by Nique Luarks
“So how long you and True been fuckin’?” Ava took a seat on the floor and stretched her legs out.
Only Ava. “We had sex a few times, that’s all.”
“Damn...” she pouted.
I frowned.
“Now I owe E a rack.”
I glanced in Erin’s direction, and she looked off quickly. “Y’all betted on me?” Sighing, I started stretching. “That’s messed up. I expected something like that from Ava, not you, Erin.”
Ava laughed. “Get out your feelings and tell us why you been acting funny.”
“Right, besides you being pregnant,” Erin smirked. “Welcome to the club.”
“Nisha’s pregnant, too. Me and True haven’t been speaking. Oh...” I bent over to touch my toes. “Rel has been acting really weird lately, and he’s beginning to get on my damn nerves.”
“Ole boy we all met that night?” Ava stood up.
I nodded, going to my bag for my water as Erin hopped up.
“What has he been doing?” She made her way over to a treadmill with Ava following.
The Morris Mansion was the biggest home I’d ever been in. Two other houses were on the compound, and they were huge, but not like Morris Mansion. It was equipped with a movie theater, inside swimming pool, gym, and bowling alley. I’d stopped counting the rooms when I got to six and found out I was only on the east wing. At first, Erin didn’t like the distance between her and the ladybugs room, but other than that, she adored her palace.
When she sent me a text at the beginning of the week and invited me to work out, I told her I couldn’t make it. I didn’t want to chance running into True. After contemplating, I decided I wouldn’t take my frustrations out on my girls. Plus, the gym in Erin’s home was bigger than most I’d paid to join, and it was free. Tone spared no expenses to make his family comfortable.
“He keeps calling me.” I hopped on a treadmill on the opposite of Erin. “Then, Haze went to True’s bar.”
“Oh, so he in a rush to die?” Ava joked.
Picking my settings, I rolled my eyes. “True came to my house tripping, accusing me of telling Haze all of his business. Mind you, we haven’t been talking.”
“Because Nisha is pregnant...” Erin clarified.
“Yes. I asked him about it, and he lied, so I flipped,” I admitted. Thinking back, I had probably overreacted.
“You flipped on True?” Ava asked in disbelief. “What you do, threaten to make him meditate with you?”
Erin snickered. “You a whole asshole.”
“No, I told him I hoped his dick shriveled up and Nisha made his life a living hell. I also told him I didn’t want shit to do with his hoe ass.”
“Oh, damn,” Erin laughed.
“I’m just so tired of True’s stupid ass.” Even though we’d had that heart to heart a little while ago, our relationship was still strained.
Ava clapped. “Finally. This is the Channy I been lookin’ for, yo.”
“Ava...” Erin shook her head before giving her attention back to me. “I’m proud of you for standing up to True.”
“It felt great to see his face drop and breathing pick up. I even pushed him a few times.”
“Mmm...” Erin listened on intently.
“I’m not even mad that Nisha is pregnant to be for real.” I started walking. “I’m mad that I’m in love with True and his ass acts like he’s remedial and don’t understand why.”
Ava chuckled, upping the speed on her machine to a jog.
“True just needs to experience life without you.” Erin massaged her stomach. “He’s so used to you being one phone call away that he’s taken it for granted. I went through the same thing with Santonio.”
“What about Santonio?” Tone emerged out of nowhere.
Erin chuckled. “Hey, baby.” She slowed her machine to a stop.
“Wassup, baby.” He helped her down. “Sup, Av... Chance.”
“Hey, Tone,” I waved.
Ava grabbed her water bottle. “Sup, boss man.”
“You good?” Tone pulled Erin close and kissed her neck. “Don’t be down here doin’ too much, man.”
Erin smacked her lips. “I’m not. Where you goin’?”
“Out. If it gets too late, I’ma call you.” He caressed her belly. “Sanaa is sleep, and Toni just left with Rome and Erica.”
Erin nodded.
“I love you, a’ight?” He cuffed her cheeks, placed his forehead on hers, and I swooned.
Smiling, I faced forward. I loved how Tone loved Erin. She deserved it. He’d put her through a lot of disappointment and heartache over the past couple years. Their love was the real definition of unconditional.
“I know.” E hugged his torso. “Be safe.”
“You got it.” He slapped her butt as she climbed back on the treadmill.
Once I was sure Tone wasn’t present, I cheesed again. “I just love y’all, E.”
She chuckled. “You know we weren’t always like this. Took a lot of growth, understanding, and forgiveness. Oh, yeah, and a whole lot of makeup sex.”
Ava slowed her machine down to laugh. “That’s why yo’ ass stay pregnant.”
Erin shrugged.
“What if me and True don’t get past this?” I stated sadly. “I really do miss my friend.”
“And what if y’all do?” Erin inquired. “What if y’all grow from this experience and become more than you expected? Then what?”
“Exactly,” Ava co-signed. “You ready for more than what you’ve grown accustomed to? ’Cause the grass ain’t always greener on the other side.”
I turned up the speed. “I always told True I didn’t want us to change.”
“Be realistic, Chance,” Erin said flatly. “That’s impossible. You need to first accept that you guys will never be how you used to be, and that was bound to happen whether you had sex or not. You’ve been in love with him way too long for a fake friendship to go on forever.”
Damn...
“I never thought about it like that.”
“You would’ve either grown to love him more or despise him. Ain’t no in between.”
“Mm-hm...” Ava wrapped a towel around her neck. “The shit is like a hit or miss, but you gotta have faith in what you know to be true…no pun intended.”
Erin nodded in agreement. “I couldn’t have said it better.”
True
“True, you wouldn’t know what to do with a bitch like me.” Sawyer, a chick from around the way, sipped from her straw and chuckled.
We were posted outside of a club called Mingles. The parking lot was jumping since the club had just shut down and muthafuckas weren’t quite ready to go home.
I draped my arm around her shoulder. “That’s what you think?”
“Tuh, nigga, that’s what I know.” She licked her lips. “But my baby daddy is out of town until next Monday. You should slide through.” Sawyer rubbed my chest. “The kids are with my grandma, so it’ll be just us.”
See? Shit like this was why I didn’t trust bitches. Just when I was about to answer her, shots rang out. Pushing her down, I snatched my Glock from my waistline and started bussing back at a beat-down Honda Accord. The parking lot went into a frenzy.
It sounded like the Fourth of July from all the shots coming from both ends. When I emptied my clip, I reached behind for my nine. The car hit the corner with two niggas hanging out of the back, letting off as I rushed towards the passenger side of Roman’s whip. He opened the driver’s door just as Drake hopped in the back. I slammed my door, tossed my empty weapons into the glove compartment, then reached under the seat for a new tool.
“Who the fuck was them niggas?” He reached forward to hand Roman a clip.
Taking it from him, Roman shrugged. “But we bouta find out.”
“Bitch-ass niggas shot me in my back.” Drake sucked his teeth. “Done fucked up my whole night.”
Fuck!
I wasn’t sure what type of bullet he had gotten hit with, bu
t we needed to get him to Doc, which meant we’d have to catch these pussies another day. I wanted results tonight. Niggas had caught us slipping, and I wasn’t feeling that. Leaning back in my seat, I shook my head.
“A’ight. I’ma drop you off.” Roman reached for the blunt in the ashtray.
“Damn, I think they got me twice...”
I turned around to see Drake shaking his head before closing his eyes.
“Open yo’ eyes, foo’.” Roman turned sideways. “Here, hit this.” He tried handing Drake the L.
“Nah, I’m straight. True, nigga, I know you got some mud up there, though.”
I nodded, grabbing my double Styrofoam cup. “You know I keep that, cuddy.” I passed him the lean.
“Hol’ up, fam. We finna get you stitched up,” Roman assured him, speeding through a red light.
My phone went off, and I almost ignored Nisha’s call but remembered she’d been cramping and shit a lot lately.
“True...” Nisha sniffled into my ear the moment I answered.
“What, Nisha?” I took the blunt from Roman. “I ain’t in the mood.”
“It’s my...my sister Toya,” she cried loudly. “Sh-she’s dead. They shot her, True. Somebody shot my little sister and killed her,” she sobbed.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry about yo’ peoples, shorty.”
Nisha wept louder.
“Nisha, man, chill before you irritate my son.”
“I jus—" she coughed. “I shouldn’t have let her use my car to go to Mingles.”
Damn... Small world.
I thought I had seen her whip earlier, but since she hadn’t called me, I figured I was tripping.
“She was only twenty-two, True. My baby sister.” She coughed, then started gagging. When it sounded like she was throwing up, I ran my hand down my face.
“Nisha.”
She continued gagging and throwing up, and I hung up and passed the blunt off to Roman. Did I feel bad that Nisha’s sister had gotten caught in the crossfire? Yeah. But I had my own problems.
My phone went off again, showing Nisha was calling back.
“Wassup?”
“True, this Nisha’s cousin, Eve. She just started bleeding. We’re already on our way to Research, so you can meet us there if you want.”
Hanging up the phone, I massaged my forehead. A nigga couldn’t win for shit.
Following the directions the nurse had given me to Nisha’s room, I made sure the gun on my waist wasn’t visible. As I neared the door, it opened, and an older, Hispanic woman stepped out. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she had a sullen look on her face. When she looked up and noticed me, she frowned. Her old ass looked me up and down, started saying something in Spanish, then pointed her crooked-ass finger at me.
“You’re True, right? I’ve seen pictures of you.”
I widened my stance and crossed my arms at my pelvis. “Wassup?”
“My niece has been waiting on you for two hours!” she yelled. “She’s six months pregnant with your child, bleeding, and you waltz in here with no care in the world.”
I chuckled, stepping around her.
“She just lost her little sister. Nisha doesn’t deserve this,” she mumbled before walking off. “Dog.”
“Fuck you.” I opened the door.
“True...” Nisha sat up. She started crying and wiped her face. “I thought you weren’t coming.” When she started boohooing, I ran my hand across my waves.
“Baby, calm down.” A woman stood up and went to her bedside. “You heard what the doctor said, relax.” The woman faced me, mean mugging. Her greenish-grayish eyes held tornadoes of anger in them.
“Auntie Frankee, can you give us a minute?” Nisha asked her.
The woman wasn’t Hispanic like her other auntie. She was fair skinned, though, and attractive as fuck for an older broad.
“You sure? I’ll sit in the corner and won’t say anything.”
Nisha rubbed her eyes. “I’m sure.”
Auntie Frankee shot me what I guessed was supposed to be a threatening glare. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
“Okay...”
She then went to a vacant seat and grabbed a purse. “She called you almost three hours ago.” Frankee walked towards me with an attitude.
I moved away from the door to let her pass.
“Makes no damn sense,” she grumbled, opening the door, then disappearing into the hallway.
“You good? My son straight?” I took a seat and stared at her.
“Me, no. The baby, yes.”
“What they say was wrong?”
“Stress. Since I’ve been cramping, too, they said I have to stay off my feet. This is going to be a long three months.” Nisha hung her head. “A long life without Toya,” she sniffled.
I didn’t know how to console her, so I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms. “That’s fucked up what happened to yo’ sis.”
“I feel responsible. I kept telling her my car battery wouldn’t keep a charge. She was trying to get a jump when I heard the gunshots going off. Her yelling and screaming is still in my head.”
Damn, so she was on the phone with her when it happened.
“Shit ain’t ever gon’ be the same.”
I offered the same advice Granny Ann gave me whenever I felt like shit was falling apart. “Pray about it.”
Nisha laid back against her pillow. “Thank you for coming, True.”
“No problem.”
“I really do love you, True. I wish we could be more, but I know it’s never going to happen.” She wiped her cheeks and closed her eyes.
Looking up at the ceiling, I thanked God my son was good. Going into my pocket, I grabbed my phone to make sure Drake was all right.
8
Riot
Chance
Six weeks later
I decided to call into work for some me time. The last couple of months hadn’t been anything but chaos. The only good things were the growing human in my stomach, the new shop, and my newly renovated loft. So, I was treating myself to a few new wardrobe additions. Now that I was four months and I’d gained six pounds, my clothes didn’t fit the same, no matter how many salads I ate. My mom claimed she couldn’t even notice, but I felt the difference.
As I surfed through the racks of clothes, I hummed lowly. Surprisingly, after the conversation with Erin and Ava, my attitude towards life had gotten much better. True and I still only talked when it concerned our little one, but we were in an okay space. I got Chase and Chasity once a week, and because they didn’t like the changes, I made sure to have daily conversations with them to stay in the loop. Morgan hadn’t reached out, and I didn’t plan on contacting her. I was officially at a point in my life where my only concern was my peace of mind.
“Girl, this muthafuckin’ nigga been acting funny and shit.”
And just like that, I knew Zen was not in my near future.
“True’s ass is stingy as fuck. I had to lie and say Chasity needed new shoes and shit before she leaves for D.C. next week,” Quindelle laughed.
Whoever she was with thought that logic was hilarious. “Bitch, True’s ass is so gullible when it comes to them damn kids.”
“Exactly,” Nisha snickered.
“But what you gon’ do about Chasity needing clothes before she goes?”
“Chassy got so much shit, True ain’t gon’ notice. I’ll just pack something she’s only wore a few times. Plus, Chance stay buying her little spoiled ass shit.”
Wow... True sure knows how to pick ‘em.
I went back to shopping.
I chuckled, picking up an Ivy Park bodysuit. The small pudge in my tummy would probably mess up the outfit I had in mind, but I already had the matching slides. Chase’s birthday was this weekend, and since his party was outside, I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.
“You need any assistance, ma’am?”
I shook my head, no. “I’m okay. Thanks, though.”
> “Okay, let me know if you need anything. I’ll be right over there.” She pointed towards the shoes where Quindelle was now standing.
Smiling, I nodded. Once she walked away, I headed to the registers. The quicker I got out of there, the less my chances of running into Quindelle. I still planned on stopping at Foot Locker and getting ice cream. I wanted to be in a good mood while I finished my day.
“Will this be all for you?” the cashier asked.
“Yes.”
“Did anyone help you?”
I spun around and faced the wall of shoes. “Her,” I pointed.
“Do you know that bitch?” Quindelle’s friend frowned. “Why she pointing over here?”
Great.
Quindelle looked up from the shoes she was trying on. Her eyes landed on me, then she rolled them swiftly. “That’s True’s other baby mama. Remember I told you his nasty ass got two bitches pregnant at the same time?”
I faced forward. The cashier gave me an awkward smile, then started ringing up my items. Going into my purse, I removed my wallet.
“Let’s go, girl. I can only buy these. I’ma have to hit True’s cheap ass up again,” Quindelle spoke loudly.
“Your total is $248.13,” the cashier grinned.
Handing her my credit card, I watched her insert the chip.
“This bitch’s ass is fake as fuck.”
I spun back around to face Quindelle and her friend. “No, my ass is real as fuck.” My gaze shifted to Quindelle. “Ask True.”
“No this hoe didn’t.”
Quindelle stepped in my face. “You must be feeling yourself. I don’t care about you being pregnant, I will drag your fat ass through this fuckin’ mall.”
I tilted my head. “Do it,” I dared her. I wasn’t a fighter, but I was licensed to carry. These bitches were going to get enough of trying me.
“Excuse me, ladies. Is there a problem?” The security guard stood next to us.
“Nope.” I turned back around. “Thank you.” I took my card from the cashier, and the look on her face was priceless. Leave it up to Quindelle to stereotype us for these white people.
