“What does that have to do with who was texting your phone this morning?” I asked not believing a word of the bullshit that he was spitting to me. He must’ve thought that I was just plain stupid!
“Mr. Johnson was the one who was texting me!”
I burst out laughing sarcastically! “I don’t have time for your lies!”
“I’m not lying, Kisha damn!” He took out his phone and went to his messages. Sure enough there was a text from Mr. Johnson telling Tre that they needed to talk and to call him asap.
I looked up from the phone to him and shook my head. “Why couldn’t you just do that last night instead of acting the way that you did? Why did you have to make such a big deal out of me looking at your phone if you had nothing to hide? Or were you afraid to let me see it because you thought that it was someone else?”
His expression went from calm to upset again! “That’s the reason right there! I didn’t let you go through my phone last night because you need to learn to trust me! You can’t jump up and go through my phone every time that it vibrates because you are suspicious! You keep preaching about wanting to get married but how in the hell are we supposed to get married when you don’t even trust me?”
He had a point but I still wasn’t about to let him off that easily. “I agree with you that I need to learn to trust you if we are going to get married but don’t try and flip all of this on me like it’s all my fault! If you’d never given me reason not to trust you then I wouldn’t be suspicious of every move that you make! Not only that but there was still a better way of handling things than the way that you chose. I understand that you were already upset when you came home but regardless that is no excuse for you putting your hands on me! I still can’t believe that you did that.” My voice cracked and I fought hard to fight back the tears that I felt about to fall. Momentarily, I couldn’t speak due to the lump that had formed in my throat. I took a few seconds to get myself together. “You really hurt me…” I began sobbing loudly.
Tre reached out and pulled me into his arms. “Shhh…baby don’t cry. I swear, I didn’t mean to hit you.” He rubbed my hair and kissed the top of my head. “I love you, Kisha. I’m so sorry.”
I looked up at him. “I love you too but if you ever hit me again, I’m done. I mean that Tre…I mean it.”
He wiped my tears with his fingertips. “It won’t happen again…I promise.” He covered my lips with his. He took his time kissing me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and caressed the back of his head with my hand as we continued kissing. Just that quickly I didn’t care about what had happened earlier. I loved this man with everything in me and regardless of his flaws I wasn’t ready to give up on him. I’d invested too many years and too much time shaping and molding him to walk away now and allow the next bitch to have what was rightfully mines. Yes, he’d hurt me and crossed a very serious line but I felt in my heart that we could move past this.
“Make love to me, Tre.” I whispered between kisses. He picked me up and carried me down the hall to the bedroom and did as I’d asked. When we were done I fell asleep in his arms.
Tre
As I lay next to Kisha listening to her snore softly all I could think of was how glad I was that I’d programmed Lala’s number under Mr. Johnson’s name. If I hadn’t shit would’ve been going in a totally different direction right now. I looked next to me at my babymama lying in my arms. I couldn’t believe that I’d allowed the bullshit with Lala to drive me to put my hands on her. I’d been so pissed at Lala that I’d taken it out on Kisha! I knew that I was dead wrong for that shit! She’d been right when she’d called me a coward because that is exactly what I was acting like! Here I was allowing outside bitches to pull my strings like I was some damn puppet! On one end I had Lala threatening to put me on child support if I didn’t do whatever it was that she wanted and on the other end I had Tamika threatening to tell about Lala if I didn’t fuck her whenever she wanted! These two bitches had the game fucked up! I had to regain control of the situation and fast!
I eased my arm from beneath Kisha’s head being as careful as I could so that I wouldn’t wake her. She stirred a little in her sleep but didn’t wake up. I went into the bathroom, showered and then got dressed. While I was brushing my teeth, my phone was going off back to back. Lala was calling me nonstop. I picked up my phone and turned it off. Right then wasn’t the time to deal with her, not with Kisha a few feet away in the bedroom asleep. With my luck she’d wake up and overhear the entire conversation.
I finished brushing my teeth and then went back into the bedroom. I was careful not to make a lot of noise as I moved about. The last thing I wanted to do was wake Kisha and have to hear her mouth about me leaving. It didn’t matter that I’d been in the house all day. She’d still find a reason to fuss about me leaving. I grabbed my keys and my phone and then made my way out the door. I was on my way to Casper’s to chill for a minute. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about being around him and Tamika at the same time knowing that I was fucking her behind his back. I looked at it like this. I didn’t really want the bitch! I was only doing what I had to keep her from running her mouth and me losing my family, thinking of it in that way made me feel less guilty. Casper and I had been boys for years and under any other circumstances I would never fuck his woman but what other choice did I have?
I turned on my phone once I got inside the car. As I was pulling out of the driveway it started to vibrate, Lala’s name was flashing on the screen. I let out a frustrated breath as I snatched up the phone and answered.
“What?” I barked into the phone! I was sick and tired of her calling me back to back. Her texting and calling was what had caused the altercation between Kisha and me. She should’ve been calling the nigga that she’d been grinning at, at the hospital! “Why in the fuck do you keep calling me back to back?”
When she spoke, she sounded as if she’d been crying, which was nothing new! That only agitated me more! “Tre, the doctors found that Lola has a heart murmur. Right now they are saying that I shouldn’t worry because it could be just an innocent murmur, which is commonly found in babies. They told me that they are going to keep her an extra day or two so that they can keep an eye on her but I should follow up with her pediatrician when I get home.” She paused and I heard her sniffling. “Tre…I’m scared.”
Hearing that something was wrong with the baby and hearing how scared she was caused me to back down. I let out a sigh. “Lala, what do you want me to do? If they told you not to worry then you shouldn’t until there is a reason to.” I spoke calmly and sympathetically.
“I can’t help but worry. They don’t know if it’s an innocent murmur or not!” She sobbed. “Lord, what am I going to do if I lose my baby?”
“Stop talking like that for starters! You can’t think the worst. You have to think positive and look for a positive outcome. She will be alright.” I tried to comfort her as best I could. I felt bad now about leaving the hospital the way that I had. I hadn’t even taken the time to hold either one of my babies. I felt like I couldn’t win for losing! I banged my fist against the steering wheel. “Damn…” To be honest, I felt like every decision that I’d made in the past few days had turned out to be a bad one! I wasn’t sure if I could handle much more!
“Tre, I need you…I need you to come. I am a nervous wreck right now. I need you here with me…Lola needs you.” She continued to sniffle. She sounded so pitiful that it broke my heart and I felt bad for the things that I’d said to her out of anger. When I thought about it I really had no right to flip on her the way that I had. How could I have been jealous when she wasn’t even my girl? When I already had a woman at home?
I heard an angry male voice in the background ask. “Well, what is he saying? Is he going to come up here and be with his daughter or what?”
“Daddy calm down. Give me a second. He hasn’t had a chance to answer yet.” I listened as Lala tried to calm her daddy down.
“What do you mean he hasn’
t had a chance to answer yet?” He exploded! “What is there for him to think about? He should’ve been here! He should’ve been here yesterday! I have watched you call that man over twenty damn times and each time he ignored you! Now when he finally does pick up and you tell him that something is wrong with one of his daughters, you have to ask him to come! A real man wouldn’t wait for an invitation to come because he’d be here or on his damn way! So no, I am not going to calm down!”
I can’t say that her daddy was wrong for being upset with me but this really wasn’t any of his business! Yes, I understood that he was Lala’s dad and the babies’ granddaddy but that didn’t give him the right to pass judgment on me and question what kind of man I was without knowing shit about me! I felt my pressure beginning to rise. I put on my signal and made a right onto Casper’s street.
“Tre…are you going to come?” Lala asked.
“I can’t come. It’s not that I don’t want to be there but what am I going to tell Kisha? I already lied to her yesterday about having a job to do out of town. I can’t use that same lie again today.” I explained as I turned into Casper’s driveway and turned off the ignition. “If the pediatrician tells you that it’s not just an innocent murmur then I will try to get back up there. Just call me in a few days and let me know what’s up.” I heard her let out a loud wail followed by loud sobbing. “Lala! Lala! Lala!” No response.
“Hello, this is Earl, LaQuela’s daddy.” Her dad introduced himself. Obviously he’d taken the phone from her. “Young man, I know that I don’t know you and you don’t know me.”
“That’s correct, sir. We don’t know each other.” I was trying my best to stay calm. I didn’t want to disrespect Lala’s pops but I had a feeling it was going to come to that before we hung up the phone because there was no way that I was going to allow him to come out of his mouth sideways to me and not put him in his motherfuckin’ place!
“Please don’t interrupt me again son!” He said sternly raising his voice like he was talking to his son or something. I didn’t say anything. I let him say his piece. “You know, I can’t help but wonder what kind of man would hear that something is wrong with one of his children and not come to at the very least see their child! I understand that there is nothing that you can do about your daughter’s condition but you can be here! LaQuela didn’t lie down and get herself pregnant! You laid down with her and so you should be here, not just her!”
I’d heard enough! This old ass motherfucka had me fucked up! “Sir with all due respect, I don’t appreciate the way that you are speaking to me and the tone that you are doing it in! Furthermore, who are you to question what kind of man I am based off of one situation where you more than likely don’t have all of the facts! First of all, I came to the hospital to see my daughters on yesterday but I couldn’t stay long! So yes, I have been to at least look in their faces.” I let him know! “Also LaQuela knew when she decided to keep these babies that I wasn’t going to be able to be there as much as she would like me to…”
He cut me off! “As much as she’d like you to? What about how much you’d like to be? You should want to be here!”
“I do want to but I can’t!” I exploded!
“Why because you stepped out on your ol’ lady and got another woman pregnant? Because like a punk you aren’t man enough to tell that woman that you have two outside children by another woman? Stand up like a man, tell her what you did and then deal with the consequences of your actions like a man! Grow some fuckin’ balls son!”
“Fuck you! I got balls! As a matter of fact you can suck’em you old ass son of a bitch! Since you got so much mouth, you be there for your fuckin’ daughter and her kids! I’m not about to lose my family for her and no other bitch! It’s just that simple!” With that I pressed end and ended the call! I was beyond pissed! If I could’ve gotten my hands on him at that moment I would’ve fucked him up!
I tossed the phone over in the passenger seat, grabbed my pack of Newports off of the dashboard and lit one up. I heard giggling and looked up, Tamika and her friend Rakita was coming out of the house. Rakita was a rat just like Tamika! She’d suck a dick for a ten cent piece of butterscotch!
Rakita waved as she made her way to her car. I figured she was trying to be funny because she knew about the situation with me and Tamika. Tamika said something to Rakita and then started in my direction.
“Man…damn not today!” I griped under my breath. “I do not feel like dealing with this bitch right now.” I took a pull off of my cigarette inhaling the nicotine into my lungs. I took my time releasing the smoke out through my nose. I felt my head began to throb.
Tamika tapped on the window. “Roll down the window. Shoot, you acting like you scared that somebody gone bite you or something.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she waited for me to roll down the window. I couldn’t help but notice her nipples nearly poking a hole through the thin fabric of the strapless yellow sundress that she was wearing. Today she had her long weave pulled back into a ponytail with bangs in the front. I’d never seen her with her hair any way but down and I must admit that the style looked kind of cute on her.
I rolled down the window. “What?” I asked bluntly. I didn’t feel like being bothered and I didn’t try to hide it. Besides I didn’t want her feeling like it was okay to be all up in my face every time that she saw me just because I was playing her little fucked up game.
Her eyes grew big and she took a step back. “Excuse you!” She placed one hand on her thick hip while swiveling her neck and pointing with the other hand. “I don’t know who you think you are talking to. Don’t get it twisted! My name is Tamika, not Kisha and not whatever that pregnant bitch name is! Okay boo-boo?”
Lord have mercy, why me? I asked myself as I stared up at her with her neck rolling around. I really want to backhand her ass into the middle of the next month! “Yeah…what? As in, what do you want? You do realize where we are right? I know I agreed to play your little game but let’s not be stupid.”
She rolled her eyes. “First of all, ain’t nobody playing games! I’m doing what I have to do to get what I want! Secondly, Casper’s fat ass is down in the basement getting high and drunk so it’s not like he’s looking out the window or something. Besides that, I am a grown ass twenty-three year old woman, which means that I can talk to whomever I please!”
She was really on my last nerve. All I wanted her to do was say whatever it was that she wanted and get away from my car! “Okay, so again what do you want?” I repeated.
“I want to see you later on. Is that possible?”
“Nah, I’m not going to be out long because Kisha is already bitchin’. I’m going to take it in early and kick it with the fam…plus I have a lot on my mind.”
“Hmph…well I’ll tell you what. I am going to text you in a few hours and let you know where I’m going to be at.” She started walking away towards Rakita’s car.
“Hold up.” I opened up the door and got out of the car. She stopped walking and turned around. “Didn’t you just hear what I said? I said not tonight.”
“And I said I will text you in a few hours and let you know where I’ll be.”
I shook my head and let out a chuckle. “You trippin’.”
“Nah, you are if you think that I give a fuck about Kisha or the next bitch! You are the only one who gives a fuck about Kisha and that is exactly why you are going to meet me later.” She walked off and got in the car with Rakita. The two of them backed out of the driveway leaving me standing next to my car fuming.
Tre
“It’s your deal.” Skeet announced to Casper as me, him, Casper and Tyson sat in the basement playing spades. Casper grabbed the cards and started to shuffle them. “So whatever happened with ol’ girl that’s supposed to be pregnant by you?” Skeet asked turning his attention to me. “Did you ever get that situation worked out?”
“Yeah, everything is all good.” I replied scratching my head.
“Hold
up? What girl you got pregnant?” Tyson inquired wearing a confused expression. “You got somebody pregnant?”
“Yeah man, this chic that I used to work with. Me and her were fuckin’ around for a minute and then she got pregnant. She left without telling me shit. Next thing I know she comes back and she’s eight months pregnant about to have the babies.”
“Babies?” He all but yelled.
“Twin girls, she had them yesterday.” This time everybody at the table looked at me. “She was on her way back to Danville, where she moved to, when she went into labor. She’s in the hospital out in South Boston, VA.”
“Damn, did she send you any pictures or anything?” Casper asked.
“Nah…hell nah! All it would take is for Kisha’s nosey, snooping ass to go through my phone and see some pictures of some babies. I’d have to fight her ass sure as hell!”
“I feel you but I’d like to see’em. You know see if they look like you.” He admitted. “Ol’ girl might be trying to pull a fast one on you. Those babies might belong to the damn postman! She probably doesn’t even know!” Everyone laughed even me but I knew in my heart that those were my babies. I could see some of my features when I’d looked at them. They kind of favored the boys a little bit when they were born.
I figured I’d ask the fellas their opinion of the run-in that I’d had with Lala’s dad earlier. “Let me ask y’all something.” I started. “Lala, the girl that I got the twins by, called me earlier. She told me that one of the babies has a heart murmur and that the hospital is going to keep her a few extra days to monitor it and then she has to take her to her pediatrician when she gets home so that they can tell her whether or not it’s something that she needs to worry about. She was upset and crying telling me that she was scared and asked if I would come to the hospital to be there with her and the baby. I told her that I couldn’t because I already lied and told Kisha yesterday that I had to go out of town for work. I knew that I couldn’t tell that same lie again so I told her to give it a few days and see what the pediatrician says. I told her that if the pediatrician says that it’s something to worry about to call me back, let me know and I will try to get back up there. That’s when she starts boo-hoo crying and her daddy gets on the phone and starts talking shit! Calling me a punk and telling me to grow some balls and tell my girl about my kids! I mean he was wildin’ out! Yo’ if I could’ve gotten my hands on that nigga, I would’ve really fucked him up!” I felt myself getting mad all over again! “My question is does it make me any less of a man because I am not willing to lose my family for some side bitch and her kids? I mean…I know they are my kids too but it doesn’t feel the same as Quan and Shaun. There’s a difference. I’m not saying that I am going to turn my back on them and not help take care of them because I plan to handle my business. But I can’t just hop up and run to Danville every time Lala calls though. I just can’t do that.”
Side Chic 2 (A Ratchet Mess) Page 4