You Needed Me III: A Love Story

by Shvonne Latrice

  “Isabetta, I’m pregnant, I need the job.”

  “Wow, I feel sorry for you, being pregnant by a man like Lendsey Quinton. You better hope he’s not fucking your cousin, too.”

  Before she could finish, I cleared her desk of all the shit that was on it as she screamed.

  “You have fucked with the wrong person, Isabetta. You’re gonna wish that you’d kept your mouth shut and gave me my job back.” I panted before quickly leaving her office.

  “Get out! And if you come back I will call the police!” she shouted after me.

  “What happened, Matikah?” Annalise quizzed on my way out, but I just ignored her ass.

  I quickly got to my car, hopped in, and peeled out of the parking lot. I wasn’t gonna wait for Lendsey to come home, I was going straight to his workplace. I knew I was supposed to trust him, but I had to look him in the eye and ask him about it. My heart began to beat fast just thinking about if what Isabetta said was true. I loved Lendsey like a muthafucka, but if he had cheated on me again with Dania’s cousin, I may haul off and butcher his ass. The only problem with killing him though, was that I would be the saddest one at his funeral.

  I parked horribly once I got to Quinton Workforce, and slipped out in a hurry. Storming in, I bypassed his little timid assistant, and went right back to his office. He was typing on his computer when I entered, but stopped when he saw me.

  “Baby, you okay?” he furrowed his brows.

  “No, I’m not. Who the fuck is Rosie?” I dropped my purse on his couch before sitting down.

  “Dania’s cousin.” He walked over and sat next to me.

  “Did you fuck her?”

  “Nah, I let her suck me up a couple times, but that was way before I even knew you, shorty, I swear.” He looked into my eyes. I stared into his blue ones, before a smile appeared on my face. He was being honest.

  “Isabetta claims you asked Rosie for sex while in the spa, and that’s her reasoning for firing me.” I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through my hair.

  “What do you wanna do?”

  “What should I do?”

  “I say you let me take care of it, ma. Rest up and make sure my baby is good, it doesn’t need you to be stressed right now.”

  “Don’t kill her, Len.”

  “I’m crazy, but a nigga ain’t stupid. Just know I got you, and you don’t have to worry about anything else okay?”

  “But what about a job? I liked working there.”

  “Open up your own shit.”

  “With what money, Lendsey?”

  “My money.” He palmed his chest.

  “I don’t want you to give me your money, and you know that already.”

  “I’m not giving you shit. I will loan you the money, and you will have to pay me back. Now it can be in the form cash or a check. If you give me head or pussy, that’s $1,000 for each, both at the same time are $2,000.”

  “Damn, just for some head?” I giggled.

  “That’s how much it’s worth.”

  “Aww, baby.” I poked my bottom lip out and caressed his face. “You are so sweet.” I planted a kiss on his full lips.

  “I try.” He grinned, showing his perfect smile.

  Whatever he had planned for Isabetta wasn’t gonna be pretty, I could already tell. She deserved whatever she had coming to her, too.

  ***

  The next evening…

  “So, how is school?”

  “I’m finished with school, ma, remember?” I looked into her eyes as she sat across from me in the restaurant.

  She’d asked to meet me for an early dinner, and the only reason I was here was because she claimed she would pay. I was sure that she would have some excuse as to why she couldn’t by the time the bill came, but she wouldn’t get away with it this time. I would straight up pay for my food and leave her ass here to scrub a dub dub in the back.

  I really wanted the waitress to hurry up with my food, because she was starting to annoy me. She needed to get to the point and just ask me what she wanted to ask me. The only time my mom wanted to spend time with me was to get information, or brag, so I was just waiting for her to make a move.

  “Oh yes, you work for that nail salon you said.” She sipped her cocktail.

  “It was a spa, and I got fired.”

  “Really, honey? I’m so sorry. Why did that happen?”

  “Because my manager lied and said Lendsey asked her family member for sex, and got aggressive when she told him to leave.”

  “Lendsey, huh? So what’s the deal with you and him?”

  “What’s the deal? What do you think the deal is? He’s my boyfriend and the father of my child.”

  “I don’t know, Matikah. He seems a bit sneaky, like he enjoys stepping out. Do you watch him closely? Never mind, I know you don’t. I’m telling you that you should though.” She rubbed her finger around the rim of her glass as she spoke.

  “Lendsey has done nothing to make me suspicious, Ma. He’s a great guy and you should start only speaking on what you know, alright?”

  I had the password to Lendsey’s phone, and my own fingerprint set up along with his. I used to check his shit morning, noon, and night, but now I didn’t feel the need to do that. I knew my nigga, and I would be able to sense if he was fucking around. When he cheated that first time, I felt it in my gut that something was wrong. This time, I don’t have anything nagging at me. I can sense his faithfulness, and nobody was gonna knock me out of that happy place. Isabetta almost did, but when I looked into his eyes I was able to get my shit back together.

  “I’m sorry, I guess I got the wrong idea when speaking to him. He was a bit flirty with me, but maybe that’s just his personality.”

  “He didn’t flirt with you, but he did let me know you gave him full view of your cob web factory down below.” Her jaw dropped, and I just stared at her with my head slightly cocked, waiting for a response. “Oh you thought he didn’t tell me? Well, he did. Now I suggest we change the subject before I get the urge to jump across this table… Ma.”

  “So… how is Kimberlyn?” she smiled uncomfortably.

  Rhys

  It was around 7pm at night, and I was getting out of the shower. There was nothing like taking a nice hot shower, eating a good ass meal, and then climbing into my comfortable ass bed. And even better was the fact that my baby was here with me. I smiled thinking about her as her little voice bounced off the walls from the kitchen area. She and Indiya were best friends she told me, and I made sure she didn’t repeat that to her mother. Although I loved the fact that she loved Indiya, I felt like that would hurt Summer’s feelings if Bryleigh repeated that.

  I slipped my boxers on, some sweats, socks, and then a wife beater before coming out to the kitchen where Indiya and Bryleigh were. They were in a deep conversation, whispering and shit, so I was wondering what the hell they were talking about. I could assume they were just being their silly selves, but I was never one to assume.

  “What are y’all whispering about?” I questioned as I sat at the bar next to Bryleigh. Indiya was cooking us a full Russian meal, which included chicken kiev, knishes, and Russian black bread. My stomach was growling at the smell already.

  “Can I tell him?” Indiya looked to Bryleigh. That shit really piqued my interest.

  “Mommy said not to,” Bryleigh whined.

  “I know, sweetie, but I think we should because we don’t want anything to happen to your mommy, right?” Indiya smiled and Bryleigh nodded.

  “What the fuc— what are you guys talking about, Indiya?” I was now frowning up. Summer may not have been my woman, but I wasn’t about to let anything happen to her.

  “Summer’s boyfriend, Hakim, smacked her in front of Bryleigh. She said her mom fell to the floor, and that he was yelling at the both of them.”

  My heart rate seemed to speed up the more Indiya talked. I already didn’t like this nigga, because he was trying to push up on Summer while he knew she was taken. But hearing that he h
it her, and in front of my shorty had me 38 hot. I guess that ass whooping I delivered to his ass did nothing, because he was still out here disrespecting me. It was all over with though, because I was gonna do what I should’ve done that night I caught him holding Summer’s hand.

  “Rhys.” Indiya snapped in my face.

  “Oh shit, yeah I’m sorry. I have to make a phone call.” I kissed Bryleigh’s face, and then went into my bedroom to call my brother.

  “What’s good?” he answered.

  “I need to pick up a pizza tonight.”

  “So do that then, Rhys. You want some company?” he asked.

  “Nah, I need to know the address of the pizza place. I know there are multiple locations, but I need one close to me.”

  “Oh okay, just call Andrei, that nigga is like a phone book.”

  “Cool, thanks.”

  I needed a location on Hakim, and usually I would just tell my father and he would get back to me with what I needed. But now that he was dead, I didn’t quite know whom to contact. I guess Andrei was the one who would get my dad the information for me in the past.

  Shit was gonna be weird with my father gone, but I knew it would also be better. Did I miss him? A little because the nigga was my damn father, but it was for the best. I had my brothers’ back over anybody, so when it came down to it, I had to rock with TQ. In addition to that, Stony wasn’t exactly father of the year.

  I text Andrei on my burner phone, and by the time I was dressed he’d texted me Hakim’s address. Upon reading it, I remembered that I already knew where the nigga lived. He stayed right at the spot that I fucked him up in. Shaking my head at myself, I pocketed the burner phone and turned right around to see Indiya standing in the doorway.

  “When will you be back? I want us to eat dinner together.”

  “I won’t be gone long at all. I’m gonna get in there and get out okay?”

  “You better make sure you don’t get hurt, or I’m gonna have to come out of retirement. And when that happens it’ll be all over.”

  “Come out of retirement? Shorty you ain’t no damn thug.” I grinned and kissed her smooth forehead. “Calm your ass down.” I squeezed her butt. “You gettin’ a little more ass on you I see.”

  “No I’m not.” She looked over her shoulder at it.

  “Yes you are, and I can’t wait to hit it from the back tonight.” I pinched it again.

  “Ewww!” Bryleigh screeched in the doorway.

  “What are you doing spying on me?” I rushed her, scooped her up, and tickled her as she screamed and laughed. Finally stopping, I kissed her cheek and then carried her to the living room. “I will be back in a little bit okay? Fix Indiya’s hair for me, it’s looking crazy.”

  “Okay, daddy!”

  I kissed Indiya’s lips as she rolled her eyes, and then left out to handle this bitch ass nigga.

  It didn’t take me long to get to his place in Jamaica Plain, and I guess that was because I was speeding like a muthafucka. I wasn’t even sure if he was home, but it didn’t matter, I would wait until he got there. He was going to die tonight, and that’s all there was to it. No nigga was about to be putting their hands on Summer, especially in front of my fucking daughter.

  Getting out of the car, I checked my surroundings to see who was outside. I wasn’t in my personal vehicle since I had stopped by the warehouse to get one of the many dummy cars we had. But even with that being the case, I still liked to be careful. I wasn’t messy with anything. Once I saw it wasn’t really anyone outside except a few people walking, I went inside his condo building and took the stairs up, making sure to keep my large hood low, covering most of my face. Once I got to his floor, I pulled my mask down and darted down the hallway to his door. I knocked lightly on it, while praying that he answered before one of his neighbors came up. The sound of his footsteps brought about a smile as I cocked my glock.

  “Who is it?” he barked.

  I said nothing because I had nothing to say. This wasn’t a hotel, so the usual ‘housekeeping’ wouldn’t work this time.

  “Fucking stupid yo,” he hissed under his breath as he began to unlock the door. “What the fuck?” He yanked the door open. I could see that he was scared, but he wanted to pretend like he wasn’t. I was like a lion, I could smell fear in the air, and it was permeating off of him at the moment.

  Pushing my mask up I said, “Keep your hands to yourself.”

  “This nigga,” he chuckled and stepped out, half closing his door behind himself. “What you gon’ whoop my ass again? I don’t even care no—”

  PHEW!

  I sent one shot through his head, pulled my mask down, and left just like that. Why stick around for conversation? I had dinner waiting for me.

  Indiya Nikolaev

  A few days later…

  I turned into the unoccupied parking space, and shut the car off. I inhaled sharply with my eyes closed, before taking a sip of my water and getting out. Walking slowly across the pavement, all kinds of thoughts raced through my mind, causing my hands to tremble a little bit as I pulled on the door of the restaurant. Once inside, I scanned the room and found the person I was there to meet. A small smile appeared on my face as I toyed with my new Hermes purse Rhys had purchased me for my birthday, along with these very expensive sandal stilettos I was wearing. Pushing one side of my newly dyed dark hair behind my ear, I approached the table and slid the chair out.

  “Excuse me, where is my hug?”

  “Oh sorry, I’m a bit nervous,” I chuckled before moving over a little to embrace them.

  “Why, honey?”

  “Because I have something to tell you, and I’m gonna need your help I’m sure.” I placed my purse into the chair next to me.

  “Oh, someone is gonna sit there.”

  “You invited someone else? I told you we needed to talk in private.” I frowned, not understanding her angle. I hoped she hadn’t invited Rhys.

  “I know, but it will be short, and then we will be alone again.” Mrs. Quinton smiled at me.

  “Fine,” I sighed as the waiter brought me a glass of water.

  “Here she is now.” She rose to her feet. I turned around to see Summer walking over, dressed like she’d walked off a page of a magazine. She was always a beautiful girl, but today she went overboard. “Hi, honey.” Mrs. Quinton hugged her as I gulped some of my water.

  “Hello, Indiya.” Summer smiled down at me before taking a seat next to me.

  “Hi, Summer.”

  “Umm, Bryleigh told me that you convinced her to tell Rhys what happened. I just wanted to say thank you for doing that, because I wasn’t gonna say anything. But when I think about it now, it bothers me to picture him hitting me in front of my daughter. So I appreciate you stepping in. I also want to apologize for the things I said in Trader Joes.”

  “It’s fine, I-I’m sure you were just angry. I don’t take too many things personally really,” I chuckled lightly. This was so odd for me. Was she really trying to make amends? I had no idea she would come to her senses this quickly. I hope this wasn’t some sort of set up.

  “You’re right, I was mad, but that doesn’t make it right. It was hard for me to watch you make someone I love happy, but I had to realize that I loved him enough to allow someone else to provide him something I couldn’t.”

  “You made him happy for a long time.” I smiled, trying to make her feel better. What woman wanted to believe she wasn’t good enough?

  “Yeah, but I couldn’t trust him. But I think it will be good for you and I to get along. Bryleigh told me you guys are best friends,” she grinned.

  “Oh I think it’s just because I let her braid my hair when she wants.”

  “Probably, but maybe she just likes you.” Summer half smiled.

  “Rhys would love to see this,” Mrs. Quinton beamed.

  “I’m sure he would, but I have to go. I’m going to lunch and to the movies, so I will see you guys later.” Summer rose to her feet and pushed the chair
in.

  “With whom?” Mrs. Quinton frowned.

  “A friend,” she giggled, before walking out.

  “Mrs. Quinton, how are you feeling about your husband and stuff?” I questioned. I had to know, because I’m sure all of this was a lot.

  “To be perfectly honest, most days I feel relieved that I’m not with him and that he’s not with us, but sometimes I find myself feeling sad. We did have some good times together, and beautiful children, but I couldn’t be with a man who mistreats my kids, I don’t care how old they are. Tarenz may be a twenty-seven year old man to everyone else, but all I think about is when the nurse first brought him to me. So when Stony did all of that shit to him, I knew it was time for us to go our separate ways.”

  “Is there going to be a funeral?”

  “Maybe, who knows. He’s been cremated already, so I may just throw him into some water.” She half smiled and sipped some of her wine. “Enough about him, what did you need to talk about?”

  Swallowing the lump in my throat, I grabbed my glass of water and drank some more.

  “Well, I, umm, I—”

  “Spit it out, Indiya.”

  I looked into her eyes for a little bit with a worried expression, before finally speaking.

  “I’m gonna have a baby.” I waited with bated breath for her response.

  “Why was that so hard? That’s great news, Indiya! Rhys is gonna be so excited!”

  “No, he’s not gonna be excited. See I told him I was on birth control, and I was. I am. But between working and spending all this time with him, I got a little lazy with it. I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, but I know he’s gonna think I did. You have to make sure he doesn’t kill me.”

  There was silence between us for a bit, before she burst into laughter. I didn’t know what the hell was so funny, but she needed to see that I was dead serious.

  “Indiya, he is not gonna kill you. It is an honest mistake.”

  “What if he thinks I was trying to trap him?”

  “If he doesn’t know you well enough to know better, then you need to move on, sweetie. Rhys loves you and he would never think something like that about you.”