CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Trigg
I was sitting on the couch in my condo, my mind still fucked up from what happened to BooMan. I kept seeing that shit play over and over, the car pulling up, the shots, all that blood. My nigga was gone, just like that, and I couldn't shake it.
Ya'mya was next to me, scrolling through her phone, but I could tell she had something on her mind. She always got that look when she wanted to talk about some shit I didn't want to discuss.
Nova, was on the floor playing with her toys. She was only sixteen months, happy as hell, not knowing the world was fucked up. Tasha had dropped her off a few hours ago so she could go on some date with some nigga she met.
"Trigg," Mya said, finally breaking the silence.
"What's good?" I said, not looking at her.
"We need to talk."
I sighed. "About what, Mya?"
"About us," she said, setting her phone down. "About why you don't want to commit."
Here we go with this shit again.
"Mya, not right now," I said, rubbing my face. "I ain't in the mood for this."
"You never in the mood for this," she shot back. "Every time I bring it up, you got an excuse. 'Not right now, Mya. I'm tired, Mya.' When we gonna talk about it then?"
I looked at her, my jaw tight. "Man, what you want me to say? We good how we is. Why we gotta put a title on shit?"
"Because I want to know where we stand!" she said, her voice rising. "We been doing this for over a year, Trigg. I'm with you all the time, I do everything for you, and you still won't call me your woman?"
"You know how I feel about you, Mya. Why I gotta say it?"
"Because words matter!" She stood up, crossing her arms. "I'm tired of feeling like I'm just some bitch you fuck with when you feel like it."
"That's not what this is and you know it," I said, my voice getting harder. "I take care of you, don't I? I took you to Jamaica last month. I give you money. I pay bills, and you here with me right now. What more you want from me?"
"I want you to claim me!" she yelled. "I want to know that I'm not wasting my time!"
I stood up too, getting in her face. "You ungrateful as fuck, you know that? I do all this shit for you and it's still not enough. I'm tired of talking about the same shit over and over, Mya. Deadass."
"Ungrateful?" She laughed, but it wasn't a real laugh. "Nigga, you think buying me shit means you don't gotta give me what I really want? I don't care about the money or the trips. I care about YOU!"
"And I'm HERE!" I yelled back. "What you not understanding?"
Before she could respond, my phone started ringing. I looked down and saw Tasha's name on the screen.
"Hol’ on," I said, answering it. "What's good, sis?"
"Trigg..." Her voice was shaking, crying. "I need you. Please, I need you right now."
My whole body tensed up. "What happened? Where you at?"
"Please just come get me," she sobbed. "I fucked up, bro. I fucked up bad."
"A'ight, a'ight, calm down. Send me your location. I'm on my way."
I hung up and grabbed my keys.
"What's going on?" Mya asked, her attitude gone now.
"I gotta go. Something's wrong with Tasha." I scooped Nova up off the floor. "I'm taking Nova to Kynessa crib real quick."
"Trigg—"
"I'll hit you later," I said, heading for the door. I didn’t give Mya a kiss or nothing, she blew me, and I wasn’t in the mood. I’m glad I got the call from Tasha so I could move around.
I strapped Nova in her car seat and drove to Kynessa's spot. She lived about ten minutes away. When I pulled up, I texted her and she came outside.
"What's wrong?" Kynessa asked, seeing my face.
"I don't know yet, but I need you to watch Nova for a minute. Tasha in some shit."
"Say less," she said, taking Nova out the car. "Go handle that. Call me if y'all need anything."
"Good looking."
I jumped back in my car and checked Tasha's location. She was at some house on the south side. I drove fast, my mind racing, wondering what the fuck happened.
* * *
When I pulled up to the address, I saw Tasha sitting on the porch steps, her face in her hands, her whole body shaking. I jumped out the car and ran over to her.
"Sis, what's wrong? What happened?"
She looked up at me, her eyes red and swollen, mascara running down her face.
"I killed him, Trigg. I killed him." My blood ran cold.
"What? Killed who?"
"The nigga I was on the date with," she sobbed. "He tried to... he tried to rape me, Trigg. We came back here and he…. He wouldn't stop. I told him no and he kept going and I…. I grabbed his gun and I shot him."
"Where he at?" I asked, keeping my voice steady even though my heart was pounding.
"Inside," she whispered. "On the living room floor."
I looked at the house, then back at her.
"A'ight. Stay right here. Don't move."
I went inside and saw exactly what she said. Dude was laid out on the floor, blood pooling around him, two shots to the chest. His eyes were still open but he was gone.
I went back outside and grabbed Tasha by her shoulders.
"Look at me. Look at me, Tash." She looked up, tears streaming down her face.
"I got you, a'ight? I got you. But we gotta move right now. We can't stay here."
"I can't go back to prison, Trigg," she cried. "I can't. They'll lock me up forever. I can't leave my baby."
"You ain't going to prison," I said firmly. "I promise you, you ain't going back. But we gotta go. Now. Get in the car."
She nodded, stumbling to her feet. I grabbed her purse and her phone from inside, wiped down anything she might've touched, and got her in the passenger seat.
As I drove away, my mind was going a hundred miles an hour. I knew she couldn't call the police. Tasha had a record; they would never believe that nigga tried to rape her and it was self-defense.
I had to get her out of the city. Out of the state. Fuck that I needed to get her outta the country.
Canada. That was the move. We could get to Detroit and cross the border from there.
* * *
We been driving for hours, headed north toward Detroit. My phone kept buzzing. Mya was calling me over and over again. I ignored every call. I couldn't explain this shit to her right now
"Trigg, your phone keep going off," Tasha said quietly, her voice hoarse from crying.
"I know."
"Is that Mya?"
"Yeah."
"You should answer. She probably worried."
"I'll call her later," I said, gripping the steering wheel tight. "Right now, my only focus is getting you out the city."
Tasha looked out the window, tears still rolling down her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry I dragged you into my shit once again."
"Man, you my sister," I said, glancing at her. "You ain't gotta apologize for shit. That nigga tried to hurt you. He got what he deserved."
"But what about Nova? What if I can't come back? What if I never see my baby again?"
"Don't talk like that," I said. "We gonna figure this shit out. Kynessa got her, she safe. Once we get you across the border, we'll lay low for a minute and figure out the next move. But you ain't going to prison. I promise I won't let that shit happen again."
She nodded, wiping her face.
My phone buzzed again. Mya. I silenced it and kept driving. I couldn’t think about Mya and her temper tantrum right now, my only concern was my sister and getting her to safety.