Eve (3 page)

Eve covered her eyes against the sun's glare. They had become so attuned to the artificial lights of the prison that the fresh rays threw her off. Sure, she was allowed to venture into the prison yard a few times a week, but it wasn't the same. This was the light of freedom. The grass even seemed greener on that side of the fence. When Eve felt the drop of moisture on her, she wasn't sure if her eyes were watering from the light or they were tears of joy.

Eve spun around at the sound of a car horn. She squinted against the glare of the automobile and was able to make out a Lexus of some sort. She couldn't tell the make or model. Eve shifted her bag and looked back at the guards who were closing the gate, smiling. If it was an ambush by her rivals, she wouldn't find any sympathy with the law. She was forever the lone soldier.

Without taking her eyes off the car, Eve started walking in the direction of the nearest bus stop. The car turned with her and started to follow. Eve kept the car in her line of vision and kept strolling. Eve was able to see the car a little more clearly now. It was a GS 300. It was a few years out of date, but still very plush. It was candy Eve with chrome spinners. As Eve continued down the road she could feel the sweat rolling down her neck and pooling in the small of her back. She thought about how ironic it would be if she were to be gunned down right outside the jail. She had done harm to others in her life, so would it be wrong if she were to come to it?

“Hey,” someone said out of the driver's side window. “Ain't you Eve from Twenties?”

It was on now.

“Who that?” Eve asked, dropping her bag.

“What, you don't know ya click no more?” The driver's side door opened and a familiar figure stepped out. She was a tall woman with a very pretty face.

“Get the fuck outta here,” a relieved Eve said. “Cassidy?”

“Yeah, girl. What's good?”

Cassidy and Eve threw their arms around another. It had been quite a while since Eve had seen her best friend. Too long in fact. Eve and Cassidy were the closest amongst the other girls that rocked with the Twenties. They were crime partners in the world as well as respected members of their click.

“What you doing in these parts?” Eve asked.

“You know I couldn't have my sis riding home on no damn bus,” Cassidy said. “Girl, it's a good thing I did come and pick you up. You look a mess,” she joked.

Eve looked at the tired grey sweat suit they had given her to dress out in. The sweat suit looked as if it had seen better days. It wasn't much, but she couldn't very well come home naked. She just shrugged. “Yeah, this is some bullshit, ain't it?”

“Don't even worry about it, girl,” Cassidy said retrieving a shopping bag from the backseat. “I brought some things for you. I hope they fit, though,” she said pinching Eve's breast. “When did you sprout these?”

“Shut up, bitch,” Eve joked. “They didn't get that much bigger.”

“Eve, girl, you're holding. When they locked you up you wasn't built like this.”

“Shit, I ain't running the streets acting all crazy with y'all hoes. All I really did while I was inside was read and work out.”

“Just like a nigga,” Cassidy teased. “Let me find out them bitches got at you in there.”

“Please, it ain't even that type of party. I might look thuggish right now, but that don't mean I've lost my mind. I'm strictly dickly. Don't get it fucked up, Cassidy.”

“Whatever,
Evelyn,
” Cassidy said, passing her the bag. “Let's just get up outta here.”

Eve gladly hopped into the plush Lexus. The interior was as lavish as the exterior. The seats were white leather and the console was trimmed in wood. It was also equipped with a TV and a PS2. Eve couldn't help but wonder where Cassidy had gotten such a nice whip.

“Damn,” said Eve, rubbing her palm against the seat. “I see you've been doing big things while I was gone.”

“Oh, this?” Cassidy asked, putting the car in drive. “This is a loaner. A friend of mine let me borrow it to come and pick you up.”

“You've got some nice-ass friends.”

“Please, Butter ain't nobody.”

“Butter who?”

“Eve, you mean to tell me that you don't remember Butter from Thirty-ninth and Seventh?”

“You talking about that nappy-headed nigga who used to work with Felon?”

“Boy done got a haircut and a few dollars, girl. Him and Felon are partners now. They're the niggaz to see.”

“Cassidy, you lying.”

“True story, Eve. Them niggaz was ringing bells on the streets while you were gone. Him and Felon done put in a whole lot of work for Macho.”

“I heard that nigga Macho got killed a while back.”

“How the fuck do you think Felon and Butter got to take over the spot?”

“Them niggaz killed Macho?” Eve asked in disbelief.

“Eve, I know you ain't a gossip, but don't never repeat what I'm about to tell you.”

“On the click.”

“A'ight. Me and this nigga Butter been fucking around for a little while now. He's kinda cute when he cleans up and he's generous as hell with his cheese. Anyhow, me and this nigga was laid up in the telly one night. He was bumping a lil, but you know I don't fuck with that shit. If weed and liquor can't do it, then it don't need to be done. So, the yay got this nigga feeling talkative and shit. He starts telling me about how niggaz who didn't respect him was gonna get dealt with accordingly. He starts running down the line about niggaz he killed and was gonna kill, then Macho's name came up. Seems he had a personal beef with the cat from back in the days.”

“What did Macho do to him?” Eve asked.

“I really don't know,” Cassidy said. “But whatever it was, it must've been real fucked up. I didn't even bother to ask. To make a long story short, Felon and Butter got on with the nigga and gained his trust. As soon as they got him to drop his defenses, they murdered his ass so they could take over his spot. Niggaz in the hood wasn't stupid enough to challenge them for Macho's turf, so they've just been rocking.”

“Damn,” Eve exclaimed. “Let me find out everybody wants to be a killer.”

“Ain't no
want
about it with these two, Eve. Felon is more laid-back, but Butter is bout that.”

“I can't believe them fools done came up like that. I know Butter is a freak, but I'll bet that pretty nigga Felon is trying to hit everything moving.” Eve chuckled.

“With all that money they clocking, you'd think he would. I seen him with a few cluckers, but the queen bitch is home now. Fights over, ladies. The champ is here!” Cassidy teased.

“Cut it out, Cas.” Eve blushed. “I can't win something that I ain't fighting for.”

“Stop fronting, Eve. I see the way he used to look, and your hot ass used to stare right back. You better be glad Uncle Bobby never caught on.”

“Well, things are different now, Cassidy. I just did almost two joints in that shit box, for a gun that belonged to them niggaz. Felon and Butter skated, and I had to take the weight.”

“Don't carry it like that, Evelyn. You know they didn't mean for it to go down like that. The only reason Felon didn't step up to hold that time was because of his record. They would've slain him. He tried to give Uncle Bobby money for the lawyer, but that crazy-ass old man started shooting at him. He was fucked up about what happened to you, Eve, and if you hadn't been so damn bullheaded, he could've told you himself.”

“Whatever.” Eve sucked her teeth and turned to the window. She knew the things she was saying were more out of anger than a grudge. She knew that Butter and Felon hadn't been directly responsible for her getting locked up. She knew the stakes when she got in the car. You play, you pay. In the early nights of her incarceration, she would lie on her bunk and cry. Not out of fear, but frustration. She placed the blame for her situation everywhere but the right place. On herself.

She often thought about Felon and what he might've been in the world doing. Did he have a girl? Did he change his mind about going back to school? She and Felon had always had a bond like brother and sister, but it eventually it had evolved into something else. It had always been on the tip of their tongues, but neither had been willing to say it.

Eve broke her silence. “What up with the crew?”

“Twenty-Gang is still Twenty-Gang,” Cassidy said with a shrug. “We ride to the end. You know how that shit goes. My bitches is still crazy as hell, chasing one dream or another.” Twenty-Gang started out as a few girls from 120th Street that hung out together and held each other down. As time progressed and their reputation grew, so did their number. Twenty-Gang was recognized by cats in every borough. The members of Twenty-Gang were all getting money from various hustles. Hoeing, carjacking, robbery. There were even a few of them with bodies under their belts.

“We winning?” Eve asked.

“The smart ones are. I can't make them hoes get money; they gotta want it.”

“I know that's right. How's the family?”

“Mom is still mom.”

“Partying her ass off?”

“You know it. But at least she's managed to hold this job at the post office down for a while.”

“That's good, C. What's up with Sheeka?”

“Don't even get me started. I wanted to kill that bitch this morning.”

“What happened?”

“She had the nerve to come stumbling her drunk ass in the house at damn near seven this morning. Talking bout she went to party that ‘Will and them' was throwing. Little hot in the pussy bitch didn't even have no drawers on. I don't know what the fuck is up with that girl.”

“She's trying to get in where she fits in,” Eve said while lighting a cigarette. “Sheeka is barely eighteen, and still impressionable. She sees you getting attention from men, so she wants it too.”

“I can dig it, but it ain't the same thing.”

“How is it not the same, Cassidy? You fuck with niggaz for paper.”

“First of all, I don't fuck all of the niggaz I talk to,” Cassidy said with a little bit of an attitude. “Second of all, if I do go out and party with somebody I don't never get drunk to the point where I'm slipping. You won't never hear about none of these niggaz getting me high and running a train on me.”

“You ain't gotta get defensive about it,” Eve shot back. “All I was trying to say is that she's imitating what she sees.”

“Look, Eve,” Cassidy said, sparing her a glance. “Don't come out of lockup getting all judgmental. You might not get yours the way I get it, but ya still get it dirty. Knocking niggaz over the head is crooked too. Purse-snatcher.”

“Fuck you,” Eve said, giggling. “I haven't snatched a purse since I was fourteen. Hoe.”

The two friends laughed and talked a little more junk as the Lexus ate up the miles back to the city. When they reached New York City, Cassidy got off the highway near Webster Avenue in the Bronx. She was starving, so they decided to roll up to a White Castle and get something to eat. Eve could also use the opportunity to change her clothes. She didn't want to hit the hood wearing that played-out sweat suit.

When they entered the fast-food joint, there weren't that many people, so they were able to immediately place their orders. While they were ordering, Eve noticed two guys watching them from a table by the window. One was light and the other was dark. When Cassidy turned around, the light-skinned one winked at her. She just wrinkled up her nose and gave them her back. By the heavy jewels that they were wearing, Cassidy knew that they were getting money somewhere, but she wasn't trying to play herself like a chicken.

Eve shook her head and laughed. She got a kick out of how men acted over a pretty face. She decided to go into the lady's room and change while Cassidy waited for the food. As Eve was headed in the direction of the bathroom, the two kids were headed in her direction. She sighed, ready to respond to whatever line they might throw at her. To Eve's surprise, they barely spared her a second look as they walked over to Cassidy. She just picked up her face and went into the bathroom.

Eve fished around inside of the bag to see what Cassidy had brought her to wear, and smiled. Eve began to pull off her sweat suit and slip into the things that Cassidy had brought for her.

The two hustlers were still trying to get a conversation out of Cassidy when Eve came out of the bathroom. When they saw the transformation, both of their jaws dropped. Eve was wearing a pair of tight-fitting, black, Lady Enyce jeans that showed off her toned thighs and well-developed ass. The red and black Lady Enyce shirt stretched over her body, advertising her 38C breasts and flat stomach. On her feet, she had on a pair of Eve-lizard skinned Sara Jordan boots with black two-inch heels. Eve had gone into the bathroom looking like a little boy and came out looking like a dime piece.

“Damn shorty,” the dark-skinned one said, looking Eve up and down. “Where'd you come from?”

Eve looked at him and rolled her eyes.

“Word,” he continued. “It's like that, ma?”

“Why don't y'all stop acting like that?” the light-skinned one added on. “How about we say fuck these murder burgers and go get a real meal?”

“Listen, fellas,” Cassidy said, picking up her burgers. “It's nothing personal; we just don't eat meat.”

“Yeah,” Eve added on, “we got a ‘lick-her' license.”

“Liquor license?” the dark-skinned one asked, confused.

“You didn't know?” Eve asked, putting her arm around Cassidy. While the two young men looked on, still trying to make sense of what the hell they were talking about, Eve leaned in and kissed Cassidy on the mouth. They then proceeded to walk arm in arm from the fast-food joint, laughing while the two hustlers stood there bug-eyed.