She scratched her head.
“Necole…”
She rolled her eyes as she picked her purse up off the floor. She then headed upstairs to their bedroom. A few minutes later, she heard him slam the door shut. She lay in bed thinking about everything. She became angry with herself. She had allowed someone to infiltrate their happy home; something Mark had warned her about time and time again. She really didn’t know what the real truth was. She and Mark’s start wasn’t exactly clear. She didn’t move in with the intentions of them becoming a couple. That just happened and deep down she knew that she couldn’t hold him accountable. The thought of him being with those other chicks drove her insane. She tossed and turned with those thoughts until she drifted off to sleep.
What could only be hours later, Necole was awakened by Carma’s cries. Her eyes fluttered opened and she then looked around the room. She couldn’t believe that she’d slept until nightfall. She yawned and stretched before climbing out of bed. She stepped out of the bedroom and could hear the TV downstairs. She checked the kids’ room only to find it empty. So she headed downstairs. She found Mark holding Carma while Little Carmelo sat right up under him. They were watching Sponge Bob Square Pants as Mark fed Carma her bottle.
“Look, Da-Da,” Little Carmelo patted Mark’s arm.
Necole silently smiled as she peeked around the corner, spying on them. No matter how many times she told her son that Mark wasn’t his daddy, he’d still called him that.
“What’s up, lil’ man?” Mark questioned as he ruffled his head.
“He got bubble,” Little Carmelo pointed.
“Yeah, I see. You want me to get you some bubbles?”
“Uh-huh,” he nodded.
“Daddy…I mean, Mark is going to buy you some tomorrow.”
“Okay, Da-Da,” Little Carmelo said as he leaned on Mark.
Before that moment, Necole never understood how mothers could allow their children to call other men their fathers when they weren’t, but now it was crystal clear. Although it wasn’t Mark’s sperm that had impregnated her with those kids, Little Carmelo and Carma were Mark’s kids.
“Junior, you still have some bubbles in your room,” she said as she rounded the corner.
Mark looked over at her. “You finally up, huh?”
She rubbed her sore neck as she walked over to the couch. “Yeah,” she sighed as she sat next to her son. She pulled him into her lap.
Mark cut his eyes at her. She stared at him. She bit her bottom lip before turning to the TV.
“Humph,” he shook his head before he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her forehead before refocusing on the TV.
She turned and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry.”
Chapter 21
“I know for a fact he do his pickups every Wednesday,” Loon said as he, Carmelo and three other cats discussed their plans to get at Mark.
Although they’d spotted Mark weeks ago, he wasn’t the easiest man to catch up with. He didn’t hang in the same spots daily, nor did go to the hood often. The only thing that was consistent was his pickups.
Loon felt like Mark had some major paper, so he had every intention of robbing him for the pickup cash and then taking him to the spot to get the rest. If Mark flexed, he was more than ready to place a bullet in his skull. He was confident that Carmelo would go all out since he had a personal vendetta against Mark. Shit…he didn’t know what the beef was about and personally, he didn’t give a damn.
“That’s what’s up, but what about these niggas today?” Kareem questioned.
Loon glanced over to his left. “I don’t know. Our nigga, Cootie, gonna tell us about his people.”
Cootie cleared his throat. “Yeah, I know how these niggas move. We can be in and out. I left the back window open. Let’s just get this money and nobody will get hurt,” he said. Even though the new lick was his cousin, he had to get it. It was nothing personal; still, he didn’t want to hurt anybody.
“Yeah, yeah,” Loon waved him off. “Them niggas come off that paper, then it’ll be all good.”
“I’m saying, dog. In and out. Ain’t no reason to hurt nobody, man,” Cootie stressed.
Loon nodded. “Alright, tonight it’s on.”
* * * * *
The night was quiet and there was a full moon out. There was something looming in the air. Quietness always seemed to have something lurking in the dark.
“Shh, nigga,” Loon placed his fingers to his lips as he eased the unlocked window open. He and his boys were dressed in all black; fully equipped with ski masks and guns.
The window slightly creaked as he lifted it up. One by one, they all crawled into the window. The backroom was dark and only held a bed.
“You open the door,” Loon whispered to Cootie once they all gathered into the room.
He nodded as he tiptoed to the door. He slowly opened it and peeked out into the dark hallway. The coast was clear. He motioned with his head, signaling them to follow him.
All four men tipped into the living room where there was a sleeping man lying on the couch. Loon briskly walked over to him with his gun in hand. He aimed the gun at the guy’s head. He motioned with his head for everyone else to check the rest of the house. Each guy walked in a different direction. After just thirty seconds, the house was searched. They all met back in the living room. One by one they all nodded, letting Loon know that it was all clear.
Loon stared down at the sleeping dude before flipping his gun and bashing it across his head. “Wake the fuck up, nigga,” he gritted as Carmelo turned on the light switch.
“What the fuck!” the dude sat up holding his head.
Having no time for formalities, Loon said, “Where’s the money, nigga?”
“What?” the dude asked disoriented.
Loon swung. “Bitch ass nigga, where the money at?!” he bashed the pistol across his head again.
“Aw shit,” the guy rocked back and forth as he grabbed his wounded head. “What fucking money, man?”
“What money?! Nigga, you think this a fucking game?!” Loon seethed as he cocked his gun back.
“I swear I don’t know what you talking about, man.”
Loon nodded. “Alright, you want to play games? Well, how you gon feel when we torch this bitch while you tied to a fucking chair?”
“Aye, search this bitch from top to bottom!” Loon ordered.
Carmelo and Kareem headed toward the two bedrooms. For a few seconds, Cootie was frozen stiff. They’d been there for only a few minutes and Loon had already taken things further than he wanted. Something in the pit of his stomach told him that something bad was about to happen.
“Nigga, what you waiting on?” Loon barked.
Cootie slowly backed out of the living room.
“Where the fuck is this shit!” Carmelo mumbled as he flipped over a mattress in one of the bedrooms. Nothing was there. He turned around and noticed a rug in the middle of the floor. Something told him to pull it back, and when he did, he saw a hidden panel embedded within the floor. “Here we go,” he smiled as he released the rug and rubbed his hands together.
He knelt down and lifted the door. Tucked tightly together were four duffle bags. He pulled the bags out one at a time. He unzipped the first bag and found bundles of cold cash. He was salivating at the mouth.
Carmelo glanced behind him and found no one in sight. He could still hear Kareem in the other room. He quickly grabbed stacks of cash and placed them in his jeans. Once the money was secure he grabbed the other bags and carried them into the living room.
“Punk muthafucka!” Loon lashed as he continuously hit the man across the head.
“Aye…” Carmelo said as he checked out the gory scene. There was blood everywhere and the dude looked barely conscious. “I got it, man.”
Loon turned around with a sadistic grin. “Aw, man. I was just starting to have fun.”
Carmelo shook his head. He was strictly business. As long as they got the paper, he was good. B
ut Loon…he took pleasure in tutoring niggas. The more Carmelo saw, the more he realized that the nigga was just cold hearted and would kill his own mama if the price was right.
“Ooh,” Cootie’s cousin groaned as he lay on the floor in a pool of blood.
Cootie stepped back into the living room. He spotted his first cousin on the floor bleeding. Anger filled his heart. His hands shook uncontrollably as he had to reframe himself from blowing Loon’s brains out.
Kareem stepped in. “You got it?” he asked Carmelo.
“Yeah. Let’s go!” Carmelo said to everybody.
Loon nodded. “Alright,” he turned to the man lying on the floor. He aimed and pulled the trigger.
Blow!
“What the fuck?!” Cootie shouted.
Loon quickly pointed his gun in his direction. “Grab the bags, nigga.”
Cootie’s heart pounded in his chest as he grabbed the duffle bags.
Kareem unlocked the front door and opened it. He looked around and the night was still. “Let’s go,” he motioned with his hand.
They all ran to the dope fiend rental parked just a few feet away. The usual getaway driver, Jesse, put the pedal to the metal as soon as they hopped into the old school Cadillac.
“Ya’ll got it?” Jesse questioned.
Loon sighed. “Yeah. Aye, take us to the spot.”
Jesse glanced over at him. “The spot?”
Loon nodded.
Everybody sat in silence as Jesse drove. He went down a dark road where there was a lake or some form of body of water. “We got the other car here,” Loon said as Jesse pulled into a remote area. He looked to the backseat. “Ya’ll niggas get out,” he said as he opened the passenger’s door.
Carmelo smelled something fishy as he kept his finger on the trigger. Somebody was about to die tonight. His left eye twitched as he slid out of the backseat.
Cootie followed suit.
Loon signaled Jesse with his eyes.
Carmelo saw it all.
Cootie stood off to the side as Jesse ambushed him placing him in a headlock. “What the fuck?” he shouted as Jesse slung him to the ground.
Loon walked over to him and aimed his gun.
Cootie stared up at his boy, knowing what was about to happen.
Blow!
Loon didn’t blink as he pulled the trigger.
The sound of the gun firing caused Carmelo to jump back as his eyes stayed glued to the scene.
“Loon… my nigga…what the fuck?” Kareem asked.
Loon turned around as he tucked the gun in his jeans. “That man was a liability. He might be feeling froggy since that nigga was his cousin. I can’t leave no loose ends, nigga.”
“I feel you but…that was your nigga, dog. You been knowing him half your life!”
Loon shrugged. “It’s just business. Ya’ll niggas come on, main,” he slid back into the car.
Carmelo and Kareem looked at each other before shaking their heads. They all hopped into the car knowing that shit was getting too real; but they all knew that there was no turning back now.
* * * * *
“I still can’t believe that Mark decked Carl,” Corrine smiled as she sat in the beautician’s chair. She, Cali and Necole were all at the beauty shop. It was beginning to feel like high school all over again. They’d hang out all the time and stay on the phone half the night.
“That’s what I’m saying,” Necole shook her head as Danny placed huge rollers in her hair. “I was so embarrassed.”
“Embarrassed for what?” Corrine questioned. “They were the ones that looked stupid and don’t try to pretend that you wasn’t amped that they fought over you.”
Necole rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Corrine, sweetie, this is nothing new. I am used to them battling over me. That’s beside the point.”
Cali laughed. “Cole, get over yourself, okay.”
“I would if I could, but I can’t so I won’t.”
“Whatever,” Cali and Corrine said in unison.
“I’m…” Necole was cut off by her ringing phone that was sitting in her lap. She picked it up and checked the screen. The number wasn’t programmed. “Who the hell is this?” she mumbled to herself before answering.
“Hello.”
“Aye, you need to tell me when I can see my kids, man,” Carmelo said through the phone.
A frown covered her face. “What?”
“You heard me. It’s been long enough. How long do you expect me to go without seeing them?”
“Maybe until you get yourself together.”
“What? Since when do I have to prove myself to be their daddy? Just because you decided to move on don’t change the fact that those are my kids too.”
“Okay, I never denied that,” Necole snapped as Cali and Corrine realized that she had to be talking to her deranged babies’ daddy.
“But you’d deny me my rights though, right?”
Necole had to remove her ear from the phone and look at it. “You can’t be serious,” she said as she placed the phone back to her ear. “Why should I allow you to see them? The last time I saw you, you manhandled me. You could have killed me when you pushed me to the ground. My babies don’t need to be around someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” Carmelo repeated in disbelief.
“Yeah, like you. You don’t care about your kids, because if you did, you wouldn’t continue to hurt me. If you didn’t act the way you act, I would have no problem dropping them off to you.”
“Dropping them off? What about you? You walked out of my life without explanation. Am I just supposed to accept that?”
“You’re talking like you have a choice. Whatever we had is done, Carmelo. We just don’t work and the sooner you realize this, the better off we’ll be.”
Those words pierced through his heart. How could she not love him anymore? “Can we just discuss this in person, Necole?”
“For what?”
He took a deep breath. “To apologize. I know that I hurt you. I know that I took you through some unnecessary changes, but now I know, Necole. I know that I ain’t shit without you and my kids. I know that we can do this because I know what it feels like to really not have you in my life. Please just give me another chance.”
It was right then that she knew that she’d completely fallen out of love with him. What he’d just said would have once made her knees weak; but now, he just sounded pitiful to her.
“Look, Carmelo…me and the kids can’t complete you. You have to be whole without us. You need help. Go find out why you’re so self-destructive. Besides, you should be ashamed to say that you need our kids. When was the last time you saw the kids you got with those other chicks, huh? Out of sight, out of mind; right?” she sucked her teeth. “Just get yourself together. I don’t love you anymore. Do what you gotta do for yourself and your kids, man. Bye,” she hung up on him.
* * * * *
Necole woke up early Wednesday morning with a smile until she realized that she was in bed alone. The sun was shining through the slits in the blinds letting her know that the sun had beat Mark home.
“This muthafucka,” she mumbled to herself as she sat up and took a nice stretch. She glanced down at her once flat stomach and rubbed it. She’d begun showing a couple of weeks ago and it was obvious when she wore her usual tight-fitting clothing.
She lazily stumbled out of bed before walking to the kids’ room. Both children were fast asleep. She proceeded to find their clothes to wear to daycare. She took her time getting her kids prepared to leave. Before she knew it, the daycare van was outside blowing.
After the kids were gone, she sat up for a little while waiting on Mark. A couple of hours passed by, without any signs of him showing his face. She unintentionally fell asleep on the couch, until she was awakened by her ringing cell phone. She grabbed the phone off the end table and checked out the screen. It was Corrine calling. She didn’t feel like talking to her just then, so she allowed the voicemail to catch the c
all.
She sat up and gazed at the clock on the wall. It was a quarter past noon. She sucked her teeth as she called Mark’s cell. It rang for a few times before the voicemail picked up.
“Where the fuck is he?” she asked herself as she hung up her phone. She didn’t know if she should be concerned about his safety or what.
She dialed his number again and listened to his phone ring. Finally, he picked up. “Hello.”
“Hey, where are you?” she asked in a raspy voice.
“I’m in the hood,” he told her while his background sounded very busy.
“You’re in the hood? Why didn’t you come home?”
He breathed into the phone. “I had a lot of shit to handle.”
“Okay,” she tried her best to remain calm. “So, when are you coming home?”
“Umm…in a few.”
“A few? Wow…I got something for that.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he snapped.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be back home in a few.”
“Where are you going?”
“To Hailey Street.”
Mark’s lips curled as he heard her say Carmelo’s street. “Don’t fucking play with me! I will fuck you up! Matter of fact, you got me fucked! Leave that fucking house if you want to! I’m on my fucking way and your ass better be there when I get there!” he hung up on her.
Necole sat back with a sneaky grin on her face. She knew exactly how to pull his card. If he thought that he could stay out all night, he had the wrong one. She sat and pretended to watch TV as he stumped into the house wearing the same white tee and denim shorts he’d left in the day before. He stepped into the living room with a scowl on his face. He tossed his keys onto the glass coffee table and looked at her. “Now, what the fuck was you saying over the phone?”
She folded her arms with a smug look on her face. “You heard me.”
“So, what…you trying to throw that sorry ass nigga in my face?”
“No. I wanted you to see how I felt. You could have called and told me something. How would you like it if I did that?”
“Me and you, we ain’t the same. I got to hustle, man. There ain’t no way of getting around that. If I don’t, how the fuckin’ bills gon get paid around this bitch?” he threw up his hands.
Love is Blind (G Street Chronicles Presents) Page 27