Detectives were still inside the house and Janay was ready to go crash at her dad’s. As they walked over to Big Choppa’s car, the white officer of the crew called Janay as she jogged over to where she was.
“Ma’am, the young lady who was here with your boyfriend, Ms. Brianna Russell, she committed suicide.”
“Suicide?” Janay questioned.
“She blew her own brains out.”
Janay gasped and her knees got weak. Big Choppa held one arm while Boomer held the other as they led her to the car.
“I’m sorry about that.” The officer then pointed at Choppa. “Hey, Big Choppa Mr. Devlin, we got our eyes on you,” she taunted.
“We got our eyes on you too,” he shot back.
CHAPTER THREE
When Briggen pulled up in front of the emergency room, Shan picked up on his hesitancy. “I’ll be okay, Briggen. I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Girl, you think I’m just gone leave you here, not knowing what’s the matter with you or if you’re okay? Man, I’m comin’ with you.”
“Boy, I told you, I’m tight. It’s only a physical, Briggen. It’s not like I’m going for surgery or something.” At least that’s what she hoped.
His cell rang and he quickly flipped it open while motioning for Shan not to move. Her stomach was cramping and it was taking everything within her power not to double over and scream out. If he doesn’t hurry up and end that call, I’ma—
“Nigga, what?” he yelled into the phone. “Maine . . .” He jumped out of the truck and slammed the door. “Fuck the bullshit!” she heard him yell. “I’ll do the shit myself. I’m headin’ over that way right now.” He turned the phone off. “Woo, you ain’t gonna believe this shit.”
Shan exhaled a sigh of relief as another cramp subsided. Then she slowly got out of the truck. Briggen ran over to her. “Baby, hold up.”
Shan looked at her watch. “Briggen, I’ll be fine. It’s only a physical exam. My appointment is at two and it’s almost a quarter after.” He shook his head no as if to say he wasn’t buying her story. “Briggen, trust me. I’ll be all right. Plus you sound like you got some business to handle. I’ll be all right. I’ll call you when I’m done. Just be ready and don’t keep me waiting.” She slung her Louis Vuitton bag over her shoulder and headed for the emergency room entrance. She looked back and Briggen was standing there with a frown on his face. She mouthed, “I’ll be fine,” waved and stepped through the sliding double doors.
It being a Friday night, the ER was in full swing. It smelled like funk, blood, sickness and death, all rolled into one. An orderly rushed past her with an old white guy with his head wrapped in bloody bandages, almost knocking her over.
“Damn, I wish I didn’t have to be in this bitch,” Shan mumbled under her breath. The waiting room reminded her somewhat of a battle zone. Homeless people were sleeping on three chairs put together. If it was somewhere to sit, who would want to sit down? There were prostitutes lumped up from one of their pimps or tricks, trifling-ass mommas with four of their five kids sick as hell and most likely been sick all week, feens sitting in the corner throwing up everywhere. “Ughhh.” Shan pulled the ticket and it read 02 while the digital sign read 76. Oh hell naw. Just as Shan was about to try to slip through the doors that separated the waiting room from the treatment areas, a herd of medical staff came rushing through, pushing a young boy who couldn’t be no older than thirteen. He was shot up and covered in blood.
“Excuse me, Doctor.” She boldly stepped in front of the one who was lagging behind.
He turned, stopped and raised an eyebrow. “How can I help you?”
“I’m about seven weeks pregnant. I’ve been under a lot of stress. Earlier, I started bleeding and now I’m cramping.”
“That isn’t a good sign . . . Mrs.?”
“Ms. McKee. Shan McKee.”
“Ms. McKee, follow me.”
“Nurse Smith,” he called out. “Can you get Ms. McKee here prepared for an examination? Call OB. We need someone stat.”
“Okay, Ms. McKee. Have you been triaged yet?” he asked as he led her to a wheelchair.
“No.”
“When did you say the bleeding began?”
“About two hours ago.”
“And the cramping?”
“About forty-five minutes ago?”
“Is this your first pregnancy?”
“Yes.” Her voice cracked.
Nurse Smith returned and he smiled. “This is my wife, she’ll take real good care of you. Good luck.” He patted her shoulder as Nurse Smith wheeled her up to one of the triage nurses and ordered that she immediately get Shan prepped for an examination.
Shan then was put in a treatment room, handed a gown and told to undress from the waist down.
Two and a half hours later, Peanut was pacing the waiting area and Shan was getting a D&C. She had suffered a miscarriage.
Losing all patience, Peanut marched up to the receptionist station for the third time. “Excuse me, ma’am. My sister, Shan McKee, can I see—”
“Yes.” She cut him off. “Here’s your visitor’s pass. Follow the yellow dots to the elevators.”
“About time,” Peanut mumbled, snatching the pass. He stopped at the gift shop, bought some get-well balloons and flowers, then headed toward the elevators. Arriving on the third floor he stepped off the elevators and followed the signs to room 313. The door was cracked and Shan was getting dressed.
“What are you doing?” Peanut asked, poking his head in and startling the hell out of her.
“I’m getting dressed. You scared the hell out of me, Peanut.”
“What happened?” he asked, setting the flowers on the desk next to the bed and tying the balloons to the bedpost. The patient in the next bed turned up the volume on the TV. “What the fuck is going on? You scaring the hell out of me. First, you tell me that you’re moving way across the fuckin’ country, then you tell me Brianna blew her own fuckin’ brains out! And now you’re pregnant!”
“I’m not pregnant anymore. I had a miscarriage, they gave me a D&C and now I’m ready to go,” Shan stated matter-of-factly.
“A miscarriage? You keeping secrets from me now? How far along were you?” Peanut was beside himself.
“I wasn’t that far along. Seven, eight weeks.”
“Who is the nigga?”
“You already know who it is.”
“Don’t tell me no jailbird-ass nigga. Please tell me it was a guard or something.”
“An inmate, Peanut. I told you about him already. Yeah. I fucked an inmate. So the fuck what? I was feelin’ the nigga, until I told him I was pregnant and he said he already had a family. Then he calmly told me to get an abortion.”
Peanut stood there staring at his sister with a blank look on his face. He definitely had a lot on his mind. He had never thought that his baby sister could hide so much shit from him. His thoughts went back to the day when he finally made bail and she was there to pick him up. He knew something was bothering her but he chopped it up to her being stressed out.
Shan on the other hand had had all kinds of crazy thoughts going through her head. She was trying to figure out how to tell her big brother that she was pregnant by an inmate, how she did what she had to do, illegally, to pay for his attorney and post his bail and how that led from one thing to another.
When they both stopped trying to read each other’s minds, Shan finally said something. She mainly spoke about how mad she was about Brianna flipping the script on the family by setting Peanut up. He was shocked but happy when she told him that she got some niggas to go over to Brianna’s house and fuck her up. He told her that Brianna should’ve been glad that was all she did, because when he caught up with her ass, he was going to slowly torture her to death.
Shan reluctantly broke down and told Peanut that she was talking to some inmate named Forever. She decided out of fear to leave out the being-pregnant part. She reminded him that while he was locked up, none of his pe
ople was coming through with any bread, for lawyers or bail. She told him that Forever made her an offer that she couldn’t refuse. All she had to do was pick up the dope and drop it into a trash can. Even though he was short on the bread, most of the money she had hustled up came from him.
She then went on to tell Peanut that Brianna was the one who told her that Forever’s wife was going to set her up because she found out that they were fucking. She made sure to leave out the part about her approaching his wife, Nyla, as she was going on a visit, right there in the parking lot.
Peanut could not believe what he was hearing. He wanted to choke the shit out of her. He couldn’t believe that she would jeopardize her freedom and safety like that. Before he knew it, he had smacked the shit out of her. Shan was stunned. She knew of her brother losing his cool at times, but she never thought that it would happen with her. Shit, she was grown and his own flesh and blood.
Shan burst into tears and started screaming, “Let me paint a picture for you, Peanut. While you was stressing and making sure niggas didn’t take that ass, yeah, I fucked a prisoner. But he was the only one that was helping with lawyer fees, transfer fees and bond tickets. Nigga, and let me remind you about those bitches you fuck with. Them hoes ain’t come off of nothing but a few dollars. If it was up to them, where would you still be sitting? So miss me with all that drama. If I had to do it all over again, I would. So fuck you. And I am moving to Cali.”
Peanut felt bad for smacking her. Because she was right, everything she did was for him, when no one else on his team stepped up to the plate. She also told him that it was useless to look for his so-called main man Nick or anyone else because they were ghost. To Peanut’s surprise Shan handed him almost a half brick and four stacks that she had gotten from Forever. She told him to take it, that it was just a little something for him to get on with. Fuck the losses. Charge it to the game. After that he really felt like shit. On top of that he was responsible for getting her caught up in all the madness. Now he needed to figure out how he was going to keep her from moving to Cali.
“Damn, I’m all right. You straight?”
“I’m straight. Now will you say something and stop looking at me sideways. Hello! What are you daydreaming about?” She interrupted his train of thought, and brought him back to the here and now. “I made a mistake. Everything’s cool. Say something.”
“Mistake?” He frowned. “That’s an understatement.” He looked at her as if he didn’t know her. “I’m just in shock. You fucked my head up with this. This ain’t like you. Selling drugs, fuckin’ with a nigga that’s locked up and at your fuckin’ prison job? This shit is . . . just crazy.”
“You’re right. This ain’t me. But guess what? I ain’t have time to sit and ponder over if this was the right decision or not. I had to do what I had to do. And I’m over it and now you need to get over it. Now let the shit go, Peanut. I’m kicking myself in the ass enough.”
“All right. I’ma let that go for now. So let’s talk about what’s the real deal with you moving out West? Did they transfer you because they found out you was fuckin’ an inmate?”
“Ms. McKee,” the nurse interrupted, “since you’re leaving against the doctor’s orders, as soon as you’re ready at least stop at the nurse’s station to sign your discharge papers and pick up your prescription. And be sure to follow up with your own personal doctor.” She popped back out.
“Peanut, I explained to you why I’m moving to Cali, I just want to get away. I don’t like it here anymore. Cali is where they have an opening for me, so I went for it. And no, they didn’t find out about me and . . . him.” She stood up and wobbled.
Peanut grabbed her arm and helped her back down to the bed. “Are you all right? Maybe you should stay for a couple more days. Why the fuck are you leaving against the doctor’s orders?”
“I don’t want to stay overnight. This place is depressing. Please get me out of here.”
“Stay put. Let me go get a wheelchair.”
“Boy, just hold my arm. I’m ready to go.”
“No. I’m getting a wheelchair.” He rushed out of the room.
After she was formally discharged and made it downstairs to the lobby, Shan said, “Let me use your phone.”
He passed it to her. “Hold up while I go and pull my ride around. What about your ride?”
“I have a ride. My friend Lisa is coming to pick me up. She has my car.”
“Lisa? Who is Lisa?” His phone vibrated and he checked the caller ID.
“A friend from the job. I’ll be fine. Answer your phone.” He stood there looking at her. “Answer it, Peanut.”
“I think you need to come home with your brother.”
“Peanut, I already told the girl that as soon as I was done, I’d call her.”
“We need to have a serious sit-down before you head out West.”
“Yeah, we need to kick it about a lot of things. I’ma chill for a minute. Shit is crazy. Brianna . . . dead. I just lost the baby I was carrying. Give me a few days. I’m gonna call you.”
“Shan, don’t try no slick shit. You better make it your business to holla at me. I’m not fuckin’ around with you, girl.”
She cut him off. “Boy, answer your damn phone.”
“As long as you got my point.”
She stood up, rolled her eyes and walked over to the pay phones. Slipping two quarters into the pay-phone slot, she kept an eye on Peanut.
“Yeah,” Briggen answered.
“I’m ready. How far are you?”
“Shan, you on some bullshit. Don’t no damn physical take five hours.”
“Briggen, my brother came up here and I hung out with him. Are you coming or what?”
“I’m on my way.”
She hung up and went over to Peanut, who was in an intense conversation. She wanted him to hurry up and leave before Briggen pulled up.
“Damn,” Peanut gritted as he ended his call. “C’mon and let me drop you off. I got a run I need to make.”
“Peanut, do you pay attention? I told you my girl is on her way and I’ll call you when I get to her house. I’m fine.”
“Where she stay?”
“In Germantown.”
“Germantown? How the fuck a guard can afford to stay in Germantown?”
“Who said she was a guard? And for your info she lives with her parents.”
“I still ain’t feelin’ you going with some strangers. Fuck that shit, you need to come with me.”
“Come with you where? All your shit is in storage. And you need to get yourself together. Where are you going? Because the last time I checked your bitch Keke had a nigga all up in your spot and them other bitches you was fuckin’ caught amnesia. I suggest you focus on getting yourself together and don’t worry about me.”
“Oh, so you got advice for big brother now?” He smirked as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Aiight then. I’ma go ahead and dip.”
Thank God. Second time today I was saved by a phone call. “I’ll call you later.”
“Oh, and by the way, Cali ain’t a good look. Don’t run ’cause you slipped and fucked an inmate then got pregnant with his seed. We all fuck up, sis.”
“Please tell me that you are not going to keep throwing that shit up in my face?”
“Sheeit, I’m not even sure if I should be calling you Shan anymore. Your name should be Vicky with all the secrets you got.”
“Ha ha ha. Very funny. Bye, nigga. We’ll discuss this when I’m feeling better.” She let out a sigh of relief as she watched him rush out the double doors and walk right past Briggen’s truck. She had been beginning to believe that he wasn’t going to leave. She waited until he pulled out of the parking lot and decided to leave the miscarriage behind her.
As soon as Briggen saw her he jumped out of his truck. “You straight, shawty? You look a little weak for somebody only having a physical.” He opened the passenger door and helped her inside, while eyeing her skeptically.
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sp; “I’m fine. Tired but fine.” She leaned back into the soft buttery leather, reclined the seat all the way back and closed her eyes. The inside of his ride smelled like Lacoste.
When he jumped into the driver’s seat and pulled off, he started to grill her. But when he saw how tired she looked he decided to wait. They drove to his house in complete silence. No conversation, music . . . nothing. She gave him a cool point for that. She had a bunch of shit to mull over. Right now she was supposed to be enjoying a nice long ride out West, starting brand-new, her and Brianna leaving the city of Memphis behind. She had been looking forward to it. Without B to keep her company, she was actually having second thoughts.
Brianna . . . she was really gone.
Peanut. She shouldn’t have given him Forever’s package. Now he was going to hit the streets with a vengeance. But then why was she fooling herself? If it hadn’t been Forever’s package, it would have been someone else’s because he was going to get his hustle on . . . regardless. But if Nyla, Forever’s wife, would of had her way, that package would have been the Feds’ package.
Forever. She was feeling that it was a blessing in disguise that she lost the baby. A new job, a new state, by herself and with a baby? A baby by a nigga who told her to get an abortion? What in the hell was she thinking?
Then there was Briggen. How did she fall into his web . . . once again? She recalled the day that they met. She had taken her car to get some work done on it. It was his shop. He introduced himself as Calvin. He was a businessman. A legit businessman. They started kickin’ it over the phone for about two months straight. He took her to Las Vegas for her birthday and that was the first time that they fucked. After that she didn’t hear from him again. He didn’t even return her messages. Then there was that night at the club . . . his club. She and Brianna went out to celebrate her new job at the prison. When she saw him she didn’t know if she wanted to embrace him or spit on him. When Brianna explained to her that he wasn’t Calvin the businessman but Briggen the dope dealer, she had heard enough and decided to leave. However, he managed to talk her into sticking around so that he could explain his disappearing act. She reluctantly agreed, which resulted in her getting her ass beat by not one but two of his bitches. What were the odds of her running into him on this very day?
Payback With Ya Life Page 3
