Side Chic 4 (Forever Ratchet)

by La'Tonya West

  When Nelle and I were done, I locked up and headed to Tre’s house. On my way, I smoked a half blunt that I’d left in my ashtray that morning. I knew that I was going to need something in order to deal with those crying ass babies of his. Lala had made a mess of them. They were way too spoiled. All they did was cry…like their whiny ass mama. I knew that my nerves couldn’t take it. So I decided to prepare myself before I got there. When I’d finished smoking, I rolled down the window in an attempt to air out my hair and clothes. Then I cleaned my hands with hand sanitizer. I didn’t want Tre to smell the scent of weed on me because that would definitely start an argument and I didn’t feel like arguing with him.

  I arrived at his house and noticed Kisha’s car parked in the driveway. “Seriously?” I asked aloud, rolling my eyes and turning off the ignition. “What in the fuck is this nearly crippled bitch doing here?” I got out of the car and hit the door lock on my keychain. I held my keys in my hand as I made my way to the door, fingering the pepper spray that was attached to my keychain. Kisha and I hadn’t been in the same space much since I’d been seeing Tre but I knew that she didn’t really care for me and that she was feeling some kind of way about my being with him. Though she hadn’t said anything to me directly, she’d said things to other people in town, who’d come right back to me and told every word that she’d said. She didn’t have to like me or the fact that I was with Tre but if she tried to jump stupid I was going to empty the contents of the can that I was holding onto in her damn face.

  I rang the bell and waited. After a few seconds, I heard someone unlocking the door. The door opened and Tre was standing on the other side wearing a pair of black basketball shorts and a black wifebeater, holding one of the babies in his arms.

  “Hey, come on in.” He invited me. His face held an agitated expression. He didn’t wait for me to come in before turning and heading in the direction of the living room.

  Lord please, don’t let me be walking in on some bullshit. I thought to myself. All it would take was for him and Kisha to be having some sort of disagreement and then for her to see me walk in. I knew without a doubt shit would turn ugly really fast. I felt my heart rate speed up just thinking about it all. I walked in closing the door behind me and then followed him into the living room. The boys were running back and forth down the hallway playing, and the other baby was on the floor playing on a play mat. Kisha was sitting on the loveseat wearing a pink sweat suit and sporting a cute little short hairstyle. I noticed a pair of crutches propped up against the wall next to where she sat. From what Tre had told me, she had recovered really well from the accident that she and Skeet were in but she was still on crutches because her leg that had been broken hadn’t completely healed. When she saw me she turned her nose up running her hand over her hair as if she were royalty or something. Tre took a seat on sofa across from Kisha and I sat on the other end down from him.

  “Hey.” I spoke nervously shifting my eyes, afraid to look directly at her. I didn’t really want to speak but I was afraid that if I didn’t she would think I was trying to be funny.

  She looked me up and down and then rolled her eyes so hard that I thought for sure they would get stuck. I knew then speaking had been the wrong move. I gripped the pepper spray a little bit tighter. I was so nervous by now that my hands had begun to sweat.

  “Hmph…I see the trash has arrived.” She snapped still eyeing me, now looking me directly in my face. The look that she was giving me told me that she was totally disgusted by my presence. “I can’t believe you have the nerve to come up in here talking about some damn ‘hey’. Girl bye! Don’t even play me like that.”

  “Kisha…” Tre interjected before I could respond and I was glad. “Chill out. I don’t feel like no drama today.”

  “Oh, I’m good. I’ll chill but she’s not going to be walking up in here speaking to me like shit is sweet. Hell no, uh-uhh. That right there ain’t gone work.” She crossed her good leg over the broken one all dramatic, wagging her finger from side to side.

  “Damn, she was just being polite.” Tre continued to try and defuse the situation. “Must you always act a fool? And can you please watch your mouth around the kids?”

  “If she wanted to be polite then she wouldn’t have started fucking my babydaddy. A polite bitch would’ve said, ‘nah I’ll pass on that dick because it’s attached to my cousin’s babydaddy’ but this thirsty hoe was all for fucking behind me!” She retorted sitting up on the edge of her seat. “Trust me…polite is the last thing she’s trying to be.”

  “Maybe, I should leave.” I suggested already standing.

  “Nah, I invited you over here.” Tre said. “Sit back down.” I eased back down in the spot that I’d been sitting in, trying not to look at Kisha but I could feel her eyes still trained on me. “You’re good.” He looked at Kisha. “I’m not going to ask you again to chill out.”

  “Whatever.” She snapped reaching next to the chair and grabbing her bag. She threw her bag on her shoulder before standing to her feet. She reached for her crutches and positioned them beneath her arms and then looked at Tre. “This is the reason why you and I don’t get along because you don’t see anything wrong with this picture right here. Then you have the audacity to sit up in here for the past thirty minutes or so and complain to me about Lala and the bad decision that she made. First of all, I don’t see how you could even feel comfortable enough to talk to me about your problems with Lala being that she is the woman who you not only cheated on me with but also got pregnant, with not one but two babies. Nigga you’ve got a lot of nerve. When you do wrong shit you can’t see it and when you do see it, you want everyone to be understanding and forgiving. Yet you aren’t willing to give everyone else the same courtesy.” She shook her head. “Tre, you are dead wrong. You really need to get your shit together, point blank period.”

  “What she did makes the shit that I’ve done look like nothing. So you can miss me with that bullshit!” He barked rising to his feet. The baby looked like she was scared to death as she held on tightly to Tre’s shirt looking from him to Kisha.

  “Really? You really believe that?” She asked not backing down. “I am not and never will I ever be team Lala but I am a woman and a mother and I truly believe that girl had no idea that man would do anything to hurt those babies. She made a mistake. She trusted someone that she cared about!” She paused cocking her head to the side slightly with her lips pursed and looking at him clearly implying that she was making a point. “That isn’t uncommon at all.”

  “Kisha please leave because if you don’t, I won’t be responsible for what I do to you!” Tre threatened. “Take Lola, Mina.” He told me while practically throwing her onto my lap.

  “I hope that you don’t think you are scaring me.” Kisha stood still looking up at him. He was now standing directly in her face. I sat only a few feet from them, wondering if I should toss Lola’s little ass on the sofa and roll out or if I should stay put. I truly had no idea what to do. All of the chaos had managed to blow my high.

  “I’m not trying to scare you. You just need to leave because you’ve gotten on my damn nerves and I am trying my best not to lay hands on you.”

  “I’d advise you not to do that.” She told him calmly. “I am not going to stand here and bite my tongue because you don’t like what I am saying. I haven’t said anything wrong. Everything that has come out of my mouth has been right, from the way I feel about that little hoe…” She looked around him and pointed at me. “To the way I feel about how you are carrying shit in this situation with Lala. You are wrong Tre. You know for a fact that I would never take up for that girl but right is right. That girl has kept my children and never did anything wrong to them. She actually took damn good care of them when she was here and they would come over. Hell, they had fallen in love with her. So yes, I feel like you are wrong for taking those babies from her.”

  “I don’t give a fuck what you think! I asked you to get the fuck out!” He exploded pushin
g her really hard. She fell back onto the loveseat, her crutches falling onto the floor next to the chair. I wanted to get up and run but I was paralyzed by fear. I couldn’t believe that he’d pushed her with her being on crutches but he obviously didn’t give a damn. As I sat there looking at the shocked expression on Kisha’s face, I realized that she hadn’t thought that he would put his hands on her either.

  That’s what your mouthy ass get! I laughed in my head. That mouth of yours got your half crippled ass in trouble. Bet you will shut up now. I prayed that she wasn’t thinking I was going to get up and help her after how she’d been treating me ever since I’d walked in the door. He could beat the dog shit out of her and break her other leg for all I cared!

  The boys came running into the living room. “Daddy, stop fighting!” One of them yelled.

  “Everything is alright boys.” Kisha spoke from where she’d landed on the loveseat. Though her voice was calm, her expression told that she was pissed. “Go back down the hall to your room and play.” They looked from her to Tre but didn’t budge. “Go ahead.” She urged. After a few seconds, reluctantly they turned and left the room but I could tell that they didn’t want to.

  Tre stood over Kisha with his chest heaving up and down, staring down at her through angry eyes. “Leave Kisha...” He repeated in a much calmer voice. He bent down and picked up her crutches propping them against the loveseat.

  She stood up, repositioned her crutches beneath her arms and then picked up her bag again which had fallen off her shoulder when he’d pushed her back onto the loveseat. “I’m going to allow you to have that one push but please let that be your last…okay?” She told him the clenched teeth. “You screaming that you don’t give a fuck what I think but if I remember correctly, before that tramp walked in you were asking me what I thought of the situation! So now I am telling you! What makes your parenting any better than Lala’s or anyone else’s for that matter. You aren’t any better, Tre. You have an outside bitch in here around your babies now. Who’s to say that she wouldn’t do anything to hurt them? You allowed Lala around my kids, knowing that she and I don’t like each other. She could’ve done something to them out of spite, you had no idea but you trusted her around them, assuming that she wouldn’t harm them. That is the same exact thing that she did. It’s just that the person whom she trusted turned out to be a sorry piece of shit. If you want to place blame, place blame on the sorry motherfucka who actually tried to harm your baby, not that child’s mother because you know deep down in your heart that girl loves those kids. And another thing, do you really feel like you are not hurting them by snatching them away from her. Those kids are used to waking up every day to her…not you but her.” She shook her head again. “Tre, you need to think about this shit because it ain’t right. Talking about you called Mina over here do their hair. Call their damn mama and stop acting stupid!”

  “Are you done yet?” He asked her.

  “Nah, I’m not done yet. You’re standing up here calling out everybody else’s flaws. Yet every time I turn around you are putting your hands on me. What kind of father are you?” She asked. “Are you teaching your sons that it’s okay to beat on women?”

  “You started this shit, not me.” He corrected her. “And I didn’t hit you! I pushed you.”

  “Whatever…it’s the same damn thing. Every time you get upset you feel like it’s okay to put your hands on me. Just think about the message you are sending to your kids…Father of the Year.” She taunted. “Now, I’m done.”

  “Good.”

  She yelled down the hallway and told the boys to come on. They both came running. After they’d both given Tre a hug and kiss. He told them he’d call them later and they left.

  Mina

  Once Kisha and the boys were gone, I placed Lola on the play mat next to Laila. No sooner than her ass touched the floor she started to cry. I rolled my eyes up in my head and quickly scooped her back up. I didn’t want her crying to cause Tre to become more upset than he already was. He’d disappeared down the hallway in one of the back rooms.

  “Ughh…will you shut up that damn crying please?” I mumbled to Lola as I shook her. She looked up at me still sniffling but no longer crying, her little head bobbling back and forth. I tried placing her on the floor again and she started to cry before I got her halfway down. I placed her back on my lap. “Shut the hell up! I am not about to sit here and hold your little ass.” I gritted pinching her leg. She let out a loud squeal. I smirked, thinking to myself, now you have a reason to cry with your spoiled little ass!

  “What in the world is wrong with my baby?” Tre asked nearly running back down the hall with an unlit cigarette stuck between his lips.

  I snuggled Lola against my chest and rocked her back and forth. “She’s crying because I tried to put her down on the floor with Laila. She wants to be held.” I half lied because that was part of the reason why she was crying.

  “Awww…come here princess.” He said in a baby-like voice as he came over and took her from my lap. “She’s probably sleepy.” He took the cigarette from between his lips and laid it on the coffee table.

  “Yeah, she probably is.” I agreed dryly. “Where is a comb so that I can start on Laila’s hair?”

  “There’s a comb in the bedroom on the dresser.” He replied. He was now sitting on the loveseat with Lola lying on his chest. She was sucking her finger, still sniffling and staring at me like I was some evil monster.

  That’s right. Get a good look so you will know that I am not the bitch to play with. I do not like spoiled ass kids. Especially one’s that I didn’t push out of my fuckin’ womb. I said in my head staring back at her, still wearing a smirk.

  I got up and went down the hall and retrieved the comb and a jar of hair grease from the bathroom. I went back into the living room and picked Laila up from the floor. She started kicking and screaming as soon as I picked her up. Ain’t this about a bitch! I was beyond annoyed.

  “Laila chill out.” Tre told her. She got quiet for a second and then started back throwing a tantrum. He got up and picked some toys up from the floor and gave them to her. “Here you go. Now shut that fuss up.” She immediately got quiet.

  I got started on her hair, all the while I couldn’t stop thinking about the things that Kisha had said to Tre before she’d left. I wanted to know exactly what Lala’s boyfriend had done to one of the girl’s that had caused Tre to take them from her.

  I looked over at him, he had his eyes closed and was slowly rocking Lola from side to side. She had her eyes closed as well, proving that he’d been right about her being sleepy. I decided this would be the best time to put on my concerned girlfriend act so that I could find out what had happened.

  “Bae, are you alright?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I guess.” He said with a sigh, still not opening his eyes.

  “What’s going on? Maybe I can help.”

  “”Thanks but I doubt if you can help.”

  “You won’t know unless you tell me.”

  He opened his eyes and looked over at me. “Shit is just all fucked up.” He started. “This nigga that Lala was fuckin’ touched Lola. Luckily, Lala walked in before he had a chance to actually do anything else to her besides touch her…”

  My mouth fell wide open. I couldn’t believe the shit that I’d just heard. “Hold up, wait a minute.” I interrupted. I needed to be sure that he’d just said what I’d thought he’d said. That wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting. “What do you mean, he touched the baby? Touched her how? Like down there?” I pointed down between my legs. He nodded his head. The pain in his eyes and in his expression told me that talking about this was hard for him but I didn’t care. I wanted to know everything, every single detail. This was much juicer than anything I could’ve ever imagined. Nelle’s mouth was going to hit the floor when I told her about this. “Oh my God, that sick bastard.” Even though, I was being nosey and wanted to know all of the details, I truly did feel bad about what had happened
to Lola. Hearing this almost made me regret shaking and pinching her but then again she had deserved that. No child deserved to be sexually assaulted in anyway by anyone.

  “Yeah, Lala had left them with him while she made a quick run to the grocery store but on her way to the store, she realized that she’d left her pocketbook and went back to the house. She used her key to let herself in and that’s when she saw him with his pants down jacking off and rubbing on Lola.”

  A visual of that sick scene popped into my head and I nearly gagged. My phone started to vibrate serving as a momentary distraction. I picked it up and looked at it seeing that I had a text message. I opened up the message and saw that it was from Mello asking me to give him a call. I smacked my lips and closed the message. I was sick of him blowing up my phone. Me not answering his calls should’ve told him that I wasn’t interested in talking to him. How in the fuck do these niggas be getting cell phones in jail anyways? I wondered to myself before powering my phone off and laying it back down on the arm of the sofa. I focused my attention back on Tre, reaching over and gently caressing his leg.

  “I’m sorry to hear what dude did to Lola. There is no excuse for a grown ass man to be touching on a baby.” I honestly meant that. I hoped that whoever this guy was who’d done that sick shit was beneath the jail. “I can totally understand why you are upset. I would be ready to kill someone if a nigga did some shit like that to Simya.” I shook my head at the horrible thought and at the same time an uneasy feeling washed over me.