empty. His mom’s Pontiac Lemans wasn’t in its spot, so he knew she wasn’t home. The last thing Wink wanted to hear was his mother’s bitching about where he’d been for the past six days.
He parked across the street and got out. Wink stood on the front porch, fiddling with his house keys when the front door swung open. He looked up like a deer caught in headlights. It was his mom, and she had her murda mask on.
“Ma, I thought you were—”
“What, that I was at work? Nah, I knew if I parked in the garage, ya ass would turn up!” snapped Hope.
Wink opened the screen and tried to walk inside the house, but his mom stood firm, blocking his path.
“You not gon’ let me in?” asked Wink.
“Ya ass don’t live here no more,” said Hope, folding her arms.
“Ma, why are you trippin’?”
“I’m not the one trippin’. You stay gone for six days and don’t even have the decency to call and say ‘I’m okay. I’m alive.’ You can go live with what’s-his-name, J-Bo.”
Wink’s eyes got wide.
“Don’t try and tell me no lies, boy. I already know he’s got you selling that shit all these fools running around here losing their minds over. But ya ass won’t be selling it under my roof.”
Wink could hear the hurt in his mom’s voice. Her eyes were glossy as if tears were just a blink away. Wink felt sorry for hurting his mom. All she wanted was the best for him.
“Can we talk about this inside?” asked Wink.
Hope pushed two trash bags in front of her with her foot. Wink looked down at the bags and knew it was real. His mom was really kicking him out. He looked up at Hope, and she had tears streaming down both cheeks.
“I can’t watch you destroy yourself, Wayne. You don’t want to get a job or go to school. All you want is what you see. Nothing,” said Hope.
Wink was about to say something to try to calm his mom’s nerves, but the figure standing behind her made his blood boil. It was Gary’s dusty ass, Hope’s on-and-off-again boyfriend. Wink hated Gary with all his might. Gary was a bum nigga who didn’t work, hustle, or nothing. All he did was live off Hope, and Wink hated him for it. He felt like the nigga was using his mom.
“Yeah, Wayne. You gonna get yourself jammed up in some serious trouble messin’ around out here in these streets,” said Gary.
“Ain’t nobody ask you nothin’,” said Wink.
“You show him his respect,” snapped Hope.
“Nigga ain’t my daddy. You tellin’ me to get a job when you need to be on his ass ’bout gettin’ one.”
Hope slapped the shit out of Wink. “You don’t tell me what I should be doing. This is my house, and my man!” yelled Hope.
Wink staggered back, holding the side of his face. He pulled back a smile and stared at his mom. “And y’all two deserve each other,” he said, then turned and headed down the stairs.
“Let him go,” Wink heard Gary say, as he crossed the street.
Hope cried her eyes out into Gary’s shoulder. She didn’t really want to let Wink go because he was all she had.
Wink grimed Gary hard as he shifted the stick into first. The Escort jerked violently, then skirted away from the curb. Wink was furious that his mom would side with Gary. She always did, and Wink hated it because he felt like Gary was coming between them. Wink’s hate for Gary only fueled his thirst to become the man in the game.
“Fuck that nigga. If she wants to be with him, then fuck it. I’ma do me,” Wink said, trying to shake the thought of what just took place.
EPMD rattled loudly from the cheap factory speakers in the Escort. Wink crossed Outer Drive onto Gallagher Street. He could see Trey and Willie leaning against Trey’s momma’s Honda, talking to some hood rats. Wink parked across the street. He thought to himself that the first thing he’d buy would be a car. That was the second time he had pulled up and no one noticed him.
“What up, doe,” Wink said, jumping out of the Escort. He crossed the street and gave Willie and Trey some dap.
“Ain’t shit. Where that fool Krazy, and when can we get down?” asked Willie.
“Soon, my nigga. And Krazy’s still at the spot,” said Wink.
“I don’t know why y’all keep talkin’ this we shit. What we need to do is get our own shit,” said Trey.
“Fuck what he talkin’ ’bout. Put me in the game,” said Willie.
“I got you.”
“Hey, Wink,” Cynthia and Martina said in unison.
“That’s your car?” asked Martina.
“Nah, a rental.”
“You gon’ take me for a ride later?”
“We can do that,” said Wink. He put his arm around Trey and pulled him away from the bunch. “Let me holla at you.”
“Damn, you musty,” said Trey, pulling Wink’s arm from around his shoulder.
“That’s what I need to holla at you about,” Wink said, walking up Trey’s sidewalk to the side door.
“What’s up?” Trey asked, opening the door. He led the way down into the basement.
“My mom done found out I’m fuckin’ with J-Bo.”
“So, what she say?”
“She put me out.”
“Word?”
“Yeah, she ’round there with that bitch-made nigga Gary. He all in my business,” Wink said, pacing the floor.
“What you need me to do?”
“I need some clothes. I left all my shit over there. I don’t want her to think I need shit.”
“Why don’t you just try to talk to yo’ mom. You know she ain’t gon’ kick you to the curb for real.”
“I don’t know, my nigga. I ain’t never seen my mom cry before. I think she’s dead-ass serious.”
“I got you, my nigga. You know where everything’s at.” Trey nodded to his dresser and closet.
“I don’t need but two outfits. I’ma hit the mall up tomorrow when J-Bo pays us.”
“Y’all making money like that over there?”
Wink stopped digging through the drawers and dug in both his pockets. He tossed Trey two bricks of money that had rubber bands wrapped around them. Trey caught one of the stacks. The other one hit the floor like a brick. Wink pretended to be focusing strictly on the clothes, but he couldn’t help but see the amazement on Trey’s face as he looked the stacks over. Trey fanned through the bills, seeing mostly twenties and some tens.
“You ready now?” asked Wink.
Trey tossed the stacks back to Wink and tried to play it off. He wanted to know how much it was. “I told you, Wink. I’m with it, but I’m not with workin’ for no nigga. We can do our own thing.”
“I feel you. But we need money to buy the coke. That shit ain’t free. And we gotta have some-for-where to sell it. All I’m doin’ right now is learning and stackin’. I’m not ’bout to be workin’ for J-Bo for no long time, but I need you on my side. We can get this money together,” Wink said, raising the two bricks of money.
“When?” asked Trey.
Wink pulled back a wide smile. He was happy that his best friend would be joining him.
“I’ma