“Your mama is a bitch,” Asia yelled right before Zyra grabbed her hair and slung her to the ground. The dress that Asia had on flew over her head exposing her red lace thong. Zyra didn’t wait for her to regain her composure before she pounced on her and started swinging. Buck would usually be the first one to break it up, but he stood right there with his brothers and watched. Zyra was kicking Asia’s ass, and she deserved everything that she was getting. A huge crowd had formed around them, and nobody got involved. It wasn’t until Zyra wrapped Asia’ hair around her hand and started hitting her in the face that Renata decided to step in.
“Bitch let my cousin go,” Renata yelled as she grabbed Zyra’s braids.
Zyrian immediately released his hold on his wife and let her go. Rylee would have died if they had jumped her friend while he held her back. He didn’t want to see his wife out there fighting, but he didn’t want his sister to get jumped either. It was a no-win situation in his eyes.
“You got me fucked up,” Rylee yelled while pulling Renata off of Zyra. The two of them went into a quick mix with Rylee quickly getting the best of the other woman.
“Damn, Rylee got them hands,” Snake instigated from the sidelines. Rylee was slinging Renata around like a child while Zyra continued her assault on Asia. Zyrian had seen enough, and he was ready for everything to be over with.
“Get your girl Buck,” he told his cousin as he pried his wife off of Renata’s battered body. Rylee was kicking and screaming, but Zyrian carried her away from the other woman. Grim grabbed Zyra and followed right behind him.
“Bring your stupid ass on here,” Buck fussed as he grabbed Asia from the ground.
They argued the entire way back to the car with Renata lagging behind them. She was embarrassed in front of Zyrian and everyone else that were in attendance. She couldn’t speak for her cousin, but she was done with all that drama. She was tired of listening to her cousin when it came to Zyrian. He didn’t want her, and a blind man could see that. Whatever they had before ended the minute he got with Rylee. She was bowing out, and she was doing it gracefully.
***
“I scratched all my damn knuckles up messing with Asia’s man looking ass,” Zyra complained as she held a peroxide drench towel on her hand.
“That’s what your overgrown ass get for fighting. You and Rylee know better than that shit. I’m just happy that my grandbabies weren’t out there with y’all,” her father replied.
“You know that wouldn’t have even went down like that if my babies were out there,” Zyrian said.
“You hush up Zyrian. You ain’t no better than them two. You said yourself that you let your wife go so that she could fight too,” his mother spoke up.
“I had to. She would have went crazy if I held her back while Zyra got jumped,” Zyrian responded.
“I surely would have,” Rylee agreed.
Once Asia and Renata left, Zyrian and his club members shut down their event and cleaned up. They had lots of food left. So Rylee and Zyra packed it up, and they all went to Glenda and Zach’s house to chill. Snake’s girlfriend and her friend were still with them, so Glenda let their kids go into her dining room to watch TV. The twins were in their playpens sleeping, and Glenda had the baby monitor with her just in case they woke up.
“What’s going on with the club uncle?” Grim asked Zach.
“Nothing much. They’re just doing the renovations that Rylee and Zyrian wanted. I can’t wait to get that thing up and running,” Zach said excitedly.
“Yeah, Zyrian already gave me and Snake our bouncer jobs,” Grim said proudly.
“What!” Zach yelled. “You gave these convicts a job?”
“Yeah, why not?” Zyrian shrugged.
“Because they’re crazy as fuck. That’s why not,” his father replied making them laugh even though he was dead serious.
Zyrian was almost tempted to put the old MJ’s building back on the market, but his father wasn’t having that. He was hyped about running a new business, and that was the only reason why he decided to keep it. He hired an architect to bring him and Rylee’s vision to life, and he got started on renovations right away.
“You know we have to keep everything in the family. What I look like hiring an outsider when I have a million family members. You want your sisters to work in the kitchen, and I want my cousins to work the front door,” Zyrian said right before he walked off to go check on his babies.
He still heard his father fussing at his cousins about behaving and not starting no mess when the bar opened. Zyrian really didn’t care how they maintained order just as long as nobody died in the process. He went to his parents’ room and looked at his babies as they slept. They were now three months old and looking like a replica of him. Aside from Rylee, his babies were the best thing to even happen to him. Once he stared at his twins long enough, Zyrian went to the dining room to look at the other kids. Snake’s girlfriend and her friend had never checked on their kids once since they got there. Instead of opening the door all the way, Zyrian cracked it open to listen to what they were saying. Through the crack of the door, he saw one of the little boys standing up talking while the other kids laughed. Kids were something else and Zyrian had to laugh at what was being said himself.
“Man, I don’t know who that fat ass lil boy belongs to, but y’all better get him,” Zyrian laughed.
“Stop talking about that baby,” Glenda fussed at her son right before she and her husband went back to the room with their grandbabies.
“Why, what he do?” Snake asked.
“That lil nigga must be slow or something. He’s talking about busting up the TV to get the cookies that he saw on the commercial. He dumb as fuck,” Zyrian said as his cousins fell out laughing with him.
Snake’s girl was heated as she grabbed her purse and walked towards the room that the kids were in. She rounded them up and led them all back to the front where everyone else was.
“Let’s go,” she told her friend who was sitting there talking to Grim.
“What’s wrong? Why y’all leaving?” Snake asked in confusion.
“I’m going home. And for the record, there is nothing dumb or slow about my son,” she said as she looked over at Zyrian.
“Oh shit. I forgot that was your son,” Zyrian said as he and Grim doubled over with laughter again.
Snake didn’t laugh with them that time. He was too busy trying to butter up to his girl. She wasn’t trying to hear anything that he was saying, though. She knew that they talked about her behind her back, but it was an altogether different thing for them to do it in her face.
“Man, y’all play too damn much,” Snake yelled when he came back in from walking Ashley and her friend to their car.
“Forget her sensitive ass. She knows that lil boy is obese,” Grim said waving him off.
“That’s fucked up. Y’all the reason that I can’t keep a woman,” Snake frowned.
“Nigga you was just with your ex-girlfriend last night,” his brother yelled.
“That’s not the point,” Snake argued.
“Man, fuck her and her friend too. Bitch don’t even suck dick anyway,” Grim said waving him off.
“I’m trying to see how you was fucking her lil short ass. You didn’t feel like a pedophile sleeping next to her?” Zyrian inquired.
“Man fuck you! Thanks to you I have to find me a backup plan for tonight,” Snake said as he scrolled through his phone.
Zyrian and Rylee chilled at his parents’ house for a while before they packed up their kids and went home. It was never a dull moment when it came to his family and that day was no different.
Chapter 16
Nakia was stressed to the max as she drove around the area that her mother was once known to frequent. She hadn’t talked to Leslie in a while, and she wanted to see how she was doing. A part of her felt bad for not giving her mother the money to pay her rent, but another part of her wanted to teach Leslie a lesson. Her mother was lazy and always wanted things
handed to her on a silver platter. Nakia wasn’t prepared to show up to her mother’s house and find it empty. According to her nosey neighbors, the landlord had put Leslie’s things on the curb a few days ago, and they hadn’t seen her since then. Guilt consumed Nakia as well as fear and worry. They didn’t have any family aside from Rylee, so she didn’t know where her mother could have gone. Zyra spent the day calling hospitals for her while Nakia took to the streets praying that she would find her. Aside from the mission, under the bridge is where most homeless people called home. Even those places turned out to be a dead end. Her only other hope was her sister Nicole. Nakia hadn’t seen her in months, but she was about to change that. She’d just pulled up to the club where Nicole worked and got out of the car. The stench of urine hit Nakia’ nostrils as soon as she got out of her car. Broken beer bottles crunched under her feet as she made her way up to the front door. The club had just opened an hour ago, and she was hoping to catch her sister before she got too busy.
“You’re Rylee’s cousin right?” A man yelled out to Nakia as soon as she walked in. She turned around and came face to face with China’s boyfriend Kirk. She remembered him from the biker’s club as well as some of their family functions that she went to.
“Hey, yeah I’m Rylee’s cousin,” she replied.
“You looking for a job or something?” Kirk asked her.
“I’m good on a job, but is my sister Nicole around?” Nakia asked him.
“Yeah, she’s here, but you can’t go to the back. Have a seat and I’ll go get her for you,” Kirk said as he looked her up and down while licking his lips lustfully.
Nakia cringed under his lustful gaze, and she was happy when he walked away. She didn’t know that Kirk had a job, but he was dressed in all black including a shirt that had the strip club’s logo etched on the front. Rylee always referred to him as a scrub, but he must have been getting himself together. Nakia waited patiently for him to return and he did about ten minutes later.
“Where’s Nicole?” Nakia asked when Kirk came back by himself.
“She uh, she said she’s not trying to see you right now,” Kirk stammered.
“What! Why not?” Nakia asked as she shot to her feet.
“I don’t know. She just said to tell you that she’ll call you,” he replied.
“Fuck a phone call. I’m going back there and see her right now,” Nakia yelled.
“I can’t let you do that,” Kirk said as he blocked her path.
Nakia felt somewhat defeated, but she refused to give up. She needed answers that she hoped her sister could give her. Reaching inside of her purse, Nakia pulled out a hundred dollar bill in hopes of persuading Kirk to change his mind.
“Five minutes is all that I need, and I swear I’ll be gone. It must be serious for me to offer you this much money,” Nakia begged.
Kirk looked at the money like it was his first time seeing a big face before.
“Go ahead, but you better not tell nobody that I let you back there,” he said while snatching the bill from her hand.
That was all that Nakia needed to hear. She rushed to the area that he’d just come from and disappeared behind the black curtain. Half naked women pranced around with drinks on trays while a few others were on the stage entertaining the few male customers. The outside of the club smelled bad, but it was nothing compared to the fishy smell that lingered inside. Add the smell of stale cigarettes and cheap perfume and it was enough to make Nakia vomit. She bypassed the lingering stares of the customers and headed towards the area where she saw a few dancers coming from. The odor emanating from that room was even worse. Nakia frowned up at the thought of a bunch of grown women smelling like old sex. And they were the same ones who the men paid money to come and see dance.
“Excuse me,” Nakia said to one of the dancers. “Is Nicole back here?”
“Right over there,” the woman pointed right before she walked away.
Nakia continued to look around the room as she walked over to an area that housed a row of lockers. Her heart stopped momentarily as her eyes landed on her sister. Nicole was sitting in a chair with a pair of shades on. She was nodding off like she hadn’t slept in days. At first glance, Nakia could tell that her sister had lost a substantial amount of weight. She still had a pretty face, but it wasn’t nearly as full as it once was. She looked like a shell of her former self, and that broke Nakia’ heart.
“Nicole,” Nakia yelled startling her sister.
Nicole looked up and wiped the drool was making its way down her chin. She tried to fix herself up, but there was no use. Nakia had seen all that she needed to see to know that the rumors were true. Her sister was indeed on drugs, and it appeared to be worse that what she assumed.
“You’re not supposed to be back here,” Nicole said as she embarrassingly looked away.
“Damn Nicole,” Nakia sighed as she shook her head.
“I don’t need you judging me. If that’s what you came here for you can leave,” Nicole spat as she staggered trying to get up her feet.
“I’m not here to judge you. I’m looking for mama. She got evicted when you didn’t pay the rent, and I don’t know where she is.”
“I don’t know where she’s at either. I haven’t lived there in months. I told her that I wasn’t paying rent on a house that I don’t live in. My man has been putting a roof over my head for the past few months. He’s the only one who seems to care about me,” Nicole slurred.
“I guess your man is the one that got you hooked on drugs too,” Nakia replied.
“I don’t expect you to understand or care. I’m your only sister, and you chose Rylee over me. She already had Mekhi and everything else, but she just had to have you too.”
“You need to get off of that Mekhi bullshit. You saw him first, I get it, but he didn’t choose you. He chose Rylee. Once they got together, he should have been off limits.”
“Stop taking her side all the time. I’m your sister Nakia. I’m going through a lot of shit right now, and I don’t have anybody in my corner,” Nicole cried.
“I’m not taking anybody’s side. Did you or mama ever think about the position that y’all put me in? My sister was fucking my first cousin’s husband. Y’all put me in the middle of the bullshit even if I didn’t want to be.”
“Right or wrong you still should have been there for me,” Nicole sobbed.
“I’ve always been here for you Nicole, but you and mama were dead wrong. Now she’s out on the streets somewhere giving me something else to stress about. I’m only one person being pulled in a million different directions,” Nakia replied.
“Well, you wasted your time coming here because I don’t know where she is. The last time we talked, she told me that she regretted the day I was born. I don’t have any need to talk to her now,” Nicole said as she opened her locker and threw her shades and duffle bag inside.
“What the hell happened to your eye?” Nakia shrieked when she saw the black ring around her sister’s bloodshot eye. The injury looked fresh which explained her wearing shades inside the building.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing that a little makeup won’t cover,” Nicole shrugged.
“So that’s how your new man has been taking care of you? By beating your ass like you’re his child?” Nakia screamed. This time, she was the one crying instead of her sister.
“You wouldn’t understand, and I don’t expect you to,” Nicole responded.
“What don’t I understand Nicole? No matter what we’ve been through in the past you’re still my sister, and I love you. We can work it out. I’ll even get us an apartment and help you get away from his ass if that’s what you want,” Nakia offered.
“No!” Nicole yelled. “I can’t leave him.”
“Why can’t you leave him? Is he threatening you?”
“It’s deeper than that. You wouldn’t understand,” Nicole said.
“Banks just pulled up Nikki. You better get rid of your guest” Kirk yelled to Nicole from the f
ront entrance.
“Banks? Is that your new man?” Nakia inquired.
“Yeah. You have to go Nakia. He doesn’t like anybody coming back here. Come on, let me show you to the rear exit so he won’t see you,” Nicole said in a panicked tone. She hurried her sister towards a steel door that she hadn’t noticed when she first came in.
“Okay, but promise that you’ll call me later so we can talk. I’m really worried about you Nicole,” Nakia said sadly.
“I will, I promise,” Nicole said as she all but pushed her sister out of the door.
With a heavy heart, Nakia walked around the building and back to her car. Not only had she not found her mother, but she was now worried sick about her one and only sister. Once Nakia got into her car and drove off, the tears that she’d been holding in finally made their exit down her cheeks. She drove to Zyra’s house in a daze, but she was thankful that she’d made it in one piece. Once she pulled her car into the driveway, Nakia broke down and sobbed like never before. Aside from Rylee, her entire family was falling apart. She never noticed that someone had parked behind her until her car door was being snatched open.
“You alright girl?” Buck asked as he kneeled down and looked her in her eyes. Nakia hurriedly wiped her eyes and tried to appear calm.
“Yeah,” she replied in a whisper. “I’m okay.”
“You don’t look okay. Get out and come inside. I’m not Zyra or Rylee, but you can talk to me if you need to,” Buck said in a friendly tone.
Nakia hesitated for a minute, but she eventually took him up on his offer. Once she opened the front door, she paused when she saw all the bags and boxes that littered the living room.
“Don’t mind my mess. I’ll have it cleared up soon. Zyra is letting me crash here for a little while until I can get me another spot,” Buck said when he saw how she was looking at his stuff that was positioned all over the room.
“What happened to you living with Asia?” Nakia questioned.
“That’s a wrap on that. I’m getting too old for the drama. I’ll be single for the rest of my life before I deal with any more bullshit,” Buck said seriously.
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