It was almost midnight when Sid finally pulled into a parking spot on her street. Summer was approaching, so the late hour meant little to Brooklyn. The block was still buzzing. The mobile police unit was still stationed on the corner, keeping a close watch after the shooting and arrests. But people were slowly coming back out. Like kids approaching the swimming pool again after they nearly drowned the first time. Sid kept her head down and briskly approached the front door while trying to remain unnoticed. 

No sooner than she finally allowed her shoulders to relax, she spotted Frenchie, taking deep drags off a cigarette just in front of the metal door. Sid hesitated. She was halfway there. Ducking behind a bench would look extremely suspicious. But moving forward meant possible having a conversation and she wasn't confident she wouldn't blurt out I stole it! right to Frenchie's face. She groaned, shook her nerves away and forced her body not to turn and run in the other direction. 

In the days following the arrests she had not seen anyone from Phil's crew and assumed they were all in Riker's Island doing a long bid. But here was Frenchie, reappearing on the block out of thin air and resuming her post. Sid irrationally resented her for being there and not locked away somewhere where she couldn't make paranoia pulse through Sid. Was she dumb enough to try to sell while the cops were still crawling all over the place?

Sid squared her shoulders and took purposeful steps toward Frenchie.

"Hi, Frenchie." Sid tossed coolly into the air as she fumbled to find her keys to her purse. The lobby door was usually wide open for any and all to come and go as they pleased but that too had changed. The management office sent people to repair all the broken locks and plaster No Loitering signs all over. It still was going to take some time to get used to.

"Sid, right? How you doing, Mami?" Frenchie blew smoke out of the side of her mouth before taking another long drag.

"I'm good. Haven't seen you around in a bit." Sid kicked herself. She wasn't supposed to seem like she was keeping an eye out for any of them. God, help me. She should have just kept it moving but something made her test the waters. See if anyone had even noticed that Phil's stash was missing. Chante wasn't able to tell her much which was frustrating. What was the use of being nosey if you never found out any useful information? All Chante could tell her was that everyone in Phil's crew had gotten locked up and Sid already knew that from watching the news.

"Yeah, baby. Things been hot over here for a min. The squad is a bit out of commission, ya know..." She looked anxious and shifty. Running her hand over her cornrows every few minutes. Nothing like the cool laid back chick that threw Sid a sly smile the first day they met.

"...But we'll get back though." She threw in at the end. Like she sensed that she was coming across soft and had to make up for it. Sid nodded as she wrapped her hands around her keys at the bottom of her purse finally. But instead of putting the metal into the lock and hurrying inside she ventured another question. One that had been on her mind since seeing Phil shoved into the back seat of that police car on TV.

"How's Phil?" Sid asked. Frenchie closed her eyes at the mention of his name. Ran that hand over those braids again and took another drag.

"My dude is still inside. Kru is pissed and won't bail him out. It's bullshit."

"Kru?" Sid asked.

"Phil's brother. Kru? OG who runs this shit?"

Ah, him. The guy that caused Phil's face to drop every time he talked about him.

"Oh, yea. Kru." Sid tried to act like she was in the know. She didn't want Frenchie to sense that she was saying too much but it may have been too late. Frenchie cleared her throat and took one last drag off of the cigarette before smashing it again the side of the building.

"You looking good though, mami." Frenchie was back on her usual bullshit. Trying to get Sid to start playing for the other team. Sid took that as her cue and quickly unlocked the front door.

"Thanks. I've haven't really been eating. But I gotta go pick up the baby. Good seeing you." Sid said to her. Frenchie replied with a small grunt and reached her hand down toward her crotch which she gave a tiny squeeze. What is she squeezing? Sid thought as she headed toward Chante's apartment. She knocked with the thought still pinging through her head.

Chante pulled open the door looking upbeat even though it was late. Her sweatpants hung low on her wide hips. She'd stuffed her ample breasts into a Nike sports bra. Sid wished she carried extra weight that beautifully. All her fat just rushed to her stomach so that she looked like an old man who had too many beers in his lifetime.

"He's sound asleep." Chante said as Sid stepped through the door and into the apartment. It was quiet for a change as she rounded into the living room and spotted Chante's seven year daughter Skye on couch the watching Nickelodeon and eating Goldfish out of a huge Ziploc bag.

"Hi, Ms. Sidney." Skye said politely before shoving another handful of crackers into her mouth.

"Hey, beautiful." Sid went over to the couch and squeezed her plump little shoulders, the scent of coconut oil drifting into her nostrils from beneath Skye's silk headscarf. Skye giggled.

"Where is everyone?" Sid asked Chante.

"Mama's in Atlantic City at that Old Timer's thing. Theresa's laid up at some dude's house and Neicey...shit I don't even know." Chante said, her eyes shooting up to the ceiling as she tried to remember the location of the women of the house. Sid giggled.

"He's back there?" Sid asked. Chante nodded and pointed toward the back.

"Laid out on my bed like it's his."

Sid made her way down the hallway and into one of the three bedrooms. She opened the door quietly and quickly made out AJ's tiny frame laid out in the middle of the bed, surrounded by a fortress of pillows on all sides and his Elmo blanket clutched in his hands. Sid crept over to him lifted him out of the bed and onto her shoulder. He smelled like fresh baby wash. She spread his blanket over his back and he snuggled deeper against her.

She found Chante back in the living room watching TV with Skye.

"Thank you so much again, Chante."

"You really have to stop thanking me. Us single mom's gotta stick together."

Chante had come in like a godsend for her over the last two weeks. Now that she was working in the kitchen that meant that she had to work late shifts and with non-traditional hours, traditional day care was out of the question. Thankfully, Chante offered to watch AJ for her, since she wasn't working -- and had never worked as long as Sid could remember. It wasn't Sid's concern. She was happy for the help and Chante was happy for the money Sid slipped her each week.

"Oh and take this. I made entirely too much food for dinner. Forgot all these bitches was gonna be gone." Chante ducked into her fridge and emerged with two Tupperware containers. From the outside, Sid spotted baked macaroni and cheese so she took it greedily.

"I'm starving. This is going to hit the spot." Sid said even though she'd never tasted Chante's cooking before and wasn't sure it would but after cooking all day she was willing to try.

Sid left the apartment, closing the door gingerly behind her before she rode the elevator up to her place. AJ remained deep in his sleep and she laid him in his bed without him even twitching. Sid kicked off her shoes, wiggled her aching toes, and and popped the Tupperware bowl into the microwave. While it turned she surveyed her apartment. It looked like a tornado hit it as usual. Toys that she purchased AJ over the last few days were sprawled everywhere. She went overboard for him. She needed to reel it in. But when you finally have the opportunity to do everything you've always wanted for your child it's hard to not spend a little too much. Nothing was overboard if it meant seeing him smile and glide giddily across the floor, playing to his hearts content. 

She cleared the mass of toys into the corner. The garbage can was giving off a scent too. She could at least bag that up and throw it out back. It was sure to be funky if she left it to simmer in this hear overnight. Once she freed the bag from the can, she crept back out of the apartment, closed the door and locked it behind her. She took the stairs down to the ground floor, knowing that no one would be in them. She emerged out of the back door, the same one that she had stumbled out of not too long ago in a mad dash to get to Phil's stash spot. The solid metal door squeaked loudly and Sid cringed. If anyone was out there they were definitely aware of her approach. She stilled but after not hearing anything she proceeded. 

Sid propped open the back door with a discarded soda bottle so that it wouldn't slam shut behind her. The alley was lit only by a sliver of light that shone from a single dim light in the side of the building. The concrete was damp even though it hadn't rained in days. Sid cringed to think what it was even though the strong smell gave it away. She tiptoed toward the dumpsters, her steps not making a sound. But there were other footsteps rapidly approaching. 

Every muscle in her body tensed and she became immobile. Voices drifted into the alley and only then did her flight reflex kick in. She dropped the garbage bag close enough to the dumpsters and skidded back up the three short stairs to the back door. The slower she moved the door the less the squeaking but the higher the chance of her getting spotted. But she risked the slow pull of the door and managed to slip back in to the stairwell as the voices descended on her.

"Didn't we check already?" Frenchie's voice echoed a bit between the buildings.

"Kru said to check again." Sid knew the voice. It was Luke. Or was it Bomb? One of them was back there.

"Fucking nasty back here, man." Frenchie continued to complain. The sound of trash cans and the distinct sound of the metal grate being moved out of place echoed through the alley. They're looking for the money. Sidney's anxiety skyrocketed and before she knew it she was running. Pain shot up through her poorly healed ankle as she bolted up the stairs. The dark stairwell all of a sudden felt ominous and exposed to her so she left the stairs onto the second floor and skid down the hallway feeling like a fugitive until she came to the elevator. She pressed the button and waited anxiously. A door opened at the end of the hall and Sid let out a sharp yelp. An older woman wrapped in a robe emerged with a small garbage bag in hand and looked at Sid with wide eyes.

"Sorry." Sid mumbled. She was on edge. The woman proceeded to the garbage chute but kept her eye on Sidney. The elevator rattled to a stop and the door slid open in front of her. She stumble inside, jammed the door close button, and leaned against the back wall. Her heart rammed against her rib cage and she closed her eyes and pulled in deep breaths to calm herself. But the calm soon evaporated once she felt the elevator going down instead of up.

"No, no! Shit." She jammed the number nine rapidly but since thats not what makes elevators work, the elevator continued its descent one floor down and opened onto the lobby. Two people she didn't know stepped onto the elevator with her. She looked out pass the lobby doors and through the glass to see Frenchie and...Luke, that was definitely Luke...walking toward a figure near the door. 

Sid's knees buckled and she sank to the floor. Her fingers clutching at her chest did nothing to quiet her heart. Her body had given up trying to release air from her lungs. Her eyes were transfixed. Rooted in the past. They spoke with him, each shaking their heads. The man looked annoyed but calm. A muscular build compensating for his short stature. He ran his hands along his jaw. Methodically, back and forth. Skimming the outline of a jagged scar.

The same way he did six years ago.

With the same hand that pushed her father to his death.

After looking for him for years, the man two killed Sid's father has reappeared. Let the games begin...

Thank you beautiful people for reading, commenting, and voting! Your support and enjoyment with this story means so much <3 .