I turned towards the door to get in one last ‘ha’, and there stood Seven, door open, key in hand. He started laughing; not just laughing, but cracking up, holding his stomach and doubling over, trying to catch his breath. I was beyond pissed.
"Damn!" He laughed. "Okay." He made a weak attempt at wiping the tears from his eyes. ''Now, now ...you're in here talking all this shit," he never finished his sentence.
He started laughing all over again.
"I'm glad you find this all so amusing, Seven, but I don't see a damn thing funny. Now, get your silly ass out of my way. I have people waiting on me. There's pussy to pass out, remember?"
That sobered him up really quickly. I suddenly regretted what I had said and wished that Gucci and Six were here instead of taking my stuff to the condo.
"Sev..."
The impact of his slap sent me over the toilet and sideways into the tub, where I came to rest on my right shoulder and right cheek. My head bounced painfully off the side. The room seemed to be spinning at top speed.
"Don't you ever say no shit like that to me again. I'll kill your ass, Bari. I keep telling you, you don't know who you're fuckin' with."
"I don't have to worry about that anymore, do I? Because as of right now, I'm not fuckin' with anybody," I informed him, struggling to get my footing so I could get out of the tub.
Something had to be broken, probably my skull.
"Sounds good. We'll see."
He turned and walked out. A moment later, I glanced out the window and saw his Hummer turning out of the driveway. My face was throbbing, but my feelings hurt way more than any injury I had sustained. I looked in the mirror and gasped.
"Gucci!" I cried into the phone a few minutes later.
"Bari! What's wrong?"
"I..."
"Are you okay?"
"I..."
"Are you crying?"
"Bitch, shut up! I think I need to go to a hospital."
"Six!" She screamed. "Six!"
"Bari? What's wrong?" He asked, taking the phone from her.
I was glad he took the phone because she was making my head hurt even worse. The room began to sway to the throbbing in my face and head.
"Come get me," I said loudly.
"I can't hear you, Bari, say that again. Gucci, I can't hear her, she's whispering."
Whispering? I sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Please, come..."
I curled up on the bed. A little nap ain't gon' hurt nobody, I thought.
"Bari! Wake up, Bari!" I opened the only eye that would cooperate, and Gucci's face came into view. "She looks fine to me," she informed Six.
"Me too," he agreed. "Probably drunk."
I held my head and sat up on the bed, then ran my fingers through my hair. Gucci screamed. Six cussed loudly.
Chapter 39
"How did this happen?" The nurse behind the counter asked.
"I dropped a box of dishes on her head." Gucci said. Six looked at her like she was not just crazy, but stupid too. "Yeah, yeah. We were moving to a new place and I didn't see her laying on the floor and I dropped the box of dishes on her head."
She looked up at Six proudly. He rolled his eyes.
I left the hospital two hours later with some pain medication for my bruised ego, my bruised jaw, my bruised eye and my bruised head. I had suffered a minor concussion and had to have two stitches over my right eyebrow.
"We'll take you back to the house, Bari," Six offered.
"No!" Gucci interjected. "She ain't going back to Seven. You want to go to the new place, huh Bari?"
"Of course," I mumbled.
"I can't believe Seven," Gucci commented.
"Shut up, Gucci," Six ordered. "You don't even know what happened."
"Does it matter?" She snapped.
He looked at her. She sank down in the seat and glared at the side of his head when he wasn't looking. Six's cell phone rang.
"Six," he answered. "Yeah, she's right here, Sev. You alright?"
"Is he alright?" Gucci asked. "What damage could Bari have done to that big mutha fucka?"
"Shut up," Six said.
He reached back and held the phone out to me.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Your ass at home when I get there," he replied quietly. "I don't want to have to come get you, Bari."
"Okay. I'll be there, baby," I said and hung up.
Gucci was looking at me like I had lost my mind. Six smiled at me, happy that his friend got his way. Wrong.
"You goin' back, Bari?" Gucci asked.
"Hell no. I already told you where I wanted to go."
"I'm taking you home, Bari," Six said. "And why didn't you tell him that you just came from the hospital?"
"Why didn't you tell him?" I countered. "As far as I'm concerned, it ain't none of his damn business."
"Why the fuck would you take her back home?" Gucci demanded. "If anybody knows how Seven is, it's you, Six! Fuck that!"
"Who the fuck are you talkin' to?" Six asked her, his voice barely above a whisper.
A chill ran through me. He and Seven were so much alike. He sounded a little too much like Seven for me at that moment.
"I'm sorry. But, Six ..."
"Baby, if it were us, do you think Seven would keep you away from me on purpose?" Six asked.
She thought for a moment, even though she didn't need to. She shook her head.
"It's different though, babe. You and Seven have different ways."
She gave him a knowing glance.
"Bari knows Seven better than anybody, Gucci. Probably even better than me. He ain't gon' do nothing to hurt her."
"Oh, so, that's why she's sitting back there looking like a piece of black cauliflower with all them lumps on her head?" She asked sarcastically.
Six stared at her.
"Gucci, shut up. Do you think I don't care about what happens to Bari? I love her just as much as you do."
"I can't tell," Gucci responded.
"Me neither," I chimed in, my pills taking effect.
"You guys aren't being fair about this, and ain't neither one of y’all really thinking straight. If it was me, and mind you, me and my boy are exactly alike, Gucci would be more worse off if she didn't come home."
"That's his home, not mine. Six, please, take me where I want to go. Tell him you dropped me off at his house, and I took off after you left. I can't do this anymore."
"Bari, why are you talkin' like my nigga don't give a fuck about you or something? You ain't just some little piece of ass to him. That fool loves you. You don't think this shit is fuckin' him up? You ain't the victim this time, Bari," he snapped.
"Oh, no the hell you didn't!" Gucci yelled. "How you just gon' get at her like that, Six? Fuck that! She ain't did a damn thang!" She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders like she was calling him out. "What?" She asked. "Sho'll did shrug 'em!"
She was furious, and didn't care what her consequences would be. He looked at me in his rear view mirror.
''Gucci,” I called out.
"What!"
"Let it go."
"Why the fuck should I?" she yelled.
"So you won't look like me," I snapped back.
She looked thoughtful for a minute, then changed her whole tune.
"I'm just worried about her, Six. You know I didn't mean it. I'm mad at Seven though."
"How you gon' get mad at that man about what he do with his woman? That ain't your business, Gucci. And don't forget that Seven is your friend, too," Six pointed out.
"Not at this moment, he ain't," she replied.
We were pulling up in front of Seven's house.
"Look, Bari," he began, turning to face me. "I'm not gon' walk you to the door. I'm letting you out right here. What you do after that is on you."
I nodded and smiled. I felt wonderful.
"And take it easy, baby. That medication ain't no joke," Gucci informed me like I didn't know that first hand.
&n
bsp; I reached for the door handle of Six's burgundy Escalade EXT. He hurriedly locked all the doors.
"Damn, sorry, Bari. I can't do that. I can't let you go nowhere and you all drugged up like that. I can't put my dog through that one."
He picked up his cell phone.
"Six, don't do that," Gucci begged him. "Please."
"Would you rather her be hit by a mutha fuckin' car or something? Fuck, Gucci, shut up!"
"That's cold, Six," she said with tears in her eyes. He ignored her. "You could have just took her where she wanted to go!"
Six grabbed her head and pushed it.
"Bitch, please! Damn! I'm telling you to shut the hell up!"
He held the phone up to his ear and waited for Seven to pick up. I knew he was home. His Hummer was parked in the driveway, blocking in my Land Rover. Done intentionally, no doubt. Instead of Seven answering the phone, he came outside. He must have seen the headlights. Six got out and spoke to him. They walked over and stood next to Seven's Hummer. Seven's fist came down hard on the hood.
I couldn't hear the conversation but knew that Seven was mad and thought Six was to blame.
"Bitch, if you really want to go, now is the time," Gucci said, turning to face me in the back seat.
"Wh...wha?"
"Aw, damn, Bari, forget it. Maybe Six is right. This probably is the best thing."
"I love you, too," I smiled.
She smacked her lips twice in frustration.
"Come on."
She helped me from the truck and walked with me over to Thirteen where Seven stared at me like he had never seen me before. I could tell that Gucci was worried about me. I touched her face.
"Aww, pretty baby," I smiled at her.
She looked from me to Seven, shook her head, then wiped her eyes.
"Baby, don't trip. She's gon' be fine." Six pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
"Seven, I was supposed to call you and let you know that we took her to the hospital, but after I saw her, I didn't want to call you for shit. I was mad. And I'm sorry, baby," she said to Six.
"Bari," Seven called, leaning against his truck.
"Huh?"
"Come here, Milkshake."
He took my hand and pulled me to him. He looked at my face, upset himself and kissed the top of my head.
"Can we come in? I'm thirsty," Gucci blurted out, and brushed past Thirteen and headed towards the front door.
"Gucci," Six said. "Baby, let's go home."
"I'm thirsty," she lied.
"It's cool. Come on," Seven said, winking at Six. "That's her girl, nigga. You gotta respect that shit."
"Yeah," Six nodded.
Seven looked at me sadly, then kissed my eye and the side of my face.
"Here." He handed Six his house keys. "I'll be there in a minute."
"You alright, Bro?"
"Yeah, yeah, I just want her to get some air," he lied.
Six looked at him sympathetically.
"I feel you, man."
"Baby, baby, baby," he repeated, hugging me against his chest. "I'm so sorry."
I had never heard nor seen Seven cry. Sure, I had seen tears in his eyes, but never had I observed him being so open with his emotions. "I am so sorry, baby."
"Don't cry, Seven," I said, or at least thought I did.
I wiped his eyes and told him it was okay. That didn't seem to help, so I told him I didn't want to leave him now or ever. I don't think he realized that it was the medication talking, or maybe he didn't care, but it seemed to ease his mind. Little did he know, I wasn't that damn high, I would tell him anything to keep him calm until I could get the hell out of there.
Chapter 40
A week later, I assured Seven that I was ready to return to school. I left for school that morning as normal, but instead of going to school, I headed to the condominium and spoke to the owner. He stared at my face, which was still a little swollen, and listened intently. I was so thankful that there are still understanding and compassionate people in the world. He returned every dime I gave him, gave me the number of a friend of his who also owned condos and told me to stay safe.
When I got back in my truck I called the owner on my cell phone and told him who I was referred by. He told me to come right over. I drove to pick up Gucci, and together, we made the hour drive.
"Wow," Gucci said when we found the address. "This shit is tight"
I nodded in agreement. The place was immaculate, the outside perfectly landscaped.
"So, what do you think?" The owner asked when we finished the tour of the two-story, four bedroom condo. It had two and a half bathrooms, plus the one off the master suite, which included a jetted, marble tub. It had a gourmet kitchen with a center Island and two ovens, which was right up my alley. The living room was huge, as was the great room, and the den had surround sound speakers installed right into the walls. Outside, in the back, was my own swimming pool connected to a rock formated spa. It had an outside kitchen, fireplace, barbecue area, and gazebo I was in love.
"I'll take it," I said without hesitation.
Gucci jumped up and down.
"I want one, too!"
"Girl, Six will kill you for sure."
"Oh, and you think I ain't gon' see Seven on First 48 next Saturday for killing you?"
"That was cold, Gucci," I laughed.
"And the rent is how much?" I asked the man.
"Well, it's six thousand seventy five a month, but the owner might be flexible."
How the hell could you flex on that?
"I thought you were the owner," I said.
"I'm not the actual owner. I was running them for a friend of mine before he passed away," He explained. "Here's the number of the new owner."
He handed me a card. At the top was my father's name. The contact number of the man I was speaking to was underneath his. Under "New Owner" was my name.
"Bari, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Gucci asked. I held out the card and showed her. "Bitch, you own this shit? Shut the hell up!"
"You? Does this mean you're going to fire me as manager?" he asked.
"Of course not. No, but I do need to speak to my father's attorney."
"Are you gonna sue me?” he asked nervously.
"No, sir, I'm not going to sue you. You'll still be the manager, and everything and everybody will still go through you, but who had these cards printed up?"
"Well, I did. It's the same card your dad had. All I did was add the name of the new owner, which is you if what you say is true," he looked at me suspiciously.
"Here, you can verify it."
I gave him the attorney's number and my cell phone. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye as he dialed. He spoke briefly into the phone, then held it out to me.
"I didn't know ...I don't remember you telling me, and if you did I probably just put it out of my mind since I knew it would be taken care of...I want to live here...it's a long story...yes...well, I don't know if that's fair...you think so...okay...as long as I can't get in trouble,” I said.
I hung up the phone after saying goodbye.
"What did he say, Bari?" Gucci asked.
"He said it's perfectly legal if I live here, and I don't have to pay a dime if I don't choose to. I can live here and continue to rent out the other ones or sell them outright."
"Are you gonna fire me?"
''No," I said, impatiently. "I'm not going to fire you. Everything remains as is."
"So, maybe since I'll be running the place for you, I can get a discount on the price."
"Maybe you can, but I don't think so. Whatever deal you made with my father still stands. I'm not here to undo anything he did. How much do you pay now?"
"I pay four thousand a month."
"So, he was already giving you almost half off?" Gucci asked. He nodded. "Well hell, greedy-ass!" Gucci snapped. "You should be cool with that. Sho'll ain't giving you no more of a damn discount. Cheapy!"
The man laughed.
"I love
the soul-sistas!" He declared. "A soul-sista will tell it like lit is!"
Gucci looked at me, and we started laughing, too. He was a nice man. A rich one, too. But that Hawaiian print shirt and those checkered shorts with those Argyle socks and tasseled loafers just wasn't cutting it. My daddy had trusted him, so I would too.
Chapter 41
I've missed rain in the summertime. I've missed the sun in the winter time. I've missed my family, my father, and even Wally and the Beave when they went off to college, but I've never missed anything or anyone in my life the way I missed Seven right now. It was right about the time that he would be coming home from work. He'd be expecting me to be sitting at the table doing my homework while his dinner cooked on the stove. I suddenly got nervous. He was going to flip out when he realized that I wasn't ...my phone was ringing. I snatched it up.
"Gucci?"
She was the only one I had given the number to so far and knew my location. She swore she wouldn't give it to anyone.
"Bitch! Oh my God!" she exclaimed.
"What's wrong? He called, didn't he?"
"Cussed me out so bad. I was jealous, 'cause even I can't put down a tongue thrashing like he just did on me."
"I'm sorry, Gucci."
"You should be. Six is pissed at me. He thinks I'm lying and that I really know where you are.”
"Gucci, you are lying. You do know where I am." I pointed out.
"Oh yeah, huh? I was playing the part so well that I had myself convinced."
"You didn't tell them, right?"
"I can't believe you just got at me like that, Bari. You know I ain't give you up! Thirteen don't scare me," she said, referring to the nickname I had given Seven and Six.
"I'm so gl…"
"Bitch, I gotta go! Here he comes!"
She slammed down the phone. About thirty minutes later, she called back.
"They went to that other condo. They think you're probably there."
"You don't think that man will tell them, do you?"
"Hell no, he won't. He was scared for you after I told him the mafia was looking for you, and if he told them where you are they would come back and kill him for having too much information. He'll never tell."
Crazy In Love With A Thug: Bari and Seven Page 19
