Chapter 6

“Bitch, what’s wrong with you?” Co-Co asked Keller as soon as she walked into the shop. He was finishing up with a sew-in, but the shop was empty other than that. It wasn’t even eight in the morning, and Mo was her first client of the day. She wasn’t due until ten, but Keller had to get her mind right before she saw her mother. Mo could just look at her and Kia and tell when something wasn’t right. She just needed to get away from Leo, so the shop was the only place that she thought of. It had been a month since their last episode, but he was acting a fool once again. Keller confronted him about a chick that he was supposedly messing with and he tried to turn everything around on her. Usually, she would have left it alone, but the bitch started playing on her phone, making things worse. Leo swore that he didn’t know who it was, but the girl damn sure knew a lot about him. They argued all night and Keller ended up sleeping on the sofa. She didn’t even wait for him to wake up and drop her off at work. She woke up at the crack of dawn and took the car while he was still sleeping. She didn’t give a damn if he had something to do or not.

“Long night and, no, I don’t wanna talk about it,” she said, cutting him off before he even asked. She knew that she was about to get cussed out, but she didn’t care.

“Baby, you need to walk back outside and check that attitude at the door. You bitches kill me, coming in here with attitudes because those niggas be making y’all mad at home.”

“What does Leo have to do with anything?” Keller asked as she started to set up her work area. She never got offended by anything that Co-Co said because she already knew how he was. He spoke his mind and he’d been like that since the first day they met.

“He obviously has everything to do with it. You was all smiles for the past month when things were going good. You was getting the dick regularly and all was right with the world,” Co-Co said, making his client giggle.

“Everything is still right with the world. As long as you and Dwight are good is all that matters,” Keller smirked, knowing that he was going to get hyped.

“Baby, trust and believe that me and my man are doing fine. That’s y’all love sick hoes coming in here with all these problems. Jaden got this psychotic bitch stalking him and Kia. You got Leo’s ugly ass popping you upside your head every time you go inside a minute after eight. Even Brian got women troubles coming through here every other day,” he said, referring to the other barber who was also Jaden’s brother.

“Now, you’re wrong for that. Don’t call my man ugly,” Keller replied.

“Bitch, I was trying to be nice. Leo looks like somebody built his ass from the ground up in a science lab. But, I know for sure that his dick game is on point. The ugly ones always put it down the best. As pretty as you are, nobody will ever understand why you’re with him, but I get it. That nigga is probably rearranging your organs every time he hit it,” Co-Co said as he removed the cape from around his client so that she could leave.

“I hate you,” Keller said as she cracked up laughing. She had to admit that Leo wasn’t much to look at, but he dressed nice and had confidence that was through the roof.

“You can hate me, but you have to love the truth. I’m telling it like it is.”

“What about Kia and Jaden? He’s cute and she’s sprung off of him too. What’s the reason behind that?” Keller inquired.

“Jaden is a rare case. He’s handsome and he lays the pipe right. When you get it like that, you have to hold on for dear life. They got a few niggas out here like that, but trust me when I say that they’re all taken. That’s why that crazy bitch Tori is going nutty behind him.”

“You got an answer for everything Dr. Phil,” Keller laughed.

“Call me what you want, but I keep you bitches’ lives in order around here. Bryce is gonna fire everybody if he ever finds out what goes on at his shop during the day.”

He wasn’t lying about that. Bryce and the other tattoo artists worked late nights, so Co-Co ran things during the day. Every week, something popped off, but Bryce never got wind of it. Aside from Jaden’s crazy stalker, Leo and Keller got into it all the time. Then, there were times where the customers had it out and a few fights had to be broken up as a result. Brian had chicks fighting over him all the time and they always came to the shop with their drama. Bryce was laid back and he didn’t tolerate foolishness of any kind at his place of business.

“I know,” Keller agreed, right as a text message came through on her phone. Her face lit up and a smiled instantly formed on her face when she read the message that Tigga had sent her. Since the night he dropped her off at home, they’d been keeping in contact with each other via text messages. He was always sending her good morning or good night messages, and she looked forward to them.

“Bitch, who got you smiling like that? I know that ain’t lil ugly,” Co-Co said, talking about Leo once again.

“Mind your business.” Keller smiled as she typed in her response.

“Every smile got a tear behind it honey. Stop pretending to be happy and make yourself happy for real,” Co-Co said as he sat down and waited for his next client to arrive.

“Not this time boo. This smile is genuine,” Keller replied right as the door chimed, alerting them of a visitor. She almost pissed in her pants when she saw Leo walk through the door with a frown on his face. She looked out of the window and saw his cousin pulling off, letting her know just how he got there.

“Why the fuck you took the car?” Leo yelled as he attempted to walk over to her.

Co-Co was up on his feet in matter of seconds, stopping him from going any further. “Excuse you, but this is a place a business sweetie. It’s too early in the morning for the bullshit,” Co-Co said, putting his hand in Leo’s chest to keep him in place.

“Chill out Co-Co. This don’t have shit to do with you!” Leo barked as he kept his angry glare on Keller.

“It has everything to do with me when you come to my job with it. Now, what is it that you want? Maybe I can help you get it.”

“Come here Keller,” Leo angrily demanded.

Co-Co almost died where he stood when he saw Keller make a move to walk over to him.

“Bitch, you better not take another step!” Co-Co yelled, making her stop in her tracks.

“Huh?” Keller said, looking at him in confusion.

“You’re about to walk into a straight up ass whooping. Even Tina had enough sense to run from Ike. What the hell is wrong with you?” Co-Co fussed.

“And you gon’ listen to this nigga, Keller? Bring your ass here before I come get you!” Leo boomed, making Keller’s heart race with fear.

“And then what?” a female’s voice said from the entrance of the shop.

Keller’s head snapped around in shock when she heard her mother’s voice. Mo’s appointment wasn’t for another hour, but she came in early to bring her daughter something to eat. She had actually planned to bring it to her house, but she didn’t see the car when she drove by there a few minutes ago. Thinking that Keller had an early morning appointment, she decided to go to the shop a little earlier than her appointment time. She was happy that she did, when she walked in on Leo screaming at one of her babies.

“Nigga, you talking like you’re trying to put your hands on my child or something,” Mo said as she sat the food down that she had for Keller.

“Nah Mo, you know I wouldn’t put my hands on Keller,” Leo swore.

“That’s not what it sounded like to me. Does he hit you, Keller?” she asked while looking at her daughter.

Leo was pleading with his eyes for Keller not to tell her mother the truth. Mo probably wouldn’t have done him anything at the moment, but she would have had her brothers handle him if she needed to, and he was sure of that. Co-Co was staring at Keller too, waiting for her to answer Mo’s question.

“No, he’s never hit me,” Keller lied while Leo visibly relaxed.

“This bitch here,” Co-Co mumbled while shaking his head.

Keller had covered up so many bruises since she’d been working there, but she always made excuses for why she had them. Everybody knew that Leo was knocking her upside her head, but she refused to keep it real with Mo.

“Okay, so what’s the problem? Why was he screaming at you,” Mo asked, while looking at her daughter and then back at Leo.

“We just had an argument and he came to get the car keys,” Keller replied nervously. She fumbled around in her purse and grabbed the car keys and handed them to Leo.

“Come walk me outside baby,” Leo said, sounding like a little innocent schoolboy. He’d completely changed his tone since he first walked through the door.

“Boy, you deserve an Oscar for that performance,” Co-Co said, right before he walked to the back of the shop.

“Go ahead and walk him out Keller. I’ll be right here waiting on you,” Mo said, letting Leo know that she wasn’t going anywhere.

Leo grabbed Keller’s hand and walked her outside to the side parking lot. When they stopped in front of the car, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.

“You know I love you, right?” Leo asked while rubbing her back in a circular motion.

“Yeah,” Keller replied as she melted into his embrace.

“I know that I’ve been acting crazy lately, but I promise you that it won’t happen again.”

“You always say that Leo. You act right for a few weeks and then you’re back to your old ways soon after,” Keller replied.

“I know baby, but not this time; I swear,” Leo said, trying to convince her of his sincerity. He needed to remove any doubts from Keller’s mind before she went back into the shop and talked to Mo. He needed her to stay on his team to make sure that she didn’t go telling her mother anything that she wasn’t supposed to. 

“I hear you talking Leo, but I need more than just your broken promises. Your actions speak louder than anything that you could ever say.”

“You’re right and I’m gonna show you just how serious I am. You need to clear your schedule for a few days. I want to take you somewhere next weekend. We need a fresh start and some alone time,” Leo said, making her smile. He knew that she was back on board once he said that. Keller was a hopeless romantic and she lived for spontaneous gestures of love. He didn’t really have anything planned, but it wouldn’t be hard to put something together. It was the little things that made her smile.

“Where do you want to go?” Keller asked.

“I don’t know. We’ll discuss that later when I pick you up. Go handle your business and hit me up when you get some free time,” Leo said as he kissed her cheek and watched her walk away. He knew without a doubt that Keller was the best woman that he’d ever had, but he still didn’t do right by her. She was beautiful and independent, and Leo felt intimidated by that at times. He didn’t want to lose her, so he tried putting fear in her to keep her around. It seemed to be pushing her away instead, so he had to do better. Keller was the only woman that he’d ever loved, but that didn’t keep him from being with others. It was only for sex, but that still was no excuse.

“You ready Mo?” Keller asked her mother when she walked back into the shop. She was in a much better mood since she talked with Leo, but Mo was still feeling some kind of way.

“Sit down and eat the breakfast that I got for you. We need to discuss a few things,” Mo replied.

“Okay,” Keller said as she did what her mother told her to do. Mo sat patiently and waited until she warmed up her food and took a seat behind her work station.

“Have I ever raised a hand to you or your sister, Keller?” Mo calmly asked her daughter.

“No ma’am,” Keller replied respectfully.

“Have I ever raised my voice to get my point across to y’all?” Mo inquired.

“No ma’am,” Keller repeated truthfully.

Mo was the best mother that they could have asked for, but she never yelled or raised a hand to them. She said something one time and her girls knew to obey her command. Mo was small in stature, but her mere presence commanded respect. She grew up selling drugs and running the streets, right along with their father until the day he died. Everybody knew and loved her, as well as her brothers. It was crazy because she was so meek and mild. No one would have ever known some of the things that she had done or was capable of doing. As hood as Mo was, she was successful at shielding her girls from the street life and encouraged them to go to school instead. Kia and Keller were naïve to a lot of things, which made it easy for the men in their lives to have the upper hand. Some days, Mo regretted not teaching them the basic street knowledge, but it was too late, since they were both grown women now.

“Okay, so help me understand how you let a nigga do something to you that I’ve never done? And don’t give me that bullshit lie about him never hitting you. That nigga got you shook, so I already know what’s up,” Mo said, bringing their conversation back to the present.

“It only happened once,” Keller said as she lowered her head.

“I’m right here Keller. Your eyes should be on mine when you talk to me,” Mo replied.

“Yes ma’am,” Keller said as she looked Mo in her eyes.

“I get it, you love him, so I expect you to lie. What I don’t expect is for you to be a nigga’s punching bag or his doormat. I didn’t raise you and Kia to be weak behind no nigga. You better get your mind right and act like you got some sense. Don’t be the reason that Pat be burying her son,” Mo warned her.

“Yes ma’am,” Keller replied, once she finished eating her food.

“Alright, now show me this new design that you want me to try on my nails.” Mo smiled while changing the subject to a more pleasant one.

“Okay, I hope you like it,” Keller said, smiling back at her.

She was happy that Mo had decided to talk about something else. She didn’t want the entire conversation to be focused on Leo and their shaky relationship. He promised Keller that he was going to do better and she believed him. She needed something good to happen, just so Mo and Kia could get off her back. She just prayed that Leo didn’t make a fool out of her again.