Free For The Love Of A Goon 2: A Miami Hood Love Tale by Lady J

your brother when he was shot down out there in them streets. As much as I tried to raise him right, the streets won, but I never gave up on him. One day I was sitting here at my desk and I received the most devastating call. I remember it so clearly. He was up to no good as usual. As much as I tried to provide him with everything, he picked up a nasty habit of taking things that didn’t belong to him. That time it cost him his life. Imagine having to do this to your child.” The woman finished then disappeared from the room, leaving Meek alone with his brother’s body.
    Meek slid the diamond pinky ring out of his pocket and placed it on Nino’s pinky finger. “Looking good, lil bro.” He bent over and placed a kiss on his forehead. “I’m gon’ really miss you, boy.”

Nine
    “C armen, will you smile?” Moe said while holding her cell phone in the air. She was trying to take a picture of herself, Carmen, and Roshel.
    Carmen flashed a fake smile then returned her attention to her phone. She’d been arguing back and forth with Trent all day via text messages and had begun to get extremely frustrated with his selfish demands. He didn’t want to accept the fact the she didn’t want to have his child. She stormed across the room and sat down on the chair in the corner.
    Moe slid into the small hospital bed with Ro and began to surf through the pictures Carmen had taken of her and Meek during their ceremony. She talked to Ro as she showed her picture after picture. She wished so badly that she could hear her and would open her eyes and respond. However, Moe and Carmen would keep visiting Roshel and talking to her just as they have always done. One thing they would never do was turn their backs on one another.
    “And this one is me and C at the restaurant we stopped at to eat right before Meek dropped us off here,” Moe said holding up her cell phone as if Ro was looking at the pictures with her. When she felt Ro’s right hand jump, she sat up quickly and rolled off the bed. “C, she moved her hand. Did you see it?”
    Moe became excited and started to cheer Roshel on. “Do it again, baby girl. Come on, Ro, I know you can hear me,” she said with fingers crossed and praying to herself that Roshel was about to make a recovery.
    She prayed daily for her return, and knew that sooner or later God would answer her prayers. She couldn’t take seeing her friend lying around unable to speak. She longed to hear her voice again and to see her beautiful eyes. “One more time Ro, just let me know you hear me.” Moe placed her hand on top on Roshel’s. Roshel moved her hand once more.
    Carmen then jumped from her seat on the other side of the room and ran to Roshel’s bedside. “Ro! Ro, I’m here too. It’s me, Carmen.”
    “Carmen stop yelling.” Moe gave Carmen the side eye. “We are in a hospital.”
    “I’m sorry, Moe, I just got excited when she moved her hand. You think she can hear us?” Carmen leaned in closer to Roshel. “Ro, we miss you so much. Please wake up,” she said in her ear.
    “Yeah, she hears us, C. She’ll come around sooner or later, and when she does, we’ll be the first people she sees.” Moe glanced down at the time on her cell phone then sent Meek a short text informing him that they were ready to leave.
    When he arrived, both girls kissed Ro softly on the cheek and left the hospital. Back at Carmen’s place, Moenisha and Meek went into Kira’s bedroom and Carmen went straight to her room.
     
    **********
    The next morning, Moe awoke in the bed alone. She sat up, stretched, then reached for her phone. Where the hell could he be this early in the morning? She thought. It was just ten minutes after eight a.m. and Meek was nowhere to be found. Moe got up and searched the apartment.
    “Carmen, you seen Meek this morning?” She stopped and asked when she saw Carmen bending over the toilet.
    Carmen shook her head no.
    Moe tried calling his cell, but got no answer. She told herself