The Crazee Life

On the way to my mom's house, I passed the Saint Anne's Christian Church of God in Christ. On the front steps, I saw all these pictures and people going into the church. It was Vicky's funeral. I'd seen the undercover police cars there, and figured that they must be there in order to scope out the place. Probably to see if the killer would come back to view their handiwork. It's common, so I understand why they are there. Even if I wanted to go to the funeral, it's too risky. Are you kidding? I told the cops I barely knew her when I called them, and then show up to her funeral? No. Doesn't make sense. Makes me look even more suspicious. I wonder if Chris is in there though. That would be something. Part of me wanted to sneak in there, amongst the crowd to see if she was, but then I'd be recognized.

I was heading to my mom's house to see if she needed anything before I decided to go back to Priest's house. If she needed me to grab something, there was a store just down the road. I could have called, but I haven't been down to see them in a couple days. A couple minutes later, I pulled up to her house and walked in without knocking. "Hey, mom!" I yell, as I walk through the living room.

"I'm in the kitchen!" she replies. I go into the kitchen and find her cooking.

"Where's Britt and Joey?"

"They're at school, Zee."

"But it's Saturday."

"I know. They had one of those shut-ins."

"Oh, okay."

"I wish I would have known that, otherwise I woulda just called."

"Damn, you don't wanna see yo mama?" she asks, turning away from the stove.

I chuckle. "That's not what I said. Anyway, need anything from the store? I'ma be over Priest's house for the day, so I'm asking you now."

"Yeah, there's a list on the table. How's she doing?"

"Fine. Still preaching to me anytime I go over there." I said, chuckling.

"You need to listen to her, really. I have no idea how you have such a god-fearing best friend, and still do the things you do."

"It's easy. I'm not listening to that stuff."

"Clearly." my mom chuckles.

It is kinda funny that my mom believes that Priest is a saint that does nothing wrong because of she's so open with her religion. Meanwhile, she's living on the dark side, just like me.

"I get that I do... things.... that would not be acceptable under the law, but hey, I'm trying to make a living out here, mom. I'm sorry, but faith doesn't pay the bills. You know that firsthand."

"I get it, Zee. Thank you for making sure me and your sisters are good. But don't act like I asked for it, okay? Don't try to guilt me into rationalizing why you do those things. Is selling drugs that profitable?"

"Well, actually I don't s-" I began to say.

"Stop... I don't even wanna know what you're about to say. Whatever it is, please keep it away from your sisters. Keep it away from us. Stay safe! I don't wanna hear about you being found dead or going to jail, okay?"

"You won't, Mom. I decided to stop. Me an-- well... I decided to stop. I wanna create a business or somethin'. Leave something for Britt and Joey when they get older."

"Good! Don't tell them anything, I want them to think about school right now. You know Britt's ass is ready to drop out today."

Both of us started laughing. "Okay, mom. I'll stop by once I leave Priest's house."

"Tell her I said hi!" she screeches as I walk away.

As I walk towards my car, I decided to go to the store anyway. I would come back later for my mom's things, but right now I wanted to get a bag of chips. Once I pulled up to the store, I noticed there was an arrest in progress. I pulled up beside a big SUV, so I could still go unseen by a police vehicle. I heard a lot of screaming and a woman giving them a hard time. Once they finally got her out of the store, I recognized who it was. It was Chris. She'd gotten arrested, probably in connection with Vicky's murder. I saw another shaken up woman, of Asian descent. It was an old friend. I called out to her. "Cherry?" she looked up at me in confusion. She walks over to my car. "Who are you?"

"Zee. From high school? Remember?"

"You HAD to have known me, 'cause I don't even go by Cherry anymore."

"No? What do you answer to now? Jade?"

"Yeah. I got tired of people calling me Cherry Pai."

I chuckled in spite of myself. "That is pretty funny. Um, what happened?"

"Chris got arrested."

"Did they say why?"

"For possession and distribution of narcotics."

At least I can count on my freedom for awhile. I knew that Chris would try and throw me under the bus as soon as she got caught. I would be ready for it, too!

"Well, shit, what are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know. Guess I gotta bail her out. I have half a mind to leave her ass in there. I'm too loyal of a girlfriend to just let her sit there, even though she had drugs on her."

"What's the point of bailing someone out if you know they're guilty?"

"I dunno. Last thing I need is for her to get out and be mad at me. She can get a lil violent. Not with me, she fucking knows better."

I chuckled a little bit. She thinks Chris won't ever get violent with her. Once you've killed, you don't fear anything anymore. I bet she doesn't know what Chris did.

"Um... okay. Well, hey, it was good seeing you. We should hang out again, like old times."

"Okay. Hand me your phone." she says.

I oblige, and watch as she puts her number in my phone.

"I'll text you later so you'll have my number, 'kay?"

"Okay! Bye!" she says, and hops into the SUV on the side of me. That's the car Chris was in when we first met up!

I wait for her to pull out and went into the store myself.

After buying a bag of Doritos and a lemonade, I headed to Priest's house.

After a few minutes, I knocked on the front door of her unnecessarily big ass house.

She comes to the door in nothing but underclothes. My first thought was to look away, out of embarrassment. The girl is fine. But we're just friends, number one. Number two, she is trying to be celibate, so she says. To distract myself, I made a smart comment. "Dawg, you knew I was coming over! Where are your clothes?"

"Doesn't matter where they are. They're in my house that I paid for. Ain't like you the President! Anyways, I just got back from my dad's house. I was gonna hit the shower and here you go!"

I chuckled. "Why'd you go over there? I thought you were on the outs with him."

"I tried to get him to understand me and my sexual identity again. Don't even know why I did that." she responds.

I sit on her couch, while she leans against her bar.

"He's being irrational, P. You know this. I know this. Dawg, why do you torture yourself?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess. Then I put all my faith in a book that tells me I deserve this punishment. Then I have a dad who reinforces the idea that I deserve it. I just want God to help me get close with my father again.

"Uh, not that I'm questioning anything, but I don't see that happening when He can't open your dad's eyes to see that your sexuality is beyond your control. I think you're being too hard on yourself."

"Shoot. Let my dad tell it, I'm not being hard on myself at all. He thinks this stuff is in my control. He thinks I'm this way on purpose. I wish it was. That way I could just turn it off and end the torture."

I rolled my eyes. "How can you believe in something that makes you feel like shit for simply being who you are? It's so frustrating seeing you so depressed! I'm sure God will like you even after you start embracing yourself. It is okay, Priest! Damn!"

Priest shifts her weight from one foot to the other.

"Whatever." she responds quietly.

She then reaches behind the bar and pulls out two blunts. "Got a lighter, Zee?"

I furrowed my brows. "But I thought you didn't.."

"I changed my mind. Do you have a lighter?"

"...Yeah."

As I pulled out my lighter, I couldn't help but notice how quick Priest was to pull out the weed. She must really feel like shit now. I'm a little worried now. Just a little. For now, I'd seize the moment and enjoy the free weed.