So I was a little cheeky & uploaded a new story a couple days ago ;P but at least I'm back with this chapter now.

Reviewers :)

AppleCORES: Yay a couple points for Jazmine she's definitely just in a confused space at the moment. You know when your beliefs about people are just put to real test, it's not something she thinks she can forgive but that'll has problems all on its own. Riley is finally getting to that space where he can just evaluate everything that has been going on with him and how he wants to proceed with his family or lack of one. Glad you liked a little more insight into Kayla, in no way is she going to make some drastic change but at the end of the day she's human too and has her own issues that are often overlooked because of the selfishness of her acts. Thanks for the review :)

Che Black Diamond: Cindys a fiend all she knows 'I' Jazmine did the right thing. & Loool Kayla already got her ass served, not that it would hurt to have it happen again.

ShelliB: Lool you make it sound like Cindys baby being alright is a a consolation prize. Haha, she'll be ok in time. Ah don't worry I'm guilty of liking mean Jazmine a bit as well i've kinda always wanted to write her out like that a bit. However with Huey its a NO but some people definitely don't deserve her being nice all the time. It was fun for me to write those scenes. Everyone's kinda changing now, so I hope you enjoy some of the character developments in mind, nothing drastic but after such an event. You gotta change the rules :).

MissG2020: That tough love is the only way to get through to ppl sometimes. Yh Jaz is going through the motions right now, there's a lot she's trying to deal with and she's not herself so things a lil muddled. Which you'll see in this chapter.

Paige1292: Rileys time in prison won't be the smoothest but you know what doesn't kill you makes you stronger (you'll see why I said that this chapter :P). The best thing for Riley to do is keep his head down but we all know what he's like lol. Ironically he's kinda living the flipside of being a 'real nigga' he's always talking about the uglier side of it all. I know Huey should rethink what he's doing but he's guilty of being caught up not being able to see past his own agenda. Aunt Cookie she aint built for this lool let's just hope she was calling her pastor ;p. Yeah I get you on that Riley & Kayla thing, Eve had to be the one to knock her sister out, just like Huey had to be the one to break Riley (not that I'm condoning how he did it) but yh its pretty fucked when your own family are the ones doing the BS (your right that aint the last of Kayla). Like everything would be a lot easier if it was just some strangers fucking with em, oh well such is life. Loool Eve & Cindys exchange was funny for me to write, I rewrote like 3 times. I just kept thinking hmm why would she even say shit then I was like she's LONELY why not she has nothing to lose :D. Yes I swear people are overlooking the fact Cindy actually took her ass to rehab unlike Riley lool, but she's still got a long road ahead with all that 12 steps ish. Keep rootin for her. Mean Jazmine is fun to write but there's kind of no limit there too cos she just dismisses Cindy like shit lol but in hindsight I probably shouldn't have had em see each other so soon it was only ever gonna end one way :(. Sad Huey makes me sad too, awwh in the Rev Ruckus ep I just wanted to hug him damn granddad for not giving him a ride to the prison lol.

MCLuvU: Girl you have a point, I don't think Jazmine can handle anymore bumps in the road let alone her man being jailed. Will Huey refrain ? well lord knows lord knows lool. Yeah I like Aunt Cookie too, I don't see her in many stories so I thought it'd be cool to put her in this it's a shame the situations are so hopeless with the guys though :(. Cindy is trying, she's still a little into herself but Jazmines near death experience has opened her mind enough to be like 'alright i need sort myself out' which is a good thing. Glad you like Eve, I know Kayla is a trip she had to get slapped up for her BS, karma is real in my story ;).

BananaMilkshake: Awh that's cool hope you had a good time. Haha Aunt Cookie, everyone wants to know what's up you just gotta keep reading to find out.

Schweetpea1870: Haha I fully read that Real Jail part in Toms voice so great impersonation lool :P, You know Rileys been talking the talk now he's really gotta walk the walk & test this real nigga shit out. I love how everyone is changing their minds now about Huey doing some unholy shit to Bishop I get it though, we want em to overcome this, oh well. Lol Eve kept it real gangster Kayla thought had got away with & had to taste her fist. Aunt Cookie that woman she's not for this lifestyle she needs to go on vacation or something. Cos now she's dabbling in god knows what :P

Guest: Don't worry, I don't plan on changing Jazmine into some ice queen that's not really what I'm going for & I totally get what your saying everyone pretty much feels the same, they want Huey to do something but they don't want him to go jail :(. I know Cindy definitely needs to take a step back and just let Jazmine recover but now she's in rehab so she's about to get her shit together finally :). Ooo that Aunt Cookie keep an eye on that one ;).

Cindy tapped the side of small room's desk in boredom. They didn't even have posters on the walls for her to look at, she was bored out of her mind and she had only been here a few hours. She was starting to wonder if it was a bad thing she had come here. Cindy was pretty certain seeing as her mind was getting right she could just kick this habit at her own crib. She crossed her arms and uncrossed them. She leant back on her chair making the two front legs raise up, letting out another frustrated breath. She stood up and paced around her room.

She kind of couldn't help but wanting to know what was going on with Riley, it felt like a whole other lifetime since she last spoken to him properly and Jazmines incident really wasn't what she called pleasant. She was honestly surprised at Huey's behaviour it wasn't as if she expected him to be nice in all the time she'd known him he'd always been miserable about something. It's the main reason why she never really got Jazmines tolerance of him. So what if he didn't go out and rob people and things, he was still a rude asshole all the time and Riley was playing a losing game trying emulate an asshole. She frowned and her thoughts led on from Riley as she was also suspicious of Eves motives, why was she so involved with Riley checking up on him, why was she suddenly Jazmines best friend. It irked the blonde that this woman had somewhat come from nowhere and was replacing her in her friends lives. It was weird, her sister was a bitch and she was glad she had a chance to slap the shit out of her but Eve was just all in her life with her people.

She groaned feeling a warm sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach, how an earth was she going to find out whom the dad was. She recently remembered the random from a hotel; she thought about telling Riley but was it fair to put it on him when she really had no idea. Despite everything he was still the safest option. Her stomach twisted and her mind flared at the thought of Bishop, the way he acted when she told him she was pregnant. She should had a good mind to find his ass and shoot him in the dick. It made her so angry that she got caught up in it and even more so because a part of her genuinely believed he did like her. If he was gay, she wasn't sure he sure as hell didn't fuck like he was gay. She'd seen no hard evidence and she knew how Huey was he liked to get the opposition down by any means necessary. He also didn't have reasons to lie on the guy, but fuck that she thought if he was the father of her child she wasn't about to accept he could be undercover too. How would that look, not only did she sleep with a psychotic motherfucker but he didn't even like women. She could just hear her moms laughter in her head, remembering what cruel joke she had asked when she first announced she was pregnant. Cindy drummed her fingers on the table in deep thought. He could die for all she cared, it'd be better than having to deal with him for an eternity. She dared him to come to her with his bullshit, she'd take him out herself. Leaning forward, she pulled out her itinerary for the day, looking over the meetings she was supposed to attend, the assessment with a therapist and other things that made her head hurt.

It was all for the best though, this was what she needed to do. Cindy already knew she was desperate, she didn't see a reason to call her mom this time. She was more likely to ask her who her dealer was than actually care about the fact she was in need have help.

"Miss Mcpherson" she turned in her seat to see one of the assistants that worked here at the door.

"12 steps start now huh" Cindy asked in response, she got a small smile from the woman. Cindy sighed; people didn't even smile at her anymore.

"Don't be nervous, everyone here is in the same boat"

"It's a pretty fucked up boat" she said dimly as she followed her out.

Cookie was having a peaceful conversation with Sarah until Tom arrived, yesterday when she came to the hospital she was informed that Jazmine was exhausted so she to see how she was doing. Sarah and Tom were still arguing about his behavior the other night and Sarah didn't want Tom to further upset their daughter and Tom wanted to launch a full investigation into the assault. Cookie didn't want to get involved there were clearly left over animosity from their divorce that fueled a very simple conversation into an argument. Instead she excused herself and entered Jazmines bedroom. Huey wasn't there he had left the hospital to get Jazmine what he called a 'real lunch' 15 minutes ago. She'd not spoken to her nephew properly since their last encounter but she had at least managed to call Riley this morning. He however didn't sound so good and was quick to end the phone call almost as soon as it started. It was so hard trying to juggle the two of them when the situation was so delicate.

When she walked in Jazmine was reading a magazine of some sort, her cheek and eye were still bruised and she saw the girl jolt a little as she looked up to see who had entered her room. First fear, then relief.

"Hello dear" Cookie greeted softly,

"Hi" Jazmine said quietly before she sat down.

"How are you feeling" Cookie asked, the girls eyes seem to glass over.

"I'm fine; they said I can home maybe tonight or tomorrow" Jazmine revealed.

"That's great, I'm not a fan of hospitals myself" Cookie told her, she half smiled.

"Join the club" she replied, there was silence between the two women.

"I'm sorry about the-"

"It's ok, it just wasn't meant to be" Jazmine finished quickly before Cookie could even finish her sentence. She nodded gently as she heard a tinge of bitterness in her voice. Another silence followed and Jazmine fidgeted with the sheet.

"What have the police said" she asked her genuinely.

"That we're both victims, I was in an induced state my account can't be totally reliable"

"" Jazmine quickly changed the topic of conversation and she could see the frustration building in the young woman voice. When she had been speaking that only made her feel bad for asking. The police sometimes couldn't always get it right.

"No thanks"

"Are you worried about Huey" Jazmine suddenly asked, Cookie stared at her as she finally looked into her unusually dull green eyes.

"Well I'm worried about you, why would I be worried about Huey"

"You have the same look I get when I'm worried about Huey, or him" Cookie already knew who she was referring to.

"Are you not worried about Huey" she asked her in return, she shook her head no.

"Jazmine, he's in a dark place. I'm worried about what he might do"

"I think that's a Freeman theme" Jazmine replied, she started pulling her orange apart.

"No, this whole thing it's driven a rift between him and Riley. He's turned his back on him & I just fear that he might do something he'll –"

"Why are you telling me this" Jazmine did look perplexed by her sudden revelation but Cookie was also confused as to why she was confused.

"They're brothers. They need each other, all this animosity and resentment it's not fair. Huey doesn't understand that Riley needs him now more than ever. He's just angry & I get it but it's just not worth his family" Cookie told her,

"Oh" Jazmine said quietly, she wasn't sure what the girl was thinking at this point. Jazmine chewed the inside of her cheek.

"I don't really know what you're asking me" Jazmine replied looking back at her.

"We both know if he's going to listen to anyone it's going to be you"

"I don't have any control over Huey, he does what he wants. If he doesn't want Riley in his life well I can't say at this point I blame him" her voice took an uncanny turn to cold. Cookie was taken back by her sudden shift in demeanor.

"That's his brother" Cookie told her seriously

"I know, but like I said I don't have any control over what Huey does or who he keeps in his life or not" Cookie felt a little defeat. She clearly underestimated her influence or she was just in denial.

"Honey we both know better" Cookie told her, Jazmine sighed running a hand through her hair.

"Just give them some space"

"Space is exactly what's fuelled this situation. You didn't see-" Cookie sighed as she remembered the ugly fight between her nephews. She wanted Jazmine to understand that it was bigger than her but at the same time not wanting to undermine her own situation. She really couldn't do with alienating her as she felt she had done with Huey.

Jazmine eyes flickered with concern, she doubted anyone had detailed the specifics of the waiting room war .

"Excluding myself, Riley is the only family that Huey has and at the end of the day in spite of everything that won't change. Huey needs to realize that, he needs to let go & he sure doesn't need to dive head first into hitting back at the guy who attacked you" Cookie said, Jazmine nodded this time.

"Ja-"
"Hey I'm back" Huey's voice interrupted their conversation. Jazmine looked up at him as did Cookie.

"Everything OK" Huey asked the two of them. As he set down a white paper bag that she assumed contained lunch for his girlfriend.

"Yeah, I was just telling your Aunt I'll be leaving here soon" Jazmine informed him Huey accepted this. He avoided her own gaze and she wondered what he had done with that gun.

"I wanted to talk to you about that" Huey replied to Jazmine who was confused and Cookie

"I've got to church, so I will see you soon" Cookie said to Jazmine,

"I'll pray for you" Cookie, Huey eyebrow raised skeptically at her. While Jazmine gave her a small smile.

"Thanks"

"Be careful, call me when you get back, there's a lot of dangerous people about " Huey said cryptically

"Some a lot closer than we think" she responded to him. Jazmine looked between the two not saying anything but hearing the exchange.

Bishop scratched the side of his head, where the hell was this chick. He was outside Cindys apartment and he'd been waiting for 10 minutes and the bitch hadn't even opened the door. He frowned deeply, he wasn't feeling to play hide and seek with her ass. He just needed to see her and rectify that pregnancy situation. He kicked the door in irritation, if she was in there getting high he'd be sure to slap her ass around first before getting down to business. When he still got nothing he was going to kick her door again but one of her neighbours appeared. He continued to frown, inhaling deeper.

"No matter, the bitch has to come home" he muttered to reassure himself that he could iron out the rest of the kinks.

"Tell Cindy, I'm looking for her" He said to the nosy neighbor not bothering to even say who he was. He left annoyed he'd have to wait for her to show up.

Jazmine had been waiting for the doctors to give her the go ahead that she could leave the hospital tomorrow but they were stalling. She just wanted to get out of here, the whole place just made her feel uneasy. Huey had been telling her he wanted her to stay with him when she was released. He ultimately didn't want her going back to her apartment and she wouldn't have been comfortable being alone in the first place. She'd been a bit conflicted with him, when Ms Freeman mentioned him being a dark place. Well there was two ways she could feel about it and two things she was seeing with him at the moment.

One was that Huey had shown no real signs of being in a 'dark place', he was unnaturally calm & extremely sweet. Two, despite this he'd been secretive before asking suggesting she stayed with him, he asked her if she wanted to leave the city for a while. To her it sounded like he was trying to get rid of her for whatever reason. It wasn't as if she was pregnant anymore. So she was starting to think he was indeed up to something. His phone was always going off and he was stepping out to make calls nad where she could chalk it up to work. She doubted it, but he just wasn't acting like the hot head she knew and she didn't feel entirely great about it. A quiet, calculating Huey was more dangerous than an vocal, angry Huey. Then she had to ask herself if she even cared if he did something in retaliation. She was pretty tired of rising above everything. Bishop had successfully turned everyone into a worser version than themselves. The man was truly a poison and she only wished he'd meet a ugly fate.

Jazmine closed her eyes deciding to focus her resentful thoughts towards bishop elsewhere. The way Ms Freeman had approached her disturbed her for reasons she was surprised for. The elderly lady made an assumption about her role in Huey's life & two she dismissed that very role all in the same breath. She had been confused when their kind of easy conversation turned to the subject of the brothers. She herself wasn't ready to talk about Riley, or anything related to the other night in much detail. However whatever happened sounded serious but Jazmine found herself very distanced from it. She didn't feel responsible but somehow she felt that Ms Freeman was trying to make her feel that way. By assuming she could fix Huey & Rileys relationship, by re-emphasizing that they were family and clearly she was not. So they could break up & Huey would have a broken relationship with his brother all because of her. Jazmine with a hint of paranoia, figured his Aunt didn't like the idea of her relationship with Huey anymore. Clearly, she wasn't important enough for Huey to dismiss his brother for a little while.

Then Jazmines other thoughts started to play out, Riley was his brother and that wouldn't change. Could she forgive Riley for what he'd done, the part he's played in her miscarriage. She'd have to right ? if her and Huey were going to stay together. What if she couldn't and he welcomed him back into his life. Could she still be with him. A part of her understood why her dad was so upset. If the people closest to you are the ones harming you the most, why would you have them so close. She didn't want him to chose but the way she felt she just knew she'd be damned if she got caught in a crossfire again because they couldn't keep themselves in check.

"Jaz" Huey called, she looked at him.

"Sorry" she had completely zoned out looking down at his hands locked around her waist protectively as she sat in his lap.

"What'd you think" Huey asked her but she had no idea what he was talking about.

"What about?" she asked him.

"Moving in with me" he asked her.

"Sounds nice, we'll have to label our hair products" she replied lightly trying her best to feel good about this. She didn't want to go back to her apartment & she sure as hell didn't want to bump into that monster again it was enough to see him every time she closed her eyes.

"Nice to see you still have jokes" Huey replied,

"Anywhere is better than my apartment, even if it's just for a little while" Jazmine replied while she remembered New York. Maybe his Aunt would feel better if she wasn't around so he could make up with his brother.

Riley was staring at the wall in front of him, he'd been staring at it for god knows how long but it'd been longer than a motherfucker for him. He was pretty sure he knew every single marking on that wall, there was even a splotch of blood on there. His new home as the veterans in this place called it was a black hole. As soon as he entered he could feel those hungry eyes sizing him up. At first he thought these niggas weren't shit, they were just a bunch of thirsty motherfuckers looking for something to feel on & in no way was Riley going to be some niggas wife in this bitch.

He continued to stare at the wall in front of him.

"Great, hasn't he been here like 12 hours or something" he heard a voice say from above him.

He then started to see the wall move as he was helped up. Those thirsty niggas were quick to try him & he scrapped for everything he was. They eventually left him, but not before making sure he couldn't do shit. Bloodied and bruised he'd just been lying on the ground of his cell staring at the wall. He knew his body was in pain because he couldn't feel shit. His blood was on the wall from where the forced his head into it.

Riley swallowed blood, was this really what he deserved. His tears had stopped falling after what he assumed had been hours ago after the assault happened. How could these lazy motherfuckers only turn up now, he could be dead. On his first full day & night in prison he could be dead. He remembered speaking to his Aunt earlier in the day but he didn't want to talk to her. He didn't want to talk to anyone. Mace had turned up but he only wanted to push forward one idea to his friend. If he didn't do it then he didn't want to know. He lost everything over Bishops obsession. He had been relieved to hear Jazmine was alright, he knew despite everything she really only had his best interests at heart. As for his family, he had only been concerned about Jazmine because of the deep part he played. Otherwise, he didn't want to talk to his 'family' he didn't want to talk to those people who were fickle and ever shifting their opinion of him. One minute he needed help, next he was a disgrace. He just made up their minds for them and took his ass to prison. He never anticipated it being like this. He then felt something hard beneath him as he was propped onto a prison hospital bed.

6 months in here he thought, six months and he already almost died. He closed his eyes; he might as well kill himself. What the fuck was waiting for him on the outside. Riley came up short with that question. He stopped battling his injuries and succumbed to his now physical pain. He'd be safe here for a prison hospital for a while, he hoped cos he sure as hell didn't think he could do 6 months in here. If he doesn't make it out then at least Mace won't let it be in vain right ?

Huey was relieved he could take Jazmine out of here. As he got the last of his stuff he knew that this was just the beginning. He'd notice the shift in her behavior, she was rightfully on edge and he hated it. She was startled by the smallest things, she hadn't been sleeping at all. All she had were nightmares and he had to sit there and watch her throughout the night relive those moments with that bastard. The doctor agreed to give her sleeping pills upon her being discharged but Huey didn't think this was a good idea either. She was hardly in the right frame of mind to be then given synthetic drugs that had more bad than good in them would do her any good.

He was also interested in the conversation she had, with his Aunt. He didn't want to think the woman was conspiring against him after seeing him with a gun. However he couldn't help but think those things. With everything that was going on, everyone's motives had shifted. His Aunt was obviously holding onto this false ideology that he & riley gave a fuck about their brotherhood. Well his brother had not, or he wouldn't be where he was. Huey could admit to himself that he only wanted to help his brother not ignite resentment but he was over that now. When his buttons were pushed & Riley did push him he had to let go of all that family stuff. Riley thought he could just mess up, say sorry and everything would be all good. It just wasn't going down like that this time.

Also the thought of his Aunt possibly talking to Jazmine, trying to manipulate or get her on side didn't sit well with him. Huey sighed and ruffled his afro. Two paranoid people in a relationship won't work. Jazmine was waiting by the entrance for him.

"Ready" he asked as he got closer to her, she looked at him with a contemplative look on her features. She nodded quickly after and took a step outside. They walked for maybe 30 seconds before the janitor was emptying one of the outside trash cans and dropped it. Jazmine froze.

"Jaz," Huey gently took her hand in his. He saw the fear register on her face,

"I, I think we should go back inside" she suddenly announced. Huey looked at her in disbelief

"Come on" He tugged her gently but she didn't budge.

"Huey I'm not going. It's safer here" Jazmine stated very firmly her eyes hardened as they looked at each other. He looked towards the Janitor

"It was a janitor" he explained

"So"

"So you're being ridiculous" Jazmine frowned.

"I just want to go back, I don't feel so good maybe they should run some-" Huey took a deep breath, put the bags he was holding down. He stepped into Jazmine looked down at her seriously. He had a feeling she'd be like this, after all this was the same girl that refused to leave her room because of 9/11 terrorist alerts. He rubbed her arms gently,

"Look at me" he instructed and she did so. Her lips beginning to pout.

"I'm not going" she told him.

"You're not going where" he continued with relieved that she was exhibiting.

"Anywhere"

"So we're just going to stand out here forever, we'd die in a week" Huey told her, she pouted completely now.

"He's still out there" she mumbled lowly,

"I don't want you to worry about that" he told her firmly, she looked up at him her eyes sad. Jazmine didn't say anything else but complied. Once in the car she relaxed and took up looking out of the window. He started up his car and pulled out of the parking lot. As Huey stole a few glances in Jazmines direction he realized she was a lot further away than just being in the car with him. Since she woke up he almost felt like she was only half there even after they spoke about the things bothering her. She wasn't all there

Mace rubbed his forehead he had no idea why Riley was being so difficult. He was trying to get him on a visit and this nigga was refusing a visit. He knew his boy had to be down after all that stuff that went on at the hospital. Now he was in jail, just rotting there. He shook his head and he had to sleep with the fact that Huey was about to catch a body as if things weren't fucked up enough. He weren't into snitching so what could he do. He knew Bishop wouldn't be alive for long, he just knew it. The look Huey was so convincing he knew when he was going to take him out. He could just feel it and it made him oddly sick.

There was no way things should have been like this. He felt bad; he should have pulled Riley out of the poker game as soon as Bishop posed that dumbass offer. He knew then it was a set up, he knew then it was more than cards he was just gave Riley options. He should have been heavy handed and dragged his ass out. Even when the sprinklers came on, he should have just taken him out of there. He glared at his phone as he dialled, even if Huey didn't take Bishop out the game. He weren't short of motherfuckers that really thought he was gonna mess with his boys family and no one would have anything to say. Something had to give, he was real sick of this. His moral code was all fucked up, he was missing that simple life of hoes, busta ass niggas & club popping. Now he had all this guilt & anxiety. His boy was in prison trying to cut off from everyone. He shook his head to himself. He had driven up to see Riley who was looking like a shell of himself with the dark circles & messy hair. He weren't even acting normal. His request was what had Mace sitting in his car battling with.

"Yo, you don't mean that" Mace recalled.

"Look in 6 months imma be 21, so my next fam payout is due. I want that nigga gone, & i got the money for whoever does it" Riley told him quietly and seriously.

"Ril-"
"Nigga, don't preach to me. If you got my back, if you my boy just get it done" Riley had told him

"Or don't come by here again" Riley had said.

Mace just stared across the street.

"Yo, I got some work. Hit me back" he left the message reluctantly.

He knew Riley wanted him to fold, he wanted to have another reason to believe people didn't give a damn about him but he was his friend. They'd been down with each other for years and this was just some bullshit that would blow over in time he knew it. Bishop already had niggas thinking they were in hell, he wasn't even sure this dude would do it. He heard some things about one of Bishops ex members turning up dead and raped. The rumors were so wild now, no one knew what to believe. How was he even supposed to know, the whole crew were probably fucking each other. There leader was gay, and some of them niggas stayed on with him too. He didn't know the story but if guys were ending up dead and raped over this, then like he said before something just had to give. The skies were getting darker as it approached late evening. He decided to end his aimless driving around the city and go home and sleep the possible consequences of Rileys request off. He was sure to be getting a phone call back at sometime in the next 24 hours, over which he'd have to set it up. He didn't want to get caught up in this but Riley was questioning his loyalty, but when the price of it was freedom. Riley was already in jail, all they could do was add years to him and his boy knew this & still wanted to go ahead. He felt he should talk to his Aunt about Rileys current state of mind but he didn't really see her making much of an impact on the situation. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't stop this, both Riley & Huey were beyond her control. Shaking his head one more time, he made his way home.

So it's not just Huey plotting for Bishop then, now who's gonna get him first ? Guess we'll see next chap.