“Jakiyah, I’m out. Later, Qua,” Ty said, walking into the kitchen.
“Okay. I’m going to call you later. I need to talk to you,” I told him.
I locked the door after Ty left and went back into the kitchen.
Qua grabbed me from behind. “What do you need to talk to me about?” he asked.
“So, you knew what went down at the club last night. So, anyway, Tamia admitted to being the one who killed Andris and to setting Ty up. After she admitted all of that, she made a few more accusations.”
“Like what?” he asked, pulling me into the living room. We both sat down.
“Well, she told German that she’s been sleeping with Ty for their entire relationship,” I told him.
“Are you serious?” he asked.
“Well, that’s not all she said. She also said that you used to be in love with her too, and you’re walking around, acting like you don’t remember her.”
“What? I don’t know that chick,” he said with a disgusted look on his face.
“I have no idea where she says she knows you from and how it came about that you were in love with her, because she never said. She got upset with how things went down, so she blew up Ty’s spot by telling German, and then she lashed out at me, like, ‘Ask your man, Qua, about me, because he used to love me. And had Tamara not fallen in love with him, his ass would be dead too.’”
“I have no idea who she is, and maybe the reason she didn’t say where she knew me from is that she was bullshitting you,” he said, making sense.
I wasn’t about to dwell on what Tamia had said, and to be honest, I believed Qua. Her crazy ass had probably just been trying to get under my skin.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Qua
Jakiyah was staying with her parents until they found out what was going on with Tamia as far as whether she would receive bail or not. So, what that meant for me was that I had to take my ass home, even though I didn’t want to leave. It was getting late, and it didn’t help that her mother kept coming downstairs to make sure Jakiyah didn’t try to sneak me in her room. We both had to work tomorrow, so I wouldn’t have spent the night even if her mom said it was okay. But what I would say was that if Mom Dukes wasn’t walking back and forth, I would have taken Jakiyah upstairs for a quickie.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” Jakiyah whined as she walked me to the door.
“Even if I didn’t have to leave, your security detail was going to make sure that I did,” I said, referring to her mother.
“Yeah, my mom doesn’t play no staying over.” She laughed.
I held on to her, just taking in her scent, really not ready to leave, but I had to get up early for work.
“Let me get out of here before I end up kidnapping your ass,” I told her. I kissed her neck before releasing her.
“I’m going to try to stop by your place after work tomorrow,” she said, then kissed my lips.
“Cool. Just call and let me know if you’re coming through or not, because, tired and all, I might hook something up in the kitchen for you,” I called over my shoulder as I headed to my car.
“I’m coming,” she yelled, laughing, before closing the door.
Once I got home, I ended up talking to Jakiyah until, like, 1:00 a.m., which caused me to be late for work the next morning, so I had to meet the truck en route. My supervisor was pissed, but I didn’t give a fuck, because my reason for being late was well worth it. He should have appreciated the fact that I hadn’t left him hanging by taking days off after that shit happened with Tamara. My mental state had been fucked up then and was still fucked up behind that shit, but I still came to work faithfully. I had to work an hour longer than I normally would have, so I was getting off at 3:00 p.m., instead of my normal quitting time of 2:00 p.m.
After work, I headed to pick up a few things so that I could make dinner, as promised, for Jakiyah. I thought about what Jakiyah had said about Tamia insisting that I used to love her. I was bugging out about it, because I really didn’t know that chick. I knew that people might not believe me, but I could honestly say that I didn’t know her ass from a can of paint, and I was wondering why she would even put me in that mess. Also, her saying that if her sister hadn’t loved me, I would be dead was fucking with me. So, did that mean that Tamara could have killed my ass that night, had she not had feelings for me? That was the way I was taking it.
Jakiyah hit me up to tell me that Tamia was being held without bail. That was a good thing, because that chick had turned out to be fucking crazy and didn’t need to be on nobody’s streets. I was now leaving the grocery store, so I was about to head home and get my chef on. I was going to make steak and potatoes over some yellow rice.
When Jakiyah got to my crib, she had to take over because my ass trying to get my chef on had left. I didn’t know what had happened. I had pulled up a recipe for the steak on Google, but for some reason, the steak wasn’t tender. In fact, it had a rubbery taste to it.
“Go on and clown a nigga, because it’s written all over your face.” I laughed at her trying to hold her laughter in.
“I’m not going to kick my man when he’s down.” She laughed. “But how the hell do you jack up making steak, after talking like you were a master chef?” she asked, still laughing.
“Well, I have to admit that I exaggerated just a little on the chef thing, but don’t a nigga get points for trying? I should have kept it real and just made my specialty,” I told her.
“And what would that specialty be?” She laughed.
“I can make the hell out of some Oodles of Noodles with cut-up hot dogs and my special seasoning,” I said, causing her to really have a laughing fit.
“I need for you to promise that you will never make me your specialty,” she said, shaking her head.
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”
“Nah, I’m good on that, boo,” she said, then walked away to finish what I had started.
Jakiyah slayed dinner, so I did the dishes while she picked a movie that we were going to watch. I had promised her that I would give her a foot massage for saving my dinner, so she was getting a movie and a massage for her services. I had just finished drying the dishes and putting them away when I heard my phone ringing, but before I made it out of the kitchen, Jakiyah was bringing me my ringing phone. I checked the screen. If it was one of my boys, I was going to let the call go to voice mail and get up with him later. I didn’t recognize the number, so I let the shit go to voice mail, but my phone rang again and displayed the same unknown number. I answered because Jakiyah was giving me the side eye.
“Speak,” I said into the phone, annoyed that I was being interrupted.
“Hello. This is Savannah. Can I please speak with Quameek?”
“This is Quameek speaking,” I responded, even more annoyed, since I did not know who this chick was who was calling my phone.
“Quameek, I’m Donovan’s niece, and I’m calling you to inform you that my uncle and your mother were both involved in a car accident this afternoon. Your mother is in surgery right now, as well as my uncle,” she said calmly, but I could tell she was trying not to cry.
“What hospital?” I asked in a panicked voice, alarming Jakiyah, who was now standing by my side.
“They are both here at Springfield Hospital. I know that you live out of town, so I’m going to be here for both of them, along with other family members. So if you can’t make it, I will keep you updated on their condition,” she said, no longer able to hold in her tears. I could hear it in her voice that she was crying.
“Nah, I’m only five hours away, so I will be there. And thank you,” I said. I ended the call, feeling like I was about to lose it.
“What happened?” Jakiyah asked, with a worried look on her face.
“My mom and her dude were in a car accident, so I have to get to Vermont,” I told her as I walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to pack a few things.
“I’m going with
you,” I heard her say, not even realizing that she had followed me upstairs.
I told her that she didn’t have to go with me, being that she had just started working, but she shut me down, telling me she was good, as I wiped at the tears that fell quickly. My mother was my heart, and if anything happened to her, I didn’t know what I would do. So to hear Jakiyah say that she would drop everything to be there with me pulled at a nigga’s heartstrings. Jakiyah drove the five hours to Vermont. I was happy to have her in my life, because I wouldn’t have been able to make the drive alone.
When we got to the hospital, my mother had just gotten out of surgery and was now in recovery. We were allowed to see her. She was heavily sedated, so she was still sleeping. I thanked God that he had spared their lives. My mother had suffered a broken leg, and the surgeon had had to insert rods, and she also had two broken ribs. Her husband had suffered rib and sternum fractures from when the air bag deployed, and he also had a broken arm.
“Babe, the doctor said it will be about an hour before your mom is put in a room. It’s already eleven p.m., so he suggested that we come back tomorrow. He said that she should be more alert, and we can visit her in her own room tomorrow,” Jakiyah said.
I really didn’t want to leave my mom, but it made sense, so I kissed my mom on her cheek, told her that I would be back tomorrow. I didn’t know if she heard me or not, but just in case, I wanted her to know that I was there. On our way out, Donovan’s niece approached me and said she recognized me from the picture at my mom’s house. She was a redbone chick who stood about five-six, weighed around one hundred forty pounds, and had a nice-looking body, which had me off my game for a minute.
“Thank you for calling me and making sure to be here for my mother,” I said, not knowing what else to say after getting stuck with Jakiyah looking at me like she wanted to slap me.
“I’m Jakiyah, his girlfriend, and we both thank you,” she said, letting her presence be known.
“Nice to meet the both of you. It was no problem at all. I’m about to go, but I’ll be back up here tomorrow. My uncle just got to recovery, so not much is needed from me right now,” she said and smiled.
“Same here, so I guess I will see you tomorrow—” I said before being rudely interrupted by Jakiyah.
“We will see you tomorrow,” she said, then pulled me away from Savannah.
“Yo, what was that about?” I asked her once we got to my truck.
“Which part? Do you mean the part where you were drooling all up in her face, like I wasn’t standing there, or the part when you told her ass you would see her tomorrow, like you two were hooking up and not coming to check on your mother and her uncle?” she asked with an attitude.
“Jakiyah, she’s kin to my mother’s husband, which makes her family, so trust, I wasn’t drooling over her,” I lied, because shorty was fine. But I hadn’t been drooling; I’d just been stuck for a minute.
“Well, I couldn’t tell from the way you were looking at her,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“I only have eyes for you, Jakiyah. Now, stop being petty, and let’s not forget why we are here,” I told her, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
We checked into a hotel, and she went and got in the shower. She still had an attitude, but her ass would get over it. It was late, but I called my dad to let him know that I had made it here and to give him an update. He was going to come, but his wife was tripping, so he said for me to just continue to keep him updated on my mom. I didn’t understand women these damn days. They got jealous over the stupidest things.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Jakiyah
As soon as we got checked into the hotel and entered the room, I went to take a shower to calm down, because Qua was going to make me fuck him up. I really didn’t want to act this way, knowing that we were here for his mother, but he was not about to disrespect me by acting like he didn’t see me standing there. I wasn’t going to lie; she was a bad bitch, and that could be the reason why I was in my feelings, but I didn’t care. And that kicking “She’s family” shit . . . He could miss me with that bullshit. She was a female and not his blood family.
When I got out of the shower, I was exhausted, so I got in the bed, and he went to shower. Neither of us said anything to the other. I didn’t even realize how tired I was until I got up the next morning and saw that it was going on 9:00 a.m. I slid out from under the hold Qua had on me and tapped him. Visiting hours started at 10:00 a.m., and I knew that he wanted to be there as soon as they started.
“Qua, wake up.” I tried tapping him again because he hadn’t budged after my first taps.
“I’m up. What time is it?” he said, stretching and getting out of bed. My eyes got lost staring at his morning hard-on as he adjusted his underwear.
Damn, this man was fine, and if we weren’t pressed for time, mad or not, I would have had my mouth wrapped around that hard-on of his. He caught me looking and glanced at me with a smirk on his face. We didn’t have time for foreplay, but we had time for a quickie. So yes, I joined his ass in the shower and let him bless me with all his morning thickness.
Qua’s mother was awake when we got to the hospital. I could tell that she was in a lot of pain, but that didn’t stop the smile that graced her face when she caught sight of Qua.
“Mom, how are you feeling?” he asked her.
“God is good, and I’m thankful to have my life. Besides me having some pain, baby, your mama is good. Thank you, Jesus,” she responded, giving praise to the Lord.
I remember his mother was always preaching the Word when I used to visit, and I saw that much hadn’t changed. Yes, she had a lot to be thankful for, because, like she’d said, she could be dead right now, so I welcomed her praise. But visiting her house back then had annoyed the hell out of me. My mother had had our asses in church three evenings out of the week, and then, when I’d visited his house, it was like being back at church all over again.
“Mom, do you remember Jakiyah?” he asked her.
“Chile, how could I forget Jakiyah? She was always so pleasant to be around,” she said, smiling.
I walked over to her bed to give her a hug, without putting too much of my weight on her, being that her ribs were broken. She was trying to be strong for Qua, because I could see the pain etched on her face. We were there for a good forty-five minutes before that Savannah chick came in with an older gentleman, whom she introduced as her father, Roy. I watched as they all talked among themselves after Savannah let Qua’s mother know that her husband was okay but in a lot of pain, same as her. I sat watching Qua as he laughed with Savannah, and it was making me hotter than the sun on a summer day.
I didn’t know if his mother saw the look on my face or just picked up on my vibe, but whatever her reason was, she pulled me into the conversation by asking me how her son and I had hooked up again. I really didn’t want to talk about what had brought me back to New York, because that meant talking about my sister. Qua, knowing me, changed the topic of the conversation by asking his mom what had caused the accident. That was when I excused myself and went to call Ty to see if everything was good.
“What’s up, Ty?” I asked him when he answered the call.
“Not a damn thing, but how’s Qua’s mom doing?” he asked me.
“She suffered a broken leg and a few broken ribs, but she’s okay.”
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, noticing I wasn’t my normal bubbly self.
“I’m good. I was just calling to make sure all was good.”
“We’re good. And you could have given me the heads-up that German was coming through.”
“Did you two make up?” I asked, hoping they did.
“Yeah, we’re good,” he said. He said no more about it.
“Okay. I’m about to head back, so I’ll give you a call later,” I told him before ending the call.
When I walked back into the room, Roy was the only one there with Qua’s mother, leaving me to wonder where the hell Q
ua and the Savannah chick had gone. I wasn’t going to ask, and I hoped that Roy or Qua’s mother would offer the information, but they didn’t, so you know what I did.
“Where’s Qua?” I asked, feeling annoyed for some reason.
“He and Savannah went to get us some soup. He said to tell you that he would be right back,” Roy said, annoying me more. If Qua told you to tell me, why did I have to ask? I thought.
“Okay. Thank you,” I responded.
I was pissed off, and not because he went to get them some soup, but because he didn’t take me with him. Yes, I remembered his mother, but it had been years, and I didn’t know Roy’s ass, so what made him think that I wanted to be left in the room with them? I should take the car and go back to the hotel, I thought as I sent him a text message.
WHERE ARE YOU?
Up the street, getting Mom some soup. Do you want anything? And what’s up with all the caps? he texted back.
NO, I DON’T.
LOL. I will see you in a minute, he texted me.
Oh, so he thought this shit was funny. I swear, I would have left his ass at the hospital, but I knew that if I did that, Ms. Savannah wouldn’t have a problem giving him a ride. When they walked back into the room, I put my game face on. I wasn’t about to let no female know that I was bothered. As innocent as their interaction might have been, I knew females, and this Savannah person’s body language spoke volumes when she was around my man, and it wasn’t screaming, “We’re family.”
The ride back to the hotel was a quiet one. I didn’t have two words for his ass right now, and he caught it, because he didn’t say anything to me, either. I didn’t want to seem childish and petty. I was neither of the two, but sometimes when you were loving on a man the way I was loving on his ass, it brought out all those traits that were living inside of you, and they came out full force without warning. Jealousy was rearing its ugly head, and I couldn’t for the life of me turn it off—no matter how hard I tried.
He Used to Love Me Page 14