24
Caprice discreetly gripped the handle on her bear mace, as Trent paced back and forth in her living room.
She regretted putting her gun in the safe but she only started doing that because he was temporarily living with her.
Trent was the only one who thought he was sane, but she knew better.
She was young when her father took his life but she felt like she was seeing him all over again as she watched her cousin have an episode.
“That bitch was drugging me, bro. No wonder I’ve been feeling so weird lately. And his bitch ass is trying to put a nigga away and she’s agreeing with it. They even took my car keys.” Trent went from mumbling under his breath to talking loud and aggressively.
Caprice was shocked and confused when he knocked on her door the night before.
Apparently, his parents were plotting on him again and he was livid.
Caprice was okay with him staying with her before but she was happy that he went back home after he was released from the hospital.
She even paid one of their cousins to bring all of his belongings to him.
She was good on him staying with her now though.
Caprice was tired of feeling like a prisoner in her own home.
She used to lock herself in her room when Trent started up with his crazy talk.
It just reminded her so much of her father, and she hated to even think about it.
The money was good and saved her a lot when she first moved.
Now that she was working again, she was able to pay her own bills with one check and save some money.
“Just relax, cousin. You should go back home and tell them exactly how you feel.” Caprice was trying to do everything in her power to get him to leave. She regretted even letting him know where she lived. As usual, a man and money were always causing her to make stupid decisions.
“Man, fuck them, I’m never going back there.”
“Well, these messy hoes is some straight up snitches. They must have told the front office that you were living here and they sent me a letter threatening to evict me.” Caprice lied effortlessly, but that was nothing new.
“Seriously?” Trent stopped pacing to look at her.
“Yep. I wish I knew which one it was. I don’t even talk to nobody since I moved back here.”
“Damn, man. Now, I really gotta figure some shit out. I’ll sleep on the streets before I go back to that prison though.”
Caprice wondered why he just automatically assumed that her door would forever be open to him. Trent needed to be in whatever facility his parents were trying to put him in.
“I feel you, cousin. If you rent an Airbnb for a month or more, they give you a good deal. It’s already furnished and you can have your own personal space.”
“Yeah, I might have to look into that. I probably just get a room for a few days until then. Does Sade still work at the front desk of that hotel in Gretna?”
“I think so but you probably have to call her yourself. I ain’t been fucking with that bitch lately.”
“Why? What happened with y’all?”
“Nothing really. She got in her feelings with me because of the fight that she had with Clover.”
“Fuck that bitch! Her and her nigga gon’ see me real soon.”
“You might wanna let that shit go, cousin. The bitch is pregnant again.”
Caprice almost regretted the words as soon as she said them.
The look in Trent’s eyes had her ready to piss her pants.
Just like Diva said, she knew everything about them since she was on their pages all day.
Dash and Kardi made a video announcing Clover’s pregnancy and he had a tracker on his page doing a countdown until their new bundle arrived.
Caprice didn’t miss the fact that Clover was nowhere in the video and some of his other followers did too.
Clover and Dash made TikTok and IG videos all the time so that was almost unheard of.
He gave some bullshit excuse about her not feeling well, but she knew better.
Still, she also knew that it wouldn’t last forever.
She hated that she did so much to break up their happy family and nothing worked.
Caprice had finally thrown in the towel and decided to put all of that attention into her new man.
He had less than a year before he was released and he swore that he was coming home to her.
As angry as she was, she was fighting a losing battle.
“Fuck that baby too! I’m done giving these hoes passes. The last one got away with doing me dirty but that’s over with.”
He started up with his pacing and venting again, but she didn’t reply. She was about to get ready for work, and Trent wasn’t her problem. She really didn’t care where he went as long as it was out of her face.
“Well, I’m about to start getting ready for work, cousin.”
“Ok, cool. Can you drop me off to the rental car place on your way? I need some transportation and I’m not trying to be fighting for my car keys.”
Since his parents wanted to play with his car, he was gonna use their money to rent one until they gave it back.
He was gonna make his mother regret giving him access to their account.
“Fasho,” Caprice replied happily. She would be more than happy to drive him anywhere that he wanted to go as long as it wasn’t her house.
“The fuck!”
Monty listened to the operator on the pre-paid prison call. He was shocked when he heard the name that was said but he waited to be connected. It was a free call because they didn’t prompt him to accept it.
“What’s good, fam?” DJ asked once the call was connected.
“Nigga, I know muthafucking well you ain’t back in that raggedy muthafucka.”
As far as he knew, DJ had been doing okay for himself. He worked at the plant with his father and older brother. He still did his street shit but he wasn’t in too deep with it. Thankfully, the call let him know that his boy was still local, so maybe it wasn’t that bad.
“Man, outchea playing with these hoes and got stopped by the law. I had a few blunts on me and they acting like a nigga is El Chapo round this bitch.”
“Damn, man. Ain’t you still on papers?”
“Yeah but this free call is about to end. I’m bout’ to call you right back. Answer the phone.”
Monty already knew what that meant. DJ either had a cell phone or he had access to one. When the phone rang again, an unfamiliar number popped up.
“Yeah, bro. I see you on it already.” Monty laughed.
“You already know how it go. But, aye, check this shit out. Ask me why that big masculine looking bitch, Caprice, work over here.”
“What! How the fuck did she pull that off? That bitch got fired and arrested. Ain’t no way in hell they gon’ hire her as a deputy again in the state of Louisiana.”
“Man, I don’t even know, but that bitch is a guard in JP now. They must not have done a background check or something.”
“Nigga, JP be doing their homework. Maybe she didn’t tell them that she was a deputy before. Shit, a background check would have told them that too. You got me there, fam. She must know somebody.”
“I don’t know but that hoe tried to get me touched.” DJ laughed.
“What you mean? Touched how?” Monty asked in confusion.
“You already know how she do it. Her gullible ass is fucking with one of them Marrero niggas. Me and the nigga had a lil run in back in the day, but I ain’t seen him in a minute. He must have told her, and she told the nigga that she would play lookout if him and his boys wanted to get at me.
Me and my big bro is cool with a lot of niggas in here, so they put me up on game. His whack ass could barely sell dope on the streets, but I guess he’s trying to be a big dawg up in here.”
“Do you have a bond or what’s up? You know I got you if you need me, fam.”
“Nah, man, you know my people would have been had me up out this bitch. I’m only on papers for thirty-eight more days. I been counting down since I touched down. I’m not trippin’ if they violate me. This bitch is too crowded, so I can’t see it.”
“That hoe is still outchea doing dumb shit. I swear, I never hated a bitch more than I hate Caprice. I’m really sick of that pick me ass bitch.”
“I know how you feel, man. That nigga got her thinking he ‘bout that life but he ain’t stupid enough to come at me though. That nigga scary as fuck and his whole crew is too.”
“What’s his name?” Monty questioned.
“Nigga named Conrad. He’s a lame so I know you don’t know him.”
“Conrad? What’s his last name?”
“Damn, I don’t even know. Aye, bro, what’s Conrad’s last name?” DJ was asking another inmate. Monty heard the other man say something but he couldn’t make out what he’d said.
“What he said?” Monty inquired.
“Williams. The nigga’s last name is Williams.”
“Oh, okay. Nah, I don’t know him.”
“You ain’t missing shit. He the type of nigga that you’ll slap in the mouth like the bitch he is. But fuck all that. What’s been good with you, homie? How’s the inking business going? I know you were talking about getting your own space.”
“Yeah, man, that’s coming soon. We been trying to finish up the work on my big bro’s house. Him and his wife are expecting a baby any day now. I put my shit on the back burner for a minute. I still been inking though. That ain’t gon’ never stop.
I mostly do it on the weekends at my grandma’s bar though.”
“That’s what up. You and your girl still good, huh?”
“That’s the wife right there, nigga. I just gotta get right, so we can really make it official.” Monty looked at Iva and blew her a kiss as he spoke.
“That’s what I like to hear. I’m ‘bout to sit my stupid ass down and leave these hoes alone before my girl really leave my stupid ass.”
“Ain’t shit outchea but diseases. I’m good on that.”
“You ain’t said nothing wrong. But look, I’m not trying to be holding on to this dude phone too long. I’ll hit you up in a day or two, so answer this number when you see it.”
“No doubt, keep me posted and let me know if you need anything. You know it’s all love,” Monty replied before they disconnected.
“What’s that bitch, Caprice, did this time?” Iva asked as soon as he was done talking.
“Fucked with the wrong nigga is what. Come here, baby. I need you to do me a solid.”
“What’s wrong?” Iva walked over to the chair where he was sitting and sat on his lap.