by J Peach
With our dad deep into the game, he could never be too far from the hood. In turn, that limited everything I did. He lived and breathed it day in and out, was addicted to it. Dmitri may have been smart with keeping my mom and I safe and away from the company his life style brought, but we weren’t dumb, especially not my mom.
She knew the ins and outs of everything he did and she allowed herself to get stuck in that life. Stuck with a hood, worrying, stressing herself every night with possibilities of a what if’s.
With my dad being in and out on the streets, King took his place. He was everything my dad wasn’t.
So it wasn’t that I never saw or had been in a nice place before, I just never had one of my own. King’s place was bigger, but it was his, not mine.
“I can’t wait to have my first party here, shit is going to be crazy. Ahhh!” Screaming out a laugh, I jumped on King’s back, almost making him fall.
“Get yo ass off of me,” he snapped once he caught his balance. “If I would’ve fell…”
“You wouldn’t have done shit but cried like a baby!” I laughed before running back in the house. Finding the stairs, I took them two at a time. Once I got to the first door, I opened it to see an empty bedroom. I closed that door and then went to the next, it was also an empty bedroom. Just like downstairs, there was a bathroom on the other side of the hall, opposite the rooms. With a peek inside, it looked just like the one on the lower floor.
Leaving the bathroom, I came to another set of five steps that lead to a nice big sitting area that was furnished. A black round sectional sat in the middle of the room, facing a fireplace that was built into the purple wall. There was a huge flat screen built inside the wall just above the fireplace.
This is most definitely my dream house.
Behind the couch were curtain covered doors. I unlocked them, then pushed them open. My mouth dropped. Behind the doors was a fully furnished balcony. A round table with four chairs sat off to the right, and off to the left sat a daybed.
“King!” I yelled out to him.
“What?” Not expecting him to be so close, I jumped. “Why you jumping?” He asked, looking at me like I was crazy.
“Why you walking around like a damn cat? Make noise when you enter a room. Anyways, is they coming to get the furniture or…” I left it at that as I sat on the daybed. “If they want this stuff back, you gon’ to have decorate this house exactly like this.” I wanted everything in there and I was gon’ have to fight the people it belonged to if they came for it. Hell, they shouldn’t have left the shit there.
“N’all, it comes with the house.” King leaned against the rail as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
I gave him a confused look. Who in the hell was gon’ give away a fully furnished house and ask for nothing in return? Not possible.
This has King all over it.
Chapter 7
Peaches
“King, why you playin’? I know this is your doing. Ain’t nobody else gon’ go through the trouble to get me a house similar to the one I wanted, especially when I showed nobody else that place beside you.”
“I ain’t got shit to do with this. It’s a coincidence.” He blew the smoke from his mouth, seeming too relaxed.
“Coincidence? Really, King? Yo ass is a coincidence, dumbass.” Laughing, I pushed past him.
“Remember this?” He suddenly said.
I went falling forward as he stuck his foot out, tripping me. “Yo black ass too old for that shit!” I snapped at him, but ended up laughing anyway as I rolled to my back. “Ugh, I fuckin’ hate you. Now help me up.” Holding my hand out, King slapped it hard before stepping over me. “You trick!”
Once I got back on my feet I followed King inside. “Cherry, get yo ass down. I don’t need yo little ass tearing up my furniture.” I pushed her off the back of the sofa onto the floor, causing King to snort.
“Oh, so that damn rat can sit on my shit, but not yours. Cherry, stay right there, mama,” he told her, sitting her back on the couch.
My brows rose as I looked at him. “King, you’re talking to a cat, really?”
“I’ma choke yo ass. You was just talkin’ to her,” he stated and I shrugged.
“I’m a girl, it’s normal. You’re… Well, I always had a feeling you were— King, I’m playing. Gon,” I laughed as I ran to the only other door on the floor. Pushing it open, I expected a bathroom. ”Oh, my God,” I mumbled as I came to a halt.
The room was huge, about the size of two bedrooms combined. The carpet was a light grey, as were the walls. A grey mirrored dresser decorated the left side of the room as did a tall one.
Three grey love seats sat in the middle of the floor with a purple throw lying on the back of each. Three purple pillows sat on the sofas, one on either side and a lone one in the middle. Two sofas faced each other while the other faced the larger flat screen TV.
Going to the couch, I fingered the soft suede material as I walked around to the front of the sofa, touching the small round glass center table.
Again, I fell in love.
That was before my eyes landed on the metal, four post, California King Bed with a grey canopy draped around it. The comforter was purple with grey swirls going every which way. There were a set of four purple pillows with grey swirls and a set of three grey pillows with the matching design that sat in front of the four.
A bubble laugh left my mouth as I jumped on the soft, bouncy bed.
“King!“
“Stop yelling, damn. I’m right here,” he announced as he stood in the doorway.
I was too excited about the damn house, I was not giving it up. “We need to call a lawyer to look over those papers—”
“Sam went over them and said they were legit.” He sat on the couch, then propped his feet on the glass table.
I looked at him like he was stupid as I got off of the bed and walked to a door on the side of the room. “King, get yo dirty feet off my damn table,” I snapped at him while walking into a huge walk-in-closet. My mouth dropped as my eyes bulged out of their sockets. Clothes, so many clothes. Dresses, skirts, jeans, colorful skinny jeans, tank tops, long and short sleeves hung on hangers. On the far side of the left wall were heels and gyms shoes.
King did it, I was convinced. If he wanted to pretend he didn’t, and as long as I could keep everything in there, I could play along. I squeaked into my mouth as I turned to face him with a huge smile plastered across my lips.
“King, I love you,” my smile soon faded as his words sank in. “You think I’ma trust what some hood says?” He must’ve been out of his gotdamn mind if he thought I was going off of what Sam said.
“Sam knows what he’s talking about, he went to law school,” he replied as he pulled a baggy from his pocket. He tossed that as well as a swisher on my table.
I walked into the bathroom. “King! Look at this damn bathroom, it has a stand in shower and a Jacuzzi tub. Wait, Sam went to law school?” It finally dawned on me what he said.
“Yep,” Okay, now I was convinced all those mothafuckas were dumb as fuck. Who in the hell went to school, but didn’t pursue the career. I mean, it took years for that shit, so why go?
“The three of y’all mothafuckas dumb as shit. You, Blaze, and Sam. What was the point of going to school?” I asked him while looking at the grey decorated bathroom. It even had his and hers sinks that sat on top of the counter instead of built into it.
“It’s boring as hell. Besides, I just needed to know what they did,” Sam spoke from the room
“Where the hell you come from?” I asked him as I left the bathroom. “Cherry, stop. Yo ass tearing the damn thing up already.” Seeing her clawing at the canopy, I walked over and picked her up. “I’ma put yo little ass outside.”
“But she can tear up my shit?” King once again asked.
Rolling my eyes at him, I went over and sat on the couch. “Yeah, this is new. Yo shit is old,” I said, laughing before looking at Sam. “So this is legit?
Nobody is going to pop up here in a month or so talkin’ about this they house, right?” I wanted to be a hundred percent sure nobody was going to come knocking before I got attached to the place.
It’s too late for that.
“None of that. All you have to do is sign the deed and this is yours?” Sam said, handing me the papers.
That was too sketchy. Why would someone buy a house and decorate it, only to turn around and give it away as well as the deed? Something wasn’t right. Thinking it was King’s doing was becoming doubtful. For one, he would never have bought me all those clothes. He hated shopping. And I know he would’ve told Ebony who, without a doubt, would have told me. So who else would go through the trouble?
“But why?” I questioned.
Sam looked at me like I was stupid. “How the hell am I supposed to know that? If you don’t want to sign them, then I will.” Sam stated, holding an ink pen out toward me.
Taking the papers, I looked at them, not knowing how to make sense of everything.
“And y’all ain’t wondering why someone is suddenly giving me a house?” I asked, looking directly at King. Because now I honestly didn’t know what to think.
“No. Now sign the damn papers, I have somewhere to be.” He thrust the pen out once more.
Sighing, I signed my name on the line. “It’s already been notarized and stamped. We good. Here, sign these too,” he said, handing me the same paper.
“Why? And how the hell did you get it notarized and stamped when I’m just signing the papers?” I knew something wasn’t right.
“The less you know, the better. It’s legal, that’s all you need to know.”
“Sam, don’t play with me?” I was about to get pissed if he was playing with me.
“I’m just doing what I was told to do. The papers were stamped when they came to me. I read over them like I was asked to do. Now I’m asking you to sign. I promise it’s legal. The house is paid for and it’s yours. Do you really think King would let me sit here and play with you like this? Especially if it was illegal? Think about it, Peaches,” Sam told me, all seriousness.
He had a point. “So y’all know who bought the house?” I looked from King to Sam.
King laughed as he spoke. “I don’t know shit.”
Sam laughed at him, then took the second set of papers. “I can’t tell you that. The whole attorney-client confidentiality thing.”
“You’re not even a fuckin’ lawyer,” I stated, pissed off. And he had the nerve to laugh. I swear I was about to hit him.
“My masters says otherwise. We’re not all dumb, Peaches, so take your head out of your ass. You’re not the only one with an education, sweetheart.” Sam’s matter of fact tone shut me up for a second.
Well damn.
What was I supposed to say to that?
“Fuck you and get out my house.” King and Sam both laughed, making me roll my eyes before joining in. “Sam, next weekend I’ma have a cook out, you’re invited. Don’t bring nobody but yourself,” I said, laughing as I got up. “Ahh! I got a house! I have to call my bitches. Wait, King where my stuff from the apartment?” I hadn’t even realized none of the U-hauls followed us there.
“Your clothes are outside in the truck, I put your lamps on the table downstairs. The rest of that shit we gave it away. Sam, I need you to help me bring that TV in.”
“You gave my table away?” I know it wasn’t my moms table, but still, King gave it to me.
“No, it’s out in the truck.” I nodded my head as I sat Cherry on the couch.
“Peaches!” I heard from the hallway.
Screaming, I ran out of my room to Ebony.
“Bitch, I was just about to call y’all. Do you see this place?” I asked, excited.
“Yeah, it’s crazy, especially with all this damn purple. But it’s cute. I know where I’m sleeping tonight,” Ebony said, walking to the balcony and opening the door. “Oh, my damn. Bitch, it’s a bed out here,” Ebony said making me laugh.
“I know, I’m not ever leaving this mothafucka!” I boasted, following behind her.
“Bitches!” Missy called out as she walked up the stairs, a bottle of Don in her hands. Kimmy and Angel were right behind her, one with a few boxes of pizza, the other had paper plates and cups.
“Out here!” I yelled to them. They came out on the balcony, sitting the stuff on the table. Angel’s small black ass came over to the bed, flopping her boney ass down on Ebony’s lap.
“Bitch, this is nice. You have a fuckin’ bar in the living room. I think my apartment about to mysteriously catch fire. Peach, can I move in?” Angel said, giving me a pouty look and making me laugh.
My head nodded. “Yes, of course. All you need is a bed,” I told her.
“Oh, I’m getting my bed and clothes out before that bitch go up in flames,” Angel said, making us laugh. “I’m serious, this shit is nice.”
“I’m having a party next Saturday. Bring whoever you want, except Mya’s ratchet ass.” I still hadn’t seen that hoe, bitch had been laying low. But we were gon’ have ours.
We sat on the balcony, eating pizza, drinking Don, laughing and joking, just enjoying ourselves. Even though a smile was on my face and I was loving that my friends were there, I couldn’t help wondering about him. What was he doing at that moment? Was he okay? Had he started messing with someone else?
I didn’t know, but I wanted to know, even in my intoxicated state. It probably didn’t seem like it, but I was missing him something crazy. I missed sleeping with him at night. I missed the way his fingers danced along my skin as I lay on his chest. His mean, but in its own way, nice personality. His playfulness, his possessiveness.
“Peaches, I brought the last box up. I don’t know where this came from, but it look familiar as hell,” King said, holding up a Black Diamond chain. Taking it from him, I played with the diamonds that was the chain.
“It’s Blaze’s. I’m surprised he left it.” The chain was worth at least fifty thousand, he’d had that chain for years from what he’d told me. He’d bought it with the first hundred thou he made. Blaze said it reminded him of how hard life was and how hard he had to continue working to maintain everything he had.
That man almost lost his damn mind when I took the chain to get it cleaned without him knowing, tore up my damn apartment looking for it. Hell, I was kinda nervous about telling his crazy ass I took it.
I should slap yo ass. You hear me asking about the damn chain and you gon’ sit yo ass there lookin’ stupid.’ A laugh left my mouth as I thought of that day. Of course we fought, but we made up. We always made up after a fight.
Except this time.
“Peaches, boo, you okay?” Kim asked as she rubbed my thigh.
Laughing, I shrugged her off, acting as if it was nothing.
“Yeah. I’ll be right back.” Walking off the balcony, I went into the seating area and grabbed my phone off the charger. I pulled up the camera, then took a picture of the necklace before I shot him a quick text.
Me: Found your chain, so don’t go killin’ nobody because you can’t find it.
Pressing send, I held my phone, hoping two different things. One, he didn’t reply. Or two, he did and wanted to meet to get it back. I wanted it to be two, only so that I could see he was okay.
Blaze: It wasn’t lost.
His reply made my brows furrow.
Me: Wanna come get it?
Blaze: Keep it.
My eyes stared at those two words. Fifty times I read them, not knowing how to reply. I really wanted to text back, but what was I to say?
Me: Blaze, I can’t keep it.
I looked from the chain to the screen. I stood, holding my phone for a minute, waiting for a response. After a while I figured he wasn’t going to reply back.
He didn’t.
****
Everyone had left an hour or so earlier, it was only Cherry and I in that big bed. It was so quiet and lonely in the house. I didn’t like it, but I’d have to
deal with it. I turned on the TV, even though I wasn’t watching it. My eyes were too busy staring at the black, diamond chain laced between my fingers.
Holding it had that ache, that crave I had for him returning in full force. It wasn’t sex I was craving, but him. His conversations, his attitude, his laugh, his threats
Everything that was him.
Pulling Cherry into my chest, I closed my eyes, letting sleep take me too oblivion where he didn’t exist.
It was time I made oblivion a reality instead of just a dream.
Chapter 8
Peaches
One Month and Two Weeks Later…
“You look stressed,” Vanessa, my new co-worker said as I flopped down in my chair.
“I am. I wanna to take my ass home and go to sleep,” I told her with a yawn as I rolled the chair to the computer. “I’m seriously thinking about sneaking into one of these room and go to sleep— Hey, Dr. Harris,” I quickly said as she walked in, making Vanessa laugh.
Dr. Harris was a short, Hispanic woman, probably in her late thirties or early forties. She was cool, as were the patients. None of them were loud or ghetto like it was at Sly’s clinic.
I’d been working her for two and a half months. To be honest, it was way better than working for Sly and having to deal with some of those ratchet ass folks that went in there.
My life had slowly returned back to normal, excluding me getting head from different dudes. I’d calmed down a lot since I hadn’t been with Blaze. Being with someone else just didn’t seem right. And I couldn’t just sleep with anybody just because.
Besides that one time, I hadn’t seen or talked to Blaze since I moved into my house. I would have been lying if I said I didn’t miss him. Hell, I wore his chain everyday tucked inside my shirt. But I was dealing with the fact that we weren’t together anymore.