The Wrong Side Of Love
A Hood Love Story
Charmanie Saquea
Acknowledgements
First I would like to thank God for blessing me with the talent of being an author. Here I am on book number 20, none of this would have been possible without him.
To my mommy Sheree, who has been by my side since day one, you told me I could be anything I wanted to be if I put my mind to it. You have always been my backbone and I would not have made it this far without you. Also my Grammy, you've been there every step of the way and I can't thank you two enough.
S/O to my wonderful boss, Ray for giving me a chance. Also David, for putting people in a position to go after their dreams.
I definitely have to give a big shout out to my first friend I made in the writing game, Treasure. You welcomed me with open arms since the beginning and we've been tight ever since. I appreciate all the help, feedback and even the yelling because it helped me out a lot. No matter how many times I wanted to give up, you pushed me harder. I love you lots!
Shout out to my awesome test reader Tenita for letting me blow her email up and giving me her honest opinion.
I definitely can't forget to thank all the loyal readers who have been riding with me since Official Girl. You guys have been my motivation to keep going and busting my pen. All the inboxes, comments, and wall post have never gone unnoticed and I appreciate them and you more than you will ever know.
Last but never least, my Angels in heaven, Cora (Mom), Romney (Riggz) and Marisa, Uncle Tyrone (Big Shep), and Dad. I pray that you continue to watch over me. I can't forget my cousin Tyrein, keep your head up baby, 2034 will be here before you know it.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Chapter One
Coco sat behind the desk at her job trying not to fall asleep while trying to study at the same time. She was currently in the nursing program at Wayne State and even though she was already an LPN, she wanted to go back to become a RN. So whenever she wasn’t working, and sometimes when she was, her head was in her books.
“Excuse me.”
Coco snapped her head up and her eyes connected with the prettiest set of light brown eyes she had ever seen.
“I’m sorry,” she said, getting herself together. “What can I help you with?”
“I’m looking for a friend of mine, um…Kayla, Kayla Barnes.”
Coco typed the name in the computer and noted that the patient was in Labor and Delivery.
“She’s in Labor and Delivery, room 406. Just go through the doors, take the hallway all the way down to your right and you should be right there,” Coco instructed him.
Zeek hesitated for a minute then started to walk away. Rubbing his goatee, he turned around and walked back to the desk. Coco had already planted her head back into her book, so he was just standing there staring at her. Coco slowly lifted her head up while he stood there still rubbing his goatee.
“Is there something else I can help you with?” she asked, wondering why he was still standing there.
“Yea, I need your number,” Zeek told her.
Coco sat there and looked at him with squinted eyes. It was four o'clock in the morning and this nigga was trying to get his mack on. Never mind the fact that his so-called friend was in one of those rooms having a baby.
“I'm not interested, I'm already in a situation,” she told him before flipping the page in her textbook.
Zeek grabbed her left hand and examined her engagement ring, or lack thereof. “That's cute, what gumball machine did he get that out of?”
Coco quickly snatched her hand back. “You need to take your ass on but before you do, let me tell you something. I'm not, never have been, and never will be with a man just because his bank account has a lot of zeros. As you can clearly see, I have my own. He could be the poorest of the poor but none of that would matter because I love him for him, not what he has. Now, I think you had somewhere to be, and it wasn't in my face.” Coco hated to be rude but that's how you had to be with some niggas.
“Are you done?” Zeek asked, but before she could even answer, he continued. “You could have saved all that rah rah shit you was spitting because I really don't give a damn about none of that. All you had to do was slide a nigga your number and that's it. I don't give a fuck about you having a nigga, that's for you to worry about, not me. But you had to go and open that big ass mouth of yours and fuck up a once in a lifetime chance,” Zeek said before walking off.
Coco was left sitting there speechless. She didn't even realize her mouth was open until she heard snickers from behind. She closed her mouth and didn't even bother to turn and look at her coworkers. All she knew was that nigga that was standing in front of her a few seconds ago was rude as hell and if she wasn't on her job, she would have let him have it.
Three hours later, Coco was pacing back and forth in front of the hospital’s entrance with her phone pressed to her ear. “Trae, what the hell are you doing that's so important that you couldn't be on time? You know I get off work at six; why the hell is it seven in the morning and I'm not in my damn bed?” she yelled into the phone before hanging up. As soon as she did so, a familiar car came speeding into the parking lot. Coco stood there with her hands on her hips, ready to go off.
“Get in, Coco,” Trae’s friend Marco said.
“Where the hell is your sorry excuse of a friend?” she questioned.
“On my couch passed out, drunk as hell. His ass didn't tell me he had to pick you up from work until you started calling his phone. Sorry I'm late,” Marco apologized.
“You don't have to apologize, Marc, it wasn't your job to come get me. I swear I can't wait to get my car out the shop later. I shouldn't even have to deal with this bullshit, I'm so tired of it,” she sighed.
“Are you really tired though, Coco?” Marco asked.
“What do you mean?” Coco asked, confused.
“I don't say nothing because it's not my place, but are you really tired of Trae and his bullshit? I've known you longer than I've known him and the way he treats you ain't cool. I'm not trying to talk down on or throw dirt on my boy’s name, but you deserve and can do better. So I'm going to ask you again, are you really tired?”
“Yes, Marco, I am. I don't know if Trae told you or not, but we’re technically not together right now. I took all my stuff from his house, changed my locks and gave him his key back. The only reason I depended on him to get me to and from work today is because my car is in the shop and he offered.”
Coco and Trae had been together for four years and she was having a hard time, wondering why she even stayed that long. Trae was a manipulator in every sense of the word. When they first got together, Coco was eighteen and only 120 pounds. Now she was 140 pounds, but all her weight went to her hips and her thighs. She wasn't fat by any means and her hips weren't that wide considering the fact she never had them before.
But in Trae’s eyes, she had gained too much weight and he tried to manipulate her into thinking she was fat so she could lose weight. She even caught him red-handed crushing up diet pills into her food and drinks. She should have left him then but she thought she was so in love.
Marco pulled up in her apartment complex and threw the car in park.
“Thank you sooo much, Marc, I owe you big time,” Coco told him as she hugged him.
“You can pay me back by hooking me up with your sister.” Marco smiled. He had been in love with Coco’s sister since forever.
For years, he had been talking about getting with her but since she was feisty and crazy as hell, he was scared to step to her.
“Sorry, Marc, but you're a little too late. Jayliah got her a new boo that she claims to be in love with. Don't ask me who he is because I don't know, she won't even let me meet him,” Coco laughed.
“Ain't that some shit?”
“Sorry, baby boy, maybe next time.”
“Yea,” Marco shrugged. “But go on in the house and get you some rest.”
Coco happily obliged as she hopped out of his car. She was grateful that she didn’t have to go to class later on because she doubted that she would have made. Her body’s energy level was on ‘E’ and she felt herself about to crash.
Chapter Two
Coco felt a dip in her bed but was too tired to even open her eyes. All she wanted to do was sleep the rest of the day away and avoid coming in contact when the human race.
“What do you want? Why are you here?” she mumbled as she fought to remain sleep.
“I made you lunch,” her sister Jayliah informed her.
“Lunch? What happened to breakfast?” Coco questioned.
“It’s almost three o’clock, Jacole; that ship sailed hours ago.”
Coco groaned as she stretched her muscles and poked her head out of her covers. Glancing around her room, she noticed that her sister had taken it upon herself to tidy up a little. When she got in this morning, she snatched her clothes off and threw them all over the room before jumping in the shower.
“Why you over the smiling like you just won the damn lotto?” Coco asked.
“Because my man makes me happy, that’s why. What I can’t be happy?” Jayliah asked.
“I didn’t say that, Jay; of course you can be happy. You deserve it but I just don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I know, Coco, but I’m the big sister so leave all the worrying to me. But you should let me hook you up with somebody; I have the perfect person in mind. You’ll be like ‘Trae who?’” Jayliah smiled.
“Hell no. I’ll let you hook me up with somebody if you have Sunday dinner at your parents’ house.” Coco smirked.
“Well, shit, it looks like your ass will be stuck on Trae for forever then,” Jayliah said seriously.
Coco shook her head. She knew that was a losing battle. Ever since Jayliah slipped up and got pregnant her first time ever having sex when she was sixteen, their parents acted like she was a disgrace. They tried to force her into getting an abortion but that just turned into a big fight that caused Jayliah to run away and never look back.
She hadn’t seen or spoken to her parents since, and that was eight years ago. Even when her boyfriend at the time left when she was six months pregnant, she didn’t bother to contact them. They told Jayliah she was dead to them if she had that baby but she didn’t care. It was them who was missing out on loving their grandson.
“No, Trae and I aren’t together anymore, you know that. That’s why I changed the locks and gave you a new key,” Coco explained.
“Good, I owe his wannabe gangster ass a bullet anyways and you know I have no problem doing so,” Jayliah said as she pulled her custom purple nine millimeter out of her purse.
“You need help, but can you take me to go get my car?” Coco asked.
“Duh, Jacole, why do you think I’m here? You asked me that question yesterday.”
Coco rolled her eyes. “You be having crazy mood swings so I have to ask again to make sure it’s the same answer,” she said as she got out of bed.
Twenty minutes later, Coco walked out of her bathroom as naked as the day she came into this world. Jayliah sat on her bed with a screw face but didn’t say anything because she was used to her sister walking around like that. Plus, she was in her house so there was really nothing she could say.
“Bitch, when did you get that?” Jayliah asked.
Coco looked down at the tattoo of flowers that started at her hip and went all the way up her side.
“Umm…last month. I’m supposed to go back and get it finished but that shit hurt too bad.” Coco shook her head.
“I would bet, why would you get something so big for your first tat?” Jayliah asked.
“You know how I am.” Coco shrugged as she pulled her bra and panties on.
“Yea, backwards as hell,” Jayliah laughed.
Ignoring her sister, Coco threw on a pair of shorts with a racer back tank top and checked her appearance in the floor length mirror. Throwing her hair in a bun on the top of her head, she was ready to go. After picking Coco’s car up, the two sisters agreed to spend the rest of the day together.
Due to Coco’s busy schedule with work and school, she rarely had any free time and it had been forever since the two had a chance to just kick it with each other. Since Jayliah’s son was away at summer camp for football, she had some free time on her hands.
“Girl, let me tell you about this rude ass nigga that came to the hospital this morning,” Coco said as she sipped her drink. “So I’m sitting there trying not to fall asleep while I’m studying or whatever. He walks up to the desk and asks me for a patient’s room number. I look it up and come to find out, ol girl is in labor and delivery. So after he gets the room number, he walks away then comes back up there and tries to get his mack on. I told his ass I wasn’t interested and he goes all about some other shit.”
“What he say, girl?” Jayliah asked, intrigued.
“So after I told him I didn’t need to be with a man because he got money, he told my ass that I should have kept my big mouth closed because I just missed out on a once in a lifetime chance.”
Jayliah almost spit her drink out as she laughed at her sister. Coco sat there looking at her sister like she wanted to slap her because she really didn’t see the humor in the situation.
“I’m sorry, Coco, but you know I love that shit rude shit. He sounds like my kind of nigga. Shit, if I wasn’t so in love, I would have told you I'll take his ass,” Jayliah said seriously.
Coco put a smirk on her face and she covered her face with her hands. “I didn’t want to admit it, Jay, but that shit turned me on. I almost snatched his ass back after he said that and walked away like it wasn’t shit.”
“Girl, I know you did, I should slap you right now. As a matter of fact, give me your hand,” Jayliah demanded.
Coco held both of her hands out and Jayliah grabbed her hand with the ring on it. She swiftly slid the little ass ring off because, in her opinion, it never should have been on there in the first place. Right when Jayliah was about to say something, they heard glass breaking and a car alarm go off.
“Oh shit, Jay, your car!” Coco yelled as she jumped up.
Jayliah looked over her shoulder and noticed a bitch was taking a baseball bat to her taillights. She jumped up, grabbing her purse with her nine in it and running out of the restaurant.
“Oh, bitches want me to go down for murder today!” she yelled as she pulled her gun from her purse.
“Bitch, stay the fuck away from my baby daddy!” the girl yelled before she jumped in her car and tried to speed off.
Jayliah aimed at the car and let a shot off, taking out the rearview mirror. The girl in the car swerved as she tried to get away from the scene and avoid the bullet at the same time. Coco just stood there looking at her sister’s car with her mouth open. Her tires were flat and the back taillights were busted.
Jayliah paced back and forth like a raging bull with the gun in her hand while letting all types of obscenities fly out of her mouth. She was so mad that she didn’t know what to do.
“Come on, Jay, before the police get here,” Coco said.
“Bitch, take me to Highland Park, I’m about to fuck me nigga up today,” Jayliah declared as she jumped in her sister’s car.
___
Coco leaned up against her car as she waited for her sister to come out of the apartments she was in. She’d started pacing when she felt her arm being grabbed from behind. She turned around, ready
to go off when she realized who it was.
“What do you want, Trae?” she asked.
“What do I want? What the hell do you think I want, Jacole? What type of bullshit you on?” Trae yelled at her. “Fuck all that; fuck is you doing out here?”
“Trae, I’m grown as hell. I don’t have to answer to you or anybody else.” Coco said.
Trae tried to step in her face but she was pulled back by one of her belt loops in the back.
“Back the fuck up, lil nigga,” Zeek said as he wrapped his arms around Coco’s waist.
“No disrespect, Zeek, but this between me and my bitch,” Trae spat.
“What bitch around here belongs to you? “ Zeek asked as he looked around. “From what I can see, she’s right here in my arms, nigga.”
Coco just stood there looking from Trae to who she now knew as Zeek, the mystery man from the hospital. She was about to say something but she didn’t appreciate the way Trae was disrespecting her and calling her out her name.
“Fuck you, Coco, you ain’t shit anyways. Fat ass bitch,” Trae said.
Zeek swiftly moved Coco to the side and punched Trae dead in his face, knocking him out. Coco’s hands flew to her mouth and she tried to go to his side but she was pulled back.
“You better not,” Zeek told her as he pinned her up against her car. “You ain’t ever supposed to let a nigga disrespect you.”
Coco just nodded her head as Zeek waved somebody over to pick Trae’s unconscious body up off the ground.
“So, Miss Coco, what you doing in my hood?” Zeek asked as he stared at her with those beautiful light brown eyes.
“Your hood, huh?” she asked.
“Yea, one of them at least, but what’s up?”
“Nothing, I’m over here because my sister needed to talk to her man about something,” Coco told him.
“Uhh, excuse you, Zeek, but back the hell up!” Jayliah yelled as she walked down the apartment stairs. “My sister is pure and I don’t need your black ass trying to taint her. Coco, you know better than to let a nigga get that close to you.”
The Wrong Side Of Love: A Hood Love Story Page 1
