Chapter 19
Nessa
Moving my wrist around, I tried my best to loosen the knot while I was alone.
I never expected Desmond to pull no shit like this all because I didn’t want to be with him anymore.
I tried to stay calm for the sake of the baby.
Being away from Nyla with the uncertainty of the future was weighing heavy on me.
A part of me was blaming myself for even allowing him to still have access to me.
The sound of footsteps neared the door as I stopped trying to break free.
I kept my eye on the door as I waited for whoever was outside to enter.
The door slowly opened as Desmond walked in with a smirk on his face.
My anger rose as I thought of spitting on his smug face for the bullshit he was putting me through, but I had to keep calm.
With Nas coming to my rescue, I didn’t want to do anything that would put me or my unborn in harm’s way.
He didn’t say anything as he just watched me intensely.
“Why are you doin’ this?” I demanded some answers. “Can’t believe these are the depths you’re willin’ to go because I didn’t want to be with you.”
“Let’s be fuckin’ forreal the only reason you broke up with me was because that nigga got out and started showerin’ you with gifts tryna lil’ boy me,” Desmond hissed.
“That’s not true! You can’t blame Nas for yo’ fuckups, Desmond.”
“And how the fuck did I fuck up?”
“You were droppin’ the ball when it came to me. Allowin’ Nas to come and step up.”
“I told you I was goin’ thru shit, but you didn’t care!”
“I fuckin’ cared! I even helped in anyway I could nigga! Don’t fuckin’ disrespect me by discreditin’ me for everythin’ I’ve done for you. ‘Cause lets not fuckin’ forget who’s house yo’ ass stayin’ at.”
“I mean you helped but you didn’t understand.”
“I didn’t understand?! Desmond you can’t be fuckin’ forreal right now.
If I didn’t understand I wouldn’t have been there for you.
Wait, nawl, now I don’t understand if you felt that way why not just fuckin’ say somethin’ instead of all of this.
It’s not too late for you to just let me go and I’ll make Nas let it all go. How does that sound?”
“Like a fucked up idea. I’ll be out of three million if I go with that dumbass shit.”
“I can’t fuckin’ believe you’re doin’ all of this ‘cause I broke up with you, bruh.”
“As bad as you want this to be ‘bout the breakup, it’s not.”
“Then what’s the reason?”
“Payback.”
As if on cue the door was kicked open as the masked person walked in.
My breath got caught in my throat as they stood in front of me.
The voice I’d just had was nonexistent as fear consumed my whole body.
While I waited for what was coming I looked around the room for Desmond.
The figure blocked my view and when I looked up at him, I was met with a forceful slap to the face.
The entire left side of my face stung from the blow.
“Slick, what the fuck,” Desmond challenged. “You said she wouldn’t get hurt!”
“That bitch ain’t hurt,” Slick cursed. “Probably a lil’ dazed but she ain’t hurt. A bitch like her can take a lot before she gives up information on a nigga she loves.”
“She doesn’t love that nigga, she loves me.”
“Nigga, are you dumb? If she loved yo’ ass you think you’d be ok with the shit that happened at her house? Hell, she was hurt there but still you went on like business as usual. So, miss with all this bullshit yo’ ass talkin’.”
“The payday was too big to pass up, but I’m tellin’ you she can’t stand that nigga.”
“Yeah, ok,” he scoffed before focusing his attention back on me. “Nawl, speakin’ of info what do you know ‘bout yo’ BD’s business.”
“He doesn’t tell me anythin’,” I chided before spitting out blood and a piece of a crown I had done on one of my teeth. “But like you said I can take a lot before I give up any info. So, do yo best just hope you do it before the devil you just woke up comes.”
We silently challenged each other as we held eye contact.
The last thing this nigga should’ve expected was me to tell him anything although I truly didn’t know anything.
Well, I didn’t know anything about the business, but I knew what I’d just expressed was the truth.
From the tone of Nas’s voice, I could tell that the part of him that he’d tried to suppress had woken up.
Just as he raised his hand, Desmond grabbed him before informing him that Nas probably had the money by now.
“Just so you know when I get this bread from yo’ nigga I’ma pay him back from doin’ this,” he held his hands in front of my eyes. I noticed each hand had a thick scar down the middle. “An eye for a fuckin’ eye, but in this case a hand.”
They left the room leaving me to my thoughts.
I thought of what Nyla could be doing and if she was worried about me.
Knowing Nas I doubt he allowed this to cause her pain, so he probably concocted a story about me being away.
From what I’d observed over the months as Nas navigated fatherhood, he wasn’t gonna intentionally cause any pain to Nyla.
My mind shifted to Nas not him now, but the Nas that I met as a girl walking the block.
Back then, life was a lot simpler. At fifteen, the only thing I was worried about was what I was wearing to school and my mama when she’d get too drunk to come home.
A boy was the last of my concerns until the day I bumped into Nas.
My mama hadn’t come home the night before and I waited until noon to go look for her.
As I power walked down the sidewalk, I was stopped when a basketball rolled in front of me.
I grabbed it to prevent it from going into the road in case some little kids were coming after it.
When I turned to throw the ball back, I felt as if the world slowed down as Nas walked over towards me.
He was shirtless with sweat running down his chest. His mouth was moving but I didn’t know what he’d said.
My eyes drifted down the hair on his stomach to his shorts.
The life I could see us living flashed before me as he stopped in front of me.
“You gonna give me my ball back, lil’ mama?” He asked as I was jolted back to reality.
“Oh, yeah, my bad,” I expressed as I handed him the ball.
“Damn, you fine. I seen you a few times in the neighborhood, but you don’t be hangin’ out much.”
“Yeah, it ain’t nothin’ to get into outside other than some trouble.”
“Not if you with me.”
“Yeah huh. Yo’ ass ain’t nothin’ but trouble.”
“Oh, so you know ‘bout me?”
“Everybody knows ‘bout Ms. Eva’s grandson, Nasir.”
“I like the way you say my government but call me Nas.”
“Uh huh. Well, if you’ll excuse me I got stuff to do, Nasir.”
“Hardheaded, I like that,” he chuckled before throwing the ball back towards the guys at the court. He followed me when I walked off. “Where you headed?”
“What you wanna know for? And why is you followin’ me?”
“I’m not followin’ but comin’ with you, and I wanna know so I can know what I’m gettin’ myself into.”
“If you just turn around you won’t have to worry ‘bout what you gettin’ yo’self into.”
“Nope, not gettin’ rid of me that easily.”
“If you must know I’m lookin’ for my mama, Daphne. She didn’t come home last night.”
“Good thing I did come then, Nessa.”
“Wait, you know my name?” I gasped as I stopped in my tracks.
“Just like you say everybody knows ‘bout Nasir,” he stopped a few steps in front of me before facing me with a smirk on his face. “Nasir knows ‘bout you, Vanessa. Now, come so I can keep you safe.”
“Keep me safe?”
“Yeah, Nessa, safe. From here on out I got you, always.”
The trip down memory lane was cut short as gunshots erupted.
It felt like an entirety before the shots stopped, and at that point I was anxious to see who’d come out victorious.
My heart was beating so fast I could feel it in my ears.
Scared of who was on the other side of the door when I heard footsteps outside I didn’t say anything.
A few seconds later, the door was knocked off the hinges causing me to look away.
“Nessa!” Nas yelled as he ran over to me. I was so stunned I couldn’t even find the words to express to him how happy I was he’d found me. He wiped my lip and I noticed that blood was on his thumb. “They made you bleed. I’ma kill those fuck niggas.”
“Nas,” my voice trembled as it fully registered that I was safe. “Nas, you found me?”
“Of course. I’d burn the world down to find you, Nessa. I told you I got you always, and I meant that shit.”
“Where’s Desmond?” I questioned as we made our way out of the rundown house.
“He was shot, but he’s not dead. We got him so we can find out who he was workin’ with.”
“Slick.”
“Huh?”
“He was workin’ with some nigga named Slick. You gotta find him! He wants to kill you and me because of something you did to his hands?”
“To his hands huh? Ok, I’ll worry ‘bout him after we get you and the baby checked out.”
“Ok.”
“Everything seems to be just fine,” the doctor expressed as she moved the probe of the ultrasound machine over my stomach. “The fall you had didn’t effect baby boy at all.”
“Boy?!” Nas jumped up from his spot next to me. “Doc, you just said she pregnant with my baby boy?!”
“Yes sir. Wait, did y’all not know?”
“Nope, we just found out she was pregnant.”
“Oh yeah she fifteen weeks and six days. And he’s as healthy as an ox. Let me print these pictures before I go get you some samples of prenatal vitamins.”