TTW 3 ( Thicker Than Water 3 )

by Takerra, Allen

  “Get. Out. Jayde.” She looked at Ree and saw that he was serious this time, so she started for the door.

  “Fine. Goodnight.”

  Remembering one last thing she went to turn and speak, but this time Tatum was right there.

  “S'il vous plaît partir, Jayde…,” Tatum spoke, asking her to please leave. “I know you speak French and all… just in case you didn’t catch him in English.”

  Jayde tittered, remembering bragging to Tatum how she spoke French and Spanish fluently. The little bitch thought she was cute.

  “Of course, mademoiselle,” Jayde smiled. “You know, your dinner smells amazing Tatum. So sorry it was ruined.”

  With that Jayde turned and headed out. This time she closed the door behind her and the couple was left alone.

  After a few moments of silence, Tatum sighed and ran her hands through her hair. She closed her eyes and wanted when she opened them, for none of this bullshit to have happened. But when she opened them, she saw Ree starting for the stairs.

  “Where are you going?” She asked him breaking the silence with her brashness.

  Ree halted but didn’t turn around.

  “Shower. Bed.” He was so blasé. He started walking again and Tatum dropped her jaw.

  “Excuse me? You’re not even gonna eat dinner? We’re not…we’re not even gonna talk about any of this?”

  “Talk about what?” He asked seriously, placing his hands in his pockets, turning and looking at her. “I asked you if everything was okay, and you lied. I asked you if what he said was true, and you lied. So what are we gonna talk about Tatum? Why you lied? Why you felt the need to protect that faggot ass lawyer. So you can lie again.”

  Tatum crinkled her brow at him in disbelief.

  “Are you serious? Do you think I’m interested in him…? You think I would do some shit like that to you? In our home! You must be crazy.”

  Ree stared at her and chuckled at her animation.

  “Nah… I don’t think that. But I also never thought you would lie to me. And that shit ain’t really sitting right wit’ me. So no. I don’t want your dinner. And I don’t want to talk.”

  Tatum was hurt and Ree was livid. Deep down he understood why Tatum had tried to downplay the situation, but her ability to lie to his face and also just the thought of someone trying to touch her, infuriated him beyond recognition. Ree was still familiarizing with letting someone control a huge part of him, and the love he had for Tatum allowed her that leisure, and allowed him that vulnerability. He turned to walk away again, this time she let him.

  All those days and nights without her man and Tatum hadn’t imagined this type of homecoming.

  She sucked her teeth and sat down at the dining room table, blowing out air in frustration.

  I should’ve just told Ree the asshole was trying to fuck and let him kill his dumb ass, she thought. Nah, and then see my man locked up for murder over that dumb shit… it ain’t worth it. Maybe I should just go apologize, Tatum thought. No…that would look guilty, like I did something wrong. And I didn’t. He’s tripping! I’ll just let him sleep it off.

  Tatum placed her face in her hands. This whole situation was stressful as hell. And who did she need at a time like this…her best friend. Sasha would know what to do, and it would probably be to go upstairs and talk to her man. Sasha was always way less stubborn than Tatum. Tears came to Tatum’s eyes thinking of the situation with her and Sasha right now. She missed her terribly. Although she was upset at Sasha for bringing the issue up on her wedding day, she felt terrible about what she had done and the secret she had kept. She needed to tell Sasha a million times over how sorry she was and how little it meant to her. She knew they were thicker than this and they could get through it. She decided to give her a call.

  Ree lay back on top of the bedspread staring off deep in thought. He had executed the greatest amount of self-control and he was wondering if it was the right thing to do. Because all he could think about was blasting Johnny Carson’s head off and he wondered how long the visions would play in his mind. He wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, but he just knew whatever it was, he didn’t like it. The nigga shouldn’t have been in his house, period, especially with Tatum alone. And then all up close to her, and her wearing that little ass dress, nah. The scene replaying caused the veins in Ree’s temples to pulsate. The vibrating of a text coming through on his cell kept him from thinking too much more on it and doing something stupid.

  “Who the fuck…” Ree reached over and unlocked his touch screen. He clicked on the message icon recognizing it was coming from Jayde. He figured it was something about the trip.

  Human nature, natural male instincts, whatever one would blame the next ten or so seconds on, caused Ree to stare at his phone. After that, judgment kicked in and Ree deleted the message. Already upset, Jayde was now pushing him over the edge. Just when he was about to call and curse her dumb ass out, he saw an incoming call from her number.

  “Yo-”

  “Oh my god! Ree, I’m sooo sorry!” She started. “That was…that was for someone else,” Jayde lied. “I must’ve sent it to you by accident. Soon as I hit send I saw your name, and it was too fucking late! Oh my god, this is so fucking embarrassing. Please tell me you didn’t see much…? Please!”

  Jayde was smiling wide on the other end, thinking of the full frontal naked picture she had just sent to him, knowing he and Tatum were in a time of distress and he was a week plus off of sex.

  Ree took a deep breath having a feeling Jayde was full of shit. She was another one. He was ready to do this business and cut his ties with this bitch. She wasn’t cut from the same cloth as her father. He knew how to deal with a bitch like her in the meantime though.

  “Nah…I don’t even know what you talking about. But I’ll delete whatever you sent. I won’t even open it.”

  With that he clicked on her. No goodbye. No nothing. She was a real calculating chick. At that moment, Ree was happy he had someone more genuine…like Tatum. Although it was a sight many niggas would appreciate, Ree pushed the picture of Jayde out of his mind. He stood up and made his was out of the room.

  Tatum was at the stove wrapping up the food. Sasha hadn’t answered her call or the one after it, and as much as she wasn’t sure what would face her when she went upstairs, she just wanted to curl up next to her husband and go to bed.

  Just as she was opening the fridge, she heard a throat clear behind her.

  “Damn…and I was just about to make me a plate.”

  Tatum kept her back turned and tried to fight the smile that grew on her face.

  “Well…I didn’t put it away yet. So…” Tatum closed the fridge and before she spun around, she lost the grin and slid the pan back onto the stove. “You can put it away after you eat.”

  She started toward the doorway, trying her best not to look at him, but that didn’t work. She knew it wouldn’t. Ree grabbed her arm and brought her to him. He walked over to the table, sat down and pulled her onto his lap.

  “Let’s talk, Miss Lady.”

  “Why? Because now you want to?” Tatum asked seriously with an arched eyebrow.

  “No…because you want to.”

  “Like you said…nothing to talk about.” Tatum tried to remain stone faced, but it was hard. Ree looked at her in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I was upset. I don’t like when you lie.”

  Tatum shook her head and her eyes became a little watery thinking of the whole ordeal.

  “It’s not that I lied, Ree. I just…I just didn’t want you to get in trouble.”

  “So something did happen?” He asked calmly, although his insides were on fire. He could feel his adrenaline coming alive.

  Tatum looked down thinking about it. Johnny was gone now, and if he were smart he’d stay far away from Ree. But she still didn’t want Ree to react crazy. She also didn’t want to lie to her man.

  “You promise you won’t hurt anyone and get into any trouble, Ree?”
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  “I promise I won’t get into trouble,” he repeated the last part of the statement trying to keep his tone even. “What happened?”

  Tatum sighed and blinked back tears.

  “The truth,” he added with a stern gaze.

  Tatum swallowed hard.

  “Well, I told him you weren’t coming home tonight when he came for the dinner. And then he asked to use the bathroom. After that, he started trying to talk but…I told him I was tired and to leave. But…he kept talking…”

  “Talking about what?” He asked sharply.

  “About me…and you. About you know…I deserve this and he wish he had a chance and all this dumb shit. I don’t know…I think he was a lil drunk Ree,” Tatum added quickly when she felt his body tense up. Ree tried to tide his temper as he took a deep breath.

  “Okay. And then what happened?”

  Tatum picked up one of his dreads nervously and began twirling it around her finger as she talked.

  “Ree…does it really matter?”

  The stern look he gave her answered her question, so she continued.

  “Well…I told him to leave. I told him to get the fuck out. Then you came in.” Tatum told the truth, but also left out a lot. She didn’t want to say she was scared he was going to rape her.

  “That’s not all. What else…” Ree was telling her, not asking.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why was he all in your face and shit, holding your arms?”

  Damn, Tatum thought. This nigga don’t miss a beat.

  “I tried to push him and he grabbed my wrists. But Ree, seriously. I had it under control. He was leaving. He was going to leave.” Tatum thought of how she was moments from kneeing him in the nuts and grabbing that gun. Oh, he was going to leave alright.

  “So please baby…can we leave it alone? You promised you wouldn’t do anything stupid and you already scared the piss out of him…literally.” They both shared a chuckle at that. “I told you what happened, and it’s over, right?”

  Tatum noticed that look on Ree’s face again and her heart rate sped up.

  “Right, Ree?”

  She looked him in the eyes and it seemed it broke him from a trance. He smiled at her through his thoughts.

  “Right,” he agreed. He ran his hand through her hair and brought his lips to her face, kissing her.

  “Good,” Tatum sighed, feeling relieved. “I’m tired, baby. Let’s just go to bed.”

  Ree rubbed her back softly and nodded.

  “No doubt. You go on up, I got something to do. I’ll be right there.”

  Tatum looked at him warily and stood up.

  “Something like what, Ree? Unh-unh, you coming to bed…with me.”

  He chuckled at her.

  “Relax…it’ll only take me a minute.”

  “A minute to do what? What you gotta do?”

  He stood and walked over to the counter, taking out a glass plate and holding it up with a grin.

  “I gotta eat.”

  Tatum smiled and he shot a wink at her.

  Tatum was glad that it was over. And she was glad that he was home.

  Interlude

  The air of the L.A. night was warm and muggy, and although the bright lights danced on the street, there were very few people out.

  “Yo, did you see the bodies on them Hollywood bitches! Oh my god these bitches so bad, I’d drink they fucking piss!”

  “Yo, you’se a nasty mothafucka, Dirk,” Gunna chuckled as he walked up to the curb.

  D.Gunna was one of the most popular rappers currently out. He had blown up over the last couple of years, topping the charts with two number one albums and had toured the world, sampling some of the finest women the globe had to offer. One of those women happened to be Tatum and Sasha’s late friend, Kim. That being said, it took a little more than the strippers of silicone Valley to impress him.

  “Bitches alright…but they ain’t got enough ass for me,” D.Gunna dismissed, looking down the block for a sign of the valet pulling around his limo.

  “Yeah, but they got titties for days!” His right hand man since the sand, Dirk commented.

  “And them shit’s faker than ya chain, lil’ nigga,” Brick, D Gunna’s bodyguard spoke up, as he stepped away from the high profile strip club they had just exited and closer to the curb with them.

  “Fuck outta here, man. My shit real! Tell him, Gunna…my shit real, ain’t it?”

  D.Gunna kept his eyes on the street but smiled slightly.

  “Yeah…yeah, it’s real Dirk.”

  “See,” Dirk continued, highly offended. “So fuck you, fake ass Ving Rhames, Melvin, Baby Boy looking mothafucka! That’s why I’m calling that bitch soon as we get back to the telly. She getting off her shift, she gonna come blazeee me,” he sang. “So fuck you,” he taunted the huge, bald headed bodyguard.

  “Fuck who?” Brick bassed, taking a step to Dirk.

  Dirk swallowed hard.

  “Yeah, fuck who?” He asked looking around scarily and Gunna chuckled.

  “Yeah, I thought so…Dork.”

  Gunna shook his head from side to side.

  “Can both of y’all niggas cut it the fuck out,” he laughed. “And where the fuck is the driver with my shit?”

  D.Gunna turned his head to the left and looked down the empty street once more, but then focused in on something peculiar to him.

  A black Expedition sat a few feet away from them and had long ago pulled up and powered off their engine, killing the soft humming sound around the time that the fellas had exited, however no one had yet to exit. Gunna narrowed his eyes but there was no way in hell he could see through the dark tints.

  “Yo Brick.”

  “What up,” Brick stepped up quickly.

  “Call the driver. See what’s taking so long…I’m ready to get the fuck outta here.”

  Meanwhile, on the other side of the glass, Bennie sat with his two cousins loading up their automatic weapons and smoking a joint.

  “Yo, primos…you see this bitch ass nigga D.Gunna right here,” Bennie crooned in his West Coast Mexican accent. “This nigga thinks he can just come to our city, make it rain in the fucking clubs on the hoes, walk around with fucking diamond chains, watches, bracelets and shit, and nobody supposed to touch his soft ass,” he chuckled. “Like we won’t just take all that shit. Dumb mothafucka. This is the fucking jungle. Got that fucking bodyguard with him like that’s all he needs. And this little pussy next to him. This shit gonna be too fucking easy, homes.”

  “Yo Bennie,” one of his cousins spoke. “That is a big mothafucker though, ese” He eyed the bodyguard warily.

  “Yo Raul, I know you not fucking scared. What, you a fucking pussy now? As much as we done did this shit?”

  Bennie and his cousins were professionals. They made their living out of robbing folks, and they were damn good at it. One of their biggest allies had been Neli, she had often given them major leads on who to hit and where and when, including the hit on Ree’s stash house and the false robbery in Sasha’s apartment. She even had Bennie kill Kim after she convinced him that Kim was a mole with too much information. He did it with no remorse, willing to return such a simple favor to his good friend Neli. He stabbed Kim ten times to the chest, and then raped her dying and bleeding body before strangling her to her last breath.

  After chewing out Raul, Bennie and his family decided it was time to make their move, especially before the valet showed.

  “Let’s do this shit.”

  “Yo! Is that my nigga D.Gunna!” Bennie yelled excitedly, stumbling as if he were wasted out of his mind and smiling wide like he was his biggest fan. “Yo, I can’t believe this shit, man!” Bennie cheesed, tapping his cousin’s shoulder with so much force and excitement, it caused Raul to rub it in relief.

  “Yo, I got all your fucking songs man! Your albums, your fucking mixtapes! Move back, move back, or my niggas will react!” Bennie sang the well-known lyrics.