Turned Out by His Hood Mentality 3

by Diamond D Johnson

  “He knows it too, which is why he made me stop. It’s a pride thing that men have. Whenever word would get out that I was preaching on a Sunday, the number of people that would fill that sanctuary was ridiculous! You know it would be standing room only, and that’s on both the first level and the second level of the church. The money that the church would bring in during offering would almost double when I preached versus when it was him.

  “I never told you or your sister this, but years ago, when I sang one Sunday, somebody recorded me, and they uploaded the video on YouTube. A few big gospel producers reached out and wanted to sign me. The second I told your father, of course, he shut it down. I know you probably think that I’m crazy, and you may even view me as weak, but for so long, I just wanted to make our marriage work, you know? We’d been through so much together, and I didn’t want to leave after all these years. Your father has always had a soft place in my heart, and I think he abused that because he knew the way my heart worked when it came to him.

  “When his parents died, he would always refer to it as them leaving him. If I divorced him, I didn’t want to be another person who left him, but I’ve allowed this man to beat me down too many times, both physically, emotionally, and even mentally. This is why when I found out about you dating Billionaire, I’ve always supported it, even if he was so much different from you. I had that mindset because I’m married to one of the biggest pastors in Miami, and I get treated like crap by him on a daily. A title doesn’t mean anything because it’s all about how you are being treated. Your father labels Billionaire as a thug, but I can see that thug treats you ten times better than your father has ever treated me,” my mom said.

  I couldn’t help but feel bad. My mother was spilling out her soul to me, and all I could do was listen.

  “What do you plan to do, Ma? I can change the locks at my house, and you can move in there. I’m hardly there anymore,” I told her, and she shook her head.

  “I’ve already begun to look at potential places for me to stay. Honestly, baby, I just want something small and peaceful. I don’t need a whole bunch of extra room because it’ll just be me. I got in contact with a couple of prisons and even some group homes, so I could start ministering there. That was always my plan from the very beginning, but the second I got with your father, I let his controlling ways pretty much talk me out of all my dreams.

  “Believe it or not, I’ve always lived vicariously through both you and your sister. I admire the two of you for standing on your own two feet and doing the things in your life that make you happy. You told me how you wanted to write your books, and you went ahead and did just that. I have dreams too, Normani. Dreams that were stripped away from me because I let a man convince me that his dreams were more important and more realistic,” she spoke.

  We were doing so much talking that we had forgotten to order. Once the waitress came over, we ran down what we wanted, and then she quickly walked away.

  “Are you going to bible study tonight?” I asked.

  “This will be the first time in over thirty years that I haven’t attended a bible study class. I’m over everything that comes with that church. I want to build up my own congregation. I want to actually love the members of my church and not just tolerate them because they give every Sunday for tithes and offering. With these demons that your father keeps having pop out of the dark, trust me, it is only a matter of time before he is the only person left standing. There’s no doubt in my mind that your father is just moments away from losing it all. You cannot keep doing bad things to people and expect good things to continue happening to you,” she voiced.

  I nodded my head at her words, agreeing with everything she said.

  We spent the rest of our time together talking about the baby and her future plans. As much as I would have loved to finish the conversation with my mother, I knew that I needed to get back to work. Summer was slowly approaching, and many kids were getting ready to start summer programs. So you could imagine how busy the office had been with patients needing physicals.

  I would enjoy the craziness that came with being in the office because I only had a few months left before I took my leave. Leave it to my husband to think I was supposed to stop working at twenty weeks pregnant. If I could go to thirty-nine weeks, I would, but Billionaire and I would just have to come to some sort of middle ground.

  “Just walk in the middle of the church and start pistol-whipping his old ass. That’s what the fuck I would have done,” Monterius talked shit as we got out of the car at Normani’s bitch ass daddy’s church.

  Dru was rolling with us too, and he got out of the backseat. I hit these niggas up this afternoon and let them know what I planned to do, and both these crazy ass fools thought I was doing the funniest shit in the world. They wanted to slide with me as I acted out on my master plan. The thing is, I wasn’t even no petty ass nigga like this, but I was so fuckin’ tired of this nigga playing with me.

  Instead of confronting him on some one on one type of shit, I would do that shit right in front of an audience. He wanted to do his dirty work outside of his church, so it was only right that I confronted him in the same place where he did his dirty shit. That good pastor image that fuck nigga was up there portraying would be gone by tonight. I could have kidnapped the nigga, dragged him back with me, pistol whipped him, and then blown his fuckin’ brains out, but that would take up too much of my energy. I had something else planned for tonight, something that would hit him where it hurts.

  I loved my wife so fuckin’ much that I couldn’t even kill this nigga like I wanted to. Normani was hurt, and she said a lot of things about her father out of anger, but once it was all said and done, I knew she didn’t want me to dead the nigga. I mean, look how she acted last night when she saw the blood on my shoes, and she thought it belonged to her daddy. Killing a big-time pastor in Miami… that just wasn’t a smart move on my part because some of his congregation would be loyal to him no matter what. They would search high and low when it came to an investigation if he were to ever go missing.

  At Normani’s book signing, he kept going on and on about Normani needing to care about what her doctor friends or her church friends would think about her dating me. From that incident, I could tell that perception was everything to him, and because I knew he cared so much about what people said or thought about him, I would fuck with his image.

  “Cursing on church grounds! God should let lightning flash right now and strike yo’ ass!” I said to Monterius, shaking my head.

  “You cursing too! Bruh, you were just smoking weed in the parking lot of the church. If I get struck, you getting struck with me,” he joked.

  “Yeah, let me get away from y’all niggas. I know one thing. Lightning ain’t about to strike me,” Dru called out.

  I laughed at his scary ass while we made our way into the church. I’d always known about this church, but I had never been to it. I was ashamed to admit that I didn’t take my ass to church as often as I should have, but when I went, it was always to my grandmother’s church, which was about a good fifteen minutes away from there.

  We walked inside and stood in the foyer of the church. There were a lot of pictures and stuff hung on the walls, and I smiled as I came across a picture of my wife. It was of her as a little girl. All her family was on the picture with her too. If I had to guess, she was about five. Both of her front teeth were missing, her hands were on her hips, and she was smiling big. Her long hair was in two ponytails, and all I could think about was Normani telling me how she would get bullied when she was a little girl for being too dark and because she was so skinny. Man, whoever was picking on my baby back then was a fuckin’ hater. Normani was so pretty as a little girl. I hoped she gave me a daughter, and she came out looking just like that.

  “That’s going to be one hairy ass baby that y’all about to have. Daughter going to come out wearing a Kim K ponytail,” Monterius brought his dumb ass over and said as he also looked at the picture of Norma
ni.

  “Ima tell my wife you said that too,” I told him.

  He laughed and threw his hands up in the air, letting me know that he ain’t want no smoke with Normani. We walked further into the foyer and could hear Normani’s daddy inside preaching. I looked through one of the doors and saw that it was filled with people inside. You really would have thought it was Sunday morning from the number of people filling the pews. This nigga was blessed to have all these fuckin’ members, yet he was so worried about the many ways he could fuck up his daughter’s life.

  I shook my head as I listened to this crook preach to the congregation. I gave Monterius and Dru a look, letting them know that I was about to walk inside. They both gave me looks like, go ahead then, nigga. I fucked with those two on some real shit because they were riding with a nigga, even when I was on some crazy shit, and best believe, the shit I was on right now was definitely some crazy shit. I walked in, purposely swinging the door back with force. The door made a loud, booming sound once it hit the wall, and it caused every single person in the church to turn around.

  I was sure everybody in that motha fucka thought that three hood lookin’ niggas like us were there to rob them, but if only they knew we were all worth a pretty penny, and we didn’t want shit they had. I heard a few gasps, and I noticed a few people grab their loved ones closer. I even heard a bunch of whispering, but I didn’t want to focus my attention on everyone else. At that moment, the only face I cared to see was Normani’s father. When he looked back at me, it was like he had seen a damn ghost. With a swagger in my walk and a smirk on my face, I went to the front of the church.

  “Why you look like you shocked to see me, Pastor Davidson?” I asked, smiling now that I was standing side by side with him.

  “Could you please take a seat? I’m in the middle of bible study. Thank you,” he said.

  “Thank you? Ohhhh, we have manners today? I’m not a thug today? You’re even offering me a seat? Oh, wow, but I ain’t come here for all that, though. I just wanted to have a brief moment with your congregation. You don’t mind, right?” I asked, then reached for the mic that was in his hands.

  He moved his hand, but I still managed to snatch the mic from him. I could see where he was signaling up top, telling whoever was working the sound to turn my mic off.

  “Big guy up top, don’t turn the sound off. I got two hundred dollars for you if you keep it on,” I spoke.

  I watched the guy who was working the sound, and it was obvious that he was trying to decide if the two hundred dollars I had promised him was worth it. He eventually gave me a head nod, letting me know that he would not shut off the sound. He probably hated this bitch ass pastor too, which is why he did what I told him to do.

  I focused my attention back on his members, who were looking around, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. The fact that nobody got up to stop me proved that everyone in this motha fucka was eager to see what was about to go down.

  “For those of you who have scared looks on y’all face, y’all can chill because me and my homies ain’t here to rob this church. We read our bible too. We know we ain’t supposed to kill nobody or take nothing from nobody. That’s a joke. Y’all can laugh,” I said, and there were a few snickers here and there.

  “Nah, but on some real shi… I mean, to be honest with y’all, I’m going to keep it short. I just want to give y’all an update on your pastor right here. Before I start on him, let me give a quick testimony about myself. A few of y’all probably already know who I am. There was a time when I was responsible for flooding these same streets with drugs that killed hundreds of people daily. I’m not proud of that, but we all have a past. I got caught up in this street life, and five years of my life were taken away from me in prison.

  “I haven’t even been home a whole year yet, but I’ve already done this major change in my life. I’m in the real estate business, flipping houses, I’m married with a new baby on the way, to add to the two kids that I already have. Guess who my wife is, though?” I said.

  These people were nosey as fuck because damn near everybody hollered out, “Who?”

  I was up there, telling my life story, and from how intrigued I had everybody, I knew that I could fuck around and write me a good book about my life.

  “His daughter, Normani,” I said, and there were a lot of gasps from when I said that.

  “Y’all pastor ain’t been happy about that. He goes out of his way to make Normani’s life a living hell, but then turns around and will stand up here, acting like he’s all holy. Let me get to the good part because I’m sure a lot of y’all are wondering where I’m going with this story. Last night, I was chilling at the park, and when I turned around to leave, somebody had a gun pointed at my head, ready to take me out. Luckily, I’ve always been the type of person to get myself out of some mess. After controlling the situation, I was told by the culprit that he was offered twenty thousand dollars by y’all pastor to kill me. To kill me and take me away from my kids and my wife,” I spat.

  There were “Oh my Gods,” and gasps, even silence as people listened to what I had to say.

  “Are y’all putting your hard-earned tithes and offering money into this church for y’all pastor to pay for fake hitmen to come out and kill people?” I asked, trying to get the crowd riled up.

  “No!” they said in unison.

  “Is this true, Pastor Davidson? Is it true what this young man is saying? If so, I am out! I will not support a crook,” an older, black woman stood up, holding the hands of two small boys, who were more than likely her grandkids.

  Pastor Davidson was standing right next to me. His bitch ass was sweating and using the handkerchief he had in his hands to wipe his face. He shot me an evil glare, and then he walked to the middle of the church. There were so many sidebar conversations, and by this time, many people were standing up, demanding to know was this news true.

  “Everybody just calm down! Please, everyone, calm down! This man just stood here and admitted to having a past life of being a drug dealer! Anybody who will stoop that low to flood the streets with drugs will lie, and they will kill! I have been running this church for over twenty years! I’m no perfect man, but I’m offended that my members would even for a second believe anything this crook has to say! Can’t you look at him and tell he is lying? There’s no telling the number of unresolved issues he has with other people in the street! Anybody could have tried to kill him last night!”

  This nigga was really standing his ass up there, lying to his people like it was nothing. I was getting ready to say something to him, but then a voice came from the back, which stopped me.

  “Explain the ten thousand dollars that was withdrawn from our personal checking account then. I checked your call history along with the call history for the church. There wasn’t anything on those call logs to suggest that you have been in contact with anyone to remodel the fellowship hall. You may not feel obligated to answer to these people, but I am your wife, so you have every obligation to answer to me!”

  Normani’s mother made her way from the back of the church and slowly approached her husband. Yo, I didn’t even see her sitting back there. This shit was getting spicy as fuck. Looking at Pastor Davidson, I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to slap the shit out of his wife, though. Everyone in the room was shocked by the shit that was unfolding right before our eyes.

  “Are you seriously about to stand here and do this in front of everyone, Melody? What is wrong with you? Since you want to stand here and air out our business to the church, let them know how you are getting ready to divorce me! I hope you know that I won’t leave you with a dime!” he roared, letting his true self come out.

  I clapped my hands together, still holding onto the mic. When I did that, my clap came off even louder.

  “I bet y’all never saw this side of y’all pastor before, huh?” I asked the congregation.

  “Pastor, we want to know if you are responsible for almost having this you
ng man killed! Let us know, so we can worship elsewhere,” another member called out.

  “He’s responsible! I see something in his eyes that I see whenever he has been caught red-handed doing something!” Melody said.

  The second she said that I swear, everyone got up and started piling out of the pews and heading toward the exit. Best believe, just about everybody talked some shit to Pastor Davidson as they made their way out of the church. I looked at this nigga from the corner of my eye, and it looked like he was crying. The last person finally walked out of the church, and the only people standing inside were me, my niggas, and Normani’s parents.

  “You are a worthless piece of shit!” Pastor Davidson roared.

  As if the mic in my hand was a gun, I walked up to his ass and slapped the fuck out of him with it. Blood rushed out of his mouth, and it brought me a small amount of pleasure. He lost his balance and fell on one of the steps, busting his ass.

  “This what you wanted to see me do, right? You wanted to see this thug act ignorant, right? Keep talking crazy to me, and I swear to God, I will use the last piece of sense that I have left and kill you right here, nigga! I done let you disrespect me for months. I kept letting you get away with it off the strength of your daughter! Understand that I am a changed man. I stood up here and I laughed and joked with these people about you paying somebody to kill me, but realize that if this was five years ago, I would have blown your damn head off and shipped that shit to your wife! You got a nigga standing up in a church and cursing! Let me get eye level to you because I want you to feel me,” I said. As blood continued to ooze from his mouth, I bent down and looked him in the eyes. My hands went for the front of his suit, and I dragged him my way.

  “Stay the fuck away from my wife, aight? I don’t want her to have shit to do with you, and Ima need you to do the same. You don’t bring her nothing but pain. You made it clear that you don’t like me, and since Normani and I are now a package deal, if you don’t like me, then you don’t like her. You got bigger shit to worry about, like finding a whole new congregation. I got some lil niggas who are going to come out here and protest in front of this church. Come Sunday, the only thing that will be in this motha fucka is you and these pews!” I spat, and then I threw his ass back, making him hit his head on the bottom of the stairs.