CHAPTER EIGHT

TASHA

 

I let my sister rope me into some dumb shit once again. If Nikki knew what I was about to do she would be livid.

 

I’m sitting in the passenger seat of a stolen car, dressed in all black smoking weed while Crystal drives. I got a lot of shit on my mind and I was in no mood to be robbing some trap nigga who was away at a funeral. But I couldn’t have Crystal going by herself either. She knew that about me which made me hate this situation even more.

 

And then there’s this baby shit with Nikki. I’m not sure, but I don’t know if moving away is for me. I mean, what if Crystal’s right? What if Nikki is foul? Not only that but she hasn’t been answering my calls since I put her in a cab that day. Where she at?

 

I didn’t just hit her house phone and her cell, I also called her best friend who does closures at a salon and she claimed she hadn’t seen her either. Any other time she’d be burning my cell phone up and I’d have to put her off but not today. She was definitely acting different.

 

“Still trying to call that bitch huh?” Crystal asked as she steered the car down the street. “That chick really do got you on some soft shit. I swear, out of all of the bitches you came across I couldn’t see her being the one.” She shrugged. “If you ask me Carmen way badder than her but that’s just my opinion though. What do I know?”

 

I shook my head. She’s calling her multiple bitches to get me mad but I don’t bite this time. Plus once again she not saying shit I wanna hear or talk about. “So you speaking to me now?” I asked. “Because you ain’t have no words for me earlier. When I said I wasn’t going.”

 

“I never wasn’t speaking to you, Tasha.” She wiped her long hair out her face. “I just don’t like you faking like you don’t want this money. Like this is not what we do for a living. We robbers. Embrace that shit!”

 

“If by faking you mean keeping us outta prison it’s whatever. Don’t forget you just got out of jail a minute ago. You got court next month and already you on your goon shit. You trying to add breaking and entering to your list too? What’s wrong with you?”

 

“Yeah, whatever.” She held her head up and continued to drive. “That shit ain’t gonna stand. I be surprise if that bitch even shows up. As far as her fat ass knows I’m on some get back shit. Plus it ain’t like I don’t know where she lives.”

 

When my phone rung I saw who was calling and shook my head. First I put out the weed and answered. “Fuck you been, Nikki?” I paused. “I been hitting your phone all day.”

 

“What you want?” She asked with an attitude. “Because just like you don’t feel like the drama I don’t either. I been having morning sickness all morning.”

 

“First off you the one calling me.” I corrected her. “So I should be asking you the same thing.”

 

“That’s because you been ringing my phone like you crazy and unlike you I got shit to do too.” She paused. “Like get ready to be a mother. A single mother at that.”

 

I looked at the phone. “You got a split personality. Has anybody ever told you that because it’s true?”

 

“I’m just saying if you—”

 

I hung up on that bitch. I didn’t feel like her shit right now because of what we were about to do. If she wanted to come at me like that we done. As long as I know she’s safe I’m good with everything else. When my phone rung again, I ignored it . It’s not until she calls me five more times that I finally answer again.

 

“What you want?” I put my right foot on the dashboard and took a deep breath. Before putting the weed out in the ashtray. “I thought our conversation was over since you don’t know how to talk to me.”

 

“Why you keep hanging up,” Nikki said crying. “You…you don’t”—she sniffled — “You don’t understand how you make me feel. I want the best for you, Tasha. I don’t want you robbing niggas to—”

 

“Whoa!” I yelled putting my foot down. “All that on the phone? Are you crazy or just trying to get me locked up?”

 

“Do you remember what happened last year when you…uh went to your aunt’s house?” She paused and sounded as if she was about to cry. “Because for me it was as if it just happened yesterday. I knew it was all over for you.”

 

I think she talking in code but I couldn’t be sure. This pregnancy was definitely messing up her thought process. One thing for sure, after this if we worked out, I wanted zero more children. At least not by her. “Look, Nikki, don’t be doing all—”

 

“Do you remember or not, Tasha?” She screamed, her breath heavy as if she were on the verge of passing out. “It’s a simple question and I would appreciate an answer.”

 

I don’t answer.

 

“She left her fingerprints in the niggas house because she used the toilet, I mean at your aunt’s house.” She corrected herself. “And you had to fem out because he was attracted to tall girls, pretend to meet him at the gas station and jerk him off just to get back in his house to wipe them.”

 

I was heated. “You done being hot as fuck on the phone? Because this is way too much.” Crystal looked over at me.

 

“Nah, are you?” She asked taking a deep breath. “Tasha, your sister gonna be the reason you get killed and or locked up.”

 

I hung up and tucked the phone into my pocket.

 

“You a stupid ass bitch, Tasha. Gonna let her guilt trip you into raising a sperm baby,” Crystal said under her breath. I looked over at her. “I’m not saying nothing else though. You already know how I feel about the shit but I’m just saying my part anyway.”

 

Focusing on Nikki I said, “Like I told you a million times, I’m with her because she makes me better. And I really wanna see how far I can go with her. Let me live please.”

 

When the car stopped a block away from the address, my sister grabbed something I couldn’t see from under the seat and stuffed it under her shirt. “You ready?” She asked.

 

“This the place?” I questioned.

 

“Nah, it’s the zoo,” she hit me on the thigh. “Now come on. We got a job to do and the quicker we do it the better. Plus I feel like you five seconds from pulling out.” She rushed out and closed the door.

 

I got out slowly and looked around. When I didn’t see any nosey neighbors I entered the gate surrounding the property and moved toward the backyard. My heart thumped with every step I took. Why was I so nervous this time?

 

When I bent around the side of the house my worst nightmare was realized. Crystal was at the door holding an iron rod making excess noise. This was way off plan. I normally popped the locks and disarmed the security system because she doesn’t know what she’s doing.

 

“Move out the way so I can do it,” I whispered. “Plus you not as quick as me anyway.”

 

“If you not gonna let me try it then go back to the car.” She whispered. “I gotta grow up in the game sooner or later. Since I’m gonna be by myself.” She continued to make extra noise on the lock.

 

“Crystal, what the fuck are you doing?” I hit her in the back of the head with a closed fist and her face pressed against the door. “Move the fuck out my way!”

 

I contemplated grabbing her and leaving because everything tells me that goin’ inside; will change the rest of my life. But she’s my kid sister, and I can’t let her do this shit by herself right? No matter how much I want to.

 

I snatched the rod from her. “Move back, I got this.”

 

She rubbed the back of her head and then said, “Put these on first.” She handed me a set of gloves and I slid them on. Within a second we’re inside.

 

The house is really luxurious and smells of vanilla and cleaning products. We’re in the kitchen so I grabbed a trash bag and stuffed everything of value I could find inside. Once I’m done we moved throughout the house to see what else we could find and I can’t believe how much money and shit he has lying around this spot. Stacks of cash wrapped in rubber bands.

 

Already I eyed a pair of gold bamboo earrings, some chains and even a camera. I already know if we backed the car up we’d make out clean just taking everything not nailed down.

 

I’m in my element and things appeared to be going smoothly until I see my sister’s fearful expression. “What is it?” I asked her dropping the bag. “Why you looking all crazy? The cops coming or something?”

 

“Don’t be mad, Tasha.” Her eyes widened. “I know how you are so I’m telling you right now.” My heart thumped harder.

 

I stepped up to her. So close she couldn’t move if she tried. “What the fuck is it, Crystal? Right now you got my mind going a mile a minute.”

 

“His wife is home.”

 

“His wife?” I repeated, mostly out of breath. “But I thought he was single?”

 

“Well the nigga lied.” She paused. “So what we gonna do now?”