“Oh.”
Shaggy paused for a while, smiled and said, “I’ma drop you off at home, I have to meet my uncle later tonight.”
She figured he was lying and he sensed it. “I’m serious. That was the other thing we talked about. I work with my uncle and something came up he needs my help with.”
“
Okay. I believe you.”
“
Call me tomorrow though, unless I call you first.”
“No…I’ll call you!” She yelled realizing that if she was going to keep her lie alive, she had to keep him separated from her mother at all times. That included by phone.
“Alright,” he said pulling up at her house. She still hadn’t gotten the money he said he might give her but after the accusations of Harmony being her mother, she didn’t want to ask him again. “Call me tomorrow.”
Jayden tried to procrastinate, hoping he would remember to give her the money, or even tell her he’d give it to her later, but he didn’t.
“Okay, I’ll call you later.” She closed the car door, and walked toward the house and he waited for her to open the door before he pulled off. Now how was she going to deal with her mother? The moment she opened the door, she saw Harmony standing before her drunk out of her mind.
“You got my money?” Harmony said. She was swaying and looked like she would fall at any minute. “’Cause I know you didn’t bring your ass in here without my money!”
She figured it would be best to stall her until she could think of another plan. Telling her she didn’t have the money was not an option. Glancing at the crawlspace where her sister was, she felt faint. She hated her twin sister having to go through so much pain.
“I got your money, but I gotta give it to you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” She repeated laughing. “I knew your young ass couldn’t do no real woman’s work.” She paused. “You don’t give your body to nobody and then wait for the money later. You get your money up front, little girl.”
“I didn’t have sex with him, mama.”
Harmony paused for a minute and busted out laughing in her face. “Bitch, you must think I’m stupid! Don’t nobody get rolled around in no nice ass Navigator and not give the pussy up.” She said. “You fucked and sucked him for free! Tell the truth.”
“
I didn’t. Just drop it!” Jayden said pressing buttons. If Harmony wasn’t drunk she wouldn’t be so bold. “He didn’t want anything from me when he gave me the two hundred dollars either.”
“
Two hundred dollars? I thought you said he gave you one hundred?”
“
I…I mean…I meant, one hundred.”
“
Are you lying to me, little bitch?” She said angrily. “And where did you get that dress?”
Suddenly, Jayden was tired of being the victim. “He gave it to me, mother monster! Somebody felt sorry for my life and decided to help me out!”
“
Are you that fucking stupid? That you would believe that you can get something in this world for nothing?”
“
I met someone nice. So who’s stupid now?”
“
Oh so what, you think you better than me? You think you’re prettier than me? Well I was much prettier than you before I had this scar on my face.” She pushed Jayden into the pillar by the door and she hit her shoulder. Her back was in severe pain and she realized now that she’d gone too far.
“I’m sorry, ma,” she cried. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”
“It’s too late for that shit!” She screamed. “Take that dress off! Now!”
“Okay,” she said walking toward her room.
“No! Take it off right here.” Harmony was swaying so much now, she almost fell. “Since you wanna think you grown. Be grown now.”
“But I don’t think I’m grown, mama.”
“Take it off!”
Jayden looked at her mother and knew there was no talking to her. So she removed the dress and it fell to her feet. Harmony picked it up and read the label. It was a BCBG dress.
“Who gave you this?” She screamed clutching the dress in her hands. “And don’t tell me it was your friend!”
Jayden wiped the tears from her eyes and covered her vagina with her other hand. “I told you, mama. My new friend.”
Just when she said that someone knocked at the door. “Who the fuck is at my door?”
Harmony walked to the door and opened it, leaving Jayden in the middle of the floor naked. It was Shaggy standing on the other side. Jayden tried to hide herself but Harmony said, “Don’t move, bitch! Do you know this nigga?”
Shaggy didn’t see Jayden at first and was confused at Harmony’s drunken condition. He said, “Excuse me, mam, but is Jayden available?”
Trying to embarrass her, she opened the door wide. “Yeah…There she go right there.” She pointed.
Shaggy stepped fully inside the house and he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Jayden naked. He spotted the red dress Olive had given to her in Harmony’s hands and wondered why she had it. Accessing what was going on, he immediately leveled a dark glare at Harmony.
“
Are you hurt?” He asked.
“
Sh…Shaggy.” She said crying. “I’m…I’m okay.”
“
How come I don’t believe you?” He said still looking at Harmony.
“
I…I am,” she sobbed. “Did…Did I forget something in your truck?”
He could tell she was trying to keep the peace and for Jayden’s sake, he would respect that. “Yeah…I forgot to give you that thing you asked me for earlier,” he said.
Harmony swallowed some more liquor and said, “You fucked her didn’t you?” She thought it was funny for him to see Jayden humiliated but he ignored her.
Shaggy walked over to Jayden and handed her the money. She didn’t know which hand to remove from her naked body so she used the one that was covering her breasts to accept it. With the money in her hands, he walked back to the door.
“
Are you sure you okay?” He asked.
“
Y…Yes.”
“
Aight,” he said looking at Harmony again. “Call me first thing in the morning.”
“Okay,” she sobbed.
“
I’m serious.”
“
I will,” she said wishing he’d just leave. She was embarrassed enough as it was.
He took one more look at her and was about to leave until he said, “Fuck that shit, yo, Jayden, let’s go.”
“
Excuse me?!” Harmony said. “My daughter isn’t going anywhere with you.”
“
Jayden, go get in my fuckin’ truck! Now!”
“
If my daughter leaves out of here I’m calling the cops.”
Shaggy snatched the money out of Jayden’s hand and said, “Here, bitch! Take it!” Then he turned back to Jayden and said, “Go get in my truck, Jayden!”
Harmony scooped the money off the ground while Jayden ran outside and jumped in his truck.
“
Bitch, you betta never come back either!” Harmony yelled in her driveway. “And your sister is as good as dead, too!”
Hearing this caused Jayden to jump back out the truck but Shaggy stopped her. “I gotta go! My sister’s in there,” she cried. “She’s gonna hurt my sister!”
“
You can’t go back in there! She’s drunk and trippin’ right now. I’ma work some shit out.” He said walking her back over to the passenger side of the car.
“
No! She’s gonna hurt her!” She screamed.
“
Jayden, STOP IT! AND TRUST ME!” He yelled. “I’M GONNA COME BACK FOR YOUR SISTER, BUT WE HAVE TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW BEFORE THIS BITCH CALLS THE POLICE!”
Jayden wiped her tears and sat quietly in his truck. He walked around to his side and got in. Once in the truck he turned the heat on to make her feel comfortable.
“
Here, put this on.” He handed her a jacket out of the backseat. He looked at Harmony who was still cussing in the driveway and pulled off. “I don’t know what’s going on with your mother, but I don’t trust her. Give me a day or two though, I’ma work somethin’ out.”
Jace
Meeting
I was in the deli with my bodyguards Kevin and Russian Antony, waiting on Kali to enter. Truthfully, I wasn’t trying to be bothered with this dude but I wanted to hear what he had to tell me. Although Kevin had been with me since I took over DC, I hired Russian Antony because after all these years, Massive had still not been found. And he was going to have to come through both of them, to get at me.
When Kali finally pulled up to the deli, he walked inside and was patted down by Antony. “Sit down,” Antony told him.
When he was seated I said, “What can I do for you?”
“Awe, shit. You all serious and straight to the point these days, huh? Let me find out you gangsta now. I heard about all the work you been puttin’ in.”
“You said you had some information for me, and since you been lyin’ to me for the longest, I hope you come clean today.” I said drinking the beer on the table. “Otherwise you can get the fuck outta my face. Feel me?”
“Where you want me to start?” Kali said with a grimace on his face.
“With Harmony. I’m still not understanding why you would do her like you did, when you caught up with her in Texas. And I wanna know where you get the product from.”
“I told you, man. I saved up some money and was able to buy a package.”
“From who?” I investigated. “And if you were going into business yourself, why you ain’t let me know? I had to put Paco on you to find out what was up. And then the next thing I know, you get locked up.”
“Man, it wasn’t nothin’ but a little bit of money. Shit wasn’t even that deep.”
“I betta neva find out you were stealin’ from me, nigga.”
“And what you gonna do?” He threatened. His old attitude was coming back.
Antony and Kevin cocked their weapons and aimed at him. “Do you really wanna know the answer to that?” I asked.
“Man, I’m just fuckin’ with you.” He smirked. “But that little bit of weight I was sellin’ them Houston niggas wasn’t nothin’. Trust me.” He paused. “As far as Harmony’s concerned, you act like she was still your girl or somethin’.”
“That ain’t the point, but at one time she was. Not only that, there’s a possibility she has my kids.”
Kali looked away and said, “I wish you get over that shit, man. ‘Cause I never lied to you when I said me and Harmony fucked.” I swallowed hard. “But I also know I’m not the only nigga she fucked either. I keep telling you to stop worrying about that pussy cause them babies could be anybody’s.”
“Don’t tell me ‘bout no Maryland niggas again.”
“I’m talkin’ niggas in your crew.”
“Who?”
“Paco and Kreshon. So you see, truthfully, Jace, any of us could be the father.”
I could feel Kevin and Antony’s stares at me upon his revelation. “So you tellin’ me, niggas who I broke bed with, fucked my girl?”
“That’s exactly what I’m sayin’. It wasn’t just me.”
I looked away from him, clenched my fist and said, “Do you know where she is?”
“Naw. I ain’t seen her since that shit happened in Houston.”
“How you get out?”
“Let’s just say you never saw me.”
“I’m still lookin’ for her, so I need to know if you know them kids names.”
“Naw, man. But if you want, I can find out for you. I got you.”
There goes his favorite phrase again. “Naw, I got some people on that already.”
“I know you wasn’t feeling the reason I went to jail,” he said skipping the subject, “but I’ve been working on my temper and I’m a little more relaxed now.”
“You being relaxed ain’t my problem no more.”
“So what you sayin’?”
“I’m sayin’ it ain’t my problem. And I know you know what I’m sayin’. Our business together is done.”
“Why? Couldn’t nobody bust a gun like me before I got put away.” He said. Look, man, you need me. Plus I can deliver somebody to you, you want.”
“Who?”
“Massive.”
Kevin and Antony looked at me and smirked.
I shook my head and said, “You act like I haven’t been tryin’ to find this nigga already. We’ve searched high and low for this dude and still can’t get at him. And now you think you can come home and find him off the rip?”
“If I find him, and deliver him to you, will you let me back in the crew?”
“If you find him and deliver him, I’ll give you half a million dollars. Fuck a crew. I want this nigga dead.”
“Well let me do that for you,” he smiled as if he knew something I didn’t. “Trust me, you ain’t got to be lookin’ over your shoulders no more.”
“Seein’ is believin’” I told him. “So where you layin’ your head?”
“I got a place out Maryland. At this mansion.” He paused.
“You came up like that?”
“It ain’t take me no time.” He laughed. “But I’ma get back on my side of town. I gotta go get my hair cut at Rod’s. I’ll let you know when I find him.”
“Bet that.”
When he left Kevin said, “Fuck that nigga, boss! I don’t trust him.”
“Tell me somethin’ I don’t already know.” I said. “Look, have somebody follow him to Rods. And then bag some of his hair.”