“Where you at now?”

“I got the fuck outta there. I knew Five-O was gon’ be banging on doors. Since I had this shit on me, I went out the fire escape. I’m on my way up the block to meet Mannie.”

“Aight, call me when you get to where you going. And Tasha, be careful.”

Butta had made his way over to Arnessa by the time she hung up the phone. “Who were you talking to?” Butta asked.

“Tasha.”

“Did she tell you ’bout Bizzy,” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah, she did. Butta, do you think Suef did it?”

He thought about her question before answering, “Anybody could’ve done it. I mean, we don’t know, Bizzy could’ve had some other bullshit going on … but I put my paper on that cocksucker Suef.”

Arnessa couldn’t digest the fact that she was having this conversation about Bizzy. There was no way that this could be happening. Bizzy was the only person on her team whom she’d known her entire life. They were from the same block, were the same age, had attended the same school since day care. Their mothers had even been good friends back in the day. Bizzy’s mother was the only other thing on Arnessa’s mind. She’s going to be devastated, Arnessa thought.

As she pulled all thoughts together, his death became a reality. Suddenly, she didn’t feel so well; she had to get out of there before she fell apart. “I gotta get outta here,” she told Butta.

“Let’s go up to the room,” he said, knowing that Bizzy’s death had badly upset Arnessa, who was trying her best to hide it. Butta would’ve waited until the reception was over to tell her if she hadn’t heard about it from Tasha. All he wanted was for her to have a good time.

Arnessa didn’t feel right taking him away from the reception. “No, Butta, you stay down here with your friends. Besides, I wanna be alone for a while.”

“Aight.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll come up in about an hour to check on you.”

Turning around, Arnessa walked briskly out of the ballroom so that no one would see the tears forming in her eyes. She got on an empty elevator, and as soon as the doors closed, she began to cry. Although she was very sad about Bizzy, her tears were not exclusively for him. It was as if the news of his death had taken her back to the moment she’d learned of her own brother’s death. She’d reached an indescribable level of vulnerability and was finding it very hard to hold on to what little security she had.

Arnessa was so caught up in her emotions that she’d forgotten to press a floor button. When the elevator doors slid open, Butta was standing right there, looking down at his cell as he made a call. When he lifted his head and saw Arnessa crying, he stepped onto the elevator and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. She sobbed heavily, resting her face in the middle of his chest. He told her, “Ma, you don’t ever have to be alone.”