Chapter 12
Plotting
“That bitch Trina,” I said to myself as I paced my cell.
That bitch thought being on some get-back shit while I was locked was a smart move. She’s dumb as hell, but she wasn’t gonna get the attention she wanted.
I needed Islah, and she was mad at a nigga. I checked the time, and I had about ten minutes before the next count. I rushed outta my cell over to the phone and tried to call her.
She banged my shit; it went straight to voicemail. I held the phone away from my face, looking at it fucked up, and tried to call again. She answered, but before I could get a word out, she banged on me again.
I slammed the phone on the hook, and it echoed through the whole jail, making every nigga in that bitch look at me as I walked back to my cell.
As I hopped up in my bed, my celly, Monte, came in.
“You iight, nigga?” he asked.
I was reluctant to tell a nigga in jail my business, but that nigga had been cool with me since I’ve been in there, and plus, word had already passed around the jail not to fuck with me.
“My girl mad at me.”
He laughed. “Because you in here? That bitch probably been cheatin—”
“Watch ya mouth,” I said, sitting up. “That’s wifey, she’s not on that shit. I had…an arrangement with this bitch for some work. Once my girl started to put the pressure on me about marriage, I told that bitch I was done with her. But since I’ve been in here, she made herself known to my girl.”
Monte shook his head. “Damn, nigga, my bad. That’s who came to see you?”
“Yeah, she came to tell me she done and shit.”
“Damnnn, nigga, while you’re locked? My apologies, my nigga.”
I mean-mugged that nigga. “For what? She’s not done with a nigga for real. She can think what she wants.”
He nodded.
“I’ma wait till Chris gets here tonight and get his phone and see if I can holla at her then.”
Monte nodded again, but this time he had a look on his face, and I tilted my head, looking at him.
“I can help you out with a phone; I can get it to you tonight.”
I hopped off my bed.
“What you on, my nigga?”
He looked outside the cell just as the intercom was announcing the lockdown for count.
“My girl, I can call her after this count. She brought two in for me so far.”
I nodded, rubbin’ my hands together. I was about to be unstoppable behind these bars.
“Get that for me.”
“I got you.”
I dapped him up, and I hopped back on my bed just as the guard was coming by to count.
About ten more minutes passed before the doors unlocked and Monte left, and while he was gone, I closed my eyes, remembering how Islah looked in that dress I liked to see her in.
That was my favorite dress I liked to take off her.
I didn’t like that she was upset; it damn near hurt my heart. She was cold, but she forgot.
When it came to her, I was colder.
I was about to doze off when I heard, “Aye, she will be here before visiting hours are over.”
I smiled to myself.
“That’s what it is. Let me sleep, wake me when you get that shit.”
That nigga nodded and walked back. I dozed back off with my mind still spinning, thinking about the look on her face, the hurt I felt in her voice. The only thing I ever wanted to put in her body was my dick. Never hurt.
I fucked up.
But I was gonna fix it. Islah was gonna be my wife, have my kids, and walk around that big ass house I bought half naked, counting up our cash. That was my dream, and it wasn’t outta my reach.
I don’t know how long I was asleep before Monte was tappin’ my foot. I looked down at him, and he had a grin on his face.
“What, nigga?!” That nigga was starting to bother me, just staring at me, not sayin’ shit.
Monte looked around, then slid me a phone with a charger. “She already loaded some minutes on it.”
I sat up and snatched it up like it was a brick of work.
My heart was beating fast, not cause of fear, but because of excitement.
I hid it, giving Monte a nod for his good work and continuing to chill, thinking of my plan to get my girl back and everything else I needed to handle while I waited for the call for dinner.
After dinner, I went to the rec room to watch the shift change, to see if my nigga was coming in.
I flipped through the channels, looking for something to watch, but only found shit I would lie up and watch with Islah.
I shook my head; she had my head gone, and that was cool.
It was supposed to be like that, but her telling me she was leaving was not supposed to be bouncing around my head.
I heard some niggas talking and snapped outta my thoughts. I looking around and saw the guards talking and my nigga Chris clockin’ in. I got up and headed back to my cell. That nigga was my dawg.
They called for count, and I waited by the door. Once Chris came down my line, I dapped him up and told him what I was on. That nigga was cool with it; he low-key wanted to get plugged in.
Once all my bases were covered, I made my call, listening to each ring in my ear, each longer than the other. I thought she wasn’t gonna answer, but then I heard her voice.
“Hello?” Her voice was low and confused.
“Yo,” I said low and calm. “It’s me.”
There was a pause, then she sucked her teeth. “You got ten minutes, Gio.”
I shook my head.
“Man, come on, baby, you know damn well I’m not gonna let you leave me. Whatever that bitch told you, I promise you it’s not.” I paused and made sure no other guard was coming. “I was using that bitch for work, that’s it.”
“Did you fuck her, Gio? And don’t lie to me.”
I paused. I didn’t know if I should lie or not; I didn’t know what she already knew.
“Yeah… I did, a few times, baby, but it was just for work. She was giving it to me for free from her daddy. But once you were on me ‘bout marriage and shit, I stopped all that shit with her. I was gonna stop anyway because Loc was putting me on with his pops.”
After I pleaded my case, the line went silent. I checked the phone, thinking she hung up, but she didn’t.
“So it only stopped because I pressured you into marriage? If I didn’t do that, you would still be fuckin’ with that bitch?”
“No, Islah,” I shot back. “No, I was done with that bitch. I just said I was using her, mostly to do all that you wanted.”
Islah went silent again.
“Gio, that doesn’t make shit better. You made that choice to step out on me.”
“You are right, baby. I fucked up, I know I did. I’m sorry.”
Her pauses were getting to me.
“I thank you for apologizing, but like I said, Gio, we are over. You did that for years, baby, it wasn’t just once.”
Now I paused.
“Islah,” I hissed, my tone sharp now, “You are not gonna walk away from me, baby. That shit is not gonna fly, not when I’m admitting my wrong.”
Her laugh was cold. “Gio, I said what I said, and I stand on it. We are done! I’m not coming back. I’m moving on, and hopefully the next nigga I’m with knows how to be faithful.”
I slammed my hand against the wall, making the bunk shake. “Girl, who the fuck you think you talkin’ to? You remember this your nigga Gio, right? You know damn well this fuckin’ cage won’t stop me! I got a phone in this bitch to call you, didn’t I?” Islah didn’t say shit.
“I’ll tear this whole mothafucka down if I have to. You know I ain’t ever cared.”
“You lost me, Gio,” she said. Her voice didn’t shake; it never did.
That made it worse. “Three years of you holding off on our life because you was fuckin’ another bitch FOR CRACK!
And you didn’t have to. At any point, you could have gotten a job, you could have sold cars, made music.
Hell, baby, you could have picked up trash, and I would have been by your side like I always was.
But a bitch that comfortable to pop up at our house, pop up at court, then send pictures.
That’s too much for me. That’s crossing too many lines. I’m done, Gio.”
I sat on the bed and exhaled. “You are not done with me, Islah. We are not done. That bitch just wanted your spot; she knew she could never have it.”
“Well…” she said before she exhaled slow. “Now she can have it.”
I opened my mouth and caught myself trying to control my anger when it came to her.
“Islah, baby. I’m trying to tell you. You bringing something outta me I never wanted you to see. I don’t play about you. I never did, I never will.”
She laughed again, like she was trying to get under my skin on purpose.
“Gio, I’m not making you do anything. All you have to do is let me go.”
Now I laughed.
“I loved you, Islah, seven years down, and you ‘bout to make a nigga show you why niggas out here fear me. The reason why you ran to me in the first place, the reason why you feel so safe with me.”
Islah exhaled. I could hear her sniffling, trying to wipe away tears.
“Gio, I just can’t. We have to be done.”
I sat there and listened to my baby cry, and the only thing I wanted was to wrap her up in my arms. In that moment, I didn’t give a fuck about my bond, the time, the fuckin’ cage I was in.
I lost every important person in my life: my momma, daddy, and brother.
I never cared if the world was against me, but her?
That was never gonna happen. The phone was still pressed to my ear, and I could hear her whisper.
“We’re done.”
I exhaled loud and shook my head. “Iight, Islah, I’ma give you space for now. But I want you to remember. You are mine, you will always be mine, and no nigga is gonna touch what’s mine. I will burn the city and whoever I need to get you back if I need to.”
The line went dead.
I leaned back on my bed, breathing heavy, listening to the noise around me. I know she was hurt, but I was mad. Mad that I was gonna have to come out of my pocket and show my baby a side of me that I never wanted her to see.
I used to be a… diabolical nigga, but after some losses and meeting her, I calmed down a lot. But all that calm, cool nigga shit is out the window. One thing for sure, two things for certain, Islah wasn’t leaving me.