by Kiki Swinson
“Girl, you aren’t gonna believe what I am about to tell you,” she said the moment she opened up her front door to me.
“What’s going on now?” I asked.
Teresa closed the front door behind me, and as we began to walk in the direction of her living room, she grabbed my hand and placed in the center of her stomach. So, I stopped in my tracks and said, “Don’t tell me you’re pregnant.”
Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yep, I sure am.”
“So, what are you going to do?” I wondered.
“I’ma keep it,” she replied with certainty.
When we reached the living room, she sat down and I took a seat next to her. And the whole time, all she was doing was rambling on about how happy she was and that she was sure this baby would bring her and Darren back together. So, I stepped in and said, “Don’t set yourself up to get your feelings hurt.”
“My feelings aren’t going to get hurt,” she replied in a cocky manner.
“They will if you think Darren is going to leave his wife and come back to you because you say you’re pregnant.”
“He ain’t gotta leave this wife. I don’t mind sharing.”
“Girl, you need to wake up and leave that lady’s husband alone. All you really need to be concerned about is that he takes care of that baby.”
“Oh, trust me. He will.”
“So, when are you going to break the news to him?”
“I’ve been trying to call him all morning, but he’s still not accepting my phone calls. So, I left him a message and told him that he needed to call me because it was very important. But, if he doesn’t, I’m going to go right back ’round his house and show the fuck out!”
“And what is that going to solve?”
“All I’m trying to do is get some attention.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Well, you’ll definitely get some attention that way,” I assured her and then I immediately changed the subject. “You got some blow?”
“You know I do,” she said, all excited, as she attempted to retrieve a plastic baggie from her front jean pocket. “I just got this delivered right before you got here.”
“Why is it so brown?”
“That’s because it’s all heroin.”
“I’m not doing that shit by itself,” I protested.
“Stop fretting! I still got a little bit of coke left over from last night.”
“Well, get it. ’Cause, I’m ready to get fucked up!” I announced in a cheery kind of way, taking off my jacket to get a little more comfortable.
Minutes later, Teresa had everything situated on top of the coffee table in front of us. Now from the looks of the bag of dope, and all the items such as the plate, the razor blade, a straw, the cotton balls, the beer bottle cap filled with tap water, the cigarette lighter and the syringe, I could only assume that Teresa was about to do some type of surgery on herself. I was literally baffled by the cigarette lighter and the syringe. So, I asked her, “What is all this shit for?”
“Oh, don’t worry! I ain’t gon’ try to put you on to this. That’s why I placed a straw on the table.”
“So, when did you start shooting up?”
“I’ve been doing it on and off for about two months now. Trust me; it ain’t no biggie.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Yeah, if you don’t know what you’re doing. But, I’ve gotten plenty of practice by doing it with Eugene.”
“So, are you going to mix it?”
“No, ma’am!” she began to say, as I watched her draw the water up into the syringe, “I’m gonna do straight dope this time.”
Curious about what she was going to do next, I watched her next moves very closely as she dumped a small amount of heroin into the other end of the syringe. Next, she shook up the syringe, dissolving all of the drug into the water and then she shot it out of the other end into the bottle top. Seconds later, she picked up the cigarette lighter and lit the bottom of the top with a small flame for about six seconds, and then stuck a small piece of cotton ball into the top. “What’s that cotton for?” I wanted to know.
“I’m using it as a filter, so I won’t pull up any of the trash from the dope or the bottle top into the syringe,” she replied, drawing up all the liquid through the needle. “Here we go,” she continued as she pushed the tip of the needle into a bulging vein located in the crease of her arm.
Seeing the blood trickle back up into the needle scared the hell out of me, so I said, “You’re bleeding!”
“Don’t worry, I’m okay,” she assured me.
Moments later, she injected the blood-mixed drug into her arm. And as it began to travel through her veins, she slowly closed her eyes and laid her head back against the head rest of the sofa. Now, watching her go through this major transition had me at a loss for words. I honestly did not know whether to leave her alone or shake her just to make sure she was still alive. Once I realized that she was off into a zone, I left well enough alone and started on my journey to my next high.
Unlike Teresa, I felt like sniffing the drugs would be a lot safer, which was exactly what I did, and I had a fucking blast once it hit me. And from that point, I drifted off into la-la land.
Teresa and I used up the entire gram of heroin, along with the rest of the coke she had saved from the day before, so we were high as fucking kites. But, by the time our kite started descending, Teresa started ranting and raving and crying her poor little heart out. She was completely falling apart on me as she began to vent about how fucked up her life was. Truthfully speaking, I still had somewhat of a buzz going on, so I wasn’t feeling the fact that she was blowing my high. So, I said, “Hey, can you calm down! You’re fucking up my high!”
“I’m sorry, girl,” she apologized. “But, if I don’t get to talk to Darren by nightfall I am going to go crazy!”
“Girl, you are not going to go crazy.”
“Yes, I am. You have no idea what that man has done to me.” The tears began to fall from her eyes.
“Well, whatever it is, you need to shake it off because he’s not going to come around.”
“We’ll see!” Teresa commented and abruptly got up from the sofa.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“To his house,” she replied, slipping on a pair of sneakers.
“Teresa, please don’t go over there,” I begged her.
“You know what? Fuck that! This nigga has been avoiding me for far too long. And right now, I got some shit I need to get off of my chest.”
Before I could try to talk her out of bum-rushing Darren’s house, she had already grabbed her car keys and was headed out the front door. The last words I heard her say were, “I’ll be right back.”
Realizing how serious she was, I knew I couldn’t just sit here and let her go off on her own and do God knows what. So, I jumped to my feet and followed her. Truth be told, I wanted to make a U-turn and carry my red ass home. But, under the circumstances, I decided against it. Who knew? Maybe I’d be able to talk her out of walking up to his front door and making a fool out of herself.
During the drive I tried several attempts to call her on her cellular phone, but she refused to answer it. So, I since I couldn’t make contact with her this way, I continued to tail her in my car. We ended up in a beautiful upscale neighborhood in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach. The houses there had to be at least $600,000 or better. And to get there, it only took us twenty minutes, so we were there in a flash. Teresa was able to get there a few minutes before me, because of the lead she had on me. So, by the time I was able to park my car directly behind hers, she was already out of the car and on her way up to Darren’s front door. It seemed like everything was going in fast motion and there was no way for me to stop any of it, which seemed like a disadvantage on my part.
Seeing her bang on his door really threw me for a loop, so I reacted by getting out of my car and then I tried to yell out her name. But it was too late. A woman had alr
eady opened up the front door.
Curious to see what this woman looked like, I walked up a little closer and stood at the edge of the driveway as Teresa began to introduce herself. The woman—who I assumed to be Darren’s wife—was very average looking. She stood at about five feet, two inches. So, she was very short. Her hair was straight and long, like mine. She wore it in a straight, layered cut, and I must say that it fit her very well. But, her body frame was in desperate need of an overhaul. She had to be at least ninety pounds soaking wet. It was apparent that homegirl didn’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It also became clear to me that this Darren character had a huge fetish for small women, because Teresa was definitely on the petite side, but she was thicker and she has a shape with hers.
Meanwhile, as they were going through their introduction, two small children, who looked to be around the ages of three and four, peered around their mother’s leg to get a glimpse of who it was she was talking to. Teresa also noticed them peeping at her, so she smiled at them and immediately went back into the reason for her visit. And then all of a sudden, the woman came out onto her porch and closed the screen door behind her. So, Teresa moved back a little to give her some room and that was when the shit hit the fan!
“What the fuck you mean, you’re pregnant by my husband?” I heard the woman say.
“Look Marie,” I heard Teresa say, “I am not trying to upset you.”
“It’s too damn late!” the woman interjected.
“Well, I’m sorry. But, all I want to do is talk to Darren, because he needs to know what’s going on.”
“And I told you he wasn’t here.”
“Well, could you tell him that he needs to get in touch with me?”
“You damn right I’m going to tell him. But, I want to know from you, how long have you and him seeing each other behind my back?”
“It’s been a little over four years.”
“Four years!” I heard Marie scream. “You mean to tell me that you been fucking my husband for four goddamn years? And then, to top it off, your ass is pregnant? How fucking convenient!”
“Look Marie, I’m sorry—” Teresa tried to say, but Marie cut her off in mid sentence.
“Listen, don’t keep telling me you’re sorry! I ain’t trying to hear that bullshit right now. But, what I do want to know is, how far along are you?”
“Well, I just took the pregnancy test this morning, so it’s too early to say. But, I’m guessing I’m about four or five weeks.”
“So, are you planning to keep this baby?”
“Yes, I am.”
With a disgusted look Marie said, “So, what do you think you’re going to get out of this?”
“I’m not looking to get anything. All I want to do is to let him know that I’m pregnant. And from that point, he can decide whether or not he wants to be in this child’s life.”
“Oh, I can tell you right now that he is not going to be in that child’s life, especially when he’s got two right here living at home with him. And how do you know the baby is his, anyway?”
“Because he’s the only man I’ve been sleeping with. I’ve never cheated on him.”
“Cheated on him!” Marie said with rage. “You’re standing here, acting like y’all are exclusive or something. You ain’t his fucking wife! I am! So, don’t be acting like you’re the fucking victim here!”
Before Teresa could get another word in edgewise, Darren drove up out of nowhere in his pearl white and gold trimmed 2007 Lincoln Zephyr. And while he slowly cruised up the driveway, I purposely paid close attention to his facial expression. I must say that whatever he was thinking, it wasn’t nothing nice.
“Oh, good, this bastard is here!” Marie said with her hand posted up on her hip. “Now, we can get all this shit straight!”
“We sho’ can,” Teresa agreed and turned in the direction of the driveway.
I stood back watched in silence, waiting patiently to see what was about to happen next.
“What the hell is going on here?” Darren asked the moment he got out and slammed the door to his car.
“That’s what the fuck I’m trying to figure out!” Marie blurted out.
Darren walked closer to the front porch and Teresa just stood there with the evilest expression she could muster up. She knew that he was going to come out of his bag with something, but she had no idea to what degree it would be. And then out of nowhere he lunged back and smacked the hell out of her.
“Get the hell off of my property!” he demanded.
Completely caught off guard by the sudden impact of his blow, Teresa stumbled a bit until she managed to regain her balance. But before I allowed her to retaliate, I ran over to where they all were standing and said,
“What the hell is wrong with you? You are not supposed to be putting your damn hands on her!”
“You need to mind your fucking business!” he shouted back at me.
“She is my fucking business!” I told him. “Now, put your damn hands on her again and see what happens!”
“Just get off of my damn property before I call the police and get you arrested for trespassing.”
“Well, while you’re at it, tell ’em you smacked your ex-lover in her face, too,” I replied sarcastically.
Frustrated with my remark, he lashed back and said, “Oh, fuck off and get off my property!”
“Come on, Teresa, let’s go,” I said grabbing a hold of her arm. “This shit right here ain’t even worth it.”
“Wait,” Marie interjected. “Before she goes anywhere I need a couple of things cleared up.”
“I ain’t gonna clear up shit! ’Cause I don’t got a motherfucking thing to hide. Now, if you want to ask me some questions after they leave, then I’ll talk to you. Other than that, I ain’t got nothing to say.”
“Look, Darren. I’m sorry, but that’s not about to go down because this lady came all the way over here to tell me that you been fucking with her for over four years now. So, you will stand here, in front of her, and tell me whether the shit is true or not.”
“I told you, I don’t got shit to say.”
“You are going to tell me something!” Marie replied, her voice screeching. “Because she’s saying she’s five weeks pregnant with your baby.”
“She’s lying!” Darren’s voice roared. “It’s not my baby.”
Teresa broke the mold. “It is your baby, you piece of shit! So, why don’t cha go on and tell your wife about the many nights you stayed over my apartment till about two o’clock in the morning?”
“Yeah, Darren, tell me about those nights,” Marie insisted.
Darren stood there frozen solid, not knowing how to respond to Teresa’s comment.
So, Teresa broke the ice and said, “What happened to all that mouth you had? What, you scared to tell your wife about all those times you were trying to get me pregnant? But, I told you I wasn’t ready for that type of commitment, unless you left your wife. And you said, in due time you was.”
“Oh, he did! Huh?” Marie said.
“Yep. He sho’ did. That’s why I kept seeing his no-good ass!”
“What’s wrong, Darren? You don’t have anything to say?” Marie asked him.
“Nope. I sure don’t,” he commented and then he stormed off into the house.
“Go ahead and run, you fucking coward!” Teresa shouted. “But, you ain’t seen the last of me! ’Cause as soon as I have this baby, I am gonna drag your short ass to court for child support. And trust me, I am going to stick you for every dime I can.”
“Come on girl, let’s go,” I told her and grabbed a hold to her arm once again. But, she showed a little resistance. So, I continued by saying, “Look, I know you’re hurt by what he said. But, you are not going to get anything resolved by just standing here. So, come on.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But, I ain’t gon’ be satisfied until I do this,” she replied, and then she reached down on the ground to pick up one of several bricks that was used to lands
cape the flower beds around the front lawn.
Frantically, Marie asked Teresa what she was going to do with the brick. Teresa totally ignored her and rushed over toward Darren’s car and smashed the windshield with as much force as she could muster. It was truly a mind-blowing experience. And the only thing that came to my mind was getting the hell out of there.
“Oh my God! Darren, come here!” Marie yelled at the top of her voice after witnessing Teresa slam the brick through the windshield, shattering the entire glass.
“Come on, girl. We’ve got to go!” I said hysterically.
“No, I’m not going anywhere. I’m gonna wait for that sorry motherfucker to come outside and face me,” Teresa replied in a cocky manner.
“You know what? “You can stand here all you want to. But, I am leaving, because this nigga is crazy! And I am not trying to get into a fist fight with him behind you fucking up his car!” I marched directly to my car.
Before I could get in the driver’s seat really good, Darren came rushing out of his house and headed straight toward Teresa with a loaded .38 revolver. I didn’t know whether to pull off and leave or try to intervene. My mind went totally blank and I became numb. But, my eyes didn’t blink not once as I witnessed him grab her by her throat and jam the barrel of the gun in the right side of her temple.
“Bitch! Do you know that I will kill you behind my shit!” he roared.
“Well, go ’head!” Teresa barked back. “I ain’t got shit to live for anyway.”
“No, Darren, please put the gun down!” his wife pleaded, as she stood next to him. “The kids are watching you from their bedroom windows.
“Nah, fuck that! I’m sick of this dope fiend bitch!”