Hold U Down Read Online Free Page A

about the bucks.
    â€œWell, give it to me, and I want another two in a month, so you gon’ have to get a job,” she said, finally opening the door. “Kiara and Kay Kay, yo’ cousins here!”
    â€œWhat’s up?” Kiara spoke, coming out of her room and looking Unique up and down.
    â€œHey, Nique. Hey Patience.” Kay Kay greeted them both with a hug.
    â€œHi,” Patience spoke softly.
    â€œWhat’s up,” Unique spoke too.
    â€œSista, I’m hungry.” Patience tugged on her arm.
    â€œNow look! Y’all ain’t gon’ be coming over here eating up all my goddamn food. And it’s only two bedrooms in here, so y’all gon’ have to sleep on the floor,” Aunt Teresa yelled.
    â€œNo problem.” I’ve slept in worse places , Unique thought. “I’ll get you something to eat, Patience. Don’t worry.”
    â€œIt’s getting late and I’m getting ready to go out, so make yourselves at home,” Aunt Teresa said, grabbing her purse. With a fifty-dollar bill in hand, Harrah’s Casino began to call her name.
    Placing her bag on the floor, Unique sat down on the couch and surveyed the room. The once-white walls were now gray, the carpet was dingy, the couch was worn out, and Unique could have sworn that she had seen more than twenty roaches since she entered the home.
    â€œYou got a boyfriend?” Kiara questioned from out of nowhere.
    â€œNah.”
    â€œPeep this.” She whispered so that her mother wouldn’t hear. “When my momma leave, we leaving too.”
    â€œWhere we going?”
    â€œIt’s Saturday. We going downtown on the Riverfront. All the ballas be down there.”
    â€œI can’t go. My sista sick.”
    â€œShe’ll be a’ight. You can leave her next door with Miss Mae. She’ll take care of her.”
    â€œI don’t know.” Unique shrugged.
    â€œCome on, girl. You only live once,” Kay Kay added.
    â€œPatience, do you want to go next door with Miss Mae?”
    â€œYeah, I like going over her house. She always has food, and her house is clean, plus she be nice to me.”
    â€œA’ight then, I guess I’ma go.” Unique sprang up from the couch, preparing to leave.
    â€œUh-uh, you ain’t going nowhere with me looking and smelling like that.” Kiara scrunched up her nose.
    Unique knew she looked a hot mess and smelled an even hotter mess. Her red, green, and orange sleeveless top showcased her dirty bra and brown crumpled deodorant. The orange Guess jeans were two sizes too small, and the Reebok Princesses she wore were so run down that the sole flapped when she walked.
    â€œWell, I don’t have anything else to wear, so I guess I can’t go.” She plopped back down, embarrassed.
    â€œYou can borrow something of mine,” Kay Kay said, shaking her head at Kiara.
    After giving herself and Patience a bath, Unique was fully dressed and ready to go. Dressed in a pink fitted tee, tight jeans, and a pair of clean white K-Swiss, Unique looked hip and more up-to-date. Kay Kay even styled her hair in a weave ponytail to spice up her look.
    After dropping Patience off at Miss Mae’s, they headed downtown on the bus. The girls weren’t even down on the Landing ten minutes before they started getting hollas.
    Guys approached Unique left and right, but she turned all of them down because none of them appealed to her. One guy in particular caught her eye, though. He wasn’t your best-looking brotha, but his position in the dope game and the money that he brought in every week made him attractive to her. His name was Tone. He sold heroin and embalming fluid, also known on the streets as Water.
    Unique saw Tone as her opportunity to make it out of the hood, so she gave him her aunt’s number. Tone was a sucka for love, and she fed off that shit. All she had to do was rub his dick and purr in his ear, “I