Creepin' 3: A New Orleans Love Story

by Chenell Parker

  “Alright sis, call me when you get home,” Aria said before disconnecting the call.

  Melissa went to the utility companies and paid the deposits to have her lights and water turned on at her new place before stopping to get her something to eat. It was getting dark outside, so she headed to her last stop of the day, which was the post office. She hadn’t checked her post office box in a few days and it was probably overflowing. As tired as she was, Melissa wished that she could put off packing for another day, but it wasn’t possible. She had seven days to be out of her current apartment before she was charged for another month. She couldn’t afford that, so she had to get a move on.

  After checking her box Melissa tossed the junk mail in the trash and put the rest of it in her hobo bag. She saw another woman walking up to the door as she was making her way out. She had her head down with a pink baseball cap shielding most of her face. Melissa held the door open for her, but when the woman took too long Melissa let the door close and proceeded to her car. Unfortunately for her she never had a chance to get in. The woman who she thought was going inside of the building doubled back and hit her hard in the back of her head. The blow was unexpected and Melissa never had a chance to recover from it. She hit the ground hard and her unidentified assailant started putting in work right as she went down. Just from briefly glancing at the other woman Melissa could tell that she had her by both weight and height. Sadly, that didn’t stop her assailant from getting the upper hand on her in the fight. After trying to fight back unsuccessfully, Melissa gave up and tried to cover her face instead. Her entire body was on fire and she was ready for everything to be over. Just when she was giving up hope, the woman stopped hitting her, making her believe that her nightmare was over. In actuality her troubles were just getting started.

  “Don’t get up bitch,” the woman gritted when Melissa tried to lift her head.

  When she felt the butt of a gun pressed to the back of her head, Melissa started weeping and begging for her life.

  “Please don’t kill me. You can have my purse and my car. Just please don’t kill me,” Melissa begged.

  She felt the blood running from her face, but she was too scared to wipe it. She didn’t want to make any sudden moves or give her enemy a reason to pull the trigger.

  “Bitch I don’t want that knock off purse or that raggedy ass car. You just listen and you better listen good. From this day forward you don’t know Mitch and you don’t Moonie. If you call or come around them ever again, every bullet in this gun will be waiting for you. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, yes, just please don’t kill me,” Melissa stuttered and continued to beg.

  She knew that Mitch would be pissed about what she did, but sending someone to kill her was extreme, even for him. He didn’t have to worry about her anymore though. If she made it out of this situation alive she was changing her number and forgetting that she ever knew Anthony Mitchell, Sr. Him and no other man was worth losing her life. It wasn’t even that serious.

  “Now, I’m leaving you with just a warning this time, but I don’t have a problem coming back to pay you another visit. I know all about your new apartment in Harvey. Now, can I trust you to stay on the ground and keep your eyes closed until I leave?” The woman asked Melissa.

  “Yes, I’ll stay here, I swear,” Melissa promised.

  She was able to breathe a little easier when she felt her remove the weapon from her head and back away. Melissa swore that she would stay down, but she at least wanted to see if she could get a license plate number from her attacker before she left. Against her better judgment she wiped her face and looked up and around the secluded parking lot.

  “I already knew not to trust your ass,” Melissa heard the woman say from behind her.

  When she pulled her hair from behind Melissa just knew that her life was about to end right there in the post office parking lot. She said a silent prayer asking God to forgive her for her sins as she waited for the gun to go off. Instead of a gunshot, Melissa felt a liquid substance being sprayed in her face. It didn’t take her long to figure out what it was when her eyes started burning and she started coughing uncontrollably.

  “Ahhhh!!” Melissa screamed out in pain as she rolled around on the ground.

  It felt like her skin was on fire and the burning was almost unbearable.

  “The streets are not made for everybody. That’s why they created sidewalks. Stay in your lane bitch,” the woman said before walking away.

  Melissa knew that she was near her car, but she didn’t know exactly how close it was. She had a bottle of water in her cup holder and she needed to get to it desperately. She crawled around on the ground until she hit her head on what felt like her bumper. She tried opening one of her eyes, but the burning was just too much. When she heard her phone ringing Melissa felt around in her pants pocket until she pulled it out. Although it hurt like hell she opened her right eye briefly just to be able to answer it. She was somewhat relieved to see that her sister was calling her back.

  “Aria I need help,” Melissa cried.

  “Help with what? Where are you?”

  “I’m at the post office in Harvey. Somebody just attacked me and sprayed me with pepper spray. Please come get me Aria. I can’t see anything and I’m scared that she might come back.”

  “Okay sis, just calm down. I’m on my way. Stay on the phone with me until I get there,” Aria replied.

  Melissa sat on the ground crying, waiting for her sister to come and rescue her. It was all fun and games when she was taunting Mitch and Moonie, but the tables quickly turned. She knew that she had gone too far when she sent CPS to their house, but she didn’t think that Mitch would be that upset. It hurt her even more to know that he cared so little about her that he would actually have her attacked. He obviously had somebody following her for a few days since the woman mentioned her apartment in Harvey. Melissa didn’t care about the deposit and first month’s rent that she’d just paid. There was no way in hell that she was moving into that apartment now. She would rather be homeless and living on the streets before she did.

  ***

  “What the hell was all that extra shit? I told you to beat her ass and keep it moving. Where the hell did you get pepper spray and a gun from?” Von yelled.

  “Calm down Von. That bitch was too dumb to know that the gun ain’t even real. This is my nephew’s Beebe gun,” Nina laughed.

  “Your ass is crazy. Why did you pepper spray the damn girl?”

  “I told her ass to stay down and she didn’t listen. I hate a hard-headed bitch,” Nina replied.

  “Let me take your retarded ass back home before Lamar gets off from work,” Von said as he pulled away from the parking lot next to the post office.

  He hated to do any kind of dirt with Nina’s crazy ass, but she was the perfect person for the job. When Moonie gave him the information that she had on Melissa he put a plan in motion soon after. He and Nina followed Melissa to and from her apartment for about a week until the time came for Nina to put in work. Von hated women like Melissa because she reminded him so much of Cheryl. They just couldn’t accept when a man didn’t want to be with them anymore. Thankfully Cheryl hadn’t been bothering him lately, but he still had it in for her too. He hadn’t forgotten about her and London busting out Tanya and Mia’s car windows even if it had been months since it happened. Melissa took things to the extreme when she called CPS on Moonie. Playing with a person’s family was something that you just didn’t do. Unfortunately, Melissa had to find that out the hard way.

  Chapter 19

  Mia’s co-ed baby shower was one that would be remembered for a long time. Moonie did her thing with the decorations just like always. The theme was “Little Diva” since that’s what she was already calling her first granddaughter. The cheetah and hot pink decorations were beautiful and Mia loved it. The food was great and the guests seemed to be having a good time. They played games and won prizes up until it was time for Mia to open up the h
undreds of gifts that she’d received. She had lots of gift cards and cash that Tanya put in a bag and held on to for her. Von had his brothers to start packing up all of the gifts and bring them to his house before the shower ended so they wouldn’t have it to do later. Tre was so happy that Mr. Warren and his wife were there and he couldn’t stop smiling. When he introduced Mia to Mr. Warren’s wife, Angela, they hit it off right from the start. Once Mia walked around greeting and thanking her guests, she and Brandis sat with Angela and talked for most of the night.

  “So, how does it feel to be a soon to be married woman?” Angela asked Mia.

  “Honestly, I’m kind of nervous about it. Tre is the only person that I’ve ever been with sexually. People are always telling me that I should have explored my options for a while before getting married,” Mia replied.

  “Explore your options or sleep around?” Angela asked with raised brows.

  “I don’t know. Some of my mama’s friends made some comments about it a few times. They claim that it gets bored being with the same man all the time and I’m too young to have only one sex partner,” Mia shrugged.

  “Honey, excuse my French, but that’s bullshit,” Angela replied. “I got married when I was seventeen and I’m forty-seven years old now. I was a virgin and my husband is the only man that I’ve ever been with. And trust me when I tell you that I’ve never gotten bored with him. I can almost guarantee that whoever told you that has never been married before.”

  “Nope, but they got a bunch of baby daddies,” Brandis chimed in.

  “My point exactly. Misery loves entertainment and company. Ask yourself why any respectable woman would basically encourage you to sleep around before settling down,” Angela replied.

  “That’s what I’m saying. Duke is the only person that I’ve been with sexually too and I’m perfectly fine with that. Trust and believe if he proposes to me I’m going to get the marriage license the next day,” Brandis said making them laugh.

  “I talked to my sister-in-law about it since she’s basically in the same situation. She and my brother just got married a few weeks ago and he’s her first and only sex partner. She said she’s happy that the man she married was the only one to get what she had to offer,” Mia said.

  “Honey don’t think for a minute that Trevon didn’t consider your past before deciding to make you his future. Do you think you would be sitting here with that big ass rock on your finger if you were a hoe? I’m not saying that it’s impossible for a woman with a tainted past to get a ring, but the odds are definitely not in her favor,” Angela stated.

  “Are you a counselor too?” Brandis asked her.

  “No,” Angela laughed. “But after being married to one for thirty years it kind of rubs off on you.”

  “I can see that. You’re on point with your advice,” Brandis complimented.

  “I just hate how society views a lot of things. Like where is it a written rule that you have to have so many sex partners before you settle down with your husband or wife? Don’t get me wrong, my husband and I have had our share of problems, but what marriage doesn’t. It was never something so major that we couldn’t talk about it and resolve it at the end of the day, though. Thirty years and four kids later we’re still happy and very sexually active might I add,” Angela laughed.

  “That’s what I want. One man to make me happy for the rest of my life,” Brandis said.

  “I’m so happy that I talked to you Angela. I feel so much better about everything. I can’t even lie; they really had me second-guessing if getting married was the right thing to do,” Mia confessed.

  “That’s exactly what they were trying to do,” Angela replied.

  “I’m happy that I never mentioned that to Tre. He would have had a fit if he even thought that I was having doubts,” Mia replied.

  “Thank God you didn’t say anything. I don’t need him crying on me and my man’s shoulders,” Brandis laughed.

  “So when is the big day?” Angela asked.

  “I wanted a spring wedding, so we’re doing it in May. That way I’ll have five months to get back in shape after I drop this load,” Mia answered. “I hope you’re coming.”

  “Honey I wouldn’t miss it for nothing in the world,” Angela promised.

  Mia, Brandis and Angela sat at the table and talked for hours until it was time for them to go. Von and Tre had already seen most of the guests off, but a few of them still lingered around. Moonie and her loud mouth friends were packing up the food and cleaning up the facility. Mia felt so much better after talking to Angela. All doubts were removed and she couldn’t wait until April came so that she could marry her soul mate.

  ***

  “Girl they went all out for her baby shower, huh?” London said while scrolling through Rainey’s pictures on Instagram.

  They were looking at pictures of Mia’s baby shower in awe. Rainey knew that Moonie was a beast with decorating, but she had really outdone herself this time. The décor looked like it could have been for a famous person instead of an unmarried nineteen year old girl. With all of the gifts and people that were in attendance you would have sworn Mia was a star or something. Von and Tre were smiling from ear to ear in every picture. Rainey had to admit that she was a little down about it all. She would usually be right there with them, but that was before everything went left.

  “I told you. This is Tank’s first baby, so I already knew that was going to happen,” Rainey replied.

  “And look at Von’s stupid ass. He’s all smiles now, but he didn’t believe it when everybody tried to tell him,” London frowned.

  “Not too much on my Godfather,” Rainey corrected. “You can feel how you want about him, just keep it to yourself.”

  “Enough about them, let’s talk about you. So, you’ve made over two thousand dollars and it hasn’t even been a full month yet?” London asked Rainey for the third time since she got there.

  They were sitting in London’s bedroom talking and she liked what Rainey had to say when she mentioned it over the phone earlier. To say that London was broke was an understatement. Cheryl threw her a few dollars here and there, but it was spent the minute it touched her hands. It was times like these that London regretted not going to college like her mother wanted her to. She hated high school so college was out of the question at the time. But sitting there listening to Rainey gave her hope of getting her own apartment sooner than she thought. She would do anything to get out of Cheryl’s house and the sooner the better. Cheryl had turned into someone that London no longer knew and she was starting to despise her. Her new man, Nate was a bum in every sense of the word, but no one could tell Cheryl that. He claimed that he was in between jobs, but that was just a nice way of saying that he was unemployed. He used to come over every now and then, but he practically lived with them now. He walked around the house like he paid bills and Cheryl didn’t see a problem with it. He and London were always into it and Cheryl always took his side. Nate was handsome and London couldn’t even lie about that. But it had to be more than his looks that had her mother going crazy over him. That was foreign to London since Cheryl had always been strong in her eyes.

  “Girl yes, Chase wasn’t lying when he said that the money was there,” Rainey answered.

  “Okay, so why are you still working for the janitorial place then?” London inquired.

  “That’s just to throw my nosey ass mama off. She stays in my business. That’s why I can’t wait to move out of her house.”

  “Girl you and me both. As bad as I need the money, I’m just scared to go there. I’ve heard too many horror stories about stuff like that,” London confessed.

  “It’s not even like you think it is. The only thing I don’t like is the cheap motels they use, but other than that it’s all good. Most of the customers are older white men who come here on business. They don’t even take that long if you know what I mean. Chase brings the clients to me and he stays there until I’m done to make sure I’m safe,” Rainey said like
it was no big deal.

  “So, are you and Chase a couple?” London wondered.

  “He claims he has a girl back in Mississippi, but I can’t tell. He spends all of his free time with me. Paige said that he’s only doing that because I’m making money for him, but I don’t know what to believe. I’m starting to see her in different light now. She’s been acting shady towards me ever since Chase put me down with them.”

  “And you want me to come with you? She already hates me, so I know that we’re going to clash,” London replied.

  “Girl ain’t nobody worried about Paige. Chase said that you could come and that’s all that matters. Paige is not running shit and I don’t care what she thinks. Either you want to make some money to move out or you don’t,” Raney told her.

  “Okay, I’m in. Just let me take a shower and find something cute to wear,” London said as she jumped up from the bed.

  Rainey waited for about thirty minutes until her friend showered and changed into a black strapless fitted dress. She paired it up with some black and gold wedges and a black clutch.

  “You look cute, girl,” Rainey complemented.

  “Thanks, but I’m nervous as hell right now,” London replied.

  “Don’t be, let’s just go get this easy money, “Rainey said as she stood to leave.

  They walked out of London’s room and ran right into Cheryl’s new man. He looked at Rainey and London lustfully with a smirk covering his face.