The Dopeboy Next Door

Ready.

Tuesday 7:20 am.

I checked my phone before I drove out the school parking lot. I looked up the address Gino sent me and it was 15 minutes away on the north side. I knew I'd get there early enough to maybe check it out before he got there.

I arrived at partially abandoned strip mall. Ginos truck was already there. I parked a few spots down from him and got out.

"Key, you're early." He said through the window as I approached him. He was sipping his coffee in the truck. "I appreciate that."

There were a few other cars in the lot, but I knew some of them to be Gino's boys. He always made sure they were close by just in case some niggas got bold and wanted to try some shit.

"Wassup wit this place?" I asked him talking about the nearly deserted place.

"I'm planning on buying it." He told me stepping out the truck.

"Really?" I asked stepping onto the curb.

"Yeah. I own this space here, it's a barbershop, but I haven't touched it because everything else here is such a dump. I'm thinkin, buy the whole thing and fix it up, and let other companies rent out the spaces around it." He explained.

I looked around. There was an abandoned beauty supply store and salon a few shops down from where he said the barbershop was. Down a ways from there was an old liquor store. The doughnuts and coffee shop was the only thing still alive. And I wouldn't touch anything from that place, but Gino was drinking the coffee happily.

"Seems like you've got big plans for this place. I'm sure it'll be great." I told him.

I knew Gino already had lots of businesses already. He knew how to make his dirty money clean.

"Key, I want you to be the one to take this over." He told me.

"Me?" I repeated.

"Yes, it's gonna take some time for the sale, remodel and all that shit. But I want you to start with the barbershop and work your way out. Whatever you want. You'll still have time to go to school." He told me.

"Gino, I... I dunno if I'm ready." I admitted.

"I understand your worry, but I can teach you alongside your schooling. This whole place will be clean, by the books." He assured me.

"I don't know what to say."

"Thank you would be a good start." He laughed and opened his arms to me.

"Thank you!" I hugged him.

"I also want to talk to you about somethin', but I need to know you'll keep this to yourself. I don't need you runnin' with your emotions, I need you to use your brain here." He said to me as we walked down to the coffee shop.

He opened the door for me to walk in first. From the way the place looked on the outside, the inside wasn't much of a surprise. But the smell of coffee and warm doughnuts was enough to make me want something.

Gino locked the door behind him and turned the open sign to closed. Then walked behind the counter passed an elderly black woman. She smiled at me.

"Come on." He motioned me to follow.

We walked into what looked like a small office. He sat down on the edge of the desk. "That's my mother out there." He said to me as I sat down on the small couch.

My eyes widened when he said that.

"Keyaun, how much do you know about your family?" He asked me.

"I know nothing. I said with a deep sigh. I hated it, no one told me shit. "Just that my dad was some big time dealer who went down when I was a baby. Then Ricky took some of his shit over."

Gino shook his head and a slight smile.

"Your fathers name is Kingston. We call him King. He ran the North end and the westside. I used to run the east and south sides." He adjusted the way he sat. "One night, one of his clubs got raided while we were there. They tried to get us to snitch on each other for a deal, they wanted us bad. But neither of us would budge. They dug into him more. They had him. His club, his drugs, and some of his guys talkin. They even threatened to drag his underaged babymama into it, but King wouldn't fold." He revealed.

I looked up at him silently watching me. Waiting for a response.

"He didn't he talk." I stated.

"He was my best friend Keyaun. We ran this shit together."

"So why does my mom hate him so much?" I asked. My mother would get so angry with me when I would ask about him that I learned not to stop asking.

"She doesn't. She hated me. We weren't as careful as we should've been. We didn't have the best lawyers, we were stupid. I fought for 2 years then went away for 8. Tax evasion. That's all they could get me on. Your father on the other hand fought his case for 4 years and he technically won, they gave him 15 years instead of the full 25."

"So where is he now?" I asked in a low tone.

"On the west coast. He'll be released in two months and I want you to fly out there with me when I bring him home." He told me. "I bought him a house not far from where you've been spending your time. In a quiet neighborhood out the way."

"What ab-"

He cut me off already knowing what I was going to ask "Your mother?"

I nodded.

"She doesn't know." He paused. "I owe that man my life. He's like my brother. We both loved your mother, but she chose him, and I respected that." He stood up and began to pace the room.

"When I came home from doing my time on the east coast, everything had changed, that Ricardo nigga had ya mama and you livin in some trap house on the westside. He had been beatin on you and shit. Had you workin instead of goin to school. I used to see you." He looked at me.

I looked down in shame. I was always mad at myself for not standing up to Rick. I wanted to kill that nigga, but I was too scared.

"You got popped on one of his jobs, and I fucking lost it. Your father would've killed Ricky himself seeing the way he had you out there." He sighed and rubbed his ponytail. "I slowly started taking everything back, Northside, the east, and south. Then I waited. Ricardo was high out of his mind one day, sitting in his Tahoe on the block, and I knew I had to."

I looked up at Gino. It was him. He did it.

"I put two in his skull and walked away." He announced.

I stood up from the couch. We looked at each other in silence.

My eyes began to blur with tears as I stepped closer to him.

"Thank you." I whispered wiping my face.

"You're not a child anymore Keyaun, and I'm sorry I couldn't stop him before you got locked up. But I can try to make things right now." He told me placing his hand on my shoulder.

"How did you end up with my mom?" I finally asked.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Key. Your mama was one of the finest women I'd ever laid eyes on, but Kingston knew what he wanted and he got her, then she got pregnant and he wanted to make sure y'all didn't want for nothin. Right before you went away, I approached your mother and things just happened. I told Kingston, and he said he didn't blame me, as long as I promised to take care of you both."

Gino hugged me and I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. I felt relieved. I really did appreciate him for everything he did for me.

"If I have it my way, but this time next year, you'll already be a business man." He said as we walked out of the office.

"I'm ready." I told him. I felt like I was really ready now.