These Streets Don't Love You Like I Do

by Charmanie Saquea

  “Both,” he answered honestly. “I love the fast money but I also love the power and authority I have because of the mark I’m making in the drug game. All my life I was always known as Pharaoh’s son. People never saw me for who I was, they never saw me as Fabion. So I figured I would do something where people would respect me because of who I am and not because of who my pops is. Now I may not be as big as my pops, but I’m damn sure not doing too bad. Gonzalo is going to let me cop fifty keys now instead of the regular twenty-five because my shit sells like crazy,” he explained to her.

  “I don’t even know what the hell that means,” Ahnesty laughed.

  Fabion pulled her on him so she was straddling him. “You’re rolling with a boss and I’m that nigga. That’s what that means.”

  “If you say so, but I never said we were back together. Just because I said I missed you don’t mean I want to be with you.” Ahnesty smiled.

  Fabion rolled his eyes before grabbing her ass. “Keep talking that shit but where are you going? Nowhere. Where I’m going? Nowhere. Nobody is ever going to love you more than me,” he told her.

  “Oh really?” she laughed.

  “Yes, really. No matter what happens between us, you’ll always have my heart. You could walk out that door right now and not speak to me for ten years and your heart would still be mines. We got that love that will never fade. Besides, if you didn’t love a nigga, you wouldn’t be laid up in this big ass house with me.” He smirked.

  “Boy, stop it. What I need for you to know is no matter how much you love these streets; these streets don’t love you like I do. They never will,” she told him.

  “These streets don’t love nobody, baby. I love you more than I could ever love these streets,” he told her before kissing her lips.

  “I’m happy you know.” She smiled.

  For the rest of the night, Ahnesty and Fab cuddled together and talked about everything they could think of. Even though Fabion wasn’t perfect and came with his flaws, Ahnesty knew she could never love anyone more than she loved him. She would be happy when this thing with Khan was over so she could be back with her man.

  ___

  “Ahnesty turn that damn phone off before I throw that bitch out the window,” Fabion mumbled as he rolled over and put a pillow over his head.

  Ahnesty groaned as she reached for her phone, realizing it was four o’clock in the morning.

  “Hello?” she answered groggily.

  “I need to see you,” Khan said.

  She could tell by the tone of his voice that something was wrong. She looked over her shoulder at Fab before returning her attention to the phone.

  “Where are you?” she asked.

  “Seven Mile,” he answered.

  “I’m on my way,” she said before hanging up.

  She slowly climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom. She quickly took a shower before walking back into the room and heading for the closet. She threw on her PINK sweat suit before throwing on some Uggs. She grabbed her keys and was almost out the bedroom door when Fab spoke.

  “Fuck you going?” he asked.

  “I have to go check on something. I’ll be back,” she told him and rushed out of the room before he could say anything else.

  She went to the kitchen and hopped on the elevator to go to the underground garage. She wanted to take her Bentley but she didn’t want Khan questioning her about it, so she settled for her Benz.

  She pulled up on Seven Mile and parked behind his truck. She got out and quickly walked to his passenger’s side and got in.

  “What’s wrong? I thought you were in Miami?” she asked.

  “I was but I had to come back. Somebody hit two of my traps while I was gone,” he told her.

  Oh shit. Zon didn’t tell me he was going to rob him yet.

  “Damn. You didn’t have anything there, did you?” she asked, playing dumb.

  He nodded his head. “Twenty stacks in each, five keys in one and three in the other,” he said solemnly.

  Ahnesty had to catch herself because she was actually starting to feel sorry for him. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “I guess so. I mean, it’s nothing for me to bounce back after a loss. The part I’m tripping over is nobody knows what the hell happened or who did it. I think I have a pretty good idea though,” he said looking her right in the eye.

  For some reason, Ahnesty felt a little chill when he said that. She didn’t know if he was trying to imply that she had something to do with it or if he was thinking that Fab had something to do with it.

  16

  After crashing at Khan’s house and avoiding Fabion’s calls, Ahnesty was at Faizon’s front door knocking at nine o’clock in the morning. She needed to speak with him immediately and a conversation over the phone wasn’t going to cut it. Just as she reached her hand up to knock again, the door was swung open with force.

  “It is way too early for your ass to be popping up at people’s houses.”

  Ahnesty’s hand flew up to her mouth in shock. “Chas, you…you and Zon are back together?” Ahnesty asked with a big smile on her face.

  “Heffa, please. You knew his ass couldn’t live without me for too much longer. I just need his other baby mama to move her shit out of my closet.” Chasity rolled her eyes as she stepped aside to let her cousin in.

  “I want all the details later. Is Zon up?” she asked.

  “Yea, dude. I’m up and I shouldn’t be, so you better get to explaining,” Faizon fussed.

  “Ugh, y’all are not the nicest people when you wake up. I hope Saria don’t have an attitude problem.” Ahnesty rolled her eyes.

  “Spill it, Ahnesty!”

  “Okay, I don’t think I can do it anymore. I think Khan is on to me,” she said.

  “How you figure?” Chasity asked.

  “Because he called me at four this morning to meet up when he was supposed to be in Miami. He told me two of his traps were hit and he said he had an idea of who it was. He looked at me as if he knew I had something to do with it,” Ahnesty explained.

  “Ahni, you’re paranoid. That nigga don’t know shit. Tone pulled that shit off perfectly and without any flaws, so if he even thinks you had something to do with it, he wouldn’t be able to prove it,” Faizon told her.

  “Are you sure, Zon?” she asked.

  “Aye, this was your plan, Ahnesty. You’re free to back out whenever you want to, I can’t force you to do shit. I can assure you, though, that I will not let shit trace back to you and I will not let anything happen to you. If at any point you want to end this shit, just say the word,” Faizon told her.

  “I…” Ahnesty trailed her sentence off when her phone started ringing.

  It was a number she didn’t recognize but she answered anyways.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, may I please speak to a Miss Ahnesty Jakes?” the female said.

  “Speaking,”

  “Hello, Miss Jakes. My name is Mary and I’m a nurse down at Sinai-Grace. We have a Fabion Cook here. He has a brother listed as an emergency contact but we can’t get a hold of him so you were next on the list,” the nurse explained.

  “Oh my God! Is he alright?” Ahnesty asked as she jumped up.

  “Ma’am, I regret to inform you that Mr. Cook has been shot—”

  That was all Ahnesty needed to hear before she hung up the phone. She felt as if the room was spinning as she tried to wrap her mind around what the nurse had just told her.

  “Ahni? Ahnesty, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Chasity asked.

  “They shot him, they shot him,” she said just above a whisper.

  Faizon took off for the stairs while Chasity sat Ahnesty down on the couch and held her.

  “I got him shot, Chas. What did I do?” Ahnesty cried.

  Ahnesty didn’t know the details surrounding the shooting but she could bet it had something to do with Khan. She had just left his house only about two hours ago so he must have left his house right after h
er.

  ___

  Ahnesty sat in the emergency room rocking back and forth as she and Faizon waited for the doctors to come out and tell them something about Fabion’s condition. She looked up to see Zo and Tone walking into the hospital.

  “I should have never left him. He said he was giving me a couple of days off since we just got back from Columbia, but I should have stayed with him,” Zo shook his head.

  “Ahni, you straight?” Tone asked.

  Ahnesty heard him but she couldn't answer him. There were too many thoughts plaguing her mind at the moment and the main one was that she caused this to happen. Chasity was right. I should have just told Fab what I heard. She figured she was protecting Fab by getting to Khan before he could get to him, but that obviously wasn't the case.

  The doctor came out to update them on how Fab was doing but she couldn't move. She sat there and put her head down to say a silent prayer. She knew she wasn't about that street life and probably still wouldn't know anything about it if she didn't have a damn craving for bad boys.

  Faizon walked over to her and kneeled in front of her. He lifted her head up to look at him.

  “He's good, Ahni. He’s going to make it. His condition isn't critical, one bullet to the shoulder and the other one pierced his side. We can go back and see him,” he explained to her.

  She shook her head. “No, you go.”

  “No, we're going together,” he told her as he lifted her up.

  Zo and Tone stayed in the waiting room while Ahnesty and Faizon went back to see him. When they reached his room, Ahnesty let Faizon go in first.

  “I don't know what the hell they gave me but we need to put this shit out on the streets,” Fab told his brother with a goofy look on his face.

  “Same thing I thought when I got popped in the leg. Shit be having you high as hell,” Faizon laughed.

  “Where my baby? I know she better had came to see about a nigga.”

  Ahnesty walked further into the room and faintly smiled at him.

  “Here I am,” she announced.

  “Stop looking like that, I ain't dead. Ain't no two little bullets going to stop me. Where the hell was you at, anyways?” he asked.

  “Fab, I have something to tell you. I—”

  “She was with Chasity. She came over last night and shit. She called Ahni on some drunk shit,” Faizon said. He knew Ahnesty was two seconds away from coming clean and pouring her heart out, but now wasn't the time.

  “I figured. That's why I was on my way to your crib. I was at the light when niggas just got to busting at me out of nowhere. I didn't even get to see who it was,” Fab explained.

  Ahnesty had to bite her lip to keep from saying something. She so badly wanted to tell him she knew who was responsible, but she didn't. She could be wrong and just assuming stuff, but Fabion didn’t have any other known enemies that would try to get at him. At least, not that she knew about.

  She knew if she told him it was Khan who was behind the shooting, she would have to explain how she knew. She looked up at Faizon and he was sending her a silent message for her not to say anything yet.

  17

  Ahnesty had been trying to reach Khan for the past two days. All her phone calls and text messages were going unanswered. To her, that was a clear sign that he was guilty. The streets were talking and speculating that he had something to do with it also.

  She had let Faizon know that she was no longer going through with the plan and she was calling it off. She never intended for things to happen like this and even though Fabion was still alive, he never should have been touched in the first place. Her plan was to make it so he wouldn't get hurt.

  “Bae!”

  “Here I come!” Ahnesty yelled as she walked out of the kitchen. “What’s up?”

  “Can you hand me the remote?” Fabion asked her.

  Ahnesty put her hand on her hips as she glared at him. Fabion was chilling on the couch with his feet up on the ottoman and the remote to the TV was right by his feet.

  “Fabion, are you freaking serious right now?” she asked.

  “Please?”

  Ahnesty mumbled under her breath as she picked up the remote and handed it to him. He smiled as he took it from her.

  “That’s not cute. There is nothing wrong with your ass,” she complained.

  “That may be so, but I don’t want to bust my stitches. Plus, I just wanted to see you bend over,” he told her as he slapped her on the ass.

  “Perv.” She shook her head.

  “Oh, I can get perverted if that’s what you want.” He winked.

  “Ugh, shut up.”

  Just then the doorbell rang and Ahnesty rushed to open it.

  “Damn, y’all moved up like the Jefferson’s,” Chasity said.

  “Yes, baby, you know how we do.” Ahnesty smiled as she took Saria’s car seat from her. “Where’s Zon?” she asked.

  “Getting Junior out the car,” Chasity said.

  “I’m happy you decided to accept him. He’s such a cutie despite who his mother is.”

  “I fell in love as soon as I laid eyes on him. His daddy and sister are so damn jealous though,” Chasity said as she headed to the living room. “What’s up, Fab? How you feeling?”

  “Horny as hell and your cousin playing. Just because I got shot don’t mean my dick don’t work.”

  “Ugh, TMI, sir,” Chasity laughed.

  “Fab, put a filter on it, please? We all know you give zero fucks, but dang,” Ahnesty scolded him.

  “Damn, we all can move up in here,” Faizon said as he walked in.

  “Let me see him,” Fab said, referring to Junior.

  Faizon placed Junior on his lap while he removed his coat. Fab was amazed at how much he looked like Faizon. Even though he and Faizon were twins, they were fraternal but looking at Faizon Junior, he was his dad's real twin.

  “I see y'all getting y'all practice in.” Faizon smirked.

  “What you talking about?” Ahnesty asked.

  “You over there holding Saria and Fab holding Junior. It look like y'all ready to have your own.” Faizon shrugged.

  “Boy, stop.” Ahnesty waved him off.

  “Don't worry, Zon. You’ll be an uncle in a few months.” Fabion smiled.

  “What?” everyone yelled, including Ahnesty.

  “Ahni, you're pregnant?” Chasity asked.

  “Girl, Fabion is tripping. I'm not pregnant.”

  “You'll start having symptoms around next month,” Fab told her.

  Ahnesty looked at him like he was crazy for a minute until something hit her. She still wasn't on birth control and the last time she and Fabion had sex, he didn't pull out. Her mouth flew open and he gave her a knowing smile.

  Before she could even say anything, her phone started ringing. She reached in her pocket and a shot of anger shot through her when she saw Khan’s number pop up. She looked eyes with Faizon, sending him a silent message. He took Saria from her while she left the room to answer her phone.

  She accepted but before she could utter a hello, he spoke.

  “I trusted you,” he said.

  “Shakhan—”

  “You should really start thinking about turning your phone off when you go to sleep or put a lock on your phone. I never thought in a million years that the only woman I ever loved would betray me. I'm not even mad at you, though, Ahnesty. How could I be? I told you love will make you act out of character,” Khan told her.

  “Why did you shoot him, Khan? He had nothing to do with what I was doing,” she asked.

  “Those were warning bullets. If I wanted him dead, trust me, he would be.”

  “But he had nothing to do with what I had going on, Khan, and you know that. If you had a problem with what I did, why the hell you didn’t just come at me?” she questioned him.

  “So you would have rather took the bullets? I’ll take note of that. Look, I didn’t call you to listen to you cry over that nigga. I just wanted you to know that I know wh
at’s up and I know what you were up to. I’ll be laying low for a while but I’m pretty sure you don’t care. Take care, Ahnesty. And watch your back.”

  With that, her phone beeped, letting her know that he had ended the call. She stood there for a minute trying to figure out what exactly he meant by ‘watch your back’. It didn’t sound as if he was threatening her, but more like he was trying to warn her.

  ___

  Later on that evening, the kids were sleep and the adults were in the den watching TV when Chasity’s phone started ringing.

  “Hey, Nana. What’s up?” she answered.

  “Chas, now you know I don’t like to call and ask you for anything but it’s dark out and you know I can’t see.”

  “What’s wrong?” she questioned.

  “That sister of yours and one of her friends done got themselves arrested, chile. She asked me to come down there to bail her out but you know I can’t drive after it gets dark,” Nana explained.

  “Arrested for what? And who is her friend?” Chasity asked.

  Ever since they hit their teenage years, Emani had always acted out. No matter what she did or how bad she got, their Nana refused to give up on her. Chasity felt as if their Nana always enabled her because Emani was the oldest of the three but yet she was the only one who still lived with their Nana. She laid up in the house and didn’t pay any bills at twenty-seven years old.

  “I don’t know the question to any of those answers. All I know is she called me. Can you come by and get the money for her bail?”

  “Don’t worry about it, Nana. I’ll take care of it. You just save your money.”

  “Thank you, baby. Nana loves you.”

  “Love you, too, Nana and don’t let this stress you out. Your heart is already bad enough,” Chasity told her before they disconnected the call.

  “Who got locked up?” Faizon asked.

  “Emani,” she sighed. “I swear, if that bitch kills my Nana because she want to act an ass knowing it drives my Nana crazy, I’m going to kill her trifling ass,” Chasity fussed as she got up.

  “You going to bail her out?” Ahnesty asked.