by Tiece
“We sure do,” Nina responded.
“Are you cooking today?”
“Yes, greedy,” Nina answered. “I’m gonna start around eleven since Stephen is coming here for lunch around twelve-thirty. I’m just frying some chicken and baking a macaroni and cheese; his favorite,” she said.
“Good, I’ll see you later.” Scarlett chuckled a little and ended their call. She then turned over to get some much needed rest.
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Anton awakened and picked up his cell phone to check the time. “Damn, it’s nine-thirty already.” He crawled out of bed having to go meet Tommy at his house for an early morning talk. Once he’d gotten his clothes on, he headed in the bathroom to wash up then headed down the hall to Scarlett’s room. He peeked in on her as she slept peacefully. He then walked back in the kitchen and grabbed her car keys. “Hell, I’ll be right back.” He quietly said, and then exited the house.
Upon stepping outside, he ran directly into Gwen and a man standing in the yard talking. Anton immediately frowned as he realized that the man was 10-10.
“Ma, what are you doing out here?”
“Oh, hey son,” Gwen spoke. “I didn’t realize that you were up.”
Anton was still staring at 10-10. He didn’t like the fact that he was there talking to his mama. “Aye man,” he spoke. “The last time I saw you,” he said, but 10-10 interrupted his sentence.
“I know, man. I’m sorry about that. I just stopped by to speak.”
“Well, you’ve spoke long enough. I think it’s time for to go.” Anton stated with an attitude.
Gwen looked at him sideways. “You can’t be for real, son.”
“Yes, I can be for real, Ma. You’re getting yourself clean and you don’t need any distractions like this.” Anton stated. He hated 10-10, not only because he’d caught Gwen sucking his dick, but also because he was strung out on drugs just as bad as his mama was. He wasn’t taking any chances with those two hooking back up.
10-10 looked at Gwen. “Hey, I understand. I’ll be going now.”
“Okay,” Gwen said as he walked off.
Anton mean mugged him until he was out of sight. “You don’t need company like that and why does he look so different?”
“Why are you so worried about the wrong things? I’m out here minding my business, not even speaking about taking a hit and you come out here trying to run something. I’m the mama, not you.” She said, feeling pissed and now wishing that she’d just jumped in the car with 10-10 and gotten as high as the sky and beyond.
“Don’t get at me. I’m just concerned about your well being.”
“Well, don’t you get mad when I tell you that you’re leaving Friday to head off to school.”
“This Friday?” Anton asked getting angry. “That’s tomorrow. I didn’t think I was leaving for another month.”
“Your sister called and somehow managed to get you in earlier.”
“Hell naw,” he stated. “I don’t even wanna go, so why would she do some stupid shit like that?”
“Watch your tone,” Gwen said as she mugged him. “Don’t get mad at me, we’re just concerned about your well being.” She mocked.
“So, you tryna be funny this morning?”
“No, I’m just being honest.” Gwen seriously responded.
“Tell Scarlett, I’m going to Tommy’s for a little while. I’m sure she shouldn’t care since she’s trying to get rid of me, anyway.”
“Boy, hush,” Gwen said as Anton walked off. Gwen looked toward Nina’s house. “Now what the hell is he doing?” She muttered as Rick pulled up in the driveway. She watched him get out of the car.
“Aye,” Gwen called out as Rick looked over her way. “Come here,” she said.
Damn, what the hell could she want? He thought.
“Yeah,” he yelled back.
“Come here!” Damnit
Rick headed toward Gwen as they met up with each other in the front yard of a vacant house that was for rent.
“What you want crazy lady? If you’re looking for another handout I ain’t got it to give unless you’re spending.”
“Shut up,” Gwen quickly said. “You sound stupid. I don’t want no damn handout. I didn’t ask for that shit that you gave me the other day. You gave it to me, but I wanted you to know that I didn’t use it. I gave it to Scarred and she flushed it down the toilet.”
Rick laughed. “So, why are you telling me that? I don’t care what you did with it.”
“Well, I just wanted you to know, damnit.”
Rick looked at her and shook his head. “A’ight,” he coolly said. “Thanks for letting me know.” He then walked off.
“What you going over there for? I heard she done dumped your ass and is gone back to the other baby daddy.” Gwen laughed. “You done fucked up now.”
“She ain’t did nothing,” Rick said, getting defensive.
“Well, Stephen just left there a couple of hours ago. So, what does that tell ya?”
“My thoughts would be for you stay outta my business.” He said and kept walking. For some reason, he and Gwen had a love, hate relationship. He wasn’t all bad to her, because they stayed clowning around with each other in the hole. Rick had even taken up for her a few times when someone tried to get wrong with her, but that never stopped Gwen and her big mouth from acting a fool whenever she saw him.
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Rick stuck his key in Nina’s door and tried to unlock it. “Damn, she done got the locks changed.” He hissed then rang the doorbell while knocking on the door.
Nina snatched the door open. “What the hell do you want?”
“I come bearing gifts and waving the white flag.” He handed her the black plastic bag that he was holding.
She immediately peeked down inside the bag with a smirk on her face. “So, you bought me some Tequila and some MD 20/20.”
Rick grinned like he was doing something. “Can we call it a peace offering,” he said, trying not to admire Nina’s sexy smooth legs as she stood there wearing a pink short robe. “Come on. I come in peace.” He pitifully begged. Nina stood there eyeballing him for a moment. Rick always had a way of getting her, but she was done with those games.
“Well, thanks,” she said, getting ready to close the door in his face.
“Aye,” Rick stopped her. “I’ll be going out of town for six months on tomorrow. Can I see my kids before I go?”
“The kids are at mama’s house and what are you going out of town for?” Nina asked, rolling her eyes up in her head.
“I’m going to work on this construction job. I told you that I’m gonna do better. I’m gonna send you money every week for the kids.” Nina just watched him while clutching her bag of alcohol. “Here,” he said, going inside his pocket. He pulled out two hundred dollars and handed it to her.
Nina flipped through the twenties then looked at him with a confused expression on his face. “What’s gotten into you?”
“A lot has gotten into me. I wanna be a better man for you and the kids.”
Nina held the money in her hand. “Well, thanks.” She said.
“You’re not gonna invite me in. This seems strange standing out here having to talk to you like this. We have history and kids. Don’t act like that.” Rick looked pitiful standing there. “Leaving for six months is gonna be hard knowing that I’m not close to my family.”
“It’s taking this trip make you realize that?”
“No, but it’s putting things in perspective for me.”
Nina was a bit impressed. “Perspective,” she teased. “You really are trying to change.”
“Let’s have a quick toast to me leaving,” he said.
Nina was hesitant. “I don’t know about that. I’m getting ready to cook, anyway.”
“I just need a friend and since you’re my baby mama and I’ve come equipped with drinks and money and I think you should hear your boy out. I promise I won’t try anything. I just wanna talk.�
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Nina paused for a moment, and then backed out of the door and let him in. “Alright, just for a little while and don’t try no funny shit,” she said. “I was just about to start boiling the noodles for a mac and cheese.”
“Man, I’ve always loved your mac and cheese.” Rick said, following her into the kitchen. Nina grabbed the elbow noodles out of one cabinet as Rick grabbed two small glasses out of another. She poured the noodles in a boiler of hot water as he put ice in their glasses then poured them some Tequila on the rocks. While her back was turned stirring the noodles so they wouldn’t stick, Rick was sliding a Roofie in her drink.
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Stephen sat inside of his office doing paperwork that needed to be turned in at the end of the day. He smiled, thinking about Nina. It felt good to have her back in his life. She’d proven that she didn’t want Rick and this time he believed her.
A tap was heard on his closed office door. “Come in,” he called out as Faye stepped inside his office. “Hadn’t seen you any this week.” He said then looked back down at his paperwork.
“I couldn’t come in and face you.” She sadly responded. “We’ve grown very close over these past few months. I mean, I’d become your girlfriend and to just lose you like that hurts.”
“Seems you brought all of this on yourself,” he said, not even wanting to look at her.
“I know and I’m sorry.”
Stephen finally looked up at her. “You did some underhanded shit. You claimed you loved, but you were actually playing me.”
“No, I wasn’t and I do love you,” she said with tears forming in her eyes.
“How can you love me when all along you’d known who my kid’s were by, but you never told me?”
“I wanted to tell you, but I figured that you’d question Nina and she’d drop some salt on me.”
“Salt, like you sleeping with Rick, because she didn’t even know that y’all had slept together in the past,” he said. “You told on yourself trying to cover your ass.” Faye looked embarrassed, because Stephen wasn’t giving her any slack. “And why’d you do that dirty shit to Scarlett? They hadn’t talk to you in years so they had no beef with you, regardless of what you’d done in the past. You were just being nasty for no reason. I could never be with a woman so cut throat.”
“I got caught up, baby.” She said, walking closer to him. “You know I’m better than that. I just got caught up.”
Stephen shook his head as he looked at her. There was a time when she’d stolen pieces of his heart. She was funny, really cute, and showed him something different. She only wanted him and he knew it. That was the main thing that attracted him to her in the first place.
Disappointedly shaking his head, he stared at her. “Faye, you’re just not the person that I thought you were.”
“I am,” she said, now leaning down close to him. He could feel her desperate breath brush across his cheek as she lightly kissed him.
“Don’t do that,” he said, nudging her back off of him.
“Don’t treat me like a stranger.” She responded.
“You are a stranger!” He stated, raising his voice at her. He was already hurt on top of pissed with her and she was just making matters worse.
“So, is that why you’ve changed your mind about going out of town with me on this business trip?” She sadly shook her head and sighed. “I’m a stranger now, huh?”
“You know why I changed my mind. The only reason why I chose to take this business trip with you was, because I needed this getaway. Sure it’s eight hours away, but I could’ve come home on the weekends to spend time with my kids then went back. I was even thinking of moving there with you, because that’s what you wanted. Plus, I felt I needed a change and a new start.”
“And you still can get that,” she sadly said.
“No, I can’t.” Stephen said. “I think I’m gonna make things work with Nina. She’s all in and from this experience I am, too.”
“I don’t see how you can see that. She still loves Rick and I bet that any chance she gets, whether it’s while you’re at work or whatever, she tries to get it in with him. You said yourself that as long as he was living you’d never be able to get her full heart.”
“Well, things have changed.” He said, having full faith in Nina’s decision to leave Rick for good and be with him.
“Things haven’t changed! That’s why you wanted to move. So you could get away from your feelings for her.”
Stephen stood up. He was tired of their conversation and didn’t want to hear anymore. “Regardless of what we’re going through, this is still my job and I don’t want to discuss this here.”
Faye dropped her head as she walked off. She then stopped once opening the door and looked back at him. “The plane still leaves in the morning. Maybe you’ll change your mind.”
“I doubt it,” Stephen said as Faye exited his office. “The nerve of her,” he said while looking down at his Gucci watch. It was almost time for him to leave for lunch and eating Nina’s mac and cheese and fried chicken wings would surely hit the spot in helping him get over the Faye blues.
Chapter 13
Anton pulled up to Tommy house. As usual, his boy was sitting out on the front porch with a Corona in one hand and glass of liquor in the other. He stepped up on the porch, disappointedly shaking his head. Tommy sat his Corona down and stood up.
“What’s up, Bro?” Tommy asked, giving his best friend a firm handshake and a slight hug.
“Nothing much,” Anton stated. “I see you’re on two, early this morning.” He said as the loud smell of alcohol reeked off of Tommy as if he’d been going at it all night. “Are you okay?”
“Do I look okay?” Tommy asked. Slim dying had taken a toll on him and in just a week Anton could see that Tommy had lost weight due to the guilt eating away at his conscious.
“You need to regroup, Bro. I know this is driving you crazy, but it’s done now. You gotta let it go. Ain’t nobody talking, so you don’t have anything to worry about it.”
“I know, but it’s just the fact that this shit happened.” Tommy stated. “We ain’t no thugs, man.”
“I ain’t no pussy, either.” Anton cut in, knowing that he’d take it to a nigga’s ass if he had too.
“Me either,” Tommy stated, “But, we ain’t no killers.”
Anton sat down in a chair beside his homey. “I know we’re not, but you gotta snap outta this or you’re gonna drive yourself crazy. It ain’t worth it. You can’t take it back now. That’s just like living in the past. What’s done is done and you have to learn to live with it and move on.”
“I hear you, Bro.” Tommy said, still turning up his glass of Vodka straight with no ice.
“You’re drinking day in and out. That can’t be good. You may even mess around and say the wrong thing around somebody.”
Tommy mugged Anton for a moment. “Are you saying that I’ll snitch us out?” he asked with an unpleasant frown on his face.
“No, man,” Anton stated. “What I’m saying is that a drunk tongue speaks the truth compared to a sober tongue not speaking at all.”
“You sounding all Einstein and shit,” Tommy said, feeling annoyed at this point. “I got this.”
“Okay you got this,” Anton mocked with a serious look on his face. “Well, I have some unexpected news and I figured that I may as well tell you what the deal is.”
“What’s that?” Tommy asked, turning up his Corona. He was sipping from one drink to the other as Anton shook his head, but continued.
“My sister is sending me off.”
“What you mean, sending you off?” Tommy asked with a serious glare.
“She’s sending me to Iowa to this community college called Kirkwood, so I can finish getting my high school diploma.”
“Why the hell you have to go way to Iowa for that? Hell, she could’ve sent you to Atlanta or something. Shit, you could’ve just enrolled back in school here.”
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��I agree,” Anton stated. “But, she’s not. She wants to make sure that I’m safe. It scares her that I’m walking around here and someone could be out to kill me and I not even know it. She doesn’t want to get that phone call, man.” Tommy just sat in silence and listened. “She thinks I need a new start until she figures things out around here. I don’t know what she’s working on, but she seems to be into something that’s supposed to keep us safe.”