring a girl over," Evelyn asked her son.
"Not anytime soon mom," Damir said to his mom answering her question.
Damir wasn't looking for love but if it found him, it found him. He wasn't scared of commitment, he just haven't met the one yet. He wasn't that worried about a relationship anyway. He was young, he had all the time in the world for that shit.
"Mhm well, I'm about to go lay down. That shift wore me out today." Damir's mom said while grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge.
"You can either go home or stay here, just make sure to lock the door if you leave." Evelyn said to her son. She didn't want him to think he had to leave.
"Imma just go home now, I'm tired too" Damir said while stretching his arms out.
"Okay well. I love you and I'll text you the address" Evelyn said while going in for a hug.
"I love you too" Damir said while pulling back from his mothers embrace.
He made his way to the front entrance and left out the door, jogging to his red Camaro.
When Damir got in his car, he immediately connected his phone to the Bluetooth radio.
He twisted the volume nob as sleazy flow came booming from his speakers and drove off.
QUESTIONS FROM THE CHAPTER.
Should Dope take the job offer?
Does dope have the right to be upset at his dad?
Thanks for reading!