Where My Loyalties Lie

by K. C. Mills

  After he left the block, he checked out a few more places, but still no sign of Fez. It was getting close to the time for Joy to get off, so he decided to head home and wait for her. He didn’t know if she was actually going to show up, because she never responded to his message; but if she didn’t, he was going to her place.

  He talked to Gotti and Lil Chris and let them know to hit him up if Fez surfaced. He was going to show his face sooner or later and when he did, he was going to be handled.

  -16-

  Joy had basically been in a zone all morning. After the whole situation with Logic, her mind was blown. She couldn’t believe that her family acted the way they had, especially her mother. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Rah was always over the top about her mother. He acted like they were the best of friends and the two of them were always so touchy feely, but Joy always assumed it was just Rah trying his best to stay on Marilyn’s good side. Never once did she ever consider that they had some secret relationship going on.

  The thought of it made Joy’s stomach turn. She knew her mother was attractive; they both looked a lot alike and Marilyn made a point of staying in shape. She also aged well, so you would never guess that she was she was about to turn fifty. But, the idea that she had been sleeping with Rah seriously had Joy infuriated.

  She looked around her classroom for no reason other than to try and focus her thoughts. Her kids were in a music class so she had forty-five minutes to try and get her head right, but she just couldn’t seem to let go of the idea of Rah and her mother.

  When she couldn’t take it anymore, she pulled her phone out and realized she had a message from Logic and after she read it, she went to her contacts to make a call. Logic had totally pissed her off with his whole tantrum about what happened at her parents’ house, and then the fact that he accused her of using him as some type of rebellious tactic wasn’t helping. To make matters worse, he ran out of her apartment, obviously dealing with something, and couldn’t even be adult enough to set all that aside and let her know what was going on. Joy didn’t know if she would be going to see him later or not. In fact, she was seriously thinking about not seeing him for a while.

  “Damn ma, I never thought I’d see this number on my phone again,” Rah said and chuckled.

  Joy took a deep breath and tried not to let his voice affect her the way she knew it would, because this was not about to be a friendly call.

  “Yeah, well you wouldn’t have if I hadn’t just found out that you were even more of an ass than I could have ever imagined.”

  “So you don’t talk to me for months and when you do, you call me on some bullshit? Come on Joy, the fuck is up with that?” Rah asked, sounding annoyed.

  “So how’s my mother, you fucked her lately?” Joy asked, getting right to the point. She didn’t know one-hundred percent if it were true, but she knew Rah and it was damn sure possible.

  “Why would you say some shit like that Joy? Your ass must really be desperate if you use that as an excuse to call me. You can call just to say hi if you want, ma. You don’t have to make up bullshit stories,” Rah said and then chuckled.

  “So it’s not true?” Joy asked. She knew him and she could tell when he was lying. The fact that he was making a joke out of it almost confirmed it for her.

  “Me and your moms, really Joy?”

  “Is it true? If it’s a lie, then just tell me it’s a lie.”

  “Come on ma, you’re tripping.”

  “And you’re not answering so I guess that’s my answer.”

  He got quiet and then finally spoke. “It was once. I was high as fuck and your moms kept coming at me. I know that was some foul shit and-”

  Joy balled up her fist and laughed to keep from knocking everything off of her desk. “You know what - it doesn’t matter. I know you’re lying anyway. Once was one time too many and I can’t believe that you have the nerve to sit here and try to justify it. Fuck you and her.”

  Joy ended the call and stared at her phone. She couldn’t believe that this was her life. Everything was unraveling and she just couldn’t seem to get a grip on it. How in the world is that even possible? What kind of mother sleeps with her daughter’s boyfriend?

  Joy opened her desk and placed her phone back in it, before she leaned back and closed her eyes. After a few deep breaths, she made up her mind to go see Logic later. At least he was honest enough to tell her about her mother, instead of laying up with her like Rah did. She was still pissed with him about the argument they had, but she figured they could at least talk it out. For now, she was about to try and get through the rest of her day.

  ***

  Logic looked up and opened his eyes when he heard a knock on his door. He hadn’t remembered falling asleep, but having been up all night the night before, had gotten the best of him and at some point, he dozed off.

  After he stood, he looked down at his wrist to see what time it was, and then made his way to the door figuring it was Joy, because he wasn’t expecting anyone else. She had a key, but he assumed she wasn’t using it because they had been arguing.

  The second he pulled the door open, he got pissed when he laid eyes on Myesha. He stepped out the door and pulled it closed behind him, looking around almost expecting to see Donte.

  “I’m alone,” she said when she realized what he was doing.

  “The fuck you doing here and how do you even know where I live?” Once Logic got out the game, his whole life changed. The nice apartment he had downtown was gone, along with all the other material possessions he owned. He currently had a safe in his closet with a nice chunk of change in it, but he basically lived off the money he made from Intrigued, which was almost nothing.

  “I just know,” she said and smiled.

  “Your nigga know you here?” Logic asked, as his eyes narrowed and focused on her face.

  “I don’t have a nigga as you keep saying. It’s just me,” she said with a smirk.

  “Yeah, aight.”

  “Can I come in?” she asked glancing at his door.

  “Hell no! In fact, you can leave now. I told you, there ain’t shit that I need to say to you.”

  “What about this?” Myesha grabbed Logic and kissed him and for a split second. He almost kissed her back but pushed her away so roughly that she stumbled down the two stairs that led to his apartment.

  She laughed. “Oh, so you really trying to act like you don’t want this anymore?”

  Logic wasn’t focused on Myesha because he was looking out into his parking lot, knowing that Joy might pull up at any time and sure enough, he saw a pearl white BMW pulling out of the entrance of the parking lot to his complex.

  “Fuck,” he yelled and turned to enter his apartment. He knew for sure that Joy had just seen Myesha kiss him and was likely thinking all type of crazy shit right now.

  “Who was that?” she asked trying to enter his apartment behind him.

  “You need to take your ass on before you regret showing up. You wanted the money - well you got that shit, now go back to sucking Donte’s dick because this right here ain't happening ever again, and I put that on everything.”

  Logic slammed his door and went to grab his phone and keys. He called Joy several times but she didn’t answer, so he was about to head to her place. When he was outside of his apartment again, Myesha was gone, so he got in his car to leave but his phone went off. Once he had it in his hand, realizing it wasn’t Joy he didn’t answer, especially since it was an unsaved number. But, they called right back so he gave in and finally answered.

  “What?”

  “Yo, it’s Gotti. I got something for you, can you meet me?”

  “Can it wait, I’m in the middle of something right now?” Logic knew he had to fix the situation with Joy first. The longer he waited, the worse it was going to be.

  “Not really. I think you’ll want to handle this right now,” Gotti said, trying not to say too much. He and his people were holding Fez and Donte. They
figured they would give Logic a little incentive to make his decision about taking over.

  “Yeah, aight. I’m heading that way now.”

  He tried Joy a few more times and she didn’t answer. In fact, now his calls were going straight to voicemail, so she either turned her phone off or was purposely not answering. Logic assumed that Gotti had eyes on him, and right now that was his priority. As much as he knew he had to deal with Joy, he knew he needed to handle Fez first.

  Gotti had given Logic instructions to meet him at an abandoned house that they used when they needed to handle people in private. He felt a rush when he got out of his car, assuming that Gotti must have actually had Fez there. Logic removed his gun out the trunk, attached the silencer and after it was loaded, he secured it on his body before he rounded the house, making his way to a basement entrance that they used. Lil Chris was waiting outside smoking a cigarette, which he finished and then flicked to the ground the second he laid eyes on Logic.

  “What up boss?” Lil Chris said with a grin. He knew that they had Donte and Fez inside and that thanks to Logic, neither of them were about to make it out alive so by default, Logic would once again be his boss.

  “What’s going on yo?” Logic asked curious about the situation.

  With a smug grin, Lil Chris nodded towards the basement entrance. “We got something for you inside, let’s go.”

  He led the way and Logic followed. When they were inside, a smile spread across Logic’s face when he laid eyes on Donte and Fez. They were both on their knees and two of his own so-called loyal soldiers, had guns pressed against the back of their heads. Logic looked around and found Fez and Mike leaning against the wall, also holding guns.

  Donte and Fez both mugged him but kept quiet. Logic could see the fear in their eyes the second they looked at him. They knew that they were about to die.

  “So look,” Gotti removed his body from the wall and started towards Logic, “we all voted and feel like this is what’s best for the team. It’s a win-win. You get some closure and we get to start making money the way we should be.”

  Logic chuckled and then looked around the room before his eyes landed on Donte. “How you feel about that?”

  “Fuck you Logic, and these bitch niggas. If you gone kill me then kill me. I’m not about to sit here and play fucking games with you about it!” Donte yelled.

  Again, Logic laughed. “I’m not gone kill you. I made a promise to my mother that I wouldn’t, but he is.” Logic pointed his gun at Fez who looked back at him confused.

  “Fuck you, nigga, I’m not about to kill my own brother. But I killed yours though,” Fez said with a grin.

  Donte glanced at Fez like he couldn't believe that he let that slip. If they had any chance at all, it was gone now, admitting that they did in fact kill Nard.

  Logic handed his gun to Gotti who was next to him, before he swung on Fez so fast and hard that he felt the bones in his face cracking under his fist with every blow that he delivered. He blacked out and just kept pounding his face until his body was too tired to swing anymore. No one in the room said a word because they knew he needed to get it out of his system.

  After a few minutes, Logic held his hand out and Gotti placed his gun in it. He chambered his first round and put two bullets right in Fez’s head.

  “Are we really gonna kill Donte, too?” Mike asked from across the room.

  Everyone in the room looked up at Mike, who was not regretting the fact that he opened his mouth.

  “You got a problem with that?” Logic asked, looking Mike right in the eye.

  “Nah, I’m good, I just-”

  Gotti raised his gun and shot Mike in the head before he could finish his sentence, and when his body hit the floor, he looked at Logic. “We ain't got time for maybes, that’s how the fuck we ended up here in the first place.”

  Logic shook his head and smiled. “You right.” He looked around the room. “Anybody else got a problem with me taking over?”

  No one said a word, so Logic looked down at Donte who was still on his knees. He placed his gun firmly against the side of his head and then looked down at him, but Donte kept his head low. “I know I promised my moms I wouldn’t kill your bitch ass, but this is one promise that was meant to be broken. I’m sure she’ll get over it.”

  He pulled the trigger and then watched as Donte’s body slumped over and hit the floor. Logic stepped back and looked at Gotti.

  “Get everybody together so we can discuss what’s next. You got this?” Logic asked, pointing to Donte and Fez’s lifeless bodies.

  “Hell yeah I got this,” Gotti smiled and pulled his phone out.

  “I’ll be back in a few hours. Have everybody ready.”

  Logic looked around the basement one last time before he turned to leave. He was officially back. Now he needed to run and check on Joy real quick, before it was time to meet with his team to figure out what was what.

  When Logic pulled up into Joy’s complex, her car wasn’t in the parking lot, so he got out and went to her door just to be sure. He called over and over again, as he stood outside of the door banging on it, but all his calls went straight to voicemail. They were so new that he had no idea where to even begin looking for her. He didn’t have Karma’s number or know where she lived, so for now he couldn’t do a damn thing except be frustrated. Logic walked back to his car and decided to focus on his team. Joy couldn’t hide forever and eventually he’d catch up with her, so as of right now he did the only thing he could do and that was wait.

  -17-

  “Landon, can you give us a minute please?” Karma looked over at her man who was on the sofa with the remote in one hand and a beer in the other.

  “Damn, K, y’all take that shit in the bedroom. I’m in the middle of a game right now,” Landon said without looking up at her. “You know I love you Joy, but I just sat down.” This time he looked up and smiled.

  “You’re so damn rude,” Karma said rolling her eyes at Landon, but she really wanted to smile because he looked sexy as hell to her, sitting there in his sweatpants, no shirt, and snapback pulled down low over his eyes. She decided not to press the issue since at least he was home. Lately, he had been gone so much that she was just glad to see his face.

  “I’m rude because I want to sit in the living room of the house that I pay for? You sound dumb as hell right now, K.”

  Joy laughed because they were forever fighting. “Come on K, it’s not that serious. We can go to your room.” Joy grabbed her best friend by the arm before she could respond to Landon. If they got started, she knew that she would never get the chance to explain everything that was going on, and she needed to talk.

  “Thank you Joy!” Landon yelled after them just to piss Karma off, but Joy was already dragging her up the stairs so that Karma couldn’t respond.

  Once they were in Karma and Landon’s master bedroom, Joy shut the door and then flopped down on the bed where Karma was already sitting.

  “You’re supposed to be on my side, not his Joy,” Karma said and then rolled her eyes at Joy.

  “Girl, I am, but I have more important issues than you arguing with Lan about him leaving the living room.”

  “Girl, you don’t have no damn issues. I got issues. That rude ass man down there is full of hella issues,” Karma said, pointing to the door.

  “I bet he never slept with your mom and you didn’t just catch him kissing some bitch with red hair and oh wait, I bet he never accused you of using him just to satisfy some hidden daddy issues you have.”

  Karma’s mouth dropped open. “Girl, shut the fuck up. You better be lying. I don’t even know where to start with all that.”

  “Exactly, so you don’t have issues but I’ve got enough for both of us.” Joy fell back on the bed, crossed her arms and let them cover her face.

  “Wait, so Logic had sex with Marilyn, how the fuck did that happen?”

  “Not him, Rah,” Joy mumbled from beneath her arms.

  “Wait, wh
at? Why are we even talking about Rah? I mean, if he got with your moms that’s fucked up, but shouldn’t we be talking about Logic?”

  “This is about Logic,” Joy said.

  “How is Rah sleeping with Marilyn about Logic? Ewe, that’s gross Joy.”

  Joy exhaled and then tried to explain. “We had dinner at my parents’ house, and apparently Marilyn thought that it was a good idea to get with Logic. I guess she told him about Rah and anyway, long story short, Marilyn is insane and foul as shit.”

  “So Logic told you that and you believe him?”

  “I did but I didn’t, so I called Rah and he all but admitted it. So there you have it. My man was fucking me and my mother at the same time.”

  Karma sat there for a minute before she laughed. “Joy, that’s messed up… like, you need a shrink kinda messed up, but I guess the good thing is that Logic turned her down.”

  “I’m glad you think that’s funny because it’s really not.”

  “Yeah boo, it kind of is, in a make you want throw up kinda way. So who did you catch kissing some bitch with red hair, Rah or Logic?”

  “Logic.”

  “I thought you guys were good though?” Karma asked.

  “So did I. I mean, we argued about the way things went down at my parents’ house, then he got a call telling him something happened and he left without telling me what was going on, and I was pissed about that but then he sent me a text asking me to come by his place when I got off so that we could talk, and when I pull up, he’s kissing some bitch with red hair. Looked like she was just leaving his apartment. Hell, maybe that’s why he turned Marilyn down. He might already have a side piece and doesn't have room to add one more.”

  Karma laughed because Joy sounded crazy but so serious at the same time. “You know you sound insane right now.”

  “What I know is you better stop laughing at me.”

  “Sorry, but this is some insanity.”

  “Trust me, I know, and I’m right in the middle of it. I’m so over it.”