Kenney: Still Waters Part 2

Chapter 27

A few weeks later, I was back at mama's house. I still hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her new dude yet. There was just too much going on. Lately, Rico had been on a whole other level with his "bloody takeover" shit, and he had us doing exactly that. Taking everybody's shit over. 24-7. Everybody. There was no other competition by the time we were done, but Rico still had us wylin' out, like there was still something left that we had to prove. But there wasn't. There was nothing left to explain, and there was no one left to explain it to. Everyone knew by then.

Rico was King.

And that was all there was to it.

I tried to hand Charity the money again.

"Hell is this for, Kenney?" She was still trippin' about the last time I was over there, and I could tell that she still wanted me to stay the hell away from her. Charity looked down at the $1000 that I was shoving into her hand, and then back up at me, annoyed.

I sat down on Sammy's bed next to her. We always met up in Sammy's room when there was something serious that we needed to talk about.

"I need you to buy me some clothes, sis. I'm out there lookin' toe' up." I cautiously handed her another $1000 and said slowly, "Take Tiana with you and get both y'all somethin', too."

I knew I was still on thin ice with Charity, but I also knew that I couldn't buy Tiana anything directly, since Rico wanted me one hundred percent focused on the shit he was on for now. If he thought I had a girl, obviously, that girl would become a distraction for me in his eyes. Which would then make her...a problem. But I knew that Tiana needed clothes, too, and a whole lot more than that. Mama and Charity were the only ones that I could ask to help me help her, but mama couldn't know that I had that much cash on top of the bills that I was paying. She already knew what I was out there doing, but any reminder of it would just...stress her out. Charity and I both knew why Charity was the only one who I was asking for help, but she still wasn't having it.

Charity looked down at the money again, then at me, and handed the second stack back to me. "You know I don't fuck wit' her anymore." It was what Rico would have called a non-negotiable. Charity was still so pissed about finding me and Tiana in her bed. I could tell by the way she could barely look at me, and then when she did, it was only to burn holes into my eyes with her own. "Get your own damn clothes, little brother." She handed me the first stack back, then, too. Anger attacked her whole face, a little at a time, as she replayed detail after detail in her mind. She was clearly trying to swallow her rage back down, and it was only getting harder the longer she had to sit there and look at me. I would have left her alone right then, but I really needed her help. "And why the hell do you have $2000 to spend on clothes, anyway, Kenney?"

My voice was as tired as my eyes. "Please, sis. I need your help." Her face softened. I was still her little brother, even if I was the one taking care of her. "I don't have time and my clothes don't fit." She looked me up and down and nodded. I kept growing out of my clothes at a crazy pace until Rico finally got pissed and stopped taking me to get new ones. It wasn't my fault, though. I just...kept growing. Jazz was pretty bad off by then, too, so she definitely wasn't in the position to help anybody out. "Come on Charity, you know I don't have time. Help me out, sis." I flashed my dimples at her. "Please?"

She flashed hers back at me. "Aight." She took the first stack from me again. "But I'm keeping this." She slid the second stack back out of my hands, too. "Jazz need maternity clothes?" I nodded. She wasn't that big yet, but I knew she would get there soon. I handed Charity a third stack. "Take mama and buy something nice for her, too." Charity looked down at the $3000 in her hand. "The hell you gettin' all this money from, little brother?"