by Jade Jones
“Yeah, but you told me Jude’s done a lot for you too,” Ki Ki argued. “Honestly, if I were you, I’d say fuck Marcus and go back to Jude.” Ki Ki was only saying that because she wanted Cameron out of the picture so she could have Marcus all to herself. Cameron’s actual happiness was the last thing she cared about.
Cameron mulled over the decision. “It’s like…when I first saw Jude…all those old emotions came back.” She shook her head. “The crazy thing is…I don’t think I ever stopped loving Jude. And as fucked up as this sounds…I don’t think I ever loved Marcus…”
Ungrateful bitch, Ki Ki thought to herself. “You just gotta do what makes you happy, Cameron,” she forced out. “You just gotta do what makes you happy.”
***
The moment Cameron went off for a quick bathroom break, Ki Ki slipped inside of the Nike outlet, pulled out her cellphone, and called Marcus.
He answered on the fourth ring. “What do want, Ki Ki?” Marcus asked in an irritated tone. Obviously, he was still upset about their last time spent together.
“You still mad at me, bay?” Ki Ki purred into the phone.
“Bitch, you slapped me in the mothafuckin’ face. What do you think?” Marcus asked sarcastically.
“I told you I was just trippin’. I must be ‘bout to start my period,” Ki Ki said matter-of-factly.
“What do you want Ki Ki?” Marcus asked again. “I’m doin’ somethin’ right now…”
“When are we going to get to spend time with each other again?” she asked. “I miss the way your cum tastes,” she whispered.
Usually her dirty talk would have gotten Marcus aroused, but this time around it had the opposite effect. “Look, I’m really startin’ to be cool on yo’ ass,” he said. “You just be doin’ a lil’ too much for me.”
“What are you saying?” Ki Ki asked knowing damn well what Marcus meant.
“I don’t wanna fuck with yo’ ass no mo’,” Marcus said coolly. “Ya ass need to get some mental help, ‘cuz it’s obvious you got a world of issues.”
Ki Ki’s cheeks flushed in anger. If she was standing anywhere near Marcus she would have slit his jugular. “We’ve been fucking with each other for six months and now all of a sudden you wanna end it—”
“End it?!” Marcus repeated. “Bitch, it wasn’t never shit from the jump other than me gettin’ some pussy and you gettin’ some dick.”
Tears pooled in Ki Ki’s eyes. “But I love you...”
CLICK.
Ki Ki pulled the cellphone away from her face, and stared at in disbelief. Feeling like she had something to prove, she immediately called Marcus back.
He answered on the second ring. “What?!” he snapped.
“You better take back that shit you said,” Ki Ki threatened.
“And if I don’t, what your fat ass gon’ do?”
Ki Ki’s face became hotter by the second. Just hearing him call her ‘fat’ made her think of RJ. She then thought about his fate and a smile slowly crept across her lips. “You’re right,” Ki Ki said. “You don’t have to be worried about me. Because if I were you I’d be more concerned about the nigga that just got out of prison whose trying to take his woman and child away from your coke head ass.”
Marcus was silent for a brief period. “The fuck is yo’ crazy ass talking about?” he asked.
“You know exactly who I’m talking about,” Ki Ki said. “Or if you don’t believe me, why don’t you go look at the sheets in your guest bedroom. You might be able to see some cum stains from when Cameron got fu—”
CLICK.
A wide grin spread across Ki Ki’s face. She didn’t bother calling back Marcus that time. Her point had been proven.
***
Marcus walked up behind Cameron, and kissed the side of her neck as she stirred around the pot of spaghetti. “I really love you baby,” he confessed.
The hairs on the back of Cameron’s neck stood erect. She couldn’t even fix her mouth up to return the words of affection.
Marcus slowly made his way over towards the kitchen island and took a seat on one of the barstools. “Cameron, can I ask you a question,” he said.
“Of course,” Cameron answered with her back turned to him.
“You’d keep it real with me no matter what, right?” Marcus asked.
“Of course,” Cameron said.
The shit Ki Ki had told Marcus earlier that day really got to him, but nothing hurt worse than the fact that he knew what she had said was the truth. “So you would tell me anything, right?” he asked Cameron.
“Yes…”
“And when I say anything I mean anything…,” Marcus stressed.
Cameron paused, and Marcus didn’t miss her tense up.
There’s no way he could possibly know, she convinced herself. Ki Ki is the only one who knows about Jude coming over last night and there’s no way in hell my girl would tell Marcus.
“Yes…I’d tell you anything,” Cameron said in a low tone as she continued to mix the sauce in with the penne noodles.
Marcus’s jaw tensed. It took everything in him not to jump off the barstool and whup Cameron’s ass. He was giving her the benefit of the doubt. He wanted to see if she’d be woman enough to at least tell the truth.
“So you’d tell me if your ex got out of prison, and wanted you back in his life?” Marcus asked.
Cameron’s heart felt like it had sank into the pit of her stomach. Maybe he’s just asking random questions, she thought to herself. He doesn’t know shit.
“Yes…I would tell you,” Cameron answered.
Marcus shook his head in disbelief. His fists were clenched, and he was really trying to keep his cool because if he went ham on Cameron he’d probably kill her.
“And you’d tell me if you let that nigga in my house, and fucked him in my bed, right?” Marcus asked.
The wooden spoon dropped from Cameron’s hands, and landed onto the kitchen floor. Spaghetti sauce splattered the heated tile floors. Marcus had Cameron shook, and he knew it.
Cameron quickly bent down, retrieved the wooden spoon, and wiped the mess up. “Yes, Marcus,” she answered. “But you know I’d never do anything like that.”
I could strangle this bitch, Marcus thought to himself. He slowly stood from his seat and made his way over towards Cameron. He softly touched her shoulder, and noticed her instantly tense up from his touch.
“Good. I’m glad to know that,” Marcus said. “Because I’d be extremely hurt if you betrayed me.”
Cameron turned around to face Marcus. Just tell him it’s over, she said to herself. Tell him you don’t want to be with him anymore.
“I wouldn’t,” Cameron lied.
Fuck me.
Why didn’t I tell him?
“I really, really love you and Justin a lot,” Marcus said. “And I know we aren’t the ideal, perfect family, but I love what we got,” he told her. “I’d go crazy if a nigga tried to come into the picture, and break up what we have…As a matter of fact, I’d probably kill him…”
24
Cameron’s small boutique was located inside of a plaza in Mayfield Heights. She got pretty decent business there, and she also ran an online boutique for the convenience of people who didn’t reside in Ohio. She loved her cute, little boutique which she had named after her aunt Linda who had passed away last year due to congested heart failure.
Cameron was sorting through her latest shipment when Ki Ki strolled inside her boutique with a stupid ass Kool-Aid grin on her face.
“Hey, Cam. What’s up, girl?” she greeted cheerfully.
Cameron stepped from behind the counter and folded her arms underneath her breasts. There was a serious expression on her pretty face. “You tell me,” she said.
“What’s up? What do you mean?” Ki Ki asked dumbfounded.
“Ki Ki, you were the only person I told about Jude. If you weren’t my best friend, I wouldn’t have told a soul,” Cameron said. “Last night, Marcus began making accusation
s about me cheating on him. He wouldn’t have known that on his own.”
Ki Ki didn’t respond.
“I hate that I’m about to even ask you this question because I shouldn’t have to,” Cameron continued. “But did you tell Marcus what I told you?”
Ki Ki sighed dejectedly. “No…”
“Ki Ki,” Cameron said in a no-nonsense tone. “Be real. We’re best friends, right?”
Ki Ki nodded her head.
“Alright, I’m gonna ask you this again,” Cameron said. “Did you tell Marcus what I told you yesterday?”
Ki Ki paused and debated whether or not to be honest. “He needed to know…”
Cameron looked mortified and confused at the same time. “He needed to know?!” she repeated. “What the hell are you talking about? And why would you tell my man some shit like that Ki Ki? When the fuck did you even have the time to be talking to Marcus?!”
“Why do you even care?” Ki Ki spat. “You said so yourself yesterday that you never loved him! You don’t even want him!”
“You telling me this shit like ya’ll fucking!” Cameron yelled. “Is that it?! Huh? Ya’ll fucking or some shit?!”
Ki Ki’s silence said it all.
Cameron looked hurt and disappointed. She shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t fucking believe you,” she said. Then again Ki Ki wasn’t Cameron’s first friend to go behind her back and fuck her man. Pocahontas had given her a taste of what that felt like.
“Cameron, I’m sorry, but you should’ve—”
Cameron didn’t even give Ki Ki a chance to finish her sentence as she lunged at her, and grabbed a handful of her hair. In a sudden fit of rage, Cameron began raining blows all over Ki Ki’s face and head.
Ki Ki tried her best to defend herself, but she never really was much of a fighter as crazy as her ass was.
Cameron suddenly tossed her into a nearby rack of clothing. Ki Ki crashed into it, and it fell onto the floor. Before she could recuperate, Cameron jumped on top her, hitting and punching every part of Ki Ki’s body that she could reach.
Ki Ki shielded her face as she ate Cameron’s devastating blows. Once Cameron, had finally tired herself out, she stood to her feet, and backed away.
Ki Ki sat up on the floor, and wiped away the blood trickling from her nose and lip. She then had the nerve to smile revealing her bloodstained teeth. “You done?” she asked. She seemed amused if anything when the average chick would have been crying instead.
“Bitch, get your crazy ass up out my mothafuckin’ store,” Cameron spat.
Ki Ki picked herself up from the ground, and stumbled towards the exit. “You didn’t love him, Cameron,” she said. “Don’t be mad because another bitch did…”
“Bitch, I said get the hell out my damn store!” Cameron yelled with clenched fists.
Ki Ki surprised Cameron when she didn’t look the least bit fearful about getting her ass whupped again. She did however leave the store without another word.
Cameron looked around her boutique at the fallen rack, and the clothes scattered on the floor. She felt a mixture of betrayal and disappointment.
“What the fuck?!” Cameron yelled in anger.
***
“Stupid fucking bitch!” Ki Ki yelled as she sat inside her car. She was parked outside of Cameron’s boutique. “Why did you fucking do that?!” she hollered to no one in particular.
Suddenly, and without warning, Ki Ki punched herself in the face. Her fist was covered with her own blood, but she didn’t seem to care as she punched herself several more times.
“Stupid! Stupid! Fucking stupid bitch!” she screamed.
Ki Ki’s Camry rocked slightly as she went ham on herself inside her car. By the time she finished assaulting herself her face was a bloodied mess, and she was barely even recognizable.
“They think I’m fucking crazy,” she said to herself. “I’ma show their asses crazy…”
***
When Cameron pulled up to her house, she noticed that Marcus was leaving. She was so flustered that she almost forgot to put the truck in park as she hopped out.
“You off work early, babe,” Marcus said. “I was actually on my way to the gym,” he told her walking towards his truck.
“Really?” Cameron asked skeptically. “Or were you on your way over to Ki Ki’s house to fuck?!” she spat.
Marcus looked shocked. He couldn’t believe that Cameron finally knew. Oh, this bitch done went too far, he thought to himself. The very next time he saw Ki Ki’s big-mouth ass he planned on slapping the shit out of her.
“You look surprised,” Cameron said nodding her head. “Yeah, I know. I just can’t believe you’d do some shit like that to me, and with my best friend of all people!”
Cameron cried the same song in the hospital with Silk when she found out about him sleeping with Pocahontas.
“Cameron, you ain’t no fuckin’ better,” Marcus spat. “So don’t stand here and play the fuckin’ victim when you fucked that nigga in my house yesterday.”
“And you know what? I feel damn good about it now too.”
Marcus’s nostrils flared in anger. He instantly dropped his gym bag, walked over towards Cameron, and slapped the hell out of her. “I can’t believe you would disrespect me!” he yelled. “I should have whupped ya mothafuckin’ ass yesterday when you stood in my face and lied. I tried to give ya hoe ass a chance to be honest!”
Suddenly, Cameron spat a mouthful of blood into Marcus’s face. “Fuck you!” she yelled. “I’m sick of your ass! I’ve been sick of you and your shit! Your temper! Your drug addiction! Your cheating! I’m done with your ass! You ain’t shit but another Silk!”
Marcus wiped the blood out his eye. “Don’t ever compare me to that dead ass mothafucka!” he yelled. “He couldn’t even take care of his own kid, and yet I’m takin’ care of yours, and the lil’ nigga ain’t even mine!”
“Yeah, thank God he’s not,” Cameron retorted. “But don’t worry. You won’t ever have to do shit else for me and mine because it’s over!” She tried to walk around Marcus but he quickly jumped in front of her. “Get the hell out my way, and let me get my stuff.”
“You go in there and touch that shit, I’ma beat ya mothafuckin’ ass all up and down this street,” Marcus threatened.
“You’re not going to make me stay somewhere I don’t want to be,” Cameron said. “I’m leaving you, and you’ll never see me and my son again—”
Marcus roughly snatched up Cameron by her arm. “You not takin’ my mothafuckin’ son nowhere!” he yelled.
***
Jude was on one that afternoon as he drove down Cameron’s street. He had told her that he’d wait for her to make her mind up, but the fact of the matter was, he couldn’t wait at all, and he’d only seen her last two days ago.
Jude needed Cameron by his side everyday three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. He couldn’t stand the thought of her being with another man anymore. He was coming to reclaim what was rightfully his, and if her dude wanted to step to him crazy then he was planning on dropping his ass where he stood.
As Jude neared Cameron’s home, he noticed her and Marcus standing in the driveway arguing. His face instantly grew hot as he watched Marcus roughly snatch Cameron up her arm. Without deliberation, he parked alongside the curb, yanked the gears into Park, and killed the engine.
“Aye!” Jude barked as he quickly made his way across the street. “Nigga, you better get yo’ mothafuckin’ hands off my girl!”
Marcus and Cameron turned their attention towards Jude whose fists were clenched tightly as he approached them.
Marcus turned Cameron loose in order to give his undivided attention to Jude. “Your girl?!” he repeated. “Nigga, what ya’ll had is dead and gone,” he spat. “You might’ve gotten a lil’ pussy yesterday, but your son calls me daddy, nigga!”
Jude was just about to run up on Marcus and steal his ass, but the abrupt sound of tires burning asphalt grabbed all three of their attent
ion.
Ki Ki opened her driver’s door, and stepped out. Suddenly, she aimed her 9mm in Marcus, Jude, and Cameron’s direction. It was the same gun she had used to kill Tiana’s father.
Everything seemingly happened in the blink of an eye! Ki Ki squeezed the trigger several times.
POP!
POP!
POP!
POP!
The first bullet shattered the back window of Marcus’s Cadillac Escalade. The second one lodged in the exterior of the truck. The third bullet shattered Marcus’s living room window, and the fourth hit Cameron.
25
Cameron immediately fell backwards from the impact of the gunshot. Jude quickly caught her before she hit the concrete.
Ki Ki quickly jumped back inside her car and skirted off.
“You fuckin’bitch!” Marcus yelled before he took off running after Ki Ki’s car.
Jude slowly lowered himself onto the ground. Blood instantly drenched Cameron’s white sleeveless dress shirt. Her eyes were closed, and she was motionless.
“Cameron,” Jude croaked out. Tears streamed down his cheeks. “Get some mothafuckin’ help!” he screamed.
Marcus was in a world of his own as he continued to chase after Ki Ki’s car although it was no use since she was nowhere near the scene.
Jude touched Cameron’s cheeks with trembling fingers. “No. No. No. No. No,” he cried. “You’re going to be okay. It’s going to be okay,” he said. He stood up and lifted Cameron’s limp body into his arms.
Marcus finally returned to the house with a look of anger in his eyes. He was hell-bent on making Ki Ki pay.
