Thugs And The Women Who Love Them

by Wahida Clark

  Ty stirred from his sleep when he heard her voice. He smiled at her. It didn’t matter to him how sick she still looked. He was just so happy she had pulled through.

  “Hey, girl. I been waiting to hear that voice ever since they brought you in here.”

  “Where? Tell me where I am, Ty.” Kyra was so confused.

  “You’re at the hospital, Kyra.”

  “Why am I here? Who brought me here?” She tried to sit up in the bed, but was too weak.

  “You came in an ambulance. I found you OD’d on your floor. You almost died from that shit, you know.” Ty shuddered at the memory.

  “How long I been here?” Kyra asked.

  “Two days.” Kyra turned her head away from Ty and closed her eyes for a second. She was trying to remember what had happened to make her so sick. Finally it came back to her. She remembered being at the Round with Marvin when they got the “H” from Twist and Shaheim. Damn! Why had she left the restaurant without Marvin? He was probably so fuckin’ mad that she had OD’d. He was always tellin’ her to go easy on that shit, ’cause he didn’t need everyone knowing that him and his girl were using the product. But Ty had said he found her on her floor. At least it didn’t happen in the restaurant. Maybe word wasn’t out on the street. She turned to face Ty again.

  “Where’s Marvin?” she asked. “I know that nigga must be ready to kick my ass right about now.” She tried to laugh, but it took more energy than she had.

  Ty shifted in his seat before he answered. While he’d waited for Kyra to wake up, he’d been thinking of the best lie to tell her. First, he wanted to tell her Marvin had left town with some other bitch, but he knew Kyra wouldn’t believe that. Then he found out that Marvin’s boy Snail had already got the word out on the street about what he saw when he drove away in Marvin’s car that night. Nobody had heard from Twist or Shaheim once they headed back to Connecticut with the bodies, but Snail was tellin’ everyone he knew that he would pay big for anyone who gave up the four niggas in ski masks who killed Rock. Everyone in the hood knew that Marvin was missing. It was only a matter of time before someone told Kyra the truth. Ty decided he would be the one to tell her. The only detail he left out was how he was the one who pulled the trigger on that motherfucker.

  “You ain’t got to worry about that nigga Marvin kicking your ass, Kyra.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked. “He ain’t mad that I OD’d?”

  “I doubt it,” Ty said. “I doubt he’s feelin’ much of anything right about now.” He almost wanted to smile as he thought about how he blew Marvin away.

  “Ty, what are you sayin’?” Kyra was starting to get nervous. She felt like she was gonna throw up ’cause she had an idea what Ty was trying to tell her.

  Ty told her the story of what happened that night. Of course, he pretended he’d heard it on the street from one of his boys who was at the Round and watched everything go down from inside. He said that his boy saw Marvin take a few bullets before they stuffed his body in the trunk. As far as anyone on the street knew, Marvin and Rock were both dead, their bodies in some car from Connecticut.

  Kyra let out a scream and a nurse came running in the room. She kicked Ty out while she calmed Kyra down. When he was finally allowed back into the room Kyra was sedated, but she was still awake.

  “So how’d you find me?” she asked Ty in a drowsy voice. “I ain’t seen you for over a year, and you happen to show up at my door on the same night Marvin gets shot?”

  “Kyra,” he said calmly. She was suspicious, but he was ready for her with another lie. “Me and my boys was hangin’ that night when we heard what happened. I knew you was gonna be upset since Marvin was your man and all, so I wanted to find you to make sure you didn’t do nothin’ stupid.”

  “Yeah?” She almost looked like she wanted to smile at him. Like she knew she’d be dead if Ty hadn’t come looking for her. “How’d you know where we lived?”

  “Please, girl. Everyone know where Marvin live,” Ty answered. Kyra believed him. It wouldn’t be that hard for someone to find out where Marvin stayed at. Everyone in the hood knew Marvin.

  “I feel like shit,” Kyra said. “I need to go to sleep.” Without another word, she turned away from Ty and closed her eyes. She was asleep in under a minute and she slept until the next morning.

  Ty stayed with Kyra until she was released from the hospital, and he visited her every day for four and a half months while she went through rehab in Princeton. When he wasn’t visiting her, he was selling dope. He flipped those twenty kilos they had jacked from Marvin and he eventually ended up being the third largest drug dealer on the East Coast.

  Once Kyra accepted that Marvin was dead, she got back with Tyler. She moved in with him after she was released from rehab and got her life back together. She was determined to stay off drugs and leave her past behind her, so she never asked another question about what happened that night at the Round. She got back with her girls, Jaz and Roz and Angel, and they helped her get on the right track. Kyra went back to school, and then on to college.

  Things with her and Ty were OK. She still had feelings for him, but they would never be as strong as what she felt for Marvin. Of course, when she got back with Ty, she didn’t know that Marvin was actually still alive.

  When Shaheim and Twist left the Round, they dumped Rock and Marvin at the hospital and jetted back to Connecticut. Miraculously, Marvin survived his gunshot wounds and spent a month in the hospital. Because of the way he’d been dumped at the hospital with Rock’s dead body, the police were called in to investigate. He almost got charged with Rock’s murder, and he did get busted on some old charges in New York. After he was released from the hospital, they sent his ass to Sing Sing for seven years. Nobody back in Trenton knew Marvin was even alive until he finally sent a letter to one of his boys. He wanted someone to get word to Kyra that he was getting out in a year, and he was coming back to her. But by the time Kyra heard about it, it was too late. Not only had she moved on with her life, she was getting ready to become a doctor and was thinking about breaking up with Ty. She was through with these thugs from the street.

  It took Kyra nearly a year to get up the nerve to break it off with Ty. After all, he’d saved her from getting raped when they were kids, and then he’d saved her life. He’d had her back all these years, and made sure she didn’t want for nothin’. But now she was ready. So, here she was, parked in front of Ahmads, Tyler’s brother’s house, getting ready to face Ty.

  Kyra saw Tyler’s red Beamer parked on the side of the house as if he were hiding from someone. I knew he’d be here, she said to herself. Tyler was always hanging out with his boys, doin’ nothing. That was one of the things about him that was driving her crazy. She was working her ass off to become a doctor and he was sitting on his ass most of the time. She grabbed her purse and jumped out the Jeep that Tyler bought for her and put in her name. She rang the doorbell. No one answered, so after a few seconds she rang again. She knew they were in there, but still no one came to the door. Kyra took out her cell phone and dialed. After the first ring, Ahmad answered.

  “What’s up?”

  “Come open the front door!”

  “You at the front door?”

  “No, Ahmad. I’m at the freakin’ back door,” Kyra said sarcastically.

  “Oh, snap, yo! Ty go answer the door. It’s for you.”

  Tyler came to the front door looking very surprised. He had on no shirt, revealing the six-pack that he sported. He had on baggy Phat Farm jeans and white sweat socks. He looked tired and his eyes were red.

  “Hey, baby!” he said as he grabbed Kyra, picked her up and kissed her. “Why’d you drive way up here?”

  “We need to talk, Tyler, and it can’t wait.” Kyra squirmed out of his arms, then folded her arms and stared at him.

  She called me Tyler instead of Ty. It must be PMS time, he thought. He ran his fingers across the small mound of hair that grew under his chin and looked at her.

&
nbsp; “It’s that important that it couldn’t wait until I got home?”

  “You haven’t been home in four days,” she reminded him. “I’m moving out this weekend. Half my stuff is already packed.”

  “What you talking about, moving? Moving where?”

  “Out, Tyler. It’s over. I need some time to myself. Gotta get myself together.”

  “What I do?” He stretched out his arms and hunched his shoulders.

  Just then, this tall, dark, pretty sister came down the stairwell. She looked at Tyler, then at Kyra.

  “I’m Jalisa,” she said in a preppy little voice. She held out her hand for Kyra to shake it. Kyra just looked down at Jalisa’s fake-ass nails. Jalisa pulled her hand back and rolled her eyes. Tyler just stood there yanking at the mound of hair under his chin. Jalisa turned and looked at Tyler with a seductive smile. “How long are you gonna be in town, Ty?”

  Tyler didn’t take his eyes off Kyra as he answered. “It depends on this woman here.” Jalisa mumbled something no one understood and waltzed out the front door.

  “Kyra, why you trippin’?”

  “I’m going to use the bathroom and then I’m outta here.” Kyra walked to the stairwell.

  Tyler wondered what she was trippin’ about. It was hard to read her because she was acting all serious and not saying much. Tyler’s pager vibrated as Kyra came down the stairs. He turned it off without even looking at it. Nothing mattered right now but Kyra. She stormed past him, heading for the front door.

  “Can I ride with you?” he pleaded.

  “Ride in your own car. I need time to clear my mind.”

  “Wait, Kyra!” As he yelled, he grabbed his Timberlands off the stairs and snatched his shirt from the banister. He ran out the door, trying to keep up with her.

  When they got on the front porch, Tyler’s baby brother, Lil’ Anthony, pulled up and beeped his horn. He was in a cream colored Porsche with chrome rims.

  “Where you steal that from?” Ty yelled. Anthony gave Ty the finger and focused on Kyra.

  “Hey, Kyra, you want a ride?”

  “No, that’s all right,” she answered. “You need to be careful. I’ve been worried about you.”

  “I’m straight, sis-in-law. I’ll be down to see you this weekend.” He stuck his middle finger up at Ty again and zoomed off.

  “That boy is going to get himself killed. You need to talk to him,” Kyra told Ty.

  “You know nobody can’t tell him nothing.” Ty wasn’t interested in his pain-in-the-ass brother right now. He was still trying to figure out what was up with Kyra, who was opening the door to her Jeep.

  “Can I ride with you?” He tried one more time. “I’m tired and ain’t been to sleep in two days.”

  “Tell that shit to Jalisa!” she snapped as she revved the engine.

  “Fuck Jalisa!”

  “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing for the last four nights?” Kyra backed out the driveway and headed down the street. Tyler ran and got into his Beamer, following close behind her.

  On the way home, they stopped once to fill up their tanks. While the attendant was pumping the gas, Tyler begged and pleaded with Kyra to tell him why she wanted to move out. He wasn’t about to let her leave him again without an explanation the way she’d done when she got with Marvin.

  “C’mon, Kyra. You know we can work this out,” he begged.

  “Look, Ty.” She sighed. “I don’t know what else to say to you. This is it. This is the end. We can’t go no further.”

  Ty still followed her all the way back to the apartment, hoping she’d change her mind.

  When they walked into the apartment, the alarm sounded, magnifying the headache Kyra already had. She pushed the appropriate buttons to disarm it, then threw her keys on top of the big screen and headed straight for the bathroom. She ran some hot water and poured in some Calgon bath beads. She wanted to be taken away. Tyler was still following her all around asking her why she was trippin’. She tried to explain to him that she couldn’t be a doctor living with a drug dealer. It was time for them to move on. The fire was out. He was getting madder when he saw how much of her shit was packed. It was starting to look like she wasn’t going to change her mind.

  “I know why you trippin’,” he finally said as he watched her get in the tub. “I know that nigga Marvin is out.”

  “This ain’t got nothing to do with Marvin. I haven’t been fucking him for the last seven years. I’ve been with you. This is between me and you. There is nothing here no more. Nothing. Can you close the door on your way out, please?” He just stood there looking at her for a few seconds. Then he started pleading. “Don’t leave me, Kyra. You know I love you and will do anything for you.”

  “Can you close the door behind you, please?” she repeated.

  He slammed the door, almost shaking the pictures off the wall. Just as Kyra laid her head back to relax in the tub, the door swung open again.

  “You know I ain’t going out like this,” he snarled at her. “That’ll be fucked up if you get back with that nigga.” He left, not bothering to close the bathroom door.

  Kyra just wanted to relax. She was not gonna let Ty get to her. She had made her decision, and she was gonna stick to it. She got out of the tub, closed the bathroom door and popped four Tylenol, then she got back in the tub and dozed off. When she woke up, the tub water was ice cold and her fingertips and toes were shriveled. It was 2:18 A.M.

  She went into the bedroom. Tyler was out cold, snoring. He was making up for the two days he claimed he hadn’t slept. As Kyra lotioned up her skin, she heard a knock at the front door. What the fuck? She snatched her short satin robe off the back of the door. She figured it was Jaz and Roz. They were the only ones who didn’t care what time they called or what time they barged into someone’s house. Kyra slid the cover off the peephole and then slammed it back. Her breathing came in rapid, short breaths. She felt like she was hyperventilating. Her back pressed into the door as she slid down and sat her naked butt on the floor.

  “Dayum! Dayum! Dayum!” she said out loud.

  Marvin was at the door. It had been seven years, but she recognized his face instantly. He was bold as hell, coming here this time of night, knowing that she lived with Tyler.

  Knock! Knock! Knock!

  She couldn’t move. He knocked harder. That got her up, ’cause she didn’t want to wake Tyler. She cracked the door as far as the chain would go.

  “What’s up, baby girl?” he said in that smooth, sweet voice that she remembered so well.

  “Do you know what time it is?”

  “Yeah, I know. But that ain’t important. Only thing important is me seein’ my baby girl.”

  “You should have called first and saved yourself a trip.”

  “I’ma let that remark go.”

  “Marvin, I have a man in the bedroom, asleep. This is his place.”

  “Baby girl, I just need five minutes.”

  “I’m not dressed.”

  Kyra looked at him and then looked back at the bedroom. Her head was spinning.

  “Please. Just five minutes.”

  Kyra closed the door, slid off the chain and let him in. Her heart felt like it was beating ninety miles an hour, and she could barely breathe. Marvin was looking damned good. He’d put on weight, but it looked like all muscle. He’d grown a fine, thin beard. His head was almost bald. He wore a black Sean Jean denim outfit and the shirt was open, showing off his six-pack. He was wearing Cool Water cologne. The brother was on.

  Kyra’s head was no longer spinning. Her body was now trembling. Just like it used to whenever he was in her presence. Prison does a nigga good, she thought.

  Marvin looked her up and down. His heart and his dick were twitching. She looked more mature and her hair was different. She put on a few pounds, but they were definitely in the right places. Other than that, she looked the same as she did seven years ago. She wore a gold colored short, satin robe that exposed those pretty brown legs she used
to wrap around his back. He had waited seven years to see his beautiful baby girl again. Marvin felt like he was dreaming.

  “The clock is ticking.” She was afraid to make eye contact.

  Marvin cleared his throat. “Kyra, all I did was think about you and dream about you while I was away. I still love you. I told you that you would be my baby girl forever and I meant it. You told me that you wanted me to be your man forever. I want back in. I want to be your man and take care of you.”

  “I don’t need nobody to take care of me, and you have one minute left.”

  “Let me be your man like I promised.” He was looking her up and down. He could hardly contain himself.

  “I got a man, Marvin. You know that.”

  “Then why are you trembling? And why can’t you look at me?” He looked around the room. “Why are these boxes packed? If you care about your man so much, why you movin’?”

  “How you know the boxes are mine?”

  “I know you, baby girl, and I know you ain’t happy.”

  “I know you don’t think you can just walk in here and start where we left off. It’s been seven years. People change. I’ve changed. You’ve changed. We all change.”

  “Change is good. We both changed for the better. My love for you has grown, and look at you. Still trembling like you used to.”

  “Your five minutes is up, Marvin.” Kyra opened the door.

  “Okay, but just answer me this. Do you still have feelings for me?”

  “It’s been seven years.”

  “Do you still have feelings for me? Yes or no? Say no and I’m out.” Marvin was really going for it. I’m almost on my hands and knees begging, he thought.

  Kyra looked at him. She wanted to say no just because she was angry at him. No words would come out. It was something about him standing there in front of her that brought back all those old feelings. She felt the tears welling up. Oh, shit! That was the last thing she wanted him to see her do. But it was too late. The tears were coming down. He reached over, grabbed her face and kissed her tears. He took her in his strong arms and held her tight. Kyra was sobbing big time.

  “I thought you were dead, Marvin. You were supposed to protect me.” She sobbed. “Then, you weren’t even there for me when I almost died.”