Rosama
It had been a few days, and I hadn’t seen or talked to Nylah. She said she needed some space. I don’t know what for. She wasn’t leaving me. I wasn't gonna let that shit happen.
Even though she didn’t want to see me, I made sure she knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I sent her the key to the storage room. I sent flowers and other gifts while still taking care of some of her bills.
I missed her like crazy, and I wanted her back around me, but in the meantime, I needed to focus on three things: my money, finding that bitch ass nigga Blaze, and fuckin’ Mariah.
I sat around my crib waiting on a drop on that nigga, but didn’t hear shit.
I was getting madder with each passing day, and on top of that, Mariah still wouldn’t sign the damn papers.
The only thing that was moving right was my money.
Dre had my shit flying through Brooklyn, and all I had to do was wait for the knock at my door.
But even when I tried to focus on that otha shit, my mind kept drifting back to Nylah like she lived there rent-free.
The way she used to look at me, like I wasn’t the nigga everybody said I was.
The way she used to check me and was neva scared to, like most people.
I wasn’t used to that, but with her, I didn’t mind it.
And that shit had me fucked up.
I leaned back on my couch, staring at the ceiling, running my hand ova my face, mad at myself for what I did.
As I sat there sulking in my thoughts, my phone rang on the table, snapping me outta my thoughts. I grabbed it quick, thinking—hoping it was Nylah, but it was Dre.
“Yeah,” I answered.
“I got somethin’,” he said, getting straight to the point.
I sat up. “Where?”
He gave me the location, voice low. That nigga already knew what was bout to happen.
“Bet, you sliding?” I asked.
“You know it.”
“Iight,” I said, getting up off my couch. “I’ll slide through in a few.
I hung up, got dressed, grabbed my keys and my Glock, and walked outta my place. My focus instantly shifted from Nylah and was all on Blaze.
That nigga moved like he disappeared off the face of the earth, all because he wanted to move dirty and knew making it easy to catch him was just signing his death certificate early.
When I pulled up to the trap, Dre was sitting on the steps and walked down to the whip before I could throw it in park.
“You ready for this?” Dre asked as he got in my whip.
I dapped him up. “You already know. Blaze knew what the fuck was gonna happen when he chose to move dirty.”
We pulled away from the trap and headed to the address that Dre sent me. Once we got there, I pulled off to the side, not too close to the house but close enough to see who was coming and going.
Wasn’t shit special about the crib, just a regular ass house not far from the hood. A couple of cars were parked in front of the house, nothing moving fast. Nothing stood out.
I leaned back in my seat, eyes on the front door. Dre didn’t say shit, just watched with me.
“How long they been stayin’ here?” I asked.
“My nigga told me since he popped up on ol’ girl. He said Blaze been bragging bout the shit, him and shorty that he used to set you up.”
“She in there too?”
“I think. Blaze knew your ass was comin’, boy. He got the fuck out the way!” Dre said, laughing.
I nodded. “Yeah, and he gonna see how well that works for them.”
We sat there for a few more minutes, just watching. A few cars drove by. A lady ran by with her dog. Nothing more than that, and I was getting bored.
“Iight,” I said, reaching for my Glock. “Let's go.”
We hopped outta the car and walked up on the sidewalk like we belonged there, not rushing, not being extra.
By the time we got to the door, I didn’t even hesitate. I pushed it open and stepped in. As soon as we stepped foot inside, we saw nobody was in the living room but heard talking coming from up the hall.
It sounded like them two clown ass niggas, maybe a third, and two bitches.
I knocked on the door, then we stood there. We heard feet coming toward the door.
As soon as Blaze bent the corner and saw us, that nigga froze.
“It ain’t the Grim Reaper,” I said. “But I'm finna send you on.”
I pointed my Glock at Blaze, and he went running up the hall, yelling at the rest of the people in the back, letting them know I was there.
The bitches screamed, asking them niggas what to do, and none of them had a clue, which made me and Dre laugh as we walked up the hall getting closer to them. All of a sudden, we heard Blaze yell, "MOVE," and he came outta the room rushing toward us.
I caught him and slammed him against the wall.
“Where the fuck you thought you were goin’?” I asked.
He looked at me. That hard exterior that he had melted away quick.
“Man, Rosama, come on,” he said with his feet dangling off the ground. “We are boys. We been niggas since a jit, and this is how you gonna move?” he asked.
I looked back at Dre, damn near confused like that nigga wasn’t causing all the issues we had.
“Did jail fuck ya head up, nigga?” I asked. “You set me up to lose my bitch for what? What the fuck you gain from it?”
“Man, the bitch played me. She knew she was on your dick when I met her. Bitches don’t play with me.”
I laughed. “Who the fuck do you think you are? You are a Brooklyn nigga that JUST got outta the pen. You don’t have any money ‘cause you more worried about pussy than g’tting a bag that I tried to put you on to, and you are not the nigga around Brooklyn.
That spot been taken for years, by me. You are just a worker, a fan, and a nigga that can’t get right. ”
That lame ass nigga stole me in my face, making me laugh like I wasn’t the one with the Glock. I upped it and shot the nigga in the middle of his forehead before he could think twice about the dumb mistake he had just made.
When them bitches and Brandon heard the sound of the Glock ring out, they poked their heads out, and Brandon lost it.
“NOOOOO!!!” he cried out. “Brah, Blaze, get the fuck up!”
“He’s gone, boo,” one of the girls said. “You need to come back in here.”
Brandon closed Blaze’s eyes, and his attention turned to us.
“Now, I can give you a pass, or you can make your brotha’s issue yours. How you want to move?”
Brandon stared us down for a minute, then exhaled.
“I will take care of brah,” he said, sounding so defeated.
I nodded. “Smart man.”
As me and Dre walked outta the house, I yelled back and asked, “Are you ready to get to the money?”
“Yeah, Ro, I will get with you tomorrow.”
I tapped Dre on his chest. “I knew that nigga was the smart one.”
We walked out, got in the whip, and sped off.
“I can’t believe you let Brandon live,” Dre expressed.
“He was following his brotha, that nigga is not the leader type.”
After stopping at the pizza place around the corner from the trap, we got there and sat on the steps, watching the traffic in the streets. Kids were playing, old heads cleaning their cars, and the neighborhood ladies were off to the side talking nasty bout me and my nigga.
As I ate my pizza, I checked my phone. I didn’t have no missed calls or texts from Nylah, and that shit was blowing me.
“You still haven’t heard from her?”
“No, we kinda talked the otha day. I told her it wasn’t cheating ‘cause it was just head.”
“And how did she take that?” Dre asked.
“Man, she hung up in my face.”
Dre laughed. “That’s tough. Like I said before, she will come around.”
I nodded. “She has no choice but to come around. I already told her she’s not leavin’ me. I been sending her shit, takin’ care of bills and more than I was before.”
“Damn… Lemme find out it took for a bitch to dodge you a few times for you to get ya act right.”
I laughed along with Dre.
“Shorty is different; the way she moves, speaks, and her designs are fire. She is the truth.”
“Well, if she is all that, what are you gonna do to fix shit?”
I stood up and passed Dre my trash to throw away.
“I don’t know, but I'm finna go to the crib and figure that shit out.”
I hopped back in my car, pulled off heading home, until I thought about the other thing I needed to put my focus on for a minute.
Mariah.
I hit a U-turn and headed to her house while I called my lawyer for an update.
“Yo,” I said as soon as he answered.
“Yes, sir, Rosama. What can I do for you?” he asked.
“You already know my question. Before I spazz out, did she sign?”
Mr. Allen paused before he responded.
“No, sir, she hasn’t. I sent her a message. I know the ladies in here tried to call her, but she is not responding.”
“Okay, I’ma get it taken care of.”
I was about to hang up on him, but he yelled out.
“Rosama…”
“What?” I said with some force behind it.
“You know I been your lawyer for a long time now, and I know you very well.”
“Yeah, and?” I questioned.
“All I’ma say is, don’t do somethin’ I won’t be able to get you out of.”
I smirked. “I got you, Mr. Allen. Good talk.”
I hung up with him, lit my blunt, and skated to her house. Moving through traffic and not hitting a red light or getting behind an accident made me cheer up a lil’ bit, like God was telling me I was about to get that shit signed.
When I pulled up to her crib, I sat there for a minute, finished my blunt, and thought about a different approach to get what I wanted from her.
Once my blunt was done, I exhaled, getting myself ready for whateva was about to come.
I hopped outta my car, walked up to the door, and knocked.
I saw her see me through the window, and a smile came over her face.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath.
“Hey, Rosama,” she said as she opened the door.
“Hey, Mariah, can we talk?” I asked softly.
She moved to the side. “Yes, sure. I would like that. Come in.”
I walked in, headed to the kitchen, with her behind me. I took a seat at the table and watched as she walked around.
“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Nah, luv, I'm good. This won’t take long.”
Mariah sat at the otha end of the table.
“I hope it does.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Hope what does?”
“I hope this conversation takes long. We have a lot to talk about.”
I exhaled slowly, trying to remind myself to stay calm with her crazy ass.
“Okay, well, Mariah, I came ova here to talk to you about us. I was thinkin’ that I was handling shit the wrong way.”
She nodded. “Yes, I agree with you on that.”
“I think that instead of demanding somethin’ from you, I should have come and talked to you about it—”
“You should have. I have been trying to get you to talk for a long time now.”
I nodded. “I know, so I am here now trying to do things the right way, so I hope you can meet me halfway.”
Mariah reached her hand across the table. I was hesitant about what I was about to say, but I thought she was listening.
“Mariah, I am sorry for sleepin’ with Monica. I was wrong, and I am sorry I came between a friendship that was longer than me and you. That shouldn’t have happened as many times as it did. I know that I hurt you. I know you went through a dark time, and I take full accountability for that.”
She tilted her head, but gave me a slight smile. “Okay, Rosama, I forgive you.”
I nodded, feeling like we were off to a great start—a better start than any otha time—and I continued.
“Now, for what I'm about to say, you might be mad at me.”
“I won’t, I promise,” she chimed in before I could finish.
“Mariah, we have been down since we were kids, and to be honest with you, I fell outta love with you a long time ago. Probably when I started messing with Monica. I neva wanted to hurt you. That’s why I didn't file a year or two ago. When you caught me with Monica, I thought you would have filed, but you didn’t. ”
“Because I wanted us to work out. I wanted us to fix things, to make us better,” she blurted out.
“I get that, Mariah, and to do that it takes two people, and I am not willing to do that. It’s crazy to me how you know her, but Nylah, I love her.”
I could see the tears forming in Mariah's eyes.
“I'm not tryin’ to marry her yet or anythin’, but when I do, I want to make sure this shit is straight. So please, Mariah, sign the papers for me—for us, really.”
Mariah pulled her hand away from mine and sat back in her chair.
“How dare you,” she said slowly. I palmed my face with my hand, knowing where this was about to go.
“You came over here being all nice and shit to tell me you are in love, Rosama?” Mariah asked with an attitude.
“No, I am trying to get you to see somethin’ that’s been put in your face for a long time now.”
“You are not trying to tell me shit that I don’t already know.”
“Oh, yeah?” I shot back. “So you know I don’t love you. You know it is nothin’ to be fixed between us.”
That made her shut up for a second. Mariah took a deep breath with her eyes closed and opened them back up with a weird-ass smile on her face.
“Rosama, my husband, I love you. I still love you, and I want us to fix our marriage.”
“Are you slow, girl?” I asked. “Or are you on some shit? Mariah, you have been trippin’. You set me up, you trashed my girl's porch, you was crazy with her ass, and she don’t even know shit about us—”
“Oh,” she said, cutting me off. “So you keeping your wife from your girl? What do you think she would do if she found out?”
I leaned across the table. “You better leave her the fuck out of this shit.”
Mariah laughed. “Or what, Rosama? Scared ya bitch might leave you? It’s okay; it don’t seem like you have any problems getting one.”
Mariah thought this shit was a game, but I wasn’t playing the slightest bit. I reached across the table before she could even think about it and yanked her up while walking backward, pressing her against the wall.
“Play with me when it comes to her if you want to—”
“You care about that girl more than me?” Mariah asked.
“I do. I want her. I don’t want shit to do with you.”
Mariah started crying, and I dropped her to the ground. I didn’t feel like hearing her shit.
“Mariah, just sign the papers. We don’t have to have any issues, and it could be cool if you just did this one thing.”
Mariah looked up at me. “Rosama, I am not repeating myself. I am not signing shit until you give us a chance.”
“Fuck it then, bitch!” I said, walking to the front door. “Plan your fuckin’ funeral.”
As I opened the door, I thought about it.
“And anotha thing, you crazy ass bitch. I was sleepin’ with Monica for a whole fuckin’ year! I wanted to get caught and get rid of you, but like a fuckin’ gnat, you neva fuckin’ leave!”
I slammed her door shut, hopped in my car, and pulled off, mad at myself again.
My day was gonna end on a high note. I got Blaze, and I should have just gone home, but instead, I fucked with crazy.
I thought about the whole conversation with Mariah my whole drive home, and when I got to my crib, something I said made my heart skip a beat.
I told Mariah Nylah didn’t know about her, and I didn’t know how she was gonna carry that shit.
Once inside my place, I got changed and rolled up, trying to find a lil’ bit of peace as I thought.
My next mission was to get Nylah back around me. Hopefully, that would keep Mariah away from her until my birthday. That's her deadline, anyway.