“It’s bittersweet. A lot of early mornings and late-night practices. Physically, I work out all the time, but boxing is mental too, so I’m still trying to gain that pack. I’m just doing this shit for the cause, though. I made a promise to myself when my ole girl died that I was through with this shit. That was my biggest supporter right there, yo. I won’t fight the same without her,” he let me know.
I nodded because I understood him.
Giovonni “Trip” Young
For the past few weeks at the prison, they’d been doing random ass sweeps. They said it was because in just the last two months, there had been four deaths that were all caused by some type of shank that an inmate had. To stop that shit from happening, they would search our cells at the oddest time of day. Because of that, I had Raynell holding down my cell phone. If they found that shit in my cell, it was back to solitary confinement for me. I just came out of that bitch a month ago, and I wasn’t trying to do anything to get thrown back in there.
Without having the phone, I wasn’t able to blow up Jashae’s phone like I wanted to. I couldn’t even use the fuckin’ prison phone because I didn’t have any money on my books. Shae was the one who always put money on my books. My ole girl would do it here and there. Even my other little shorty, Krystal, would shoot a nigga a couple of dollars, but that was literally every blue moon.
I didn’t talk about Krystal much because there really wasn’t much to talk about. She was just my fun girl. The girl who entertained me while I did this sentence. She was the one who would do shit for me that Shae was too afraid to do, like sneak behind the vending machines in the visitation with me to let me buss a nut or send me sexy pictures of her in the mail.
I knew Krystal from back home. Prior to dealing with me now, I ain’t never touched that girl when I was free. Not that she wasn’t attractive or no shit like that, but I just never pursued her. I was about four years into my prison sentence when I got my first letter from her. I still had it too. It was under what was supposed to have been my mattress, along with the other letters that I had from her. She was just reaching out, telling me how she felt bad about what happened, and how she was going to keep me in her prayers and whatever other bullshit she was talking about. In translation, that hoe just wanted to fuck me.
I entertained her ass, though, because four years into my sentence, that’s when this shit was really hard on Shae. Vonte was almost a teenager, Shae had just graduated college and was trying to find a career, all the while still trying to accept the fact that I was gone and not coming back home to her. Our fourth year in, shit was rocky because this transition for us both was still fairly new. Hell, I needed somebody, and that’s the only reason I wrote Krystal back. She just instantly became that person for me to sell a bunch of lies to and get her to do what I wanted her to do.
In the beginning, I was going to have her smuggle the phone in for me, but when I asked her, she was too scared to do it. Thank God for Raynell, right? It’s been years that I’ve been dealing with both Shae and Krystal, and although it was fucked up that I was messing around on my shorty, I swear I just liked the attention that Krystal gave me.
Shae had her own shit going on back home, and at times, she had a way of making me feel like I wasn’t a priority for her anymore, so I needed Krystal to fill that void. Krystal just may be the one to ride this shit out with a nigga because deep down in my heart, I felt like I’d lost Shae for good.
I was never able to hear back from Dino because without any money on the books, I couldn’t call, so I didn’t know what went down that night. Out of all the times that the prison could have decided to do a sweep, they would do the shit when I had some important shit going down back home. All I really wanted to know was if Dino was able to get the job done or not. Was that pussy ass nigga Miami still breathing, or what? Aside from that, today was visitation day, and Krystal was coming down to see me.
I could use the visitation since nobody had been this way to see me in over a month. Right now, I was just sitting down at the foot of my bed, waiting for Raynell to unlock the cell, so I could go down. It took about twenty more minutes for me to hear keys jingling in the hallway. I stood up because I knew that it was her. For whatever reason, I ended up smiling when I saw her. Maybe because the prison had been on lockdown, so I really hadn’t seen her in about two weeks.
“Let me find out you missed me,” she said, using her key and pulling the gate back.
The first thing I noticed about her was that she’d straightened her hair. I didn’t even know that her hair was that damn long because she was natural. Her shit was pulled back in a ponytail, and it looked like a weave. Funny how her hair being styled like that had me thinking about Shae. To me, Shae was her finest when her hair was pulled back because I got the chance to really appreciate the beauty in her face.
“I wouldn’t say all of that. It was just different without you around. Where my phone at?” I asked.
“It’s safe. We all just came out of a meeting. Yesterday should have been the last sweep until next month. I’ll have it back in here by the time you get back from your visit. Krystal this time, huh? Boy, you are a mess. I’m glad I found my fuckin’ sense,” she said.
The last part had me giving her the side eye.
“Fuck is that supposed to mean?” I questioned.
“It means exactly what I said. I’m glad I woke up and smelled the coffee. You got your baby mama coming down here to see you, your sideline, and whoever else you have on your visitation list. You’re just like a dog ass nigga out in the streets. Only difference is that you’re locked up. Whatever dealings you and I had with each other went out the window the day I had to have an abortion. You’re fine, Trip, I think you know that, but my freedom and my wellbeing are more important.
“Although I’m a correctional officer, I don’t find pleasure in knowing that you, along with these other black men, are in here serving life sentences. I don’t like the fact that this is your future, so I will continue to look out and bring you the phone, but that’s it. The fuckin’ that you and I used do, it’s a wrap,” she said.
I laughed right in her face as I pulled down on my beard.
“You don’t even believe that bullshit, yo! You not going to find another nigga to do your body the way that I do! You even told me that shit. You just in your feelings right now, love, because you see I got another bitch coming to see me. You’ll get your chance with me when I get back,” I cockily shot back.
“I’ll let my actions speak for me,” she called out.
Raynell walked out, and I walked behind her. The two of us didn’t say anything to each other as we walked. I wouldn’t even front and act like what she just said didn’t bother me. Hell, I looked forward to those meetups that she and I had. Plus, I didn’t like that it felt like she was moving on. If she was moving on, eventually she was going to stop looking out for me with the phone, and I couldn’t have that.
Damn near five minutes later, we finally walked into the visitation room. Funny how when I saw Krystal, my face didn’t light up the way it did when I saw Shae. Krystal, on the other hand, smiled big as fuck when she saw me walking in her direction. Unlike Shae, Krystal was tall, maybe 5’8”, and back then, she used to be skinny as hell. These days, her ass was shaped like the bitches from back in the day who used to be in the Uncle Luke videos with that fat ass and small waist.
She had a light skin tone, always had some sort of weave that was down to her ass, and shorty was ghetto as hell. I’m talking she would sit in front of me, talking so fuckin’ loud that everybody in this bitch could hear her. I loved a hood bitch, but damn, she took that shit to a whole different level. With Krystal, I didn’t even take the risk of hugging her when I saw her. I only crossed the no touching rule when it came to Shae.
“What’s wrong with you?” was the first thing she asked.
Did I make it that obvious that I wished it was Shae sitting on the other side of the table instead of her?
“Shi
t. You know this shit comes with its good days and bad days. Sometimes, I’m happy around this motha fucka, other days, not so much. What’s up? I like this brown hair on you,” I said.
Usually, her hair was a jet black, but today it was a light brown. She smiled at my compliment as she pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear.
“I been thinking, bae. You know how you proposed to me almost three months ago, right?” she asked.
She had a goofy ass smile on her face, so I could already tell where this conversation was going. Of course, I proposed that day. I needed some fuckin’ money on my books and some naked pictures of her for my cell. I was willing to say anything to get that. I hoped she didn’t think that I actually meant that shit.
“Where you getting at with this shorty?” I asked, my face the total opposite of hers.
“I think we should go ahead and get married. What do you think?” she asked me.
I used my hand to wipe my face, and I released a sigh. I wanted to be as gentle with her as possible because I didn’t want to say the wrong shit and fuck around and lose her too.
“I think that I ain’t ready for all that right now, man. I’m still not even over the death of my son, and you asking me what I think about the two of us getting married. Shorty, I’m depressed in this bitch. I ain’t seen my ole girl in months, and the same thing goes for my baby mama. I feel like the walls inside this bitch are caving in on me. It’s hard for me to be here for myself, so I know that as a husband, I can’t be there for you. Why you want to marry me, shorty? You do know that I’m not getting out of this shit, right?” I asked.
I just had to know what was her infatuation with me. My own baby mama who had been holding me down longer than she had didn’t even want to marry me, and I had history with Shae prior to this. Yet, Krystal was willing to make that move with no questions asked.
“What do you mean, why I want to marry you? What type of question is that, nigga? Didn’t you ask me to? I been with you for over seven years. Shouldn’t I want to marry you?” she yelled.
Damn near everyone in the visitation room could hear her stupid ass.
“Ay, lower your fuckin’ tone! I was just asking your simple ass a question. Swear you be doing too fuckin’ much sometimes!” I barked.
I didn’t need a part two of me dragging a bitch through this fuckin’ room.
“You love me, Trip? I mean, love me the same way that you love your baby mama?” she asked.
Krystal was always comparing herself to Jashae, and I hated that shit. Because I didn’t want to look this bitch in her eyes and lie, I decided to tell the truth.
“No disrespect, but you can’t compare to Shae. That’s too much history for me to love you the same way that I love her. I got love for you, yeah, but I don’t love you in that type of way, you know?” I asked.
“No, nigga, I don’t fuckin’ know! You are a selfish ass, inconsiderate ass, using ass bastard. Newsflash, nigga, Jashae and I do compare,” she snapped and threw a little ass 4x6 picture on the table.
It was a school picture of a little girl, and she was missing two teeth in the front. She was a pretty ass little girl, looking like the younger version of her mama.
“Fuck am I supposed to do with this information?” I asked and slid the picture back her way.
“Nigga, you know exactly what you’re supposed to do with this information. March third, two thousand fourteen, I gave birth. Don’t you try to play me. I can swab your mouth right now if you want to do a DNA test. What’s up?” her loud, ghetto ass snapped.
“Yo, you ain’t shit, hoe. Why you all of a sudden telling me about her? Because I don’t want to marry your slut ass? Spiteful ass bitch, yo! I should have never stuck my dick in your loose pussy ass,” I shot back.
I was so fuckin’ mad that I swear I saw red.
“Why would I have told you that I was pregnant? You hear the way you’re talking to me right now? You would have done this same thing had I told you five years ago that I was pregnant and going to keep my baby. You really ain’t shit, nigga. I see why Shae left you and fuckin’ on Miami now,” she said.
I guess she thought that was going to make me mad, but I knew that already, so all I did was laugh in her face.
“You can go now. I’m dismissing you now, bitch. I don’t care what you say, that ain’t my child. The only child I have is buried six feet under. You worrying about Shae too much, hoe. Let me find out you pursued me so you can see what her pussy taste like. Damn, you talk about her more than I do. Get your bald-headed ass on, with that fucked up ass wig,” I said.
“Just a minute ago, the color was cute. It’s cool, I’ll continue this conversation with baby mama number one. I already hit her up on Instagram, and I’m just waiting for her to reply. I want to introduce her to her son’s sister. I’ll leave, but not because you asked me to. I’m leaving because I don’t have anything else to say to your stupid ass,” she yelled and stood up from her chair.
“Yeah, get your ass up out of here, loose pussy ass bitch! I would have never fucked your slut ass if I wasn’t locked up. I only fucked because you were willing to give it up, and my girl was too scared to do it. I don’t love you, hoe! You’re just a fun girl. That little girl that you just showed me, you better off telling her that I’m dead because that’s what you are to me. I’m taking your spiteful ass off my visitation list. I’m liable to kill your ass if I see you again.
“The fuck do you gain from all of this? The moment you found out you was pregnant with my seed, you should have taken your ass to the nearest clinic. I’m not in a predicament to be no fuckin’ father, yo! Fuck it! Just get the fuck out of my face.”
I pushed myself up from the chair and told the guard that I was ready to go back to my cell. I was so angry that I was letting all types of shit fly out of my mouth. Most of it, I’m sure wasn’t even making any sense.
Five years later, and she tells me some bullshit like this! I already knew that she was going to have a field day telling this information to Shae. Only thing I did wrong in this situation was fuckin’ with Krystal behind Shae’s back. I didn’t know shit about having no fuckin’ daughter. I talked to Krystal plenty of times on the phone, and I have never heard a little girl in the background.
Shorty didn’t show any signs that she was somebody’s mama. When we talked on the phone at night, her ass was always somewhere getting ready to go to a club, some sort of hookah lounge, or wherever else she likes to hang out at night. When the fuck did she even have time to be a parent?
That little girl was scarred like a motha fucka. On one hand, she had a father who was never getting out of this bitch, then, on the other hand, she had a mother who was physically there, but her ass wasn’t shit. I took that back what I said to Krystal. If that was my daughter like she claimed, then I would have my ole girl bring her down here because I wanted to meet her. The way people in my life were just dropping, if I had a daughter, then I wanted to at least be able to have my moment with her.
Toddrick “Miami” King
We were going to the ninth round. I had talked all that shit, thinking that this match would be a blowout, but this Chinese motha fucka knew how to throw hands. Physically, he and I had the same build, but I was faster, stronger, and smarter in this shit. I kept knocking this motha fucka out, and he kept getting his ass back up. His fighting name was Bang, and he was a rookie in this business, but I’d give him his credit and say that he fought like he’d been doing this shit his whole life.
Although all proceeds for this fight were going toward funding for local recreation centers in Vegas, people had these seats filled as if this was a real fight that people paid thousands to sit in on. Not trying to sound cocky or no shit like that, but I knew the reason these seats were filled the way they were was due to me being in the ring after so long.
My body was somewhat aching due to some of the blows that I’d received, but I was still bouncing around the ring, full of energy and ready to end this punk. I could feel th
e sweat on my face burning my eyes. The sweat that was getting on the little cuts in my face was burning as well, but I was so amped up that I didn’t feel any of that shit.
I wanted my round with Trip, although I would probably never get it because if I got to fighting with that pussy in visitation, I knew that they would lock my ass up. I didn’t want to put myself in a situation where I was away from my girl and my child. I thought about so much shit in the ring, from finding out that he put his hands on Shae in visitation to him talking to me crazy on the phone, all the way down to him sending another nigga to her home and having him lay hands on Shae. All that shit went into consideration, and because of that, Bang got his ass knocked clean the fuck out.
“1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7…” the referee counted as he stood over Bang and I bounced around, waiting for his ass to get up, although deep down inside I was praying that his ass stayed the fuck down.
My body just felt like it would give out on me at any minute, and I couldn’t lose to a fuckin’ rookie.
“8… 9… 10!” and when he didn’t get up, the crowd went crazy.
Not even going to lie, hearing the crowd yell my name, the referee throwing my arm up in the air and making it known that I was the winner, and that belt going around my waist, it had me for a second feeling like I wouldn’t mind going back in for one more season. Then, out of all the people in the room, my eyes landed on my shorty, and I could see that she was finally at peace now that this fight was over.
My daughter cried when I left her earlier with Mahogany at the mansion that I’d rented while we were out here. She was too young to fully understand that her daddy used to be a boxer. I mean, I’d shown her pictures and shit, but all she saw was the fact that her daddy was about to go and fight somebody. I mean, she hysterically cried, thinking that somebody was going to ‘beat me up,’ which were her words.
Down With the King of the South 2 Page 14