by Shan
“Cuba was getting high?” Briana questioned, and it took everything in me not to flip out on her ass. I took in a strong amount of the hay and held it in for a while before I threw on the most gullible looking frown and nodded. I held my head down then sighed as I sat back on the sofa and blew the smoke in the air.
“Dirty ass bitch. She wanted to be you so damn bad. She didn’t like the attention I was showing you. That’s why she had been arguing with me about letting you see Sky. She wanted to be Sky’s mother so bad that I let her, all because I was trying to hurt you. I’m sorry, Briana. I should’ve just stayed by your side and helped you fight this shit. All this extra drama we done both been through, all because I ran from my responsibilities. Now, I gotta baby out there that’s gonna grow up without a father.
Seems like everything I touch turns into shit. First you, and then, Selena’s life is fucked up because of me…now Cuba. I done fucked up the heads and hearts of too many women. Nigga really just been trying to mold myself into being a young ass boss. Doing shit like handing over all the dirty work over to the goonie Tramell and shit, and trying to turn me and the fam into some rich niggas that’s just paid, you know. Maybe that nigga Dae was right about me, though…I am trying to be someone that I’m not. I really just gotta take shit back to how it used to be when I was just in these streets bodying niggas just because. It seemed like I had less problems and less stress back then, you know?”
“Yea, we were happy back then,” Briana said, as she took a pull from her cigarette. Her voice was shaky, and I never in life had seen her so quiet before. I guess she was fuckin’ guilty. The bitch could barely even look at me. That was enough for me. I didn’t need an admission of guilt or no fake ass apology. Briana wanted to be grimy, so I was gonna show her how the shit was really supposed to go. Shit, she should know how I get down, but in case she forgot, I was here to remind her.
I took a pull from the blunt, got up, and walked over to Briana. She looked up at me and quickly took another pull from her cigarette. Her hands shook as she pulled the cancer stick from her mouth, and I slowly wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her on the neck. I placed the blunt on the mantle and took the cigarette from her hand and did the same.
“You think it’s time for me to start getting my hands dirty again?” I asked her, and her voice croaked as she tried to speak.
“I…I guess,” was all she said.
“Shit, you gonna be a nigga’s Bonnie or what? Back how it used to be? Fuck it. Let’s stop playing games and do this shit, Ma. I miss you. I want my family together. Fuck Selena and fuck Cuba.”
“You don’t mean that; you just trying to get in my head.”
“Fuck you mean I don’t mean it. Look…” I told her, as I pulled my cell phone from my sweats and brought up the text messages between KaeDee and I. “Just told KaeDee to take Cuba back to her mama’s along with her spoiled ass nephew. That bitch wanna be on that dope shit, then that’s her ass. I ain’t got shit to do with that. Her mama them can handle that problem. Fuck she thought she was, you or something?”
“You really mean it, Khi?” Briana asked, and I could see her eyes light up. It took everything in me not to suck my teeth and throw up in my mouth. I bit down on my lip and kissed Briana’s lips. She was a little hesitant, at first, but it wasn’t long before she was kissing me back.
“I still love your ass girl,” I told her, as I backed her up towards the hallway that led to her bedroom. “You gonna come move in with me or what? Can a nigga have his shawty and kid together?”
“You know you can. This what I been wanting,” Briana said, and I shut her up by covering her lips with mine. I pushed her backwards until we were in her bedroom. I began to pull her shirt over her head and then tossed it to the floor. She quickly came out of her pants and underwear, and I removed my shirt and tossed it to the floor as well.
“Damn, I can’t believe I been missing out on all of this,” I told Briana, as I walked up on her and pushed her back on the bed. I pulled my pistol from behind my back and sat it on the nightstand next to Briana’s bed as I climbed between her legs. She looked up at me nervously and then over to the gun.
“I didn’t even know you had that with you,” Briana commented, and I kissed her lips again.
“When have you ever known me to leave home without it? Fuck all that, though. Open up them legs and welcome me back home,” I said, as I bit down on my lip and looked into Briana’s eyes. “Damn, you got me hard as a muthafucka. Pull it out and put it in.”
Briana licked her lips and reached down into my sweats. She wrapped her hands around my limp dick and then looked up at me just as I wrapped my hand around her throat. She tried to swing at me, but I put so much force around her neck that she grabbed for my hand and tried to pull me off her.
“Did you really think I was gonna fuck you, you snake ass bitch? You really think I sit around thinking about you, wanting to get back with you, wanting to be a family with you? When have you ever known me to say what the fuck I didn’t mean when it came to you? I don’t fuckin’ love you, I don’t fuckin’ want you, and I don’t ever wanna be with you!” I roared, as my grip tightened around Briana’s throat.
“Hmmm! Hmmm!” Briana grunted, as slob dripped from the sides of her mouth and tears from her eyes.
“Why the fuck you just couldn’t accept my help and move the fuck on? You dumb, bitter ass broad!” I yelled and punched her in the face. Blood squirted from her nose, and I let the grip I had around her throat go and watched as her hands quickly go up to her face.
“Get off of me!” she yelled, while gasping for air, all the while trying to keep her nose from leaking. “Khi, get off of me!”
“I’m not done with your ass!” I chuckled. “Fuck you mean get off of you? You like doing grimy shit, right? You like fucking with a nigga, right?”
“Khi, I’m sorry! I’m sorry, okay?” Briana said, as she covered her face and cried.
“You sorry about what bitch?” I said, as I wrapped my hand back around her neck and squeezed. I tightened my hold, and the moment Briana’s hands came from around her face, I punched her again. “Sorry about what?”
I let her go, and she popped up from the bed trying her hardest to get away. I laughed as I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and brought up the camera app.
“How the fuck I turn this damn flash on?” I said, as I pushed Briana back with one hand and took a picture using my other hand. “What the fuck is your hoe ass sorry about, Briana?”
“Fuck you, Khi!”
“Nah, bitch, you the one about to get fucked. Let me take a few good pics to show my muthafuckin’ fiancé. I gotta make sure she know that I ain’t take it easy on your ass. Scandalous ass hoe. Did you think…”
I punched Briana in the face again, as she tried to reach to the nightstand to grab my pistol. I dropped the cell phone next to me and used both of my hands to pin her arms down on the bed.
“Did you think I was gonna leave Cuba after that shit you tried tonight? You couldn’t take a nigga actually being in love with somebody else, huh? Look at me! Look at me, you junky ass hoe!”
“Fuck you, Khi! Fuck you! That bitch gonna be just like me for real, for real! Y’all sit back laughing at me and shit like it’s easy. You let that bitch play mama to our daughter and treat me like I’m some nothing ass bitch, like I never meant something to you over a damn mistake! Fuck you! That bitch gonna be a junky now! Yea, I stuck that needle in that hoe’s neck and her arm. She should’ve just died when I put that antifreeze in her food. Ugly ass bitch! Let’s see what kinda mama she gonna be now that she got that junk in her system. I wanna see her fight that shit. Tell that hoe I said welcome to my muthafuckin’ world,” Briana spat, and I could feel everything in me run cold.
I let the hold that I had on her arms go and climbed off of her. I snatched up my cell phone and took in a deep breath, as I let it out, and then, walked over to the nightstand to grab the hammer. Briana sat up in the bed and used t
he sheet to wipe the blood from her face. She crawled to the edge of the bed and sat there as she looked up at me with a smirk on her face.
“Nah, she ain’t gonna be no junky. I promise you that.”
“That monkey is a muthafucka.…”
POW!
“Shut the fuck up!” I said, after shooting Briana in her chest. Her eyes bucked up and blood spilled from her mouth. I took a couple of steps forward, and her eyes followed me the closer I got. I sucked my teeth as I looked down at her. Briana gasped for air as she tried to hold herself up.
“Khi…Khi,” Briana stumbled over her words, as more blood poured from out of her mouth.
“The whole way over here, I had been wondering if I should just let this shit ride until Cuba was up to par and let her do this shit. I wanted her to put one right between your hoe ass eyes, but nah…she’s a good girl that’s been dealt a bad hand. I promised her that I was gonna make her life better, not harder. You got me fucked up if you think I’mma let this shit bring her down. You know what type of nigga I am, Ma,” I chuckled, and the moment Briana opened her mouth to say something else, I put one in her head and quickly stepped back. Her body dropped to the floor, and I walked around her, snatched my t-shirt from the bed, and walked out of the room.
Once I made it into the living room, I sighed and placed the pistol behind my back. The luggage by the door caught my attention again, and I knelt down to check to see what was inside them. One of the suitcases contained two plane tickets and a bunch of little girl clothes that I knew were for Skylarr. This hoe had planned on taking my damn daughter to fuckin’ California, and had I been seconds later getting here, I would’ve been without another fuckin’ child.
I grabbed the suitcase that held Sky’s clothing, and the plane tickets, and exited out of Briana’s home. The moment Tramell spotted me, he climbed out of his car and walked over to me. I dropped the suitcase next to my foot and rubbed my hands against my pants before taking Skylarr into my arms.
“You straight?” Tramell asked, and I only nodded.
“Dump that bitch in the Trinity and holla at me tomorrow.”
“Bet.”
“She don’t need to be found, Tramell. Make sure she hits the bottom and never comes up,” I told him, as I reached down, grabbed the luggage, and walked off to my car. Fuck it.
Chapter 2
Tangie
“Where is she? Where is my cousin?” I cried, as I stormed through Khi and Cuba’s place looking for Cuba. As soon as I had made it home, showered, and curled up to cry my eyes out over Cass’ dumb ass, I got a call saying that Briana had done something to Cuba and that I needed to get to her quick. I didn’t know what the fuck I was walking into, but from the way Khi sounded over the phone when he told me to come, I knew that shit was real.
That trifling ass bitch, Briana needed to be handled. I knew that grimy ass hoe was looking for trouble when I saw her earlier tonight, and that was the very reason I had sought to warn my cousin of her presence. Sadly, that bitch Tameeka had distracted me with her bullshit causing me to leave Cuba behind. I hated I let Tameeka and Cass’ shit get to me and cause me to make a damn fool of myself, but I was hurt. Even now, I was still hurting, but I knew that I had to get myself together for my cousin’s sake.
Shit, I should’ve been there for her so that we could’ve knocked Briana’s head off once and for all, and hell, maybe even Tameeka’s too. They both deserved it, and now that I think about it, I wondered if the miserable ghetto twins had been plotting together. It was real funny how both of them came with the madness at the same damn time. It was cool, because I was going to get to the bottom of it sooner or later.
The moment I made my way up the very last step, my eyes landed on Cass’ funny looking self, and I sucked my teeth before I was all in his face. Ughhh, I couldn’t stand him. His long hair was neatly braided, and he was still dressed down in the same fly ass shit he was wearing earlier for his party. I really hated that he didn’t have one ugly bone in his body. It made it harder and harder for me to be mad at him, especially with him smelling better than he looked. I had to quickly remember why I was mad at him, even though this nigga looked like he didn’t have a care in the damn world, but that was just Cass though; that was one of the things that bothered me the most about him. I couldn’t stand that shit, and his nonchalance caused me to snap.
“Where the fuck is my cousin at?” I yelled, and Cassidy looked at me like I had lost my mind, and if I had lost it, he could thank himself for that. I was perfectly sane until this nigga was released from prison and popped up on my doorstep. The minute I had laid eyes on Cass after all those years, I was completely lost in him all over again. Sadly, that nigga had done me the same way he had promised me that he wouldn’t this time around. It was the same fucked up situation as before he got locked up. A bitch popping up hollering she was pregnant with his child and me being pregnant as well. I had planned to surprise Cass with dinner and some of the greatest head and sex of all time before popping the news to him that we were having a child, but fuck him. He didn’t deserve that shit.
“Calm down—“ Cass tried to say, but I cut his ass off.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Cass. Where the hell is Cuba at?” I asked and suddenly a burst of tears spilled from my eyes. I tried to shake it off, but I just couldn’t. My emotions were all over the place. “I swear to God, I’m gonna kill Khi and Briana for whatever they did to my cousin! Where is she? Is she in here?”
I tried to push past Cassidy as he stood in front of the bedroom door, but he stopped me and placed his hands on me. Without even thinking, I brought my hand back and slapped the shit out of him. Biting down on my lip, I did my best to further prevent any more tears from my falling. Cass just didn’t know how much that what he had done was tearing me up inside. I was doing my best to hold it together, but I just couldn’t, and looking at him only made it worse.
“Don’t fuckin’ touch me,” I said, as I pulled back away from Cass and looked at him with so much pain behind my eyes. He stepped back away from me and sucked his teeth before throwing his hands in the pockets of his pants. I watched as he turned his back towards me and stepped into the bedroom. Following behind him, my eyes landed on Cuba, and although she didn’t look to be in any pain physically, I could see that something wasn’t right. Her body was so limp like, and she almost looked as if she didn’t harbor any life within her. My heart broke into a million more pieces, and I brought my hand up to my mouth to stifle my cries.
“What happened to her?” I asked Cass, as I watched him lean over and kiss Cuba on her forehead. He then stepped away from her before brushing his eyes over me and heading to leave. “What happened to her? What the fuck did they do to her?”
“Keep your fuckin’ voice down! You see she’s sleeping. Just sit with her. I’m out,” Cass hissed, and I rolled my eyes before I tried to catch him before he could leave out. Part of me didn’t wanna see his ass or even talk to him ever again, but the other part of me wanted answers. He was always trying to avoid shit and walk over it with hopes that it would go away, but Cassidy should know better. I wasn’t the type to let shit go. He was gonna have to answer to this. Tameeka had been working for me since I first opened the shop, and we were cool throughout our high school years. No, I didn’t consider her to be a close friend, but she was still in my circle, and she and Cass should’ve known better. I didn’t think I could forgive either of them for this.
“Why you wanna fight? You don’t see your cousin is over there going through some shit? You so caught up in this bullshit that you can’t even let it go long enough to tend to her. Briana tried to turn her into a junkie; she’s gonna need you,” Cassidy said, making me feel even more terrible on the inside.
What did he mean by that? Briana trying to turn Cuba into a junkie. Turn her into a junkie, how? No matter how, though, the shit didn’t sound good, and my damn heart went out to my girl. She just kept getting the short end of the stick, and I didn’t blame any
one but Khi for that.
“Just tell me if it’s your baby, Cass,” I asked, and Cassidy shook his head dejectedly before he lightly shoved me out of the way and stormed out of the room. I shook my head again, holding my tears back in an attempt to pull myself together. Walking over to the bed, I sat beside Cuba and looked down at her. I rubbed my hands over hers, and that was when she gripped my hand into hers.
“Hey cus, you okay?” I asked her, as I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed it. She moaned a little before turning herself over to her back. It wasn’t long before Cuba flew forward, covered her mouth, and ran for the bathroom. I got up and followed behind her and quickly grabbed for her hair, as she spilled her guts into the toilet.
“Oh, God,” Cuba heaved. She gagged a little before more came out and caused her to gasp for air. I raced over to the cabinet in search for a towel, and when I found one, I wet it with cold water. Once she was done, I pulled her up from the floor and helped her back to the bedroom. “I feel so fuckin’ sick.”
“What happened?” I asked again, as I placed the cool towel on her forehead and watched as tears slid down the side of her face.
“I’m pregnant,” Cuba cried, and I nodded knowing the feeling. A moment like this should’ve been a joyful one. Me being pregnant again after the loss I suffered and the same for Cuba should’ve been a happy moment, but why did it feel like we were both sad and regretting we laid down with the men we chose to love.
“Why are you not happy about it? What happened, Cuba? What was Cass talking about? Briana trying to turn you into a junkie?”
Cuba grabbed the side of her neck before closing her eyes and breaking down. I shook my head and sat next to her again. Pulling her up, I wrapped my arms around my cousin and just told her how much I loved her.
