R U STILL DOWN?|SLUTIVANTE

one.

ROMELO

he sat spiritlessly at the grey desk, a dim
and incandescent light flickered above his head. he hated his job and he knew everyone around him could sense it. this job as a security guard was the only gig he could get after doing a five year bid in prison. for what ? you may ask. he had dealings in the drug game, he was just trying to survive the best way that he could. he could of fought the case, but with an all white jury, he knew he didn't stand a chance.

at the young age of 16 he became a father to an amazing little boy named romelo jr, after him of course. the mother wasn't active in the young boys life, popping in and out whenever she felt like it. often coming around when she wasn't occupied with different guys. she was a one night stand, luckily something good came out of it, his son.

after his son was born he knew that he had to provide for him. he wanted to be the man that his father never was, so that required him to get his hands dirty. stealing from rival gangs, dealing drugs, and setting people up. he always guessed that he'd be dead before he ever got the chance to be locked up in a jail
cell.

getting locked away at 18 taught him a lot of things. he had plenty of time to reflect on his ways and figure out a better path and life for him and his son. while he was doing time, his son stayed with his grandmother and cousin, anthony. not long after he got out though, his grandmother passed away due to old age.

his hands ran over his face before he looked over at the clock.

' oh fuck. ' shot out of his mouth as he quickly got out of his seat. once he clocked out for the day and grabbed his car keys out of his pocket he rushed to his car. it was a 1986 buick regal low-rider. it had a sleek black exterior and a black and brown leather interior.

besides his son, he cherished his car. it was his baby and he'd put a lot of time and thought into it. beating his way through traffic he'd ultimately made it to his son's elementary school. there he sat, outside of the fences, waiting for his father.

putting the car into park, he hopped out and made his way over to his child. as he looked down at his son, he shook his head. 'you look just like your mama.' the male beamed causing the kid to look up at him.

'dad!' the young boy shouted, grabbing his book bag and jumping up. 'why were you late?' he questioned as romelo's arm
flew over his shoulder. 'i lost track of time' he answered truthfully.

'next time, do better.' little romelo joked, getting in on the passenger side
of the car. romeo couldn't do nothing, but laugh at his comment. 'ight, you got
me with that one!'

the two began driving, all the windows
were rolled down in the car as music blared though the speakers. romelo glanced over as he drove with one hand on the wheel. his son was bumping his head to the beat of the song.

even though he looked like his mother, he had all of romelo's personality traits. focusing his vision back onto the road he heard his son speak.

'dad, what's this?' he asked, causing romelo to look at him. the glove compartment was open and little romelo was holding his fathers work gun in his hand.

'give me that!' romeo demanded sternly.
'this is for my work.' he began as the young kid handed it to him. he placed it back into the glove compartment before shutting it closed. 'don't you ever do that again, you hear me?' his voice held bass & a tone that let his son know he was not playing around with him.

'sorry, i was just curious.' little romelo's body sunk into the seat, as he looked out of the window.

'yeah, well curiosity killed the cat.' romelo replied.

the car came to a halt in front of a small
restaurant that served overly greasy food. the two of them knew it was unhealthy, but romelo didn't know the difference between a pot and a pan. once they got out of the car, little romelo tapped his dad rapidly. 'dad, i have to use the bathroom.' he spoke.

his father nodded, watching as his child walked away and into the men's bathroom. after five minutes romelo began to grow worried. ' where the fuck is my child' he sighed, removing himself
from his seat. once he opened the door to the restroom he realized it was empty. panic took over his body as he busted through the door and ran out into the lobby of the restaurant.

'has anybody seen a little boy ?' he shouted causing him to receive looks of annoyance and some looks of worry. 'he has on a blue shirt and a small silver chain!' his eyes dashed around as he received murmurs from the customers and the staff. his almond shaped eyes look out of the glass windows of the restaurant, a black van was posted outside. quickly running outside, someone from the passengers side
began shooting at him. he ran quickly  to his car, grabbing the gun from the glove compartment. he ducked down in the car peaking his head up through the passenger window as he fired back. the driver of the van sped off, causing romelo to slam the drivers door shut and chase them down.

the two cars weaved in and out of traffic crazily, as shots were continuing to be fired. the van came to a stop as it got caught in between an intersection. romelo rushed out of his car, gun in hand as he ran in the direction the van was in. as he got closer he heard the screams of pedestrians and one familiar scream, the screams of his child. he upped his gun, firing five shots into the van, only managing to land a few. the van forced its way through the intersection as romelo ran after it, his feet hitting the ground with determination to get his son back.

it was too late, the van turned the corner, no longer being able to be seen.