The California Saga (35 page)

With Touch's temper, if Rico had come knocking, there was gonna be a fight, possibly a death, and it sure wouldn't have been Touch doing the dying.

“Okay, I'll wait for you here.”

“No, I'm gonna be a little while. Meet me at the grocery store.” I started getting my outfit together.

On my way to the garage I peeped in on Touch to make sure he was still asleep. Luckily I hadn't awaken him, and he was sleeping like a baby. I grabbed my keys off the kitchen counter. From the living room I looked out the window and watched as Rico got in his car and pulled off. I rushed in my car and headed out my neighborhood in the opposite direction.

I met Rico at the store. He'd beat me to the store, since I took the long way from my house.

“Hey, baby. What's going on?” Rico said as soon as I got out my car.

I planned on going the distance with this lie and walking around the grocery store and shopping, hoping to bore Rico into leaving while I shopped for my house. But as soon as I saw his face, I changed my tactic.

I told him, “Listen, baby, you can't come over. This is not a good idea.”

“What are you talking about?”

I took a deep breath in. I really liked Rico, so it wasn't easy for me to tell him. “My man is back home.” I let out the breath I had taken in and prepared myself for his verbal onslaught.

From the day I'd met Rico, I had told him about Touch. Sure, I should have done things a little different and maybe prepared him for this day, but it all happened so quickly. I was hoping he would just go away on his own, but he didn't. So I decided to just put it out there to keep him from getting killed.

“So that's how it is, Jewel? And to think I really was feeling you. You didn't even respect me enough to let me know what was going on. This is how I had to find out? Cool.” Rico simply walked away, got in his car, and pulled off.

Damn!
That hurt me more than if he had gone off on me. At that point I didn't know what to think. I expected and would have accepted name-calling or the standard “Fuck you!” but a dude talking calm, no cursing or anything, now that was strange. It unnerved me a little bit.

All sorts of thoughts began to run through my brain.
Could this linger into something else? Do I need to tell Touch so he can protect himself? Hell, do I need to carry a gun to protect myself?
I didn't know if Rico was crazy or what. I'd just taken seven grand from this dude then dissed him. I figured it wouldn't be long before he put two and two together and realized I'd used his money to bond Touch.

As soon as I walked in the house through the garage door, Touch was standing in the kitchen waiting on me. “Where did you go?” he asked after biting into a turkey sandwich.

“To the store,” I said, startled.

“So what you buy?”

“Oh, I didn't get anything because they didn't have what I was looking for,” I said, unable to come up with anything better.

“It must have been important because you left in a hurry. What were you looking for?” Touch wasn't letting up so easy.

“Huh? What you mean?” I said, trying to buy time to come up with an answer to satisfy Touch and get him off my ass. “What was it that you were looking for at the store that you couldn't find?” Touch repeated, like he was talking to a child.

“Oh, I was just craving for some white Oreos. You know, pregnancy craving.” I knew anything about the baby would ease Touch's mind.

“Oh, okay.” Touch gulped down a glass of juice and headed out the kitchen. “For a second I thought you had run off to see a little dude around the corner or something.” He chuckled. “Don't let me find out,” he said as he playfully smacked my ass.

I knew he wasn't joking though. If he found out I had gone to see another dude, there would be hell to pay.

“Yeah, your brother.” I played along, relieved he hadn't caught me in my lie.

Throughout the evening the private calls continued back to back. I had to wonder what sane person would spend hours constantly calling a person's phone. Rico was really starting to scare me.

Later that night, Touch and I went to the store to pick up a few things. The whole time while shopping I couldn't help this overwhelming feeling that someone was watching us. Especially as we put our groceries in the truck.

I scanned the parking lot but didn't see anyone. I looked in the large windows of the grocery store, and everyone inside looked suspicious to me. I didn't know if it was paranoia or what, but I was wishing I had a gun at that moment. It freaked me out to the point where I considered telling Touch about Rico.

Just as Touch started the engine and put the truck into gear, someone knocked on the driver's side window. The knock was so startling, I screamed out loud and jumped in my seat.

“Touch, don't open the window,” I warned and pleaded at the same time.

Touch looked at me like I was losing it. “The fuck you talking about?” He pressed the button, and the window rolled down. “Damn, dude! You scared the shit outta me and my girl,” he said to the man standing there.

“Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that you dropped this before you closed the trunk.” The man held up a box of white Oreos.”

“Oh, damn! Good lookin', my man. My girl would have been sad not have these at home. She's carrying my son, and she got those cravings.” Touch was smiling as he took the Oreo's and handed them to me.

“No worries.” The man walked away toward the store.

My heart was racing. I had thought for sure the knock was Rico about to blast away. I didn't know what to do then. I couldn't keep living on edge like this. I had a big decision to make–tell Touch or handle Rico myself.

 

 

“Fuck you, Touch!” I screamed as I slammed the picture frame against the corner of the counter, shattering the glass.

I took out the picture of us and ripped it over and over again until it was in tiny little pieces. Tears streamed from my eyes. I couldn't believe this nigga used me for a place to stay, for my money, and for my pussy. I really thought he genuinely cared about me. I'd had his back from day one then he had the nerve to put his fucking hands on me! For a minute I actually felt bad for calling the police on him, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized he deserved to get some time for what he had done to me.

After he flipped out on me I was determined to teach him a lesson. Yes, I called the cops on his sorry ass, but I wasn't finished there. I wasn't going to be satisfied with the cops arresting his ass. He needed to be punished by me personally. His personal life needed some fucking with. Little did he know, I'd been calling his bitch girlfriend, Jewel, whose number I'd gotten from his phone when he was staying with me. I knew the day would come when I could use it.

Ring! Ring! Ring!
I called Jewel, expecting the phone to ring out to voice mail like it usually did. I had been calling her over and over again, basically harassing that bitch. I never left a message, I just wanted to annoy her. I hadn't fully thought about what I wanted to do yet. I was just playing some childish games with her at this point. I have to admit it took me back to junior high school when I prank-called people. That was kind of fun.

To my surprise, she answered.

“Hello.”

I was taken off guard. I didn't say a word. I quickly pressed the mute button on my television so there was no background noise. Couldn't let her try and get any clues as to who it could be.

“
Hell-fuckin'-o
!” Jewel yelled into the phone.

Although I wanted to say something to her so bad, I continued to remain silent.

“If I ever fuckin' find out who this is, I'm gonna choke the fuckin' life out of you! Stop calling my gotdamn phone!”

I could feel the fury, yet it was so comical. It was working, I was unnerving this little bitch.

To avoid bursting out in laughter, I hung up the phone. I guess the average chick would call me a scary bitch because I never said anything, but that's the beauty of it all. That bitch had no idea it was me ringing her phone, which was definitely some fun-ass shit. As the day passed, I continued to call Jewel's phone, but she never answered again. For a while all I was getting was her voice mail right away. I guess my constant calling had forced her to turn her phone off.

Bored with the calling, I decided to take things to the next level. I logged on to my computer and did a reverse search using Jewel's cell number, but nothing came up. Then I tried Touch. Still nothing. I needed more information if I was going to take this harassment to the next level.

“Think, Lisa, think,” I said aloud to myself as I wracked my brain. “The car registration!” I rushed to the kitchen and grabbed Touch's keys. The dumb ass had taken my car. Guess he wasn't smart enough to realize I would call and report my car stolen.

His car had been in my garage since he was on the run. He'd refused to drive it because he knew that was a sure ticket to jail. I pressed the key and unlocked the doors to his car. I looked in the glove compartment and saw the registration. It was registered to an out-of-state address, but at least I had his full name. I rushed back to the computer. This time I did a search using his full name and date of birth.

“Bingo!” I shouted as his information came up. I'd hit the jackpot.

I paid a $29.95 Internet detective fee. It was well worth it. It listed all of his previous addresses as well as relatives. I was even able to get Jewel's information because it had her listed as a spouse. I leaned back in my chair, pleased with my progress. I felt like one smart bitch. With that said, I decided to call it a night.

On my way upstairs I decided to give Jewel one last call. “Here we go again.” I yawned then dialed Jewel's number.

“Hello.” Like last time, I said nothing as I sat on the edge of my bed.

“Hello,” she said for the second time.

Again, I remained silent and lay back on my bed. Then I heard Jewel say, “Touch, come listen to this shit, so you hear it for yourself.”

“Hello?”

Touch was now on the phone. My nerves went straight to my stomach when I heard him. I didn't say a word, but it took all I had.

“I'm muthafuckin' sick of this nonsense,” Jewel shouted from the background. “This person has nothing better to do but play silly-ass games on the phone.”

“Yo'! Who the fuck is this?” Touch yelled in the phone, damn near bursting my eardrum.

I couldn't handle it anymore. Hearing his voice made me lose my composure. “Your worst nightmare, muthafucka!” I said quickly then hung up the phone.

The plan was for me to keep my identity a mystery, but when I heard Touch's voice, I couldn't remain silent. I turned my lights off and got in the bed. I couldn't sleep as I continuously replayed in my head what had just happened. I was too worked up. My nerves and adrenaline were working overtime.

Wow! Touch is home and didn't even bother to call me.
I couldn't believe it. I knew he was probably upset with me about the whole stolen car and domestic violence thing, but I had thought he would at least call and try to apologize. Even if he wasn't sorry, I thought he would try to kiss my ass so that I'd drop the charges.

Guess I was wrong about that. The more I thought about things, the angrier I got.

I quickly dialed Touch's phone after I blocked my phone number from his caller ID. He didn't answer, and I was sent to voice mail. After twenty attempts, I eventually gave up and headed to sleep.

As I drifted off to sleep, I thought,
Touch just can't come in and out of people's life as he pleases. He would be so upset if Jewel loses that sweet little baby of his. Tomorrow, I'll be sure to leave her a little gift on the doorstep. Vengeance is best served shaken up and cold. Touch will pay for what he's done to me
.

 

 

“You ready?” I asked Jewel as she was slipping into a black minidress.

This dress was one of my favorites. It fit every curve of her body perfectly. I watched as she tugged on her dress, making sure everything was in the right spot. My dick rose as I lusted over her perfect body. I noticed Jewel's ass was the same size, but her titties seemed to be two sizes bigger. But the strangest thing was, her stomach was flat as a board.

“Damn, baby! Is my baby boy growing at all?” I questioned. I knew Jewel was only a few months pregnant, but I at least expected her to have a little pudge or something.

“Touch, everybody doesn't get big right away. Some women don't even start showing until five months.” Jewel then walked into the bathroom, and I followed behind her.

“Well, have you at least been going to your prenatal visits and stuff?” I was concerned that something might be wrong with my baby. I would never forgive myself if something happened and we didn't do everything we could to prevent it.

“Touch, please! You're driving me nuts!” she shouted, obviously frustrated. “Go watch TV or something. I'll be ready in a few.”

Not wanting to have a rocky start to the day, I backed off and did as Jewel asked. As I sat in the living room watching TV, I kept thinking about how happy I was about my child-to-be. I just knew it was a boy. As I came out of my daydream, I noticed the time.

“Jewel, hurry up!” I shouted. “Give me ten minutes,” she yelled back. “I'm almost done.”

We were on our way to pay my lawyer a visit, and if Jewel didn't hurry, we were gonna be late. Mr. Schultz was all about his business, and time was money. This dude actually charged extra for each minute you were late. I didn't blame him. With the clients he had, he needed to be a ball-buster. I'd been dealing with him since the start of my criminal career, but that made no difference to him. This man didn't deal with credit, good faith, or give a fuck about all the other times I'd paid him up front. Times are now, and he wanted his money right now. I couldn't argue with him. He was good at what he did, and I respected his game.

“Jewel!” I yelled out to her again.

She shouted back, “Trayvon Davis, leave me alone!”

What the hell she could be doing that was taking so damn long? For a minute I wondered if she was stalling on purpose. It wouldn't be the first time she would have done it.

Jewel always hated going to see the lawyer. What she feared the most was the unknown; not knowing how much time I may or may not get was probably driving her crazy. I admit I had put my baby through a lot. Every woman has a limit. I had to wonder if I had pushed Jewel over hers. I constantly thought about blowing the trial and just copping a plea, but my rap sheet was fifteen years strong. There's no telling how long the

D.A. would want to put me away. I couldn't take that chance. I'd rather take my chances with a sympathetic jury and let the chips fall where they may.
Damn! This wasn't how I imagined my life would turn out. I was supposed to be living on some private island by now.

I got tired of waiting and even more tired of thinking about court and all my problems. I headed to our bedroom to drag Jewel out. As I approached the bathroom door, I could hear her talking.

“I'll call you back.” She hung up the phone just as I was walking in the bathroom.

“Oh, that's what's taking you so long. Who was that?”

I was a little heated but tried to stay calm. “One of my girls.”

Now I was suspicious. “Girls? You ain't got no girls.”

“You don't know what I have,” Jewel snapped. “You've been ghost for over three months, remember?”

“A'ight, Jewel. Let's roll,” I said, still trying to avoid an argument. She was right. I had disappeared, but now I was ready to make it up. For Jewel and my baby.

“Okay. I'm ready,” she replied with a fake smile going through the motions.

Jewel seemed a bit on edge all morning. At first I just figured it was because of our upcoming visit with the lawyer, but the more I observed her, it seemed like it was something more. I started tripping, thinking it had to do with her pregnancy and that the phone call earlier was to her doctor.

I started feeling guilty on our ride over to the lawyer, thinking Jewel deserved way better than this. The funny thing is, I think she had realized it faster than me. But that's life. I learned a long time ago the sun will still rise whether you stand alone or with someone by your side. That's why my loyalty was always to the almighty dollar and the streets. They came before anyone and anything in my life. Now I was starting to rethink that motto. Jewel was breaking down that code.

As we drove, Jewel's phone was constantly buzzing. It was seriously starting to bug my ass. I couldn't even enjoy the tunes on my mixed CD because of it.

“Damn, Jewel! Who the fuck keeps calling?” I asked,

annoyed as hell.

“It's that same person that's been calling private. I have answered the phone a thousand times with nobody talking on the other end. You know how it goes, Touch.”

“They still calling? Why don't you just change your number, babe?”

“I thought about it, but so many important people have this number, and so many things are going on right now, I just really don't think it's a good idea.”

Although I felt what Jewel was saying was a bunch of bullshit and the person calling was whoever she was talking with earlier, I didn't even bother saying anything. I didn't have the energy to fight with her at the moment. I was trying to get rid of the drama between the two of us, so instead of slapping the bitch for lying to me, I just turned up the volume and let the music take me into a deep zone.

As I bobbed my head to the words of “6 Foot 7 Foot” by Lil Wayne, my moment of attempted meditation was interrupted by Jewel's constant texting. Now my patience was starting to run thin with her, and I felt like I was gonna explode.

Without hesitation, I snatched Jewel's phone from her hand and started going through her call log and text messages. Jewel had been acting real suspicious lately, and I couldn't ignore it anymore. I knew she had been sneaking to the garage and various places throughout the house to use her phone while she thought I was sleeping. There was no doubt in my mind Jewel was hiding something, and I was about to find out what it was.

I read the text in her phone aloud–“I haven't heard from you. Call me. You did some real fucked-up shit. Jewel, I know you're not in school. You're a fuckin'liar. I would have given you anything.”

“Okay, you happy? Now please give me the phone back, Touch,” she said, trying her best to stay cool.

“Jewel, who the fuck is Rico?”

“Oh, you want to go there?” Jewel said in a sarcastic tone.

“I'ma ask you one more time–Who the fuck is Rico?”

I had her in a semi-choke hold, causing her to almost hit the person in front of us.

“Get your fuckin' hands off me,” she struggled to say, but I wasn't letting up until she answered my question. She pulled the car to the side of the road, and within seconds she somehow pulled out a taser gun.

“What the fuck is this?” I laughed as I released her.

“Now, nigga,
you
listen to me. You fucked up our relationship a long time ago. Then you were on the run while I was alone and pregnant. On top of that, your sorry ass is up for domestic violence charges for another bitch! So, please, I beg you, don't come at me with a whole bunch of questions!”

Damn!
I thought as I listened to Jewel. There was nothing I could say in response to that. Everything she said was true. Her words rendered me silent. The only good response would have been to apologize, but there was no way in hell I would have done that at that moment.

“Oh, you quiet now, huh? You don't have shit to say.” Jewel put the car in park.

“Nope. No time to talk right now. We'll talk later. We got more important things to take care of,” I said, blowing off the conversation then stepping out the car.

“Fuck you, Touch! Go handle your business by your fuckin' self. You've done this plenty of times before. You know the routine.” Jewel then drove off.

I didn't have the time or energy to chase after her. I just shook my head in disbelief and began walking to my lawyer's building. Everything seemed to be spiraling out of my control, and I had no idea what to do about it. I wanted to make everything easy for Jewel, but sometimes I got the feeling she didn't want me around. Nothing I did was right.

Fuck it!
I thought.
I'll just do me from now on.

I somehow reached Schultz's building on time. I pressed number eight on the elevator and walked in the office. As I sat waiting to see Mr. Schultz, I thought,

What bullshit is this?
He would make me pay extra for being late, but when I was on time, he made me wait and wouldn't give me no damn discount. That's the price I had to pay for having the best attorney in town. I'd rather pay his ass than do time.

The receptionist said, “Mr. Schultz can see you now.”

“Thanks,” I said while walking toward his office.

“Mr. Davis.” Schultz greeted me with a handshake.

“Thanks for taking me at such short notice. Here's your money. It's all hundreds, just the way you prefer.” I bit my tongue and didn't say nothing about the double standard.

“You know me well.” Mr. Schultz accepted the money and motioned for me to have a seat. “Listen, let's get to it because I don't want to take too much of your time. I've already talked with the district attorney.”

“Wow! That was fast. That's why I fuck with you, Mr. Schultz!”

“Yeah, I took her out last night, so I figured I may as well discuss the case while I had her eating out of the palm of my hand. Everything in life is about who you know and how much power they hold. From church to the law, it's all politics, my friend.”

“I know all about. I'm just glad to have you in my corner.”

“Money talks!” Schultz laughed. “The conspiracy charges will be dropped due to the lack of evidence. As you may already know, the police officer working undercover on your case died in the line of duty. She was involved in a tragic high-speed chase.” Schultz cut his eyes at me. He knew it was me she was chasing. He took a sip of his coffee. “The prosecutors hoped to still be able to go on with the case, based on the reports from the officer. But the files from the case have mysteriously disappeared.” Schultz cut his eyes at me again. Now I knew nothing about the missing files. I damn sure was glad to hear the news though. “As far as the domestic violence and the auto theft charges, you will have a hefty fine, be required to go to anger management class, and unsupervised probation for a year. So I need you to stay on your best behavior at all times. No fighting, smoking, drinking, or drugs. And if you decide to do it, don't fuckin' get caught. You got it?”

“Damn right!” I said. This was the best news I could have possibly heard. Way better than I'd expected.

“This time, you got real lucky. Your court date is in two weeks. I will have my receptionist send you a reminder in the mail.”

“I'll be there. Thanks, man! I'll see you in court,” I replied, happy as hell.

I walked out of the office with a big-ass Kool-Aid smile across my face. To my surprise, Jewel was waiting for me in the parking lot with the tazer gun still in her hand. Believe it or not, not even that was able to ruin my joy. With her being pregnant, I knew her hormones were all fucked up.

I gave her a hug. “Thanks for coming back for me.”

She looked shocked as hell. She didn't know how to respond to my friendly attitude. She just got in the car and started it up. I had just gotten the best news in my life and didn't want to ruin the moment. I just wanted to go home, smoke a blunt, and lay down. I know Schultz told me to stay away from drugs and alcohol, but I had been up the last two nights awaiting my fate, stressed as a motherfucker. For the first time in months I was stress free! I needed a rest.

The entire ride home, Jewel and I didn't say a word to each other. She didn't even ask about what happened with my lawyer. I didn't know if it was because she was scared to hear or if she didn't care. Either way, that was cool with me. I was finally able to listen to my CD and zone out without interruption. I blasted the radio, leaned my seat back and turned up the tunes of “I'm on One” by DJ Khaled. I sang along.

When we arrived home, Jewel didn't even pull in the driveway. She dropped me off and pulled right back off. I didn't even question it. There was no way she was going to ruin my good mood. I walked right on to the crib and didn't even look back. I figured she was acting out because she wanted a reaction from me. And, more than anything, she wanted an explanation and an apology. True, she deserved it, but I wasn't quite ready to give in yet. She would get what she wanted but on my terms.

When I got in the house, I did exactly as I'd planned. I rolled a blunt, grabbed the remote, and got comfortable in the bed. I hadn't taken two pulls from the blunt before my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID, but I didn't recognize the number. I wondered if it was that bitch Lisa, who had been blowing my phone up on the regular. It was time to put an end to this shit.

“Hello,” I answered full of attitude, ready to let Lisa's ass have it.

“Yo, Touch, this is Jimmy. What's been going on?”