Torn (26 page)

"Like you don't know!" Quan stood over him.

Having the upper hand, he bent over and repeatedly pistol-whipped him in the face. Quan was hitting West so hard that his nose broke. You could hear the bone crack as his nose began to bleed. But Quan didn't care. He was out to kill. West tried to fight back, but Quan was so emotional that he wasn't even competition. West covered his face and screamed out for help. This only made Quan angrier. The next thing West knew, his head was being slammed into the floor.

Quan didn't even realize it, but suddenly he had back up.

Diggy had come into the shop and joined in. No questions had to be asked. When his brother was at war, so was he. Without a slight sense of hesitation, Diggy lifted up his foot and proceeded to kick West in the face over and over again. Blood gushed from his mouth and nose now. The only reason the fight was stopped was because Stacy had come into the shop and pulled them off of West.

"What the fuck is deal?!" Stacy held Quan back, confused by the entire situation.

"This nigga fucked Mo!"

"Quan, this me! What you talkin' about, baby?" West played dumb with blood all over his face.

"You know what, dog, save it! Yo' best bet is to get the fuck out Dodge, 'cause the next time I see you, trust that my finger will be on the trigger!" Quan warned before leaving the shop in a huff. Mo was on the road, heading toward Quan's mother's house. As she drove along the highway, Mo wondered if she was making the right decision by leaving. Quan had threatened plenty of times to put her out, but never before had she actually taken him up on his threat by leaving. But this time, Mo figured she'd show his ass.

Not only did she call his bluff by leaving, but she also fucked up some of his shit in the process. Mo wished she could see the reaction on his face when he came home to find all of his clothes and his precious shoe collection destroyed.
See how you like them apples, muthafucka
, she chuckled as she pulled up into his mother's driveway.

"Ma!" she called out as she entered the house.

"Yeah!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to lock this door?" Mo placed her bags down.

"Oh, girl, please, don't nobody want me." Mrs. Mitchell smiled, greeting her with a hug. "Is Quan alright? I know that he didn't want to stay at the hospital," she continued.

"He's fine I guess." Mo looked away and shrugged.

"You guess? What happened last night? I kept on askin' him but he wouldn't tell me."

"Nothing, we just got into it, that's all." Giving her a quizzical look, Mrs. Mitchell knew that Mo wasn't giving her the full story.

"It must have been a big argument, you brought your lug-gage over here."

"Okay ... me and Quan sorta had a little disagreement and

... I need to stay here for a while."

"Come on in the kitchen, girl." Doing as she was told, Mo followed Mrs. Mitchell into the kitchen and sat at the island on a barstool.

"What was the little disagreement about this time?" Mrs.

Mitchell questioned as she took a seat. "'Cause y'all gon' be back together in five minutes anyway."

"Ma, it's worse than the time he hit me. Quan had a baby on me wit another girl," Mo explained as her eyes welled up with tears. Already knowing about her son's infidelity, Mrs.

Mitchell simply inhaled deeply and shook her head.

"Did you know?"

"It's not about whether I knew or not." Mrs. Mitchell con-firmed her suspicions. "It's about you feel."

"I just don't know what to do. I mean ... I can almost deal with the fact that he cheated, but a baby? How he could do that to me? How could he make me feel like I was the only one and then go sleep with her? I have stuck by his side and dealt with his shit for nine fuckin' years and this how he gon' do me! And I'm sorry mama for cursing, but I just can't believe it. How could he lay down with her? How could he have a baby with her?" Mo's bottom lip trembled. Tears were rolling down her face at lightening speed.

"Quan is all that I have ever wanted! I don't want nobody else, ma! I ain't never loved nobody the way I love him! It hurt so bad I can't even breathe! If he ain't want me no more, he could've just said that! He could've let me go?! He ain't have to go screw that girl behind my back!"

"Mo, let me tell you something. Quan ain't gon' never leave you alone. It's up to you, baby. What you need to realize is that you're the prize, and until you realize that, ain't nothing ever gon' be right. Quan gon' continue to do what he want to do and when he want to do it, but you have to be the one to say enough is enough. What I wanna know is ... why do you keep going back? What is it about my son that you love so much that you just can't let go?"

"I don't know. I just love him." Mo sniffed as she tried her best to stop the tears that stained her face.

"Let me tell you something. If the only thing you can say is, 'I don't know ... I just love him,' then baby, you got a lot to think about 'cause love ain't no
I don't know, maybe
kind of thing. Real love makes you feel free and optimistic like you can conquer the world. When you truly love someone, you will do any and everything to keep that person from harm. You will never lie, because to do such a thing would never even cross your mind. From what I've seen over the years, you nor Quan have done any of that."

"I know, Ma, but you don't understand." Mo continued to sob, frustrated.

"Understand what? Tell me what I don't understand."

"I have loved him since I was fifteen. I don't know what it's like to be without him. And sometime I feel like if I let go of Quan, I'ma have to let go of you, too."

"Baby, listen. My love for you ain't going nowhere.

Whether you're with my son or not, I'ma love you. You are still going to be my daughter. That will never change, you hear me?"

Not able to answer, since she was crying so hard, Mo held her head down and nodded.

"Listen, girl." Mrs. Mitchell held Mo's face up by her hand.

"Wipe ya face and stop all that cryin' 'cause cryin' ain't gon' change the situation. I'm tellin' you for your own good - leave

... Quan ... alone. This is his mother tellin' you this. Not some chick out on the street or one of yo' lil' girlfriends, but me ...

his mother. Now what I won't do is tell you not to go back to him 'cause I know how you young folks are, but don't say I didn't warn you," Mrs. Mitchell said, getting up as she heard someone entering through the front door.

"Who is that?"

"Me, mama!" Quan replied.

"Umm, speak of the damn devil."

"Where you at? I need to talk to you!"

"In the kitchen!"

Choking back the rest of the tears that filled her throat, Mo wiped her face with the back of her hand. She would be damned if she let Quan see her cry again. Once he reached the entranceway of the kitchen, Quan spotted Mo and became enraged with anger.

"What the fuck she doing here?"

"First of all, you better watch yo' goddamn mouth, and secondly, this is my house! Mo is more than welcome to be here! Now if you have a problem with that, then you can skip yo' happy ass on up outta here!"

"You always taking her side! You don't even know what she did to me! While she coming over here running her mouth, did she tell you she fucked West? Did you tell her that, Mo?!" Quan barked, charging toward her.

"And what you think you about to do?" Mrs. Mitchell ques- tioned, blocking his path. "You ain't gettin' ready to touch her up in here! 'Cause if you do, we all gon' be thumping! Now try me if you want to!"

"Why you taking her side?!"

"I ain't taken nobody side! If you was wrong you was wrong! The same thing goes for Mo! But my door will always be open to her. You understand?" Mrs. Mitchell clarified.

"If you gon' be fuckin' this person and if she gon' be fuckin' that person then what is the point of y'all being together? The shit is just ridiculous! Both of y'all need to stop! Just let it go!

Now Mo, if you did sleep with that boy, then you was dead wrong! If it done got to the point where you feel as though you have to do some low-down dirty mess like that, then you really need to let it go! Now if y'all gon' go back to each other then that's all on you! But this foolishness needs stop!" Inhaling deeply, Mrs. Mitchell tried to catch her breath. "Done made my blood pressure go up! Let me get up outta here before I end up cussing both y'all the fuck out." Pissed, Quan leaned up against the wall. He could tell that Mo had been crying and wanted not to feel a thing about her tears, but his heart just wouldn't allow him to be so selfish.

Despite the pain they'd caused one another, he still loved her.

But his mind kept reminding him of her betrayal and he just couldn't get over that.

Mo, on the other hand, was so sick of crying she didn't know what to do, but the words Mrs. Mitchell spoke still rang in her ear, causing her to cry even more. Everything she'd said was true, but loving and leaving Quan alone was something she didn't want to do. The thought of it being over for good felt like what it would feel like to die - helpless and alone. That was something Mo didn't want.

She wanted to feel whole again. She wanted to try to make things work. They could do it. They'd done it before. As she gazed into his chocolate brown eyes, Mo felt defeated and became weak. Quan's entire being was intoxicating. Around him, she felt as if her lungs had collapsed and she couldn't breathe. Flashbacks of their lovemaking entered her mind.

She could feel him biting her neck and hear herself screaming his name. She could hear him groaning in her ear the words "I love you."

Damn, why can't I just leave this nigga alone?
she thought, trying her best to shake the memories. Mo was caught in a maze of lies, insecurities and broken promises and couldn't find her way back to fertile ground. She just needed to know that all of the trying she'd done over the past nine years hadn't been in vain. She wanted to know that their entire relationship wasn't a joke. Frustrated with wondering why, too, Quan gave Mo one last look and left the room. Later on that night, Quan returned home to an empty house. The only thing he wanted to do was go to sleep and forget the past day's events. Quan wasn't even in the house good when his nose was attacked by the smell of bleach. "What the fuck?" he said out loud. Quickly he opened up all the windows.

The scent was that overwhelming.

Immediately, he knew that Mo had something to do with it. Taking the steps two at a time, he entered their bedroom.

All of his clothes were sprawled across the room. His Evisu, Cavalli and Red Monkey jeans were bleached, and his $10 collection of custom-made Nikes was burned to a crisp. Quan didn't have a white tee or a pair of draws left. Not only were his clothes and shoes messed up, but Mo also cut up all the sheets and the mattress on the bed. She made sure all his shit was fucked up.

Once the initial shock wore off, Quan soon realized that Mo was gone and never coming back. His wish had come true.

Checking her walk-in closet and dresser drawers, he saw that she had taken all her belongings. The only thing she left behind was a note that read:

I would've left the ring, but I thought about it and
changed my mind
.

"Ooooh, I'ma fuck her up!" he yelled, punching his fist and pacing the floor. Picking up the phone, he dialed Mo's cell phone number, pissed.

"Hello?" she answered, half asleep.

"I'ma fuckin' kill you!"

"What?" Mo asked, confused. She had completely forgotten about tearing up his things.

"You heard me! Why you fuck up my shit, man?!"

"Quan, I ain't got time for this. Don't call my phone with this mess."

"Are you serious? You fuck up my shit and I ain't supposed to say nothing? Bitch, you must be crazy."

"Bitch?! You the bitch!"

"Shut up before I slap you in yo' dick sucker! Oops, I forgot, you don't suck dick! Fuckin' amateur!"

"Whateva, I hope you don't suffocate," she laughed.

"Yo, you think this shit is funny? Let's see how funny it is when I bury yo' ass!"

"Are you done," Mo yawned, "'cause I was asleep."

"Yo, you make my fuckin' asshole hurt! I hate you! I swear to God I do!"

"I hate you, too. Now that that's cleared up, can I go back to sleep?"

"Shut yo' stupid ass up and stay the fuck out my life!" Quan barked.

"Don't worry, I will," Mo shot back, but it was too late, Quan had already hung up.

13

Again

Sherry sat cheerfully on her bedroom floor, splitting a cig-arillo.
Beside her sat a half an ounce of weed, two champagne glasses and a bottle of Moet. She and Jahquita were celebrat-ing. Sherry had won. Mo was finally out of the picture. Now she and Quan could live the life she'd always dreamed of.

"So tell me everything," Jahquita said as excitement danced in her eyes.

"Girl, evidently somehow she heard us on the phone fuckin'."