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everything else like a man, do you fuck like them too?”
    A muscle twitches along her temple. It’s a miracle that my ass isn’t laid out on the floor right now.
    â€œAre you challenging me, petal?”
    I lift my chin. “I’m not scared of you.”
    â€œThen you’re dumber than you look.”
    â€œFuck you,” I snap.
    I don’t even see her go for her knife, but I feel its sharp tip pressed against my throat. I don’t have my razor blade, but I remain calm. “What? Are you going to kill me now?”
    â€œThe thought has crossed my mind,” she says coolly. “But Profit is about to lose one woman in his life; he might get a little salty if he lost another—but there’s always tomorrow.”
    I roll my eyes, tempting fate again.
    â€œI’m going to say this shit one last time: I. Don’t. Want. Your. Man. Understand?”
    We engage in a stare-off.
    â€œIs there a problem down here?” Mason’s voice booms from the staircase.
    Now what are you going to do? I turn a smug smile up at Lucifer.
    â€œMaybe. I don’t know,” I tell Mason, but then direct a question to Lucifer. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”
    Lucifer’s eyes harden into black diamonds. “No. There’s no problem,” she says in a voice that dares me to contradict her. “We’re all good. Aren’t we, petal?”
    Instead of answering, I push away from her. Both her and Mason’s eyes follow me as I stomp up the staircase to find Profit.
    At the top of the stairs, I peek into different rooms until I find the one where Profit kneels by a bed.
    I don’t recognize Dribbles. She’s pale and already has one foot in the grave. My emotions leap again. I walk up behind Profit and place a hand on his shoulder.
    â€œMomma, you don’t talk like this. You’re going to get better,” he tells her.
    â€œWe both know that’s not true,” she whispers. “But it’s all right. I want you to know that I love you very much—and that I’m going to need you to be there for Mason. He’s already blaming himself for this. It’s not his fault. It’s nobody’s fault.”
    I’m lost in the conversation. I don’t understand what’s happening.
    Profit shakes his head, not wanting to accept what she’s saying. “Nah. That slithering nigga got to pay for this shit. An eye for an eye. That’s the rules of the street.”
    Dribbles’s pale face wrinkles with disappointment. “You sound like your brother. I was afraid that would happen when you moved back up here.”
    â€œMom—”
    â€œNo. Listen to me for a moment. Don’t make the same mistakes that I made. Get out of the street game. It’ll destroy whatever happiness you manage to find. Trust me. Get out while you still can. It’s too late for Mason. I know that. The streets are in his blood. Both him and Willow. But you two . . . There’s still hope for both of you. I can see it.”
    Her words tug at me because they remind me of the warnings from Reggie.
    â€œPromise me,” Dribbles says, her voice fading. “Promise me that you won’t follow the same path as your brother. You’re eighteen. You’re still young. You can go back to school, and then make something of your life. Become somebody. Make me proud.”
    The more she talks, the lower Profit’s head hangs. In that moment we all know that he can’t promise her that. It’s a shame because seconds later, she stops breathing.

12
    Hydeya
    I ’m alive.
    Even though every part of my body aches, I’ve survived. A miracle. Clouds of smoke billow through the car vents, choking me. I cover my nose and mouth with one hand and use the other to push on the door. It’s stuck. Frustrated, I drag my five-foot-eight body out of the window.
    A few cuts later, I escape the car and then rake my thick