Hated by Many, Loved by None 2

by Shan

  Click! Click! Click!

  The three of us jumped back when Quin fired his pistol thinking we all had been hit and just waiting for the pain to take over. Once we realized that nothing happened, Imran rushed Quin, and the two of them began fighting. I ran over to Honey and picked up where we had left off moments ago. I'd been wanting to make her pay ever since she beat my ass damn near to death and killed Tomeka. We threw punch after punch at each other. Most of hers landed wildly, while most of mine connected in some type of way. She wasn't so bad now that I wasn't tied up to a fucking chair or had a gun waving in my face.

  I grabbed Honey by her hair and slung her to the ground where I followed through with a kick to her face. Blood skeeted from her nose and lip and a sense of satisfaction ran through my body. I backed away from her back to where Rain stood helplessly, watching Quin and Imran go at it. Just when it seemed that Quin was getting the best of Imran, he grabbed the pistol from the ground and popped Quin upside the head with it. He, then, followed up with a punch to his face that sent him flying into the car. I pulled Imran away, and we all ran in the opposite direction.

  Neither of us stopped running until we made it back to the hotel and got inside of the rental car. Thank God Quin didn't confiscate the keys when he took my cell phone.

  "Okay. where are we going?" I asked, cranking the car up and backing out of the parking lot.

  "I told you to Greyhound. Y'all get up out of here," Imran said. Then, he coughed a few coughs.

  "Greyhound? I need to check on my parents. He had someone sitting with my folks. And I can't just leave them…"

  "Well, how about you drop us off at Greyhound and you go check on your people?" Rain suggested with a roll of her eyes.

  "Bitch, nobody's talking to you! Imran, can we please go check on my parents. Just two minutes, so I can see if they're okay."

  "Hell, no! That could be another set up! Don't let this bitch fool you again! How the hell can you allow this stupid bitch to keep fooling you into doing dumb shit? Ughhhh!"

  "Aye, both of y'all shut the hell up! Roll by your people's crib and check on them and then straight to Greyhound. I definitely can't do shit with y'all bickering in my damn ear."

  "Thank you," I sighed in relief.

  "Oh, my God! Imran, can't you see that this girl is playing you? She was working with ol' boy back there. Can't you see that?" Rain pleaded with Imran to listen to her, but he just sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.

  I hit the freeway going towards 75 North, so I could stop by and check on my mom and dad. Somehow, I felt that Quin would still try to use them to his advantage, and I wasn't about to let that happen.

  30 Quin

  Jahzara and that fool Imran had to know I was smarter than what I looked. They should've known that going to Jahzara's folk's house was the last thing they should've done. As soon as they ran off and I pulled Honey off the ground, I called up PeeWee to tell him to move the old couple up out of the house.

  Just like I had suspected, Jahzara and her crew showed up at her parent’s house looking to save their lives. Fortunately, PeeWee had done exactly as I asked, and, by the time they arrived there, the house was empty. Jahzara left out of the home crying hysterically like she knew that they were dead or something. I did not have anything done to them just yet, but, if I couldn't get what I needed from Imran, then I would definitely use her ass. She was always hollering about how she could take care of us and how she had a little paper stacked up, so, if all else failed, we would see just how much paper.

  "He's finna put them bitches on the Greyhound," I said once we pulled up to the bus station downtown.

  ****

  "Quin, we cannot let them get away. I have to get Jahzara," Honey desperately pleaded. She held a can of cold soda to her lip and squinted out of her one good eye.

  "You need to get your feelings out of this shit and think about the reason we are doing this," I said, changing the clip out of my gun.

  "I told you I wanted to make them pay for what they did to me. Only thing you're concerned with is getting money from them. Sorry if we have different motives," Honey sucked her teeth as she lit the end of a cigarette. "Regardless, Imran isn't going to take you to any money. If he's putting them on a bus, then where do you think they're going?"

  I shrugged my shoulders and watched as Imran, Jahzara, and Rain walked into the bus terminal. I pulled my hoodie over my head and prepared to get out of the car.

  "Maybe he's sending them to Lubbock. Jahzara doesn't have any family out of town. I don't know, but I'm about to find out."

  I got out of the car and jogged across the street to the terminal trying to be as inconspicuous as I possibly could. I spotted the crew at an agent's window but couldn't tell which bus they were getting on to. Imran pulled a wad of money out of his pocket and peeled a few hundred dollar bills back. He handed the money over to the customer service agent and looked around the crowded building. A few moments later, they were handed some tickets and then headed to the loading area. I stayed far behind them until I was able to see the bus they were getting on. Once the name flashed across the bus in those big orange letters, I wasn't so sure about the location and wondered just why they were going there. I took note of the bus number and headed back outside to my car.

  "They're not going to Lubbock. They're on a bus to Houston. Are you sure that Lubbock is the right place?" I asked Honey the moment I got back inside.

  "Yes, I'm sure it's Lubbock she always said. Wonder why they're going to Houston?"

  "I don't know but I know Jahzara don't have people in Houston."

  "I say we follow them, pull them off the bus, and try this thing all over again. You know he's going to come running for Jahzara and I assume for the other chick as well."

  I nodded my head and decided that maybe Honey was right. I was getting sick of this whole plan all together, and, if this shit didn't work, something else was gonna have to happen.

  "Well, if that don't work, Jahzara got some money some damn where. I'm gonna get my shit together, so I can come back up. Ain't no way around it," I sighed, lighting up a cigarette.

  It took fifteen minutes for the bus going to Houston to leave out of the dock. As soon as it pulled out, we jumped right behind it following it to the next stop, where we would then pull Jahzara and the other bitch Rain off.

  It wasn't until we reached Fairfield, Texas that the bus finally stopped at a rest area. Everyone started getting off the bus, and, for a moment, I was afraid that we had followed the wrong bus until finally I saw Rain stepping off followed by Jahzara. Quickly, Honey and I jumped out of the car and rushed over to them before they could get back onto the bus. I pulled my gun and held it down by my side so as not to attract any unwanted attention.

  "Jahzara," I called out to her.

  She looked over at me and froze with fear before moving any further. I brought my gun up in front of me just so she would see that I wasn't playing any games.

  "It's loaded this time. Trust me," I said with a smirk.

  I moved a little closer to her and instructed Honey to grab Rain. The moment I went to reach out and grabbed Jahzara, I felt the blast that took me down to the ground. The pain didn't last very long, and it was only seconds before I felt nothing at all.

  31 Jahzara

  "Jahzara!"

  At the sound of such a familiar voice, I froze in my steps and turned to look at where it was coming from. There stood Quin with his partner in crime trailing not too far behind him. My guard immediately went up when I saw the gun that was idling by his side.

  "It's loaded this time trust me," Quin said with a smirk.

  I didn't doubt that the gun was loaded this time. I was quite certain that he wouldn't make that same mistake again. Quin came towards me, and, suddenly, my face was splattered with blood. Wide-eyed, I watched as he dropped to the ground, and the gun fell directly at my feet. Imran said that it would come to this, and he couldn't have been more than right. He spotted Quin and Honey foll
owing us from my parent's house and decided instead of sending us to his other place in Lubbock that he would send us to Houston and pick us up there.

  We knew that Quin and Honey were after the money and wanted to see how they were willing to travel. The two of them were obviously desperate and willing to do whatever they could to get some unknown amount of money out of Imran.

  I reached down to grab the gun that scattered across the pavement when he fell to the ground. I didn't even care to see his body lying there. It actually made me feel good seeing that he could no longer hurt anyone. I didn't know what he had done to my parents or even if they were still alive. I never thought that I would be so happy to see my husband dead.

  I held the gun out and pointed it towards Honey and Rain. Honey looked at me, knowing that this was the end of the journey for her, and Rain seemed confused as to why I was pointing the gun in her direction. That bitch had been a headache to me and had been doing everything she could turn Imran against me.

  "Bitch, pull the trigger if you really ‘bout that life! Go ahead and kill me with your uppity ass," Honey snickered. "Do it, Jahzara. I know you want to. Come on and do it bitch!"

  I wanted to kill her so bad, but there were so many people around. She should have been on the pavement next to Quin, and I had the ability to do so, but I couldn't just do that here. It was so evident that she wasn't causing me any harm and that I had no defense. Shooting her or Rain would have been dumb at that moment but— Damn!— Honey's fucking voice and her taunting me brought me closer and closer to just doing it.

  "Scary ass. I knew you couldn't do it," Honey said as she made a step closer to me. I gripped both hands around the gun, holding it tighter than before.

  "Don't move, Honey! I will do it!" I screamed at her.

  She didn't listen to me, though. She came at me like she wanted me to pull the trigger or like she was challenging me. I stepped back and shook my head desperately, wanting Honey to back the fuck up. This wasn't like the last time when she was shooting at me, and I had no choice but shoot back. There were so many people around that I could hear them talking in the background, hear them telling others to call the police.

  "Honey, back the fuck up! I'm not gonna say it again!" I stepped back once more, and she came at me so fast this time that I had no choice but to pull the trigger.

  Pow! Pow! Pow!

  Violently, her body shook until she hit the pavement with a loud thud. People began to scatter and run in all kinds of directions but for some reason, I couldn't move. I didn't move. I kept the gun aimed and focused on Rain. I wanted her to get on that damn bus, leave, and never come back.

  "Jah, what the fuck are you doing?" Rain asked with her hands held high enough for me to see them.

  "Get…"

  "Jah, put the fucking gun down! What are you doing?" Imran asked, running in our direction.

  "This bitch is in the way, Imran! I can never make things up to you as long as she's around!" I yelled, refusing to bring the gun down.

  All the major shit she'd been talking, trying to get Imran to drop me off and leave me, telling him how she couldn't trust me? Thinking of all that made me grip the gun even tighter. I mean, fuck it. I had just killed Honey in front of hundreds of witnesses.

  "Jahzara, she isn't in the way of anything! You need to chill and think clearly. We need to be getting the fuck up out of here! Like now!" Imran yelled.

  "Just me and you right, Imran?" I asked with tears flooding my eyes.

  I couldn't understand why things had gone so bad. Why did everything have to be like this? Why did Quin ever have to get locked up? Why did I have to shake my ass in a club full of men damn near every night? Why did I have to meet Imran in the club that night, and why did he have to be Quin's rival? I just wanted to turn back the hands of time and do things over. Get Honey some help and save Tomeka's life. Not divorce my husband so quickly or rather just said yes to Imran and moved on in our lives. Every decision I’d made had a reaction, and each one hadn't been so good. My choices had been all bad and, in turn, fucked up my life. I didn't even know my parents’ fate. The last friend I had in the world was dead on the pavement and the last man that I loved was standing there trying to save two women. What did I have left?

  "Jahzara, drop the fucking gun! It's my last time telling you!"

  What will happen when I drop the gun? Is he going to start things over with me or with her? Did he plan on bringing this bitch along and expect us to live as a fucking threesome? What if I did put it down and we all got out of here? Rain wasn't going to allow us to be happy because she wanted the same kind of happiness I did. I could see it in her eyes in the way she looked at me. She wanted to be loved just like I did, but unfortunately, she wanted to be loved by the same man and that just couldn't happen, I thought.

  "Damn it, Jah! Drop it!" Imran barked.

  Out the corner of my eyes, I could see he now that had his pistol on me and that brought more pain to my heart and tears to my eyes. "Drop it now!"

  I looked over at him and, honestly, didn't understand what was happening here. It all felt like a bad nightmare that I just couldn't wake up from. I moved closer to Rain, who stood only a good ten feet away. She was prettier to me now than she had been before. Even seemed like more of a threat than I had previously wanted to believe. Seeing the way Imran cared for her at that hospital, back at the hotel, how he ran after her when I offered that weed all made me aware that he loved her, possibly, more than he did me.

  "This is the last time I'ma tell you before you make me take you the fuck down! Rain is not a threat to you, but you looking to be one to her!"

  "Take me down? You're gonna take me down, Imran? You said that you loved me."

  I took another step towards Rain, and that was when I heard Imran's gun click.

  32 Imran

  “This is the last time I'ma tell you before you make me take you the fuck down! Rain is not a threat to you, but you looking to be one to her!" I yelled at Jahzara.

  She seemed like a crazy person at that moment. Like she'd just snapped out of reality and wasn't thinking clearly. It reminded of the day that I’d brought her to my home after the altercation with Honey and she'd practically checked out on everybody. The shit she was saying now didn't make any sense, and I hated that this was the position that she’d put me in. Rain wasn't in the way of anything. Yes, I loved Rain, but I was no longer in love with her. I looked after her and protected her only because of that fact. I was still in love with Jahzara, but, at that moment, I no longer wanted to be with her. I wanted to only protect her and keep her safe just as I did with Rain.

  "Take me down? You're gonna take me down, Imran? You said that you loved me."

  She took a step towards Rain and that was when I pulled the trigger. I didn't want to, but I couldn't sit there and allow her to hurt someone that obviously wasn't trying to hurt her. I'd only shot a warning shot towards Jahzara, hoping that she would see that I was serious.

  "Come on, Jah! This shit is not that serious. You blowing shit out of proportion, and you're not thinking clearly," I said, taking small steps in her direction.

  The pain in my stomach had long ago taken control of my body, but I fought through it. This was not the time to be giving in and letting a minor wound bring me down. Not until I knew I had Jahzara and Rain out of harm's way.

  "You just shot at me!" Jahzara cried. "You just shot at me over her!"

  "Jah… baby, you tripping! What the fuck? You a little traumatized right now, but it's not how you're thinking it is! I love you!"

  The coughing I had been doing returned and caused me to spit out a mouthful of blood. I looked down at my shirt and saw that it was quickly being soaked with blood.

  "Imran! Oh, my God!" Rain took her attention away from Jahzara and came running in my direction.

  Pow!

  "Rain!" I yelled.

  Pow! Pow!

  I didn't have a choice but to put two into Jahzara after I saw Rain falling to the ground. Ja
hzara had shot her and unwillingly caused me to shoot her.

  "Rain! Rain, are you okay?" I asked.

  Water began to fill my eyes as a rush of emotions lunged within. My body got weaker and weaker by the minute but seeing these two women that I cared for in a mess gave me strength.

  "I'm okay. It just grazed my arm," Rain sat up and looked at her arm.

  Blood dripped from it, but she didn't seem to be in a lot of pain. I took my eyes away from her and looked over at Jahzara who was laid completely out on the pavement with blood slowly soaking onto the concrete. I walked over to where she was, where onlookers stood by looking pitifully down at her. Some were taking pictures, and others were in tears. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't the outcome that I had in my mind. On our way to the bus station, I had told Rain and Jahzara that I would put them on a bus to Houston, wait until we got to a secure enough location and take care of Honey and Quin. I had no idea they would try to take them at a rest stop with hundreds of people around to witness. I definitely had no idea that Jahzara would flip out and try to take Rain out. In my mind, once I picked them up in Houston, I planned to put Rain on a bus or a plane to wherever she wanted to go. Somewhere she didn't have to worry about them niggas coming after her. As for Jahzara, I didn't know, but I wanted to send her somewhere she could relax and finally enjoy life until I took care of shit in Dallas. I never had thoughts of leaving one to be with the other. Not once did I think I had to make a choice because none of that mattered to me at the time. Shit was mad crazy with my uncles, and I was the cause of it. Quin had robbed my spots and killed a couple of my soldiers, and my corner boys had been hit and taken out. The last thing on my mind was being in a relationship with Jah or even Rain. Their safety was all that mattered to me, and I wished I would have conveyed that bit of information to them before it got to this point.