WALKING THE LINE
1227 Words
Leon stood in the dimly lit hallway outside his apartment, staring at the chipped paint on the door. His keys felt heavy in his hand. The night air was cold, but he wasn’t shivering—he was thinking.
Jay’s offer.
Darnell’s warning.
His mother’s fading strength.
Every decision he made felt like another step toward a place he couldn’t return from.
With a sigh, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. The smell of fried onions and garlic hit him first. Kia was in the kitchen, standing over the stove, stirring something in a pan. She glanced up as he entered.
“You eat yet?” she asked.
Leon shook his head. “Nah.”
“Good, ‘cause I made enough.”
Kia had that look in her eyes—the one that said she wanted to talk, but she was giving him space. He dropped his bag by the couch and leaned against the counter, watching her plate up two servings of stir-fried rice and vegetables.
“Mom sleep?” he asked.
Kia nodded. “She had a rough day, but she’s resting now.”
Leon took a plate and sat at the small dining table. He didn’t even realize how hungry he was until the first bite hit his stomach.
“You okay?” Kia finally asked.
Leon exhaled. “Yeah. Just got a lot on my mind.”
Kia sat across from him, pushing her food around with her fork. “Jay gave you a new job, didn’t he?”
Leon hesitated. She knew him too well.
“It’s… more responsibility,” he admitted.
Kia’s lips pressed into a thin line. “You know what that means.”
Leon didn’t answer.
She sighed. “You think this is any different from what Darnell does?”
“It ain’t the same,” Leon said quickly.
Kia scoffed. “And what makes it so different?”
He set his fork down. “Jay ain’t out here selling poison to our own people. He runs a business. Ain’t like I’m pushing weight on the block.”
Kia shook her head. “That’s how it starts. You think you just moving packages now, but what happens when he asks for more? You really think he keeps his hands clean?”
Leon clenched his jaw. “I ain’t got a choice, Kia.”
“You always got a choice,” she said, her voice firm.
Leon rubbed his face, exhaustion creeping into his bones. “Mom’s medicine costs money. Rent costs money. What you want me to do? Work at that bodega forever?”
Kia’s expression softened, but she didn’t let up. “I just don’t want you waking up one day realizing you in too deep.”
Leon leaned back in his chair. “I already feel like I’m drowning.”
They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of reality pressing down on them.
Finally, Kia reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Just be careful, okay?”
Leon nodded, but deep down, he wasn’t sure how careful he could be.
---
A Test of Loyalty
The next day, Leon found himself outside the warehouse on 135th. It was a squat, gray building with no sign, just a single garage door and a side entrance. Jay had given him the address and told him to show up.
Leon knocked twice. A few seconds later, the door creaked open, and a short, stocky man with a thick beard peered out.
“You Leon?”
“Yeah.”
The man stepped aside, letting him in. Inside, the warehouse was dimly lit, with crates stacked high and a few men moving boxes onto a truck. The air smelled like dust and motor oil.
Jay stood near the back, talking to another man in a tailored suit. When he spotted Leon, he waved him over.
“You on time. That’s good.” Jay clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Lemme introduce you to Luis.”
Luis was tall, with slicked-back hair and sharp eyes. He extended a hand, and Leon shook it.
“Jay tells me you’re a hard worker,” Luis said.
“I try to be,” Leon replied.
Jay smirked. “Luis helps with our… distribution.”
Leon’s stomach tensed. Distribution. He already knew what that meant.
Luis studied him. “You ever move product before?”
Leon hesitated. “Depends on what kind of product.”
Luis chuckled. “I like him.” He glanced at Jay. “He got the stomach for this?”
Jay didn’t answer right away. He just looked at Leon, waiting.
Leon’s hands curled into fists. This was the moment.
“Like I said,” Jay said slowly, “Leon’s a hard worker. And he’s smart. I wouldn’t bring him in if I didn’t think he was ready.”
Luis nodded. “Good. We’ll see how he does.”
Leon swallowed hard. He was in now. Whether he liked it or not.
---
A Dangerous Road
The first job was simple.
Drive a van from the warehouse to a nightclub in the Bronx. No questions asked. No looking in the back. Just deliver it, take the cash, and leave.
Leon gripped the steering wheel as he pulled out of the warehouse lot. His heart pounded in his chest.
He told himself it wasn’t drugs. Jay had said no drugs.
But Jay had also said a lot of things.
As he weaved through Harlem’s streets, he spotted a familiar face standing near the corner of 145th. Darnell.
Darnell saw the van and smirked. He raised an eyebrow, tapping the side of his head like he was saying, Told you so.
Leon kept driving.
The Bronx was only twenty minutes away, but it felt like a lifetime. His palms were sweaty, and every time he saw a police car, his stomach clenched.
Finally, he reached the nightclub. A man in a leather jacket waved him toward a loading dock. Leon backed in, killed the engine, and climbed out.
A different man approached, counting a stack of bills. “You Carter’s guy?”
Leon nodded.
The man handed him the cash. “Tell Jay we good.”
Leon took the money, his fingers tight around the stack. He wanted to ask what was in the back, but he already knew that was a bad idea.
Instead, he just nodded and walked back to the van.
As he drove away, the weight in his chest grew heavier.
No easy way out.
---
Back at the Shop
Jay was waiting when Leon returned.
“How’d it go?”
Leon handed him the cash. “Smooth.”
Jay nodded, flipping through the bills. “Good. I knew you could handle it.”
Leon exhaled. “That what you got me doing now? Running drops?”
Jay smirked. “For now. But like I said—there’s always room to grow.”
Leon felt the walls closing in. He had taken the first step, and now there was no turning back.
“Take the night off,” Jay said, clapping his shoulder. “You earned it.”
Leon walked out of the shop, his mind racing.
Kia had warned him.
Darnell had warned him.
But at the end of the day, he had made this choice.
And now, he had to live with it.
- Writer
