Will and I pulled up to a house I had never been to before. The whole neighborhood looked sketchy, giving me an uneasy feeling as we got out of the car. There was a dozen or so cars parked with shiny rims and new paint jobs. Once we got out, I could hear the music blasting from inside of the house. I wasn't sure if we were at a party or not, but neither of us were dressed for the occasion.

As we approached the door, Will pulled out a key from his pocket, quickly unlocking the unknown that was awaiting me. He swung the front door open, as if it were one cue, the music stopped. Everyone in the house acknowledged Will's presence. They looked me up and down as I followed so close behind Will that I could've been his shadow. We passed by a room where they were women barely clothed handling a powdered substance that I knew was most likely cocaine. We ended up in a small room with a guy who was waiting for us.

His skin was dark as night, making it hard for me to read the tattoo's that covered every inch of his face. He and Will shared a brotherly embrace.

"Phil, this is my man Chris. Chris this is Phil." Will said as he stepped back so that we could shake hands.

Phil looked me up and down as if he were analyzing me.

"Who is this square?" Phil asked not amused by my presence.

Will laughed, "Relax man, he's cool. He's the one I told you about."

Phil leaned back against the colorless wall, "So what's the latest?"

Will let out a sigh, "We gotta get that neighbor out of the equation man."

I don't know why I had to be here for this. Will was gradually letting me into his world, and I wanted no parts of it.

"I'll handle it." Phil said without a second thought.

A chill ran down my spine.

"How are we doing with everything else?" Will asked.

Phil looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

Will laughed again, "Phil, he's good."

"But he's not one of us."

"If I say he's good, he's good." Will's smile faded quickly.

Phil nodded his head yes and proceeded to talk business. My mind was occupied with thoughts of how I was going to get away from all of this. Moving up North was an option, but I wasn't sure how far Will's reach went. The X gang could go further than I thought.

"Chris!" Will yelled as he clapped his hands in my direction.

"Let's go."

As I turned to follow suit, Phil handed me a brown paper bag. I knew not to ask any questions. Once we got back in the car, Will took the bag and opened it up. It was full of one-hundred-dollar bills banded together.

"You may be wondering why I bought you here with me." Will said as he backed out of the driveway.

Hell yeah, I am.

"Not really." I said trying to play it cool.

"I'm gonna bring you in on my operation."

Fuck. That was the last thing I wanted.

"Look man, I know I killed your friend by accident, but I thought we were even."

I didn't look at him, but I could tell by his voice that he was smiling.

"Chris, you're a funny man. You will always be indebted to me. Forever."

I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out to see multiple missed calls from Kim's number. I knew better than to save it under her name.

"Will, I appreciate you not killing me, and whatever business you do have I will never report anything. But you know, I am about to be a father. I can't..."

"You can't what? You don't think I have kids. A family besides this gang shit? Once you're in, you in for life."

"I never asked for this shit!"

I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. My blood was boiling, yet he was still calm.

"You know Chris, you should be thanking me. I could've killed you and fed you to the alligators a long time ago."

He turned up the radio letting me know he was done with this conversation. I knew there was really no easy way to get out of this.