Thugs with Tendencies

Thugs with Tendencies 7

Chapter 7– Sterling Huckabee

My street has families. Growing up everyone had that picture perfect household. Fathers taught their sons how to throw baseballs and helped them out with homework after school. Getting in trouble on my streets consisted of making bad grades not gangbanging with the local thugs. People didn't struggle. People didn't need for anything. It was all smiles on my street growing up.

Maybe that's why I thought I would be this amazing father. Maybe that's why I waited so long to tell Cheyenne about my feelings for the same sex. I wanted that perfect experience again. Things weren't going to turn out that way anymore though.

Cheyenne was gone and so was my baby.

All I had now was the will to help her baby brother.

"You Cheyenne's baby's father?" a boy walks up to me.

I look him up and down. I've seen him before shortly. He was with Meech at the funeral. He looks a little like Meech actually. They are both a little shorter than me. This guy has a longer face and thicker eyebrows though.

"You are Meech's friend."

"His cousin. Yusef Buchanan," he tells me. "You dated my cousin, Cheyenne."

"We were engaged."

Yusef looks me up and down at that moment. He's trying to figure me out I think. I'm not sure why he's measuring me up the way that he is right now but he is. He's taking stock of me. I can tell. I'm dressed a little more urban than I usually do. I mean I always had a more urban feel to me. I listened to hip hop music. I had a lot of black friends. My mother would kill me if she saw me at a pool party with all black and Spanish people. She would be pissed if she knew that I had my pants sagging and all that. My mother hated the idea that I was engaged to Cheyenne. She hadn't even called when she heard about the tragedy.

Yusef sighs a little bit, "Sorry to hear about Cheyenne man. We all miss her."

"She was worried about her little brother. Meech. She doesn't think he belongs in a place like this," I explain to Yusef.

"That's one thing we both agree on. Kenyatta. She's a hood rat. Born and bred. Meech is a little different though. Is he the real reason you're still around?"

I promised Cheyenne that I would protect Meech. Meech still seems so pressed on finding out who killed his parents. The cops were useless. I understood why he was looking to get even but I didn't want Meech getting into any shit. I had to stick around and protect him for Cheyenne.

I nod, "Yeah. I'm trying to convince him to leave, but he's stuck on finding out who did the shooting."

"He needs to give it up. He can't turn back the hands of time."

"That's what I say," I respond, "Kenyatta isn't helping..."

"Did you hear something?"

I think about if I should tell Yusef what I know or not. The more I think about it the more I realize that Yusef has been around Meech for a while. Meech must have trusted him. Hell. Yusef was Meech's cousin after all.

"I heard Kenyatta saying that someone named Lil' Ty knows who did the shooting."

"Is that what she said?"

"Yeah," I respond shaking my head, "Ever since then Meech has just been so intent in sticking around this neighborhood."

Yusef puts his hand under his chin. He staring at me as though this is news to him. He takes a long sip of alcohol and lets it sit on his chest at that moment. I wonder what is on his mind. He stares across the pool party. Kenyatta isn't at the party anymore but sure enough Meech is back. Meech jumps into the pool. I stare the entire time.

"So Meech believed you? He thinks Lil' Ty knows something about the shooting?"

"I'm not sure. He doesn't talk to me about it. I was so close to getting him to agree to leave with me. Then Kenyatta just comes out of no where and convinces him."

"And what do you think?"

"I don't know a Ty. I have met Kenyatta a few times. Cheyenne never trusted her sister. Before I met her she said to keep away from Kenyatta. She said that Kenyatta was messy. The fact that Kenyatta wants to get Meech involved in all of this shit..."

"You're smart."

"I am?"

"Yeah. Kenyatta used to hang out with these guys in the Bakersfield gang. Rumor has it her boyfriend Red was getting kind of jealous about it. Word on the street is that Red was really mad about Kenyatta. Maybe he heard she was cheating on him. I'm not saying anything but you know what's weird?"

I lean in. For some reason this guy Yusef is trusting me and it blows my mind. Meech and Kenyatta made sure to stop talking to me about things. The fact that Yusef is actually telling me what is going on in this neighborhood is definitely a good thing. The quicker I find out what happened to the Buchanans the quicker I can help Meech get out of this godforsaken place. Maybe that is the reason I lean in to listen to what Yusef is telling me. Maybe that's the reason I'm so interested.

"What is weird?"

"Right after the shooting Red just up and disappears."

My mouth drops open. Fuck.

"You think Red had something to do with it?"

Yusef takes a long sip of his Hennessy. He leans up against the house. I can tell that he's feeling his alcohol by how he struggles to stand but right now I'm sick to my stomach.

"Love will make you do a bunch of crazy shit."

"Kenyatta never mentioned this to the police."

"Maybe she blames herself for her family's death. Sounds to me like Kenyatta fucking around with guys from the Bakersfield gang is the reason that started all this. She was cheating on her boyfriend...he found out and he came looking for her."

I don't get it, "But why protect him."

"Maybe she still loves Red. Like I said. Love will make you do a bunch of crazy shit."

I'm pissed. I'm beyond mad. Kenyatta is hiding all this from the cops. She's filling her little brother's head with a bunch of fucking lies saying that Ty had something to do with it. She was doing this shit on purpose. I don't fucking get it.

"I should tell Meech."

"No. Don't," he quickly stops me.

I give Yusef a look. I think it's kind of suspicious that he doesn't want me to talk to Meech about it. Why wouldn't I warn Meech that his sister was fake? Why wouldn't I tell him that things were getting bad?

"Meech deserves to know."

"The less Meech knows the safer he is. Listen. Kenyatta is desperate to keep things a secret. Kenyatta uses men. Even her brother. No one is safe. There were two guys who shot up the Buchanans. Red had help. Do you really want to help Meech?"

"Of course. More than anything."

"Then listen. Red is gone but there is someone else out there that helped him with that shooting. Someone who must be tied to Kenyatta. Maybe someone who was just as upset that she was dating a new guy. Maybe he teamed up with Red to get that revenge."

Sick.

I shake my head.

"Someone from Kenyatta's past maybe?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Do you know who?"

"I have an idea."

"Tell me."

I grab his arm. If the person who killed the Buchanans were still around I would get to them before Meech got to them and ruined his life. If I had to sacrifice myself to save Cheyenne's little brother then that is what I was planning on doing.

I am desperate for a name. Yusef must see that desperation. Maybe that's why he pulls back a little bit. Maybe that's why he shakes his head.

"Not yet," he tells me, "You'll figure it out. We can work together in this. We both want the same thing. We both want Meech to be safe, right? Right. So let's work together. I like you man. What's the name again?"

"Sterling. Sterling Huckabee."

"C`mon Sterling. There is someone I would like you to meet."

I follow Yusef to the other side of the pool party. Yusef seems popular. He speaks to people as we walk past. The more I realize how much he knows the more I realize that this guy must really know what he's talking about. He just seems really street smart to me. He seems like he has it all figured out or something. We make our way to a patio area. There are a couple of guys playing spades. They are thug looking guys. Honestly they look really dangerous. Yusef seems comfortable around them. He shakes a few of their hands. I notice that almost immediately a couple of them are looking me up and down. They are suspicious of me.

"Who the fuck is this?" one of the guy says.

"He's cool," Yusef explains, "He's with me. He's family."

Family. The fact that Yusef is calling me that even though I didn't get to marry his sister Cheyenne actually kind of means a lot. Yusef reaches over and pats me on the shoulder a little bit. A couple of the people seem to be cool with Yusef's explanation but the majority of them are still giving me these real suspicious looks.

"My name's Sterling."

"What kind of name is Sterling?" a guy asks.

The guy is the meanest looking motherfucker at the table. He's smoking some weed and has the blunt in his fingertips. When he gets close to me I can smell the marijuana on his breath. I look to his waist and see a gun shoved in there. He is keeping it out in plain sight as though he gives no fucks in the world. He has a Corona in the other hand and takes a long sip of it. I watch for a few minutes and turn to see Yusef. Yusef smiles at the guy and then pats me on the shoulder again.

"Hey Sterling. This is Lil' Ty," Yusef introduces us.

Fuck. The guy that Kenyatta said knew about the murder. Looking at this guy I could believe it. He just looked like a real shady fucking character. None-the-less I reach my hand out to shake his hand. I'm thinking maybe it's just the nerves more than anything. Lil' Ty doesn't reach out. He doesn't shake my hand. He just stands there silently.

"You a fucking cop?" Ty asks me.

"No. I'm not a cop. I was engaged to Cheyenne."

One of the other boys looks me up and down and shakes his head, "Damn? You was with Cheyenne? I could have sworn Cheyenne was lactose intolerant."

A few guys at the table laugh at the racist ass joke. I'm surprised when Ty slaps the guy upside the head. The laughter subsides a little bit from the guys playing at the spades table.

"Shut the fuck up DJ," Ty says before turning back, "Yusef, why the hell you bringing Brad Pitt over here for?"

"He wants to be down."

"He does?" Ty asks.

"I do?" I ask.

Yusef nods, "He wants to find out who killed the Buchanans. So I told him maybe we could help each other. Kenyatta has been telling him a bunch of lies."

"I saw the bitch earlier," the guy DJ says, "Soon as we came in she got with her girls and started packing up to leave. She's scared of something."

Ty looks me up and down as soon as Kenyatta is mentioned. She was trying to make it seem like he had something to do with it. I didn't hear specifics when I overheard her talking to her brother not too long ago. Still I heard enough to know that Kenyatta didn't trust him. Kenyatta sure did leave the party as well. She was loud and the fact that I didn't hear her made it clear that she was avoiding Ty.

What exactly was Kenyatta afraid of though? Was she scared of the truth?

"Kenyatta is a liar. Whatever she told you...had to have been a lie," Ty says.

A couple of the others around agree with Ty. I can see them nodding their heads as though realizing that she had a reputation on the block. Yusef was one thing. Ty was basically saying the same thing. Now everyone else was agreeing. Kenyatta was trouble. She couldn't be trusted. That much was clear at least.

"She's just starting rumors," I state.

"She was probably trying to get some dick from Lopez," Yusef mentions out of no where.

Did they have a past? Was that the guy that Yusef was talking about?

I watch one of the other guys agree, "Yeah. It was only a matter of time. The two of them were super close. Can't trust Kenyatta, man. Someone should talk to Lopez."

"They...used to date?" I ask.

One of the boys nods, "Sure did, white boy. Lopez goes around asking about her like a lost puppy. He must be in love with her STILL."

Yusef and I exchange glances. Yusef gives me a knowing glance. This was the boy he was talking about. Lopez was still in love with her. He was so in love with her that he would help Red try to hurt her when they found out she was probably playing both of them. I could imagine how mad someone would be, especially in love. They would be so upset that they'd be willing to kill the person cheating on them. They'd be so mad that when they got to that house and didn't see the person they wanted to kill they'd take out her family.

Even her pregnant sister.

"You ok, Brad Pitt?" one of the boys asks me, "You look paler than usual. That's saying a lot for a white boy too."

Lopez. He has to be the one who did it. He had to the motive.

"Where was Lopez the night that the Buchanans got murdered?" I asked.

One of the boys gives me a hard look, "You shouldn't be going around asking no type of questions like that. You sure this ain't a cop Yusef? He's asking questions like a motherfucking cop."

"He's just trying to help," Yusef argues.

I'm shocked Yusef is standing up for me. The guys at the pool party are giving me funny looks though. I can tell that they don't trust me. They are looking at me like they don't trust a damn thing coming out of my mouth right now.

Ty surprisingly jumps in, "Does anyone know where Lopez was the night they got murdered?"

There is silence around. No one is answering.

Yusef crosses his arms, "Funny how no one knows..."

"Is this supposed to mean any fucking thing?" another one of the guys playing cars asks before shaking his head, "Lopez is your brother. You going to listen to some random motherfucker we never saw before."

Lopez. Lopez. How do I remember the name?

"I overheard Kenyatta say something about Lopez," I state, "She was saying something about using Lopez to do something. Using Lopez to get revenge...on Ty..."

All eyes turn to me at that moment.

I know what I'm saying is serious but I know what I heard. I know exactly what the fuck I heard.

"Dude is lying," one of the boys argue.

"Shut the fuck up, Kool Aid," Ty says before taking a few steps towards me. He grabs me on my collar, "Listen here...Brad Pitt. Lopez is my brother. What you are saying is some shit that other people would kill for. Are you trying to tell me that Kenyatta is trying to turn Lopez to kill me?"

Kool Aid and DJ both seem a little bit quiet sitting there. There is another guy who is sititng there. He is looking down awkwardly, almost like he might know something. I don't give him any attention though because he has a bottle in his hand. He could possibly just be a drunk or something like that.

Ty takes his gun out. He's still holding me. He's threatening me right now. I am looking at this thug and I know that he's willing to pull the trigger. Maybe I crossed the fucking line or something like that. Maybe I went too far this time. I shouldn't have said what I overheard Kenyatta talking about.

"I know what I saw."

"Who was she talking to when she was coming up with this plan?" he asks.

She was talking to Meech. There was no way in hell that I was going to put Meech in the middle of this though. There was no way that I was going to endanger him. This was Kenyatta's plan after all. I remember seeing Meech looking real reluctant. I shouldn't have been spying on them but I didn't trust Kenyatta with him even back then. There is a reason that Cheyenne told me to watch over Meech. She didn't trust Kenyatta or anyone else in this neighborhood with her little brother.

I swallow my spit, "I don't know."

"He's lying!" the guy DJ says.

Ty puts the gun to my dome, "I'm going to ask you one more time. Who the fuck was Kenyatta plotting with? Brad Pitt. Don't let me ask you again."

I shake my head, "I didn't recognize the person."

It's the only thing that comes to mind.

"A Bakersfield boy maybe?" Yusef suggests.

Ty lowers the gun as soon as he hears the words. He looks over at Yusef. For some reason he seems to trust him. He crosses his arms at that moment. He signals at the drunk guy who has been quiet this entire time keeping out of the conversation.

"Boozie. Go find my brother. Bring him over here."

The drunk who is rightly so called Boozie gets up and leaves. I watch as he walks away. Nerves are getting under me. A part of me wants to leave but I'm blocked off by the guy DJ and the other guy Kool Aid isn't too far behind. I can tell they don't trust me by their expressions. I'm telling the truth though. I have no reason to lie about this guy Lopez. I knew the dangers of coming into people's situation and saying things. I also knew that Lopez was suspicious as fuck.

They bring the guy Lopez back after a few minutes. He has this scowl on his face as though he doesn't want to be here. He looks beyond pissed at this moment. I watch the way that he looks at Ty. I wonder if Ty realizes it. He has malice in his eyes. It's clear to me but maybe to them it's just an everyday look or something that a thug would carry.

"What the fuck am I doing here?" Lopez asks, "I'm busy."

"I had a question Lopez," Ty says.

"You could have text me man. I was busy," Lopez argues.

Lopez seems irritated. He seems annoyed. He doesn't even seem to notice me standing there. He's a good looking guy. I'll give him that. He had bronze skin and probably had the most attractive face out of the group of guys. It makes him stand apart definitely. It wasn't hard to believe that he could have been some sort of ladies' man or something. What surprised me was that he would care about Kenyatta back so much as to commit a crime because of her.

The motive was there though. Who else would want to shoot up the Buchanan house?

"Well you're here now brother," Ty says, "I have someone here who says that Kenyatta is using you. Has Kenyatta tried to reach out to you."

"No. What the fuck?" he asks, "I haven't even really talked to Kenyatta since I got out of jail."

"Really?" Yusef asks raising an eyebrow, "Because you sure went around asking everyone about Kenyatta. I would assume you'd try to get in touch with her as soon as you can."

Lopez pauses. He seems annoyed. He glares at Yusef. He doesn't argue at that moment. He just looks like he wants to do something. The look in his eyes is the look of someone who wants to do something drastic. These are the eyes of a killer. I could tell somehow. I think Yusef could tell as well. Maybe that's why Yusef takes a step back. Lopez is threatening him without even saying a word.

"What's wrong brother?" Ty asks, "You seem kind of upset?"

"If you got something to say to me then say it."

"Where were you the night that the Buchanan's died," I ask.

I know it's not my space to question him. I'm wrong but I don't give a fuck. I'm emotional. Cheyenne died that night and this man looks like a killer. He gives me a hard look at that moment. His eyes glare at me with some hardness that makes me want to step back as well. I don't take a step back like Yusef though. I take a step forward.

"Who the fuck are you?" he asks.

"I'm the one who told everyone that you had something to do with it. I think you did. Did you kill the Bucahanan's you piece of shit?" I ask.

Lopez gives me a hard look, "Yo...back him the fuck away from me..."

"You wanted to kill Kenyatta, but you ended up killing her family!"

"BACK THE FUCK UP! Ya'll better get this little piece of Wonder Bread out of my face before he ends up missing. I don't play those kind of fucking games. I'm not about to be accused by some stranger."

"Then why won't you answer the question?" Yusef asks.

"Cause I don't fucking want to," Lopez responds, "Now what? You going to do something Yusef? Little bitch. What about you Ty? You want to beef with me over the words of some little piece of shit white boy then let's do it. Let's beef. Is that what you really want Ty?"

Ty looks over at me.

Yusef shakes his head, "He's lying Ty. Lopez is lying. He won't answer the question."

"I don't got to answer shit, bitch. You jealous little piece of shit."

"Why the fuck would I be jealous of you?"

"Who said you were jealous of me? You and I both know who you are jealous of Yusef," Lopez argues.

They seem to be arguing back and forth. It seems personal. At that moment Ty raises his gun in the air. I think he's going to point it at Lopez. Hell. I think he is going to straight up shoot Lopez.

That isn't what happens though.

Ty points the gun at me.

"What the fuck?" I ask.

"Get the fuck out of here," he tells me.

"Ty..." Yusef tries to argue, "Sterling might be telling the truth here. He might be onto something."

TY shakes his head, "Family over everything. Brad Pitt...you got 5 minutes to get the fuck out of my face before I fucking kill you."

"I'm not lying---"

"You heard him," DJ says.

Yusef shakes his head, "You're making a mistake Ty."

Ty doesn't listen to him, "He's not one of us. He's not down with us. We can't trust him. I trust Lopez. He's my brother. He's down with me."

Was he serious? I am sick to my stomach hearing this right now. DJ and Kool Aid approach me. They look like they are just waiting to beat my ass right now. I'm shocked. I can't believe that Lopez is getting away with this. Lopez just glares at me at that moment. It's makes me sick when a small smile spreads on the side of his face. They were going to let him get away with this. They were going to let him walk away.

I shake my head.

"Fuck this."

I walk away at that moment. I know that Ty would shoot me. A part of me is so mad that I'm shaking. I walk over to the front of the house and I think about just punching a wall. I head to my car and just sit there. I'm so mad that I'm shaking at that moment.

I'm trying to help Ty. I'm trying to help get justice for a dead family but instead I was being sent away because of street code? Even though I was the one making sense? Lopez hadn't even bothered to give an alibi. He didn't even care. I was so pissed.

I sit in the car longer than I should. I'm still shaking. I'd seen Meech with this Lopez guy before. What if Meech was in danger around this guy? I had to make sure that Lopez didn't hurt him. I had to get rid of this Lopez guy somehow. I didn't have a gun though. I didn't have a weapon. Just at that moment as I'm sitting in my car I notice Lopez walk out of the pool party. A car pulls up at that moment. Luckily I'm sitting in the darkness. The sun has gone down.

Lopez doesn't see me sitting there.

"He's in there," I hear Lopez say to the person in a car that pulls up.

The guy opens up the car at that moment. This guy looks suspicious as fuck. He looks like he doesn't belong in this party. That's when I see Lopez hand him something. I'm not sure what it is but the guy takes it, puts it in his shirt and starts walking towards the pool party. I watch as Lopez starts walking the other way. It's almost like he doesn't want to be seen around here.

Something is about to happen.

Something is about to go down!

I hop out of the car and follow the guy who was talking to Lopez. I follow him all the way through the pool party. People are partying. People are having a good time. That's when I watch the guy's eyes set on Ty. I watch as he digs in his shirt at that moment.

"Yo Ty," the guy says.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Ty asks the guy.

"I want you dead motherfucker..."

The guy digs in his shirt. He is about to pull out a gun. I don't know what gets into me. I jump on the guy. I wrestle with the guy. I try to get the gun out of his hand before he can shoot Ty. We wrestle with the gun all over the wet floor. Everyone at the pool party is watching us roll around and wrestle.

Suddenly the gun goes off out of no where.

I push the guy off of me. He shot himself on purpose while we were wrestling.

I watch Ty walk over. He shoots the guy several more times as though making sure the guy is dead. Just at that moment when he is sure the guy is dead Ty helps me up.

He looks at me as though seeing me for the first time.

Then he does something I don't expect. He leans in and Ty hugs me. A couple of the other guys are giving me my props as well when they realize that I just saved his life. Ty hugs me close for a few seconds and pats my back.

Then I realize he doesn't call me Brad Pitt. He calls me by my name, "You're good with me. Sterling. You're definitely good with me now..."

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