Dolo placed me on my side of the bed, and then he walked around, so that he could get in bed as well. He spooned me, placing a hand up under the pajama top that I was wearing, so that he could cuff my breast. His head went into the crook of my neck, and for a few moments, I just lay here in silence.
I eventually closed my eyes, and took my ass to bed, which is what I should have been doing in the first place, and never went snooping around, finding that damn video.
Chapter 18
Ariana ‘Ari’ Monroe
It was a little after four in the morning, and I was just now pulling my car into the development. I’ve been at the club since 9:00 P.M. last night, and to be honest, I made it home by the grace of God because too many times, I found myself dozing off behind the wheel.
I wasn’t sure if a bitch was getting older, and turning into a grandma, but there used to be a time when I could work all night and morning at the club, and I wouldn’t feel it. These days, I felt that shit. There were times when I would sit by myself, and have talks, telling myself that I should start looking into other avenues, so that I could work decent hours, and be home with my kid at night, and not have to worry about him being with his dad, or sending him with my mom. Then, I would think about the money that I was making, and the life it had afforded me. I’m pushing a brand-new Genesis GV80 that still didn’t have 1,000 miles on it yet. The community where I resided was a brand-new community, and even though the rent was steep, I was able to pay it with no problem. My son attended private school, and he wasn’t hurting for anything. It was just the hours that were killing me.
I loved that club life though. The fast money that I would get from the ballers. The fact that I could have all my bills paid just off one night of work. The bitches that I worked with at the club could be annoying sometimes, but I loved it. Speaking of annoying bitches, I never had anymore problems out of Jazelle after I beat her ass in the locker room. She didn’t say shit to me, nor did she ever look my way. Mark made sure to keep us in different sections, so we never had to deal with each other again. I guess the bitch accepted that Dolo had moved on because I heard little rumors around the club that she was dating a popular scammer in the Broward area.
Riot didn’t have to work tonight, so she was home with Amir. That girl broke my heart the other morning when she came into my room, telling me that she was getting ready to move in with Dolo. I shed tears when Riot told me that shit. Our bond was so tight that I truly thought of her as a little sister.
After Riot graduated from high school, she moved in with me. I was so used to being able to walk into her room, lay in bed with her, having our long talks, and things like that. I’ve always told Riot that she didn’t have to help me out with the bills, but that girl has always left money on the dresser for me. Ever since she came home from jail, and started working with Dolo, she would leave way more than enough money on the dresser for me, that I would tell her she didn’t have to leave, but she did it anyways.
I didn’t even tell Amir yet that she was moving out because I knew that it would break his heart. The way I cried, and carried on, you would have really thought that her ass was getting ready to die.
I wasn’t shocked that she was moving out though. My cousin was so in love. Plus, the night that Dolo came over to my auntie Keyshawn’s house, and he made the comment about Riotmoving in with him, I had a feeling that the day was coming soon.
With low, tired eyes, I pulled through the gates of my community, and I drove in. It took another thirty seconds for me to make it to the back where my townhouse was, and once I arrived, I decided to back my car into the driveway like I would always do.
I didn’t get out right away. In fact, I sat here for about five minutes before I eventually pulled myself out of the car.
I grabbed my phone, and I opened the back door, so that I could get my duffle bag, and purse. Once I had both items in my hands, I turned around, and there was a figure standing directly in front of me. They scared the shit out of me to the point that I screamed.
My scream caused him to cock his head to the side and look at me like he was confused. I knew this person, but I didn’t know what the fuck he was doing here. How did this nigga even know where I lived?
He was one of my customers at the club. Spanish dude name Leo. He’s been coming to the club for about two years now, and whenever he came, it was always good vibes. He would tip me good too.
“Leo, what the fuck! What the fuck are you doing here?” I screamed at him, still holding this crazed look in my eyes, wondering what the fuck he was doing, and how he’d gotten here.
“Ariana, please. Why are you screaming, and why do you look so surprised to see me?” he slurred. His ass was drunk. It showed in the way that his words were coming out, along with the gloss in his eyes.
“Because I am surprised to see you, nigga! You’re at my home. How the fuck did you get here? How do you even knowwhere I stay?” I asked, itching over, needing to get my gun out of the cupholder.
Now, any other time, I didn’t get out of the car unless I had my gun on me. The tiredness that I was feeling right now had me slacking because I would never do some shit like this. I’ve heard too many stories about strippers and bottle girls getting followed home from the club, and getting robbed, or murdered for me to ever get caught slipping like this. I wasn’t trying to have either one of the things happen to me, so I kept my gun in my hand any time that I got out of the car, except for tonight.
“Don’t do that Ariana. Don’t do that!” his voice was shaky, looking like he was on the verge of tears.
I was surprised by his actions. Surprised that he was doing this shit. Leo always portrayed himself as a nice guy. The nigga was a little weird, and I could tell that he had a crush on me, but I never thought that he would do anything like this.
“Ay, you need to get the fuck on. I don’t know where you came from, I still don’t know how you found out where I live, but you need to go. I’m telling you that if I get this door open, and I get a hold of my gun, I’m going to kill your ass. You’re on my property, and your acting crazy. I have every right to blow your fuckin head off!” I snapped on him, and when I said that, you could tell that it pissed him off because he aggressively came for me, knocking the duffle bag, and the purse out of my hands.
I tried to move quickly, but he was much faster than I was, grabbing me, and his hand wrapped around my neck.
“All the money I spent on you. The tips that I gave you. You thought that I was doing those things because I didn’t have anything else to do with my time? Ariana, I like you. I’ve been trying to get you to see that for years, but you wouldn’t. I’ve always known where you lived. I just finally got the courage to come up to you tonight and say something. Why are you acting like this?” this man was crazy. I saw something in his eyestonight that I’ve never seen before. There was a crazed, obsessed kind of look.
He had a firm grip around my neck, and I was fighting, using my hands to pry his hands away. Before anything could escalate any further, I heard a soft, popping noise come out from the distance, followed by a bullet piercing into the side of his head, which caused his blood to splatter, hitting me on my face.
His body dropped right at my legs, and I turned my head, so that I could see where the shot had come from, and my eyes landed on Riot, standing off to the side, where the walkway was to get into my home. Her gun had a silencer on it, which is why it didn’t make that loud noise that a gun usually would whenever it went off. She stood there in her pajamas, still holding the gun in her hands.
“Where the fuck is your gun at? Huh? Four o’clock in the fuckin morning, you got all that money on you, and you don’t have your gun on you? That nigga wasn’t supposed to even get that close to you! What the fuck is wrong with you?” Riot barked at me, rushing over, sounding like the big cousin, instead of the little cousin that she was.
“I was fuckin tired, Riot. Moving so fast and I left that shit in the cupholder. How did you know I was out here?” I asked her.
“I heard you when you when you screamed, so that’s when I looked out of the window, and saw what was going on. Raise the garage, so that we can lift him and put him in there. Ima call Dolo to get somebody over here to get his body out of here,” she demanded.
