by Chunichi
“Yeah, I ate it a couple of hours ago,” I responded, trying my best to keep my focus on ESPN.
“Well, can you go run to the store and pick me up some more? I’ve had a long day at work, and I was really looking forward to coming home and eating my ice cream,” she expressed with some attitude.
This bitch must be on dope. Is she forgetting I am wanted? I looked at Lisa like she was a damn fool. I didn’t know if it was that time of the month for her or what, but she was really on some shit lately.
I rarely went out the house, and if I did go out, I was dressed in all black, with dark shades, and a fucking rastaman hat with fake dreads. I wasn’t about to go through all that for some ice cream! I wanted to cuss Lisa’s ass out for talking stupid, but I stayed calm in an attempt to keep the peace. I needed her crib to stay and only had about two hundred dollars to my name.
I tried to smooth things over. “When my paper gets right, I will pick up anything you want, baby girl.”
Lisa snapped at me, “Go do something! Get a job! Because I’m tired of you laying around here.”
I already had enough on my plate, so dealing with a nagging woman every day wasn’t something I needed. Waiting for the perfect time to make a move wasn’t easy. It took patience and planning, because one wrong move could easily get a nigga locked up. I was miserable not being able to move around the way I used to.
With the word on the street that I was wanted, nobody was willing to fuck with me on no business shit. I had no connects. I knew in a time like this I needed to be with Jewel. She was a true rider. She would have found a way to make shit right. Lisa, on the other hand, was selfish as hell and stingy with her money and her pussy.
“You know damn well I can’t go get no fuckin’ job! So, for once, will you just shut the fuck up with your smart-ass comments? I’m trying to watch the game.” I turned the volume up on the TV.
“Nigga, please! I pay the cable bill in this house.” Lisa grabbed the remote out of my hand and turned the TV off. “If I have something to say, you damn sure are going to listen.” She then threw the remote back at me. That was the last straw. This bitch had been riding my ass for the past week. I couldn’t take it anymore. That move sent me into a rage. I grabbed Lisa by the neck and slammed her on the couch. I’d lost it for a minute. It wasn’t until I noticed blood all over her face that I snapped back to reality.
When it was all said and done, I’d choked her and punched her in the face, giving her a bloody nose. Realizing I’d truly fucked up, I quickly let her go. I just couldn’t control my rage sometimes. I had one domestic abuse case on my hands, and I sure as shit wasn’t looking for another.
“You done fucked up, muthafucka,” Lisa screamed and ran to the kitchen. She grabbed a knife and started after me.
I picked up Lisa’s car keys and ran for the garage. My time with her was up. Time to find a new place to crash.
“Get the hell out of my house! And if you take my car, your ass is going to jail,” she shouted as I rushed into the garage and jumped in her car.
I knew what she was saying was probably true, but at the time, I was all out of options. I pressed the garage opener and threw the car in reverse.
Lisa banged on the hood of the car as I was backing out the driveway.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Your ass is going to jail!” she shouted. “Stupid-ass nigga!”
I put the car in drive and sped off, leaving her standing in the middle of the street. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw her on her cell phone. I already knew what that meant. That bitch was calling the police. I needed to get rid of her car fast.
I had no idea where to go. I didn’t want to involve Jewel in any more of my bullshit, so her crib was off limits. It seemed my only hope was Lexi, my baby mother. She and I had ended on a real fucked-up note–with a domestic abuse rap. In fact, I couldn’t stand the bitch, but I had no other choice, so I headed her way.
After twenty minutes of cruising down the highway, constantly looking over my shoulder and making sure to abide by the speed limit, I was at my baby mother’s exit. Two more minutes and I would be at her crib. I couldn’t believe I had made it all the way here.
I was hoping Lexi would let me in. My plan was to drop the car a few blocks away and walk the rest of the distance to her house. That didn’t happen because, as soon as I exited the ramp, blue lights were flashing from every direction.
“Muthafucka!” I yelled to no one in particular.
I wondered how the fuck they had found me. No use trying to figure that shit out now. I needed to figure a way out. My first instinct was to jump out the car and run, but my out-of-shape ass wouldn’t have made it one block, so I pulled over. My plan was to talk my way out of this predicament.
The cop came to the window and asked for my driver’s license and registration. I grabbed the registration from the glove box then began to search for my ID. Damn! I realized I had no identification. I had purposely stopped carrying it on me since I was wanted. I had planned on getting me a fake ID but kept putting it off. Now I was really fucked up.
It didn’t take long for the cop to slam me against the car and arrest me for driving a stolen vehicle, and assault and battery. This is some real bullshit, I thought as I was being hauled off to the city jail.
I’d only been in jail a week, but it seemed like a month. I knew once I got processed and they realized I had those conspiracy charges, there would be no bond in my future. Because of jail overcrowding I sat in a holding cell for an entire week. This was my first day on the block, and I was looking forward to finally having an opportunity to use the phone. I stood in line patiently. It was taking forever, so I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to start any trouble.
The dude in front of me finally got off the phone. I had a feeling he wasn’t even talking to anyone, that he was just being a dick and holding up the line on purpose.
The first person I thought to call was Jewel, who’d been on my mind all week. Hell, just the previous night, I beat off my dick, thinking about her sexy body and phat ass. I wasted no time dialing Jewel up. I hadn’t really spoken to her since I’d disappeared. There were a few three-second conversations where I told her I was alive and safe, but that was it. I was paranoid her phone was being tapped, so I would always cut it short.
“Touch? Baby?” Jewel yelled into the phone, after accepting the collect call.
Before I had a chance to respond, I felt a shove in my back.
“Get off the phone,” this dude demanded.
“Fuck you mean, nigga? I been waiting for the phone for an hour. Get yo’ ass in line, duke!” I said, pointing toward the end of the line.
Bop!
I took a punch to the stomach. Obviously this man wasn’t up for conversation. But I wasn’t no punk, so I gave him a fight like he wanted.
Bam! I hit him in the head with the phone receiver.
Immediately he and I were throwing blows at each other.
“Yo, yo, yo!” I heard someone yell. “Back up off him,” the voice calmly said.
The dude I was fighting released his grip and backed up off me. I watched as he skulked away like a dog with its tail between his legs. I looked up to see an old head standing over me. He reached out his hand and helped me off the ground.
“Thanks, man,” I said as I brushed my clothes off.
The man walked me over to a nearby cell. “Clear this bunk,” he ordered another dude sitting in the cell. The dude immediately got up and left the cell. It didn’t take me long for me to figure out this old head ran things in the block and all these niggas was scared of him. “Son, we need to talk,” he said to me.
“A’ight.” I agreed right away. There was no way I was
gonna challenge this cat. “You all right, Touch?” he asked.
“I’ll make it. How do you know my name?”
“I know everything about the streets. I heard you were doing some big things, until you caught those drug charges. You kinda remind me of
myself when I was your age. My name is Jimmy. Tell me your story, youngblood.”
“Nice to meet you, Jimmy. Thanks for stepping in back there, although I coulda handled that dude myself.”
“I know, young’un, I know.”
“You wanna know my story? A’ight. I been hustling since I was in grade school. My father was a hustler. He left my moms when I was a baby, but he was always around the neighborhood, so I saw him a lot. His daddy was a hustler, and he brought all three of his sons into the game. My pops and his two brothers ran the streets for a while there. Then the cops decided they was enemy number one and shot my dad and arrested my uncles, Mike and Kendall.”
“I know those two cats. They doing a bid in the federal pen, right?”
“Yeah, that’s them. Damn! That’s crazy. How you know those two?”
“We used to run together on the streets. How you think I know about you?”
“I like that. You a smooth nigga.”
“Young buck, don’t you ever call me that again. I ain’t no nigga, you hear? That’s the trouble with you young fools today, calling each other nigga this, nigga that.”
“Word. I apologize. You right.”
“Continue.”
“Well, after my pops passed, I figured it was time for me to man up. I started hustling on the streets. It was small at first, but because people respected my old man, I got a lot of help, and my business started to grow. People were paying attention. Including the cops. I was careful, so I operated for years without getting one bust. Then I got a domestic abuse charge on me, and that’s when the cops really started gunning for me. They had some big old undercover sting to set my ass up. Now I’m looking at some conspiracy charges.”
“Son, you got heart just like your daddy. You and me can do some big things, but you got to keep your nose clean though. You willing to listen and learn?”
“Hell yeah, my nig–yes, sir.” Jimmy smirked and nodded slowly. He patted me on my shoulder and walked out of the cell. From that point on, he took me under his wing. He even made plans to put me on to some work when I got out. Things were looking up. Now I needed to take care of all these bullshit charges against me.
Chapter 3
“Free My Man”
Jewel
It had been days since my brief phone call from Touch, so I took it upon myself to call Virginia Beach City Jail and find out their visiting schedule. I wasn’t able to make it until the weekend, so Touch was going to have to wait another few days before he could get a look at me.
I made sure I looked my best as I straightened my hair and applied my makeup. I squeezed my plump booty into my tightest pair of jeans, sure to show every crease and curve. I hadn’t seen my prince in nearly three months, so I wanted to put a smile on his face.
When I reached the jail, I went through visitor check-in and was in the back visiting with Touch in no time. It was much quicker than the two-hour waits I had endured during my visits to Norfolk City Jail. I barely had time to even start the book I had brought along to read before I was called into the visitors’ room.
“Hey, baby!” I yelled and waved as soon as I saw Touch walking up to our designated glass booth.
It was a bitter-sweet moment. While it was great to see him, it was sad to see him under such circumstances. His hair was freshly braided as though he’d just left the shop, and his smile was still gleaming white and perfect. Besides the orange jumpsuit, he was the same Touch I’d always known. He actually might have been a little bit more muscular from the weights he had been lifting.
“What’s up, baby girl?” Touch said through the phone receiver. “I miss you so much. You look good.” I said, admiring my man and touching the glass that separated us.
“Thanks. You look good too. You got my dick rising.” Touch massaged his penis as he spoke. “It don’t even look like you have gained a pound. Are you eating okay? You making sure my son, a’ight?”
“Oh, I’m good. Let’s not worry about me. The question is, Are you okay in there? Do you need anything? What exactly are your charges, and how did you get caught anyway?” I spat one question after another.
“Damn! Jewel. Hold up. I feel like I’m under interrogation.” Touch gave me that million-dollar smile then added, “The important thing is, I’m no longer on the run, and I got a bond. The bond is one hundred thousand dollars. I need you to holla at the bondsman and give him ten grand.”
There was an instant lump in my throat and a pit in my stomach. Ten thousand dollars? Where the hell am I gonna get that? I thought as I listened to Touch’s instructions. Touch must have noticed the worried look on my face. “What’s the problem, Jewel? Why you looking all crazy and shit?”
“Well, baby, it’s just that I don’t have that kind of money.” I cringed as I explained, knowing Touch wasn’t going to be happy. I was now happy there was a barrier between us.
Touch yelled, “What you mean, Jewel? I left fifty thousand dollars behind when I left the house.”
“Touch, it’s been three months! We have a mortgage, two car notes, and a shitload of credit card bills.” I kept my tone even, but I was pissed. He left me high and dry. What did he expect?
“So you mean to tell me you blew fifty grand in three months? You don’t even have ten Gs to get a nigga out?” Touch shook his head then dropped his head down into his hand. Seeing him look so defeated made me feel real fucked up inside. I had to make things right. “Don’t you worry, baby. I got this. You will be out by morning. You know I’ve never let you down before, and I’m not about to start now.”
“Now that’s the Jewel I know.” Touch smiled, his mood instantly brightening.
The brief tension between us subsided. We talked away. About how he was faring in there, about how his meeting this old head named Jimmy. The whole time I just wanted to touch him and kiss him. Before we knew it, our visiting time was up. We tried to prolong our good-byes as long as possible, but the damn COs were being assholes.
“Love you, baby. Mwah!” I kissed him through the phone. I was getting emotional but tried to stay strong for my man. It was no use. I couldn’t stop the tears.
“Love you too. Take care of my baby boy.” Touch then hung up the phone.
I watched his back as he walked away and the heavy steel door slammed behind him.
“Damn it!” I yelled after jumping back into the truck.
I didn’t know how I was going to get ten thousand dollars by the next morning. Touch’s fifty thousand had dwindled down to a mere four thousand dollars. I knew if I didn’t get him out by the time morning hit, they might find out about his conspiracy charges. Then he may never get out. I stayed calm as I thought of my options.
After a few minutes of thinking, I made a phone call. A call I didn’t really want to make. I hope this shit works, I thought after dialing a phone number on my cell.
“’S up?” Rico said after answering the phone. Rico was a little side item I’d had for the past few months. Before Touch was on the run, we were having problems and had decided to split up. He was seeing other chicks, so after a while, I decided to date too.
And that’s where Rico came in. Rico was a nice guy. He worked as an engineer for the United States government. He had dough, and the best thing about it was that it was legit. I usually liked my men a little rough around the edges, but after the shit I’d gone through with Touch, it was time for a change. He was everything opposite of Touch.
“Hey, baby. How are you?” I asked.
“I’m still tired from the ride you gave two nights ago. Other than that, I’m good. What’s going on with you?”
“Well, I’ve some great news.” I tried to sound excited.
“Oh, yeah? What’s that? You’re coming over to ride me again?” Rico asked playfully.
“I got accepted into nursing school, and I start next week.” I lied.
“Damn, baby! Congratulations!” Rico said, happy about the news. “You ain’t even tell a nigga you had applied for school. I’ll tell
you what. Let me buy your books for you. It will be my present to you.”
That shit was easier than I thought. Little did Rico know, I was prepared to beg, fuck, suck, and do something strange for a little change, but to my surprise, I didn’t even have to ask. This nigga offered, so I wasted no time going in for the kill.
“Oh my God! Are you serious?”
“Come on, baby girl. You know I’m big on education. I’m proud to see you trying to do something for yourself. I got you.”
“Well, I need about seven thousand to cover everything,” I said in a whiny voice.
“No problem. You’re worth every penny. Plus, after you finish school, a shitload of money will be rolling in. Come over and get it when you’re ready.”
“I’m on my way.” I breathed a sigh of relief.
I started my truck and headed to Rico’s house. As soon as I walked in, he had the money waiting for me. Of course, after giving me the money, he wanted to celebrate my acceptance to nursing school by dicking me down. Normally I loved sex with Rico, but this time I wasn’t interested in him touching me at all. My mind was on Touch and getting back with him.
“Baby, I can’t,” I said between kisses.
“What’s wrong? It’s that time of the month?”
My initial thought was to agree and tell Rico I was on my cycle, but the one huge lie I’d just told him was enough. My conscience wouldn’t allow me to tell another.
“No, honey. I’ve got some business I need to take care of, and I’ve gotta do it right away.” I gently rubbed Rico’s erect dick.
I was about to raincheck his ass and dip out the door, but seeing the look on his face and afraid he would take the money back, I got on my knees and gave him some head. It didn’t take him long to nut all over the place. I zipped his pants back up, gave him a small kiss on the cheek, then headed out the door, leaving him drooling at the mouth.
When I got back into my truck, I whipped out my cell phone and called Touch’s lawyer. I informed him I had the money for bond and made an appointment for them to discuss his options. Next, I called up a bail bondsman well known to all the guys into the drug game. In fact this bondsman used to be a drug dealer himself, except he was one of those smart enough to turn his drug money into something legit. Sad to say, but even I had to use his services once.