Chapter 8 Layloni
Layloni
Itold Shadonna I wanted to go out to get something to eat just to celebrate the money and balls I grew after confronting Glen.
That was a lie. I had her driving out far to Glen’s warehouse.
He thought I was so dumb, so na?ve. What he failed to realize was that I was super in love with him and would do anything to make him happy.
Most women didn’t know how to play their part.
I did not accuse Glen of shit because I really trusted his ass.
I knew all about his illegal doings, but I never pressed him about it because I wanted no parts in it.
If my crack head momma didn’t teach me nothing, one thing that stuck out to me was her saying a way to break a man was his pockets.
That’s exactly what I had planned to fucking do.
Hurt had a way of changing you for better or worse.
I couldn’t decide what my hurt had turned me into yet.
Everyone I loved deeply had did me wrong, down to the woman who had the nerve to give birth to me.
Life was teaching me a real valuable lesson.
As the rain came down harder, my thoughts ran rampant.
I did not have a plan. I was going along with whatever my hurt heart told me to do.
Every time I thought of something to drastic, I back pedaled and told myself not to.
I never went with my second mind, only my first when it came to decision making.
One thing for sure, I was tired of being a weak bitch.
Tired of trying to humble myself for people who didn’t give a damn about humbling themselves for me.
Nobody ever went the extra mile for me, nobody ever even asked me how I felt.
I was sick of people, period. I was done with the south too. I was burying this shit behind me.
“Bitch, it’s raining too fucking hard to drive any further. I’m gone have to pull the fuck over and let this shit slow down.”
Bitch? I thought as I looked over at her selfish, vindictive, trifling ass. I tried to hide the disgust in my eyes. I knew I was playing a role. But that role and the old me was done with.
“Just pull over Shadonna, ain’t no point of complaining.” This bitch really had kids by the man I was in love with for years. It made me so sick to my stomach. I opened the door up to throw up on the side of the road.
“With all this throwing up you doing, a person would still think you fucking pregnant.” She rolled her eyes as she dug in her purse for a cigarette that I had a strong urge to hit.
“Give me one.” I was mentally counting all the stacks I took. It had to be about fifty thousand. We still were about thirty minutes from the warehouse, and I still did not know what I was going to do with Shadonna.
“Sha Sha… do you love me?” I looked at her while intently coughing a bit from the strong hit I took of the Newport.
“Bitch, I barely love my kids, don’t get all dike on me because you in your fucking feelings.” She spat out coldly.
“You should love your kids since their daddies don’t,” I said softly.
Realization hit me hard. Shadonna had deeper issues than me.
Mental problems, issues that a doctor probably couldn’t fix for her because she was in too much denial.
I was not that person anymore to make excuses for people.
Why they did the things they did? Why they couldn’t create standards and morals for themselves, even though life sometimes got the best of all of us.
I was understanding to it, but I refused to make excuses anymore.
“Bitch, you don’t know shit about my kid’s daddies hoe, so watch your fucking mouth. Don’t think you somebody cause you finally grew some fucking balls to confront a ain’t shit ass nigga.”
She rolled her eyes hard, and I wished them bitches would’ve got stuck, Anger consumed me with full force. I felt my neck throb and every vein in me felt triggered. I grabbed the gun I took from Glen’s house, and shouted with all my might.
“BITCH! I DO KNOW THEIR FUCKING DADDIES! ONE FASHO WAS MY MAN KIDS, YOU DIRTY BITCH! AND IF YOU TRY TO REACH FOR THAT PINK GUN THAT’S IN THAT PURSE, I’LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING brAINS OUT! NOW, GET THE FUCK OUT THE CAR BITCH! MOVE SLOW!” My eyes went into tiny slits.
I heard the last part of what I said to her from a movie, it sounded good coming from my mouth. Her high yellow complexion turned a dark shade of red. Shadonna’s eyes went wide before my words hit home and she complied.
I watched her stand in the pouring rain for a long sixty seconds.
I now understood what it felt like to have power over someone, to make them scared, pondering your next powerful move.
I’d been the person on the receiving side of it for years now.
It didn’t feel good at all; I still did not understand how a person could act so cold.
I stepped out the car, the rain was immediately disrespectful. My plans changed in my mind again. I didn’t want to rob Glen’s warehouses, but I knew somebody that would. I no longer wanted to beat Shadonna’s ass either, just wanted closure with her.
“I loved you, Sha, no matter how fucked up you talked to me, no matter how shitty of a friend you were to me. I won’t even bother asking you why you did it. But, bitch, just know you made a fucked-up bed and now you gonna lay in it without me.”
I heard her trying her hardest to plead her case, but it fell on deaf ears.
I held the gun securely in my hand and walked to the driver’s side.
I reached inside and grabbed her purse, checking it to make sure it still had her phone inside.
I took out the stack that I handed her and placed her pink gun back inside the car, then threw her purse down on the wet ground.
I hopped into the driver seat, and drove off with tears blinding my vision.
Out the rearview mirror, I watched Shadonna fall down to her knees in the rain.
The caring side of me wanted to turn around, I inwardly cursed myself for still feeling weak for people, I shook the thought.
Then made a plan to drop her car off at an empty lot, then text her stupid ass the address.
I would Uber back to the room to repay King for everything he had done, then make my escape after me and him handled some important business. That I prayed he’d agree on.
I made it back into my room and texted King about three times, telling him it was important.
He didn’t respond, which slightly annoyed me.
I had about sixty thousand dollars, and I had planned on giving him ten thousand, just for helping me and getting me this room.
I didn’t want shit from another man as long as I lived.
I desperately needed to revamp myself, learn to love myself more than anything or anyone.
I was beyond too nice to folks, and it caused me a broken heart.
Technically I didn’t know shit about King, but being around him, I knew he had a painful story that he refused to speak on. He was complicated and so was I.
At the moment, I was out of ideas. I felt the liquor wearing off, and I needed to have my own courage.
I knew I was about to take a big leap and that leap was going to be about having faith in myself, knowing I could survive on my own.
In order to do that, I first needed to become get some money.
That was easy as 123 in my head because that warehouse had to have everything I was looking for and needed.
I decided on going down to the hotel’s restaurant to eat some dinner and think a little more.
I even found myself craving another drink.
The way the liquor made me feel was beyond good.
I placed my order with the waitress, then pulled my phone out and decided to take the coward way of quitting my job.
I loved Tammy and her husband like they were the parents I never had. I just hated to disappoint them.
I stole from Glen and, even though he put me through a lot, he would never stop coming after me for stealing big money from him. I needed to disappear until I talked to King about my plan. I needed to sit low and stay in this hotel.
The waitress returned with my big plate of chili cheese fries and a large Coke with a double shot of Hennessey.
I took quick bites, then downed my double shot of cognac.
I felt something shift inside the small restaurant, as if eyes were on me.
When I looked up, I made eye contact with King.
His whole aura screamed power. His silky smooth brown skin deserved to be caressed daily with care.
He dripped sex appeal without even trying, and every encounter with him left my stomach tight along with wet panties.
He winked at me, causing me to shut my thirsty mouth and dial back on my hard gawking.
That’s when I realized he had a model type chick with him, who looked the total opposite of me.
Lord, I had no reason at all to have a lick of jealousy in me.
I had no rights to this man. I felt conscious of myself sitting in this restaurant with the same sweats and shirt he bought me.
My individuals were old as hell, and I just didn’t find myself attractive.
Here he stood across the room from me winking and smiling at me, as the same waitress sat him and his date down at a table.
I assumed she was his date because of the way she was dressed; she had on some nice red stilettos and was designer down.
She looked good and exotic; she looked like she was mixed with Asian and black.
Her jet-black hair flowed to the middle of her back, as my eyes traveled to his hand that rested comfortably on her lower back.
He was a gentleman, assisting her to take her seat.
When the waitress came back to my table, I requested my bill and another double shot of cognac.
Once I had what I requested from her, I took my shot back fast and left a tip.
When I finally stood to my feet, I felt dizzy but quickly gathered myself fast and made a beeline for the door.
I refused to even acknowledge him any further or show I was affected by his exotic beauty he walked in here with.
I knew King was out of my league but seeing him in action only made me realize that more.
I felt silly as hell for even being jealous when I just had my heart broke and planning to live a whole new life outside of the dirty south.
I needed to desperately put my emotions in check and do it fast. Having feelings got you hurt, loving people got you betrayed and left out to rot. Sometimes it really sucked having a good heart because you always wanted to see the good in others, when the bad in them shined brighter.
When I got inside my room, I straightened up a bit then got naked. I took a long shower standing there crying for what I hoped was the last time. I kept telling myself to never get hurt like this again.
When I stepped out the shower, it felt like a huge weight was lifted.
Sleepiness found me and I welcomed it. I needed a good reset, to wake up with a fresh settled mind.
I made a mental note to call King in the morning to request to see him, so I could tell him everything that had happened to me.
My only hopes were that he was willing to help me for the last time.
I walked out the bathroom, and jumped back, startled from King sitting on my king size bed like he owned it. Those bedroom eyes of his pierced me deeply. A small smile curved his lips, slowly he licked them before speaking.
“I saw your calls; I was a little occupied.” He stated evenly.
I rolled my eyes hard at his revelation, already knowing what he was trying to insinuate. His exotic mixed bitch must’ve gave him some pussy because this was the most talking King had done with me.
“You mad about seeing me with a broad?” He asked, cocking his head to the side as if he could read my thoughts.
“I don’t care what you do, King I don’t even know you. But I would like to talk to you and repay you for helping me.”
I tightened my towel around me and went to the dresser, pulling out the ten thousand that I wanted to give him. When I walked up to him and tried to hand it over, he shook his head and looked at the money with disgust.
“I don’t take money from females Layloni… put it away… However, you got that shit is wrong being that yo ass is flat broke.” He flexed his jaw then tightened it.
I tilted my head to the side and gave him a crooked smile. “What if I told you that I just found out that my good for nothing ex-boyfriend was tied to who killed your father? His uncle is Troy!”
Standing to his feet in one swift motion, he pulled out a gun and my heart stalled for a second. He gave me a deranged look and stepped into my personal space.
“You trying to set me up Layloni?” His voice was low, but his eyes was dark and deep with anger. I had to choose my words wisely and do it fast.
“How do I not know that you was trying to set me up from jump! Being all nice to me! Helping me out! You could have been doing all this just to get to Glen and Troy!” I accused.
He smiled at me, licked his lips then slowly tucked his gun back inside his pants. King took a seat back on the bed and thought before he spoke, “Your nutty ass boyfriend told you that shit, tryna get in ya mind ma… I don’t know what you know but never mention my father’s death again.”
“That’s why you barely talk? Because you’re hurt from your fa-”
Holding his hand up, he looked at me like he dared me to say it again. “Don’t even say the word father around me, Layloni… I will kill you, sweetheart.”
I sighed, swallowed down my ball of nerves then took a seat on the opposite side of the bed.
It made it easier to not face him. I took a deep breath, then told him everything I knew and everything I had been through, leaving no details out.
After giving him the address to the warehouse, he spoke little to no words.
He only informed me that he could help set me up in LA after he had his boys make the move on the warehouse.
King made it clear that he’d give me the money from the warehouse and keep the drugs. He even promised me a small percentage off whatever he made from the drugs. Before he left, he smirked at me and told me that I was getting ready to be filthy rich and would never have to depend on another nigga.
I just prayed that I could trust him. Hoped that he didn’t leave me deserted because this was indeed the last time that I planned on depending on a man to help me through anything.