Boss Bitch Swag (16 page)

“You okay, Meesh ?”
Boss
looked me over from head to toe
,
then wrapped his big arms around me like he never wanted to let me go.

“I’m fine, baby. It’s just my car.”

“Pee-Wee!” Boss yelled over to his cousin and partner in crime. “Call Taj.”

Taj was a mechanic who handled all of Boss and Pee-Wee’s vehicles. He was very reliable. He was also low key. Taj knew how to keep his mouth shut
,
and Boss appreciated that. There was nothin
g
more important in his business than discretion. That was the first thing he taught me
– and i
t was also the most important. Keeping your mouth closed could mean the difference between life and death.

“I saw the whole thing, Boss.” A shaky voice spoke up from the crowd. “I saw them cats, cuzz.”

Larry was Boss’ li
’
l cousin who he hadn’t seen in years. He was also Marco’s little brother. I knew him from school
; h
e was a smart kid and very mature for his age. After what happened to his older brother
,
his mother kept him on a very short leash. He never got to kick it with the rest of us
, and t
hat was probably for his own good. I wasn’t much of a partier
,
but some of my friends were. Larry wasn’t cut out for that scene. His mother knew best.

“Did you know
‘
em?” Boss put his arms around his cousin
, then t
hey turned their backs on the crowd for a little privacy. I didn’t even want to hear what was being said
;
I knew how Boss got when he was angry. It was just a car
, though...
I didn’t think it was that serious.

After burying my fourteen
-
year
-
old li
tt
l
e
brother
,
the small things didn’t faze me anymore. I was focused on graduatin
g
from high school and gettin
g
into college. When I found out I was pregnant
,
I thought about quittin
g
school, but Boss wasn’t havin
g
it. He made me give him my word that I would at least get my diploma. I did
,
and every day since I made him that promise I worked to keep it. It was hard balancin
g
my home life with school, but I didn’t do it all on my own
;
I had Boss in one corner
,
and I had my mother in the other. She was so strong. Even after losin
g
Anthony so suddenly
,
she was always there for me. That was the kind of mother I wanted to be
...t
hat was the kind of mother I was
going
to be.

Boss and Pee-Wee dropped me off at home
,
then headed off on their mission. My first stop was the kitchen. I hadn’t eaten anything all day
, and
I was cravin
g
something sweet, but the baby wanted something salty. Two slices of Sara Lee strawberry cheesecake with a handful of Lay’s plain potato chips sprinkled on top hit the spot. Any other time
,
something like that would have turned my stomach. Bein
g
pregnant was a trip
:
I cried for no reason
, and
I laughed out loud at shit that wasn’t even funny. I felt like I was going crazy, but I wasn’t
;
I was havin
g
a baby.

After I finished my snack
,
I sat down at the dining table and spent an hour on my Physics homework. Makin’ the Honor Roll was hard work
, and s
tayin
g
on
it
was ever harder. I was studyin
g
all the time
, and t
he only two things that helped me relax were my man and our
overhead r
ain
shower
. Once I finished my homework
,
I was ready to unwind
- and since
Boss still wasn’t home yet
,
I headed straight for the shower.

Chapter 24

Boss

The first thing I noticed when we pulled into the driveway was the front door
: i
t had been kicked in. I got an instant flashback of the day I found Jazz after Ren raped her
; t
hat nigga was still number one on my most wanted list.

I jumped out of the truck while it was still in motion and rushed towards what was left of the front door.

“Meesha!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “Baby, where you at?”

The house was fucked up. There was a stinkin
g-
ass stream of piss on the carpet and all over the furniture. Our flat screen TVs were ripped off the walls
, m
y all
-
in
-
one HP computer was smashed
,
and so was Meesha’s Dell laptop. I was pissed, but that material shit could be replaced. The only thing that really mattered was finding wifey
; a
s long as she was alive
,
we could start over.

When I finally made my way upstairs
,
I found an even bigger mess. Our mattress was sliced damn near in two halves
, a
ll the furniture in our bedroom was smashed and broken
, and s
hit was thrown everywhere
-
but still no Meesha. I started to wonder if they had my baby
, and t
he thought drove me crazy.
When
I bent down to look under the two parts of a mattress that used to ve hat usebe one bed
, I
noticed something shiny on the bathroom floor. The closer I got
,
the worse it looked. There was glass everywhere
, and when
I rounded the corner and got the full picture
, I noticed that t
he entire shower door was gone.

“Pee-Wee!” I hollered for my cousin. “Pee-Wee
! N
igga
,
I need yo help!”

He was there within seconds. I saw his face when he first laid eyes on Meesha
; h
e thought the same thing I did
: h
e thought she was dead.

“She breathin’?”

“I don’t know
...
I’m too fuckin’ scared to check.”

“Boss
...
” Meesha’s weak voice cried out for me. “Boss, it hurts.”

I got busy and started pickin
g
shards of glass off her back. She was bleedin
g
like crazy, but I couldn’t get her to a hospital until I could first get her out of the shower. Pee-Wee joined in without me even havin
g
to ask him.
Even though h
e cut his hands a dozen times
, he didn’t stop
trying to help me get her free. Meesha was perfectly calm and still. She was the only thing keepin
g
me calm
; i
f she died
,
she might as well have taken me with her. For the first time in I don’t know how long
,
I prayed to the
G
od I
’
d given up on years ago. After everything
H
e put me through
, H
e owed a nigga one
...a
ll I needed was one.

Chapter 25

Meesha

I was sick of the hospital. My back and neck were cut up so bad
,
I had to have fifty
-
two stitches. I was just glad the baby was okay. Boss fussed over me nonstop
, but
I didn’t mind
; h
e was just worried about me. As long as he was with me
,
I was fine. I also knew he wasn’t out tryin
g
to get revenge on whoever trashed our home and shot up our shower. I understood the game
: h
is enemies came at me as a way to get at him
.

I was tired
,
both physically and emotionally
, and a
ll I wanted to do was get some sleep
; t
he only way I was goin
g
to be able to do that
, though,
was if
Boss
stayed by my side the entire night.

I woke up every hour on the hour just to make sure Boss was still there
, and h
e was every time. The pain medicine the nurse kept injectin
g
my IV with was good
;
I couldn’t feel anything. Anthony visited me twice that night in my dreams. I missed my brother so much. His death was as seelath wasenseless as it got. Who takes someone’s life over a couple of rocks? That’s why I didn’t fuck with drugs. I knew what Boss did and how he got down, but I also knew he wouldn’t be hustlin
g
for the rest of his life
; m
y baby was too smart for that. Even if no one else saw the good in him
,
I always did.

The next morning
,
I was discharged. Boss didn’t want me back at the house
,
so he checked us into the Chase Park Plaza hotel under alias
es
. I did everything in my power to keep him from leavin
g;
I knew what he was thinkin
g
even when he didn’t. Somebody was go
nna
take the fall for every last stitch in my back. It wasn’t what I wanted, but Boss was the boss
: w
hatever he said was the way it went
; n
obody questioned it
,
and nobody disobeyed it. I might have still been a Boss Bitch in trainin
g -
but I knew when to speak my mind
,
and I knew when to fall back. This was one of those instances when it was best for me to keep my mouth shut. I wasn’t punkin
g
out
;
I was just lettin
g
my man be the man
– and i
n my eyes
,
there was nothin
g
at all wrong with that.