The Wrong Side Of Love 3: A Hood Love Story

by Charmanie Saquea

  “Definitely, I've never been so happy.” Zeek beamed with happiness.

  After watching Coco give birth, Zeek had a new found respect for her. If he wasn't sure if he loved her before, he knew for a fact that he did now. He would give Coco whatever she wanted because she’d birthed his son. If she wanted the moon and the stars, he would give them to her.

  Chapter Twelve

  Coco felt around for her baby and started to panic when she didn't feel him in the bed with her. She jumped up and looked around the room and that's when she noticed him lying on Zeek's chest who was laid out on the couch in her room. Smiling, she grabbed her phone and snapped a few pictures.

  “So cute,” she cooed.

  “Thank you,” Zeek said as he peeked from under his arm that was covering his eyes.

  “I was definitely talking about my son.” She playfully rolled her eyes.

  Zeek sat up and held his son in his arms. After the signing of his birth certificate, the nurses had taught Zeek how to hold his son properly, bathe him, and wrap him in the receiving blanket the right way. At first, Zeek was scared as hell because his son was so small and fragile that he thought he was going to hurt him but after some assurance, he was ready.

  “Yo, Jacole, on some real shit, though. We gotta have a daughter now. I think we need to get on that shit ASAP,” Zeek said as he stared at his son.

  “What?” Coco laughed. “Did the nurses slip you some of my pain meds or something? Because I know you gotta be high to say some shit like that to me.”

  “I’m dead ass serious. I need like two more of him and I guess I’ll deal with a little version of you.”

  “Zeek, stop talking to me, alright? You sound crazy as hell. This factory is closed down for good. I’m not popping out babies for nobody else. That shit is death.”

  Zeek wasn’t listening to shit Coco was talking about. He had already made up in his mind that as soon as he could, he was going to put another one in her. He didn’t give a damn if she thought she was going to be with Ishmael or not. Her and her pussy would always going to be his in his eyes.

  “He keep sucking on his hand and shit,” Zeek said.

  “Give him here, he probably hungry,” Coco said.

  “Look at my lil nigga, only a day old and already sucking on titties,” Zeek joked.

  “You’re an asshole, give me my child, please.”

  Zeek just laughed as he gave his son to Coco. As soon as her son was in her arms, Coco’s smile was a mile long.

  “Hey, Zeeky, hey, mama’s baby. I thought you were sleep,” Coco cooed as she tried to get him to latch on to her breast.

  “Zeeky? That’s a grown ass man right there, Co. Don’t be calling my son that soft shit.”

  “Zeek, can my son be great without you trying to taint him?” Coco rolled her eyes.

  Zeek sat back and watched Coco feed their child. He could really see himself spending the rest of his life with those two and more children but he had done so much fucked up shit that he was surprised she even put energy into talking into him.

  “Hellooooo,” Coco said as she waved her hand in the air to get his attention.

  “What?” Zeek asked, shaking off his thoughts.

  “I’ve been over here talking to you and you looking dead at me but not hearing nothing I’m saying,” Coco told him.

  “My bad, I was thinking about something,” he told her.

  “Like what?” she asked. “Or do I really want to know?”

  “I’m thinking that I really need to put another one in you,” he told her.

  Coco rolled her eyes as she peeked down at her baby who was sucking his little life away. “Ezekiel, please. You better get your wife to have your baby because I’m not messing with you.”

  “Come the fuck on now, Jacole. Don’t fuck it up okay? We doing good and you wanna set us back,” he complained.

  “No, I’ve been putting this conversation off because every time I bring it up, you throw a bitch fit and get mad but I’m not doing it anymore. Now that my son is here, we need to talk about this because you know me so you know I’m not letting no bitch think she can play mommy to my baby. So let me know something,” Coco said with an evident attitude.

  Zeek got up and moved to Coco’s bed and sat down next to her. He was so close that it looked as if he was about to kiss her.

  “Why you all—”

  “Shut the fuck up!” he said in a low growl. “You want to know what’s going on, right?”

  “Clearly, but you don’t have to be all—”

  Once again Zeek cut Coco off but this time, it was with his lips. Coco was so caught off guard that she didn’t even stop him.

  “I fucking love you, Jacole! Okay? You know I’ve never lied to and always keep it eight more than 92 with you. That shit with Nina don’t mean shit to me. Her pops is my connect and I had to make a deal with his ass in exchange for my freedom. At the last minute, they swindled my ass with that fucking marriage shit and if I didn’t do it, I either would’ve been killed or be spending the rest of my life behind bars. So, that’s what the fuck is going on.”

  Coco sighed heavily. She didn’t understand why Zeek just didn’t tell her that shit from the beginning. She would have still been pissed about the situation but still understanding to the circumstances. “Why you didn’t just say that from jump, Zeek?”

  “Would have mattered, though? Look at the shit you got going on now with that fuck boy.”

  Coco cut her eyes at Zeek as she fixed her hospital gown and burped her baby.

  “Maybe, but what’s the deal with you and Ishy anyways? How do y’all know each other?” she asked.

  “Hell nah, you not about to have me out here confessing all my sins and shit,” Zeek said as he got up.

  “Keep it real with me, Zeek.”

  Zeek sighed. “Okay, so you know how I told you when I first got heavy I the game, I moved my mama and sister out here, right?”

  “Yup.”

  “Well, I used to fly back and forth out here like crazy. I met this chick, she was cool as hell. I fucked with her heavy. Whenever I was in Cali, we would link up and she even flew out to Detroit a couple of times. I wasn’t in love with her or nothing but I had mad love for her. One night we were leaving a club and shit got hectic. Niggas started shooting and she got hit. Come to find out, that was Ishy’s, as you call him, girl,” Zeek explained.

  “So she was playing the both of y’all?” Coco asked.

  “Honestly, I think that nigga was using her to set me up but I really don’t have any proof. Shit was just too suspect to me but I didn’t think too much of it back then. But what nigga don’t notice when his girl go missing for days and sometimes weeks at a time?”

  “Zeek, let me ask you something,” Coco said.

  “What’s up?”

  “Why every time you end up in some shit, it’s because of a bitch or behind a bitch?” Coco asked.

  Zeek just laughed as he ran his hands down his face. “Seem that way, don’t it? That’s why I’m trying to settle down with my baby mama but she on that bullshit.”

  “Boy, gone. I don’t have shit to say to you as long as another bitch got papers on you. If it’s not about Zeeky, that’s it,” Coco let him know.

  Coco meant that from the bottom of her heart. She was done being stupid for Zeek. She’d stayed around and by his side when he was still fucking and dealing with Chanel but she wasn’t going that route this time. She felt if she did, Zeek would never learn to respect her so this time around she was putting her foot down.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jayliah sat in Tariq’s driveway wondering if she should really go in. Against her wishes, Coco put her on a plane back to Michigan with promises that she would be fine and had all the help she needed out in Cali with Zeek’s mother and sisters. Now, here she was, sitting here wondering if this was the right thing for her to be doing.

  Saying to hell with it, she got out of the car and walked up to the house. The closer she
got to the house, the more she could hear loud music booming. Shaking her head, she used her key to let herself in the house. When she walked in, she definitely was not prepared for what she saw. The living room looked a hot ass mess.

  “What the fuck?!” she said as she made her way for the stairs.

  When Jayliah reached Tariq’s room, she thought she was about to pass out. She wasn’t really sure if it was Tariq but it damn sure looked like him. She couldn’t really tell because he looked fucked up. The more she stood there, the angrier she became. Before she knew it, she was taking off like a mad woman.

  “This is what the fuck you been doing, you black bastard?!” Jayliah yelled as she threw blows at him and the bitch that had just been riding his dick.

  “Oh shit!” Tariq yelled once he realized what was going on. “Jay, chill!” he yelled as he tried to block her blows.

  “Fuck you! Let me go!” she yelled as he grabbed her.

  The girl didn’t want any parts of Jayliah so while Tariq was doing his best to hold her, she rushed to get dressed and leave the house. Jayliah fought wildly to get out of Tariq’s arms but he wouldn’t let her go. The more she fought, the tighter he held her.

  “I hate, I hate you! Let me go!” Jayliah yelled.

  “I know,” Tariq said as he buried his face in her neck. “I know.”

  Jayliah couldn’t take it anymore. Even though she didn’t want to, she broke down crying. To say that she was hurt would be an understatement. She didn’t think anything she did to Tariq was worth the pain she was feeling right now. To walk in on him having sex with another woman was the ultimate low.

  When Tariq realized she wasn’t trying to fight him anymore, he let her go. That was a wrong move on his behalf because Jayliah used that opportunity to slap fire from him. The crazy thing about it was Tariq was so numb from all the alcohol he had been consuming over the past few weeks that he didn't feel the pain.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” she asked through the tears.

  Here she was stressing over him and wondering if they could get past this bullshit and be together, but here this nigga was on some other shit. He looked completely different from the Tariq that walked out on her weeks ago and the shit was scaring her.

  “I'm fucked up, Jay. I’m really fucked up,” he slightly slurred.

  Even though Jayliah was honestly hurt, it kind of felt good to know that Tariq was fucked up without her. She hated how he always let his pride get in the way when it came to them. “Take a shower, change those sheets and lay down,” she instructed as she walked out of the room.

  Jayliah went downstairs to get started on cleaning up his house. That was the difference between her and Tariq. No matter how pissed off she was at him, she was still down to help him when he needed it. It was taking everything in her not to go back upstairs and put a bullet in him but she was learning to grow as a person. Ever since she got her son back, she had vowed to work on her anger and that's exactly what she has been doing.

  Hours later, Jayliah had Tariq’s house spotless. She was even nice enough to cook for him because it was evident that he hadn't been eating. She carried a plate of food up to his bedroom along with something for the hangover she was sure he had. She walked into the room to find him snoring like a hog. Kicking the bed, she woke him up.

  “Wake your ass up!” she yelled.

  Tariq looked around the room confused a little before he realized what was going on.

  “Here,” Jayliah said as she gave him the water and Excedrin.

  “You didn't poison me, did you?” Tariq asked seriously as he looked at the food. It looked good but he didn't want to take any chances.

  “Nigga, please. You know that ain't my style. If I wanted you dead, I would have shot you right there in your sleep,” she told him honestly.

  Tariq’s stomach grumbled, letting him know he needed to stop playing and dig in. Not needed any more coaxing, he grabbed the plate and immediately began to stuff his face.

  Jayliah just shook her head at the pitiful sight before here. “A damn shame.”

  Tariq was too busy smashing to pay attention to anything she was saying. Leaving him alone, she went downstairs to call and check on her son. Ever since his fake kidnapping, Jayliah had been scared as hell to let him out of her sight but she realized she couldn't keep him locked up in the house for the rest of his life.

  As soon as they’d gotten back to Michigan, the first thing he wanted to do was go see his dad so he could tell him about his trip to California and give him the souvenirs he’d bought him. Pulling out her phone, she called Quadir.

  “He's fine, Jay,” Quadir answered the phone.

  “What? What you talking about?” Jayliah feigned dumb.

  “Lil Q, come say hi so your mama will know you're still alive,” Quadir called out for Quaid.

  Jayliah just laughed because she knew she was getting on Quadir’s nerves. She didn't care though. On more than one occasion, he had betrayed her trust so he had to work extra hard to make her trust him again. In her opinion, Quadir better just be glad that she was even allowing her son near him after the stunt he pulled with the trifling bitch who brought her into this world.

  “Hey mom, I'm still breathing,” Quaid said into the phone.

  “Okay, baby. Have fun and I'll see you later.” She smiled. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” Quaid said before disconnecting the call.

  Just then, Tariq came down the stairs. He couldn't believe that his house was actually clean. He didn't think Jayliah would clean up for him, especially after the shit they just went through. He was grateful for it, though.

  “Okay, I see you're done so I'm about to head out,” she said as she got up.

  “Wait, where you going?” he asked as he put his plate in the kitchen and came back in the living room with her.

  “Home, duhh.”

  “So that's it, huh?” Tariq asked.

  “You left me, Tariq, or do you not remember?” she said as she walked to the door.

  “You got your fucking tubes tied!” he yelled.

  “I didn't get shit done, dumb ass! That's what I was trying to tell you while you were packing but you decided you wanted to be done, so I let you go! I mean, I didn't really have a choice after you choked me out, now did I, Tariq?” she asked sarcastically.

  “Yea, I did it and under normal circumstances, I would apologize but not this time. I meant to do that shit. You pissed me off so that was the only thing I could do to keep from beating your ass. On another note, just the fact that you even went there with intentions of getting the shit done is enough for me Jayliah,” Tariq told her.

  “You're right and I know that. I realized my fuck ups and tried numerous times to reach out to you and apologize but you let that fucked up pride and ego of yours get in the way. But what you're not going to do is hold over my head something I didn't do. What about you, Tariq? What's this bullshit you been on?” she threw at him.

  Tariq didn't say anything so the two of them just stood there staring each other down. It was no secret that he’d let his pride stop him from doing a lot of things. Like now, it was stopping him from asking her to stay so they could work things out. He wasn't David Ruffin. He was too proud to beg because he didn't know how.

  “So, like I said, that's it?” was the only thing he could say.

  Jayliah dropped her head and went for the engagement ring on her finger. She twisted it off and tried to give it to him but he wouldn't take it. Placing it on the coffee table, Jayliah looked up at him. “I love you, Riq, I really do but I can't and won't be with a man who refuses to fight for what he loves. Until you lose your pride, I think we should just not be together,” she said softly as she walked out the door.

  “Jay…Jayliah!” he called after her but she just kept on walking.

  Even though things didn't go the way she’d planned them, Jayliah knew this was for the better. She was tired of Tariq jumping ship every time they hit a wave then not p
utting forth the effort to fight for the relationship. She’d always felt like the only reason he came back the first time was because of the situation with Quaid and this further confirmed it. She wasn't doubting his love for her but she wasn't sure if they were really meant to be with each other for the rest of their lives. The both of them have too much shit they need to work on.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Nina sat in her hotel room just staring at the walls. For a week straight she had been locked up in this room while Zeek spent time with his son…supposedly. Nina was far from dumb, though. She knew how Coco felt about Zeek. The both of them had her fucked up if they thought this bastard baby was going to bring them back together and they were going to boot her to the curb.

  Nina refused to let that happen. Zeek was hers; him and his whole empire. At first it was just a lust thing for Nina but when her father told her how much Zeek was worth, she immediately fell in love. Since her father had basically cut her off, she had to find someone to take care of her. She thought that by marrying Zeek, legally everything would be hers but what she didn't count on was coming to America to find a bitch pregnant with his child.

  She wasn't about to let that mess up her plans, though. She knew that his child's mother hated her guts and was the reason for their beefing these days. She knew as long as she was around, the bitch wouldn't want anything to do with Zeek and she was going to make sure of that. As soon as they got back to Detroit, Coco wouldn't matter anymore in Nina’s eyes. For now though, she was going to have some fun.

  “Bingo,” Nina said as she got a location on Zeek’s phone.

  Saving the address he was at in her phone, Nina left the room in search of her husband. She wasn't about to play these games with Zeek and Coco. She wanted to make sure the both of them had a clear understand of her spot in Zeek’s life and she wanted Coco to know her position so she could stay in it. She was just his child's mother, nothing more.

  Hailing a cab, Nina gave him the address to where Zeek’s phone said he was. She sat back with a smirk on her face because she couldn't wait to see the look on his face when she popped up on him. Dialing his number, Nina put the phone up to her ear and waited for him to answer. Just as it had been doing before, it just kept ringing until it went to voicemail.