Trife Life To Lavish (A King Production Presents...) (20 page)

"Miss Martin."

Nichelle stepped out her gloomy thoughts
when the nurse came in.

"Yes."

"I don't know if your boyfriend told you-"

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend," Nichelle quickly said, cutting the nurse off.

"I apologize. He seemed so concerned about
you, I assumed he was your boyfriend."

"He did?"

"Yes, very concerned. He refused to leave
your side. He must care about you a great deal."

To Nichelle's surprise, hearing that gave her
this funny tingling feeling inside.

"But what he couldn't tell us, was what
happened to you. How did you get all those
bruises on your face and there was bruising on
your stomach?"

Nichelle thought about what the nurse asked
her, and whether or not she should tell her it was
Lerrick's jealous ass. But no matter how much
she detested Lerrick, Nichelle wasn't a snitch. She
would rather get street justice, which she already
did, than ever fuck with the police.

"I was walking home from school and some girls
ran up behind me and tried to rob me. I tried to fight
back, but as you can see, they got the best of me."

"Did you see their faces? Do you know who
it was?"

"Nope. All I was trying to do was hold on to
my purse, which I did."

"A purse isn't worth your life. I need to call
the police so you can file a report."

"Report what? I didn't even get to see their
faces. I was too busy tryna block punches. You know the cops ain't gon' do nothing anyway. They
can't close cases even when they got witnesses."

The nurse shook her head, too tired from
working double shifts to argue with Nichelle. "What
I came to tell you is, the doctor wants you to stay
overnight for observation."

"Am I okay?"

"You should be fine. But, you lost a significant
amount of blood when you miscarried, so the doctor
wants to monitor you, to be on the safe side. If you
need anything, just push the button."

"I will." When the nurse left, Nichelle called
her mother so she wouldn't worry when she didn't
come home.

"Hello."

"Hey, it's me, Nichelle."

"Hi, baby. I just walked in from work. How
was your first day back at school?"

"Not good."

"What happened?"

"I'll talk to you about it when I get home
tomorrow."

"Why aren't you coming home until tomorrow?"

"Because I'm at the hospital."

"What! Nichelle, what happened? What
hospital are you at, because I'm coming up there!"

"Don't, please! I'm gonna be fine. They just
wanna keep me here for observation. Don't worry,
I'll be home tomorrow. But, I want to be alone right now."

"Nichelle, what is really going on with you?"
Her mother's voice had gone from being alarmed,
to straight pissed that her daughter was laid up
in the hospital again, but wanted to be so vague
about why she was there.

"Ma, I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow,"
Nichelle said, quickly hanging up the phone when
Renny came in.

"You didn't have to hang up with your mother
because of me."

"I didn't. She was asking me a bunch of
questions I wasn't in the mood to answer. I'm glad
you came back, but visiting hours are gonna be
over soon. I wish I could leave with you, but the
doctor wants me to stay overnight."

"It's understandable. You looked real bad when
you came in here. I know they must've thought I was
some abusive boyfriend that fucked you up."

"No, the nurse said you seemed to really care
about me."

"I do."

"Why? You don't even know me."

"When I say this, I don't want you to think
I'm some crazy guy you should be afraid of."

"I would never think that. If you hadn't helped
me, I could be a lot worse off than I am right now.
You probably saved my life."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"The nurse told me I lost a lot of blood. I
never paid a lot of attention in school, but I do
remember learning that losing too much blood
leads to death. So, say what you were about to tell
me, and I promise I won't think you're crazy."

"Remember you said that."

"Would you say it already?"

"This is gonna sound soft but it's true... I've
had a thing for you since the first time I saw you."

"You mean at Carmelo's funeral?"

"No, months ago, when Radric and I came to
pick up Tierra and Simone."

"Where was this?"

"You came to Simone's house to baby-sit so
she could go out."

"Oh, yeah, Tierra had called me at the last
minute. But, I don't remember seeing you there
that day."

"I was in Radric's car. You didn't see me, but
I saw you. I can't lie, I was diggin' your physical
beauty, but it was something about the way you
held Simone's baby that drew me in. You seemed
so innocent. I think that's why when I saw you on
the street looking fucked up and in pain, I was
fuckin' fuming. I didn't understand how anybody
could hurt you like that."

"I don't know what to say."

"I knew you were gonna think I was crazy."

"Definitely not. If anything, I'm surprised. As cute as you are, you can have any chick you want. I
can't believe you were checkin' for me like that."

"You mean that shit too, and that's what
makes you appear so innocent, `cause you don't
even know how fine you are. For me, that turns
me on even more. I run into broads all day that
don't even register a five on a scale of one through
ten, but you can't tell them they ain't the coldest
thing walking the streets."

"That's funny!" Nichelle couldn't help but
laugh at his candidness.

"No, that shit ain't funny, it's a fuckin'
nightmare, `cause there's a lot of delusional broads
runnin' around here. But yo, back to you. I didn't
tell you what I did to put any pressure on you. I
know you been through a lot, losing your man,
friend, and the miscarriage. But I wanted to tell
you how I felt, and if nothin' comes of it, I hope
we can at least be friends."

"I want that too-I mean the friendship part.
Honestly, right now I can't think about tryna be in a
relationship with somebody else. My heart belongs
to Carmelo."

"I respect that. But, um, it's getting late. I
better head out."

"You are coming back tomorrow?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Yes," Nichelle admitted, nodding her head.

"Then I'll be here. Get some rest."

A devilish grin crept across Renny's face after
he left Nichelle's room. She wasn't ready yet, but
eventually he was positive she would be his. He
sincerely felt bad about what happened to Nichelle,
but he also believed it was divine intervention that
made it possible for him to be the one to save her.
And he planned to fully use it to his advantage.

If you maintain long enough in the game, at some
point you reach a pinnacle. It's the point where
you've stacked enough paper, balled until you're
about to fall, flossed so ridiculously that your
iconic status is forever engraved in the minds of
the streets you ran. To the few that reach that level,
it's no longer about the need to help your people
who are indigent. It becomes about your addicition
to the chase. But be careful what you keep chasing
after, whether it is money or women, because both
can lead to a dead end street.

Arnez watched from the back seat of his car
as Talisa came out of the high-rise apartment she
shared with Genesis that was until he disappeared.
Now, he was on the run from the Feds, and yet
she stayed put, instead of going back home to her
family in New York.

"Arnez, every other day you're out here in this car watching her. What is the point?" Chanel
wanted to know.

"I'm waiting for her to lead me to Genesis."

"Then what?"

"So I can kill him, of course."

"You want that bitch back, don't you? You
think after you kill Genesis, Talisa will come running
back to you? Doubt it!"

"Watch your mouth, Chanel!"

Arnez kept his glare on Talisa and observed
as she looked around briefly before getting in her
car. "Follow her," he directed his driver.

The driver steadily but discreetly trailed behind
Talisa's black Aston Martin as she maneuvered
through the streets of Philly for about fifteen
minutes, until pulling into an outdoor parking lot.
Talisa got out the car, signaling the alarm before
heading into a nondescript brick building.

"Max, go find out what type of building that
is," Arnez ordered his driver to do, after waiting
a few minutes to make sure Talisa wasn't coming
right back outside.

"Yes, Mr. Douglass." The driver ran across the
street and went inside the building. A few minutes
later, he came back out and got in the car. "It's an
OBGYN, Sir."

"Is Talisa pregnant? If so, could the baby be
mine, or is that motherfucker, Genesis the father?"
Arnez asked out loud as Chanel cringed in her seat. "Drive," Arnez told his driver as he lit up a cigarette.

"So what now, Arnez?" Chanel questioned, in an
icy tone.

"I find out if the baby Talisa is carrying is mine."

"What if it is?"

"Then Talisa and the baby can live. If not... " His
voice faded off, but Chanel knew how the sentence
was supposed to end, and she prayed it wasn't his.
She was tired of living in Talisa's shadow. She had
lied, cheated, and turned on her own sister for Arnez,
but yet, he continued to stalk a woman that wanted
nothing to do with him.

On several occasions, Chanel considered
putting a bullet through Talisa and getting rid of the
competition permanently, but knew Arnez would
kill her if he ever found out. She was also sure that
he probably had one of his men watching Talisa's
every move, so the chances of getting away with it
were slim to none. But if it did turn out that Talisa
was pregnant and Arnez was the father, Chanel knew
her relationship with him would never go any further
than what it was right now. Forever being his bottom
bitch wasn't a position Chanel intended to keep
playing. She was prepared to do anything necessary
to not only be the main, but the only bitch in his
life... period!

"I know you ain't still sleep like you want to
stay in this cold ass hospital room another day,"
Renny said, when he entered Nichelle's room.

"No, I'm up," she answered, turning around in
her bed to face him. Her eyes widened when she saw
he hadn't come empty handed. "What's all that?"

"Some flowers to celebrate your release, and
a change of clothes, unless you tryna put back on
what you came in."

"Hell no! I was hoping they burned those
clothes. That was very considerate of you. I had so
much on my mind, I forgot all about what I was
going to wear home."

"That's what you got me for. I hope they fit
a'ight, but I'm usually pretty good at sizing up a
woman's measurements," he said, handing Nichelle
the bag with the clothes in them.

"I'm sure you are. Oh, and the flowers are
beautiful. Do you know you're the first guy that
has given me flowers? Carmelo never even did that.
Wow, that's crazy."

"That is surprising, but I'm sure he made up
for that in other ways."

"Yeah, he did, but having you bring me some
makes me realize how nice it is. Thank you."

"You welcome. Now get dressed. I'm sure
you're ready to get outta here, and honestly, I ain't
neva liked hospitals. So the sooner we bounce, the
better. "

"I'm with you."

"Cool. I'll be waiting out in the hall."

"Renny," Nichelle called out as he was leaving.

"What's up?"

"I really do appreciate you being so nice to me."

"I know," he smiled and left.

When Nichelle got out the bed to go to
the bathroom, her body was still aching from the
beating Lerrick put on her. All the events from
the last week or so had her completely drainedemotionally and physically. She turned the light on
in the bathroom, and the very sight of her face
made her want to scream. She didn't understand
how Renny could even stand looking at her. Her
whole face appeared to be swollen.