by Jontu'
Another Hood Love 2
by
Jontu
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© 2015
Published by Leo Sullivan Presents
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All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.
Prologue
My truck had been slammed for the second time and the impact of the blow had tossed each of us around. I opened my eyes and everything was discombobulated for a moment. Once my eyes and brain had adjusted, I could see red and blue lights all around me. Tone was laid across me but I couldn’t move at all, my legs felt heavy and I couldn’t force either of them to move an inch. I called out for Laela but it barely came out a whisper. I kept trying, as each time my voice got louder.
“Laela! Tone, baby! Fuck, Jah!” I was beginning to panic because they were all unresponsive. This couldn’t be life and I was getting angry. My first thought was to pray but it seemed as if it was too late for all of that. I’d prayed every day and night for the people that I loved but now look at the situation we were in.
I thought about the baby in my stomach and I hoped that no harm had been brought to my child. Before tonight, it never even crossed my mind that I could be pregnant but now that I knew that I was, it seemed to take precedence above everything else. I began to get angry, I could hear voices around me but they seemed to not be doing anything.
“Help us! Please, help us! My boyfriend, my brother and sister need help!” I yelled as loud as I could. “Please save us, save my baby,” I cried. As I screamed uncontrollably, I began to cuss my father, “I hate you, daddy! I hate you, Dupree fucking Johnson!” I cried so hard because I felt like I had been living in a life geared for disaster since the day he had driven our car into that lake.
I was crying and trying my hardest to force my limbs to move but nothing happened. I could hear the voices around me getting closer but I felt as if I couldn’t make out what they were saying. My mind was getting foggy and I felt as if everything was spinning around me. I turned my head and kissed the back of Tone’s head which was laying a couple of inches away from mine. I didn’t need to see his face to know that he was gone, but still I kissed him over and over again until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. The noises around me made me feel as if I was in a warehouse or something with loud machines and raised voices. I finally let the weights on my eyelids win and I closed my eyes, praying for my soul and forgiveness for the sins of my father and my loved ones. I prayed that there was a spot in heaven for each one of us.
Chapter 1
I opened my eyes but the lights were just way too bright and I had to blink a few times in order to adjust them. Once I opened my eyes, it was like everything came flooding back to me all at once. As soon as the events began to play back to me, bile rose up my throat and I leaned over the hospital bed railing and threw up yellow and white liquid. It was at that moment that I realized that I was restrained. As I looked at my left arm, I saw that my wrist was handcuffed to my bed and there was an officer standing in my doorway. I hit the call button with my free hand and lay my head back as tears fell from my eyes.
All I could think about was my sister and Tone. I just knew I was going to die in that car but if I survived then there was a possibility that they could have survived as well and I needed to know now. I rubbed my hand over my stomach and I actually felt a slight protrusion that I hadn’t noticed before.
“Ms. Johnson, you’re finally back here with us.” A tall black man with salt and pepper hair and name badge that read Dr. Finnerman walked towards me holding a medical chart followed by a short Asian woman who I assumed to be the nurse. I had seen enough television to know that when doctor’s made that statement, it meant you were just waking up from unconsciousness.
I tried to think back to that night and I didn’t remember coming into the hospital, I didn’t even remember getting pulled from my truck. “Where is my family?” I asked in a very hoarse voice. It hurt so bad to talk but I needed answers.
The expression on the doctor’s face changed to a look of pity. I knew that meant bad news and honestly, I had hope that if I made it then we all made it. “How about we check your vitals first young lady and then we will have a little conversation, alright?”
I shook my head as the doctor checked my blood pressure and other vitals. I could also hear a funny heartbeat and as I looked over I saw that it was the heartbeat of my baby. I was relieved to know that my child and I had both made it out alive. My heart was heavy for my sister, Jah and Tone, and I didn’t know what the bad news was yet.
“Nurse Nguyen, can you please go have somebody to come clean up this vomit while Ms. Johnson and I have a small chat?”
The small nurse nodded and smiled at me before leaving the room. The doctor raised the head of my bed some so that I was sitting up and I scooted up the best that I could. My legs and body were on fire. I was in so much pain but at the moment I didn’t give a damn. Dr. Finnerman must have read the discomfort in my face because he pressed a button that caused liquid to release into my I.V.
“Young lady, you have been unconscious for a little over a month. You were in a coma and while your brain functions and everything else were not damaged as a result of your other injuries, your body had gone into shock and you took what I like to call a well needed nap.” I stared at the doctor. I didn’t care about my condition; I just wanted to know about my family. “I’m sorry to say that your injuries were very mild in comparison to your friends. Your baby is fine and your injuries will heal in time but you are aware by the handcuffs that you are in a bit of trouble.” I shook my head and rubbed my hand over my belly again, saying a silent thank you to God that he had spared my child.
“What happened to my family?” I asked, staring directly in his eyes.
“I am sorry to say that you were the only survivor of that crash. One of the boys had multiple fatal gunshot wounds and he was deceased when paramedics arrived on the scene. The young lady that we know to be your sister was in very bad shape when help arrived. She had fractures in her neck and spine and two punctures in her lungs from the impact of the crash. She was unresponsive but still alive when she was brought through the emergency room. We did all that we could to save her but her body was not strong enough to withstand the trauma sustained.”
I shook my head as tears erupted from my eyes, I was so hurt and angry and I just couldn’t believe that the people I loved were gone just like that. It was unreal and so unfair. I wasn’t sure that I would get through this, especially combined with the fact that I was more than likely going to jail.
At that moment, I wished I would have died with them but then I thought about the life of my child that was spared and I didn’t know how I would make it through but I had to for my baby. “What about my boyfriend Antonio?” I asked scared of the details that he would give me.
“Yes, the second male passenger was the most gruesome. He had sustained two bullet wounds to his torso area and due to the impact of the crash and the amount of debris caused by it, he was found with a large part of the front windshield that had lodged in his eye and it had punctured his brain. The damage was too great and he was also pronounced deceased at the scene.” The doctor grabbed my hand and handed me some tissues. “I’m so sorry for your losses, Jaeda, but you have to be strong for your child. I talked with your Uncle Kenneth
and he told me that when you had awakened to tell you that he has a hired lawyer to fight your case and not to worry. Due to weapons being found in the vehicle and the other victims sustaining gunshot wounds, they are trying to charge you with weapons and drug charges which leads to why you are handcuffed to your bed.”
It was too much to process. “So how bad were my injuries? My body is on fire and my legs feel like pins and needles are sticking me all over,” I addressed the doctor.
“Well, you sustained injuries to your back and legs as well as a dislocated shoulder. You have two broken legs and came in with a fractured vertebrae and we were able to perform surgery to repair your spinal injury by inserting pedicle screws to join the vertebrae.” I took in all that he had to say with a heavy heart. “Over the next couple of months, it will form back into one solid bone and you will feel back to normal. You should be back to your normal self within three months. Your leg casts will be removed in two weeks but you will definitely need some physical therapy in order to heal properly.”
I shook my head and let my bed down some then I turned away from the doctor because I had nothing else to say to anybody. My heart was crushed.
Dr. Finnerman got up and rubbed my back. “I will be back to check on you later, get some rest.”
How could I rest? I had just lost the people that meant the most to me all at the same time. “Doc, how far along am I?” I asked right before he got to the door.
“You’re about 15 weeks along,” he said and then exited my room.
It was sickening to know that my child would never know their father and I would never get to walk down the aisle with the man that I loved more than anything. Jah and Laela would never get to meet their niece or nephew or even to experience their own child. I was already hurt about Sage’s death but to deal with the loss of the three people I would have given my last to was unbearable. I cried hard, loud sobs and screams escaped from my soul as I cried over this loss. I began to feel drowsy as the medicine started to take effect so I closed my eyes and let my baby’s heartbeat lull me to sleep. I dreamed of my sister, Jah and Tone. What would I be without them?
Chapter 2
I had been released from the hospital after spending 3 more weeks there for rehabilitation and was currently sitting in juvenile hall. I was 17 years old and going on five months pregnant. This was definitely not where I wanted to be but I had to play the cards how they were dealt. I was battling depression and trying to remain sane and healthy for the sake of my child.
The bitches in here made you want to commit murder. These hoes were in here looking like the brides of Frankenstein but had the nerve to talk shit about anybody and everybody. All these hoes wanted to play hard but the ones that talked the most shit were the ones who were the scariest. They were all bark and no bite, but I didn’t worry because for the most part, nobody really tried me. Most of the hoes knew about me from the streets.
Gas Squad rang bells and even with more than half of my Squad dead or gone, we had earned a lot of respect so bitches always wanted to be down, trying to give me free shit but I didn’t take anything from anybody. For one, I didn’t want anybody to ever say that they gave me shit and two, I wasn’t putting none of these hoes on, nor was I protecting any of them. I was loyal to Gas Squad in life and in death. Fuck these bitches.
I was recently sentenced to 120 days for gun possession and eluding police, as well as possession of marijuana. My prints weren’t on any of the weapons so they couldn’t do much to me but apparently they couldn’t just let me off scot-free so I would do my time and once I was free, I was done with everything the streets had to offer, including street niggas.
I couldn’t go back to that life. I had a child to live for and that life took my loved ones not to mention that Rico was still sitting in jail too. Lexis, Greg and B had all been to visit me and I could see the pain in each of their eyes every time. It was hard looking at them knowing that what we all once knew as life was no more. Gas Squad was incomplete and I couldn’t go back to the very streets that stole the most precious pieces of my heart. That would be like a slap in God’s face after he had so graciously spared the lives of me and my child.
I had money put up in various accounts and safes and I was set for a while. Gio had transferred all of the money from the interest account and a little over half of the money in the business account into one of the offshore accounts that we had and was still managing the stocks while I couldn’t. He had also informed me of a safe that was in his and Jah’s house that held a quarter million dollars in drugs and about $650,000 in cash, but I was the only one living that knew about the safe in our hideout apartment. I had told B that if he and Lexis wanted to still run the blocks that I would hand it over to them. I had already talked to Uncle Ken about it and he was all for letting them take over and assigning new members to the team. I had instructed Gio to take $200,000 out of the money from the safe at his home and deposit it into Rico’s offshore account. I would give the remaining Gas Squad members $75,000 each and Gio was to keep the remaining $225,000 and half of the product while giving the rest to the Squad. I would hand over $100,000 of my own money to Uncle Ken to walk away from it all so that I could live my life.
Gio and his now fiancée China were expecting their first child and I was so appreciative of everything he had done for my sister and I but I didn’t want him to continue to handle too many things for me, especially since Jah was gone. He assured me that we would always be family and he would always be there for the baby and me but I felt like I just needed to rebuild myself to become the best parent that I could be for my child. I still had the property that Uncle Ken had gifted us the night of the accident. I would keep my and Laela’s homes but I was leaving it up to Gio and Uncle Ken about what to do with Tone and Jah’s property.
I could do this little time a little easier knowing that I had nothing to worry about when I touched down. The hardest part of life for me was ignoring the sinking feeling that I got in the morning when I woke up after I realized that being in Tone’s arms was a dream, that hearing Laela’s voice was just a part of the tricks my mind still played on me and being able to chill with Jah again would only be able to be done if my eyes were closed. I experienced nights where I prayed for death to take me because I couldn’t bear to be forcefully snatched away from them in the transition of sweet dreams to nightmares. I had so many bad days where the guards had to force me to come out for visits or for a meal because I was so deep into my depression that the very thought of never seeing Laela again made me vomit uncontrollably. But knowing that I had people in the world that still loved me helped to mend some of the pieces of my heart and every time I felt the flutter of my child in my stomach, I remembered that I was a survivor and I would be damned if I let them pay the price for my sins. I would be out of jail a month before my due date so I needed to remain healthy so that I wouldn’t onset pre-term labor and end up delivering my child in jail.
I lay on my cot and stared at the wall. There were pictures of the Squad all together, just hanging on the block, and I had some of me and Laela when we were younger and also pictures of Baby Jahlisa. My eyes landed on the pictures from Sage’s funeral and then the pictures from prom. I wondered had we decided not to go to prom like Laela and I had discussed after Sage’s death if they still be alive. They say that if it’s your time to go that there is no way to avoid it but I just wonder sometimes if the outcome would have been different had we stayed home; like maybe God took them on accident. I cried silent tears as I drifted off to sleep. The familiar feeling of my heart sinking into my stomach returned and embraced it like a long lost friend.
Chapter 3
Today was the day I was to be released from the hall and I was relieved to be over it all. Four months among a bunch of catty ass, bum ass bitches was enough for me. I couldn’t understand how career criminals did this shit. Them hoes came into the hall and it was like a reunion for some of them. They would have just gotten out 30 days ago and be right back i
nside like it wasn’t shit. That shit was dumb as hell and I wanted no parts of it.
I sat on my cot big as a house and talked to one of the girls I had been cool with during my time in here. I hadn’t made too many associates while I was in here but I had run into this girl named April that I had met at a party a while back with Sage. She and Sage were first cousins and we had clicked in here. She was real cool and had about another month before she would be released.
I watched as April braided this girl named Neka’s hair, the broad looked hella familiar but I couldn’t place her face. Neka had just gotten here a couple of days ago. She was a loudmouthed hoodrat with a staring problem and she got a pass only because I was hella pregnant. It was taking everything in me not to take off on this hoe as she kept eyeing me while getting her hair braided.
“So have you thought about what you will name the baby?” April asked as she looked up from the braid that she was finishing up.
“Yeah. Antonio Jr. for a boy or Laelani Antonia for a girl.” I wasn’t sure what I was having yet and I wouldn’t know until I got out and went to the OB/GYN. I had an appointment already scheduled for next week.
“Aww, that’s cute. Antonio and Antonia. I used to fuck with this guy named Antonio,” Neka said while looking up at me as she started laughing to herself. “Matter fact, the last time I saw him, we had a quickie in the bathroom at prom. He wanted to fuck but I didn’t want to mess up my dress.” She smacked her lips like the ghetto bitch she was. “It was good we didn’t, though, because soon as I left out the bathroom, his girlfriend hit the corner. That was my boo for like two years but he was killed the same night.”
I jumped off my cot with lightning speed and slapped the shit out of her. This was the same bitch I had fought at the lake hella long ago when Tone and I first started talking. I was furious that she had the nerve to even speak my man’s name, especially now that he was dead and gone. I was mad at myself for not even peeping who the bitch was from the gate, but I was even more pissed at Tone because I knew that what she was saying was probably somewhat true.