Back in the Hood Read Online Free Page A

true intentions on her life. He kissed the top of her head, even though she moved away from his touch. “I hear you, Halleigh. You’re loyal. I know that’s your man, but I just wanted to pull your coattail and tell you to be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt. My offer still stands too. Whenever you’re ready to leave your situation, you have somewhere to go,” he stated before leaving her to her thoughts.
    Halleigh thought about what Mitch had just told her, but she refused to believe him. Malek would never do me like that on purpose . She dismissed the idea and let the drugs the doctors had given her take her into a mind-numbing sleep.

Chapter Three
    M alek hit the streets with full force. He knew that eventually he would have to let them go. Being a hustler was a full-time job, and although Halleigh was his wifey, the streets of Flint were his side bitch, his retreat, and he needed them almost as much as he needed Halleigh. He knew he couldn’t just cut things off cold turkey, or else withdrawal would be a son of a bitch.
    His connection to getting money was something Halleigh would never be able to understand. It was the only thing he had to hold on to that would keep him sane. Malek had blown an NBA contract by being stupid, and at one point, Halleigh wasn’t around to lessen that pain and disappointment. His focus became his hustle, which led to his reign as second in command underneath Jamaica Joe. It filled up the spot in his heart where Halleigh was meant to be.
    Now that she was back, she was asking him to choose. The hood life or Hal? Which one was it going to be? Malek’s guilt over the role he played in her injuries made him lean toward her. He just wanted to be with her.
    For as long as he could remember, Halleigh had been the girl of his dreams. He remembered seeing her for the first time. In high school, she was a good girl. She was not too flashy, but always stayed fly in the latest teen fashions by Rocawear and Baby Phat. She was pretty without being over the top, and she wasn’t into makeup and revealing clothing. She didn’t need all the extras; she was what she was, which was perfect in Malek’s eyes. They had formed a friendship first before they started kicking it, which explains why their bond was so strong.
    When Malek first approached her, she wasn’t feeling him. She later told him that she never thought a superstar like him would be interested in a girl like her; but it was her meek and humble qualities that drew him in like a magnet. Malek was used to groupies and hood rats approaching him daily. They all thought he was the one that would fly them out of the hood on a private jet with all of his potential NBA money. They saw him as a meal ticket, and were willing to do whatever it took to be the one he chose. Their efforts were useless because, although he accepted the ass and tricks of his groupies, he had no intention of making any of them his girl. He had never been “captain save-a-ho.”
    Malek knew that Halleigh would be his wife before she’d ever agreed to go out with him. He felt that deeply for her, and the fact that she was a virgin was extra special to him. She was saving herself for him, but made it clear that he had to earn it. Halleigh never saw dollar signs when she looked at Malek; she saw love, and that’s why he cherished her so much.
    Fate just dealt them a different hand and separated them for a while.
    A lot of things had changed since his puppy-love days with her. He wasn’t the same. She definitely was not the same, yet here they were in the present, trying to make it work. Malek wondered if they could get back all they had lost, because neither of them was innocent anymore. Still, he knew he had to give it a chance. He loved her, and if he had to let the streets go in order to make her happy, he would regretfully do so.
    He reached over to his passenger’s seat and moved the cocaine-filled