by Tynessa
“Baby, can you hear me?” I heard Brooke whisper.
“Yeah, what’s up?” I said walking into the living room of my small apartment. After Brooke left, I didn’t move back into the house we once shared. I still went over there to check on everything but I didn’t stay.
“Can you come get me?” I heard her sniffle so I knew she was crying.
“Get you from where?” I said rubbing the back of my neck.
“I’m at the airport. I wanna come home.” That was all I needed to hear.
I was not going to sit and pretend as if I didn’t want her to come back. I knew she was going to come back to her senses. I know one thing, if she wasn’t gonna get a divorce then I’d let her and the kids stay in the house but I was going to continue to live in my apartment with my daughter. I told her I wasn’t going to continue to fuck a married woman and I meant that shit.
After checking on my daughter, I walked back into the bedroom and Amber was still lying down. “Yo you have to get up and bounce. I have some shit I have to handle.”
“I bet you do! So that bitch came back and you just gonna run to her rescue?” she asked angrily.
“Look Amber I said I have to handle something so you need to get up and get dressed.” I knew I shouldn’t have given her the dick.
I was surprised when she threw the covers back and jumped out of bed and began putting on her clothes. I was not a stupid ass nigga though and I didn’t put anything past her ass. I went into my daughter’s room, scooped her up, carried her in my bedroom, and laid her on the bed.
“I’m not gonna get her Bino, so you didn’t have to do all that,” she said before walking out the room. Once I heard the front door slam, I went and locked it and began to get dress.
I pulled up to the airport and saw Brooke standing there with big shades on, holding Angel’s hand and Keon and Kendrick was standing on the other side of her. I didn’t bother to get out because they didn’t have any bags and I didn’t want her to think everything was cool with us. Once they were inside, I pulled off. The kids were in the back seat talking and laughing while we were up front not paying each other any attention.
I finally asked, “So you going back to the house or what?”
“Yeah,” she said in a hoarse voice. I looked over at her as she was looking out the window. She called me to pick her up when she been up there lying up with that nigga. I knew she had because of the damn hickies on her neck. Yeah, I was going to let her ass have it.
We pulled up to the house and everyone began to get out, even Kelly. I looked back at her “We’re not staying Kelly,” I said to my daughter.
“Why Daddy? I wanna play with Angel,” she whined.
Brooke was still standing there with her door open. “Why you not getting out?” she asked.
“Why should I?” I wanted to know.
She looked down “Please,” she said just above a whisper “We have to talk.”
I put the car in park, turned off the engine and hopped out with Kelly. Once we got in the house, Brooke sent the kids up to their room. She turned to me and threw the divorce papers on the coffee table. “Let me just say, I’m sorry for leaving like that but you have to understand that it was something I had to do.”
“Well I don’t understand so break it down for me.” I sat on the arm of the couch.
She took a deep breath. “The only way he was going to sign the papers was if I went up there. He said if I didn’t come he was gonna take me to court and try to get the kids. I didn’t want my kids going through all that so I just went up there.”
I shook my head. “Why you didn’t tell me that and why did it take you a month to get him to sign them?”
“Because at first he wouldn’t sign them and when I tried to leave he would leave the house with one of the kids because he knew I wasn’t going to leave without them. He’s strung out of powder or something.”
My next question caught her off guard. “Did you fuck him?”
“No,” she said quickly “Did you just hear me say he’s strung out on drugs?”
“What’s up with all the damn hickies?” I asked.
She took her oversized shades off and I saw nothing but red. Her left eye was black and swollen with a cut underneath. I felt so sorry for my baby as I pulled her into my arms.
“I need an address,” was all I said.
“Bino no, I did more damage to him than he did to me. I got the divorce so now we can put all this behind us and move on with our lives,” she said. I kissed her lips because I had been waiting to hear that for so long. It was like music to my ears.
Chapter 19
2 months later
Cornell
Things between Star and I weren’t good at all, what so ever. She had started back staying out all night and when she wasn’t I was. I think we still lived together because of our son CJ. If it weren’t for him, I would have been packed up and left her sneaky ass. We barely said ten words to each other when we were at home together. I sleep on the couch and she sleeps in the room.
I got off the couch and headed in my son’s room. Star was in there getting him dressed to go somewhere. I hated when she took him out with her. I hadn’t caught her yet but once I did catch Drea around my son, somebody was going to get the business.
“Where y’all going?” I asked, startling her.
She turned to face me, “You scared me. We’re going to my ma’s house for a few nights.”
I eyed her. “Why?”
She rolled her eyes and turned back around to finish dressing our son. “Because I want to. Do I have to have a reason to stay over at my parents’ house?”
I nodded my head. “Alright, don’t have my son around that bitch. I’m telling you now Star.”
She blew out frustrating breath. “Nell don’t start that shit, please!” she said
“You heard what I said.” I turned to leave out of the room.
I was tired of her trying me. Deep down inside I wished she would just stay there with her mama.
I called up Kandi and made plans to take her out for lunch. Everything was going smoothly until out of nowhere Star popped up. “So this how you doing it Cornell?” she asked me.
I waved her off, “Man go head on somewhere Star. You know it isn’t even like that between you and me anymore. You been doing you so now I’m doing me,” I let her know.
“Muthafucker you right I been doing me just like you BEEN doing you. I been knew you was fucking with this hoe, you wasn’t doing a good job of hiding it.”
I saw Kandi tilt her head and look at Star as if she wanted to say something but instead she smiled at me “Excuse me baby, I’m gonna go to the restroom because I will not sit here and be called out of my name.”
“That’s right, take your ass on some damn where,” Star said. Kandi laughed and shook her head before walking away.
“So that’s what you want Cornell?”
“That’s exactly what I want.” I didn’t know what she was referring to but I was referring to Kandi. That’s what I wanted.
“What about me and CJ?”
“My son will be taken good care of, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“What about me?” she asked as her gay lover Drea walked over to the table where we were.
“What about you? Looks like you’re happy to me.”
She had a nerve to stand there with teary eyes. I didn’t feel sorry for her at all. Kandi walked back over to our table and I dismissed Star and Drea.
“Well my lovely date is back so will you guys excuse us,” I said. Star just stood there staring at us, Drea had to damn near pull her away.
I didn’t understand why she was acting as if she was so hurt, if she would have gotten her shit together then this wouldn’t have ever happened.
Star
I couldn’t believe Cornell was sitting in that restaurant with that hoe looking like he was happiest man in the world. I wanted to snatch that bitch right the fuck up. Both of their ass
es had me fucked all the way up if they thought I was going to walk away that easily. Nell was my fucking man, and I refused to let that bitch or any bitch steal him ways. I didn’t give a fuck what Drea and I had going on, she wasn’t going anywhere and neither was Cornell’s ass.
“Take me to my mom’s house and I’ll just meet you at your house tonight,” I told Drea after we left the restaurant. She gave me a damn headache because all she wanted to do was talk about me getting over Nell and leaving his ass for good so we could move in together. That shit wasn’t going to happen either.
I walked into my parents’ house and noticed they weren’t there. I called my mom and she informed me that they were doing some work at the church and would be home shortly. I was okay with that because I needed to go over to my house I shared with Nell to pick up a few things. When I got there, I wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t there since it was still early. I walked in and got what I needed and was out the door.
When I got back to my mom’s house, she still wasn’t there so I just decided to lay down. My mind was all over the damn place, from Cornell, to Drea then to Ronny. I still wanted him in the worst way, so I decided to send him a text, letting him know what he already knew. “Are you ready to dick me down yet?” I laughed as I hit send for the message to be sent. I wasn’t stopping until I had him in my bed so he might as well fuck me and get it over with.
Shaniqua
Ronny and I were dropping the kids off at his mother’s house so we could have a date night. We hadn’t been alone since we had Ni-Ni so Debbie was kind enough to keep them for us. I knew my mom didn’t mind if I would have asked her but Debbie called asking for them so I wasn’t about to say no. We took the kids inside and when Ronny and his mom got together, they loved to talk each other’s ears off so I went back to the truck to wait on him. I was playing a game on my phone when Ronny’s phone went off. I looked at it and picked it up with no hesitation. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, I was his fiancé, and I didn’t see anything wrong with me checking it. I stared at the number confusedly before opening up the text message. Once I read it, I just sat there with my mouth wide open.
I finally opened the car door and walked up to the front porch where Ronny and Debbie were with his phone in my hand. Once I got up there I handed him the phone that was still on the text message. He looked down at it before looking at me with widen eyes and his mouth was opening and closing but nothing was coming out. I just glared at him through narrowed eyes.
“Baby,” he reached out to touch me but I quickly knocked his hands away. “Shan, baby it’s not what you think,” he said.
“Then what is it Ronny?” I asked calmly.
He just dropped his head and sat in the chair that was on the porch.
“So you’re not gonna answer me?” I asked.
“I wanted to tell you Shan, I swear I did but…”
“But my ass!” I shouted. “Did you fuck…?”
“No!” he screamed before I could get it out.
“What’s going on? Ronny I hope you’re not up to your old tricks and this girl just had your baby,” Debbie said.
“I’m not up to nothing,” he yelled at Debbie.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on, this hoe that’s supposed to be my sister just texted my fiancé asking is he going to dick her down.”
Debbie just stood there with her mouth wide open. Ronny ran his hands through his dreads as Debbie and I stared at him.
“Man y’all can stop looking at me like that. Yeah, I should have told you Shan but I knew how you would act. I swear on everything I love that I didn’t fuck that hoe and most of time she texted me I would delete that shit or whenever she sent a picture I would delete it soon as it come through,” he said now standing.
I held up my hand. “Hold the fuck up; did you just say most of time? How long has this shit been going on?”
He mumbled what sounded like ‘a little over a year’. But I wanted to make sure that was what I heard. “What was that?” I asked.
“I said a little over a year man.”
I punched him dead in the jaw. I was ready beat somebody’s ass, his or Star’s. It really didn’t matter.
“Man come on Shan,” he said. He was backing away from my swinging arms. I finally got a hold of his shirt only for him to come out of it, but not before, I punched him in the chest.
“So you been entertaining this bitch for over a year?” I screamed at him.
“I haven’t been entertaining her ass,” he shot back.
“Your ass been doing something for her to think it was okay to send that damn text,” I said as I threw his shirt that I was still holding at him. I walked over to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door. “Come on,” I said as I hopped in. He opened the driver door and eased in.
“Where we going?” he asked as he started up the engine.
“Oh you taking me to this bitch,” I said and we headed to the direction of Nell and my sister’s house.
On the ride to their house, he began to go through his phone before tossing it over to me. I read it all. All of the text messages from my sister begging my man for some dick. I read a couple of texts from him threatening to tell his brother and me if she didn’t stop texting him. I felt the tears falling, I didn’t know if it was because I was hurt or if I just that angry.
“Your ass still should have told me,” I said mushing the side of his head as we pulled up to the house. I hopped out leaving the car door opened and ran up to the front door. I began beating on the door and kicking it but no one came to it. “I KNOW YOU IN HERE BITCH!” I yelled as I continued kicking the door.
“Baby come on, they’re not home. I just called my brother and he said he was out but Star is at your parents’ house,” Ronny said.
I turned to walk off the porch. “Well we’re going over there then,” I said hopping in the truck, slamming the door.
Ronny pulled out of the driveway burning rubber behind him heading to my parents’ house. I noticed how he kept looking in his rearview mirror then he would look out his side mirror then back in his rearview. He put on his signal to hit the freeway opposite direction of my parents’ house.
“Where are we going?” I asked looking back to see what he was looking at. He reached under his seat and pulled out his 9mm gun.
“What’s going on Ronny?”
He licked his full lips. “I need you to do me a big favor Shan. We have to change seats.”
Now I was trembling because something wasn’t right. I looked back once more and saw a truck so close on us I couldn’t see their headlights.
“Ronny what’s going on? I’m scared,” I cried.
“Shan come on!” he yelled. “We have to change seats, like right now and don’t slow this motherfucker down for shit”
He slid under me as I slid over him, the whole time we were going over a hundred miles. Once he got to the passenger seat, he reached under that seat and pulled out another 9mm. I was a nervous wreck trying to focus on the road and on Ronny’s at the same time.
He kept looking back and I was looking in the rearview mirror. I saw the truck get from behind us and Ronny let down his window. I didn’t know who shot first but all I knew was we were on the freeway having a damn shootout with Ronny’s ass hanging out the window busting his two nines.
“FUCK,” Ronny yelled as he fell in his seat and the truck shot passed us. I looked over at him and there was blood everywhere. I began to panic.
“OH MY GOD...BABY, YOU OKAY? RONNY PLEASE ANSWER ME… RONNY!” I continued to scream at him.
“Shaniqua…” he said just above a whisper.
“Ronny please stay with me… baby please.” I wanted to pull over so bad and just hold him in my arms but I couldn’t. I had to get him to the hospital. We weren’t far from it and I wasn’t stopping for shit. I grabbed his cell phone because it was closer to me and called Bino. “Meet me at the hospital. Ronny’s been shot!” I hung up.
I reached over and g
rabbed my baby’s hand. “Baby please hang on. We’re almost there.” I looked over again and he was just lying there not moving. “OH MY GOD… RONNY DON’T DO THIS, PLEASE BABY!” I screamed as I was pulling up at the front entrance of the emergency room. I hopped out of the truck and ran inside.
“My fiancé’s been shot, I need a doctor,” I yelled once I got to the front desk.
“Where is he ma’am?” someone asked. I didn’t know who asked but I yelled, “He’s out in the truck,” as I took off running back to where Ronny was.
Nurses and doctors came out with a stretcher as Bino was running up.
“What happened?” he asked. Once he saw Ronny laying there lifeless he lost it. “No, not my nigga. Not my fucking nigga,” he cried out.
The doctors began to work on him immediately as soon as he was on the stretcher. “We barely have a pulse. Let’s go!” one of the nurse said and they rushed him to the back with me right behind them.
“Ma’am you have to stay up front,” the nurse said before letting the doors shut in my damn face. I was crying and trembling uncontrollably. I didn’t know what I would do if I lost Ronny.
*******************
If I wouldn’t have picked up his phone and had him take me to Star’s house then this shit would’ve never happen. I didn’t even know Ronny was beefing with anyone, what if my kids were in the car with us. Just the thought of them being in the car I began to tear up. I was standing by the window in the waiting room. My eyes went to Ray’Shun as he sat by my dad, to my dad as he held Niyah and my mom as she held Ni-Ni. They then went to Cornell as he sat there with his head in his hand and some female caressing him on the back, then they landed on Star’s ass. I swear if she wasn’t holding my nephew I would’ve beat her ass at the moment. If her hoe ass wouldn’t have texted my man he wouldn’t be in there fighting for his life. I just turned my head because the more I stared at her the more I wanted to go beat the shit out of her.
I then fixed my eyes on Brooke who was standing there laughing and talking to Eric. The way they were acting you would have thought they’d known each other their whole lives and I knew for a fact that no one had introduced them to one another. Eric didn’t even come around like that so when did they meet? I made a metal note to ask her about that because something about that whole situation wasn’t right. I looked back at Star and just stared at her. She was trying everything in her power to not look at me. Scary bitch!
