by Shan
***
"What’s going on because you have been quiet since we left from shopping?" I asked Tweek while tying my hair up to join him in the Jacuzzi. After we left from the mall we went out for dinner and a movie and the whole time Tweek didn’t have much to talk about. Lord please don’t let this nigga start acting cheap on me.
"You know the cat I been talking about that’s coming down here helping us to get this money going again, I got a message from the big man saying that we gotta answer to this nigga. He basically coming down here and finna be running things," Tweek said with a look of defeat in his eyes. "Said if he’s gonna keep supplying us with the dope then we gotta answer to him."
"Okay, so what is going to happen to you?" I inquired.
"Shit, I’m a have to answer to his ass if I wanna keep getting this money. Don’t nobody out here have the type of connections he got. Cats been trying to get down with this dude for the longest but them damn Italians don’t really trust us niggas like that."
"Is he black? The one that’s been helping y'all out."
"Yea, that nigga black so I don’t know what the fuck he did to get in. Word is he made their asses over one hundred million dollars in the past year and a half, something nobody down south has been able to do."
"Well maybe it’s not such a bad thing Tweek. You said the paper ain’t as good as it was a few years ago so if he can come down here and change things for you then I don’t see what the problem is."
"I just don’t feel right having to answer to a nigga that’s younger than me. This nigga is a fucking baby."
I laughed as I thought about how Tae was young and was in the ATL running shit and how all them OG’s hated his ass ‘cause he was still a damn teenager. Tweek gave me this crazy ass look as I took my time easing into the warm, bubbly water.
"Nah, I was just thinking about shit back home. My ex was the lieutenant out there and was only eighteen years old when they gave him that shit and niggas hated him. A couple of muthafuckas even tried to waste his ass."
"Cause these young niggas don’t know how to act. Dude cool and everything and I can tell he ain’t no dumb ass nigga but niggas like him can’t handle when they're in charge and shit. Shit like that start going to their mothafuckin' head." Tweek lit up a blunt that was sitting nearby and toked on it. "I’m a try this shit out, but if it doesn’t work then I don’t know. Me and my bruh may have to relocate on this nigga."
I made my way over to Tweek and began to kiss him on his neck. "Baby, I think that everything will be fine. Just think about all the money you’ve made over the past couple of months and the money you’re about to make. As long as he not trying to keep you from getting a piece of the pie then you ain’t got anything to worry about."
"Yea, you right. We’ll see how it goes before I start trying to make other moves," Tweek said.
"You wanna make a bet on how long I can hold my breath." I said as I took my tongue and rubbed it across my bottom lip.
"Shit, bout thirty seconds," Tweek said with a sinister grin.
"Put your money up. What you got?"
"Alight, bet you two stacks you won’t make it past thirty seconds."
"You sure about that?"
Tweek shook his head yes and I eyed him for a few seconds seeing if he wanted to change his mind. When I saw that he wasn’t, I took a deep breath and descended under the water. I reached out and pulled Tweek’s already erect dick and went to work. I felt his body jerk a few times and could tell he was surprised that I could suck it and hold my breath at the same time.
I knew I had to have been under the water for a couple of minutes before I flew over the top gasping for air. I damn near choked on water and my spit when I saw the look on Tweek’s face.
"Mannnnnn, that’s some wild shit you just did. Damn, I think I’m falling in love," he said and burst into laughter.
"I want all big face hundreds too," I rolled my neck and smiled at the same time.
I made my way over to Tweek and wrapped my legs around his waist. He removed my bikini top and sucked my nipples into his mouth like a vacuum hose. Tingling sensations shot through my body when Tweek squeezed my clit with his thumb and index finger.
"Oh shit, Tae," I moaned.
"What?" Tweek asked.
31: Rozalyn
"I don’t know what to do. I know if I tell him then he’s going to make me keep it and if I don’t then ain’t no telling what he’ll do to me." I took a long toke on the blunt and passed it to Starr.
"You don’t wanna have a baby or you just don’t wanna have one with him?" Starr asked.
"I don’t want a baby period, but that doesn’t matter to Tae. All he talked about when we got back together was having another baby. I just wanna chill out and get my life together. I’m just sick of all the drama."
"Why don’t you just tell him that?"
"He not trying to hear me, Starr. He just text me this morning and said he moving to Miami and for me to pack my shit. I just told him the other day that I was through with him and he act like we never had that conversation."
"Girl, that boy loves you. He is not about to give you up that easily."
"And I love him, I really do. I can’t see myself being with nobody else, but I just can’t see myself being him right now either. So much stuff has happened to me over these past couple of years and looking back on everything all of it has to do with Tae.
I could forgive him for what happened to me, but damn it’s hard to look at him and not think about Zavier. Zavier had nothing to do with any of this."
"Look you have to realize that although Tamar’s family was involved doesn’t mean that he was. He didn’t have anything to do with what his brother and cousins did. They hurt him just like they hurt you. I understand what you saying and everything but you have to look at it from his point of view too," Starr said passing the blunt back to me.
"True, true. I just don’t wanna upset Kevin or my daddy. Me and my daddy working on our relationship and at first I thought I didn’t want that, but now I realize how much I do and have always wanted to have a relationship with him." Tears fell from my eyes and I quickly wiped them away.
"They have to realize that it’s not his fault though too. I think he should have done a better job protecting you, but you know when you with a nigga that’s in the game like he is that’s the type of shit that comes with it.
My uncle had his wife and kids stashed away in another city. Didn’t nobody know where they lived. I don’t even think the people he worked with even knew he had a wife or kids until after he left the game. That’s how you supposed to do it."
"Girl I ain’t trying to be stashed away nowhere all lonely and horny," I said as I laughed through the tears. "That’s why I ain’t been back to that condo, too damn lonely."
"But safe," added Starr.
Starr and I sat around chatting talking about some of everything. It was good to be able to hang with one of my besties. Being able to just sit back and chill with my girl felt good as hell and I hoped we could do this more often. She had me really thinking about my relationship with Tae on whether I should call it quits or if I should try and work things out with him. I couldn't believe what she was saying because she didn't like him at first after Tavon tried to kill me.
I know none of this shit was his fault, but that still didn’t change the fact that it happened because of him. I know that every time I look at him, I’m going to always think about Zavier. He died too young over stuff that had nothing to with him. That’s the part that hurts the most. I looked down at my phone when it began to vibrate and saw that my mama was calling me.
A big smile crept onto my face because she was finally reaching out to me. She came to Zavier’s funeral and I even heard that she had dinner with my dad, but she didn’t try to spend any time with me. Maybe now she'd finally come to her senses.
"Hello," I answered the phone while trying to conceal my excitement.
"Rozalyn, it’s me baby girl." my mother Shantell said.
"He’s out Rozalyn. He beat the case. I just wanted to let you know ‘cause he might be looking for you."
"Oh my God, when did he—" I looked down at my phone and saw that she’d hung up. "Wow."
I really thought that she was calling to talk to me. I guess I should be happy that she called me to warn me.
"That was your mama?" Starr asked.
"Yea, she just called to tell me something. Shit, what I’m going to do?"
"What? You look like you seen a ghost. What did she tell you?"
"Kevin! Kevin!" I got up, placed my hand on my stomach, and started pacing the floor. "Lord it’s getting hot in here."
"Rozalyn, you are scaring me. What is going on?"
Kevin walked out of the room with Latoya following right behind him. I noticed that my brother’s pants were unzipped, but I didn’t have time to ask about that. I just really hoped that she’s not crazy enough to mess around on Keylan knowing what his profession is. I wouldn’t be able to take it if I lost another brother.
"What you yelling for? What’s wrong with you?" Kevin asked. He walked over to me, took my hand, and walked me back to the couch. "What’s wrong, you sweating and shit? You okay?"
"No, I’m not okay!" I yelled. My hands were trembling and my heart was pounding so hard I couldn’t hear myself think.
"Tell me what’s wrong," Kevin said and sat on the arm of the chair. He fanned me with his hand.
"He out Kevin. My mama just called and said he out. He beat the case. How the fuck did he do that?"
"Shit, you serious?" Kevin asked.
"Yes, she just called. She said that he might be looking for me," I said.
"Wait a minute, what the hell is going on? Who is out and who is looking for you?" Toya asked.
I looked up at Toya and noticed that she didn’t have a bra on. When she first came over, I noticed she had on a pink one cause I told her how good it went with her shirt. I gotta make sure I talk to her about this and to make sure she knows what she’s doing because I’m not about to lose another brother over some bullshit.
"Roz, tell us what’s going on? You got us scared," Starr said.
"Y'all know I told y'all my mama put me out and forced me to move here with my daddy and I told y'all the reason why was because she didn’t want me anymore." I took a deep breath before continuing. "Well that’s part of the reason why. She was married to this dude name P.J., my step-daddy, he a few years younger than her or whatever. Anyway my best friend Ashley came over my house one weekend for a sleep over. My mama had to work that night, so Ashley and I were sitting around watching movies and just chilling.
P.J. came over to the house drunk and shit, so Ashley and me go to my room to get away from him. He comes in the room and starts playing around, getting all touchy- feely with both me and Ashley. After he saw that we weren’t trying to do what he was trying to do he left and we thought it was all over."
"So after a while me and Ashley fell asleep. I don’t know what woke me up, but when I did wake up I looked over and saw P.J. on top of Ashley with his hand over her mouth raping her. I didn’t know what to do. At first I was just frozen not believing what I was seeing, but after a minute I got up from the bed and tried to run. I didn’t get far 'cause he grabbed me by my hair, threw me on the bed, and started ripping my clothes off."
I tried to keep the tears from dropping as I relived the reason why my mama wants nothing to do with me. Kevin was rubbing me on my back as he tried to console me. I had been through so much in my short sixteen years of life that I’m surprised I’m able to smile at the end of the day.
I finished my story, "Luckily the nosey old lady that lived next door to us called the police. She must have heard me screaming or something. When the police started pounding on the door, P.J. was able to escape out the back door. I went over to Ashley telling her to get up and that we were going to be okay but she was—she was dead. He suffocated her and tried to keep her from screaming and he ended up killing her."
Toya and Starr both had tears falling from their eyes as I told them how they found P.J. a few blocks over and arrested him. I told them how when my mom came home she begged me not to say anything. I told myself that I would act like I didn’t know anything, but when Ashley’s mom and step father showed up at the scene mourning over their daughter, I had to say something. I had to tell the police what I’d seen. I couldn’t just let Ashley die and her killer walk around free as a bird.
"So, your mama got mad at you because you snitched on her perverted ass husband?" Latoya asked.
"Yea and she ended up losing the house because she couldn’t afford the payments on it without him. We had to move back to the hood. That just really pissed her off. After a few days she started tripping out on me, saying that we provoked him, said she gonna have her man back no matter what.
Then a couple of weeks later she started begging me to tell the police that I was mistaken and that it wasn’t P.J. and that it was somebody else. I told her no and that’s when she told me I had to get out. She called my daddy and told him I needed to come and live with him," I said. "My mama said he beat the case and that he probably looking for me."
"Damn, Roz if it ain’t one thing it’s another," Starr said and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"She didn’t tell him where you were did she?" Kevin asked.
"He knows that she sent me down here. I just wish I’d known when his trial was so I could have been there to testify against him. I’m not a snitch, but damn he didn’t have to do her like that. I know she got court papers in the mail for me to appear. The DA was probably looking for me and it ain’t no telling what she told them."
"You can’t worry about that right now. We gotta think about what you’re going to do until that nigga is handled. You can’t stay here. I’m not trying to lose you too," Kevin said as he paced back and forth across the floor.
"Tae asked me to move to Miami with him," I stated not believing that I’d said that.
"You are not about to move to fucking Miami with that nigga!" Kevin yelled.
"What other choice do I have Kevin. P.J. will find me and he will try and kill me and anyway I’m pregnant. So either way it goes Tae is gonna make me go once he finds out," I said holding my head down in shame.
Kevin stopped pacing the floor and stared down at me. I’d been avoiding going to the doctor because I knew what was wrong with me. I had Starr pick up a pregnancy test on her way over to confirm my suspicions.
"Tae, is not about to let me stay here when he finds out I’m pregnant and you can forget about me getting an abortion cause he not going to let me do that either," I argued.
"You are talking like this nigga your muthafuckin' daddy or something! You sixteen and you on your second damn pregnancy! I don’t give a fuck what he wants! You not moving to Miami and you not keeping that nigga baby! Remember his blood killed our blood!" Kevin walked away and instead of Latoya coming to console me she followed behind him like a lost puppy.
32: Tamar
I knocked on Rozalyn’s door and waited for someone to come and answer. I was leaving for Miami in a few hours and was glad to know I didn’t have to force her on the plane. She text me at three o’clock this morning and told me she was going to go with me and that she would be packed and ready by noon.
Kevin opened the door and stepped into the hallway closing the door behind him. He crossed his arms over his chest and sucked in a deep breath.
"Look, I really don’t feel comfortable with Rozalyn going with you after what happened to my little brother. I don’t really know what’s going on and if you are as innocent as she say you is, but I’m a get to the bottom of all this shit and I guarantee if I find out you got something to do with my little brother being killed I’m a come after your ass," Kevin said.
"Von is in room three thirty-three at the County hospital. He was supposed to be released yesterday, but they d
ecided to keep him for another couple of days," I said. "Is Rozalyn ready?"
"Yea," Kevin rubbed his hands across his face and leaned against the wall.
I walked inside the apartment leaving him to his thoughts. I know I said before that if I’d found out my brother had anything to do with what happened to Rozalyn and my son, I would kill him, but I wasn’t that grimy. Even after how bad he’d hurt me and Rozalyn I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I picked up the phone a few times to call Key up and have him do it. He was waiting for me to say word, but I didn’t want him to have live with the burden of having to put my brother six feet under either.
I even thought about letting him make it, but how could I? How was I going to answer to Rozalyn knowing that I allowed my brother to survive after what he did? I promised her I was going to find out who did everything and that I was going to take care of it. I just hoped that Kevin had heart enough to do something with the little information that I just gave him.
I carried Rozalyn’s bags down to the car and waited as she said her goodbyes to her brother, pops, and friends. While I was waiting I called up a patna of mine named Tweek that I’ve been working with in Miami and told him that me and Rozalyn should be arriving at the airport down there around nine tonight.
He offered to let me and Rozalyn stay with him at his place, but after all the shit that’s been going on, I think that me and Roz could really use some time to ourselves.
"You alright?" I asked as I helped Rozalyn into the car. She shook her head yes and I walked around to the driver side and got in.
The minute I cranked up the car the tears began to pour from her eyes. I hated to take her away from her people especially being that she just started working on relationships with them, but there was no way I was going to let her stay knowing she was carrying my child. She hadn’t quite confirmed that she was pregnant, but I felt in my heart that she was.
"Everything is going to be alright. We gonna go down here and get a fresh start. We are going to be alright. I promise you that."