by Chunichi
It worked. He’s on his way over, I thought as Donovan walked toward me.
“Whattem,” he said in a sexy accent.
“Hey, Donovan. What’s the deal?”
“Not much. Are me gal going to the dancehall tonight?”
“I think so. I’ll have to see what Carm is doing.”
“Hope ta see ya dere,” he said as he walked away.
Just as I expected, we headed to Club Inferno after the show. This time the club was twice as packed as the night before.
“Hello, ladies. Right this way,” the bouncer said as he unhooked the velvet rope so that Carmin, Arizelli, and I could enter.
“I’m a hustler, baby. I just want you to know, it ain’t where I been, but where I’m ‘bout to go.” We all sang to the tunes of Jay Z. Pharrell was really blowing up and putting VA on the map, so Carmin and I had to represent.
“Aaaahhhh . . . you can tell when they playing some old VA shit,” Cobra said as we walked over to the VIP section.
“Don’t hate, nigga. Maybe if you have Pharrell drop some of that VA shit on your tracks, you’ll go platinum,” I said playfully. We all laughed as we sat to order some drinks.
“I’ll be right back. Nature calls.” Carmin excused herself to the restroom. Not thirty seconds had passed before Arizelli was moving her hand up my thigh. I grabbed her hand tightly and whispered through my teeth, “I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but I’m gonna let you know up front ain’t nothing jumpin’.”
“In due time, baby . . . in due time. Carmin said the same thing at first, now look at her,” Arizelli whispered back while grinning. Then she licked my earlobe.
I can’t believe this bitch. She has some nerve, I thought as I tried to keep my composure. It took all I had to keep from smacking the shit out of her. I immediately got up. I could no longer take it. I had to tell Carmin what was going on. I didn’t care how she would respond. I had to tell her. I hadn’t taken two steps before I was knocked off my feet. People were running frantically as I heard the gunshots ring out over my head.
Pop . . . pop . . . pop . . . pop . . . pop!
The shots seemed never ending. I crawled under a nearby table to keep from being trampled. I sobbed softly as I waited for the chance to escape to safety.
“Come wit’ me,” I heard Donovan say as I was lifted into the air. I didn’t say a word as he carried me out through the side door. Outside the door, people were screaming, crying, bleeding, and searching for their loved ones. All the mass hysteria reminded me of 9-11. We rushed over to Donovan’s car and jumped in.
“I have to find Carmin,” I said as I began to panic.
“No fear, princess. Her wit’ dem man.”
I assumed ‘dem man’ was Cobra. I decided to try calling her cell. The phone rang constantly, but there was no answer.
“Can you call Cobra? Carm isn’t answering her phone and I want to make sure she’s okay.”
Donovan called and got the same response; no answer. Now I really began to worry.
“Dere is much commotion. Dem can’t ’ear dem phone.”
Donovan did all he could to relax me. “Come wit me to dem hotel. Dem be dere shortly,” he suggested.
For some reason, I felt safe with Donovan, so I agreed to go back to his hotel with him. Once we got to the hotel, the valet came out and parked the car. It was not until that moment that I realized the model of car Donovan was driving. I could have fainted.
Oh, my fucking stars! This nigga drives a Mercedes CL6.
Again, my face must have been screaming my thoughts because Donovan gave me a devilish grin as he said, “Me princess like dem car, aye?”
“It’s nice,” I replied, trying not to seem too impressed.
Before heading to the room, we stopped in the hotel restaurant to grab a little to eat. We called Cobra and Carm’s phones constantly. Eventually, my phone went dead.
“Can we go to your room so I can use your phone?” I asked. I was beginning to get tired, but couldn’t even think of sleeping until I was sure that Carmin was okay.
Upon entering his room, I had immediately plugged my phone into the charger that I luckily placed in my purse before leaving home. Then, I called Carmin’s phone again. This time her voice mail came on immediately. I didn’t know what to think. We couldn’t reach anyone. Cobra and Carm’s phones must have both been dead.
Why didn’t they call anyone? Wouldn’t Carm want to know I’m okay?
All sorts of thoughts ran through my head. We tried calling Cobra’s room, but there was no answer. Donovan even hit him on the two-way. Still there was no response.
“Why doncha take a hot bath? Relax ya’self,” Donovan suggested. Before doing so, I left a message on every phone. As he filled the tub with hot water and bubbles, Donovan called some of the other guys from their crew to see if anyone knew anything. He left the bathroom to give me some privacy while he continued to make some calls.
Once the bath was ready, I jumped in and turned on the tub jets for a more calming effect. It felt like a load was lifted off my shoulders as I soaked. Donovan brought in a glass of champagne for me to sip as I relaxed. The only information he could get was that a female was shot. No one knew who she was or her condition, but they did say they saw Carmin and Cobra leaving the club during all the commotion. After hearing that, I was able to relax. In a matter of seconds, I was asleep.
Ring, ring . . . Ring, ring . . . Ring, ring.
I woke to the sound of the phone. My head was spinning as I sat up to answer.
“Hello,” I answered in a cracked voice.
“C?” It was Carmin.
“Carmin! Where are you?” Her voice sounded weak and sad. I could feel something was wrong.
“I’m at Manhattan Hospital. I need you to come here right away,” she said.
“What’s wrong? Where’s Cobra? Didn’t you get my messages? Are you all right?” A thousand questions ran through my head as I spit them out at her.
“C! Please, just get here. I need you now, C.”
I immediately hung up the phone and jumped up. My body ached all over as I struggled to get out of the bed. Underneath the terry cloth robe, I was naked. I couldn’t remember how it happened, but I really didn’t have the time to figure it out. I just assumed I must have fallen asleep in the tub and Donovan put me to bed.
“Donovan, wake up!” I shook him as he lay on the couch.
“Whattem?” he responded sleepily.
“We got to hurry. Something’s wrong with Carmin. She’s at Manhattan Hospital. She sounded really upset.”
We quickly hit the streets. We made it to the hospital in ten minutes. As soon as I walked through the sliding doors, I saw Carmin. Cobra was holding her as she cried uncontrollably.
“Nooooo!” She was screaming. Her body was trembling with pain. I walked over to her and she hugged me tight. “C! Why, C? Why?” She spoke the words forcefully.
“Why what, honey? What’s going on?” I asked in a tone of motherly love.
“I can’t live without her! I just can’t.”
That’s when it hit me.
Oh shit! Arizelli! Something has happened to Arizelli.
“Is it Arizelli, Carm? What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s gone, C. She’s gone.”
At that time, I had a full understanding. There was no need to say anything else. We just hugged as she cried.
Chapter 15
A Lover’s Triangle—Who’s to Blame?
When I returned home from New York, I had a continuous discomfort in my vagina. I thought it may be a yeast infection, but Monistat just wasn’t giving me any relief. So, I called and made an emergency appointment with my gynecologist. When I walked in the busy office, I was seen right away.
“Right this way, Ms. Devereaux; exam room four. Get undressed from the waist down, please. The doctor will be right in,” the nurse ordered me.
I quickly got undressed and the doctor came in soon after. The exam was h
orrible. It was the worst feeling. I was glad when it was over.
“It looks like you have gonorrhea,” the doctor said as if it was second nature to say such things.
“I don’t think that’s possible, doctor. I’m in a monogamous relationship.”
“I’m most certain it’s gonorrhea, Ms. Devereaux.”
Okay, maybe this bitch doesn’t understand. I thought as I tried to reiterate.
“As I said before, you can’t be right. In fact, I was recently examined and there was no trace of an STD,” I lied.
“Well, maybe you don’t recall when it happened and I am unable to pinpoint it, but either way, you have gonorrhea and it needs to be treated. You’re more than welcome to have a second opinion if you prefer. Would you like to have an HIV test as well, ma’am?”
The nerve of this bitch! “No thank you,” I said as I jumped off the table and snatched the prescription out of her hand. “What I would like is to get dressed now,” I said as I glared at her. She attempted to explain the course of treatment but I quickly interrupted her and again requested she leave so I could get dressed. This time she left without hesitation.
How in the hell did this happen? I asked myself this question repeatedly on the way home. I thought of every possible scenario. Maybe I got it the night I was at the club with no panties on. Maybe it was something in the bed at my dad’s house, or maybe it was the hotel bed, tub, or robe.
Still, I knew that none of these could have been the cause. I had to have had sex with an infected person in order to get an STD. In the back of my mind, there was a possibility that was just too real. I just didn’t want to face it.
Maybe it’s from Vegas. Maybe he really is screwing that deputy. Or even worse, I could have been raped. Yeah, that’s it. It had to be Donovan. Vegas would never do such a thing.
My cell phone rang as I was driving. It was Donovan and I was quite pissed at him because of the realization that I’d come to face.
“What?” I yelled into the phone.
“Why dem princess raise ‘er voice so?”
“Fuck you, Donovan. I know what you did. You filthy, nasty, walking STD!”
“Whattem? Why dem so angry?”
I burst into tears as I envisioned how it happened.
“You . . . you raped me! You preyed on me when I was weak. You put something in my drink when I was in the tub. That’s why I couldn’t remember how I ended up with the robe on. That’s why I had such a headache, and that’s why my body ached so badly the next morning. You raped me! I hate you and I hope you die!”
“Dem princess fall asleep in da tub and me take dem out and wrap dem in dere robe. Me even sleep on dem couch and leave dem bed for da princess.” Donovan sounded sincere as he explained, but the suspicion was still there.
“Liar! You fucking liar! I hate you! Don’t ever call me again!” I slammed the phone shut as I cried.
The days were cold as December rolled in, so the girls and I decided to go on a little winter shopping spree. We hit every mall in the area. We started at Lynnhaven and ended at Patrick Henry, hitting every one in between. Since we had been together all day, we decided to go to the club later that night. We all rushed home to get dressed. The plan was to meet at the club around midnight.
I decided to wear one of my new outfits. I laid out my khaki cargo pants with the drawstring, my burgundy Gucci pumps with legwarmers, and a burgundy sweater that hung off one shoulder. I wore my hair in one ponytail to the right with huge, gold bamboo earrings and a tan Kangol hat. I looked in the mirror once I was fully dressed.
I laughed to myself as I looked at my gear. Just like Flashdance.
Ring, ring . . . Ring, ring.
“Hello.”
“Whattem, princess.”
Why in the hell is he calling me from a local number? I wondered as I snapped on him.
“What do you want? I asked you to stop calling. What don’t you understand about I hate you and I hope you die?”
“Me came to get dem princess back,” Donovan said persistently.
“Look, Donovan, I was never your girl, gal, or dem princess. So I would really appreciate it if you would leave me the hell alone. Okay?”
Click. I hung up in his ear.
Ring, ring . . . Ring, ring.
Oh no, this muthafucker is not calling back!
“Hello!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
“Why the hell are you yelling, C?” It was Tionna.
“Oh sorry, girl, I thought you were someone else.”
“Whatever. I’m ready, so come get me,” Tionna demanded.
“And who the hell said I was picking you up?”
“No one. It’s understood. I’ll be waiting. Blow when you’re out front.”
“Good-bye,” I said before hanging up. Five minutes later, I was at Tionna’s house, and she ran right out.
“What’s up, bitch?” she said as she jumped in. She turned up Sean Paul to blast as we headed to reggae night at Club Cabana. The parking lot was full when we arrived.
That was of no concern to me since I would be utilizing the VIP parking.
“What’s up, Mrs. Vegas? Pull right in there,” the dark, heavyset bouncer said, pointing to a parking spot right in front of the club. I could tell by the familiar rides that all of Vegas’ boys were in the club.
Good thing I kept it classy tonight, I thought as I parked the car. Vegas’ boys were sure to tell if I had on my “fuck’em girl” dress.
We walked right in as the other girls stood in line shivering. Once inside, we headed straight to the bathroom where we met Mickie, Carmin, India and Asia. They were all touching up their hair and makeup. Once we finished the final touches, we headed out of the bathroom.
“Yo, C! What up, baby?” Vegas’ older brother yelled.
“Hey, Snake. What’s been up?”
“Same shit. You all right? You need anything?” he asked. Since Vegas’ brothers had taken over the empire, things were lovely for them.
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“Well, at least let me buy you and your girls a drink,” Snake pleaded.
“Hell, yeah! I’ll take a margarita. That’s what I’m talking ‘bout.”
All my girls jumped at the opportunity for a free drink, shouting out their drink orders.
“Well, I see everyone is in agreement, so let’s head to the bar,” Snake said as he slithered over there.
“Girl, he is fine. Hook a sistah up,” Mickie whispered in my ear as we trotted to the bar in a single file line like a group of kindergartners.
“Girl, we don’t call him Snake for nothing,” I quickly responded, trying to give her fair warning.
“Pssshhhh . . . Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Mickie, his name describes him perfectly. He is as slick as a snake. He charms women so well that they’re blind to his venom. I’ve even heard stories of him screwing his girl, then while his girl slept, he went downstairs to screw her sister. If that’s not the moves of a snake, I don’t know what is.”
“Well, I’ll be the first to break him. Are you gonna put me on or not?” Mickie pressed, still not shaken by my speech.
“Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I walked over to Snake as he was handing out the drinks.
“My girl, Mickie, wants to know what’s up with you.”
“Oh yeah? Where she at?” he asked as he scanned all my friends with his shifty little eyes.
“She’s the one with the big breasts, wearing red.”
He quickly spotted her and landed his eyes on her breasts as she walked forward.
“Daaammmnnn, baby. You’re wearing that dress,” Snake said as he handed Mickie her drink.
“Oh, you like this?” she asked in her most seductive tone. Just looking at them made me sick.
“All right, y’all, I’m out. Do your thang.”
The other girls hit the dance floor. I stood near the floor as I sipped my drink. I refused to walk on the
floor and be called out by the DJ.
“No drinks on the dance floor,” the DJ was constantly yelling. I would laugh as I saw the culprits trying to play it off and dance their way off the floor.
“Whattem, princess?” I heard Donovan’s voice as he squeezed my arm. What the fuck is he doing here in VA? I wondered.
“Donovan, you’re hurting me. Please let me go.”
“Come wit’ me,” he demanded as he pulled on my arm.
“Okay. Just let me go. I don’t want to make a scene.”
We both headed out of the club. I tried to make eye contact with Mickie and Snake as I was leaving the club, but they didn’t even notice. I could see Snake fondling Mickie with his hand up her dress. Just as I was hitting the door, Martinez was entering.
Thank God. With his big ass mouth, he’ll be sure to tell Snake I left the club. He was my only savior, so I had to get his attention.
“Martinez!” I yelled as I was leaving.
“What up, baby girl? You out already?” he asked, looking back and forth between Donovan and me.
“Yeah, the girls are in there, though. I don’t feel well. I just need some fresh air.”
“A’ight. Holla back, mami,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders and walked inside the club.
The cold winter air hit my body as I walked toward my car.
“Why dem act so angry to me?” Donovan asked.
“I know what you did, Donovan, and I hate you for it, so please just leave me the fuck alone.”
Donovan’s eyes became fiery with anger as he grabbed me by my throat.
“What da blood clot? Dem go nowhere, muddaskunk.”
Tears rolled down my face. I spoke to him calmly as I unlocked the Mace on my key chain.
“Please, Donovan, let me go. We can work this out,” I pleaded before pressing the trigger on my Mace.
“Aaaaaauuuuugh! Bitch!” Donovan screamed as I emptied the can in his face.
“I hate you, and for the last time, I hope you die, you Rasta bastard. Now who’s the muddaskunk?”