by Ashley
“Man, Hova ain’t messing with nobody but you. He ain’t trying to be associated with anybody black. That’s why you need to holla at your boy, so we can get back in it.” Quinn pulled onto Destiny’s street.
Kalil was about to respond, but his words stuck in his throat when he saw the little girl riding her bike in the middle of the street. His eyes were glued to her, and his heartbeat sped up. She was identical to him in every way. Their bronze skin tone was identical, and their almond-shaped eyes were the same shade of dark brown.
Quinn pulled the car toward the curb and parked as Jada ran up to him.
“Uncle Quinn!” she yelled as she bum-rushed him with a hug.
He hugged her back. “I got a surprise for you.”
“What is it?” she asked eagerly as she patted his pockets.
Usually he would give her money or jewelry when he came over, so she was excited to see her new gift. Quinn patted his body and snapped his fingers in defeat. “Dang, I think I left it in the car. Go get it from my partner in the passenger seat.”
Jada looked toward the car and ran over to the door. “My uncle said you have my”—She couldn’t complete her sentence when she saw her father sitting in the car. She hadn’t seen him since she was four years old, but she loved him dearly. Although she was very young when he went away, the feeling of security and unconditional love that she felt when she was around her father was something that she would never forget. His face was forever implanted in her mind, and she immediately recognized him.
“Daddy!” she screamed as she jumped into his lap.
Kalil grabbed his daughter and held her tightly as he rocked her back and forth. He stood up out of the car with her still in his arms. “Hey, baby girl,” he cooed as she clung on to his neck, her legs wrapped around his body. He could feel tears running from her face.
“I love you, Daddy,” she cried. “Don’t leave me again. You were gone for a long time.”
“Don’t worry about nothing, baby girl. I love you so much, I’ll never leave you again. Daddy’s home to stay.”
“You promise?”
“I promise, Jada.”
When he placed her gently back on the ground, she ran and hit her Uncle Quinn lightly in the stomach. She yelled, “You kept a secret from me, Uncle Quinn!”
Quinn couldn’t help but laugh at her attempts to beat him up. He picked her up and spun her around above his head. “I had to keep it a surprise, big head.” He laughed as he put her down.
Kalil looked down at his daughter. She had gotten so big, and he had missed so much time in her life. He smiled as he noticed for the first time what she was wearing. She wore baggy jeans that were twice her size and one of his old Rocawear hoodies that swallowed her tiny frame. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and she wore a fitted baseball cap on her head. The last time he’d seen her, she was pretty in pink. Now she was a tomboy.
That’s my baby girl, Kalil thought to himself. He knelt in front of his daughter. “Where’s your mama?”
“She in the house,” Jada replied.
Quinn came up behind Jada and picked her up and put her on his shoulders. He looked at Kalil. “Go handle your business with Destiny. I’ll keep an eye on Jada.”
Kalil walked into the house and heard Lyfe Jennings’s voice coming out of the surround-sound system he’d purchased before he went to prison. He could smell the scent of incense burning, a look of disgrace crossing his face as he looked around the filthy house. Destiny was slipping. She was getting trifling, and he knew he had to straighten her out now that he was home.
As he made his way through the house, he called out, “Des!” His voice was drowned out by the loud music. “This girl got my daughter living in this dirty-ass house,” he mumbled as he stepped over pizza boxes and empty Heineken bottles. He tripped over a large pair of boots in the middle of the floor but caught his bearings before he fell. “Damn!” he yelled as he picked up the pair of boots. He frowned when he realized that they were a size twelve. I know Destiny ain’t had a nigga in my house.
He walked toward her bedroom door, and as soon as he opened it, his suspicions were confirmed. Destiny was on her knees hitting off Fatboy. Stunned to the point of silence, Kalil felt a thousand daggers shoot through his chest.
Fatboy looked up and saw Kalil standing in the doorway, and he nodded as a smirk grew on his face. Fatboy could see the devastation and anger in Kalil’s face, and it felt good to be degrading his baby moms right in front of him.
Yeah, nigga, watch me bag your bitch. You ain’t on top no more. This my bitch. Fatboy put his hand on the back of Destiny’s head and guided it up and down on his shaft. He knew that he was getting the best revenge for all of the times that Kalil had punked him before going to prison. He continued to look at Kalil with a smirk as Destiny gave him the best oral sex of his life. He was grinding into her mouth, one of his hands resting on the back of her head, the other on the pistol that sat near him on the bed.
He felt the orgasm building. “You gon’ swallow it for me, ma?”
Before she could answer, he exploded in her mouth and she swallowed it. “Hmm,” she moaned.
Kalil shook his head and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to believe what he’d just witnessed. His temper quickly began to rise as he opened his eyes. “You dirty bitch,” he stated as he laughed lightly. He had to laugh to keep from choking the shit out of her. “You stink-ass bitch!” He hit the wall and turned to leave the room.
“Kalil? Oh my God!” Destiny screamed. “Baby, it’s not what it looks like.” She rose from her knees and made her way to him.
Kalil couldn’t believe that Destiny would pull that tramp shit on him. He had been messing around with her for years, and although he didn’t expect her to stay faithful while he was away, he would’ve never pictured her with Fatboy. Fatboy and Kalil had been adversaries for a long time. Their beef was nothing new, and Destiny was well aware of the history between the two men.
“This nigga? You up in here sucking dick while my daughter outside by herself? You had my daughter around this mu’fucka?” Kalil grabbed her by the neck and shoved her hard against the wall.
Tears fell from Destiny’s eyes when she saw the devastated look on Kalil’s face.
He pinned her against the wall and punched beside her head, causing her to jump. The pain that he felt from her betrayal surprised even him.
“Wait, Kalil. Baby, I love you. I’m sorry,” she shouted as she cried hysterically.
Fatboy smiled as he stood and pulled up his pants. He mugged Kalil as he picked up his Tims and slowly put them on his feet. “Yo’ bitch give some good head.” Then he peeled off a couple hundred dollars and threw them on the floor. “Thanks for the entertainment, Destiny. Yo’ nigga too broke to feed you, so take that money and buy you and your brat something to eat.”
Just the mention of his daughter from Fat-boy’s lips sent him into a different mind state. “What?” Kalil pushed Destiny one last time and then violently lunged for Fatboy.
Fatboy reached for his pistol, but before he could withdraw it from his waistline, Kalil picked up one of the empty Heineken bottles and smashed it across the side of his face.
“Kalil, I’m sorry,” Destiny screamed as she watched the two men go blow for blow on her living room floor. “Stop it!” she yelled.
Kalil didn’t hear her cries. All he could see was red. He continually raised his fist and brought it down hard over Fatboy’s face as he pummeled him, blood spraying across the floor with every punch. He was sure that his hand was broken because he could feel the pain shoot through his arm, but he was relentless in his attack.
Afraid that Kalil would eventually kill Fatboy, Destiny ran outside. “Quinn, help me! They’re in here fighting!”
Quinn rushed into the house, with Jada not far behind him. When he walked in, he saw the two men tussling on the floor. He rushed over to Kalil, but instead of stopping the fight, he jumped in. He didn’t give a damn about how it star
ted, but he was definitely going to help his boy finish it. They both kicked and stomped at Fatboy. Nobody could save Fatboy from the ass-whupping he was receiving.
The sight of her father and uncle beating on Fatboy and the amount of blood that was covering the white carpet of the living room floor frightened Jada. “Daddy, stop it!”
The sound of Jada’s voice snapped Kalil out of his fit of rage. He looked down at Fatboy. He mashed his face in the broken glass as he talked to him, “You bitch nigga, the next time you pull a gun on me, you better squeeze the trigger.”
Kalil got up and shook his hand in excruciation. “Fuck!” He held his hand out in front of him and opened and closed his fist repeatedly, to see if he had any serious damage.
“Baby, wait!” Destiny chased after Kalil as he stormed out the house.
Kalil knew that if he turned around, he would haul off and slap the shit out of her, so he ignored her cries. He scooped Jada in his arms and headed for Quinn’s car.
“Nigga, where are you going with my daughter? Huh? Kalil!” She followed him all the way to Quinn’s car. Kalil turned around and faced her. She could see the look of disgust in his eyes.
“Destiny, I’m done with your ass. I’m taking my daughter with me for a couple days. I’ll bring her back when you get your shit together. What the fuck were you thinking? Huh, bitch? You got that mu’fucka all up in my crib, around my daughter?”
Destiny couldn’t find a reply. At a time she had desperately loved Kalil. When he was on top of the world and kept her living lavish, she was more than faithful. She never thought about what she would do when he fell from grace, and eventually she began to stray from him. She knew that she was dead wrong. All she could do was stand on the curb sobbing as she watched the car pull away.
Kalil carried Jada up the steps that led to Quinn’s small apartment. He laid her down on the couch, turned on the television, and then walked into the kitchen. He opened the freezer door and pulled out the ice tray. “I can’t believe Destiny would pull this shit.” Kalil submerged his hand in a bowl of ice. “Did you know about them fucking around?”
Quinn shook his head. “Nah. I mean, I’ve heard things from around the way about them, but I never had proof. I asked her about it once and she denied it, so I took her word as bond. I didn’t want to tell you no bullshit that would have your head fucked up in prison, so I just kept it at that.”
Kalil looked toward the living room where his daughter rested. “She so busy sucking that fat nigga dick that she can’t teach my daughter how to be a lady. She dressing like a boy and shit, running around here with her hair all wild.” He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “I can’t go back there, yo, because the way I feel right now, I’ll kill her, Quinn.”
Quinn knew how much Kalil had cared for Destiny. When Kalil had first met her she was spoiled. She assumed the position of street royalty because Kalil was the king of the streets. Destiny’s stock went up just by associating with Kalil, but without him she had gone back to being just another hood rat.
“Bro, don’t trip off that shit. You and Destiny been going through bullshit like this since you met her. It’s time to let that go. You can crash here at the cut as long as you need. It’ll be like the old days.”
“Thanks, man. I swear I’ll come up with some dough. I won’t be down for long.”
Quinn’s cell phone rang loudly, interrupting their conversation. He looked down at his caller ID and announced, “It’s Destiny, man.”
Kalil shook his head and then reached for the phone. “Yeah,” he answered.
“Kalil? Kalil, look, it’s not what it looked like. I love you, baby. I swear I was just lonely.”
Kalil rubbed his temple as he exhaled deeply. He had been through this same song and dance with his baby mama before. She would fuck around, get caught, and he would listen to her excuses and then forgive her. In the past he accepted that because he knew that it came with the territory of having a child out of wedlock. Destiny was the mother of his child so he figured he would have to tolerate her bullshit, but their current situation was different. She’d crossed the line, and there was no going back. She knew that he had beef with Fatboy and she still chose to fuck around with him. She wasn’t loyal, and that wasn’t something he was willing to forgive.
Her ass didn’t know that I was coming home this soon. She probably thought that I would never find out, he thought as he held the phone in his hands.
Destiny was crying and lying into the phone, but he wasn’t trying to hear it. There was nothing that she could say to make him change his mind about her now. She was nothing more than a ho to him now. She’d dug her own grave. Now she had to lie in it.
“Des, I’m not doing this with you anymore.”
“What you mean? Why are you doing this to me?”
Kalil couldn’t help but laugh at her. This bitch must be out of her damn mind. He wasn’t about to let her flip the situation and make him think that he was in the wrong. He was very familiar with her art of seduction and manipulation, having fallen for her tears time and time again.
“Des, you did this to yourself. I’m through with you. I’m not fucking with you anymore. That shit you pulled today was more than I can handle. I need a woman that will hold me down, not some trick that will chase behind any nigga that throw a little bit of money her way. You’re lucky that I’m taking this shit as well as I am. I should’ve killed your ass, but I know that you don’t know any better. This is just how you are. You do fucked-up shit and you don’t care who you hurt in the process. The worse part about it is that you don’t learn from the shit, Des. You keep making the same mistakes over and over again. I can’t change you, no matter how much I want to. A ho gon’ always be a ho. I should’ve never tried to turn you into wifey. It’s not in your nature to be a classy chick.”
“You can’t just drop me, Kalil. What am I supposed to do? What about your daughter?”
“You dropped yourself when you started fucking with that chump nigga. You are no longer a concern of mine. Don’t call me for money and don’t come searching for me when that mu’fucka start lumping your shit up. I am done with you.” He could hear her crying, and it almost wore him down. He didn’t know if she was really hurt or if she was acting. She knew that he hated to see her cry and he almost gave in, but every time he even thought about forgiving her, he thought about Fatboy guiding her mouth onto his dick.
“I love you, Kalil. What about Jada?”
“You should have thought about how much you loved me before you got on your knees for that nigga. My daughter doesn’t have shit to do with this. I’m gon’ always be there for her. She is my life, and I will never turn my back on her. You know that I will give her whatever she needs. You, on the other hand, you are no longer my responsibility. You better have Fatboy take care of you.” He hung up the phone and turned it off, knowing that if he didn’t she would blow him up the entire night.
“See you in the morning, fam,” Kalil said to Quinn as he joined Jada in the living room. He sat on the floor next to Jada and watched her sleep peacefully. He smiled at how beautiful she looked. Just the sight of her made him forget about everything that had happened earlier. He rubbed the top of her head softly and nestled his nose against her cheek. She shifted in her sleep and opened her eyes.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?” She placed her small hand on top of his head then patted it lightly.
Kalil laughed. “Nothing, baby girl. Nothing’s wrong. I was just watching you sleep. You know you snore like a pig, right?”
Jada’s eyes got big from embarrassment and she shook her head and laughed. “Uh-uh! No, I don’t.”
Kalil kissed his daughter’s cheek and admired her features. She was a perfect blend of Kalil and Destiny. One thing Destiny did do right is give me a beautiful baby girl.
“I’m glad you’re home, Daddy,” Jada said, interrupting his thoughts. “Can I come live with you and Uncle Quinn?”
Kalil wanted nothing more tha
n to have his daughter come live with him, but he had to get his money up and get his own place first. “Not yet, Jada. I need to get my own spot first, but I promise that we’ll be together soon. Until then I will come see you every day.”
“You promise?” she asked, tears in her eyes.
“I promise.”
Jada gave him the most serious face that her eight-year-old mind could muster and then held up her pinky.
He already knew what that meant, so he held up his pinky and said, “I pinky-swear, baby girl. Now get some sleep.” He kissed her on top of her head, and they both rested their minds for the night.
Chapter Two
Jada tried to get Kalil out of his deep sleep. “Wake up, Daddy, wake up!” Her attempts were useless, so she stuck her finger up his nose.
Kalil opened his eyes and saw his daughter laughing at him.
“Wake up, sleepyhead. I have to go to school.” Jada jumped on top of her father’s back and began to bounce on him, trying to get him to get up.
He briefly pulled his head from underneath the pillow. “Baby girl, you can miss school today. Just let Daddy get ten more minutes.” The only thing on Kalil’s mind was sleep. It had been so long since he’d been able to sleep in. Being locked up, he was always on somebody else’s schedule.
“I have to go to school. Get up!” Jada said as she hopped off of Kalil. “If I miss school, I can’t go to dance class after.”
Kalil realized that he had no choice but to get up. “I’m up, baby girl, I’m up,” he mumbled groggily as he sat up slowly. “Go and get ready.”
Jada didn’t move. She put her hands on her hips and said, “Mommy always does my hair before I go to school.”
Kalil glanced at Jada’s hair and noticed it was a complete mess. Even then, she was the most beautiful girl in the world to him. He didn’t know the first thing about doing hair.