22. Drix
DRIX
Ipopped the latch of the window all the way open and took a step back so Dashawn could hop through. I followed right behind him and looked both ways before I slid it shut.
“You know where we’re going?” he asked.
“Yeah. Just stay close.” I checked to make sure my safety wasn’t on my gun then headed out of the bedroom and down the hall to the primary bedroom.
I pushed it open and aimed my gun at Monica’s pops the second he jerked up out of his sleep. His eyes widened and I jogged over, put my hand across his whole face, and slammed his head back down.
“Where the fuck is Monica?”
“Oh my God!” Her mother jumped out of her sleep and Dashawn put his gun to her head.
“Be cool, ma. Just put your head back down.”
She slowly closed her mouth and lay back down.
“What the fuck are you doing, Berlin?”
“Looking for your daughter,” I deadpanned. “I’ve been calling but she ain’t picking up. Where can I find her?”
“You’re really going to come into our house with a gun and try to—”
I cut him off. “Ay, bruh. I’m not here to go back and forth with you. Answer my question so I can get the fuck up out of here.”
“We’ve known you since you were—”
I cut his wife off too.
“Ay, man. All that back in the day shit is dead. Monica is fucking around with my life and my wife and she gon’ have to see me one day.
” I pressed my gun to his head and leaned into him.
“Correct yo’ mothafuckin’ daughter before you end up having to bury her ass.
” I shoved his head away from me with my gun. “Now call her.”
“Call Monica?” He repeated.
“Ask me another stupid fucking question and I’m gon’ get to her because she’ll be attending your funeral, nigga. Don’t ask me shit else. Call your bobblehead ass daughter.” I clicked the safety off my gun. “Now.”
“Despite what you might think of me, Berlin, I’m not going to set my daughter up.”
“Set her up for what, stupid? I can’t kill that bitch through the phone. I just want to talk to her, so call her.” I nudged his head with my gun.
I’d been searching for Monica’s ass all day but she was ducking and dodging like a master.
She hadn’t been to work or her house. There were no nail or hair appointments.
She hadn’t gone to her favorite sushi spot.
Nothing. She was still radio silent. I’d called and texted her.
She hadn’t posted on Skroll or anything.
I had faith I was going to catch her slipping but I wanted to get it done sooner rather than later.
As much as Myome loved me, there was only so much disrespect she would take and I’d be damned if Monica made something pop off on the first night of my baby’s tour.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath then grabbed his phone from the bedside table. I watched him unlock it and I snatched it from his hand before he could send a warning text. I scrolled to her number and video called her. It rang once, twice, then a third time before she picked up.
“Dad? Is everything okay? It’s kind of—” She froze mid-sentence, her mouth ajar.
I had my gun pointing at her dad’s head and her dad’s phone pointed at my hand and his face while he sat there, eyes slammed shut.
“If you hang up this phone, I’ll kill him,” I warned.
“Drix, what are you—”
“You don’t talk. You shut up and you listen.
The same way I got hands on your parents tonight is the same way I’ll get hands on them if you try to play games with my marriage,” I warned her.
“Even if you think I can’t get to you physically, trust me when I tell you that I know how to get to you in other ways.
We messed around for years, Monica. I could roll up on your whole fucking family if I wanted to. ” I paused. “You get what I’m saying?”
She nodded and I cut my eyes at her. “Yes.”
“If you’re pregnant, you know it’s not for me so don’t even fucking play like that. If you ruin my marriage, I’ll ruin your fucking life. You hear me?”
She immediately started sniffling.
“I hear you.”
“Good. Don’t get your whole family killed over dick you’ll never even get to whiff again, stupid.”
“Drix—”
I cut her off by hanging up.
“Thanks, man.” I tossed the phone on the bed between Monica’s parents. “Have a good night.” I nudged my head toward the door. “Come on.”
I was happy I’d finally gotten to give Monica my message. I meant every word and she knew that.
Dashawn and I dipped out the same window we’d come through and I smoked a joint while we drove out to my favorite little spot in the hood to get my usual.
Unfortunately, it was set to close any day now so I was trying to get the last of my fix in when I could.
The spot had been open since I was young and nobody knew for sure why it was closing and I’d been asking around frequently.
If it was a little money issue, I was down with throwing a little money at the problem to help a small, Black-owned business stay afloat.
Although I’d probably charge interest, it would be less than the bank.
I exhaled and looked at my phone when it vibrated.
Babygirl: Are you coming home?
Me: Yeah.
Babygirl: Wait up?
Me: Nah. Making a play with Shawn.
Babygirl: Wake me up? I kinda want to talk to you.
Me: I’ll be home in an hour or less. Promise.
I locked my phone and tucked it into my pocket.
“Let’s get this shit done so I can go home to my wife.”
Dashawn snickered. “Sprung ass.”
“So you want to act like Hazel doesn’t have your nose wide open?”
He licked his lips and shrugged, but a smile took over his face soon after.
“Nah. I feel you. We fuss and fight and shit but Hazel is my everything.”
“I get it.” I nodded.
Myome and I had a few little arguments here and there but honestly it was never anything crazy and we didn’t let it sit too long.
Her openness and willingness to communicate when something bothered her was one of my favorite things about her.
She was mature in that way. She didn’t act like she didn’t have feelings nor did she have an issue saying when she needed help for the most part.
There were certain things she tried to keep close to her chest to prove she could handle it, but there were only so many times she declined being helped. She wasn’t overly prideful.
“She brings out a good side of you,” Dashawn added.
“Fuck out of here.” I smiled and looked out of the window when we turned onto the street our cars had been left on.
“Thanks for having my back.”
“You know I got you.” He grinned.
“Yeah. I know.” I threw the door open and unlocked my car. “Take yo’ ass home to your wife like I am, nigga.”
“Yeah, a’ight.” He chuckled and waved me off. “I’m going home.”
“Good.”
I hopped in my car and peeled off as soon as I saw him climb in his ride and flip his lights on. I thought about calling Myome on my way home since I was going to be twenty minutes later than I’d told her but decided not to in case she’d fallen asleep.
When I got home, I slid my keys into their spot and paused. I grabbed my gun, clicked the safety off, and adjusted how I was standing.
Then I did a double take when a lamp in the living room came on and illuminated my wife. She was laid on the couch beneath a throw blanket. She yawned and rubbed her eyes as she squinted toward me.
“You’re home,” she announced.
“Yeah, baby. I’m home.” I double checked that the door was locked and walked over to her. “You waiting up for daddy?” I licked my lips cockily and a smile took over her face as she sat up.
“Mhm.”
I walked over and kissed her three slow times.
“You want to talk now or I can take a shower?”
“You can take a shower.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“A’ight. I’ll be right back.”
I dropped my gun in our bedroom, took a quick hot shower, threw on boxers and basketball shorts, grabbed a bottle of water, and headed back to the living room where Myome still sat.
She was much more alert now. She was sitting crisscrossed, holding a cup with a straw, and staring at a reality television show like it was the best piece of visual media she’d ever seen.
“Make room.”
She lifted so I could collapse on the couch and she could lay on top of me. I let one of my legs hang off the side and immediately wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead.
“What’s up, Twin?”
“I don’t know if I’m going to survive my contract,” she said quietly.
My eyebrows knitted together. “The fuck you talkin’ about?” I looked down at her. “Where’d that come from? You told me press went well and they were extending the tour.”
“Yeah, but three albums can take a while, and with the way things are going with the group… I don’t know if I can do it,” she confessed. “I don’t know if I can do it and I’m terrified, Berlin.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of.” I pulled her hair back.
“If this is what you want, you’ve got to make it work, even when you don’t want to, Yo.
That’s just how it is in this game.” I exhaled.
I hated seeing Myome down, especially when it was because of something neither of us could control.
“You’re going to survive your contract. I ain’t letting you quit. ”
She stuck her lip out as she looked up at me and traced little circles on my chest.
“I don’t want to quit… I just… I don’t know. I’m worried about failing and all the things that can go wrong with this tour. What if we don’t even sell well?”
“If you weren’t selling well, they wouldn’t have added dates.
” I grabbed Myome’s throat and tilted her head back.
“Get out of your head, Yo. Tour is going to go well. You’re going to perform and have the time of your life.
I’ll fly out and see you in some cities and love on you.
The album is going to go gold at least. It’s all going to work out. ”
“You really think so?”
“I promise.”
She scoffed. “You can’t promise that.”
“I promise,” I repeated, leaning in and kissing her. “I promise,” I repeated.
She nodded. “Okay.”
Myome snuggled into me and I let my eyes fall shut as a yawn ripped through me. We lay in silence for a little as we traced each other.
“Do you want to go solo?” I asked after a while.
“I don’t know. I mean I like being in a group. I genuinely mean that. I just don’t know how long Retta and I will survive.”
“I get that but you can’t let one person or a few people even mess up something you’ve wanted your whole life.”
“Yeah. I know.” She exhaled. “Thanks for reassuring me, baby.”
“I mean every word.” I grinned and tapped her ass. “Come on. Let’s get you tucked in. We’ve got to start prepping for tour tomorrow.” I winked at her and she shook her head with a big smile but pushed herself up.
“You want to help me prep for tour?”
“That’s right.” I sat up, grabbed her waist, and pulled her in so she was standing between my legs. “I want to do whatever I can to make sure you’re good, whether that has to do with tour, your family, the crib, or whatever else.”
Myome grabbed my face in both hands while her lip poked out.
“I love you, Berlin.”
“I love you too, Myome. For real. You got a nigga head gone. I promise.”
“Good.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Because you have my head gone too.” She climbed into my lap. “The worst thing about tour isn’t going to be covering makeup and costumes or traveling with Retta. The worst thing about going on tour is being away from you.”
“Yeah. For me too, Yo,” I admitted. “Me fucking too.”