Eve (5 page)

“That shit was so funny,” Eve said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Them niggaz was stuck.”

“Did you see the light-skinned one trying to stunt?” Cassidy asked.

“Did I? He thought he was the shit. Fake-ass ‘genuine.' He wasn't hardly cute.”

“They really flipped when you changed your clothes. Eve, I'm not funny style or nothing, but you're fine as hell. Me and you have always been the prettiest bitches down wit Twentys and you know it. Now that you've got a body to go with it, you're on. Eve, baby, you and me are gonna do big things. I'm gonna school you to the game and we're—”

“Hold up.” Eve cut her off. “Cassidy, I ain't wit all that shit. You know I love you, C, but youz a hoe.”

“Call me what you want, but you won't ever call me broke.” Cassidy laughed. “But seriously, what are you gonna do now that you're home?”

“I gave it a little thought, and I don't have a particular plan. But you know I'm a survivor. I'm always gonna eat.”

“Eve, I ain't one to knock nobody's hustle, but come the fuck on. You're a young lady, not some bandit. You're running around sticking niggaz up and shit instead of utilizing your natural gifts to get ahead.”

“I'm not with selling ass, Cassidy.”

Cassidy burst out laughing. “Eve, sometimes I forget how naive you are. I don't hardly sell ass. I'm not gonna lie and say that I don't fuck none of the niggaz that I'm dealing with, but I ain't fucking em all. As a matter of fact, I'm not even fucking most of them. Sometimes all these niggaz wanna do is sport you so they can look like the shit. If you do it right, a little conversation goes a long way.”

“I hear you, Cassidy. I just feel a little funny about it. You know that ain't my style.”

“Eve, you walk around here with all these people thinking you're some hardass, but I know better. I know you, remember? Besides, I seen the way you used to look at that nigga, Felon.”

“Get outta here,” Eve said, blushing.

“I see the way that both of you look at each other, so I know the deal.”

“Cassidy, you're reading deeper into it than it is. Like you said, Felon is out here getting money. He's probably fucking all of these little nasty bitches.”

“Hardly.” Cassidy chuckled. “You know that man ain't tried to holla at nothing since you were away. I'm sure he's gotten some pussy here and there, but he ain't fucking with nobody like that. Let me find out you gave that nigga some the night y'all was supposed to be in Rochester?”

Cassidy was referring to the night when Eve was arrested. She had gone with Felon and Butter to Rochester, where they were supposed to sell off some guns. They had successfully gotten rid of the guns and then had some time to kill. Eve had suggested that they head back, but ol' Butter wanted to hang. He had caught wind of some club that was supposed to be popping off up that way and wanted to check it out. This would mean that they had to stay out that way for the night. Eve wasn't really feeling the idea, but Felon was. She was outvoted, so she went along.

The club turned out to be some bullshit. The drinks were watery and the music was wack. Twenty minutes after they were there, Felon slapped some kid for whispering in Eve's ear for too long. They left the club and decided to just get faded back at the hotel, which was in a low-key village called Dansville that was about a forty-five minute drive from where they sold the guns. They had made it all the way to Mount Morris before the bullshit went down.

Butter was driving navigating their small sports car down Interstate 390, while Eve was asleep in the backseat. Felon was in the passenger seat with his eyes closed, but still aware of what was going on around him. Butter decided to light a blunt and hit the cruise control for the remainder of the ride back to the hotel. The jackass decided to steer with his knees while he used a match to light the blunt, and that would prove to be their undoing.

The spark flickered to life, illuminating the interior of the vehicle. The match, however, proved to be defective. The head of the match fell off into Butter's lap. He panicked and jerked his leg, causing the car to swerve. It was only for a second, but that second was long enough for the thirsty-ass trooper behind them to think of a reason to pull them over.

Butter tried to remain calm as he dropped the blunt in his lap and put both hands on the wheel. Felon sprang to attention to see what had caused the disturbance in the vehicle's flow. He looked from his partner's face to the rearview mirror and knew what time it was. They were fucked. Unbeknownst to Eve, Felon and Butter had brought along a little insurance in the form of a P89. Felon took the gun from the glove box and dropped it on the floor. Using his right foot, he slid it beneath his seat. Butter peeped his man's play, but Eve was still asleep.

Butter tried to remain calm as he pulled the car over to the side of the road. Felon peeked over his shoulder at Eve, who was finally starting to come around. When she saw the flashing lights, her muscles automatically tensed. She knew that they didn't have anything more than weed in the car, but for some reason she didn't like the look on the gentlemen's faces.

The deputy got out of his cruiser and strutted over to their car. He was a redneck-looking character with a Confederate flag embroidered on his holster. He took his time as he strolled up to the driver's side window. Seemingly at ease, he made sure that his hand rested on the 9 he carried.

“Problem, officer?” Butter asked stupidly.

“I was hoping you could tell me,” the trooper replied in a Southern drawl. “You were all over the road back there.”

“Oh, is that what this is about?” Butter bared all his teeth. “I'm sorry about that. See, I was smoking a cigarette and the flame accidentally dropped into my lap.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why don't you boys step out of the car?”

Felon's heart leapt into his throat. If the trooper decided to search the car, they were fucked. The look on Butter's face told Felon that he was thinking the same thing. The only one who didn't seem to realize what was going down was Eve. Felon tried to make eye contact with her, but she still wasn't catching on.

“What's this all about?” Eve asked from the backseat. Her fitted cap was pulled down, concealing part of her face and her mane of red hair, which was wrapped underneath it.

“Just step out of the car, young man,” the trooper said.

Butter got out of the car, followed by Felon, who held the seat up for Eve to climb out of the backseat. As Felon helped her out of the car, he again tried to give Eve the look. She just looked at him and sucked her teeth. She was more pissed about having to get out into the night air than anything else. She had no idea that the bullshit was about to go down.

“You boys got anything in the car that I should know about?” the trooper asked.

“Hold up,” Butter protested. “Don't you wanna see my license and registration?”

“We'll come to that in a second,” the trooper said, shining his flashlight into the car. “Is that weed I smell?”

“No, sir,” Felon said, making sure to keep the car between himself and the trooper.

“Bullshit,” the trooper said, clicking on his radio. “Yeah, this is Calhoun out on 390 South, near Mount Morris. Could you send another cruiser out this way to assist me?”

Before the dispatcher could respond, Butter hit the trooper in the jaw and took off into the woods. Felon looked from his sprinting partner to Eve and followed Butter's lead. Eve was in total shock. For a brief second, she was frozen in place. That second was all it took for the trooper to draw his gun and train it on Eve.

“Go ahead,” he said, steadying the gun with one hand and rubbing his jaw with the other. “You go for it and I'll give you the worst case of lead poisoning you ever did see.”

Eve looked to the dark woods that her partners had disappeared into and cursed herself for not following. She knew that they were going to take her in, but what was the worst they could do to her for a weed clip in the ashtray? Eve figured that the rednecks would slap her with a fine and turn her loose. That thought faded when the trooper pulled the pistol from under the passenger's seat. That would be the cause of Eve doing her first bid.

“I ain't fucking with Felon like that,” Eve said, coming out of her flashback.

“Yeah, right,” Cassidy smirked. “I saw how you got all dreamy-eyed when I mentioned his name. You can't fool me.”

“Whatever.” Eve brushed her off. Cassidy was more accurate in her assessment of Eve than she knew. Eve had it bad for Felon, but she figured that Felon had always seen her as just another lil chick from Twenty-Gang. She had a suspicion that he had some type of feeling toward her, but he never came clean about it, so why should she?

Cassidy stopped for a red light on 121st and 7th. Eve stared at the pedestrians crossing the street, and one in particular caught her eye. The young man she was staring out was a hulk of a cat. He easily stood six foot five and was built like a dumpster. He lumbered across the street, clutching something to his chest. He was a little heavier than the last time she had seen him, but she would know her friend anywhere.

“Stop the car, Cassidy,” Eve told her.

Cassidy jumped. “Girl, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“I wanna holla at my boy,” Eve said, pointing to the young man.

“Who the fuck are you talking about?” Cassidy asked, following to where Eve was pointing. When she saw who Eve was talking about, she slapped her forehead in frustration. “Come on, Eve, you can see that nigga later.”

“Just stop the car.” Eve said firmly. Cassidy sucked her teeth and pulled through the light to the curb. Before the car had completely stopped, Eve was on the curb, rushing to the young man.

“Beast,” she called out. “Beast!”

The young man stopped in his tracks and craned his thick neck to see who was calling him. His face was twisted into a mask of rage as he eyed everyone on the block. People tripped over themselves to avoid the big man's menacing glare. Beast was ready to throw down if it was another cruel soul trying to poke fun at him. His features softened and his eyes watered up when he saw the small female coming in his direction.

“Eve?” Beast asked, flashing a jagged-toothed smile.

“Yeah,” Eve said. “It's me.”

“Eve!” Beast scooped her into his massive arms. “When did you come home?”

“This morning,” she said, gasping for breath. “And I'd like to live long enough to enjoy it.”

“Sorry,” Beast said, lowering her gently to the ground. “I'm just happy to see you, Eve.”

“I'm happy to see you too, Beast,” Eve said, touching her now even sorer side. “Where ya headed, big fella?”

“Gotta go to the store and get food for Tom,” Beast said, showing Eve that the thing he carried under his arm was a small kitten wrapped in a pillow case. “I been feeding him tuna, but I don't think he likes it.”

Eve watched as Beast tenderly stroked the kitten. He might've been hard on the eyes, but Beast was a very kind soul. At least if he liked you, he was. It was hard to believe that the man-child called Beast had once been a very promising college student.

The people who didn't know him like that thought he had always been that way, but this wasn't so. Beast was a star athlete and graduated from high school with honors. He kicked it with the homeys in the hood from time to time, but they stopped hanging with him after the accident.

It was a few years ago when it happened. Beast was home for Christmas break from the University of Maryland. It was his first semester at the school, and he had marveled the faculty with his quick wit and athleticism. It was to be the beginning of a wonderful career, but that cold night in December would change his life forever.

Ever since Eve could remember, Beast had looked out for her. He was a few years her senior, so it was like a big brother, little sister type of thing. If Eve was messing up in school, Beast was on her ass. If Eve was wilding, Beast would check her. She hated his henpecking, but she knew it was for her own good.

One night Eve was in the park hanging with some of the homeys. Beast was just passing through and stopped to chat for a few minutes. About five minutes after he got there, a group of guys and girls came rolling into the park. They weren't from the hood, so it had to mean trouble.

“Which one of y'all is Eve?” the leader of the group asked.

Eve, being the bad ass that she was, stepped up. “I'm Eve,” she said defiantly. The boy outweighed her by at least twenty pounds, but Evelyn Panelli was never one to back down from a fight. Be it with a guy or a girl, she was always down to squab. Eve didn't know what the boy's problem was, but she was about to find out.

The boy looked over his shoulder and motioned for one of the girls to step forward. When the fat dark-skinned chick stepped forward out of the group, Eve started to get the picture. The girl was a chick that Eve had beat the hell out of the day before for trying to bully Cassidy. Eve had whipped her out, but she seemed to be a slow learner.

“Yeah,” the boy said. “I heard you and ya bitches jumped my lil sis the other night. I wasn't feeling that shit, hoe.”

“First of all,” Eve said, getting loud. “Didn't nobody jump ya fat-ass sister. Me and her shot a fair one and she lost. Straight like that. And second, you better watch who the fuck you're calling a hoe or you can get the same treatment.”

“We'll see, Miss Badass. I'm gonna let my sister whip ya little ass. Maybe then you'll shut that big-ass mouth of yours.”

“Nigga, let's do this.” Eve said, sliding out of her Snorkel coat.

The girl hesitated for a minute. It was clear to everyone except her brother that she didn't want to fight. She looked from her brother to Eve and had to struggle to keep from running. She knew that Eve had beat her ass all by herself, but she had made up the jump lie so she wouldn't look soft. Now she had to get down or lay down.