Another Hood Love 2 (11 page)

“What’s up, Pam?” I asked as I picked up my vibrating phone. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Chris calling me again.

“So my step-sister, she lives down in Victorville, right? Her ass got married and moved down there to be closer to her granny and she calls me yesterday and says she ran into Quita. Said she was at Western Union with some old nigga.”

I sat up in my seat because I had been ready to find this hoe and now I finally got something on her ass.

“So peep this, though. On her way out, she tells the cashier she will see her again next week. So I shot my sis some dough and told her to sit on that spot and try and catch her ass again and then when she leave, follow her ass and shoot me the address.”

I was already putting a plan in motion for Quita’s ass. She had cut a deal with the Feds and had given up all kinds of information that could get my uncle crazy time but then when it came time for her to prepare for trial and her testimony, she had skipped town. Without her testimony, the D.A.’s case wasn’t as strong. I was about to catch that hoe and air her ass out.

“Good looking, P. Keep me posted. I got something for that bitch.”

The meeting continued for another thirty minutes as we went over numbers and how and when to switch up the trap locations on the blocks. Once everything was covered, I ended the meeting and looked at the time. It was a quarter to six and I needed to get going so that I could pick up Baby Tone from Ms. Tracy’s.

I had started letting her get some time with him alone, no overnights but when I had business to handle and she was free, she helped out for a couple of hours. He loved being with her and I liked the fact that my baby would have the chance to have at least one grandparent in his life. Soon as I got in my car, I sent Ms. Tracy a text saying that I was on my way and then I called Chris back.

I started the car and pulled off as the phone rang and then went to voicemail. I hated people that blew you up but then didn’t answer when you called them back. I threw my phone on the seat and turned up my music as I bobbed my head to Rick Ross’
Mastermind
album. I loved that album and I could listen to it every day from beginning to end. It felt great to ride the streets of my city in my Maserati listening to a real nigga. I just wished I still had the people I’d started with here to share this feeling with them. Our time was cut way too short. But every move I made was in their memory.

“G
o, baby! Go, baby! Yay!! Look at mama, baby. You walkin and rollin now, huh?” I picked up Baby Tone and spun him around in the air.

We were spending a nice Friday night in the house and he had taken his first steps. He was three weeks shy of being a year old and had been taking little steps here and there but today he just got up and walked. I was so proud my little man was growing so fast. I swear I just had him.

“Babe, hand me phone so I can send this video of him walking to everybody,” I said, way too excited.

“Why can’t you just let them see it for themselves? Ain’t he going over Gio’s tomorrow?” Chris asked, seemingly annoyed.

“Here we go,” I thought.

“Never mind, I can grab my own shit. Matter of fact, since you seeming so irritated, why you don’t go to your own shit where you can be as grumpy as you want? But take that shit up out my spot.”

I was so over Chris and his bitch ass attitudes. His ass was mad because he wanted to go out to his cousin’s party tonight and I told him I was staying in with my son but he could go if he liked. I didn’t know I was obligated to be on a nigga’s arm 24/7. Nigga wanted me to drop my baby off to Gio a day early just to go be in some sweaty ass club. My priorities were in order and I had a baby and homework to tend to.

“Yup, Jae, you right. Let me leave. I ain’t got to get a babysitter to go have a good time. I ain’t even got no kids,” he said as he got up and grabbed his hoodie and walked out the door.

“And yo ass never will have any with me, bitch!” I yelled after his disrespectful ass. I was sick and tired of his little slick comments regarding my child. Enough was enough and I was ready to cut ties with his mark ass. “Say bye-bye, loser. Wave at him, Tony,” I said to my son.

I heard my phone ringing but I couldn’t find it. I looked under the couch and didn’t see it. I kept searching and still couldn’t find it. I looked at Baby Tone and he was sitting on the floor giggling. “Where’s mommy phone at, silly boy?” I asked while picking him up and tickling him. I heard my phone beep, alerting me that I had a message and when I turned him around, I found it in his back pocket. This little boy was something else. He was quick to grab something and shove it in his pockets or in his pants. I laughed as I sat him down on my lap and then opened up my messages.

Loren:
Umm… ‘scuse me chick open the door

Me:
Sorry hun here I come

I had met this chick at school and she was real cool. I didn’t too much click with outside bitches but we had a couple classes together and she was real cool. She had invited me out one day to a fashion show that she was going to be in. I had taken Lexis and China with me and it was fun. Afterwards, we had gone out to grab some food and we really clicked.

Lo was super cute. She was black and Asian with toffee colored skin and thick, jet black hair that she mostly wore in a cute, curly fro’. Lo had a round face with a dimple in her left cheek and a cute little pug nose.

I got up and opened the door and turned around as I heard Baby Tone’s little footsteps behind me. I turned on my camera and recorded him as he walked to me, practically running and about to fall. I laughed at his little wobbly body as he lunged and grabbed on to my legs.

“Aww, shit! Look the little baby mobile now. Time to buy you a car now, huh, boo?” Loren said as she picked him up and kissed his cheek.

“Hey, hooch, what’s going on?” I asked as we walked towards the kitchen.

I had made some spaghetti for dinner and Loren had come over to bring me these shoes that I had ordered a couple of weeks ago from the designer that she worked for that had finally come in. I placed Baby Tone in his high chair and made him a bowl of spaghetti and then cut up his noodles with his spoon while Loren grabbed his sippy cup and poured him some white grape juice from out of the refrigerator. Loren was the second oldest out of eight kids so it was funny how she just tended to things automatically. After the baby was settled and beginning to feed himself, or should I say paint himself with the food, I turned around as Loren handed me the bag with the shoes in it.

“Ooooh, Lo, these are so bomb!” I squealed as I took a look at them and then opened the second box and looked at the second pair.

I had paid for Baby Tone and me to have matching shoes for his birthday. I wasn’t giving him a big party or anything but just a little get together among the family and close friends. I had decided that royal blue would be our color theme. I had a custom crown made for my prince and had bought him the cutest outfit. I had gotten him a cute ass Paul Smith color block cardigan with a white polo to go underneath and some Burberry pants to go with it. My son was about to be fly. Loren was a model for H&M’s Alexander Wang collection so she had a few connections. I had gotten her to put in a custom order and it had cost me a couple thousand but it all came together and we were going to be fly.

“Thanks, honey bunny!” I said as I hugged her and kissed her cheek. Loren held on a little longer than a normal hug so I pulled back and looked at her; she smiled and walked over to Baby Tone.

“No problem, Jae. You know you my girl and shit, you paid for it.” I didn’t know what that hug was all about but it had me kind of weirded out. “Hey, I thought Chris was staying in with you tonight?” Loren asked as she turned back towards me while feeding Baby Tone the rest of his food.

I grabbed two bowls and filled them with spaghetti before I grabbed the garlic bread out of the oven and placed a piece into each bowl. I sat the bowls down on the island and took a seat. “Lo, that nigga is dumb as fuck. He about done-done over here,” I said as I stuffed a forkful of food into my mouth. I would have made a salad for Lo but I wasn’t too fond of eating dressed up leaves with every meal, so she was going to have to deal.

“Damn, what he do now?” she asked as she pulled Antonio’s high chair close to us and sat down to eat.

“Just those little fake ass remarks, bitch ass shots he be taking towards my son. Like bitch, you how old and every time I turn around you hating on an eleven month old?” I said, getting up to grab two bottles of Snapple out the refrigerator. “Like nigga, get yo’ mothafuckin’ life, for real. I swear, Lo, the next time this nigga get slick, I’m going to leg check his ass,” I said, pointing my fork at her.

She laughed “Girl, don’t kill that nigga, just let his ass go. That fag ass nigga way too insecure to be that sexy.” We both laughed because Chris was fine as hell but his attitude made all that nice beard, sexy body and good dick irrelevant.

I liked asshole niggas but he was proving to be a bitch ass nigga. “Yeah, you right, Lo. I’m cool off blood. I’m calling his ass up in the morning and telling him I just want to chill out.”

I sat and thought about everything. Chris and I had been exclusive for about four months and at the end of the day, I wasn’t gaining anything from the relationship but some cool company when he wasn’t tripping out and some amazing sex. Lately, he had been trying to get me pregnant, insisting that we have unprotected sex, hinting around a baby and stupid shit like that. The nigga didn’t even fuck with my son; what the hell did I look like carrying his whack ass seed? I knew I wouldn’t be losing much by calling it quits with him, we had no ties and no money invested together. All he had was a few belongings over here that he could either come get or chalk.

I cleaned Baby Tone up while Loren and I talked for a little while longer before she got a phone call and said that she had to run. I thanked her for coming over to drop off the shoes then picked up my sleepy baby and walked her to the door before locking up and heading to bed.

I woke up the next morning and grabbed my phone. It was so horrible that the first things we do when we wake up is grab our phones. So I laid my phone on my chest and closed my eyes. I thanked God for waking me up this morning and said a short prayer of protection, peace and forgiveness and then picked my phone back up. I would handle my hygiene soon as I checked my notifications. I looked at the time and saw it was 9 a.m. so my son would be waking up shortly needing a diaper change and expecting breakfast. I saw that I had a few messages so I checked them first.

Chris had texted me a few times and I even had a few missed calls from him. Same old shit about he was sorry about his attitude and promised to do better. Blah, blah, blah. I was just tired of the back and forth. It was crazy that he felt like he could do and say whatever and then come over to fuck and sleep in bed after. I swear, niggas were a trip. I logged into my Instagram and saw that I had a couple of direct messages. I laughed at one that Lex had sent me clowning Jizz’s whack ass best friend. Jizz had this best friend that was always around trying to be Lex and my friend but she was whack as hell. She was from out the way and she just wasn’t our cup of tea. They had gone out last night and the bitch was looking hurt.

I came across another D.M. from some bitch I didn’t even know. Her screen name was WhoIzK but I didn’t know who it was. I looked at the picture of a sonogram with the words, “Christian Xavier Marbry Jr.” I laughed at the whole situation. I didn’t have any feeling invested in Chris so I messaged the bitch back and said, “Congrats! I hope that you and Chris make a beautiful family together. Next time bother somebody who has two fucks to give #ZeroFucksGiven.”

I placed my phone on the dresser and got my ass up. I walked into my bathroom and handled my hygiene before heading downstairs to go make Baby Tone and me some eggs, grits and sausage. I thought about Chris having a baby with somebody else. Niggas weren’t worth shit these days and I didn’t have time to play games with a nigga that wasn’t even touching me financially.

I sent Chris a quick text and told him to come over for breakfast. Soon as the food was done, I ran upstairs and grabbed a duffle bag and grabbed up whatever things Chris had and threw them inside. Once I was sure I had packed up everything, I set the bag by the door in my room and went down the hall to Baby Tone’s room. As I walked in, he was just sitting up and rubbing his eyes. His face was scrunched up like he was ready to cry.

“Oh nah, Prince Tone. You are royalty, not a crybaby. You hear me?” I asked as I picked him up and felt his diaper. “Ready to eat-eat?” I asked as I changed his diaper. He stared at me, repeating my words. I smiled at my son. No matter how much money I had or what I did in life, he would always be my greatest accomplishment. I just hoped that he would be proud of me one day. That’s why I planned to finish school and build a name for myself. I had already put up a college fund for him right after he was born, so education was something he would never have to worry about.

I talked to my son as we walked downstairs to the kitchen. Soon as we hit the last step, the doorbell rang. “That was fast,” I said, surprised that Chris had gotten here so fast. I opened the door and Chris looked as if he had just woken up. I frowned. “Ugh, nigga, what you do, sleep in ya car?” I asked in regards to his disheveled appearance.

“Hell yeah. I was drunk as fuck and had drove out here last night after the party but you didn’t answer and I was too loaded to try and drive back.”

I moved to the side and let him in. he leaned down and tried to kiss my lips and I turned my head so his kiss kind of landed in the corner of my eye. I laughed as Baby Tone slapped his face and told him to no. He was starting to say small words and ‘no,’ ‘stop’ and ‘mama’ were at the top of his list. I set him down on the floor so that he could walk to the kitchen. I had plans of babyproofing the house while he was gone to Gio’s for the weekend. Now that he was fully mobile, I knew he would be into everything.