18. Darius
I sat across from Mya staring a hole into her.
Tears streamed down her face, and she resembled my aunt that suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
She was trembling so badly that her head was moving from side to side making it look like she was saying no.
The tears and nervousness weren’t coming from the supposed trauma she endured from being tied up and robbed.
The bitch knew she was caught because I wasn’t buying her story, but I would entertain her for a few minutes.
The longer I stared at her, the harder she cried.
While I sat there trying to figure out what the fuck she had to cry about.
If it really was a random home invasion, she could just explain that.
I wasn’t sure who had gotten in her ear and convinced her that crossing me was a good idea, but I was willing to bet she was surely regretting that shit now.
“Tell me again what happened,” I stated calmly. Almost like a bitch ass police officer playing the good guy role right before walking the suspect into a trap.
Mya ran two knuckles underneath her eyes simultaneously wiping tears away.
She cleared her throat and sniffed while her orbs darted nervously around the room.
Bitch couldn’t even look me in the face.
“I was in here around eight pm watching television, and I heard a loud noise. It sounded like something huge had rammed into the back of my house. I jumped up off the couch, then I heard it again. I was running into my bedroom to hide when they got the back door open and ran inside. They found me hiding in the shower, tied me up, and searched the house.”
I simply stared. Glared at her for so long fresh tears spilled over her eyelids.
“And the niggas not only went up in the attic, but they found a box located behind the Christmas tree decorations and decided that box had something in it they wanted. They moved the Christmas ornaments, stockings, all that good stuff, and found my shit. Just like that? Those were some thorough ass thieves boy.”
“I-I don’t know how they knew it was here. I promise. I didn’t even know where you kept the stuff.”
“But you knew it was in the attic. Because every time I come to this muhfucka, I go in the attic.”
“Darius, I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I don’t know how or why they chose to go in the attic. I was thinking that maybe someone was watching you come and go.”
I flicked the tip of my nose never taking my eyes off her face.
“I’m not a very patient person. Never have been.
I’m going to give you sixty seconds to tell me who has my shit, Mya.
You might be a lil’ green, but you aren’t dumb.
Don’t insult my intelligence and keep lying to me because that’s going to piss me off.
My girl has a conscience and shit, and she doesn’t want me to kill you, but I never gave a fuck about watching a person take their last breath. ”
My words sent her ass into hysterics. “Darius, please, don’t kill me. Please, I’m pregnant.”
“Ohhhhhhhh,” it came to me faster than a bolt of lightening striking. “You tried to put your baby daddy on with my shit. Got damn, Mya. I thought you were smarter than that.”
The way her eyes almost jumped out of their sockets let me know that I had hit the nail on the head.
She really crossed me for a man that she probably hadn’t known anywhere near as long as me.
I couldn’t even lie. That one stung a little bit.
I didn’t trust many, and people were damn sure showing me why trusting anyone was stupid.
“It wasn’t him,” she shook her head frantically. “I promise you it wasn’t him.” Her wide eyes made her appear crazed. I frowned with disgust as snot pooled out of her nose.
I whipped my gun from the small of my back, and Mya stared sobbing. “Please don’t do this, Darius. Please.”
“You got some nerve sitting there begging when I can’t even get the truth out of you, bitch.
You think that shit falls out the sky? You think the coke gods be blessing a nigga?
I spent my money on that shit, and you’re sitting here playing in my fucking face!
” I hated raising my voice. Mya was bringing out a side of me that I didn’t like.
“He wanted to know why I always had money. I kind of tried to play it off but the fact that I pay all my bills and I’m still able to save, travel, and buy nice things, he said he knew I wasn’t doing all of that as a flight attendant.
I really wasn’t going to tell him anything about the drugs, but when I found out I was pregnant, we talked about moving in together.
He would have found out they were here eventually.
When I told him what was in the attic, there was no talking him out of going up there and getting it. ”
I gave a slight nod. “See, now was that so hard? All I wanted was for you to tell me the truth.”
Mya was so stunned, she stopped trembling. She didn’t know how to take the calmness in my tone and the gentleness that I spoke to her with. She didn’t know if she should trust it. So, she wasn’t all the way dumb.
“Where this nigga live at?”
“Darius, no. I can’t tell you where he lives, but I’ll give you the money back. I swear to God. How much was the stuff worth?”
“More than what you have,” the malice in my tone was thick enough to slice with a knife.
Mya didn’t know how hard it was for me to remain even halfway cool.
“I may have asked it like a question, so I can’t blame you for feeling like you have a choice, but you don’t.
If you want to die for that nigga then do that.
If you would rather die and take your kid with you then sit there and don’t give up the man that robbed me, that’s your business.
” Picking the gun up off my lap, I cocked it back, and Mya screamed. A frown turned my lips downward.
“Fuck is you screaming for?”
“I’ll tell you, but please don’t kill him. Please. Give us a chance. Between the two of us we can get your money back in about a month. I swear.”
“You’re going to give me my money back for sure. But if you think it’s going to be that easy, then crossing me was the dumbest thing you could have ever done. Come take a ride with me.”
Mya’s jaw slacked. “Huh?” she didn’t budge as I stood up.
“You’re really pissing me the fuck off. In a minute, I’m going to forget that I don’t put my hands on women,” I threatened. “Get the fuck up!”
Mya jumped up off the couch at the same time her phone started ringing. She glanced down at the screen, while I did the same. Someone by the name of Mario was calling.
“That your baby daddy?” I inquired.
Briefly, Mya closed her eyes in defeat before opening them and looking straight at me.
“Yes.” Maybe she was tired of playing dumb and lying.
It for sure wasn’t getting her anywhere.
Vani would be pleased because I wasn’t going to kill Mya or Mario.
But I was going to strip them down to almost nothing and then on top of that, they were going to pay me back, or then they would die.
When Mya was in my car, I called one of my lil’ homies and gave him the word to do what we had discussed while I was on the way to Mya’s crib. When I was done with the call, I glanced over at her. “Fuck does that nigga live?”
In a voice barely above a whisper, Mya rattled off an address to me. I put it in the GPS and learned that it was seven miles away from where we were.
“Call that nigga. And put it on speaker. Try some dumb shit and watch what happens.” We were sitting at a red light, so I quickly texted Azarius while I spoke to Mya.
Clearing her throat, she unlocked the phone and did as I asked.
“Damn what were you doing that you couldn’t answer the phone?”
“I don’t feel good, Mario. I was throwing up.” I bobbed my head because any nigga with half a brain would be able to tell by Mya’s voice that something was wrong, so the throwing up lie sounded convincing.
“Damn. Word? Try to eat some crackers or something. I’m about to go to Charlotte and get a hotel room. Tomorrow I’m going to hit the mall and shit. I got tickets for a Hornet’s game.”
My grip on the steering wheel tightened.
My body grew warm, and I wondered if it was actually possible for a person’s blood to boil.
That lame ass nigga had robbed me for enough dope to change his life, and he was focused on the mall and an NBA game.
Nothing ass nigga. That also led me to believe that Mya let him take my dope and wait a day or two to tell me.
No way did the shit just occur. She really tried to play me for a nigga that obviously didn’t give a fuck about her and what would happen to her if I figured out what really happened.
“Well thanks for all of your concern and for thinking of me,” Mya scoffed. “Are you home? I need my shoes from over there.”
“Shoes? If you throwing up and shit where you going? Did that nigga call you back yet? I’m telling you, Mya. You have to cry and act like you were really traumatized. Tell him the niggas knocked you around and shit. You gotta make him believe it.”
“Yet, you don’t know how he’s going to react to the news, and you’re leaving me to deal with it?”
“What you want me to do? That nigga trusts you. He’s not going to do anything to you.
You better be glad I didn’t do anything to him.
Nigga got all that dope in your crib while I’m sitting over there chilling, spending the night and shit.
What if the police had kicked in the door?
I’m never going down for the next nigga. ”