She Fell For A Boss(12)

Once she reached her sister’s door, she knocked and waited. Her eyes roamed the dirty hallway that smelled like a mixture of piss and trash. She hated coming there and knew that she wanted more than this for herself.

Her sister was blessed enough to be living on her own, but unfortunately, she wasn't quite established enough to move out of the hood. Mostly because she spent the majority of her money at the mall instead of saving it so that she could eventually move somewhere better.

“Hey, mama.” Yaz stepped toward her sister and pulled her niece into her arms, kissing her all over the face before she allowed her sister to enter her apartment.

Like Yami, she was short, barely hitting five feet, but a few inches taller than her sister, who was only 4’11”.”

“Where you coming from?” Yaz asked after the two were inside with the door locked.

“Mommy’s house.” Yami kicked off her Nikes and plopped down on her sister’s sofa, pulling her legs up and tucking them beneath her.

She watched as her daughter got comfortable on her sister’s lap. Rayah could easily be mistaken for Yaz’s daughter, and often was, due to their shared caramel complexion, oval faces, and jet black hair. Rayah looked like her father. There was no denying that, which was hard for Yami because as much as she loved Black, she hated him equally. The only thing good that had come from their union   was their daughter.

“Black just left here looking for you.” Yaz glanced at her sister before focusing on her niece again.

“What did he say?”

“Not much, said he’d be back later, but that you needed to call him.”

Yami shrugged before picking up the remote. Her focus was on the television, but she could feel her sister’s eyes on her.

“Call him, Yami. You know how he is, and the last thing you need is for him to be flipping out.”

Yami rolled her eyes at her sister but didn't say anything. She knew that Yaz was right, but she didn't want to talk about it. Black had made a point of making Yami’s life complicated, to say the least. He was well known in their neighborhood, and pretty much ran things. Nobody fucked with him, which meant that not body messed with her. That wasn't necessarily a good thing for Yami because Black liked to put his hands on her, and since everybody was afraid of him, they all turned their backs when he did it.

The part that Yami hated the most was that Black really wasn’t all that tough with anyone except her. His reputation is what kept people in line with him. His money was long, and he had handled some people, but the rumors by far outweighed reality. The fact that he paid 5-0 for protection and favors was really what made him so untouchable. People around their neighborhood were afraid to try him, so no one ever questioned what he would or wouldn't do. The streets were funny like that sometimes, all it took was a reputation to make you somebody.

“Yami, I know you hear me.”

“I hear you, damn, Yaz. I just don’t feel like dealing with him right now.”

“And you know it don't work like that, not with Black.”

“I’ll call him. He doesn’t want anything anyway. Just wants to know where I am and who I’m with.”

“Don't get mad at me. I told you not to fuck with Black, but your grown ass didn't listen. Now you got Rayah, so you don't have no choice but to deal with his crazy ass.”

“I’m not mad, I'm just saying I’ll call him when I feel like it. Damn, why you tripping, Yaz?”

“I’m tripping because he doesn't have any damn boundaries and you know it. I’m not in the mood for him to come up in here trying to put his hands on you because you all in your feelings about making a damn phone call.”

Yaz hated the situation that her sister was in, but she knew there wasn't anything that Yami could do about it short of moving as far away from Atlanta as she could. She couldn’t go to the cops because they really didn’t give a fuck, and Black had so many on his payroll that she didn't know who to trust anyway. Nobody fucked with Black.

“I met somebody today.” Yami didn't bother looking at her sister because she already knew what her reaction would be.

“Why you always trying to make shit worse, Yami? I don't want you with Black any more than you want to be with him, but you know that fucking with anybody but him ends with somebody losing their life. Do you want that on you? Just focus on school and Rayah so that you can move the fuck away from here. Get lost somewhere where Black can't find you. You know his ass ain't never leaving the hood. Ain't no man worth the drama that you’ll have to deal with from Black.

“I’m not with Black. The only thing we have is Rayah.”