Creepin': A New Orleans Love Story

by Chenell Parker

  “I don’t give a fuck about none of that. Those bitches are too old to still be in high school anyway. They should damn near be in their senior year of college. I already told you what it was the last time they got into it with Mia. They need to stay in their fucking lane and you need to do the same.”

  “All that behind a bitch that you ain’t fucking? It’s all good though. You know my brother don’t play behind his girls. You gon’ see him real soon. You can bank on that shit,” Paige threatened.

  “You think I give a damn about seeing your brother? Fuck you, him and his daughters, straight like that,” Tre said before he hung up in her face.

  He didn’t know the severity of Paige’s, nieces’ injuries, but he really didn’t care once he was informed. He wanted Shad to come at him wrong and he would lay his ass out too. It wouldn’t be the first time something popped off between the two of them. He tried checking Tre behind Paige once before and got his ass beat.

  “Fuck them,” Tre mumbled to himself while getting out of the car.

  He’d wasted enough time sitting in his car and he was ready to get the conversation that he was about to have over and done with. When he walked into the restaurant, he spotted who he was looking for sitting at a table in the rear of the dining area. Tre made his way over and took a seat at the only empty chair.

  “Hey baby, I’m so happy that you decided to come,” she smiled brightly.

  “What’s up Terri?” Tre asked greeting his mother.

  She’d been asking him to meet her for a while and thanks to Mia, he finally decided to come. They were long overdue for a talk, but he wasn’t sure that he was ready to hear what she had to say. He tried to act like her not being a part of his life was no big deal, but the truth was that it hurt him more than he cared to admit. Mia knew how he felt, but he never expressed his feelings to anyone else, not even Von.

  “Not much, I just wanted to catch up with you. You know, see how you’re doing and what’s new in your life,” Terri beamed.

  “You can’t be serious,” Tre frowned. “I’m twenty-one years old and you’re just now trying to see what’s going on with me? I’ve been in and out of jail most of my life and you never even sent a letter, but you want me to believe that you’re concerned about me all of a sudden?”

  “I know what you’re thinking, but it’s never too late for anything. As long as we have breath in our bodies, there’s always hope.”

  “I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s been too late for us. You pretty much said fuck me the day you gave me and all of my belongings away to Von. Thanks for the invite, but I’m not interested in fixing a relationship that never existed in the first place,” Tre said standing to his feet. He was about to walk off, but Terri’s next words stopped him in his tracks.

  “I’m dying Tank,” she blurted out quickly.

  “What?” he asked just to be sure he heard her correctly.

  “I’m dying,” she repeated. “I have full-blown aids.”

  Hearing her say that damn near knocked all of the wind out of Tre, causing him to take his seat once again.

  “I was given an HIV diagnosis a few years ago, but I just found out that it’s turned into full-blown aids as a result of me not taking care of myself the way that I should have,” Terri continued.

  “How?” he mumbled.

  “Honestly, I’m really not sure. I’m embarrassed to say it, but I’ve been with so many men that it’s almost impossible for me to know who gave it to me. I don’t even know if I’ve passed it along to someone else. I would have never known if I hadn’t gone to the hospital one night. I had a fever for three days straight and they did some blood work on me. I found out a few days after that, but I was in denial. I kept living my life as if nothing was wrong. It wasn’t until I got this last doctor’s report a year ago that I knew it was really serious.”

  “Damn. So, there’s nothing that they can do for you? What about medicine or something?”

  “I had medicine that I should have been taking when I was diagnosed with HIV to help increase my T-cells. I didn’t take it and my cell count dropped too low, which is how I was diagnosed with the aids virus. I’ve just learned to accept my fate. I’m going to die,” Terri replied.

  “Stop saying that. You just said there’s always hope as long as you have breath in your body. Don’t give up on your life like that.”

  “I’ve made peace with God and now I want to do the same with my family. I also wanted to talk to you about some important information.”

  “Okay.”

  “I want you to handle all of my final arrangements. I know that this is a lot to ask, but I really need you to do this for me. I have two insurance policies. One for you and the other is for your brother and sister. When I die, you’ll have a nice lump sum to live off of for a long time. Your policy is the biggest since you’re my firstborn,” she smiled.

  “I don’t want to benefit off of your death Terri. You know I’m good on money, and I really don’t know if I’m the right person to do what you’re asking. I don’t know the first thing about planning a funeral.”

  “I already have everything written up just the way I want it. All you’ll be doing is following my instructions. I’ll be buried in my family’s plot and I want my services to be in the church that I grew up in. I really need you Tank. Your brother and sister basically said that me being sick is God’s way of punishing me, and their father agrees. He’s pretty much turned them against me, not that I blame him. His wife has been more of a mother to them than I’ve ever been. They’ve basically said that they don’t want anything to do with me. At least they’ll both be fifty thousand dollars richer when I die. The policy that’s in your name is two hundred fifty thousand. Once you bury me, the rest is yours.”

  Tre didn’t know what to say. He really didn’t know Terri like a child should know their mother, but his heart still hurt for her. He was about to say something else until the ringing of his phone stopped him.

  “I’ll have to call you right back Mia, I’m still talking to Terri,” he said answering his phone. He listened to Mia’s reply before disconnecting his call and giving Terri his undivided attention once again.

  “So, does Von know about you and Mia?” Terri smirked.

  “What do you mean does he know about us? What’s there to know?”

  “C’mon now Tank. I might not have raised you, but I still have my maternal instincts. How long have you and Lamia been sneaking around?”

  “A little over a year,” he confessed. “Please don’t mention this conversation to nobody Terri. She would kill me if she knew that I was talking to you about it. She’s scared to death of Von finding out.”

  “My lips are sealed. I understand how she feels though. Von loves Mia like his very own, so he probably won’t understand y’all being together. I hate that y’all have to sneak around because I can tell that you really have feelings for her.”

  “That’s my baby, but I kind of understand her feelings too. It just gets frustrating that we can’t be together out in the open like I want us to,” Tre shrugged.

  “It’ll get better,” Terri said while grabbing his hand.

  “I hope things get better for you too,” he replied squeezing her hand.

  ***

  “I guess Von started kicking it with this bitch again,” Mia frowned when she saw Cheryl’s car parked in Von’s driveway.

  He and Tanya had been hanging a lot lately, but it looked like Cheryl had finally made her way back in. It was nice not having to see her and London every weekend, but that was all over with now.

  “You know she wasn’t giving up until Von came around,” Brandis replied.

  She and Mia walked into the house, and were surprised to find Rainey and London sitting on the sofa, talking like old friends. Rainey spoke when they came in, but London turned her head without uttering a word. That was fine with them because Mia and Brandis didn’t want to speak to her anyway.

  “Where’s Von?” Mia aske
d.

  “He’s in his room with Cheryl,” Rainey answered.

  “Von,” Mia yelled calling her Godfather into the living room.

  “That’s so rude, he’s obviously busy,” London rolled her eyes.

  “Brandis, get this bitch a Band-Aid. It must really hurt for her to mind her own business. I’m sure Cheryl taught you how to speak only when you’re being spoken to,” Mia snapped.

  “She just told you that Von was in the room with his girlfriend and you’re calling him anyway,” London went on.

  “His girlfriend?” Mia shrieked. “I hope you and your mama are not dumb enough to think that. Von is a ladies man and Cheryl ain’t his only lady.”

  “Like father like son,” London laughed, even though Mia didn’t get the joke. Rainey and Brandis remained quiet while the two of them continued to go back and forth.

  “Pick your battles London. This is one that you don’t want. Cheryl might not spank that ass anymore, but I really don’t mind,” Mia threated right, as Von came out of the room with Cheryl following close behind him.

  “What’s up Mimi?” he asked.

  “Lamar said to tell you that he’s waiting on you. He said that y’all are supposed to be going somewhere,” Mia replied.

  “Yeah, I’m going to get him in a few minutes. I tried calling him earlier, but he didn’t answer.”

  “His phone is acting crazy. That’s why he asked me to tell you,” Mia replied.

  “Where are we going?” Cheryl asked.

  She was standing behind Von holding on to his arm like she was afraid that he was going to run away. Mia wanted to throw up when she said “we” like she and Von were a packaged deal.

  “I need to make a run right quick. You can stay here or I’ll call you when I come back,” Von replied.

  “You know I’m not going anywhere,” she giggled like a schoolgirl as she walked back to the bedroom. London looked at Mia and smirked as if to say, “I told you so.” Mia was done entertaining her for the day. She really felt like slapping her in the mouth, but she decided to let her make it for now.

  “Hey Tank,” London cooed when Tre walked into the house carrying a huge brown envelope. She was smiling hard making her almond shaped eyes practically disappear.

  “What’s up,” Tre spoke to everyone.

  He briefly made eye contact with Mia before going straight down the hall to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. Mia knew that something was wrong and that was her reason for being there on a school night. Tre sent her a text telling her that they needed to talk and she rushed right over. She knew that it had something to do with Terri, because he’d met her for lunch earlier that day. She wasn’t worried about London and Cheryl, but she couldn’t go to his room with Von still being home. He was getting ready to leave, so she sent Tre a text letting him know that she would be there as soon as he did. About ten minutes later, Von came from the back of the house fully dressed and ready to go.

  “I’m leaving too, I have homework,” Rainey announced as she stood to her feet and walked to the door. As soon as Mia heard them pull off, she got up too.

  “I’ll be right back Brandis,” Mia announced to her friend. She headed straight down the hall to Tre’s room and lightly tapped on his door. London wanted to get up and see where she was going, but she didn’t want Brandis to tell Mia that she was spying on her.

  “Did Von leave?” Tre asked her when he opened the door for her.

  “I wouldn’t be in here if he didn’t,” Mia replied. “How did it go with Terri?”

  “I feel like shit Mia,” Tre said as he pulled her down and sat her on his lap.

  “Why, what happened?”

  “All these years I’ve been walking around here hating her for abandoning me, and now she’s dying.”

  What? How is she dying?” Mia inquired.

  “She has aids.”

  “Damn Tre, I’m sorry to hear that,” Mia said while rubbing his back.

  “But that’s not the worst part of it. She wants me to handle all of her funeral arrangements when the time comes. Look at this,” he said lifting her off of his lap and handing her the brown envelope that he walked in with.

  Mia opened it and her mouth dropped to the floor. Terri had everything planned out for her funeral with every little detail in place. She wrote down what she wanted to wear on down to what kind of flowers she wanted next to her casket. When Mia got to the insurance policy, she was really in shock. Terri made Tre the beneficiary on a quarter of a million dollars. She would be doing more for him in death than she ever could if she were alive.

  “How do you feel about all of this?” Mia asked him.

  “I really don’t know how to feel. It’s like I wanted to tell her that I couldn’t do it, but I didn’t have the heart. You know I’m really going to need your help when the time comes Mia. I know Von will help me, but I need you too.”

  “You know I’ll help you any way I can,” Mia promised.

  “I appreciate you baby. Oh, and Terri asked me how long have we been messing around,” Tre laughed.

  “You told her?” Mia yelled.

  “No, she asked me if Von knew about us. I tried to play it off, but she wasn’t hearing it. She must have figured it out on her own. Damn near everybody knows what’s going on except for Von. We might as well tell him and make this shit official. He probably thinks I’m gay since I never bring any females over here. I’m tired of feeling like I’m single when I have a girl. We have to sneak and spend time together like we’re kids and shit,” Tre fussed.

  “How did we go from talking about Terri to you talking about us?” Mia questioned.

  “Because this shit is getting old Mia. I’m trying to be patient, but I’m tired of doing this. You know I got you no matter what happens. Von is with who he wants to be with and we should be able to do the same.”

  “Okay Tre,” Mia mumbled while fidgeting with her fingers.

  “What does okay mean Mia?”

  “We can tell him, but let me tell you when I’m ready.”

  “That’s a deal breaker right there. You haven’t been ready in over a year and you want me to wait even longer.”

  “One week Tre,” Mia begged. “One week and I promise we can sit down and talk to him. I just need to get my mind right before we do.”

  “Alright, one week or I’m done. I’m not playing this time Mia,” Tre threatened.

  He would never walk away from her like that, but she needed to know just how serious he was.

  “Okay, I’m leaving. I’ll call you when I get home,” Mia said. Tre walked her to his bedroom door and kissed her before she left.

  Chapter 17

  Von rode around with Lamar riding in his passenger’s seat. This was their fourth day looking for Paige’s brother Shad, but they still hadn’t run into him yet. He’d been talking reckless about Tre and Von wanted to get to the bottom of the situation. Tre was a grown man, but he still didn’t appreciate Shad telling people what he was going to do to his son. He understood that he felt some type of way about his daughters getting beat up, but they deserved exactly what they got. Von wanted to pay somebody to get at them a long time ago, and he was happy that Tre had made it happen. Jumping Mia was a huge mistake that Von was sure that they wouldn’t make again.

  “Let’s ride around the school,” Lamar suggested. “He plays basketball in the gym sometimes.”

  Von nodded his head and drove towards the area that Lamar suggested.

  “Did I tell you that Tank has been talking to Terri?” Von asked his best friend.

  “Nah, you didn’t tell me that. What made her decide to start coming around after all these years?”

  “She’s sick man. She got that shit,” Von answered.

  . “What shit?” Lamar questioned with a puzzled look on his face.

  “She got aids nigga.”

  “Damn, that’s messed up. She was a fucked up mother, but nobody deserves to go out like that,” Lamar shook his head.

&
nbsp; “I said the same thing. But she wants Tank to handle all of her funeral arrangements and shit. She’s leaving that nigga a nice chunk of change with her insurance policy too. I can tell he’s all fucked up about it, but he’s trying to play it cool. He talks to Mia and Duke about everything. You know they’re like the three stooges,” Von joked.

  “I already know. But what’s up with you and Tanya? Y’all still playing games with each other I see.”

  “Not really, we’re working towards being together, but she wants us to take our time. I’m not trying to rush her, so I’m cool with that. As soon as it becomes official, I’m kicking Cheryl’s disgusting ass to the curb,” Von promised.

  “I don’t know what you see in her uppity ass anyway. She’s too damn clingy for me,” Lamar replied.

  “You ain’t lying about that and her daughter ain’t no better. She be damn near foaming at the mouth when Tank is around. He don’t even pay attention to her dizzy ass. She’s cool with Rainey, but Mimi can’t stand her ass,” Von laughed.

  “I’m not surprised. Mia is mean just like Moonie. She don’t like nobody, but Brandis. She better not fuck with my baby though. She don’t look like her mama for nothing. She’ll beat her ass all over your house,” Lamar remarked.

  “I’ll keep both of their asses away from my house before I let it go that far. It’s not even that serious between Cheryl and me. She’s looking for wedding bells, but I’m not the man for her if she’s thinking marriage. I’m not even the man for her if she’s talking about a serious relationship,” Von confessed.

  “Pull up around the back and let’s see if his truck is out there,” Lamar suggested once they pulled up to the gym.

  “Isn’t that his red truck?” Von asked while pointing out a Dodge Ram to Lamar.

  “Yeah, that’s it,” he confirmed.