Chapter 7 Layloni
Layloni
Istood outside the check cashing place with a smile plastered on my face.
I cashed my check, now I currently had sixteen hundred dollars cash in my wallet.
For once, I didn’t have to cough my whole check up to my mom.
I could save; I wanted to go with Shadonna to do some shopping.
I planned on spending less than four hundred on hygiene and cheap clothes.
I was going to go hard saving each check.
I didn’t know how I would repay King for getting me the nice hotel suite he got me.
He told me it was mine for two months and, before I could deny him of it, he gave me his back after tossing the keys on the bed.
King would text me every other day, never calling, he just texted to see how I was doing.
He would one-word text me and then leave me hanging during our text conversation.
King was weird and stand off but a huge blessing, so I really could not complain.
I didn’t know what made him handle me like he did.
He treated me like he knew me for years, yet he was super distant with me.
I returned to work earlier in the week. I was blessed to not have any run-ins with Glen.
Tammy or Mr. Vandross would take me to the hotel when I got off work.
They knew not to let Glen in, even if he did show up at my job.
So far, everything was working, but a small part inside of me was missing Glen terribly.
I felt stupid for praying privately for his wellbeing.
He was really all I had; he and Shadonna were the only ones really close to me who knew what I battled and the deep things I went through with my mom.
It had been two weeks since I’d seen Glen and my mom.
I worried about my mom even more. Calling her last week, she cursed me out bad and told me that I had better pay her rent.
She said even if she had to suck my man’s dick to get it paid, she would.
Her threats didn’t bother me anymore, nor the vulgar things she would say and do around me.
Only thing I cared about was her being safe and alive.
I was just relieved to hear her curse me out.
I sat silent on the phone listening to her go off on me patiently then I told her I loved her and that her days of taking advantage of me were over.
My mom brought in at least 2400 a month.
She had about three different government checks coming in, including social security.
She was a fiend, but a functioning one. That house was really everything to her; it’s what she bragged about.
So, push come to shove, she had the money to pay whatever.
She would just have to see how that shit would be budgeting like I had to, just to make her ass happy.
Tipping my Uber driver and hopping out, I took in my surroundings, spotting Shadonna’s high yellow self-sitting in front of Forever 21.
The entrance of the mall looked so good to me, probably because I hadn’t been to a mall in so long.
Soon as she spotted me, she stood up and smoothed out her silk mini skirt.
She was dressed in little to nothing, you would think she was out on the track trying to make her next dollar.
She was my best friend with fucked up ways to add, but I loved her like a sister.
Walking with her nose tooted up to the sky, she gave me that crooked smile, letting me know she was happy to see me.
She sported an all-white bra top that had her titties about to pop out with a white silk mini skirt.
Her red bottoms hit the concrete hard, as she adjusted a nice new Fendi purse on her shoulders.
The gold chains and earrings she had on made her skin glow.
I felt self-conscious with what I had on; I felt like I would look like a damn charity case standing next to her.
“Girl, this new friend of yours couldn’t lace you with some new clothes,” she chuckled as she flicked her cigarette far away from us, blowing out the remainder smoke in my face, causing me to frown up.
I had on the Walmart sweats and plain shirt King had bought me the day I got released from the hospital.
Shrugging my shoulders to leave the subject alone, we walked with our arms linked together inside the mall.
Going inside of Forever 21 first since they had a sale, I went straight to the plus size section, finding me some nice casual dresses to wear.
Shadonna made her way to me in less than ten minutes with a pile of clothes in her hand.
“Bitch, that’s all you getting in here? I need you to pick out some cute shit for the club tonight!” she spoke super loudly, causing attention that I did not want on us.
“Club? Sha, I’m not going to nobody’s club tonight…”
Waving me off, she went through the plus sized rack, picking me out a couple of more things.
“Yes, the hell you are! And… I’m gone re-do the front of them damn individuals for you when we go back to your hotel room to change.”
Walking up to the register behind her, I just shook my head and went along with whatever she had planned.
It was Friday after all, and I was off for the weekend with nothing planned.
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let loose and party with my girl.
Once we paid for all of our things, we headed to the food court to get two slices of pizza each.
I took a small sip of my lemonade, then took a couple bites out of my pizza and looked around.
I noticed a dark skin, thick woman with a light skin tall woman who had a small baby bump.
She kind of favored Shadonna but didn’t have acne all over her face.
Once I made eye contact with her, she rolled her eyes, then took a bite out of whatever food she was eating.
Focusing back on my table, I spoke low to Shadonna, telling her not to look.
“You know those gals over there?” I asked lowly as Shadonna dropped a slice of pizza, making it obvious that she was ready to be on bullshit.
“Sha, keep a low profile, the light skin pregnant chick just rolled her eyes at me,” I warned her.
I was not the confrontational type, but my best friend was.
When it came to me, she got crazy, then would get mad and curse me out for being too soft, letting folks take advantage of me.
“Guhhhh, I don’t know them hoes! You know bitches be mad just because.”
Digging in her Fendi bag, she opened it wider, making sure she had whatever reassurance inside. Next, she pulled out her brass gold knuckles and secured them on her right hand, causing my stomach to twist.
“Sha, don’t start no shit, damn. I can’t tell your ass nothing.” I stressed.
I attempted to scold her, but she tuned me out.
Her eyeballs were locked in on the chicks that sat off to the side of me.
Turning my head, I noticed they started walking our way with glares on their faces.
The look on Shadonna’s face seemed like she was far too excited and ready for whatever.
I wasn’t, in fact, I wanted to throw my food away in leave.
“The fuck y’all crusty hoes want?” were the first words that left Shadonna’s mouth in a thick southern accent, her top lip twitched showing how pissed she truly was.
“Which one of y’all Layloni?” light skin snapped hard, as her dark skin friend placed her hands on her thick hips. Before I could answer, Shadonna spoke up for me as usual.
“Bitch… you know which one of us is Layloni! Stop playing with me, hoe! Now, what the fuck you want with my best friend?” Shadonna cocked her head to the side.
“Damn Bianca, how Crater face is acting… you would think this bitch was Layloni…” the dark skin chick chuckled, as she looked at Shadonna’s beat red face.
Shadonna was ready to explode, and I could feel it deep in my core.
Her acne was one of her biggest insecurities that she masked in caked up makeup.
“But that hoe ain’t Layloni… it’s this fat bitch right here. You know niggas love bum looking hoes… that be tryna act all innocent and shit,” she spat.
“You know nothing about me duck face!” It came out before I could hold it in.
When I heard myself say it, I couldn’t hold in the laugh that followed it.
Shadonna start laughing too, then gave me a high five.
I felt good standing up to somebody, but I knew the below the belt hit from these girls was about to happen.
“Yea, whatever bitch! Bianca, tell this fat ass bitch why we at they table.”
The light skin chick smiled and stepped closer to our table, rubbing her stomach with pride. Looking directly at her stomach, I became conscious of the baby Glen had caused me to lose.
“Tell our nigga, Glen, he needs to call me. I went to my five-month checkup and found out me and him gone have a baby boy! He gone be a Glen Jr.!”
“Bitch, he already got a Glen Jr.!” Shadonna hopped up ready to fight, as I looked at her lost at the words she was saying. When she realized what she had just said, she winked at me.
“LayLay six months pregnant with his first son hoe!”
She winked at me again as my stomach started doing flips; it felt like I was going to throw up.
“Hoe, you ain’t gots to save face for your little fat friend! Glen told me how he accidently beat that baby out her slow ass!”
That was all it took for me to throw up all over the table, as a fresh set of tears started dropping. Just when I thought I was getting over Glen, all of his skeletons were falling from the sky.
“Truth hurts, don’t it? Well, to burst ya bubble, he been living with me for two years now!
He happy I’m carrying his baby too,” she added with so much pride; I didn’t even have the strength to go back and forth with her.
Glen was my first love; he was my everything outside of my mom.
To think he committed something so horrid behind my back had all my anger and pain directed towards him.