part0008

Tigga had just called and went off on her about something, but he couldn’t make out what was being said. And just like always, he hung up the phone in her face once he said what he had to say. He had already called a few minutes ago and went off on her for not picking the kids up from his mama’s house.

“Mind your fucking business nigga. Get up and put your clothes on, so I can drop you off home,” Anaya snapped in aggravation.

“See what I’m saying? That nigga talk crazy to you, but you don’t tell him shit. I guess he can do that since he got a lil change, huh?” Rich said as he grabbed his clothes from the floor and headed to the bathroom.

“Stupid ass,” Anaya mumbled as soon as he slammed the bathroom door.

Messing around with his dumb ass was the reason that she was late picking her girls up from Christy’s house in the first place. Tigga was already mad that she didn’t pick the girls up; now, he was pissed because she let Amari spend the night at her nanny’s house. She and Rich usually hooked up at one of his sister’s or cousin’s houses, but he’d finally managed to hustle up enough money to pay for them a room this time. Anaya didn’t mean to stay gone so long, but it was nice to be with her boo without worrying about somebody walking in on them. She hated that Rich had heard Tigga going off because that was another thing that he had to throw in her face. He’d been on her back a lot lately about the two of them being together, but she just couldn’t do it.

Anaya and Rich had grown up together in a trailer park community but, thanks to Tigga, she was fortunate enough to get out. Her mother and sisters still lived in the rundown area and so did most of Rich’s family. She couldn’t deny that she was indeed in love with him, but he couldn’t provide the life for her that she had become accustomed to living. Leaving him alone wasn’t as easy as it should have been because of her feelings for him. She loved Tigga too, but she had history with Rich. He was her first love, but he just wasn’t a go getter. He was in jail more than he was free and she just couldn’t depend on him to support her and her girls. That’s one reason why she was happy that Tigga was the man who she’d started a family with. Without a doubt, she knew that they would always have a roof over their heads and all their needs would be met.

Tigga had his heart set on being a good father, especially since he didn’t have one of his own. He was determined to be the opposite of what his father had been to him and Tessa, and he had succeeded. Anaya knew that her girls were the only reason why they were still together and she was grateful for that. Tigga would rather put up with being in a relationship with her than to not see his daughters. Anaya had love for both men, but she knew the time would come where she would have to choose. Rich was getting fed up, so it was only a matter of time. If only she could take parts of both men to create the perfect man, all her troubles would be over. With Tigga’s looks and finances combined with the love and history that she had for Rich, she wouldn’t have any complaints.

“You ready?” Rich asked, interrupting Anaya’s thoughts.

“Yeah,” she said as she grabbed her purse and stood to her feet. She was happy that she’d already taken a shower and was dressed by the time she called Tigga back. She was already late enough as it was.

“Here, I’ll try to have more for you next week,” Rich said as he handed Anaya some money. He frowned when she thumbed through the money to see how much it was.

“Thanks,” Anaya said when she counted the eighty dollars that he’d just placed in the palm of her hand.

“You don’t appreciate shit! I said I’ll have more for you next week,” Rich snapped once he saw the look on her face.

“I said thanks. What the fuck do you want me to say?” Anaya snapped.

“It’s not what you said, it’s the look on your face. I might not be able to give you as much as that other nigga, but my time is coming. As soon as I get my shit straight, I’m coming for you and you better be ready,” Rich said, reciting the same line that he recited whenever they were together.

“I know you’re trying baby and I appreciate that,” Anaya said with a forced smile.

He didn’t know it, but he was helping to prove the point that she was trying to make. She didn’t know what the hell he expected her to do with eighty dollars. A trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s with her daughters cost twice that much. The only thing rich about him was the nickname that he’d adopted when they were younger. Aside from some bomb ass sex, he couldn’t do a damn thing for her.

Tigga was bigger and better in the bedroom, but they barely had sex anymore. Once a month was a lot and it was usually over before she really got started. Sex with Tigga wasn’t for her pleasure anymore. He basically pounded into her like a crazy person until he came. There was no foreplay or intimacy, just straight fucking to get a nut. His nut because she was never able to get hers. Rich, on the other hand, treated her like fine China. He made her remember why she fell in love with him and why she still was.

“Friday night, right?” Rich said, referring to the next time they would be seeing each other.

“Yes,” Anaya agreed as they walked out of the motel room hand in hand. She got into her truck and started it up, while Rich went to turn in the room key. She needed to call her mother, Donna, to put her up on the story that she’d told Tigga, just in case he asked her.

“Drop me off at my mama’s house, baby. I need to go talk to my brother about a few things,” Rich said when he got into the car.

“Yeah, okay, you can let your brother have your ass back in jail if you want to. I told you that I’m done visiting and sending money to the jail house,” Anaya swore.

Just like Rich, his brother, Anthony, didn’t have a hustling bone in his body. They both tried and failed at selling dope, so robbery became their thing. They were even too dumb to do that right because they never went after anybody with real money. They went after the low budget corner hustlers and barely walked away with enough money to pay a bill.

“It’s not even like that, baby. Besides, it’s not like it was your money that you were sending me anyway.” He looked at her and laughed.

“That’s not funny Rich. You go back to jail again and I’m done with you,” Anaya promised.

“Girl, you ain’t going nowhere. You always say that just to scare a nigga. You might sleep next to that nigga every night, but I know who your heart belongs to,” Rich said right as they pulled up to the trailer park.

Anaya didn’t reply because she knew that he was right. If he hadn’t gone to jail for two years once before, she probably would have never even started messing with Tigga. By the time Rich came back home to rekindle what they once had, she was already six months into her pregnancy with her oldest daughter. He was hurt, but that still didn’t stop him from wanting to be with her. Even after she had her other daughters, he wanted her just the same. He couldn’t provide for them like Tigga could, but Rich was willing to do whatever he had to do to try.

“I’ll call you later boo. I love you,” Anaya said while looking over at Rich.

“I love you too, baby. I’ll talk to you later,” Rich replied right before he kissed her and got out of the car.

Anaya was barely out of the parking lot before her phone started ringing. She didn’t even have to look at the screen to know who the caller was. “Hey ma,” Anaya said when she answered the phone.

“Don’t hey ma me. Your stupid ass is still messing with that loser, huh?” Donna yelled into the phone.

“Excuse me, but I’m grown, just in case you forgot,” Anaya snapped angrily.

It was no secret to Rich or anybody else about how Donna felt about the two of them being together. She didn’t have anything against Rich, but she knew that her daughter could do better. With skin the color of smooth dark chocolate, Anaya could pass for a model with her slender build and exotic features. Donna often referred to her daughter as a dark-skinned Zoe Saldana, but Anaya’s attitude wouldn’t get her too far in life. She had a good man at home, but she would rather throw it all away behind a bum, just because she had a little history with him. Rich and his entire family disgusted her, but her daughter seemed to love everything about them. Although they lived in the same trailer park, Donna made sure to stay her distance. She wanted whatever her daughter and Rich had to be over, but she knew that it probably never would be. Anaya was a twenty-seven-year-old fool in love.

“I know you’re grown, but I also know that you’re stupid too. You’re riding his broke ass around in a sixty-thousand-dollar truck that your man paid for, and he couldn’t even fill the gas tank up if you needed him too,” Donna fussed.

“It’s nobody’s business, but he just gave me some money, for your information,” Anaya said, taking his side.

“Yeah, right. I bet it wasn’t over one hundred dollars if he did,” her mother replied, making her feel stupid.

“Is that why you called me or did you need something else?” Anaya asked her.

“I saw you drop that scrub off and that’s why I called. And did you know that your daughter was back here?” Donna asked.

“Amari is with her nanny,” she snapped in aggravation.

“Her nanny, huh? Well, her nanny keeps her dirty, just like she does with the rest of them kids over there. I got a good mind to go over there and give her a bath. And I thought Tigga said he didn’t want her over there no more anyway.”

“Tigga ain’t the only one who can make decisions for Amari. You know that me and Erica have been friends for years. I know that she’s gonna take good care of my baby. She always does,” Anaya said.

“You’re only saying that because she’s Rich’s cousin. That bitch ain’t taking care of your damn baby. Got her walking around here looking like a garbage pail kid,” Donna argued.

“Alright, ma; I just got home, so I’ll talk to you later,” Anaya said as she whipped her Cayenne Porsche into her assigned parking spot.

“Don’t expect me to keep lying for you, Anaya. You better stop trying to cheat on your future for your past. That shit is gonna blow up in your face. Rich can’t give you nothing but a stiff dick and a bunch of broken promises. You should have had enough of that when y’all were together.”

“Bye mama,” Anaya said as she wiped the tears before they fell from her eyes.

She didn’t expect her mother to understand how she felt. Donna wanted her to have a good life and she felt that Tigga was the one who could provide it for her. Donna didn’t even like Tigga like that, but she loved his money. Anaya just hated feeling like she was a burden on the man who was supposed to love her. It would have been easier if she had her own money, but she was assed out if it wasn’t for Tigga. Getting child support wasn’t out of the question, but he would probably get full custody before he gave her a dime. Maybe it was cheaper to keep her, which was why he probably hadn’t kicked her to the curb yet. His mother and sister hated her, but they tolerated her for the kids’ sake, just like Tigga did.

“Hey,” Anaya said when she walked into their condo.

“Hey,” Tigga said, dryly returning her greeting. He was posted up in the sitting room that had basically become his bedroom, since he rarely slept in their bed anymore. He had a daybed in there with a huge tv and mini fridge. Tigga smoked from sun up to sun down, so he never let his girls go anywhere near the room. They would probably get high just from walking in there.

“Are the girls sleeping?” Anaya asked, trying to make small talk.

“Yeah and you need to make it your business to get Amari back home tomorrow. You already know how I feel about her going over there. She’s picking up on too many bad habits.”

Tigga wasn’t lying about that. Amari was at the age where she repeated everything, especially curse words. She didn’t even call them mama and daddy anymore. They were Naya and Tigga because that’s what she heard other people say. Her nanny, Erica, had a foul mouth, so there was no secret as to where most of her bad language came from. Erica’s kids were bad as hell too, so Amari was really getting an ear full.

“I’ll pick her up in the morning,” Anaya promised as she turned to walk away. “Are you coming to bed?”

“I’m already in my bed,” he replied, never taking his eyes off the tv.

“Wow,” Anaya said as she closed the door and went upstairs to their room. After taking another quick shower, she got into her bed and prepared to sleep alone, just like she had been doing for the past few months.