CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1999- Slipping
By this point I was coming up on a year with Mundo and his crew, and certain people were getting a little too comfortable. Shit was starting to seem loud and disorganized and I felt like my crib was starting to be disrespected.
To be honest, it was mostly my fault- when I first met everyone, I wanted so hard to be part of a tight-knit, street -ready family that I threw my door wide open. And I thought these guys would protect me.
For a while, we kept it close. Just the inner circle- a handful of carefully vetted associates and one or two well-known out of town guests. But things started slipping once Mundo made the transition from occasional movie night guest to full-time occupant of my bed.
Looking back, I really don’t know how any of us could miss the signs that we were growing too lax. Mundo gave his copy of my key to Biz, who passed it to ‘Brón, who passed it onto god only knows who… and all of a sudden, random dudes who I’d never ever seen before would be in and out of my crib. At all hours of the night. Whether I was home or not. I’d get back and there’d be dirty dishes in my sink and someone else’s nearly empty take-out containers in my refrigerator.
Early one afternoon I came home to find Luciano sitting on my couch, next to some girl.
It looked innocent enough.
They were just sitting there, splitting a box of fried chicken and watching Face/Off on my DVD player. I took a good look at the girl- she couldn't have been any older than 17.
“Shouldn't you be in school?” I asked.
The girl just smiled and shook her head.
I shook my head back at her, walked to my bedroom and shut the door.
