“This little girl is going to be in gymnastics the way she be moving in here,” Asia said as she looked down to see her daughter moving.
“Maybe that’s her way of telling her mommy that she can’t sing,” Cole said as he pulled into Crystal’s driveway.
“Wow, I never would have thought my little brother would be such a damn hater. I can sing, okay? K. Michelle ain’t got nothing on ya girl.” Asia laughed as he helped her out of the truck.
When they walked up on the porch, Asia started to get a funny feeling. She didn’t know where it had come from, but it just hit her all of a sudden. Putting her hand on the knob, she turned it to find that the door was off the hinge a little.
Cole noticed the look on her face and looked down. Seeing the same thing as her, Cole drew his gun from his waistline and cocked it. “Go get back in the car,” Cole whispered to Asia as he entered the house.
Cole slowly walked through the house with his gun drawn. He smelled food cooking in the kitchen, so he slowly headed in that direction. When he walked in, there was a big pot of greens cooking on the stove. He looked down and saw little droplets of blood on the floor. Fearing the worst, he followed them until he found Crystal laying on the ground with a gash in her head.
“Shit,” he cussed as he walked over to her.
He heard a gasp from behind him, he turned to see Asia standing there with her mouth open and watery eyes. “Ma?” she whispered. Cole checked for Crystal’s pulse and she had a faint one. He picked her up to carry her out of the house.
Realization set in for Asia that her son was supposed to be here. “Oh my God! Mare!” she yelled as she rushed out of the kitchen.
“Symare! Baby, where are you?” she yelled.
“Mommy?” she heard from the closet in the hallway. She rushed to it and snatched the door open. There, in the back of the closet, was her son sitting on the floor with tears running down his face.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s mommy,” Asia said.
Symare got up and ran to his mom, hugging her legs tightly. Asia knelt down and hugged her son tightly, checking him for any cuts or bruises. Kissing him all over his face, she picked him up as best as her stomach would allow and carried him out of the house.
Putting him in the front seat so she could ride in the back with Crystal, Cole sped out of the driveway and headed to the hospital. Cole picked up his cell phone and dialed Symir’s number. He knew shit was about to get real because niggas had crossed the line and touched his mother, which was the ultimate no-no.
~~~~
Symir was laying in the bed watching The Transformers with Nika and Sasha. This was the first time since they had been back from Rome that he’d had enough time to sit down and have family time with his two favorite girls.
“I’m going to go make some more popcorn.” Sasha said as she climbed out of her parent’s bed.
“You just ate a whole bowl, stingy.” Symir laughed.
“I know, daddy. But it’s so good.” Sasha laughed.
All Symir could do was shake his head at his too grown daughter. She was a hot mess but he wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world. His phone started ringing and he reached over to see who was calling.
“What’s up, little bro?” he answered.
“You need to meet me at the hospital,” Cole said.
Symir sat up in his bed. “The hospital? What’s wrong? Asia straight?” he asked as he got out of the bed. Following his lead, Nika climbed out of the bed to put her shoes on.
“Asia straight, but it’s Mama Crystal. I’ll explain everything to you once you get to the hospital,” Cole said before hanging up.
Hearing that something was wrong with his mother, Symir put some pep in his step. He had just talked to his mother earlier and she was fine. Symare was over there and she was cooking dinner.
“I’ll drive, where we going?” Nika asked.
Symir had to take a minute to smile. That’s one of the reasons he loved Anika. She was a rider. She never asked questions, she just got ready to ride. “Hospital,” was all he said.
When they pulled up to the hospital, Anika let Symir out at the door so he could go right in and she could park. He saw Asia sitting in the chair rocking while Symare and Cole paced back and forth.
“What happened?” he asked.
“All I know is I went over to pick up Mare. When I walked in the porch, I had a funny feeling come over me. I looked down and noticed the door looked like it had been kicked in. Cole went in ready for whatever and found Ma in the floor unconscious. I flipped. Symare got scared and hid in the closet until we got there,” Asia explained all in one breath.
She was praying that Crystal would be fine. Besides Symir, she was all Asia had in this world. She took her in when no one else would and loved her as if she had birthed her. She would lose her mind if something happened to her.
“So what you’re telling me is that someone kicked in my mama’s door and had the nerve to touch her at that? That’s what you’re saying?” Symir said, trying to keep his anger at bay.
“Unfortunately,” Asia said.
She knew it was taking everything in her brother to not go off. If it was one thing Symir didn’t play about, it was his family, especially his mom. He was seeing red right now and was ready to put whoever did it in the ground.
Just as Anika and Sasha walked into the waiting room, the doctor was coming from the back. He walked over to them to deliver the news.
“Ms. Martin will be fine. She only needed four stitches and thankfully, she didn’t suffer from any head trauma.”
Everyone let out a sigh of relief and thanked the doctor before he walked off to tend to the next patient. Even though it was a relief that she would be okay, Symir still wanted blood. Coming after his mother was something that was unforgivable.
“You two go back and take the kids. Me and Cole will stay out here,” Nika said.
“Cole, call everybody and tell them to meet me at the spot in an hour. I don’t care if they’re knee deep in some pussy or about to bust the biggest nut in their life. Tell them to be there,” Symir said.
Cole just nodded his head as the siblings went back to check on their mother.
~~~~
Cordae paced back and forth in front of Linx, trying his hardest not to put a bullet in his head. He had fucked up in so many ways possible, but this time, he knew for sure that Linx had just signed both of their death certificates.
“Man, sit yo ass down! You’re the only one scared of his bitch ass. You act like that nigga don’t bleed like all the rest of us,” Linx said.
“Nigga, the last thing you need to be doing right now is talking. What the hell would possess you to hit that lady? What the fuck have I told you about putting your hands on females, stupid ass?!” Cordae yelled.
He knew if he was livid, he could just imagine how Symir felt right now. Even though he could give two fucks about Symir, he truly did care for Mama Crystal. She was so sweet and loving, and in no way did he condone Linx putting his hands on her.
“You said we were going to hit that nigga where it hurt, so that’s exactly what I did. Why you acting like a bitch all of a sudden when all this was your plan?”
“You know what, let me get the fuck out of here before I seriously fuck you up,” Cordae said as he shook his head.
He had been hiding out in Tallahassee to perfect the plan he had to bring Symir down, but it seemed to him that Linx was trying to fuck it up. He didn’t even know that Linx had even gone to Mama Crystal’s house until he called him bragging about it. He knew that Symir was going to come full force now so he had to think of a way to stay out of dodge for the time being.
~~~~
Symir stood at the head of the table looking at every one of his lieutenants. Shit had just gotten personal and he wasn’t playing nice anymore. Since niggas wanted to play dirty, he was going to get grimy. People were about to see a side of him that they were going to wish they had never brought out.
He looked to his left and respected that fact that Knowledge had showed up when he found out about his mom being hurt. He had told him that he didn’t have to come, but he insisted. The only person that was missing was Khyree but he understood that he had to deal with calming Symare and Asia down.
“Alright as…”
“Starting without me?”
Symir was cut off by the door opening and a voice from behind him. He looked back to see his sister walking, or more like waddling, in. He just shook his head.
“Where’s Khy and what are you doing here?” he asked.
“I came in his spot. I know you didn’t think I was okay with niggas touching my mama,” Asia said as Cole got up so she could have a seat.
For the first time in three months, Asia was face to face with Knowledge. She stared at him for a bit with no emotions in her eyes, then diverted her attention to her brother. Symir knew better than to argue with his sister in situations like this, so he just went ahead and spoke.
“I’m putting up $25,000 for anybody that can bring me Cordae. I have no doubts that he either did this or had something to do with it. Even if somebody can give me some information on his whereabouts, the money is theirs. Let the streets know. I’m not about to play this game with niggas. From here on out, I will have guards on her, Anika, Sasha and Asia at all times.”
“Wait, me? Seriously, Mir, what do I need a guard for?” Asia asked.
“I need to explain myself to you?” Symir asked.
Asia threw her hands up in surrender. She knew this wasn’t her brother talking, but it was her boss speaking. She knew he had good intentions and he didn’t want any more incidents like the one that happened today, so she wasn’t going to question his actions anymore.
“My mom said the man that kicked in her door was tall and lanky. I obviously know that wasn’t Cordae because he’s short. So that just lets me know that he’s working with somebody. Find out who and get back at me. Until then, this meeting is adjourned,” Symir said as he dismissed everyone.
Cole helped Asia out of her chair and as they were walking past Knowledge, he grabbed Asia’s arm lightly. Asia froze. Without turning around she asked Knowledge what he wanted.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, please?” he said.
Asia looked over at Cole and nodded her head to let him know that she was going to be okay and he could go ahead without her. She slowly turned around just as Knowledge got up using his cane. Instantly, her heart melted and she felt bad for him.
She was so busy being mad at him that she had forgotten all about his condition. She was happy to see that he was walking again, even if he did need to use a cane. Some progress was better than none.
The two slowly walked outside without exchanging a word. When they reached Asia’s car, Knowledge leaned up against it. He stared at Asia while she stared straight ahead, not wanting to look him in the eyes.
“How is therapy going? I see you have made a lot of progress since the last time I seen you,” Asia asked.
“I have my good days and my bad days, but I'm still living and that's all that matters.” He shrugged.
“Yea, you're right,” Asia whispered.
“I would feel a lot better if I knew how my daughter was doing and shit, though.”
Asia finally looked up at him. “Omari, I told you before this unfortunate situation even happened that you didn't have to worry about my baby. I told you she would be good regardless so don't trip now. I…”
“Cut all that bullshit out, Asia!” Knowledge raised his voice. “I don't give a fuck what we go through or how pissed at me you are. I have the right to know what's going on with my daughter.”
“Don’t worry about her now. You wasn’t worried about her when you…” Asia cut her sentence short and shook her head.
“So that’s what this temper tantrum is all about? Because I fucked Chelsea? Come on now Asia, you had to have known that shit was going to happen sooner or later. You wasn’t putting out, so why not?”
It was taking everything in Asia not to slap the shit out of him right now. He was doing all that talking about how he was going to leave Chelsea and how much he wanted to be with her but because she didn’t want to fuck him, he suddenly remembered he had a fiancé.
“You know what, Omari? You are so full of shit. I’m actually happy that I didn’t give you a chance because if you would cheat on your so called fiancé with me, ain’t no telling how bad you would have dogged my ass out. Get the fuck up off my car so I can go,” Asia said with an attitude.
“So you have an attitude now?”
“Symir!” Asia yelled to her brother, who was three cars away talking to Cole.
“What’s up?” Symir as he looked from Asia to Knowledge.
“Can you please help your homeboy get off my car so I can go?”
“Seriously, you two need to cut all this bullshit out. We have more important things to worry about. Fix this shit,” Symir said to his sister.
“I’m really not trying to hear that shit, so get ya boy. I’m ready to go.”
Knowing how stubborn Asia could be, Knowledge lifted himself off of her car and slowly walked off with his cane. Asia climbed into her car and sped off, leaving her brother and baby daddy shaking their heads at her.
“You know how she is,” Symir said. “She’ll come around.”
When Asia got home, she sat in her car for a few minutes crying. She felt so stupid for shedding tears over Knowledge. She felt stupid for allowing herself to even fall for him in the first place, knowing her brother wouldn’t approve of it. She felt stupid for still having some type of feelings for him just knowing that he played her.
12
Anika and Crystal were at the grocery store picking up something to cook for dinner. Since Crystal had been out of the hospital, she had been staying with Symir and Anika. It wasn’t like she had a choice, because Symir wouldn’t let her go home. He refused to let her back in the house until he knew everything was okay.
Anika kept looking around because she had the feeling that someone was watching her. Whenever she looked around, no one would be there, so she figured she was just being paranoid. As they were putting the bags in the car, a little boy walked over to Anika.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” the boy said.
“Yes?”
“That man over there told me to give this to you,” the little boy said as he looked around for the man that sent him over, but he had vanished. “He was just over there,” the boy said, confused.
Anika took the envelope from the boy and opened it. In the envelope was a letter and a crack pipe along with some crack. Instantly, her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. She scanned the parking lot quickly in search of someone who looked familiar.
“What’s wrong, Nika baby?” Crystal asked.
“Nothing, Ma,” Nika answered with a shaky voice. She glanced back at the little boy. “What did the man look like that gave this to you?” she asked.
The little boy scratched his head. “Um…he was tall, braids and had gold teeth.”
Linx, she thought as she jumped in the car without another word. He hands shook as she tried to put the key in the ignition. Worried, Crystal gently took the keys from Anika. Tears started to cloud her vision as she looked up at her mother-in-law.
“He won’t leave me alone.” She broke down.
Crystal took Nika into her arms and held her while she cried. Crystal didn’t know what had transpired between Nika and the little boy, but it didn’t take rocket science for her to figure it out. She had watched Anika grow up since she was knee high to a grasshopper and hated that she had gotten caught up in the things she had.
“Anika, look at me,” she said sternly. Anika did as she was told and looked up at her. “After today, there will be no more tears over this shit. You have come a long way and you kicked that addiction. Not a lot of people can say they accomplished that, so you should be proud. It may not have been easy, and it’s probably not easy fo
r you now, but you did it, baby.”
“Ma, it’s so hard, though. I try my best, but it seems like every time I have something good going for myself, he always finds a way to knock me down. I just want to be happy. I know I’ll always be some crack head in people’s eyes, but I’m not that person anymore,” Nika cried.
“You’re damn right you’re not,” Crystal said as she wiped Nika’s tears away. “You’re so much better than that. You made a mistake, but so what, who doesn’t? You have a man that loves you and has never left your side. You have a daughter that doesn’t even know you had an addiction problem and is happy to have her mommy around.”
Nika just nodded her head in agreement. “You’re right, ma. It’s just that I know I was wrong and I just don’t want people throwing that up in my face for the rest of my life.”
“Nika, forget what other people think. People are going to talk about you until the day that you die. They talked about Jesus. Their opinion of you doesn’t count simply because they don’t have a heaven or hell to put you in. I watched you grow up since you were a little girl, the same little girl that used to chase my big headed son all around the neighborhood.” Crystal smiled.
“I only chased him because he would hit me then run,” Nika laughed.
“That’s true,” Crystal laughed with her. “Now get yourself together and switch places with me so we can hurry up and get home before Symir sends his goons to come get us.”
On the ride back home, Nika thought about everything that Crystal had said to her and she was right. She wasn’t going to shed anymore tears over this situation. If Linx wanted to play, they were going to play by her rules. People always thought that because she was a pretty girl that she was scared to get down and dirty, but she was trained by the best.
When they pulled up, Symir was standing in the garage waiting for them.
“Damn, I was just about to come get y’all,” he said with a scowl on his face.
“Symir, go somewhere and sit down. We are two grown ass women that don’t need a babysitter,” Crystal said as she handed her son a few grocery bags.
Feels So Right, It Must Be Wrong 2 Page 6