by Shan
15: Tamar
"Damn, where the fuck is this nigga?" I asked as I dialed Brandon’s number for what seemed liked the hundredth damn time. I called an important business meeting today; the first since the shooting and robbery. I’d made a lot of changes to the way things were being done, and I needed to know if it was working out and how everyone was adjusting. I haven’t been in the streets to see for myself being that my condition still wasn’t at its best.
I jumped up when Plies started singing ‘I Got Plenty Money’ and hoped that it was Brandon's ass.
"Hello," I answered.
"Man, that nigga fucked up. Yo', he done pissed on his self and every damn thing," Roderick said with laughter.
"Man get him up and get him over here! Dmitri and Tahj will be over here in fifteen damn minutes! How that shit gone look if y'all ain’t here?"
"I would have been there if you ain’t tell me to go by the damn house!" Roderick yelled before he hung up the phone in my face.
"Where he at?" Keylan asked as he passed me a blunt.
"Ro say he fucked up. Nigga must have gone out last night."
"He needs to stop all that fucking drinking. Tae, for real. I think he got a problem. He’s been popping pills and drinking like it ain’t nothing."
"Nah, you know he ain’t never been able to hold his liquor."
Rozalyn, Latoya, and Brian walked in the house carrying shopping bags from different retailers. I made my mind up that I was going to be with Rozalyn. Shit I know she isn't of age, but after talking to my cousin Rickey, he informed me that if Rozalyn was emancipated and the court signed off on it, she would be considered an adult. I didn't have to worry about catching a damn case before she turned eighteen.
Sometimes I felt like a pervert, a child molester, or something but this shit was just too much like right as it was wrong. You can’t really help who you fall for, right?
Rozalyn walked over to me and handed me a wad of cash, and I looked at it. I tried to estimate about how much it was. I handed her three stacks and told her to get everything that she needed and wanted. It looked like she just handed me about twenty-seven hundred back.
I couldn’t help but smile at that. If I’d given Shalea three stacks, she would have called me an hour later saying how she needed three more. I put my arms around Rozalyn’s waist and just stared down into her Chinese cut eyes.
"What? Why you looking at me like that?" she asked.
"Just thinking about something. We got some shit to talk about later when I get done here, a'ight?"
"Alright."
I leaned down towards her five-foot frame and stuck my tongue into her mouth. I kissed her and didn't care who was in the room. "Pussy whipped ass nigga," Tavon said.
I kissed Rozalyn on the lips once more before directing her and her friends to the room when Tavon, my pops Tahj, and my cousin Ricky walked in the house.
I caught the displeased look from my pops before he took a seat on the two-seater sofa. As if I give a fuck about what he thinks.
Everybody sat around having side conversations until Brandon, Roderick, Dmitri, and the crew’s accountant Spud showed up. I let everyone voice their opinions, state any issues they may have had, and suggest new ideas and ways to get more money.
Everything seemed to be going good. We were selling more dope than I’d ever imagined and had taken over the North, South, and West and were on our way to taking over the East, as well. Money flowed in like a river, and everybody’s pockets were right and I couldn’t have been happier.
Once the meeting was over and before everybody sat down with Spud to see what their accounts was looking like, I needed to make an announcement.
"Hey, I just wanted to let everybody know that I will be moving out at the end of the week."
"What?" Tavon and Tahj asked at the same time.
"I know you not about to move to this piece of shit apartment," Tavon said.
"Nah, I bought me a house before all this shit happened with me, and they just finished it up," I said.
"How the fuck you gonna buy a house and don’t tell no damn body?" Tavon asked.
"I’m a grown ass man Tavon and I’ll be glad when you realize that shit." I said feeling like I shouldn’t have to explain myself.
"Okay but you know—"
"I’m not trying to hear that shit, Von. I worked too damn hard to get where the fuck I am, and I’m tired of not having shit to show for it! Gotta share a house with five damn niggas! What kind of shit is that? I’m the one that got clown ass niggas after me trying to kill me! Them muthafuckas gunning for me day in and day out and all they gotta do is walk down the block to get at me!" I yelled.
"So you scared now? That little brush of death got you frightened or something?" Tavon asked.
"Von don’t even come at me like that. The only thing that scares me is dying before I can actually enjoy my muthafuckin' life. Nigga been hustling and murking niggas since Converse and bomber jackets bruh and ain’t seen shit, but the dungeon and the rats that come with it. You got life 'bout fucked up if you think I’m a sit around and act like I love this shit," I said.
Von shook his head pissed and mad for no damn reason, "Pops, say something man!"
"That nigga Key done bought him and Toya a fucking house, and I ain’t heard you say shit, but congratulations, but you wanna clown me?" I asked.
Tavon got up from the couch and walked towards me. "Keylan not my muthafuckin' lil’ brother! Your ass is!" he yelled pointing his index finger into my chest. "I done almost lost your ass once and best fucking believe that the shit ain’t gonna happen again! You need to stay where I know where you at, at all times!"
"Who got you the house, Tae?" Tahj asked looking at the side of Dmitri’s face with a mug.
"What?" I asked and pretended that I didn’t hear his question.
"Who got you the house?" he repeated.
"I hooked him up with a realtor I know. Everything is legit, and it shouldn’t be any problems," Dmitri said.
"You couldn’t come to me when you got ready to purchase your first house?" Tahj asked.
"I already knew you were gonna try and pay for it. Told you before, you can stop trying to make up for lost time ‘cause that shit ain’t gonna work. I don’t like you; you don’t like me. We just business partners and that’s all we gonna ever be." I said and gave my sperm donor a stern look to let him know that I wasn’t fucking around with my words.
He sat on the couch and twiddled his damn thumbs together like he always did when someone pissed him off. Without saying a word, he got up from the couch and left the apartment with Tavon in tow.
Dmitri handed me a yellow envelope, gave me a pound, and left, as well. I shook my head and wished I could've been Italian. I would have done anything as a child to have a father like Dmitri. He treated me well, appreciated my work, and he always showed me mad love whenever I was in his presence.
I sat around and chopped it up with Ro, Key, and B. We planned out the schedules for the next week. The whole time we were talking, I couldn’t take my eyes off of Brandon. I noticed that he kept nodding in and out. He'd been doing the so the entire time he'd been here.
I started to wonder if he really had a problem like Key said he did. That nigga had a fucked up life, and if he was going to turn into an alcoholic, who the fuck could blame him? Even then that was my nigga, and I wasn’t about to let him self destruct. I made a mental note to get at him about that later.
"I’ve been hearing some things about Rozalyn and Andre. I think you need to be getting on that shit like ASAP before you think about moving her in with you," Keylan said.
"What you been hearing?" I asked.
Keylan looked around before he answered, "I heard she stayed with that nigga the day you were shot."
"You serious?"
"Yep and a couple of people saying that they may have had sex."
"Man, are you sure?"
Keylan looked at me like I asked a dumb question, and then got up fro
m the table to leave. "That's just what I heard. Like I said, talk to her and see what‘s up for yourself."
I got up, gave him a pound, and a hug and did the same with Ro. He tried to get Brandon up from the couch, but I told him to leave him there. He looked like he could use the rest. Everybody was finally gone, and I was about to put Rozalyn’s friends out too when there was a knock at the door.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
"Who the fuck is this?" I mumbled and walked back to the door.
"Tamar, open the fucking door! I know you in there!"
I sucked my teeth and wondered which of these fools were that damn careless that they didn’t see Shalea following them.
"Go back in the room!" I yelled at Rozalyn.
16: Shalea
All of the nosy ass neighbors were coming out of the apartment to try and see what was going on. I was banging on the door like I was the fucking police, and I was not about go anywhere until Tamar’s coward ass opened up the door!
"Come on, Shalea before somebody calls the damn police," Peaches said.
"I’m not going anywhere until he opens up the door and tells me what the fuck is going on!" I yelled.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
"Open the fucking door, Tae! Don’t play with me! I will shoot this muthafucka up!" I screamed at the top of my lungs before I pulled the pistol out of my handbag.
"You did not tell me you had a gun, Shalea. Come on! You just got out of fucking jail! You trying to go to back!"
I was not gonna be defeated. I was not about to walk away from this. Tamar was my life. I gave up everything to be with him. My mom doesn’t talk to me and being that my dad is a preacher he didn’t want anything to do with me either. This was crucial for me, so there was no way I could go back home for my parents to say they told me so.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
I kicked on the door as hard as I possibly could. I was doing my best to break this bitch down! I looked over at the stairwell and spotted a couple coming towards Peaches and me. The guy was about five-eight with long black braids and Chinese cut eyes. He was with a slim light-skinned chick with hazel eyes. I looked at Peaches and wondered if she were thinking what I was thinking. I put my pistol back into my purse and folded my arms across my chest.
"What’s up? You must be Rozalyn’s brother? What’s your name again?" I asked the young man.
"Yea, who the fuck is you?" he asked grabbing a hold to his girl’s hand.
"I’m Shalea; I’m trying to get in contact with Tamar and Rozalyn. Do you think you can open the door for me?"
"Ohhh, you Tae’s girlfriend?" he shook his head, "Nope. I saw that piece you toting. You think I’m about to let you up in there with my sister?"
"I ain’t finna do shit to them; I just wanna talk to them. Tamar being a bitch and don’t wanna open up the door."
"I ain’t about to open it either," he said and leaned against the wall and then slid down to the floor.
"Sha, let’s get out of here. You can catch that nigga another time."
I rolled my eyes at the other half-breed mutt and finally took my sister’s advice. I could only imagine how ridiculous I looked. I walked and headed down the stairs to leave when I saw Tamar’s truck parked in the parking lot as if this was home. I pulled out my pistol and aimed directly at it.
"Sha, what the fuck are you doing?" Peaches asked.
POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!
I kept shooting until I emptied the clip into his tires, windows, the hood, and the body. I fucked that nigga truck up. I placed the pistol back into my purse. "Now, I’m ready to go."
"Well, there he goes." Peaches said as she pointed toward the stairwell we'd just left from.
I turned around to see Tamar coming down the stairs towards his car. H didn’t even come over and say anything to me and just went and surveyed the damages of his truck.
"That’s all I had to do, to get you to come outside?"
Tamar laughed, "Damn, I guess a nigga just gonna have to buy a new truck. I been wanting a new one, and you just gave me a reason to get one," Tamar said and shook his head. "Bitch, you just making this shit that much easier."
"What the fuck you mean I’m making it easier? Easier to do what, Tae?" I asked.
Tamar walked over to me. "Look at this shit! Look at this!" Tamar pulled at my handbag and then at my Juicy Couture jeans. Juicy Couture was my favorite. "How much of my money you spend on this shit?"
"As much as I do for you, I deserve to have nice things. You started off buying me nice things and wasn’t complaining then. You get with one of those project bitches that don’t want and ain’t never had shit and then all of a sudden you have a problem with me spending your money!"
"Bitch, that’s all you do is spend my fucking money and get high all damn day. I’m sick of it. You twenty-three years old and ain’t trying to do shit with your life. You done put so much of that shit up your damn nose your face has sunk in. Your body done gone to pieces, and a nigga tired of humping a dry ass pussy."
Damn that was like a dagger to my heart. We were having problems, but I didn’t know they were that damn deep. I looked away from Tamar to keep the tears from falling from my eyes, and that’s when I saw her standing next to Keylan’s girlfriend, Latoya. She was so fucking pretty, and that just made things worse. She was a younger splitting image of Christina Millian.
"You want that young bitch, then you be with her ass. But I bet you come running to me before I come running to you," I said and hawked up a mouthful of spit and spit it into Tamar’s face.
WHAM!
Tamar slapped me, and then took his shirt to clean his face. I took that opportunity to go in on him. I punched him dead in his stomach where I knew it would hurt. He still had those staples in, and they were still raw and sore.
Tamar knelt over in pain, and I just kept hitting, punching, and kicking. Hell I was hurt, so I wanted this muthafucka to hurt too. "I hate you Tamar!"
WHAM!
"You fucking make me sick!"
WHAM!
"I did a year in prison for your ass!"
WHAM!
"I sucked your dick every night knowing you just climbed out another hoe's pussy!"
WHAM!
That time it wasn’t me that did the hitting. Tamar threw a right hook to the center of my face and caused blood to instantly pour from my nose like a water faucet.
"Tamar! Why the fuck you do her like that?" Peaches said. She ran and grabbed me before I passed out to the ground. "You wrong! You wrong for this shit, Tae!"
"Get that bitch out of here Peaches," Tamar said.
WHOOP! WHOOP!
The sound of a police siren blared in the background meaning one of these damn nosy neighbors called the police. Once the police came over to Tamar and me, they pulled us in two different directions to get our side of the story on what happened.
I looked over to see Tamar leant against the hood of his shot up truck. He waved the police off as if he didn’t have anything to tell them. Fuck it. I had a lot to say. I was ready to sing like a bird.
I told them that he came out here and started wailing on me. I pointed to my bloody nose as evidence. I also told them that he threatened to kill me and put a gun to my head.
"Check his truck. I guarantee you it’s a nine in there somewhere. I think that nigga got an A-K too," I said.
The officer asked me a few more questions and told me to hang tight, he walked over to his partner; they had a few words and all of a sudden Tamar was being handcuffed. "That’s what happens when you fuck with me," I said and looked at Peaches with a devilish grin on my face.
There were more officers on the scene as well that walked around and talked to witnesses. They asked them if they had seen anything and some people shook their heads no and others just walked away when they saw the police coming their way. I did see Rozalyn’s little brother in deep conversation with one of the pigs, and I wondered what the fuck he was saying to them. I looked over at Peaches and told her to lets leave
.
Soon as I was about to walk off, one of the female officers on the scene came running at me. She grabbed me and twisted my arm behind my back. She slammed me against the hood of the squad car. I hated these female officers. These bitches swore they weren’t on steroids and shit, but I begged to differ; I thought.
"What are you doing?" I asked as she placed a set of handcuffs on me, and locked my hands together. She walked me towards the backseat of the squad car. "What is going on? Am I under arrest?"
"Just hold on and let me talk with my partner," the lady officer said before she pushed me in the backseat of her car and closed the door.
I watched as she picked up my handbag and placed it on top of the hood. I couldn’t do shit but shake my muthafuckin' head as I watched all six of the pigs gather around to watch and see what was all inside of it. One of the officers unzipped the bag and shined a flash on the inside of it. The female officer reached in and pulled out my 4-4, and held it in the air to inspect it. She then mouthed some words for someone to hand her an evidence bag where she placed the gun. Damn I hope they through cause if not I’m fucked.
They took my purse and poured the remainder of the contents onto the hood. There was a vial of coke of course, a blunt, and a fucking crack pipe. Yea every now then I liked to indulge and smoke my shit hard. I wasn’t no crack head or anything like that. I didn’t have to smoke the shit just every now and again I did. Only when Tamar wanted to act shady and not give me any coke. Shit I just hoped that Tamar didn’t find out; I thought to myself when the lady pig came and pulled me out the car. She read me my rights and made me aware of what I was being charged with. I guess Tamar wasn’t the only one going to jail.
17: Rozalyn
Six months in jail was what they gave my baby for hitting that bitch Shalea in the face. Hell it wasn’t his damn fault she came over there and started that mess. She was the one that shot up his car with her crazy ass.
His cousin, Ricky, the lawyer, said the only reason why they were keeping him so long was because Shalea started running her mouth about some damn murder that Tamar supposedly committed. So they're trying to hold him until they could gather up the evidence needed to convict him.
