“Aye, I’m about to head out of here. The next time you want to invite me to another event, don’t. I took off work to come to this ghetto circus show.” I grumbled. They never had to worry about me again because I wasn’t coming back.
“Oh, please. You’re acting like you’re perfect or something. I’m sure you have plenty of delusional bitches chasing after you, but you want to act high and mighty,” Aunt Rita spat.
“Naw, I’m too grown for that shit. Plus, I run a tight ship, unlike your son. I would never have my business exposed to all of these people.”
“Yeah, yeah. Your mother was supposed to come, but she hasn’t been feeling well. It’s a shame that I check on her more than the people who came out of her pussy. Young folks these days don’t have any manners or respect anymore.”
“You’re right. I’ll never have respect for anyone who abandons their children. Her health and well-being are no concern of mine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab my sisters. Take care of yourself, and let me know if you decide to get a new wig. I’ll slide you a couple of dollars.” I winked at her as I headed back into the building.
Aunt Rita thought I was going to argue with her, but I wasn’t. She wasn’t worth my energy, and neither was her silly ass son. The only family that mattered to me was the one I was taking care of. No one would ever make me feel bad about putting them first. My mother made her choices, and now she had to live with them.
As soon as I found my sisters, I told them it was time to leave. A few family members tried to stop and talk to me, but I kept our interactions short. This wasn’t the time or place to catch up with anyone.
“I’m so glad I got that on camera. My friends are not gonna believe this.” Dominique squealed as she texted on her phone.
“You thought that was funny?” As much as I didn’t want to judge, my tone gave it away.
“I mean, I feel bad for the girl, but the situation was crazy. If I were her, I would have beaten the cousin up, too.” Dominique declared without a second thought.
“She’s pregnant, Nique.” Dana chimed in.
“Her face isn’t pregnant. She would have had to see me, and I would gladly go to jail behind my respect.” I shook my head,knowing Dominique meant every word. Out of the three of them, she was the one who got into the most fights in school.
“Don’t post that video on social media. It might be entertaining to you, but I’m not cool with you playing a part in someone else’s humiliation.” I ordered. There were no doubts in my mind that the video would find its way online, but I wasn’t gonna allow anyone in my household to be the reason behind it.
“What’s up, cousin. I appreciate you coming out for my special day.” Chop stood on the side of me with his hand out to shake. I glared down at it as if it were infected.
“You must be smoking that good shit. I always knew you were a lame ass nigga, but today confirmed that shit.” I scoffed as he stood there, perplexed, as if he had no idea what I was referring to.
“Damn. You ain’t have to come at me like that. Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have handled things that way, but she?—”
“Ain’t no buts. I don’t know your situation outside of what I saw today, and I don’t want to. You’re grown, and you can do whatever you want, but I’ll never respect you as a man. Not only did you embarrass a woman publicly, but you did that in front of her child. I would never want someone like you around me.”
“Whoa. I think you’re taking this way too far. Besides, you used to run through bitches left and right when we were growing up. You still fuck on multiple bitches, but it’s a problem when I do it? Make that make sense.” The fact that Chop thought the two of us were on the same page pissed me off. We were two different calibers of men.
“The difference is I’m single, and I move how I want to. I would never let my bitch a take charge for me. You allowed a woman to be taken away from her child while you were fucking off with her cousin. A real man would never move the way you did. If you can’t understand that, you’re slower than I thought you were. Come on, ya’ll. I’m hungry, and I don’t feel likeshooting anyone today.” My sisters knew how my temper could get, so they quickly moved in front of me.
I allowed Dana to drive my car since she had been begging for the last couple of weeks. I thought buying her a car of her own would keep her out of mind, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. My sisters talked the whole ride, while I couldn’t get the chocolate beauty out of my mind.
I wasn’t sure what her story was, but it seemed there was more to it than we saw. People were too comfortable playing with people’s hearts, and that was a dangerous game. It was one of the main reasons I never bothered to be in a relationship. I was too passionate to let a mothafucka play with my feelings and keep living their life.
dreaux davis
. . .
a few months later
“What the fuck is this shit?”I walked through the warehouse ready to beat a nigga’s ass if he said the wrong thing. When I stepped into view, everyone jumped up as if they were doing something they had no business.
“Aye, what’s up, Boss man?” Maude greeted me as I continued to observe the room.
“You tell me. I want to understand why I had to jump out of my bed because y’all mothafuckas couldn’t seem to do your fucking job. I pay you too much bread for this shit to be happening, so explain what this is all about.” Maude squared his shoulders before speaking. I placed him in charge because he was dedicated and not the type to let things slide.
“Look, I don’t have a good excuse for this. My baby momma just gave birth to my son, so I asked a few of my men to cover the delivery for me. Apparently, there were some words exchanged that led to guns being drawn. Raphael’s people left before we were able to secure the guns, and I take full responsibility for everything that happened. I should have been there.”
I appreciated that Maude was willing to own up to his mistakes, but it did nothing to make me feel better. At the end of the day, I paid for a product I didn’t have, and that shit needed to be rectified.
“Which one of your men was in attendance?” There was a group of men standing around, but I read body language well, so I wasn’t shocked when he pointed to the individuals involved. A heavy-set man strolled over to us with arrogance dripping off of him. That was one thing I hated about these young cats. The moment they started seeing a little money, they got ahead of themselves.
