by Jade Jones
Chapter 19
You laid up with a nigga you know nothing about.
Silk’s words kept replaying over in my mind as I tossed and turned in bed. I had no idea that Jude was capable of pulling the shit that he did tonight. And I damn sure didn’t think he was capable of returning home and climbing back into bed with me as though he hadn’t done anything wrong.
Everyone around me was changing drastically. First Tiffany…Now Jude…I just wanted things to be the way they used to but I doubted things would ever go back to the way they used to be.
***
When I awoke the following morning, I noticed Jude was no longer beside me. He wasn’t in the house period for that matter. The keys to the truck were gone so I figured he was out running the streets. On the way to the kitchen, Tiffany suddenly decided to return. With her pumps in one hand, she tiptoed barefoot inside not even noticing me.
“You’re grown remember? I caught her off guard.
She jumped at the sound of my voice. “Shit, Cameron. You scared me,” she laughed. “I didn’t wanna wake you.” She snorted and wiped her nose. “What you doin’ up this early?”
I pointed to her blue pumps in her hand. “The question is what are you doing creeping in the house so early? You’ve been gone all day yesterday? You must’ve partied pretty hard.”
“Yeah I kicked it pretty tough,” she said nonchalantly. She was vague with the details so I decided not to hit her with too many questions.
“Guess what?” I said making my way over towards the breakfast counter.
She followed me and took a seat at the bar. “What’s up?”
“Jude came home yesterday.”
“That’s great!” Tiffany beamed.
I sighed out of frustration. “And that’s not all,” I told her.
“What?”
I paused. “I’m…uh…I’m pregnant.” I still couldn’t believe it myself. It even sounded weird saying it.
“What?!” Tiffany sounded just as surprised as I felt when I first found out. “How long have you known?” she asked.
I sighed. “For a few days now.”
“Well…are you keeping it?” she asked.
“I still don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for all this, Tiff.”
“Did you tell Jude?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “He wants to keep it.”
Tiffany scoffed. “Why does that not surprise me? Niggas always want the baby but they’re never the one taking care of it. And besides,” she added. “How is he going to support you. His bank accounts have been frozen—”
“Last night I saw him rob some guys,” I blurted out. I hadn’t intended to tell Tiffany but it just slipped out.
“What?!”
I quickly filled her in on everything I had witnessed last night.
“So let me get this straight,” Tiffany said. “Jude robbed the guy that killed Pocahontas?” she asked. “Is it just me or is Cleveland too fucking small?” she laughed.
“Tiff, this is serious,” I whined.
“Okay. Okay. But look at this way. I mean, obviously Jude is on that ‘get money by any means necessary tip’. He’s trying to support you and his baby anyway that he can. A lot of niggas wouldn’t even be on that.”
“I would rather be broke than to lose him,” I said.
Tiffany sighed. “But it’s not just about you, Cameron. If you plan on having this baby, it’s about ya’ll child too.”
I allowed Tiffany’s words to marinate.
Suddenly, Jude entered the house carrying two plastic bags. “Hey, good morning babe,” he greeted cheerfully.
“Good morning. Hey babe, this is Tiffany. Tiffany, Jude.”
“Nice to meet you,” they said in unison.
“Here, I got you some breakfast from Gyro George,” he said handing me one of the plastic bags. Inside was a paper food container.
“Thanks baby.”
He walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind himself.
“Damn, he is fine,” Tiffany whispered, smiling mischievously. “Why haven’t you introduced me sooner?” she joked.
“Watch it now,” I said pointing my finger at her.
I actually didn’t have that much of an appetite. I placed the container of food into the fridge and made my way into the bedroom.
The minute I opened the door, I was met with the unexpected sight of Jude sorting through drugs in his paper container.
“Shit, Cameron!” he quickly closed the container.
“Jude, what the fuck was that?!” I yelled. “Please tell me you’re not doing what I think you are!”
Jude placed the container back into the plastic Thank You bag. “Baby, I know what this looks like…”
“Tell me you’re not doing this shit, Jude,” I said in a pained voice.
“I’m sorry, Cameron. But a nigga gotta do what he gotta do.”
“Jude—”
The sudden sound of my “Cashin’ Out” ringtone interrupted me. Jude grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand and peered at the caller ID. His expression quickly became one of utter disdain.
“Who the fuck is Marcus, Cameron?” he asked in a calm tone.
My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. Shit, I should’ve known this day was coming! I opened my mouth and quickly closed it. I didn’t know what the hell to say.
“I’m giving you a chance to explain,” he said. “Who is this cat?”
The phone continued to ring as we stood a few feet away from each other. You could’ve cut the tension in the air with a knife. “He’s no one,” I finally said.
My cell phone finally stopped ringing and Jude tossed it onto the bed. “Oh, he’s no one huh?” he asked digging into his jeans pocket. He pulled his cell phone out and began scrolling through it. “This doesn’t look like no one to me,” he said, holding the picture up for me to see.
I walked closer to him in order to see the picture clearly—my mouth instantly fell open at the snapshot of me and Marcus dancing with each other at Earth Night Club.
“Ericka sent this picture to me other day. Said she saw you down at Earth Night Clu—”
“Oh my God! Ericka?!” I tossed my hands in the air. “You wanna talk about some shit?! Let’s talk about this crazy chick. The bitch has been following me…harassing me! She attacked me a couple weeks ago and beat my truck with a bat—”
“She beat your truck with a bat?” Jude’s face clearly indicated that he didn’t believe me. Especially since I no longer had proof. “Cam cut the bullshit. What’s up with you and this dude? And what type of fuckin’ woman got time to be dancing on niggas in the club while her man laid up in the hospital?” he asked. “You know you ain’t shit for that, right?”
“There is nothing going on between us,” I argued.
“I mean, shit! I’m out here doing what the fuck I gotta do to provide you and this baby and you out here gallivanting with some nigga! Is this mothafuckin’ baby even mine, Cameron?!” he asked. “Hell, I’m starting to have doubts.”
Jude’s words felt like fire searing my skin. Tears pooled in my eyes as I stared at him in resentment. To accuse me and Marcus of messing with each other was one thing, but he had gone as far as to question our child.
“You know how fuckin’ embarrassed I felt having my ex send me this shit?! Do you know how fuckin’ hurt I was? Huh?! God, Cameron! Why do you keep doing this shit?! Am I not enough for your ass or somethin’?!” he yelled. “Damn, a nigga took two bullets for yo’ ass!”
Tears slipped from my eyes. “I swear it is nothing going on between us,” I cried.
“Well, if it ain’t nothing going on between ya’ll, why didn’t you just tell me about him?”
“There’s nothing to tell!”
“All I know is when this baby is born, I want a mothafuckin’ paternity test!” Jude said nastily.
“Fuck you!” I screamed.
Jude snorted. “Fuck me? Nah, fuck him…Then again you probabl
y already did that while a nigga was laid up in the hospital.”
I didn’t say another word as I walked around him and snatched my car keys off the night table and my cell phone off the bed. I couldn’t even talk to Jude with him speaking to me like this.
“Cameron? Are you okay?” Tiffany asked as I stormed past her and out the front door.
Chapter 20
Since I was nineteen, none of the hotels in the area would sell me a room. I ended up lucking up with the El Dorado Motel in Garfield Heights and I had to shoot the manager and extra hundred dollars for bending the rules for me.
I had barely been in my motel room five minutes and my cell phone was blowing up with missed calls. I assumed they were from Jude calling to apologize but surprisingly he had not called or texted me once. Instead, Tiffany was calling me like crazy.
Hesitantly, I answered the phone. “What, Tiff?”
“Girl, where are you at? I was worried about you,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
I was actually surprised at how genuinely concerned Tiffany seemed. “No. I’m not okay,” I answered.
“Where are you at right now?” she asked.
“At the El Dorado Motel on Broadway.”
“Girl! Are you crazy?! Staying at a damn motel? I’m on my way.” She quickly disconnected the call before I could decline.
I was dozing off to sleep when she finally called me an hour later letting me know she was outside. After opening my door for she looked around the cheap, dirty room and made a face.
“I can’t believe you let that man piss you off to the point where you’d want to stay at a damn motel.” Tiffany snorted and wiped her nose. “Go home and talk to him,” she said.
I plopped down onto the squeaky mattress. “I don’t have anything to say to him,” I told her. “And it’s obvious he ain’t got shit to say to me either. He hasn’t called or texted me.”
“Yet!” Tiffany added. “He may just need a moment to cool down. You know how niggas can be,” she said. “Anyway, I’m not about to let you stay cooped up in this dirty ass motel room all day.”
I sighed dejectedly. “Tiff, I really don’t even feel like being bothered.”
“But your birthday is tomorrow!” Tiffany said excitedly.
“Oh my God.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe I forgot my own birthday.”
“And you’re sitting up here in this ratchet ass room when we should be out kickin’ it,” she said. “Ooohhh! You know what?! One of my lil’ friends is havin’ a set at his spot tonight. We should slide through.”
I hesitated. “I don’t know Tiffany…”
“So you’re telling me that you’d rather sit in this funky motel room than to do something fun on the day before your birthday?!”
“Who is this lil’ friend? Where do you know him from?” I asked.
Tiffany hesitated to answer my question. “Out and about,” she finally said.
“Girl, hell no. The last time we went out together you left me at the club. Remember that?” I reminded her.
“Oh my goodness,” Tiffany sighed. “You’re still on that? Look, we don’t even have to take my car. We can take yours,” she offered. “That way I have no way of leaving you. I mean it ain’t like we goin’ to dance or nothing. It’s just a kickback.”
I still wasn’t feeling the whole idea. “I don’t know,” I said. “Where is this party?”
“Fleet—”
“Oh, hell no!” I exclaimed. “You must not know shit about that area.”
“Oh my God, Cameron!” Tiffany whined. “Quit being a negative Nancy. We’re gonna have fun. And trust me, you could use it.”
***
Chief Keef’s “Don’t Like” remix was bumping at its maximum volume throughout the house. The pungent aroma of marijuana lingered through the air. People were everywhere drinking, smoking, and chopping it up. I still couldn’t believe this many people could actually fit in this little ass house.
A fuck nigga! That’s that shit I don’t like!
“Where do you know this nigga from?” I shouted in Tiffany’s ear.
“I told you out and about,” she said. “Relax! You’re good!”
I followed Tiffany into the crowded kitchen where she was greeted by a Pharrell look-a-like.
“What’s up, ma! I’m glad you decided to slide through. And you brought ya girl with you.” He nodded his head at me. “That’s what’s up. Aye, I got someth—”
“Let me get my girl situated and then I’ll holla at you,” Tiffany quickly said.
It was apparent that whatever business they had with each other Tiffany didn’t want to discuss around me.
“Aight,” he said before walking off.
Tiffany gently grabbed me by the wrist and led me to the kitchen counter. “Girl, you lookin’ all stiff and shit. You want a drink to loosen you up?” she offered.
“Tiffany?” I gave her a knowing look.
“Girl, one measly light drink ain’t gon’ hurt the damn baby,” she argued. “Especially not so early into the pregnancy. Here, I’m gonna make us both a drink,” she insisted.
Before I could argue any further, a guy suddenly eased beside me. He wasn’t very tall. He was stocky as hell, dark skinned and both his eyebrows connected into one. Unattractive would’ve been an understatement.
“What’s up with you sexy?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “Chillin’.”
“Yo nigga let you out the house tonight?” he smiled. “If you were my girl, I’d have ya ass at home barefoot and pregnant.”
I snorted. Please get the hell away from me, I thought.
“What’s your baby? I’m Lamont.” He stuck his hand out for me to shake and I hesitantly shook it.
“Cameron,” I said dryly.
Lamont’s eyes suddenly got buck. “Aye, yo! You dat bitch, Hypnotic! You dance down at um…Alibi…Naw The Shakedown right?” He took a swig of his Corona.
I rolled my eyes at him. I knew this was a bad idea coming here, I told myself.
“Aw shit! We ‘bout to get some entertainment poppin’ off in this bitch!” he said excitedly.
A few people standing around in the kitchen looked in our direction. My cheeks quickly flushed in embarrassment. “No, I’m not dancing,” I told him.
“What? Why not? Shit, I got money.” With his free hand, he dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out a knot of money.
“I said I’m not entertaining tonight,” I repeated in a stern tone.
He took another swig of his beer. “Well fuck it then. You ain’t gotta dance for everybody. How about we go in one of these rooms and you dance for just me?” he smiled.
“I’m not dancing period!” Now I was starting to grow irritated.
“Well how much a nigga gotta pay to smash?”
“Here, Cameron,” Tiffany handed me a clear plastic cup half-filled with a blue beverage.
“What the hell is this?” I asked making a face.
“Just something I whipped up,” she said modestly. “Drink up. Hey, what’s happening?” Tiffany asked Lamont.
He pointed his finger at me. “Man, ya bitch straight trippin’,” he said before walking off.
“What the fuck is his problem?” Tiffany asked.
I shrugged before taking a small sip of the drink. It wasn’t very strong at all.
“Well, I’m about to go talk to my dude real quick,” Tiffany said. “Try to relax and have fun. Okay, birthday girl?”
“I guess,” I said dryly.
***
Five minutes had barely elapsed after Tiffany had left me in the kitchen and suddenly I was not feeling so good. My body felt hot and clammy, my stomach was killing me and I was ready to go. Besides the drink Tiffany had made me, I hadn’t consumed any other alcoholic beverages.
Sweat dripped from my pores as I made my way through the crowd of people in search of Tiffany.
I made my way over towards a guy who was posted on the wall in the living room drinking a be
er. “Hey? Hey!” I tugged on his arm when I finally reached him. “Did you see this…this girl…”—Suddenly, I began suffering from a shortness of breath. “She is about five foot five. She’s uh…,” I gasped for air. “Very petite…she…uh…she’s got micros—”
“Whoa, ma! You good?!”
The guy quickly caught me before I crashed into the floor. My knees felt like Jell-O beneath me. I didn’t know what the hell was going on with me. I felt fine all until I had consumed the drink Tiffany had me.
What the fuck was in that drink, I asked myself.
“You straight?” he repeated in a concerned tone. “You good?”
I ignored him as I turned away and went to search for Tiffany. We had drove my truck here and I really didn’t want to leave her. Besides, in my condition, I knew there was no way in hell I could drive myself home.
Holding onto the walls for support, I used them to guide me throughout the house. I felt weary and weak. I didn’t know what the hell was happening to me but I barely felt conscious.
Where is Tiffany, I asked myself.
“Tiff…” Her name came out as an inaudible whisper. “Tiffany…” I called out a little louder.
My head was spinning and my vision blurred as I made my way down a narrow hallway. There were two rooms on each side of the hallway. The first room on the right was the bathroom. It was empty. The first door on the left hand side was slightly ajar.
I staggered across the hallway as I made my way towards the bedroom.
I tried to call out Tiffany’s name again but nothing came out. Sweat poured from my forehead and slipped into my eyes, burning instantly. Gripping the walls, I inched closer towards the door. Peering into the bedroom, I noticed Tiffany walking across the room. She wore nothing but a pair of black lace boy shorts. She didn’t see me standing beside the door frame looking in. Tiffany stopped at the dresser and knelt down. Using a rolled up dollar bill, she snorted a neat line of coke off the dresser.
What the fuck is she doing?
“Hurry the fuck up,” I suddenly heard a guy say.
