Hate Me Now

Chapter 8

East

" Ya know you been doing this shit a lot more often " Kaine said as I returned to the car after making another drop for Melo .

" Fr man you needa talk to us or some , you know we gotchu " Malik added in as I put the car in drive .

" Naah ain't nothin new " The last thing I wanted to do was drag them into something I was dragged into , " Goodlooks tho cuh "

" Man cut the shit East " Kaine said aggressively cutting the music off catching me & Malik's attention , " Melo got you doing this shit more and more huh ? " He inquired .

I didn't want to respond so I focused my attention forwards not saying a word .
" I get that he your older brother but you not foolin nobody . You don't wanna do this shit " He continued , " You need to stand up to him before he drags you down with him "

" Aye watch your mouth b . Ion need to stand up to shit . Melo my brother and I help him out . Y'all think he holding me hostage or something ? He don't force me to do shit , I'm grown " I said speeding up getting irritated .

" Yeah but still he getting you involved in shit you don't wanna be involved in " Malik added in calmly .

" Aye look , I appreciate y'all's concerns but I got this " I said turning the music back up & shutting them out ending the conversation .

I was well aware of what I was getting into . Which is exactly why Melo hooked me up with my first piece & I kept it on me . What I had to realize was regardless of me being involved with all this shit or not , i was still a way for niggas to get to Melo . Sadly , everybody already know me as Baby Melo so I was already a person of interest being related to Melo . I ain't wanna be a part of this shit & I ain't choose this life but this life chose me . Sometimes it's really like that .

Karina

Approaching the basketball court like any other day , I made sure Kade was cool before walking off . That was before I noticed older scary looking guys hanging around the hoop . I could read the little boys' faces & they looked very uncomfortable so I walked alongside Kade a little bit further than usual hoping to hear what was going on .

" Aye y'all seen East ? " One of them asked a group of boys . One of them responded to him but I couldn't hear what was said & my heart didn't drop until the guy asking the question locked his focus on me . " Ight goodlooks " He said dapping the boy up .

And for the love of god , he started walking towards me . In my direction . Into my space . My breathing picked up as he got closer but all I cared about was Kade & his safety .

" Go play " I said pushing him slightly towards the court . I took a few steps back but was stopped short .

" Where you going ? " A man's voice from behind spoke as his hand slithered across my lower back shooting chills up my spine .

I whipped my head around slightly hoping it was East to my rescue but instead it was an unfamiliar face who made his way behind the guy that approached me .

" So a lil birdie told me you East's lady " He finally spoke unable to keep his eyes off my covered breasts as if he were trying to undress me with his eyes .

I had to put on my big girl pants & cut the shy act , I had to force myself not to look vulnerable in front of these guys .

" What's your business here ? " Was the best response I could come up with without answering a question that could bite me in the ass . I had no idea what answer they were looking for & I wasn't going to risk telling them the truth .