Eve Read Free Page B

go to school with. He ran with a local Blood click on her block. Even though the ladies of Twenty-Gang weren’t actually a gang like the Bloods and the Crips, she and her home girls had love for the color-clad hardheads from the block. They didn’t give a shit about a color. They were just some cool-ass neighborhood guys. A few of the girls were even in relationships with some of the bangers.
    Scruggs was short, with a baby face. He was young, but his eyes were those of an old man. Most striking thing about him was the radiant smile that he used to hit all the girls with, the same smile that he was flashing at Eve from the six-by-six cell.
    â€œWhat’s good?” Scruggs asked from behind the little grated window.
    â€œGimmie a second,” Eve said to the lady guard. The guard held up one finger to let Eve know that she had one minute. “What up, my nigga?” she asked, putting her fist to crisscrossing wires.
    â€œTrying to live,” he replied solemnly. “But I don’t seem to be doing a very good job of it.”
    â€œI guess didn’t nobody tell you that this was a lady’s facility?” Eve joked.
    â€œVery funny, girl. Nah, you know they had me housed a few miles from here and shit. A nigga got into something with a heavy hitter and they moved me up outta the jail. Talking some safety shit. He fucked up, and I’m still walking ’round. Niggaz ain’t hard like we, ma. I’ll only be here till tomorrow, then I’m shipping further up. They’re keeping me caged for my whole visit.”
    â€œWhat the fuck happened?”
    â€œMan, this crab nigga tried to come at me sideways. Eve baby, you know the kid ain’t no troublemaker, but I ain’t have a whole lot of choices. Son came and I laced him. I carved into that boy over and over. I swung that blade until my arms got tired. The fucked-up part was…I did it more out of fear than anything else.”
    â€œDamn, kid.” Eve sighed. “Homey died?”
    â€œDead as a fucking doornail, ma.”
    â€œSo what’s the word?”
    â€œThe word is, I’m fucked. When the bulls rolled in, I was still holding the shank.”
    â€œYou gonna try to fight it?”
    â€œFight it,” Scruggs said with a grim look on his face. “Baby-girl, I’m already in on a body. They’re probably gonna try and fry me behind this shit.”
    â€œWhat about fam and them,” Eve asked referring to Scruggs’ gang. “Them niggaz ain’t trying to put no money up for your lawyer?”
    â€œFuck them niggaz,” Scruggs said. “I blame all of that dumb shit for getting me into this.”
    â€œYou’re talking crazy now,” she said in disbelief. “That’s ya click. How you gonna kick shit on em?”
    â€œLet me put you up on something, ma. We ain’t that far apart in age, but I’ve been at this a lot longer than you have. All that shit they kick in the hood is garbage. Don’t get me wrong, there’s quite a few dawgz that keep it funky, but the majority of them niggaz ain’t keeping it gangsta.”
    â€œIt can’t be that bad, man.”
    â€œEve, them niggaz shitted on me when I got bagged. I ain’t get no visits, no packages, no letters. Not a goddamn thing. And the punch line is, I caught my case for the set. Me and that boy didn’t even know each other well enough to dislike one another. Our only crimes were being from opposite sides of the color lines. This shit all chalks up to belonging. I did it all to belong.”
    â€œDon’t give up, Scruggs,” she pleaded. “You can get up outta this. I mean, even if you do get a lil more time on top of that you’re still young. You could—”
    â€œFuck that,” he said cutting her off. “Eve, I ain’t built for the kinda time they’re gonna try to give me. I’d go crazy. They got my back against the wall, ma.