CHAPTER FOURTEEN

KADEN

 

I don’t know where Paris went but when she returned she started braiding my hair tight as shit, like she had an attitude or something. She kept asking me what was the plan for tomorrow and she kept talking around herself.

The only thing I was sure of was that we were all in on the plan to fuck Tabitha up the next day and then get our own place. I don’t think any of us thought much beyond that because we all had bad credit.

When my cell phone rang I smiled when I saw its Lakota again. “Who got you acting all silly?” Paris asked. “One minute you in emotional pain and the next you cheesing like shit.”

“It’s Lakota…”

“Yah back together?” She grinned and then frowned. She was mad at somebody. “If so when this happen?”

“Shhh…” I placed a finger over my lip and answered the call. “Hey, Lakota. Still coming over tonight right?” I figured the coast was clear since Dandre wasn’t here. At least I hoped not.

“Yeah, but let me speak to Tabitha right quick.”

I looked at the phone and placed it back on my ear. “Speak to Tabitha right quick? Why?”

Paris whispered, “What the fuck he want to speak to her for?”

“Please don’t start tripping, Kaden. If I wanted you to know I would’ve said it. Now just put her on the phone.”

I shook my head and stood up. “Where you going girl?” Paris asked. “Because I’m not gonna be on your hair all night. You gonna fuck around and have the same hairstyle for the party tomorrow.”

I didn’t even respond or care. Instead I stomped out and into the kitchen where Tabitha was taking one of the pizzas from the oven. I felt like throwing it on the floor, cheese part down. “Tab, it’s the phone.” My arm was out stiff with the screen to the iPhone in her direction.

She looked at it and then my eyes. “Who that, girl?”

“Lakota.”

“Lakota?” She giggled. “What he want with me?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

She shrugged and took the phone. “Hey, Lakota.” She paused and giggled hard. “Oh…hey! Yeah, I know. I know. Yeah, you so right. Why you think I did it? Because I knew better.” She laughed again and placed another pizza with sausage and mushrooms in the oven. “You better not or you gonna get in trouble…”

Here this chick was having a full fledge conversation with my boyfriend and nobody bothered to tell me what the topic was. Normally if you talking to a bitch’s man you turn around and involve them every so often. But she not doing any of it. It’s like I don’t exist and she doesn’t care. She was changing over night.

It took everything in my power not to hit her in the back of the head with one of these pans.

“Okay, I will,” She said. “Talk to you later.” She handed me back the phone.

“Well?” I asked.

“Well what?”

“What did he want?”

She waved the air. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

She had me fucked up because I was nothing like Barby. I was gonna ask about mine.

“Tabitha, I’m not trying to be funny but I’m not cool with that. I’d appreciate if you told me what it was about so I can put anything funny out my mind.”

She frowned. “Wait, you think I want Lakota?”

“No! I mean…I…I mean…I just wanna know what yah talking about.”

“I wasn’t talking to Lakota, Kaden. He was in the liquor store and my sister was in there and he gave the phone to her. She was the one I was talking too.” She smiled. “Don’t ever think of me in that way because you’ll be wrong, Kaden. Why everybody acting so crazy around here lately? Keep it light. We’re about to celebrate one year living together tomorrow.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She smiled again. “Is Barby and Paris here?”

“I think so.”

“Well tell them to—”

Before Tabitha could finish her sentence Barby walked up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. “Let me holla at you for a minute outside.”

“Why?” I asked. “We have our own rooms.”

She looked at Tabitha who didn’t seem to notice because she was focusing on the food and then she looked back at me. “It’s important and private,” she whispered.

“Aight,” I said softly. Clearing my throat I said, “Tab, me and Barb stepping outside right quick. We be back.”

“Well don’t be out long, the pizza gonna get cold!” She said with a smile.

That bitch strange for sure.

When we were in front of the building Barby pulled me closer and said, “Do you remember that weed edible business we tried to open?”

I laughed. “Yeah, it was only last year plus the sign taking up space in the living room. Why you asking anyway?”

“I just looked at our bank account that we opened to pay rent and found out we’re still paying for the insurance automatic deduction each month. Well, Tab been paying the extra amount but still.”

I was still angry about Tabitha talking to Lakota or her sister so for real I wasn’t interested in whatever she was saying. Was Tabitha being honest about talking to her sister? Barby fucked up my head so much I couldn’t be sure. So truthfully I wanted her to get on with it. “And? Why does that matter?”

“Like you know we had to get the life insurance policy on each other before we got a license for the business. Tabitha’s lawyer told us that remember? When we were in his office? Well anyway it’s still in place even though the business didn’t take off.”

“What does that mean, Barby?”

“It means that if one of us dies it’s one hundred thousand dollars cash. So, if Tabitha dies its one hundred thousand dollars.”

Now she had my attention. “So wait what you saying?”

“I hate her, Kaden. A lot.” She moved closer so that only I could hear her. I also felt her hot breath on my nose. “And the more I think about it the more I realize the world would be better off without her.”

“But murder?” I walked away from her. “That’s not our style.”

She grabbed me and looked up at our building. “Lower your voice before somebody hears you.”

I shook her off of me. “You tripping now. The last thing I’m gonna do is calm down. Do you even hear yourself talking? You being not rational.”

“Think about it, if we beat her ass tomorrow what you think gonna happen? She’s gonna snitch and we’ll get locked up. All that’s gonna do is give her more time to be with our boyfriends. I don’t know about you but that won’t work for me. Fuck that shit!”

“I get all of that, but murder, Barby? The fact that you can do this so easily makes me worried about myself around you. What you gonna do? Kill me too?”

She glared at me. “You know I wouldn’t do anything to you. Not unless you don’t follow the plan or fuck up mine.”

I swallowed and scratched my arm because I didn’t get the answer I wanted. “All I’m gonna say is that I’m not with this.”

She rolled her eyes. “Before you say no just think about it. Think long and hard about what that kind of money split two ways would do for us. What it will do for our lives.”

“Nah, you mean split three ways. Even if I said yes Paris’s name on the policy too or have you forgotten?”

She scratched her head and her eyes bulged. “Yeah…I did forget.” She walked away from me and then hurried back like she had the perfect answer for our problem. “Unless we take her out too. We gonna murder one person why not murder two?” She pointed at me and her eyes were wild.

“What’s wrong with you?” I pushed her away. “You not thinking sanely now!”

She blinked a few times and sat on the step in front of the building. For some reason I followed her when I should’ve been running in the other direction.

“This is all I know, that we need to make Tabitha pay for all the sneaky shit she’s done to us, Kaden. And that if we don’t make it final she may come back on us in some way. Is that what you want? To be locked up while she’s out in the world?”

“No…”

“So why not finish her once and for all and get the money too? It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”

“How do I know you didn’t have this plan all along?”

Her eyes lowered and she looked like another person. “You don’t, Kaden, but I’m asking you to trust me.”