Always Gonna Be My Baby: A Hood Love Story

by Charmanie Saquea

  “Can you get out? I need to go get my daughter,” Treasure said as calm as she could.

  “I'm not stopping you. All you have to do is put the key in the ignition to start it, use the little thing right here called a gear shift to put the car in drive, and pull off. Then you'll be on your way,” Benji told her.

  Treasure looked at him like she wanted to slap the taste out of his mouth. Here she was mad at him and he thought it was a good time to be cute and crack jokes.

  “You need help? You want me to show you how to do it?” he asked.

  “What the hell do you want, Benjamin?” she finally snapped.

  “If I tell you, will I get it?” he asked as his hand traveled up her thigh.

  Treasure slapped his hand and tried to swing on him but he grabbed her hands. Benji laughed but she didn't find anything funny.

  “You better calm your ass down, girl. What you so mad for?”

  “Benjamin, get out of my car and go back wherever you came from. I don't have time for this bullshit,” Treasure said through gritted teeth.

  “Oh, that's the second time you called me Benjamin. What's up, though, Treasure? Talk to me,” Benji said, getting serious.

  “Now you wanna talk but when I wanted to talk, you basically gave me your ass to kiss. I'm not going to play these games with you, Benji. Not only do I have myself to think about but I have a daughter to think about. I'm not about to let a nigga jump in and out of her life because he wants to get in his feelings one day and just cut us off. No, you can keep that shit because I'm good on it,” Treasure let him know.

  Benji nodded his head because he couldn't do anything but respect what Treasure was saying. She was one hundred percent right. He was wrong for getting mad and not talking to her because not only did his actions affect her but they also affected Eternity.

  “You're right, but check it. I apologize for my actions as far as being in my feelings. Yes, I did feel some type of way about that night because you made a nigga break all type of street codes. Like Choppa said, we were taught to never pull a gun out if we weren't going to use it. I broke the number one rule all on the strength of you. I've never done no shit like that behind a female so it made me do some deep ass thinking,” Benji told her.

  “Okay, but think about how that shit made me feel for a minute. Y'all were standing in the middle of the street on some Wild, Wild West bullshit, pointing guns at each other and shit. Y'all, not just you but my brother and Lorenzo as well, put me in a situation that I never want to be in or should ever have to be in again. I basically felt as if I was being forced to choose sides and that's not right. At the end of the day, Lorenzo is still Eternity’s father and I don't want to see him standing there with a gun pointed at his head. I know how to handle Lorenzo, I had him. Things just got blown way out of proportion that night,” Treasure explained.

  “No, shit did not get blown out of proportion because under no circumstances should that fuck nigga have put his hands on you. Period. Baby daddy or not, he need to learn how to show some respect to the woman that brought his daughter into this world. If he can't learn it on his own, I'll have no problems teaching it to him. As your nigga, I had every right to come in and—”

  “Hold up, as my what?” Treasure asked.

  “Man, stop playing with me. You heard what the fuck I said.” Benji waved her off.

  “Benji, since when have we been in a relationship?” Treasure asked, truly amused at the direction the conversation just turned in.

  “Since I said so. Why you playing with me, Treasure? Stop talking, put this bitch in gear and drive.”

  By now, Treasure was doubled over in her seat in laughter. She couldn't believe that Benji had just flipped and got mad that quick. It was funny and cute at the same time. She didn't remember them agreeing on the fact that they were in a relationship so she didn't know where the hell he came up with that one from. While she was busy laughing, Benji grabbed a handful of her hair and brought her face to his.

  Treasure was so caught off guard that she couldn't even catch herself. Benji’s tongue entered her mouth as their tongues wrestled each other. Benji was kissing her so good that it had her mind boggled. They were so caught up in their kiss that neither of them noticed the truck riding passed with the driver giving them an evil glare.

  Benji broke the kiss, softly biting Treasure’s lip.

  “You done talking crazy?” he asked her.

  Treasure just nodded her head because she couldn't catch her breath.

  “So, you my girl, right, Treasure?” Benji questioned for clarification.

  Once again she nodded her head.

  “Nah, I don't know what that shit mean. Open up your mouth and talk,” he told her.

  “Yes, Benji,” Treasure answered.

  “Alright then, I don't want no more shit from you. Now start the car up and let's go get my Chipmunk,” Benji told her.

  Without a fight or another word, Treasure did as she was told and started the car so she could go get Eternity.

  Fifteen

  Aries sat on the couch nervously waiting for Kevin to get home from work. She kept rehearsing over and over in her head how she wanted this conversation to go. She knew she couldn't hold off any longer and she had to tell Kevin today that she couldn't marry him. She didn't know when she would be ready but she knew for a fact that she wasn't ready now.

  She looked down at her phone as it vibrated, letting her know that she had a text message.

  Morgan: Update?

  Aries: Waiting for him to come home from work, definitely telling him for sure tonight

  Aries was so nervous that she couldn't even text Morgan back without her hands shaking. She didn't know how someone would react to their fiancée telling them they didn't want to marry them right now and she was hoping that Kevin would be understanding.

  Morgan: Be strong love! You need me to come over for support?

  “Hell yes!” Aries yelled as if Morgan could hear her. Instead of texting her how she really felt, Aries played it off.

  Aries: No it's fine but thank you though. I'll call to let you know how everything went

  As soon as Aries pressed send, Kevin walked through the door. Aries took a deep breath as she prepared herself for how this was going to go.

  “What you doing here so early?” Kevin asked, surprised to see her home.

  “Class was cancelled. Besides, we need to talk anyways,” Aries told him.

  Kevin looked at her with a raised eyebrow as he loosened his tie around his neck. He was wondering what she possibly could have wanted to talk with him about.

  “Cool, let me go get comfortable then I'm all yours,” he said before kissing her head then disappearing up the stairs.

  Aries waited patiently for him to change so she could get this over with. She had been putting this off for days but she made a vow that today would be the day that she laid everything on the table and let Kevin know how she really felt. She didn't think it was fair to him or anyone else that that she put on a charade and messed with Kevin’s feelings.

  “Okay, babe, what did you want to talk about?” Kevin asked as he came back into the room and sat on the couch next to her.

  “The wedding,” Aries simply said.

  “What, you made some changes or thought about something else you wanted to do?” questioned Kevin.

  Aries shook her head. “No, it's nothing like that. I think we should hold off on it for right now, Kevin. I feel like we’re rushing things and I just can't get married right now. I'm not saying that I don't love you or anything like that, because I do. I just can't go through with this marriage.”

  After Aries said what she had to say, it felt as if a big weight had been lifted off her shoulder. She sighed in relief and actually felt better but it was short lived when she saw the look on Kevin’s face. He had a facial expression that was unreadable as he just sat there not saying anything. Suddenly, he just got up and headed for the wet bar. Aries got up and followed him.
>
  “Kevin, please say—”

  WHAP

  Aries’ sentence was cut short by the vicious backhand that Kevin delivered to her face. He hit her so hard that she literally did a complete 360˚ circle and her ear was ringing. Aries had to take a minute to register exactly what just happened. When she put her hand up to her mouth and saw the blood, she lost it.

  “Have you lost your fucking mind?” she yelled as she started swinging on Kevin.

  Aries had always been considered the calm, nonchalant, laid back one of her siblings. It took a lot for her to get riled up but she wasn't going to allow any man to put their hands on her. She had spent years play fighting, wrestling, and boxing Ceon growing up so she wasn't scared to fight a man. She knew she couldn't beat him physically but at least she wasn't going down without a fight.

  Kevin grabbed Aries by her throat and slammed her into the wall so hard that her head bounced off of it. Aries grabbed and clawed at his hands to get him to let her throat go.

  “Bitch, you just don't know how fucked up you got me right now! After everything I've done for your ungrateful ass and this is how you repay me? Did you forget that if it weren't for me, your little ghetto ass would be behind bars right now? Bitch, I own you! If I say we’re walking down that aisle then that's exactly what the fuck we’re going to do. I will break your fucking neck if you ever spit that dumb shit at me again!” Kevin growled.

  He was so pissed that he had spit flying out of his mouth. Just when Aries was about to black out, he let her go. Aries dropped to the ground and fought helplessly to get the oxygen back in her lungs. She honestly didn't know what the fuck just happened or who that man before her was because it damn sure wasn't Kevin. He had the most evil look in his eyes that she had ever seen. It was to the point where he almost looked and sounded demonic. She looked up at him with the most hateful look she could muster up. Kevin just stood over her looking down at her.

  “Get the fuck up and cook me something to eat,” he said before walking away.

  Aries got up feeling lightheaded as she stumbled and it took her a minute to get herself together.

  “One more thing,” Kevin said as he walked back in the room. “Don't even think about running to that miscreant you call a brother. One phone call and he's done for. Please don't play with me, Aries,” he said before leaving again.

  Aries sighed as she made her way to the kitchen. Never would she have thought that she would begin to regret the day that she ever met Kevin. Back then, she thought it was a blessing but now she was finding out that it was actually a curse in disguise.

  Three years ago when Aries was only eighteen years old, she literally ran into Kevin at her job. She was working at a restaurant he and his friends frequented and he would always stare at her or watch her, but he would never approach her or say anything. One day when she wasn't watching where she was going, she ran right smack dab into him. It was then that Kevin took advantage of the opportunity to introduce himself to her.

  At first, Aries was not interested because he was far from her type. She could tell just by his appearance that they came from two totally different backgrounds. Plus she just wasn't all that attracted to him. Being the persistent man that he was, Kevin refused to give up. He kept coming to the restaurant and perusing Aries until she finally gave in and agreed to go on one harmless date with him as friends. On the date, Aries got to see a more relaxed and down to earth side of Kevin and figured he wasn't as bad as she initially thought.

  One night, Aries was leaving a college party one of her classmates was having and she was a little tipsy. She knew she shouldn't have been drinking and she knew damn well she shouldn't have been getting behind the wheel of a car. Unfortunately, she hit someone and went straight into panic mode. She was scared out of her mind and knew she couldn't call Treasure or Ceon so the first person she thought to call was Kevin.

  Kevin showed up at the same time the police did. He told her don't worry about it and assured her that everything would be fine. He followed her down to the police station, bailed her out and the next thing she knew, there were no reports of any accidents, drunk driving, or anyone getting hit.

  Come to find out, the captain was Kevin’s father and just as he’d promised, everything was taken care of. To this day, Aries didn't know how they managed to cover it up and the incident was never spoken of again between the three of them. She didn't know if she’d killed the person she hit or not. It was like something that should have been on Unsolved Mysteries.

  Now here it was three years later and Kevin felt the need to bring the incident up and throw it up in her face. If she could rewind the hands of time and erase the part where she met Kevin, she would. She had never harbored hatred for anyone but Kevin was slowly taking her to that spot.

  Sixteen

  Treasure walked into Joe’s Crab Shack in search of her sister. It had been a minute since the two had seen each other because of their own stubbornness. The two of them had never gone this long without talking to each other so when her sister called and said she had something she really needed to speak with her about, she wasted no time coming.

  “Arie Pooh, what's up?” Treasure asked as she got to the table.

  “Hey,” Aries said in a low tone.

  Treasure paused before picking up her menu. She had known Aries all her life so she knew when something was wrong with her little sister, even when she tried to hide it. “Alright, Aries, talk to me. Let's cut out all the bullshit and let's get right to it.”

  “I told Kevin I didn't want to get married,” Aries let her know.

  Treasure looked at her in complete shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Just a few weeks ago, Aries was ready to bite her head off and going to bat for her and Kevin’s relationship. Now, here she was talking about she wasn't getting married.

  Before Treasure could say anything, the waiter came over to take their drink orders. While Treasure ordered a Sprite, Aries ordered a water with lemons. Treasure damn near shooed the waiter off so she could jump back into the conversation.

  “Well, why? And what happened? How did it go?” she questioned.

  Aries looked away and tucked her hair behind her ears. She didn't want to tell Treasure that Kevin had hit her because she knew she would definitely tell Ceon. She didn't need or want her brother getting back locked up behind her. This was a situation that she had created so she felt like she should deal with it on her own.

  “Come on, Aries. You wanted to meet up so we could talk, so talk. I know I may have been very opinionated when it came to you marrying Kevin but I wouldn't dare want you calling the thing off because of me. I would never be able to live with myself if that's the case, Aries. If you want to get married to Kevin, then go ahead and do that,” Treasure told her sister.

  Aries shook her head. “It wasn't because of you. I just stopped trying to force feelings that weren't there. I'm not in love with Kevin and no matter how much I try to force myself to be, I'm just not. Marrying him wouldn't be the best thing to do right now,” Aries explained.

  “Okay, so how did he take the news?”

  “He felt slighted, of course, and didn't take the news very well. Treasure, I'm stuck. I can't get out of this because he won't let me and I don't know what to do. I mean…I know what I have to do but I can't live like this.”

  Ever since the big blow up, Kevin had been acting like the biggest bitch of the year. Aries hated to see him coming but loved to see him going. The only time he would talk or look at her is when he was telling her to cook or clean something. Ever since she told him she didn't want to marry him, he turned into someone she didn't know.

  “Okay, wait, stop talking in riddles. What do you mean he won't let you get out of this? I know damn well you're not letting that nigga beat on you!” Treasure snapped, causing the people in the restaurant to look at her like she was crazy.

  Aries looked around in embarrassment. She picked somewhere public to meet up with Treasure because she didn't think s
he would act a fool when she told her what was going on but she was proven wrong.

  “Shhh, Treasure, no!” Aries hushed her sister. “That's not hardly the case. It's just Kevin has something over my head and if I don't follow through with this wedding, there's no telling what could happen.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  Aries sighed as she looked around to make sure no one was listening before she leaned in and gave her sister a short rendition of how she was being forced into marrying Kevin. She told her about leaving the party, the accident, and Kevin having his father make it go away as if it never happened. She told her how Kevin threw it up in her face and she was scared of what could happen if she didn't marry him.

  Treasure sat there stumped. For the first time, she didn't have anything to say, which was rare. She had no idea that Aries had even gone through all that. That was the first bit of information that her sister had ever withheld from her.

  “Arie, listen to me. I will have Benji and them run up on Kevin’s bitch ass for you and I guarantee you there will be no wedding. I knew there was more to why I didn't like his bitch ass! Fuck him, I don't know who he think he is but you don't have to do a damn thing!”

  Aries didn't want to but she ended up bursting into laughter. She always found Treasure to be funny whenever she was pissed off.

  “I'm happy that you can laugh at the bullshit but this is some serious shit, Arie. I'm not feeling this. And why the fuck have we been sitting here for a half hour and nobody came to take our order!” Treasure snapped.

  “Oh gosh,” Aries laughed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Girl, I'm hungry as fuck and they wanna play. I'm about to act a damn fool in here. Anyways, what you gonna do?”

  “I'm going to figure it out, trust me,” Aries told her.

  “I do,” Treasure told her. “You're coming out with us tonight, so don't give me any bullshit. When we leave here, we can go take care of some things because I have to get you caught up on the drama that's been brewing in my life,” she said.