by Shontaiye
Shaleea looked at her beautiful new house and held back tears. She was going to have to leave it. She went in and got Heaven’s favorite doll. She didn’t even bother to pack a bag. She would buy what she needed. Nothing at this point was worth her sanity or the well-being of her children. She backed her car up from the paved driveway and told herself the trip was temporary; she would see her house again soon. She was headed to a peaceful place in Jersey: her fathers’.
Noah
Noah didn’t fuck with many niggas especially since Hakim had died and Mann revealed he was a real live snake. So he sat in his favorite Clock Bar and made small talk with the bartender. He was on his third drink and he was definitely beginning to feel the shots of rum wreak havoc on his bladder. Holding his urine, Noah continued to think about the past day’s events. Eve was still calling him with threats and he and Shaleea were barely speaking. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been trying to communicate with him but he was far too stubborn.
Every time he looked at her his mind created fictitious scenes of her with Mann. He wanted to move past it but he knew it was going to take some time. Noah ordered another shot of rum and got up to go take a piss outside. He didn’t do nasty ass bar bathrooms.
As Noah pushed his way out of the dirty fingerprint stained glass he noticed a tall light skinned cat on the corner talking on his cellphone and a washed up fiend trying to flag down passing cars. She spoke undecipherable words to Noah but he didn’t bother to turn around. The fiend who appeared to be in her late twenties, was dirty and had long been stripped of her beauty by the streets.
Noah made it to the back of the bar and unzipped his pants so he could relieve himself on a pile of old garbage. As he washed down the trash he heard a familiar sound close by; the sound of a gun cock. Noah quickly felt his waist for his burner and simultaneously spun around. It was too late to draw. He soon stood face to face with the perpetrator who was allegedly responsible for the death of his friend Hakim.
As Nootie squeezed the trigger of his firearm, Noah rushed him, crouching down low to avoid the bullet. The attack sent Nootie to the ground and Noah over top of him scrambling for the fallen gun. Noah had dressed for the warm weather so his exposed knees and elbows violently scratched the pavement as he used all his strength to grab onto the gun that was a mere few inches from him. When he reached it, he turned around and fired on Nootie, hitting him twice in the chest and killing him almost immediately.
Noah, still running off pure adrenaline immediately allowed his street instincts to kick in so he could get the fuck out of dodge. He had no time to panic unless he wanted to find himself locked away for the rest of his life. He tucked the firearm used to kill Nootie in his waistband and did his best to exit the back of the building and blend in with the pedestrians traveling the busy street. He was nervous as fuck, with sweat dripping down his beard covered face.
When he reached his car he immediately started his truck and headed back to his home. It was a close call; Nootie had truly caught him slipping. However, it wasn’t hard since he always played the same bars. He prayed the cameras in the vicinity didn’t catch what happened. If so he would definitely need to retain the best lawyer in the city. He reached in the console and instructed his phone to dial Shaleea. After multiple rings she didn’t answer. He tried again, same thing. He dialed another number. Nikka picked up on the second ring.
“Hey Noah, wassup?” she asked in a groggy tone like she had been sleep.
“Nikka! Listen some shit popped off. I need to stay at ya crib tonight!”
“Okay but are you okay? Everything alright?”
“Yeah I’m good…Listen I can’t say anything over the phone but I’m on my way there now…Have you talked to Shaleea?” he asked as he continued down the cracked city streets.
“No why?” she asked concerned, and now fully awake.
“She not picking up.” Noah didn’t want to go into details about him and Shaleea with Nikka. He just needed a safe place to stay until he figured out what his next move would be.
<><><>
Over a week had passed and Noah hadn’t heard anything from Shaleea. He didn’t know what was going on and he was worried sick. After staying at Nikka’s house for several days, Noah decided he was good to return home. Although people had heard the shots ring out, no one had come forward with information or told the police they saw anything. At least that was what he heard through his bartender acquaintance. He still wasn’t sure how Nootie had found out he had put money on him and his siblings head. That was the only reason he could fathom Nootie gunning for him. Noah didn’t deal with dudes who talked, so how they found out was still a mystery to him.
Noah didn’t bother to call Shaleea again since her number had been recently changed. It just didn’t make sense to him since everything in the house was still intact. She hadn’t taken anything. He looked around and saw the still unpacked boxes strewn around the house. Once again his life was a mess and this time he wasn’t even sure why. Several times he had called Gina as well as Shaleea’s sisters, who told him not to worry since she was safe, but they too didn’t know where she was. That didn’t make any fucking sense to him. How could he not worry when she was five months pregnant with his child and seemed to have just disappeared?
Noah continued to look on at essentially nothing. He wanted to drink and smoke to take away the pressure on his mind but he couldn’t. Being as though he just killed Nootie a little over a week ago he knew it was only a matter of time before his brother Teddy came looking for action. He had to be on point and ready. He touched his waistline to make sure he was strapped. He was prepared either way. Just because he had a little money didn’t mean he forgot what the streets was about. Yeah, he was ready.
ELEVEN
Shaleea
Shaleea paced her speed at sixty-five down the turnpike. Heaven was with her dad at his house in Jersey, and she was headed back to Philly for dinner at Naomi’s house. Naomi had practically begged her to come by and fill her in on what was going on with her and why she was staying way out near the shore in Jersey.
Although her mom knew where she was as well as why, she made her promise not to tell the rest of her family. She would tell her sisters when she felt it was the right time. She didn’t feel like hearing all the questions and “I told you so’s.” She also knew Shyanne looked at Noah like a big brother and would spill the beans if he pressed her.
Shaleea was focused on keeping her blood pressure and stress level down by relaxing and doing virtually nothing. Susan was handling the laundromats for her while she oversaw the paperwork remotely. Susan would scan and fax anything Shaleea requested. For the most part she had been in Jersey shopping, eating, and hearing old stories from her dad.
Shaleea took exit 6a for Philadelphia off the New Jersey Turnpike and after another thirty minutes of driving, she was at Naomi’s Northeast Philadelphia home. Shaleea exited her car and approached the building. Naomi swung open the door before she could knock.
“Hey boo! I fucking missed you,” she said, before giving Shaleea a big bear hug. Shaleea giggled. Naomi was always so hype.
“I missed you too,” she replied. “It smells good. What we eating?” she asked greedily. Shaleea was famished after the nearly two hour ride.
“Girl I made some Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo with broccoli. Extra cheese and sauce, just how you like it.” Shaleea smiled. She knew her well.
The two ladies sat down to eat and Naomi begged her to tell her what had been going on. Shaleea didn’t really want to tell her the whole situation especially everything that led up to the move, but decided she would be completely honest with her close friend to free her burdened conscience.
Naomi hadn’t brought up Mann since the day they ate lunch with Shameka. She had been seeing a new guy and often gushed about him so she figured Naomi was completely over thoughts of Mann. However, she thought wrong. After confessing to her that she and Mann had an encounter, as well as Noah finding out, Naomi stopped her r
ight in mid-sentence.
“You fucked Mann?” she asked speechless. Her tone was laced with hate.
“Naomi we were drunk as fuck. He was so aggressive and shit just happened,” she admitted, a little ashamed. She was hoping her friend wouldn’t judge her entirely based off that one mistake.
“You knew I liked him though,” she stated like a teenager, instead of the thirty year old woman she was. For some reason Shaleea expected her to be understanding, however Naomi wasn’t trying to hear it from her friend, not even in her emotional pregnant state.
“That’s trifling as fuck Leea. I was talking to the nigga and he was one of Noah’s closest friends,” she added.
“Look Naomi, at the end of the day what I did was wrong. I figured I would come to you and tell you like a woman instead of letting you find out any kind of way. You said yall were talking, but a couple phone calls and a double date doesn’t exactly classify you two as an item. I don’t have to sit here and lie about the nigga staring at me around my house, flirting with me, and he basically pushing himself on me when he felt he had the opportunity.” Shaleea deliberately left out the part about her flirting hard too.
“He even came to the laundromat multiple times. He clearly was checking for me long before. I can’t help that. What I did was wrong, yes. But do I think that stopped yall? No. If he was interested, he would’ve made something happen. You sure as hell was more than willing,” Shaleea added, unintentionally making Naomi seem like a thirsty broad.
Naomi peered at Shaleea for a moment. Her long eyelashes seemed to flutter while she searched for a response.
“On some real shit, like I said before, you trifling. It’s not enough for you to have a big ass house with a paid ass nigga. You want to fuck his friend too. Chicks like you kill me,” she replied jealously.
“Why you sounding like a hater Naomi?” Shaleea asked puzzled, while calmly taking a sip of the iced tea Naomi had given her with dinner.
“I ain’t no hater, I just can’t stand chicks who got it all and it’s never enough. Bitches like me who want a good dude, can’t get one—”
Shaleea cut her off while she spoke. “What makes you think Noah’s a good dude? Because he take care of me? Because he has money? Do you know what I go through? Dealing with the bitches he’s fuckin or has fucked in the past,” Shaleea asked, with her voice cracking. “I just had a bitch tell me the other day she was six months pregnant by this nigga. That’ why I left. That’s why I went to my dad’s in Jersey. My blood pressure soared through the roof and my pregnancy is in jeopardy. So fuck all that good nigga shit,” she said bluntly with tears lining the brim of her eyes.
“You just don’t get it do you?” Naomi asked shaking her head, disregarding Shaleea’s sob story. She would take Noah any day.
“I guess I don’t. You know…maybe if you stop being so aggressive and coming across as desperate you would be able to get a good dude. Appearing thirsty is gonna have a nigga looking at you and ready to run. Maybe that’s what happened with Mann…”
“No you fucked Mann that’s what happened!” Naomi said, losing her patience. She had enough of her seemingly self-absorbed friend who was mentally attacking her and calling her thirsty in her own home.
“My fault? Girl bye. You was the same one letting the nigga watch you overeat at the crab truck and then throw the fuck up after piling liquor on top of it. You have some issues within yaself Naomi. That’s why you can’t get a man. Instead of trashing me and blaming me for allegedly stepping on ya toes, you need to address the real issues.”
“Issues like what… my weight?” She was asking Shaleea to confirm what she knew she was trying to say.
“Naomi you know what you’re problems are. You don’t need clarification from me. And frankly you make shit problems when they don’t have to be. You’re a beautiful girl despite your weight.”
Naomi had far more than weight issues she was dealing with. She was also insecure because of her weight, which in turn was affecting her self-esteem. Although she knew she was attractive she also knew that she tried extra hard to get a man and it definitely came across as desperate. She was extremely envious of her friend. She had the babies, the man, and the house. Then she turns around and fucks someone who basically rejected her. To be rejected was enough, but to be rejected in lieu of her friend was even harder. To top it off Mann was smitten with Shaleea, damn near obsessing over the bitch like she was a treasure. It was a cold case of jealousy and it made Naomi angry and full of spite.
“Well Shaleea right now my problem is you and I think you should leave,” she suggested.
“You putting me out ya house?” Shaleea asked Naomi in disbelief. When Naomi didn’t respond, Shaleea grabbed her keys and began to leave. She looked back at Naomi but she had walked off to her bedroom. Shaleea knew what she did was wrong but Naomi had come from a completely different angle. She always thought her friend was happy for her, not jealous. The more time passed, the more she was learning people were never who they portrayed themselves to be; herself included.
Noah
Noah pushed the sheet off his brown, chiseled body and got out of the bed. After throwing on a t-shirt and basketball shorts he went downstairs to deactivate the alarm. Although it wasn’t that late he was in bed trying to rest his tired, sleep deprived body. He had just received a call from Naomi stating that she had some information about Shaleea. One of the handful of people he reached out to initially when looking for her, he felt a sense of relief when she called him.
Noah still didn’t know what was going on with Shaleea but he was hoping Naomi could tell him that tonight. He watched as the headlights of Naomi’s Toyota Camry lit up the front of the house, announcing her arrival.
After opening the door and allowing her in, he headed to the kitchen so he could pour a light drink and find out what she knew.
“Thanks for calling me….So wassup?” he asked, while taking a small sip of rum and coke he had poured.
“Well Shaleea called me and she’s okay. She’s in Jersey at her dad’s house.”
“Why the fuck would she be all the way up there?” he asked with raised brows.
“Eve called her…She supposed to be like six months pregnant or something?” she asked Noah.
Noah shook his head from side to side and immediately grew angry. He should’ve known Eve was behind Shaleea leaving.
“The bitch is lying,” he stated calmly, sitting his glass down on the granite countertop in the kitchen. “What doesn’t make sense to me is why Shaleea would just pick up and leave. She usually would’ve came to me and talked to me.”
“When Eve called her she was at the doctor’s office. Her blood pressure was high and thee baby was at risk…Noah honey, I don’t think she’s coming back,” she added for finality. Naomi didn’t know for sure if Shaleea was coming back but was hoping Noah would respond the way she wanted him to.
Noah took a deep breath and let everything she said sink in. He couldn’t believe the bullshit he just heard. “Thanks Naomi. At least I know she’s ok.” He tried to give her quick hug to express his gratitude and assumed she would leave afterward. However, when he hugged her she didn’t let go. Instead he felt her lips pressed against his neck and her tongue slither across it causing a jolt to his dick. Naomi pressed her big, soft body against his.
“Yo, what are you doing?” he asked, pushing her away. He looked at her and lust filled her eyes. He couldn’t help but also notice sadness and desperation.
“Noah baby, Shaleea’s not coming back. I can take her place. Nobody has to know,” she said, approaching him and rubbing his chest, her left hand sliding down to the bulge in his pants.
“Yo are you fucking crazy. What the fuck is wrong with you bitches?! Get out!” he stated, surprising her. He had enough shit to deal with and her fat ass wanted to make it worse. Shaleea was gonna bring her ass home and fucking Naomi behind her back was sure to eliminate that if she found out. He was tired of the games. It wasn’t worth it.
No bitch was. Noah wasn’t sure what caused Naomi to come with the treachery but he wasn’t taking the bait.
Naomi just stared at Noah and felt like less of a woman even more. Not only was she rejected by Mann for Shaleea, she was also rejected by Noah. She practically threw herself on him and he still didn’t want to touch her. It was too much for Naomi. The jealousy she possessed for her friend had surfaced full force and she knew their friendship was essentially over. She quickly spun around and fled the house embarrassed. Noah huffed in aggravation before pouring himself another drink and throwing on his black Jordan Retros. He was about to go out and take care of some shit he should have been handled.
<><><>
Noah parked his Range Rover around the corner from the shabby chain hotel and took the back steps to the room he visited Eve in on multiple occasions. The past year she had mostly stayed in the same room at the same hotel, so she wasn’t hard to locate. Although it was May it was still a cool night so Noah felt confident about wearing his hoodie without looking suspicious. He knocked on the door and waited for Eve to answer.
“Who is it?” she called. Noah didn’t respond. “Who is it?” she asked again. Still no response. “Aight well you gon stay the fuck out there,” she informed the unidentified visitor.
Noah calmly waited at the door. He wasn’t going to knock again. He didn’t want people looking out their doors being nosey. He knew Eve was going to open the door eventually. She was just as nosey as anyone else and would eventually want to see who was at the door.
Just as he suspected, the bolts started to unlock on the door as Eve’s curiosity won against her common sense and safety instincts. As soon as she opened the door Noah forced himself inside with an aggressive push. The force caused Eve to stumble back and fall on the floor.
