Hustle & Heartache

by D. Gamblez

  Even my mother was disgusted by her lover’s bitchiness. I could tell she was because when Roy-Boy tried to help her up, she yanked away from him and stood on her own, giving him a disappointed glare as she did so.

  “You leave with that punk and you’re no longer welcome in this house. Ever,” my mother threatened me.

  I looked over to Dre then back at my mother then back to Dre. He locked eyes with me and nodded, answering my silent question. “Of course you can move in with me,” is what I got from our silent exchange.

  “What’s it gonna be, Audriana?” my mother asked again.

  I walked over to her and kissed her on the lips. Then I hugged her tightly until she hugged me back. “I’m sorry for putting my hands on you, and I’m sorry for any other thing that I’ve ever done to displease you, Mom. I love you.”

  “It’s okay, baby,” my mother started to cry. “I forgive you, and I love you too.”

  I was obviously feeling anger and resentment and wanted to express what I was feeling, but at the same time I loved my mother. Even in that small moment of shoving her to the ground, I found myself feeling bad about it just moments later.

  I love you, Mom, and I know I’m a good daughter, but the fact that I feel like I’m about to lose my mind or have a heart attack because I just killed someone and I can’t even tell that to the one person in the world that I should be able to tell it to and not have to wonder whether or not I would get kicked out or have the police called on me, it says so much about how bad of a mother you have truly been to me.

  My mind made up, I pulled away from my mother and kissed her one last time. “I love you,” I whispered. Then I hopped in Dre’s car and wiped the tears from my eyes.

  “Audriana! Audriana Escobar!” my mother shouted after me, but I did not even bother to look in her direction as Dre backed out of the driveway and we took off down the street. It was time for me to leave the safety of the nest. It was time for me to be on my own.

  “Where ya’ll been at, man?”Raheem asked when we got to the waiting room.

  “We had to take care of some shit real quick,” Dre stated simply. “So... what’s the deal with Lyrical? She cool or what?”

  “Doctor said she made it through surgery, but she still in critical condition. She in ICU right now,” Raheem sighed deeply.

  “You good, girl?” Cherish asked, eyeing Dre wearily after noticing my busted lip.

  “No, Cherish,” I said, dispelling any crazy notions she may have been having about Dre putting his hands on me. “My mom did this shit to me. But it’s all good now, though I’m moving in with Dre.”

  She gave me a deep hug, rubbing my back to soothe any hurt I may have been feeling. “Good for you, girl. Just make sure he treats you right, okay?”

  “He will.” And I truly believed it.

  “Everything Gucci over here, ya’ll?” Coco asked as she approached.

  “We’re good, girl,” Cherish said, grabbing Coco by the hands. “I’m sorry for snapping at you before. Guess I was being a real bitch at the moment. How’re you holding up?”

  “It’s all good, girl,” Coco smiled lightly. “I just hope Lyrical pulls through. The guys have been really going through it all night not knowing if she gonna pull through or not. And I’m losing my damn mind over here, ya’ll! I love her so much. I don’t know what I’m gonna do if...”

  “Look, ya’ll been here all night,” I said to the girls, my heart bleeding for Coco. “Ya’ll gone on to the crib and get changed and get sumthin’ to eat, then come on back. I’ll stay here with the guys.”

  “Hey, grab everybody sumthin’ to eat, hear me?” Devonte said as he walked over. “Here, Makita, take the Explorer, but don’t bump my sounds too loud. Don’t want them bitch-ass po-po pulling ya’ll over and fucking with ya’ll, feel me?”

  “A’ight, baby,” Makita said before giving her man a kiss. “We’ll be back in a couple hours.”

  “Audi, go with ‘em,” Dre instructed me. “I need you to stop by the crib and grab that money off the dresser, then I need you to take it to my mama’s so she can pay the landlord. He like to come early on Saturdays.”

  “All right, babe,” I said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. “Listen, if Lyrical wakes up before we get back...”

  “She already know how ya’ll feel about her. Shit, we all do, especially after tonight,” Dre assured us.”Don’t worry, ma. I got you.”

  I hugged him tightly for good luck. Then the Gucci Girlz and I headed out the automatic double-doors.

  “I’m driving,” Cherish said, sticking out her hand for Makita to hand over the keys. “We all know that your ass can’t drive worth a damn.”

  “Ain’t nobody driving my man’s truck but me,” Makita retorted, moving her neck like a snake.

  “Oh, hell naw,” Coco said as we approached Devonte’s charcoal-grey Ford Explorer.”Makita, girl, you know you can’t drive that big-ass truck. You can’t even drive yo’ lil’ ass Lexus.”

  “And you such a great-ass driver cause Lyrical let you whip her Mustang every now and then, huh?”

  I saw Coco’s demeanor change instantly from slightly catty to completely sad as her eyes began to tear up at the mention of her lover’s name.

  Makita instantly regretted the words. “I’m so sorry, girl,” she said sincerely, hugging her twin tightly. “You know I ain’t mean that. Here, you take the keys. You drive way better than the rest of us, anyways.”

  “Come on, girls,” I said. “Let’s go so we can get back in time for when Lyrical wakes up.”

  We hopped in the truck and headed towards Aetna. And Makita was right; Coco was the best driver out of us all.

  Dre

  I stood to stretch my legs. Raheem and Devonte were comparing some of Lyrical’s songs to determine which of them they were going to have her perform at her welcome home party that we had planned for her about forty-five minutes ago, an hour after the girls had left. We refused to entertain the possibility of her not ever waking up, so the only thing we could do while we waited was plan for her homecoming.

  “What about Homecoming?” Raheem offered. “That’d be the perfect song for her to perform when she got back on the mic, my nigga?”

  “Naw, man,” Devonte disagreed. “It’s gotta be sumthin’ that says, ‘I’m back, ma’fuckas!’, but it’s gotta send a message to them bitch-ass ma’fuckin’ Diego and his crew at the same time. Sumthin’ like Pac’s Hit ‘em Up.”

  “Oh shit, that’s it! She could just remix Hit ‘em Up and put her own spin on that shit,” Raheem said proudly, impressed with himself for the idea. “Feel me?”

  “Hell yeah,” Devonte agreed, dabbing him. “That’s what’s up.”

  “I’ma grab sumthin’ to eat from the snack machine,” I said. “Ya’ll want sumthin’?”

  But neither of them answered me. Actually, I do not even think they heard me. They were too caught up in their plan to remix rap songs for Lyrical’s homecoming party. So, I just shrugged and walked off in the direction of the vending machines.

  When I reached the area where the vending machines were located, the first thing I noticed was a dark-skinned female leaning against the machine with her arms folded across her chest, her head tilted down like she was in deep thought or napping while standing.

  She was dressed in all black; black jeans, black T-shirt, black Nike sneakers, and a black leather jacket. She had dark-brown hair and deep dimples. She ”also had a nice rack and thick thighs. I could tell she worked out. She wore no makeup or jewelry, but that only made her more noticeable as her beauty was natural, which gave her more of an attractive appeal. She reminded me of this chick named Sanaa Lathan who played Jon B’s love interest in his R U Still Down? video, but with longer hair, a shade darker skin, juicier lips, and slightly thicker eyebrows. Plus−even though her back was against one of the vending machines−her hips gave away the impression that she had a very plump bottom.

  When I approached the vending machines, reachi
ng in my pocket for change, she raised her head, casting her hazel eyes in my direction, and she smiled lightly. Then she tapped the glass, pointing to a king-size bag of Peanut M&M’s.

  “I want these,” she stated matter-of-factly as if we had known each other for years. Her voice was soft and sexy. “And let me get a bag of Doritos, too,” she continued.”The Ranch flavored. I don’t like the other ones. I would get ‘em myself, but I don’t have any change on me, so...I usually don’t eat junk food, but I haven’t had a decent meal in the last couple of days. Plus, the doc wants me to eat, so...”

  “Sounds like you need to have a decent meal, then,” I responded, not really sure if that was what I wanted to say, seeing as though I had no clue who this bold chick was.

  “You offering to buy me dinner, baller boy?” she raised an eyebrow, flashing her pearly whites at me.”I warn you−I like to eat.”

  “I ain’t trippin’. Long as we smoke a lil’ weed afterwards. You down?” I asked her, pretending as though I wasn’t really that interested in her as I was still eyeing the options of junk food in one of the vending machines while doing so.

  “Careful, baller boy,” she warned. “Never can be too sure who you’re talking to in this city.”

  I was about to ask her what she meant by the comment when I noticed something shiny out of the corner of my eye. When I looked down to inspect the odd glare, I noticed that the woman was wearing a silver police badge clipped to her belt.

  “You a cop!” a said, now alert. Was this bitch playin’ me just now? Trying to see what I knew about the shooting at the club?

  “A cop? Oh, is that what I am?” she gasped with eyes wide, feigning surprise. “Thanks for letting me know, I had no idea. Name’s Naomi, by the way, but you can call me Sergeant Mills of the Homicide Unit out of the Gary Police Department.”

  “If you got sumthin’ to ask me, Naomi, I mean, Sergeant Mills, then you wasting yo’ time,” I stated in an unfriendly tone. “I already told that baldheaded black dude I ain’t see shit, and I don’t know shit. You ask my friends, they’ll say the same. Shit, even if we did see some shit, we ain’t no ma’fuckin’ snitches. So, like I said, I don’t know shit.”

  “Calm down, tough guy,” she said, raising her hand to halt my verbal onslaught.”I’m not here for you or your friends. If I was, you wouldn’t have known until the moment you were all in handcuffs. But I really would like some peanut M&M’s and a bag of Doritos, the Cool Ranch kind. I wasn’t joking about not having any change on me. So, if you don’t mind...” She nodded towards the machine.

  “Want a soda water, too?” I asked sarcastically, making sure she understood that I didn’t owe her a damn thing. But she wasn’t fazed by my comment, not one bit.

  “What the hell is soda water?” she asked with furrowed brow.

  “What the hell is soda water?” I asked incredulously. “You don’t know what soda water is?”

  “Uh-uh. What is it, like, flavored water or something?”

  “Naw. Crush, Coke, Pepsi, Wildwood... You know, soda water,” I explained.

  “You mean pop?”

  “What’s pop?” Now I was the one with the furrowed brow. “What the hell’s that?”

  “Where are you from again?” she asked.

  “Why?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what she was up to.

  “Just curious as to why you call Crush or Coke or Pepsi or Wildwood soda water,” she said.

  “I was born in Franklin, Mississippi, but my parents moved here to G.I. when I was a kid. Soda water is what people call soft drinks down there.”

  “Well, we call soft drinks pop up this way. So, yeah, I’ll have a pop with my Doritos and M&M’s, which I’ve now asked of you for the third time.”

  “What’s with the bitchy attitude?” I said calmly. “I ain’t that nigga that woke up next to you this morning, but if I was, you damn sure wouldn’t be mad about it.”

  “That’s cute,” she smiled. “But I’m good in that department, little boy. My bitchy attitude comes from hunger. Hence...” She tapped the glass of the vending machine once again as a clue.

  Who the hell does this chick think she is? I thought to myself, but still found myself getting her what she asked for. Not sure why I did, I just did.

  “Thanks,” she said, nearly ripping the bag of Doritos in half as she opened it and stuffed about three of the chips in her mouth.

  “You’re welcome,” I said as she walked off.

  Damn, that ma’fucka is so phat! I thought to myself as I watched her plump bottom bouncing from one side to the other. I could tell she was trying not to throw that ass, but she could not help it. Man, I’m glad Audi’s not here right now ‘cause she’d be pissed if she caught me checking this badass bitch out. Too bad you’re a cop, Miss Naomi or I’d have probably gotten your number or some shit.

  “Oh, yeah,” she muffled, stopping in her tracks and turning back to face me. She put up a finger for me to wait until she was done chewing, then she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Your friend? The one who was shot? I’m gonna be questioning her if she ever wakes up. So, you and your friends can hang tight or you can go home. Don’t really matter to me, but if I find out that any one of you were involved in that shooting at club Déjà Vu tonight, my bitchy attitude’s gonna be the last thing you’ll have to worry about. And if you’re gonna check out my ass, playboy, try not to be so obvious about it.”

  “What? Man, I wasn’t look”—” I started to lie, but she cut me off.

  “Don’t try to lie−I’m a cop.” Then she continued to walk away.

  But I did not look at her ass that time as my heart was racing too fast.

  I know Lyrical ain’t gonna say shit, but I still gotta find a way to let her know what this cop is on when she wakes up, and I gotta do it ‘fore she gets to her first.

  Audi and the girls walked through the doors just as the doctor was telling us that Lyrical was now awake and was asking for us. Sergeant Mills was nowhere in sight, but I knew she was still here. I had spotted her going out to her unmarked Crown Vic a couple times in the last hour or so for whatever reason, and when I checked the parking lot a few minutes ago, it was still out there.

  “What’s going on?” Coco asked while bouncing on her toes as the doctor led us to Lyrical’s room.

  As we all piled into the small room, I noticed that Lyrical was hooked up to all these machines, and she had a bandage wrapped around her abdomen and one over her left shoulder. She looked like she just came out of a morgue, but she was alive, and that’s all that mattered to us.

  “She’s awake, but she’s still pretty weak, so I can’t let you guys stay long,” the doctor informed us as he turned to exit the room.

  “Yeah, that’s cool,” I said understandably.

  “What up, ya’ll?” Lyrical smiled weakly.

  “Oh, baby,” Coco sniffled, putting her hands on both sides of Lyrical’s face and kissing her deeply. “I was so scared. I love you so much.”

  “You love me?” Lyrical asked, locking eyes with her to make sure Coco knew she was serious.

  Coco matched Lyrical’s gaze and stated,” More than anything in the world. I love you, baby. Now and forever. I’m yo’ Gucci Girl for life.” The tone of her voice could only be interpreted as one of sincerity.

  “I love you too, baby,” Lyrical said. And we all knew she meant it. No one had ever seen her as vulnerable as she was with Coco. There was no doubt about it; Lyrical was in love with Coco...and she did not give a care in the world about who knew it either.

  “Enough of this lovey-dovey bullshit, man,,” Raheem said. “What up with ridin’ out on this bitch-ass nigga, Diego, fam?”

  “Calm that shit down, fam,” I said. “We ain’t on that right now. Ma’fuckin’ cop on our trail and shit, so we gotta move smooth for a minute. But don’t worry, we on that bitch-ass nigga. Main thing is our nigga Lyrical pulled through. Like Pac, she took shots and smiled.”

  “Didn’t 2Pac get shot five t
imes?” I heard a familiar voice say behind me. I turned to see Sergeant Mills standing in the doorway.

  “Yeah, but he took ‘em and smiled,” Raheem retorted.

  “Who the fuck is this bitch?”Devonte asked.

  “Did you just call me a bitch?” Sergeant Mills asked. “This ‘bitch’ is a cop, little boy. Name’s Sergeant Mills, head of GPD’s Homicide Unit. Who the fuck are you? Never mind, I don’t really care. Now that we’ve gotten that unnecessary nonsense out of the way...” She turned her attention to me. “Didn’t I tell you that I wanted to talk to her before any of you were allowed in here? Everybody out...now! Or I’ll charge you all with obstruction and hindering of an official police investigation.”

  “That’s not what the officer out in the hall watching the door relayed when we asked if we could see her,” Cherish argued. “He asked if we were family, we said ‘yes,’ and he let us right in without any further questions. So you can’t charge us with shit because we didn’t know that we weren’t allowed to come in this room. Trust me, my mom’s a lawyer, so I would know.”

  “Huh. There’s always at least one smart one in the bunch,” Sergeant Mills said. “Anyhow, as I was saying, I wasn’t planning on charging any of you, and regardless of the reasons for your being here, whether it’s to support her because she’s your friend or if it’s to ensure you all got your stories straight, I am now ordering you all to leave this room immediately as this is an ongoing investigation and I need to question your friend here to ascertain whether she’s a victim or a participant of the shooting.”

  “But we already talked to the tall dude,” Raheem said irritably. “That one cop from the Gang Unit.”

  “You mean Lieutenant Hensley,” Sergeant Mills clarified.”Do I look like him to you? And do you think I give a shit about what he asked you? Now get out! All of you! I won’t ask again. Trust me, third time is definitely not the charm with me.”