Chapter 7

Three Months Later…

“Ay, you know we got RG in the building tonight,” DeAndre said into the mic. The crowd went crazy as Omari stood up in his section with two silver bottles in both hands. Girls from the lightest of the light to the darkest of the dark surrounded him, but Trina was right by his side. She felt angelic in her all-white bodycon dress, but the $100,000 around her neck made her feel like royalty.

After Ron left the night he killed Reko, Omari addressed his fellow RG members. He excused Reko’s absence but assured them that together they had come to the conclusion that he was the one who would be able to take Rich Gang to the next level. Many were surprised by Reko’s sudden release of power, but nonetheless, they supported the decision. Omari was quiet, but he never hesitated when it came to business. An hour later, Trina joined him wearing a turtleneck dress hoping to hide the marks that Reko left behind. Omari was unsure about revealing her new role, but he had to be transparent. The group was hesitant, but she assured them that she didn’t intend on changing how they did business; she just wanted the business to be efficient, and with the thousand keys Franco was prepared to add each month, she needed everything to be right. For the rest of the night, Omari and Trina laid out the new pipeline to filter all the new work through, and for the next three months, they closed deal after deal after deal with new suppliers across the country. Jonah’s killer was never found, but all the money they made allowed Trina to forget her pain more and more.

“Ayyy,” she said as Nicki Minaj’s “Truffle Butter” blared though the speakers, “Just thinking out loud, I must have about a milli on me right now, and I ain’t talking about the Lil Wayne record…” She reached over and snatched the blunt Omari had in his hand. The alcohol in her system had her feeling bold. “I invited Yari,” she confessed.

“What you do that for?” he yelled over the music.

“She’s my friend, and I’m celebrating. She should be here.”

“Ask me if I care though. It’s been months, Trina. I think she gets the picture by now.”

“No, it’s cool. She’s coming with somebody.”

“Coming with somebody?” he asked rolling his eyes, “Here we go.”

“No, seriously, she’s coming up here with her boyfriend Malachi and a few of his potnahs I think.”

“How long she been fucking with him?” he asked suddenly getting jealous. He hated to admit it, but he had gotten use to Yari chasing him.

“Like three, four months. I haven’t met him yet, but I’m glad she finally found somebody. You did my girl scandalous.”

“Who?”

“You, Omari. You know she loved you.”

“She loved this money. She didn’t love me, and I’m not into entertaining an opportunist. A nigga needs love too, you know?”

“Shut your sensitive-ass up,” she laughed.

“What ya’ll laughing at?” Ron asked walking into the VIP section.

“Your boy,” she said laughing again,” Where you been? I feel like I never see you anymore.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head on his chest.

“I’ve been around. I just had some things to handle.”

“I heard they found Reko’s body in the river.”

“Not here, okay, Trina?” he said filling up a cup full of the various liquors near him. As he began to drink, hoping to get on everyone else’s level, Trina’s phone rang.

“It’s Yari,” she said to Omari, “I’ll be right back.”

Trina managed to squeeze through the crowd heading toward the patio. Before she could reach the door, Yari grabbed her by her arm.

“Ahhhhhh,” they both screamed.

“Hey, bitch,” she said giving her a hug.

“Let’s go outside,” Trina yelled in her ear, “It’s hella loud in here.”

She grabbed Yari’s hand and led her to the patio not noticing the man who followed closely behind her.

“Trina, I wanna introduce you to somebody. This is Malachi,” she said proudly pulling the hunky stranger beside her. His neatly parted dreads hung to the middle of his back, and his milk chocolate skin was flawless. He towered over Yari’s small frame, but they looked perfect together. “Malachi, this is my Bestest Trina.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said extending his hand, “Yari talks a lot about you. It’s a small world.”

“Small world?” she asked taking a drag from the doubie she held in her hand.

“You will never guess who his friend is,” Yari said unable to hide her smile.

“Who?”

“You’re literally gonna die when I tell you.”

“Yari, stop playing. Who?”

“Los.”

Trina felt as if the world had suddenly stopped. Los and she were high school sweethearts. They first started dating when they were only 13, and all the way until she graduated high school, he was the only man she had ever been with. He was her first everything, and Trina’s parents hated that because Los treated her like shit, but no matter how many times he cheated on her, she never left. She tried to convince herself that they were both young to excuse his infidelity, but when they graduated, Los’ family moved to Atlanta, and being that he didn’t have any prospects in Sacramento, he left too. Trina just knew that he was going to stay for her, but she was wrong. On his last night in Sacramento, he drove to her house despite her parents’ disapproval. They spent the night together, and Trina expressed her undying love for Los while he was finally closing the chapter on their relationship. After laying her soul and body out on the line, she watched him as he slept once they finished making love. The TV illuminated his face, and she knew deep down that would be the last time she ever saw him again. Having to catch an early flight, Los left at 4 a.m., but he called Trina from the airport before he left, and through her tears, he told her that he loved her, and he would never forget her.

Even though they weren’t together anymore, she still expected for them to always remain friends because that’s how they started, but over time, the calls and messages stopped, and they became acquaintances at best. Trina did her best to not think about him, but no matter what or who she did, he always stayed on her mind.

A couple years later, Los came back to Sacramento to visit a girl he was dating at the time, but to Trina’s surprise, she was the first person he called when he touched down. They had barely been in contact the entire time he had been Atlanta, so she had no idea why he was reaching out, but she didn’t care. Los picked her up, and they spent the day parked at a park not too far from Trina’s house blowing it down. The weed in the air became a veil of truth for them, so she used that to finally get her questions answered.

“Did you miss me?” she asked placing her head against the headrest.

“Why you ask that? I’m here, right?”

“Los, you’ve been gone for like three years. You come out here cause some bitch flew you out, so, sorry I have to ask.”

“We were having a cool day. What’s up?”

“What’s up? You left because your parents left. Okay, I get that, but what about us? Now you’re back to be with this broad. Why her?”

“Trina, don’t do this,” he said sighing.

“Why her?” She crossed her arms and waited for him to answer.

“Do you really want to know?”

“Yes.”

“She’s different. You’re safe, Trina. You’re a good girl, and don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing the matter with that, but I’m all about getting out of my comfort zone though. I mean you’re like a little-ass girl. You have to get your parents’ permission for everything. Do they even know you’re here?”

“Fuck you, Los, I’m grown.”

“I can’t tell. Trina, I’ll always love you, but I’m not in love with you.”

Just thinking about that day hurt her all over again. Los had outgrown her and their high school relationship, but she didn’t know how to let go of the rejection even years later. When Trina went home, she stared in the mirror at her Plain Jane appearance. From her soft brown hair, to the clothes she used to cover up, everything screamed boring. At 22, she needed a change. When Los went back to ATL, he was once again out of sight out of mind, but Trina refused to be passed up by a man ever again. One day while getting her sandy brown locks dyed platinum blonde, Trina overheard Yari talking about her night working at club Wet. Trina was shy back then, but the idea of men paying her to worship and lust after her flesh was something she wanted more than anything in the world. She felt so invisible, but for once, she wanted to be seen as that bitch.

After their appointments, Trina caught Yari in the parking lot before she had a chance to get to her car. “Ummm, excuse me.”

“Yeah,” Yari said opening up the door to her bright red, Lexus Coupe.

“I overheard in the shop that you work at Wet.”

“I do, why?” she asked looking Trina up and down.

“I was wondering if they’re hiring.”

“Hiring?” she laughed, “I mean they have auditions and what not. Why you asking though? You interested?”

“Maybe.”

“Look, you’re hella cute, and under them sweatpants, I’m assuming you gotta little body on you, but I’m not tryna refer you or no shit like that, but if you’re serious, come up there tonight. I’ll introduce you to the owner,” Yari said getting into her car, “Oh, and lose the sweats.”

Trina stood in the parking lot as Yari pulled out. The sunset left the sky a grayish-orange color, so she knew that nightfall was close behind, and she had no time to waste. When she got home, she didn’t even recognize herself. Her parents didn’t like the sudden change, but Trina had to do something to break out of the box she had been raised in. After painting her face and putting on the tightest dress she owned, she left home and never looked back. She eventually started making enough money to not have to. Once onstage, Trina felt empowered. She loved the attention she received, and she fell in love with the girl she created herself to be for the world. When Jonah walked in club Wet and they locked eyes, he saw the woman and not the little girl she tried so hard to run away from. He willingly gave her the world, so she was convinced that she had changed for the better, but at the end of the day, Los was at the root of it all.

“What did you say?”

“Los is here.”

“Yeah, she just told me that ya’ll go way back. I didn’t even get to tell him that you were gonna be here. He went to go get a drink. He should be around somewhere though.”

Trina’s heart was beating almost out of her chest, and her palms began to get moist. “Ummm, I’ll be right back,” she said rushing back inside the club. She walked across the dance floor to where Omari, Ron, and the rest of the clique were sitting with empty bottles surrounding them.

“You out?” Ron asked looking up.

“Yeah, I’m not feeling too good. Omari, I’ll hit you tomorrow, so we can go over these numbers one more time before we meet with Franco,” she said grabbing her small clutch that was tucked underneath the black leather couch they were sitting on.

“Yep.”

“Text me when you get home,” Ron said standing up to give her a hug.

“I will. Goodnight. Love you guys.”

Trina didn’t bother trying to say goodbye to Yari. She didn’t want to chance running into Los. As she walked towards the front door, she bumped into a guy standing off to the side holding a double shot of Patron.

“Los?” she asked as he turned around. He looked the same except for all of the colorful tattoos that covered his neck and hands, and the word ‘Loyalty’ etched across his face. It had been six years since they had last seen each other, but he still gave her goose bumps.

“Yeah,” he said looking her up and down as he licked his full lips.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I ran into you,” she said trying to save face, “I haven’t seen you in so long. How are you?”

“Do we know each other?” The tequila in his system had his vision blurred.

“It’s me, Trina,” she said sucking her teeth.

“I don’t think I know a Trina, ma. I would remember a bitch as bad as you. I think you got the wrong Los.”

She stood in the middle of the floor with her hands tightly gripped around her black, rectangular purse with stupid slapped across her face. “Los, are you serious?”

“Yo, I was looking for my potnah, but it was good to see you again I guess,” he said walking outside to the patio.

To avoid any more embarrassment, Trina hurried to leave the club.

“Ay, there he is,” Malachi said when he finally spotted Los.

“Los,” Yari screamed as he came closer, “How are you?”

“I’m good, so this is Yaricella, huh?”

“Please stay here. I know you don’t know me, but you know my friend Trina,” she said looking around.

“Trina who?”

“Mitchell. You guys went to school together…”

“Yeah, I know Trina. That used to be my bitch. I haven’t seen her in like six years or something crazy like that.”

“She’s bad as fuck, bruh. No offense, babe, but I don’t know how you fucked that up.”

“Long story.”

“She was just here. I knew I shouldn’t have let her leave.”

“That’s crazy. This one chick just came up to me and said her name was Trina,” Los slurred.

“What she look like?”

“A little taller than you, blonde hair, she had on this tight, white dress, but that wasn’t…”

“Oh my god, that was Trina. Where did she go?”

“I think she left.”

“I gotta go,” Yari said leaving Malachi behind hoping to catch up with her.

“Blood, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Malachi asked.

“What?”

“I’ve been tryna take that down for months.”

“Patience, my dude.”

“Fuck that. How did you not recognize that bitch?”

“Listen, Trina didn’t use to look like that. She used to be a square. I’m on, it’s dark, my bad.”

“So you don’t know who she is then?”

“We used to go together back in high school.”

“No, nigga, that’s Jonah Lee’s main or widow now I should say,” Malachi said laughing.

“Are you sure she’s the one?”

“More than sure, bruh, and as you and I both know, Jonah’s operations had to go to someone. These marks haven’t seemed to slow down since losing their fearless leader.”

“Well, I guess I have even more incentive to reconnect with my long lost love then, huh?”

“Get to work, my nigga. She’s more useful than I thought.”

. . .

The next day, Trina woke up on the couch with her dress half up and a face full of makeup still on. Tear stains traced her cheeks, and her head pounded with every blink. She wiped the drool that covered the pillow she was laying on before grabbing her phone hoping that the night before was just a terrible nightmare. She had a couple messages from Ron, but none from Yari. She wanted to crawl under a rock and die. Los always had a way of making her feel like the lowest of the low, but she wanted to believe that she had transcended her fairytale dreams. Jonah was more than her prince charming, and no one would be able to compete with him not even Los.

“Leave the past in the past, Trina. Leave the past in the past,” she said getting up.

As she walked up to her room with her head still spinning, her phone beeped, but she didn’t recognize the 404 number that appeared across her screen.

Call me back ASAP. –Los

Trina stared down at the screen and couldn’t believe her eyes.

It’s a trap, she thought. She was tired of playing his games, and this time she was going to resist the urge of seeing his face. He always destroyed everything he touched, and she couldn’t risk him destroying her again.

“Leave the past in the past, Trina.”

A few hours later after showering and cleaning up around the house a little, Trina got dressed and ready to go to Omari’s. She was meeting up with Franco the next day and wanted to bring him good news. Making sure everything was locked up, she grabbed her phone and purse and headed into the garage. She placed her cobalt Celine` bag on the passenger seat before getting in, and when she opened the garage door, she was surprised to see Los standing behind her car. Unable to drive, she took a deep breath and got out.

“What are you doing here?” she asked crossing her arms.

“I came to apologize. I got your number from Yari last night, but when you didn’t answer my text, I asked her for your address. Here,” he said handing her a bouquet of pink and purple Amaryllises, “They’re still your favorite, right?”

Trina was hesitant to take the flowers, but they were beautiful. “Thank you,” she said taking them from his hand, “But I have to be somewhere. I’ll see you though.”

“I deserve that, Trina, but to my defense, I was on like shit last night, and you have definitely blossomed over the years. I didn’t recognize you. I’m sorry.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better, Los.”

“Let me make it up to you.”

“How?”

“You trust me?”

“Not really.”

“That’s good enough. Come on, I’ll drive,” he said holding out his hand.

Trina looked down at her watch. She had to meet up with Omari, but with Los standing right in front of her, she felt weak in the knees. She at least had to hear him out, so she reached for his hand as he led her to his black Camaro.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” he said unable to take his eyes off her.

Twenty minutes later, Trina found herself in front of Nielsen Park.

“What are we doing here?”

“Do you remember this park?”

“Yeah,” she laughed, “Do you?”

“Of course,” he said opening her door, “I know I’m an asshole most of the time, but a nigga does have a heart.” Trina and Los walked through the deserted park to a dark green bench. He sat down first, but again, Trina was hesitant.

“Los, what’s all this about? First, you don’t know me from the next bitch, and now you’re bringing me here?”

“If I recall correctly back in 2001, me and you sat on this very same bench, and I kissed you for the first time and told you that I loved you. I was only a kid, but I really did love you.”

“What do you want from me?” Trina asked interrupting his trip down memory lane.

“I want to chill.”

“You don’t get to do this.”

“Do what?”

“This,” she said motioning around the park, “I haven’t seen you in six years, and you think that you can just snap your fingers, and I’d come running back? You didn’t want me then, so don’t want me now.”

“So that’s it?”

“Yep, pretty much. As you can see, Los, I’ve changed, and what we had was back then. We were just kids. We’re grown now, so let’s not do this, okay?”

“You don’t miss me?”

“What?”

“You heard me, Trina.”

“Look,” she said staring down at the yellowing grass.

“You don’t miss me?” he asked lifting her chin up.

“No,” she lied. She refused to let him have the upper hand anymore.

“Damn, okay, I guess I gotta remind you then,” he said standing up and grabbing the back of her head. When their lips touched, all of the feelings that she had hidden deep down came rushing back.

“Take me home, Los,” Trina said snatching herself away from him.

“What?”

“You don’t get to do this to me again. You don’t get to be gone for almost ten years and think that we’re gonna just pick up where we fucking left off. I’m not that person anymore. Take me home.”

“I’m sorry, Trina. I just thought…”

“Well, you thought wrong.” She grabbed her purse and headed back to his car. Inside she melted with every step she took. Los was like a drug and already she felt the familiar feeling of addiction again, but she had to resist. She could taste him on her lips, and as much as she wanted to stop and show him in the middle of the park how much she missed him, she refused to be his fool. Los slowly walked behind her as he lit up a blunt that he had tucked behind his ear.

They remained quiet the entire way back to Trina’s house.

“So that’s it?” he asked pulling back up in her driveway.

“What do you want me to say?”

“You can’t even look at me, Trina,” he said noticing her ice cold demeanor, “Damn, do you really hate a nigga that much?”

“I could never hate you, Los,” she said turning to him.

“Then what?”

“I just feel like you’re still out of this world disrespectful. We haven’t talked in literal years, and you just feel like you can come back, and it’s just good like that?”

“I’m always gonna be, Los. That’s never gonna change. I go after what I want.”

“And what is it that you want?”

“You,” he said looking her in the eyes.

“Well, that’s dead,” she said getting out of the car, “Bye, Los.” She walked into the house and waited for him to leave.

“I’ma give you some time, Trina. I’ll be around though, baby,” he yelled out the window before he pulled out.

She rolled her eyes as she watched him back out of the driveway, but a small smile spread across her face at his efforts. For so long she had been the one chasing him, but now he finally saw what he missed out on. She just didn’t know how long his sudden attention would last. Finally able to leave, Trina walked back into the garage. She was already late meeting up with Omari, and as much as her heart fluttered, she couldn’t let the idea of her and Los being together get in the way of business. Twenty minutes later, Trina pulled up in front of Omari’s house. His dark blue Audi was parked sideways in the driveway, but a small silver Benz was parked even more crooked directly behind it.

“I know this bitch did not,” Trina said walking up to the door.

Ding. Dong.

She stepped back waiting for Omari to answer hoping to confirm her suspicions.

“I can explain,” Yari said opening the door in nothing but a tee shirt and mismatched socks.

“You don’t gotta explain nothing to me,” Trina said brushing her hands together, “Ya’ll are both grown, but just know you are foul.”

“I know, but it was so good. I couldn’t resist. Ain’t nothing like that jealousy dick,” she whispered.

“What’s up, Trina?” Omari asked coming down the stairs with a huge smile plastered across his face.

“Not much, Mar.”

“Babe, can you give me and Trina a few minutes?”

“Yeah, I need to get in the shower anyway.”

Yari led Trina into the guestroom on the first floor. She locked the door not willing to risk Omari overhearing their conversation.

“Bitch, when did this happen?” Trina asked sitting down on the small black love seat that sat against the wall.

“Last night,” Yari smiled, “A man never wants you when you want him. They only want you when it looks like you want another dick.”

“I don’t understand. What happened to Malachi?”

“Oh, no, that’s still bae, but last night when I finally met Los’ drunk-ass, he basically let me know that he curved you without even knowing it was you.”

“Girl.”

“So I instantly went to go look for you, but I ended up running into Omari outside. At first I acted like I didn’t see him, but he got out of his car and came up to me. We talked, and he apologized.”

“Yari, don’t you think he might have been just a little drunk?”

“Maybe, but when he asked me to come home, I couldn’t say no.”

“So how does Los play into all this?”

“Well, since a bitch has manners, I went to tell Malachi I was leaving. By this time, him, Los, and three other niggas they knew were in VIP, so Malachi wasn’t even tripping off me. Before I left, Los asked me for your number, and being that I know he’s your ‘one who got away,’ I slid it to him.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Bitch, I just told you.”

“This man shows up at my house…”

“Oh, yeah, he did text me earlier for your address.”

“Well, thank you, Yari,” Trina said cutting her eyes at her, “He shows up, and he’s like, ‘Do you trust me?’ Hell no, but I go with him anyway, and he takes me to Nielsen Park.”

“What’s up there?”

“When we were like 13 or 14, we went up there one night, and that’s where we had our first kiss among other things,” she said looking down.

“Other things like what? You fucked him in the park?” Yari gasped.

“No, and shut up. I’m a lady, but I kinda went down on him.”

“Oooohhh, your fast-ass was a hoe,” Yari said laughing.

“He was the only boy I did that to then. I didn’t even know how to do it.”

“Awwww, that is adorable.”

“No, it’s not, Yari. He’s so transparent. It’s like we’re teenagers all over again. He just wants to fuck me.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? If I remember correctly, you were devastated because he didn’t want you. Now you’re mad cause he does?”

“I guess it’s different now.”

“Well, my advice would be to take advantage of the situation and have fun with his sexy, tatted, light-bright ass.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not?’

“Because of Jonah. How will it look if I’m out here fucking somebody else only a couple months after he died? I’m good. I don’t think I’m ready for all that anyway.”

“So you’re just celibate now? Jonah is not coming back, Trina.”

“I know.”

“You’re better than me. A bitch gotta have options. That’s why I have two boyfriends,” she said laughing.

“So you and Omari are back together?”

“No, but we’ll see how things go. I really like Malachi, you know?”

“Well, count me out of your date nights and shit. I’m done with Los for good this time.”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“What ya’ll got the door locked for?” Omari asked jiggling the door handle.

“Hold on,” Yari said getting off the bed before ashing the blunt she had in her hand.

An hour had passed, and Yari and Trina used the time as therapy. Trina was confused about her old feelings for Los resurfacing, but seeing all of Yari’s drama put everything into perspective. She was still in love with Jonah even though she knew he was gone, but she could never imagine disrespecting his memory. She was closer than ever to the Rich Gang, and she was afraid of how they would see her if she moved on so soon. Love was going to have to take a back seat for now.

“Cause I knew your nosey-ass would eventually come snooping around,” Yari said opening the door.

“This is my house,” he said walking into the room.

“Well, I know ya’ll had a business meeting or some shit like that, so let me get out of here.”

“You gon’ be back later, right?” Omari asked wrapping his arms around her waist before she could leave the room.

“I don’t know, Mar. I mean I wasn’t really trying to make this a habit again.”

“A habit? What the fuck that mean?”

“We’ll talk later,” she said kissing him on the cheek before she walked upstairs to change back into the clothes she had on the night before.

“What is wrong with you?” Trina asked shaking her head.

“What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me, Omari. You guys are really made for each other I swear. Just last night you were saying how you weren’t checking for her, and then I come over today, and you all ready to cook this bitch breakfast.”

“First off, I don’t cook bitches breakfast. Bitches cook me breakfast. Plus things are different now.”

“How?”

“Cause she got a nigga. I get to fuck with her without all the strings. Let that nigga deal with her bullshit.”

“You’re wrong.”

“That might be, but I personally like sidepiece Yari. I can’t stand girlfriend Yari.”

“Why am I even talking to you about this? What ya’ll do, don’t do is none of my business.”

“Your ass can’t help it. Being in a nigga’s business is in a female’s DNA or something.”

“Whatever, Mar, can we finally get to work?”

“I was waiting on you.”

“I’m here, so what’s up?”

“Well, now with all this extra work we’re bringing in each month, I was able to setup a few more traps in the Bay. That area is completely untapped for us. I mean they got movers out there of course, but nobody’s fucking with our shit, and I know that for a fact. I’ve met up with all the top soldiers across the country, and now we’ll all be working as one. One RG, feel me? Niggas were hesitant at first because you know Jonah never let one group know about the other.”

“He did that just in case people got to talking. They couldn’t implicate him on shit they knew nothing about.”

“I feel it, but for me, I need to know who I’m working with. How am I supposed to trust someone I’ve never met?”

“I get it,” Trina said.

“So the new pipeline in Houston has been established. I went up to Pearland last week to meet up with Zay. He was more than ready for the restructure.

“So we’re all set for tomorrow?”

“More than ready. We’ll have the $10 million Franco fronted us plus some to say thank you. It’s flood season, baby.”

“Good shit. I know that we’re still getting used to Jonah and Reko not being here,” Trina said staring down at the spotless oatmeal-colored carpet, “But I think we’re doing okay.”

“Okay? Trina, we brought in over $15 million just last month. Our names are buzzing right now.”

“I’m committed to this, Omari. I’m ready. Let’s get this money.”