“What the hell are you following us for?” Tootie snapped.
“You need to stay in a child’s place little girl. And I’m not following anybody,” Melissa replied.
“Bitch, don’t say shit to my daughter. And you must be following us. Your cart is empty, so you can’t be shopping,” Moonie replied.
“Beat her up like you did the last time Moonie,” Anika said excitedly.
“I don’t see what the hell Mitch sees in you. You can’t even control your own kids,” Melissa said bitterly.
“Maybe not, but I can control this ass whipping that I’m about to give you,” Moonie said walking up on her.
“You touch me, and I guarantee that you’ll be going to jail today. Mitch is the only reason that you didn’t go before,” Melissa promised.
“Ole scary bitch,” Moonie hissed while backing away from her.
“That’s why my daddy left you and moved in with us,” Anika taunted.
“I’m not even surprised by your flip ass mouth. Look at who your mama is. And your daddy might not be there, but he pays my bills faithfully every month,” Melissa replied with a smile.
She was telling half of the truth, but they didn’t need to know that. Getting under Moonie’s skin was her top priority at the moment.
“Girl, you are pathetic to even be entertaining a child. Who gives a damn about him paying your bills? He’s still not there with you like you want him to be,” Moonie chuckled.
“He’s only with you because y’all have kids together. If I wouldn’t have miscarried his baby, he would still be at home with me. That don’t stop him from coming over fucking me every once in a while, though,” Melissa smirked.
“And then he leaves you with a wet ass to come home to his family,” Moonie replied making her mad.
“It’s cool. You can have him for now. You’ll mess up again, and I’ll be waiting with open arms. Being a hoe is in your blood, so you can’t help it,” Melissa replied.
“Maybe you need to get like me. I must be a good hoe to have the nigga that you’re in love with pack up and move out of your house to be with me. And you might want to stack your chips if you know what’s best for you. You’re going to be paying your own bills from now on,” Moonie said as she sauntered away.
She was heated, but she had to keep her composure intact while in Melissa’s presence. She would never let her know that she was affected by some of the things that she said. Mitch paying her rent didn’t sting as much as her saying that they were still sleeping together. Men were some sneaky bastards, so she didn’t put anything passed him. Moonie rushed to the register to pay for her things so that she could get home. She couldn’t wait to confront Mitch about what his ex-girlfriend had told her. Moonie had changed a lot over the past couple of months, but she was still nobody’s fool. As much as she loved Mitch, she had no problem moving on if he wasn’t doing right by her.
***
Mia and Tre walked up to Moonie’s front door and heard the shouting before the door was even opened. They heard Moonie loud and clear, but whoever she was arguing with must have been whispering. Mia opened the door and walked in with Tre following right behind her. Moonie and Mitch were in the kitchen, and she was going off on him.
“The bitch said that you’re still paying her bills,” Moonie yelled with her hand on her hip.
“I’m not paying a damn thing except for my portion of the rent. My name is still on the lease, so I really don’t have a choice. I still give her my half just like I did when I was living there. I’m not trying to ruin my credit behind eight hundred dollars Moonie,” Mitch replied calmly.
“And what miscarriage is she talking about? I’m not about to play these damn games with you. If you still fucking her, then you need to get your shit and move back in with that bitch.”
“I haven’t seen Melissa since Jabari came with me to move my shit out of the house. And I don’t know nothing about no damn miscarriage. She told me she was pregnant when she found out that we were back together. I didn’t believe her, so I showed up one day and asked her take a test in front of me. When she refused, I left, and that’s the last that I heard about her being pregnant. She probably only did that because I left her ass. I can’t believe you coming at me sideways about something that the next bitch said,” Mitch argued.
“Well, believe it,” Moonie huffed. “Obviously, some of it was true since you just confessed to going half on the rent.”
“And I just told you why. It’s cool, though. The lease is up next month, and I’m going to the office to get my name off of it,” Mitch promised.
“You damn right you are, and I’m coming with you to make sure it gets done,” Moonie replied.
Tre just stood there with a smirk on his face once he realized that he was looking at an older version of his girl. Mia got her ways from her mother right on down to the way she rolled her neck and eyes during an argument. Mitch looked like he was ready for the conversation to be over with, and Tre knew exactly how he felt. The only difference was that Mitch didn’t give Moonie her way as much as he did with Mia. Mitch had no problem telling Moonie no or putting her in her place. Tre hadn’t quite mastered that part yet, but he was sure that he would get it one day.
“Hello,” Mia sang since none of them seemed to see her and Tre standing there while they argued.
“What’s up y’all?” Moonie asked while taking a seat next to her man.
Mia and Tre sat in the two empty chairs at the table preparing to have a talk with the two of them. Mia wasn’t nervous to talk to Moonie, so she just came right out and said what she had to say.
“So, you’re going to be a grandma,” Mia said looking at her mother for a reaction.
“You or Jabari?” Moonie asked with a huge smile on her face.
“Me,” Mia answered. “Why would I tell you if Jabari had a baby on the way? That’s his job.”
“How many months are you?”
“Two, my due date is in December,” Mia answered.
“Who’s the daddy? Does he know?” Moonie asked.
“Yeah, I know,” Tre spoke up.
“Get the hell out of here,” Mitch drawled as he looked back and forth between the two of them.
He had his fist up to his mouth like he was in shock about what he’d just learned. Moonie had a blank expression on her face, but she was the first to speak up.
“I’m not even surprised. People have been saying that y’all were messing around for a while now. Von and Lamar are going to kill y’all,” Moonie laughed.
“They already know,” Mia informed her.
“What did they say?” Moonie asked excitedly.
She was more worried about how Von and Lamar felt than she was about her daughter having a baby. That part didn’t seem to bother her at all.
“They didn’t say anything. Their main concern is me going to school and finishing,” Mia shrugged.
“I agree,” Mitch chimed in. “A baby don’t stop nothing unless you let it. You know we’re here if you need us.”
“Thanks, Mitch,” Mia smiled.
“Girl, I can’t wait to throw this baby shower. These bitches gon’ be picking their faces up off of the floor,” Moonie yelled.
“I’m only two months Moonie. It’s too early to be talking about a baby shower.”
“It’s never too early to plan a party honey,” Moonie said with a snap.
“Okay, but how do you feel about being a grandmother?” Mia wanted to know.
“You already know I’m about to be the hottest GlamMa that you’ve ever seen,” Moonie laughed.
“GlamMa?” Tre question.
“Yes baby, glamorous grandma,” Moonie clarified making them all laugh.
It was just like Moonie to make light of a very serious situation. Mia already knew that she wouldn’t be upset, but she didn’t expect her to joke about it. She just kept going on and on about how her grandbaby wasn’t going to want for anything. She was ready to shop, and Mia was nowhere close
to finding out what she was having. Mia felt better since both of their parents knew what was going on. She would call Jabari later, but she wasn’t worried about anybody else. Everybody else would see once she started to show.
Chapter 4
“I can’t believe you and Mia are about to have a damn baby,” Jabari laughed as he, Tre, and Duke sat at the table sipping their drinks. They were at Brandis and Mia’s graduation party relaxing. Mia and Brandis were on the dance floor with Moonie and Nina enjoying their guests.
“Well, believe it, nigga. I can’t wait for my little one to get here,” Tre smiled.
“I guess you and Brandis are next Duke,” Jabari replied.
“Hell no! She on some bullshit about me sleeping with Regina’s nasty ass. She’s been making a nigga strap up like I got a disease or something,” Duke complained.
“Your ex-girlfriend Regina?” Tre asked. “I know you not still fucking her.”
“I haven’t slept with her since before me and Brandis got together. She kept blowing my phone up all day and night, and I blocked her from calling. She ended up calling from another number one day and Brandis answered. That nasty hoe lied and told my girl that I was still fucking her. Brandis claimed she don’t believe her, but obviously she does.”
“That’s messed up,” Jabari said shaking his head.
Jabari looked up right in time to see his boy RJ walking in, but he wasn’t alone. He had Ricky and another one of their friends with him. Jabari couldn’t be mad at RJ for bringing Ricky around. After all, he didn’t know that Mia and Tre were together, but he was about to find out. He was hoping like hell that Ricky didn’t go near Mia, but luck wasn’t on his side. Ricky must have spotted Mia the minute he walked through the door, and he was making his way over to her. He was hoping that Tre kept talking to Duke and didn’t pay attention.
Mia and Brandis were dancing when she felt someone pulling her arm from behind. She turned around and came face to face with Ricky’s smiling mug.
“Don’t touch me!” Mia snapped as she snatched away from him.
“Damn, I didn’t know it was like that,” Ricky said like he was offended.
“Nigga, I haven’t seen or talked to you since February. I even blocked you from calling me, so how did you think it was gon’ be?” Mia asked.
“I was just coming to speak to you, but forget your stuck up ass,” Ricky frowned.
“Boy, go sit your broke ass down,” Brandis commented.
“Broke?” Ricky repeated while reaching into his front pocket pulling out a huge knot of money. “Does this look like something that a broke nigga would have?”
“It does once you move that lonely twenty from blocking all of those singles,” Nina yelled making everybody laugh.
“Keep it moving Ricky. My man is here, and I don’t want him to see you around me,” Mia said.
“Your man? Where was your man when you were laid up on my sofa with your legs bust wide open?” He asked feeling like he was being played.
Just by listening to the comments that her friends had made, Ricky knew that Mia had told them what went down at his house on Valentine’s Day. It was embarrassing enough that she knew about it, but he didn’t need the entire world knowing his business. Mia stopped dancing and looked at him with a scowl on her face. Nina, Moonie, and Brandis were right beside her waiting for something to pop off. Ricky should have kept it moving, but he just had to stop and tell her something. He was clearly outnumbered, but he was too embarrassed to walk away. Mia tried to play him in front of her people, and he wasn’t having that.
“Nigga, you talking like you got the pussy. You might have licked it from front to back, but you never hit it and you never will. Especially not when your girl has to go half with your mama just to keep a roof over your head,” Mia replied angrily.
Ricky walked up on her like he wanted to grab her, but he never got a chance.
“Nigga you must have a death wish!” Tre yelled pushing him back.
Tre, Duke, RJ, and Jabari had walked over right as Ricky pulled out his money, and they heard the entire conversation after that. Ricky stumbled a little from being shoved but caught his balance before he went all the way down. He charged at Tre, but a quick slug to his jaw halted his movements.
“Tre no!” Mia yelled making Von look up and rush over to where they were.
Von had hired security for the party just in case something popped off. He would never have guessed it would be his son in the middle of the commotion. When he saw who it was that Tre was into it with, he immediately knew the reason behind the beef.
“Chill out and go take a walk,” Von said while looking over at Tre.
Ricky was going off, but Jabari and RJ held him back to make sure the small altercation didn’t go any further.
“Let’s go, man,” RJ told Ricky while guiding him to the front door.
Tre roughly grabbed Mia’s hand and damned near dragged her to the sitting area out back. As soon as they were alone he started going in on her.
“You had me under the impression that nothing happened between you and that nigga. Now I find out in front of a crowd of people that you let the nigga eat on you and shit,” Tre yelled angrily.
“I never told you that nothing happened between us. I told you that we never had sex, and we didn’t. And you don’t have room to say shit to me. At least when it happened, you and I were broken up. You fucked London’s nasty ass while we were still together.”
“Why do you have to always bring that shit up? You always say you forgive me, but the minute we get into an argument you bring up my past mistakes.”
“You started this shit. I haven’t told you anything about London since we’ve been back together. Don’t get mad at me. It’s not like you had a halo around your head either,” Mia said as she tried to storm off.
Tre pulled her back and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. The outside lighting and decorations were too beautiful for them to be arguing. It was her graduation party, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her.
“I’m sorry Mia, but if we’re going to make this work we both have to make some changes. We can’t keep living in the past if we plan to have a future together. That’s not going to work.”
“I agree Tre, but you got mad at me for nothing,” Mia replied.
“I know, and I apologize. But it’s nice out here. Do you like this set-up?” Tre asked her.
“Don’t try to change the subject,” Mia laughed.
“I don’t want to argue anymore Mia. We’ve done enough of that in the past. I want us to enjoy each other without all the added drama. Now answer my question. Do you like it out here?” Tre asked again.
The outside almost looked like an entirely different venue. It resembled a huge covered patio with tables and chairs set up for outside events. There was a double spiraled staircase with an opening in the middle that was large enough to fit another table and chairs. It was dark outside, but it was lit up with an array of colorful lights all around. And if that wasn’t enough to make you fall in love, the entire area was surrounded by an endless pool giving the area a tropical island feel.
“I love it out here. We should have had the party out here instead of inside,” Mia said admiring their surroundings.
“You love it enough to get married out here?’ Tre asked her.
“Hell yeah,” Mia said as they both laughed.
Tre pulled out a chair and sat down, pulling Mia down to sit on his lap. They were so busy hugging and kissing that they never even heard Von walking up behind them. Both Mia and Tre jumped when they heard Von laughing. Mia tried to get up, but Tre pulled her back down.
“Don’t try to get up now. I already saw y’all sitting out here swapping spit,” Von chuckled.
“What’s funny?” Tre asked his father.
“Y’all two are funny. I’m not used to seeing y’all like this, but it’s growing on me,” he continued to laugh.
Von thought it was funny that he just now
noticed that Mia and Tre actually made a cute couple. He couldn’t picture it before, but now he wouldn’t want either one of them to be with anybody else.
“Is that lame ass nigga gone yet?” Tre asked.
“Yeah, security made sure he left peacefully. But Lamar and Mr. Warren just came in. That’s why I came looking for you,” Von informed him.
“Come on Mia. I want you to meet him,” Tre said as they got up and followed Von inside.
No sooner than they walked inside a crowd formed around the bar area and Mia heard someone shouting over the music. She quickly recognized the voice as Jabari’s and tried to make her way through the crowd. Tre was holding onto her hand as Von made a path for them to get through. When Mia got closer, she saw what, or rather who had her brother so upset. She went and stood next to Jabari as he had an intense stare off with his ex-best friend Marco.
“What’s up Mia?” Marco asked as he stepped up to give her a hug.
Tre pulled her back and wrapped his arm around her waist before Marco even got close. Von laughed at his son’s possessiveness, but he felt where he was coming from. Mia looked at Tre like he was crazy, but he dared her to hug another man while he was standing right there. He didn’t know who the dude was, but he didn’t have a problem knocking his ass out if he had to.
“I’m trying to see what the fuck this nigga is even doing here,” Jabari said clapping his hands with every word that he spoke.
“C’mon Jabari man. It don’t even have to be all that. We’re grown men, and we should be able to sit down and talk like adults,” Marco reasoned.
“Jabari,” Mia said softly while touching her brother’s hand. “Just hear him out.”
“Mia no! You of all people should know how I feel about that shit. I have to be good with Moonie because she’s my mama. I don’t give a fuck about this nigga or whatever he has to say,” Jabari replied.
“I understand that Jabari, but that happened a long time ago. You need closure in order to move on. C’mon, I’ll go out back with you to talk to him,” Mia offered.
Creepin' 3: A New Orleans Love Story Page 3