by Untamed
“Did you ever find out anything about Trinity?”
“I thought you had left that broad alone.”
I clenched my teeth. Now Flava was crossing the line. She may have been my number one due to my situation, but she was looking to get chin-checked for her loose lips. Number one, I was sick of her poppin’ fly with me, and number two, she wasn’t gon’ just dog my baby mama out like that in my presence.
“First off, my reasons for wanting know about Trinity go deeper than just tryna keep up with her. We’ve got kids together, Flava. I want to find my daughter and son. Lastly, I’m the muthafucka that calls the shots around here, and it would be best for you to remember that shit,” I said with a straight, no-nonsense tone.
She must’ve figured out I was dead-ass serious because she put her hands up as if to apologize. “Skeet said he’s been tryna catch up with Terrence for the longest, and he don’t know where he went. Everybody is either being tight-lipped about this thang, or they really don’t fucking know. That’s all I know.”
I hit the table. “Damn,” I said aloud and shook my head.
“Look, Pooch. The only thing I can suggest is to see how Stein does with the appeal. Maybe that will go through.”
That wasn’t an option. That appeals shit was taking too long, and I felt like I was dying in this piece-of-shit-ass place. I needed out, and I needed out like yesterday.
I leaned forward and grabbed her hands. “Do you love me?”
“I have love for you, yes, but if you asking me if I’m in love with you, then no, I’m not. On the real, Pooch, I care about you. I want you to get out because you seem like a good nigga, and I think we could really have something together, but I ain’t puttin’ my heart on the line for you when the only bitch you can talk about is Trinity. I wanna love you, but I need love too,” she said, taking her hands away from mine and leaning back.
Now, how could I convince this bitch that I cared enough about her to ask her to put herself at risk? Flava wasn’t your run-of-the-mill type of chickenhead broad. That bitch was smart, and she knew how to make chess moves. If I came at her with some bullshit, she’d smell it a mile away, call me on it, and then I’d be stuck like Chuck in this muthafucka for real. So, I had to exercise some caution. I was fucking with a heavyweight.
I leaned back, then nodded my head. “You’re right.” I threw my hands up. “I can’t knock what you saying because you’ve always been real with me, Flava. That’s why I’ve always stuck with you. We were forced together due to this situation, and I know it’s hard for you to trust me because of my past with Trinity. I ain’t gon’ lie. I’ll always love Trinity. She was my heart. But I love my kids, and she’s the chick that has them, so I talk about her a lot. I don’t expect you to be in love with me because I can’t really offer myself to you the way you deserve, but if I can get outta here, I’ll show you that I can be that man you need in your life.”
Flava looked away and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Checkmate, bitches. I was still as smooth as Schlitz malt liquor. Damn, I’d been hanging around these old-ass cats in lockup too long with that reference. I knew I had her with that shit. For the most part, it was nothing but the damn truth, and she knew that. They say the truth shall set you free, so I was hoping like a mutha that that truth I’d just slapped on Flava was enough for her to do what I needed her to do to help set me the fuck free.
Obviously touched, she leaned in close and reached for my hands. “What is it that you need me to do?”
Got her. “I need for you to let Skrilla put you on the team. I need you to push that weight on the outside to get this money up real quick. I know you’re risking a lot for me, and I damn sure don’t want you to get caught up, but if you do this for me, I promise you when I get out it’s all about me and you. I got you for life, mama.”
Flava blushed. She asked, “You mean that shit, Pooch? It’s just gonna be me and you? I mean, I feel you wanting to know about your kids, and I promise I’ll help you find them, but no more Trinity, right?”
I crossed my toes since I couldn’t cross my fingers. “Yep, no more. It’ll just be Pooch and Flava, ruling the muthafucking world,” I said, winking at her.
She nodded happily, but she still seemed a little cautious. “Let me think on it, Pooch. I wanna do it, but I just gotta make sure I don’t end up in lockup too. Ya know.”
I knew I had her, so it was time to go back to my old attitude. Good. I was done frontin’ for this bitch. “I’ma call you on Monday for an answer.” I wasn’t playing no games. I’d thrown my best lies—and hell, best truths—at her. She had better do this.
“That only gives me one day to think on it.”
“You’re good at counting. That means you can be good at pushing,” I said snidely. “One day is all you need, ’cause basically, either you love me enough to do it, or you don’t. You’ve got the rest of today and all of tomorrow to make a decision. That’s fair enough.”
She shrugged. “A’ight. Call me on Monday.”
Jackpot. I was the man again. I had this bitch wrapped around my finger now.
“Monday morning at nine a.m. Be by your phone,” I commanded, adding a kiss to her lips and forehead for good measure. “I’m depending on you.”
With that, I walked off. I knew she was gonna do it. She had to. If she didn’t, Pit had cousins that weren’t locked up who were just as ruthless as he was. I didn’t want her to suffer the same fate as phone dude, but I’d do it if I had to stay in there any longer. At least it’d make me feel like I deserved to be there. Whether she wanted to or not, she’d better handle her business. As if her life depended on it.
“Men may not get all they pay for in this world; but they must certainly pay for all they get.”
~ Frederick Douglas
Please stay tuned for the next installment of this series…
Never Again, No More 4:
What Goes Around