by A'zayler
Kerry’s apartment was the last one on the corner of her street. Her porch was clean minus the two large black trash bags overflowing with stuff. Her grass was a little higher than it should be and she had a broken chair in her yard. Kia’s nose turned up at the sight. Kerry had always been a clean person, so it was unusual for her front porch to look as untidy as it did. Usually the only thing that was on her porch was Izzy’s toys.
“What the hell?” Kia pulled her phone from her purse and scrolled through her contacts.
Kia dialed Kerry’s number, but it rang to the voicemail so she was forced to get out. She looked around the yard for a minute, just trying to get her thoughts together. She didn’t see Kerry’s car, but she knew Jacko wouldn’t send her over there if she wasn’t there. Kia sucked her teeth and put her car in park. She turned it off and got out of her seatbelt. As tired as she was, and as bad as her feet hurt from her heels, she got out anyway.
Some of the men standing on the corner of Kerry’s street looked her way and even had the nerve to whistle. Kia continued her stride to the front door without looking their way. She opened the screen door and knocked on the hard black door. Kia could hear music playing, which was a sign that someone was home, but no one came to the door. She continued knocking until she heard the locks clicking.
Kia’s face frowned up as soon as Kerry came to the door. The light blue scrubs she was wearing were dirty, her hair was greasy and looked a mess as it lay all over her head. Her face was dirty and her nose was running. She was looking down when she first opened the door, so it took her a minute to notice it was Kia. She ran her hand over her head, doing a terrible job at fixing her hair as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
“Oh, hey, Kia. Wha- what you doing here?” She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to conceal the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“Jack didn’t call you? I’m supposed to be picking up Izzy.”
Kerry’s eyes bucked, letting Kia know that she was caught off guard by that statement.
“Oh yeah, he did say that. Okay, let me get her stuff together.” Kerry turned away from the door.
Kia found it odd that Kerry didn’t invite her in, but she didn’t say anything. She just stood in her place and looked in the house. The living room was still somewhat clean, but there was a pile of clothes on the sofa and some were even on the floor. There were two KFC boxes and two red paper cups on the coffee table. The house being dirty was so unlike Kerry that Kia was almost worried.
“Auntieeee!” Izzy’s voice broke Kia’s inspection of their house.
She could see her through the screen door running toward her. Kia opened the door so she could pick her up. As soon as Izzy got close to her she scooped her up in her arms and kissed her face. Izzy locked her little legs around Kia’s waist and held onto her tightly. Kia was about to keep kissing her, but when she turned her head, the smell of Izzy’s hair almost made her puke. It smelled sour as if some milk had been wasted in it or something.
“Hey, Auntie baby. Let me put you down so you can go get your stuff.”
Izzy loosened her legs and slid down Kia’s body. When her feet were on the floor again she took off running back up the stairs. Kia was starting to get inpatient because Kerry was just taking way too long to come back. Five more minutes passed before Kia couldn’t make herself wait any longer and went in.
“Kerry, what’s up girl? Come on. I’m ready to go home.” Kia stood at the bottom of the stairs so that she could hear her yelling.
“I’m coming, girl,” Kerry yelled back.
Kia walked around the kitchen and back into the living room because that was worse than the living room. Dishes were everywhere.
“Girl, excuse my mess. I’ve been working like crazy and haven’t had a lot of time to clean up.” Kerry walked up behind Kia.
Her face was now clean, her hair was in a ponytail, and she was no longer in her scrubs, but a pair of tights and an oversized shirt. She looked a hundred times better than she had when she opened the door.
“It’s cool, girl. I understand. Is Izzy ready?”
Kerry handed Kia a pink and purple HOME overnight bag that she and Jacko had gotten her last week at Toys R Us. “Yeah, here’s her bag.”
Kia took it and walked toward the door. She tried her best not to look over into Kerry’s living room again because she wasn’t sure she could hold her face together.
“Aye baby, whose car is that outsi—” A tall brown skinned dude walked into Kerry’s front door. It was Cooper. He was Kerry’s boyfriend or whatever he wanted to call himself. In Kia’s opinion he wasn’t much of a man, so she treated him as such.
Kia looked him up and down and turned her head. She was in no mood to speak. Especially to him. He looked a fucking mess, and he was just staring at her. He had no manners whatsoever. Kia hated him. He did nothing for Izzy, and from the looks of Kerry’s house, he did nothing for Kerry either.
“Oh, it’s just Kia.”
He looked her up and down again with an ugly look. It was no secret that he hated her too. “Kia who?”
Kerry sucked her teeth. “Jacko’s wife.”
“That ain’t the car you been driving is it?” He looked at Kia.
Kia raised her eyebrows because she knew like hell he wasn’t talking to her. She looked behind her at Kerry just as Izzy was coming down the stairs. It didn’t go unnoticed that she stopped smiling when she saw Cooper.
“Kerry, we’re about to dip, love. I’ll take her to school Monday and you can pick her up like always.” Kia leaned in and hugged Kerry.
“Thanks, Kia, and tell Jack I really appreciate it.”
Kia smiled at her. “He knows, boo.” Kia looked past her at Izzy who was still standing on the stairs. “Come on, Auntie baby, let’s go.”
Izzy trotted happily toward Kia with her pink Barbie suitcase rolling behind her. Kia grabbed the suitcase in the same hand she had her overnight bag in and they headed for the door. Cooper’s ugly ass was still standing there and didn’t look like he planned on moving. Kia stood back on one leg and looked at him. He stared right back at her.
“Nigga, get out my damn way. Don’t you see me and this baby trying to leave?”
He gave her a devilish smile as he moved out of the way. “You better watch your mouth, girl.”
“Um huh. Just get out of my damn way.” Kia and Izzy were on the porch and headed to her car when he came outside.
“That nigga gets you a new whip every month, don’t he?”
Kia looked over her shoulder and smiled. “He ain’t doing nothing Brax wouldn’t have done for Kerry if he was still alive.” Kia smiled again and finished buckling Izzy into her seat.
She was happy about the frown in his forehead as she hopped into her car and cranked it up. She laughed to herself as she pulled away from the curb. Braxton, was Jacko’s twin brother’s name, and anytime it was brought up around Cooper he got mad. The last time Izzy got into trouble and screamed that she wanted her real daddy, Cooper got angry and spanked her. That set Jacko off. Kerry had already told Jacko on numerous occasions that Izzy was afraid to talk about him whenever Cooper was around so that incident just made it worse. It took Kia, Demoto, Taryn, Mr. Buck, and even Izzy to get Jacko calm enough not to beat Cooper’s ass that day and every day after it.
Nearly two months had passed, and he still hadn’t stepped foot back over Kerry’s house. Jacko was a man who couldn’t regulate his temper, so he deemed it best that he stay away from her house until she was done dealing with Cooper. He couldn’t control who Kerry chose to deal with, but what he could control was whether he was in their presence or not. Kia understood his anger and harbored a little of her own, so she volunteered to be their middle man. If it was one thing that went without saying was the fact that she had Jacko’s back.
If he didn’t like that nigga, Cooper, then neither did she. She was just more in control of herself than Jacko was. She could hate a person and sit right next to them. He, o
n the other hand, could do no such thing. That was her baby though. Whatever he couldn’t handle, she would, and vice versa. Kia drove straight to her house. She had wanted to swing by and pick up Ayo first, but she would do that after she got Izzy together.
Her hair was a mess, and she smelled funny. It pissed Kia off that Kerry had her looking like that. She battled with herself whether to tell Jacko about it. As much as she wanted to, more than likely she probably wouldn’t. Jackson was different from most men. Aside from getting angry, it would hurt him as well.
Kia had long ago learned that he was a tad bit more sensitive than he let on. Others wouldn’t know because he smiled and made jokes about everything, but she knew the truth. Sometimes he had to laugh to keep from crying. His brother’s death, the fall out he’d had with his mother a few months ago, and Izzy’s unfortunate circumstances of never having a father all bothered him on the regular.
Kia tried to be there for him as much as she could, but he still kept it on his shoulders. There had been nights that he’d lie awake in her arms telling her about all the things that kept his feelings at bay. Tears might fall, but that was rare. His hurt was internal. Showing it visually wasn’t something he favored. Which was good for outsiders, but not for Kia. She saw straight through it and him keeping it inside was what bothered her the most.
“Auntie, is my Uncle Jack-Jack here?” Izzy looked out of the window as Kia pulled into their driveway.
“Not yet, baby. He’ll be here later. Let’s go put your things away, then we’ll go get Ayo. You want to do that?”
Izzy’s face lit up at the mention of her little cousin’s name. “Yes!”
Kia smiled before getting herself and Izzy out of the car. She grabbed their belongings and entered her house. Before doing anything, else she turned Izzy some bath water on and grabbed the shampoo from beneath her sink. She grabbed a casual outfit from Izzy’s drawer in the room they’d decorated for her and proceeded to give her a bath. After shampooing her hair to rid it of the awful smell, she pulled her out and rubbed lotion all over her body.
“Auntie, why you make me take a bath right now? I thought I only take baths at night.”
“I just wanted you to smell good before we go see Ayo.”
“Thank you.” She looked around the bathroom as Kia pulled her panties up over her bottom. “After I wasted the cereal in my hair, my mama told me she would do it, but she didn’t.”
Kia pulled her shirt over her head quickly so she could see her face. “How did you waste cereal in her hair?”
Kia knew she wasn’t crazy. That baby’s hair did smell like sour milk.
“Cooper and my mama was still sleep in her room, and I couldn’t get the door open, so I yelled at her to open it for me.”
“Did she open it?”
“No. Cooper told me to go downstairs. I kept trying to tell her that I was hungry but she wouldn’t listen to me. So I fixed my own cereal. I was trying to put my bowl on the counter but it fell.”
Kia sat down on the floor with her back against the counter. “Who helped you clean it up?”
“I did it myself with the paper towels. Then I ate my cereal. My mama said my hair was okay like that because I didn’t have to go to school that day.”
“What day?”
Kia was started to get a little disturbed because there was no reason Izzy should be missing school. Especially with the amount of money Jacko was spending on her private education.
“Umm,” Izzy looked up to the sky. “Not today and not yesterday because I went yesterday and played with my friend Kacey, but the day before that one.”
“Wednesday?”
Izzy shrugged.
“Did you go to cheerleading practice that day?” Wednesday was the only day of the week that Izzy did cheerleading at her school.
She stared down at the floor with a sad look on her face. “No, I didn’t get to cheer that day because I didn’t go to school. My mama said I could go next week.”
Kia sucked her teeth and finished dressing Izzy. She knew damn well it hadn’t been two days since Izzy had wasted milk in her hair and Kerry hadn’t washed her hair yet. Kia looked Izzy over and just shook her head. That poor baby had probably gone to school looking exactly the way she’d looked and smelled a few moments ago. She could feel herself getting angrier so she tried to calm herself down by asking Izzy about what she’d learned at school that day. Izzy talked her ear off about firetrucks and hibernation as she combed her hair.
When she finished, Izzy looked like herself. Kia changed out of her work clothes, throwing on a sundress and some flip flops. She ran her hair through her hair and pinned the front back before grabbing her shades and Izzy and leaving the house. Her mind was still on Izzy missing school as she drove to Taryn and Demoto’s apartment.
“Auntie, why you not answering your phone?” Izzy broke Kia’s train of thought.
She was so focused on Izzy that she hadn’t heard her phone ringing. She answered for Taryn just before it hung up.
“Where you at lil bitch?”
“Why you in my business? Where is Ayo?”
“Because your business is my business. Duh. But he right here. We just got home.”
“K, well open your door. I just pulled up.”
Taryn said okay before hanging up. When Kia looked up she could see Taryn and Ayo standing at the door. He was resting on her hip while she leaned on the bar near her front door. Kia quickly grabbed Izzy and went upstairs. When they got into her apartment Taryn gave Izzy and Ayo some pizza rolls and French fries before joining Kia in the living room.
“What’s on your mind Kia Bia?”
“Girl, let me tell you…” Kia went on to fill Taryn in on everything that Izzy had told her.
Taryn was just as shocked at Kia had been. “So what you think is wrong with her?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s that nigga Cooper she’s with right now. His dusty ass just gets on my nerves. Before she got with him, Kerry stayed on point. Now she is walking around with her face dirty and shit.”
Taryn frowned in disgust.
“That’s exactly how I felt when she answered the door looking like a damn preschooler with dried up snot all over her face and shit.”
Taryn sat up some so that she could put her leg beneath her butt. “You told Jack?”
“I don’t know if I should. Jacko be letting this kind of stuff bother him too bad.”
“I can understand that, but you probably should still tell him. He’s practically Izzy’s daddy. He needs to know what’s going on with her.”
Kia nodded because that was the same thing she had been thinking. She looked off into space as she thought about what might happen when she told him.
“Come back to earth, shawty,” Taryn teased her. “I got some tea for you, but you better not tell nobody. Not even Jacko, and I’m not playing with you.”
“Why would I tell Jacko something you tell me?”
“Because that’s your man. That’s what we do.”
Kia and Taryn both laughed because that was the truth.
Kia was indeed guilty of it because she had been talking Jacko’s ear off about Taryn wanting to be married. She’d told Taryn she wouldn’t say anything, but told him anyway. If it had been something serious she wouldn’t have said anything, but Jacko needed to know that stuff. That way he could tell Demoto and her friend could get what she wanted.
“Okay, tell me.”
Taryn squinted her eyes and looked at her for a long time. “If I hear it again, I’ma slap you.”
“Alright girl, damn. Tell me and stop playing.”
“I’m pregnant again.”
Kia’s eyes bucked as she lunged from her seat and ran over to Taryn. She fell on top of her, hugging her around her neck.
“Yay! I’m so happy. How far along are you? Your secretive ass.” Kia backed up so she could look at Taryn. “I knew your ass was getting too fat.”
Taryn laughed and pulled her hair
free of her ponytail. “A few days ago. I went to the doctor after I took a test, and girl, I’m almost seventeen damn weeks. Can you believe that? My stomach is still flat as hell.”
“That ass ain’t.”
“It been big though.”
“Not that damn big. Hell, give me some of it.”
Taryn smiled and looked down at her stomach. “We ain’t even married or nothing yet. I’m just a baby mama.”
“Yeah, you are. At least you’re a pretty one.”
Taryn threw the pillow at her. “Shut up, man. You and Jack need to have one.”
“We’re trying. Just hasn’t happened yet.”
“Oh, bitch, you ain’t tell me that.”
“I figured I’d tell you when it happened.”
“Well hurry up so we can be pregnant together.”
Kia’s phone began to ring before she could say anything to Taryn. She wasn’t even surprised to see Jacko’s face on her screen.
“What’s up, Jack?”
“Heyyyy pretty baby. Where you at?”
Kia smiled. “At Taryn- Lee’s house.”
“I was about to head home. You meeting me there?”
Kia pulled her phone away so she could see the time. “Yeah, we’re about to leave here in a minute anyway.”
“Bet. I’ll see y’all in a minute and tell that damn girl to make sure she put enough underwear in the bag for her pissy son.”
Kia busted out laughing as she relayed Jacko’s message to Taryn.
“Tell that lil’ bastard don’t do my baby.”
Kia and Jacko laughed at Taryn as they ended their call. “Man, go get that baby bag together so I can go home.”
Kia gathered the kids as Taryn got Ayo’s bag together. It was another twenty minutes before Kia and both children were headed home.
Chapter Five
Jacko closed his eyes tightly as he tried to catch his breath. His chest rose as he gasped for air. Clenching the sheets tightly in his hand trying his best to keep his toes from curling Jacko finally caught the air he’d been searching for. One of his hands left the sheet and transferred its grip from the black sheets on his bed to the soft skin on the side of Kia’s ass.