by Renee, Mimi
“First of all, it don't sound like you called to ask me anything, seems like you called to accuse me! And second off, I ain't ever gone leave my homegirl nowhere by herself, drunk! Plain and simple, we ride together!” Bright said, taking her tone up a few notches. She couldn't stand Nicole’s ass, because she knew she was only trying to steal her best friend. Seeing Terrence walk in the direction of the kitchen with a concerned look on his face, Bright quickly tried to collect herself. “Anyways, Nicole I'm chilling with my dude right now, I’ma hit you later.” Then she pressed the end button on her phone to end the call.
“What was all that about?” Terrence asked, grabbing a glass then opening the refrigerator to get something to drink.
“This fat, hater bitch tryna come in between me and Treasure,” Bright fumed rolling his burrito up.
“That’s that messy ass female shit,” Terrence said, taking his plate from her hand. “Y'all friends don't let the fakes and haters come in between that,” he said, then took seat on the couch to eat. Not having much of an appetite, Bright ate half of her burrito, and then asked Terrence to take her home. She had already missed two of Larry's calls, and since Treasure was blowing her phone up back to back, she knew it was time to go home.
On the ride back to her house, Bright played asleep so that she could think of ways to get herself out of the jam. She was sure that Nicole had told Treasure everything and that it was the reason that she was blowing her cell phone up. But no matter what, Bright was gonna keep a straight face and deny the whole thing. Approaching her street, Terrence shook her to wake her up then tossed her some money. Pulling up on her block, Bright noticed both Treasure and Nicole posted in front of her apartment complex. She thought to herself, Fuck, this bitch couldn't wait to run her fat ass mouth!
Terrence pulled in front of Bright's building, then rolled his window down to speak. “What’s up, Treasure?” he said, peeking Nicole out. She was thick and sexy to him.
“A gang of, bullshit, Ice,” Treasure said, nodding her head.
“Yeah, that’s what Bright was telling me too, but I'ma tell you like I told her, don't let them fakes and hater's come in between y'all friendship, y'all been friends for too long,” he said seriously. Treasure nodded her head in agreement, and instantly, Nicole's smile turned into a frown. She knew that comment was aimed at her, but since she knew she was neither a fake nor a hater, she brushed it off and gave him a nasty look.
Bright blew Terrence a kiss goodbye. “A'ight boo, I'll talk to you later before my mama come out here trippin’,” she said.
Terrence kissed his lips back at her. “A'ight, baby, hit me,” then he drove off her street.
Bright directed her attention to Treasure, “So after a long
stressful ass day, I have to come home to some punk ass bullshit, huh?” Bright said, nodding her head with a disbelieving look on her face.
“That’s what I'm saying,” Treasure replied, giving Bright the same disbelieving facial expression. “So did you fuck him or what?” Treasure came right out and asked her.
Bright looked from Nicole then to Treasure with a nasty look upon her face, then said, “So hold up, Treasure, you mean to tell me you gone come at me sideways, in front of this fake ass bitch right here?!” she said pointing at Nicole, feeling betrayed.
“Bitch!” Nicole said feeling froggy. She had warned Bright in the past about coming at her foul, and she wasn't gonna take it today. “I done told ya ass, Bright!” she said stepping to her.
“Hold on, Nicole,” Treasure interjected, jumping in-between the two. “Let me talk!” Looking at Bright she explained. “Bee, I asked Nicole to come since she was the one that brought it to my attention. She told me y'all talked and since I didn't wanna be getting nobody's words twisted up, I thought it would be best to have her here.”
Removing her eyes from Nicole, Bright spoke, “So basically, you believe this shit right, Treasure? Cause if you didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now,” she shot.
“Naw, I'm trying to ask you yo side of the story, Bee,” Treasure replied, slapping her fist into her hand. She was looking for the truth in her friend.
“No! I didn't fuck him, end of the story,” Bright said nonchalantly, with a dumb expression on her face.
Treasure was confused and didn't know what to believe. After a few moments of silence, she said, “Well, why would he be telling people that?”
Frustrated, Bright stomped her foot into the ground and snapped her neck. “I don't know! Call that nigga and ask him why him and his little friend is lying on me. Maybe they both wanna fuck me! she finalized, rolling her eyes at Nicole, with her hand on her hip.
Treasure sucked her teeth. “Oh don't trip, boo, I called him,” she said with a smirk on her face. “I'm just waiting on him to return the call,” she shot back.
Not feeling Nicole's presence or Treasure's vibe, Bright decided it would be best to say her last words and part ways before things got ugly. “Well since it look like you done already picked sides, and you believe this shit, I guess it ain't no need for me to be standing here any longer,” Bright said, getting teary-eyed, then she headed in the direction of her apartment. Though she may have been wrong, she knew that Nicole just wanted to steal her best friend from her.
Treasure yelled after her, “Bee, I never said I believed anything or anybody yet, that’s why I'm here talking to you, and not here tryna whip yo ass!” she barked defiantly. She wanted to believe Bright, but her gut was telling her differently.
The words “whip yo ass,” were all Bright heard. She didn't like to be threatened, and she was far from a punk, and furthermore, she didn't like the way the words sounded coming out of Treasure's mouth. It made her feel as if Treasure was trying to challenge her. “Whip my ass!” Bright repeated, turning back around to face her. “What, you tryna catch a fade with me or something, Treasure? Why you out here fronting on me in front of this fake ass bitch, Nicole?” Bright yelled, stepping up.
Nicole became fed up; she was tired of Bright’s verbal assaults. “Fuck that, I ain't gone keep being no more of yo bitches, bitch!” Nicole yelled, running up on Bright, ready to catch her fade.
Immediately, Bright dropped her things to the ground and put 'em up. “What, y'all bitches wanna jump me now?” Bright said with her guards up, ready to fight.
Without further words, Nicole two-pieced Bright in the face: one to the nose, and the other to the chin. Slightly dazed, Bright began to swing like a madwoman, swinging and pulling at Nicole's hair. Treasure tried breaking them up.
“Y'all stop it, she's pregnant, Nicole!” she yelled, trying to pull them apart. Seeing Nicole get the best of her best friend created a natural reaction in Treasure, and before long, she and Bright were both whipping Nicole's ass.
“What the fuck?” Nicole screamed, bearing more than she could handle at one time. The forces of them together became vicious, Bright working her from the front and Treasure getting her from the back. Nicole lost her advantage on Bright when Treasure jumped in the fight. She couldn't believe that Treasure was jumping on her, especially when she had been nothing but a good friend to her.
Regaining her strength, Nicole grabbed Bright by her hair, pulled her down, and started taking blows to her head. Bright used her free arm and kept punching Nicole in the side of her face and ear. From behind, Treasure dragged Nicole to the ground, afraid that she may have made Bright miscarriage. Bright fell on top of Nicole and continued to give it to her in the face, each fist after the next; Bright wouldn't stop.
Eventually, neighbors begin to come outside, and Bright's mother and siblings ran outside of their apartment to break up the fight, or aid if they had too. Things were out of hand and Treasure begin to feel bad for her part in the fight and pulled Bright off of Nicole. Bright yelled, kicked, and screamed.
“Bitch, if I lose my baby, I'ma kill you, BITCH, I’ma fucking kill you!!!” she threatened.
Once her mother was able to get Bright upstairs, sh
e called the ambulance, seeing that Bright had blood on her. She went outside to find out what had happened. Without telling Bright's mom that they spent the night at Lil Boo's house, Treasure explained everything to her. Shortly after the paramedics and the police arrived, Bright pressed charges on Nicole, and then she was rushed to the emergency room. After having many different tests run on her, Bright was relieved that she and the baby were alright. The blood that her mother spotted on her was from Nicole's nose and blood from her scraped up knees from falling on top of Nicole. In the situation, Bright wouldn't have pressed charges, but since Nicole was trying to steal Treasure away from her, so she decided jail would be the perfect place for her. Waiting to get released from the hospital, the doctor walked in with her file open.
“Is everything alright with the baby?” Rosette asked the doctor, seeing the look on his face.
Passing his chart to the nurse the doctor responded, “I guess that all depends,” he said, looking from Bright to her mother.
Giving him a suspicious look, Bright said, “Don't tell me
something’s wrong with my baby, Doc?”
“There's not just one, but two babies,” he informed her, “And they're both alright,” he assured her. Both Bright and her mother's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
“TWO!?” They both repeated at once.
The doctor laughed, “Yes two, Miss Sheldon,” he said, looking at Bright.
The doctor’s revelation of twins hit Bright like a ton of bricks in the back of the head. She was prepared to have one baby, but two seemed to be a bit much and scared the life out of her. On the ride home, Bright called Larry to tell him the news, but as usual, he didn't answer. He's probably with his new girlfriend, Bright thought.
Slowly, depression began to consume her, and she felt like crying. Instead she tried to call Treasure, but her grandmother told her that she wasn't home. Desperately needing to hear that everything was going to be okay, Bright looked to her mother for comfort. “Mom, two babies,” was all she could manage to say.
Stopping at a red light, her mother turned to her and said, “Two babies that will have all the love in the world, Queen Bee,” she said, holding her daughter's hand. “Everything will be just fine,” she said, hoping for the best.
Part Eleven
N
icole had ignored all of Treasure’s calls and had eventually changed her number to avoid her calls. Treasure felt bad for her part in the fight and
couldn't help feeling like she had lost a really good friend. Her spirits were down, and she was unable to shake the lingering depression that had set in on her. She had even begun to question her and Bright's relationship, and though Bright swore she never slept with Lil Boo, it just seemed funny to her that first Chrome accused her of trying to get with him, and now Nicole hearing from Lil Boo's homeboy that she kicked it with him the night of his all white, end-of the-summer pool party.
Thinking back to that night, Treasure did recall Lil Boo joining her in the bed way after she had fallen asleep. And when she asked him where he had come from, he told her he had smoked a blunt with Bright and then given her towels to bathe with and blankets to sleep with. Treasure didn't think anything of it at the time, but now it was suspicious to her because Bright never mentioned them smoking a blunt at all. When she spoke to Lil Boo, he denied it and then started ignoring her calls. A sly smile appeared across Treasure's face. She had a trick up her sleeve, and if she found out that Bright slept with Lil Boo, she was going to kick her ass and end their friendship for good.
**********
“Yeah, whatever, Larry!” Bright complained, walking up the stairs of her apartment with Larry. They had just come from the movies and were having another argument about Larry never having enough time to spend with her. The only reason he had taken her to the movies was to celebrate them having twins. “Every time I ask to come over, I can't. If I ask you to take me out somewhere on the weekend, you’re too busy or tired. So what the fuck, Larry, are you cheating on me?” Bright asked, stopping in her tracks.
Larry wanted to tell her he had a job, but the other night when he joked about working at Mc Donald's, Bright burst into laughter. She told him that she'd rather see him sell drugs before he worked at such a low-paying job. It didn't bother him that Bright was a materialistic girl; he actually thought it was cute that she set standards high. His problem was with gold-digging type of females that were only out to get money, but in their case, he knew that Bright would give him her last. She practically provided him with a whole new wardrobe, bought him every new pair of tennis shoes that came out, and kept money in his pockets just to keep him from working.
“Don't worry about a job, boo, I got plenty of money for the both of us until you get drafted to the NBA,” she would always tell him. And for that, all Larry wanted to do was, marry Bright, spoil her and make her happy. But her thinking of him as a loser for working at Mc Donald was just something he couldn't accept or handle, so he'd just have to continue to lie to her until he got his big break.
“Do you think I'm cheating on you, Bright?” Larry asked her in a disbelieving tone. “Because I’m not.” He looked deep into her beautiful green eyes. He was head over heels in love with her and just wanted to do the right thing.
“You said it, not me!” Bright spat , holding back the tears in her eyes. She felt that because she was pregnant and had gained a little weight that Larry had lost interest in her. It was always the babies this, the babies that...it was never about her anymore.
Larry kissed her on her lips then hugged her tight. “I keep telling you, baby, that you mean the world to me, Mama Lane, and that everything that I do is for us. And one day, the only thing you gone have to worry about is what Prada and Gucci is coming out with next,” he laughed. “Spend money, take care of our children, and live the fucking fabulous life!”
Bright wiped her eyes then smiled, money always made her happy. “Don’t forget my mansion and all my fancy cars,” she added.
“Oh shit, how could I have forgotten that?” he teased, kissing Bright on her lips once more. “But I have to do what I have to do right now, to assure that Pretty Bright get what she wants,” he smiled.
Bright laughed. “Pretty my ass, I'm drop dead gorgeous,” she snapped playfully.
“Yeah baby, you are all that...But you'll always be my Pretty Bright.” He wrapped his arms around her waist then winked at her.
“Pretty Bright” she sighed. Bright believed her looks were above Pretty, but since he was always calling her the name, she wanted to know why. “How you figure?” “From the first time I laid eyes on your pretty face I thought, damn, she has the prettiest face I have ever seen in my entire life, so I call you my Pretty Bright,” Larry said truthfully.
“Well, Pretty Bright it is,” she smiled, rubbing her index finger softly down the side of his smooth chocolate skin. It was one of the most heart-filled things a guy had ever sincerely said to her.
Getting back to their original conversation, Larry said, “So you gone quit being so hard on a brotha then, right?” he held her face with his hands. He had a lot of stress and needed her to be there for him instead of adding to it.
“I promise,” Bright said, wrapping her pinky finger around his, then she grabbed his hand to lead him into her house. Being pregnant and in love with Larry was changing Bright. She'd avoid Terrence as much as possible or until her pockets got low. And even then, her performance wouldn't be so great and Terrence would complain that the pregnancy was bringing the worst out of her. She dreaded climbing in bed with him and was turned off by everything that he did. It had gotten so bad that Terrence had backed off to give her space, he had grown tired of Bright's nagging and complaining. But when he dropped money off to her, he requested that she drop to her knees and at least give him head.
“Hey Moms,” Larry said, giving his future mother-in- law a tight hug.
“Hey son, how’s my UCLA M.V.P. Doing?” she teased. During basketball season,
the media would blow Larry's name up on the news and in the newspaper as being one of the best in the league. They were practically having a bidding war over Larry Lane in the NBA, so it was now only a matter of time.
Larry laughed as he rubbed through the sea of waves in his head. “I'm a'ight Moms, you on your way to work?” he blushed, flashing his million dollar smile.
“Yeah, I'm on my way out for work,” she said, grabbing her lunch out of the refrigerator. Noticing his big smile, she said, “What you smiling so hard for, M.V.P.? You and Queen Bee ain't ran off and got married or anything like that now?” she teased. “We made an agreement that we weren’t keeping anymore secrets from Moms,” she said, placing her hand on her hip.
“No more secrets, Moms,” Larry smiled. “You be making me blush, calling me M.V.P. and everything,” he replied truthfully.
“You have a lot to be proud of, and I'm very proud and happy for you,” she smiled looking at Larry.
Larry nodded his head. “I guess I do, I just wish your brother would cut me some slack,” he said, looking back at Bright.
“My brother?” Rosette snapped with a puzzled look upon her face.
“Yeah, Bright's uncle that she's scared to death of,” he teased.
Bright quickly changed the subject, while her mother eyed them both suspiciously. “Uncle!” she said. She had sisters, but they both lived in Cincinnati, and her brother's life had been claimed by cancer before Bright was born.
“Yes mom, uncle,” Bright said, whisking Larry into the hallway. “Give me a second to speak to Larry alone, Ma,” Bright said, hoping she wouldn't be busted.
In the hallway, Bright whispered to Larry. “Please don't mention my uncle to, or around my mother. They got into a real bad argument, then they disowned each other, and haven't spoken to each other in years. But if she finds out he's been around here, it'll upset her and then she'll get angry with me because I keep in contact with him,” she lied persuasively.