Tales of the Hood

by T K Williams-Nelson

  ***

  The day was here and everything was set. I got hold of a venue twenty minutes away for free because I knew the owner. Basically everything fit into my budget perfectly. Myah cooked all the food and the boys helped fix up the hall and set up the speakers and decks. I pressed my suit and hung it up for later. Myah was trying to figure out what shoes she was going to wear whilst I stole some of the chicken.

  “I saw that!” she said from the living room door. I smiled to myself as I munched, then I went to sit with her. “Are you ready for today?” she asked.

  “Yeah I’m feeling good about it. I hope there’s no mix up because am not feeling to fight on my birthday,” I said, hoping for the best.

  “Everything’s going to be alright don’t worry about it,” Myah assured me.

  “I hope so. Anyway, what did you get me for my birthday missy?” I said, waiting for her to surprise me.

  “You will see at the party, everyone will see it at the party,” she replied sounding shrewd.

  “I have to wait until I reach the party?” I replied, confused as to why she was dragging it out so long.

  “Yes you do,” she said cheerfully. I got up to go meet Crime Scene and see what they were doing.

  “I’ll see you in a bit. I’m just going to see what the boys are saying,” I said, walking through the door.

  “Okay, tell them hi for me.”

  As I made my way to the frontline I couldn’t help express my excitement. “You cool lads?” I asked grinning.

  “Yeah we’re good still. Happy birthday G. What’s the party saying?” asked Jason.

  “It’s cool, everything’s going to plan.”

  “That’s good. Are you on hitting up a couple sales before you go to get ready?”

  “Yeah why not?”

  We swung round the blocks quick then came back and chilled for a while. When I looked at my phone the time was saying 7p.m. and if I wanted to make it to the hall on time I would have had to be at home half an hour ago.

  “Shit! You lot I’m off. Make sure you lot are there on time, safe.”

  “Safe,” they replied.

  When I got in I got a cold cursing from Myah. “Where have you been? The party starts in a couple of hours and you’re no where near ready yet,” she moaned.

  “I was chilling with them lot and just lost track of time, but I’m here now so what’s the problem?”

  She kissed her teeth and went upstairs to do her hair. I lay out all my clothes on my bed and went into the bathroom. Myah had just got in the shower, “Can I join you?” I asked.

  “I’m nearly done,” she replied, completely avoiding the question.

  “Yeah but I want to be with you.”

  She poked her head out from the shower curtain, “Jump in,” she smiled. I got undressed and jumped in the shower swiftly, hugging her curvaceous body.

  “I’m sorry for coming in so late, I just lost track of the time. You know how it is with them lot but I didn’t think you would take it to heart like this,” I said, as I wrapped my arms around her shaped waist.

  “It’s okay. I’m sorry for being so rude. It’s your birthday, you shouldn’t have any stress,” she replied softly. I smiled then kissed her before she came out of the shower and left me shaving my face. When I got dressed I stood in the mirror and tried to interpret the best way to describe my appearance. I looked like a grown man. My mum would have been proud of me. It was coming up to 10 p.m. and we needed to leave soon. I put on my suede shoes and went to see what Myah was doing in the bathroom. When I stepped in I was amazed when she turned around. She looked beautiful. Her hair was slicked up perfectly. Her body was tightly coated in the dress. Her shoes gave her height and a sexy strut.

  “You scrub up nicely,” she laughed, winking at me.

  “I could say the same to you,” I replied, feeling good that she was my girl tonight.

  “The food and drink is already at the hall so all that’s left is for us to get there now,” she said optimistically. I smiled and held out my arm for her to link with me. We walked out to our waiting cab. As we drove off I looked at Myah staring out the window. For some strange reason she was smiling to herself. I wondered why but then let it go. Today was my day and I was going to enjoy it. I stared out the window and smiled to myself also.

  ***

  When we arrived at the hall there were so many people already there. Myah came out the car first to clear a path for me to walk through. It was then that I recognised the true scale of the amount of people I knew. As I stepped out I heard cheers and clapping. I felt like I was a movie star. I waved to everyone that came then walked into the hall. The music was blazing as Jason put his hand up to greet me. There were people dancing in every corner and Crime Scene were harassing the pretty girls as usual. It was all going the way I wanted it to. Many people complimented me on my suit and how the party was going. I went to the front and took the mike off the decks. “I just want to thank everyone for coming to celebrate my birthday with me today. I hope you all enjoy yourself but please let’s just have good vibes because this is meant to be a happy night. Thanks again.”

  I eventually found Myah and asked her for a dance. “Ready to buss a move with your boy?” I grinned.

  “Course, anytime, anywhere,” she grinned back. She stood in front of me and wined up her waistline. She looked so sensual; I couldn’t help but touch her. She bent over and we started grinding to the beat. I didn’t know how she did it but it felt good. After a while I went to get us something to eat from the kitchen. The party was at its peak and I must admit I was glad I had decided to do it. I turned back and Myah looked so twitchy. She’d been acting like that for the last couple days but I left it unsaid because I thought it was excitement about the party, but even now she was here she wasn’t anymore relaxed. As I walked out with two plates in my hand I heard screaming near the door area. I dropped the food and ran to see what was going on. I forcefully pushed through the crowds to see a group of boys dressed in black staring directly at me.

  “So you’re the birthday boy? Guess the surprise is for you then,” the leading man at the front said. When he took of his ski mask I realised it was the same man from south side that drove off and came back; the same ma that shot Donny in front of us.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I yelled baffled.

  Before I got an answer the guys made a dash for me. They got me to the ground and stomped on me repeatedly. Every footstep was like a boulder, crushing me a little bit more. I saw Jason and Jose run and start pulling guys off me. Rico and Joel were fighting to get me out but nothing seemed to work. There were so many I couldn’t understand how this was happening, how they knew I was going to be here. I felt feet plummet on my face and punches pierce through my stomach. I was coughing up blood and desperately trying to break free of the torture I was enduring. I looked up helplessly to see Myah kick off her shoes and run towards the biggest of the gang.

  “Leave him alone! It wasn’t meant to be this bad!” she cried angrily.

  The man turned to her and struck her across her face so hard that she fell to the ground. “You’re the one that wanted this to happen so sit back and don’t fucking get involved” he roared at her.

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was trying to say that Myah - my Myah – had set me up on my own birthday. I refused to believe it as I tensed, taking every blow. She sat on the floor shaking and crying; watching my eyes swell slowly. It was then I realised that it was down to her. This was all down to her. I could see it in her face; the guilt and the shame; the regret and the pain. My thoughts were abruptly stopped by a penetrating pain rapidly going through my thigh and my shoulder. They had stabbed me. Crime Scene got most of the guys off me whilst I saw the others run off as I lay there exhausted; throbbing all over.

  Jason crawled up to me, “Jayden! Jayden are you cool” he said, moving my head. His face looked bruised and so did the others. They came through for me when I needed them most. Things wou
ld have been so much worse without their intervention but I pushed them away and scrambled to my feet. I couldn’t keep my balance unless I dragged the leg I’d been stabbed in. All the guests had run out and the only thing in sight now was blood. My mind was no where near where it should have been and I couldn’t make sense of what had just happened. I limped out into the street, briefly collapsing with every step.

  “Jayden where are you going? Your not in a good state fam,” worried Joel as I got further away. I was going to Vanessa’s because I knew if I stayed there I would kill Myah with the little strength and sense that hadn’t been kicked out of me.

  As I clutched my chest with my agonising arm I heard Myah scream behind me: “I’m sorry!”

  I turned around with a daggering look on my face. Rain began to fall, drenching the both of us in the dead of the night. Her dress shrivelled and her hair fell. Her bare feet were covered in blood as she stood in the cold, shivering. “Why did you do it?” I asked wrathfully. That’s all I wanted to know at that point in time.

  “Because of you; you just don’t love me. All you fucking think about is Vanessa. Did you think I didn’t hear you call me her name? I heard loud and clear, Jayden. I wanted to get you back. I was angry and it built up even more, pretending to be fine with you all this time. But when I saw what they were doing to you I couldn’t take it. I love you,” she said, trying to vindicate her actions.

  I turned away and limped off. I felt like collapsing on the floor but I had to keep going.

  “Wait! Jayden, I’m pregnant,” she said, lowering her voice. I didn’t even face her. I was so indignant and in no fit state of mind for her bullshit. My head was pounding relentlessly and I couldn’t think straight. I raised my hand and put up my middle finger. That’s all she deserved from me. I carried on my forever journey up the road.

  ***

  I used the little strength I had left to knock on the door before my body gave up. I lay on the doorstep when I saw a bright light shine in my eyes. “Jay what happened?” she screamed as she dragged me into the house. I tried to talk but I was so tired. She lay me down on the sofa and ran upstairs. When she came back down she was carrying some warm water and cotton wool with the intention to patch me up. “Who did this to you?” she asked as she cleaned the wounds on my face.

  “It was Myah. She set me up at my own party,” I replied still in disbelief at what I’d just experienced. I flinched as my face began to sting.

  “Don’t worry honey. I have to clean you up properly so you don’t get any infections,” she soothed. I don’t know why but I gave her a broken smile. After all that had happened between us she still cared for me in my time of need. When she unbuttoned my shirt to look at my shoulder she gasped like it was a horror show. “Jay, the tip of the knife is still in your shoulder. If I don’t take it out it’s going to get worse,” she explained sympathetically.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake,” I grumbled. It was just getting worse as the night went on. She washed her fingers in the warm water then dug them into my stab wound to get the tip out. The pain was excruciating. Tears rolled down my face as I tried to pace my breathing. After it was out she tightly wrapped a bandage around it. “They stabbed me in my thigh as well,” I whispered, out of breath.

  She slowly took off my trousers and looked at the damage. “It’s not as bad but it still needs cleaning,” she analysed. She dipped the cotton wool into the water and wiped around it softly. The skin was so tender that with every touch it sent shivers up my spine. She wrapped a bandage tightly around it, then she cleared up and brought me a hooded top that I had given her so long ago. She was my Florence Nightingale, attending to my pain out of the goodness of her heart. “Put that on for tonight and I’ll go round yours to get you some clothes tomorrow,” she said considerately.

  I didn’t know what I would do without her if she wasn’t here. I tried to stand up but the pressure on my leg brought me right back down. I felt hopeless. Vanessa was heavily pregnant and she was the one looking after me. I lay down on the sofa examining the harm the faggots had caused to my body. I didn’t even want to think about Myah. Her damn excuse was because I had called her Vanessa, and instead of talking to me about it she got me rushed on my birthday; so much for loving me. I speculated if what she said about her being pregnant was true. Even if she was, I wouldn’t care because I wasn’t going back to her. Not after this. Vanessa came and lay next to me; her big bump separating our touch.

  “Are you feeling a bit better now? I can’t believe she did that to you, Jay. You see if I wasn’t pregnant I would go round there right now and buss two licks in her face!” she said, sounding genuinely frustrated. I laughed in pain before we both drifted off.

  ***

  I was awoken by a tearing cry. Vanessa was lying on the floor screaming my name. “Jayden the baby’s coming! It’s coming now!” she said, losing breath with every word. I didn’t know what to do. I jumped up in the heat of the moment, forgetting what had happened and sat back down in agony. I tried again this time dragging my wounded leg.

  “I’m going to get help.”

  “No! There’s no time for that you need to stay and help me through this. Please!” she wept. My mind was all over the place. I really didn’t know what to do. I was about to deliver a baby.

  “Look at what’s going on and guide the baby’s body as I push,” she groaned in discomfort.

  I did as she asked and was shocked at what I saw. “I can see the head already, what do I do now?” I asked, starting to hyperventilate. Everything was so overwhelming. She wasn’t paying attention to what I was saying. With every push came another dreadful scream. I held what I saw of the baby in my hands and guided it out slowly. “You’re nearly there. I think you need just one more big push!” I shouted, acting as if I knew what I was on about. With that last push came the worst scream of all and a beautiful baby girl. I smiled as I took off the hooded top I was wearing and wrapped her snug inside. Vanessa sat up, dripping with sweat. There was a long thing still attached to the baby and Vanessa. “What do I do with this?” I asked, perplexed.

  She smiled solemnly at my lack of knowledge. “That’s the umbilical cord, babe. You have to cut it,” she said, taking the baby from my arms. I struggled to the kitchen and got a pair of scissors, and then I cut the string-like thing: the umbilical cord. Seeing Vanessa cradle the tiny baby in her arms made me feel happy that I had brought that little girl in to the world. It felt like I was in a family, even though we weren’t together anymore and the baby wasn’t mine.

  “I think we should call an ambulance just to make sure everything is all right,” I said feeling chuffed.

  “Okay. And by the way, thank you. You were great. If it weren’t for you I probably would still be there trying to get this little cutie out. I owe you big time!” she said, moving her hair from her face.

  “It’s cool. It’s the least I could do after you fixed me up. Plus It’s not everyday I get to deliver a baby,” I beamed sarcastically.

  Within minutes the ambulance came for Vanessa and the baby. One of the paramedics looked at me, “Sir would you like to come. You look a bit beaten up?” he asked politely. I said yeah just so I could be with Vanessa. This was a moment that I wanted to embrace.

  As the ambulance drove off she turned and faced me. “Her name’s going to be Shakira; our baby’s name is going to be Shakira.” I didn’t know how to feel about what she said but this was too much of a proud moment to waste time contemplating. We both smiled.

  Chapter Eight

  We were in the hospital for a few days. They dressed my wounds effectively and made sure that Vanessa and the baby were in a stable condition. I walked to her room to see how she was doing. When I opened the door, Vanessa was smiling with the baby in her arms.

  “How are you feeling, gorgeous?” I said quietly.

  “I’m far from gorgeous at this point in time but I’m feeling good,” she replied. “What about you? Did the doctors stitch up your stab wounds?” she
added.

  “Not even. Only your hair’s a bit mash up and your make up isn’t on” I said bluntly. “And the doctors stitched me up good and proper. They said the healing process is going to take a while but I’ll live” I added.

  She gave a short laugh, “Thanks very much for letting me know. And that’s good because I was worried.”

  I settled myself down slowly in the chair next to the bed. Looking at Shakira in Vanessa’s arms made me feel so proud that I delivered such a lovely thing into the world. How many guys can say they’ve actually done that? “How’s the little one getting on?” I said, playing with her miniature fingers.

  “She’s okay. The nurse said that we would be alright to leave tomorrow so I guess that’s a start. I just wanted to ask you though, what’s going on between us now? Has this changed anything?” she asked curiously.

  “Course it has. You were there for me when I needed you after Myah set me up and I was there for you when you went into labour. I know we have both had a rough time and, even though this baby isn’t mine, I’m still going to be here to look after you both. I need to get out of this gang life for good. Make a fresh start so we can be a proper family. I had a lot of time to think in here and I love you Vanessa, and no matter how much I wanted that to change over time it didn’t,” I profoundly expressed.

  I saw tears run down her face. “I love you too, Jay, and I’m sorry for what I did to you. I just want you back. I’m all for the commitment if you are,” she replied.

  “Well now you have me back. The sooner I get off these streets the sooner we can make a better life for Shakira. It’s just a matter of time,” I smiled. She grabbed my hand and squeezed, then she pulled me closer to kiss me on my forehead. “The doctor said I could leave today so I’m going back to my flat to throw that bitch out and get some clothes to bring back to yours,” I said, feeling my blood start to boil again. Just talking about Myah enraged me.