The Wild Child

by Nicole Jackson

  “Right there.” I pointed.

  They gazed in the direction and frowned.

  “Jhyrah, are you losing your mind? That’s a girl over there,” Jahreiah loudly whispered. “And now you got her staring at us.”

  “I don’t care about that,” I dismissed. “I know who I’m looking at. That bitch should’ve been called the Weekend when she was dealing with Jeremy, because that’s all she ever was. But now I got that locked from Monday to Sunday. I bet she’s mad that it aint no more weekends for her,” I spat pettily, still recalling all the hating shit she’d spewed via texts to Jeremy.

  “Wait, is this Vita?” Jaylah’s little grown ass questioned.

  Jahreiah nodded. “Yep, this gotta be her.”

  “Yeah, it’s me,” Vita spoke up from behind the counter. “Can I assist you with anything?”

  “Yes, can you fetch us the best charger you have in here?” Jahreiah requested.

  “Fetch? Oh, no ma’am. There won’t be any fetching of any kind.”

  The security guard standing near to the door spoke up. “Hey, Vita, is there a problem?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, Will. I’m still trying to see. I’m waiting to be respectfully addressed. If that’s an issue, I will need you to escort them out.”

  “Escort us out?” Jaylah giggled. “Oh, girl, what is you doing?” she jested. “You must don’t want this job.”

  I smirked. “I know, right? I’m still blown away by the fact that people thought that she was the manager of a whole department. But she’s up in here, working at an authorized dealer’s store.”

  “Sweetie, let me set the record straight,” Vita squawked. “I am the manager of this store. We can’t all be spoiled and not know the meaning of earning your way through life. I make good money here and can keep every dime in my pocket whenever I get paid. Wanna know why? It’s because your man has me put up in a property. So, I’d say that I do pretty good for a weekend.”

  “He got you put up? Okay, thanks for the info,” I slid my tongue across my teeth. The bitch was going to learn rather quickly that she should never pimp her hand.

  Vita snickered. “Girl, get out of those feelings. You should know by now that our boy is gonna always keep us straight.”

  “Alright,” I nodded. “If you say so.” I whipped out my cell, and dialed Jeremy up on speaker.

  “What’s up?” he answered immediately. “You on your way back?”

  “Yeah, in a minute. But I wanna ask you some’ first.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you have Vita living in one of the family’s properties?”

  He paused. “Yeah. I let her stay in one of the vacant ones. Shit, anything was better than where she was staying. She couldn’t come stay with me, and I hated her house, so, that apartment was the resolution. But she’s been paying her rent, which is the only reason she’s still in it.”

  “Cause her ass sure wasn’t staying in my shit for free,” I heard Auntie Paris in the background.

  I giggled. “Well, she’s standing here, claiming that she stays there for free.”

  “She’s a got damn lie. She pays rent directly to me, and I never take shorts. Jeremy don’t have any dealings in that. I make sure her tack-head ass pay.”

  My sisters roared with laughter.

  “I can’t, sister,” Jaylah snorted. “Hang up the phone. This just aint fair.”

  “Auntie Paris, I feel like you should put her out. She’s standing here, telling me how my man has her put up,” I mockingly pouted.

  “Say no more. She’s out of there, baby.”

  I could see the fire in Vita’s eyes. “Uh, Will, can you please escort these ladies out?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Jeremy, let me call you back.”

  “Wait,” he blurted. “What are you doing—” he got out before I ended the call.

  “Will, who pays you?” I quizzed, as I dialed out another contact. “Or do you even know?”

  “That doesn’t matter. Yall need to leave this store before I call the police. Have you and that baby in jail for trespassing, bitch!” Vita lashed.

  Will stood, looking confused. “Hey, Vita, I’m not trying to lose my job, behind some kind of personal beef.”

  Vita snarled. “Nigga, please. One word from me, and you’ll be replaced. You know the owner is gonna go with whatever I suggest. So, you better play your cards right. If anything, this little snooty bitch will have you jobless, and that’s a promise.”

  “Oh, the owner, you say?” I giggled. “Cousin Sincere, you hear your employee inside of your store, cussing and carrying on?”

  Hearing that, the color drained from Vita’s face.

  “Wait what?!” my cousin Trinity’s husband shouted into the phone, while he was unwittingly on speaker. The world was truly small. I was positive that Trinity didn’t know that Vita was working at one of their stores, especially since someone else oversaw hiring. There was no way in the world that my cousin would knowingly allow Vita to eat with them, after literally dragging her in the club. “Which store are you at, Jhyrah?”

  “What’s going on?” I could hear Trinity in the background, indicating that Sin had me on speaker as well.

  “Cousin, did you know that the hoe Vita was working at one of yall stores?”

  “Not Jeremy’s trash, huh?”

  “Yes, Jeremy’s trash.”

  Vita shifted her feet, while listening intently, never uttering a word.

  “Oh, hell, no. Sin, that hoe gotta go. Fire her today!” Trinity demanded.

  “Yo, calm down,” Sincere coaxed in that heavy New York accent of his. “If you say the bitch gotta go, then she’s gone. It’s that simple. I’ll have my assistant handle it, right now.”

  I cheesed. “Okay, cuz, that’s all I wanted.”

  “Alright, bet.” Sincere hung up.

  Apparently, Vita was in shock, as I snatched the air right from her lungs. Had the bitch was struggling to catch her breath.

  “Now, you see,” I said perkily, patting my hair. “Just that quick, my spoiled ass took all your livelihood. You don’t wanna do this with me, bitch. I’ll always win, and that hate in your heart is gonna keep you losing. Please believe it. So, tap out, before this shit gets ugly.”

  “Yeah, before we have to jump your big amazon ass,” Jaylah added. “And stop buying them beauty supply bundles.”

  I cut my eyes at my little sister, who’d clearly lost her damn mind. She was 11 going on 30, for sure.

  ***

  “What the fuck?!” I bemoaned, as I slapped the dashboard of my Beamer.

  Me and my sisters had stopped by my house to chill for a second, only for me to get to the door and my key not work. I knew that I wasn’t losing my mind, which could only mean that Jeremy’s raggedy ass was behind this. He’d mentioned my house being too far from the stadium and everything else, so he wanted us to find something together. I knew that he didn’t like the idea of staying in something that wasn’t legally his. So, this had to be him trying to force my hand.

  “Jahreiah, let’s go. I’ma cuss this nigga out,” I fumed, as my sister backed out of my driveway. I was about to call Jeremy’s ass, when I received a call from Jahrae. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Sis, where you at?” he asked frantically

  “Leaving the house. Why? What’s going on?”

  “Man, mama and daddy done lost their mind. They’re over here, tearing the house up, fighting like cats and dogs.”

  “What?!” I gasped, in shock. My parents hadn’t fought in years, and I honestly thought that they were beyond all that at this point. “For what?!”

  “Mama’s claiming that she caught daddy with another woman.”

  My heart sank. My daddy had sworn to us that he’d never play with our mama’s heart again. “Okay, we’re on the way now. Maybe I can talk some sense into them.”

  “Yeah, man, hurry up. They’ve been all outside with it. I know that somebody is gonna call the laws.”

  �
��Okay,” I breathed. “I’ll be there,” I promised.

  Ending the call, I clutched my forehead. “Lord, what’s going on today? The devil is busy.”

  Jahreiah silently shook her head, as she focused on the road.

  Butterflies brewed in the pit of my stomach, as we traveled to our parents’. I was sick, as I thought about them going backwards, after so many years of progression. Although, I was grown and now had a life of my own, my heart was slowly breaking. The little girl in me wanted to see my parents remain in love and grow old together. But if they were having setbacks of this magnitude, at this point in their relationship…the future was clearly uncertain.

  By the time we were pulling up to my parents’ home, there were so many cars in the driveway, that there was virtually nowhere to park. That said plenty, because my parent’s driveway was long as hell.

  “How many damn people did Jahrae call?” I sniped. “Just put everybody in our damn business.” I eased out of the car.

  Holding my back, I twisted up the driveway. As I approached the house, I noticed multiple people standing outside; all smiling at me.

  Jahrae was literally laughing.

  “Jahreiah must’ve sped over here. Yall didn’t waste no time,” he commented.

  “I didn’t,” Jahreiah sputtered, appearing next to me.

  “Lil’ sis knows how to follow directions, huh?” Jeremy asked, as he high-fived Jahreiah.

  “Yeah, even though, Jaylah nearly gave us up,” Jahreiah complained.

  “Girl, shut up,” Jaylah lied, as she stood on the opposite side of me. “I didn’t do anything of the sort.”

  I waved them both off, as I scanned over the crowd. Everybody who I considered friends and family were there from Keyasia to Jeremy’s cousin-in-law Falen. Then my mama was standing with tears in her eyes, while my daddy was posted up behind her, with his arms wrapped around her waist. All the faces had my head spinning. “Can somebody tell me what’s going on? And Jeremy, what did you do to my locks?”

  Jeremy stepped to me, and everybody whipped out their cells. Grabbing my hand, he dropped to one knee.

  “Uh-uh,” I waved my head. “Get up.” I pulled his hand, becoming emotional. “Don’t be embarrassing me like this.” Using the back of my hand, I wiped my eyes. “You’re making my eyes sweat.”

  Everybody exploded with laughter.

  “Go ahead, baby!” Auntie Paris encouraged. “Go’on head and lock her lil’ wild ass down. This is what you wanted, remember? Made me pick out that ring over a year ago. So, this is long overdue.”

  Hearing that, I broke down. He’d wanted to marry me, even before the baby or being in jeopardy of losing me? With absolutely no pressure from me, this was his decision. He’d wanted it and had taken the time to put his plans in motion. He’d chosen me, even before I was mature enough for his kind of love. I understood what he meant now, and I was ready.

  “Jhyrah, I’ve been knowing this for a minute,” he started, as he revealed the most exquisite diamond ring I’d ever seen. “That you were someone that I never wanted to navigate through this life without. I know that we’re young as hell, but I know for a fact that you are it for me. I don’t want nobody else. I don’t want you with nobody else. I want to build a life with you and have millions of babies—”

  “Now, wait a minute, now. Jhyrah aint having that many damn babies,” my mama interrupted.

  Thankfully, my daddy popped her butt. “Girl, get out them people’s business.”

  Jeremy simply chuckled. “Like I was saying. I just wanna know if the prettiest girl in the entire world, would do me the honor of being my wife.”

  I boohooed, while nodding my head. “Yes, I’ll be your wife!”

  He slid the ring onto my finger, and it was the perfect fit.

  “Yesss!” Auntie Paris praised. “That’s what I’m talking about. Now, let’s go in here and enjoy this gender reveal re-do.”

  “Wait, what?” I asked, as Jeremy wrapped his arms around.

  He kissed my lips. “That was all on them. Everybody’s mad that they weren’t invited to the first gender reveal, so they threw another one.”

  “But everybody already knows the gender,” I tried to reason.

  He gave me a look. “Man, just let them people have this.”

  Gazing down at the bolder on my hand, I smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. I got what I want. So, fuck it. They can do whatever they want. As long as I got you.” I kissed him again, sealing the deal. We were officially doing this thing called love for life!

  Vita

  This literally had to be the worst day of my life. Jhyrah’s boogie ass had waltzed into my place of employment and left me in shambles. A part of me prayed that she’d been bluffing, somehow. However, just an hour later, I knew that it was all real. The owner of the store came down personally to retrieve all the store’s keys and told me that my services were no longer needed. Knowing that Sincere was a man of the streets, I didn’t want any problems, so I left with what little dignity I had left.

  In my car, I cried all the way home, only to get there and find that the locks were already changed. After talking to Jeremy’s mama, whom I’d never actually met in person, I knew that I was up shit creek without a paddle. She told me that I had to go immediately. Tomorrow someone would meet me there so that I could gather all my belongings. Sadly, there was nothing I could do legally, because I’d naively moved in without a lease. Yeah, I had a few pieces of mail being sent there, but getting back into the house with that was shot in the dark, even if I called the police.

  Taking a loss of this magnitude was enough to cripple me. Unlike Jhyrah, there was no one to step in when I fall off. My mama was dead, and I hadn’t seen my daddy in years. I’d been on my own since 17, and I didn’t have the type of family who was cool with opening their doors to grown women. At the most, I could probably crash on a friend’s couch, but that was no way to live.

  Me even coming to ask the bitches I associate with for a place to crash would be humbling. Dealing with Jeremy had elevated me, and I knew that people would love to see me knocked off my high-horse. I could honestly say that he’d changed me, and I couldn’t just go back to the way things were before. Hell, I didn’t want to.

  What was crazy was that for a fleeting moment, I actually had hope that we stood a chance. We’d developed a solid friendship, and I’d learned him. I thought that I had leverage, since I was six years older. From the beginning, Jeremy had been advanced emotionally. I’d never witnessed a guy express his feelings about his girl so freely and fluidly. I’d admired that about him, which eventually took on a life of its own.

  With the vague stories he’d tell me about Jhyrah, I could detect that their relationship was unbalanced. Jhyrah simply wasn’t ready for him, but I was. Still, I played my role as the good platonic friend, smiling as if I didn’t hate the mere sound of that bitch’s name. Some people would probably call it hating, but I didn’t know Jhyrah, and owed her nothing. Then the fact that Jeremy dealt with me in secrecy told me that there were some substantial cracks in their foundation. I couldn’t have done a thing, if he hadn’t allowed me in.

  Ultimately, I’d played the game and lost, when it came to love. I was grown and could accept that I wasn’t chosen. But that didn’t make it any easier to sit back and watch several posts of him proposing to Jhyrah. Yes, it hurt to know that despite my best efforts, he didn’t love me like he loved her. On a many of nights, I’ve stood in front of the mirror, questioning why I wasn’t good enough to be chosen by him. He’d unquestionably awakened insecurities within me that I didn’t even know I had. I stepped outside of my comfort zone, diving into a bisexual lifestyle just to please him.

  I think what was most confusing to me was trying to pinpoint Jeremy’s motives with me. With most men, those type of things were evident. Either they just wanted to fuck, or they wanted a commitment. I really can’t say that Jeremy fit into either category. It had been times where he’d treated me better than any other
guy I’d been with. He actually listened and was rather generous. Honestly, I felt that if Jhyrah would’ve moved on, we would’ve eventually gotten together. I knew this in my heart, and no one could tell me differently.

  At this point, the hatred I felt for that girl was so deep that I wished that she’d just croak over and die. And I was never the one to wish death on somebody. But that bitch Jhyrah? She could go play in traffic. I don’t care what kind of beef we had over a nigga. It was never that serious to play with somebody’s livelihood. It didn’t get any dirtier than that. So, now, after hours of sulking, and a fifth of Hennessey I was sitting in my car, conjuring up the perfect get-back scheme.

  Unbeknownst to Jeremy, I knew exactly where their little engagement celebration was being held. Although, I’d never been introduced to his parents’, I had been in the car a time or two, when he’d have to run into their house for whatever reason. From talking to him, I’d learned that Jhyrah’s family lived right down the street, in the same gated community. After lurking on Instagram, I’d seen enough of the exterior of the house to recognize it whenever I’d see it. Therefore, I’d waited patiently on the side of the road, until a car remotely opened the gate, before following it in. I then drove around the neighborhood, until I found the house. I’d been so determined to find the house, but didn’t quite know what to do, now that I was parked outside.

  It was now approaching midnight, and I’d been parked for hours. I was borderline intoxicated, as several wild thoughts swarmed my mind. I had my licensed pistol in the trunk, and with another bottle, I’d probably build up enough nerve to blow that bitch’s face off with it.

  I found myself snickering at the mere thought, as I turned up the nearly empty bottle of Hennessey.

  “That bitch would look cute with a bullet in her head,” I slurred. “Then I’d dance on her gra—”

  My heart nearly leapt out of my chest, as someone knocked on my window. Holding my upper body, I eased the window down. “Hey, can I help you?” I asked, realizing that it was some brown skinned chick with silky hair. She was rather attractive and appeared non-threatening.