“Leo, get the fuck away from my door before I send your ass to jail!” Pat yelled to her son through her locked front door. The door wasn’t all that sturdy and it was bound to come down if he didn’t stop kicking it.
“I ain’t doing shit. Tell that bitch Crystal to come out here!” Leo yelled back as he continued to bang and kick on his mother’s front door.
He was livid when he got home the night before and found that Keller and all her belongings were gone. Everything had been going good with them lately, so he didn’t know what prompted her sudden departure. She didn’t answer the phone for him when called her all that night, but he was finally able to get through to her that morning. When she told him that his sister and Crystal had shown up at the shop with Crystal’s son, he was out for blood. Keller swore that she wasn’t coming back, and he believed her this time. She had never taken all her clothes before and that was how he knew that she’d always return. When she left this time, she even cleared the dirty clothes hamper to make sure that she didn’t leave anything.
“You need to stop disrespecting mama and leave!” Leandra shouted to her brother from the huge front room window.
“Bitch, you shut the fuck up! I got something for your messy ass too,” Leo warned.
His anger rose to new heights when he saw Crystal standing behind his sister with a stupid looking smile on her face. They caused him to lose the love of his life and it was all a game to her. He knew that he was wrong for lying to Keller, but he didn’t want her to leave him. She still ended up walking away once Leandra and Crystal got to her.
“Bitch, you think this is a game? You think this shit is funny?” Leo hissed angrily.
He looked on the ground in front of his mother’s door and found a few small bricks underneath the stairs. They were doing construction on the house next door, so they weren’t hard to find.
His first mind told him to throw it through the front window, but he did something even better. When he saw Crystal’s raggedy Toyota parked out front, he hurled the brick through her windshield instead. It cracked but didn’t break, so he kept throwing bricks until it did.
“Stop! You crazy bastard. Get away from my car!” Crystal yelled as she jumped up and down like a fool. Leo didn’t give a damn about how she felt. He picked up another brick and started hitting her side mirror with it.
“Leo, leave that damn girl’s car alone!” his mother, Patricia, yelled to him.
“Fuck that hoe!” he replied disrespectfully.
That was nothing new to Pat. Leo was every bit of her ex-husband, from his abusive ways right on down to his disrespectful tongue. It didn’t matter if she was around or not. He said whatever he wanted to say, whenever he wanted to say it. Things with him only got worse once his parents got divorced and Leo went to live with his father. He picked up all his bad habits and they were almost impossible to break now. Pat was convinced that her ex-husband hated women and her son was no different. They thought that every woman was beneath her mate and that’s exactly how they treated them. Even though his father was dead and gone, his evil spirit still lived on through Leo.
“Calm down girl. That car can be replaced, but you can’t,” Pat said to Crystal.
She was going crazy as she watched Leo destroying what little she had left of her car. It was barely working and he was trying to finish it off. After having seen enough, she grabbed the thick piece of plywood that Pat kept behind her door and armed herself with it. Pat and Leandra screamed for her not to go outside, but she unlocked the door and ran out there anyway.
“You crazy muthafucka!” Crystal yelled as she swung the board with all her might at Leo. He jumped out of the way, just in time before the wood connected with his head.
“I got you now, bitch,” Leo snarled while pulling the board
from Crystal’s hands. As soon as the weapon hit the ground, he hit Crystal hard in the face with a closed fist. Crystal heard her son screaming, but she was dazed from the blow to her face. She staggered a little, but another punch to her face sent her spiraling to the ground. She was kicking and swinging, trying to get Leo off her. He had no mercy as he continued to beat her like they were equals.
“Get away from her!” Leandra yelled through the opened front door. Leo ignored her as he continued to rain blows to Crystal’s face and body. Her nose and lips were covered in blood, but he didn’t seem to care. Pat was just standing there with the kids, but Leandra felt like she had to do something. He was going to kill her friend if she didn’t. Leandra ran down the stairs and straight up to her crazy brother. He didn’t even know that she was behind him until she starting punching him in his back.
“Bitch, you want some too. I owe your messy ass anyway,” Leo said as he turned around and pushed his sister away. He looked like the devil himself when he raised his fist into the air and came down hard, striking Leandra in her face, dropping her like a sack of potatoes. Unlike her friend, she didn’t fight back because she was out cold.
“Oh, hell no, nigga. You don’ went too far this time. Your ass is going to jail today,” Pat threatened as she grabbed her phone and called the police.
“I don’t give a fuck about going to jail. Do what you got to do. And make sure you have enough money to cover your bills next month too,” Leo said as he calmly walked to his car and got in.
He was good about helping Pat make ends meet every month and, in return, she kept quiet about some of the things that he did. She could have been told Keller about his son, but she kept her mouth closed. She could have been revealed to Mo that he was using her daughter as his sparring partner too, but she remained tight-lipped.
“You talking all that hot shit to me, but where are your balls whenever Mo is around? You tuck your tail and run like a lil bitch!”
Pat yelled angrily, right before the operator came on the line. She shook her head in disgust when Leo drove by with his middle finger extended out of the window at her. His disrespect knew no boundaries and Pat was fed up. After that day, her hands were washed of her oldest son and she meant that from her heart.
***
“Oh, my God, Kia. You got me about to pee on myself,” Keller laughed at the story that her sister was telling her.
Keller always wondered what the whole lockdown thing with Jaden was, but her sister had just enlightened her. Kia was always trying to play catch-back with Jaden and was always getting busted. Keller was crying when her sister told her about what he did to her in the shower. Now, she knew why Kia was blaming Jaden for her being sick.
“His ass is crazy,” Kia said, laughing along with her sister.
“Who thinks of shit like that?” Keller inquired.
“That’s the same thing I said.” Kia shook her head.
“Girl, that was my laugh for the day,” Keller giggled.
“I’m happy that I could help, in spite of everything that’s been going on. How have you been holding up?” Kia asked.
“Honestly, Kia, I feel numb. Like I don’t even have any more tears left to cry. Between the cheating and the beatings, I just need a break from it all,” Keller replied.
“Do you need a little break or are you really done this time?”
“I need a permanent break. There is no more reconciliation,” Keller swore.
“I feel you, sis. I be feeling the same way sometimes. It’s like I want to leave and never look back. I love Jaden but, sometimes, I want to just pack up all my shit and go,” Kia replied.
“My situation is different though, Kia. You have Jaylynn to worry about. She loves her daddy to the moon and back. It’s gonna
be hard for you to do anything without him finding out.”
Kia knew that her sister was right. She tried packing up and leaving Jaden once before, but that didn’t work out. One call from Jaylynn and he was knocking at their door two days later. There was no way that Kia could go anywhere without her daughter ratting her out. It wasn’t intentional. Jaylynn just had a strong bond with her father and she loved to be around him.
“I know, but enough about that. Are you excited about going to Florida today?” Kia asked her.
“Hell yeah.” Keller smiled excitedly. “I wish Tessa hurry the hell up.”
Tessa and her mother were getting the rental car and, then, they were picking Keller up right after. She was too excited to be getting away for a few days, especially after everything that happened between her and Leo. He had been blowing Keller’s phone up like crazy, but she had no words for him. All her belongings were already neatly situated at Tessa’s house, but she wanted to chill with Kia for a little while before she left.
“Are you and your boo sleeping in the same room?” Kia said, teasing her about Tigga.
“That is not my boo. And his girlfriend is coming with us anyway.” Keller blushed.
“Don’t try to play me, heifer. Jaden said that he broke up with his girlfriend and got his own place.”
“Jaden talks too damn much,” Keller laughed.
“You know he came over here with Dominic and David a few weeks ago. He is too handsome,” Kia complimented.
“We’ve been talking again for the past two days, but I don’t want to rush anything. We both just got out of relationships, so I think we should take it slow.”
“I agree.” Kia nodded, right as Keller’s phone started ringing.
“This same number has been calling me since about five this
morning. I wonder who it is,” Keller said, looking at her sister.
“Put it on speaker and let me answer, just in case it’s somebody that you don’t wanna talk to,” Kia suggested.
Keller nodded her head and did what her sister told her to do. When Kia answered, Keller cringed when she heard Leo’s voice. He didn’t even realize that it was Kia who answered the phone before he started talking.
“Baby, I really need your help right now. I only have five minutes to use the phone,” Leo spoke quickly.
“What do you want Leo?” Keller asked in an aggravated tone.
“Pat got me locked up. I need you to go to the house and get some money from the safe to bail me out,” Leo answered.
“There are two problems with your request,” Keller replied. “I no longer have a key to your house and I don’t know the combination to the safe if I did.”
“I’ll give you the combination and my brother has a spare key. He can bring it to you.”
“Oh, so now I can have the combination to the safe? You never wanted me to have it before.”
“Don’t be like that baby. I really need you. I know that we’re not in a good place right now, but I promise I’ll make it up to you,” Leo swore.
“Your promises don’t mean shit to me. I’m sorry Leo, but I can’t help you. Ask Jamal to do it for you,” Keller replied, referring to his younger brother.
“You know I don’t trust that nigga like that. Just do this one lil favor for me, Keller,” he pleaded.
“You better ask your baby mama to do it. My answer is no.”
“I don’t have a baby mama. I don’t even know why you’re believing that dumb shit that they told you. Keller, please, I really need you right now. I don’t have nobody else to handle this for me,” Leo said, sounding as desperate as he felt.
“Okay Leo, just stop whining. What’s the code to the safe?” Keller asked him. She listened as he called out some numbers, but she didn’t write them down.
“I’ll tell my brother to meet you at the house. I love you, baby,” Leo said happily.
“Okay,” Keller replied dryly.
“I know damn well you’re not going to bail his ass out of jail,” Kia said, right as someone started blowing their horn in front of her door.
“That’s my ride boo. It’s time for me to go have some fun in the sun. Fuck Leo,” Keller said while jumping up from the sofa and grabbing her luggage. She gave Kia a tight hug and hurried down the stairs to Tessa’s rental car.
“Have fun and call me when you make it. Love you!” Kia yelled after.
“I will, love you too!” Keller yelled back right before they pulled off.
Leo could rot in the prison cell for all she cared. She didn’t even bother writing down the combination to his safe because she had no intentions of going to bail him out. He wasn’t her problem anymore. Keller was happy to be getting away for a while, but she was even happier that she would be spending some time with Tigga. Although he and Anaya had broken up recently, Keller still didn’t want to come off as being disrespectful. She had never been around Anaya for more than a few hours at a time, but she didn’t have a problem being around her now. Keller had already made up in her mind that she would stay her distance from Tigga unless he came around her first. She was Tessa’s guest, but she would have eyes on her brother throughout the entire trip.