Without school, I had more time on my hands, therefore, I found myself kicking it with the girls more often. Prior to this, I never really realized how vastly different our lives had become. We were all young, but individually had our own shit going on. Everybody was collectively down to hit up a restaurant or mall, but it was like pulling teeth to get everyone to agree to hit up a club together. Those high and mighty bitches were full of excuses each and every time. And now I knew that they’d been fronting whenever I’d visit home in the past. Everyone wanted to talk about me whenever I’d express the fact that Jeremy didn’t want me doing certain things, and now look at them.
“Roxy, I tell you all the time,” Daynah spoke up. “Everybody can’t go to the clubs six days out of the week.”
Roxy rolled her eyes. “Hoes love to exaggerate.”
Daynah gave her the finger, causing me to giggle. I could vividly recall a time when she swore that a nigga could never dictate her moves, but all that changed when her man Kells entered the picture. Now, the bitch would get to stuttering, if pressed to go out and she hadn’t ran it by her nigga beforehand.
“What about you, Cavalli?” Roxy questioned. “You wanna step out tonight?”
Mya rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. “Girl, it’s a Thursday. Aint nobody trying to go out tonight. Sit your thot ass down somewhere.”
“I didn’t know that Mya sounded anything like Cavalli.” Roxy waved her off.
Cavalli shook her head. “Girl, Jared is gonna make me knock him over his damn head. So, I gotta swing by the spot. Maybe I can go, and maybe not. That’s the most I can tell you, right now.”
Roxy pursed her lips. “I should’ve known you hoes were gonna pump fake. Shit, yall flake on your own cousin, so I don’t know why I’m expecting more.”
“What cousin?” both Mya and Cavalli questioned in unison.
“Yall know. My girl Vita.”
Mya dramatically rolled her eyes.
Cavalli shook her head. “Don’t nobody got time for that crazy bitch.”
Roxy shook her head too. “She was just your running buddy not too long ago.”
“Not really,” Cavalli denied. “I’ve only really run with Mya like that. I can’t deal with Vita. She stays on some other shit.”
“Right,” Mya co-signed. “She’s jealous hearted, so I don’t fuck with her.”
I sat back listening to them divulge their family drama. I wasn’t invested because I didn’t know this family member they were speaking of. Hoping to switch gears, I changed the subject. “Did Keyasia ever hit you back, Mya?”
“Oh, yeah, she did. I forgot to mention it. She’s not coming out today.”
I shook my head and pursed my lips. “Should’ve known. Her and Josairah kills me, acting like some old housewives. Key was the main one swearing that it was gonna go down once I move back home. These hoes wasn’t gonna be able to hold us. Blah, blah, blah. But now I see that shit was all talk. That hoe barely steps out once a damn month.”
Daynah, Cavalli, and Roxy laughed.
Taraj sighed. “You gotta understand that we aint all the same, Jhyrah. You can call certain people at the last minute looking to hang out and it’s cool. But that’s not how we all operate. Me, Mya, Key, and Josairah have kids. Fuck, the only reason Mya is chilling is because we came to her. I came because Shay has the kids. Thank God, because I’ve been feeling like my plate is too full, since Lyra moved in with us,” she referred to her man, Taz’s, daughter.
Daynah nodded. “I didn’t know that Lyra had finally moved in with yall. Hell, I was beginning to believe that she was gonna live with my auntie forever.”
“Yeah, Taraj, how did you feel when Taz sent his daughter to live at Josh and Shay’s versus staying with yall?” I questioned.
Taraj shrugged. “I was cool with it. You know, I was feeling a way about a lot of shit, so I was glad that she didn’t move directly into the house with me. She was driving me crazy, advocating for Taz to fuck with her mama. I mean, she’s too young to know how offensive the shit is. Then she went through a faze where she was jealous of Tazerin,” she referred to her son. “So, listening to Shay’s advice was our best bet. She advised us to just pick her up on the weekends and let her get adjusted slowly, without throwing off the balance of our house. Eventually, she got adjusted and we grew comfortable. But now Lani’s family is reaching out, and they wanna bring Lyra down to the prison to see her. I’m not with the shit, because I aint dealing, if she fills that child’s head up with a bunch of bullshit again.”
“That’s crazy,” I voiced, knowing that Lani had bitterly set Taraj and someone named Trell up to get robbed. Things had gone crazy, leaving Taraj and her baby shot, while Trell lied on the pavement lifeless. Trell worked for Daynah’s uncle Josh, and he’d exterminated everyone connected to the robbery, besides Lani. “How much time does Lani have, anyway?”
“Her snitching ass only ended up with ten years. She had so many charges that she should’ve been doing life. But she told on anybody she could think of. You know she was talking when she got sixty years reduced down to ten,” Taraj explicated.
“Shit, she should’ve taken that sixty,” Daynah stated causally, as she gazed at her nails. “Cause whenever they release her, a bullet is waiting for her. But hey—"
I gave her the side eye. “Okay, Killer.” I wanted to tell her that she was giving me Danny Boy vibes, but that would be saying too much in front of mixed company. Danny Boy was her daddy, and a certified hitta. I’d witnessed grown men shit in their pants whenever he’d show up. The man literally struck fear in supposed gangsters all over the city, which made Josh larger than life. Danny Boy was Josh’s trigger-happy right-hand and the streets trembled whenever they stepped on the scene.
“Anyway, fuck her,” Taraj dismissed the Lani discussion. “Josairah decided not to come over, either?” she asked Mya.
“No, she said something about going with Little Jahrein somewhere. I don’t know if she said a game or meeting. Hell, I don’t know,” Mya answered.
“Her and Key be up under their niggas 24/7. Like damn, it aint that serious,” I griped.
Daynah grimaced. “Look who’s talking. If Jeremy wasn’t somewhere getting ready for football, we wouldn’t be seeing your ass, either.”
“Girl, please. I can hang out, regardless,” I insisted.
“Jhyrah, stop the bullshit. We didn’t just meet you yesterday, you know? And I kind of expect that from Josairah, these days. That hoe is a baby making machine. Two kids in, when she swore that she wasn’t having any a while back,” Taraj tittered. “And aye, I think Key done used up all her hang out passes for the month. You know Wale only lets her go out twice a month. So, she for shit sure can’t go to the club tonight.”
Mya sucked her teeth. “Yall are gonna stop clowning my damn friend. She’s just been busy with helping Wale open those new stores. I’m never mad when they’re chasing a check. Shit, we all know that this is one of my few free days. Life gets hectic, and I worry about going out less, especially when clubbing has become a damn part-time job.”
“True,” Taraj agreed. “Besides, you better be leery of hoes who swear to have niggas but wanna constantly party.” She boldly cut her eyes at Roxy. “I guarantee shit aint going right at home if that hoe is constantly in the streets. And if your shit is running smooth…you’d be a damn fool to fuck your situation up to run with a bitch who’s miserable. She’ll just be helping you bring that same misery into your relationship.”
Mya lifted her arms, raising the roof. “You better preach.”
Cavalli snickered. “Well, I don’t know why yall shooting slugs at Roxy, cause that hoe got a good nigga at home. If anything, she’s just a thot that aint gon never stop running the streets. Her yellow ass is a slut to her heart. Poor thang.”
Roxy shrugged. “Well, at least I know who the fuck I am.”
Right then, the room erupted with laughter, because nobody could argue with that.
***
/> “This wind is nice and all but it’s fucking up my edges, girl,” Roxy, complained, as she attempted to slick down her fake baby hairs attached to her lace-front wig.
I tittered, as she fought a losing battle. I had the top down on my Lexus, therefore, it was pointless to worry about her hair, until we reached our next destination. Still, that was one thing I liked about Roxy. She was funny as fuck.
It was a sunny Tuesday, and I was finally letting my hair down. I’d talked all that shit a little while ago about my girls not being free to go out, but after seeing Raven later that evening, she reminded me that I didn’t have time, either. My mama claimed that if I was ready to enter the business world, then I wasn’t going to half-ass it. Therefore, she had me running ragged, trying to maximize my profits. I wasn’t mad at her about being hard on me, because her pressure had already been paying off financially. So, now, in between handling business and being a devout girlfriend, there was very little time to chill or hang out.
With so much on our plates, most of my girls weren’t free at the last minute, which was how Roxy ended up riding shotgun with me. We’d exchanged numbers, and she was always down to hang whenever I called. She was a light-skinned chick who was heavily tatted. She had a nice shape, but I was questioning the authenticity of her ass. It was huge, although she didn’t have the biggest thighs.
“I still can’t get over Mya and Cavalli,” Roxy blurted out of nowhere. I was hoping like hell that she wasn’t trying to revisit that same ole tired conversation about their cousin, who I didn’t know from a damn hole in a wall.
“What do you mean?” I forced myself to ask, being polite.
“I’m saying, the way that they’re carrying their people aint right.”
I frowned. “Okay, help me to understand something.”
“What’s up?” she arched a brow.
“I thought that you came around through Daynah, so how do you know Cavalli and Mya?”
“Oh, okay. I met Daynah in high school. We’ve been cool ever since. So, of course, the minute she moved back to Houston we linked up again. Eventually, Mya came around, and then she brought Cavalli into the fold.”
“But you knew them before the introduction through Daynah, right?”
“Yeah, I did. My play cousin is their biological cousin, and I was floored when she told me how Cavalli just stopped fucking with her the minute Mya had something to say about it. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Yeah, I get with them both and hang out, but right is right and wrong is wrong. Being that Cavalli used to hang with my play cousin more, you’d think that she’d stay out of beef between her and Mya. Instead, Cavalli chose a side, which makes me feel like she’s a opportunist. I feel like Omari being a rapper and taking Mya along for the ride plays into who Cavalli chose to side with. And I don’t like that kind of shit.”
I gripped my steering wheel, listening to her. There were still some details missing. I didn’t know why Mya had fallen out with this cousin, and I honestly didn’t care. I fucked with Mya and didn’t know her cousin, so I was riding with my girl. Therefore, I didn’t feel the need to ask Roxy to elaborate. Frankly, she needed to mind her business, and I made a mental note to never let her ass get too far into my mix. She’d remain an associate and nothing more.
Glancing around, Roxy appeared confused. “Where are we?”
I was pulling in front a of high-rise building. I had already sent a text out while I was still on the road, which was why we didn’t have to wait for her to come down. “Picking up Cavalli,” I revealed, as she sauntered over to the car.
Roxy whipped her head around. “And who lives here? I know she don’t.”
I giggled a tad, realizing that on top of being messy, she was also a hater. That’s why I didn’t bother letting her know that not only did Jared reside in the building, but so did me and Jeremy.
“What’s up, girl?” I opened my door and allowed Cavalli to climb into the backseat.
“Girl, I’m pissed off to the max. I’m so glad you came to pick me up, because I was about to kill Jared’s ass in that bitch.”
I shook my head, as I pulled away from the building. “Oh, shit. What done happened now?”
Cavalli rolled her eyes up the sky. “That nigga is so damn smart until he’s dumb. That’s what,” she vented. “This nigga stay trying to play me crazy. I keep telling him simple shit, but he can’t listen. Then he wanna act up when I try to leave. Don’t you know that he tried to terminate my lease without me knowing?”
“Wait, what?” I laughed. “How is that possible?”
“Apparently, he got somebody to call my leasing office, pretending to be me.”
“But I thought that you have to come in person to opt out of the lease?”
“Girl, clearly money trumps everything else. He got some damn girl to tell them a bogus ass story about me taking a job out of town. So, they convinced the office to fax them the papers to sign. This man paid for the opt out and everything.”
I couldn’t stop laughing. “Wait a minute. So, how did you get everything straight?”
Cavalli frowned. “Hoe, that aint funny. The only way to take that shit back would’ve been to start a criminal investigation. By then I knew that his ass was behind it all and I didn’t want him in trouble. So, now I gotta have all my shit out of the apartment by the end of the month.”
I snickered. “But why are you so mad about it? You wasn’t staying there, anyway.”
“So,” she pouted. “It was still my apartment, and the minute Jared pissed me off, I could run there. He fucked everything up.”
“Duh, why do you think he wanted to get rid of it? Now, you gotta stay and deal, even when he pisses you off.”
“Tuh,” she spat. “That still aint gonna stop me. Mya got a spare bedroom with my name on it. When I wanna go, I’m going. It’s that simple.”
“So, that’s why you’re mad today?” I pried, wanting the entertaining tea.
“Nah, that whole lease shit happened a few weeks ago. I broke a few lamps today because some bitch texted him.”
“Nooo,” I stressed animatedly. “What did the texts say, girl?”
“Some hoe who lives in Cali is supposed to be flying out to Houston. She was saying that she hoped that they could link, and he told her to hit him up, whenever she landed. I was so fucking mad that lost it on his ass. He’s swearing that she’s just his friend, but I aint trying to hear the shit,” she voiced, as her cell rang. With an attitude, she answered. “The fuck do you want? Didn’t I tell you to stop calling my phone?”
Without a doubt I knew that was talking to Jared’s ass.
“Jared, I. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck. Go call that bitch and see if her bird ass has landed yet. Don’t worry about where I’m going. I’m with my nigga, and he don’t take kindly to you intruding on his time. So, get off my line!”
By this time, both me and Roxy were laughing uncontrollably.
“Bitch, that nigga is gonna fuck you up. Watch,” I predicted.
“I aint denying that, but I aint going out without a fight. Believe that. I got my boxcutter waiting on his stupid ass—” she got out, before her cell was ringing again. Glancing down at the screen, she sighed heavily. “Not today, lady.”
“Who’s calling now?” my nosy ass inquired as I peered at her through my rearview mirror.
“My mama,” she breathed. “And I know it aint no coincidence. I bet Jared called her ass and now she’s calling me. That shit gets on my fucking nerves.”
“Bitch, he calls your mama on you?”
“Hell, yeah. All the time. I regret ever introducing him to my family. It’s like after they met him, it was fuck me. Shit, my mama calls and asks about him before she even asks me how I’m doing. Once they found out that he’s going to be a doctor and his family got that money…it was all she wrote.”
Roxy frowned. “Man, you tripping. Most girls would love for their family to love the nigga they’re with.”
Cavalli narrowed her eyes. “But who
asked you, though?”
I stifled a laugh, as Roxy sat looking stupid. “But Cavalli, what is wrong with Jared knowing your family?”
“The problem is that they’re too busy dick-riding. Now, I can’t even call my mama to vent, because she’s gonna always be on his side. The shit is annoying. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’ve had my bopping days. If a nigga was fine and his money was right, I was on him. That was just a bitch doing something. It definitely doesn’t mean that I can be bought. I don’t give a fuck how much money Jared has. He don’t have a pass to do whatever the fuck he wants. That nigga stay trying me. Every time I get mad about him doing some fuck-shit, he likes to bring up everything he do for me. One thing aint got shit to do with the other. Especially, when I didn’t ask for none of it. Hell, my lame ass was happy with some money for my nails and toes. I used to believe I was winning, until Jared started doing all this big boy shit. He wanna have me in Chanel and Versace. My dumb ass didn’t know nothing about that at first. So, I damn sure didn’t ask for it, but that don’t stop him from throwing it in my face. He’s a stiff nigga until I talk about leaving. Then he wants to trip. I’m talking hiding keys, taking my clothes. Just a bunch of bullshit.”
“Well, if he’s doing all that, then just leave,” Roxy offered unsolicited advice. I hated when muthafuckas came with that dumb ass resolution. It was a cop out, or somebody just wanted to see to you lonely. Just because people had issues didn’t mean that they didn’t need to be together. Hell, if that was the case, everybody in the world would be single.
“Girl, bye,” Cavalli scoffed. “You leave your gullible ass nigga. Don’t worry about me and mine. Aint nobody talking about breaking up, cause I’m straight slicing and dicing bitches over that big dick. You hear me?”
I was smiling hard as Cavalli got Roxy’s ass together, real quick. I focused on the road, until Roxy patted my shoulder.
“Jhyrah, pull into the gas station, please,” she begged. “I see my main lil’ dip. That nigga play his card right, and I’ll be leaving Mitchel’s ass for good.”
The Wild Child Page 25