No Matter What

by Nicole Jackson

  “How long have you known all this?” Dreka wanted to know.

  Nunnie shrugged. “Long enough.”

  “Whatever, hoe.” Dreka waved her off. “But I hope you clipped that nigga for a watch or something, because now look at you. Back at square one. Only this time you got a baby on your hip. The hell are you gonna do?”

  “So, I aint sitting here, Dreka?” Mix interjected.

  Dreka sighed. “No diss to you, Mix, but my mama always taught me that it was mama’s baby and daddy’s maybe. Yall niggas aint guaranteed to be there. Mamas are always left holding the bag. Just like it was when she was pregnant, and just like it can be if them people catch up with your ass. Nunnie gotta think about her and this baby.”

  Mix clenched his jaw.

  Glancing his way, Nunnie knew that her sister’s words had rubbed him the wrong way, and she felt that it was her time to set the record straight. “Okay, Dreka, let’s get something understood. Yeah, I know how that old tired ass saying goes, but that don’t apply here. I didn’t make Maizun Junior by myself,” she explained, while dropping a bomb on Mix. With so much going on, he hadn’t sat down with Nunnie to really ask her about Maizie’s full name. So, he had no clue that his son had his full name. He was also perplexed as to how this was eased by Levi’s overbearing ass. “And Mix didn’t leave me, while I was pregnant,” she carried on. “I wouldn’t tell him about my pregnancy. So, he didn’t know. Therefore, some of that was about me being in my feelings. Not him refusing to be here for me. Really, I know in my heart that he’d never walk away from his child—”

  “Okay, okay,” Dreka cut her off. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see this shit now. It’s back in full effect, so I’ma shut my damn mouth. My bad. I won’t say another word about yall situation. That’s between you and your man, honey.”

  Nunnie narrowed her eyes. “What’s in full effect?”

  Tink smiled. “Bitch, you know.”

  “Oh, she definitely knows what I’m talking about,” Dreka twisted her neck. “You back in that Mix is here and can’t nobody tell me nothing mode. You know how you can get. So, I’m not about to sit here and waste my breath.”

  Tink nodded. “Yup. And tuh. They got their lil’ baby they kept fucking every second of the day to make too. Oh, you know you can’t tell them nothing now.”

  Even Mix had to laugh at that. “Man, yall watch out. We kept fucking every second of the day to make him, huh?”

  Dreka rolled her eyes. “Girl, please don’t remind me about how this nigga trapped my sister. The only thing good came out of that is my wittle handsome nephew. Him so soft and cuddly. Yes, he is,” she cooed.

  Mix smirked. “I’d love to know how I trapped her, when she’s a whole fucking cowgirl. How I’ma pull out, when she’s the one sitting on it?”

  “Mix,” Nunnie voiced, as she pushed his shoulder.

  “What?” he laughed. “It’s the truth? You don’t like to sit on it?”

  She covered her eyes. “You are so fucking embarrassing, I swear.”

  Dreka crinkled her nose. “Ewe, are you on birth control?”

  Tucking her lips into her mouth, Nunnie shook her head.

  Tink snickered. “This hoe gone be like them Mexican women. Watch what I tell you. Baby after baby.”

  Dreka gazed at Mix. “Bro, why don’t you stay on her ass? Make her ass go to the doctor and get the shot or something. I know you aint trying to have another mouth to feed right about now.”

  Mix licked his lips. “She straight, man. Whatever it’s gone be it’s gone be.”

  Dreka pursed her lips. “Umph.”

  “Yeah, anyway, Dreka,” Nunnie spoke up. “I need you to find us a apartment like yesterday.”

  Dreka scratched her scalp. “I mean, I had one all ready to move in. It’s a two bedroom that this girl reserved but fuck her. The problem is I can probably only help with the rent maybe once or twice. And the rent is like 1200 for a little two-story townhouse.”

  “Okay, when is the earliest we can move in?” Nunnie questioned eagerly.

  “Shit, maybe in like two three days.”

  “Alright, well, let’s do it.”

  “You sure, Nunnie?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  Shaking his head, Mix stood up with their baby in his arms. “Come here, Nunu. Let me rap with you, right quick.”

  Nunnie nodded, before standing up as well.

  “Where the bathroom at?” he spoke so low that only she could hear him.

  “This way,” she answered, before guiding him to the bathroom. After they both stepped inside, he closed the door behind them. Leaning up against the counter, she gazed up at him. “What’s up?”

  He glowered down at her. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  “What chu mean?”

  “I’m saying, you making plan after plan without cluing me in. First it was the shit back at that nigga’s house and now this. The fuck is going on with you?”

  “Mix, I didn’t know that you’d have a problem with me trying to make sure that our grown asses wasn’t crashing on other people’s couches with a whole damn baby. Excuse me for trying to get shit done and not wasting time.”

  “Man, look, wanting to get out of other people’s shit is cool. That should be on the agenda, but you can’t just hop off the porch too soon. You’ll fuck around and fall flat on your fucking face. You haven’t mentioned nothing about a legitimate plan. You just can’t go out into the world accumulating bills with no means to pay them bills. That just aint smart. How about you lock down a job first? Part-time a least. And I’ma go out here and flip this money I got. Make some shit shake. Give us a few guarantees, before we leave here.”

  She frowned. “Flip some money how? If you talking about going out in them streets while you still have a warrant out for your arrest, then I aint trying to hear it. That will not be happening. Nope. You gon sit your ass in the house with me and your son, until we can get you a non-arrest bond or something.”

  “And Nunu, how the fuck can we do that with no fucking income? My stash will have to be tapped into. We can’t just spend without anything coming in.”

  “Mix—”

  “Nunnie!” Dreka screamed through the door, immediately alarming them both.

  “What’s up?” Nunnie responded.

  “Them fucking laws is everywhere, man,” Dreka cried. “They got fucking guns at the front door…they’re here for Mix.”

  Nunnie’s heart dropped to her toes. “What?”

  “Somebody had to tell them that he was here. They caught Tink coming back from her car, and she tried to stall them at the door. That’s how I was able to come back here and tell yall. I know it’s just a matter of time, before they try to make their way in here.”

  Mix closed his eyes tightly. “Fuck.”

  “Nooo!” Wrapping her arms tightly around him and their baby, Nunnie wept. “Every time we get a little taste,” she whispered. “Something or somebody tries to snatch it away. But this time we aint gon let the bullshit get in the way. I got you no matter what. I promise to God, Maizun. I put that on everything I love,” her lips quivered.

  He nodded, knowing in his heart that she meant it. “I love yall, you know that right?”

  She nodded.

  “And that’s why I gotta walk out there. I can’t put you and him in harm’s way.”

  She sniveled, as she released him, and grabbed the baby. “Okay.”

  Leaning forward, he kissed her one last time. “My money is tucked underneath the spare in my trunk.”

  “Okay.”

  Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Carrying Maizie, Nunnie was right behind him, as he traveled through the apartment and up to the front door. Dreka was now standing in the doorway, still attempting to hold off the officers, since they didn’t seem to have a warrant to enter the apartment, or at least hadn’t shown it to her yet.

  “Ma’am, I assure you that we do have a warrant to enter the premi
ses,” one white officer insisted. “And if you don’t allow us to enter, we will be forced to—”

  “All that won’t be necessary,” Mix spoke up. “Yall looking for me? Well, here I am.” He stepped up behind Dreka.

  Dreka moved aside and allowed Mix to cross the threshold.

  “Put your hands behind your back!” one overzealous officer shouted, as he aimed his gun.

  Another cop quickly grabbed Mix, and roughly slapped handcuffs on his wrists.

  “Damn, you aint gotta handle him like that,” Tink fussed.

  Nunnie stepped outside, as the police pushed Mix up against a wall and patted him down. Swallowing hard, she had to take a deep breath, as this all felt like a bad dream. About ten officers had come to take in one man. They all wore tactical gear like they were preparing for war. So, of course all eyes were on them in the otherwise quiet complex.

  Absently, Nunnie peered around into the courtyard of the complex, as a few nosy spectators gathered around. Amongst that crowd was a very familiar face.

  “What the fuck?” she mumbled, as she noticed Levi standing there proudly with a snide grin on his face.

  Tink squinted. “Nunnie, is that Levi standing over there?”

  She gritted. “Yeah, that’s his bitch ass.”

  After searching Mix, the police escorted him over to a patrol car. Of course, Nunnie followed him, until he was safely inside the car, ensuring that he was treated justly, especially with him being a young black man in police custody. During their stroll, Levi went out of his way to speak.

  “Aw, Mix, my man. As soon as I found out that you had a warrant out for your arrest, I made sure that the cops knew exactly where to pick you up from. Thank me later,” Levi winked. “Good luck with that bond, especially with those new assault charges attached to it.”

  Mix’s blood was boiling, but clearly there was nothing he could do about it, as he was carted off to jail. Nunnie on the other hand switched back in Levi’s direction, after the police pulled off with Mix in the back of the patrol car.

  “What the fuck is your snitching ass still doing out here?” she asked him.

  Tauntingly, he smiled from ear to ear. “I’m just making sure that your sperm donor is where he’s supposed to be. Now, let’s see how long it will be before you come crawling back, begging for me to take you and his responsibility back.”

  Nunnie screwed her face up. “Nigga, I wouldn’t dare even if you was the last pussy on earth! Fuck you, your money, and that fucking weak ass stroke! Ion want it. Get that through your fucking head. Go buy another bitch. You can’t afford me.”

  And before he could utter another word, she left him where he was standing, stewing in his own hateful juices.

  Chapter 21

  Doing a complete turn around was the last thing Mix thought that he’d be doing, especially after he learned that he’d need a total of about thirty racks to get released from the county jail. Hell, at this point, he didn’t even have half of that, but somehow his name had been called, and he’d been told that his bond was posted. So, now he was headed out of the releasing building, just as confused as ever.

  Standing on the sidewalk, he powered his phone on, preparing to call Nunnie.

  “Maizun!” he heard his name shouted out.

  Lifting his head, Mix spotted Nunnie parked further down in his car.

  “Boy, come on here!” she insisted. “It’s cold out here, and this air is getting on my baby.”

  Making his way down the sidewalk, Mix tried his mightiest not to blush. Chuckling to himself, he hopped into the car on the passenger’s side. “What’s up—” he got out, before she savagely attacked him.

  Holding his face with both hands, Nunnie tongued him down, before eventually releasing him. “Now, what were you saying?”

  He laughed again. “I was saying, would you happen to know how the hell I got up out of there?”

  “Oh, yeah,” she nodded. “I bonded you out.”

  He squinted. “But how?”

  “Hmm,” she placed a finger to her chin. “Let me see. I paid the bondsmen thirty thousand and they released you.”

  He cut his eyes at her. “Girl, quit playing with me, alright. The shit stops today. Real g-shit. Now, where the fuck did you get that kind of money from?”

  Releasing a sigh, she reached into the backseat, and grabbed Maizie’s diaper bag. Unzipping it, she opened it up. “See.”

  Mix peered into the bag and saw nothing but stacks of cash. “What the fuck?” he mumbled, as he thumbed through the money. “Where did you get this from?”

  “I—” she got out, just as her cell rang. Glancing at her phone’s screen she saw that it was Levi calling. With nothing to hide, she answered the call on Bluetooth. “Yeah?”

  “Hey, look, I’ma get straight to the point,” Levi chided, as his voice wafted through the car. “I have a large sum of money missing from my safe, and I know you took it. And I’m giving you two hours to return the money, before the cops come to your sister’s apartment to haul you off to jail with your boyfriend.”

  “I didn’t take anything,” Nunnie claimed.

  “Naveriah, please stop. I know that it was you. It had to be you, and charges will be pressed.”

  “Nah, you got me fucked up. I didn’t take shit. And how much money is missing, anyway?”

  “Umm, I know it’s at least 50 thousand.”

  She giggled. “That’s sad.”

  “What’s so fucking funny? I amuse you?” he snapped.

  “Yeah, it’s funny. Apparently, you do so much scheming that you’ve gotten sloppy. Going around collecting money without even counting it. Them people trusting you to launder their money, and you didn’t even bother to count it before you threw it in that safe. You didn’t have close to 50k in there.”

  “Launder money? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You’ve been cleaning your boys’ money every month, and then been making me keep the books on the shit. Only you thought that I was too stupid to realize what was going on, but I been up on it. I downloaded a app on your phone and captured several of those conversations. I made sure to send all that shit to myself that morning before I left. It’s all downloaded on your phone, and it’s now deleted, so it can be presumed that you recorded it, therefore it can be used in court. So, go ahead and call the police. Report how I stole over 80k from you. Let’s see if that shit will make sense. Better yet, I want you to prove that I did the shit.”

  Levi abruptly ended the call.

  Mix shook his head. “Man, back up, and get me away from this muthafucka.”

  Nunnie put the car in reverse. “Are you mad?”

  He shrugged. “Ion know how to feel.”

  She pulled away from the jail. “Why is that?”

  “Cause…who the fuck wants to be locked up, facing time, without a hope? So, yeah, I wanted to get out of that bitch. But no, if you would’ve told me that you was gonna pull this stunt to get the job done, I probably would’ve told you to chill out. Let me handle it. Not saying that we couldn’t have clipped that nigga, but it could’ve been handled in a way that kept your hands clean. But now you’re completely exposed. And that shit don’t sit right with me.”

  “Bae, I totally get what you’re saying, but I saw an opportunity, so I took it. And just imagine if I hadn’t. You’d be locked up, and I’d be scraping up our last to get you out. And our problems wouldn’t end there. The bond would’ve taken every penny you and me had put together, leaving nothing left to move or anything else. Let’s not forget that you still need a lawyer. So, as much as Levi is going to be a problem now, it was all worth it in my eyes. I just bought your freedom back. You aint gotta hide no more, Maizun. You can go back to the hood freely. Aint no target on your back. You can fight your case on the streets, without looking over your shoulders, and I’d do anything to give you that kind of peace of mind. So, fuck Levi.”

  After hearing her speak so pr
ofoundly on his behalf, he couldn’t argue with that. In no shape or form. So gradually, a smile eased onto Mix’s face. “Yeah, you right. Fuck that nigga. His loss is our come-up.”

  ***

  “I wasn’t expecting this place to be so big,” Nunnie admitted, as she glimpsed around the empty townhouse.

  Mix popped her ass. “Too much space?”

  She quickly shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m not saying that. It’s perfect. I wouldn’t care if it was two feet. It’s ours. For us. You know?”

  He nodded. “I feel you.” he stared at her backside. “I can get your booty in peace now.”

  “Boy,” she gushed. “Go’on with that.”

  He rubbed her soft butt. “Quit fronting. You know you like it. Let’s go break the carpet in back in the room.”

  “Uh, the hell you say,” Dreka spoke up. “The least you nasty muthafuckas can do is wait ‘til your company leaves.”

  “Exactly,” Tink concurred.

  “Oh, fuck you haters,” Nunnie stuck her tongue out.

  “So, yall sleeping on the floor tonight?” Tink quizzed curiously.

  “Nah,” Dreka shook her head. “If anything, I’ll get them some air mattresses for the time being, until I make something shake.”

  Nunnie rolled her eyes. “Anyway. Yall riding to the store with me, so I can grab a few things?”

  Dreka and Tink both shrugged. “Cool,” they answered in unison.

  Just three hours later Nunnie, had purchased a houseful of furniture. Standing the middle of Gallery furniture, she texted Mix, letting him know that she was headed back home.

  Dreka was giving her sister the side eye, because she was making several inexplicable moves. Since Mix’s arrest was public record, it was no secret that it took 30 grand to get him out. Knowing that her sister was nobody’s fool, Dreka wasn’t surprised that in between Mix’s stash and the funds she’d accumulated from Levi over time that she’d probably come up with the money. However, that kind of ticket should’ve left them with relatively nothing, but Nunnie had just spent well over six grand in one store.