Lawrence and his pregnant girlfriend were sitting in the waiting room and Demi didn’t need any drama. Lawrence saw when they walked in and he had no intentions on saying anything to them. He didn’t have a problem with Cam, even though his best friend did. Asha was the only one on his list and she was never coming off until she got dealt with. When she sent her brothers to rob Kamari, they robbed Lawrence as well. He lost money too, since some of the drugs that they stole belonged to him. He didn’t care that Kamari was in jail; he was still out for blood. The house that Kamari saw them come out of was Asha’s brother’s house, but he no longer lived there. Lawrence talked to his wife and she assured him that he nor Asha was allowed there ever again. Lawrence didn’t know what happened, but he could only imagine. Asha was a snake and nothing that she did surprised him.
“I didn’t know that Demi had a baby,” Lawrence’s girlfriend, Dina, whispered.
“Yeah, I told you that she was pregnant,” he replied.
“Is that her new boyfriend?” Dina whispered.
“Yeah, I’ll tell you about it later,” Lawrence said, not wanting to talk while they were so close by.
He and his girl waited, as Demi and Cam went to the section that was meant for the newborn babies. They stayed in the back for a while before they walked back out, preparing to leave. Demi looked nervous when Lawrence stood up and came towards them. She relaxed a little when he opened his mouth to speak.
“Congrats on the baby,” Lawrence said as he extended his hand to Cam to shake.
“Thanks, same to you,” Cam replied as he shook his hand.
Demi nodded her head and smiled at her ex-husband’s best friend, right before they walked out of the office.
“That was so sweet of you,” Dina said when Lawrence came back to his seat. She was on her phone scrolling on Instagram when something got his attention.
“Wait, go back up to that picture. Where do you know her from?” Lawrence asked as he looked at a familiar face.
“I don’t know her. I don’t know half the people who I’m friends with,” Dina replied, as Lawrence continued to study her phone.
He was deep in thought as he read the page and all the information that accompanied it. He was so busy thinking that he didn’t even hear when Dina’s name was called. She tapped his arm to pull him out of his daze. Lawrence got up to follow her to the back as the wheels in his head continued to turn. He had planned to pay Kamari a visit and he needed to run a few things by him too. Lawrence hated that his boy was caged liked an animal, but he had no problem holding it down until he was released.
Chapter 43
“I’m trying to see why she keeps posting all these pictures of this ugly ass lil baby,” Asha said as she looked through Nora’s Facebook pictures.
Nora still had her blocked, but she created a fake page just to spy. Asha was careful not to comment because she didn’t want to get blocked again. The baby had made a month old and Nora was making a big fuss about it.
“You’re wrong for that Asha. That baby is cute,” Kenya replied.
“Only because he looks like Cam. I hate his bitch ass mama,” she fumed, referring to Demi, who was in a few of the pictures.
She would forever owe her an ass whooping after what she had done to her. Asha was pissed that her other brothers were in jail because Quincy was acting like a bitch. Asha came home bruised and battered and he had the nerve to tell her not to worry about it. Asha made the mistake of telling him about Demi’s little threat and he didn’t feel like retaliation was worth it. He was too busy trying to kiss Kelly’s ass to worry about what was happening with her anyway. Kelly had filed for divorce and she really didn’t want him back. Her mind seemed to be made up, but Quincy couldn’t accept that.
“Where are you about to go? I need a ride to work,” Kenya said, speaking of her job as a bartender at a local bar.
“I got orders that I need to drop off,” Asha replied.
“This late?” Kenya asked.
“Yes bitch, money don’t sleep and neither do I,” Asha replied.
“Oh, I thought you were going by one of your men,” Kenya said.
“I am as soon as I’m done,” Asha replied as she finished doing her makeup.
“Oh, well, I’m going home when I get off. I don’t have time for your brother and his mood swings. He’s pissed with his wife and taking it out on everybody else,” Kenya replied.
“I don’t know why he’s chasing her stupid ass. She said she wants a divorce and he should give her one. That bitch had me fucked up when she put her hands on me,” Asha frowned.
“I was mad too, but I was wrong for what I did. Messing with her husband was one thing, but I shouldn’t have done it in her house,” Kenya replied.
“Girl, fuck that. You didn’t owe that bitch nothing. I don’t give a fuck if a nigga is married or not. If he’s breaking bread, I’ll fuck him in his wife’s bed if he wants to,” Asha replied, as Quincy walked into the room.
“Run me to the barber shop to pick up my bike Asha. I need to hit another lick or something to get my money right. I can’t keep going through this shit,” Quincy complained.
“You need to go get the damn car that you paid for!” Asha yelled.
“Man, that bitch sold my shit!” Quincy fumed.
“She sold your car!” Asha yelled loudly.
“That’s fucked up. Can she even do that?” Kenya asked.
“It was in her name. I can’t do shit about it,” Quincy replied.
“That hoe is wrong for that. You need to hit a lick on one of her brothers. I’ll be happy to help you,” Asha replied.
“Nah man. What about one of them clowns that you mess with?” he asked her.
“Take your pick. I don’t give a fuck.” Asha shrugged as she grabbed her purse.
Quincy and Kenya followed her outside and got into her car.
“Stop at the gas station by her job, so I can fill this can up right quick,” Quincy ordered.
“Okay, but you have to come with me to drop this hair off first. I’ll be going out of my way if I go to the barber shop first,” Asha replied.
They dropped Kenya off to work and went across the street to the gas station. Quincy made the mistake of sending Asha inside to pay for his gas, and she walked out with some dude following behind her. Quincy filled his can up with gas and waited in the car for his sister to finish talking. When fifteen minutes passed with no change, Quincy honked the horn to rush her along.
“Give that nigga your number and let’s go Asha!” Quincy got out of the car and yelled.
Asha rolled her eyes and wrapped up her conversation.
“Don’t be rushing me, nigga. I’m giving you a ride,” Asha snapped when she got into the car.
“I thought you had to go sell hair or some shit. Out there talking to that lame ass nigga,” Quincy argued.
“Shit! Let me message this bitch and tell her that I’m on my way,” Asha said while grabbing her phone.
She sent a quick message to her customer, telling her that she would be there soon. Quincy started up his conversation about hitting a lick, and Asha was all in. They would have to start out small, since their team was only half of what it was before. Their other two brothers were facing some serious time and getting a lawyer wasn’t cheap. They also had to keep money on their books, which Asha did faithfully.
“Where the fuck does this bitch live? It looks abandoned out here,” Quincy noted as he looked around.
As soon as the words left his mouth, gunshots rang out that seemed to be meant for Asha’s car.
“Shit! Somebody’s shooting around here!” Asha yelled as she swerved and almost lost control of the car.
“Fuck! I think somebody’s shooting at us,” Quincy said as he tried to look back to see if they were being followed.
A black motorcycle with two passengers were following close behind, but the occupants were moving too fast to be seen. Quincy knew for a fact that the bullets were meant for them, but he di
dn’t know why. Asha wasn’t built for that kind of driving and she kept losing control of the wheel. Quincy was yelling at her to drive faster, but she was scared that she was going to crash. The gunshots were ringing out from all angles and Asha was scared to death. She was turning corners too fast and she just knew that she was going to crash. Quincy was pissed that he didn’t have a gun on him, but he didn’t foresee anything going wrong.
“Which way should I go?” Asha yelled to her brother as the gunplay continued.
She was in an unfamiliar area with mostly abandoned houses. When Quincy didn’t answer, she looked over to see his lifeless body slumped over the seat with a bullet hole in the back of his head. Blood was leaking from the tiny hole, making Asha scream out in hurt and fear. Asha looked in her rearview mirror when she saw a thick cloud of smoke and realized that the back of her car was on fire. One of the bullets must have hit the gas can that was in her trunk and caused it to ignite. Asha wanted to stop, but she was dead if she did. The flames from her trunk grew taller and she didn’t want her car to explode. She heard sirens in the distance and she prayed that they got to her before her killers did. Someone must have called the police and she was thankful for whoever it was.
“God please. Please don’t let me die,” Asha prayed and cried at the same time
She was turning corners and jumping curbs like crazy. Thankfully, no one was outside, but a few houses had lights on inside. Asha started honking her horn, hoping that someone would come outside to help rescue her. It probably wouldn’t have mattered anyway because people usually didn’t get involved in stuff like that. Asha was scared and all the fight in her was slowly leaving. She was ready to take her chances on getting out and running, but she never got the opportunity. As soon as she turned the next corner, she noticed that it was a dead end. She almost collided with an abandoned car, but she swerved and ended up hitting a brick wall instead. The airbag popped out and smacked Asha in the face, making her feel like something had broken. She felt blood dripping down her face as she pulled on her door, trying to get out. The shooting had stopped, but she still heard the motorcycle’s engine. They were probably trying to see if someone was alive, so they could finish the job. Asha was dead either way. She would be shot to death if she got out or she would burn to death if she didn’t. The flames had now covered her back seat and they were spreading rapidly. Asha’s door was stuck, so she had to climb over her brother’s dead body if she wanted to get out. As soon as she decided to do it, the gunshots rang out again, one striking her in the arm.
“Ahh!” Asha yelled as she grabbed her aching arm.
The smoke was burning her eyes and she was starting to choke. Asha said a silent prayer and decided to get it over with. She didn’t want to look at her brother, but she had no choice. She had to climb over him to get out. She hated that his body would get burned up in the car, but she had no control over that. Just when Asha made up her mind to go for it, one of the flames from the back seat spread to her side of the car and onto her shirt.
“Ahhh!” Asha screamed again as she tried to put out the fire.
She tried to pull the shirt over her head to take it off, but that only made things worse. Her hair got caught in the flames and soon it started to spread. Asha didn’t care about crossing over her dead brother, as she rushed out of the car that was now engulfed in flames. Her skin felt like it was melting and she smelled her burning flesh. She tried rolling around in the grass, but that didn’t help very much. The roaring of the motorcycle’s engine could be heard over her screams, as Lawrence and his accomplice pulled off and drove off into the night.
“That bitch ain’t dead!” Chase yelled, as Lawrence drove away.
“She’ll wish she was after today,” Lawrence replied as he sped in the opposite direction of where he’d left Asha’s burning body.
After seeing Asha’s picture pop up on his girlfriend’s Instagram page, Lawrence started plotting. He saw that Asha sold hair and that was how he was able to lure her to the area that he wanted her in. Lawrence created a fake page and got a burner phone so that he couldn’t be traced. He started following some of Asha’s friends to make it seem legit when he started to follow her too. Chase was one of the dudes that he and Kamari met years ago, when they were all homeless and trying to find their next meal. He was always down for whatever and he happily agreed to help. Kamari and Lawrence helped him out with a place to stay when their money got right and he was forever grateful. Chase was a better shooter, so Lawrence drove while he fired all the shots.
“The fuck you stopping on the bridge for?” Chase asked as he looked around nervously.
“Calm down bruh,” Lawrence said as he pulled out the burner phone and tossed it in the water, right before pulling off again.
***
Two whole months had passed and Asha was still in the hospital. Over sixty percent of her body was burned and she had yet to see how she looked. She couldn’t even attend her brother’s funeral, not that she could see him anyway. Quincy’s body was burned up with her car and she would have been too, had she not made the decision to get out. Asha wished she would have stayed in the car and died, rather than endure the pain that she was feeling. The last month of her life had been hell with all the treatments, surgeries, and rehabilitation that she had to go through. People looked at her like she was a monster and she was sure that she looked like one. The bandages were off so that her skin could heal, but she didn’t want to see herself.
Her mother was stressing so much that she’d had a mild heart attack after Quincy was laid to rest. Thankfully, she was fully recovered, but she would probably never be the same. Besides her mother, Asha didn’t want to see anyone else. Her mother had just left, so she was surprised when her door opened and someone walked into her room. Asha had her back turned, but Kelly walked around the bed and looked down at her.
“Damn bitch. Them niggas fried you like chicken,” Kelly said as she fell out laughing.
“Get out of my room. I don’t want to see anybody,” Asha mumbled as she tried to pull the covers up over her head.
“I wouldn’t wanna see nobody either if I looked like Fire Marshall Bill,” Kelly laughed as she snatched the covers away.
“Just leave me alone, please,” Asha begged pitifully.
“Tell me why I should leave you alone. Did you leave other people alone like they wanted you to? You made life hell for a lot of people and now the shit came back to bite you in the ass. You fucked Randy, knowing that he was Cam’s best friend. Then, you knew that he wasn’t with selling drugs, but you pushed and pushed until he went along with your plan. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you orchestrated a robbery on the nigga who was supplying y’all with the dope. Yeah, my husband told me everything,” Kelly informed her when she saw the shocked looked on Asha’s face.
“Get out. I don’t want you here,” Asha said as tears streamed down her face.
“Fuck your wants bitch. That was your whole problem. It was always about what Asha wanted. You think I wanted my husband to fuck another bitch in our house. You think I wanted to bury the father of my kids because of your bullshit. Thank God, I had that nigga in some bomb ass insurance though, but that ain’t the point. Your wants got your brother killed and got you laid up in here looking like burnt toast,” Kelly replied.
“I didn’t want my brother dead. I didn’t know that somebody was following us,” Asha said as she cried uncontrollably.
“Bitch, please. Your plastic face ass knew what you did and you knew that your so-called best friend Laila told Lo. I was right there when you called to warn Quincy. Following behind you is why he’s sitting up on my mantelpiece in a glass jar now. Shit, it didn’t make no sense to have a funeral. The nigga was already burned.” Kelly shrugged.
“Why are you doing this? Just go,” Asha demanded.
“Your other two brothers are doing football numbers in jail and your mama is a worn-out hoe with a bad heart. Nobody don’t want to fuck leather, so it’s a wrap for you
playing these niggas out of their money. Meanwhile, Cam is happy as fuck with his lil family. Nigga is about to get married and everything,” Kelly noted.
“I don’t care,” Asha mumbled.
“Stop whispering hoe. What happened to the big mouth Asha who always had something to say?” Kelly asked.
“You’ve made your point, okay. I did a lot of stuff that I’m not proud of. I have to look in the mirror and deal with that for the rest of my life,” Asha sobbed.
“I wouldn’t look in the mirror if I were you. Trust me, it’s not a pretty sight.” Kelly frowned
“I… I’m sor…” Asha started before Kelly cut her off.
“You’re what bitch? Are you trying to say that you’re sorry?” Kelly questioned.
“Yes,” Asha mumbled. “I’m sorry.”
“Nothing that you say can undo the years of damage that’s already been done. Can your apologies bring Quincy or Randy back from the dead? Because of you, none of our lives will ever be the same again. I find joy in knowing that you’ll never have another peaceful night of sleep again in your life. I hope the faces of everyone that you hurt haunts you until you take your last breath. So, you can save your apologies because I heard it all before,” Kelly said as she walked out of the room and left Asha in a fit of tears.
Prologue
(2 Years Later)
“That’s enough Cam. It’s too hot for him to be doing all that running. You gon’ give my baby a heat stroke,” Demi fussed as she watched her husband and two-year-old son running and tossing the football back and forth.
Demi and Cam didn’t want a big wedding, so they did a small ceremony and reception when CJ was six months old. They were already living like a married couple, so it was only right that they made it official.
“You need to take a break CJ?” Cam asked his son.
“No,” CJ replied as he tossed the football back to his father.
I Heard It All Before Page 33
