3. Lil’ Bo Peep & Brickly #3
“Something funny?” she asked with her arms crossed and a raised brow. She had a bit more attitude than the pastor realized. I could see it under the surface of her polite, church girl act.
“Just you,” I answered honestly.
“Huh?” Her face frowned up and she was the prettiest that I had seen her yet. At that point, I just wanted to piss her off more so she would stay that way.
“Nah, you just sitting over there with your nose all turned up at me, like your shit don't stink… Whole time your daddy sold you to pay off his debts.”
“He did what?” Her face fell and I realized that she wasn’t in on this plan.
“Fuck… You didn’t know?” I cringed. I was already failing at this shit.
“Know what, exactly?” she replied as her suspicious eyes burned into me. “Spell it out for me.”
“Your pops owes my ma some money. I guess for him to pay off his debts, we’re supposed to get… married,” I said, choking as the last word came from my lips.
“What the… heck?! Oh, no,” she grumbled to herself as she shot up from her seat.
“You don’t cuss?” I frowned. This shit would never work. She didn’t answer, not even giving me a second glance as she stormed off to the room where our parents were.
“What did you do?” Her eyes were filled with tears as she confronted her father.
“Destiny… Baby, what are you talking about?” That nigga looked nervous as hell. Ma must have gave him the same pep talk she just had with me.
“Don’t do that fuck shit,” I scolded. “You can’t put her in this without telling her exactly what the fuck is going on. Tell her.” I had known this girl for ten minutes and already had to stick up for her more than her bitch-ass daddy.
“I…” his voice trailed off and he looked away dramatically, like it pained him to speak. “I made a grave mistake, and now I need your help in righting my wrongs.”
“What did you do?” she repeated.
“I… made some bad investments with money that wasn’t mine,” he said.
“You stole from me,” Ma cut in.
“Unfortunately, I aligned myself with the wrong kind of people, now I have to pay the price.” I scoffed, the nerve of this nigga acting like he was losing something while putting her in that position. The thought had me mad enough to shoot the fuck out of his old ass.
“So, what do I have to do with all of this?”
“He needs a wife.” He shrugged, diminishing the fact that he sold her life away to those four words.
“What?” Now she looked like her stomach was hurting. She looked at him, then back at me, her brown skin now glowing a bright red.
“Listen, I didn’t choose this either,” I said with a shrug.
“I-I-I’m leaving. I don’t know what y’all are into, but figure it out without me,” she said before quickly spinning on her flats and storming out of the house.
We stood there in awkward silence as the slapping sound of her steps in them gotdamn flats faded away and the front door slammed hard enough to make us all jump.
“What did you say to her?” Ma asked when she turned to me.
“I just told her the truth. This nigga was about to sell her off like a damn used car without even telling her.” I sneered at Coop.
“She’s never been used,” he mumbled.
“I know one fuckin’ thing, y’all better figure it the fuck out.
Because if I show up to that venue on May nineteenth, and there’s no bride, there will be hell to pay!
Let’s go, Main!” She made her dramatic exit, leaving me standing there looking at Coop and Sarah, who hadn’t said more than two words since I walked in the door.
“You need to do better, nigga,” I scolded his old ass.
“What?” He had the audacity to look offended.
“I said you need to do better, nigga. That’s your seed, and you actin like it ain’t shit that you just sold her off to some nigga to pay for your mistakes.”
“You got the gall to lecture me when your own mother just did the same to you?” He sneered at me like it was supposed to strike fear in a nigga or some shit.
The next thing I knew, the gun that I carried on me at all times somehow made it out and cracked him across his face…
multiple times. Sarah’s ass had to be zooted as fuck because she didn’t even react to her husband getting his shit bashed in with the butt of a pistol right in front of her.
“Let that be the last time you speak on my mama, bitch! I know she ain’t shit, but at least she ain’t running’ around this muhfucka actin’ like a saint.
You supposed to be a pastor, but I know the money you stole wasn’t used for nothing holy.
You better apologize to your daughter, nigga.
You sure as fuck got a lot more to lose than me.
” I didn’t give him a chance to reply as I let go of his shirt, making him drop to his knees before I stormed out the door.
I could already tell that this was about to be some bullshit and knew that if I had to be around that fraudulent ass nigga for a minute too long, it would most likely end in bloodshed.
My whole drive back home, all I could think about was the look of betrayal on Destiny’s face. She didn’t want this anymore than I did.