Free The Cartel 2: Tale of the Murda Mamas by Ashley & JaQuavis

something that I refused to do. My sister had endured enough pain in her lifetime. We both had. And although I yearned to know what happiness felt like, I refused to do it at her expense.
    As we got into the car, I cried on the inside. This was one more emotional scar that I would have to deal with.
    “Miamor?” Murder called as he ruffled my hair playfully. I knew that he was trying to switch the mood back to what it used to be—playful, brotherly and pure—but I moved my head away from him and didn’t respond as I stared out of the window the entire ride home. I already told myself that any unnecessary interaction between us would have to stop. I had never been naïve. I knew that things would never go back to the way they used to be.

Chapter Five
(Miamor)
    A fter my birthday, I avoided Murder at all costs. It wasn’t “fuck you” between me and him. I could never hate him, It was more like, out of sight out of mind. As long as I wasn’t in his presence, I would never have to deal with what we had done. So, when he was home, I made sure that I was gone, and it seemed like he was avoiding me too. While I used to see him every day, now I was lucky to see him once a week.
    Anisa noticed the change in his presence, but she wasn’t tripping. He was bringing in more money than a little bit, taking any and all business calls that came through for him, and as long as the paper trail didn’t stop, Anisa did not give a damn if he laid next to her at night or not.
    Despite our strained relationship, business did not stop, and he still had me count up his paper. He would drop it off on the inside of my door at night while I was asleep. In the morning, I would count it, write the total on a slip of paper and put it all in his safe. It was ridiculous how we were acting, but it was our reality at the time.
    Lying in bed, I had not been able to sleep since my birthday
    I felt so guilty over what had almost occurred between me and Murder. As I tossed and turned, I knew sleep would not come easy. I threw the covers off of my body and got out of the bed. My head was pounding, so I didn’t bother to turn on the lights. I went into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water.
    On my way back to my room, I saw a silhouette sitting in the darkness on the couch. “Anisa?” I called out. I flipped on a light switch and saw her sitting there, anger written all over her face. “Why are you sitting in the dark? It’s 3 o’clock in the morning.”
    “I’m waiting for Murder to get home,” she replied coldly. “That mu’fucka cleared out his safe, and I want to know why. He’s barely been here for the past three weeks, and now he moved his money. Ever since I’ve known him, I’ve always had access to his paper. He must have met some bitch who got him open, and I’m trying to find out what’s up.”
    I was in shock. It wasn’t even like Anisa to be talking like this. “So you think he’s cheating? Anisa, his ass is not cheating on you,” I defended him.
    “I don’t give a fuck about that nigga cheating. He can fuck the entire borough for all I care, but he’s not about to be bankrolling the lifestyle of these busted ass hoes out here. I get the dough. Me, and only me. So when his ass comes through the door, he gon’ have to explain to me why I opened up his shit today and the mu’fucka was on E,” she said adamantly.
    Anisa was livid, and before I could respond, Murder entered the condo.
    “Where you been?” Anisa asked him. She got straight to the point, and from the look on Murder’s face, I could tell she had caught him off guard.
    “Fuck you mean, where I been?” he shot back. “You know what’s up.”
    “Yeah, I do know what’s up, and how you been acting lately ain’t it. I went into your safe today, and guess what I found?” she asked. Anisa was on a roll because she didn’t even give him a chance to answer. Her hands were on her hip and her neck was rolling while her mouth spouted words out like