“You ain’t built for this shit! You not gon’ kill me, Harmoni. I’m going to continue to make your life as miserable as you made mine. You think you better than me ’cause you had Jakari and now Black. I have my own nigga too, and you see what he’ll do for me. You not the only bitch that can be loved out here! Ain’t shit special about you. If you don’t kill me today, I promise I won’t rest until you the bitch in the box,” Diamond said to me.
“Diamond, you are the one who had a baby with my nigga. I left him so that y’all could be a family, and he still didn’t want you. That had nothing to do with me. You tormented my life all because of a nigga I don’t even think of. I feel sorry for you. I do believe you will kill me if I don’t kill you, so I pray your soul can finally rest.” I said as I pulled the trigger, causing Diamond to fall flat on her back.
After I shot Diamond in her head, I told them to get Serg up, put him on his knees, and pull his pants down. Serg was crying and hollering at the top of his lungs like a bitch. He had violated me, so now I was going to return the favor. When they bent Serg over, I grabbed the broom out the corner of the room and rammed it up his ass as far as I could. He screamed and wiggled, trying to get loose, but I rammed it again, this time harder and deeper. I repeated this until he passed out, and I was satisfied. Then, I dropped the broom on the floor, turned around, and headed to the car.
A few moments later, Rowdy came out behind me with a backpack. He threw the bag in the backseat and backed out the driveway. Before we could pull off, we heard gunshots and saw flashes that lit the whole house up like a photoshoot. Rowdygrabbed my face and kissed my forehead. He placed his hand in mine and held it the entire ride back home.
As weeks passed, I was slowly starting to get back into my normal routine. I slept a little better knowing that Diamond nor her sick ass nigga wouldn’t be bothering me or my family again. I secretly started to see a therapist once a week virtually. Every Tuesday, I would go into my office and whisper the entire time. It wasn’t that I was hiding anything; I just didn’t want my man to think that I was a nut case or fucked up in the head. As a black woman, I knew how important it was to make sure my mental health was in check. We often tried to sweep things under the rug and ignore it, but I knew I needed help. To be the best mother and best wife I could be, I was going to do what needed to be done. Eventually, I would talk to Rowdy about it because we promised to always be honest.
As I got out of the shower and headed toward the kitchen, I could smell breakfast cooking. Heading down the hall, I heard singing coming from my baby’s nursery. I walked in, and Ciara was rocking and singing to him.
“What are you doing here so early? You gon’ spoil my baby by holding him all the time,” I joked.
“Girl, you sit up and hold him all day yourself, so please stop it. How are you feeling today? You glowing, girl!” Ciara complimented.
“You the one that’s glowing! I’m feeling good, but let’s talk about you! When is your appointment? You know I’m gonna be there. Everybody already knows that I’m them babies’ Pappy. I ain’t gon’ miss a beat. Rowdy was asking me to let him know when it was so he could tag along. I told his ass no! He tryingto do too much, but we really want you to know you have all the support in the world.”
Ciara smiled uncomfortably, and I could tell she was getting emotional, so I changed the subject after she told me the date. I saved it in my calendar and talked about her studying for her exam that was coming up in a few months. Rowdy called for us to come into the kitchen because it was almost time to eat. I hadn’t had too much of an appetite lately, but Ciara handed Cadence to me so fast that it made my head spin. She was in the kitchen fixing her plate before I could make it down the hallway.
Walking into the kitchen I saw that Rowdy’s dad and Dimeo were standing in there talking. As soon as Dimeo saw Cadence, her face lit up, and she begged to hold him. I made her wash and sanitize her hands, then I passed him to her. Dimeo asked to have a family brunch today so she could make an announcement. She had been there twice this week already for Cadence but never mentioned having any news to share.
Between Ciara, Carmen, Dimeo, and Grimy, I never got to spend time with my own baby. Those people would not stay away from my house. It was like they were rotating shifts most days. When one would leave, the next would show up. Grimy just never left. Although he had his own place, he could not leave his grandson’s side. To see these hood ass men be so gentle when it came to the people they loved, that really amazed me.
“Ciara, I know you pregnant and greedy, but put that plate down until yo’ baby daddy shows up. I have an announcement to make, and Trell should be here shortly,” Dimeo said, putting Ciara on blast.
“You know what? I’m gonna just leave, especially if this is a family meeting. I don’t need to be bumping into Trell’s fat head ass anyway. I’m finna go. Just let me take a plate with me, please,” Ciara begged.
“Ci, you know you family. Stay and chill. Yo’ ass just mad cause you gotta wait a few more minutes to eat. That don’t make no sense how hungry them babies got yo’ ass. You gon’ be trying to unbig yo’ back if you don’t slow down,” Rowdy joked, and we all laughed.
I knew Ciara was still mad at Trell and didn’t like being around him. All I could hope was that things went smoothly. I was ready to see what news Dimeo had to share. Just as I went to take my place at the table, Trell was knocking at the front door. I let him in, and he greeted me with a hug. As I walked back toward the kitchen, he asked me to hold on for a minute.
“Can you please talk to your girl? I want to be there for Ciara through all of this, but she being so hard on a nigga. I wanna experience being there for her whole pregnancy and for the birth. I need her to know that she got me. I’m not some bum ass nigga that’s gon’ sit back and watch her do that shit alone. I wanna be a family, Moni,” Trell told me.
“You have to let her come around on her own. She was hurt and embarrassed by your actions, so you have to find a way to fix that. What do you think will make her feel better about what she saw? That’s some painful shit to see from a nigga you care about.”
“She knew that bitch didn’t mean shit to me. She ghosted me for a whole month then popped up at my shit out the blue. I’m not saying what I did was right, but damn! She was making me think she would never fuck with me again.”
“So, your solution was to do some shit that would really make her not fuck with you again? That sounds crazy, Trell. I’ll talk to her, but only because of the twins. Y’all both need help, like some real therapy before y’all bring kids into this world. Y’all are two of the most hot-headed individuals I’ve ever met. Just keep trying. She’ll come around. I’ll make sure,” I told him and walked off.
Everyone fixed their plates then took a seat at the table. Rowdy took Cadence and placed him in his swing but grabbed the monitor so we could hear if he cried. We prayed over our food, then dug in. Dimeo and Rowdy had cooked grits, eggs, waffles, chicken strips, bacon, sausage, toast and fresh fruit. The spread looked so good, and just as suspected, Ciara was killing hers in record time. Once we were halfway through Brunch, Dimeo stood and made her announcement.
“As you all know, I’ve been on my grind with my music since I was sixteen. The road has been rocky and being independent is hard work. Just when I wanted to quit, I got offered a deal with Legacy records. They want to give me hefty sign on and purchase me a house. The only thing is that I will have to move to Atlanta. I love y’all so much, and I wouldn’t be this far without y’all support and constant motivation. I’m torn on what to do. Part of me wants to be here with y’all, especially Cadence. It just feels like the wrong time to leave. I wanted to see what y’all thought before I make any hasty decisions. I also wanted you to be here, Ciara, so I can get your opinion on the contract,” Dimeo said.
“Listen to Big Unk when I say this. Go get that muthafuckin’ bag! Show the world what you got. Don’t limit yourself to Texas. Ain’t shit about you local, and you deserve everything you about to receive. You worked and earned all that shit,” Grimy said as he walked over and hugged Dimeo.
We all congratulated her and told her to do it. When she got to Rowdy, they shared a long and uncomfortable stare. I could feel his energy, and I knew he was happy and hurting at the same time. Dimeo was his heart. He loved his cousin so much that he uprooted his life to be here with her. I leaned over and rubbed his back as they continued to have a stare off. Knowing Dimeo, she would give the deal up for Rowdy. All I wanted was for her to spread her wings and let the whole world hear her gift. We could always visit her and vice versa.
“When you leaving? You got some noise you gotta make. You been universal, and it’s ’bout time everybody get to feel you,” Rowdy said as he pulled Dimeo into a tight hug.
That was the seal of approval that she needed to spread her wings, and she got it. After brunch, Ciara looked over Dimeo’s contract and told her that it was a good ass deal and to take it. She had a flight scheduled for the next morning to finalize things and go house hunting. I was beyond proud of Dimeo. She went from slanging mixtape CDs outside of my shop to being in the big leagues now. That was a big deal, and she would definitely be celebrated by us.
Trell called everyone back home and told them Dimeo’s good news. It seemed like their whole hood was excited for her. Shit like this rarely happened, and it was an amazing thing to see. We all chilled for a couple more hours, then everyone went home.
Tired of sitting in the house, but not wanting to go anywhere major, I asked Rowdy to watch Cadence while I went to check my P.O. Box. Carmen had been giving my clients that address when they asked if they could send the baby some things. Rowdy fussed about me asking him to watch his own child, but I was just that type of Mommy. I grabbed his car keys, and he told me to grab my own keys. I shrugged him off and walked outside.
In my front yard was my pink Jeep. I almost fainted from the sight of it. The accident had messed my Jeep up so badly that the insurance deemed it a total loss. I ran outside to check it out and, my fiancé was right behind me smiling.
“When and how? Baby! I’m so freaking happy!” I told him as I jumped up and down.
