Summary

Chapter 7 sees Jared traveling by bus to visit his father. He sees his pregnant stepsister, Destiny, who tells him that his dad is back in the hospital with a recurring back problem. Jared tells her he can give them money for rent after his next drug sale. He goes to visit his father in the hospital. The narration recounts how Jared’s parents divorced because his dad’s back injury led to arguments about whether or not to sell the house. Jared is not sure if his father was actually having an affair with his current wife, Shirley, while he was married to his mother, but they got married immediately after the divorce all the same.

Jared returns home in chapter 8 where Richie counsels him to “mess…up” the people that stole from him (62). The next morning, his mother awakens him early and...