~~~Chapter 24~~~
“Did you decide on an outfit for Friday?” Jahreiah badgered over the phone.
“Yes, girl. For the millionth time,” I sighed into the phone, while sitting at my kitchen island, scrolling on my laptop, eyeing my stock portfolio. She had been going on and on about a private event she was hosting.
“Are you on your computer?” She nosily questioned.
“Yeah. I’m looking at all my financials, because I’m thinking about a new investment.”
“Well, whatever it is, I’m in,” she blindly offered.
At this point, most of my family had financial advisors on payroll for nothing, because they did nothing without running it by me first. And whenever they heard me mention some type of investment, then they immediately wanted in, swearing that I never missed.
“Okay, I got you,” I responded, before someone called on the other line. Pulling my phone back, I saw that it was Tootie calling. “I’ll call her back later,” I mumbled.
“Call who back?” Riah wanted to know.
I inhaled. “Tootie, girl. I know that she’s probably calling about the club or something.”
She tittered. “I don’t know when will she get it. She done officially lost her little running buddy. That constant club hopping era is over.”
I rolled my eyes. “Girl, bye. You’re talking like I’m an old woman. I’m definitely still stepping out from time to time. Tootie just over does it.”
“Pshh. Jaylah, please. The only time you wanna go out is when you’re mad at that nigga. Otherwise, your ass is put up, in the house. Which I find kinda funny, because you used to love to run the streets.”
“Oh, I still go outside. Trust me. Malice is just different. So, he doesn’t particularly care to be on the scene all the time. In fact, we’ve been going to his uncle’s hole in the wall club almost every week. The deejay plays the best old school music.”
“So, y’all have just been doing your own thing?”
“Basically.”
“Aint nothing wrong with it. But there’s gotta be a better balance, because you’re slacking on your sisterly time.”
I tittered. “Girl, bye. Y’all are just so used to me having more time to hang, when y’all feel like being bothered. Some things change, Riah. It’s just the way it is.”
“So, you don’t think that’s a bit anti-social?”
“Nope. I don’t think that you fully understand the space I’m in, because you’ve been with Sin J forever.
Y’all lives have been intertwined from the beginning.
So, he didn’t have to assimilate. He had his own relationship with our brothers.
So, he didn’t have to build that relationship.
On my end, I think that me and Malice are staying lowkey right now, because this is still relatively new.
So, we spend a lot of time in secluded spaces, trying to find our footing, before we let the world in.
If this was just about a look, then sure, we’d be everywhere.
Mingling. Doing couples shit, before we even know who we are in this relationship. ”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Right then, the doorbell sounded.
“Oh, good. My food is here.” I stood up.
“You DoorDashed?”
“Yep. I had a taste for a seafood boil, and didn’t feel like driving,” I explained, while traveling through my house.
“You mean to tell me Chef Malice didn’t cook?”
“Nope. He wanted a seafood boil too.”
“So, he’s at home, right now?”
“Yeah. Him and Khari are taking a nap,” I let her know, while jogging downstairs. “They’ll probably be up in a few,” I guessed, while approaching the door. “Hi,” I smiled, as I pulled the door open.
“Tell Khamere to come out here and talk to me,” Paisley demanded, as she stood on my porch, clad in mere tiny Nike biker shorts and a sports bra.
She was flanked by three other girls, who were all dressed similarly. They were all decent looking, ranging from the shade of chocolate to caramel. I’m pretty sure that they were probably Paisley’s running buddies or something, because none of them appeared too threatening.
I frowned, as my heart pounded in my chest. “The fuck are you doing here?”
“Jaylah, who is that?!” Riah loudly questioned.
“Paisley. She just pulled up with three bitches,” I spoke into my phone.
“Oh, hell no! I’m on the way, but stay on the phone!”
“Bitch, you can’t hear?” One of the girls spat. “Go get that nigga, before we get to dragging yo ass out here.”
“Oh, I can definitely go get him,” I claimed, knowing damn well that if I was going to get anything, then it would be my gun. “But I’m trying to figure out why y’all are on my property.”
“Because we can.” Paisley folded her arms across her breasts. “And what? The fuck are you gonna do about it?”
“Exactly,” another broad co-signed.
“It’s the playing dumb for me,” a different girl wisecracked. “Like you aint laying up with the next bitch’s nigga over here.”
“The next bitch’s nigga?” I crinkled my nose.
“Nah, you bitches have clearly been duped into tagging along on a dummy mission. The fuck I look like playing second to anybody? Paisely and that man haven’t been a thing for damn near six months.
And I guess she’s been doing a good job of painting a narrative, until he locked her ass out of that house. ”
“Shut up, hoe!” Paisley raged, as she charged at me.
My natural reflex kicked that bitch right in her stomach, knocking the wind out of her.
“Bitch,” somebody gritted, as they snatched my hair, attempting to yank me back.
That’s when the other girls seized that opportunity to attack.
I don’t remember when I dropped my phone, as I was swinging.
They kept trying to slam me on the ground, but I wouldn’t budge.
Then when one of those bitches got close enough, I placed them in a headlock, while everybody else was kicking and punching me.
“I oughta slice this bitch’s face,” Paisley gritted, causing panic to settle into my chest.
“Say, what the fuck?!” I suddenly heard Malice’s voice, while somebody was whamming my head.
“Ahhh!” One of the girls screeched, as I heard powerful blows connecting.
One by one, they each let out a scream, as Malice viciously knocked them off their feet. Eventually, he got to the last girl who was pulling my hair.
“Let her go, hoe!” He gritted, before punching her in the face.
Blood instantly gushed from her nose, as she released my hair. Then I immediately stepped over to Paisley, who was trying to climb off the ground, and stomped her dead in the pussy.
“Bitch!” I seethed, as my nose leaked.
“Get the fuck off this property,” Malice fumed, as he literally drug two of the girls off the porch, causing their heads to bump against the steps.
Just then, I heard the screech of tires, as a Lam SUV jotted into my driveway. Then before my mind could compute who was behind the wheel, Keyasia and Wale hopped out. Wasting no time, Key went after the third girl, who was hitting Malice’s back, trying to get him to release her friends.
“Come here, hoe!” She lashed, while snatching the girl up by her hair.
Once again, Paisley attempted to stand, and I kicked her in the face. I was about to stomp that bitch, when I faintly heard Khari’s cry, which immediately snapped me back to reality. My baby was in the house alone, since we’d sent Ms. Shelia home for the day.
Without hesitation, I raced into the house, and up the stairs.
That’s when I saw that Malice had sensibly strapped her down in a highchair.
Anxiously, I removed her out of the chair, before jogging back downstairs.
I then grabbed the stroller that we kept near the door to go on walks around the neighborhood, and placed her in it.
After she was secured, I parked her near the stairs to ensure that I could see her, without placing her in the middle of chaos.
Stepping back outside, I realized that Key, Wale, and Malice had managed to get control of the situation.
Paisely and her girls were now attempting to back out of the driveway, as she was behind the wheel of her Benz, but hadn’t moved quickly enough to avoid Keyasia.
With a four-way in her hand, Key smashed Paisley’s windshield in.
Obviously, they’d gotten their asses tapped enough, and did nothing more than book it out of the driveway. I stood on the porch with my breasts heaving up and down, trying to process everything.
Malice was shirtless, and breathing hard, as he turned to face me. Taking in his handsome features, I could detect the guilt written all over him. “I’ma handle that bitch, baby. On everything I love.”
“If we don’t handle that hoe first,” Key scoffed, as she approached the porch.
I studied her attire, peeping the Nike shorts and tee. “Riah called you?”
She nodded, as she traveled up the steps. “She knew that I could get to you the quickest.”
That made sense, since Key and Wale just lived a couple of blocks over in the same subdivision.
“But aint no telling who’s about to pull up,” Key offered. “Cause I’m sure that she didn’t just call me.”
Wale glanced around. “Shit, I’m surprised that nobody called the laws.”
“Right—” I got out, before a Wraith pulled into the driveway. “Aww, shit,” I hissed, when my daddy hopped put of the car. Then my mama was right behind him.
“What happened?” My mama immediately questioned, as she approached us.
Malice exhaled, before speaking up. “My ex and her friends popped up over here.”
My daddy was staring at me with a frown. “How many of them was it?”
His stare was too intense, as I diverted my eyes to the ground. “Four.”
“And they all put their hands on you?”
I nodded.
“Oh, them bitches got the right one,” my mama chided.
Lifting my head, I saw that she was now scrolling through her phone. I guess after she found whatever she was looking for, she made a call.
“Quel, call up them Coke Street girls,” she commanded, as she spoke to her sister. “Tell them that we’re paying whatever, but I need them to move, ASAP.”
Key smirked. “Antie, you didn’t have to call them. We can handle them hoes ourselves.”
“Y’all can, but y’all won’t.” My daddy spoke up.