Youngblood

Chapter 22

That afternoon….

Traci

            I was just now leaving my class.  Rachel had picked up the kids and was waiting for me outside.  I walked outside into a tsunami of loud music.  I shook my head as I smiled at my sister.

  She was outside her charger with Thomas and the kids dancing to the music escaping her car.  “WOBBLE TRACI!”  She called to me as they danced.  I walked over to them and joined them.

About two hours later we were back at our house.  The girls ran into the playroom as Thomas and Rachel argued and put the sleeping babies in the room in the crib.  I followed them. 

“Why are you so hard pressed about California all of a sudden?”  Rachel asked sitting in the rocking chair.  I looked at Thomas as he sat on Maryah’s bed and I sat on Kelis’s.  “You really want to know?”  He asked smiling at her.  “Yes, I got to know.”  He took a deep breath as he glanced at me then back at her.

 “I ran into Navi today at the store.”  I fell out laughing.  I looked at Rachel as she looked away to keep from laughing.  “He said something about the dude you were messing with out there.”  “How would he know who I was messing with?”  She asked.  “Because he was there.”  Rachel and I looked at each other.  “When?  Where?”  “He went that way looking for you.  He just got out about a month ago after getting locked up out there.  While he was locked up, he heard about Mario getting killed with his sons Robi and Roni.  The rumor has it Mario’s girlfriend and baby momma died too.  No one doesn’t really know how.” He looked at her.  “Her name was Ryah.”  She stared at him in shock.

  “Are you Ryah?”  She shook her head unable to speak.  I looked at Thomas as he looked at me.  I looked away.  “So, it’s just a coincidence that your kids’ names are the same kids’ names that are dead, and their father has the same name as your baby daddy’s?”  He asked looking at her again.  “Yes, it’s a big coincidence.”  He stared at her a moment.  “Rachel,” “Thomas, do you know why Ryah died?”  She asked.  “Why?”  “Because she needed to stay in California, where she belonged.”

His mouth dropped open as he stared at her.  “That makes you a,” “SHUT UP!”  Rachel snapped.  “Queen pin?  Is that what you would call it?”  He asked making her storm out the room.  I looked at him for a moment.  “You do get that our lives depend on no one else figuring that out right?  So, you cannot talk about that to anyone under any circumstances.”  “I wouldn’t have to if she would just answer my questions.”

            I stared at him for a moment.  I guess that was the truth.  “Okay give me a minute.”  I jogged out the room after Rachel.

Cameron

            I was sitting outside my Mom’s townhouse with Kenny.  Mom and Tasha were inside with the family.  “So, what happened?”  I asked.  “Cam., its nothing but chaos here.  They killed five Bloods so far and we’re supposed to be working together.  We have a possible war on our hands right now.  I’m doing my best to diffuse it but, I don’t know if it can be done at this point.”  “Kenny, I don’t know if calling a meeting is a smart move, at least with all this hostility right now.”

            He nodded his head.   “We need to do something fast before there’s a riot.”  He said pacing back and forth.  “Call a meeting with the team for the Bloods and I’ll do the same for the Crips.”  “Whoa, Cam., they might see you as a trader and you might be next on the hit list.”  “Kenny, I’m Cameron.  I’m a one-man army.  I’m not worried about anybody trying to kill me.”  He stared at me for a moment.  “So, let’s do it.”

            It took maybe an hour for me to set up the meeting for my Crips.  I got the feeling when I talked to Maverick something was going on.  I was walking back to my room to talk to Kenny when I heard him on the phone. 

“So just talk to him sis.”  He said as I sat on the bed.  He was sitting in the chair staring out the window.  “Whoa, sis, you don’t have to worry about any of that.  I told you, I got you no matter what.”  I looked at him as he looked at me.  “Okay, just chill out and talk to him.”  He said looking out the window.  “Alright, I love you.  Trust me. We’re going to be alright.”

 “What’s wrong with my Baby?”  I asked as he hung up.  He laughed.  “Her brother stressing her out.  She’s okay.”  “Why didn’t she call me?”  He looked at me and laughed.  “Do she have your number?”  “I guess she hasn’t discovered it yet.”  He shook his head at me as he laughed.  “What do you mean by that?”  He asked.  “I put my number in her phone a while ago.”  He fell out laughing again.  I smiled.  “Cameron.”  “What?”  He shook his head as he continued to laugh.  “What were you thinking?”  He asked finally as I sat down.  “I was thinking if something was wrong, she would call me instead of your ass.”  He held his head as he laughed again.   

Rachel

            I was walking into my room where Thomas was waiting for me.  I walked in and sat down on my bed.  “What do you want to know?”  I asked making him sit up.  “Everything.”  “Be more specific.”  I said getting annoyed.  “How did you become his girlfriend?”  I stared at him a moment wondering how to answer that. 

            How Mario and I really met?  Yes, it was at Lois’s burgers in Los Angeles.  He did have to work up the nerve to come over and talk to me.  But after that everything went to hell.  He closed the place down to r**e me while Kenny r***d my sister.  He then held us hostage at his house for about a year.

 During that year he took me everywhere he went and left Traci at his house.  I didn’t realize it at the time but that year was part of my initiation into the gang.  What sealed the deal and made me a Blood for life was our big fight against each other.  I went toe to toe with Mario and survived.  I didn’t remember anything after the next few days, but I survived. Not many people can say that. 

            The day came when he was trying to make a deal with Clarence, the leader of the Crips’ disbursement.  Clarence planned to just kill Mario and take his money.  Mario went there with the intention of expanding his territory.  He figured either way he would expand.  I made the choice to make sure Mario lived because I could not repeat the year I had just went through.  That day Mario saw me in a different light. 

            Nobody knows about this except the people that were there.  I don’t tell anyone this part of the story because it is a little twisted.  How do you fall in love with someone who was such a monster to you?  I can’t explain it but I did.

 There was nothing about him I didn’t know or love or understand, even his monster side.  Without that side of him he wouldn’t have survived as long as he did. 

            I looked at Thomas who was waiting for my answer.  “Thomas, there are things about us that you probably wouldn’t understand.”  “Like?”  I took a deep breath.  “Thomas, you’re my brother.”  “Yes, I know.”  “You can’t tell anybody what I’m going to tell you.”  “Okay.”  “After today, we don’t talk about it.”  He nodded his head.  “Okay.”  

            I took a deep breath and confessed to my brother.  I left out the story of Kenny and Traci on purpose.  He sat there dumbfounded.  I sat there waiting for his response and more questions.

            “How could you fall head over heels in love with someone like that?”  He asked breaking the uncomfortable silence.  “He was a monster!  He r***d you and held you hostage for a year!”  He said sitting up.  “Why didn’t you come back when he let you go?  Where was Traci?”  “Thomas, he changed.”  “WHAT?!”  He yelled jumping up.  We looked at Traci as she appeared in the doorway.  “DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?”  He yelled.  “Of course, I knew.”  Traci said standing next to me.  “Where the hell were you when this was going on?”  “Down the hall in the next room.”  His mouth dropped open.  “HE KEPT BOTH OF YOU HOSTAGE?”  “Look Thomas, calm down.”  He took a deep breath as he sat down.

 “I thought she was crazy as hell too.”  Traci admitted as she glanced at me.  I shot my middle finger at her.  “I love you too.”  She faced Thomas again.  “I mean to love someone who put you through all of that is sick.”  “It damn sure is.”  I smiled at Traci as she smiled at me.  She returned her attention to Thomas. 

“His family died when he was very young.  He was maybe a few years older than Maryah at the time.  He’s been on his own since then.  Kenny looked out for him, but he was a child as well.  When you grow up in the streets like he did, you don’t really learn how to love like we did.  That day she saved his life made him open his eyes.  He saw he made a huge mistake and tried like hell to undo it.  It doesn’t excuse what he did, but if she can forgive him, it makes no sense for us not to.”  He stared at her a moment before looking at me.  “Did he put his hands on you after that?”  He asked making me smile.  “No.”  I answered.  “Why was it easy for you to forgive him after that?”  “Because I saw he was sorry with everything in his soul.  He showed me every day he was sorry.  Nobody could touch me or say anything out of the way.  He made me feel so safe and loved.  He could just look at me and I saw his love.  I really was his queen.” 

            God, I missed him so much.  “I take it you and Kenny went through something similar?”  He asked looking at Traci.  She nodded her head.   “So as of right now your members of the Bloods?”  We nodded our heads.  “What happens if you go back to California?”  “What do you mean?”  “If you go back, they will kill you for leaving in the first place, right?”  “No.  That’s our extended family.  Our immediate gang knows Ryah is not dead.”  “Why just the immediate gang and not the entire gang?”  “Because my new empire involves Crips now.  Most of them are still rebelling.  I actually just talked to Kenny about that a while ago.”  “Rachel, will you bet your life on that?”  “Yes, I would.”

 He looked at Traci for a moment before returning his attention to me.  “I don’t like it.  But if you okay with it I guess I have to be too.”  I smiled at him.  “Any more questions before we put this conversation in the past?”  “Just one more.”  He said facing me.  “Do you want me to give Navi your address or phone number?”  Traci and I laughed.  “Neither!  I am so done with him!”  “Clearly he’s not done with you.”  “There’s actually someone else she’s interested in.”  Traci said to Thomas making me look at them.  “Who?”  I asked making them laugh.  “Cameron.”  She said making me blush.  “Aw!”  Thomas said as he and Traci laughed.  “Shut up!”  “OOH Cameron!”  Thomas said chasing me out the room with Traci as we all laughed.