If it Aint One Thing it's Another

Venus had already left for work by the time BJ woke up. She left him a plate of French toast in the microwave. He was a little leery about being in the house alone with the dogs; Bullet and Diamond kept following him around like he was going to steal something.

BJ sat on the sofa and reached for the remote control when he heard his cell phone ringing in the bedroom. He hopped to the room and looked at the caller ID. It was Annette. He wanted to speak to her to tell her to stop calling him. He hit the yes button on the phone. ”Why haven’t you called me?” Annette said before he could say hello.

”I thought I told you when I was in the hospital not to call me anymore. I told you I don’t want to be bothered,” he said thinking about how much he hated the sound of her voice now.

”Oh, you back at that bitch’s house and now you don’t want to be bothered? How could you be there, after what she tried to do? She was gonna let them dogs kill you, or did you forget that quick?” BJ hung up on her. Two seconds later the phone rang again, and before he could cuss her out she said, ”I’m pregnant.” BJ froze. That was the last thing he wanted to hear from her. It had to be a setup.

”How I know you pregnant by me? Matter of fact, I don’t even want to hear that dumb shit, Annette. Just leave me the fuck alone, you heard?”

”Please, just come over so we can talk like mature adults,” Annette said. BJ agreed to see her, but he wanted to get it over with so he could be back home by the time Venus came in from work.

When he got to Annette’s house, she was waiting for him in the bedroom—naked. ”Get dressed,” he told her, walking out of the bedroom.

”Why? You might get tempted to cheat on your old girlfriend again?” Annette said, following him down the hallway and rubbing her titties.

They were in the living room now, and Annette was wearing a thong and a pair of heels that didn’t look right to BJ. Nothing about her looked right to him anymore. She sat with her legs open on the armrest of the sofa, straddling it. BJ wasn’t impressed. Annette arched her back and leaned forward to kiss him, but he backed away and sat down in the corner love seat. She looked like a snake in heels to him.

”Listen, enough with all this bullshit. How do I know you’re pregnant by me? What, you think I’m gonna believe you just because you said so?” BJ said.

Annette was shell shocked. She couldn’t believe her tactics weren’t working. ”You’re the only one I ever fucked without a condom,” she said trying to sound convincing.

”Yeah, right. Check this out: I was born at night—not last night, so tell that bullshit to a newborn,” BJ said getting up to leave. He told her he wanted no parts of her, and she began to flip out. This was truly a kick in the face. ”The only baby’s mother I’ll ever have is Venus, you heard?” BJ added. He grabbed his crutches and headed for the door.

”Fuck that!” Annette screamed, running out of the living room behind him. ”Who the fuck you think you talking to?”

”Make me!” she screamed again, snatching his crutches from underneath his arms. BJ lost his balance and fell against the hallway wall. Annette was standing in his way now, blocking his path so he couldn’t leave.

”Get out the way. Why you acting like a little girl?” BJ said. ”You knew about wifey to begin with, and now you talking this pregnant shit. Get out my fucken way!” Annette pulled and grabbed at his clothes, still trying to prevent him from leaving. He shoved her aside and opened her door as she stood there crying.

”Get out!” Annette shouted, pushing him again. Instead of hitting her, BJ kept it moving. Annette ran outside after him and pushed him once again. He tripped and fell down the last few steps, landing on his back. He didn’t move. Annette, scared now, ran down the rest of the steps and kneeled over him, calling his name—nothing. She called it again...nothing. Annette panicked. She tried to get him up off the ground. His body was heavy in her arms. She felt his neck for a pulse, and it was then that she realized he was dead.

Annette ran back up the steps and called 9-1-1. She lived in a private house, and she didn’t realize that her landlady, who lived on the first floor, was home and had heard everything. While Annette was waiting for the ambulance to come, so was she.

When the police arrived, Annette told them that BJ had slipped on his crutches and fell. She said when she opened the door she saw him lying at the bottom of the steps. She was crying hysterically and they appeared to believe her story.

The ambulance arrived and rushed BJ to the hospital. After being pronounced dead, his body was turned over to the coroner.

BJ’s aunt called Venus at work and told her about his death. She told her the same thing the police had said: BJ slipped and fell after leaving Annette’s house. The first thing Venus wanted to know was who the hell was Annette, and what was he doing at her house. BJ’s aunt told Venus that the girl was taken into custody, but they hadn’t charged her with anything.

Venus was a wreck. She couldn’t believe that BJ was dead. She wanted to talk to this Annette girl and find out what her relationship was to him. And she prayed that Annette wasn’t who she thought she was, even though her gut had already told her.

Share was watching television in her hospital room when Venus called and told her what had happened to BJ. Share looked over at Will, unsure of how to tell him that his best friend was dead. If it ain’t one thing it’s another, she thought.

”I wish I was,” she said. Will got up and grabbed his coat, kissed her on the forehead and bounced. He had to get some air; the room had suddenly seemed to be closing in on him. He headed to Annette’s house with the quickness.

When Will arrived at Annette’s house she was drinking, and the air smelled like she had just finished blowing trees. He asked her what happened.

”So it was an accident?” Will said after hearing her story. Annette nodded her head yes. ”But you did push him?” he added.

”Yeah, but I was only trying to get him to stay and listen to me,” she said trying to sound like the victim. She thought about how she had tried to run that pregnant shit on Will, too, once, but he did-n’t go for it.

Will wasn’t feeling Annette at all. He already knew he was going right to the precinct to tell the cops what she had just said. Fuck that. You’re not gonna kill my peeps and get away with it, he thought.

It seemed that everything was happening all at once: first, Share telling him that she was positive, and now his best friend was dead. Will had to be strong for Share, and for himself as well.

The officers at the precinct were more than interested in what Will had to say. They already had their suspicions about Annette anyway, and now they were confirmed. Will gave a written statement of everything Annette had told him. The officers said they’d follow up with him on his account of what happened and pay Annette another visit.

Will left the precinct and headed back to the hospital. His plate was full and he didn’t know how much more he could take.

Will called Venus and let her know that he had spoken to Annette. He said she told him what really went down.

”Yeah, but she made it seem like it was an accident. She said BJ went to leave and she tried to stop him. He turned around like he was going to hit her and she pushed him away from her.”

”Yeah, right. That bitch pushed him because he probably told her he didn’t want to be bothered anymore. Where that bitch live at, Will?”

”Don’t worry about that. I already went to the precinct and talked to the police. I told them everything she said. They’re gonna get her. Just be easy,” Will said, hoping that would calm her down. It did. He told her the most important thing right now was making funeral arrangements for BJ—first things first.

The officers returned to Annette’s house to question her, but she wasn’t home. Her landlady invited them inside the house, and they asked her if she had seen or heard anything that day.

”Well, I heard the boy tell her it was over between them. He said he didn’t want to be bothered, and she started screaming and hollering. The next thing I know, the door opened and the boy was telling her to get out of his face. Then I heard him fall,” she told them as she sat holding a handkerchief in her hand. A little dog lay at her feet. He looked as old as she did.

”After the fall, what did you hear?” one of the officers asked. He was wondering how good her memory was; she appeared to be more than credible.

”Well, the next thing I heard was Annette going down the steps. She must have stopped when she got to the bottom, because the next thing I heard was her going back up the steps.”

The police waited outside in their car for a few minutes for Annette to come home. When she didn’t, they left and returned with a warrant for her arrest.

When Annette finally arrived home, she was greeted by the police and homicide detectives and was served with the arrest warrant. She put up a fight before being handcuffed, and she was also now being charged with assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. She was making matters even worse for herself, as if she didn’t already have enough problems.

After being fingerprinted at the precinct, Annette was allowed to use the phone to make her one call. She contacted her mother and told her what happened.

What?! The police are charging you with killing BJ?! Are they crazy?! What precinct are you at? her mother shouted at the other end of the line.

”Mom, just go to the courthouse in the Bronx; that’s where I’ll see the judge,” Annette said. She was then told by an officer that she had to hang up. She did as she was told and was escorted back to her holding cell.