One
Gabe
Fifteen yearsearlier
I read a sign once that said you were only one decision away from a completely different life.
That hit me hard.
So I made a fucking decision, and now we’d all have a completely different life. Me, Jorie, and Bump. Nothing would ever be the same after today.
As I walked past the barber shop, the duffel bag of cash hanging heavy in my grip, the TV inside blared about the storm closing in. In Biloxi, we didn’t get too excited about that shit. I didn’t give a fuck that people were saying this one was going to be a big one. If it was up to me, we’d be out of this town before it made landfall. That was, if it even really came our way at all.
Rain beat against my hat, dripping off to slide down the collar of my T-shirt. The T-shirt I’d never wear again, because I’d be dressing in better shit from now on. The cash in the bag was going to make certain of that.
I’d finally be able to get Jorie to LA, so she could cut a single in a real studio and get it to the bigwigs at the record companies. I’d conquer the city and build a club where she could perform while she soared on the charts. That was our plan. That had always been our plan.
She’d been quiet lately, and I knew it was because of how fucking tight money was. It was weighing on her. I’d seen the desperation in her eyes, and that’s why I did what I did.
I was done robbing Peter to pay Paul.
No,a voice in my head piped up.You just robbed Moses to get the fuck out of town and save Jorie before she does something stupid.
The rumble of a cammed-up ride had me dipping my head and turning the corner to duck into an alley.
Moses couldn’t have found out what I did yet. I gotta have at least a day or two to get ahead of this.
I already had a plan. I’d get home, we’d pack our shit, buy a car for cash, and be gone by sunrise without leaving a trail to follow.
The growl of the exhaust quieted as the car drove on down the road, but the custom license plate told me everything I needed to know about the driver.
BOSSMAN.
Moses’s personal ride.
No. He’s not looking for me. Stop thinking that shit.Still, I put some hustle in my step and bypassed the corner store and the flowers I planned on buying to surprise Jorie with when I shared the good news with her.
Get home and then get the fuck out of town.That was all I needed to do. We’d all be better off as soon as we hit the city limits.
When I made it to our shithole apartment complex, some wannabe gangsters sat outside with guns in their laps, like they were the fucked-up neighborhood watch.
They all lifted their chins in my direction, but thankfully their eyes stayed off the bag.
“What up, Gabe?” a kid from Texas asked. He went by Lonestar, but I didn’t know his real name.
“Not shit.”
“When you gonna quit playin’ at the gym and fight for real? I’ll take you on.”
I shrugged but kept walking. “Talk to me next week.”
His crew of boys hollered and hooted as I jogged up to our apartment on the fourth floor. It was only a one-bedroom, so I wasn’t surprised to see Bump on the couch with the TV on when I opened the door.
As much as I wished he’d apprentice to learn a trade or something, I’d rather have him working his eight-hour shift at the hardware store than hanging with those assholes out front. Beggars couldn’t be choosy, after all.
“You’re back early,” Bump said as his gaze dropped to the duffel. “What’s in the bag?”
“Where’s your sister?”