I’d known Melanie long enough to know her suddenly high-pitched voice meant she was up to something. Everyone knew she was channels two, four, and seven breaking news. Nobody needed to watch television when they had Miss Melanie on the scene. I had to come up with a quick solution to get both of us a quick fix. Her all-star performance had a nigga sweating, but there was no way I could pull an all-nighter with Spice already pissed. For sure, I was already on her bad side for not going over and personally checking on her after the nail shop smackdown.
“Breathe easy, baby girl. Let me grab Izzi’s keys so we can get to the truck.”
My plan was to bang Mel in my boy’s ride at the Isle and get back inside the club. I was gonna tear her weave back so she’d look too raggedy to come back inside the club.
“Okay.” She anxiously acted hard-up for the dick.
Zaria
Fuming, I watched Nardo and Melanie getting off on one another. That nigga had been fronting, acting like she was stalking him, dick riding, when all along he was feeding into it too. Feeling someone come up behind me and grab my waist, I twisted my body around with a quickness, ready to smack whoever this intruder was, when I stared directly into Izzi’s big brown eyes.
Damn, busted, I thought.
“What the fuck?” I frowned up, still not removing his hands from my midsection.
“Be easy, Z. I see you sweating and shit.” Izzi laughed. “Nardo don’t know you’re here. I peeped you when we first came in, but I ain’t say shit. Dawg keeps telling me you and him a done deal and that he don’t want you anymore, but you be hanging from his nut sac.”
He pausing for a reaction, but I just rolled my eyes, shifting my weight with attitude.
“Anyway,” he continued, “I been trying to make him act right, you know, settle down and shit, but he ain’t trying to act right. A nigga just wanted to let you know I’m on your side with this entire situation. But, baby girl, his stubborn ass just won’t listen.”
Between sipping from his personal bottle, Izzi had run down a mouthful of information on his boy. Dry snitching or not, it was bittersweet to hear what Nardo was out putting in the streets about me.
For some strange reason, I couldn’t make my mouth move to tell Izzi to get his hands off me. I couldn’t form the words. I knew Nardo was only a few yards away, but I didn’t care. Shit, he obviously didn’t care who was watching him, since he was scouting for wild zoo-like creatures.
All right, Zaria, think. Move, talk, respond, do something.
I was straight tripping because Izzi’s attention felt good.
Hearing him say he had my back was refreshing, especially since Nardo had obviously been talking behind it. Caught up in his stare, I realized I had never really paid true attention to how fine he was.
“I thought that was your right hand, Izzi? And why are you over here dry snitching on him? That’s some underhanded, dirty shit,” I finally responded to his accusations after shaking myself out of the trance.
“I wouldn’t call it dry snitching, because low key, you already know, don’t you? Look how he’s all over that Mel chick,” he tossed up in my face, pointing to the obvious. “She’s ratchet as fuck, ma.”
Glancing over at my daughter’s father grinding, touching, and whispering with Melanie had me ready to turn the club out. This son of a bitch was cockier than ever out in public, like word wouldn’t get back to me. This fool had managed to throw me off my square, flipping the script once again. Izzi was right, though; this nigga was showing me what was up. I didn’t need him over here giving a commentary on it, trust.
Izzi could see the blood in my eyes and decided to add more fuel to the fire. “This ain’t the first time he’s dipped back for seconds with her either, Z. Your whole pregnancy—”
Before he could even finish his statement, I dropped my glass to the floor and ran off hurriedly toward the nearest exit. I had to get out of there and fast. My heart was pumping as if it was about to come out of my chest. I moved through the crowd like lightning to the valet attendant, snatching my keys from him.
“I’ll get it myself.” I fought back the tears, rushing to my car.
It was still a large crowd gathered outside. Me having a tear-fest emotional breakdown wouldn’t be a good look.
“Damn.” I dropped my head in disbelief. “How could he banging that trick while I was pregnant? I owe him one for that.” Screaming, hitting my steering wheel, I tried to gather my composure.
A phone call to my mother to see if she could keep Cidney overnight was a must. There was no way I could be up and down with her whining tonight. There was serious business in the streets to tend to with her mommy’s name on it. After the infamous “you need to grow up and take care of your child” speech my mom was notorious for running down on me, I finally convinced her I would be there bright and early in the morning.
Starting the car, revving the engine, I burned rubber out of the reserved valet section, stunting hard one last time.
Doing eighty on the Lodge Freeway toward Mel’s crib, I didn’t know what my intentions were yet, but I knew that Operation Fuck Up Nardo’s Life was in full effect. Seeing him and Mel reunited put her next on my list to feel the wrath. And I couldn’t wait to square back up with Spice. As I vengefully pushed the gas pedal down, coasting in and out of traffic, I didn’t notice the lights flashing behind me.
“Pull your car over. Please, pull your car over.”
“What the fuck? This ain’t my night,” I complained, not believing my luck.
Pulling over, I adhered to all his directions, keeping my hands on the steering wheel.
For a speeding ticket, this should be in and out. I’m clean—except for this liquor on my breath.
“Good morning, ma’am. Where are you coming from or going this late?” The vanilla-face officer wasted no time interrogating me.
“I was just out getting a break from my newborn, sir. My mother has been calling, and I was just trying to make it back to her,” I halfway lied, hoping he’d cut me some slack.
“Congratulations.” He smiled. “Break over. Do you know why I pulled you over?”
“Thank you, sir; and, speeding.” He knew, so why lie? Trying to turn on my innocent voice, I looked down to let him know I understood I was in the wrong.
“Do you have any drugs, open alcohol, or weapons on you that I should know about?”
“No.” He didn’t ask if I had been drinking, and I was not volunteering any info.
“License and registration.”
So far, this was going as a routine stop. I ain’t gonna lie; once he gave me my ticket, my plan would be back in effect. Going into my glove compartment and purse, I handed him all three items. Lucky for me, I kept my shit thorough and A-1.
“Do you know it’s illegal to drive without a plate, Zaria?” Looking over the items with his flashlight, simultaneously flashing it in on me and the car, he was serious, but I was dumbfounded.
“Um, yeah.”
“Okay, simple enough, huh? Then why are you out here driving illegally, without a plate and speeding?”
“What the fuck?” Caught off guard, I had to regroup fast. “My bad. I’m so sorry. I mean, what do you mean without a plate? I didn’t know. Are you serious?”
Loud, hype, and knowing off rip I’d got slipped on, the officer could see this shit was totally new to me. He was laughing at my misfortune, but I didn’t find that shit funny. Still, I was not in the position to tell him to pipe down.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, turning to walk back to his car.
I didn’t really know what to expect. Besides the cops being called for me and Nardo scrapping it out from time to time—just neighbor complaints with no charges ever being filed—I’d never had a problem with the law. Before I could continue going over possible fates for me, my cell phone rang.
I recognized Nardo’s ringtone. He’d picked a fine time to call. He must’ve heard I was around from either Izzi or some other birdie. I snatch
ed it up off the seat quickly. Cop or not, my baby daddy was about to get the business.
“Yup, what up?” I answered angrily. “Done with that bitch?”
After a few seconds of no response, I was ready to shout louder, thinking he hadn’t heard me. Then I heard a familiar voice and swallowed my words. I listened to the conversation:
“So, Nardo, what’s the real word with you and Zaria? Word been ringing that y’all ain’t like that no more. Keep it real with yo’ girl.”
“Now, why you wanna go and mention her damn name when I’m with you? My attention is all on yo’ fat ass for the moment. Besides, you been on dick punishment for the last few months. That shit right there should’ve been lesson enough to stop gum bumpin’. You could be doing something much better with that mouth.”
Hell naw! It was Melanie and Nardo’s trifling asses. Now I really couldn’t wait to get to this heffa’s house! Looking in the rearview, I could see the cop still hard at work.
“Chill out, daddy. I’m just kickin’ it with you. I’ll make it up to you in a minute,” she eagerly promised.
“Mel, yo’ first mistake in life is ya always ear hustling, being in the next ho’s business. If you minded yo’ own more often and took care of your fucking self, ya wouldn’t be creeping with Z’s baby daddy. You’d be his.”
“Hello!” I screamed repeatedly into the phone, getting no response.
I wanted Nardo to know his ass had butt-dialed me. No wonder his trifling ass hadn’t checked for me. He was busy trying to get some stale pussy. And here this scummy ho had the nerve to call me so I could overhear their rendezvous. My mind was stuck. I didn’t know whether I should hang up the phone or keep listening, because the cop was back at my window. Setting the phone down, part of me wanted to put it on speaker.
“Zaria, only because you have everything together, I’m going to let you go with a ticket only. Drive straight home, because if I catch you again, you’re going to jail. I know you probably won’t pass a sobriety test.”
His warning scared me. I snatched my ticket out of his hand so fast that I had to apologize. “I’m so sorry, but thank you so much. I swear to you that I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” It seemed like it hurt for him to say the two words he’d given me a reason to say. “Take what I say seriously, and don’t let me catch you on this road when I double back.”
“You won’t. I’m going straight home to park this car and then straight to Secretary of State first thing in the morning.”
As soon as the cop got back into his squad car, I reached into the passenger’s seat and clicked the button so the call would go through my speaker. They hadn’t hung up. The conversation had actually heated all the way up.
“How bad do you want this pussy, Nardo?”
“Baby girl, you know that pussy got a li’l comeback. If you act right, you can always have a taste of this. Now, suck it!”
The reality of hearing Nardo’s voice made my heart drop into the pit of my stomach. It felt like I was wide awake but not breathing, and then my breathing intensified. Spice had been an illusion, but Mel’s quickie session was about to be engraved into my mental. Karma comes when you least expect the bitch to, and Mel being able to double back with Nardo was exactly what I’d deserved by the rules of the universe. My knowledge of how payback works didn’t make me take the strike-back like a champ, however. Tears were flowing down my face, and my eyes were burning from being rubbed dry. There was no one in my car to front for, and the cop was pulling off. I’d seen and heard Nardo checking for other chicks today. The only thing left was to see him straight banging.
Finally pulling back into traffic, I merged in and went against the officer’s orders, heading toward Mel’s house. He’d only slowed me down. If fucking with my man was not enough, she was costing me money, too. This bitch had to pay.
I pressed down harder on the pedal as my exit, West Davison Avenue, approached. How could he still be banging that tramp? What Izzi said was true. How could he be dragging me down into the mud like that, knowing she was my enemy? He was desperately trying to tear me up and ruin me. He’d played me in the bar, and now he was about to emancipate it by doing her.
Once again, I couldn’t breathe. An anxiety attack was setting in. I pushed the END button on my phone, not being able to stomach any more of what was going down on the other end. My mind was racing a thousand miles a minute. His tongue was deep inside of Melanie. His body was inside of Melanie.
My phone rang again, but I pushed IGNORE, tossing it into the back seat. Two minutes later, my voice mail alert went off. There was no telling what that message would bring to light. I was tired and frustrated. I know that God never gives you more than you can handle, but I think he must’ve had me confused with someone else. Hearing my phone ringing and notifications constantly going off, I turned the radio up on blast, letting the music help fuel my fire. This chick had started a war with the wrong one.
Melanie stayed on West Grand between Dexter and Wildemere, and my car automatically headed to her block. Not much had changed since me and her were friends. Her house still looked raggedy and torn the hell down, even though the inside was fairly decent last I knew.
Always having bad taste, she was the typical renter, never owning anything. Granted, the landlord obviously spent a few pennies for basic upgrades, but it definitely was not shit I’d call home. He’d done a piss-poor job on the landscaping, but I gave him an A for effort. With abandoned houses, weeds, and vacant lots tall with grass, there would be no witnesses to what I was about to do. Daringly walking up, I grabbed a brick from the yard and commenced to busting out all three of her front windows.
I hate this bitch!
Each time I heard glass shatter, my excitement grew. Jumping over the banister, I grabbed up two more bricks, rushing to the side of the house. Throwing those through what I remembered to be her dining room window, I heard even more glass breaking.
Fuck her! Trifling trick!
Letting the bricks fly in her house to knock down whatever they could, I laughed.
“Dumb ass so busy sucking a nigga dick that ain’t gonna get none of these windows fixed!”
Laughing hysterically, I couldn’t wait until that tramp got home and realized she’d gotten caught slipping trying to fuck me over. I causally headed back to the car, ready to do more, wishing I could burn off this steam scrapping it up with her.
“Make sure to tell that bitch Melanie that Zaria did it, and I’ll be back,” I announced to any neighbors or crackheads who were lucky enough to be within ear range or witnessing my wrath.
To give one old nosey lady who I saw peeking out behind her curtain even more of a show, I revved the engine again, jumping the curb onto Melanie’s front lawn. Putting the car in park, I vengefully pressed down on the gas pedal, not worried about tearing up my whip. Doing five or six donuts, tearing the grass up and leaving deep tire tracks in my path, I hoped the landlord would evict her troublemaking ass.
Gunning the engine once more before throwing the car into drive, I sped off, wishing I’d done more damage. I wanted Melanie to know not to come for me! And I was more than heated she’d been so close to my car. Once home, I’d be checking for scratch marks. This was just the start of my fury-filled rage. Oh, yeah, it was feeling good!
At the first red light, I reached in my back seat for my cell phone, seeing there were two missed calls, both from Izzi.
What tip is this dude on? I pondered what he could’ve wanted and if I should even call him back. He could’ve been on some sneak-type shit or being a bug for Nardo. Ain’t no telling! But I really wanted to take a chance and see what was popping. There was a sense of attraction at the club, and oddly, I was itching to find out how far it could go. If Nardo wanted to play dirty, then so be it; so the fuck would I.
CHAPTER NINE
Zaria
Of course, I couldn’t resist calling Izzi back. Come to find out, he just wanted to make sure everything was all goo
d since I left in a rush. Even though this was as wrong as two left shoes, it felt good to have him check in on me. Having time to kill, waiting on Nardo to pull back up with the skeezer who had a surprise waiting on her at home, we talked almost my entire ride back home. As he filled my ear with more bad news on ol’ boy, I was topped off to the max, not knowing how to process all the newfound dirt.
“Hey, girl. I was just calling to make sure you were straight.”
“Not really, but what other choice do I have?”
“More than you know, Z.” I felt like he was throwing me a hint, but I was too emotionally drained to decipher it.
“Well, it sure as hell don’t feel like it, but I’ma try sleeping it off. Hopefully I wake up in a better mood.” I yawned. “I’m pulling up at home now.”
“A’ight, cool. Are you good, or do you want me to stay on the phone with you until you get in?”
“I’m good, but thanks. I appreciate you for looking out, though.” I was sincere.
“It ain’t no thang, shorty.”
By the time I hung up with Izzi, I’d already walked into the house and stripped down to my panties and bra. My temples were pounding from the headache that had taken over my body. I could barely see straight. After popping a Motrin 800, I dove into my bed and crashed.
* * *
My ringtone started continuously playing, bringing me back to the harsh reality that my family would probably never be whole again. It was, of all people, Nardo. As much as I tried to fight against getting up to answer, his grips on me were still strong.
“What’s good, Z?”
“So, are you still with that ho Mel or what?” I barked, smacking my lips, wiping the sleep out my eyes. I was not going to play games or just hint that I knew he was with her. “Did you get a damn room or fuck her right on the dance floor?” I cut right into him. No nonsense today; he’d know that I’d seen him. I’d had about enough crap! There was no point in the game dragging on.
“What the fuck, Z? I was not with Melanie at no club, so calm that shit down. Just when I thought I’d give yo’ lunatic behind a chance to fix the problems between us, you jump stupid back on that jealous shit again.”
Loyal to His Lies Page 8
