Authors: Jennifer Luckett
"No, baby,
don't get yourself into more trouble. She's not worth it," pleaded Mika.
“I said
phone
check
! You must be hard of hearing,” came the voice from behind me.
“Baby Girl, I’ma
hit you back. Let me teach this fool some goddamn manners.”
“No, Blunt, don’t
be…”
I hung up the phone
and turned to face ol' boy wit’ the blown up chest and chicken legs.
“You’sa real
disrespectful ass nigga, Homie. I should prob’ly blame that on yo’ mama, but
for now I’ma punish you likes it’s yo’ fault,” I growled, then hit his stiff
ass wit’ a lightning quick one-two, knockin’ him the fuck down.
“I knew those
toothpicks couldn’t hold that ass up,” I taunted.
He scrambled up on
those straw legs and tried to rush me, head down. I side-stepped and caught him
on the chin wit’ an uppercut, the way big homies in the hood taught me to do as
a snot nose. The fool smacked the concrete floor wit’ his face…fight over. I
walked back over to the phone and redialed Mika’s number.
“Are you alright?”
she asked.
“Why wouldn’t I be?
You ever known yo’ nigga to be otherwise? I just had to teach a fool some
manners. I’m good. I’ma just chill til it’s time for you to come bond me out,”
I said examining my bruised knuckles.
We ended the call,
and I found a seat in the corner and chilled, keepin’ a close eye on the fool I
had smashed. I calmed myself by thinkin’ of Mo’. I was gonna have to do better
by my girl. All of the drama wit’ Luscious wasn’t even a niggas m.o. Usually I
was on chill, but that monkey ass bitch, Luscious, had knocked me off my square
with all of her drama. The bitch was showin’ her ass ‘cause she knew I needed
her to keep playin’ up under this nigga named Polo who I was tryna touch.
Polo had racks on
deck, and I wanted that. Luscious was close to gettin’ the trick to take her
out to where he laid his head. From there, it would be a wrap. Now I was
thinkin’ that the lick wasn't worth all the trouble Luscious was startin’ to
give me. She mighta helped me snatch niggas up, but if her drama caused me to
lose Mo’, would the lick be worth a niggas heart? That’s what I had to weigh.
“Good lookin’ out,
Baby Girl,” I said to Mika, thanking her for posting my bond as we walked out
of the Fulton County Jail and headed to the parking lot where her silver Honda
Accord was parked.
She was carrying
our eleven month old son, Antwan, on her hip. I took him from her and carried
him across my shoulder, pattin’ his back so that he wouldn’t wake up.
Devin, who Mika was
still babysittin’, pulled at my pant leg. “Daddy, why was you in jail?” he
questioned me.
“Don’t ask so many
questions,” I scolded his nosey butt.
“But I wanna know,”
he whined as we all got in the car.
“Devin, your father
is not in the mood so maybe you should wait until later to ask him questions.”
Mika tried to come to my rescue.
“Shut up. You ain’t
my mama. You can’t tell me what to do,” Devin smart-mouthed.
I started to check
him, but Mika beat me to it. She glared at him through the rearview mirror as
she strapped on her seat belt and shook her head. “Okay, li’l boy, I know I’m
not your mother and you should be thankful that I’m not. If I was, I’d tear
into your behind real good. Still I’m going to need you to watch your mouth, or
I’m going to give you that whooping you should have gotten from your
mother."
“You ain’t gon’ do
nothin’. My mama will bust you in yo’ face if you touch me,” he shot back.
“Goodness! Blunt,
I’m telling you, you better teach that li’l boy some manners or keep him from
‘round me. I’m not letting a four year old talk to me like he’s my man.” She
was pissed, and she had every right to be.
I reached over the
seat and popped Devin upside the head. “Apologize to her. Right now!”
Devin huffed out
somethin’ insincere.
“He’s just a
child,” I reminded Mika.
“Well his mama
needs her ass kicked for not teaching him to respect grownups,” she said and
put the car in gear and pulled off.
While she drove I
checked my cell and saw that Mo’ had been blowin’ it up. Damn, I had to think
of somethin’ to tell her to excuse why I hadn't answered her calls or came home
last night. There was always later for that though.
I had Mika to drive
me over to Luscious crib to get my whip. When we pulled up to Luscious’
apartment the sun was just beginning to close its eyes. In the parking lot, my
eyes allowed me to see that the punk bitch had keyed some fuck shit on my whip.
“I’m ‘bout to fire off on this hoe’s ass fa real now!” I growled. ‘Cause every
female should kno’ that you don’t fuck up a niggas money or his ride.
“Baby, don’t let
her play you out of pocket again. That’s what she’s trying to do,” Mika gently
said, rubbing my arm to keep me calm.
I heard her, but I
wasn't listening. I hopped out of the car and banged on Luscious' door. She
didn't answer. I realized that her car wasn't in its parking space. The punk
bitch was lucky she wasn’t at home, or she would’ve gotten it real good. Now, I
had to drive around wit’ that fuck shit keyed on my whip.
"Go on home,
shawdy. I’ll hit you later. And thanks again,” I told Mika.
"Okay, baby.
Remember what I said, don't let her play you into the penitentiary," she
advised once more.
I promised not to,
but some promises must be broken.
I was steaming as I
drove Devin home to his mama. The heat inside my head went up even more when I
got to Chunuchi’s spot and saw my nigga, Fatal’s, lime green Escalade on
twenty-four inch rims parked in her drive.
"So, this is
how they're doing it?" I spoke to myself.
I was about to make
the punishment fit the crime. I reached under my seat and grabbed my Glock
‘cause I was gonna confront Fatal, and I knew he wasn’t pussy. We had hit a few
licks together, and he had proven that he’d let that hammer bang.
“C’mon, Devin,” I
said to my son. We got out the car and walked up to the door. I rung the bell
and waited.
When Chunuchi
answered the door, the rat bitch was wearing a tee the size of yarn string and
boy shorts that slid right up the slit of her pussy. I pushed right on pass
her. Fatal was parlayin’ on the couch burnin’ a blunt.
“Devin, go to yo’
room,” I instructed my son so that he would be out of harm’s way. When he
hesitated, I popped him on the arm, and he complied.
“This how you doing
it, fam’?” I asked Fatal after easing my strap from my waistline.
“Shawdy say she
don’t fuck wit’ you no mo’. So what’s yo’ beef?” he responded and stood to his
feet. I could see the print of his banger underneath his tee shirt. I lifted my
gaze from his waist to his eyes, and we stared each other down.
“Still, fam’ don’t
fuck behind fam’,” I reminded him.
“Nigga, you shoulda
thought ‘bout that when you ran up in Mika,” he snarled, unleashing all of the
hater inside of him.
Fatal had tried to
holla at Mika first, but she straight up told him that she was sweatin’ my
swag. When I asked him if he had a problem wit’ me gettin’ at Mika, he was
like, “Na, Homie. It’s Gucci.” Now two years later, he was on some bullshit
‘bout it. Ugly ass nigga had been salty on the DL all that time, I realized.
“So that’s what
this ‘bout?” I grilled him.
“I don’t owe you no
explanation. Check yo’ bitch,” he countered.
Chunuchi’s dumb ass
cried, “I ain’t
his
bitch no mo’.”
I looked at her and
hawked a glob of spit dead in her face. “You damn sho’ not.”
"You nasty
fucka!" she hissed as she used the back of her hand to wipe the saliva off
her face.
I mushed her head
back and said to her and Fatal, “Don’t let what y’all do touch my son or it’s
on.”
“I’m a bear. I shit
in the woods and wipe my ass wit’ rabbits like you,” Fatal hurled back.
“I hear you
gangsta,” I said.
He was a dead man
walkin’.
I bounced from
there and headed to the crib. On the way home, I pushed Chunuchi and Fatal to
the back of my mind for the time being. I practiced the lie I was gonna tell
Mo’.
When I got home
Mo’s cousin, Leesha’s, vehicle was parked in the driveway. I couldn’t stand
that meddling ass country bitch. She needed to take her ass back to Tennessee
instead of bringin’ her dramafied ass my way.
With anxiousness, I
went inside to face the music. I knew that it would be much louder with Leesha
around to pump up the volume in Mo’s head.
As soon as I
stepped through the door, there Leesha was sitting on the sofa. Mo was across
from her in the high back chair. The tension in the room was thick.
"Hey, Baby
Girl," I spoke.
Leesha turned her
nose up at me and dramatically pointed to a spot in a corner where all of my
gear was piled in a heap.
“Get your shit and
get out,” Mo’ snorted. She hadn't even given me the opportunity to lie.
I wanted to ask her
to let me explain, but there was no way I would beg in front of her cousin.
"Toodles," added Leesha, putting her hating comment in.
I mean mugged her
hard enough to melt steel.
“However you want
it,” I told Mo’, although inside I was sick.
“You sho’ this what
you want?” I asked as I stared at Mo’ hoping she’d change her mind.
"It's exactly
what she wants," Leesha replied for her.
“What you got to do
wit’ this?” I sneered at her messy ass.
“Any and
everything.” She turned her nose up at me. There was no love lost between me
and that bitch. She had been sticking her nose in me and Mo’s business way too
often.
Mo’ seemed to be
reconsidering her demand, so I pressed her. “Fa real, Boo, like I told you
before I moved in wit’ you. If you ever put me out, I’m not comin’ back. So,
how’s it goin’ down? Think hard before you answer ‘cause I meant what I said.”
Mo’ pounced up in
my face. “Boy, you have a lot of nerve acting like I’m the one who has to make
a decision. Lately, your black ass has been nothing but one problem after
another. You’ve changed the last year or so that we’ve been together, and I’m
so fed up with the bullcrap! You think the sun rises and sets with your ass,
and I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t."
"Oh, that's
how you feel? You know an angry mouth speaks the truth." I tried to
reverse the game, but Mo' wasn't buying it.
“You know what,
Blunt?” she said with resignation in her tone."I keep thinking that I can
change you, but today I woke up and realized that you’ll always be a dog. I
know about your sneaky ass making babies all around town like that makes you a
big man. You're out there embarrassing me; you have people looking at me like
I'm a fool. So nah, nigga, I don’t have to think about a damn thing. I’ve done
all the thinking about your whorish ass that I’m going to do. You don’t deserve
a woman like me. Get your shit and go be with one of your dick sucking bitches.
I’m done!”
I was shocked by
the venom spewing from my boo’s mouth. It sounded like she had switched tongues
wit’ her foul-mouthed cousin.
“Whateva, Shawdy.
You tryin’ to impress Leesha. You and that bitch must be bumpin’ pussies,” I
slung back at her.
“Oh, you wanna go
there?” Leesha said hoppin’ up off the couch like she wanted to try a nigga.
“Bitch, you betta
sit yo’ ass down before I dress yo’ country ass kinfolks in black.”
"Who the fuck
are you calling a bitch? If I'm a bitch, the woman that birthed you is one
too."
My eyes turned into
slits. "Hoe, you must don't know who the fuck you're talking to." I
stepped towards her with balled fists.
Mo' shot between
us. "You better not hit her," she said.
"You better
train that poodle not to bark at pit bulls." I stepped back and unclenched
my fists.
“I’m not scared of
you, Blunt. Killers don’t talk, they make it pop off,” Leesha braved.
I shook my head.
“Girl, you just don’t kno’. Let me push on before I catch a body that ain’t
worth the bullet that I’ll use. You ain't nothin' but a tennis shoe hoe
anyway.”
"Don't
disrespect her like that!" Mo' snapped, getting up in my grill. I used the
palm of my hand to gently push her back.
She slapped my
hand. “Blunt, if you don’t already know you better act like you do. Don’t put
your hands on me!”
I stared deep into
her eyes, searching for a glint of the love that had gotten us through many ups
and downs in the past. I saw nothin' in her eyes but fire. “Damn, Boo, I
thought we were inseparable.”
“Not!” she
retorted.
I gathered my
things off the floor and carried them to the door. Leesha ran ahead of me and
swung the door open emphatically. She looked at me with a smirk on her face.