The Rise and Fall of the Barnes Brothers Box Set 1

by Nikki Brown

  Chapter Four

  Jenacia

  I knew that I was making a huge mistake moving in with Kayson but me and mom’s relationship was so strained and I knew I would be miserable there. Kayson offered me my own room instead of my mom’s couch and he promised that he would give me my space and even offered to make his basement a dark room for me. I turned him down though because I didn’t want him to think this was permanent. As soon as I was in a position to get my own I was gonna do just that. Never would I depend on another man, I will never end up like I am now. That shit with Roger taught me the lesson of a life time.

  It was no secret that I was head over heels in love with Kayson; I had been since we dated six years ago. I just knew that he was gonna be the man for me. That was until I walked in on him digging out the next bitch. I tried to get over it but I couldn’t. I was so broken by his actions that I shunned him out of my life for years. I couldn’t bear to be around him knowing that I couldn’t be with him. He was man enough to admit that he wasn’t ready to settle down after everything went down; he said that I was the only one to have his heart but I needed more, I wanted all of him.

  Once I got to the place in my life that I could be around him again, we decided that we would just be friends until the time was right. He made me promise that I would drop who ever I was dating at the time when we were ready. I never gave him an answer to that promise but his arrogant ass took my silence as a yes. Honestly, there wasn’t a man walking this earth that could replace the hold that Kayson Barnes had put on my heart.

  “Aye girl.” Kayson said from behind me.

  “Heyyyyyy” my words trailed off when I turned around and saw the sight before me. He was standing there with his freshly twisted dreads in a manly ponytail sitting on top of his head. The water dripped down his perfectly toned chest and made its way to the towel that was positioned low enough to see that sexy ass V that led to his special place.

  “Up here.” He said causing me to focus on his handsome face. His light skin brought out the light brown color in his eyes and those lips, God how I missed what he could do with those things. “I mean I could give you everything you thinking about Jen, just say the word.” He licked his lips and it took me back to the slip up we had last year. I shook the thoughts out of my head before I made a mistake that I would end up regretting, like the one he never knew about.

  “Shut your mouth,” I smiled and turned my attention back to the clothes that I was folding on the couch. “Why you walking around like that anyway? Did you forget that you had a roommate now or what?”

  “Shit I put on a towel, be grateful.” He smirked that sexy ass smirk and walked to the kitchen. “Why you ain’t cook nothing?”

  “I did.” I laughed. “I ate it.” He slammed the refrigerator door and walked back into the living room where I was.

  “I know yo’ ass didn’t cook and not fix me nothing? What the fuck Jenacia?” I could tell that his greedy ass was pissed because his nose was flaring and I thought the shit was funny but he didn’t.

  “Check the microwave, you big baby.” I rolled my eyes and he damn near ran to the kitchen to check the microwave. He pulled out the plate and turned to smile at me. He turned on the microwave and heated up his food.

  “I could get used to this shit.” He said as he sat down at the bar that separated the living room from the kitchen. He took a huge bite of the eggs. “Damn girl this shit good.”

  “What, your hoes don’t feed you?”

  “I don’t fuck with them hoes long enough for them to be staying over to cook and shit,” he looked over his shoulder. “This food good as hell.” He said ignoring what I said.

  “Thanks I guess.” I said trying not to look in that direction and stare at his half naked body. Hearing all his moaning and grunting over there with that food had my ass a little jealous. I was about to say something but my phone rang. Saved by the fucking bell. “Hello?”

  “Hey, how are you?”

  “Julius?”

  “In the flesh,” he said and I smiled. “Well not technically, not yet anyways.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah, let’s do dinner, I’m in town for a few days and I would love to see you.”

  “That sounds like a plan, where and what time?”

  “Ruth’s Chris?”

  “You know that’s my favorite.”

  “Eight sound good?”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  “Okay see you then beautiful.”

  ‘Okay Julius, take care.”

  I hung up the phone and met the coldest set of eyes I think I had ever saw on Kayson. The way he was grilling me you would have thought that I was cheating on him or something. I wanted to ask what his problem was but before I could say anything he got up from the bar and threw his plate in the sink and walked to his room and slammed the door. I had to laugh at his temper tantrum, Kayson was always the kind of man that wanted to have his way and if he didn’t this is what he did.

  Julius is a male model that I shoot from time to time when he’s in town. He would always flirt with me but hell I thought he was gay. I never took his advances serious because of who he was. Being in this industry you kinda pick up the signs and I could be wrong but I doubt it and if he did like women he dealt with men too. I just liked his company and he always paid for dinner.

  I finished up my laundry and headed up to the shower. A little payback was in order so when I was done with my shower, I went to Kayson’s room in nothing but my towel on and knocked on the door.

  “What?”

  “Kayson stop acting like a baby.” He didn’t say anything so I opened the door and walked in the room, he donned a pair of red boxers. “Why are you acting like that?”

  “Why are you walking around like that Jen?” He completely ignored my question.

  “What’s good for the goose is good from the gander.” I raised an eyebrow and shrugged my shoulder.

  “Yeah well I’ll throw ya ass on this bed and rape your ass and then what?” I laughed and he just looked at me with no signs of humor present. “Keep standing there and I’ll show you better than I can tell you. Plus, I don’t think your little boyfriend will like the fact that you around here getting that ass tore out the frame before y’all date.”

  “It’s not a date, he’s my client. I shoot him from time to time.”

  “Client my ass.”

  “Kayson who I do and don’t see is not your concern. I mean you showed me that last night, right?” I was confused on why he was acting like this, seeing as though I met one of his hoes last night. “Didn’t your little hoe pick you up from here last night? Did I say anything? It was disrespectful as fuck, but I kept that shit to myself because this is your house and we are not together. So as much as that shit bothered me, I swallowed that shit and kept it moving.” I said with more attitude than I wanted to portray. I mean she did just pick him up, it just sucks that even after six years I still feel as strong about him now as I did then.

  “You’re right, I just didn’t feel like driving my car and I had been drinking and shit but it was disrespectful as fuck and it won’t happen again.”

  I don’t know why I was making a big deal out of it but seeing that big booty bitch at the door made me feel a way. I really had to get my shit together if I was gonna be here. I had to get used to seeing him with other women. That’s just how our situation was.

  “You don’t have to explain anything to me, I’m just a guest for the time being.” I said and turned to leave.

  “Don’t do that.” Kayson said and ran up and grabbed my arm to stop me. “I’m sorry, you’re right I asked you to be here. I will respect you and your privacy, but you know how I feel about you so don’t expect me not to be upset about you being with other niggas. This shit ain’t new; I’ve always been like this when it came to you.”

  And he was right, he was the same way with Roger and any other boyfriend I had, but who was he to be upset. I was forced to be around countless wome
n. When it came to him, this double standard shit was a bitch. Every now and then I get in my feelings about our situation, especially when he starts this shit.

  I laughed angrily, I was trying to get this under control but comments like that took me to another place. “You don’t have the right to be mad, you did this.” I pointed back and forth between the two of us. “I wanted this and you fucked it up.” I felt the tears coming and I didn’t want to do that. I fought so hard to keep them hidden from everyone even myself but like I said I still loved that man more than I cared to admit.

  “Jenacia, don’t—”

  “Don’t please, I’m okay I just need to adjust and get my mind right. I tend to have these little melt downs about you every now and then but I’ll be okay.” I smiled and snatched away from his grasp.

  Living here was gonna be harder than I thought. I hated my mother so much but I might have to buckle down and make my way over there. Kayson was tearing away at walls that I worked so hard to build up and I wasn’t feeling that at all. I walked to my room with him still calling for me to come back. I shut and locked the door so that I could get some rest and get my head right before dinner with Julius tonight.

  “So tell me, how’s my favorite photographer?” Julius said as he stuffed his mouth full of steak and focused on me. I was still in my feelings about the little spat I had with Kayson earlier. I was trying to shake it and focus on Julius, but it just wasn’t happening. “Where are you Jenacia?”

  “I’m sorry Julius, me and a friend had a fight today and it’s bothering me a little. It’s not fair to you.” I said and laid my fork down. “Just give me a second.”

  I got up and walked into the bathroom, went up to the sink and put some water on my face. I looked in the mirror, “Girl get your shit together, Kayson ain’t about to stop being who he is for you. Things aren’t gonna change, it’s time to move on.”

  I stood there for a few more minutes and walked out to enjoy the rest of the night without Kayson on my mind.

  Chapter Five

  Denari

  Uncle Ray been calling my ass ever since I got arrested. I’ve been dodging his ass because I didn’t wanna hear his fucking mouth. I already know what the fuck he was gone say, the same thing I been hearing from my fucking brothers. What can I say, shit happens and just because I didn’t move like them muthafuckas didn’t mean I wasn’t on the same playing field. I just marched to the beat of my own got damn drum.

  I’m so surprised that I hadn’t heard from Kayson, normally he was the first one to get in my ass and I really couldn’t ignore him, he would pop up on my ass. Hell, I called him this morning and got his voicemail. That wasn’t like Kayson but the last time we got into it, he told me that he was tired of babying me and that I was gone have to find my own way and I guess he meant it.

  They just didn’t understand me that’s all. With everything I went through as a kid, I can’t help but be fucked up. I mean damn, I did watch my old man kill my mom right in front of me. Shit that would make anybody crazy. The only person that understood me was Omari because he was there. I loved all my brothers but Omari was blood so at the end of the day he was the only opinion I cared about.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!. Someone banging on my door pulled me from my thoughts. I didn’t know who the hell it could be because all my brothers had keys and they didn’t believe in knocking. I got up, grabbed my nine, and went to answer the door. When I opened it, I quickly regretted it.

  “So, I see you are ignoring my calls nephew.” My uncle Ray said as he walked in and sat down without an invitation. I started to close the door and get ready for his speech. “Nah, you may as well leave that open your brothers will be in here any minute.”

  “Is there something I should know?” I asked feeling a little bum rushed with everyone piling in my little ass apartment.

  “Is there something I should know?” My uncle asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Before I could answer Kayson, Jaako and Omari walked in and they all were shaking their heads. I could already tell this was not about to be a good visit. So, I shut the door and headed to the bathroom.

  “Where you going nigga, we don’t got all day for this bullshit.” Kayson fumed.

  “I’m going to take a got damn piss, do you fucking mind?” I continued to my room and shut and locked the door. I went in my drawer and pulled out my stash, I poured a line on the mirror and took that shit. I did coke from time to time but that shit didn’t affect me one way or another. I threw my head back and enjoyed the high. Once I got my head straight enough to function, I was ready to deal with this bullshit.

  I walked out of the room and they were in a full fledged conversation and the minute I walked in they all stopped and just looked at me. Whatever they were talking about Omari wasn’t happy about it so I take it that it was about me.

  “What happened the other day nephew?”

  “I got arrested but you already know that, so what’s up?”

  “What did you get arrested for?”

  “How could you be so reckless?” He folded his hands in his lap and then turned his attention to me.

  “Man, I was just hanging with Jizzy and chilling, I wasn’t hurting nobody.”

  “You were riding around with open bottles of white liquor in the fucking daytime.” He stood up. “You don’t take this shit serious, do you? Maybe you need to just fall back.”

  “Man, what the fuck does drinking have to do with me doing what the fuck I need to do in these streets?” He was starting to piss me off because had this been one of them he wouldn’t even be saying shit, he only doing all of this because it was me.

  “It has a lot to do with it, you causing unnecessary attention on yourself. Now if they’re watching you, they’re watching us.” He pointed at me.

  “You gotta start making better decisions D, stop thinking about yourself all the time.” Jaako chimed in.

  “If one win we all win, if one lose nigga we all lose and I ain’t trying to lose.” Omari said.

  Kayson didn’t say anything, he just sat there with a mug on his face. I didn’t know what his problem was and I didn’t give a shit, he would get over it.

  “What the fuck is this, some kind of intervention?” I looked around and they all looked at me even Kayson.

  “Denari, real shit if you don’t straighten your shit, you out man.” My uncle said with finality. “I built this shit by my got damn self and I be damned if I let yo’ young, ungrateful ass fuck it up.”

  He stood up and walked out the door and slammed it on the way out. I sat down on the couch where he was sitting and laughed. His big ass was mad as fuck. Uncle Ray was Mama’s half-brother that helped her raise us; he ran the most lucrative drug ring that Charlotte had ever seen. He was grooming us to take his place when he was ready to retire. I just didn’t agree with the way he was going about it. He wanted us to work our way from the ground up, and I felt like he just needed to teach us to be boss ass muthafuckas. Fuck all this starting from the bottom shit. I wasn’t built for this, I just wanted to sit back, watch the money stack up, and the bitches fall at my feet.

  “Denari nigga you need to tighten up.” Jaako shook me from my thoughts.

  “Man, I’m just trying to live my life.”

  “At the expense of all of ours.” Kayson finally spoke up. “You making dumb ass decisions like that puts all of us in a fucked-up position and the fact that you don’t care lets me know that you ain’t built for this.” He started to the door.

  “I’m just as capable as you are. I don’t see what the fuck the problem is, nobody says shit when y’all out here partying it up and shit. Y’all just making a big deal out of this shit because it’s me.” I jumped up.

  “Because you the only one out here going to fucking jail, dumb ass.” Kayson fumed. “Yo ass been locked up twice in the last fucking month for dumb shit Denari! WHAT THE FUCK??” He yelled.

  “Aight y’all chill out.” Jaako intervened. “D, you gotta make better decisions.”<
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  “Man, I know, I just wanna have a little fun. Shit as much as we work we deserve that, right?”

  Kayson laughed. “Nigga you don’t work.”

  “I do just as much as you do.”

  “Nigga we both know that shit a lie. When yo ass ain’t high out yo goddam mind sitting somewhere looking stupid, yo ass somewhere fucking up.” He pointed at me.

  “Fuck you Kayson.” I yelled and he ran and got in my face. I pushed his big ass and he squared up. Jaako and Omari came over to get in between us. “Nah fuck that let him go.”

  “Shut up D, you know damn well Kayson will fuck you up.” Jaako said pushing me back and he was right, I had tried Kayson a time or two and he beat the fuck out of me, but I was high off that coke and was feeling myself.

  “That nigga can’t beat my ass.” I taunted.

  “I’ma fuck you up.” Omari was having a hard time holding his ass back. Kayson was beasting his ass trying to get to me.

  “We brothers man chill out.” Omari said giving Kayson a hard push which made Kayson run up on him ready to attack. Omari threw his hands up and looked at Kayson. “Bruh we ain’t doing this.” Kayson stared at Omari and turned to leave out the door. “Bruh don’t leave.”

  “I’m out because if I don’t, I’ma do some shit I might regret.”

  “All this because I wanted to party a little bit?” I asked and Kayson turned around again and Omari stepped in his path.

  “No nigga because you don’t give a fuck about anyone but yourself. You out here wilding and shit not giving a fuck about how it affects everybody else.” He was pissed and I could tell because he was damn near yelling and Kayson hardly ever raised his voice unless he was pissed off. “ Look at you sitting there with that shit around your nose like it’s okay.” I wiped my hand across my nose and noticed the residue on my fingers that was left behind from the line I did. I was slipping; I should have checked that before I walked out the room. Kayson shook his head and chuckled. “I’m out, I don’t got time for this shit.”