by Falicia Love
“Helping me? You are here for Jeryca, and if you don’t want to be here, then take your trifling ass home. I got this,” Dana said angrily.
Dana walked into the house to see if any damage was done to her house, only to find Farrah sitting on the couch, staring at her like she was the devil.
“Dana, why did you just say that to her? That was uncalled for!”
“A lot of things are uncalled for, but I’m going to see if anything is smoke-damaged, and then check on Jeryca. I need to tell you and Stephanie something in a few.”
“Whatever,” Farrah replied, looking at Dana hard.
Dana stood watching Farrah for a few seconds, shook her head, and proceeded to inspect her house. Once she saw there was no damage, she looked in on Jeryca, who appeared to be sleeping.
“Can you ask Stephanie to come in for a second, please?” Dana asked.
Farrah looked at Dana as if she had spoken a foreign language.
“Steph, come here,” Farrah yelled.
Dana started laughing, amused by how her two friends were acting. When Stephanie came in, she sat next to Farrah and dropped her head, still crying.
“Look, I saw Thad at the courthouse, and he told me that he was responsible for Jeryca being out on the streets hooking. He said she was his top ho, and that he was coming for her. He said that she called him earlier today. Now I know this isn’t true, especially after I told y’all to monitor her phone calls,” Dana said curiously.
“Dana, Jeryca is a grown fucking woman, and she can do whatever it is that she wants. Who are we to tell her who she can call and can’t call? I don’t even know why we are here going through this! I got my own troubles that I got to deal with, damn it! I’m not going to hold Jeryca’s hand like she is a child. She needs professional treatment, not you trying to live her life for her,” Farrah raged.
“So it don’t matter to either of you that Thad is ruining Jeryca’s life?” Dana asked.
“Look, Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes, Jeryca didn’t care if he ruined her life, so why should we? My son is my main focus, not Jeryca, so with that being said, I’m leaving. Whatever you and Stephanie decide to do with her is on y’all, but I got more important shit to do with my time!” Farrah shouted.
“I’m leaving too. I can’t put my life on hold any longer. I just lost my man due to this, and regardless of what you or anybody else think or feel, he was my heart. Shit, Jeryca can’t feel like her life is ruined that much. If you believe what Thad told you about her calling him, then she got to be okay with being a ho!” Stephanie exclaimed.
“You bitches are fucked up. Farrah, I understand that you are worried about Travis, but Brittany told you that she would assist you with keeping custody of him. He is with his father, and will be until Friday, so I figured you wouldn’t mind helping me out, but it is what it is. Get the fuck on,” Dana whispered in a low growl.
“Bitch, I ain’t asked you to talk to Brittany ’bout shit dealing with my case. I don’t like that slut anyway. She seems phony, just like you have been acting lately,” Farrah said as she stood up and walked up on Dana.
“Bitch, don’t walk over here and get your world shook. I ain’t the one to try, and you already know that. You don’t know shit about Brittany, period. If y’all had more going for yourselves, none of what is going on concerning those fuck-ass niggas would be a problem for either of you. You’d have common sense on how to deal with them and come out on top. I tell you what: get the fuck up out of here, and when you come to your senses, call me and I will show y’all how to win!” Dana snapped.
As Farrah stood in front of Dana, she pointed her finger close to her face. “Shake my world! I’ve wanted you to try me for days now. You think your life is so perfect, bitch, but I will fuck you up today!”
Just then, Farrah poked Dana in the face with her fingernail, and they started scuffling. Dana punched Farrah in the face, causing her to fall across the coffee table and knocking over her statuettes that she had on there. Stephanie jumped up and grabbed Dana by the hair and pulled her down on the couch.
“Bitch, we are going to teach your ass today!” she said.
Farrah got up and dove on Dana, and she and Stephanie punched and scratched Dana in her face. Once they were finished, they gathered their belongings and walked out, leaving a bleeding Dana sprawled out on the couch.
After a few minutes passed, Dana got up and washed her face and cleaned the scratches. Her lip was busted, and she had a black eye. She walked back into the living room and found Jeryca standing there.
“I heard some of the things you were saying to Farrah and Stephanie, and really, you got some nerve trying to dictate my life.”
“Jeryca, listen,” Dana started but was cut off.
“No, you listen: I love Thad, and whatever we go through is our business. You acting like you did this to help me; you really did this to try to run me. Well, it’s over with!” Jeryca said, looking like a wild woman.
“Jeryca, look at this!” Dana said as she pulled up the picture of Thad hugging on another woman.
After Jeryca looked at the picture, she looked up with hatred in her eyes. “Bitch, you will do anything to get your way! Just stop it, Dana. Your lonely ass just don’t want to see me happy. I’m going back to Thad, and you keep your distance!”
At that point, Dana was tired of trying to help her. Maybe they were right. She had to let them find out on their own about Thad and his crew. She just hoped it wouldn’t be a lesson learned too late. She waited until Jeryca left and lay across her bed. She was hurt, not only physically, but also emotionally. All she had done was try to help those girls and be a good friend. She fell asleep for a few hours, but was awakened by her cell phone ringing.
“Hello,” she answered weakly.
“Hey, what’s up?” Brittany asked. At the sound of the voice of her only friend at the time, Dana began to cry.
“Dana, what’s wrong?” Brittany asked. Dana didn’t respond, so Brittany asked yet again, “What’s wrong, man?” Seeing that Dana was completely gone, Brittany said, “Listen, I’m on my way over.”
“It’s just that Jeryca and my other so-called friends have totally turned against me. Farrah and Steph jumped on me in my own fucking house. It took the two of them to get me down, though. Then Jeryca stormed out, saying I was trying to run her life. Brit, all I’ve tried to do was help them, but it’s unappreciated,” Dana cried into the phone.
“Listen to me, honey. I told you that those girls meant you no good and you needed to leave their asses alone. I’m on my way over, okay?” Brittany announced.
“No, you got to go to work in the morning. I’m okay, really,” Dana protested.
“I’m on the way,” Brit said firmly before hanging up.
* * *
Thad and his crew had been at the Oasis strip club for over an hour. They had discussed the matter and decided to handle the Orlando situation next Saturday night. They were going to meet him and his boys on the north side of New York, where Orlando’s tattoo shop was located. They wanted him to feel comfortable and safe enough to agree to meeting with them. They were going to send two of their new recruits to the shop to get tattooed up, and while they were there, they were going to familiarize themselves with the shop’s layout and take pictures. They were also going to shadow Orlando and get a feel for his day-to-day routine. The day of the meeting, they were going to be well-prepared for whatever.
As Chris placed the call to Orlando, updating him on the new meeting arrangements, Thad was sitting back smoking a King of Denmark cigar that he had gotten personalized with his name on it. He had paid $4,000 apiece for his cigars. As he smoked it, he was getting a lap dance from a beautiful chocolate sister with a fat ass. He watched as she bounced her ass up and down on his lap. He was enjoying every second of it. As the dancer known as Juicy finished giving Thad his dance, he motioned for her to bend down.
“You want to make some extra money?”
Juicy nodded, knowing what she had
to do. Thad stood up and told Toby he would be right back. He walked toward the back room where private dances were allowed. Before they reached the room, he bumped into Larry, who was talking to Steve, one of their new recruits.
“Juicy, go ahead to the room. I will pay the bill when I get there.” Juicy did as she was told, and walked on to the back while Thad spoke with Larry.
“Aye, what’s going on with you and Farrah?”
“Man, that bitch tripping. I told her I was going to seek custody of Travis if she didn’t straighten her ass up,” Larry explained.
“Man, I think you should go through with it. Those hoes think everything is a game. We got to show them it’s not. Li’l man would be much better with you, anyway. Think about it, bro,” Thad said as he patted him on the shoulder and proceeded to the back.
Once Thad paid the doorman, he received a ticket for room three, where Juicy was waiting for him.
“Shit, let’s get it, sweetie.”
Juicy looked at him and started swaying her hips, but Thad shook his head.
“Naw, baby, you know I ain’t talking about dancing. Bring that ass over here and sit on this dick, but wait one second.” Thad pulled out a magnum and told Juicy to put the condom on his dick with her mouth.
Juicy did as she was instructed, and once the condom was on, she straddled Thad and rode him for a second or two before he told her to turn around. He stood up with his pants around his ankles and fucked her from the back until he came. After he cleaned himself up and fixed his clothing, he gave her a tip and walked back out to where Toby was sitting.
“Man, that wasn’t thrilling at all. She could make us some money on the street, but man, that pussy was dry as hell. All that ass and jiggling she was doing, and she was a lazy-ass fuck.” Thad started laughing as Toby shook his head.
“Man, you will fuck anything!” Toby said.
Thad laughed. “I got to test the pussy out before I put it out there, man!”
“Your dick gonna fall off one day, nigga,” Toby said, shaking his head.
“Some of these hoes been checking you out too, bro. You need to get you a li’l head or something, man,” Thad joked.
“I’m good. I ain’t hard up for no pussy, dog. I got some at home I can get. If I wanted something strange, you already know who I’d fuck,” Toby said, smiling at the thought of Dana.
“You know Keith got his sights on her, man.” Thad laughed.
Toby looked at Thad sideways. “Keith ain’t ready for a chick like her. She needs a man that will take control of her ass.”
“Dana doesn’t want a thug, street nigga. She don’t do guys of our breed,” Thad continued.
“Shit, she would be happy to have a man of my caliber and breed approach her,” Toby replied with confidence.
“Damn, you sure do sound full of yourself, bro,” Thad laughed.
“No, sir, I’m not full of myself, just sure of myself.” Toby purred jokingly.
Toby was a nice-looking man. He was six foot three and two hundred forty pounds, all of which was muscle. He had long dreads past his shoulders, his abs were toned and cut, and he was light-brown-skinned with gray eyes. He was a ladies’ man for sure, but he only desired women with intelligence and class.
Thad shook his head and gave Toby a pound. “My nigga.” Just then, Thad’s phone began to ring, and when he looked at it, he didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Hey, baby, it’s Jeryca. Are you busy?”
“I’m kinda in the middle of something. Why, what’s up?” he asked.
“I need you to come and get me, please,” Jeryca begged.
Thad looked at Toby, who was checking another model out.
“Aye, man, this is Jeryca. I’ma go get her and see what’s up. I will get at y’all later,” Thad announced.
Toby shook his head again and looked Thad in the eye. “You got to let that trick go.”
Thad didn’t say a word; he just got up and walked out of the club. He knew what Toby was saying was true, but he couldn’t let go just yet. He had a point to make and some money to get back from Jeryca, one way or another.
Chapter Seven
Jeryca stood at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and St. Marks Avenue, where the museum was located, and she thought about the things that Dana had said to her. She was angry at the thought of Thad being publicly hugged up with that woman, and she wanted to know who she was. After all she had done for Thad, she thought that he at least owed her an explanation, but she had to confront him at the right time in the right manner.
After staying with Dana for the amount of time that she did, she had gotten the chance to get her bearings together a little more than they had been. She couldn’t believe that she had been tricked into selling herself and vowed to never do it again. Thad had said that he loved her, and now was the time to prove it.
After about twenty minutes of waiting, she saw Thad’s truck rounding the corner. When Jeryca saw him, a feeling that she had never felt before toward Thad washed over her: pure sickness. She walked slowly to his truck and got in.
“Hey, baby, how are you?”
“Jeryca, where are you going?” Thad asked, emotionless.
“With you, baby, of course. I missed you,” she answered.
“I don’t have time for your games. You caused me a lot of despair when you left. Do you know that we lost money because you couldn’t control your habit?” he asked, looking at her sideways. Thad knew he was the cause of her breakdown on heroin, but he refused to let her know that. He was going to make her bear the burden all on her own. His plan was to belittle her and play on her emotions until she broke, and force her to trick for him willingly.
“How am I responsible for that?” Jeryca asked quickly.
“You lost control, Jeryca. You allowed your so-called friends to take you away, and that bitch Dana cracked on me, and when I turned down her advance, the bitch pulled a gun out on me. These are the type of friends you keep around you. I can’t trust you, Jeryca,” Thad said softly.
The tone of voice he used hit Jeryca near the heart, and even though she knew he was lying, she gave in to his charm once again.
“Baby, I won’t talk to any of them again. Just take me with you,” she begged.
Thad looked at her for a long moment and agreed to take her. He pulled off and took Jeryca back to his trap spot. Once they arrived, he held her hand as they walked through the door. “Home sweet home,” he said, smiling.
* * *
Dana had sat up well past midnight talking with Brittany. Brittany helped her face a lot of truths that she hadn’t paid attention to before, and although those she thought were her true friends had mistreated her, she would still be there for them if they needed her. Dana called out of work to get herself together. Her face was bruised and swollen. Her body ached along with her pride and heart. After she cooked breakfast and groomed, she lay back on her bed, grabbed her People magazine, and flipped through the pages.
A few pages in, she heard a loud knock at the door.
“Fuck, who the hell is that?” she whispered. As she tiptoed to the hallway, she wasn’t quite sure if she should answer. No one knew that she was off work but her employers and Brittany.
“Who is it?” she yelled.
“It’s Sheila Mebane! I’m looking for Dana Crisp.”
Damn, I forgot she was coming.
“Hold on, give me a second!” Dana yelled as she searched her room for her jeans. After getting dressed, she opened the door to find Sheila and Pam standing and talking.
“Hi, come in,” Dana said.
The duo walked in and looked around, impressed by Dana’s apartment.
“What happened to your face?” Pam asked.
“I got into an altercation last night,” Dana answered.
Sheila looked at Dana through squinted eyes. “With who?”
“It’s not important,” Dana replied.
“Where is Jeryca?” Sheila asked as she walke
d around the apartment.
“She left last night. She wouldn’t listen to reason when I asked her to stay. I can’t help someone who doesn’t want my help,” Dana explained.
Sheila stood in the middle of the room, staring at Dana, then spoke in a low tone through gritted teeth. “Was she even here? Did she do that to your face? What the fuck is going on?”
“I told you what happened, and if you choose to not believe me, cool. Get the fuck out my house!” Dana said.
“I know you’re not speaking to my mother like that!” Pam shouted as she walked up in Dana face.
“Sheila, you need to get your daughter and leave before shit gets out of hand.”
“It’s already out of hand!” Sheila said, and at that moment, Pam slapped Dana in the face. Before Dana realized it, she slapped Pam back and sent her sprawling to the floor.
“Man, get the hell out my house right now,” Dana yelled. Pam rolled over and got up to her feet. She walked to the door with her mother behind her.
“You will be getting a visit from the police, ’cause I know you got something to do with Jeryca’s disappearance.”
“Send them! Just brace yourself for the moment when you learn that your junkie-ass daughter is where she wants to be: with a no-count nigga ’cause she want to get away from you,” Dana informed her angrily.
“That’s a damn lie. You should be ashamed of yourself for saying that bullshit!” Sheila cried.
Tired of the whole topic, Dana spoke. “Just get out!”
The two of them walked out, but not before Sheila told Dana again that they were calling the cops. Dana shut the door and leaned back against it.
“Man, it’s too early in the morning for this shit!”
* * *
Larry took Travis out to McDonald’s for breakfast. He wanted some one-on-one time with his son.
“You been having fun this week?” he asked Travis.
“Uh huh! But I miss Mommy,” Travis answered.
“I know you do, son, but how would you feel living with me and visiting your mom here and there?” he continued to question.
“I don’t know, Daddy,” Travis said sadly.