LaRhonda almost choked; he beat her to it.
“Be careful now, that’s some strong shit. Pass that here.” Eric took the blunt out of her hand.
She stared into Eric’s eyes. “How . . . Umm, when did you come up with that?”
“C’mon now, I know the real story. You was still fuckin’ me when he thought he was only fuckin’ you. If I remember correctly, we fucked just about every day that month straight.” He passed her the blunt again.
“How did you know I was still fuckin’ him? I was with you almost every day.”
He smiled. “That nigga don’t know how to keep his mouth shut.”
“What you mean by that?” LaRhonda’s brow arched.
“You know when niggas get around niggas and how shit go. There’s always that one louder than everyone else. You know how he is. I don’t have to explain his ways to you. I know he got a small bid to do. Why you think I called you? I gave you your space when he moved your ass to Atlantic and Bedford. I left you alone after you embarrassed me on that roof. That nigga had a hell of a time with that shit. It took me a month to start comin’ ’round here again. You was right; fuckin’ with ’em dime-bag hustlers wasn’t doin’ shit for me.” He took the last pull off the blunt and flicked it against the wall.
“Wait, hold on . . . Let me find out you actually doin’ somethin’ now.” LaRhonda twisted her lips to the side, watching him carefully.
“Yeah, you could say that. I gotta know if Aaron my kid or not.” Eric exited the staircase and entered the apartment.
LaRhonda walked into the apartment and headed straight for the bedroom to check on the kids.
“Still ’sleep, right?” Eric asked sitting on the sofa.
“Yup, it don’t even look like they moved any.” She sat there with a tight feeling against her chest. She didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. LaRhonda had no idea who fathered Aaron.
“A’ight, Ronnie, let’s handle this like adults. Let’s go take a DNA test tomorrow. I’ll catch all the ends. After that we can see what happens. In the meantime, I think you should stay here with me. I can’t have you and my ki . . . I mean your kids staying in that fucked-up house with yo’ mom. I ain’t tryin’a hear that ’em kids ain’t with you ’cause of yo’ mom. That’s on some real shit, you hear me?” Eric watched for her response.
“So, what, I’m just supposed to pack my shit up and move in with you? What if you ain’t the father? Are you gonna kick my ass out then? You gonna take care of us? All of us? Ain’t no man tryin’a do that. C’mon, Eric, tell me why you really want me here.”
“Ain’t nobody puttin’ a gun to yo’ head. You got a choice.” Eric inched closer to her on the sofa. “I truly care about you and what happens to you. I’ve seen all the shit you been through. You need something good in your life. Besides that boy Aaron look just like my ass.” He smiled at her, hoping she would agree.
Tears filled her eyes. This can’t be happening. Why does he want to do this? She couldn’t hold back her sobs. For the first time since Vincent got locked up she actually had hope for her future. “Thank you,” she said through sobs and sniffles.
DNA? LaRhonda’s tears covered her uncertainty, but she was going to sop up all he would give. After pulling on his heart strings a little more with Vincent’s latest slap in the face, her cunning mind tricked him into picking up her things by her mother’s house and bringing them back. Handing him over the keys to her mother’s house was easy; she didn’t want to show her face around there if she didn’t have to. Eric left her to herself.
After he left, she looked around the apartment. She’d been there before, but never by herself. Snooping was her favorite hobby and she had nothing but time on her hands. Opening cabinets, drawers, looking through the mail left on the table; she looked through every nook and cranny and found nothing out of the ordinary. He was straight up; no guns and no drugs.
LaRhonda’s phone buzzed on the coffee table, causing her to jump. “Oh shit,” she gasped, holding her chest. She walked over and picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Ronnie, it’s me, Shawna . . .”
“Let me guess, you callin’ me to ask me why I ain’t call you when I came back, blah, blah, blah . . .”
Shawna twisted her lips. “Didn’t you get my text the other night?”
“No,” LaRhonda lied. She didn’t want to be bothered by her shit at one-thirty in the morning.
Shawna couldn’t understand what her problem was; she knew Ronnie was lying. “Okay, did you know Keisha was gay?”
LaRhonda smiled and played the role. “What? No way . . . What you talkin’ ’bout?”
Shawna could sense she was missing something. “Did she tell you she was?”
LaRhonda couldn’t keep her chuckles quiet; her sarcasm leaked more. “Shawna, you can’t be serious. Are we talkin’ ’bout our KeKe?”
“Oh so that’s how it goes after so many years. You of all people should know better. I helped you . . . my mother helped you, even my father, now you and Keisha wanna act like y’all don’t want nothin’ to do with me. What the fuck did I do to y’all?” Shawna voiced with a harsh temper to match. She tried to calm herself, awaiting a rapid response from Ronnie.
LaRhonda was shocked by the conviction of her words; it seemed she actually meant it. She sat there in silence on the phone.
“Ronnie . . . This is what I mean. What the fuck!”
“Stop with drama . . . What you want me to say, Shawna?” LaRhonda put the phone on speaker, continuing to nose around.
“It’s just funny to me how you don’t think it’s a problem. And not only that, but the fact that you knew and didn’t say nothin’ to me. Of all people—me, like I’m someone who don’t know you. That hurt, Ronnie. That really hurts.”
“Please don’t start cryin’. You act like you don’t do shit to people either. Remember when we came to yo’ job to take you out for lunch on some real nice shit? You acted like we was fleas off a dog or somethin’. I ain’t trip though, neither did KeKe. Now ’cause people ain’t tell you some shit ’bout they fuckin’ business you trippin’. C’mon, Shawna. Sometimes people just wan—”
Shawna was steaming. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Ronnie, I know yo’ whole shit inside and out. I know shit you ain’t never tell no one. Y’all did the same shit to me when I was in high school. We not in school no more. You know what, my boss was right, I do need to leave this ghetto shit behind me. I’ll be on the inside while y’all just lookin’ in. Bye!”
LaRhonda’s jaw dropped at the sound of the click. Ain’t nobody need her ass. Ghetto? She wasn’t callin’ nobody ghetto when we was beatin’ the shit outta bitches for her. Boogie-ass bitch! She was never part of my hood anyway! LaRhonda picked up her phone and sent a text.
Yo KeKe guess who ain’t our friend no more? LOL
She sat there for a few minutes, waiting for Keisha’s reply, but never received anything. Just as she was about to dial her number there was a knock at the door. I didn’t say where I was at to nobody, she thought, tiptoeing to the door. She stood on her toes and looked through the peephole. What the fuck is he doin’ here?
“LaRhonda, I know you in there. Just open the door. Eric sent me with some of yo’ shit.”
LaRhonda unlocked the door and asked, “Why he sent you of all people?”
“You gonna help or just run yo’ mouth? Some of yo’ shit still by the elevator so I suggest you move and let me do what I got to do before yo’ shit start disappearin’.” He moved past her with a box of toys.
“That ain’t mine . . .” Looking in the box after he put it on the floor, she saw that the toys were still in packages. “Shotta, this ain’t my shit. You didn’t steal this shit?” Her eyes widened like a kid on Christmas Day.
“You did it again. You done got him to fall for yo’ dog-and-pony show again. I just hope you ain’t teachin’ yo’ daughter that shit,” he said, turning toward the door to retrieve the rest of the stuff by the elevator.
/>
“You just mad I ain’t let you hit it twice. I’m sure that’s the norm for you. Lawd knows how many groupies you done ran through every time you book some damn studio time.” She stuck her middle finger up in the air. LaRhonda didn’t care what he called her; all she could think of was how was she going to get out this DNA test Eric got set up in the upcoming days.
After Shotta brought most of her stuff in along with new shopping bags she quickly shoved him out the door. Not hearing the kids she went in to check on them; still fast asleep. LaRhonda heard her phone in the distance. She walked back to the living room and answered her phone. “What’s up?”
“Shit . . . You spoke to Shawna lately?” Keisha lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
“Damn, I ain’t speak to you in a minute. You got my text earlier?”
“Nah, I ain’t get nothin’. I’ve been working a lot. So you ain’t speak to Shawna? Nah she ain’t tryin’a talk to my ass for nothin’.” Keisha laughed nervously.
“No, you didn’t!” LaRhonda laughed, bringing tears to her eyes.
“Why you laughing so damn hard?”
“’Cause, my last conversation with her she wasn’t my friend and definitely not yours. How she making changes and leavin’ the ghetto shit for us hood folks. Who she think she is? Oh, yeah, and how you told me you gay, but you ain’t tell her.” LaRhonda didn’t laugh; she waited silently for Keisha’s reaction. Will she lie? I wonder....
Keisha sat up quickly. She didn’t answer right away; she couldn’t, she was cornered. “Umm . . .”
LaRhonda’s ears perked up. Will she finally confess?
“I never told you this . . . or anybody ’round the way. Yes, I am gay.” Keisha waited for the barrage of questions.
LaRhonda chose not to lie about her knowledge. “I know.”
Keisha’s eyes widened, raising her to her feet. “How the fuck did you know?”
“Really, KeKe, c’mon now . . . it’s ’bout time you stop frontin’,” LaRhonda spoke with ease.
Keisha didn’t believe what she just heard. She never slipped when they were younger and even now she kept a tight lid on her escapades.
“First of all, you never got a man; second, you always in the fuckin’ city down over there by SoHo. What, you think I’m stupid or that I wouldn’t figure it out by now?” LaRhonda didn’t let her in on her snooping skills or how much she really knew.
“You act like I ain’t never had no dude. I guess you forgot ’bout that night in Hollis, Queens,” Keisha reminded her.
“Hollis, Queens . . . I remember no such night. Anyway what’s up with you? I saw your moms downtown, but she acted like she ain’t hear me. I figured I’d hear why from you.” LaRhonda changed the subject quickly; that night in Hollis, Queens was a hot mess she would never talk of.
“She kicked me out. I’m at that cheap motel by Gateway Mall,” Keisha said with a little shame in her voice.
“Gateway? You rode your bike all the way over there?”
“It ain’t that far for someone that exercises. Ha-ha . . .” Keisha said.
LaRhonda didn’t bother to laugh at her stupid remark. “So what you gonna do? You ain’t gonna stay there are you?” she asked.
“Umm, ain’t nowhere else I could go. You tryin’a put me up? Where you at anyway?” Keisha asked curiously.
“Ahh . . . Well I ain’t by my moms for sure. I’m in Marcy staying with . . . Eric.” LaRhonda stayed silent after stating her whereabouts.
“Eric . . . Eric? How in the hell did you get him to do that? You know Vincent gonna find out and when he does he gonna pay someone to hurt you like he did it himself. You playing with fire, girl. Unless . . .” Keisha shook her head, pulling a cigarette from the Newport box on the nightstand.
“Well, what you want me to do? I’m tired of kicking my mother out the house every other fuckin’ night. Everything I own including my fuckin’ drawers I gotta keep under lock and key. And I ain’t talkin’ ’bout any little old lock on a door either. I’m talkin’ ’bout doubling up. Two locks on the room door and combination locks on suitcases and shit. After the first week I had to buy both my kids shoes ’cause they fuckin’ grandma done got into the room somehow and stole they shit. I’m tired of that. And if fuckin’ Eric wanna play daddy then let him. ’Cause my real baby daddy ain’t doin’ shit but time right now. Fuck . . . I need him more than ever now.” LaRhonda looked at the window, staring out at the sun beaming onto the playground’s slide.
Keisha didn’t know how to react to that statement. The only person LaRhonda had ever lived with was Vincent. All the other niggas she fucked was just that: niggas she fucked. They meant nothing; she seemed addicted to the lifestyle it bought: more popularity and more gifts. When she met Vincent it was abusive from the start. He demanded to see her, forced her to skip school and stay with him, ultimately impregnating her with Diamond in her junior year of high school. Keisha knew about the triangle affair she had going on and always thought Eric was Aaron’s dad.
“So you ain’t mad that I didn’t tell you nothin’ ’bout—”
“You lickin’ pussy instead of suckin’ on some dick?” LaRhonda laughed.
“Stop that shit okay. ’Cause it’s my business not yours.”
“You right ’bout that. Yup, all yours and nobody else’s, just like mine,” Ronnie said, giving her a hint to her privacy.
“Yeah, so what’s the deal with Shawna?”
“She on her shit, again. Just ’cause we ain’t disclose all our secrets we ain’t friends. Oh yeah, I can’t forget we ghetto, too, ’cause her boss say so. She on that ‘high and mighty, she better than us’ type bullshit. You know she used to do this in high school, too. Remember when I got prego and she was the last one I told? She didn’t talk to neither one of us ’til Diamond was born. Then it was like she Aunty Shawna and shit. Crazy bitch, if you ask me. She just wanna always be down,” LaRhonda added, putting in her hate.
“Nah, you know how she is. Is that what she said?”
“Umm, basically . . . Why you so worried ’bout what she think anyway? She’ll be back wanting our input on something. Besides she workin’ with that record label now and trust me she got no fashion sense or swag to keep her job.” LaRhonda laughed.
“True that! A’ight so what you doin’ with Eric? You know he gonna want a DNA test. I don’t think he wants to take care of somebody else’s child too,” Keisha said.
“Who told you that? Did you talk to Eric?” LaRhonda questioned, showing some paranoia in her tone.
Keisha wasn’t surprised that LaRhonda had some scheme in the works. “Damn, relax. Ain’t nobody seen nobody. I told you I ain’t been around. So what’s really goin’ on, Ronnie?”
“A’ight, I’ma be real. I didn’t force Eric into letting us stay here; he suggested it. And yes, he said he wanted a DNA test and how he gonna set it up and pay for it. Between me and you I don’t know if Vincent the father or if he is. Shit, when I got prego I just went with Vincent ’cause he was back and on top again. Eric was fun, but never had enough thug in him for me.” LaRhonda finally admitted out loud some truth.
“So how you planning to dodge a DNA test?”
“I’m not. He said even if Aaron ain’t his he gonna let us stay anyway ’cause he don’t want us back my moms.”
Keisha shook her head and sparked another cigarette. “Ronnie, do you believe him? ’Cause I sure as hell don’t.”
LaRhonda wanted to end the conversation; she sat in silence thinking back momentarily. Nah, he couldn’t be. It was just that one time and it was quick. Shit, I’m fucking scared.
“Ronnie . . . LaRhonda, don’t act like you ain’t heard me,” Keisha said.
“Well, we’ll see. Anyway, panty-licker, I gotta go. I can hear Aaron waking up. I’ll call you.”
“I guess I can expect you to say shit like that now, but don’t expect me not to punch you dead in yo’ face if you take that shit too far.” Keisha made it known not to play the name-calling
game with her.
“Whateva . . . I’ll call you.” LaRhonda ended the call.
Sitting back on the sofa, LaRhonda could hear the kids rustling around in the room. “Damn, here we go. Diamond, don’t jump on that bed; you are gonna end up hurting yo’ brother.” She headed for the kitchen, peeking into the bags on the countertop. “I wonder which one of these bags got yo’ bottles, son. I know I brought a new pack.”
She was happy that Keisha finally came out. It was hard for LaRhonda to combat the rumors floating around the hood for her much longer. But she couldn’t worry about that anymore; she had bigger things to worry about.
8
Keisha
Damn, I gotta get some place to stay. This fuckin’ shit is gettin’ on my last nerve. Shit, it’s like these motherfuckers don’t die. After staying at the cheap hotel for a few nights, Keisha desperately wanted to leave. The roaches moving about made her skin crawl; every way she looked, every drawer she pulled open. Shit, we had these bad boys but damn at least it was under control, she thought, shaking out her knapsack over the tub. One, two, three flew out her bag . . . Oh hell fuckin’ no!
Keisha shook her bag one last time and nothing came out. She took a small duffel bag out the closet, and packed the few hanging clothes and a small shopping bag filled with undergarments. She had one option and that was Nicole. The only downside foreseen was Nicole’s stalker ways. Keisha could remember the first time she met Nicole; it was fun.
“I have a delivery.”
“Okay, who’s it from?” Nicole asked.
“Umm . . . Shore Real Estate. Are you going to let me in? I have other deliveries to make.”
“Oh no, yo’ ass comin’ up here because I definitely want yo’ name so I can let your boss know how rude you are.”
The door buzzed loudly. Keisha walked up two flights of stairs and saw a young woman with pale white skin, deep-set blue eyes, brunette hair, and a skinny body type with her hand on her hip and a pen and paper in her hand. Damn, I could have sworn she was black.
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