“I saw the young boy Chris there Saturday night. He was leaving when I was coming in. He had a chick wit him.” Chauncey looked down at the floor, knowing that this was his fault. He was prepared to handle the situation in whatever way required. Ree thought of Tatum for a second and felt a sharp pain in his chest as he spoke his next sentence.
“If that nigga has my money, I want him dead.”
Chauncey ran his hand over his mouth, knowing that Ree meant it; he also knew that like himself, Ree would be facing some personal challenges if it turned out to be Chris.
Not only did Chauncey not want his man that he grew up with dead, Ree did not want to put Tatum through that pain, losing her parents, and then the only family she had left, her brother.
Ree and Chauncey locked eyes as if sharing the same thoughts, both genuinely hoping that it didn’t have to come to that. But right now the odds were not looking in Chris’s favor.
The fact that he had disappeared and was not answering his phone made him the prime suspect. However, Chauncey had to consider all options. He spoke at last.
“Why would Chris drill out the door if he had the keys?”
Deets jumped on it.
“So he could blame another muhfucka, so it can look like he ain’t do it! Nigga ain’t even nowhere to be found, fuck kinda shit is that?”
Chauncey proceeded.
“But why would he want it to look like somebody else did it and still hide, wouldn’t he know that makes him look guilty?” Everyone remained quiet, while Ree just looked back and forth between Chaunc and Deets.
“So what you saying?” Ree asked. Chauncey looked at everybody and then spoke directly to Ree.
“I think we need to look at the chick.”
When Ray peeked out the window and noticed a black Mercedes pulling up in his driveway, he called out, “Penelope!”
She sauntered in the room with an attitude.
“Penelope, are you expecting somebody?”
She looked at him as if he was growing a second head, and her response was interrupted by the doorbell. When Ray opened the door he noticed two men, one very dangerous looking with dreads pulled back and unfriendly eyes, the other big and brolic, sort of resembling Suge Knight.
“Neli here?” the big guy spoke.
“May I ask who you are?” Ray asked, trying to still prove his manhood but hoping that these thugs didn’t want any trouble. Neli came behind Ray and before she could say anything, Ree pushed by Ray and walked into the house, grabbing Neli by the arm and pushing her onto the couch. Ray tried to protest but E just pushed him in the house as well and closed the door, pulling out his .45 and forcing Ray to sit on the steps.
Ray thought he was gonna shit on himself. Neli fell onto the couch with tears in her eyes, scared to death and unbelievably relieved at the same time. She was waiting for this moment so she could get it over with, but she thought it would be Chauncey to come, it was his money after all, she figured.
“Where’s my money?” Ree asked her calmly. She opened her mouth as if she was shocked and confused at the same time.
“Oh my God. Oh my God, that was your money?” she asked dumbfounded.
Ree looked at her viciously and repeated the question.
“Where’s my money?” Ree spoke.
“Penelope, what the fuck is he talking about? Get out of my house, you fucking hoodlums, and take her with you!” Ray yelled from the steps. E hit the man in the head with the butt of the gun and advised him to keep his mouth shut.
“I can’t fucking believe you!” Neli shouted at Ray.
Ree looked at E as if he couldn’t believe this shit. He smacked Neli onto the floor and then got down on one knee to face her.
“Where the fuck is my money?”
She began crying profusely and explaining her rehearsed story.
“I swear I don’t have your money. It wasn’t me, it was Chris! It was Chris, I swear!” she said through cries. Ree picked her up by her neck and threw her back on the couch.
“Continue.”
Neli took a deep breath and continued her story, sounding innocent and appearing genuinely frightened, which wasn’t acting at all.
“When I went with him to the house, I didn’t really have to use the bathroom . . . He wanted to show me how much money he was getting. He was mad that I still had feelings for Chauncey and he told me he was getting money just like him and that it was no reason why I shouldn’t be with him.”
Ree glowered at her with cold eyes not showing whether he believed her or not. She continued, even more distraught and childlike.
“Anyway, he showed me the money, he told me it was a half a million dollars and he told me he was gonna take care of me. We made love on the money.”
Ree cut her off quickly as Ray listened on with wide eyes. “I don’t want to hear about you making love on my money . . . I wanna know where the fuck it is.”
She began crying harder and Ree urged her to calm down and continue, which she did.
“The next day Chauncey called him while I was in the car, he yelled at him about bringing me there. He really belittled him and Chris knew I could hear him through the phone, he was embarrassed. Chauncey told Chris to meet him at the pool hall and to drop me off, he was pretty upset. Anyway, later on that night Chris told me that Chauncey had demoted him and that it was no more love, so he asked me if he was to get the money for us to bounce, would I leave with him. I didn’t think he would ever get the money so I told him that I probably would. I didn’t think he would take it.”
Ree looked at her as if something wasn’t adding up.
“You knew that Chris had taken over a half a million to the house and then when he asked you if he could get the money would you be with him, you didn’t think he was talking about my money?”
She looked at Ree in his eyes, something she had learned to do from lying to Ray.
“To tell you the truth, Ree, I really thought that it was Chauncey’s money. And the way that Chauncey has been treating me, I really thought he had it coming to him. I didn’t know it was yours, I swear. But I was not a part of it at all.” Ree turned to E knowing that he could validate some things. Her story made sense, and Ree knew Neli was Tatum’s girl, plus she definitely seemed sincere and he knew Chris was a weak nigga probably willing to do anything for some pussy.
“Did Chauncey demote him?” Ree asked E, still looking at Neli for any signs that she was not being truthful.
E remembered Chauncey saying he was going to demote him and E had thought that maybe Chris would take that hard. He nodded as a response to Ree’s question. And then he added the final straw.
“Boss, Chaunc also told me that the lil nigga started tripping when he demoted him, talking about he ain’t gonna be able to eat, and shit like that.”
Ree looked at E and then back at Neli and then thought about how Chris was talking crazy at his party. Yeah, he was definitely the prime suspect.
“So when was the last time you talked to him?” Ree asked.
“Last night,” she said innocently.
“And you gonna give me a call when you hear from him again, right?” Ree asked, peeling off some bills and rubbing her face where he smacked her. Neli took the money and gave a half smile.
“Absolutely.”
As soon as Chauncey got word of the hit put out on Chris he knew it was over for him. Ree had put a price on his head worth $100,000 and to the average street hustler, that was a nice amount of money just for some information, they could give a fuck about the next nigga’s life. Not to mention the fact that half of the street wolves of Newark would have done Chris in themselves just on the strength of Ree—that’s the way the game worked.
It didn’t take long for Chris to realize that there was a price on his head either. He had been staying with several different chicks, hiding out and getting high, trying to clear his mind. He felt as if he had reached a dead end and there was nowhere to go but down. He contemplated calling Neli but knew that it
was risky. He decided to give it a little more time, but he hoped that no one had bothered her. Although the thought had crossed his mind of her being responsible for the missing money and product, he quickly dismissed it.
Neli was a good girl and she knew nothing about how to rob somebody, let alone what to do with that product after she got it. Nah, Chris figured that it was just a bad coincidence, maybe an inside job, or even maybe someone was trying to set him up. The more high he got, and zoned his mind became, the more he considered option number three. He started thinking that maybe niggas was jealous of him, maybe jealous of the way he would’ve come up if everything had gone smooth, so they had to set him up. Yeah, that’s what happened. Little did he know, trusting the wrong female had just cost him, and the price he had to pay would be his life.
Chapter 14
Pain
For the next week, things went on as usual. Ree and Tatum spent every waking moment together; she and her nieces had practically moved into his home. She hadn’t heard from her brother, and since Ree loved having her around, he didn’t mind the girls being there at all.
She cooked and did laundry and she tried to clean but Ree seemed to keep her off of her feet so much that she couldn’t. He catered to her as well, in the places that she had long been craving. He catered to her physical needs as well as emotional and spiritual. They spent mornings making love and showering together before classes and work and they spent evenings sharing stimulating conversation, feeding each other, and well, making more love.
Sasha and Chauncey were two on the Ferris wheel of love as well, although he had seemed a little more withdrawn than Sasha would have liked. She spent the past days mailing out engagement party invitations that included a picture of her big-ass ring on her tiny manicured finger, hanging out of the side of the brand-new Audi that Chauncey had purchased for her. She was living the good life, especially when he told her that she could start house hunting as soon as she finished with school. She knew what that meant: relocation! And relocation meant only one thing: Chauncey was about to give up the game.
As soon as Neli received her invitation she was green with envy. She had known about the engagement but the picture sent her over the top. She had to talk to Chauncey.
“Hello,” he answered in a mellow tone.
“Chauncey, it’s Neli . . . Listen, don’t hang up.”
“Yo . . .” he started in his usual disposition, getting ready to go off on her.
“Wait, listen. I . . . I, just wanted to call you and congratulate you on your engagement,” she stammered through tears. He remained silent wondering what the hell she was up to. She continued.
“And I was wondering if we can get together and have a drink to celebrate.” Chauncey looked at the phone as if this girl was crazy.
“Nah, I don’t think so,” he said, dismissing her, not as mean as usual but definitely not entertaining her or her notions. Neli took in a deep breath.
“Well, that’s too bad. Because I was actually thinking about what you said to me the other day. You know, about stop smiling in Sasha’s face acting like I’m her friend. You were right . . . I’m not her friend, and maybe I should stop pretending to be. So, I think I am going back to LA and starting over. Obviously we can’t be together, and that hurts me so much, I can’t stay here and see y’all together.”
Chauncey listened unaffected and a little elated to hear that Neli was leaving.
“Well maybe that’s the best thing for you,” he said, unaware of her intentions.
“Mmm . . . hmm . . . ,” she continued. “So I guess if you won’t have a drink with me and see me off, well I guess I’ll just have to tell Sash everything. I mean, it’s not like I have anything to lose. She ain’t no friend of mine, right, Chaunc?” she asked sarcastically.
Chauncey realized what was going on now. He tried to think of a way out, but couldn’t.
“You would do that? For real?” he asked, knowing damn well she would.
“Uh-huh,” she confirmed seriously.
“A drink, huh?” he asked, knowing damn well it was more than that.
“One last drink, baby . . . and I promise, I swear, you won’t hear from me anymore, I’ll even show you my plane ticket.” Chauncey contemplated seriously but knew he had no choice. His life was finally getting right with Sasha and he couldn’t lose her, not now. She was all he had. He knew that Neli had nothing to lose, and she would tell Sasha. Shit, he had even fucked one of her friends from Cali who had videotaped them one night when they were all fucked up; he knew she could prove it. He finally agreed to meet her one last time and told her to bring her plane ticket so he could know for sure that she was going, for good. Then he told her to meet him at the Motor Lodge that night at nine, for the last and final drink that she’d ever get from him.
Sasha studied the pink stripe as if it would change if she stared hard enough. Oh my God, she thought to herself. The first thing that came into her head was how they would have to push the wedding up because she was not having a baby out of wedlock. Then she thought of the home she would have to look for, neighborhood, schools, whether it would be a boy or a girl, and how Chauncey would definitely have to get out of the game like yesterday.
Overall she considered it a blessing like the many she was receiving from God. She was a little nervous, but she took it as a sign. She thought of what her family and friends would say. They couldn’t be too upset; both she and Chauncey had more than enough money and plus they were a happy couple about to tie the knot. A baby couldn’t have come at a better time.
She immediately called Chauncey and told him she had to talk to him tonight. He told her that he’d be home around eleven, and that he had some things to handle. She thought to herself, Good, let him handle it all now, because when I tell him this, there will be no more business to handle.
Next she dialed Tatum and told her the news.
“What you trying to say, Sash, I’m gonna be a godmother!” Tatum was shocked. She was a little nervous, with Chauncey’s present situation and with them just getting back together, but Sasha assured her that Chauncey was giving up the game and she seemed so happy. So Tatum figured if Sasha was happy, then she was happy for her. She and Chauncey seemed to be doing everything that she could see herself doing with Ree. They were all really growing up.
Sasha hung up and fell fast asleep with happy thoughts of she and Chauncey starting a family. She couldn’t wait to tell him the news.
Her sweet dreams of happily ever after were interrupted, however, by a text from Chauncey around 9:15 telling her to meet him at the Motor Lodge, Room 217. What the fuck?
When Sasha pulled up to the Motor Lodge, she didn’t see Chauncey’s car, but as she drove around to the rooms labeled 200s, she spotted it. She dialed his number but it went straight to voice mail. So she got out of the car and made her way up the stairs to the room. Halfway up, a sharp pain went through her stomach. She nixed it out to the pregnancy, but it almost seemed to be her gut eating at her.
She got closer in numbers and realized she was going in the right direction. Maybe he set up something romantic. But why here, baby? she thought, looking around at the cheap motel. 203, 205. It seemed like the closer she got, the more her stomach pained. What the fuck?
Neli had texted Sasha from Chauncey’s phone the minute he went to the bathroom for the first time. Apparently, he had to have some drinks before even meeting with her. It was now 9:30, only fifteen minutes later, and he was in the shower getting clean to head back to Sasha.
Their session was quick, Chauncey trying to get it over with and Neli trying her hardest to enjoy him, knowing she would never have him again. She had shown him her plane ticket, and had every intention of leaving him and Sasha alone now, but now she was sure that they would be just that, alone.
She waited anxiously for Sasha to get there; she hoped she would come while he was still in the shower, naked with no way of making excuses. She was prepared for a fight with Sasha, but that was the pri
ce she would have to pay to ensure that it was over with them. Finally, there was a knock at the door. Neli hopped up butt naked and ran to the door. She peeked out the peephole and studied Sasha waiting patiently. Aw, she looked so unsuspecting. Show time!
Neli opened the door with a smile on her face as Sasha looked at her with wrinkled brows.
“Neli?” she asked, very confused about what was going on. She didn’t get the picture until a naked Chauncey wrapped in a towel emerged from the bathroom. Chauncey did a double take and landed on Sasha’s hurt eyes and he felt his heart in his throat. He was going to kill Neli!
He reached for Sasha, but it was too late, she was already punching Neli violently and banging her head against the motel wall in rage. Chauncey at first looked on in shock—he had never seen Sasha like this before—but he finally broke in and tried to separate them, just wanting the whole situation under control so he could plead his case to Sasha.
Sasha was able to get a few more hits in, while Neli got none, before they were both on different sides of the room breathing heavily. Chauncey turned to Sasha while the room fell silent.
“Princess—”
“Don’t . . . call me that! Don’t say shit to me!”
She broke down crying, so hard that she had to sit on the bed.
“I hate you! Oh my God, I hate you! How could you, Chauncey? Oh God . . . Oh God . . .”
Sasha couldn’t even think fast enough. Where? When? How long? Why? Was this really happening to her? Her heart pained so much, she never imagined feeling anything like this, it was the complete opposite of the joy she felt when he had proposed.
Chauncey felt worse than he’d ever imagined even when he had imagined the worst rendition of this moment. It wasn’t long before he felt warm tears on his cheeks. And he never cried, never.
“Sasha, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, baby,” he pleaded in almost a whisper.
He went to put his arms around her, but she just pushed him away and flailed her arms wildly, forcing him to keep a distance. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to take her pain; it hurt him so much that he couldn’t. Sasha sat on the bed. She just wanted to breathe, but she couldn’t, at least she felt like she couldn’t. Her heart hurt, her head pounded, her stomach. Her stomach. Her baby. Their baby. She looked up at Chauncey’s face and cried even more. Her dream, he was her dream. And he wasn’t shit. She spoke between cries.
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