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“Nigga you think I’m playing with yo’ bitch ass?”
“I don’t know what the fuck you talking about!” The man on the ground moaned as he coughed up blood.
“Maybe this will help refresh your memory.” The man above him glowered as he inflicted another strike to the ribs with his boot.
Aviare winced as each blow was delivered. The last thing he expected to do that night was get caught in the crossfire of a beat down. He was hanging out front of the trap house waiting on word from Marcellus so he could make his next run.
The next thing he knew, one of the men that normally hung out around the house was being bum rushed. He wasn’t sure if the man actually worked for Marcellus, but he couldn’t see any other reason why he would be there considering he didn’t look like a druggie.
The thing that seemed strange to Aviare was the fact that no one helped the man as he got beat to the ground, despite there being a slew of onlookers. Was the attack actually orchestrated by Marcellus?
Aviare’s heart raced as watched the man on the ground beg for mercy. Part of him wanted to intervene or at least say something to try and help, but his gut told a different story.
Marcellus knew he was there waiting for him so he couldn’t just run even though that was his first impulse. But he also had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that things were about to get worse, and he didn’t want to stick around and be a witness, or possibly a victim. Rule number one on the streets: you ain’t seen shit.
For the first time since venturing out at night to make his runs, Aviare felt uneasy. He decided to follow his first mind and exit the scene, Marcellus would just have to understand. He would meet up with him tomorrow.
Aviare’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest as he attempted step around the men who were now blocking the bottom step of the porch where he had been standing. Just as he was about to hop off the side of the steps gun fire rang out.
POW! POW!
In an instant everything was silent. It was like the world had stood still. Aviare stood trembling, unable to speak or move as he watched the gunman run off. The man who was on the ground was now lying face down with half of his brains hanging out. Blood soaked his dreads and pooled around his head.
Aviare looked down at himself to see that he had been covered in a spray of blood along with brain and skull fragments. He fell to his knees and vomited violently. The more he tried to wipe his mouth the more he tasted the warm metallic taste of death.
Once he was able to eventually get back on his feet again he stood staring at the corpse in front of him. This was the first time aside from a funeral or his granny in the hospital Aviare had seen a dead body in person.
The fact that he could be the one lying in that very spot shook him to the core. The man only appeared to be around 22 or 23 years old. Was this his future if he stayed on this path? Maybe Ace was right. Maybe he wasn’t ready for the streets. At the end of the day, he didn’t even have a weapon if he needed to protect himself. Not that it would matter, he had never fired a gun in his life.
Aviare was snapped out of his trance by a male figure that stood in the doorway.
“Come on in here and get cleaned up,” the man bellowed out. It was Marcellus.
So that was it, just leave the body there till someone moved it like it was a piece of trash. There were no police called to the scene, no ambulance, no paramedics. In a few moments someone’s loved one would be nothing more than another disappearance on the news. That grim reality, along with the sight of under aged hoes and druggies waiting for another fix was further confirmation the he wasn’t bout’ that life.
Aviare knew that he better pretend that hadn’t seen or heard anything. Somehow his nice warm bed at home with Aintee Maven didn’t seem so bad right about now.
“Here go some clothes. You can take a shower in there,” announced Marcellus as he attempted to read Aviare’s eyes. He could clearly see that the boy was terrified by the way he was trembling. The only question was, would he talk? Could he be trusted to keep his mouth shut?
The thought of undressing and showering in this house made Aviare feel nervous and defenseless but he had no choice. He couldn’t let anyone see him in the state he was in. He locked the bathroom door and quickly undressed. He could hear the whisk of money counting machines at work in one room and a female sounding like a train was being run on her in the next.
Everything was moving too quickly for him to process. His stomach felt like it was in knots.
As the hot water washed over his body, Aviare stared at the blood as it circled the drain. Before he knew it, he found himself crying like a new born baby. He had actually witnessed a murder. He should have listened to Aintee Maven and Ace, they was right all along.
By the time he was done slipping into the fresh set of clothing that had been presented to him, Aviare had made his mind up. He was going to tell Marcellus tonight that he wanted out. He had only run for him a few times so it shouldn’t be any problem with letting him go.
“You alright?” Marcellus asked as he handed Aviare a garbage bag for his soiled clothes.
“Yeah... I’m ok.” Aviare didn’t want to make small talk. The faster he got out of that house the better. He figured this was as good of time as any to get straight to the point.
“I’m done,” Aviare declared. “I appreciate the work but I won’t be back tomorrow.”
Despite trying to sound hard his voice shook with hesitation and fear. Marcellus wasn’t a very big man but he was a dangerous one. He only stood at 5’7 and had a rather skinny build, but what he lacked in stature was made up by the 9mm he kept in his waistband.
“Look at yo’ little ass trying to have some balls,” Marcellus laughed and looked Aviare in his eyes.
Aviare could have sworn he was staring back at Satan himself. There was not a hint of glimmer in his dark pupils, only pure cold evil. He shifted nervously from foot to foot as he waited for his response.
Much to Aviare’s surprise Marcellus remained calm and smiled at him.
“Ok that’s cool.... I just need you to do one more favor for me. Somebody owes me some money and I need you to pick it up then you are free to go.”
Aviare let out a sigh of relief. This was too easy. Marcellus wasn’t a monster after all. Maybe his looks were deceiving.
“Cool. I can do that. You want me to come back tomorrow?” Aviare asked.
“Nah... I’ll contact you in a few days. Keep your phone on.”
As Aviare sat on the train watching for his stop he couldn’t help but feel elated that he made it home in one piece. He would do this one last run for Marcellus and that part of his life would be over for good, lesson learned. Not even the cussing he was about to get from Aintee Maven for coming in late could dampen his spirits after what he had been through. In fact, it was actually going to be good to hear the sound of her voice. Somehow tonight he felt as though he was really going to appreciate it.