Angel had been an innocent bystander. I hated that I was the one who had taken her life. She was guilty by association, however. Caesar had owed me a load of cash, and he had been avoiding me for months. He had taken a shipment of guns and disappeared. Motherfuckas died in the street every day for far less than thirty thousand dollars, and I had given his ass four months to come up with my shit. I was becoming a joke in these streets by letting Caesar walk. I had to do what I had to do. And being the woman of a hustler, Angel knew the possibilities of her life being taken because of the life he lived.
“You so silly, baby,” Heaven said when I finally stopped singing.
“You know this my shit.”
She sighed as she wrapped her arms around my waist and snuggled closer to me. She said, “I know,” with a sound in her voice that I didn't like. She had had this melancholy undertone in her conversation all night, but every time I had asked what was wrong, she said she was fine.
I knew she wasn’t, though. Something was wrong, and for the first time in forever, I could wholeheartedly say it wasn't me who had her in this mood.
Then a tear slid down her brown face. She quickly wiped it away as I asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she answered lowly.
“Stop lying to me.”
“You… you’re just so sweet, babe. That’s all.”
That was bullshit. I knew it. I could feel it. I was about to call her on it as soon as Vegas and Damo caught my eye. They were coming in the door. My body instantly became so rigid that Heaven obviously felt my tension, looked up at me, and followed my fiery eyes as they watched Vegas and Damo go straight to the bar.
Grabbing my hand, Heaven urged, “C’mon. Let’s go.”
“Nah, fuck that,” I said. I glared at the back of them as they stood ordering drinks at the bar. “We ain’t gotta go nowhere.”
“Please?” She squeezed my hands, trying to get my attention. When I didn’t take my eyes off of them, she stood in front of me trying to look me square in the eyes. It was cute because in those heels she was barely eye to eye with me. “We were having such a good night.”
I smiled at her pout. She was right anyway. We had been having a dope-ass night, and I wasn’t about to put my baby in the middle of this bullshit.
I took her hand and guided her towards the opposite end of the bar. I was going to be the bigger man, even though I wanted to clear all of Vegas’ fronts for the shit he had been pulling. All summer, he had been having something against me, and I had no idea what the fuck it was. And now he had actually become my competition. Shit was crazy. We had gone from bros to enemies just like that.
I threw a couple of five’s on the counter and saw Vegas and Damo finally peep that I was in the building. Heaven squeezed my hand again when she saw Vegas and I staring each other down. I looked at her and kissed her forehead. That was my way of letting Vegas know that I was only tucking my tail because my lady’s safety was more important than me whooping his ass.
With her hand in mine, I led her towards the door. We walked right passed those motherfuckers. Vegas stayed seated, clutching his drink. But Damo’s extra ass stood up with this look on his face that told me that he was on straight bullshit. Vegas must have seen he was on bullshit as well because he turned around in his barstool just in time to hear Damo say to me, “You better leave, snake-ass nig—”
Damo couldn’t even finish his sentence before I fired on his ass, pushing his face in with my fist. He fell back onto the bar, knocking over glasses as he slid down onto the floor. Still sitting there calmly, Vegas eyeballed me, and my glare dared his punk ass to get up or he would be the next one to get it.
Vegas
Ross was lucky that he was with his woman. I had mad love for Heaven, and she had nothing to do with this shit. I wasn't trying to piss my woman off by allowing her best friend to get hurt in the middle of my war with Ross. So, I didn’t even say intervene as Ross left the club hand in hand with Heaven as Damo picked himself up from the floor. Besides, Damo had been the one on dummy.
“You good, man?” I asked him as he palmed his face. It was already swelling up as he checked himself out in the mirror behind the bar.
“Hell fucking yeah, I'm good. That shit felt like a bee sting.” He threw some bills on the bar, threw back his double shot of cognac, and headed for the door.
“Fuck,” I cursed as I jumped from the barstool and headed out of the door after him.
By the time I got out of the club, Damo was already jumping to his ride. I had caught a ride with him, so I hit a light jog and jumped into the car just in time for him to throw it in drive and pull off.
That's when everything started to happen so fast. I didn't even see his gun in his hand, until he was aiming out of his open window. By the time I realized he was pulling alongside Ross' car, heading north on Ashland, I didn't even have time to say shit before he started firing into the Ross’ car. The deafening sound of gunshots and shattering glass overshadowed my shouting, “What the fuck?! Yo’, what the fuck is you doin’?!”
Ross' car suddenly hit the brakes, and he made a U-turn in the middle of the street. I looked back as he drove the wrong way on the street, ducking and dodging as cars blew their horns at him and hit sharp turns trying to avoid colliding with them.
“Fuck is wrong with you, motherfucker?!” I barked.
“Fuck that nigga! His bitch ass has been on bullshit all summer. He deserved that shit. You should have been got his ass for stealing from you anyway. That's why he walks around this bitch like he runs shit, cuz he got away with that bullshit.”
“Man, pullover!” I snapped.
“What?” he asked, scowling.
“I said…” I reached over, grabbed the wheel and yanked that bitch. “Pull the fuck over.”
He quickly took control of the wheel and pulled over. I jumped out and slammed the door. Damo peeled off, and I started walking down Ashland. I pulled out my phone and before going to my Uber app, I called Treasure.
“Hello?” I could hear that I had just woke her up.
“Call Heaven and make sure she’s okay.”
“Why?” She sounded much more awake now. “What happened?”
“Damo just shot up Ross’ ride, and she was inside.”
Her gasp was as loud and deafening as those gunshots had been. “Oh my God! What the fuck is wrong with y’all?!” she shouted.
I cringed. Now, this dumb-ass motherfucker, Damo, had me in the doghouse with my woman too. “I didn’t know he was going to do the shit. Would you just call her?”
“Okay,” she rushed.
“Call me back and let me know if she’s good.”
She hung up on me, and I swung at the air. Anger was boiling over inside me so fast that I almost threw my phone. I had stopped myself, though.
Damo had kicked this shit off in the wrong way and started some shit. But he had been right. This shit wasn’t going to be over between Ross and me until I finished it.
A war had officially been started.
Heaven
My eyes rolled when I saw that it was Treasure calling. This was the last thing Ross would want at this very moment. “Hello?”
“Oh, thank God! Heaven, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said on a heavy breath. “What the hell is wrong with them?”
“Fuck them niggas! They dead!” Ross spewed as he sped through the city towards our home.
“What happened?” Treasure asked.
Before I could answer her, Ross spewed, “Treasure, tell your man he a fucking dead man for letting that motherfucker do that shit.”
“Oh God,” she groaned. “What happened, Heaven?”
“Ross and I were at S2, and Vegas and Damo walked in. Ross and I just decided to leave. As we walked out, Damo stood up and started talking shit. Then Ross knocked his ass out. We had left and were on our way home. Then Damo and Vegas pulled up next to us, Damo just started shooting. Luckily, neither one of us got hit. Vegas is bug
ging. Ross didn't get arrested on purpose. Somebody set him up. And just because somebody set him up, Vegas is going to turn on him like this? We know he had to get his money, and we didn't expect him not to work with his uncle, but gawd damn! He’s going too far. Why the fuck are they beefing with him like this? You know he just kicked shit off, right?”
Treasure groaned long and hard. “I'm so sorry that happened to y'all. But I don't think Vegas would have ever shot at y'all. That had to be all Damo.”
My eyes rolled to the ceiling. I had so much to say about that last comment, but since Ross was in the car, I bit my tongue. Instead, I asked her, “You think Ross gives a fuck about that?”
“Man, hang up the phone,” Ross barked.
I sighed out in frustration. “Treasure, I have to go. I'll talk to you later.”
I hung up with tears in my eyes. I already had been feeling like shit all day. My heart had been heavy since I left Vegas’ house that day. Ross had such a big smile on his face as he took me to dinner tonight, but all I could think about was Mello. When he was just singing to me on that dance floor, I got so full of emotions that a tear slid down my face. I was so frustrated that I actually cried. I wanted to lose these feelings for Mello so bad that I would have paid for it. As Ross danced with me, I told God that I would do anything to make Him erase these feelings for Mello that were making it impossible for me to enjoy my “new husband”.
And now this. Vegas had only kicked off a never-ending war between him and Ross. This wouldn't stop until one of them was dead, and that would only ignite more and more tragedy amongst the circle. I only hoped that this would be it, but unfortunately, this was only the beginning to the end.
Treasure
As soon as I heard the alarm chirp, I sprang out of bed. I wiped my tears as I ran barefoot out of the bedroom and down the hall. As I ran up on Vegas, he looked so apologetic. I was too angry to even care about his remorse, however. As soon I was close enough to connect, I started swinging on his ass.
“How could you?!” I snapped as I landed blows on his face and chest.
“It wasn’t me!” he told me.
“Why would you let him do that?!”
Blocking his face, he told me, “I didn’t know he was gonna do that!”
“Arrrgh!” I was so frustrated that I could only scream.
“Baby!” He ducked and dodged my fists, while trying to block me. “Baby, stop!” Finally, he was able to catch my wrists and hold them tightly. I squirmed, trying to get out of his grasp, but there was no use. “Stop,” he insisted. “Please?” When I heard the sincerity in his voice, I finally calmed down and looked up into his eyes. Those ocean blue eyes were filled with so much sadness that I was forced to realize that I was responsible for putting it there.
I weakened with guilt. I burst into tears.
“Baby, I’m so sorry.”
I cried even harder. This was not his fault. Hell, even Damo wasn’t to blame. It was my fault. Mine alone.
“Damo was out of line,” he said as he grabbed the back of my head and brought my face to his chest. I could only sob and grip his shirt. I was trying to find the strength to stay on my feet. That’s how much the remorse was weighing me down.
“I’m done fucking with that motherfucker. He dead,” Vegas assured me. “I even texted Ross and told him that it wasn’t me and that I was sorry. I told him I was done with this beef.”
I felt some relief, but it wasn’t enough to erase the remorse. My pussy had caused all this grief, and as long as I was with Vegas and as long as Treasure and I were friends, I would walk around with it every day.
25
Heaven
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
My eyes rolled to the ceiling as Ross looked Treasure up and down. His look was so evil as if she were the one who had shot at him. She didn’t see it, though. She stayed seated on the stool at the island. Her back was to him as she continued to cut up the eggs for the tuna salad. But I could see the uncomfortable look on her face.
I warned him, “Ross, don’t…”
He sucked his teeth, still eyeballing her. “Nah, fuck that. Her man tried to fucking kill us.”
Treasure turned to look at him. “That was Damo, not Vegas. And I got in his ass about that. Vegas is pissed that Damo did that shit too. He would have never done that with Heaven in the car.”
Ross chuckled sarcastically. “Oh, he just wouldn’t have done it with Heaven in the car, huh?”
Treasure looked so sad as she reached for him. “Ross—”
He swatted her outstretched hand away. “Nah, don’t worry about it.”
“Ross,” Treasure called out to him as he walked out, but he kept walking.
Tears welled in Treasure’s eyes. I went towards her and wrapped my arms around her. She didn’t say a word as her head rested on my shoulder, but I could hear her tears.
I had been able to quickly forgive her for Damo shooting at us a few days ago because she had been this apologetic. Once I had calmed down, I knew that Vegas would have never shot at Ross. I also knew, from what Treasure had been telling me, that Damo was crazy. Vegas definitely hadn’t played a part in it.
“He’s just mad,” I told Treasure as I rubbed her back soothingly.
She left my embrace. She reached for a paper towel that was on the island and dabbed her tears away, trying not to mess up her makeup.
“I’m okay,” she insisted. “I just hate that all of this is happening.”
“They need to sit down and talk to each other.”
“Ross doesn’t look like he is trying to let that happen.”
“Maybe I can talk him into it.”
“Maybe… Anyway, enough of that. Let’s get this shit done. The party is about to start.”
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the end of September. It was also Sunshine’s fourth birthday. I had planned a small party for her and some of the small kids in our circle. The basement was full of balloons, inflated Disney characters, treats, and cakes. The party was set to start in about an hour, so Treasure and I were trying to hurry up and finish the finger foods.
Still hearing Treasure sniffling, I asked, “You sure you okay?”
She was more emotional than I had ever seen her.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
Two hours later, the basement was full of toddlers. Disney songs were blaring from the surround sound. A clown was entertaining the kids while Treasure and I sat on the couch sipping “adult juice.”
“Why did you invite her?”
“Who?”
Treasure was too busy glaring at the basement door to answer. I followed her eyes and saw Paris walking in, holding TJ’s hand.
“Oh. I saw that she was in town. She and TJ have played together a bunch of times when April brought him around to see his granddaddy.”
Treasure stared at me with an expression that told me that she knew that I was full of shit.
I rolled my eyes with a telling smirk. “Okaaaaay… Yeah, I wanted to get some tea on her and Mello.” I giggled, but I was done finding things funny as Mello walked in behind her. My heart fluttered uncontrollably. I was literally shaking. I had to tighten my grip on my cup to keep from dropping it. “I didn’t think he would come with her, though. I had no idea he was in town.”
Luckily, Ross was still so pissed off at Vegas that he refused to come down to the party as long as Treasure was there. Therefore, he couldn’t see me eye fucking his son.
Damn, he looked good. He had the nerve to be a little more cut up. He must have been hitting the gym down in Florida. He looked like the money he was making now too. He was draped in labels that made him look tastefully expensive. His beard was full, luscious, and lined to a crisp shape that connected to his sharp lining and ocean waves. He was a tall mountain of chocolate steel. My mouth watered as I tried to pull my eyes away from him.
Treasure sighed long and hard while staring at Mello. He was following Paris like this was the last place
that he wanted to be.
Finally, I tore my eyes away from them and gulped down the mixture of rum and pineapple juice. “Well… I guess it’s a motherfucking party now.”
Mello
-A few minutes ago-
“Mello, wake up.”
I stirred in my sleep. As my eyes opened, I squinted as the sunlight burned my eyes. I sat up in the rental car, yawning and stretching. When I looked around, I realized that we weren’t at the hotel.
“Where are…” I stopped mid-sentence when I looked out of the passenger’s window and saw my pop’s crib. I whipped my head around towards Paris. “What the hell are we doing here?”
She was wearing this unapologetic smirk. She thought this shit was a game. “You said that Vegas won’t be ready to meet up with you until later.”
“Yeah. And?”
She put the car in park, saying, “So, I figured TJ could come to Sunshine’s birthday party.” Right away, I groaned. Paris sucked her teeth. “I’d rather him be here playing with other kids than getting on my nerves at that damn hotel.”
I snatched my seatbelt off. “Whatever, man. Go on in then.”
“You’re not coming in?” She had the nerve to sound surprised. I didn’t know why, though. I had made it clear to her that I didn’t fuck with my pops after the summer I’d spent in Chicago.
“No.”
Her lips pursed together. “Are you serious? All because of your father?”
“Man, I told you I was just trying to be in and out this city. All I needed to do was come here and make sure that this shipment and cash got to Vegas. That’s it.”
When the Side Nigga Catch Feelings 1 Page 24
