light on Rockaway Avenue in Brownsville Houses waiting for it to turn green. She looked at a group of men in front of one of the tan and brown buildings to see if she spotted Stone among them. With her focus on the men in front of the building, she never got the chance to see the teenager dressed all in black walk up to the passenger-side window with his .44 Magnum pointed at the tinted glass. The loud shots from the gun could be heard within a five-block radius.
Monique heard the first shot clearly. The rest were muffled and her vision became blurry. Everything began to turn dark, and her hearing faded out. She didn’t hear the teenager yell, “That’s for Darnell, bitch!” People in the projects saw the teen run from the car while the horn blared from the weight of Monique’s slumped body pressing against the wheel. Stone heard the gunshots while he loaded his stem with crack while sitting on the staircase on the roof of a Brownsville Houses building. One of Ruby’s workers ran up the stairs while Stone inhaled the lit crack inside.
“Yo, Stone! Somebody just bodied that chick Ruby. She’s slumped in her Sterling on Rockaway right now!”
Stone almost choked on the smoke he inhaled when he heard what the worker said. He had to see it with his own eyes. He couldn’t believe Ruby slipped up and got herself killed. He started thinking Ruby was invincible, that she couldn’t be touched. He knew how cautious she was. She trusted no one except Mecca. Stone didn’t even think she trusted her lover Monique.
Stone ran down the stairs thinking it couldn’t be Ruby. Nah, not Ruby! He ran toward Rockaway Avenue still not believing what he just heard. When he saw the Sterling he still couldn’t believe it. He saw a crackhead he knew reaching inside of the car with the driver-side door open.
“Yo, Smoke, get the fuck away from her!” Stone yelled as he approached the car. The smoker backed up out of the car, holding a gold chain in his hand.
“She won’t be needing this, Stone. She deader than a mu’fucka, man.”
“Smoke, put that shit down before I peel your skull back, nigga,” Stone said, pointing a .38 revolver at him. The crack-head dropped the gold chain and ran off, not wanting to test Stone’s patience. Stone approached the car, putting his gun back on his waist. He exhaled loudly when he realized it wasn’t Ruby.
“Damn, Monique. What the fuck you doing over here, girl?”
Stone heard police and ambulance sirens headed toward the scene and he didn’t want to get caught up out there. He walked over to the pay phone a few blocks down and paged Ruby.
The backdrop of Mecca’s vision of a white-robed man named Lou changed from bright light to total darkness. Lou’s robe turned blood red. Mecca looked at herself for the first time, noticing she was naked. Seeing Monique killed made her cry. She wasn’t there when it happened, but seeing exactly how it went down hurt her to her soul.
“I don’t want to do this anymore. Why are you doing this?” she sobbed.
“Monique loved you, Mecca. She didn’t want you in the streets. Not only did she express that to your aunt, but she also told you plenty of times to get it together. You didn’t listen. Or was it that you didn’t take her seriously because she continued to play the game?” Lou asked.
Mecca still shook her head, sobbing. “I don’t know! I don’t know!” Mecca sobbed as she heard Monique’s voice in her ears warning her about the streets:
“Mecca, don’t be like me and your aunt. You see what happened to your moms and pops. Your mom wasn’t even in the game like that, but she still died for what your pop was into. You got your whole life ahead of you. You don’t want to die young, or end up in jail forever. These streets don’t discriminate. Just because you’re a pretty girl don’t mean shit. You can’t change the direction of a bullet with a fat ass and good looks.”
“And you know what, Mecca?” Lou continued,
Monique heard the first shot clearly. The rest were muffled and her vision became blurry. Everything began to turn dark, and her hearing faded out. She didn’t hear the teenager yell, “That’s for Darnell, bitch!” People in the projects saw the teen run from the car while the horn blared from the weight of Monique’s slumped body pressing against the wheel. Stone heard the gunshots while he loaded his stem with crack while sitting on the staircase on the roof of a Brownsville Houses building. One of Ruby’s workers ran up the stairs while Stone inhaled the lit crack inside.
“Yo, Stone! Somebody just bodied that chick Ruby. She’s slumped in her Sterling on Rockaway right now!”
Stone almost choked on the smoke he inhaled when he heard what the worker said. He had to see it with his own eyes. He couldn’t believe Ruby slipped up and got herself killed. He started thinking Ruby was invincible, that she couldn’t be touched. He knew how cautious she was. She trusted no one except Mecca. Stone didn’t even think she trusted her lover Monique.
Stone ran down the stairs thinking it couldn’t be Ruby. Nah, not Ruby! He ran toward Rockaway Avenue still not believing what he just heard. When he saw the Sterling he still couldn’t believe it. He saw a crackhead he knew reaching inside of the car with the driver-side door open.
“Yo, Smoke, get the fuck away from her!” Stone yelled as he approached the car. The smoker backed up out of the car, holding a gold chain in his hand.
“She won’t be needing this, Stone. She deader than a mu’fucka, man.”
“Smoke, put that shit down before I peel your skull back, nigga,” Stone said, pointing a .38 revolver at him. The crack-head dropped the gold chain and ran off, not wanting to test Stone’s patience. Stone approached the car, putting his gun back on his waist. He exhaled loudly when he realized it wasn’t Ruby.
“Damn, Monique. What the fuck you doing over here, girl?”
Stone heard police and ambulance sirens headed toward the scene and he didn’t want to get caught up out there. He walked over to the pay phone a few blocks down and paged Ruby.
The backdrop of Mecca’s vision of a white-robed man named Lou changed from bright light to total darkness. Lou’s robe turned blood red. Mecca looked at herself for the first time, noticing she was naked. Seeing Monique killed made her cry. She wasn’t there when it happened, but seeing exactly how it went down hurt her to her soul.
“I don’t want to do this anymore. Why are you doing this?” she sobbed.
“Monique loved you, Mecca. She didn’t want you in the streets. Not only did she express that to your aunt, but she also told you plenty of times to get it together. You didn’t listen. Or was it that you didn’t take her seriously because she continued to play the game?” Lou asked.
Mecca still shook her head, sobbing. “I don’t know! I don’t know!” Mecca sobbed as she heard Monique’s voice in her ears warning her about the streets:
“Mecca, don’t be like me and your aunt. You see what happened to your moms and pops. Your mom wasn’t even in the game like that, but she still died for what your pop was into. You got your whole life ahead of you. You don’t want to die young, or end up in jail forever. These streets don’t discriminate. Just because you’re a pretty girl don’t mean shit. You can’t change the direction of a bullet with a fat ass and good looks.”
“And you know what, Mecca?” Lou continued,
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