“I’m not doing this shit with you no more Anaya!” Rich yelled as he jumped up from the bed and started to get dressed. They were at his cousin, Erica’s, house occupying one of her bedrooms once again. Erica lived in a three-bedroom trailer, but she also had three kids that lived there with her. Rich always had to put Erica’s kids in one room, so that he and Anaya could have some privacy. Erica was out doing God knows what, so they had to babysit until she came back.
“I’m not doing this with you either. We argue about the same shit every day,” Anaya snapped while pulling her shirt over her head.
“That’s because you’re fucking a liar. You fed me all that bullshit about us being together, but you didn’t mean none of it. We’re still sneaking around like kids, and you and that nigga ain’t even together no more. You got the house to yourself, but we’re still fucking in Erica’s trailer.”
“And I already told you why!” Anaya yelled.
“You said that you weren’t ready to bring anyone around your kids. I understand that, but they’re not even home right now,” Rich ranted
“It’s not that easy Rich. Tigga still pays all of the bills. If he finds out I got another nigga sleeping in the house that he pays for, he’s going to go off. Can you afford to keep a roof over our heads? You couldn’t even afford to get us a room for the night. That’s the reason we came here to begin with.”
“That’s bullshit. You always throwing money in my face, trying to prove your point, but I’m not buying it this time. That nigga don’t give a fuck about what you do or who you do it with. I’m really starting to believe that he’s the one who broke up with you, instead of the other way around. From what I’m hearing, he’s already moved on,” Rich said, crushing Anaya’s sprits.
Truth be told, Anaya had heard the exact same thing from her own mama. Donna saw Tigga out eating with another woman one
night. She made sure to call her daughter and let her know every little detail of what she saw. In her mind, she was right and that was why Tigga broke up with Anaya in the first place. Anaya tried to get information from her daughters, but they really didn’t know anything. They swore that it was just their father at the house whenever they went over there.
“I’m with you now, so I don’t care if he did move on,” Anaya said after a long awkward pause.
“Miss me with that sweet-talking shit. I can’t keep doing this.”
“Don’t be like that baby. It’s only been a month since Tigga and I have been broken up. Just give me some time to get my girls adjusted to the situation,” Anaya begged.
“You’re talking about the past month. I’m talking about the past few years. I feel like less than a fucking man to even let this shit go on as long as it did. I’ve kept your secrets and pretended to be unaffected, when all awhile that shit has been tearing me up inside. I knew I couldn’t provide the kind of life that y’all deserved and that’s the only reason why I fell back,” Rich said as his eyes filled up with liquid pain.
Anaya lowered her head in shame. She was so busy trying to keep Tigga and make him happy that she never thought about how her actions were affecting Rich. Tigga had introduced her to the good life and she didn’t want to give that up for anybody. Things still went left because Tigga didn’t even want to be with her anymore. And just like always, Rich was there to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Anaya knew that he was getting tired and he didn’t blame him. He really did deserve more than what she was giving him.
“Baby,” Anaya said as she wrapped her arms around Rich’s slender body. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Anaya,” he said as he pushed her away. “Don’t try to tell me what you think I want to hear. If you don’t mean what you say, then just shut up.”
“I do mean it. I’m sorry and I promise to make things right.”
“There’s only one way that you can make things right. If you’re not willing to be completely honest, then just leave me alone. I’m not being nobody’s side nigga no more,” Rich said seriously.
“I’ll be honest. I’ll let Tigga know about you and our relationship. Just give me time Rich. I’m not asking for more years. Just a few more weeks,” Anaya begged.
“Okay but, if you’re lying to me, I’m done with you for good and I mean that,” Rich swore.
“You have my word,” Anaya said as she raised her right hand in the air like she was being sworn in.
She smiled inside when she saw that Rich was giving into her, just like he always did. She knew that he was getting tired of being kept in the dark, but things weren’t as easy as they seemed. Rich was still rubbing pennies together trying to make ends meet, and Anaya just couldn’t trust him to provide for her. His criminal background prevented him from getting a decent job and his illegal activities didn’t pay very much. She just needed to stall him for a while longer to see if things with her and Tigga were really over. If there was any chance at all of them getting back together, then it was a wrap with her and Rich. The first thing Anaya had to do was find out who the mystery woman was that he’d been seeing. She needed to know who her competition was so that she could eliminate her and get her man back.
***
“The fuck did you get this raggedy ass car from?” Leo asked Rich.
They were parked outside of Keller’s job, waiting for her to come out. He didn’t want to take his car, so he jumped on it when Rich offered to pick him up. He didn’t know that they were going in a two-toned piece of shit that sounded like a tow truck.
“Some crack head that lives in the trailer park,” Rich chuckled.
“Nigga, you ain’t tired of living in that damn trailer park?” Leo asked.
“What you think?” Rich said, looking at him like he was crazy. “I’m trying to get my money up, but the shit is just hard. You need to put your boy on.”
“I can’t do nothing for you, fam. I ain’t never seen a nigga who can’t even sell a few bags of weed,” Leo said, shaking his head.
Rich had Leo fooled when they were locked up together. He made it seem like he was out there doing his thing before he went to jail. Once Leo was released, it didn’t take him long to find out that Rich was a liar. Not only was the nigga broke, but he lived with his mama and the rest of his siblings in a trailer. Leo barely made enough money to keep clean clothes on his ass.
“Man, I already told you that dope ain’t my thing. I’ll take a nigga’s dope money, but I can’t do no selling.”
“You can’t even do that right. Robbing them lil corner boys ain’t getting you nothing.”
“I need to do something man. My girl is getting tired of me being broke,” Rich sighed.
“Your girl? You talking bout that money hungry bitch that you be creepin’ with?” Leo asked.
“She ain’t money hungry, but she got bills,” Rich said, defending Anaya.
“That bitch ain’t right bruh. You a better man than me, though. That hoe could have never played me how she played you all this time. And you letting her do the shit is what got me confused,” Leo said, shaking his head.
“We talked about that the other day. Everything is all good now.”
“So, her ex nigga know what’s up with y’all?” Leo questioned skeptically.
“Not yet, but she’s gonna tell him what the deal is,” Rich said confidently.
“I need to meet this bitch. Either she got that fire between her
legs or she got one hell of a mouth piece. She got you believing shit that don’t even make sense,” Leo said, laughing.
“It’s not like that man. Sometimes, you do stupid shit when you love a person. Like, right now. We’re out here stalking your ex who don’t want you no more. If that ain’t love, I don’t know what is,” Rich chuckled.
“Nah, this ain’t nothing like what you got going on. This bitch is playing with my emotions for real,” Leo replied in anger.
It had been over a month and Keller was still refusing to talk to him. She answered for him one time and told him that they were really over, but Leo just couldn’t accept that. He knew without a doubt that she meant it that time though. He was shocked when he offered to pick her up from work one day, and she told him that she had her own vehicle. She was really trying to show him that she didn’t need or want anything from him. He saw her getting into her truck one day outside of the shop and he was impressed with her choice. Keller claimed that she was living with Kia, but he didn’t believe her. A few times when he passed in front of Kia’s house, he didn’t see her truck anywhere, so that had to be a lie. He tried following her twice before, but he quickly went his own way when he saw that she was headed straight to Mo’s house. He’d been trying to catch her for a few days to see where she was going, but his schedule didn’t always allow him to. He made it his business to free up his schedule that particular day to see exactly what she was up to. It didn’t matter if he got turned down by other women, but that was unacceptable when it came to Keller.
“Maybe it’s really a wrap on y’all being together this time,” Rich said, pulling Leo away from his thoughts.
“Nigga, you sound stupid. It ain’t never a wrap on that. Keller’s ass is just spoiled. She like it when a nigga kiss her ass and chase after her. This ain’t the first time I fucked up and I’m sure it won’t be the last,” Leo noted.
“Yeah, but there was never a baby involved before. Your sister and her girl did you dirty with that shit.”
“And that’s why I tried to murder both of them bitches with my bare hands.” Leo frowned.
“You still ain’t talk to your mama since you got out?” Rich questioned.
“I don’t have shit to say to her either. She’s on Leandra’s side, so fuck her too,” Leo spat.
“Damn bruh, your mama though?” Rich said, shaking his head.
“Mama or not, she can get it too. Pat ain’t do shit for me. My pops raised me up until the day he took his last breath. She’s lucky that I helped her ass out as much as I did. Bitch got a restraining order on me, so she’s on her own now,” Leo replied.
“You ain’t got no heart to say some shit like that about your own mama.” Rich frowned.
“I got a heart and that’s the bitch who’s trying to break it,” Leo said as he pointed at Keller, who was walking out of the shop with Jaden. Her bother-in-law made sure she got into the truck and pulled off before going back inside.
“Damn,” Rich said when he looked over at her.
“Don’t put your mama through the pain of having to bury one of her kids. Keep your eyes on the road and off of my bitch,” Leo threatened.
“Damn bruh, she got you gone like that?” Rich chuckled.
“Just drive nigga,” Leo ordered.
Doing as he was told, Rich pulled out of the parking lot and followed behind Keller’s Lexus truck. Leo looked anxious sitting in the passenger’s seat, but he didn’t know why. He’d been knowing Leo for at least three years, but he’d never met Keller before. That night was his first time actually laying eyes on her. Leo and his cousin, Erica, messed around from time to time, but he’d never seen him act like that over her. He didn’t seem to have feelings for Erica at all outside of the bedroom. Rich could tell that Leo really loved Keller and that was proven by what they were doing. He’d never followed a
woman a day in his life. As much as he loved Anaya, he’d never tried to follow her before. He was tempted a few times, just so he could see what Tigga looked like. Anaya was so in love with the nigga that Rich just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Aside from a few pictures on her phone, he never got a chance to lay eyes on him. It was crazy because he knew so much about a man who didn’t even know that he existed.
“Pull to the side,” Leo said, pulling Rich back to the present. They parked at the curb across the street from a Chinese restaurant that Keller had just gone into. About ten minutes later, she came back out, carrying a large brown bag full of food.
“I’m a kill that bitch!” Leo yelled out in frustration.
“For what? Eating?” Rich questioned.
“For playing these hoe ass games. She use to stop here at least twice a week to get us food before she came home from work. I guarantee you she’s going by a nigga,” Leo answered.
“Only one way to find out,” Rich said as he continued his pursuit.
They continued to follow Keller as she got up on the bridge and headed towards Metairie. The route was unfamiliar to Leo, and he knew that Kia nor Mo lived in the area. He prayed that it was Tessa’s house that she was going to, but his gut was telling his otherwise.
“Fuck!” Leo yelled when Keller pulled up to a gated area that housed a bunch of townhouses. There was a guard at the gate who went up to Keller’s truck as soon as she pulled in. They seemed to be familiar, just by the way they were talking and laughing with each other.
“Now what?” Rich asked him.
“Just pull off, man. Best believe I’ll be back around this bitch soon, though. I need to know exactly who the fuck lives back here,” Leo said angrily.
He didn’t know how long it would take, but he was going to find
out what was up with Keller sooner or later. Some shit just wasn’t adding up and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He still had an open case, thanks to his mama, so he had to watch how he moved. He was praying that his probation officer didn’t violate him because he couldn’t do anything from behind bars. Leo sat deep in thought, as Rich pulled away from the curb and headed in the direction that they had just come from.
***
“If you don’t feel comfortable, I can pick you up and drop you off to work,” Tigga said as he and Keller ate the Chinese food that she had just picked up.
“No, I had enough of that with Leo. It feels good to have my own car again,” Keller replied.
“I don’t want you to be scared though, baby. If it’ll make you feel better, you can drop me off to and from work so you don’t have to ride by yourself.”
“You are too sweet.” Keller smiled at him. “I’m okay. I just felt kind of weird when I left work today.”
“Weird like what?” Tigga inquired.
“I don’t know. Leo kept calling me all day. I blocked his number, but he started calling from other phones. For some reason, I just expected him to be outside of the shop waiting for me when I got off.”
“Jaden has been walking you out though, right?” Tigga asked.
“Yeah, he walks me out and makes sure I get in my car safely,” she replied.
“That’s good, but do you think you might need some protection?” Tigga questioned.
“You mean like a gun?”
“Yeah. You can get certified to carry. You can even go to the range to learn how to shoot. Put that nigga on some papers and light his ass up if he comes too close to you.”
“You sound just like Kia. She was talking about doing the same thing with that crazy girl Tori,” Keller laughed.
“Maybe y’all can go together. You might feel better doing it with your sister,” Tigga suggested.
“I wanna do it. I’ll call Kia and ask her if she still wants to go,” Keller said excitedly.
“I guess we’re going gun shopping tomorrow then,” Tigga laughed as they continued to talk and eat.
“Yay!” Keller cheered.
“Yeah, I need something to relive my stress,” Tigga said, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry boo, but it’s almost over.” Keller smiled.
Since the first night they had sex in the hot tub in Florida, she and Tigga had been getting it in just about every day. She was on her cycle at the moment, so he had to wait it out. She gave him oral sex a few times, but that wasn’t enough for him. Keller still thought that they were moving too fast, but she didn’t know how to slow things down. Being with Tigga just felt right. It wasn’t forced and the chemistry was undeniable. Things with them just flowed naturally and that was what Keller loved the most. Unfortunately, she had a feeling that the peace and quiet of their budding romance wouldn’t last much longer. The uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach just wouldn’t go away. Once Anaya and Leo found out about them being together, it probably never would.