Creepin': A New Orleans Love Story

by Chenell Parker

  “C’mon now Brandis, you know I would never do that to you. He doesn’t need to know where I got it from. All that matters is I know,” Mia replied.

  “So what are you going to do?” Brandis asked.

  “Honestly, after shedding a few tears I’ll have no choice but to pick myself up move and on. I told him from the start that I was cool if he wanted to do him. He claimed he was good, but obviously, he wasn’t good enough. The thing that kills me with Tre is he wants to be with other people, but he wants me to remain faithful to him. I don’t want him to get me being young confused with me being dumb. I talk to Ricky on the phone almost every day, but I keep turning him down every time he wants to take me somewhere. Here I am respecting this nigga and he was pretty much saying fuck me,” Mia said getting upset.

  “Maybe you need to take Ricky up on his offer,” Brandis suggested.

  “There ain’t no maybe about it. I’m about to let this nigga see that one monkey don’t stop no show. He had his fun and now it’s time for me to have mine,” Mia replied.

  “I just don’t want you to get hurt Mia. You know how men are. It’s cool for them to do dirt, but they can’t handle it when we do it.”

  “I’m not worried about Tre. Whatever happens he bought it on himself. But enough about his dog ass, what’s up with you and Duke? I didn’t know y’all were messing around,” Mia smiled.

  “We’re not really messing around. He just asked me to go to the movies with him last night. After seeing what’s going on with you and Tank, I’m kind of scared to even go there with him,” Brandis confessed.

  “You don’t have anything to be scared of, Duke is nothing like Tre. He’s actually one of the good ones, if there is such a thing.”

  “He’s sweet and I like talking to him. Maybe we’ll take it slow and see where it goes from there. I know Rainey is going to die if we do hook up,” Brandis laughed.

  “Girl please, it’s not like he wants her anyway. I’m starting to give her ass the side eye, right along with London and Cheryl. I don’t care that she’s cool with them, but she better not ever play with me. God sister or not I’ll deal with her ass, too, if it ever comes down to it. Tre is already on my shit list and I don’t mind adding a few more names to it,” Mia said seriously.

  “I know that’s right,” Brandis said agreeing with her girl. She was happy that her mama and little sisters weren’t home because she knew that her friend was going to need her. Mia was being strong right now, but she knew the moment that she was alone, she would probably break down. She hated to be the one to bring Mia the bad news, but she couldn’t keep her best friend in the dark, especially when she was being done wrong. Brandis really liked Tre, but it would be nothing for her to cut him off if she had to. If she had to make a choice then it was very simple. Mia was her best friend and she was riding with her until the wheels fell off.

  Chapter 9

  Tre was literally ready to snap. Aside from her cursing him out like a dog, he hadn’t heard from Mia in almost two weeks. The day after he left from Paige’s house, he called her to see if she wanted to go out to eat, but he got the surprise of his life when he did. She told him that she knew he’d been sleeping by Paige’s house and she was done with him. He knew that Paige was probably the one who ratted him out, but he didn’t have a way of proving it. That was the only way Mia could have found out where he was, but he couldn’t ask Paige about it. She would lie if he did, so he would be wasting his time anyway. If he was never done with her trifling ass before, he was definitely done with her now. He stashed some stuff at her house from time to time and that would be the only reason that he ever went over there.

  “I’m really trying not to act a fool, but Mia is really playing with me hard. I’m trying to see why Brandis and the rest of her girls are here, but she’s not. Who the fuck is she with?” Tre asked Duke angrily. They were at the gym that sat right in the middle of The Court, watching a basketball game and it was packed. Mia and her girls never missed a game, but all of them were in attendance except for her. Tre came through on his bike just in case she showed up. He didn’t want her to recognize his car and leave.

  “I don’t even know man. I know that Brandis has been talking to her though. She was at her house the other day when I called. Mia spoke to me and everything,” Duke replied.

  “Every time I go by Moonie’s house they tell me that she’s not home. I know she got her lil sisters and brothers lying for her, but it’s all good.”

  “She hasn’t been coming by Von’s house either?” Duke asked.

  “You already know she ain’t coming over there if she’s avoiding me. He’s been talking to her though. She told him some lame ass lie about her spending time at home with her brothers and sisters. You know he believes everything she says. She ignores my calls, but she answered when I called from Von’s phone. As soon as I started talking she hung up on me,” Tre said shaking his head.

  “Damn, Mia ain’t playing with your ass,” Duke laughed. “What about Jabari? He knows what’s up with y’all now. Maybe you should see if he knows something.”

  “I went by his house too. He told me that she had just left with Tiara right before I pulled up. I chilled over there for a while trying to see if she was coming right back, but I ended up leaving after a while. It ain’t like she’s hiding, she’s just avoiding me. Her routine is the same except for her coming by Von’s. She knows she’ll have to face me if she comes over there.”

  “But who is she hanging with like that? It’s rare that you see her and Brandis apart,” Duke observed.

  “That’s what the fuck I want to know,” Tre said getting mad all over again. “I’m going swing by Moonie’s again before I go home. Hit me up later so we can hook up.”

  “Alright, and don’t get yourself in no trouble bruh,” Duke said dapping his friend off.

  Tre got on his bike and drove the short distance to Mia’s building. It was dark outside, so he knew that her sisters and brothers were already in for the night. She had them trained to be inside at a certain time and they always listened. He saw Moonie’s car in her assigned spot, so that was a good sign that maybe Mia was at home. Tre parked his bike on the side of the building and hiked up the stairs to the apartment. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. When he heard the locks being undone without anyone asking who it was, he knew that it had to be one of the younger kids. When the door opened and he saw Anika standing on the other side of it, he really wasn’t surprised. She was bad as hell and basically did whatever she wanted to do. She barely listened to Moonie, but she didn’t play with Mia.

  “Where is Mia, Anika?” Tre asked the cute brown-skinned little girl who was staring up at him. Just by looking at her, you would never know that she was a mess with a mouth like a grown woman.

  “She’s not here, she’s with her boyfriend,” Anika said making his heart beat rapidly in his chest.

  “What boyfriend?” Tre questioned angrily.

  “I don’t know his name. He got a black truck like Moonie’s,” Anika informed him.

  “What the hell I tell you about opening my door Anika? Who is that?” Moonie yelled.

  “Don’t holler at me, that’s Tank,” Anika flippantly replied as she walked away. Instead of Moonie correcting her, she rolled her eyes and walked over to the door.

  “What’s up Tank?” she smiled while opening the door wider for him to come in. She had on her clubbing clothes, so he knew that she was about to hit the streets.

  “Nothing, I was looking for Mia.”

  “She left with her lil friend, but she should be back in a minute. She’s watching the kids for me and she told me that she would be back around eight or nine,” Moonie replied.

  “What lil friend?” Tre asked.

  “Some nigga named Ricky. I told her that she better let you and Von meet him to see if y’all approve or not,” Moonie laughed. “You can stay here and wait for her if you want to.”

  “Yeah I’ll do that. You can
leave if you have somewhere to be. I’ll keep an eye on them until Mia gets back,” he offered. Moonie’s eyes lit up at the possibility of being able to leave earlier.

  “Are you sure Tank?” she asked just to be sure. She was already grabbing her keys off of the counter before he even answered her.

  “Yeah I’m sure. I’ll chill and watch a movie or something until she gets back.”

  “Okay cool. They already ate and had their baths. The boys are in the room playing their game and Tootie is watching TV. This thing here is the only one that you’ll probably have to worry about,” she said pointing to Anika.

  Moonie grabbed her purse and almost ran out of the door, locking it behind her. Tre looked around at the apartment and nodded his head in admiration. Moonie almost had it looking like a museum up in there it was so nice. She didn’t have a job, but somebody must have been breaking some serious bread with her. More than likely that someone was Dalvin.

  “You know Mia’s boyfriend Tank?” Anika asked breaking the silence.

  “Nope,” he replied while flipping through the channels on the TV with the remote.

  “You don’t like him?”

  “I don’t know who her boyfriend is. Has he been over here before?”

  “He never came in here, but he picks Mia up from in front of the building in a black truck,” Anika revealed. Tre just nodded his head as Anika told him everything that she knew about Mia’s new man. He asked a few questions, but she volunteered everything else. Before long, it was after ten o’clock and Mia still wasn’t home. Tre was happy that Anika had finally gone to sleep though. Tootie told him that he could lay her in the bed and he was happy to do it. She was beneficial with the info that she gave him, but she talked him half to death. Once he made sure that all of the kids were straight, he watched TV and waited for Mia to come home. He would have waited in her bedroom, but she always kept her door locked. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long. Tre heard what he thought was arguing downstairs and he got up to look out of the front window. He didn’t see anybody, but he was just in time to see a black Escalade pull up just like the one Anika said Mia’s so-called boyfriend had. A few minutes passed before anybody got out, and Tre was ready to go down there and see just who was behind the wheel. Just as he’d made up his mind to go, the driver’s side door opened and a dude jumped out of the truck. He walked around to the passenger’s side and opened the door for Mia. It was then that Tre realized who it was. The same dude that Mia was talking to at the party was the one who she was spending time with now. Tre was pissed, but he decided to wait it out. He watched as they embraced for a while before he walked Mia to the door and he left. Tre turned the TV off and sat in the dark, waiting for her to open the door.

  ***

  “I know she didn’t leave them in here alone just so she could go out,” Mia muttered as she fumbled around in her purse looking for her house keys.

  When she pulled up, she noticed that Moonie’s truck wasn’t in the driveway like it usually was. Maybe the kids were with Jabari, but she didn’t know for sure. She was supposed to be home hours ago to keep them, but she was enjoying herself too much to rush. Ricky had taken her to a water park in Mississippi and she felt like a big ass kid playing on all the rides. She knew that Moonie would be mad that she was late, but she really didn’t care. She could stand a few days away from the club anyway. Mia opened the door to the darkened living room and felt against the wall for the light switch. As soon as she turned it on, she was scared half to death by Tre’s angry voice.

  “So how long have you been messing with that nigga Mia?” he asked as he stood from the sofa and walked over to her.

  “What the hell are you doing in here Trevon? You almost made me piss on myself,” Mia yelled while grabbing her chest. He was the last person that she wanted to see. She’d been going out of her way for almost two weeks to make sure she didn’t.

  “That’s your boyfriend Mia? That’s damn sure what your family seems to think.”

  “I don’t have a boyfriend, but I’m taking applications,” Mia said smartly.

  “You think that shit is funny?” he yelled getting in her face.

  “Am I smiling nigga? What I do is no longer your concern. Get your life and stay out of mine.”

  “So running to another nigga is how you deal with problems? We were supposed to sit down and talk about this shit Mia. You really need to grow the fuck up,” Tre snapped.

  “What’s there to talk about? I told you that I was done and the conversation was over after that. I also told you to make it work with Paige or move on and find you somebody new,” Mia said as she unlocked the door and stepped into her bedroom.

  “I don’t want Paige or anybody else and I wish you stop saying that.”

  “Obviously you do. For you to lie to me just to spend time with her is all the proof that I need. It was fun while it lasted, but I’m done,” Mia promised.

  “Let’s just sit down and talk about this Mia, please,” Tre begged.

  “We’re talking right now Tre. The problem is that I’m not telling you what you want to hear.”

  “Baby I’m sorry. Just give me another chance to get it right. I promise I won’t do anything to mess it up this time,” he pleaded. “I do one stupid thing and you just give up on me like this?”

  “One?” Mia shouted. “You keep doing stupid shit because I keep forgiving you. You’re always taking my kindness for weakness and ain’t nothing weak about me. You can keep your promises and your fake ass tears this time around. It’s over and I mean it.”

  “Mia please, I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Just don’t break up with me,” Tre pleaded while pulling her closer to him.

  “No Tre. Honestly, I don’t feel like you deserve me. Even though nobody really knew that we were together, I still remained faithful to you. I always took your feelings into consideration even though you never gave a damn about mine. It’s not even worth it,” Mia answered.

  “Don’t say that Mia. You can’t tell me that you don’t know how much I love you.”

  “As much as I hate to admit it, I love you too and probably always will. But sometimes love just isn’t enough. Obviously, you didn’t love me enough to keep your dick out of the next bitch. I’m tired Tre, let me walk you out, so I can take a shower and go to bed,” Mia said as she led the way out of her bedroom.

  She felt like crying, but she would never let him see her tears. Even though she’d been spending time with Ricky, Tre was all that she thought about. She would never let him know it, but she knew in her heart that she wasn’t ready to completely end their relationship. She just had to let him know that she had other options just as well as he did. He couldn’t keep thinking that his apologies were going to fix every problem they had. Mia wanted him to feel the same pain that she felt. Judging by the somber look on his face, she knew that he had.

  “Can you at least answer my calls or text me back?” he asked just above a whisper.

  “I don’t know, I’ll think about it,” Mia said holding the front door open for him to walk out.

  “C’mon Mia, at least give me that much. We used to talk all the time before we started messing around.”

  “I don’t care about what happened before we hooked up. I said I’ll think about it,” Mia repeated. He tried to lean down to give her a kiss, but she turned her head the opposite way.

  “I love you,” Tre said right before he walked out of the front door. Mia locked the door behind him right as the tears started creeping from her eyes.

  Chapter 10

  “I must have really done something to piss you off. I can’t even remember the last time I saw you,” Von joked when Mia walked into the house with Rainey and Brandis. He hadn’t seen her in three weeks and he had to call her to come over for a visit. Rainey had been over there every weekend, but it wasn’t the same without his Mimi.

  “Don’t do me like that Von, you’re making me feel bad,” Mia pouted. She really did feel bad for making Von suffe
r for what Tre had done, but she just didn’t want to see him. Von was used to seeing her at least once or twice a week, but almost a month had passed since her last visit. They talked on the phone all the time, but that wasn’t good enough. She missed him and it was obvious that he missed her too. She was just hoping that she could continue to be strong once she saw Tre. Brandis’ mama went out of town with her sisters and Moonie agreed to let her stay with them for the week. Mia was happy because her bestie would be spending the weekend at Von’s house with her. That way she didn’t have to be bothered with Rainey’s disgusting ass all weekend.

  “You should feel bad. When did I have to start calling you to come spend some time with me? I’ve been sitting in here bored for the past few weeks,” he said laughing.

  “Now that was a cheap shot Von. Me and London have been keeping you company every weekend,” Rainey said sounding offended. Mia’s head snapped around to face her upon hearing London’s name. Since she hasn’t been around for the past few weeks Tre was probably screwing London too. She didn’t put anything past him anymore.

  “I’m just joking Rainey. I’m used to both of y’all being here every weekend. London is cool, but she can’t take the place of my baby. You are staying for the weekend right?” he asked while hugging Mia.

  “Yeah I’m staying. I hope my stuff is still where I left it because I didn’t bring anything,” she replied.

  “It’s all there,” Von replied. “We need to get a menu together for tonight. I need to go to the store and pick up a few things.”

  “You never cooked one time while I was here by myself. You kept filling me up with fast food,” Rainey chuckled.

  “I didn’t have anything to cook,” Von answered. “Tanya has been bringing food over here and I haven’t gone to the store in a minute.”

  “Tanya needs to come over here now so we can discuss my birthday trip to Miami. She said she was coming and she better not change her mind,” Mia chimed in.