Read At the Crossroads for Free Online Page B

turned around and walked back up the steps for his first official day of high school.

6
    “T hank you, Mrs. Bertha,” Nigel said as he parked on the street in front of their house. “We appreciate you doing that for us. And you know to call us if you need anything. One of us will be right there for you.”
    “Oh, no problem. Y’all some sweet boys. I don’t mind at all,” Mrs. Bertha said as she got out of the car. She grunted and huffed until she was up and out of the car. She stepped onto the sidewalk and took a deep breath as if that alone was taking the wind out of her.
    Nigel noticed the front curtain move in the old woman’s house, and he could’ve sworn he saw a figure behind it.
    “Mrs. Bertha,” he said, staring hard at the curtain. “Is anybody in your house?”
    “Better not be,” she said, fiddling around in her purse for her door keys as she walked up her driveway.
    “Do you mind sitting tight for a minute?” Nigel asked. “I think I just saw something move in your house. I hope my eyes are playing tricks on me, but I wanna be sure.”
    Mrs. Bertha frowned. “Oh, don’t say that. Here,” she said, handing her keys to Nigel. “You go on in there and check it out for me. I’m too old for surprises.”
    Nigel walked up on the porch and opened the screen door. He could hear footsteps inside. Someone was definitely in the woman’s house. And he was pissed that he didn’t have any kind of weapon on him. He took a deep breath before unlocking the door. He had no idea what he was walking into, but he would rather it be him than Mrs. Bertha. He pushed open the door just in time to see Stick running down the hallway with something in his hands.
    “Hey!” Nigel said as loud as he could. “Get out of here.”
    He halfheartedly ran after the neighborhood superbum as Stick made his getaway out the back door. Nigel quickly walked through the other rooms to see if Stick had an accomplice. Once satisfied that the coast was clear, he turned around and walked back outside.
    “Mrs. Bertha,” he said. “I just saw somebody run out of your back door. You should call the police.”
    “Oh, Lord,” she said, walking up toward her house. “I gotta move from round here. I’m too old for this mess. People just ain’t respectful no more.”
    “Yeah,” Nigel said, feeling bad for the old woman who had been nothing short of an angel to them since they moved in. “It’s pretty bad around here.”
    Mrs. Bertha walked into her house and went straight to her bedroom. She was gone only a few seconds before walking back out to the living room carrying an empty wooden box. The pained and defeated expression on her face bothered Nigel.
    “They took my husband’s watches. He left those watchesfor Jason,” she said, shaking her head. “He got those things when he was in the war, and he was so proud of them.”
    Mrs. Bertha plopped down on the sofa, her chin on her chest and the empty box sitting on her lap. She reached up and pulled the wig off her head and sighed. She looked up at Nigel with tears in her eyes. “Lord, what happened to my people?”
    Nigel felt like someone had robbed his own grandmother. He understood the streets were a cold place to be, but old ladies were always off-limits. They were walking angels, and he couldn’t tolerate anyone who would cause them any harm. He made a mental note to kick Stick’s head into the ground the next time he saw him.
    “I will look around and see if I can find out who broke into your house. Maybe I can even get your stuff back,” Nigel said, but the old lady was wailing loud now. Seeing her like this broke his heart into a million tiny pieces.
    Mrs. Bertha rocked herself back and forth. She was in a daze now, and she mumbled what Nigel believed to be her dead husband’s name over and over.
    Nigel walked out of the woman’s house and ran across the street to his own place.
    “Rico,” he called out. “Rico.”
    Rico wasn’t answering, and the fact that