by La Jill Hunt
“You had another one of your niggas waiting on you when you got home, remember? He shoulda checked on you. It was probably his kid you got rid of anyway!”
Toby noticed people stopping in the parking lot to see what was going on. He walked over to his brother, who was two feet away from Darla. She was yelling at the top of her lungs.
“Hey, what the hell is wrong with you two?” Toby asked.
“Your brother is a fool and he’s trying to play me like I’m one! You think I don’t know about Nicole being pregnant and you going around bragging about it?”
“I don’t give a damn what you know. That’s my business and I advise you to stay out of it!” Terrell turned to walk away when she reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Toby quickly intervened, jumping between them before Terry had a chance to react.
“Darla, you’re out of line. Don’t put your hands on him,” he told her.
“Or what? What’s he gonna do to me?” she growled.
“I ain’t gonna do shit because you ain’t worth it. What? You think that because you out here clowning that’s supposed to make me scared of you? Yeah, right. You’d better get real.” Terrell turned around and spat at her.
A white Acura Legend pulled up and the horn blew, causing all of them to turn around. The familiar girl who was with Terrell earlier was driving. He smiled and threw Toby his keys. “I’ll holler at you later, T!”
“I want my money, you fat bastard!” Darla screamed. “You better get real and pay up. Believe that!”
“Imagine that! You gon’ try and carry me in public and then think I’ma give you something. You played yourself, trick!” Terrell laughed in her face as he opened the car door.
Toby knew his brother hated to be embarrassed, especially in public, and Darla was making it harder on herself by clowning outside the club, even though he knew she was angry and hurt.
As Terrell got into the girl’s car, it dawned on Toby who she was. He just could not believe that his brother was getting into the car with Kayla’s sister, Anjelica Hopkins, of all people. “Terry. Terry! Man, hold up!”
“Face it, Toby. Your brother is nothing but a whore, a club hopping whore,” Darla huffed. “But he’s gonna pay. Believe that!”
“Leave it alone, Darla. Just go home,” he told her and ran over to Anjelica’s car.
“What’s up?” Terry asked.
“Hey, Toby. How you been? Congratulations on your engagement.” The pretty girl smiled at him. He looked at her like she was crazy because he had heard about how conniving and wicked this girl had been in the past, even from Terry. That was why he was confused as to why his brother would be caught dead with her.
“Uh, thanks,” he told her. “Can I see you for a minute?”
“Hey, let me holler at him and then we can roll,” Terrell told her. She shrugged as he got out of the car. He watched her pull into a nearby parking space to give them some privacy then walked over to his brother, making sure he was far enough out of range that she couldn’t hear them.
“What the hell are you doing, Terry? I ain’t even gonna talk about your acting a fool with Darla in the parking lot. But what the hell—”
“Man, I ain’t thinking about her,” Terry started.
“Naw, what the hell are you doing with that chick? Do you even think about what you’re doing these days?”
“What? Toby, she’s cool. I promise it ain’t even like that.”
“Like what? Kayla’s supposed to be your best friend, man, and that’s her worst enemy. That’s just wrong.”
“No, you’re wrong, T. She’s nothing like you think she is. I’ve talked to the girl and I know what’s up with her. Kayla is my best friend, but her sister is not as bad as you think she is,” Terrell told him. There was something in his voice that made Toby question his brother’s sanity.
“And what about Nicole, man? You say you wanna marry her, but you’re leaving with another female from the club. You think that ain’t gonna get back to her? Come on now, Terry. You’re not thinking.”
“It’s cool. I rode to the club wit’ Jermaine. Anjelica’s just gonna take me to get my car, that’s it. I got it under control, bruh. I know what I’m doing.”
“Man, it’s your life. You do what you want. But you’d better start thinking about the repercussions of your actions.”
“I will, T. I will.”
The two men gave each other a brotherly hug that was interrupted by the sound of screeching tires. A low-rider truck came barreling into the parking lot, music blasting and headlights shaking. As it neared the two men, it slowed and the driver’s side window rolled down. Panic filled Toby’s body as he saw the hand holding the dull, metal pistol aimed at them. God, help us, he thought as he reached out and pulled his brother down. They fell to the ground just as the shots rang out. People began screaming and Toby watched Terrell lifting his head and cursing as the truck careened past them.
“Stay down, fool!” he yelled to his brother. Thank you, Jesus, he prayed silently as he remained low.
“Hell naw!” Terrell huffed as he maneuvered his large body off the ground. “I don’t believe this! That bitch had him come after me!”
“Who? What are you talking about?” Sweat was pouring from both of them and Toby’s heart was beating a mile a minute.
“Darla! The guy driving the truck was some dude Turk I seen at her house! I know it was him! I’ma fuck him up. Believe that!”
Sirens could be heard in the distance and Toby looked around to make sure everyone was all right. “Calm down, Terry.”
“Are you two okay?” one of the security guards ran over and asked. They assured him that they were and Toby continued to try to calm his brother. Terry was walking back and forth like a panther ready to pounce. The police soon arrived and they each gave a statement. Terry continued accusing someone named Turk.
“Let’s go, Terry. Get in the truck.”
“I’m cool, T. Besides, I already got a ride,” he replied, waving toward Anjelica, who sat across the parking lot, still looking stunned.
“Man, don’t you have enough going on in your life right now? Come on. Get in and leave that girl alone. You’re asking for trouble, you know that?”
“I told you I can handle mine,” he said, walking toward the car.
Toby reached out and grabbed his brother by the shoulder. His brother was acting so stupid he couldn’t believe it. There was no way he could stand by and let him ruin his life. It wasn’t happening.
“Don’t be damn stupid Terry! Leave that girl alone and go home to Nicole.”
“Get off me! What’s your problem, T?” Terrell snatched away from him, surprised that Toby put his hands on him like that. He looked at his brother, enraged that he would even go there.
Toby’s eyes widened in anger and he squared off against his brother. Terrell was clearly bigger in size, but Toby’s body was as cut as LL Cool J in the movie SWAT. Toby could feel his heart thumping in his chest and perspiration began to form on his brow. He hadn’t fought his brother since they were in high school, and even then it wasn’t serious. He was surprised at Terrell’s actions.
“Hold the hell up, Terry. I’m just trying to get you to look at what you’re doing!”
“I don’t need you to get me to do nothing! That’s your problem; you always trying to get me to do shit. I ain’t you!” he snarled. Moments passed as they stared silently at each other. The few remaining people in the parking lot crowded around the two men, waiting for the fight to jump off.
Toby stared at his brother, confused by what was going on. There was so much animosity in Terry’s voice and he didn’t know where it was coming from. He frowned at him as he took a step back and told his brother, “You know what? You’re right. It ain’t my problem. You go and do what the hell you wanna do.”
Terrell didn’t say anything as he turned and got in the waiting car. Anjelica rolled down her window and began to say something. She must have thought better of it because she just
shrugged at Toby instead and waved briefly as they pulled off.
All this over a piece of ass. I don’t believe this, Toby thought as he got into his truck and headed home. That brother was about to fight me over a piece of ass. Thank you, God, for looking out for him, because he almost got killed twice tonight.
45
“What the hell was that all about?” Anjelica asked as they drove down the street.
“Man, I don’t even know,” Terrell answered. He leaned the seat all the way back and closed his eyes. He had a million thoughts running through his mind at one time, and didn’t feel like thinking about anything. He couldn’t believe that punk-ass scrub, Turk, had actually tried to take him out—over Darla’s fat ass, at that. But he had a trick for her ho ass too. She wanted to play those kinds of games, he would play them and win. Then there was Toby. He could not believe his brother tried to buck up like he wanted to swing on him. Over the years, he had taken a lot from Toby, but at this point in his life, he was tired.
“When that fool started shooting, I was like ‘What the hell?’ I’m glad no one was hurt,” Anjelica said, trying to make small talk.
“Yeah,” he responded. He rolled down his window and enjoyed the air. Anjelica must’ve sensed his mood because she fumbled with the disc changer and Maxwell began playing. She leaned back into her seat and remained silent.
When they were in the club, Terrell told her his car was at Jermaine’s crib, about a mile and a half from the club. Now he noticed she was getting on the Interstate instead. He didn’t ask where she was going; he just decided to ride. He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and didn’t even look to see who it was. He figured it was Nicole calling to see where he was, and he didn’t feel like talking to her right now. There was too much on his mind to even attempt to explain to her what had just happened. All he wanted to do was relax.
The sound of waves crashing caused Terrell to wake up. He hadn’t even realized he had drifted off to sleep. He looked around, unsure of where he was, and then he saw the sand sprawled before him. They were at the beach. Maxwell was still singing, but there was no one in the car with him. He opened the door and got out, stretching his arms. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost 4:00 in the morning. The sky was blanketed in darkness with the exception of a faint, twinkling star here or there, and the shape of a dull crescent moon. He inhaled, taking in the scent of the warm, salty air. He scanned the scenery until he spotted a shadow in the distance, sitting on the ground. He took his phone out of his pocket, turned it off without even checking the call log and tossed it into the back seat. Grabbing the keys from the ignition and locking the doors, he walked over.
“What’s up?” he asked, sitting next to her.
“Nothing. Just chilling, enjoying the night . . . Or should I say morning?” She shrugged.
“Yeah, this is nice. I ain’t been out here in a minute.” He looked around.
“I come out here a lot. It’s peaceful. I don’t have a lot of peace in my life, but I’m sure you know all about that, huh?”
“What, not having peace in my life?”
“No, me not having peace in mine, Terrell,” she told him. Her hands began playing in the sand, moving back and forth as she looked down. “You think I don’t know what people say about me? How I’m the most hated person in my family?”
“I wouldn’t say you were hated, yo. I’d say it was more like misunderstood.”
“Misunderstood, huh? Let me ask you something. Why do you hang out with me? I mean, Kayla’s your best friend. I’m her wicked sister, the one that has caused all this drama in her life. Why would you of all people want to be around me?” she asked without looking at him.
“Because I think you put up this front like you want to be this hardcore female that really doesn’t care, but you do. Let me ask you this: why do you cause so much drama in your sister’s life? Do you hate her that much?”
“See, that’s where everyone has it all wrong. I don’t hate her at all. She’s not my favorite person in the world, but I don’t hate her. I love her.”
Terrell couldn’t help laughing. “You what? Love her? Come on. You slept with her fiancé, in her house, in her bed! What? That was done out of love?”
“No, now that was a mistake. I went to a party and I was so drunk and high that it was unreal. I swear I’ve never been that blazed before in my life. The girl I rode with was drunk too, but she was gonna stay with her boyfriend. I told them to drop me off at Kayla’s; I let myself in with the key. I knew it was Geno’s bachelor party and Kayla was having her own li’l set at Roni’s. I ain’t think either one of them was coming home, I swear. I don’t even remember much of what happened except that hot-ass water coming across my back.”
“Damn.” Terrell recalled how Kayla told him about tossing hot water on Anjelica and Geno when she caught them in her bed, but he thought she was exaggerating. His best friend was telling the truth after all.
“You know the saddest part about that whole situation? My friend’s boyfriend found out later that this guy that had been trying to get with me all night had put something in my drink. They were gonna tell Kayla the whole thing, but what would’ve been the point? She called the wedding off. That was the last time I got high.” She sighed as she reflected on the whole situation.
“Okay, then what about the whole Janice thing? Did you set that up?” Even he suspected her of having something to do with Kayla’s attack, although he doubted that she meant for her sister to be hurt as badly as she was. He began asking questions that he wanted answered for the longest, and now Anjelica seemed to be in the mood to talk.
“Yeah, I had something to do with that too, right? I supposedly gave her Kayla’s telephone number and address, right? I don’t even know Kayla’s telephone number. How about Janice followed Kayla from work and got her number from directory assistance?”
“But isn’t Janice’s sister your friend?”
“No, okay, I did lie about that. We work together, that’s it. She ain’t my friend.”
“A’ight, a’ight, but what about when you pushed up on Theo at the baby shower?”
“I ain’t push up on him. I was in his face, cussing him out because he had been blowing my friend, Yasmine’s phone up trying to get with her. I was about to call him out when everyone came in the room hollering about me trying to push up on him. So, since no one wanted to hear my side of the story, I left it alone. If Tia gets played, it’s on her. It ain’t my problem.”
“You really think you’re hard, huh?” He laughed.
“I’m not trying to be hard. Do you really think I care about what they say about me? No, that’s what Kayla does. She has low self-esteem and needs to be accepted. She cares about what everyone is gonna think or what they’re gonna say. I don’t give a damn. She was a grown woman who hid her pregnancy from her father because she was scared of what he was gonna say. She went to school to be a teacher because that’s what my mother wanted her to do. Kayla doesn’t even like kids; she wanted to major in marketing, but she did what everyone wanted her to do. I wasn’t about to go to school; I like working. I ain’t about to move out until I can afford to build the house I wanna live in, but that makes me a bum. I’m not Kayla. She has to have everyone like her and be friends with everyone. I don’t need a whole bunch of friends. That’s where all the drama comes from,” she said loudly.
“I feel you on that one. But you and your sister need to get this worked out.”
“There’s nothing to work out, Terrell. I’m cool with it like it is. I like being the villainess, the bad girl. Let me ask you this, since we’re being all open and honest all of a sudden. Why did you sleep with me that night? I know you couldn’t stand me just as much as the others, but you still had sex with me. Why?”
Terrell didn’t have an answer. He tried and tried to think of one, but couldn’t. She was right; he did have as much hatred for her as everyone else, but he was still deeply attracted to her for some reason.
“I know what it is, Terrell.” She winked at him.
“You don’t know nothing.” He looked at her from the corner of his eye. She was so sexy. He tried not to stare at her full bust, which was very much inviting through the provocative, sleeveless fuchsia top she wore. Instead, his eyes fell on her thick hips wearing black fitted pants, and continued to her feet—even they were sexy. She had taken off her racy, stiletto heels, the same color as her shirt, and they were lying in the sand. He picked one up and examined it.
“What, your hooker shoes got too tight for you? How tall are these things anyway, four inches?”
“Four and a half, and don’t change the subject. I know why you slept with me. Kayla is your best friend, right? You two been thick as thieves for what, at least a year now?”
“Yep, that’s my dawg.” He reached over, pulled her feet in his lap and began rubbing them. They were soft, just like he thought they’d be.
“You were there for her when she needed you the most. You shared a lot, and had each other’s back.”
“Yeah.” He continued massaging the arch of her right foot as she talked.
“But nothing ever jumped off between you and her.” She leaned back on her elbows and continued. He began to wonder where she was going with this. “Knowing you, it was probably because she was pregnant. Plus, she was all caught up in the Geno/Craig, Craig/Geno, who’s-the-daddy, who-do-I-love drama. That right there, I guess, would have been a turn off, of course. But you stuck by her, no doubt. You were her friend. I’ve seen how you operate, Terrell. Had that not been the case, you probably would have tried to get with her.”
He looked at her like she had just fallen from the sky. No female had ever tried to go there with him. She just lay there, smiling at him.
“Funny, I look just like my sister. People even say we could pass for twins.”
“Obviously, you have lost your freaking mind, Anjelica.” He pushed her feet out of his lap and frowned at her.
“What? It’s cool, Terrell. Why are you mad?”