by Shontaiye
Naomi initially didn’t want to hear his excuse of alcohol as his reasoning to fucking Shaleea. Immediately recognizing Naomi’s intense jealousy for her friend and internal insecurities, he was able to manipulate her into thinking that he had been truly interested in her the entire time. Within a week’s time she was head over heels and most certain Mann was the one for her. Like the master manipulator he was, he used Naomi like a pawn to stay one step ahead.
“Babe you got any more of that blunt left?” she asked, after returning from the bathroom. She climbed on top of him and kissed on his chest.
“Chill,” he stated firmly, growing agitated. “I have a few calls to make.” She sucked her teeth and climbed off of him.
“Here,” he said, while passing the crack laced blunt to her. He had been secretly placing the rocks in her blunts since he had been fucking her. He figured she would be easier to control if she was drug influenced. It was definitely working. She craved the high and often begged to spend time with him.
“You gon smoke with me?” she asked, while eagerly taking the blunt from Mann. She reached over to the nearby night stand and grabbed a lighter.
“Na, that’s you. I’ma smoke later.” He had no intention of smoking what she was smoking. He watched as she flicked the lighter and held the flame to the tip of the twisted poison he had given her. She didn’t even notice the soft crackling sounds the blunt made as she pulled on it. It was the sound of the crack popping from the flames burning into them.
Naomi hungrily inhaled and allowed the toxic smoke to penetrate her lungs, temporarily altering her state of mind. The intense euphoric feeling immediately rushed over her. Mann could smell the chalky sent of cocaine burning in the air. He had her and she had no clue.
“Babe have you spoken to Shaleea? How’s Noah doing?” he asked.
Naomi rolled her eyes and blew a stream of smoke out of her plump lips. “He’s better. She said he don’t know who shot him, but I think she was lying,” she coughed.
Mann never admitted, nor planned to admit to anyone that he had shot Noah. Initially once he learned that he hadn’t killed him, he began using Naomi as his information source. He told her that he and Noah hadn’t been on the best terms after their falling out over Shaleea, and that he had been laying low because he figured he’d be the first person that Noah blamed for shooting him. Mann was able to get in Naomi’s head so well that to her, she was his Bonnie and he was her Clyde.
“Well definitely stay close to her. Keep in touch with her. Once Noah is back up and moving he may be gunning for me. He may be paid but he a street nigga at heart. Even though I didn’t have shit to do with him getting hit up, he probably gon still lash out at everyone. His radars are definitely gonna be up,” Mann explained.
He looked over to Naomi who seemed to be staring off into space with wide eyes and dilated pupils. The euphoria from the laced blunt was in effect and she was absorbing Mann’s words like a sponge. Mann took his rough hand and trailed his fingers to the center of her thighs. Naomi’s mouth parted and a pant escaped them. His touch woke her.
“I hear you boo. I got you. I’m on point. If he coming for you, then he coming for me. We a team bae,” she stated, before spreading her legs to make room for Mann’s big bald head. He took the invitation and dived into her full figured wetness. Mann played the game to win and if keeping her high and satisfied was what it took to stay on top, then so be it.
FIVE
Shaleea
Shaleea slowly pushed open the door to her daughter’s room and peeked in. She saw that Heaven was sleeping peacefully in her large pink canopy bed that was fit for an Egyptian princess. She smiled before gently closing the door so Heaven could continue her peaceful slumber.
Walking back into the kitchen she sighed before sitting down at her dining table. She was exhausted from the chain of events that had taken place over the course of a week. She wished she could snap her fingers and make all of her problems disappear. However, she knew that she couldn’t, so she would have to settle for a glass of wine.
“So what’s next Shaleea?” her mother Gina asked, with genuine concern once she got comfortable at the table.” She did her best to keep a positive tone but it was proving to be difficult. She was worried about her child, and had been stopping by every day while caring for Heaven so Shaleea could go back and forth to the hospital to see Noah.
Shaleea scratched the top of her forehead and pushed away the loose strands of hairs out of her face from her messy ponytail. She was frustrated and it showed from her demeanor and sighs escaping her lips.
“I don’t know Mommy,” Shaleea stated. She knew where her Mom was headed and she was trying to avoid the conversation. She cringed internally at the thought of her mother ranting for the next thirty minutes. These days she was hearing it from everyone; including her own father.
“Look Shaleea baby. I’m not telling you what to do with your life because at the end of the day, you are going to make your own choices. However, you really need to focus on you and Heaven. You are smart, pretty, and educated. When are you going to stop putting yourself through this?” she asked, referring to Noah and his seemingly never ending drama.
Gina too was frustrated. She wanted answers and she was tired of watching her daughter constantly go through unnecessary soap opera drama with a man that was not her husband. Even if it was her husband, to Gina, Shaleea was above that.
Shaleea didn’t answer. She just sighed and picked up her half empty wine glass from the granite counter top. She took a big long sip of red wine from her glass. Smacking her teeth at Shaleea’s stubbornness, Gina continued.
“What are you going to do if they come back with that subpoena for him to take a blood test?” Gina asked before pausing. “What are you going to do if it’s his?” she continued, tilting her body and head to make eye contact with her daughter who appeared to be doing her best to avoid eye contact.
Shaleea still didn’t respond. “What are you going to do if he’s arrested and charged with murder? Shit, what are you going to do if whoever shot him comes back and tries to shoot him again?”
Gina continued to stare at Shaleea while she in turn stared down at the table. Tears formed in her large brown eyes and trickled down her face. Seeing her daughter cry for the millionth time over the last week was a hard sight to watch, but nevertheless she needed to hear the truth.
“I know you love him, but you have to think about you and Heaven. Whoever did this could come back, and either of you, or both of you, could get caught in the crossfire…I know you’re grown but that is a risk I will not allow you to take,” Gina argued, growing angry. She didn’t understand what it would take for Shaleea to wake up and see that her relationship with Noah was no longer healthy.
“For God’s sake, you just lost your baby from being stressed,” she added, so Shaleea could see the merit behind her argument. “Do you plan to play step mama to a love child he made while with you?”
While Gina knew all too well the intense feeling of love, she didn’t understand what exactly her child was holding onto. Shaleea had literally cried for days over the loss of Jahkee. Noah was the reason behind Shaleea’s high blood pressure; she knew it and she had admitted it one night while Noah was still in a coma. Noah was the reason for everything; the cheating, the crazy mistress, and a possible baby. The headaches and the heartaches never ended.Growing frustrated, Shaleea finally decided to respond.
“Mommy can you please just mind your business and let me handle this,” she waved her off with her hand in frustration. “I know you care but this is my life and I am going to live it how I want… I also know that you love me enough to respect that without judgement.
She hated telling family her business and that was the reason many things her and Noah went through, she kept private. She hated people passing judgement on her.
Gina took a deep breath and exhaled solemnly. While she was extremely frustrated, Shaleea was right. She decided she would leave. She got up a
nd leaned over to give Shaleea a kiss on the forehead.
“Get some rest baby and call me. And call your father. He’s been trying to reach you… Just know that whatever you decide, I’m with you.” While she didn’t agree with many of Shaleea’s choices lately, she never wanted her daughter to feel that she was alone and couldn’t come to her.
With that said, Gina walked quietly out of the home. She and Chris were planning to see a movie later out at Plymouth Meeting Mall. Although she initially didn’t want to go, Chris insisted that she go to take her mind off of what was going on. The way he saw it, Shaleea was going to make her own decisions and she had certainly made that very clear. There was no need to carry extra weight on her shoulders over someone else’s decision.
As Gina’s tires made the crunching sound from driving over rocky gravel, Shaleea walked over and peered through the windows. She saw her mothers’ vehicle drive off down the road in the gated community in which Shaleea had returned back to care for Noah.
With her fingers clutching her glass, Shaleea tossed the remaining wine down like it was cool water. For the past week she had struggled with what she actually planned to do. Losing her baby made her feel like she had hit rock bottom. She knew the reasons why she was stressed. As much as she blamed Noah, she also blamed herself for allowing stress to consume her.
She had decided earlier that day when she looked into Noah’s eyes, that if it came to light that he had lied about fathering an outside child that she would walk away from him and the life they shared. Losing her baby was one thing, but finding out that he fathered another baby right after would be the icing on the cake. How could she accept another’s child when hers had been taken? Noah had no idea how much pain he had caused her.
To her, it was no longer worth that pain. Before, the joy of expecting her son made it seem worthwhile, but now that was no more. However, at the end of the day, she already had a beautiful child, a beautiful family, a well-earned degree and enough money in the bank to open several of her own laundromats. She no longer needed Noah or his bullshit. If that baby was his, she was leaving. That was her decision and hers only. She wasn’t going to explain that to anyone.
SIX
Noah
Noah it’s a court order and you have no choice but to submit to the blood test.”
Noah looked at his long time attorney and shook his head in disgust. He truly wanted to smack the shit out of him. He didn’t understand what he was paying him for. He was supposed to be one of the best lawyers in the state. He didn’t want to take a blood test. He was well aware of the possibility that Eva could be his baby and he wasn’t prepared to entertain that idea. If she was his, he didn’t want anyone finding out about it, especially not the police. How could they just force him to give his blood? He was more than pissed; he was appalled.
“Fuck,” he replied quietly. “What happens if it’s mine?” he asked, refusing to refer to the baby as a person. He had only just recently found out her name. Noah was still in slight denial but he wanted to be prepared for whatever.
“It doesn’t mean that they will try to charge you with anything,” John explained, doing his best to look at the cup half full. “Frankly, I don’t feel they have sufficient evidence to charge you with anything at all. If they do decide to pursue a case against you then it would be purely circumstantial. The problem is, you have a motive.”
John got up and paced the room in frustration. He had represented plenty of rich guilty people and it never ceased to amaze him that they became frustrated when they were the ones who committed the crime. It was if they felt like the law didn’t apply to them and that money should be able to buy them out of a situation; and that just wasn’t the case all the time. In his heart he didn’t believe Noah when he said he didn’t do it.
“She was blackmailing you. You had a lot to lose. A fiancé, a new baby, businesses. And all of a sudden poof! She wounds up dead.” John threw his hands up after the statement for emphasis.
“You already know how that looks Noah…And these are all the things they are going to come at us with. Purely circumstantial but nevertheless, enough for a strong motive. The only thing that works in your favor is that she was in the prostitution field and she could have ruffled anyone’s feathers. However, it sure as hell won’t help if that baby she was carrying while she was murdered turns out to be yours.” He stared at Noah solemnly. This was serious and he wanted Noah to understand that.
“If it goes to court, we have a shot, but…that’s not a guarantee that we will win. It’s just gonna look bad if that baby is yours. That’s pretty much what everything is riding on at this time.”
Noah shifted around in his motorized, leather wheel chair. He was growing hot and uncomfortable. He was used to being in control. He knew he had lost that a long time ago. What John was saying was true and Noah didn’t like the idea one bit. Worse came to worse the District Attorney was going to charge him with murder based on some circumstantial bullshit and he would have to pay at least $100,000 to ensure he was well represented with the best team of lawyers in the area. He didn’t have time to be sitting in jail over trash like Eve. He also didn’t want to spend that much of his “hard earned” money on a ridiculous amount of legal fees.
“Fuck it,” he said out loud. He figured he would deal with it how it came. In reality he had no choice. He was ready.
SEVEN
Bianca
Bianca walked up the shabby steps on a quest to reach the gates that would take her into the Brooklyn hi-rise she was headed to. Broken beer bottles, random debris, and an old cigarette box blocked her path. She walked through the first floor and arrived at apartment three. She had been coming there for ages.
Eve’s mother Arima opened the door of the ran down apartment that had been home to her and her children for many years. The home held so many unpleasant memories that no one bothered to even visit. In her arms she held baby Eva.
Eva had been named in a haste. Rushed into the emergency room at 10:00 pm, baby Eva only two pounds, but was surprisingly in good shape after having been removed from her dead mother via cesarean section before her oxygen supply was completely depleted.
Eva had been lucky. A few more minutes inside of her mother would have caused her severe brain damage, and or death. Luckily her self-designated Godmother Bianca had been there to call for help and give baby Eva a chance to make it. Bianca saw it only fitting to name the blessed child after her late mother Eve.
“Hey Miss Arima, how are you? Just coming by to check on you and the baby.” She smiled and held out the large plastic bag she had tucked at her side. It was more diapers, as well as a few more outfits for the fast growing baby.
“Thank you,” Arima stated, while quickly taking the bag. She was clearly agitated. She had been up all night with the crying child and she had finally gotten her to sleep again before Bianca’s knock.
While Arima loved the child she was none too pleased to learn that her daughter had been murdered in a dingy hotel room and that she would have to raise someone else’s baby. She had raised all her children and hadn’t gotten a penny’s worth of credit for doing the best she could. Eve had been especially defiant and ungrateful and Arima wasn’t surprised she had been killed.
Bianca sensed her irritation and decided she wouldn’t waste her time making small talk.
“Can I just give her a quick hold and hug so I can leave you too alone,” she smiled, doing her best to lighten the tension in the small room.
Bianca already knew how Arima felt about her oldest daughter Eve. Additionally, she was old and bitter and Bianca couldn’t blame her. Coming to the US had done nothing for Arima but provide her with better medical coverage. A lifelong career in prostitution quickly came to a halt after arriving. She had been diagnosed with HIV and had been living like much of a hermit ever since.
Bianca knew that it was only so long before someone had to step in and care for baby Eva. She decided it would be her. While Arima did her best, Bianca
sensed her frustration with the newborn every time she came by.
Eva would most often be crying every time Bianca stopped by and would usually have a wet diaper on. This concerned Bianca since Eva had been born premature, and although healthy, needed special care. It had been weeks since Eve had been cremated and Bianca had been taking major steps to change her life.
Bianca was well aware that it could’ve been her lying dead on a cum drenched, hotel mattress. After all, they played the game together. Bianca played it to win while Eve had been playing for keeps. Breaking the cardinal rule in prostitution had cost her life. She was to never get caught up, never fall in love; but she did. Unfortunately, she learned a very hard lesson. Looking in, many would say she deserved it. However, to Bianca, her punishment had been extreme and unjust.
These days Bianca was quickly making changes so she could turn her life around and eventually file for guardianship of Baby Eva. Seeing Eve dead she felt a sense of responsibility for Eva. Eve had been her main bitch and she wanted to do right by her child. She had just gotten a job as a Home Health Aide at a nursing home close by.
With some hard work Bianca would save some money and move out of her mother’s apartment into her own, so she could raise Eva up right. There was no telling how many years left Arima had in her, and with no father, Bianca was the closest thing to family as she would have. She would make it happen for both of them.
She kept those thoughts in her mind before kissing Eva on her forehead and heading out. It was still early and the only reason she had come by at the hour was because she had to be to work by 10am.
As she bounced her way back out the building to catch the nearby sub, she pushed back her thoughts of her friends’ killer, who she figured was probably somewhere living it up with his perfect life while her late friends’ body lay cold in a box.
