Addicted to a Dirty South Thug 3

by Shan

  “You talk to my brothers?” Khi asked ,and I shook my head, as I followed behind him and the nurse, as she wheeled him to the elevator.

  “No, I haven’t. They know that you come home today, but Cassidy said he was busy, and you know Taylana had her baby a couple of days ago.”

  “Yea…forgot about that,” Khi said and cleared his throat. His voice was much deeper and raspier now. The doctor said it was a result of the gunshot and that he felt it would be permanent. Khi hated the way he sounded, but I low-key loved it. It had only added to his already sexy ass swag he had. “Just thought they would be here,” Khi said and sighed.

  The elevator had finally came, and the nurse pushed Khi on, pressed the number 1, and I got on and leaned against the back.

  “You want me to call them…to come over to the house?” I asked, and Khi shook his head seeming as if he was sad. I hated that. I had tried my best to get them to come see him out of the hospital, but they all acted like they were too busy doing other things. This was supposed to be a damn celebration to know that he had made it out and alive, but it seemed like, over the past few days, they were all too busy to even come and be with Khi. I didn’t care, though, because I knew he had me by his side no matter what.

  “Oh wait… I need to stop by here to grab your other paperwork,” the nurse said, as she quickly hit another button on the elevator.

  I looked at Khi, and he seemed to be too out of it to even notice. The elevator dinged, and the nurse pushed Khi out and made a left down the hall. I followed behind her and really didn’t even think much of it when she turned into the chapel and looked back at me. I took the same turn inside, and what I saw had caused me to take a couple of steps back.

  My hand went over my mouth, and tears immediately rushed down my face. Everything was so beautiful that I couldn’t believe it. There were only about three pews on each side, but the ends were decorated so beautifully with light pink and white flowers. I looked down toward the altar and noticed Dae, Cassidy, and even KaeDee dressed in black tuxedos with their little whisper pink bow ties on.

  On the other side of them, Tangie, Amber, and Khi’s mother was dressed in pretty satin dresses that was just a bit darker than the color dress I had picked out at the bridal shop.

  “Khi…” I said, as he walked over to me and tried to pull my hands away from my face.

  I was crying so hard that I didn’t even want to bring my hands away.

  “Babe, stop crying,” he said with a chuckle. He looked at me and bit down on his lip making me all shy-like again. I backed away and tried to pull away from him to keep myself from crying even more.

  “You did all this?” I asked him, and he nodded.

  “I mean…I made sure it got set up. Tangie helped, but that’s why ain’t nobody been up here. They been taking care of this and making sure everything was right for you. Remember the chick that came through and said she needed our IDs and for us to sign for some insurance and shit?”

  “Yes,” I said and looked up at him and into his eyes.

  “That was my homegirl from the clerk’s office. She was filling the shit out we needed for the marriage license.”

  I laughed and hit Khi on the arm. I looked around, still amazed at how beautiful everything was. The place was filled with flowers, and a few candles were even lit at the front of the small chapel.

  “What about my hair…and what about what I have on?” I asked Khi, and he bit down on that damn lip again.

  “Don’t worry about your hair. You was ugly when I met you, so it’s only right I marry you looking the same way.”

  I cracked up laughing, and so did the nurse that stood by next to the wheelchair that she had wheeled Khi down in. I looked up at him with seriousness in my eyes and mouthed thank you to him. This wasn’t the dream wedding that I had wanted, but it was better, because my soon-to-be husband had planned it. To know that Khi would go through such lengths after everything that was going on said a lot about the way he felt about me. He wanted me to be happy, and he was showing me that it didn’t matter what was going wrong in his life; he was gonna make sure that everything was going right for me.

  “You’re welcome, but you know I got you. Tangie gonna take care of your hair really quick and your dress is in the restroom down the hall. I’mma go get dressed, and I’ll be here waiting,” Khi said, and I practically jumped into his arms as I wrapped my arms around him.

  I loved him so damn much ‘til it hurt. Khi just didn’t know how much he had changed my life. Even with all the bullshit and drama that I had to go through, he came through and loved me when I felt like I was unlovable. I had tried and tried to fight him off thinking he was gonna be just like everyone else that was in my life. Niggas like Rue would ruin a good girl like me and have us thinking that all niggas was fuck boys, but Khi was far from that. He was a provider, he loved hard, and he took care of his damn kids. Although shit had happened to me, I knew that, if he could go back and do things differently to protect me, he would.

  Khi kissed me on my forehead before he gently pushed me back and walked off. I looked at Tangie and couldn’t stop the smile that was plastered over my face as she walked toward me. I should’ve known that her ass was up to something. She had been acting hella funny over the last few days and even seeming like she was trying to start fights with me over the smallest things. I guess that was because she knew that, had we been talking, she probably would’ve ruined Khi’s surprise. She acted the same way days before Khi had proposed to me on New Year’s Eve.

  “I can’t believe you been knowing and didn’t tell me,” I said and rolled my eyes and neck at Tangie.

  “Uhh…your damn fiancé banned us from the hospital and told me that I needed to find a reason to stay away from you. That’s why I cussed you out after you spilled that lil’ juice at the shop. I was like this the perfect reason to keep her away. She gonna think I’m so petty,” Tangie laughed, and I shook my head before wiping the tears from my face.

  “I can’t believe this. Y’all had me feeling so bad. I thought everybody was being selfish and acting like they didn’t have time for Khi.”

  “Girl, hell no. It was killing Cass that he couldn’t come to this hospital, but he said that the last time he was here, he slipped up and asked one of the nurses about the flower arrangements being delivered. He said Khi cussed him out so bad in a text message that he was ready to fight him.”

  I laughed as me and Tangie walked toward the restroom. When we went inside, I shook my head at the chair that sat in front of the mirror and looked back at her. She had all her equipment sitting on the counter, and I couldn’t do nothing but giggle. They had everything all planned out, and I felt so honored to have these people in my life. I sat down in the chair, while Tangie started on my makeup. She arched and filled in my brows and then applied a light coating of foundation to my face. She did a little highlighting and contouring and applied some lashes and eyeshadow.

  Afterwards, she brushed my hair back, and then, placed a wig cap over it. I looked back at her with a frown on my face as she gave me a look that told me to turn my ass around and let her work. I turned back around, and immediately, felt Tangie pulling a wig over my head. I shook my head, cause I had never worn a wig a day in my life, but when Tangie turned me around in the chair, and I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror; I was stunned. It was beautiful, and you couldn’t even tell that it was a damn wig.

  Tangie grabbed her comb and combed out the bangs before she grabbed her flat-irons and did a little work to them. After just a few minutes, she had me laid the fuck out, and not to mention, my face was beat. I had to bite down on my lip to keep from crying.

  “You bet not cry girl. Come on and put on this damn dress. The church gave us two hours,” Tangie said, and I sniffled and breathed in and out slowly.

  Tangie helped me into my dress, fixed my hair back after it came out of place, then helped me into my heels. She stood back and took a look at me before she grabbed her phone that sat in
her bra and snapped a few pictures of me.

  “You look like a princess, Cuba. You are so beautiful, cousin,” she said, causing me to blush. “I am so happy for you two. I know that you love that man, and I know that he loves you. I’m just happy that, after all the bullshit, love prevailed in the end. Y’all deserve to be happy, and that nigga better take your ass on a honeymoon that’s fit for a queen, because that’s what you are.”

  “Awww, thank you so much, cuz,” I said and hugged her. She kissed my cheek and quickly pulled my ass out of the bathroom. I kept my eyes on the ground watching every step that I took, because I didn’t want to fall. I wasn’t good with walking in heels, and with the way this dress hugged my ass and hips, it made it even harder to walk.

  “Okay, see you at the altar,” Tangie said. I was so busy looking down that, when someone else grabbed my hand and brought it up to kiss it, I didn’t even realize it wasn’t her until they spoke.

  “You look so gorgeous,” the male voice said. My head sprung up and my eyes landed on a familiar face. My lips trembled, and I could feel myself getting ready to cry, but I held on for as long as I could. I quickly took my fingers to catch any tears before they could ruin my makeup.

  “Oh…my God…Daddy!” I cried and damn near jumped into his arms. I hated so much the way my parents treated me, but that would never stop me from loving them; especially, not my father. My mother was the evil one, and he just tolerated her. Sometimes, I even believed that he feared my mother. “I can’t believe you are here.”

  “I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” he told me, and I smiled so hard that my cheeks began to hurt. I couldn’t believe that he was standing in front of me right now. The tear that fell from his eye followed by the other one let me know that he was just as happy to see me as I was him.

  “Thank you so much. Thank you so much,” I said, and he kissed my forehead.

  “Of course baby girl. Besides, your boyfriend don’t play. He’s pretty serious about you, and he don’t have to say much for me to know that he loves you. You have yourself a good man, and I’m so glad that, after all you’ve been through, I don’t have to worry about you,”

  “Yes Daddy, I love Khi so much. He is a good man. He wants me to be happy, and I guess he knew that you being here was going to make me happy.”

  “I’m honored. I wouldn’t have missed this,” my father said, and I nodded just as the music started playing. My father looped his arm into mine, and I was getting ready to walk until Skylarr’s little self came out of nowhere and started tossing the basket of flower petals she had onto the floor.

  Tangie followed behind her, I guess, because they knew that girl wasn’t going to act right. She bent over in her little pink tutu like dress and tried to play in the flowers that she had poured out.

  “Skylarr,” Khi called out, and that was the first time I had laid eyes on him since I had come out of the restroom. He was wearing an all-white tuxedo with a white shirt underneath and the same whisper pink bowtie. Our eyes met, and I immediately, got overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions again. I didn’t even try to stop the tears this time as I stared at the man that I was about to marry.

  “Hi PaPa,” BJ said, as he waved to me and his grandpa. He smiled, as he walked down the aisle carrying the pillow that held our rings on them. He had on a little black tuxedo, and as soon as he made it to the end of the aisle, he went and stood next to his father. I tried so hard to be mad at Dae being in BJ’s life, but over this last week and a half, I was able to see why Khi was so adamant about it. Dae loved that little boy, and BJ loved him. He talked about his father and big brother all the time, and even his stepmother, Amber. At first, it hurt my heart to know that he referred to Amber as that, but I had to remember that BJ was my nephew and not my son.

  It was now our turn to walk down the aisle, and with each step I took, I became more and more nervous. I never thought that this would be my life and that I would be someone’s wife. After sitting in jail for those three years, I thought that I was gonna stay away from every guy that came my way, get an education at some college, and hell, work for Tangie for as long as I could. Khi was like a miracle to me. He was like something God had put here to heal my heart and show me that I was worthy of real love.

  “Who gives this woman away to be married to this man?” the pastor asked, and everyone looked at my father.

  “I do,” he said, before he kissed me on the cheek and walked over to sit on the first row of the empty pews.

  “Very well. Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Khian and Cuba in matrimony commended to be honorable among all; and therefore is not to be entered into lightly, but reverently, passionately, lovingly, and solemnly. Into this - these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace,” the pastor said, and the room grew eerily quiet. I looked around, but no one said anything. They better not had.

  “Great, can I have the rings,” the pastor said, and BJ ran over to hand him the pillow. Khi took the wedding bans off the pillow and handed them both to the pastor. The pastor then handed Khi the band that was for me and nodded his head. Khi reached for my hand, and I held it out as he slipped the ring onto my finger partially and stared into my eyes.

  “Cuba, baby… today I woke up knowing that I was gonna marry the most beautiful person in the world. I woke up thinking how, when I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were my soul-mate. I knew that, when I met you, before you, I wasn’t living, and if there is anything after you, I don’t wanna live it. I promise you before God that I love you with everything. I promise to always laugh with you and listen to you, because I swear you always right,” Khi said, and everyone laughed.

  “I promise to care for you always, be patient, love without condition, cherish you, and treat you like a queen at all times. Respect you at all times. In sickness, I’ll be there for you the same way I will be in health. Death won’t do us part, because I can’t live without you being in my life,” Khi said, and all I could hear behind me was sniffling from the women.

  “Repeat after me, Khi,” the pastor said and Khi nodded. “I Khian Prince.”

  “I Khian Prince…”

  “Give you, Cuba, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you…”

  “Give you, Cuba, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you,” Khi said, as he slid the ring all the way on my finger.

  “And you Cuba…your vows to Khi,” the pastor said, and my eyes bucked as I looked down at the floor. He handed me the ring, and I slid it partially onto Khi’s finger.

  “Wow…I wasn’t prepared for this, so forgive me,” I said and took in a deep breath as I looked up at Khi. “Khian, you have been everything a woman can ever ask for. When I first met you, I didn’t love myself. I felt like I was incapable of having a good man and especially one that was able to love me the way a woman longs to be loved. You were patient with me. You saw something in me that I failed to see in myself. I walked around not caring about my looks because I felt like I was this ugly person on the inside so why not be that way on the outside too. You didn’t care though. Even though you would joke about it, I could always tell by the way you looked at me that you loved me deep…so deep that it scared me to see how much.

  You always correct your faults, and you make sure I correct mine too. When I’m having a bad day, you make sure you say something to make me laugh…the same thing when I’m sad. You’re always encouraging me and pushing me to do things that even I didn’t know I was capable of doing. You are just everything to me…man. I don’t know where I would be if I had never helped you buy those pampers at Wal-Mart,” I said, and everyone chuckled.

  “I will always be in your corner, support you, hold you down in any way that I can. No matter how much sh—stuff I talk, I’m not going anywhere. I’m your rider, forever, and I know as well that anything before yo
u had to be death, because now that I have you, I know what it’s like to live and to love. Death won’t do us part baby, because if you go, then just know, I’m coming right behind you,” I continued.

  “Repeat after me, Cuba,” the pastor said, and I nodded. “I Cuba Lance.”

  “I Cuba Lance…”

  “Give you, Khi, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you…”

  “Give you, Khi, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you,” I told him and slid the ring all the way onto his finger.

  "By the power vested in me, by the State of Texas, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Khian Prince. You may now kiss your bride,” the pastor said, and Khi grabbed me by both sides of my face and kissed me with so much passion that my knees felt weak. I couldn’t believe it. I was a wife now. I was now Cuba Prince.

  Chapter 22

  Khi

  One Month Later…

  POW! POW!

  I shot the first one in his stomach two times and then raised my pistol and shot the other one in his head. I walked over to the first one I had shot in the stomach and pulled the pocket knife I had out. I walked behind him and pulled him back by his dreads. His breathing was shallow, and he looked up at me with fear in his eyes.

  “Chaison,” I said to him, and he tried to shake himself out of the grip I had on him once I placed the knife to his throat. I had found him to be the weaker one, which is why I killed his patna first.

  “Mi not know,” he stated, his voice shaky, and his accent thick.

  “You know,” I told him, as I shoved the tip of the knife in the side of his throat.