by Hazel Mills
Chapter 11
Shannon
For months, I stayed as far away from Nikki as possible. She was getting on my fucking nerves. All she wanted to do was ask me a bunch of stupid ass questions about where I was going, what I was doing, and whom I was doing it with. She acted like I was a child and she was my goddamn mama. The last time I saw her was when she and her girl, Sabrina, asked me to go with them to some bullshit book signing. But I soon realized what the two of them really wanted was to get all up in my business and I wasn’t having it. Nikki claimed to care so much about what happened to me one minute and then the next minute, she just sat there and said nothing while Sabrina practically threw me from a moving car. From that moment, it was perfectly clear that Nikki didn’t give a shit about me. I should have realized that fact when she left home.
Nikki knew what Daddy would do to me when she left.
My first couple of semesters at Howard had surely taught me one thing. College wasn’t for me. Although I enjoyed the party scene, I just couldn’t get into the going to class thing. When I was living at home, going to school wasn’t an option. It was a requirement. My father didn’t care whether it was rain or shine or whether we were sick or well, we had to go to school. It was one of those as long as you live in my house rules. Well, good thing that I’m no longer living in his house now because I have had enough of rules, books, class and all of the other shit that goes along with it.
Besides, it is not as if I had a choice in the matter. The university had placed me on academic probation because of my less than stellar grades. My first semester’s report card was filled with three D’s and an F and not a lot had changed since then.
When I found out that I was pregnant, I figured that it was just the confirmation I needed to finally quit school and find a job. I definitely planned to stay in DC. There was no way in hell I was going back to Alabama to live with my parents. I wasn’t going to have an abortion this time either. Been there. Done that. Unlike with the other pregnancies, this baby’s daddy could actually be worth millions. I knew exactly who I was going to pin this one on even if the baby was not his. My baby and I were going to be set for life.
I knew that sooner or later my parents would find out I
wasn’t in school and about the pregnancy. Hell, Nikki’s 007 friend, Sabrina, had probably printed up press releases already. I realized that I had to get a job to insure that my father wouldn’t insist that I come back home. A husband would be better but a job would satisfy him.
Finding a place to live wasn’t going to be that hard. I had already practically moved out of the dorm and in with my man, Bone. I knew that Bone wouldn’t have a problem with me living with him full time. He barely lived there himself.
Bone was the real deal and had it going on unlike these lame ass college boys. He had two houses, one here in DC and another
5
one in New York. Bone drove a BMW and always, always had plenty of money to spend and didn’t mind spending it on me.
For a minute, I thought that something serious might happen between Ahmad Jacobs and me. He would call me sometimes, usually when he wanted some pussy and I was fine with that. Hell, I was even gracious enough to fuck a couple of his boys on occasion if it meant getting hooked up with a moneybags ballplayer. I did whatever he wanted me to do. I knew that Ahmad didn’t have money now but the potential was worth millions. Everybody around town was talking about Ahmad being drafted into the NBA. I’d even heard some people say that he might play for Detroit. I was glad that I’d snatched one of the condoms from the trash when his ass left the room.
He was so stupid. Always wrapping his little shit up before we fucked like that would make any difference.
It never occurred to him that I could take his sperm home with me and squirt it in. A turkey baster from the dollar store is a gold digger’s best friend.
One thing was for sure, I needed a man with some money. Some real money. Right now. None of the brothers that I’d met had anything like that until I met Bone.
I met Bone at a party a few months ago and, even though he was seven years older than I was, we had a connection. We left the party and went to Waffle House for a late dinner and have been into each other ever since.
Bone was not the type of man that my parents would approve of at all. He was not a college man and he was hard. My father would call him a thug because of his big diamond stud earrings and saggy pants. I knew what Bone did for a living wouldn’t win him any brownie points with my family either, but I didn’t care because I knew Bone was a good man regardless of the fact that he sold drugs. It could have been worse. He could have been a drug user.
“Bone, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“I need a place to live. Can I crash with you for a minute?”
“Why? What happened to school?”
“I don’t know. I just ain’t feeling it anymore.”
“You know you can stay with me as long as you want, baby girl.”
“I have something I need to tell you. I’m pregnant.”
“What the fuck? Pregnant? Bitch, it ain’t mine ‘cause I ain’t fucked no crackhead. You sucked my dick but I ain’t fucked you. Naw, bitch, you ain’t fixin’ to stick me!”
“Chill out, Bone. I know it ain’t yours. I have a pretty good idea who the father is. I just need some time to get my head together,” I explained. “I need to find a job to tie me over until I can figure out the right time to tell the father. I’m thinking that I should put in a few applications at Wal-Mart and check into some restaurants.”
“You don’t got to look for no goddamn minimum ass wage job. You can’t survive on that shit. That bullshit will barely keep your belly full. And you going to have a baby, too? Shit, that’s why I do what I do. I make more money in an hour sellin’ rocks than niggahs working at Wal-Mart make in a month, maybe even a year. Shit, you’ve got to get yours where you can ‘cause these white folks is getting theirs,” Bone explained. “You can live with me. Hell, I need somebody to look after the spot when I’m in New York handling my business. I’ll take care of you until you get your shit straight.”
“When my daddy finds out that I ain’t in school, he’s gonna try and make me come home especially if I don’t have a job.”
“How is he gonna know what’s going on if you don’t tell him?”
“My bitch ass sister Nikki will tell as soon as she finds out.”
“You ain’t got to get no job. You can help me with my shit. That’s your new job. You ain’t got to worry about your daddy or your sister either. I’ll handle it if anything jumps off. I got your back, baby.”
“Bone, do you mean it?” I asked, excitedly.
“Hell yeah, I mean it. You know I love you, girl. Now, come here and show me how much you love me by giving my little bone a suck before I leave for New York. I got business to take care of and I need to relax.”
Hearing those words from Bone was all the reassurance I needed. I would live with him until I got my plan together and had this baby. After the child is born, it will be smooth sailing.
