by Midnite Love
“Do you believe this shit?” JT said to Red. “We finally drag this fool out the house and his punk ass is on Instagram.” He shook his head in disbelief.
“Man get yo’ bitch ass off that damn phone, she ain’t called you,” Craig chimed in.
“Fuck y’all, I told y’all I didn’t want to come,” Kenterris snapped. As far as he was concerned he could have stayed home.
“Well you here now muthafucka, so you may as well make the best of it. You can’t stay at home beating yo’ meat forever. We getting you some ass tonight,” JT replied.
JT’s remarks didn’t warrant a response from Kenterris, instead he gulped down his third shot when it arrived. When he finally did respond he was clearly drunk and slurring his speech.
“I don’t give a fuck what none of y’all niggas say..... my girl... coming back.... I ain’t.... fucking with these nasty hoes...,” he said, pointing at the women at the next table.
“This nigga is faded,” Red laughed, before his attention was drawn to a dime that was on the dance floor.
“Damn she sexy as hell, soon as she steps away from that busta’ ass nigga she dancing with imma holla,” he announced before checking his breath.
“Who you talking ‘bout?” asked Craig.
“That one right there,” he replied, pointing in the direction of the woman.
They all agreed that she was fine as hell. However once Kenterris came to his senses and actually took time to get a good look he realized that the woman on the dance floor was in fact Cheron and she looked amazing!
“Hold up, that’s Cheron,” he slurred.
“Nigga you seeing thangs,” Red laughed.
“Naw, I think he’s right,” Craig chimed in.
Upon closer inspection Red realized that his friends were correct. “Damn! That is her!”
The men were amazed at how different she looked. However, once her identity was confirmed that didn’t stop Red from wanting to pursue her.
“Oh yeah, Imma go holla at Cheron’s fine ass fa sho!” Red announced, rubbing his palms together.
“Nigga, you betta keep my woman’s name out yo mouth!” Kenterris snapped. He staggered to his feet and stood over Red. The nerve of this this fool. This was supposed to be his boy and here he was trying to push up on Cheron right in his face. True enough, they were no longer together but there were still rule to this shit.
Red jumped to his feet and squared off with Kenterris. “Man, get yo drunk ass out of my damn face! You see she don’t want yo ass back!” he yelled back at him over the music.
By now both JT and Craig were standing as well. Both men had a bit too much to drink and tempers were starting to flare. They worked to quickly defuse the situation before it got out of hand.
“Sit the hell down! Both of y’all drunk” JT yelled.
“I ain’t sitting no damn where!” Kenterris hissed. “I’m bout to go get my woman.”
Red waived his hand at the situation and walked off to get another drink while his friends attempted to keep Kenterris at the table.
“Man, you making a scene. Don’t take your crazy over there. Sit down.” Craig tried to hold Kenterris back from leaving the table but he pushed past him and ran out onto the dance floor. JT and Craig stood back in disbelief. They had never seen Kenterris this out of control. It was obvious that Cheron had that nigga sprung.
“Cheron!” Kenterris yelled as he pushed his way through the crowd.
Oh my God, no this fool is not trying to embarrass me, Cheron thought as she spotted Kenterris walking in her direction. Of all the clubs she could have hit tonight she would have to run into him.
“Cheron! Hey, wassup? Aye can I cut in bruh?” Kenterris asked the man Cheron was dancing with.
“Who is this?” the man asked Cheron.
“He’s nobody, don’t worry about him.”
“Nobody Oh that’s what you think of me now, as nobody?” Kenterris rocked back and forth trying to maintain his balance.
“Back off man, you see the lady don’t want to dance with you,” the man replied.
“Fuck you! Nigga this don’t concern you. This is my damn woman!”
By now Cheron was livid. “I am not your woman! You need to go home Kenterris, you acting like a drunk idiot.” With that advised her date that they should leave.
“Yeah its best I push on before I have to catch a case up in here,” he replied.
“Oh you want some of this? We can go right now!” Kenterris yelled.
The dance floor was now clearing and the bouncers were working their way through the crowd with JT and Craig following close behind. Kenterris tried to lung at Cheron’s date but he was too uncoordinated and lost his balance. He fell flat on his face.
Cheron looked on with disgust while her date laughed as the bouncers snatched Kenterris up by his arms and drug him to the exit. By the time Craig, JT and Red had made their way outside Kenterris was sitting on the curb puking his guts out.
“Look at this nigga!” Red laughed. “Come on fool, let’s go home.”
“Not so fast. Ain’t neither one of y’all fools in no shape to drive,” JT announced. “Red, I’ll drive you and Ken home in your car. Craig can follow me. Then we can come back and pick up my ride after we drop these lushes off.”
“Bet,” Craig replied before helping JT get Kenterris and Red in the car.
When they arrived at Kenterris’ house he apologized to Red and JT for fucking their night up.
“It’s all good man,” Red replied, half asleep. “I shouldn’t have tried to step to ya girl...”
JT laughed under his breath at the exchange, “y’all girl scouts finished yet?”
“Man shut the hell up, my head is killing me,” Kenterris replied.
Once he was in the house he passed out on the sofa. When he woke up the next day he was still fully dressed. His mouth was stuck together and his head felt like someone was beating it with a sledge hammer. He had a blurred memory of what had happened the night before. All he remembered was that he saw Cheron and that he’d made complete ass out of himself. If there were even a shred of a chance that he may have been able to get back with Cheron he’d blown it for sure.
Chapter 10 - Starting Over
“Praise God!” Aintee Maven exclaimed at the sound of the good news she had just heard. Not only was Aviare going to be able to walk, he was actually healing at a speedy rate. He had a long road of physical therapy ahead of him but the worst of his battle was behind him. Once the doctor left his room Aviare began to tear up.
“What is it baby? Are you in pain?” Aintee Maven asked.
“I’m sorry Aintee, I didn’t mean to put you through all of this. I should have listed to you and Ace, Y’all were right the whole time,” he replied.
“Hush now chile. This ain’t the time to go beating yourself up. The important thing is you are going to be ok. Anybody who has ever walked God’s green earth has made mistakes,” she assured him. “I just hope you learned from them.”
“Oh I did,” he nodded. “I’m just sorry I let you and Ace down.”
“Baby can you do me a favor and stop bringing that hoodlum’s name up?” Aintee Maven rolled her eyes in disgust. “He’s the reason you are in this situation,”
“What? No he’s not, all Ace ever tried to do was help me.”
“I know you think he’s your friend and you want to take up for him. But I know his type. That man don’t mean you no good. That why I told him to stay away from this hospital and away from you once you get home.”
“Aintee I wish you wouldn’t have done that. I wasn’t running for Ace. I was working for this crooked dude they call Marcellus. Ace tried to warn me that dude was shady but I wasn’t trying to hear it.”
“Yes, that what he said on the way to the hospital but I didn’t listen to him. I thought he was trying to worm his way out of some shit. You mean he was telling the truth?”
“That’s the whole truth. Ace has had my back since day one.”
Aviare went on to tell Maven how Ace looked out for him financially, as well as watching his back while he was in the streets. It soon became evident that not only had Aintee Maven misjudged Ace; he was actually the reason her nephew was alive. Once she got his number from Aviare she called him to the hospital and apologized to him.
“I know I can be a foolish old woman at times but you have to understand this is my baby right here,” Maven said, glancing in Aviare’s direction.
“I understand, you was lashing out and you needed somebody to blame,” Ace replied.
“That’s still no excuse for how I treated you when you were only trying to help. If I’m woman enough to cuss you out, I can be woman enough to admit when I am wrong. I’m sorry Ace. If it weren’t for you my nephew could be dead. And for that I am ever grateful.”
“It’s all good, apology accepted.” He went to shake Maven hand but she pulled him in for a hug instead. Aviare smiled as he watched the whole exchange. He then apologizes to Ace as well for not taking heed to the wisdom he was spitting. Not only was Ace happy that things had worked out the way they did; he promised to help out with Aviare’s hospital bills as well. And although Maven still wasn’t keen on receiving hand outs from drug money, she was grateful for the help.
The only missing piece of the puzzle was Sonnet. As soon as Aviare was awake and fully aware of what was going on, he began asking for her. Maven had to break the bad news to him that no one knew where she was. Ace promised to put a word out in the streets for anyone that may have last seen her.
Chapter 11 - Captain Save A Hoe
“Shit!” Derrick yelled out as he accidentally skinned his knuckle on the inside of his trunk trying to pull the case of canned goods from out of his trunk.
At least three times per year he tried to make it a point of giving back to those less fortunate. His mother and grandmother had always instilled the importance of giving back. Ever since he was a child he was taught that he should help others in need if he had it to give. His mother told him if you do good, good things will come back to you. She set the perfect example by doing for others even when she didn’t have it to give. The business at his shop was booming so this was the perfect opportunity to pay it forward.
After making his way into the local food bank to drop off several cases of dry food and canned goods, he then hopped back in his vehicle and headed towards Skid Row. The area in downtown LA where the United States’ largest homeless population resided. Here he would be passing out cases of bottled water and the dinners he’d picked up from the church.
Sonnet had just got done turning a trick and was headed to the grocery store. $10.00 wasn’t much but it would buy food for a few days for her and Gucci. As luck would have it, she found her with a bum who was trying to claim the pooch as his own. He tried to argue Sonnet down that he had the dog for years, but all that was squashed as soon as she called out Gucci’s name. She ran straight to her owner and leaped into her arms. They were reunited once again.
As far as food was concerned, whatever she got she would have to hide seeing as she didn’t want to share with the rest of the people in her group. Even though that was part of the stipulations for the rest of the group to watch your back and your belongings. Rule number one was sharing anything valuable that they came across. That included food, money, clothing, building supplies, toiletries, etc. Not only was it a way for everyone to thrive the best they could, based on the circumstances; it helped to build trust and form bonds. Royce always said, the stronger the group, the longer they would survive. Not only would there always be food for everyone, even if it was very little; it also meant less chance of theft and attacks on women from druggies, because there was always someone looking out. Sonnet never seemed to grasp the concept of teamwork. Nor the true value of strength in numbers. Despite living in some of the worst conditions she’d ever experienced in her life, she always found a way to be selfish.
Before Sonnet made her way halfway down the row she could hear a loud commotion. Word had gotten out that someone was passing out water and hot meals. Experience told her that she had better make her way to the line and get a meal for herself before they ran out.
Luckily all the noise was coming from two of the homeless people on the row who were trying to pass the word. The crowd was nowhere as big as she expected it to be. In fact there were only about fifteen people that were aware of what was going on so far. However she knew that wouldn’t be the case for long. With that in mind she made her way to the line that was now forming. She could see an African American man that looked to be in his early thirties passing out food containers. When someone walked past her with their box she damn near foamed at the mouth from the scent of roasted chicken, dressing, and candied yams.
“We ‘bout to eat good today Gucci!” she squealed. In her heart she knew that she should have at least given a heads up to Royce and the crew about the meals but it was every man for himself and if they happened to be nowhere around when the gravy train rolled in it was too bad for them. And one thing was for certain she for damn sure wasn’t about to share even a piece of chicken skin off of her plate.
Once she’s made it to the front of the line she patiently waited as the man opened up another box filled with dinners. When he turned around Sonnet thought she would die right where she was standing. It was Derrick! The guy from the car shop around the block from where she use to live. As soon as their eyes locked on each other she knew that he recognized her. The last time he’d seen her she had just left the salon looking like a million bucks, rolling in her Lexus LS 460. Now here she was homeless, with a tooth missing, rolling a buggy in its place. Sonnet was mortified to say the least.
Derrick could believe what he was seeing. He thought that his eyes must be deceiving him. Before he could hand her the box she turned and ran in the opposite direction.
“Sonnet!” Derrick called out to her.
Instead of responding she asked someone to watch her buggy as she quickly picked up Gucci in her arms and took off for the next block. Seeing as Derrick was stuck passing out food; she had a good head start and hopefully she would be able to lose him. Little to her knowledge Derrick had taken the remanding boxes of food and given them to one of the homeless people to pass out. He then got back in his vehicle and drove in the direction that he saw Sonnet running.
Sonnet’s heart thumped in her chest as she raced up and down the city blocks looking for an ample place to hide. She could not believe that her cover had been blown. Even though her reputation was that last thing she should have been worrying about at the time; it was the very thing that drove her to keep pushing forward even though her feet were killing her from the cheap Pay Less sneakers she had on. Not only were they a half a size too small; the soles were so thin she may as well been running on her bare feet. She would just die if word got out about her being homeless. Hopefully she could hide from Derrick long enough for him to give up his search. Thankfully he didn’t know any of her friends, and they didn’t move in the same circles so there was little chance of him telling anyone she knew. Still, there was always a chance that he may come back to that area looking for her again. This meant that she could no longer stay with her group. She would have to seek shelter elsewhere if she wanted to keep her anonymity.
“Sonnet! Stop!” Derrick yelled out from his lowered car window as he attempted to cruise up beside her.
“Fuck!” Sonnet yelled. She just knew she had lost him.
She turned down an alley and came out on the next block. She then ducked into the doorway of a liquor store and attempted to hide. It wasn’t long before she was told no dogs were allows on the premises and was ordered to leave. Before she left out she peeped out of the door to make sure that the coast was clear. She looked up and down both ends of the block and didn’t see any signs of Derrick. No sooner that she had gotten a few feet away from the store he zoomed out of a driveway and cut her off.
“Sonnet, get in!” he yelled.
When sh
e turned to run Derrick put the car in park and took off on foot after her. He walked her down in a matter of seconds and grabbed her by her arm.
“Hey slow down! It’s me Derrick,” he announced.
“Get your fucking hands off of me! I don’t know you!” she yelled, hoping that he would somehow not believe it was actually her.
“No, I’m not letting you go. You look like you need help and I’m not going anywhere,” he replied.
All of Sonnet’s protesting and screaming didn’t do her a bit of good. She wanted to swing on him but seeing as she had Gucci in one arm and he had a firm grip on the other she was shit out of luck. She tried to kick him and missed, which only served to now piss off Derrick.
“Will you chill the fuck out?” he said in a stern voice. Look Sonnet I know it’s you. And I know you know who I am. I don’t want to hurt you I promise, I just want to talk to you and help you. Will you let me do that?”
In spite of Sonnet being embarrassed on a level of epic proportions she realized that despite her appearance Derrick didn’t seems fazed one bit. As a matter of fact he actually seemed to have a genuine concern for her. And she did have to admit after living on the streets for almost a year seeing a familiar face actually felt good. She finally calmed down and agreed to sit with him in his car and talk.
“Sweetheart what happened? How did you end up like this?” Derrick asked.
Sonnet didn’t respond, instead she swallowed the lump in her throat and stared straight ahead.
“Hey look at me,” Derrick said as he gently turned her face to his. “I don’t know what you are going through but just know that you have help now. You’re not in this by yourself.” He wiped away the tears that were now flowing freely from her eyes. ‘Why did you run from me?” he asked.
“Look at me,” she replied. “Why do you think I ran? I was embarrassed. I didn’t want anyone I knew to see me like this. I looking a fucking mess. I bet you were shocked as hell huh?” Sonnet asked and waited as though she knew a hurl of insults were coming next.