Creepin' 2: A New Orleans Love Story

by Chenell Parker

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” He asked in a pleading tone.

  “If it has anything to do with us getting back together then the answer is no.”

  “You never even gave me a chance to explain myself, Mia.”

  “There was no explanation needed. When I saw London coming out of your room, I already knew what it was. After all the begging and pleading, you did for me to take you back after the incident with Paige and you go and do something like that? I’ll never trust you again, but we’ll always be friends.”

  “Friends?” Tre questioned with a frown.

  “Yeah, that’s about all that I can offer you.”

  “You can miss me with that friendship shit.”

  “Cool, but I needed to ask you something.”

  “What is it, Mia?” Tre asked sounding as disgusted as he felt.

  “How much is my car insurance every month?” Mia asked causing him to frown.

  She knew that she had full coverage on her truck, but she didn’t know much he was paying every month. Whatever it was she wanted to take on the responsibility of paying it herself.

  “What?” Tre asked in confusion.

  “I need the information for my car insurance so I can start paying it myself,” Mia said making him angry.

  “They take that out of my account every month, but I don’t want to talk about no damn car insurance Mia. I know you got a lil job and everything, but I got it.”

  “I don’t want you to have it. I don’t want or need anything from you. What’s the purpose of us breaking up if I still have to depend on you?” Mia snapped.

  “Paying your car insurance is depending on me?” Tre yelled angrily.

  “Lower your voice,” Mia replied while looking towards the house. “And again, I don’t want you to do anything for me. You’ve already done enough.”

  “Can we at least talk without all the arguing, Mia?” He begged.

  “Nope, but you might want to go in through the back door before Von smells you. I see you just refuse to do right,” she replied right as she walked away.

  Tre had picked up his old weed habit once again. If it weren’t for the fact that he was still on papers, he probably wouldn’t have stopped at all. His probation officer never really requested to see him anyway. As long as his monthly payments were on time was all that mattered to him. Even still, Von would act a damn fool if he knew that he was at it again. Mia had him stressed out, and he needed something to mellow him out. They’d broken up several times before, but this time felt different. This time it felt permanent. Usually, she would stay away letting him know that she was scared to give in if she was around him. This time she made it clear that she wouldn’t stop coming around, and she didn’t care if he was there or not. That alone let him know that she was fed up with his bullshit. He didn’t know how he was going to get her back, but he knew that he had to try. Duke said Brandis was pissed with him too, so he couldn’t even ask for her help. Rainey was an undercover snake, so she was out of the question as well. Speaking of the devil, Tre saw her pulling up right as he was heading to the back door of the house.

  Rainey walked into Von’s house and immediately went to the room that she occupied to put her items away. She knew that Mia was there because her truck was parked out front. Aside from bumping into her at school she hadn’t really seen much of her for the past couple of weeks. They barely said two words to each other, and Rainey desperately wanted things to go back to the way they were. Mia confronted her about London and Tre, but Rainey swore to her that she didn’t have anything to do with it. Although she tried to hook them up in the past, she had no clue that London was at Von’s house that particular day. Mia didn’t seem to believe her, so she stayed her distance after their little talk. Even London had been giving her the cold shoulder lately. Rainey’s prediction about Tre had come true, and London was in her feelings about it. He blocked her number from calling, and she was basically invisible when she came to visit. Rainey tried to tell her, but she didn’t heed her warnings. Once Mia got wind of everything, it was over before it really even got started.

  “Hey baby,” Von greeted Rainey when she walked back to the front of the house.

  He was in the kitchen, and Mia was seated at the island talking to him while he cooked. Rainey spoke to her, but she looked Rainey’s way and turned her head without bothering to open her mouth. Von picked up on the tension and used that as an opportunity to talk to both of them.

  “Mimi I know you’re probably wondering what I wanted to talk to you about, so I’ll get right to it,” Von said looking at her. “Rainey is concerned about y’all relationship. She feels like y’all are drifting apart, and she doesn’t know why.”

  Mia was happy that she’d just swallowed the water that she was sipping on, or she probably would have choked from what she was hearing. Rainey was sitting there looking like an innocent little girl while Von did all of the talking for her. Her sneaky ass knew damn well why Mia wasn’t dealing with her. She was on some shady shit, and Mia wasn’t feeling her at the moment. Mia couldn’t put her finger on it, but she knew that Rainey wasn’t as innocent as she tried to make it seem. She and London were so close at one point that you rarely saw one without the other. Mia remembered on several occasions that they would already be at Von’s house together when she got there. There was no way in hell that Rainey could make her believe that she didn’t know what was going on between London and Tre. Mia wasn’t saying that she was at fault because Tre was grown. The problem was Rainey smiling in her face all the while doing her dirty behind her back. That was just unacceptable.

  “You can sit here and play innocent all you want to Rainey, but you caused the strain in our relationship. You’re the one who started coming at me sideways for no reason. Even though I don’t care for London, I never treated you any different because you started hanging with her. We’re too old for that. You’re attitude changed up overnight, and now you want to make it seem like it’s my fault that we’re not as close as we use to be,” Mia rambled on.

  “I really don’t know what happened, and I really don’t care. All I know is y’all are family and y’all better start acting like it. Whatever happened in the past needs to stay there. We’ve spent damn near every weekend together since y’all were kids, and we’ve never had any problems like this. If it’s outside influences that are causing trouble then y’all need to get rid of them, and I don’t care who they are,” Von said right as Tre walked into the kitchen.

  He was in the hallway listening the entire time, and he couldn’t believe how pathetic Rainey was. She wasn’t right, and he was happy that Mia wasn’t falling for her sob story. Tre was about to grab a bottle of water from the fridge until he realized that he would have to pass by Von to get it. He made an about-face and headed to his room to take a shower before Von could smell the loud that he had just put into the air before he came in.

  “I’m not saying that I didn’t do anything wrong, but I apologize for whatever I did. I just want us to start all over and get back to the way we were,” Rainey said with tears in her eyes. No doubt it was all a show for Von, but Mia was willing to play the game with her.

  “It’s cool Rainey. I don’t have any hard feelings, and all is forgiven,” Mia replied.

  Rainey smiled bright and got up and gave Mia a tight hug. Mia hugged her back, but the issues they had were far from being over. She would do anything to make Von happy and judging from the smile on his face he was. Von was once a force to be reckoned with in the streets, but he was soft as cotton when it came to the ones he loved.

  C hapter 4

  Three whole months had passed, and Mia was sticking by her decision to leave Tre alone for good. He tried to get back her religiously since their break-up, but she wasn’t budging. Then to make matters worse she had started talking to that Ricky character again. Duke tried to ease his mind by telling him that they weren’t in a relationship, but that didn’t make him feel any better. Tre used to look forward to th
e weekends now he dreaded them because he knew that Mia would be there. He hated that she seemed happy without him while he was walking around feeling miserable. It was crazy because she didn’t try to ignore him or act ugly around him. She treated him exactly the way she had done before they started messing around. They were friends, but he no longer had his benefits. The thought of somebody else going where he’d only had the pleasure of being kept him awake many nights. He’d gone so far as to completely cut London off, but Mia was unmoved. London still came over with her mother from time to time, but she was just like the wind to him. He could feel her presence, but he didn’t see nor acknowledge her. He knew that it wasn’t her fault that he got caught doing wrong, but she was still the enemy all the same. She damn near stripped him naked in their kitchen that day, and he was dumb enough to fall it. She had her lips wrapped around his dick so fast he never really had a chance to protest, not that he would have anyway. A few minutes of that garbage ass pussy caused him to lose the only woman that he’d ever wanted to have his last name, but he had no one else to blame but himself.

  “You better chill out with all that smoking bruh,” Duke warned Tre as they rode in his car on their way to Moonie’s house.

  Mia, Rainey, and Brandis were swimming, so Von decided to get on the grill. Tanya had the entire weekend off, and she was spending time over there as well as Lamar and Nina. Mia’s little sisters asked to come over for a little while, so Tre offered to pick them up for her, and Duke went with him.

  “I’m stressing man. Mia is still on that bullshit, and I’m sexually frustrated. Getting pussy ain’t nothing, but I feel like I’ll be cheating on her ass again if I do. She don’t even want me no more, and I’m still being loyal to her ass,” Tre frowned as he plucked a few ashes out of the partially cracked window. He had the back windows all the way down making sure the smoke and smell didn’t remain once the girls got in the car.

  “It’s too late for loyalty now. You should have tried that when y’all were still together.”

  “I know that, but I can’t help how I feel. I’m stressed the fuck out,” Tre replied.

  “I understand all that, but you know you’re on papers.”

  “That man don’t be worried about seeing me. As long as he gets his money he don’t give a damn. That nigga look like he smoke too,” Tre said waving him off.

  He hadn’t seen his probation officer in over seven months, and he highly doubted he would be seeing him anytime soon. He did talk to him on a monthly basis just to catch up, but that was about as far as it went. The last time he requested to see Tre they spent an hour in his office talking about sports and cars. He never asked him any questions pertaining to his probation, and he’d never had a drug test in the two years that he was on papers.

  “You keep saying that, but that man still have a job to do. Don’t let him make an example out of you. I want you and Mia to get back together too, but you have to give it time,” Duke replied right as they pulled up to The Court.

  “I keep hearing y’all say that, but how much time am I supposed to give her? It’s been months, and she still don’t want a nigga. She be giving niggas her number right in my face like she straight saying fuck me,” Tre fumed.

  “That’s your fault, though. You never miss what you had until it’s gone. Maybe you’ll learn to appreciate what you have the next time you have it,” Duke said right before getting out of the car.

  Tre stayed downstairs while Duke went up to get the girls. He put his blunt out and sprayed the car down with the strawberry air fresher that he kept in his glove box. He only had on a tank, so he grabbed his t-shirt from the backseat and sprayed himself down with the Ralph Lauren Body spray that Mia got him a few months back. After popping a piece of gum in his mouth, he got back in his car and waited for everybody to come out. The Court was always jumping and today was no different. People didn’t hang out as much as they use to, but that was only because of the strict rules that they had to follow. That still didn’t stop a few hard heads who decided to set up a table on the sidewalk to play a game of dominoes. One face in the group stood out amongst the others. Tre watched as Ro sat at the table and did what he did best. He was loud as usual, and he kept flaunting his wad of money in everyone else’s faces. He had on a pair of red bottom sneakers, and he made it a point to sit his feet up on the table to let the others know. He was always known for showing off. That was one of the things that Tre hated about him when they were friends. He noticed when one of the dudes at the table nudged Ro and pointed to his car. Ro looked over and smirked right before he used his hand to make the shape of a gun. Maybe it was supposed to be a scare tactic, but Tre was unfazed. He threw his hands up in the air and shrugged letting Ro know that his silent threat meant nothing at all to him. He wasn’t the only one with a gun, and he was ready for whatever. Just like the hoe he was, Ro was running around talking behind his back. Tre lost count of how many people came back and told him something different that Ro had said. He already knew how he was since Ro used to do the same thing when they were cool.

  “What’s up Duke?” Ro yelled when Duke emerged from the building with Mia’s little sisters.

  Tre never even noticed his boy coming until Ro yelled his name. Duke threw up his hand and waved before opening the door to let the girls get in. He really didn’t have much to say to Ro after him and Tre’s fight. He really wasn’t trying to choose sides until Ro started talking reckless. Duke understood that he was embarrassed about losing the fight, but he was taking things a little too far.

  “That nigga be lying his ass off,” Duke said when he got back into the car.

  “I know you’re not surprised. That’s all he do is lie and stunt,” Tre replied while pulling off.

  “He claim he’s moving weight now and got the whole Westbank on lock. He’s still living with his sister, but he claim to have so much money.”

  “That’s all on him. I’m happy I don’t have to deal with that clown no more. He’s a straight up broad.”

  “You know he got everybody thinking that you were mad because he was banging Rainey,” Duke replied in a low tone.

  “That nigga must be crazy. He can do whatever he want with that one. You know what my issue with him was,” Tre said not wanting to speak on him and Mia’s relationship in front of her sisters.

  “Yeah, I know,” Duke said.

  They traveled the rest of the way to Von’s house listening to Anika talk about school and everything else that she could think of. Tootie remained quiet, but Tre could tell that Anika was working on her nerves. His assumption was right because Tootie jumped out of the car and made a beeline for the front door as soon as they pulled up to the house.

  “Who the hell is this car for? They’re blocking the damn driveway and shit,” Tre fussed.

  He was mad that he had to park on the curb because a navy Chrysler 300 was blocking him from pulling into the driveway in his usual spot.

  “That must be one of Von’s people,” Duke responded.

  They walked into the house and found Von and Tanya in the kitchen. Von was putting some drinks in the ice chest while Tanya was adding more sandwiches to the tray in her hand. Tre was about to ask Von, who the car out front belonged to, but he got his answer before he had a chance to open his mouth. He felt his temperature rise and his heart felt like it was about to explode in his chest. Duke looked at his boy and decided that he would have to stay close to him for the remainder of the day. He would probably be going back to jail for murder if he didn’t.

  “Who the fuck is that?” Tre yelled angrily even though he already knew.

  He had to do a double-take when he saw Mia sitting on the side of the pool with her feet in the water. She had on the same skimpy ass bathing suit that she wore to Jabari’s party, but that wasn’t the worst part. The problem was that nigga Ricky, who looked too comfortable sitting down beside her. They were looking into each other’s eyes and smiling like nobody else was around.

  “Watch your mouth boy,”
Von chastised. “Now I know that you look at Mia like a little sister, but she’s grown. Her friend wanted to take her somewhere, but I told her to invite him over here instead.”

  “Mia is a beautiful young lady and men are starting to notice that. Y’all just have to trust her enough to do the right thing,” Tanya chimed in.

  They kept talking, but Tre had tuned them out a long time ago. He was having a hard time believing that Mia had another nigga at his house in the first place. She went too far, and he wanted nothing more than to tell her how he felt. That was the ultimate disrespect. He felt like he would snap at any moment, and he didn’t care that Von was around. Going out back and drowning Mia and her new man in the pool was all that he could think of at the moment.

  “Chill out bruh,” Duke whispered so that only Tre could hear. He saw the wheels spinning in his head, and he didn’t want him to start any confusion.

  “Go call her,” Tre said lowly.

  He didn’t know how, but he and Mia needed to have a talk. There was no way that she was dumb enough to think that bringing ole boy to his house was cool. He didn’t give a damn what Von said. That was just unacceptable.

  “Let me see what I can do,” Duke said as he walked outside behind Von and his mama.

  He went to sit next to Brandis, and she looked just as uncomfortable as he did. Tre looked outside, but Duke didn’t look like he was saying anything to Mia. He was tempted to go snatch her and drag her inside, but he would have to deal with Von if he did. Von would kick his ass if he laid a finger on Mia or any other female for that matter.

  “I need to use the bathroom Tank,” Anika said standing before Tre with water dripping all over the floor. He was so caught up in watching Mia that he never even noticed when she came in. Just then an idea came to mind, and Anika was the perfect person to make it happen.

  “Go call Mia and tell her to take you to the bathroom,” Tre replied.

  “I don’t need anybody to help me. I know how to use the bathroom on my own,” she whined.