there's a piece missing from little man eyes and sadly, the puzzle is not too hard to put together. it's too familiar. peace — that's what was absent. as was the youngster's nerves. adonis peeped the shaky hand that held the piece that was supposed to bring consolation that peace can be achievable for a young nigga like him. all he has to do is raise hell's interest a little bit. the likeness to a thought like that probably came to him when he practiced his gangsta poses in the mirror. get rich or die trying mentality the projects projected since well before his time.
had this been an urban movie he was watching at home with his family while enjoying his wife’s homecooked meals, adonis would be shaking his head at the would-be robber, making predictions like " shorty’s gonna get it. watch this, bianca. dude gonna end up taking the gun out of his hand and smacking his spirit out of him.” she’d probably tell him to shut up and he would say, “ we already know how it’s going to go down. it happens all the time. i don’t know why you want to watch this corny jawn. ”
unfortunately, he wouldn't be enjoying anything his wife made. no funny commentary to annoy her with, no tomorrow to look forward to having with his baby girl. because this was far from anything like a movie but he is about to be the fallen star on the set. the character that's being scripted to see how heaven has been treating his father for thirty-seven years. it's a real-life episode that's far too common and to be caught up in one, with what everything that was going on in his life right now — so much fucking good —, bitterness swelled inside him bad.
he wouldn't hide it either. he couldn’t. he hated the reality this kid was threatening to create for his family. a life without him.
" if you about to do this, at least let me see your chest. "
" say what? " the kid asked, his question muffled by the ski-mask. adonis could tell by his body language that he was genuinely confused. annoyed by his would-be killer's slowness, adonis trained his eyes on the eyes holding a sealing deal to his fate.
" poke out the chest. your shoulders are all hunched over, hiding ya chest. you not confident about what you want to do here. ray charles can see that. but if this is how you want to play your life, the most you can do for me and yourself is look killer, killer." his challenge was bold and clear. be it words or hands, he refused to fold under pressure. it’s not to be a tough guy as there's nothing he had to prove to himself or the world anymore. and he definitely had nothing to prove to this boy.
he'll face and embrace what's beyond living. the most he could try is clear up the understanding that the kid will have death following behind him in life, so he best walk tall and proud like he bout it, bout it.
the kid paused for a moment. contemplating adonis' words and showing his consideration by slowly straightening his posture. he still hasn't gotten over his anxiety about all. " this good for you? " the kid asks sarcastically, probably unaware that he folded his chest in again. but adonis caught it and said nothing of it.
he scoffs and shook his head sadly. as he listened to the boy's voice more closely he could tell that was crossing over into puberty. a baby that was growing up way too fast. yeah, adonis could relate in a way. " yeah it's aight if that's the best you can do. guess you'll get better as time goes on, killer. "
the kid sucked his teeth and cocked his gun back. he took a few fast steps closer to the champion, only to regretfully find out he opened up an area of opportunity as adonis fights against human speed to deliver a thunderous hook to the youngster's grill. at the same time, the gun went off and exploded in the night, awakening the neighborhood.
@deafjamqueen