Too Salty: Ain't a Damn Thang Changed (Part 6) (14 page)

When she and Calvin got back in the room
, the tension was so thick it could strangle you. She thought about how she was going to approach him with offering her help. Before she came up with an idea, Calvin walked over to her and gently pulled her from the bed by her hands. He looked into her eyes before kissing her.

“Sit down and let me explain something to you.” Calvin sat on the bed and pulled M
rs. K on his lap.  He kissed her on the ear and she tensed up. “Cocaine does not control me. I do that shit for fun. It’s the same as drinking, smoking weed, and gambling…You have to have a weak mind to allow that shit to control you. Who in the fuck will gamble off their house note and kid’s college fund not knowing if they would win or not? A weak and stupid muthafucka. Who in the fuck will stay drinking after the doctor warned you that it will eat you alive and you would be dead before you know it?” He thought about his own father. Mr. Lewis died a drunk and broke. After he lost their house and their cars due to his gambling addiction, he went into depression and drank himself until he finally died. “I’m not weak and I will never allow that shit to control me. I do it for fun.” He pulled her face to his. “It won’t solve your problems, but it will help you relax.”

“Are you suggesting that I try drugs?”

“There you go.” He became aggravated just that quick. “Watch out.” He pushed her up off him. Calvin paced back and forth. Dena looked at him like he was crazy. He stopped pacing and looked at her. “I am about to go out for a little while. Let me drive one of your cars.”

“You know where the keys are.” She flopped on the bed and poked out her lip. She didn’t want him to go. Calvin saw that and smiled in the inside.

“I am going out for a little bit.” He walked over to the plate, grabbed it, and sniffed the straight coke line. He left the coke that was in the form of an S there on purpose. When he was done, he sat the plate back down on his side of the bed, walked over, and kissed Dena, who looked in shock and then walked out of the door.

     A few hours had passed and Calvin still hadn’t return
ed. Just when she was thinking of him, her phone rang. “Hey, baby, is everything ok?” she asked. He crossed his fingers and toes.

“Naw, look. My momma just called me and told me that she has cancer
, and she needs money for medication and shit like that.”

“Oh no
, baby. Is there anything I can do?”

“Yep, I am short
. I need about twenty grand.”

“When will you be here
? Let’s talk.”

“I don’t really have nothing to talk about. If you are not going to give it to me
, then I need to think of a way to get it.”

“Calvin
, I never said that.”  

He looked at his boy that
sat across the table from him and smirked. “I will be there in a minute.”

When Dena got off the phone
, she walked over and stood on her balcony. So much had gone on in one night, she was sure there was a black cloud over her. She looked up in the sky. There wasn’t a black cloud, but there was a full moon. Dena walked back in the house and over to her wet bar, and made a drink. She thought about everything that had gone on from the time Diesel was shot at Jazz’s BBQ to the time Rosa told her she thought he was using drugs to finding out that her son raped his girlfriend and her daughter helped pin the crime on another man. She thought about Diesel dying and Ken killing him. She thought about the fight she and Laurie had. She needed another drink. As Dena made a drink, her eyes landed across the room at the drugs Calvin left there. She took baby steps in its direction and within seconds, she was standing in front of the coke filled plate.
I am not weak. I just need to relax
. She picked up the plate and stared at it. Her heart beat fast and for some reason, her mouth watered. She sat on the bed, took the rolled up dollar bill, and sniffed just a little. She hurried up and grabbed her nose. “This shit burns, oh shit.” She jumped up and ran toward the bathroom. She turned on the cold water, placed her hand under the faucet, and then stuck a finger up her nose. She looked in the mirror at herself. She didn’t see herself as looking any different, but her body felt feel light and tingly. It was a strange feeling and for some reason, it put a small smile on her face. She wiped the water from her nose and walked out of restroom. She jumped. “Baby, you scared me.” 

Calvin stared at her. She felt uncomfortable and tried to walk away. He grabbed her by the arm
. “Have you been messing with my shit?” She looked up at him.  She was so embarrassed and he could see it. “You don’t know what the hell you doing.” He chuckled. 

She laughed nervously.
“It burn like hell. Does it suppose to burn?”

“A little. But
, how you feel?”

“Good
,” she admitted.

Only if she knew. Only if she knew
… Calvin thought.

Since t
hat night, Dena had been dipping and dabbing. In her mind, Calvin was right. Only a weak person would get addicted because the shit had you feeling so good. Good thing for her she wasn’t weak. Not even if she did it three or four times a day for the last few weeks, she didn’t think she was addicted.

****

“Come on, we need to go.” Dena rush
ed out the hotel room. “Rosa, grab my purse and make sure you lock that door!” she yelled as she made it out of the door. Rosa was still taken aback by what she had just found out Dena was doing. She couldn’t believe she would stoop so low. Rosa sat baby Amanda on the couch.

“Stay right here.” She ran back to the room and into the bathroom. She
grabbed the plate of cocaine, flushed it down the toilet, and after threw the plate in the toilet.
The devil, the devil
, she thought of Calvin. Rosa grabbed Mrs. K’s purse off the rack, and she and baby Amanda left out of the room.

“What in the hell took so long
? My baby needs me,” she fussed at Rosa when she made it to the lobby.

“Where did you park?”

“Calvin has my car.” She briefly thought of him. He’d taken her car when they first got there the afternoon before and she hadn’t heard from him since. “You did drive, didn’t you?”

Rosa wanted to go off on her
, but she didn’t. Her main focus was finding out who had Laurie and why. Once she was safe, she would get on her. The ladies hurried out of the lobby. They waited for the valet.

“I’m driving
,” Dena advised.

    She drove like a bat out of hell all the
way to the court building. She was lucky there was a park out front. She parked right in front of the building, jumped out, and ran up the stairs.

What in the hell is she doing?
Rosa thought as she saw Mrs. K drop to her knees at the doors of the court. She looked back at baby Amanda, she was asleep. Rosa got out of the car and hurried up the steps.

“What are you doing?”

“I need to talk to Judge Gramble.”

“It
’s Saturday, they are closed. Now, tell me what in the hell is going on. Do that supposed to be man of yours have your daughter in danger? Tell me right now what is going on.” She bent down shook Dena.

Dena snatched away.
“Calvin had nothing to do with this. It’s that Ken.”

Rosa looked puzzled.
Dena broke it down as to what was going on. Rosa was now crying and scared. She prayed nothing happened to Laurie.

“Can’t you call somebody?”

“Gamble is the only one. His wife doesn’t like me, so I can’t go over there.” She stood up from the ground.

“Call him”

“He does not turn his phone on, on the weekends. Call Laurie’s phone.”

“Done?” was how G answered Laurie’s phone.

“No, the court is closed. But
, I promise I will take care of it first thing Monday. Please, let her go.”

“No can do, I will call you Monday.” G hung up and turned off the phone. Laurie cr
ied a storm. “I gotta go pick up Stacy,” G told Big Man.

“Man, go get another room first. This shit stank up in here.” He looked at the vomit on the floor.

About ten minutes later, G came back with a key for the new room they would be staying in.

“You get stupid
, your ass will regret it,” Big Man warned Laurie. “Now, stop all that damn crying. Now!” She jumped and wiped her eyes. “You wasn’t crying when you lied on Ken.” He gave her an evil glare. Laurie put her head down and the three exited the room.

Jay Bo looked out the window as Big Man, Laurie, and G walked pass. He wondered what the fuck was going on. Were they her pimp? The thought only crossed his mind a short second. Pam had come out of the restroom and was ready to finish her game of cards they were playing.

Mrs. K was having a fit. Rosa got on her nerve questioning her about what she was doing. She was worried about her daughter and Calvin’s ass was MIA again. She ended her weekend at the hotel and went home. She warned Rosa to leave her the hell alone and to only bother her if there was an emergency with baby Amanda or she’d gotten in touch with Laurie. All she wanted to do was sit in her room and relax. Only the cocaine was able to help her with that. However, she was getting low and she had no idea where to cop from. Calvin handled that.

*****

Calvin sat in the substation waiting to for Monday to come around so he could see if his PO would violate him. He would have been out. The bail for assault and disturbing the peace was nothing, but the punk ass system didn’t give him a bail because he was on parole. He knew Dena was probably wondering what was going on, but he couldn’t call her. If he did she, probably would have put her nose where it didn’t belong and she would have found out some shit she wasn’t supposed to find out, and then he would have to kill her. There was no need in worrying his mother. She was out of town, anyway, and, plus, there was nothing she could do, so he waited it. For some reason, he thought about that punk ass nigga Detective F. He still didn’t understand what his visit was all about.

****

Detective F had Mrs. Brown and Jazz
’s house watched by surveillance. He couldn’t locate Pam anywhere, but when he did he was for sure to pay her back. Not only did she escape, jeopardizing his case, but she assaulted an officer. She damn near killed Michaels.

He knew something was going on between them by the way he acted the day he had dropped by. He was a detective and he was far from stupid. They wouldn’t give each other eye contact, stuttering and shit. He knew.  He didn’t call them out on it because he didn’t think Michaels was that stupid to risk his job by tampering with police property. He better be glad he snuck up on him that day, he may have never woke up. There were plenty of wild animals that wouldn’t mind eating him. Michaels suffered from a slight concussion. F told him to call in sick with an excuse to keep his ass out of hot water. He threatened that Michaels could lose his job for what he did and Michaels didn’t want that, so he followed F’s advice.  Detective F was now sitting in front of the hospital waiting on Pastor G and Stacy to come out so he could follow them. He doubted they would lead him to Pam, but was sure that they knew where Jazz was and, eventually, Pam would show up.

*****

Pam decided to lay low. After almost being caught by Calvin and what went down at the hospital
, she decided to think a little more before she made a move. It was a good thing that she ran into Jay Bo at the local bar.

She had
gone to have a drink. JB asked her was she a nun and was she staying at the hotel up the street. Pam was alarmed at first and JB could read right through her. She wasn’t a nun. She was on some other shit like him.

“It ain’t even like that. Your business is your business.” He took a swig of his beer “And
, mine is mine.”  He sat his beer down, “Can I buy you a drink?”

“Yes.”  She smiled at the young man because she thought he was being fresh with her. 

When they left to go back to the motel and he offered her a ride, he told her straight up, “Look I ain’t out here on no let’s fuck and chill type of shit. I have a lot of things going on and from what I can read, so do you. Now, we both have been drinking and I don’t won’t you out here walking alone, even if it is up the street. So, you can roll with me and I will take you back to the room.”

“Thank you.” Pam accepted the offer.

The next day morning, he went out to get breakfast. He knocked on her door and asked if she wanted to join him. He wanted to ask if she was going to wear her nun outfit, but didn’t want to be rude. When she walked out in jeans and a shirt with a baseball cap and shades, he was cool with that look. But, it made him wonder who she was hiding from. If time allowed, he would ask sooner or later.

Jazz sat in the middle of the floor in her wheelchair and Mrs. Brown stood next to her.
G texted Mrs. Brown and told her that they would be pulling up any moment. Jazz was so excited to see Stacy. She and Mrs. Brown had been her biggest support since her mom had passed away. When Stacy went away, she was sad about it. Every night, she prayed that Stacy wasn't back in the streets. Although she didn't want to believe she was, her heart told her different.

"Here they come." Mrs. Brown peeked out of the kitchen window.

"Where are we?" Stacy questioned.

"This is Mrs. Brown
’s other home." Pastor G hoped she didn't ask any more questions. He didn't want Stacy to know that he'd had them go out there because he didn't want them being harmed by Calvin.

"Oh, this is the house she stays at four times a year? It's so nice out here. Just too far." They were in an Apple Valley, over an hour from Los Angeles. "Me and Jazz used to always say we were going to come up here with her." She looked at Calvin and before she could open her mouth, he leaned over and kissed her. Stacy wanted to melt. He was the best. He had really been proving his love.

"I love you." He slid his hand up her leg.

"Don't do that. I may not be able to control myself. "

"Good
." G leaned in and kissed her neck.  

She laughed.
"Come on, baby, let's go,” Stacy said. G got out the car, walked over to the trunk, grabbed her walker, and then walked over to help her out.

When G and Stacy walked in the house, Jazz smiled and cried. Stacy and Mrs. Brown did the same. Stacy moved as fast as she could to Jazz and when she did, she pushed her walker to the side, dropped on her knees, and hugged her tightly. Mrs. Brown joined the hug.
 

Mrs. Brown prepared a good meal for them. On the table was smothered pork chops, baked turkey chops, fried catfish, dressing,
mac and cheese, potato salad, green beans, and corn. Most of the items Jazz begged her to cook and for desert, there was peach pie, apple pie, coconut cake, and caramel cake. Mrs. Brown didn't really cook like that until the holidays rolled around and even then, she didn't cook that much. She only did it because she thought Stacy needed to pick up a few pounds and to cater to Jazz’s cravings. Jazz hadn't mentioned it, but she knew she was pregnant and not just because she ate everything, either. She did catch her holding her tummy once or twice, but let her be. Everyone gathered around the table.

"Where is
Big Man?" Jazz asked. "Has he talked to Ken?" G looked at Mrs. Brown, and then at Jazz.

"He and his old lady went to her moms. The prison still on lockdown
, so we haven't heard from him."

"Will he get the letter I wrote
?”

"Yeah."

Jazz smiled, and then she teared up. Not wanting to damper on anyone’s parade, she quickly rolled out of the dinner room. Stacy caught that and followed Jazz.

"Let me help you." Gary grabbed the
walker.

"I'm ok." She wanted to do it on her on. Besides
, it wasn't that hard.

As
Jazz sat in the hallway trying to pull herself together, she could here that Stacy coming from the noise her walker made. She wiped her eyes and planted a smile on her face. "Here I come." Jazz rolled back toward the dinner area.

"Baby
, we’re family. I know you're hurting, it's ok. You don't have to hide from us." Stacy moved the walker to the side and took toddler steps toward Jazz. "You're going to be fine. Ken is coming home. Everything is going to be just fine." She bent over and hugged Jazz.

"You promise
?" Jazz hugged her and cried.

"Yes, he's coming back. We're all going to be a family again."

"Promise you won't leave again?"

Stacy squeezed her tighter. She felt bad. She wanted to tell her about what her dad did to her
, but she was afraid to hurt her. "I'm sorry."

"What happened
, why we're you on drugs?" Jazz pulled away from her and looked in her face.

"Can I explain later? I mean
, there is no excuse, but I have something to tell you." Jazz nodded her head. "I'm going into a program, too, but after thirty days I'll be out."

"Will you and pastor marry before then?" Stacy told her no. She wanted to get clean first. Jazz said she understood. The ladies hugged again before agreeing that they should go eat before the food got cold.    When Gary saw Stacy rolling Jazz back in the dinner area without her walker
, he jumped up."I'm fine." She smiled. Slowly, he sat back down.
 

Later that night

Stacy la
y on her back in the bed while Gary dried her off, he'd just given her a bath.  When he was done drying her off, he picked up the lotion next to her and rubbed her down. Stacy closed her eyes and enjoyed the massage. Light snores escaped her mouth and G smiled. He wasn't letting her get away that easy. G got up and turned the radio on real low. He then got in the shower.

In the other room
, Jazz tossed and turned. She missed Ken so much. She wondered what he was up to, if he got her letter, and if he did what was he thinking.

The county was back on lockdown
, therefore, no calls or visits. After the bullshit with Colisa, Ken didn't care if he had a visit or not, all he wanted was to get up out of there. Just when he could no longer control the pain and anger he had not knowing where she was and how she was, he got a letter from her.

"Mail
call, Cox. Cell four."

Ken took his time getting up. He knew it wasn't
anybody but Colisa’s sick ass. Per the CO’s request, he stated the last three of his booking number and took the letter. Immediately, he noticed the writing and a smile plastered on his face. He felt like a kid on Christmas who'd just gotten everything he wanted. Ken read the address on the letter. He didn't recognized  the Apple Valley address, but knew if Jazz had got in touch with him it was because of Big Man and G. He smelled the letter to see if he could smell her perfume, but it smelled like paper. Careful not to rip the letter, he opened it slowly. He pulled the letter out and smiled at the red lips on the front.

"Go sit down
, player."

Ken looked up at dude who had walked pass him. He chuckled.
"Shut up, man."

It was old boy that he shot the shit with when he felt like talking. Ken walked over and sat his bunk. He laid back and read the letter.

 Dear Ken,

I p
ray to God this letter reaches you in the best of health. I pray that you are safe and out of harm’s way. Baby, I love you and miss you more than words can say. Oh, my God, baby, how did we get here? I'm so sorry about being so stupid and selfish. Baby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone to see him, you wouldn't have saw me there and y'all wouldn't have never fought. Baby, I know you didn't do what they said you did him. I know it. Ken, I miss you. I'm praying every night and day that you come home to us. Baby, we need you. Ken, I'm pregnant. Almost four months.

Ken had to reread the letter again
. He read the last part about four times to make sure he read right, and there it was almost midnight and he was reading it again. Jazz was pregnant, he was going to be a daddy. He needed to get the fuck up out of there. Now that he knew she was in good hands, he still felt less of a man that he wasn't there with her and his baby.
I gotta get out this bitch. G, my nigga, where you at?
     

Pastor G climbed on top of Stacy and placed light kisses all over her face. Stacy smiled and kissed him back. Gary slid his hand under her shirt and played with her breast.
"Baby, don't go there. We're waiting until we're married." Stacy rubbed his bald head.

He suck
ed on her hard nipples. He guided her hand to his thick, hard penis. "You want it, huh?" She massaged and stroked him. "Put it in,” G couldn't wait. He was in need of some good ass pussy. He hadn't had any since the day he gave her some in Arizona, and then left her right after. Stacy wanted it just as bad. She didn't waste any time sliding him inside of her. "Mmmm," G moaned upon entering her tight box. He stroked her nice and slow. Stacy was in pure bliss.

Yay Yay la
y in the bed with a scowl on her face. Lying beside her with his head rested on her breast had her feeling some kind of way. Wack was on that lovey dovey shit again and that time, she wasn’t feeling it. The stunt he pulled the other night, hitting her and blacking her eye, and then letting his bitch violate her, she didn’t think that it was forgivable. All she had been was good to that nigga. She stole a fucking baby to help him come up, which led up to her killing her best friend, and he was treating her like that? Fuck with people said about drugs making a person moody and act in ways that they wouldn’t normally act. That was his fucking problem. She started to feel for Wack like she felt for Trina, her dead mother, anger and hate. As soon as she got a chance, she was getting away from his ass. At that moment, she didn’t have a place to go and that was one of the main reasons she stayed.

“Watch out
, Wack I need to get something to drink.” She tried raising up.

“Wait a minute,” he whispered as he ran his hand up and down her stomach. He leaned up and over her
, and kissed her ear.

“Not tonight. I am on my period.”

“What that mean? Your mouth ain’t leaking.” He lay back on the pillow. His dick stuck straight up. “Get ‘em.” He looked down at his erection. Any other time, Yay would have been ready to jump on the dick, but not that time. She just wasn’t feeling him anymore. He was wrong for what he did to her.

“Wack I need to go to the store and get some tampons. I won’t last until the night.”

“Ain’t no store open.”

“Super K is.”

“Alright, but first, take care of this.” He pulled her arm toward him. Yay took a deep breath. She rolled her eyes as she filled her mouth with spit and leaned over, taking his dick into her warm mouth.  “Mmmm, shit.” Wack grabbed her by the head. Yay was, no doubt, a bad bitch. She gave the best pussy and head.