Chapter 9 #2
“That’s true. I’m just tired of doing it. I feel like the day comes quick every month. It’s whatever though. I’ll put on music and power through. Or I’ll just call you, if you aren’t at the studio, and you can keep me company over the phone.” She laughed.
“What’s up, cuz? What you up to?” Deontay said from behind me.
I was so into what Celeste was saying that I hadn’t felt him walking up on us.
“What’s good?”
“Not shit. About to head out of here and take care of this business. How you doin’, miss lady? You’re Spinna’s girl, right?” he asked with a brow hiked.
“Yooo, she good on the questions. Gon’ head and get up out of here. You got business to handle, my guy,” I cut in.
I wasn’t sure how much of the conversation he’d heard, but I knew he was being funny by asking that question.
I already didn’t fuck with the way he moved just being my cousin, but him playing with Celeste would surely send me over the edge.
Putting his hands up in mock surrender, he looked between the two of us with a sick smile before turning to leave.
“What was all that about?”
“Nigga a goofy. Don’t trip though. I’ll beat the fuck out of him if he tries anything slick.”
“That’s Dennis’s son. Meaning he’s your cousin, right?”
“Yeah, he is, but blood don’t mean shit when you’re a snake. That cousin word ain’t shit but a bloodline title. That nigga is nobody to me,” I admitted.
Deontay’s ass had my blood boiling and I had to silently calm myself. By the time my thoughts were no longer on violence, my uncle and Spinna were coming from the back.
“I’ll call you tonight when I get home,” Celeste said just before they fully approached us.
I nodded in acknowledgement and was thankful this meeting was being brought to a close.
I wasn’t a person who could phony kick it or smile in someone’s face I really didn’t fuck with.
I had no respect for Spinna and I wanted his woman.
There was no need to fake the funk when I knew I’d have her bouncing on my dick the first chance I got.
Respectfully, of course. When the two of them finally left, my uncle gave me his attention.
“Thanks for tending to Celeste. When it comes to money exchanges, I like to keep that between men if there’s a woman involved. Call me old school, but a woman should never have to bring her purse out of the house if she’s with a man.”
“I feel you. Same shit your big brother instilled in me.”
“Yeah. I gotta see him in a few days. He never wants us to come visit, so I know it has to be an important matter. I spoke to the lawyer this morning, but like always, there aren’t any updates,” he expressed.
“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that. Is there any way we can look into getting a new lawyer on the case?”
“I’ve been looking into it, nephew. You focus on music and possibly taking over the shop. Let me deal with the lawyers and things. I got him. We gonna get him home,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
About half an hour later, I was leaving the shop and heading back home.
I had a few tracks I needed to listen to, but was now free for the rest of the day.
I hit Tripp’s ass up to see if he wanted to play ball, but he was out of town on business.
I thought about popping in on my mom, but decided to give her a break today.
Once I made it home, I washed the dishes in my sink and put a load of laundry on before rolling a blunt.
Sparking it, I settled into the chair of my home studio and got in my zone.
I was so caught up in what I was doing that I hadn’t realized how much time had gone by until my phone rang.
The number flashing across my screen didn’t look familiar, but I was in a line of business that caused this to happen frequently.
“Hello?”
“Shane?”
“Mia, why are you on my line?” I asked calmly as I blew out smoke.
“I just wanna talk. Will you please give me a few minutes to explain myself?”
“For what? It won’t change shit. Now please, I’m working. Don’t call me again.”
“Shane, please.” She sniffled.
I wasn’t moved by the tears, but part of me felt like if I gave Mia this closure conversation, she’d leave me the hell alone once and for all.
Honestly, I couldn’t care less about shit she had to say.
She’d made a decision she couldn’t come back from.
What she did wasn’t fair to me and that was a hill I’d die on.
When it came to a woman being pregnant, the topic was very touchy.
Yes, it was her body her choice, but I should’ve had an input.
“One last conversation, Mia. I meant what I said though. Nothin’ you say will make me wanna be with you again. We’re havin’ this conversation and you’re gonna carry on with your life like you’ve been doing. No more popping up at my momma’s house and no more phone calls to me,” I said sternly.
“Okay. Can we meet at Jerk Villa?”
“Cool. Be there in an hour.”
“You’re not gonna come pick me up so we can ride together?”
“Mia, please stop playin’ with me. It’s not that type of party, shorty. We can meet there or forget this conversation happened.”
After coming to her senses, she agreed to meet and I ended the call.
Jerk Villa was one of my favorite restaurants and I could go for a meal right about now.
Before leaving the house, I brushed my teeth and changed into another T-shirt.
It took me about thirty minutes to get there with all the traffic.
When I walked in, I saw Mia’s ass at one of the tables in the back and walked over.
I hoped she got out everything she needed to because I didn’t plan to stay long.
I intended on placing my order to-go and that would be all the time she’d be allotted for this pointless conversation.
“Hey, thanks for meeting me.”
“What’s up?”
“You don’t have to be so cold. I remember when we were together you never acted like that toward me. I’ve seen you be like this with other people, but never me.”
“That’s what happens when you cross me, Mia. In your case, you betrayed me. I lay in bed with yo’ ass and you did some fucked up shit.”
When she got ready to respond, the waitress walked up with a small device in hand to take our orders. Once Mia was done, I rattled off my order and made sure she knew it was to-go.
“Why are you getting your food to-go? I thought we were eating together.”
“Nah. I’m only here so you can get this shit off your chest. After that, I’m out.”
“I get that you’re upset about what I did, but why are you going so hard behind it? You said you didn’t plan on moving to New York. How was that going to work with both of us ten plus hours apart?”
“We could’ve made some shit work, Mia. Even if I had to sacrifice and move out there temporarily, or go back and forth, I would’ve made it work.
When you have children, everything changes.
It’s no longer about us, it’s about the baby.
A baby you didn’t even tell me you were pregnant with.
You know… it’s crazy. I’m usually good at spotting a snake from a mile away, but I never thought you’d sneak past me like that.
You raw as hell for that shit but I can promise it won’t happen again,” I vented.
“I didn’t do it to be a snake. I did it because I thought it was the best choice for both of us. Our relationship was in a good place. We were good and I know a baby would’ve complicated that.”
Placing my elbows on the table, I leaned forward and asked a serious question. She wasn’t getting where I was coming from, so I made it simple for her.
“Mia… Let’s pretend you told me you were pregnant. Had I told you to get an abortion, would you have done it?”
“If I wanted to.”
“That’s my point. At the end of the day, you did exactly what you wanted to do.
You took away my rights. You know me well enough to know I never would’ve said no shit like that, but you never gave me a chance.
Why would I take you back knowing what you’re capable of?
How do I know that shit won’t happen again?
You’re all the way in New York. You can hide that shit easily, like you did the first time. ”
“I wouldn’t do that again. That experience is one I never wanna go through again,” she said as she rested her forehead in her hands.
“That experience was one you didn’t have to go through. You know, I was halfway hoping you’d come here and finally tell me the truth.”
“I am telling the truth, Shane.”
“I don’t believe you. I know you too well and can’t shake the feeling that you did what you did because it wasn’t mine. Had you not asked me to go in that shoe box, I would’ve never known about the pregnancy.”
“That’s not true,” she said lowly.
Thankfully, the waitress was heading in our direction with my bag of food in hand.
I was ready to be anywhere but near Mia’s ass.
Once I had my food, I stood and turned toward the exit.
Mia called my name repeatedly, but I paid her no attention.
The shit with us was a wrap and I hoped she’d get that through her head sooner than later.