by Shan
I pushed the door completely open, walked in, and immediately noticed that the entire place had been trashed. The couches were out of place and cut up, the TV had been tossed to the floor, and papers were scattered throughout. Broken glass crushed underneath my tennis shoes as I walked in. Picture frames had been broken and thrown all over the place. It didn't seem to be a robbery because nothing of value was missing. I took out my cell phone to call Jahzara but was startled when I heard the sound of someone gasping behind me. I turned around to see Tomeka, Jahzara, and, of course, Imran standing in the midst of the storm.
"Oh, my god! Who did this?" Jahzara looked around.
"The door was open when I got here, and…it looks like they were looking for something," I said as I began to clean up some of the mess.
"Looking for what? I’ve lived here for years and never had problems, so, why now?"
"Well, you wasn't selling drugs out of your house before either," I said.
Jahzara took off running through the house with Imran hot on her tail. Tomeka and I looked at each other before going to see what the problem was. Before we could even make it to the room, Jahzara screamed and began to wail.
"What happened? Jahzara, are you okay?" I asked, looking around in confusion.
"They took my safe! They took my fuckin' safe," she cried.
"Baby, chill out. It's gonna be okay." Imran wrapped his arms around Jahzara and allowed her to cry on his chest.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I surveyed the damage of Jahzara's room. It wasn't nearly as bad as the rest of the house, so it made me wonder if the culprits knew exactly what they were looking for.
"I'll start cleaning up in the front," Tomeka said and exited the room.
I looked over at Jahzara and Imran and decided to follow behind Tomeka. Their fucking mushiness made me sick to my damn stomach. Jahzara was still married for crying out loud. I know that I wasn't a perfect person, but Cedric wasn't my husband. I joined Tomeka and helped her to clean up all the trash and glass.
"I'm getting sick of him being around, Meka. We need to do something about this," I said in a hushed tone.
"Who? Imran? Why, Honey? He is cool, and he makes her happy," Tomeka said. She'd always been the dumb and naive one out of the bunch. I shook my head and moved closer to her.
"How do you think whoever broke in here knew to touch her safe? Did you tell them?"
"Hell, nah."
"Well, neither did I. Nobody else has been up in here but us three. He's been around for a good month, and look what happened."
"Well, somebody needs to tell her. If he did this, then—"
Tomeka paused and looked over my shoulder.
"Look. Don't worry about cleaning up. I'm getting a room tonight, and I'll worry about this shit tomorrow," Jah said.
"Are you sure?" Tomeka asked. "I don't mind staying and helping—"
"The muthafucka threatened my life. Whoever this is, is taking this shit personal." Jahzara held up a small piece of paper with some words scribbled on it. I ran over to her and snatched the letter from her hand.
"¿Lo que en el infierno?" I questioned. The note read:
Lay down or get laid out, bitch.
"¿Quien hizo esto? ¡Tenemos que encontrar ellos y matarlos! ¡Agujeros de culo estúpidos! ¡Estupido bastards!" I yelled.
"Nobody knows what the hell you are saying, but it doesn't even matter. Let’s get out of here," Jahzara huffed.
I placed the note on her dining room table and shrugged my shoulders. Tomeka stared at me as if she was expecting me to say something about what we were talking about, but I wasn't going to do it. Not now, not with him around, I thought. Soon as I had an opportunity to talk with Jahzara privately, I would definitely bring it up.
*****
"Damn! I was wondering when you were gonna come and see me again," DeMarcus said with a grin.
"You should've known I wasn't going to leave my papi waiting long," I said as I made my way over to him.
After giving him a kissed him on the lips, I took a seat next to his bed. He looked one hundred percent better than he had the very first time I’d seen him, when he was damn near dead.
"Damn! Sure ‘preciate it that for real. So, what's been up? You looking real icy right about now."
"Yeah. Remember I told you about the lil’ business me and Jah was running. Well, it's starting to pay off. I bought my first car the other day. A 2009 Chevy Impala."
"Damn, business must be real good. Shit! What’s Tomeka up to?"
The smile on my face quickly turned into a frown. I know he did not just ask me about his ex-girlfriend who put his ass in here, I thought. I folded my arms over my chest and refused to answer the question. If he wanted to know how the hell she was doing, then he would have to ask her himself.
"Look. I only asked because the detectives came through and told me they were ready to take the case to trial the moment I got out of the hospital."
"Well, if she goes to jail, then she goes to jail. She shouldn't have stabbed you all those times."
"That's your best friend, Honey."
"But I'm in love with you."
"I'm not pressing charges, but the state is gonna do it anyway. I won't testify."
"What? Why not?" I sat forward in my seat.
"Because I'm not. I beat Tomeka for no damn reason, Honey. Because I was fuckin' wacked out of my damn mind. Every time I put my hands on her, it was for no damn reason at all. I deserved this and more," DeMarcus said, pointing out his surroundings.
"I can't believe that you are even talking like this right now! You sound fucking stupid!" I yelled. I shot up from my chair and began to pace the room. "You just wanna get back with her. I knew it. So, you’re gonna leave me just like Cedric, huh? ¡Agujero de culo!"
"This isn't even about that. You need—"
"No! No! Fuck you, DeMarcus!" I stormed out of the room with hot tears streaming down my face. I knew that Tomeka was my friend, but, with her still around, I knew that DeMarcus was still going to want her. I knew how he felt about her, and that was the reason I couldn't get him to feel the same way about me.
"Honey?"
I looked up and saw Tomeka coming my way. She was holding on to a set of papers and looking like she'd just left the gym.
"What the hell are you doing up here?" I asked.
"I had to come give blood for this damn case and—"
"And you… what? Decided to come and see DeMarcus?" I questioned folding my arms across my chest.
"No, I decided to bring a Thank You card to the staff that took care of me during my stay. I don't wanna see no damn DeMarcus." Tomeka waved a card in front of my face, and I immediately realized I was tripping. I was about to give myself away for no good reason at all. I flashed Tomeka a smile and tried to lighten things up.
"Good, girl, ‘cause you know I was about to get on your ass. You know, I gotta look out for you and Jah."
"Don't worry. I know better. Let me drop this off, and we can walk out together."
I nodded my head and watched as Tomeka headed over to the nurses’ station to drop off the ugly ass card she had bought.
"What are you doing here?" Tomeka asked when she came back to where I was standing.
"Oh, ummm...this dude I've been dating was shot, and I just sat with him for a lil while," I lied.
"Dude? Dating? Why am I just now hearing about this?" Tomeka said with a smile. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he's good, and I'm just trying to feel him out and see how things go," I said with a big smile on my face.
"That's good, Honey. You deserve to be happy," Tomeka said.
You’re damn right I do. When your ass goes to jail, I will be the happiest woman alive, bitch, I thought as we walked out of the hospital.
85
12 Jahzara
12
Jahzara
"Oh, shit!" I moaned as Imran slid deep inside of me from behind.
I squeezed my muscles tightly together and threw
my body into his. The deepness and thickness of his rock hard rod caused me to shake each time he hit my spot. I brought my hand down and massaged my swollen clitoris.
"Damn! Your pussy is so wet and good!" Imran groaned as he deeply stroked my walls.
We'd been behaving like horny bunny rabbits ever since the first time we had sex in my house that also belonged to my husband Quin. I hated that our relationship ever went past the business stage because I just couldn't seem to get enough of Imran. The way he feasted off my pussy like it was a Thanksgiving meal was nothing short of amazing. The way he swung his dick inside of me like he belonged there had me ready to get on my knees and propose marriage to his ass. He knew my spots so well, knew how to touch them, how hard or how soft to go. It was almost perfect.
I moaned lightly when Imran pulled out of me and crashed onto the bed. I crawled over to him and climbed on top of him. I tried to slide his dick back inside of me, but he pushed me away.
I laughed, "Aww, is that baby sensitive down there?"
"That's not funny," Imran said groggily.
"I know you’re not going to sleep on me," I fussed.
"Nah. I need to talk to you about something, though."
I sat up in the bed and grabbed my purse that contained my stash of weed and cigars. My heavy weed habit had come from years of being around Quin. I used to indulge with the girls when I was younger, but it was never enough to call it a habit.
"Go open that window before you have hotel security up in here."
I nodded my head and went over to the window to open them up. I couldn't wait to get out of this damn room, but I didn't know where the hell I would go when I left. Honey's apartment was too small, and there was no way I would be chilling at Tomeka's after she stabbed that nigga DeMarcus up in there. I didn't see how the hell she was doing it.
I went back over to the bed and began to roll my blunt up. I looked over at Imran and waited for him to speak. I had a feeling that, whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good.
"Aye! I think that you should come and live with me at my place. It's not safe back at your spot, and I wouldn't mind having you around my headquarters."
"Umm, I don't know about that, Imran." I shook my head.
"Why not? We together damn near everyday anyway."
"I'm still married, Imran, and this isn't right.”
"Your husband is dead, so what's the problem?"
"There is something I need to tell you," I sighed and quickly lit the tip of the blunt. "My husband…he's not dead, and… ummm…he's currently locked up. He’s doing the last few months of his bid."
"Whoa!" Imran sat upright in the bed and stared at the side of my face.
"I've been faithful to him the whole time he's been there. For three and a half years, I held him down until he sent divorce papers in the mail all because he said he’d heard some things. That's why I decided to sell those bricks and—"
"Damn, you got me out here selling a nigga’s shit! Taking his connect! Do you realize that means war when he gets out, Jah?" Imran yelled. He snatched the blunt from my hand, got out of the bed, and paced the floor butt ass naked.
"I know, but I mean, I was just gonna replace the bricks. I've already put one back, and, the next time around, I was gonna put—"
"You put that one back ‘cause that's the one you gave me for free. You haven’t put shit else back. Tell him you sold them shits to pay your bills. If that nigga wanna see me, then we'll take it to the streets. I'm not giving up that connect, and, if he wanna go to war, then we go to war."
"So what if y'all got the same connect. Do it—"
"Two niggas on the streets with the same product ain’t gonna work. Too much competition. Fighting over blocks, over traps. My pockets suffer right along with his. I'm not trying to go through that, but I see that I'm gonna have to. Shit!" Imran yelled.
"I'm sorry. I should've told you from the beginning. I wanted to, but, when Honey threw that lie out there, I just went with it. Imran, I'm sorry."
"So, you just using me 'til that nigga comes home, huh? I'm just a lil revenge fuck for you?"
"No, it isn't like that. I wanted to keep things business with you, but we crossed that line, and I've been enjoying myself."
"Enjoying yourself? Fuck I look like? A ride at the amusement park?"
"Imran, I like you. I really do, but everything is so complicated, and I don't wanna bring any drama to your life."
"It's over between you two, right? You said he sent you divorce papers, so it's over, right?" Imran asked. He passed the blunt back to me and gabbed his clothing from the floor.
"Yeah. I…"
Hell! I didn't know what to say. Part of me wanted to wait until Quin got home. I wanted him to tell me to my face that he wanted a divorce, and part of me wanted to go down there and deliver the signed papers to him myself. I sort of wanted to work it out, but— Hell!— I also wanted to say “fuck him”, get this money, and shit all over his ass when he touched down. All this time, I'd been that ride or die chick for him, and so quickly he tossed me to the side because of rumors. Most likely, a hating ass bitch was all in his ear, spreading lies about me, and he believed that shit. I felt like, if it was that easy to convince him that I wasn't that chick he needed me to be, then I definitely didn't need to be spending any more time waiting for him.
"Yeah. It's over. I hadn't had the time to consult a lawyer, but I will."
"Good. I want you to come and live with me, Jah. Let me treat you the way you're supposed to be treated."
I looked into Imran's eyes and could see that he was sincere. He'd been nothing but nice to me, and I had no reason to believe that he would do anything to hurt me. I nodded my head and let out a nervous laugh.
"Okay, I'll come," I said.
After I said that, he dropped to his knees and pulled me to edge of the bed. Then, he dipped his head in between my legs.
"Yeah. I’mma go see that lawyer ASAP!" I said as my eyes rolled behind my head.
*****
I had the girls meet me back at the house the next morning to clean up as much as possible and, also, to help pack some of the things that I would be taking to Imran's. Couldn't help but wonder who the hell had broken into my house and why. There weren't too many people that knew I was dealing and, of those that did, I knew they wouldn't touch me on the strength of Quin.
Something wasn't right, but my brain wouldn't even allow me to try and figure it out. I was about to take a bold step by moving in with Imran. I barely knew this dude, but it just felt so right, and that was what scared me. It scared me that, all the things I’d felt for Quin in the beginning, I was now feeling that way about Imran. The last thing I should have been doing was jumping into a new relationship when I hadn't quite wrapped the last one up.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Honey said, tossing some glass into the trash.
"Do we ever know what we're doing, Honey? Isn't it normal for everyone to just jump into things, head first, and pray that we, at least, land on our asses?" I sarcastically asked.
Honey was starting to irk the hell out of me. I really wanted to put her ass on blast and let Tomeka know that Honey didn't donate a dime to help her out of jail. The day that I needed the money I couldn't get in contact with her to save my damn life. I called her, at least, twenty times to see if she could put something up to help but nothing. Later, she claimed that she had to send some money to Mexico for her parents, but I knew that wasn’t true. Just like me, Honey didn’t even talk to her damn parents. And, to top it off, a week or so later, she popped up with a new car. If it wasn’t for Imran pitching in to help, Tomeka would’ve had to sit in jail a lot longer. The only reason I hadn't mentioned it yet was because of all the craziness going on, but I damn sure couldn't wait to call the slut on the shit. She wasn’t going to get away with that shit. Nah, not happening.
"I like Imran, and I think, if he treats you good, then go for it. Might as well," Tomeka said but the look that Honey shot her caused
her to say more. "But are you sure that he is who he say he is?"
"Yeah, I'm positive that he's legit. You, bitches, just need to let me do me."
We continued cleaning up the house, doing our best to get it back to normal. After we all were satisfied, I packed up enough clothing to satisfy myself for a while and met Imran back at the hotel. On the ride over there, I felt like a very big change was about to happen in my life. I could only hope that it was for the better and not for the worse, but the turning in my stomach told me that things were about to take a turn that none of us could prepare for.
93
13 Honey
13
Honey
Six Months Later
I strutted around the apartment, making sure that my ass shook from left to right in my skin tight Juicy Couture jeans. My stilettos pumped hard against the floor, bringing pure definition to my calf muscles. To say I was a bad bitch would be a complete understatement seeing as how I was much more than that. Your girl had come up and had come up in a major way. I thank God for the day Jahzara’s husband Quin mailed her those divorce papers and the bitch decided to get smart and sell that nigga’s bricks. If it had not been for that, I would’ve still been selling Avon products, peeling eviction letters off my door, and lighting candles just to be able to maneuver through my little ass apartment. Now, I had a nice car, a nice condo in the North, and a little paper stacked up for a rainy day.
I figured another six months or so of doing this, then I would be straight enough to open up my own business and do things the legal way. I wasn’t going to be like these niggas and keep going and going until the life finally caught up with them, sending them to an early grave or placing them behind bars, doing bids that didn’t even make sense.
“What’s up, papi? ¿Como estas?” I asked Imran.
“Estoy bien. ¿Y tu?” he asked, keeping his concentration on the money counter.
I strutted over to the table where he and a few other guys were seated and slid on top of the table in between them. I was really starting to hate Imran more and more each and every damn day. Not because of who he was but because Jahzara was right when she said he was a damn boss. She’d picked him out of a club and assumed that he was on top of his game, and what do you know? The bitch couldn’t have been more than right. Let her tell it, the nigga had a bad ass house in the suburbs, several cars parked in and outside of the garage, and a nice little bank account to go along with it. He was on his king pin shit and that frustrated the hell out of me. Jah always picked the good ones.