Side Chic 2 (A Ratchet Mess)

by West, La'Tonya

  His girl? Since when? I wondered to myself, looking at him, trying to read his expression. He was jealous! Awww.…that’s too cute, my boo is jealous. I smiled. For the first time in a very long time he was showing that he cared about me. Whether it was a lot or a little, he cared.

  Reggie shook Tre’s hand. “Man it’s really no problem at all.” He turned his attention back to me. “You take care of yourself and those beautiful babies, Ms. Lady. I am about to get out of here. I have a few things to get done. I just came back to make sure that you and the babies were okay.”

  “Alright.”

  To my surprise he leaned over and gave me a hug. He smelled so good and his arms felt good around me. After hugging me he left. I looked over at Tre, who was standing over me staring like he wanted to say something. “What?”

  He let out a chuckle. “Nothing…nothing at all.”

  “What is that supposed to mean? If you have something to say then say it.”

  “Really it’s nothing.” He paused and then snapped. “I just thought you and that nigga was about to start kissing or something! And what the fuck was that slick shit about when he said you shouldn’t have been out there by yourself anyways? Then he’s gone cut his motherfuckin’ eyes at me! That nigga don’t know me like that!”

  “Tre, first of all, why are you snapping at me? Second of all, why didn’t you ask him what he meant by it?” I snapped right back feeling some type of way about how he’d waited for Reggie to leave to try and pop an attitude with me. I felt like he was way out of line and at the same time very inconsiderate. I’d just pushed two babies out only a few hours ago and here he was trying to start an argument for no good reason! So much for him acting like he gave a damn about my black ass! I smacked my lips. “You know what, I’m not even about to let you get me upset. It seems to me that you’d be grateful that he was there to help me!”

  “I am grateful that the nigga helped you!” He exploded! “What the fuck you want me to do? Kiss that nigga’s ass or something! Just because you act like you was about to suck his dick doesn’t mean I have to!” He was standing over me yelling at me like he’d lost his mind and forgotten that we were in a hospital. I was sitting there extremely confused!

  “You need to calm down!” I told him not wanting anyone to hear all of the commotion and ask him to leave or for my parents to walk in and catch him talking to me this way. I wasn’t exactly sure where they were but I knew they weren’t far. “Why are you acting like this?”

  “Because you are so fuckin’ disrespectful! I went through all of this shit to get here because I felt bad about not being here with you. Especially after you sat in the parking lot and spit all of that bullshit to me last night about how much you miss me and our friendship! Let’s not forget, how you can’t even imagine fucking with another nigga because you love me so much but I get here and you flirting with the next nigga right in front of my damn face!” He fumed pointing his finger in my face! “You didn’t even have the decency to introduce me to the nigga! You were too busy showing all thirty-two of your fuckin’ teeth! Then you want me to believe that your triflin’ ass ain’t been jumping off with nobody else? Look at how you act right in front of my face! Fixing your hair and shit like you was trying to impress him and shit!”

  I’d never seen his jealous side before but seeing it now I knew that it wasn’t something that I ever wanted to see again! “Tre calm down before someone hears you! We are in a hospital or have you forgotten that?”

  “Don’t tell me what the fuck to do!”

  “Why are you trippin? I wasn’t flirting with that man! I don’t even know him!” I explained. “I only thanked him for helping me…that’s it! And the things that I said to you last night, I meant!”

  “Man whatever, fuck you! I’m out! Tell that nigga to come back and sit with you since you all on his dick!” He started towards the door.

  I tried to get up off of the bed but I was moving slowly. “Tre! Tre! Tre!” I called after him. “Why are you doing this? So you are just going to leave? You haven’t even held your daughters yet!”

  He stopped and spun around with an evil scowl on his face. “Tell Reggie to come and hold them! Shit for all I know that nigga might be their daddy! You know how you do!” With that he turned and walked out slamming the door behind him.

  I sat there on side of the bed crying. My feelings were hurt by the things that Tre had just said to me and at the same time I was shocked by how he’d went off over nothing! I started to feel dizzy and a few seconds later everything went black.

  When I woke up, I was lying in bed and my mama was sitting next to me holding my hand. “Where’s Tre?” My words came out as a whisper.

  “I haven’t seen him baby. The only person I’ve seen was that nice guy that helped get you to the hospital.” My mama answered. A worried expression covered her face. “How are you feeling? The nurse came in and found you passed out on the floor. She said it was probably caused by your elevated blood pressure. They gave you some medicine to try and bring it down. You have to try and relax LaQuela.” I didn’t respond I just turned my head and looked in the other direction. My dad stood over by the window looking out.

  For a few moments the room was silent and then daddy spoke. “You know, I don’t understand what kind of a man would lay down and father children then not bother to show his face on the day that they come into the world!” I didn’t have to see his face to know that he was fuming. I could hear it in his voice. I wanted to defend Tre and inform my daddy that he had come but then how would I explain his absence now? If I told them that he’d come and how he’d acted then they would know what had caused my blood pressure to skyrocket and me to pass out on the floor. I didn’t want them to know that because my daddy would surely hunt Tre down and kill him. So I kept my mouth shut and just laid there.

  Kisha

  I was awakened by the sound of the bedroom door closing. I sat up thinking that it was one of the boys but was surprised to see a silhouette of Tre’s tall frame removing his shirt and tossing it onto the computer chair. I looked over at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was a little after one in the morning.

  “Hey baby, what are you doing home?” I asked sitting up in bed. I was glad to see him but at the same time I was wondering what in the heck he was doing back home since he was supposed to be out of town working.

  “Don’t I live here, Kisha?” He snapped. “Don’t get up asking me no dumb ass questions! I’m not in the mood!” He stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door leaving me sitting on the bed wondering what in the hell had just happened.

  I turned on the lamp next to the bed and then slipped my feet into my bedroom shoes. I got up and went into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of Pepsi and stood next to the counter sipping it trying to figure out what in the hell had Tre so upset. Then something crazy crossed my mind. What if he’d gotten into a fight with one of the guys on the job in Richmond and gotten fired! I knew how quick tempered he could be and I also knew that if anyone said the slightest thing that he felt may have been disrespectful he would flip. I finished my soda and then went back down the hall to the bedroom. When I got in the room Tre was in bed with the covers pulled up over his head. I decided not to bother him and wait until he’d had a chance to sleep on whatever it was that had him so upset. I got in bed next to him, turned off the lamp and laid there staring up at the ceiling. A few minutes later, I heard a noise. At first I wasn’t sure what the noise was but then I heard it again. This time I knew exactly what it was. Tre’s phone was vibrating! I knew it wasn’t mine because I had my ringer turned on.

  “What the fuck?” I mumbled. It vibrated again and I could see it lighting up on the dresser. I nudged him. “Tre, wake up!”

  “What?” He grumbled from beneath the covers.

  “What my ass!” I was sitting up by now! “Why in the fuck is your phone going off at nearly two o’clock in the gotdamn morning?”

  He tossed the covers back and tu
rned over to face me! “I don’t fucking know! Why are you waking me up for that bullshit?” He was staring at me with anger dancing in his eyes and nostrils flared like my phone was the one going off at an inappropriate time!

  “Hold up motherfucka, who are you trying to jump bad at? First of all you come up in here with a nasty attitude, snapping at me for no reason! I let that shit slide but now your phone is vibrating at two in the damn morning and you are trying to flip! Nigga you must be crazy!” I got up and stomped over to the dresser to see who in the hell was texting my man at that time of morning! By the time I picked up his phone he was snatching it out of my hand!

  “Give me my shit yo!” He said as he ripped the phone from my hand. I tried my best to snatch it back but he held it up high over his head so that I couldn’t reach it! “Yo, why don’t you go ahead? For real you are starting to piss me off!” I jumped up trying to grab the phone and he pushed me back causing me to stumble back into the dresser! Without thinking I grabbed the glass candle off of the dresser and swung it! It landed in his shoulder! “Ahhhh…”He yelled out in pain and then slapped the shit out of me! Before I could recover from the slap he’d grabbed me by my shoulders and slung me on the bed! Then he was on top of me holding me by my face! I was swinging hitting him everywhere that I could! “Stop Kisha before I fuck you up!” He growled! I could see that he was serious but I was too mad to give a fuck!

  “Do what you have to do!” I screamed still hitting him! “This is how you gone do me over a phone? It must’ve been a bitch texting you being that you didn’t want me to see it!” I was out of breath and my hair was all over the place, some covering my face. “I know it was a bitch! When I find out who it was, I’m fucking you and her up!” He turned my face a loose and tried to grab my arms but before he could I dug my nails deep in his face trying to draw blood! He slapped me again across the face hard causing me to let go of his face! “Ooooouuuccch!” I cried out!

  He slapped me again! “You crazy ass bitch! I done told you about putting your motherfuckin’ hands on me!” He was now holding onto my arms pinning them both over my head. He continued to speak through clenched teeth. “I will fuck you up! Keep your hands to your damn self!”

  “Nigga, you pushed me first!” I cried. He opened his mouth to respond but the door flew open and Quan and Shaun came running in! “Get the fuck off of me, Tre!” Tears were streaming from my eyes. We’d fought before and yes he’d pushed me before but he’d never hit me. This wasn’t the Tre that I’d spent the past seven and a half years with. I didn’t know this man that was on top of me staring down at me with so much anger in his eyes. The only logical explanation was that there was another woman. I could tell by the sudden change in his attitude. He’d been acting strange for the past two weeks, leaving to go to Walmart in the middle of the night, leaving the room every time that his phone rang and getting defensive about everything. Those were sure signs that he was back to his old habits but this time shit was going to be different because I wasn’t having it. “I said get off of me!” I screamed.

  “Get off of her daddy!” Shaun cried and began tugging at Tre’s arm trying to get him off of me.

  Quan ran over and punched Tre on the arm! “Yeah let her go!”

  Tre let go of my arms and eased up off of me. I noticed that his face was bleeding but that wasn’t good enough! I got up off of the bed and ran over to him. He tried to block what he saw coming but I was too quick for him! I slapped the cowboy shit of him! Not once but I got two good ones in! “You no good motherfucka! You come dragging in here after one in the morning, got bitches texting your phone and then you are going to put your hands on me!” I tried to slap him again but he managed to block that one. “You got me fucked up!”

  “Mama stop!” Shaun and Quan yelled. I looked back at my boys. They were both standing up on the bed watching us and crying. That image of them broke my heart. I looked back at Tre, standing there in his boxers out of breath, his chest heaving up and down. “Get your shit and get the fuck out!”

  He got in my face! “This is my shit! You don’t work no motherfuckin’ where! I pay all the bills in here so I ain’t going nowhere!”

  “You want to bet?” I challenged not backing down.

  “Please stop mama!” Shaun cried. He jumped down off of the bed and ran over to us getting between the two of us. “I don’t want y’all to fight!”

  Tre walked past me and out of the room. I didn’t bother to follow him. “Y’all go back to bed.” I told the boys. They looked hesitant like they didn’t want to go. “Go ahead, mama is okay.” I assured them. They left out of the room. I went into the bathroom and cleaned my face up. Being that I was so light I’d already started to bruise and I knew that it would be much worst in the morning. I looked at my face in the mirror. “Fuck!”

  Kisha

  I woke up later that morning and got the boys ready for school. After they’d gotten dressed I cooked breakfast like I did every morning.

  “Ma, why does your face have all of that purple stuff on it?” Quan asked referring to the bruises on my face. “It’s everywhere! Ain’t it Shaun?”

  Shaun nodded his head. I’d already stood in the bathroom mirror for several minutes before waking them just staring at the bruises on my face. I choked back tears as I thought back to the events that had taken place just a few hours earlier. Tre hadn’t seemed like his self at all. Never in a million years had I thought that he would ever put his hands on me. I knew that it was time to let go but I wasn’t sure if I could. Even now, I was trying to think of excuses as to why he would stoop so low, him putting his hands on me was hard to accept.

  “Quan eat your oatmeal. You don’t have long before it’ll be time for y’all to go out to the bus stop.” I told him trying to change the subject.

  It didn’t work. “Okay but you still have…”

  Frustrated I slammed my palm against the table causing both boys to jump. “I said eat!” They both started shoveling oatmeal in their mouths and I walked over to the sink and began washing the dishes that I’d used to fix breakfast.

  When they were done eating, I walked with them outside. On our way out the door, I glanced at Tre sprawled out on the sofa snoring like he didn’t have a care in the world. Lord, I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I thought to myself as I continued out the door. Instead of walking to the end of the driveway like I normally did, I stood by the door. I didn’t want the bus driver to see my face when he stopped.

  Once the boys were on the bus, I went back inside, took a shower and got dressed. I took my time applying my make-up trying to cover the bruises that were on my face without applying too much. When I was done I took a good look at myself and had to admit that I’d done a pretty good job because none of the bruises were visible. I grabbed my keys off of the dresser. I wasn’t sure of where I was going but I knew that I had to go somewhere. I didn’t want to be around Tre. I couldn’t be around him right now. I needed some time to myself to think.

  I noticed Tre sitting up on the sofa as I entered the living room. I’d hoped that he would still be asleep.

  “Oh so you’re not speaking today?” Tre snapped as I walked past him on my way out the door. He had a cigarette in one hand and a can of soda in the other. “You just gone walk out the door and not say shit? Is that how we are doing it now?”

  I spent around on my heels. “I don’t know you tell me? Are you whooping my ass now? Is that how we are doing it?” I shot back! He didn’t respond. He just looked away! “You damn right I don’t have shit to say to you! What I should be saying to you is kiss my ass! That’s what I should be saying! You ain’t even man enough to apologize to me for that shit you did this morning when you came in!” I looked at him in disgust and shook my head. “You should feel like shit!”

  He waved me off, smacking his lips. “Man, you started that shit! I was trying to go to sleep! You were the one who woke me up talking crazy!”

  “Talking crazy?” I repeated. “Nigga, you
r phone was going off at almost two in the morning? I wanted to know who was texting you at that time of morning! To me that isn’t crazy at all!” He didn’t say anything. “How would you feel if my phone was going off at almost two in the morning? Would that be cool?” He didn’t have to answer for me to know the answer because I knew he would’ve been ready to body my ass and whoever it was that was texting me!

  “I trust you, so yeah it would be okay.” I sucked my teeth and attempted to walk away but he jumped to his feet and grabbed my arm. “Why are you walking away?”

  “Because that is bullshit and you know it. You are talking to me like I just met you yesterday! I know how crazy you can get if you notice a nigga staring in my direction too long!” I said poking him in the forehead with my index finger! “On some real shit, right now the only thing I want to hear from you is an apology and you telling me who in the fuck that was that was texting you this morning!”

  He let out a long sigh. “You’re right, I had no business putting my hands on you and I apologize for that! It should’ve never happened but it did and there isn’t anything that I can do to change it! I wish like hell that I could take it back! You have no idea how much I wish I could but you have my word that it will never happen again.”

  “It better not!” I interrupted with my arms folded over my chest. “Let that be the last time you ever try that shit!”

  “You don’t have that to worry about. I was upset when I came in and I took it out on you. I feel real fucked up for that! I got into an argument with one of the guys at the job that I was doing in Richmond and I walked off the job to keep from fuckin’ him up!” He explained. “Mr. Johnson tried calling me a few times on my way home. I assume that dude must’ve told his supervisor that I’d left and then his supervisor called Mr. Johnson. I didn’t feel like talking so I didn’t answer. I was too upset and didn’t want to end up saying the wrong thing if he said something that I didn’t like. So I decided that I’d just wait and deal with it today.”