Trife Life To Lavish (A King Production Presents...) (18 page)

"I got it, but I need details first."

"What you wanna know?"

"For one, how did Nichelle take the news?"

"How the fuck you think she gon' take it? A
woman shows up at your door telling you that the
man you were playing house with and in love with
is actually married. I don't give a fuck who you are,
that news ain't gon' sit well with nobody."

"Did you tell her to get out of his crib because
the shit is in your name?"

"Of course! That shit is true, even though I ain't
thinking about that condo or who's living in it."

"I know you didn't say that shit?"

"Of course not. I kept to the script, although I
was ready to take off my boot and beat her friend's
ass. That bitch had the nerve to try and school me
on my marriage."

"You must be talking about Tierra," he smiled,
imagining Tierra cutting up. "Did Nichelle agree to
leave?"

"Yep, she said she would be out today. I don't
know how true that is and I really don't care. I'm
ready to take my ass back to Houston, and as soon as
you give me my money, that's what I'm gonna do."

"Entertain my curiosity for one second, then
I'll give you your money and you're free to go."

"What is it?"

"It doesn't bother you the slightest that your
husband was in a serious relationship with another
woman and living with her?"

"Listen, my marriage with Carmelo had been
over. I wasn't a bit more married to him than I am to that stranger sitting over there in that corner.
By the time he got serious with that girl, we were
married in name only. Our relationship was nothing
more than a convenient business arrangement at
that point. But neither of us felt the need to get a
divorce, because I wasn't stopping him from doing
what he wanted to do, and he wasn't stopping me
from doing the same."

"But what about your kids?"

"He always took excellent care of our kids
and would visit with them on a regular. I had no
complaints. Now with him dead, shit done changed.
I ain't never worked. I always depended on Carmelo
to take care of us. But I refuse to be like the rest of
these women, and me and my kids end up in the
projects struggling because I decided to marry the
game, but it divorced me before my time was up.
That's why when you offered to hit me off with a
bunch of money, and all I had to do was crush the
dreams of some bright-eyed, dumbass teenager, I
jumped at it."

"It's good to know you won't be losing any
sleep over it."

"Hell no! She's young. Her fast ass will find
some other rich thug and forget all about Carmelo."

"I hope you're right." The man pulled out the
money from his coat pocket and handed it to Lynette.

"Thank you. I'm gon' put this money to good
use." Lynette then flipped through the hundred dollar bills, making sure every dollar he promised was there,
not even feeling the need to be discreet.

"I'm sure you will."

"Do you mind entertaining any curiosity for a
second before I roll outta here?" Lynette asked, feeling
extra confident now that her pockets were swollen.

"Ain't nothing wrong with even exchange."

"Cool. So tell me the real reason you contacted
me after Carmelo got killed."

"I told you. Carmelo and I were doing
business together, and when I heard he had a wife
and kids, I figured you might need some help."

"Okay, I'll accept that. But what about you
making it a condition that the only way I would get
the money was if I let that girl know I was his wife?"

"She had the right to know. You know how
you said she would find another thug and forget
about Carmelo. . .well by you telling her that he was
never hers to begin with, will make it much easier
for her to do just that."

"You mean easier for her to move on to you."
Lynette smacked her lips, letting Renny know she
was hip to his game.

"Not necessarily me, but whomever she
decides to kick it with."

"Yeah, right! You know you're itching for
some of that young tight pussy. But, I advise you to
be careful. Manipulating your way into somebody's
heart is the quickest way to get yours broken."

"Oh, you're a comic now. With that money I
gave you, you can take your show on the road."

"Joke if you like, but I'm an old school ho that
has been around the block many times ...too many to
count. When you're young like that little girl, Nichelle,
you're resilient. By the time you get my age, you're
too fuckin' tired to care. Your only concern is that
all your financial needs be met, and to be left alone.
But men like you ain't satisfied until they have it all,
and there is where the problem lies." Lynette stood
up, happy she was no longer feeling light on her
feet. "Nice doing business with you, Renny, and good
luck you're gonna need it."

Lynette slid her fingers though her shortcropped hair, feeling good about her brief visit.
She got what she needed from Renny, and couldn't
wait to get the hell out of New York. Her job there
was done. She buried her husband, and at the same
time, was able to finance her future, which meant
using her new money to lure in a new baller.

Nichelle sat in class, depressed, tired, and
nauseous. She already missed a week of school
dealing with the loss of Carmelo, and couldn't afford
to get any further behind in her work. With a baby
on the way, she was determined to graduate. At the very least, she needed a high school diploma if she
wanted a chance to give her child any sort of future.

"Mr. Chambers, can I speak with you for a
minute?" Nichelle asked after the bell rang and
class was over.

"Sure. I wanted to talk with you anyway. I
heard some students in one of my earlier classes
discussing what happened to a friend of yours, and
your boyfriend. I'm sorry. I know that must be very
difficult. "

"It is, but I'm trying to hold it together. That's
why I haven't been in school. I know I've never
been a model student," Nichelle nervously giggled,
"but I really want to do better. That's why I wanted
to talk to you about working on my writing. I want
to get serious about it, even maybe one day have a
career doing it."

"Are you serious?" he questioned, sounding
pleasantly surprised.

"Yes. With the loss of my boyfriend, it helped
me put a lot of things into perspective. I want to
concentrate on getting myself together and turn my
life around."

"I'm proud of you, Nichelle, and I'll do
whatever I can to help you accomplish that."

"Thank you. I needed to hear that. Where I'm
from, I don't have dream-believers, I'm surrounded
with dream-killers."

"Not with me. Everything starts with a dream, and if I have my way, all of yours will come true."

"Mr. Chambers, can you excuse me for one
second? I'll be right back."

"Nichelle, are you okay?" he questioned,
seeing the grimaced expression on her face.

"I need to go to the bathroom. It must have
been something I ate at lunch. It ain't sitting well
on my stomach. I'll be back though, so we can talk
some more ...if that's okay?"

"Of course. I'll be here for a while, going
through papers. Comeback when you're done."

"Thanks." Nichelle couldn't get out the
classroom fast enough. Her nausea was on
overdrive, and thought if she stayed any longer,
she was going to puke all over her teacher. By the
time she reached the bathroom, she barely made it
to the stall, vomiting half in the toilet and half on
the floor.

"Damn, this pregnancy shit is no joke!" Right
when Nichelle reached over to get some toilet tissue
to wipe her mouth, round two kicked in, and her
head was back over the toilet, vomiting some more.

In between barfing, she could hear voices
and people coming in an out the restroom, but she
didn't think anything of it, until the bathroom door
that she didn't have time to lock came flinging open
and knocked her down on the floor. The side of
her face and clothes were saturated with her vomit.
Before she even had a chance to look up and react, somebody clawed their hands in the crown of her
head, dragging her out the stall.

"Look what we got here! You look like shit,
and you stink, with all the vomit on you," Lerrick
teased, standing in front of Nichelle while two of her
crew held her. "I see you ain't got your pitbull in a
skirt, so now what you gon' do?" Lerrick mocked.

"Lerrick, I don't want no beef, and I don't
want to fight you," Nichelle coughed, still feeling
the need to throw up again.

"Oh, poor thang! You in mourning `cause yo'
nigga dead! That's what yo' uppity ass get! I guess
it's back to the `hood for you!" Lerrick and her crew
laughed, getting a kick out of Nichelle's current
predicament. "Well, fuck you!" Lerrick said, spitting
in Nichelle's face.

As the spit rolled down the bridge of Nichelle's
nose, her insides were boiling up in anger. But
she tried to remain calm, thinking about the safety
of the baby she so desperately wanted growing
inside of her. "Lerrick, you and your girls have
had your fun. You spit on me and got me looking
stupid. Now, can you please just let me go? No
hard feelings." Tears began welling up in Nichelle's
eyes because she knew how vulnerable she was at
that very moment.

"Ahhh, are you scared, Nichelle?" Lerrick
continued her cruel taunts.

"No, I'm pregnant, and I'm thinking about my baby right now, so please do the right thing
and let me go."

"Bitch, please! I ain't letting nothin' go!" With
that, Lerrick began her punishment on Nichelle, first
landing a couple of blows to her face. "I see you
ain't got no slick shit to say now," Lerrick goaded,
knowing Nichelle was defenseless to retaliate.

"I think that's enough," Cinthia, one of the
girls holding Nichelle said, after Lerrick landed a
few more punches. But, Lerrick was consumed with
jealousy and blurred of all reasonable thinking, to
the point that it was evident that Nichelle was in
a great deal of physical pain, the type of pain that
ran much deeper than punches to her face.

"Yo, I'm outta here! You taking this shit too
far!" Kyla, the other girl said, getting panicky. Both
girls let Nichelle go and she fell to the floor.

"Come on, Lerrick, let's go! She ain't lookin'
too good."

"Ya'll some punks! Go head and leave. I ain't
done yet."

"You buggin'... we out!" Cinthia and Kyla took
off running, leaving Nichelle and Lerrick alone.

"I guess it's just you and me now."

"Lerrick, please!" Nichelle cried out, trying to
stand up.

"Shut the fuck up!" she barked, lifting her
Timberland boot back with all her might and
stomping Nichelle in her stomach three times.

Nichelle screamed out in pain as she held
her midsection.

"Now, I'm done," Lerrick snickered. "Shit, I
got your nasty ass vomit on my hand from roughing
up your face. I bet you don't feel pretty anymore,"
she continued, walking over to the sink to wash
her hands.

Nichelle's excruciating pain had quickly
turned to pure contempt. Seeing the pleasure on
Lerrick's face was all the motivation she needed to
set shit straight.

Lerrick was so busy gloating over her socalled victory, she didn't even see the wrath of
Nichelle coming until her blood gushed across the
mirror. Lerrick's heart almost stopped beating from
the shock of witnessing the entire right side of her
face slashed open from the slicing Nichelle did
with her razor.

"I pray you see me in your nightmares!"
Nichelle uttered, in a haunting tone, leaving her
enemy in the bathroom begging for help.

"Make sure that nigga pay you every fuckin'
dime before you let him re-up on anything, you
understand?" Renny towered over one of his street
soldiers, burning through his eyes, making sure he was grasping each word coming out his mouth.

"On everything. . .1 got you. I won't front that
nigga shit else until he all paid up."