by Sephiri J
Bo: It’s fucked up that you just left me in the club at a party you invited me to. Wtf City?
I sighed and massaged my temples. She would have to understand. This shit here was bigger than her right now. I went up to my father’s room and pulled out his laptop. He had shown me his system a while back, and I knew exactly which rooms the cameras were set up in. Within a few minutes, I was running the tapes back from the cameras outside.
I saw someone dressed in a big, black hoodie walk over to his car in the driveway and smash the window. That’s when the alarm went off. I couldn’t see the person’s face or make out if it was a man or a woman because of what they were wearing. Watching my father walk over to his car to see why the alarm was going off and then seeing a black F250 ram into him and slam him into the tree to the left of the driveway made my stomach turn. The truck backed up and drove away, but the license plate was out of the frame.
I watched it three more times, looking for something that might be helpful. But apart from seeing what the truck looked like, I had shit. I picked up my phone and dialed a number that I knew I had to call. I was going to hate delivering this news, but I had to.
“Hey, baby, why you calling me so late?” I heard my mother say.
“Ma,” I said and exhaled slowly. “I got some bad news. Something happened to Pops.”
2
Sade
I took a step back, trying to make sure I heard correctly as I stood outside the house that Greg and I shared at 2:00 in the morning. But the way his ex, Summer, was smirking at me made me know I had heard her all too clearly.
“What you say to me?” I asked anyway as I looked her up and down.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared right back at me. “You heard what I said. We are having another baby so if I need to talk to my baby daddy, I will.”
I wanted to pop her in the face so bad, and it took everything in me to turn around and not throw hands at her. I wasn’t a fighter, and I didn’t know how the fight would end anyway, but I knew my problem now was with Greg. Though I hated this ugly heifer who was looking at me like she took a prize from me, I hated Greg worse at that moment. I needed to confront him.
Storming into the house, I didn’t even realize Summer had walked in right behind me.
“Greg!” I screamed as I barreled through the door and took the stairs two at a time to the bedroom. “Gregory Marvin Johnson, wake the fuck up!” I yelled as I rushed to our bedroom. I was pissed, and I didn’t even care if he was in a dead sleep. He was waking up tonight.
Walking into the room, I turned the light on and saw him lying in bed with the sheets pulled over his head.
“Gregory!” I yelled again as I ran up and snatched the sheets back.
“What the fuck,” he said and squinted up at me. He was in boxer briefs, but the rest of him was naked.
Get up,” I said as I snatched the comforter and stepped back with my arms crossed.
“The fuck is this, Sade? I got work tomorrow,” he said, obviously irritated. But he wasn’t close to being as irritated as me.
He got up, though, then I saw his face change as he looked behind me. I turned to see Summer leaning against the doorframe looking back at him.
“The fuck is this about?” he asked, looking between the two of us.
“The fuck is this about?” I parroted him as I walked up and mushed him in the face.
“Aye.” He held a hand up to me with fire in his eyes. “Chill on that. What’s going on? And why is Summer in my house?”
“You two having another baby?” I asked, cocking my head to the side and getting up in his face.
He stared at me blankly, but I could see the wheels spinning in his head.
“What you talkin’ about?” he asked and squinted.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Greg. Your baby mama told me she ’s three months pregnant for you. Is it true?” I asked, staring right back up at him.
He hesitated and broke my stare as he looked back at Summer.
“Don’t look over there! Tell me! I’ve been with you for five years. You owe me the truth,” I said and hit him hard on the arm.
He wiped his hands down his face. “Listen, Sade….” he started and sat on the side of the bed.
I felt my entire insides drop to my toes. I couldn’t believe he was about to confirm the shit to me right now.
He sighed. “It was a mistake. It was one time, I swear. We were going through some shit, and it just happened.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Gregory?!” I screamed and shoved him back as hard as I could. He grabbed my hands to stop me from hitting him again.
“A mistake?” I heard Summer say from behind me. “The fuck you mean it was just one time, Greg? Don’t do me like that and be acting all brand new because you in front of your girl now. You know you been in this pussy every time I would let you. I would’ve thought you weren’t getting none at home with the number of times you been at my door.”
I turned to look at her with fire in my eyes. This bitch was in my house talking all this shit, and at this point, I didn’t give a fuck if she was pregnant or not.
“You a stank ass bitch, talking all this shit in another woman’s house. You know he got a woman, but you spread your legs like a cheap slut. You feel good about yourself? You got another baby for a man who wouldn’t even wife you,” I spat while getting up in her face.
“That nigga wanted a baby, and you couldn’t give him one, so he came back to me. He’s always going to come back to me,” she said.
That’s when I lost it. I grabbed her by her hair and pulled her head down to connect with my knee. She screamed, but I didn’t give a fuck. I’d never tried to fight in my life because I wasn’t that type of girl, but tonight, the rage I felt was like nothing I’d ever felt before. Knowing that this man I’d loved for so long would step out on me was bad enough. But the fact that he cheated on me with his ex and told her things so fucking personal to me pushed me over the edge. He told her the problems that I was having getting pregnant; something that was intimate and private that only we and the people who loved me should know. And for her to use that information as a weapon and throw it in my face, she was going to get her ass handed to her.
“Sade!” I heard Greg shout from behind me, but I was zoned out.
I was throwing blows at her face and trying my hardest not to hit her belly because if I killed her baby, I would never forgive myself. She screamed as I yanked her hair and smashed her face up.
“Bitch, don’t you ever speak on me again in your life!” I yelled and threw her head first on the floor just as Greg came up behind me and grabbed me.
“Sade, what the fuck!” he roared in my face as he pushed me to the side and rushed over to her. That made this whole thing much worse.
“You stupid ass bitch!” Summer yelled as blood leaked down her face.
I was breathing hard and seeing stars. Looking down at my hands, I saw that I was shaking. Greg was over there asking her if she was okay and touching her belly. The sight of the two of them made me sick to my stomach.
Without another word, I walked out of the room, down the stairs, and out the door. The cool, night breeze hit my face as I just walked down the street. I didn’t know where I was going or what I was doing. After about ten minutes, I stopped. That’s when I realized that in the scuffle, I lost a shoe, and I’d been walking with just one heel on this whole time. Reaching into my purse, which had somehow managed to stay on my shoulder in the midst of the whole drama, I pulled my phone out and dialed Bo.
The phone rang and rang with no answer. Her voicemail came on, and I hung up.
“Bo, come on, please,” I said to no one in particular as I dialed her number again.
Every time Bo had ever called me in the middle of the night needing help, I always answered. I needed her now, and I just wanted her to pick up the phone. But, again, it went to voicemail.
“Fuck!” I said in exasperation.
I didn’t know what
to do. My car was back at the house, and my car keys were inside since I’d taken an Uber to City’s party. The last place I intended to go back to was that house with the two of them. They could have each other.
My phone started to buzz, and I looked down expectantly, hoping it was Bo. But, it was Greg calling. I ignored the call. Three seconds later, my phone started buzzing again. I ignored it a second time. Then it vibrated, and I saw that it was a text.
Greg: Sade, where did you go? We need to talk, I can explain.
“The fuck is there to explain?” I said aloud to myself. I laughed at the absurdity of this whole fucking situation. Tears literally came to my eyes as I laughed. I swear I felt like I was going crazy. Just then, I remembered the words Guwop said to me a little while ago in the club. You got a good energy. Don’t let a nigga fuck with that.
Tears started to roll down my cheeks because, for the longest, that’s exactly what I’d been allowing Greg to do. I didn’t know what to do or where to go, but right then, I knew who I wanted to see.
Picking up my phone again, I dialed the number. It didn’t even ring twice before he picked up.
“Didn’t expect you to call me so soon,” Guwop said.
I smiled. “I know, right. I’m in a situation, actually, and need some help. Can you pick me up?” I asked.
“Yeah, where you at?” he said with no hesitation, and I could hear the concern in his voice.
I told him the intersection I was standing at.
“Aight, sit tight. Ima be there,” he said before he hung up.
I walked a few feet down the road to sit on a bus stop bench. I couldn’t believe this was really the way my night was ending. As I wiped the tears from my cheeks, I tried not to think about it, but that was gonna be damn near impossible. This shit right here wasn’t fair.
3
Guwop
I sped down the street, even though I was still feeling the drinks a little, but Sade called me, and I could tell she was upset. I had just met the girl, and I didn’t know much about her, but something about her made me know that she wasn’t in a good place. Although I didn’t know what happened when she got inside her house, I was sure I was about to find out. I drove for about ten minutes before I pulled up to the street she said she was standing on. Driving real slowly, I had my eyes looking for her. It was damn near 2:30 in the morning, and there were a lot of things that could go wrong for her. I didn’t like that she was standing out there alone.
I drove a few feet then spotted her sitting at a bus stop on the bench. I thought about the fact that she claimed she had a nigga. Obviously, they had a fight, but I didn’t care how mad I was at my girl, if I knew she was out roaming the streets in the dead of night, I would’ve been in my car driving around and looking for her. The fact that he wasn’t looking for her showed me what kind of fuckboy he was.
I pulled up, and when she saw me, she stood up and came over to my car. She was wearing the same outfit she had on at the club, but her eyes looked puffy like she’d been crying.
“Thanks for coming for me,” she said as she sat in the car and closed the door.
“Yeah, you know I got you,” I said as we took off.
I didn’t know where she wanted to go or if she had somewhere else to go, but I could see that she was already stressed out. So, if she wanted to just drive around, I was okay with that.
“I’m so sorry. I know I look a mess, and you probably think I must have issues,” she said, and I looked at her just as she wiped a tear from her face.
I pulled the car over and turned to her.
“Sade,” I said seriously, and she looked at me. My heart literally went out to her because she looked really sad. “What happened? You can talk to me.”
I could see her hesitating like she was trying to decide if she should tell me or not.
“I just need somewhere to stay for the night until I can figure some things out,” she said while running her hand through her hair. “I know we don’t really know each other, but Bo isn’t picking up her phone, and I don’t want to wake my dad up this late. Can I crash on your couch or something? Just for a few hours?”
I nodded. She didn’t want to tell me, but it was cool. She would tell me eventually; I could already tell.
“Yeah, I got you,” I said and started the car back up then drove off down the road. “You hungry?”
She chewed on the inside of her mouth, and then she looked over at me.
“I am, actually. So much has been going on that I didn’t even think about food tonight,” she said.
I chuckled. “The only thing I know that is open close by right now is McDonald's,” I said.
“That’s fine.”
Sade leaned back in the seat. She looked like she had a hundred thoughts in her head, but she didn’t look as agitated as she did when I first picked her up.
“Give me two Big Macs with fries,” I said when I pulled up to the drive-thru.
“No onions on mine,” Sade said from beside me.
“No onions on one of them,” I repeated to the intercom. I turned back to Sade. “What, you don’t like onions?”
She frowned. “No, I don’t know how you eat them,” she said.
I chuckled.
Five minutes later, she was chomping on her fries as we drove to the crib. I lived in a condo on Brickell that looked out at the ocean. I’d bought this spot a couple of years back, and it was my sanctuary. The place just felt like me. Money. I didn’t have a lot of people come by because I wasn’t tryna disrupt my peace, but I could see her eyes looking around and admiring my décor. My plush sectional sat in the middle of the room; that alone had cost me a grip. I had the big carpet in the middle of the floor flown in from Italy, and my dining room table, even though I never used the bitch, was straight marble.
“You got a nice place,” she said as she walked inside. “Do I need to take off my shoes?”
“Yeah, you can,” I said and shrugged. “I gotta show you to your room anyway.”
“Oh, I can just sleep on the couch,” she said, hesitating by the door.
I turned back to her and screwed up my face. “Girl, if you don’t bring your ass,” I said and saw the smile playing around her lips.
She followed me down the short hallway to the left past a bathroom, and then we turned into a bedroom. A king-sized poster bed was on the far side, and a big screen TV was perched on the wall on the opposite side.
“You wanna take a shower or something? I can give you a t-shirt if you need it,” I said.
I walked over to the closet on the right and opened the built-in drawers. After pulling out a basketball jersey and shorts, I handed them to her.
“I got these too, you know…” I stated as I pulled out the bottom drawer to reveal some new pairs of ladies thongs.
She screwed her face up. “I know you’re not giving me no thots’ used panties to wear,” she said, and I burst out laughing.
“Nah, Sade. What you think I am, man?” I said. “These all new. I keep them just in case a bitch comes by who needs ’em.”
She turned toward me so fast that I had to step back. “What?”
“So, you just have bitches coming through here and losing their panties to need new ones?” she asked.
I burst out laughing. “It’s in case of emergency,” I said.
“You got one still in the package? I’ll take it,” she said and walked over the drawer.
“Girl, I ain’t got no Walmart drawers,” I said, cracking up.
“I’m good,” she said and bumped into me on purpose as she walked toward the bathroom.
I held on to her arm as she walked by and pulled her back. She looked up at me, and for a second, I wanted to just reach down and put my lips on hers.
“You know you sweaty as fuck after the way you were dancing on me in the club. Go get you a change of drawers, shorty. I promise you, they new,” I said while grinning down at her.
I saw her eyes go down to my lips for half a second but th
en she stepped back and cleared her throat.
“Where are your towels?” she asked.
I walked to the bathroom outside the room and grabbed one of the towels in the closet. Her eyes moved over to my waterfall shower behind the clear glass screen. I knew she was impressed.
“I’ll be out here when you’re done,” I said then left her in the bathroom and walked back toward the living room.
I went over to the kitchen and grabbed two glasses and a bottle of Hennessey. Walking over to the balcony, I went out and sat down. It was quiet, and the ocean breeze blew my locs all over. I loved the quietness when I was home alone. I always had a million things going with the shop and my men who stole cars for me. When I was home, I wasn’t tryna think about any of that. I sat out there for a good fifteen minutes sippin’ on my drink when I heard the balcony door open behind me.
I turned around and saw Sade standing behind me wearing my jersey and looking real cute. Her hair was wet and pulled up in a ponytail.
“You feel better?” I asked as she came around to sit on the chair beside me.
“Ten times,” she said and leaned back.
“Here.” I handed her the glass that I’d poured her and re-filled my own. She took it and sipped on it while curling her feet underneath her on the chair.
“What’s your favorite drink?” I asked.
She cocked her head to the side and thought about the question. “I love me some Cîroc. I’d drink that every time I go out if I could.”
“Oh yeah? Which one?” I asked her and got up.
“Where you going?” she asked.
I looked back at her.
“Which one?” I asked again.
“I like Cîroc Pineapple if I’m gonna drink it straight,” she said.
“Hol’ up.”
I walked to my mini bar and pulled out a half bottle of Cîroc pineapple that I had bought a couple months back.
“I got you,” I said and walked back out to the balcony.
She started laughing. “So, you just happened to have the Cîroc I like in your kitchen?”
