by Shan
***
We made it to Miami International Airport around ten that night and Tweek was standing in baggage claims waiting for us. He walked up and gave me a pound and a brotherly hug.
"What’s good? Glad to see y'all made it in safely," Tweek said. "Where your girl at? I thought she was coming with?"
"She in the damn bathroom. She been throwing up and shit the whole damn ride," I said and grabbed our bags when they finally came around. I walked off to the side and for Rozalyn to come out. "Where your girl at?"
"Me and that bitch broke up the other day and shit. I don’t even wanna get into that right now. Make me mad every time I think about it."
I laughed, "My bad."
"Damn, that bitch fine. Shit," Tweek expressed
I followed Tweek’s line of vision and saw that he was talking about my bitch. I wanted to drop my stuff and pop him in the mouth, but I guess I would give him the benefit of the doubt being he ain’t know who she was. Rozalyn walked over to me and patted her mouth with a napkin and rubbed on her stomach.
"I’m ready; I’m sorry," Rozalyn said.
Tweek laughed and rubbed his hands across his face like he was nervous, "Damn, I’m sorry but shit this how y'all do it in the ATL? I need to be moving down there." Tweek never took his eyes of Rozalyn’s ass.
"Roz, this my patna Tweek. Tweek this my baby, Roz." I introduced the two of them.
"How are you doing beautiful?" he asked holding out his hand.
"I’m okay. Just tired." Rozalyn took his hand and shook it then we all left the airport.
Once we got in the car and on the road I couldn’t help but notice how much Tweek kept checking his rearview mirror and checking out Rozalyn. I hated to have to come down here and act a fucking fool. This was supposed to be a fresh start for me and Rozalyn and I really wasn’t for the damn drama. I made a note to make sure I check that nigga the minute he and I were alone.
"You sure y'all don’t wanna stay at the crib with me. I got plenty of room and I know that hotel gotta cost a fortune," Tweek said.
"Nah, we good. I appreciate the offer but me and my girl got a lot to talk about and we can really use a little time to ourselves before I get to work."
"I feel ya', I feel ya'. I got that realtor ready to meet with you as soon as you ready. She the best in the business and I know she’ll get you a playa price on whatever you find."
"Already. I probably meet with her in a couple of days. I just want a little condo for right now."
I looked over at Rozalyn and could see her reflection through the window as she stared on the outside. She looked so down. This whole move was really bothering her and I was going to do my best to make everything pleasant for her.
I already told myself that I was going to do things a whole lot differently. First starting off by not telling anybody where we were staying. I even had Tweek pull into the hotel across the street from where we were actually staying.
Tweek offered to help us take the bags up, but I wouldn’t let him. I even got on the elevator and rode all the way up to the top and back down making sure that nigga was gone. Rozalyn was looking at me all crazy but I just told her that I had gotten the hotels mixed up.
We made our way across the street and checked into the Trump International Beach Resort. I booked a one bedroom bay suite for a couple of weeks not knowing how long we were going to really need it. I hoped to have a condo soon, but I wasn’t in a rush.
"Baby, come here you’ve been so quiet. I’m worried about you," I said and pulled Rozalyn onto my lap.
"I just got a lot on my mind, Tae. This is really hard for me coming out here with you," Rozalyn said as she laid her head onto my chest.
"I know it is but baby, I just want you to trust me and let me take care of you. I promise you I’m a do a better job of taking care of you and keeping you safe."
"I’m pregnant."
"I figured you were. How far along are you?"
"I don’t know I haven’t gone to the doctor yet."
"Once we get settled, we can find somewhere to go, alright?"
"Okay."
"I just wanna make you happy for a change and I feel like with us getting a fresh start I can do that without nothing or nobody standing in my way."
I grabbed the blunt that I placed behind my ear and lit it up. We were sitting on the balcony overlooking the beach and enjoying the cool breeze. Rozalyn and I talked for a couple of hours before she drifted off to sleep.
I got up and placed her in the king sized bed and covered her up. I walked back onto the balcony and gave Keylan a call to see if he’d heard anything about Tavon and his condition. When he told me that he hadn’t heard anything, I knew Kevin hadn’t followed through with it yet.
It had to be done and I hated it, but I could see that Rozalyn couldn’t even look me in my eyes anymore. I just hoped he handled it and handled it quickly.
I finally lay to rest about three that morning only to be awaken from Rozalyn running back and forth to the bathroom. I didn’t see how women did that shit. Constantly sick and running to the bathroom all night pissing.
"You good?" I asked when Rozalyn came out of the bathroom.
"Yea, it's supposed to be morning sickness, but I be sick all day and night," she said and climbed back into the bed next to me.
"Rozalyn, do you trust me?" I tilted her chin up forcing her to look at me,
"I do," she said before she closed her eyes.
"Look at me."
"I’m scared Tae. It seems like every time we try and make this work something bad happens. I just feel like maybe you and I aren’t supposed to be together."
"That’s because of the people I was around fucked me over. You ain’t got to worry about that now. My brother is going to get his, Andre is gone, Roderick is gone and nobody is going to hurt you or my baby."
"What about Shalea?"
"Soon as I see that bitch she’s dead too."
"I’m a try. It’s just so much has happened and every time I try and get over one tragedy something else happens."
"We just had some bad luck come our way, but everything is going to be good from here on out. Trust me. I’m a make sure of that."
"I trust you."
"I love you." I said surprising myself.
"I love you too," Rozalyn said with a huge grin on her face. She climbed on top of me and kissed me. I took my hands and gripped her ass. My dick began to thump as it came to life. I reached down and removed Rozalyn’s panties and eased my finger into her pussy. "Mmmh."
"You gonna be mine forever, right?" I asked.
"Yes, you got my heart and it’s yours to keep."
33: Tamar
"Damn, I thought you said y'all were experiencing a drought," I said as I looked around Tweek’s house. He had a six bedroom mansion in an upscale neighborhood near the beach. This shit had to cost a few million dollars. I knew that a few basketball and baseball players lived in the area, so he was definitely stomping with the big dogs.
"Shit, I learned how to invest early on. Money not flowing in as good as it used to, but I’m good. So, where is your girl? Why you ain’t bring her with you?"
"She don’t need to be in my business like that and besides I didn’t like the way you was looking at her," I said and looked over a few of the pictures that Tweek had along the fire place. I glanced over at him and watched as he took a sip of his drink and sat it on the table.
"I ain’t mean no disrespect. Your girl is fine as hell, but I wouldn’t even cross that line. I kept looking at her ‘cause I noticed that she wasn’t feeling well."
"Yea well that’s for me to worry about not you. So I’d appreciate it when the next time you see her you don’t look at her like you ready to fuck."
Tweek laughed, "You a fucking fool my nigga. Anyway let’s get down to business."
"Yea let’s do that," I walked over to the couch and sat down. I guess that nigga thought I was playing with him, but the next time I caught his eyes roaming h
er body, I won’t warn him before I knock his bitch ass the fuck out.
Ding Dong! Ding Dong!
"Shit, I’ll be back," Tweek said getting up and walking over to the door.
I could hear him and a female arguing the minute he opened up the door. The voice sounded familiar, so I got up to see if it was who I thought it was, but couldn’t really see from where I was standing.
I walked over to the window to peek out the blinds, but my line of vision was blocked by a bunch of damn bushes. Shutting the blinds, I walked towards the door just as Tweek closed it. He began to walk towards me before I was able to see who it was. I walked passed him and walked out the door, but it was too late. The car was rolling down the long drive way and out of the gate.
"What’s up?" Tweek asked.
"Who was that you were talking to?" I probed.
"That bitch I was fucking with. Hoe trying to beg her way back in and shit."
"What’s her name?"
"Sha. Why what’s up?"
"Her voice sounded familiar. Ain’t nothing," I walked back into the house and over to the couch with Tweek to discuss the plans for this week.
I could immediately tell that he wasn’t too happy with Dmitri’s decision on who was going to be running things. Every time I made a suggestion he shut it down. Every time I told him how something was going to go, he told me how he didn’t agree.
I could see now that he was a problem and that this shit wasn’t going to work. The first time I came down here he was cool with the way I set up everything and had the money flowing in, but that was when he was in control. Now that I’m running the show he wants to throw all kinds of oppositions my way. It’s all good though because as soon as I left his house, I called up Keylan and Brandon and told them I needed them in Miami as soon as possible.
34: Rozalyn
I took a deep breath and looked around the living room making sure that everything was in place. We’ve finally got everything settled here at the condo that Tamar found a good twenty minutes from the beach. I can’t lie and say that in the beginning I felt like coming to Miami was a big mistake and I would regret coming here, but actually after being here for two months things were starting to feel like home.
Tamar didn’t know the real reason I agreed to come with him was because I feared for my life and he didn’t need to know at this point. When the time came to tell him I would, but as of right now things were good and I didn’t want to mess that up.
We were happy, the happiest we have been in a very long time. Although more than anything I wanted to be in Atlanta with my brother Kevin, and surprisingly my father Korey, I knew I couldn’t. If I went back, P.J. was destined to find me and kill me for ratting him out.
I missed my friends Brian, Starr, and Latoya, but they understood my situation. I wish that I could also be there for Jazlene. After being in Miami for a week, she sent me a text telling me that she was four months pregnant and didn’t know how to tell me in the beginning.
This was the first time she’d carried a baby without having any problems. It was just sad that it happened when my brother wasn’t here to see it.
"Looks good babe," Tamar said as he placed his arms around me and rubbed on my protruding pregnant belly. I was now five and half months pregnant with another boy. I had to pray for strength every day I woke up. It was hard sometimes for me to get out of bed because one day something was bound to happen to this baby too.
I did my best not thinking about the negative but over the last few years, my life had been nothing but a roller coaster.
"You like it?" I asked pulling myself from the crazed thoughts I was having about my newborn.
"Yea you made it look homely. You know being we ain’t never here. You may do have a future in designing."
"Good, I was hoping that you would like it. And what you mean I may have a future in designing. I told you I’m a bad bitch."
"Yea a bad bitch that needs to take her ass back to school and see about getting that high school diploma."
I rolled my eyes at Tamar and walked into the kitchen to help the Chef set the food up for the little get together. He knew how I felt about my education at this point. It used to mean so much for me to get my diploma, go to college, and make something with my life, but right now it just wasn’t as important as it used to be.
Maybe one day I would get the passion back that I had once before, but as of right now, I wanted to focus on building my life up and getting over the things that has happened to me and my family.
"Go on and get dressed," Tamar said before he took the tray I was holding and sat it on the table.
Tamar was hosting a formal meet and greet where all of the big leagues and street lieutenants would be coming here and meeting with Tamar. They would talk a little business and basically get to know the new King of Miami.
Tamar didn’t really want to do it because he didn’t want anyone knowing where we lived besides Dmitri, Keylan, and Brandon. When he found out a few weeks ago that he was hosting this little charade, he went out and bought a house on the north side district of Miami; a few blocks from where Dmitri bought a place a few months ago. We only came here occasionally.
I went into the bedroom and dressed into my chocolate brown Isabella Oliver maternity dress, threw on a few accessories to compliment my dress, and slid on a pair of DKNY sandals.
I put on a little bit of foundation and applied my MAC eye shadow before exiting the room. Dmitri, Keylan, Tamar, and Brandon were all scattered about the living area playing the PS3.
I rolled my eyes and made my way into the kitchen smiling when I saw that the Chef was gone. Could finally sneak me a piece of freshly prepared sushi. Tamar would kill me if he caught me eating this. He was a firm believer that pregnant women shouldn’t consume any type of seafood besides Tuna.
He was the one that turned me onto it so he knew how much I loved it. I figured a taste here and there wouldn’t hurt anything.
"You better not be over there eating that sushi," Tamar said as he glanced over at me. Damn, does he have eyes behind his head? I thought. He handed the controller over to Keylan and walked towards me. I tried to hurry and grab a piece of bread to stuff it in my mouth, but it was too late.
Tamar grabbed me by my chin and kissed me taking my bottom lip into his mouth. When he pulled away from me I could see that he was mad. "Roz, what the fuck? You know you ain’t supposed to be eating that shit!"
"It was just one piece," I tried explaining.
"I don’t give a fuck. You know what I said about eating that shit!"
"I’m sorry," I cried. I was so damn sensitive when I was pregnant. I cried over any and every little thing that I felt was necessary to cry about.
"Damn, there you go with that shit!"
Ding Dong! Ding Dong!
I walked away and went into the bedroom to clean my face. By time I came back, the house was filled with at least twenty more people. People were all over the place and there were a lot of faces I’d never seen before.
Tamar was walking around getting to know everybody, shaking hands, and chit-chatting which was good. It was what Dmitri begged him to do. Tamar didn’t want to do this but the fact that he was mingling was good. I walked into the corner where Brandon was seated and stuffing his face with the variety of foods we were serving.
"Why you over here being anti-social?" I asked him before I picked up a piece of jerk chicken from his plate.
"I just came to eat and to see if it was going to be some hoes here," Brandon said as he licked his fingers in between bites.
"Hoes? Nigga what kind of party you thought this was? All the females here came with somebody."
"I see. How is my nephew doing?"
"Good, he’s starting to move a lot more. So, why didn’t you bring Brittany with you?"
"Brittany still tripping, she accepted my engagement ring, but said she won’t marry me until she knows for sure that I’m not in love with you."
I looked around to make su
re no one was listening to our conversation. "Just tell her that you’re not, Brandon. Why are you making her think that you’re in love with me?"
"Because I am and you know that. I can’t help how I feel. I can’t help what happened between us. I think about it all the time."
I checked my surroundings again making sure no one was within an earshot of us, "Did you tell her?"
"No, but I think she knows that something went down."
"B, I thought we said we were gonna forget about that."
"I can’t, I think about it almost every day."
I looked at Brandon and then turned around and walked away looking for my man. So I haven’t been completely honest about some things and I was hoping that I would never have to come clean about it. It was a mistake that I wish had never happened.
I didn’t feel the same way Brandon did about it and I would never feel the same way as he did. I only slept with him because I thought I needed to thank him for all he’d done for me when I was on the run and hiding out from Tavon.
It happened only one time and we promised that we would forget about it and never bring it up again, but it’s obvious that Brandon wasn’t keeping his promise.
The meet and greet was popping and everything was going good. It was beginning to get overcrowded. I started feeling a little claustrophobic and worn the hell out. I prayed that it would be over soon so that Tae and I could lay it down.
I tapped Tamar on his arm, but was disrupted when Dmitri rushed over to Tamar and pulled him off to the side. I attempted to read Dmitri’s lips, but was unable to. Once I followed his eyes to see what he was looking at, I was able to see what the big deal was.
Tweek was walking into the door and the girl he had on his arm was like looking at a fucking ghost. I began to hyperventilate, my skin became hot and everything I’d eaten felt like it was about to come up and come out.
Tamar came over to me and grabbed me by my arm. He was asking me was I okay, but I couldn’t answer him. The night that I lost my baby played into my head and it felt like the shit was happening all over again.