The Wild Child

by Nicole Jackson

My mama waved me off. “Don’t worry about all that. You just focus on getting your shit together.”

  ***

  I was sleepy as hell, as I drove back to Vita’s. We’d just left the tattoo shop after she sporadically suggested that we go. I was personally addicted to ink, so me going was a no-brainer. She then takes me by surprise by getting my name tatted across her thigh. The gesture was nice, but it had me thinking more about the shit my family had been saying. Me and her were no closer to a commitment, but I wasn’t so sure if she knew that, anymore.

  “Bae,” she cut into my thoughts. “You wanna hear something funny?”

  “What’s up?” I remained focused on the road.

  “When you first sat down to get more details added to your tatt, I was getting all excited, thinking that you were about to get my name. I even slid the tattoo artist of piece of paper with my name written on it, so that he wouldn’t fuck up the spelling. I was so embarrassed when I realized that you were doing something else.”

  “Yeah, that’s crazy.”

  “I know, right,” she replied dryly. “At the fucking very least, you could’ve gotten that shit on your arm covered up.”

  I frowned. “What shit?”

  She sucked her teeth. “Yeah, play stupid. I’m talking about her name, Jeremy.”

  “When did I mention having a desire to cover that up, though?”

  “Why wouldn’t you?” she snapped. “Yall aint together, and I just got your fucking name tatted on my body. Why would I be okay with you having your ex’s name on you?”

  “Wait, wait, hold up.” I swooped into close-by gas station and parked. “I don’t recall asking you to get my name. Honestly, that shit came as a shock to me.”

  “You didn’t stop me!”

  “Shit, seems to me that you already had your mind made up. Then you spring the shit on me in front of the man doing your tattoo. I didn’t want to embarrass you.”

  “Okay, first of all, let’s back this up. How did me asking about a tattoo turn into all this? Now, I agreed to accepting the fact that you still had a sexual attraction to your ex. That’s fine. But I never said anything about emotional attachments.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “What the hell are you talking about? Since when do we have some type of arrangements to where your opinion matters one way or another? I told you what it is. Either you was fucking with it or you wasn’t. I was still gonna do what the fuck I want. That’s why I’m not with anybody now. The only feelings I have to consider are my own.”

  “So, are you telling me that you don’t give a shit about me?” she wore a look of devastation.

  I sighed heavily. “Look, Vita, maybe this shit is coming out wrong. I do care about you, but you have to know that we moved too fast. I was fresh out of a long-term relationship and jumped into this head-first. I allowed anger to guide me, and never gave myself a chance to process what was happening between me and Jhyrah. I never even dealt with what I felt for her. I fell into habit with you, because I was so used to her. Then once I realized it, I pumped the brakes. I stopped coming by on a daily. I called less. I didn’t respond to texts, thinking that you’d realize what this is. All the while, I’m failing to peep that your mentality is that as long as I’m still in contact at all, we’re good. I deal with you leisurely. I go to bed without you most nights. I mean, yeah, I like chilling with you. That stems from us being friends first. I like your company, but it’s not something that I just gotta have, know what I mean?”

  She shook her head with a smirk plastered on her face. “It’s really funny sitting here, listening to you. I’m sitting here with the Texans’ star running back. There’s literally millions of girls at your disposal, yet you make time for little ole me, regularly. But you want me to believe that you don’t feel anything between us? No, I’m not buying it. If anything, you’re allowing the opinions of others penetrate what we have. Everybody’s rooting for Jhyrah, but that’s because they don’t know Vita. And then you waste time trying to compare us. What you felt with her is completely different from what you feel with me. I get it. She’s wild, popular, and freaky. And me? I’m laid-back, ghetto, and submissive. She provides the butterflies, while I give you security. Unlike with her, you know that your heart is safe with me. But I don’t get the people talking like she do. But I’m here for you, and connect to you in ways that she can’t. So, I’m in this, patiently waiting for you to grow up to receive the kind of love I give.”

  Unexpectedly, a chill eased up my spine, as she unwittingly used the same line I’d used on Jhyrah. At that time, I was feeling like Jhyrah didn’t love me as much as I loved her, and now here Vita was, professing the same thing. Perhaps, I wanted what wasn’t good for me, and I needed to wise up, then get with somebody he spoke the same language.

  Chapter 33

  Jeremy

  Wanting to come out and support my boy Gwuap, I’d shown up to club for his album release party. Everybody that I knew was in the building, which was why I’d been reluctant to bring Vita along. No, Jhyrah clearly wouldn’t be there, but several of her family and friends would be. And I’d told Vita just that, and she claimed that she could handle herself. I tried telling her that not everybody associated with Jhyrah was righteous and above starting shit, even if unprovoked, but she said that it didn’t matter. She was from Spice Lane and bitches knew what was up with her, and a bunch of other bullshit.

  We’d been in the club, in Gwuap’s section for only 30 minutes and shit was already extremely uncomfortable. Jhyrah’s cousin, Jayah, was openly mean-mugging Vita. I hadn’t seen her in a minute, because she lived out in New York, but she somehow had beef with a broad she’d never seen before. Then there was Jhyrah’s older cousin, Trinity. Her and Jayah were talking and staring straight at us. I was actually thanking God that Keyasia’s ass was pregnant and had to stay at home, because I knew that she would’ve been the first one to get some shit cranked up. At least Trinity and Jayah were just rudely staring but hadn’t said anything. That all changed, though, when Mya walked up with Taraj and Cavalli by her side.

  “Look at them fake ass bitches,” Vita snarled, as she leaned into me, while we sat on the VIP couch. “They’re supposed to be my cousins, but they’d rather hang with the opps because it’s a better look.”

  “But who’s the opps, though?” I wanted to know.

  She sucked her teeth, as she kept her eyes trained on her cousins. “Your ex is the opp.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “They were cool with her, before I ever laid dick in you. So, why would that change, just because we fuck around?”

  “Family is family, Jeremy.”

  Before I could say another word, Taraj approached us, with her phone out, clearly on a Facetime.

  “Yeah, he had the nerve to bring this busted bitch up in here,” she spoke into the camera. Flipping the phone, she allowed us to see that she was talking to Keyasia.

  “Say, Taraj, go’on with that messy shit, main,” I seethed, obviously not in the mood for the bullshit.

  “No, fuck all that,” Taraj twisted her neck. “You’re on some real-life bullshit. How are you rocking with that hoe, after it’s now public knowledge that her home girl was the one who dropped something in Jhyrah’s drink?”

  I scowled, as I sat up. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about this bitch here,” she pointed at Vita, who was unusually quiet. “Remember the girl Jhyrah was at the club with when that shit went down with Latrell’s fat ass?”

  “Yeah. The Roxy hoe, right?”

  “Exactly. That’s her bestie!”

  I turned to look at Vita. “What is she talking about? You know Roxy?” I interrogated, because she was a so-called open book, but I had never heard her mention Roxy before. There was no way in hell I would have allowed Jhyrah to hang around that broad, knowing that she ran with Vita too. Especially since she’d stepped onto the scene, hating off the rip.

  Vita gulped. “Yeah, I know her, but what’s the big deal
about that? What she do aint got shit to do with me.”

  “Bitch, please,” Taraj spewed. “The fact that something being dropped in Jhyrah’s drink is the cause of their break-up, tells me that this got everything to do with you. You can’t pay me to believe that you didn’t know about that shit!”

  Hearing that shit had me speechless. What Taraj said made perfect sense. Leaving out the fact that Roxy is her friend was just too damn convenient for Vita.

  “Taraj, fuck all that talking!” Keyasia shouted through the phone. “Slap that hoe!”

  Apparently, that was all Taraj needed to hear. While Vita was still seated, she went in, snatching her up by her weave. I aint gone lie, Jhyrah’s energy had nothing on Taraj’s. All Vita could do was cover her face with her arm, while I hopped up, giving them some space. Shit, after hearing what I’d just heard, she was on her own.

  Taraj was handling the shit out of Vita, but I guess that wasn’t enough for Jayah and Trinity. I wasn’t even sure if they knew what was going on, but they’d jumped right into the fight, stomping Vita, as she was now on the floor, with all her pussy out. I’d told her ass to wear some panties, but she didn’t listen.

  Turning to my left, I noticed Cavalli and Mya standing there, laughing. Of all people, I think that I was more surprised by them than anything. She was their biological cousin, and they were perfectly fine with her getting dragged across VIP.

  I shook my head with a grin. “Man, yall cold. Yall aint gon help your cousin?”

  “Hell, no,” Mya spat. “That bitch knew that she wasn’t invited here in the first place, but I bet she aint mention that shit to you. She was just on Facebook talking about how they needed to free my mama from jail. Any woman in my mama’s position would’ve shot their daughter too. Just a bunch of bullshit. Then she had the nerve to show up here like it wasn’t gonna be smoke. She’s lucky Omari don’t want me fighting with the press here. That’s why I let Taraj handle it.”

  “Yeah, besides, Vita is pretty tall,” Cavalli added. “So, three on one seems pretty fair to me. What you think?”

  ***

  Two Months Later…

  As I factimed my pops for the fourth time, I was slowly realizing that there was some bullshit in the air. It was a Friday I and wanted to come through for second, eat some of my mama’s food or some shit. But I wasn’t getting any responses. I was literally sitting in my car, ready to ride out, but no one was picking up. Before hitting my pops up, I called my mama, Jermany, Jerrod, Jared, and even Cavalli. Each time I got no answer. Now, if two or three of them hadn’t answered, I would’ve chalked it up as a coincidence, but for everybody to be unavailable at the same time…something wasn’t right.

  Knowing that my pops would be the first to answer if he thought that there was some type of emergency, I called him again. This time he answered.

  “What’s up, boy?” he questioned, as his face was unusually close to the screen.

  “Pops, I aint trying to count your nose hairs. Move your face back some,” I chuckled.

  He moved it a back, but only by a tad. I laughed harder, because he knew exactly what he was doing. Pops was still relatively a young nigga, so he was very much so technically advanced. He just didn’t want me to see what was in the background.

  “Aye, where you at?” I probed.

  “Out and about. What’s up?”

  “But where, though?”

  “Around, lil’ nigga.”

  Judging by the walls, I could tell that he was in a garage.

  I squinted. “Where mama at?”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “She around too.”

  When he shifted to turn around, I caught a glimpse of a red Slingshot. Knowing exactly who that belonged to, I shook my head. “Pops, what are yall doing over there at Big Jahrein’s?”

  He frowned. “How the fuck do you know where I’m at?”

  I chuckled. “I spotted his Slingshot in the background.”

  “Yeah, a’ight.”

  “But okay, I’m about to head over there now.”

  “For what?”

  “What you mean? I’m coming to visit.”

  “But we aint at home.”

  “I know. I’m coming over there,” I let him know.

  He took a long pause, before sighing. “Alright, boy. When you come here, you better act like you haven’t talked to me. You hear?”

  I smiled. “Alright, I got you.”

  “Yeah, alright,” he ended the call.

  Right then I knew exactly what was up. Jhyrah was home.

  Forty minutes later, I pulled up to Raven and Jahrein’s home. There were multiple cars outside, parked on the long winding driveway, which could only mean that there was a party going on. My feelings were a little hurt, because nobody had bothered inviting me. Not even Little Jah and I had just talked to him, earlier. But it was cool, though, because this wasn’t my first time crashing a party and it probably wouldn’t be my last.

  Luckily, I didn’t have to wait for someone to answer the door. There were kids playing in the garage, and I just moseyed right on by. Using the door in the garage leading into the house, I stepped a hallway. Knowing that house like the back of my hand, I traveled to the living room. There I found a host of people sitting around, eating.

  The main one stuffing her face with jumbo shrimp was none other than my mama. “What chu doing here?” she asked with a mouthful of food.

  “I should be asking you that. Why you didn’t answer the phone, mama?”

  She shrugged. “I was eating.”

  I thought about going back and forth with her, but it was pointless. My mama never lost an argument. “Aye, can somebody tell me where Jhyrah at?”

  My mama frowned. “Who said that she was here?” she posed, with food still in her mouth.

  Ignoring her, I focused on Raven. “Can you please tell me where’s your daughter?”

  “But what do you want with her?” my mama butted in.

  Raven giggled. “Girl, leave that boy alone. She’s in the kitchen, Jeremy.”

  “I still wanna know what he wants,” my mama scoffed.

  I started towards the kitchen. “I’m here to collect. She owes me about a cool mil. It’s time to pay up.” I waltzed into the kitchen. Immediately, I noticed Jhyrah and she noticed me, as her, Keyasia, Josairah, Rye, Taraj, and Cavalli all sat all the long kitchen’s island. “Say, Jhyrah, I’ma need either my jewelry back or you gonna write me a check for a million dollars. So, tell me which one it is?”

  Everybody looked on with smirks on their faces, while Jhyrah stood up. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of my body when I noticed a damn obvious baby bump.

  “The fuck is this?” I snapped.

  “Child support, nigga,” Keyasia blurted, causing everybody to laugh hysterically.

  “How many months are you?” I asked, trying to figure out how long people had been knowing this shit, while keeping me in the dark.

  “Five,” Jhyrah sniped.

  I grimaced. “And you didn’t think that this was something that you needed to tell me?”

  “No, not really,” she shrugged. “The only reason it’s still in there is because I was in rehab when the last day for abortion hit. Nobody told you, because I told them that this little thing wasn’t gonna make it.”

  “Jhyrah,” Josairah gasped. “Don’t say that.”

  Jhyrah snarled. “Fuck this nigga. I’ll say whatever I wanna say. He trapped me and then wanted to act bad with that Citi Trends queen.”

  “I trapped you? Girl, if you don’t go’on with that bullshit.” I waved her off.

  “But you was asking Jared a lot of questions about ovulation, Jeremy. You even mentioned Jhyrah’s last period so that he could help you calculate the ovulation window,” Cavalli dry snitched.

  All I could do was laugh.

  Furiously, Jhyrah stomped over and shoved me hard. “Aint shit funny!”

  “But it is,” I chuckled. “I told you that period wasn’t coming
.” I was smiling hard, until it dawned on me. She had only been in rehab for three months, but she was five months along. That meant that she had to be getting high while she was pregnant. “Aye, did you know about…the pregnancy when got into that wreck?” I grew serious.

  “Come on, yall,” Keyasia stood up, holding her back. I could tell that she was ready to pop any day now. “Let’s let them talk.”

  “Man,” Taraj pouted. “Key, you just had to say something. I was trying to catch the tea.”

  I watched as everybody filed out of the kitchen, while Jhyrah popped a shrimp into her mouth. After she was down chewing, she cleared her throat. “Look, I didn’t mean what I said at first,” she confessed. “I’ll just blame it on the hormones. Wasn’t nobody trying to kill the baby. I’ve just been in therapy, and we decided that I didn’t need to talk to you, until after I was home. Nobody told you because they know you. You would’ve kept pushing the issue, if you would’ve known that I was pregnant.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “But what about today? You’re home, but nobody told me shit.”

  “You would’ve known at some point today. I just threw a fit earlier when they said that they were telling you. I swore that you were gonna run my blood pressure up, and that was all they needed to hear.”

  “But what’s the point in that? You wanted to avoid me that damn bad?”

  “I did,” she candidly admitted. “I was trying to mentally prepare for you.”

  I squinted. “Am I really that difficult?”

  She poked out her bottom lip. “Not really. I just didn’t know what to expect. Who knows? You might’ve tried to bring your hood rat to this house.”

  I lightly laughed. “Girl, stop the bullshit. I’m not worried about her—”

  “But you’re still fucking her, though.”

  “I don’t know who told you that, but—”

  “Jeremy, stop it. I know what the hell I’m talking about. And with that being said, let me make something crystal clear with you. Despite your devious plans, this baby aint changing shit. We’re gonna co-parent and that’s it. There won’t be any fucking or anything else. Respect my space and I’ll respect yours. You got me?”