"Don't think about all of that," he cut me off gently. "You good now, and that's all that matters, take care of yourself, Zurie Maddox."
He stepped back, allowing the nurses to continue wheeling me away. By the time they'd hooked me up to monitors and a doctor had come to examine me, Yatta was gone.
As I laid there, answering the doctor's questions about my "accident," I couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious man who had helped me.
I had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time our paths crossed. And strangely, despite everything that had happened tonight, that thought didn't scare me at all.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Yah-Yah
I inhaled the blunt then blew the smoke out slowly, watching the smoke curl up toward Morgan's ceiling. Her spot wasn't shit fancy, it was just a lil one bedroom in South Shore she got after a lick her and DeAndre hit last summer. But it was straight, quiet, and far enough from my own shit that I could breathe for a minute.
"Bitch, you hogging the blunt," Morgan said, reaching across the coffee table to snatch it from my fingers. Her burgundy acrylics clicked against my short nails when we made the exchange.
"My bad, sis." I laughed, sinking deeper into the plus chair.
"I'm in my head right now."
Morgan took a long pull, her chinky eyes squinting at me through the smoke.
"Mhm, I bet I know exactly where yo head at. Or should I saywhoyo head on?" I rolled my eyes, already knowing where her ass was going with this.
"Don't start, Mo," I said, reaching for my cup of Patron and lemonade. "I ain't come over here for all that."
"Girl, I'm just saying." She tapped ash into that crystal ashtray. "Rylo been moving real weird lately. All secretive and shit. Like last week when I saw him on 79th talking to them niggas on halsted."
"Hold on." I sat up straighter. "What you was doing on 79th? And why you watching my nigga?"
Morgan's eyes got big for a second before she fixed her face. "Bitch, I wasn't watching him,. I just happened to be riding through and spotted him. He was with them Halsted niggas, looking like they was on some other shit."
Something about the way she said it didn't sit right. Why was Morgan so pressed about Rylo's movements? This wasn't the first time she brought his name up this week either.
"Okay, and?" I kept my voice flat. "That's what he do. Hangout with random ass niggas, I don’t be in his business about that shit." "Bitch, chill out, I was just speaking on it, cause I thought you should know.” she passed the blunt back, but her eyes stayed on me too long.
"That I should know what?”
“You know he be linking with them niggas all the time right? Making moves without even telling you. And ain’t you the one who put him on with Enzo in the first place."
My stomach low key dropped. How the fuck did Morgan know about that? I damn sure didn't tell her, and Rylo wouldn't have said shit. Enzo was a nigga I use to trick with, he had big paper, and he was into credit card scams, and shit. I put Rylo on with him a while back.
"How you even know about that?" I asked, trying to keep my voice casual even though alarm bells was going off in my head.
"DeAndre told me,” she said quickly. "His cousin hang with Enzo and them, so he be hearing shit." I didn't believe her, but I decided to let it ride for now.
"That's business," I said. "Rylo tell me what I need to know."
"Do he though? 'Cause from where I'm sitting, he been keeping hella shit from you lately." She leaned forward, "Like where he was Tuesday night. You know where he was? I heard the nigga was with Akina from the low end."
"Nah, he wasn’t with her ass, He was handling something for Yatta." My irritation was showing now. "Why you so worried about where Rylo at? You checking for my nigga or something?"
"Girl, bye!" Morgan laughed, but it sounded fake. "I'm worried about you. You my best fucking friend, and I don'twant you out here looking stupid as fuck while yo’ nigga being community dick."
"Well, it seems to me you a lil too interested in my nigga's schedule." I held her gaze hard. "That's like the third time this week you brought up Rylo. I don’t ask about DeAndre’s ass never, so what's really good, Mo?”
She blinked, then tried to laugh it off. "Yasani, you tweaking for real. I'm just telling you what I see with my own eyes, and what DeAndre be saying to me, now if you would’ve found out I knew and didn’t tell you, you would be mad at that too. So damn if I do, damn if I don’t.”
"Mhm." I hit the blunt again, side-eyeing her. "So, where DeAndre at tonight anyway?"