act i

pg. v

𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐒

' 𝐢 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 '

_____________________

CARTER RAN INTO THE HOUSE, hastily looking through all of his things trying to find the one piece of protection he has to keep himself safe in these streets. He hadn't been home in hours, and didn't plan on going back until business was handled.
it was in the middle of the night, luckily for him his youngest sister was sleep, while june was nowhere to be found.

          at last, he found the fully loaded pistol he took over after his mother left. although he rarely ever needed it for protection, he definitely used it often. carter was a good guy, but the game he played was dangerous.
      he had a life beyond what his family knew. all they knew is he found a way to provide for them so the government wouldn't have to and they'd never have to worry about debt. he chose a dangerous path, much like those before him, but in reality all he wanted was for those he loved to be okay. of course one day he hoped to leave that world behind.

he was in too deep anyways.

             carter carefully peaked his head outside his bedroom door, the last thing he wanted was to run into was a drunken iris. she never fought with him, just june, however she asked way too many questions.
he peaked his head in june's bedroom, hoping she'd atleast be there that time around — but she wasn't. carter carefully closed the door, before heading out the apartment completely.

          he quickly walked on the pavement on his way to the one placed he hated, but somehow seemed to find the love for.

les inferno.

              walking in, the sound of music was heard throughout. superfly by curtis mayfield blasts throughout the dance floor of les inferno while cadillac dances around. two young boys sat, tied up in chairs watching as he made a fool himself.

"whats going on?" carter asks , looking down at the two kids. one could be much older than maya, which made him nervous.

"see, i was under the impression that it was a saturday night. but not a single fine-ass bird in this joint." cadillac prances his way to the dj booth & stood on the platform. "anybody here got a notion for why that might be?"

"why are you speaking in riddles man?" carter followed him, standing beside him. he glanced back at the children, worried. he had no clue what was going on, but there was a bad feeling.

"what is this?" carter asks, referring to them. cadillac leans against the counter.

"lets make these motherfuckers think we're going to kill their asses." he whispers to him, putting his hand out , knowing he had his gun on him. carter hesitantly grabs them gun and hand it to him, after seeing cadillac take a long sniff of cocaine.

         carter stood off to the side and watched cadillac do all the talking, after all he wanted nothing to do with this.

what if one of his sisters knew those kids?

warlord or not, carter had a code.

"i would ask your brother, little man, where everyone is but he don't seem to be doing much talking these days." cadillac says through puffs of smoke from his joint. "motherfucker left a stain on my disco ball. look at it." he motion towards the glimmering disco ball above them. the child warlord spat in his face, with no response , just smug a laugh.

      cadillac stood in disbelief for a moment , before he suddenly kicks him, knocking him down. he got down to his level, taking the lit cigarette and placing the burning end on his skin. the young boy lets out a loud screech as cadillac burns his face, burning his cheek. carters eyes widened.

"fuck." he mumbled to himself, utterly shocked.

      cadillac grabbed the gun , still dancing along to the music. he was higher than a kite, and carter could see that, carter was no stranger to it.

"stop i'll just tell you!!" the youngest one continued to yell over and over again. cadillac continued to ignore his calls , recklessly waving the gun around.

"hey man, just stop." carter warned cadillac, trying to take his gun back, but he refused. he & carter both continued pulling the gun every which way, not thinking anything about it, until a shot went off.

          carter instantly dropped it, looking to see the young boy in a pool of blood on the floor.

"fuck!!!" carter shouted at the top of his lungs.

"the fuck man." cadillac stresses.

"you was the one waving the shit around all careless and shit!!! it just went off!" carter placed his hand on his face, pacing back and forth.

"the motherfucker was gonna squeal, i was being careful! j said we were going to scare them , not kill them and you — " he began to push carter harder and harder until he was against the wall. carter pushed him back, more upset than he.

"it was an accident!!" he took a deep breath, looking back between the kid & cadillac.

"you dumb , candy ass mother fucker! fucking up things just like your mother!" cadillac scolds, sending carter into deep state, as he began to roughly push cadillac off as the two wrestled. "now we in real trouble thanks to you!"

           although they were work partners, cadillac & carter rarely ever got along. carter couldn't stand any of the people he worked with truth be told — especially his boss, fat annie.
          he felt he had no choice. fat annie been good to him, by letting him pay off the debt his mother left seven years ago when she decided to fleet. he was twelve.

now he's nineteen, and involved with drugs.

          it wasn't like he had a father he could go to with these things. he was almost sure his father was some drugged out highschool drop out who just happened to get involved with his mother. none of his siblings had the same father, but neither of them knew who they were — except one, which was fucked up in its own way.

"you're the one who shot his ass!" he testified. cadillac ignored his comment , wiping the cocaine residue from his nose & dusting himself off.

"now i'm gonna have to figure how to keep mom from killing us and you clean up this dead kid off my floor!" cadillac professes , finally leaving him alone.

"what are we going to do with this other fuck-" carter began. they both turn to see the other kid had escaped, meaning they were both screwed. let word get out that two black men were behind the death of a kid, they'd never see light again. it didn't matter who fired the shot.

"shit!" they both exclaimed. the pool of blood surrounding the dead kids head was deep enough to swim in & now a witness was somewhere lost. carter couldn't take the thought of being arrested, again.

so he did what he did best; he took off.

              that night carter ran all the way home, re-evaluating everything. the voice of the small child repeatedly pleading in his head. he wasn't the first person he'd ' killed ' , and he wasn't the last — but that was someone's child. imagine a mother worried, waiting for their kid to come through that door, not knowing he'd just been shot in the head & bleeding out on someone's disco floor.

           his thoughts shook him to the core as he began to search in his sock drawer for the one thing that'd always help him forget. his one and only best friend , the only thing that could help him get through anything.

the  angel with a dirty face.

angel dust.

           carter sniffed and sniffed until he barely remembered his first name, collapsing onto his bed with a laugh.

"damn man."

________________________

             ONCE SUNDAY MORNING CAME ROLLING AROUND, june somehow found herself awake early, comfortably sitting in her bed. she ran her fingers through her hair as she flipped through an old photo album she tripped over last night.
            the fight with the boys was way in the back of her mind; because she knew whatever happened, they'd get over it. if not, then it had nothing to do with her what's so ever. as for her and ezekiel, not a word.

"may, '49." she read aloud, grazing a black and white photo of her grandmother. she smiled. elizabeth love-jones, to june, was the most beautiful soul to ever walk the face of the earth. she loved her grandmother with all her heart — so when she passed away four years back, june took it harder than ever.

however, her mother broke her heart before anything else could ever.

             june's thought process was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing loudly from the kitchen. oddly, this phone call was stronger, nearly piercing her ears.

"i'll get it!" her aunt called. june didn't budge anyway. in fact, she kind of ignored it as she continued to flip through photographs.

            maya was running around outside with her friends; church had just let out. carter was locked away in his room, he hadn't spoken to anybody since he'd been home. june was off in her own little world; and iris —

"june!!" she shouted. "it's for you!"

          the girl raised an eyebrow , shortly before smiling — thinking it was ezekiel. she hurriedly got up and jogged all the way throw the hall, past the living room & into the kitchen. iris held the phone out, almost as if she were waiting to have it back; but she wasn't. june narrowed her eyes, wondering why she was still standing there as she intercepted the phone.

"hello?" she slowly slid out, afraid of saying anything in front of iris. iris stood still, folding her arms. for once she was silent.

"hello? is this ms.monroe speaking?" a lady with an accent june couldn't put her finger on spoke. june looked beside her at iris; june was the only one with the last name monroe in the house.

"yes, may i ask who this is?" the line got quiet for a second, before the woman spoke again.

"this is the offices of liza dior speaking, wondering if you were still considering applying for our firm —" the lady could barely finish the sentence before june took the phone off her ear and began to gasp uncontrollably. iris looked at the girl as if she were crazy, before she put the phone back on her ear.

"y-yes! i'd love to!"

"great. what day is best for you to schedule an interview to meet with ms.dior?" june was surprised. they asked her when she'd be most convenient?

"u-uh i'm free any day! 24 hours i'm open." she smiled hard, stuttering. if you didn't know her, you'd think she had a speech impediment. the woman continued.

"how does tuesday at six sound ms.monroe?"

"it sounds ..." june thought. she had no plans currently, and even if she did; she'd cancel them all just to get a chance to go to manhattan & see the diors. "perfect. sounds perfect."

"i'll be sure to put you down." papers being flipped were heard through the phone. june bit her lip hard.

"yes ma'am thankyou for your—"

"no, thankyou." words couldn't describe how much june was fangirling in the inside. her mind was filled with doubt, but just the opportunity was good enough for her. "and ms.monroe — don't be late." the woman said in a warnful voice, shortly before hanging up. june stood, listening to the dead line, smiling before putting the phone back on the hook herself.

"what was that about?" iris inquired. june looked to her, trying to keep her composure.

"i got an interview at this place in manhattan." her voice was calmer. she didn't want to tell anyone because the more she said it, she harder she believed it'd come true. iris scoffed.

"good, shit. it's about time you did something with ya self other than going to school & fuckin around with them damn kids june." she walked over to the kitchen drawer, getting a pack of her cigarettes. june ignored her negativity, only thinking of manhattan & the opportunity that lies there.

she just had to make this happen.