Black Diamond 2: Nicety

Debris was everywhere. All I could remember was sticking my hand on the handle to open up the car door and hearing a loud-ass boom and a force unlike any that I’d ever felt in my life. I landed up against the wall. My eyes were closed and I instantly felt the back of my head throbbing. I rubbed the back of my head, which felt like it was bleeding. What the fuck? I yelled. My car was sitting just a few feet away from me on fire. This shit was getting crazy! At this point I wanted this nigga to just show his face so we could get this shit over with. I heard sirens in the background as I tried to peel myself off of the pavement.

“Are you okay sir?” The one paramedic asked.

I couldn’t even respond. I was still in shock and I was dizzy as hell with a banging headache. I tried to get up again.

“Stay still, sir, we’ll get you to a hospital.”

“I’m fine, I don’t need a hospital.”

“Sir, you have to go to a hospital, your head is bleeding and you could have a concussion.”

“I said I’m fine.” I tried to force myself up and fell right back down. I was pissed. “Damn!” I yelled in frustration. This nigga was really getting the best of me. My head was spinning and my legs were shaking. Before long, I was being put on the gurney, strapped down, and rolled into the back of the ambulance. The whole ride I kept asking to use the phone and they wouldn’t allow me to. I needed to make sure that Diamond was okay.

“Please, can I call my girl? Whoever did this could be trying to hurt her.”

The male paramedic didn’t budge while the female paramedic immediately looked concerned.

“Do you have your phone?” she asked. Her male partner turned to look at her with a frown. She wasn’t fazed.

“Yeah, it’s in my left pocket.”

She went in my pocket and retrieved the phone. “I can’t unstrap you for safety reasons but I can dial it for you.”

“Cool, her name’s Diamond. It’s in the phone book.”

She dialed the number and placed the phone near my ear.

“Hello?”

“Babe, are you okay?” I asked, breathing heavily. I had never been happier to hear her voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine, what’s wrong with you?”

“Somebody put a bomb in my car but . . .”

“A bomb! Baby, are you hurt?”

“I’m okay, they’re taking me to the hospital now. Don’t run down here, I’m okay.”

“I’m coming now.”

“Babe . . .”

“What hospital are you going to? It’s not up for discussion, Black.”

“I think Penn,” I replied. I knew there wasn’t any arguing with her at this point.

“I’ll meet you there.” Click!

I looked over at the female paramedic and nodded my head in thanks. We arrived at the hospital where they hurried me into trauma. The whole time I repeated that I was fine and wanted to go home. My requests went unheard. After an hour of trying to fight them, they sedated me. The last thing I could remember was seeing a long-ass needle and heavy eyelids. When I woke up, Diamond was sitting in a chair at the bedside.

“Hey, Babe, how are you feeling?” She got up from the chair and came over to sit next to me.

“I’m good.”

“What the hell happened?”

“Somebody put a bomb in the car and . . .”

“A bomb?”

“Listen, don’t get bent all out of shape. I’m okay as you can see.”

“You could have been killed. We have to get away from here, babe.”

“I’m not running from that nigga, fuck him! If he’s coming, I’m waiting.”

“You see what keeps happening? He’s going to kill one of us.” I could tell how afraid she was. What the hell was I supposed to say? There probably wasn’t anything that I could say to ease her mind. I thought about what she said and it made perfect sense, getting away. I wasn’t about to run but I needed to get her out of harm’s way. Even if just for a week or two, it would give me time to sort things out.

“Look, I’m going to send you away for a couple of weeks. See if Kiki can get free and go with you,” I said as I sat up in bed. I knew sending her away without me wouldn’t be easy. I prepared myself for an argument.

“What? Why the hell would I go away and leave you here? If I go anywhere you’re going with me.”

“I’m not going to argue with you, D. I’m angry, my fucking car is blown to shreds, and my head hurts like hell. If you stay here you’re a target and I need time to figure this shit out. I need you to listen to me for once and stop being so damn stubborn.”

She sat there with a blank stare. I was waiting for her to yell, cry or do something other than sit in silence. I could see how this was affecting her. Diamond had always been strong, since I’d known her, anyway. That was one of the things that attracted me to her. I knew that she wouldn’t let a nigga run over her. Now, things were different. She was falling apart and I didn’t know how else to patch her back together other than killing this nigga. Soon a single tear formed in the well of her right eye, slowly rolled down her cheek, and dropped onto the sheets.

“I’m losing my mind, Black, I can’t take this shit. I thought I was built for this. It’s much easier when you’re the predator. I can’t believe that I was so stupid.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about the past, okay. I need you to think realistically, babe. You shot that nigga and he could have lived. Shit, if that were me, I’d be doing the same shit. I know him well and if it’s him I know he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. I would lose my mind if I lost you.”

After a few seconds of silence she spoke again. “Okay, I’ll go.”

“I’m glad.” I smiled as I reached over to hug her. I wasn’t trying to get sentimental but on some real shit, I needed her in my life. She was the balance that I never had before. I know that it may sound fucked up since she was once and still may be my best friend’s wife, but he didn’t deserve her. Hell, he didn’t give a fuck about her. I remember the first time they’d had sex up in the box at the Sixers game. No sooner than he closed the door behind her he was boasting. I had never been one to brag about getting ass, but Kemp, he needed to feel like a king. That day she had finally gotten his attention. She’d been trying for weeks and he knew it.

“I need to make her sweat. Shit, that gold-digging bitch ain’t about to get a piece of me that easily.” He laughed. “She’s sexy as shit but I know the game.”

“How you know she playing you? She could really like you.”

“Bullshit, Black,” he began to laugh. “That bitch just got out of jail, she’s broke as hell and who the fuck goes around practically stalking a nigga if it ain’t about money. You sound like one of them. You ain’t getting soft on me now, are you?”

“Soft, come on man, I’m far from that. I’m just saying, you gotta stop treating every female you meet like a gold digger just because you rich.”

He continued to laugh, “What you trying to say, it’s real love out here?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Nigga, I’ve been married twice and I’m divorced. These bitches only see the dollars. If I was a chick I’d be the same way.”

“You’re divorced because you think like you do. You only got married ’cause you’re selfish.”

“And I already know that shit, man. I lock ’em down, that’s how you gotta do it. And Diamond, she’ll be number three. If you know one thing about me it’s that I keep my promises, and I promise you that shit.”

He couldn’t wait to clown her after he fucked her with all of us sitting a few short feet away. She left out of the room with a huge smile on her face. As soon as the door was closed, everyone but me burst into laughter.

“You ain’t right, man,” I spoke loudly. Everyone turned to look at me as if I was speaking in another language. To them, I was. There were just some things that I couldn’t accept as right—shit, I had three sisters.

“Yo’, you been acting like a bitch lately. You act like you want to fuck her. You know me, nigga, I don’t cock block. If that’s what you want by all means go for it,” Kemp yelled. Everyone turned to look at me and soon erupted into laughter.

“Come on now, don’t try to play me, nigga. You know it ain’t that. I’m just saying, why you gotta come out here and boast. Everybody knows you get pussy!” I was getting annoyed. If it was one thing I hated, it was to be put on blast, especially in front of a bunch of niggas.

“Stop tripping, man, if it makes you feel any better I’ll refrain from talking about pussy around you.” He continued to laugh.

I didn’t even respond. I just nodded my head and took a sip of my Corona. Soon the attention was off of me and back on the game. I sat there wondering how this dude even got to where he was at that point. I mean, he was street smart and he had the wit to get all of the shit he had, but keeping it—that was a whole different story. That took more than what he had and I could see him losing it even back then. I didn’t envy Kemp but I did always want to claim his spot. Even as his friend, there was something in the back of my mind. I could see the future and was ready to jump in his place as soon as it was open.