Chapter 4
Nas
“We gonna sit it right here,” I instructed Chance as we brought my couch inside.
“Works for me,” he acknowledged.
We placed the couch next to the loveseat but center to the fireplace where the TV would be mounted.
After I’d ran down on Nessa, I took the next day to get my living arrangements situated.
Juan was able to clean the money so that it looked like a payout from some kind of accident.
Once it was in my account without the headache of it being flagged, I wasted no time getting my shit together.
With me having a child I needed her to have a space to grow and thrive in, so a cash sale on a house within twenty-four hours was mandatory.
Thinking of my daughter made me excited, mad, pissed, and nervous all at the same time.
I couldn’t believe that Nessa really had my baby and hid her from me while I was in prison.
The fact that my family knew and didn’t tell a nigga fucked with me too.
But if I had to be honest, I couldn’t blame anybody but myself because I did end things with her.
Plus, I wasn’t in a position to help with our child at all.
My family stepping in on behalf of me eased some of my frustration, but the fact that I missed four years of her life would never sit right with me.
Luckily, Nessa had her thinking that I was doing some honorable shit like protecting the country while in the military.At first, I didn’t want to lie but when she explained that she wrote letters to Nyla on my behalf, I couldn’t bring myself to shatter my daughter’s spirit like that.
My mind drifted to me being deep in Nessa’s guts the other day.
When she opened the door, I almost took a page out of her book and fainted at how good she looked.
Having my child put weight on her body in all the right places.
Her mocha-colored skin seemed to glow when she stood in the doorway.
Her thick hips curved how I liked and that fat ass sat up nice in them shorts.
Her ass was so fat I had to hit from the back to enjoy the view.
“Earth to fuckin’ Nas,” Chance called out before throwing something at me.
“Aye cuz, don’t be throwing shit,” I expressed before pickin’ up the pen top and throwing it back at him.
“I called yo’ name a few times but yo’ ass seem to be in LaLa Land. You good?”
“Yeah, just over here thinkin’ ‘bout Nessa and Nyla.”
“How’d it go after you followed them home from the park?”
“It was hard to be so close to them and not interact. Then, while I was staking out the place with Fernando, some nigga came over. My finger was itching to kill his ass when he left but I wasn’t trying to move irrationally and shit.”
“So, what you did?”
“I went back to Mama Eva’s house until the next day. When she came back home, I ran down on her ass. After I fucked the shit out of her, we talked ‘bout Nyla. Then I left.”
“Wait so you haven’t officially been reunited with her?”
“Nawl, Nessa want to do it like I just came home from the military to keep up with her lie.”
“Oh, yeah. Nyla does believe you’re in the military. That was actually a smart move. Because tellin’ a child their parent dead or in prison will hurt a child deeply.”
“Right. So, that’s why I ain’t even trippin’ on havin’ to get all this together so it can really feel like that, ya know. But I do want to thank you for being there for my daughter even while raisin’ yours alone.”
“You know it ain’t nothin’, fam. If the roles were reverse, I know you’d do it for me. Plus, I feel like you got locked up due to my bad info I was given so the least I could do was help hold you down in that department.”
“Listen, I told ya I don’t blame you. I could’ve fact checked that shit but was movin’ fast and reckless but not anymore. Now we about to take over the streets of Miami strategically.”
“You know I’m ready to make this paper,” he agreed as he slid his hand in his pocket to retrieve his ringin’ phone. “Speakin’ of Nessa this her ass callin’ me now.”
“Answer but put it on speakerphone.”
“What’s good, Nessa?” He answered the phone before putting it on speaker.
“Was he out when you came and met me at the park?” She hissed through the phone.
“Huh?”
“Chance, you heard what I said. Was he?”
“I mean does it matter, Baby Mama?” I questioned her as I took control of the conversation. “I told you to call me if you need anything. So, what you callin’ cuz for?”
“Because I had questions that he needed to answer, but with you takin’ over this phone call that let me know everything I need to.”
“Nawl, what you need to know is to drop that nigga because Daddy’s home.”
“Bye, Nasir.”
She hung the phone before I could say anything else. As I handed Chance his phone, I laughed at her trying to play hard ‘cause in person it’s a different story. We went into the kitchen to get something to drink, and my phone started ringing from an unknown number.
“Yo’” I answered trying to see if it were Nina or Juan.
“It’s me,” Nina clarified. “I’m in the city and we’ll meet up later.”
Just like Nessa she hung up on me too. Although hers was out of safety, I still wasn’t a fan of that rude ass shit.
Even if you said bye with it at least let a nigga respond in case, I still had shit to get off my chest. Once we caught our breath, we hopped into the other moving truck that housed all of Chance and Chanel’s belongings.
There was no way I would’ve got out with a lot ofmoney and don’t lookout for my people.
Mama Eva and Chance were the only ones holding me down while I was on the inside.
In more ways than one and with her not being here to reap the benefits, I be damned if Chance doesn’t.
Now, he couldn’t just let me give him a handout that big.
So, instead of him just letting me cash out on a spot for him.
This man was adamant about him paying me back for it.
Rather he does it or not didn’t matter, but if he did all I was going to do was gift it to his daughter.
On the way back over to my house, thinking about what I’d just done for Chance had me looking at myself funny.
I couldn’t help but side eye my-damn-self because how I do that for my cousin but not my Baby Mama first.
As I turned into my gated community in Miami Gardens, the wheels in my head started spinning.
Just as I was almost to my house it hit me.
Nessa not only needed an upgrade, but she deserved one of these big ass houses she dreamed about too.
Not just one of them but the one next to me, I thought I was whipped into my neighbor’s driveway.
Getting out of the moving truck, I made my way towards the door.
“Um, yes, can I help you?” An older black lady asked when she answered the door.
“Hey, how ya doin’? Can I buy your house?” I inquired.
“Excuse me?”
“How much would you sell me your house for?”
After a little more back and forth before she took me seriously, I called Fernando over with the amount of money she felt it was worth. When I really put my mind to something, it wasn’t anything I couldn’t do or obtain.
“I wanna keep the furniture too. Just take all your personal belongings with you. How much you think all your furniture and appliances worth?”
“Tuh, my house must really be that nice for you to want to buy it this bad.”
“I mean it’s nice and all, but I really just needed my Baby Mama to live next door to me.”
“Ooh, well, um isn’t she lucky.”
Once we agreed on a date to go to the bank to do the transfer the deed and her to be out of the house, I got back in the truck to go home.
As I entered the house, the only thing that I wanted to do was lay out on the couch.
I stayed fit while on the inside but moving furniture all day wore a nigga out.
Just as my head fell back on the couch, Fernando cleared his throat to announce his presence.
“We leave to meet your mother at midnight,” he explained. “We’ll stop by to grab Chance as well.”
“Bet,” I responded as I checked the time on my phonebefore sending Chance a heads-up text.
A little after one in the morning, we finally arrived at this secluded location.
It was a huge, abandoned lot with a building in the middle of it.
Fernando informed us that my mother was waiting inside before getting in the truck and pulling over to the other truck that sat off in a corner.
With everything I had going on I still hadn’t had a chance to secure me some weapons.
With my status in the game being unknown, and Fernando having a gun on him it wasn’t a pressing issue right now.
When we walked into the building, Nina sat at the head of the table looking like a true queen pin.
She was dressed in olive green from head to toe with a white hat tilted to the side on her head.
We stopped when she stood up with a bag and walked over to us.
She placed the bag on the table before standing in front of it.
“Who’s this?” she questioned me but stared at Chance. “Well, well, if it isn’t April’s son. How is Ms. Holier Than Thou doin’? She still talkin’ shit ‘bout everybody like her shit don’t stink?”
“She’s good,” he answered.
“And the other question?”
“Yeah, she still talkin’ shit. Well, she stopped after you missed your own mama funeral.”
“But she didn’t,” I chimed in causing them both to look at me. “Did you?”
“How’d you figure it out?” She countered with a smirk.
“When I finally made it to the grave site I looked around and noticed a woman standing under an umbrella too concerned with our burial instead of focused on the person she came to visit. You were just far enough not to be identified but close enough to still have seen everything.”
“Yep. At one point we were havin’ a starin’ contest because it took me droppin’ my head for you to look away. I couldn’t miss my own mom’s funeral, but I couldn’t fully attend either.”