by Charae Lewis
“Yep.”
“You know Big is going to come looking for you here, especially since you took his son, right?”
“I'm still not going back to him. I’ll drop DJ off, but I don’t wanna be in his presence.”
Asia poked her lip out. “I don’t want y’all to break up. Please reconsider.”
“And I didn’t want you to break up with Dinero either.”
“Yes, you did,” Asia countered.
Aimee laughed through her tear-stained face. “I know I did, but Dinero is cool now. I never told you this, but ever since you guys divorced, he calls me every week and checks up on you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And the money that I give you every week that I told you came from Grandma in the Philippines actually comes from Dinero.”
Asia sat there completely speechless. She had no clue that Dinero was keeping up with her through Aimee. It warmed her heart that he still cared that much to send her money every week. “I can’t believe that. Are we really talking about my Dinero?”
“Yes.” Aimee giggled. “He still loves you, sis. And call me crazy, but I feel bad for him. I know he fucked up badly, but he’s been going through it since you’ve been gone.”
Asia took a deep breath. “Okay so here’s the truth. I still love Dinero and I recently saw him. I told him to let me go because I'm trying to move on. I feel like if he keeps coming around that he’s going to break down the walls that I'm trying to keep up. Most of the time, I wished that we would've worked out because that was my baby. But then thoughts of how he betrayed me come to my mind, and I get upset all over again. I want to believe him when he says that he’s changed and that he would treat me better. But I can’t be a fool for him again.”
“I understand. Actually, I feel the same way you do. It’s time for me to be without Big and live my life. Maybe I’ll meet someone new. Who knows?”
Asia smacked her lips. “Girl, hush. You know that Big is not gon’ let that ride.”
“Whatever. I'm surprised that you're not with Trystan.”
“No, he had a show tonight. He’ll be back in town later this week. Did I tell you that his best friend is Danica?”
“Big’s sister, Danica?”
“Yes, and home girl does not like me. When I went to see him in Miami, she got salty and left his show.”
Aimee laughed. “Well, we know what that means. She wants his ass.”
“She does, but he insists that they're strictly friends. I don’t know about him, so I'm not putting all my cards on the table yet.”
“Back to the old Asia, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Well…” Aimee stood. “I'm tired. I'm going to bed.”
Asia watched as Aimee disappeared down the hallway. The thought of Dinero checking on her still lingered in her mind. She wished that Aimee hadn't shared that information with her. Knowing that Dinero was still doing sweet things undercover made her yearn for him terribly. She couldn’t comprehend why it was so hard to get that man out of her system. It was as if Dinero had a permanent residence in her heart, and she hated it. All Asia wanted to do was get over him and forget about him, but she couldn’t. He still was a very prominent figure in her life even though they were no longer together.
Asia got up from the sofa and walked back to her bedroom. She laid down and tried her best to fall back asleep.
****
“Come on, Jimmy. I need you on this one,” Dom said.
Dom and Dinero were posted at his best friend, Jimmy’s, bar. Dom was trying to persuade Jimmy to help him out with the Cadence and Carlotta situation. Dom had the perfect plan, and all he needed was for Jimmy to participate.
“Dom, you know I don’t want anything to do with that shady hoe,” Jimmy huffed.
“I know, but she doesn’t know you, so it’ll be easier for her to fall right into our plan. I would do it myself, but she knows me,” Dom explained.
“I’ll give you whatever you want if you do this for us,” Dinero promised.
“Anything?”
Dinero nodded. “Yeah.”
“Will you’ll pay the property taxes on my bar for the rest of the year?” Jimmy asked.
Without thinking about it, Dinero said, “Yeah, I got you.”
Jimmy smiled. “A’ight, I'm down. So all I have to do is just wine and dine this bitch?”
“Yeah. Then once you do that, I can put my actual plan into motion.”
“What's your plan?” Jimmy asked curiously.
“He won’t tell nobody. I've been asking him all week and shit,” Dinero scoffed.
“You don’t need to know what I plan on doing. Just be grateful that I'm helping your hard-headed ass,” Dom shot.
Jimmy laughed. “Yeah, nephew, you are hard-headed.”
“Man, shut your Ruben Studdard lookin’ ass up,” Dinero retorted.
Dom laughed. “Chill before he changes his mind.”
“You better tell his lil’ ass,” Jimmy co-signed.
Dinero waved his hand, unbothered by their threats.
“Okay, so I found out where Carlotta is staying. She usually goes to the casino on Fridays and Saturdays. So I would try to meet her there,” Dom announced.
“Pops, how do you know all of this shit?” Dinero questioned.
“Because my name is Dom. That’s why.”
Jimmy chuckled. “Dom, you better remind the kid who you are.”
“Man, stop dick riding. Pops ain't got it like that no more,” Dinero teased.
“You know what? You’re absolutely right,” Dom said and stood. “I think I should take my talents elsewhere.”
“Nah, Pops, I'm just playing,” Dinero quickly reneged.
Dom raised his brow. “That’s what I thought.” He sat back down.
“So, since today is Saturday, should I go to Potawatomi tonight?” Jimmy asked, referring to the popular casino in Milwaukee.
“Yeah, and work your magic on her thirsty ass. Flash a couple bands in her face. I'm positive that’ll have her ass in your face for the entire night.”
“A’ight, I got you.”
Dinero sat and listened to his father and Jimmy converse about pulling Carlotta in. He’d almost forgotten how powerful his father was. He had no idea what Dom had planned for Carlotta and Cadence, but he was almost certain that they would definitely suffer.
Chapter Ten
“So my lil’ lady not feeling well today?” Trystan asked.
Asia held the phone with a faint smile on her face. She was lying in bed with a heating pad propped on her abdominal area. She had been experiencing some cramping since the night before. It was that time of the month for her, and she was miserable. She’d even called in to work because the cramping had become so severe.
“No, I think I'm about to start my period.”
“Damn, so I can’t get any of that gushy?”
Asia chuckled. “No, unfortunately.”
“Well, do you want me to bring you something? What's that shit y’all females take? Midol?”
“No, I have some already. Thanks, though.”
“A’ight, I'm about to go to rehearsal. I’ll stop by to see you later.”
“Okay. Bye, boo.” Asia hung up and put her phone on the charger. Since she hadn't seen Aimee that morning, she decided to get up and walk to the living room. With every step that she took, an agonizing pain ran through her back. Asia was shocked to see Big sitting on the couch watching TV with DJ in his arms.
“Where’s Aimee?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. She left.”
Asia sensed that he was a little bothered, so she slowly sat next to him. “Big, I really hope y’all get it together. I don’t want to see y’all break up.”
“Shit, I don’t even care no more.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Yeah, I do. She don’t ever try to see shit from my side. It’s always about her feelings,” he snapped.
“Well, your ass d
id lie about a couple of things. So she's not wrong for feeling the way that she does,” Asia reminded him as she felt a sharp pain shoot through her back.
“I lied for a reason, though. I didn’t want to tell her how long I had really been fucking with Toi because y’all mama had just died. And it was around the same time that y’all had found out that your daddy was responsible for the shit. I didn’t want to keep hurting her like that, so I had to keep it to myself until I found the right time to tell her. Another reason why I didn’t tell her was because I knew she would leave me, and I needed her…still do.”
For a moment, Asia let Big’s words sink in. She understood his reasoning, but she felt like he still should’ve been honest. At the time, she and Aimee were going through a lot of turmoil due to their mother’s death and father’s betrayal. If Aimee had found out Big’s truth, it may have sent her into a mental breakdown.
“I understand, Big, but I don’t think Aimee will. You may just have to give her a little time to get over it.”
“Like I said, I don’t even care. I just want to be able to see my son.”
“So you're cool with losing your lady?” she questioned.
“Nah, but I'm not about to sweat her ass either. If she wants to go, then she can. I'm not holding her hostage.”
Asia rolled her eyes and then stood. “I don’t feel good. I'm going to lay down.”
Big was pissing her off with his nonchalant attitude. He was acting like he wasn’t the person in the wrong. She couldn’t understand why he was acting like he wouldn’t be affected if Aimee were to leave him for good. Asia was in too much pain to figure it out, so she went back to her bedroom and laid down.
****
An hour later, Asia woke up with the urge to use the bathroom. She walked into her bathroom and sat on the toilet. She was in so much pain and nothing was helping. She’d even doubled up on meds with hopes that it would subside her pain, but it was of no use. Asia could feel tears gather in her eyes because the discomfort was becoming too much to bear.
“What the fuck?” Asia whispered as she squirmed on the toilet.
It felt as though her insides were being ripped apart. Asia felt an incredible amount of pressure as she winced. When she looked down in between her legs, she noticed something protruding from her vagina.
“What the hell is that?” she panicked.
Asia looked around and spotted a mirror. She grabbed it, almost dropping it before she held it in front of her expanded kitty. When she saw what appeared to be a head with hair, she almost fainted.
“Arrrgghhh!” she screamed. “Big! Big! Come here!”
Moments later, she heard heavy footsteps outside of the door.
“Why are you yelling?” he asked.
“Open the door!” she yelled as her limbs began to profusely shake.
“Hell nah, I ain't coming in there. For what?”
“Just open it,” she cried.
Her heart was beating a mile a minute, trying to figure out what the hell was going on with her body.
The door slowly opened and Big peeked his head inside. “Twin, I ain't tryin’ to know you like that. I know you ain't called me in here while you’re shitting?” he snapped.
“Big it’s a head down there! Look!” Asia bellowed.
Big gave her a side eye and then reluctantly looked down between her legs. His face displayed that he was in a state of shock. He covered his mouth with his hand, then looked at Asia’s tear-stained face.
“What kinda shit is that?”
“I don’t know, but I'm scared,” she cried. “It’s coming out.”
“A’ight, um,” Big nervously planted his hands on his fade. “Shit, come lay on the floor,” he instructed.
Big gently helped Asia off the toilet and onto the floor. She laid on her back, feeling like she was in a twilight zone. He parted her legs as Asia continued to cry. She had never been so afraid in her entire life.
“You gotta push, Asia. The baby’s damn near hanging out.”
“How? Ow! Shit! It feels like I'm dying!” she screeched.
“I don’t know! Shit, act like you're shitting, I guess. Just hurry the fuck up before DJ wakes up.”
Asia began to push with all of her might. It felt as though she wasn’t doing much because Big was still fussing at her. She wasn’t sure if she was doing it correctly, so she took a deep breath, and began to push with all of her might again. She must have been doing something right because she could feel the excruciating pain of her pussy stretching.
Asia sat up on her elbows as her body wiggled in agony. “Owww!”
“Keep pushing,” Big coached.
“I can’t! This shit hurts!” she yelled.
“You gotta keep going, Asia. It’s almost out.”
Asia pushed once more, and finally felt the baby pop out. She looked down and saw that Big was holding the slimy little human. The umbilical cord was still attached. Suddenly, Asia fell back and began to sob uncontrollably. She was scared, astounded, and devastated all wrapped in one.
After her mental meltdown, she finally lifted her head and asked, “Why is it so quiet?”
Big shrugged and then looked for a towel to wrap the baby up. “Aye, we need to call the paramedics. She’s not making a sound.”
“It’s a girl? Is she still breathing? Oh my God, what's wrong with her?” she asked, becoming hysterical.
“I don’t know, Asia, but you gotta relax. Here, hold her while I call 911 and check on DJ.”
Big handed her the baby and walked out of the bathroom. Blood membrane and body fluids were smeared all over the baby and floor. Asia looked down at the tiny baby with fear in her eyes. She looked lifeless, and Asia was worried that she may have been a still born. So, she began to perform what she thought was CPR. Asia took two fingers and gently pumped the baby’s chest. She looked for any signs of life but didn’t see anything. The poor baby just laid in Asia’s arms. She was scared and prayed that Big would return soon. Asia closed her eyes and said a silent prayer hoping that this was all a bad dream.
****
Dinero sat in the passenger’s seat as Keith drove around the city. He put the blunt to his lips and inhaled. Dinero was stressed, and the only way to relieve his stress was to either smoke or get some pussy. Since he didn’t want to be bothered with any of his fuck buddies, he decided to smoke instead. Early that morning he had gone to talk to his lawyer, so they could set up a plan for the bogus charges Cadence had filed against him. Dinero’s lawyer assured him that he would get the charges drop and that he had nothing to worry about.
“Aye, you trying to go to the Chi tonight?” Keith asked, breaking him from his thoughts.
“For what?”
“Just to get away. I wanna go to the Shrine tonight.”
“I'm down,” Dinero agreed.
Suddenly, his phone began to ring. He saw that it was Big so he answered.
“What’s up, Bro?”
“Aye, I need you to come to the hospital.”
Dinero snapped out of his haze and sat up straight. “Why? What's wrong?”
“It’s Asia. I can’t explain the shit over the phone. You need to hurry up and get here.”
“Is she okay?” Dinero asked, feeling his chest muscles tighten.
“Not really. We’re at St. Mary’s. Just come,” Big demanded and then hung up.
Dinero looked at the phone, wondering what the hell was going on with Asia. The thought of her being harmed caused him to be filled with so much fury. Instantly, Dinero’s mind traveled to the possibility of Trystan hurting her.
“Aye, take me to the hospital,” he instructed Keith.
“Why? What's wrong?”
“Something happened to Asia. Go to St. Mary’s.”
“Word? She a’ight?”
“I don’t know yet. Just hurry up and get me there.”
****
Asia sat in the hospital bed feeling like she’d been hit by a Mack truck. Her vagina was so sore that she
had to pop a Percocet to ease the pain. She’d also had to get stitches from pushing. When the paramedics arrived to her house, they immediately began to work on the baby. They’d finally gotten her to breathe, but she was struggling. When they arrived at the hospital, the baby was taken directly to the NICU. Asia was scared that with her not having any awareness to her pregnancy that she may have caused her child to have health issues.
She looked at Aimee, Paris, and Rochelle as they stared at her with sympathetic eyes. Big had called Aimee, and since she was with Paris and Rochelle, they all rushed to the hospital when they heard the news. She hadn't said a word since they’d arrived. Her mind was consumed with the concern of if her baby would be okay.
“Is this Dinero’s baby or Trystan’s?” Aimee asked.
Asia sighed because she knew without a doubt that this baby belonged to Dinero. She and Trystan never slipped up and always used condoms. During Asia and Dinero’s last intimate moment, they had failed to use protection. The thought of being stuck with him forever caused a headache to surface. God really doesn’t like me, she thought.
“It’s Dinero’s. Trystan and I have only been dating for three months,” she finally answered.
“Are you serious? I'm shocked,” Paris spoke.
“But I don’t understand because you didn’t look pregnant at all. I don’t see how you didn’t know,” Aimee stated.
“You sure didn’t look pregnant. Did you feel any movements at all or anything?” Rochelle questioned.
“I did feel things, but I thought it was gas pains. I had no idea I was pregnant. I even had a period every month,” Asia explained.
“So when did you and Dinero have sex?” Aimee asked. “Because you weren’t even speaking to him before y’all divorced.”
“Remember when I told you I went to meet up with him and he busted my window. It was that night.”
Paris chuckled. “How you gon’ get you some farewell dick, though?”
“Right.” Aimee laughed.
“I should’ve known you and Dinero was going to do something extra when I set up that meeting.” Rochelle shook her head.
“I don’t care about that right now. I'm scared that my baby will be affected by my negligence,” Asia stressed.
