10. Charisma Rae Jones
CHARISMA RAE JONES
Igiggled like a little girl when Kalm tickled my feet that were resting in his lap. “You are so childish,” I said through my laughter.
“You’re the childish one. Who still laughs at getting their feet tickled?”
I raised an eyebrow and jumped like I was going to tickle him back under his arm pits, and he damn near hopped off the couch, trying to get away from me.
I laughed harder as I eyed him on the other end of the couch.
“What’s that you had said again?” I crawled over and straddled his lap and immediately forgot the plan to tickle him because when he looked up at me, all I could see was his handsome face.
I puckered my lips, and he kissed me twice then grinned.
I could tell things were about to heat up by the fire flickering in the depths of his brown eyes, but the sound of the door slamming snapped us both back into reality.
We looked up to see Oasis marching to her room without so much as a glance at us.
That was unusual for her, which made us suspicious.
She was the type to come plop down right beside us, even if she saw us being lovey dovey.
I jumped when I heard her door slam a few seconds later.
“The fuck?” Kalm mumbled, lifting me up with him.
I placed a hand on his chest to stop him. “Let me.”
He glanced down, pondered on it for a minute then agreed. “Aight.”
Over the last month, my relationship with Oasis grew stronger every time I was there to hold her hand during chemotherapy or hold her hair back while she puked everything in her stomach into the toilet.
Even though the journey was not easy, I had to say, baby girl was a trooper.
The hardest day so far was when her hair started to fall out.
That hurt my girl more than anything else she was dealing with because she swore it made her ugly.
No matter how much I assured her that nothing could make her ugly, she wasn’t going for it.
Earlier, while she was in school, I busied myself with finding her some really cute and age-appropriate wigs to help counter her sadness.
As a former midnight ballerina, I was good at doing hair, so I was going to hook my girl up when they came in the mail.
Kalm stayed in the living room while I went to check on Sissy. I knocked softly and waited patiently. She didn’t answer, but I could hear her crying very hard on the other side of the door. Twisting the knob, I saw that it wasn’t locked and pushed my way inside.
“Hey, Sissy. Are you okay?” I spotted her on the bed with her forehead resting on her knees while she cried. My heart dropped into my stomach, so I quickly closed the distance to wrap her in my arms. “What is it? What happened, baby girl?
She looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes and a snotty nose. She sniffled a few times, allowing her head to lean against her headboard. She shook her head sadly. “Nothing. Just kids being kids.”
“Did someone bully you?” I asked, getting serious. That was one thing I never cared for and would always fight against. Oasis had enough on her plate right now. If bullying was added to it, I wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle it.
“Today in class, Tiffany, Amber, and Najah were talking about who they had crushes on, so I tried to join in by telling them my crush, and Tiff said. . .” Her voice trailed off, and my hand balled up because I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like whatever this little girl had said.
“What did she say, Sissy?” I asked, brushing away some of her tears.
“She said I don’t need to worry about falling in love, because I’m going to die from cancer soon.” She burst into sobs so powerful that her brother rushed into the room like the police.
I glanced at him with my own tears spilling over.
I hugged Oasis tightly to my body while she let it out.
I stood corrected. Tiffany wasn’t a little girl; she was a little bitch who I now had beef with.
Kalm didn’t know what to do, but he dropped down on his knees beside her bed and hugged her around the waist.
“Don’t listen to nothing those mean girls have to say,” I told her. “You are not going to die from cancer, so you can fall in love as many fucking times as you want in your lifetime.” The more I talked, the angrier I became.
She sniffled then lifted her head. “I’m okay, guys. I just want to be alone right now.”
Not wanting to hover over her, I took Kalm’s hand, and we stood up to leave her alone. “We’re here if you need us,” I told her right before we shut her in her room.
Kalm followed behind me to my room, where I went into my closet to change from the muumuu I was wearing into a pair of leggings and a tank top. “Why are you changing your clothes, Pretty?”
“Because I’m about to whoop whoever Tiffany’s mama, aunt, or sister is. That little bitch got me so fucked up.”
He grabbed my hand to stop me from snatching off my wig and putting on my scarf. “What the fuck happened? You in here snatching your wig off, greasing up your face, and wearing black block walkers. . . I’m concerned.” He rubbed a hand on my lower back with his head tilted to the side. “Talk to me.”
“They were at school, talking about crushes, and one of the girls told Sissy that she doesn’t need to worry about boys because she’s going to die from cancer.” All the blood in my body boiled as I repeated what was said. “I’m going to fuck somebody up today,” I declared, snatching away from him.
Kalm raced to wrap his arms around my waist. “Calm down, and let me handle it.”
“I don’t like that, Kalm. Why the fuck would they say something like that to her?
I swear kids can be so fucking evil sometimes.
She’s devastated.” My voice cracked, and tears filled my eyes because Oasis was such a sweet girl.
She didn’t deserve to be spoken to that way when things were already hard for her.
“I know, baby. I know. I’m going to handle it,” he assured me. “Just calm down, and make sure Sissy is good.”
I sniffled, but eventually, I nodded. “Okay,” I whispered.
His phone began ringing in his pocket, and by the ringtone, I knew it was Kaos calling from prison.
I hadn’t asked him about his case because he always got so angry when thinking about it.
For now, all I knew was racism was involved, and that was why he was on a money run to pay for his brother the best lawyer he could attain.
“Go check on Oasis while I talk to Two,” he said, answering the call.
“Alright.” He left me alone in the room, and I plopped down on my bed.
I stared up at the ceiling, trying to calm my anger, but it wasn’t working.
I hopped up and finished taking off my wig and hid my jailhouse braids with a scarf.
I grabbed my phone off the charger while stuffing my feet into my sneakers.
Going to Oasis’s room, I knocked on the door. “Hey, Sissy. Ride with me to the store,” I spoke loud enough for Kalm to hear me.
He appeared in the doorway of his bedroom. “Where y’all going?”
“Out to get some ice cream and fresh air,” I told him. He simply nodded then disappeared to finish talking to his brother. I sighed in relief that he didn’t ask me any more questions.
Oasis climbed off her bed and slid her feet into her Crocs then followed behind me. Once we were inside my car, I turned to her. “You know where Tiffany lives?”
She nodded with raised brows. “Yeah. . . It’s not too far from here.”
“Okay, cool. Tell me how to get there.”
Oasis looked at me in confusion while putting on her seatbelt. “I thought you said we were going to get ice cream.”
I nodded, backed out of the driveway, and then turned on the main road. “We are . . . after we pay Tiffany a little visit first.”
She surprisingly didn’t ask any more questions and only spoke to tell me when and where to turn. We pulled up in some rundown, raggedy-ass apartments. It all made sense to me as I eased into a parking spot in front of the building she instructed me to.
Oasis unclicked her seatbelt and followed me toward the group of people lounging outside. “Which one is Tiffany?”
Sissy pointed to some toothpick-sized, light-skinned girl with braces and long braids. “Tiffany, go get your mama,” I said, ignoring everyone and speaking directly to the little bitch.
She tossed her braids over her shoulder and folded her arms over her chest. “Who are you?” When she spotted Sissy, she smirked. “Aw, did you run home and tell on me, cry baby?”
Sissy was about to defend herself, but I held up a hand to stop her. “Go get your mama before I put my hands on you for real. You’re already skating on thin ice with me, little girl, and I’m trying to keep in mind that you’re a child. Don’t say shit else to my sister. I’m only talking to adults.”
“I don’t have to do shit,” her little smart ass snapped, trying to be funny.
I chuckled with a slow nod before I hauled off and slapped the fuck out of her.
Everybody was in shock, including her. “Ain’t shit funny now huh?
Go get your mama like I said. I’m not going to say it again, because I really want to put hands on you for what you said to my sister.
I’m trying to be nice and spare you ’cause I’m a grown-ass woman, but if you keep talking crazy, I’m gon’ take it there.
I’m not one of your little friends, boo. ”
She raced toward the apartment with tears in her eyes.
I backed up and turned to Oasis. “Here. Record this for me.” She eyed me suspiciously but took the phone out of my hand.
“I want you to show this video to every little ho who tries to play with you in the future. I’m knocking everybody’s head off about you. ”
I heard elevated voices coming down the steps and got excited. A big, fat, and sloppy ho appeared, popping her shit. There was a cigarette hanging from her black lips, and I just knew her breath stunk. “Who put their fucking hands on my daughter?” she asked.
Bop! I stole off on her before she could even finish getting the words out.
The cigarette fell to the ground, completely forgotten about.
“I did, bitch. That one is for raising a little bitch with no manners.” Boop, bop!
“That one is for that little bitch wishing death on my sister.” Thump!
Thump! Thump! The last few hits dropped her on the concrete, and I felt no remorse as I upper cut her all in her shit.
I lifted my foot and stomped on her face twice because my anger was building instead of subsiding.
Turning to Tiffany, I pointed and said, “If you ever say anything to Sissy again, I’m going to beat your mama’s ass again and again.
I can keep going for real, so don’t bring it out of me.
” She stood there, shaking in her boots.
“No. Don’t get all tight lipped now. You was just poppin’ it, weren’t you? ”
“Who fighting my mama?” I heard someone ask. I smiled widely when I spun around and saw it was Cinnamon from the club.
“Oh, yeah. I need that. Come on and take this ass whooping for your mama and sister,” I said, getting excited.
When she saw her mama bloody on the ground, she rushed me, but I was ready.
My fist caught her right in the chin, and I kept swinging, straight dog-walking her ass.
She never stood a chance against me. “Call the police, Ma!” she yelled out in need of saving.
“I don’t give a fuck, ho. Call them, but just know they can’t save you.” I continued to pummel her face without remorse. I’d wanted to beat her ass for a long time, and this felt like divine timing.
I felt a strong arm around my waist that snatched me into the air. I started going crazy. “Get the fuck off me! I ain’t done!”
“Yes, the fuck you are. Get your little ass in the car.” I realized it was Kalm’s voice and knew I was in trouble before he even sat me in the driver’s seat of my car, and I saw his glare.
He pointed at me then just shook his head disappointedly. “I’m going to deal with your pretty ass later. Get in, Sissy, and I’ma follow y’all back to the house.”
He slammed my car door shut, ensuring I wouldn’t hop back out and finish what I started. I glanced over at Oasis, “Are you okay?”
She nodded with tears in her eyes. “Is this what it’s like to have a big sister?”
I burst out laughing as I started up the car, finally feeling my anger begin to subside as my heart rate slowed.
“Yes, it is. I will always have your back, Oasis. What that girl said wasn’t right, and if you have any more problems out of her, let me know, and I’ll come knock their heads between the washer and dryer again. I really don’t give a fuck.”
Sissy caught me off guard when she reached across the car and hugged me around the waist. “Thank you,” she whispered.
I patted her head and smiled. “I got you, pretty girl. Always.” As we pulled off, I glanced in my rearview mirror to see Kalm trailing me in his truck. “You got that on video, right?”
She nodded happily. “Yep! I ain’t never seen Tiff scared before.”
“That’s because she thought she was a bully until she ran into a bigger bully. Next time someone fucks with you, show them that video, and tell them that’s what I’m going to do to them and their people if they don’t leave you alone.”
She giggled, and I could tell she was no longer hurt by their words. “You are crazy, just like my brother, but I love that for me. Kalm has definitely met his match in you.”