by Mercedes G
When Taysia hopped in the car with me, I turned my radio up and we headed to Applebee’s. Trey Songz voice was blasting through my speakers. I was feeling that shit too. He was saying everything that I wanted to say.
That I fumbled your heart
Should've let go of my past for you
You did everything I asked of you
Drive across the country if I asked you to
But I'm just bad for you
I fumbled your heart
I'm bad news, yeah I'm just bad for you
I'm bad news, I fumbled your heart
Taysia and I somehow locked hands. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. She and I were going to work on a new beginning one step at a time.
Chapter 28
NaTaysia
I wanted to break down and cry listening to Trey Songz “Fumble”. The last time I was in JaMel’s car I was like a mad black woman. I had busted his nose. I was screaming, crying, fighting, and kicking shit, all at the same time. This song made me feel like maybe there was hope between JaMel and I. As long as I was away from Mega this could work. Mega was my freaking weakness. I couldn’t control myself or my feelings whenever I was around him. I was in the process of rebuilding myself, and I didn’t need for him to interrupt that.
We made it to Applebee’s, and found a booth away from everyone in a far corner. We wanted some privacy. The one thing about being pregnant that I hated was that I was constantly back and forth to the restroom. I needed to go ASAP!
“JaMel I gotta pee! You already know what I want if the waitress comes over.”
“Yeah, Shrimp Alfredo with extra shrimp!” he laughed. He knew that was my favorite at Applebee’s.
“Yep!” I stood up and went to use the restroom. It felt like I had been holding this shit since I woke up this morning. I swear when I starting pissing it felt so damn good. My eyes were rolling to the back of my head. I wiped from front to back, pulled my panties up and pulled my dress down. I flushed the toilet with my foot, unlocked the door and opened it.
“Well, well, well!” It was Erica, the bitch that Mega was supposed to marry.
“What the fuck do you want?” I asked with an attitude. Then Simone came out one of the other stalls. I started laughing.
“You know what the fuck I want!” Erica said.
“No the fuck I don’t!” I replied.
“I want Mega bitch!” she said.
“And I want payback!” Simone said as she pulled out a gun. Pow! I felt the bullet rip through my chest. Simone must have been scared because she took off running out of the bathroom, screaming and Erica was right behind her. If Simone would have never ran, that bitch Erica probably would have shot my ass too. I was on the floor bleeding out of control, gasping for air. A bitch couldn’t win for losing. A waiter opened the door and saw me lying in a pool of my own blood, struggling to breathe.
“HEY!!!!! SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE!!!” he yelled.
All I saw was the light. I was getting weaker and weaker. I could literally feel my heart rate slowing down. JaMel ran to my side and that was the last thing I remember.
Chapter 29
JaMel
Everyone at Applebee’s, including me, stopped what we were doing when we heard the sound of a gun go off. Taysia was still in the restroom that was located on opposite side of where we were sitting. As soon as the gun went off, two chicks came running from that direction and out the door. I could’ve sworn one of the chicks looked like Simone. Then I remembered Jay told me that Kira and Taysia damn near beat Simone to death a few months back. I immediately jumped up and ran to the restroom. There was a waiter standing there with the door to the restroom open, yelling for someone to call an ambulance. My heart knew that something was wrong, and I didn’t even want to go inside to witness what I was about to see; but I had no choice. That was my wife in there.
Taysia was laid out on the floor in a pool of blood, taking fast, short breaths trying her best to breathe. She was fighting for her life. Her chest had a small hole in it from where the bullet hit her. Her chest was moving up and down at a rapid pace. Her eyes were slightly opened but looked as if they were about to close any second now.
“Taysia! Stay with me baby!” I had her chin in my hand shaking her head, trying my best to keep her alert. I didn’t know what to do. When her eyes closed I knew I had lost her. The paramedics came rushing in. I watched them tear her dress open so that they could perform their duties on her. She had like this breathing pump in her mouth that someone would squeeze trying to help her breathe. They put her on the stretcher and onto the ambulance. I hopped in right behind them. I was praying the entire drive to the hospital. I watched them call out all types of numbers and codes and shit. I didn’t know what was going on. I sat with my hand in a praying position up to my face. My baby was lifeless. I looked at her hands and they weren’t moving at all. I saw that she still had on her engagement and wedding ring. That made me feel a little better.
Once we made it to Phoebe, we all rushed inside. They pushed her through some double doors in the back and I was told to stay in the waiting room until further notice. I called Kira and then I called Jay. I didn’t want to but I called Mrs. Debra too. I was so fucked up over what just happened that I called MeMe. MeMe even sounded hurt about it. I had no idea where that came from. About twenty minutes later, Mega came walking through the door fast as hell.
“What’s up my man? Is she okay?” Mega said as he dapped me up.
“I’on know man. They took her in the back about forty minutes ago. I ain’t heard shit yet!” I was becoming frustrated.
“I was already in the area when MeMe called and told me what happened. You know I had to stop by to make sure everything’s a’ight,” Mega told me.
“Preciate that,” I replied. Mega and I were the only two in the waiting room when Rock, Kira, Jay, and even MeMe showed up with our baby. I didn’t even speak. I wanted to see what the hell MeMe was thinking.
“MeMe, can I talk to you for a minute.” I grabbed my lil girl from her and started playing with her, as MeMe and I went and sat on the other side of the waiting room.
“I really don’t think it’s best if you be here right now,” I told her.
“JaMel, I didn’t come to start any shit! I’m over you, okay? I was just concerned, and she is JaMelia’s stepmom ya know.” I appreciated MeMe for trying to do the right thing but this shit was just too uncomfortable for me.
About two hours later, the huge double doors that led to the back of emergency room swung open, interrupting everyone’s thoughts and conversations.
“The family of NaTaysia Taylor.” Everybody stood up including MeMe. I walked up to the doctor.
“I’m her husband, JaMel Taylor.” We shook hands and we walked off.
"Hello Mr. Taylor, I’m Dr. Mulore. You're wife had to undergo emergency surgery to stop the severe bleeding. She was hemorrhaging really badly. Luckily, the bullet went through her chest and came out her back missing any vital organs. Mrs. Taylor is a lucky woman. The bullet missed her heart by an inch. Miraculously, the baby is okay as of right now. With the medical history that she possesses, I can’t make any promises that she will go full term but so far so good!"
"Oh God! Thank you so much Dr. Mulore!" I was so happy that I shook his hand again.
"That’s my job Mr. Taylor," he smiled.
"When can we go back and see her?" I asked.
"As soon as we get Mrs. Taylor situated in a room, you'll be able to go back. She's going to be on the Intensive Care Unit Floor for a couple of days for monitoring. She is currently under a lot of medications at the moment, so she may not be fully alert. She'll eventually come around on her own." We shook hands once again and Dr. Mulore went back through the double doors and I walked back towards the waiting room. I still had JaMelia in my arms. I handed her back to MeMe and gave everyone and update on Taysia. Mrs. Debra came barging in putting on a show, causing everyone to focus their attention on her. This lady
was doing the most.
"OH LORD!!!! NOT MY BABY!!!!! PLEASE GOD TELL ME SHE'S OKAY!" I was disgusted by her. I regretted that I had called her. She was in here putting on like NaTaysia was her world, when she knew she could care less about what Taysia was back there going through. I wish I had an Oscar trophy in my hand right now. I would walk right over there and hand it to her in front of everyone. Kira was trying her best to pick Mrs. Debra up from the floor. I wasn’t going to help her. Not when I knew how foul her ass was. When Kira finally was able to lift her from the floor she, sat her down in a chair and was fanning her with a magazine. Jay had walked off to the restroom and when he came back he was acting funny as hell. I pulled him to the side and that's when I noticed cocaine residue on his nose. I see why Mega stop sending Jay to make drops with me. I’m pretty sure he either knew or had heard that Jay was using. I was now making drops with this cat named Lance.
"Man, clean that shit up!" I told him pointing at his nose.
"A'ight bruh! A'ight!" he said as he walked back to the restroom to clean his face.
Chapter 30
Mega
Taysia and I hadn’t talked or seen each other in three months. I was about tired of running behind her. I figured she would eventually come around when the time was right. I was just going to let her get herself together, but it was obvious that she didn’t have it all figured out. She was confused and I didn’t want to make this worse.
I was deep off in some pussy when I got a phone call from MeMe.
"Hello!" I answered. I was out of breath. My lil shorty Brittany was riding the fuck out of my dick. All twelve inches of my dick was ducked off in her tummy. I had met her ‘bout two months ago and I was feeling the fuck out of her. She was twenty-five and she worked at Bank of America. I had met her one day I went in to open another CD at the bank.
“Mega, the hell you doing? Taysia was just shot!” I threw Brittany off of me and jumped up with a wet dick.
“What?!? Oh shit! Where she at now?” I asked.
“She’s at Phoebe.”
“A’ight!” I was about to hang up.
“Mega wait! You can’t go up there!”
“Why not?”
“Um, because my baby daddy… her husband is there! You can’t just go up there like that.” MeMe said.
“MeMe, I’m going to that hospital! JaMel and I are cool. Hell, I’ll just tell him I came to make sure he’s straight.”
“Okay. Well I’m going too.”
“MeMe, the hell you going for? You already done fucked the girl husband and had a baby by him!”
“Taysia and I did have some type of friendship while she was fucking with you! I want to make sure she’s okay Mega.”
“A’ight, whatever. Don’t come up there with no shit MeMe! I hope JaMel make yo ass leave!” I told her and hung up the phone.
Even after JaMel found out that I was Meme’s brother, we still did business with each other. MeMe was a grown ass woman and I had to realize that and let her be. Besides, I felt like JaMel and I were even. He had my lil sister and I had his wife, so I wasn’t sweating that shit no more. As long as he didn’t put his hands on her, I was going to mind my own business
Chapter 31
Kira
When I received that call saying that Taysia had been shot, I felt like my world had been turned upside down. All I could do was pray. Taysia was my first real friend. She was all that I had left in this world as far a family goes.
When JaMel came and told us that Taysia was okay, it felt as if a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I couldn’t do anything at that moment but praise God. Mrs. Debra came in there cutting the damn fool. Sometimes I wondered if the love she claimed to have for Taysia was real or fake. She was really putting on. After JaMel gave us an update on Taysia, everyone pretty much calmed down. I was still skeptical that some shit would soon pop off, because it was just too many of us that had related ties to one another in the same room. JaMel and Mega was over there chopping it up like they had been homies for years. MeMe was here with the baby that she had with Taysia’s husband. My ex, Jay was back and forth to the bathroom the entire time, watching Rock and I like a hawk. I hoped Rock didn’t notice because Rock was like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. I needed to step away real quick. Some shit was liable to pop off at any second and I just didn’t want to witness it is. I could just feel it. Something bad was about to happen.
“Baby, I’ll be back. I’m about to step to the restroom.” My voice was straight hoarse from all the crying and screaming I did on the way to the hospital.
“A’ight cool. I’m about to run to the car to smoke a blunt real quick.”
“Okay.”
I walked down the hall to the bathroom. I was wrecking my brain trying to figure out who could have done this to Taysia. She didn’t have any beef with anyone that I know of. Simone was pretty much my beef, and she wasn’t brave enough to do no shit like this. Even though JaMel said the girl looked like Simone, it was just hard to believe because she was scary as hell.
Once inside the restroom, I went to take care of my business. While I was on the toilet the damn lights went out. Then I heard the door lock. This was some real Friday the 13th shit going on right now.
“HELLO!!” I yelled out. I sounded just like those white chicks in a horror movie. Nobody said anything. I was still standing there with my clothes down. There was a presence in there with me and I could feel it, but they weren’t saying anything. I was so fucking scared my damn knees started shaking. I sat there in the dark for damn near three minutes. I was too scared to move. There was no way in hell I was about to come out of that stall. I found some tissue and wiped my pussy. I pulled up my clothes up and took my cell phone out my back pocket. I was about to call and tell Rock to come and get me the fuck out of this bathroom. Soon as I pressed send, the lights came on. I heard the door unlock, open and close. I was still scared to come out. Then I heard two older white ladies enter the restroom. They were carrying on a conversation. I opened the stall, went to the sink and washed my hands. I exited the restroom quickly. I was still pretty shaken up. When I made it back to the waiting room, JaMel had gone to the back to see Taysia. MeMe didn’t have the baby so he must’ve taken her with him. I hoped that JaMel and Taysia would eventually find happiness whether it was together or apart.
Chapter 32
Erica
Oh my fucking God! I can’t believe this dumb ass bitch Simone ran out the fucking bathroom causing a fucking scene. Not only that, but the dumb bitch didn’t even put the damn silencer on the gun. I knew I should’ve just handled this shit myself. That’s what I get for trying to be fast. Simone had to go. I had to get rid of her ass because if this bitch gets caught she’s going to bring me down with her. Right now the entire city is out searching for us. We had switched cars and she was on the passenger side of my car, crying like a fucking baby.
“SHUT THAT SHIT UP, YOU BIG DUMMY! HOW THE FUCK YOU FORGET TO PUT THE DAMN SILENCER ON THE GUN!” I backhanded her busting her lip.
“I didn’t know how to put the damn thing on that’s why!” she cried. Who the fuck doesn’t know how to put a silencer on a gun? Mega had trained me well.
“Well you should’ve said something! I see why those hoes beat yo ass! The purpose of us killing this bitch was for you to get payback and for me to get Mega back! How the hell can I get Mega back if I’m locked up facing the death penalty?” I backhanded her again. I drove her out to the country where one of Mega’s spots were. He had a huge lake that rested behind his warehouse. I was going to kill this bitch and throw her in it.
“Get the fuck out the car. Let me show you how to put a damn silencer on!” I yelled at her, as I hopped out the car and walked around to the passenger’s side and opened her door. She got out of the car. She watched me put the silencer on.
“Bitch was that hard?” she shook her head no as the tears flowed down her face.
“I know it wasn’t!” PEW!! PEW!! I shot her
twice in the head. She fell to ground. Her eyes were still open. I wrapped her body up in a black sheet that I had in my trunk and drug her around back where the lake was. I threw her body on Mega’s boat and then I jumped on. I started up the boat and drove about two miles out, then pushed her body over in the water. I went back and jumped in my car. I was about to go MIA. Thank God for the 250 stacks that Mega had given me. I had it all in my trunk in a few duffle bags. I needed to go lay low for a while. I bet my face was all over the news right now.
Chapter 33
NaTaysia
I could hear the beeping of the machines. I finally had enough strength to open my eyes, and I knew there was a God. I looked around the hospital room and JaMel was sitting in a rocking chair with the prettiest little girl I had ever seen. He was feeding her a bottle. There was a tube my down my throat so I wasn’t able to talk. I wiggled my fingers and tried to lift my hand. JaMel took the bottle out of her mouth and walked over to where I was. He put the baby over his shoulder and started burping her.
“Hey sweetheart,” JaMel said softly as he rubbed my hair.
“I’m glad you’re okay. Guess what? Our baby is okay as well.” He placed his hand on my stomach. I wanted to smile so badly. I began to cry. Only this time these were tears of Joy. He saw my eyes move towards the baby.
“Taysia, this is my baby girl JaMelia,” he introduced us. She was too cute. Then he told me everything that had happened as I tried my best to remember.