He just sat there looking at me, chewing on the toothpick that he now had in his mouth. His stare was intense, causing me to lower my head in shame.
“So, let me ask you a question. You’re sitting here, telling me that the liquor clouded your judgment, causing you to fuck that nigga, right?” he asked, raising his voice, and now I wasn’t so sure he wasn’t going to cause a scene.
“Yes,” I answered meekly.
“Well, why the fuck, when that nigga dropped you off, did you kiss him before getting out of the car? I was missing you, so being that I had to work OT Friday night, I called in the next day to spend some time with you. So you can imagine how fucked up I felt seeing you pull up in his car, and to add insult to injury, you kissed that nigga,” he barked.
“Qua, I’m sorry.”
“You females always claim you want something real, but when it’s right in your face for the taking, you backpedal. Does that shit make any fucking sense?” he asked. “Look, this hooking back up shit is cool, but this isn’t what you want, shorty. What we used to have was real, so I didn’t mind hooking back up. I fucked up, not realizing that people change. So check this. I’m not going to keep you clearly where you don’t want to be.”
“Qua, it’s not like that. Yes, I messed up, but that’s not what I want. I want you. That’s why I’m telling you the truth . . . so we can move on,” I stressed.
“So, it’s that cut and dry, huh? I’m feeling you, but I’m not about to be in no competition with no nigga. I don’t have to be.”
“I’m not asking you to compete with him. It was a mistake, one that I promise will never happen again,” I said, being honest.
“How can you be so sure?” he questioned. “He’s your brother’s best friend, so he’s going to always be around.”
“I know because I can admit that I messed up, and I’m sitting here, telling you. If I had any intentions on fucking him again, I would have just kept it on the low,” I said.
He didn’t respond. He just sat there like he was seriously thinking about whether he should forgive me or not. I started nervously shaking my leg, wondering if this was the end before it even started. I didn’t want to lose him but would respect his decision without any hard feelings. I was also wondering whether, if he didn’t forgive me, I would lash out at him or just get up and walk away, defeated. My emotions were starting to get the best of me as I waited for him to respond, because I hated not knowing, and his staring at me wasn’t helping at all. It was like he was trying to ascertain if I was telling the truth or not about sleeping with German again.
“Yo, what are you eating?” he asked, breaking his silence.
So he was going to make me stress about whether we were going to be together or not. Well, I had to say that he wouldn’t be Qua if he didn’t, so I decided to just go with the flow. Anyway, what other choice did I have?
“Just get me the guava-glazed pollo, but instead of the coconut rice, get me black beans with rice please,” I replied. Anybody who knew me knew that my greedy ass wasn’t about to turn down a meal.
When he got back to the table with the food, I wasted no time digging in. Rather than eating, he sat there and watched me. I wanted to ask why he was staring at me as I ate, but I too was afraid, I thought. He finally started eating his own food, so we just sat and ate in silence. But inside, I was dying. I was thinking that we were having our last meal together. After we finished eating, he cleared the table and then sat back down, with a real serious look on his face.
“Listen, we all make mistakes. I made the mistake of trusting Tamara, just for her to do that foul shit. And then I trusted you, and you turned around and did this foul shit to me. I don’t know if I’m going to regret this, but I’m not ready to lose what I know we had and what we can continue to have. Call me a sucker for love, but I’m all in. But just know that I won’t be a fool for love. A mistake is just that, but trust, don’t let that shit happen again. Because I will not forgive you again.”
“Thank you,” I said and bawled. I tried to stop the tears from falling, but to no avail.
“I said I forgive you,” he joked, wiping my tears. And then he kissed me on my lips.
When I say the tears were falling, they were falling. His very first words after we finished our meal had had me convinced that he was going to kick me to the curb. So, these tears were shocked, happy tears, and I didn’t care how I looked to anyone right now. The onlt thing that mattered was that I didn’t lose him, and it felt like hitting the lottery or some shit. He told me he would call me when he got home, and I was a bit disappointed. I had expected him to tell me to follow him back to his place. He had forgiven me, but I understood that I was still in the doghouse, and I didn’t like it.
When I got home, I was in a funk, so I went upstairs to shower and then got in the bed and turned on the TV, feeling some kind of way, because Qua still hadn’t called. Did he really forgive me? I thought as I flicked through the TV channels, really not caring what was on the damn television. Just as I was about to say fuck it and just go to sleep, my phone alerted me that I had a text message. I hoped it wasn’t German. He was part of the reason I was spending the night alone, instead of with Qua. I grabbed my phone. He had picked the wrong time to text, and his ass was going to get some choice words. But when I opened the text message, the biggest smile formed on my face. I read the text from Qua. In it he told me to open the front door. I ran to the front door, and when I opened it, he was standing there with roses in his hands. My tears fell again.
“Are you going to let me in?” he asked, smiling.
I nodded.
He came in, grabbed me in a bear hug, and held me tight.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered in his ear.
“I know,” he responded, releasing me and handing me the roses.
“Thank you,” I said. Then I took the roses into the kitchen to put them in a vase.
We didn’t sleep together that night, but I was happy that he stayed the night, and he held me in his arms as we slept. That might mean nothing to some, but it meant a lot to me, and I really was thankful that he was so forgiving.
The next morning, Qua and I awoke early. I wanted to visit my mom today but feared that I would run into German, because he and Ty didn’t know how to chill somewhere other than at my mother’s house. I was in no mood to have the morning-after conversation with him, and it wasn’t necessary, because sleeping together would never happen again.
My mother had told me that Tamia was back and had been acting strange, and she thought it had to do with her not knowing how to channel her feelings about losing her sister. I knew exactly how it felt to lose a sister, so I’d be the first to say that there wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t think of Cydney. So I could image what Tamia was going through. Some days I just wanted to sit in a dark room and just cry, so I honestly could understand why she seemed stranger than usual. She probably had a million emotions running through her right now, and she had no idea how to turn them off.
Qua walked back into the bedroom just then, interrupting my thoughts. He was fully dressed. “I’m about to head out. I’ll be back around eight p.m. to pick you up for the movies,” he said.
I didn’t want him to leave, but he said that he needed to handle some business. I wanted to ask him, “What business?” but I didn’t. I just kissed him, told him okay, and followed him downstairs to lock the door behind him. After he left, I heard my phone ringing, so I ran upstairs to get it. I didn’t recognize the number, but I still answered the call.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Hello. Can I speak with Jakiyah Smith?” the caller said.
“This is she. Who’s calling?”
“Hello, Jakiyah. This is Detective James. I got your message, so I did some digging into Andris’s background. Also, we were able to get a partial plate number off the second car, so we are working on that. Hopefully, we should know who the car is registered to by tomorrow. What I want to do is come out tomorrow, a
t about two p.m., to your parents’ home to see if any of these names from Andris’s past are familiar to any of you.”
“Thank you so much for not giving up on my sister’s case.”
“Just doing my job. And I promised your parents that I would find whoever is responsible for your sister’s death. I plan on keeping that promise,” he stated.
“Thanks again, and I will see you tomorrow,” I said, then ended the call.
As soon as I hung up, I called my mother to let her know what the detective had said. I asked her to call Ty and tell him to stop by tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. I prayed that he would leave his sidekick, German, at home.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Tyhiem
A nigga was tired after being up all night, fucking with Chanel. It seemed that ever since I told her that we were exclusive and I was leaving all those other chicks alone, she had been riding my dick every night. Trust, I wasn’t complaining, but she was draining my ass and had me not wanting to do anything else. She had been staying at the crib every night and leaving in the mornings to go home to get ready for work.
“What’s up, Mom?” I asked as I walked into the living room, where her and my pops were sitting, watching TV. “Hey, Pops. You good?”
“I’m good, son. Just waiting on this detective, praying for some good news,” he said.
“No, he didn’t kick my ass. Well, I’m here, so I’ll call you later, sis.” Jakiyah could be heard saying as she walked into the living room.
She said hello to everybody, but I was giving her ass the side eye, because I knew she and German’s ass didn’t go home that night. Her car was still parked when I came to my mom’s house the next morning to drop something off.
“Boy, I’m grown,” she said, giving me the side eye, because she knew exactly why I was giving her that look.
She had better be glad that damn detective knocked on the door right then, because I was going to blow her up right in front of Mom and Pops. I let him in, and we all greeted him as he took a seat on the sofa.
He got right down to business. “Okay, so like I explained to your daughter, Jakiyah, I did some digging into Andris’s background. It seems that last year he started a relationship with a female named Tori Kelly, and according to her, they were still together at his time of death. She also stated that she didn’t know that he was married. I spoke with Andris’s mother, and she confirmed the relationship and the fact that Ms. Kelly knew nothing about Andris being married. She also stated to me that Andris was involved with a woman in his past who was kind of off mentally. She said that when Andris tried to break it off with this woman, she tried to stop him from leaving by attacking him, and she slipped and fell down the stairs, losing her unborn child.”
He went on. “The reason I mention this woman is that your son, Tyhiem, has an ongoing case for the murder of Andris, so maybe he can give this information to his lawyer to look into this woman. She was stalking and harassing his mother about his whereabouts for a month before his death. I don’t have reason to believe that she was involved with my case, but she can very well be questioned in the murder of Andris.” he said. He had been addressing my parents the whole time, but he handed me a piece of paper with information on it after he ripped it out of his notepad.
I looked at the information on the paper. I was shocked and confused at the same time. I clenched my fist, crushing the paper in the process. I could hear my mom, dad, and sister asking me what was wrong, but I ignored them, just as I ignored the detective, who had asked if I knew the woman. The wheels started spinning in my head. Now it was all coming back to me. When I saw her the day that I was arrested at my club, I had just come downstairs from my office to go announce the start of the showcase. It was Tamara, Tamia’s sister, and she was standing by the bathroom. There was no line, but she was just standing there, and at the time, I thought nothing of it. That was why, when I saw her at the bowling alley, I thought she looked familiar, but I hadn’t been able to place her until now. That bitch had probably started flirting with me because she knew I was trying to figure out where I remembered her from.
“Tyhiem!” my mother yelled. She got my attention.
“Mom, I’m good,” I said. I wasn’t going to tell them anything in front of the detective. I tried to sit as calmly as possible as I listened to him finish up.
“So, we don’t have confirmation on the plate number as of yet, but we do have a few leads. I will be in contact with you in a few days,” he stated, causing a look of disappointment to appear on Jakiyah’s and my parents’ faces.
We had thought he was going to at least have the name of the person to whom the car belonged, but he didn’t, and I was ready for him to go so that I could talk to my family. After Jakiyah let him out, she came back and sat down, looking defeated.
“Look at this shit,” I said, handing her the paper. She took a look and gasped.
“What is it?” my mom and pops asked at the same time.
Jakiyah handed the paper to them. They gave it a glance. My mother had a confused look on her face, but my father had the same reaction that I had. Anger.
“The night at the bowling alley, when Tamia introduced me to her sister, she looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t place her. When I saw that slip of paper with Tamia’s name on it, it clicked almost instantly where I had seen Tamara before. The night I was arrested at the club, Tamara was there, standing near the bathroom. I think those bitches set me up.”
“What reason would that chile have to set you up?” my mom asked, pissing Jakiyah off.
“Well, that’s what we’re going to find out,” Jakiyah snapped.
“Well, she’s not going to come out and admit it,” my pops added.
“We have to trap her. So you need to call German. We’re going to need him on this,” Jakiyah said.
My mother still didn’t believe Tamia would do something like murder Andris and set me up. And to be honest, I didn’t know whether it was true, either, but I needed to find out. This case didn’t look to be going in my favor, so if I could clear my name, I was willing to do whatever. Although I hadn’t had any gunpowder on my hands when I was arrested at the club, the district attorney could argue that I had gloves on. The gun was registered in my name, and I had a motive at the time of the murder. Since all the evidence pointed at me, proving my innocence was an uphill climb. Therefore, I was willing to do anything. We all agreed not to talk to anyone about this. As much as my mother cared for Tamia, she cared for me more, so she was on board.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
German
“Are you sure?” I asked Ty as my jaw tightened. I couldn’t believe what he was telling me. I wasn’t upset with him—he was my best friend, and I was riding with him regardless—but I still wanted to be sure.
“G, man, I don’t know. All I know for a fact is what the detective said about her history with dude, how she’s been stalking his mother and quizzing her about his whereabouts, and the fact that her sister was in the club that night. Why she would frame me, I have no idea, but I need you on this,” he stressed.
“What do you need me to do, bro?” I asked him.
“Well, we all know that I don’t have any cameras in my office, but you can have a conversation with her and let on that I put one there months ago and forgot. You could state that the police officers didn’t even notice. On Saturday you can bring her out to the club, after planting the bug in her head that I’m going to look at the camera in the office that I forgot was even there. I will handle it from there,” Ty said, convinced that she was going to take the bait.
I rubbed my temples. This was a lot to take in, but I was rocking with my boy. I was somewhat stressed out. Who the hell was I living with for all these years? She’d lied about having a sister, and she had never told me about Andris being her ex-boyfriend or even about being pregnant before. Her ass had come back acting all crazy and shit, and I didn’t know if it had to do with missing her sister or with the fact that she had lost her job
, but this shit was beginning to be too much. I gave Ty dap and left up out of his mom’s crib to go to the bar. I wanted to get a drink before heading home and putting this plan in motion. I was hoping it worked, because I needed to know the truth.
When I got home, Tamia was sitting on the sofa, watching Mob Wives, so I went and took a seat next to her, looking stressed out. I was getting into acting mode.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, never taking her eyes off the television.
“I’m good. I was just thinking about something,” I said.
“And what is that?” she asked, now giving me her attention because a commercial was showing.
“It’s no big deal, just something that Ty mentioned about his case that has me hoping it works in his favor,” I said.
“Did his lawyer say something that might get him off?” she asked, no longer caring about her show.
“Nah, he just remembered that he installed one of those mini cameras above the inside of his office door and that the police didn’t even notice. He said that after the club closes on Saturday, he was going to take a look at it to see if anything on the tape can prove that he’s innocent, before handing it over to his lawyer,” I told her.
“So why is he just remembering now?” she asked.
“He said Chanel was telling him about her cousin using a nanny cam, and that’s when he remembered the Minicam that he installed behind the I’M THE BOSS sign above the inside door to make sure that none of the employees entered his office when he wasn’t around,” I lied, making up shit off the top of my head.
“I hope it clears him. I like Ty and would hate to see him go down for something he didn’t do,” she said, making me think that maybe she was innocent . . . until she spoke again. “So, are we going to the club on Saturday?”
“Do you want to go? Because I think that Jakiyah and Qua are going to be there, and I don’t want no problems at the club,” I said, trying to convince her to change her mind.
“I want to go, and I’m not thinking about them. I just want to go out and have a good time,” she responded. I hoped she didn’t see the disappointment on my face.
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