by Mz. Toni
“I can't believe that nigga beat her like she wasn't shit,” I said, feeling an instant pain in my heart. I would be lying if I said I felt pain for Ashley, I really felt pain for Jasmine.
“So how you wanna handle this?” I asked.
“My niggas got her at an old warehouse, but I’mma need a team to dispose of her body. I don't need her popping up and having anything leading back to me,” he said.
“I got you. I can help with that and that nigga will never be found, just call me when he’s taken care of.”
“Thanks. I know she was ya baby mom, but I truly loved her.”
“How were you able to record that shit?” I asked.
“When I bought her the Audi, I got a dash camera installed, just in case that nigga fucked with her. I was gonna handle shit the right way and get that son of a bitch arrested, but now it’s too late for that,” he said sadly. After letting Tyler vent and cry, I headed home. I don't know how or when I would tell Jasmine about her mother’s death, but I knew I wasn't gonna do it tonight. When I got home, Kaliah was up waiting for me and to be honest, she was the last person I wanted to deal with right now.
“How are you, babe?” she asked, hugging me.
“I'm good, I just feel bad for Tyler and Jasmine.”
“I understand; do they know who did it?”
“Naw, they don't have no leads. The cops think it was a robbery gone bad,” I lied.
“Wow, that’s so crazy. This world is such an unsafe place nowadays,” she said, shaking her head.
“I just wanna go the fuck to bed,” I said, not wanting to talk about Ashley anymore.
“Alright, but Ms. Evelyn called,” she said.
“Is everything good?”
“Yeah, she thought Cherish was with you,” she said, giving me the side eye.
“Naw, I was with Ashley’s dude, you already know that.”
“So why would she think Cherish was with you?” she asked.
“Because I went to her grand opening,” I said nonchalantly.
“Why didn't you tell me about it Jason?”
“Kaliah, I ain't doing this shit right now!”
“Doing what, I just asked a question.”
“Yeah, but I know where this shit gonna lead and I ain't doing it. I just found out my baby mom was murdered by a nigga I once called my fucking best friend and you wanna be arguing about bullshit!”
“Wait, by your best friend? I thought you said it was a robbery.”
“I'm going to bed, Cherish is probably with that white dude,” I said before walking upstairs.
The next morning, I woke up to my phone going crazy. Rolling to my side, I grabbed it and answered it.
“Mr. Jason, Cherish still hasn't been home,” she said with a worried tone.
“You sure she isn't with Peter?”
“I'm sure. I called him and he said he hasn't seen her since last night.”
“And you believe him?”
“I don't know, but I’m worried.”
“Did you call the police?”
“No, I wanted to talk to you first. I'm an old lady, but I ain't stupid,” she said.
“I appreciate that Evelyn.”
“So what you gonna do?”
“I’mma go check out that white dude, I wanna see him face to face.”
“Just be careful, and don't do anything crazy. You don't have to worry about the babies, I got them,” she said sweetly.
“I won't,” I assured her, before hanging up. After getting dressed and ready, I called my boy that I use when I need to dig up dirt or find someone, and gave him the white dudes name. Minutes later, he called me back with an address. Grabbing my keys, I headed downstairs, only for Kaliah to stop me in my tracks.
“You leaving?”
“Yeah, I got some shit to take care of.”
“Oh ok,” she said sadly. Walking out the door, I hopped in my car and drove to Peter’s house. When I got there, his car was parked outside. Walking up to the door, I knocked and waited for him to answer.
“Who is it!” he screamed. Instead of replying, I just stood there and waited for him to answer. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see me, and he actually seemed suspect as hell.
“Oh Jason, what are you doing at my home?” he asked nervously.
“I think you know why I'm here,” I said, trying to give him room to hang himself.
“Look, I know what you're here for and I’ve been trying to call Cherish to apologize for what I did.”
“What exactly did you do?”
“I was so angry and hurt about her ending things, that when she told me to leave, I did.”
“Wait, so even though she came to the fucking party with you, ya ass left her!” I snapped. Gripping him up by his shirt, I wanted to tear his fucking head off.
“She told me to,” he said, scared.
“I don't give a fuck what she told you. If she came there with you, it was your fucking job to make sure she got home!” I said, pushing him.
“Is she ok?” he asked.
“Naw, she’s missing, and if anything happens to her, I swear on my kids I’ll be back for ya bitch ass!” I snapped, before walking away. As I sat in my car, all I could think about was the fact that I had no clue where Cherish was. I didn't know if she was hurt, and I had no clue who could’ve took her, but the first thing that came to my mind was Jayda. Grabbing my phone, I called Tyler and waited for him to answer.
“Yo,” he said.
“What up? My other baby mom is missing, and I need to know if you for sure have that nigga Jayden.”
“I was just about to call you, my niggas picked up the wrong person. When I got to the warehouse, it was some bitch there tied up, but it wasn't that nigga.”
“What the fuck, so this nigga got Cherish!”
“I'm sorry, Jason. I got my whole team looking for Jayda and I can send another team out to help you find Cherish,” he said sympathetically.
“Naw, I got my own team,” I said, hanging up. After hanging up on him, I called Mark.
“We got a problem, meet me at my crib,” I said, before hanging up. When I got home, I sat and waited for Mark and the team to get here. If there was anyone I trusted whole heartedly to help me bring Cherish home, it was them niggas. After sitting there for a half an hour, Mark, Kasan, Chris and Terrence came walking through my basement door.
“Hello guys, would you like a drink or snacks?” Kaliah asked.
“Naw, we good.”
“Alright,” she said, before walking back upstairs.
“What the fuck is up?” Mark asked.
“Man, Cherish ain't come home after the party,” I said, on the verge of breaking down.
“Fuck you mean she ain't come home? Has anybody heard from her?” Kasan said.
“Naw, Evelyn called all over and everybody assumed she was with that dude Peter, but I just came from there. Come to find out, they got into it and he left her.”
“Damn, so where do we start?”
“I don't know, but I'm feeling real fucked up. She called last night and I was sleep,” I said.
“Don't blame ya self, that shit ain't gonna bring her back.”
“I think that bitch Jayda got her,” I said.
“Well that's where we’ll start,” Kasan said, walking away to make a phone call. After calling Cherish’s phone over and over, I finally gave up. I felt like someone had literally kicked me in the chest. The thought of losing Lil Mama was too hard to bare.
“We’re gonna find her, but do me a favor and don't tell Camille or the other girls, she don't need to be dealing with this kinda of stress,” Mark said. After making phone calls, we all headed upstairs to leave.
“Jason, what’s going on?” Kaliah asked.
“Nothing.”
“Don't lie to me, I know something is wrong!”
“Cherish is missing,” I said.
“Oh my God, did you call the police?” she asked.
“Naw, I�
�mma handle it.”
“Jason, what the fuck, this is a job for the police!” she snapped.
“Damn, for once, just shut up and stop questioning me!” I snapped.
“Why do you need to handle this? You acting like she’s your woman, why you gotta save her?” she said sadly.
“Yo, you sound fucking stupid. She’s the mother of my fucking kids, that’s why I have to save her.”
“You love her?” she asked.
“I never stopped, and that ain't never gonna change,” I said before walking out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cherish
Waking up, I had the biggest headache. I felt like I’d just gotten hit by a truck, my body was killing me. Opening my eyes didn't help me at all because they had my eyes covered, my mouth taped and my hands tied to what seemed to be a bedpost. Laying in the bed, I moved around, trying to get my hands out of the tight rope, but nothing was working. Out of breath and mentally tired, I stopped trying to fight and just laid there. While trying to think of a way to get out of there, I heard a door open and footsteps.
“This bitch is sexy!” I heard a man say.
“We ain't come here for that!” a female said. When I heard her voice, I instantly knew who it was.
“Whatever. I'm going out to handle business, don't untie her and don't talk to her!” he snapped.
“Ok, but when are you gonna contact them about the money?” the female said.
“Bitch, don't question me!” he snapped, before I heard the door close. I wasn't sure how long I’d been there, but my mouth was dry as hell and my stomach was cramping. With my mouth gagged, I started screaming as loud as I could, in hopes of someone hearing me.
“Why you screaming?” Jayda asked. The moment I went to scream again, I started coughing hard and I couldn't stop, my throat was burning. As I coughed, I felt her lift my head up and untie the gag, before pulling it away from my mouth.
“Helppppppp!” I screamed, before she covered my mouth with her hand.
“I'm not even supposed to be in here, let alone untying you, so I need you to be quiet,” she said.
“Why are you doing this, I'm not even with Jason anymore!” I pleaded. Ignoring me, she walked away from me and I heard the door close. When she came back, she lifted my head up and attempted to give me something to drink, but all I could think was that the drink was poisoned, so I closed my mouth tight.
“I’m not trying to hurt you. It’s just water, I swear,” she said. I knew I couldn't trust her, but at that point, what choice did I have. Opening my mouth, I let her give me the water.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You're welcome, but I have to gag you again before Daddy comes.”
“Your daddy?”
“I already said too much.”
“No wait, don't leave me in this room alone,” I pleaded.
“I'm not supposed to be talking to you,” she said.
“Is he gonna kill me?” I asked.
“You took someone from us, and now you have to die,” she said.
“Jayda, is this about Mega? I told you we aren't together, so who did I take?”
“Why do you keep calling me Jayda?” she asked.
“You're not Jayda?” I asked, confused. I waited for the person to reply, but instead, they got up and walked out. I knew for a fact that Jayden didn't have any other siblings, but who else could it be. A few minutes later, she came back in and tied my mouth back up. I tried to talk to her, but she refused to answer me. As I laid on the bed, I thought about my babies and how much I loved them, how much they needed me and how much I needed them. I knew that my family was looking for me. It ain't a chance in hell that Camille would be ok with not hearing from me.
“Daddy said I can't take you to the bathroom, but I can't handle the smell anymore,” I heard the girl say. I couldn't respond because my mouth was covered, but I nodded my head and waited for her to untie me. I was embarrassed because just a few hours ago, I had pissed on myself for the sixth time. When she untied me, she walked me to the bathroom. I could feel the gun pointed at my back, but tired of being scared, I took the blindfold off my face. I was surprised to see standing in front of me a child who looked to be thirteen years old. She was a beautiful little white girl, who seemed lost and confused. I couldn't pinpoint her face; she didn't look familiar to me at all.
“Put your mask back on!”
“I just wanna know why you're doing this,” I said.
“I didn't wanna do this, but Daddy gets mad when I say no,” she said.
“Well why is he doing this?”
“You took something from my sister, and Daddy says you have to go.”
“Who’s your sister?”
“I can't tell you!” she screamed, before pacing the floor with the gun pointed at me.
“Calm down, please. We don't have to talk about your daddy or sister.”
“You mean it?” she asked.
“I mean it, tell me about you,” I said. Walking back to the room, she tied me back to the bed, but kept my blindfold and gag off.
“My name is Blue. Daddy says he named me that because of my beautiful blue eyes.”
“That’s a beautiful name,” I said.
“Thank you,” she said shyly.
“So how old are you?” I asked.
“I don't know.”
“You don't know how old you are?” I asked shocked.
“I never had a birthday.”
“Wow, every child deserves a birthday, Blue,” I said, feeling bad for her.
“Daddy tries his hardest. I don't want to make him angry, so I don't say anything,” she said, while biting her fingernails.
“I understand, so does your sister get birthdays?”
“She is his special girl, so she gets everything, she even gets to leave.”
“Oh ok, are you happy with your daddy?” I said.
“Sometimes I am, but mostly I'm sad and scared.”
“Well I have a place for you to go, if you ever want to leave.”
“Why would you help me?”
“Because I understand you are a good girl in a bad situation.”
“I don't know, what if he finds me?”
“I won't let him hurt you.”
“No, no I can't!” she said, before standing up and covering my eyes and mouth back up and walking out the room.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mega
I hadn't been able to sleep since finding out that Lil Mama was missing. Jasmine had been asking about her, the twins were crying for her and I didn't know what to tell them.
“Daddy?”
“Hey baby girl, come here,” I said, pulling her towards me.
“Have you heard from Mommy yet?” she asked.
“No, but don't worry,” I said, kissing her cheek.
“Is Mommy Ashley gone forever?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Ms. Kaliah said that God took her to be with him.”
“She told you what!”
“It’s ok daddy, don't be mad, just please find mommy. I don't want her to die too,” she said, crying as she laid on my chest.
“Jasmine, I'm gonna find ya mom, but I need you to go get dressed,” I said. When she was ready, I grabbed my keys and walked downstairs.
“Jason, can we talk?” Kaliah asked.
“Can this wait until later, I was about to head out and meet up with the crew,” I said, not feeling her ass. Giving Jasmine a look, she knew exactly what I wanted her to do. Handing her the car keys, I turned and looked at Kaliah.
“You haven't said two words to me in two days. I understand that Cherish is missing, but I don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of it. How do you know she didn't just run off?” she asked.
“Cherish wouldn't do no shit like that. She loves our children; she wouldn't just leave them.”
“Look, all I'm saying is that Cherish is barely legal and has so much responsibility, how
do you know that she just isn't overwhelmed and in need of a break?”
“Because I know her and she wouldn't have handled it by running.”
