Love Don't Live Here Anymore (The Love Collection Book 3) (7 page)

Wiping her mouth and chin, the stripper stood to her feet. She reached inside a cabinet in the room and retrieved two towels. She tossed one to Braxdon and took one for herself, right before she exited the VIP room. Braxdon wiped around Summer’s thighs and on her love box, then helped her stand to her feet and leave the room.

When they reached the bar, he ordered her another drink and handed it to her. “Don’t leave without telling me,” he said and disappeared into the crowd.

Larita and Summer chatted with a couple of the guys at the bar who had purchased them more cocktails. By the end of their drinks, both of them were intoxicated. Summer thought about looking around for Braxdon, but she owed him nothing.

As they were heading out the door, he grabbed her arm and followed her outside. “I thought I asked you to tell me when you were leaving.”

“I tried; I didn’t see you.”

“C’mon, do I look like I got Bobo the Clown written on my forehead?”

“Okay, maybe I didn’t. I figured you were caught up.”

Braxdon looked at her sideways. “How’d y’all get here?”

“Larita drove.”

Braxdon watched Larita as she staggered to the car. “Oh, hell no! You not riding with her. She can barely walk.”

“But that’s my ride,” Summer argued.

“Fuck that. I can take y’all home.” Braxdon had Summer call out to Larita and let her know that he would take them home. Larita tried to protest but Braxdon wasn’t having it. “Listen, y’all have two choices and you driving isn’t one of them. Either you let me take y’all or you can call someone to come get you. I got her,” he said to Larita.

“I’m sure you were drinking too,” Larita slurred defiantly.

“Actually I wasn’t. Once you’ve gotten two DWIs, you kind of play it safe.”

After a few more tit for tats, Larita conceded, gave Braxdon her address, and he went to retrieve his vehicle. Summer sat up front and Larita hopped into the back and was asleep before Braxdon pulled off the property.

Braxdon carried Summer inside the house. He took her to his room and laid her on the bed. He removed her shoes and socks and placed a blanket over her body. Mesmerized by her skin, long, healthy hair, full lips, and thick lashes, he placed a kiss on her cheek and left the room.

It was well after ten in the morning when Summer awoke. The smell of breakfast filled the air and her stomach responded in a favorable way. When she opened her eyes, she knew she wasn’t in her own place and began to panic. Her eyes darted around the room in an attempt to adjust to the new environment and assess it at the same time. Settling on a large photo pinned on the wall, she recognized Braxdon out of the group of guys and girls. She got up and put on her socks and shoes, ran her fingers through her hair, and went to search for Braxdon.

“You’re up,” he said.

“Yes. Good morning. Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing me here? I would have much preferred to go home.”

Braxdon smiled at her. “Well, I started to bring you home, but you wouldn’t wake up. I didn’t want to rummage through your purse, looking for your keys, so I figured I would bring you here and let you sleep. Hungry?”

Summer nodded. Braxdon fixed her a plate and poured her some juice.

“Brax!” a woman called out.

“Yeah, Gramma?”

“Baby, I need you to pick up my medications when you go out.”

Braxdon sighed. “Gramma, I got them for you yesterday, remember? I’ll bring them to you.” He shook his head.

“Your grandmother’s here?” Summer asked.

“Yeah, she lives here. Well, I live with her.”

“Gee, well, you could’ve told me. I feel so rude. Can I go say hi?”

“Yeah, when you’re done eating, I’ll introduce you,” he told her and went to get his grandmother’s pills.

By the time Summer was done eating, she went searching for Braxdon and found him rummaging through a bag full of medications as his grandmother sat on a recliner, watching reruns of
Walker Texas Ranger
.

“Hello,” Summer said.

“Hi,” his grandmother responded.

Braxdon made the introductions. “Gram, this is my friend Summer and Summer, this is my grandmother, Mattie Lee.”

“Call me, Honey. Shit er’body else does.”

“Oh no, ma’am. I have to call you Ms. Honey. My grandmother wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

“Southern woman, huh?”

“Yeah, Deep South, Mississippi. She passed away fourteen years ago.”

Ms. Honey smiled and nodded. “Where’s my medicines?” she asked Braxdon.

“Gramma, I’m all confused. There seems to be more medications now than you had two weeks ago. I thought the nurse straightened all this out.”

“She did. But when I missed that last payment, they stopped sending her. I can’t afford no hundred dollars a week. Hell, all she do is check my blood pressure and sort them pills. That don’t seem worth it to me.”

“Gramma, I’ll get the money and pay them the back amount and whatever else I can. You need someone to oversee these medications because I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Fuck ’em. I’m old, anyway. If I croak, I croak. I lived my life. At eighty-five, I’m ready to meet the Lord.”

Braxdon snickered, but Summer felt uneasy.
Is this how people feel when they get old
? she wondered. It was obvious that Braxdon was trying to be a good grandson and help his grandmother out. She felt for both of them and wondered where Ms. Honey’s children were because none of them seemed to have a hand in meeting her needs.

“Ms. Honey, if you don’t mind, I would like to take a look at your medicines. I’m a registered nurse, so I’m pretty familiar with this sort of thing.”

“Well, God bless your heart. Braxdon, you done went and got yourself a good girl this time. Not like that other hoochie hoe you used to bring around here.”

“Gramma!” Braxdon scolded.

“Well, I’m just saying.”

Summer laughed and asked Braxdon to bring her all the medications plus the pillbox. Braxdon watched Summer go through the bag and read every label. She organized the pills based on time of day and frequency. Once she had everything sorted out, she placed them inside the pillbox accordingly.

“Ms. Honey, all your medications are right here in this pillbox and separated based on when you need to take them. Every morning and at night, you have pills to take. Just flip the lid, dump them in your hand, and take them like this. Okay?”

“Oh baby, you’s heaven sent. Braxdon, if you do nothing else in your life, you better keep her. I don’t know how you got so lucky with this girlfriend.”

“Oh!” Summer stated, amused.

“Gramma, she’s not my girlfriend … yet. But I agree; she’s a keeper.” Braxdon winked at Summer.

“Ms. Honey, I don’t have my equipment with me, but if it’s okay with you, I will come back later on today and check your blood pressure and other vitals.”

Ms. Honey smiled and thanked Summer for her kindness. She told her she would appreciate that and gave her a hug. “Come by anytime. You don’t need old Braxdon with you, either,” she said to Summer.

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind,” Summer replied with a smile.

Once they were outside and settled into the car, Braxdon turned to Summer. “That was really nice of you. I can’t thank you enough, but I
will
repay you.”

“How? You have two kids and you drive taxis. Not knocking your hustle, but as you can see, private duty nursing is expensive.”

“Don’t sleep. I gets money,” Braxdon bragged.

“Do you sell drugs?”

“Damn, Miss Lady! You working for the Feds? Fuck around and get a nigga locked up.”

“First of all, no, I don’t work for the Feds and secondly, don’t use that word around me.”

“What, nigga? Man, that shit ain’t nothing.”

“Maybe not to you, but it’s demeaning, ignorant, and disrespectful, in my opinion. We had so many ancestors die and fight to be considered equal and so many of us are throwing that word around like it means ‘scholar,’ or something. I don’t like it. So please, not around me. Now, back to my question … Do you sell drugs?”

“I sell weed, but I don’t fuck with that hard shit. Nah, I seen too many nig—, dudes get knocked and do football numbers for that shit. I got kids.”

“You do realize you just contradicted yourself. In one breath, you said you sell drugs but only a certain kind and in the next breath, you justified it by saying you have kids. Shouldn’t that make you not want to be in the streets at all? Last time I checked the news brothas are dropping dead every day for shit much less than what you do. Don’t put yourself in a position to be taken away from your children, Braxdon. You owe them everything and the streets, nothing. Don’t you have goals in life?”

“Look around you, Summer. Last time I checked,
brothas
wasn’t being given the most lucrative jobs. I did all kinds of legit jobs and that shit barely kept food in my kids’ stomachs and pampers on their asses. So don’t talk to me about taking care of mine,” he snapped, tapping his chest. “I drive them filthy-ass taxis every day to keep some legit income flowing in, but the truth is that shit is hit or miss. Please, I got kids to feed and for me, that means doing what I have to do by any means possible. Fuck outta here with that,” he hissed.

“So find another job doing something you enjoy doing. All I’m saying is that with children, you shouldn’t take such risks. Your kids need you and selling drugs of any kind makes you vulnerable to not only the authorities, but the stick-up kids and snitches as well. And to me, it seems like hustlers spend more time protecting their money than earning it. Don’t you have a hobby or something you could make work for you?”

Braxdon thought about her question. “Ever since I was little, I always been into real estate. My cousin’s father was an agent and used to take us with him when he went to show houses. I was drawn to the structure of the homes. I’d pick up on slants in the floors, cracks in the foundations, leaks in pipes, and all that shit.” Braxdon laughed at the memory. “I got so good about pointing things out that my cousin’s dad stopped bringing me along because I would mess up the sale. Now my cousin is in the same business as his pops and doing quite well for himself, despite the slow market. He had tried convincing me to come aboard but I never bit.” He made eye contact with Summer.

“I’ve always been interested in home repairs. It’s like I get a high from that shit. Plumbing, carpentry, heating, all of it came so natural to me. I became so good at it that people in my neighborhood started asking me to fix this or that because their slumlords wouldn’t make the repairs. I enjoy that.”

“Ahh, so you do have a hidden talent. Won’t you pursue that?”

Braxdon thought about it for a minute. “Yeah, my cousin is a realtor and can probably refer me to his clients. But I would need to go to school and shit, and I ain’t got time for that.”

“Why not? If you want to make time for something, you will. You find time to go to the gambling spots and strip clubs and to peddle your weed; so as far as I’m concerned, you can find time to go to school. Look into home inspection. Everything is so convenient nowadays that I’m sure you can find some courses online. Look into it. Based on what you’ve told me, you’ll make a fine inspector and lots of money. And guess what; it’s all legit, baby.” Summer smiled.

Braxdon smiled back. He pulled up to Summer’s house and unlocked the car doors.

“Thanks again for helping my grandmother. I swear I’ll repay you,” Braxdon promised as he shifted the gear into park.

“It was my pleasure. Really, it was. I said I’ll stop by every week and I meant that. You don’t have to give me money. If you want to repay me, sign up for school and get your shit together. You got a good heart, Braxdon. Don’t let it go to waste. Thanks for the ride.”

“Oh, umm before you go … I just want to uh … Well, I hope I didn’t violate you last night.”

Summer thought back on what took place in the strip club’s private room. Although it was way out of character for her, she was grown and if she wanted to stop it, she could have. What Braxdon didn’t know was that she was turned on the minute she’d walked through the door. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Nah, you good!” She smirked. “See you later,” she said as she pulled on the door handle and exited his car.

Summer took a nice, long, hot shower. Although she liked being in her own place, she finally came to the conclusion that it brought her a lot of sadness. When she was home alone, she was consumed with thoughts of AJ. When she was out and about mingling, her spirit seemed at ease. She dried off and threw on some sweats and a t-shirt. Realizing that it had been a couple of days since she and Autumn last spoke, she decided to call her sister.

“Hi, Abaki. Is my sister there?”

“Hey, Summer. Nah, she and Chaianne just went to Destiny’s Spa and I think to the mall.”

“Damn, this early? It’s only eleven-thirty in the morning.”

“Yeah, I know. She got up, fed and bathed the kids, and told me to have fun,” Abaki said, laughing.

“That girl. Well, can you tell her I called please and to call me back?”

“I sure will, sis. How’s it going?”

“You know, same ol’ thing. I have my ups and downs, ya know?”

“Yeah, I can only imagine. Are you still coming home for Thanksgiving?”

“Yes, so please tell Aut to call me so I can give her the details. Thanks, bro. Love you,” Summer said and ended the call.

She needed to talk to someone. She could call Autumn’s cell phone but if she was at the spa, she wouldn’t answer anyway. So she called the next best person in her mind.

“Hi, Summer!” Stacey said with a level of excitement that warmed Summer’s spirit. Stacey was Autumn’s best friend and like another sister to Summer.

“Hi, Stacey. How are you and the family?”

“We’re all doing well. That nephew of yours is still a mess, but he’s good. And the baby is fine. Sabastian can’t get enough of his little sister.”

“I know Stephon is gung ho. He finally got his baby girl. How old is Semone now?”

“She just turned eight weeks old. I’m in love with her cute self. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”

“I know! I can’t wait to hold her, love her, and smell her up. Babies have the best scent,” Summer said.

“How are things with you? I think about you constantly and you’re always in my prayers.”

“I’m good, Stace. I try to take things one day at a time. To be honest, when I’m out of the house and interacting with friends, I’m fine. It’s when I come back home to an empty house that I start to feel depressed. AJ and I once shared this home together. And to not have him here reminds me of what I’ve lost.”

Stacey listened. “I can only imagine. It sounds like you have a good support system there. Have you given any thought to moving back to Dallas?”

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it a lot lately, actually. There is nothing here for me. I’ve met some great people but I have wonderful people back in Dallas, whom I miss terribly. I think being closer to my sister will bring me some solace.”

“That may do you some good. Being there alone isn’t helping. I’m sure your old job will welcome you with open arms. Hell, they tried to offer you more money to stay,” Stacey reminded her.

They both laughed.

“I went out on a date yesterday.”

“What! Get the heck outta here,” Stacey said.

“Yup, with one of the anesthesiologists at the hospital. I really had a good time. And then afterwards, my friend, Larita, picked me up and took me to Magic City.”

“The strip club?”

“Yes! Oh my goodness, Stacey. I had so much fun. The shit those chicks can do with their bodies is out of this world. That was dope. I’d never been to a female strip club before, so I was in awe.”

“Yeah, they can be fun. Well, I’m glad you were finally able to enjoy yourself. I miss everyone so much. I told Stephon I want to go back to Dallas. Indianapolis is cool and I got to see some old friends, but I miss you guys. I feel so out of the loop.”

“I know what you mean. Well, look into it. Maybe you can get your mom to agree to come back too. I’m going to need Ms. Jackie’s help. I can’t be stuck watching all the kids all the time. Shit, I’mma want to hang out too,” Summer admitted.

She and Stacey stayed on the phone for another hour, just getting caught up on everything that was going on. Summer hung up and felt renewed. After an amazing date and talking to Stacey, she realized the antidote for her depression was to keep herself occupied, especially her mind. Being true to her word, she got dressed and headed over to check on Moet.

When Summer arrived, she saw Moet’s car parked in front of her house, so she knew she should be home. Plus, it was her weekend off and Moet didn’t do much. She rang the doorbell, and after a couple of minutes, Moet answered. Summer saw the black eye immediately.

“Hey, hun. Can I come in?”

“Sure,” Moet said, opening the door wider.

She saw Summer looking at her face and tried to cover it up physically and verbally. “I wanted to go out with you guys last night but I was tired,” she said as she tried to place her bangs over her eyes. I was doing some housework yesterday and banged my face on the China cabinet and messed up my eye.”

Summer heard the shower running and figured that it was Moet’s boyfriend. “Moet, honey, who are you lying to? I know a DV situation when I see it. You are too good for him. A man that loves you wouldn’t bruise you, and clearly that bastard doesn’t love you. Why haven’t you left him yet?” Summer asked.

Moet seemed uneasy about talking while Kareem was still in the house. She looked from the bathroom and back at Summer, virtually begging her to change the subject. Summer obliged but only because she didn’t want trouble for her friend.

“Larita and I had a good time last night.”

“Wait, how was the date with Eugene? I’m so glad you finally let him take you out. You deserve to be happy. You’re such a good friend.”

“I can say the same thing about you too,” Summer replied while looking Moet dead in the eyes. She told her about the date with Eugene and then about the strip club and how Braxdon ended up bringing them home.

“Oh snap! Summer got her groove back. You had a double dose of men last night. What were the chances of you running into Braxdon’s fine ass last night? See, some things are just meant to be,” Moet said.

Summer didn’t have a chance to respond because Kareem came strutting out of the bedroom, into the living room. “Yo, I need the keys to the car. I gotta bounce real quick.”

“Where are you going?” Moet asked. “I thought we were going on a date today,” Moet said.

Kareem sucked his teeth. “I told you we
might
go on a date. I got shit to do. I ain’t gonna be hanging out with your ass all day, missing money. Oh, and the car need gas, so you might as well give me money for that.”

“Kareem, I just filled the tank up on Wednesday and it’s only Saturday. I don’t have any money,” Moet said as she got up to fish the car keys out of her purse. While Moet’s back was turned, Kareem licked his lips at Summer and grabbed his penis. Summer rolled her eyes in disgust and looked away from him.

“Here. What time will you be back?” Moet asked him.

“When I get back.” He left the house without a care in the world.

As soon as the doors closed, Summer spoke. “Oh, fuck no! Moet, that man doesn’t respect you or love you. Not to mention the fact that he is using you. You deserve sooo much better than what he’s giving you. Moet, for crying out loud, he licked his lips at me and grabbed his groin right in front of me while your back was turned. And if he is that bold in your presence, I can only imagine what he’s doing during your absence.”

“But I love him, Summer. What am I supposed to do? He promises to get better and I see him making an effort. He doesn’t stay out all night anymore and he doesn’t hit me as much as he used to.”

“Moet, do you hear yourself? He’s still doing dumb shit. You just told us a few days ago that he doesn’t come in till four in the morning sometimes. That’s damn near all night. And he probably doesn’t hit you as much because he’s now hitting you harder. For the past two months, I’ve seen your bruises go from bad to worse. You don’t deserve that. I normally don’t get involved in other people’s relationships, but this warrants an intervention. Do you wanna end up dead, Moet? Because that’s what’ll happen. Leave his ass now, before it’s too late. You deserve so much better,” Summer pleaded. She wasn’t sure if Moet was listening or not, but she knew she had to say what was on her heart. If she didn’t, then she wasn’t being a good friend.

Summer pleaded with Moet some more, hoping that her words would seep into her brain and become actions.

Moet’s phone rang. “Hi, Mommy. No, just sitting here, talking to Summer. Yeah, I can go. Will you pick me up because Kareem has my car? Okay. Love you too, and see you soon.”

Summer got up to leave because she’d heard Moet make plans with her mom. She gave her friend a tight hug before leaving.

“Moet, please think about what I said. If you need to get away for a few, my doors are always open.”

Moet nodded and hugged Summer back tighter. The tears that sat in Moet’s eyes glistened right before one fell and caressed her bruise. Summer would pray for her friend and hope that she came to her senses sooner rather than later.

As promised, she swung by Ms. Honey’s place, checked her vitals, and sat and spoke with her for a while. Summer enjoyed talking to the lady and it reminded her of just how sweet and spunky her Grammy was. Ms. Honey had a sharp tongue and a witty personality, but a kind and loving heart. And she was just the kind of person Summer needed in her life.

Earlier in the week, she had made plans to take Ginger out. The abused teen had been heavy on her heart since she’d met her in the emergency room and being true to her word, she made sure she spoke to her at least once per week. When summer made it to her car she called Ginger. When she agreed to hang out, Summer went to the place where she was staying and picked her up.

“Hi, Ginger.”

“Hi, Summer. It’s good to see you,” Ginger said, with an apparent genuine happiness to see her.

“So I was thinking; we can go catch a movie, get something to eat, and stop and get you a winter coat.”

“You don’t have to do that. My social worker said she was going to make arrangements to do that.”

“Please, I don’t mind at all. Plus, they’ll probably get you something used or generic. I want to treat you to something you’ve always wanted but never had.” Summer winked. Ginger smiled.

Summer purchased two tickets to
Taken 2
and bought Ginger some popcorn and a drink and got herself bottled water. After the movie, they stopped at the mall.

“What do you want to eat?” Summer asked Ginger.

“How about a burger? I haven’t had a gourmet cheeseburger in forever,” Ginger admitted.

“A burger it is.”

Halfway through the meal and in the middle of some good girl talk, Summer watched as Ginger’s demeanor flattened and her body trembled. Summer followed her eyes and watched as a young man held hands with a woman as he talked to two other guys. “Is that your boyfriend?” Summer asked.

“No, that’s my brother, Herman.”

Summer placed her hand over her heart because she could only imagine the impact his presence had on Ginger. She signaled for the waitress to bring the bill and she quickly paid it. “C’mon, Ginger. We don’t have to stay here.”

Just as Ginger was about to stand up, her brother made eye contact with her. Summer grabbed her purse and Ginger’s hand and walked quickly out of the eatery, toward the exit.

“Yo, Ginger,” Herman called out to her, but they kept walking. He ran to catch up with them and Ginger stood, frozen. “Ginger, where the fuck you been? I haven’t seen or heard from you in weeks. Let’s go. You bringing your ass home,” he said, trying to grab her arm.

Ginger snapped out of her trance and started yelling and screaming. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! I wish you were dead. Leave me alone.”

“It’s okay, honey,” Summer said to Ginger. She looked at Herman. “I think you need to go.”

“Fuck you. Who you think you is? That’s my sister.”

“No, fuck you. And if I call the cops right now, your ass will be arrested. Your sister is a better woman than me because had I been her, you would be rotting in a jail cell and serving as somebody’s bitch. So I suggest you turn your disgusting ass around before I make you wish you never saw us,” Summer spewed as her nostrils flared in anger and repulsion.

Herman looked like he wanted to say something back but thought better of it. “I’mma see you, Ginger. And when I do, you won’t be with this bitch,” he spat.

When Herman walked away, Summer looked down at Ginger and noticed the girl had wet her pants. Summer’s heart ached as she imagined the turmoil that Ginger must have had to endure at the hands of people who were supposed to love and protect her, especially her older brother. Summer took off her trench style jacket and placed it over Ginger. The two of them walked to Gold’s Gym, where Summer had a membership, and she signed Ginger in as a guest. Summer walked her straight to the women’s locker room and showed her where the showers were.

“Ginger, honey, here are a couple of towels. Get yourself cleaned up and I’ll be right back. I’m going to run to the store two doors down and buy you some more clothes, okay?”

Summer didn’t wait for Ginger to reply. She made sure Ginger was situated in a shower stall and then walked off. She stopped at a clothing store that appeared to cater to teens and young adults and purchased Ginger four pairs of jeans, a couple pairs of pants, seven shirts, two sweaters, a fall jacket and a Northface winter coat. She also bought a pair of black sneakers and Polo boots. She then left and trotted to Macy’s, where she got Ginger enough underclothes to last her a week. Twenty minutes later, she was back in the locker room.