by Charae Lewis
“So how are you and Big doing?”
“I'm not speaking to him, but I did go home. We just don’t sleep in the same bed.”
“Why do you keep playing? Just forgive the man and move on.”
Aimee scoffed. “It’s not that easy, Asia. It’ll take time for me to get over this.”
“As long as y’all don’t break up, then I’ll leave it alone. I'm going downstairs to wait for Trystan. I’ll be back.”
Asia got on the elevator and went down to the hospital’s main lobby. She sat in a seat closest to the door. Nervous jitters ran aggressively through her body as she waited for Trystan’s arrival. After ten minutes of waiting, he finally showed up with a security guard. Asia couldn’t help but smile as he approached her with a hug. He looked great with his snapback sitting low almost covering his eyes.
“Damn, I missed you,” he commented inhaling her scent.
“I missed you too,” she replied, genuinely happy that he was in her presence.
They both took a seat with their hands locked into each other’s. It was so refreshing for Asia to see Trystan. Somehow, he had become the calm to her storm. He always had a way of making her feel better.
“So what happened to you? Why are you at the hospital?”
Asia took a deep breath and braced herself for his reaction. She knew her revelation would take them back ten steps within their relationship.
“I don’t even know where to start, Trystan. I just hope you understand.”
“Understand what? Just tell me,” he begged.
“Okay… Four weeks ago I had a baby on my bathroom floor.”
Trystan gave her an astounded look. “A baby? Are you playing with me right now?”
“I'm not playing. I was close to being eight months pregnant. I had no idea that I was with child. I had no symptoms except for when I drank white liquor. I would've never developed a relationship with you knowing that I was pregnant. I hope you believe me.”
Asia held her breath as she watched Trystan cover his eyes with his hands. After a gut-wrenching minute of silence, he finally gave her eye contact.
“I'm trying to process this shit, Asia. I'm shocked like a mothafucka.”
“Imagine how I felt when I was pushing a baby out on my floor. Hell, I'm still shocked.”
“So the day that you weren’t feeling good was the day that you had the baby?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Damn I need a drink after that news. Is your ex the father?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Damn.” He sighed. “So how’s the baby doing?”
Her mood instantly turned somber at the mention of her baby. “She had to have open heart surgery. She’s recovering now, so we’re just hoping for the best.”
“Damn, baby, I hate to hear that. Can I see her?”
Asia shook her head nervously. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. Her dad is upstairs.”
“Man, I ain't worried about his ass. I'm just trying to be here for you.”
“I appreciate that, but Dinero would clown in this hospital. He doesn’t care where he is, he’ll act a fool anywhere.”
“Man, fuck his ignorant ass.”
Unexpectedly, Asia got a text from Aimee.
Aimee: Cray-Nero is on his way down to get his charger out of his car.
Before Asia could react, the elevator doors slid open and Dinero walked out. He stopped midstride when he spotted Asia and Trystan. Asia held her breath as his eyes zeroed in on her. His eyes were cold and demented as he stalked over to the two of them. Immediately, Asia and Trystan stood up.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Dinero gritted.
“I'm here to see my girl,” Trystan replied smugly.
“Please chill,” Asia pleaded to Dinero who ignored her.
“Oh you think you funny, nigga. Keep on fucking with me and you gon’ be rapping like Kanye did on “Through the Wire.”
“I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” Trystan warned and then eyed his guard.
Dinero sucked his teeth. “Mothafucka, I’ll drop you and him. Y’all can have matching bracelets in the ER.”
Asia slid between the two men who were eyeing each other down. “Trystan, I’ll call you later, okay?”
He looked down at her and nodded. He quickly kissed her cheek and walked out of the hospital. She exhaled, thankful that the scene didn’t get any uglier.
“Why the fuck do you keep disrespecting me?” Dinero barked, startling her.
“How am I disrespecting you?”
“Don’t invite no dude that you're fucking to the hospital where my baby is laying. What kind of games are you playing?”
“You act like I brought him up to see her. And I'm not playing a game with you,” she argued.
“I ain't acting like shit. I wouldn’t dare invite a bitch that I'm fucking to the same place where you were. I have respect for you, but I see you don’t have any regards for me. That’s why I'm done dealing with your ass.”
“Dinero, you are seriously trippin’. I did nothing wrong.”
“Man, fuck you, Asia. I'm sick of your shit. I know I fucked up with you, but you don’t have to keep treating me like I ain't shit. And the fact that you don’t see nothing wrong with the shit you just did pisses me off.”
“I'm not treating you like anything. You need to stop making it seem like I'm doing you wrong because I didn’t.”
“Fuck you,” he snapped and then walked off.
Asia was appalled by his words. She didn’t think she was being disrespectful by seeing Trystan at the hospital. She didn’t think Dinero would come down and see them together. All she wanted to do was give Trystan the decency and respect of breaking down her situation to him in person. She didn’t mean to hurt Dinero’s feelings in the process. Asia thought for a moment and tried to place herself in his shoes. She would've felt a certain type of way if Dinero had invited another woman to the hospital. So she thought about apologizing to him, but then quickly decided against it. Asia refused to sweat him. If he wanted to have an attitude, then she had no problem ignoring him. After calming herself down for a few moments, she went back upstairs to sit with her baby.
Chapter Thirteen
Cadence sat on the couch and looked at her watch. It was after ten in the morning, and her mother had yet to return home. All week, Carlotta had been staying out all night with a mystery guy. Whenever Cadence questioned her mother about her whereabouts, she just told her to mind her business. Cadence needed to have a conversation with Carlotta about the charges she’d filed against Dinero. She wanted to drop them and move back to Mississippi. She was scared of what may become of her if the case were to go to trial. She wasn’t trying to lose her life over a personal vendetta that Carlotta had against Dinero.
When she heard keys jingling in the lock, she knew Carlotta had finally come home. She walked in looking as if she’d had a long night. Mascara was smudged under her eyes and her lipstick had faded. Carlotta kicked off her heels and dropped her purse on the coffee table.
“Where have you been?” Cadence questioned.
“Minding my business. Don’t be questioning me like you're my mama.”
“So you got a new dude, huh?”
“Maybe.” Carlotta smiled. “Why? Are you jealous?”
Cadence smacked her lips. “No. I really don’t care, but I want to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?” her mother asked as she took a seat.
“I wanna drop the charges against Dinero.”
Carlotta glared at her and then shook her head. “Hell no. You're not backing out of this.”
“Ma, I don’t want to do it. I'm actually about to go back Mississippi. I don’t wanna be here anymore.”
“You know what gets me about your scary ass? You’re always down to do some shit in the beginning, and then when it’s time to put in work, you wanna back out.”
“I’ll admit that I was upset with Dinero, but I'm no
t anymore. I feel bad pinning false charges on him.”
“Why the fuck do you feel bad when that lil’ mothafucka whooped your ass at his car wash?”
“That was a long time ago, and I deserved it,” Cadence argued.
“You didn’t deserve for his ass to go upside your fucking head. You sound crazy as hell, Cadence. So what because you told his wife about y’all affair? He had no right to put his hands on you.”
Cadence rubbed her temples because she could feel a headache coming on. It seemed as though her mother was her worst enemy. Every time she tried to do the right thing, Carlotta would come and persuade her to do the opposite.
“Well, I've made my decision, so you're just gonna have to deal with it,” Cadence declared and stood up.
Carlotta yanked her down to the floor with so much force that she thought her arm had been dislocated.
“You're not doing shit without my permission. Now I said you’re going to press charges, and that’s final.”
“No, I'm not!” Cadence yelled and yanked out of her mother’s tight grasp.
“You little bitch!” Carlotta grimaced and pulled Cadence’s hair.
Cadence tried her best to pull away from her mother but it felt as though her scalp was being pulled apart.
“Get the hell off of me!” Cadence demanded.
“Hell no! I need to toughen your scary ass up. I don’t know where you came from, but you can’t be my child acting like this.”
After Carlotta pulled a chunk of hair from Cadence’s scalp, she slapped her across her face. Tears formed in Cadence’s eyes because she couldn’t believe her mother had beaten her like a stranger from the streets. She didn’t want to fight her, but she had no choice but to defend herself.
Cadence kicked her mother in her stomach. Carlotta fell back and grabbed her abdominal area in pain. Cadence then jumped to her feet, ready to give her mother more, but when she saw her doubled over in pain, she kneeled down to help her.
“Ma, are you okay?”
Carlotta pushed her away from her. “Get your ass away from me. I can’t believe you kicked me.”
“I was trying to defend myself.”
“You're never supposed to hit your mother. I don’t care what I was doing to you,” she chastised Cadence.
“You can’t just put your hands on me. I'm a grown woman. I'm not a little girl anymore.”
“Whatever. Just get the fuck outta my house. Take your dumb ass home.”
Cadence shook her head and then grabbed her purse. She couldn’t believe her mother was upset because she had defended herself. If Carlotta didn’t want her there, then it was fine by her. She declared that day that she was done with her mother. She was way too toxic, and Cadence didn’t need that in her life.
****
Dinero sat in his mother’s kitchen eating the breakfast she had prepared. She wanted him to stop by before he made his way back to the hospital. It seemed as though that was his second home. His days consisted of nothing but sitting with Mila. She was slowly making progress, but it wasn’t fast enough for Dinero. He just wanted his baby to come home where she belonged.
“So how did my little angel do last night?” Rochelle asked.
“The same. I hate seeing her that way. I'm trying to hold it together, but that shit is tearing me apart.”
Each day Dinero wanted to fight because his daughter was so sick. It ripped his heart out to see numerous tubes attached to her little body. He was trying to be strong, but he was extremely hurt.
“I know it’s gotta be hard to see your child fighting to live, Dinero, but at least she is getting better. Her surgery went well, and that’s the best thing that could’ve happened. It could be worse, so be grateful for her progress.”
“Yeah, I know, but I still hate seeing her like that.”
“It’s going to be okay. How has Asia been doing?”
Dinero was still pissed about her inviting Trystan to the hospital, so he had been avoiding her. He didn’t want to be in her presence at all. He found her actions to be very disrespectful, and he didn’t have any words for Asia.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I ain't been talking to her like that.”
“I heard you guys got into a spat at the hospital.”
“What are you about to say now, Ma? I know you're about to take her side like you always do.”
“Actually, I wasn’t about to say anything. I just hate to see you guys at odds. It was cool to be at each other’s throats before Mila came, but now it’s not.”
In the midst of their conversation, Keece walked into the kitchen. He grabbed a plate and piled some food on it, before he took a seat next to Dinero.
“What you doin’ here?” he asked Keece.
“Mama told me she cooked, so I stopped by.”
“Your little brother needs a hug, Keece,” Rochelle spoke softly.
Keece opened his arms wide. “Come give me a hug,” he joked.
“Man, I don’t wanna hug your bitch ass.” Dinero laughed.
“I tried, Mama.” Keece shrugged.
“I forgot he’s not affectionate.”
“I don’t need a hug. I need my baby girl to come up outta that damn hospital,” Dinero huffed.
“Mila’s gon’ be good. Don’t trip about it. When I'm done at the shop, I’m gonna go see her,” Keece promised.
“Dinero and Asia are beefin’ again,” Rochelle announced.
“You know I heard what happened, and I gotta side with my brother on this one. She needs to quit throwing that dude in his face,” Keece remarked.
“Why do you say she’s throwing him in Dinero’s face?” Rochelle asked.
“Because she didn’t have to talk to that man at the hospital. She could’ve sat in the car with him. Hell, she could’ve hit him up on FaceTime. Asia knows what she’s doing.”
“That’s the same shit I said, but she wanna act like I'm trippin’. I'm off her ass. I’m done giving her a reaction. She can kiss my ass from now on,” Dinero snapped still pissed about the scene at the hospital.
“You don’t mean that,” Rochelle challenged him.
Dinero scoffed. “I swear I do.”
“I don’t blame you, bro. You ain't gotta deal with that shit. I wouldn’t keep chasing her ass either.”
“And I'm not. Like I said, fuck her.”
Rochelle rolled her eyes. “Y’all make me sick. And stop cursing in front of me! We ain't friends.”
“How you gon’ enforce a new rule? It don’t work like that, Ma. You gotta take us as we are just like we took you,” Dinero spat.
Rochelle reached over and slapped him on the back of his head. “Keep talking that slick shit, and I’ma pull out an extension cord on your ass.”
Keece laughed while Dinero rubbed the back of his head. Rochelle was forever slapping Dinero because he had the most to say.
“Damn, Ma, you're always hitting on me. Why you ain't slap Keece’s weak ass?”
“Because you're always talking shit. Now y’all hurry up and get out. Me and my man need some alone time before I go to the hospital.”
“Don’t nobody wanna hear about Carlos knocking the lining out, Ma,” Dinero joked.
“Hurry up and leave.”
After Keece finished his food, the brothers left their mother’s house. Keece decided to ride with Dinero to his car wash to check up on everything. When they arrived, they saw Keith coming out of the office. Instantly, Dinero’s face contorted into a frown. He owed him an ass whooping for trying to get Asia’s number, and he was about to get it.
“I'm about to beat his hoe ass,” Dinero announced as he put his car in park.
“You still mad about that hospital shit?” Keece asked.
“Nah, he tried to get Asia’s number behind my back.” Dinero hopped out of the car and walked over to Keith who was standing by his car.
“Damn, I've been tryin’ to hit you up for a week now. How‘s baby girl doing?” Keith asked.
“Man, don�
��t ask about my fuckin’ baby. Why the fuck did you try to get Asia’s number?”
“Huh?”
“Huh my ass! Why the fuck did you try to get her number? Did you think she wasn’t going to tell me, fuck boy?”
“Man, that bitch is lying.”
In one swift motion, Dinero swung and his fist collided with Keith’s nose in a powerful punch. Keith stumbled back a bit but didn’t fall. Dinero then hit him again, as blood gushed from his mouth.
“Fight back, pussy!” Dinero roared as he continued pummeling Keith’s face with his fist.
Keith tried his best to match Dinero’s punches, but it was of no use. Dinero was eating his punches like they were a snack. When Keith slipped on some gravel, Dinero wasted no time stomping him.
“Talk that shit now, bitch!”
Dinero’s shoe was smeared with Keith’s blood as he proceeded to kick his face. Before he could kick him unconscious, Keece broke it up.
“He had enough. Chill out,” Keece coached Dinero.
“Nah fuck that. I ain't done with his hoe ass!” he bellowed.
Keith stirred still in a daze. He got up from the ground and wiped his face with his shirt. He spit blood from his mouth and then looked up at Dinero. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he threatened.
“Aye, I know you ain't making threats,” Keece challenged.
“Yeah, I am. Watch your back, Dinero.”
“I ain't worried about your silly ass. Get your soft ass off my property!” Dinero commanded, not fazed by his threats.
“Yeah, we gon’ see,” Keith warned before he slowly climbed into his car.
Keece and Dinero watched as he drove out of the parking lot.
“Aye, watch his sneaky ass. I don’t trust him,” Keece advised.
“Man, fuck him. His soft ass ain't about nothing.”
“It’s always the soft ones that you have to keep your eye on. Just watch out for his ass.”
“I ain't worried about it. Let me get the fuck out of here, so I can go spend time with my baby.”
****
