Chapter Nine
*****
I always hated Wednesdays, because they're smack dab in the middle of the week, and nothing interesting ever happens on a Wednesday. Oh well, I'm sitting here, bored out of my mind, searching the Net in the middle of my Criminology class. Dwayne's going on with this story about how he and his friends used to cut up and stuff when he went here. He must have just said something stupid, because the whole class is cracking up. Hey! Maia just sent me an Instant Message! What the hell is he talking about?
She is so dumb! I don't wanna laugh out loud right now, because if I do I'll cause attention to myself, and who wants that? Let me write this girl back. Okay, I'm done. I'm telling you, this guy is such a clown! Of course you know he had to give me the 5th degree last night after the thing with Sean and what he said to me. I broke down and told him, and he was upset to say the least. I didn't tell him in the first place, and that's what made him the maddest. But after walking it off, he came back and by that time he had calmed down. He said he knew something was up as soon as Sean winked at me. But oh well, what can you do? Here's Maia again! You need to shut ya man up, girl! We all know how you can go ahead and do that, but I ain't gonna say because you should know by now. I don't know about that girl sometimes. She wanna talk about I'M sick? Oh no! Sometimes she really has me beat and she don't even know it half the time. I don't know if I should interpret that as a sexual comment or what, because she's up here talkin bout me shutting Dwayne up, and.I don't know. We'll see what she says.
Girl, don't ACT like you don't know what I'm talking about! Give him some of that "pie" as he calls it! That'll shut his ass up for sure! LMFAO! It'll keep his ass busy for a long time, too! Do you see what I'm talking about? I swear, she's not RIGHT! I should have known that's what she was talking about. Nikki's looking over here at my computer, giving me this weird look. I wanna laugh so bad! "What the hell are you and 2 talking about?" She whispered.
"We're just kidding around. Besides, he's up here running his mouth, so what else is there to do?" I answered, smiling. "Okay, I got you chica." Nikki said, smiling and logging on her computer soon after.
Look at Spanky touching his belt! He's looking at you, girl! He knows you're being bad, and you're bout to get it now!
"Crystal, what are you doing up there?" Dwayne asks, looking at me. See, I told you!
I wish Maia would shut up! She's about to really get me in trouble! Let me answer this guy before he comes up here and starts his own investigation or something. "I'm not doing anything, Mr. Johnson." I answered sweetly.
"I think you're lying." He said, smiling.and touching his belt!!!
Spanky's got your name all over that belt, girl!
What is wrong with this girl? And why does she keep calling him that? It's funny, but it's getting on my nerves! Let me say a few words to this girl before she makes me have to smack her. "I'm not lying, Mr. Johnson. I'm really not doing anything." I said.
"Crystal, as a soon-to-be lawyer, you should be much better at telling lies. Cause right now, you suck." Dwayne said, making the class laugh and walking up the steps. Uh-oh! He's coming up here! Spanky's got a bone to pick with you!
I quickly closed out the IM Maia had sent me, and I opened up the page to the UM web site that I had minimized earlier. And just in time too, because he's right here at my desk! "What you looking at there, Counselor?" Dwayne asked, coming up from behind me and peering over my shoulder. "Just checking out the UM site." I said a bit nervously.
"Oh really? Hmm.oh, from here I get a NICE view of J.Lo number 2's computer too! Coincidentally, she's ALSO logged onto the UM site." Dwayne said, looking at Maia, who was now turned around in her swivel chair and smiling at Dwayne. "Is this what you wanted to see?" I asked.
Dwayne chuckled and shook his head, touching his belt (yet again) and then looking at the ground. He started to walk back down the steps but then stopped. "I'm gonna catch you one day, doing something you're not supposed to be doing, Counselor. Then you won't be so quick." Dwayne said, finally walking down the rest of the stairs.
"Ooh!" Said everyone in the class (except me and Maia who were relieved that he hadn't caught us talking about him).
You should've never asked him that question about "Is this what you wanted to see" because he's gonna make you regret it later on when he's got you screaming his name!!! See, why does she always have to start something? I haven't said anything else about her and Jay, and she just wants to keep it going! I don't know why I even bother with this girl sometimes, I swear. It's not MY fault Mr. Spanky said he was gonna get you! LMAO! I'm playin, I'm playin. I know you wanna kick my ass right about now, so let me stop while I'm ahead.
Thank you GOD, she's calmed down! For a minute there, I didn't know WHAT I was gonna do with her! Looking over at Nikki's comp, she's talking to Hiram. I tell you, those two are really in love with each other. But H is taking one hell of a chance talking to her because D is right down there in front of the class talking in front of him. Nikki, Maia, Hiram and me are the only ones on our comp's. Everyone else is listening.we've GOT to stand out, I just KNOW it. "AHEM! Attention 3 J.Lo's and Hiram! And you 3 know who you are too.I'm about to make an important announcement, and I need you to be paying attention." Dwayne said loudly. Unfortunately, Maia and I aren't paying attention. By him getting loud, we just thought he was trying to cut up and be foolish.like normal! We're still chatting with each other, regardless. "Don't MAKE me call you two out!" Dwayne said, again going unheard by Maia and I.
"That's it." Dwayne said, getting off the corner of his desk and starting to walk up the steps.
It wasn't until the class started making noise that I finally figured something was up. Seeing Dwayne approach me and Maia really made me get the point then. "You and you.come with me." Dwayne said, pointing his finger at me and then Maia.
Maia and I turned off our laptops and then looked at one another, then Dwayne, who was walking down the steps. He stood at the bottom of the steps looking at us. "Did you not understand me? Do you need for me to speak it to you in another language? Ven conmigo! Ahora!" Dwayne said annoyingly. That was it, Maia and I KNEW to get up then. I knew what he was saying, I just didn't know if Maia knew. From the look on her face, she doesn't CARE. Just as long as he don't wring our necks, she's cool. That's the kind of look she's giving me. As we're walking down the steps where he's waiting for us, our fellow J.Lo's give us some words of encouragement. "Keep ya head up, baby! It's okay!" Nikki said, smiling.
"I know that's right! No matter where he puts ya'll, we'll still remember where you came from! The Bronx, baby!" Yolanda said. Now everybody knows we (Maia and me) sure as hell didn't come from no damn Bronx, but in the J.Lo spirit, we still gotta keep up, you know what I mean? It's funny! Don't act like ya'll don't wanna laugh at her! Yo is real crazy! It's okay, you can admit it! I won't tell! "No talking to them two.I'm putting these prisoners in solitary confinement. Visiting hours are OVER." Dwayne said, ushering us over to the door to his "chambers". Still, you know I gotta have the last word and be a smart-ass.
"You know, Mr. Johnson, I know some Spanish too." I say, winking at him and making the class crack up. Maia is CRYING! You should see it now! "Girl, get the hell in here and be quiet. You too, Maia. Class, I'll be back as soon as I get done dealing with these delinquents." Dwayne said, lightly pushing us and closing the door behind him. Maia and I walk over to his desk and simultaneously sit down, all while looking at him. He damn sure knows he ain't gonna do nothing to us.disciplinary-wise anyway. "Ya'll two just keep on misbehaving." Dwayne said in a sexy voice, walking slowly over to us.
"We were just having fun." Maia and I said in an innocent voice.
Me and Maia looked at one another and started smiling. Dwayne put one of his hands on my right thigh and the other on Maia's left, then started slowly moving them up. "I can't have misbehavior in my class, I thought I made that clear to you two before." Dwayne said, continuing to move his hands up me and Maia's thighs. Maia and I jumped at his sudden touch at the same time, and then settled down. We both went to move his hands, but we were only pushed away. "Uh-uh.See, I still gotta get ya'll two back for the little game you played on me last Friday. Thought I forgot, huh? Well let me tell you something about Dwayne Johnson. I NEVER forget." He said with a kinky smile, then felt on us both. "You know you can't possibly finish this right now." I said, moaning a little bit afterward.
"Oh yeah, I know. There's more where that came from, believe me. I'm not done with either one of you yet. But for now, you can go back out there." Dwayne said, smiling and backing up so that we could have room to get off the desk. Maia wastes NO time getting off the desk and walking out. To tell you the truth, I think she was a little shocked by what just happened. Or maybe it hasn't settled in yet? I'll find out later. But right now, I got something I gotta do before I go. Pressing Dwayne up hard against the long, cherry-wood furnished bookcase, I madly kiss him. For some reason, I just can't help myself. That HAD to be done. Dwayne's in shock because of what I just did, but he's chuckling. So it's cool. "What the HELL just came over you, Counselor?" Dwayne asked, laughing.
I let go of his collar and backed up, having to laugh a little myself. It WAS a little unexpected.
"I just couldn't hold back, I'm sorry. But you started it by what you did not too long ago. I guess it just went to my head." I said, smiling at him. "No need to apologize," Dwayne said in a sexy voice, pulling me up against him, "I like when you act all wild like that. I like to be in control when it comes to, you know.but every now and then, you gotta put me in my place! And if it takes getting all physical and aggressive, well what the hell!" "I'm glad you think that." I said, kissing him. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Hey peoples, what's the deal? It's me Maia, and I'm borrowing ya'll for the time being. I don't care WHAT Crissy says, she ain't gonna do nothin! So anyways, me and her are home now, and we're getting ready to go get something to eat. Dealing with Dwayne Johnson makes a chick HUNGRY, for reals! (Knock-Knock!)
"Who the hell is this now? We just got the hell home!" I say, sighing out loud and walking to the front door.
"Girl, there's something out front for you with your name on it! You better go see what it is." Our neighbor across the hall, Maria, said.
"What?" I ask, confused. What the hell is she talking about? "Maia, come on!" Maria says, pulling me out into the hallway, and dragging me down the steps.
"Oh my god! This is mine?!!!" I ask, looking at what's in front of me.
Parked in the parking lot in front of our apartment building is a black Lincoln Navigator! It's got tinted windows and everything! Oh wait, there's a note! I'm reading it right now, and it says that the car is from my brother! Can you believe that shit? It's a gift from him as an early birthday present! He's always on business doing something! Damn! I'mma have to get him something for Christmas now all early and stuff! But that's aight.it's ALL chicken and gravy, baby! "Crissy? CRISSY!" I yell, making Crystal come running out the apartment like a mad woman. You should see her! This shit is too funny right now!
"What's wrong? What happened?" She asked, rushing down the steps all quick and shit. "Look at this! This is MINES! All mines! You can borrow it whenever you want, but only when I don't got it.then again, that's gonna be like all the TIME, so never mind! (laughs) Sike nah, I'm playing with you girl." I said, grinning.
"Who got you this? This is nice!" Crissy said, walking around the car. "My older brother got it for me. He's going out of town for a business trip and won't be back until sometime after Christmas, so this was sort of like an early birthday present for me." I answered, all smiles.
"Well, I need to get in REAL good with ya brother then. Think you can put in a good word for me?" She asked, innocently smiling. "You ain't right girl. I'll think about it. But in the mean time, what you say me and you go get something to eat?" I asked. "Oh yeah! But you know you're treating though, right?" Crissy asked.
"Hey.J.Lo number 2 ain't cheap no way! I still got class!" I said, cracking up and getting in the car with Crissy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'm back, people! I don't know who Miss Thing thinks she is by taking ya'll just cause she got herself a ride! Looks like I'mma have to remind her that she IS J.Lo number 2 and that I'M number 1! I'm playing, I'm playing.
"For real?" I asked, laughing as we walked into BK.
Maia is in the middle of telling me this funny as hell story, and I'm sorry for bringing ya'll in all late and wrong like that. But it's too funny for her to start over, so ya'lls is just gonna have to deal with it! "Hell yeah! I fell flat on my ass! It was in front of this fine boy too! He was all smiling and shit, but at least he did come and help me up! So its all good! You know me, I had to play the damsel in distress.a role that I play soooooooo well!" Maia said, laughing and making me crack up.
Now, I'm laughing even harder. I can't believe she busted her ass all after tripping over her shoelace! How dumb was she! Thank goodness this happened when I didn't even know the girl, because if I was with her and that happened, I would've started CRYING and then ran out the room! It's ignorant of me, but I wouldn't wanna laugh all in her face! Ya'll feel me? Everyone in here is looking at us, I take it because we're laughing all loud and being dumb. But you know what, I don't give a damn! If I think something's funny, I'mma laugh, and I'mma laugh my ass off!
HOLD UP! I don't know what has been going on these past few days. Yesterday I see Dany and Sean in my Salsa class, and today I SWEAR I see Jay all hugged up on some chick right across the room! Ooh! I can't let Maia see that asshole and that trick, or else she's gonna fuck some people up! I'm going to stand in front of her right now, and she's looking all weird at me! It's funny, but what's across the room is so NOT funny! "What the fuck is you doing, chica? Move!" Maia says, laughing and going to push me out the way. I'm not moving though. "Come on, Crissy. I wanna eat, and I know you do too." Maia adds, going to push me again. "We can't eat here!" I blurt out, feeling like a complete ass.
"Why the hell not?" Maia asks, getting a little defensive.
"I, um.I don't want BK anymore. Sorry, but I changed my mind. I guess I had Dwayne on my mind, and that's why I wanted to come here. I want some, uh.Chinese! Yeah! I love me some egg rolls! I ain't had those in a MINUTE, girl!" I said, laughing and hoping she would follow my lead. "What's the point? We're already here! So come on, let me go, girl!" Maia said, still struggling. "I don't care! We're going NOW." I said, grabbing Maia towards the door with me. "Let me GO! Damn!" Maia said, breaking free of my grip and walking up to the front yet again.
"Maia no!!!" I said.
Maia didn't answer me. Instead she just stood there for about 5 minutes, staring in Jay's direction. She just shook her head now, so I know some shit is about to go down! Suddenly she's turning around and now she's walking past me, still not saying anything at all. "Maia, come back here!" I said, going to grab her.
"I'm not hungry anymore, okay? I've just lost my appetite, but here go head. I said it was my treat, so go head and go get yourself some lunch. " She answered, sounding a little upset. I wasn't too particular on taking her money, but from the look on her face, I can tell you that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "You sure?" I ask, just to make sure it's alright.
"Yeah. You go ahead and hang out. Just call me and I'll come and get you whenever." Maia answered, walking out. Alright, for the record, I just wanna let you people know that I'm thoroughly and officially pissed off right now!!! Where the hell is this ass at? Oh there he is.wouldn't you know, after all of what Maia just saw, he's STILL up on that ho? I'm putting a stop to this shit right now. Excuse me for a minute, things are about to get a little nasty. "What the fuck?" Jay asked, looking at who had pulled on his arm just now. "We need to talk.like, right NOW." I said, eyeing him strongly. "What's up, Crissy?" Jay asked.
"Don't 'what's up Crissy' me!" I said in a bitchy voice.
"What's wrong with you?!" Jay asked.
"Come here and I'll TELL you." I said, dragging him over to a nearby corner. I could see that ho he was with was getting angry. She's tryin to give me a dirty look? Oh no, I'm not the ONE. I just rolled my eyes at her and she's getting even more pissed now, but I could care less. "Who's that ho, and why were ya'll up on her just now?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of Jay. "Shit!" Jay said, sounding like he was pissed off.
"Well I wanna know. Who is she? Oh, and while I'm on the subject of asking QUESTIONS, how the fuck are you gonna tell MY girl that you like her and all that shit, and yet you wanna be all up on some ho like that?" I asked, waiting for an answer. "Dammit, Crystal! I don't even mess with her.we used to go out and she wants something to happen that ain't got no chance of happening ever again. So stop trippin'." Jay said, rolling his eyes at me. "Right, and so the reason why you just didn't set her ass straight from the beginning was because.?" I asked, smirking. Jay just stood there, not being able to say anything. I knew he wasn't going to say anything, because he's stuck. He knows he's wrong for what he's doing, and it wasn't right any way you wanna look at it. He was just WRONG!
"So quiet all the sudden, aren't we?" I asked, smiling.
"Man, whatever. I don't know WHO you think you is, coming all up in here and telling a brotha off like you got some damn authority or somethin!" Jay said, trying to sound tough.
"Oh yeah? Well, since you feel that way, I guess I'll use just a little bit MORE of my authority since you seem to be enjoying the HELL out of it so much. Stay the hell away from Maia, stay the hell away from me, and have yourself a good time with that ho because I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't DROP your ass like Maia's done did." I said, walking off and leaving him to look stupid in front of everyone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It's me again, Maia. I can't believe Crissy wanted me to go with her a couple hours ago to get her hair did! She must be crazy! I wasn't gonna go back home and get changed AGAIN! I'm flossin right now! I got on my baby blue short-shorts and matchin hoodie (like J.Lo's in the "I'm Real" remix video!) and my baby blue nike wrist bands on and my white air force 1's. So you KNOW I'm happy! I'm just gonna play by myself for a while and shoot some hoops. Oh lawd, not him again! Man, I've been tryin to avoid his ass ever since seeing that shit in BK earlier on today! Yeah, that's right. I'm talkin bout Jay. Oh, he wanna "talk" now.
"Please Maia.we gotta talk." Jay said, touching my hand.
"We ain't got nothing to talk about." I said, continuing to play.
"Please? I really like you.a lot." He says, grabbing my arm.
"Oh yeah, I'm so sure. You really showed that earlier today, so thanks so much. Get the fuck outta my face." I say, releasing his grip and continuing on with what I was doing.
"I really like you, I do. It's just that-"
(Ring-Ring!)
Jogging over to where my water bottle was, I take a sip and then grab my cell phone out of the pocket of my jacket.
"Hello?" I answer.
"Maia, it's me, Dwayne."
"Oh, hey D. What's up?" I ask.
"It's Crystal. I'm worried bout her, Maia. I came here to pick her up because we was gonna go to the movies tonight. And there's a note here sayin how she has 2 finish some business with Dany. Something's goin down, I know. I didn't know who else to call." Dwayne said, sounding pretty worried. "Dammit! Crissy didn't tell me a damn thing about wanting to do ANY fucking thing. And that bitch Dany don't know when to quit! She's gonna get her ASS kicked! Where you at?" "I'm at your place. Shit, I got a real bad feeling about this." Dwayne said, sounding even more worried by the second.
"Aight, just calm down. I'mma come get u aight? Sit tight." I said, trying to be calm. "Yeah, I'll be here." Dwayne said.
(End Call)
I put my cell on my hip, grabbed my things, and just ran past Jay without sayin nothin to my car. He's following me, running behind me and shoutin my name. Oh lawd, this boy ain't never gonna quit is he?! "Maia! Where you going?" Jay asks, stopping me.
"Not that it's any of your concern, but I got me some personal business to attend to." I answered. "What happened?" He asked, sounding a little concerned.
"I got three words for you: Crystal, Dany, Showdown." I answered, unlocking the driver's side and getting in my car. "Well, I don't care what you say. I'm going because I'm not about to let that bitch do anything stupid and hurt you." Jay said, walking up closer to my car. "No, that's alright. I can hold my own and don't really need you there, but thanks anyway." I said, starting to put my window up. "Let me do this, Maia. Please." Jay insisted. "Okay fine, get in." I said, sighing.
He jumps in and we drive off, with the ride being mostly quiet. Now, when we're almost to me and Crissy's apartment, that's when he decides he wants to talk. "We need to talk, Maia. I really wanna get this sorted out. Crystal got on my case, and it's a good thing, because I realize how you gotta be feelin' some type way now." Jay said. "Oh, you really think so?" I ask sarcastically.
"I'm not with her, and I don't want her. I want YOU." He said, I guess trying to sound sincere. "I can't be dealing with no playa right now, and besides, you got what you want.HER. So it's cool, we're friends, and that's the end of it." I said, not looking at him.
"Maia please." Jay begged.
"I really don't want to talk about this right now." I said, ignoring his pleas.
"But I really wanna talk about what-"
(Ring-Ring!)
My cell AGAIN? What the hell is going on? I can't just NOT answer it, because it could be Dwayne or Crissy! Fuck! I'm trying to get it off of my hip and drive at the same time, but this shit is NOT working! And would you believe it if I told you if I said this fool is over here smiling??? What the hell is he so damn giddy about?!
"You need some help with that?" Jay asked, still grinning.
"Huh? Oh yeah, but my phone is all the way on the other side of my hip." I said, twisting my hips and hoping to have some luck with this phone.
"Don't worry, I got it." Jay said, unbuckling his seat belt and leaning over my lap to reach for my cell, which was still ringing.
I know I'm supposed to be technically "mad" at Jay right now (and I still am somewhat), but he's up here trying to get this phone off of me and the back of his hands keep brushing up against my legs! How can I be mad at him when he's touching me like this.even when it's accidental???
"Damn, this shit is hard!" Jay said, still struggling and getting a little frustrated.
"Just click the button and it should come off." I said, chuckling even though I knew it was wrong.
"Okay, I got it." He said, but he was still struggling. I can tell!
"Damn boy! Move your head! I can't see!" I said.
"Sorry girl, my bad!" Jay answered, laughing and moving.
I took a sharp left, and accidentally sent Jay right into my lap! Oh no! I can't believe this!
"Jay, now I know that you wanted to try and get this relationship back on track, but I didn't think this was what you were talking about exactly." I joked, cracking up.
"Shut up and take your phone." Jay said, smiling and shaking his head as he went to get up out of my lap.
"Hello?" I said, finally answering the phone.
"Why the hell did it take you so long to answer the phone?! Where the hell are you at?!"
"Dwayne, what the hell did I say? Your ass is hard headed, I'm telling you! Sit tight! I'mma be there in 2 minutes, aight?! And where are we supposed to find her anyways, do you know?" I said, a little pissed that he got all loud and wrong with me.
"Yeah, but it may be a while before we actually get to her." Dwayne answered.
"Fuck! Aight, I'll be there to get you real soon. I'm like a minute away from you now. Wait for me out front, okay?" I said.
"Yeah. See you soon." Dwayne said.
(End Call)
I thought things were really gonna be simpler than this! Why the hell do things always gotta be so complicated for me no matter where the hell I go? If Dany wants to start a fight, I'mma kick her fucking ass and make it so that HER ass is the one leaving in a damn ambulance this time! Not the other way around! Shit, what if she shoots Crissy? No, that ain't gonna happen. I gotta stop thinking like this, because if I know Crissy, I know she can be a tough bitch when she wants to, and she ain't gonna put up with Dany's shit. She fucked her ass up when they had their fight. At least that's what I thought ever since seeing the evidence that was left on Dany's face when she came to the WC that time and shot me.Oh well, I gotta go peoples. I just pulled up to me and Crissy's apartment, and Dwayne's standing right outside just like I asked. He's getting the car and we're off. Catch ya'll later.
Hey people. I know that I just kinda disappeared for a while and ya'll didn't know where I was. Maia and Dwayne probably got everybody tripping out wondering where I am. I'm on the way to see Dany, (I took Dwayne's car, which I know he's gonna be pissed about later on when he sees me) and she wanted to meet me at her mother's house. I figured what the hell, since I wanted to get this thing handled once and for all between me and her. But the thing with Dany is that, she's got a lot of tricks up her sleeve. She's extremely smart, and I'll give her that. So for her to call me out of the blue wanting me to come see her and whatnot? Something's up. And having that law mentality that I do have, I took it upon myself to make a little trip to the Florida PD and let them know something's bout to go down and to file a report on her. Now, Dany's mother's house is a little far and out the way. What they're going to do is, they have me wired, just in case. They gave me this pin thing to hook onto my bra. The house is off on the left side of the road, and it's definitely secluded. So there aren't too many people around. Okay, I'm pulling up to Dany's mom's place right now. This is going to be interesting, huh? Enough fun and games, let's get it on.
Walking up to the door, I knock on it, and Dany answers. She's got this huge smile on her face, and that's something that really befuddles me as to why she's doing that. Nevertheless, I walk right in, not caring that she didn't welcome me in herself.
"Now why the hell-"
"Before you say another word, you're gonna sit down right now, and we're gonna have a heart-to-heart talk. Now SIT." Dany says, pointing a gun right at my head. So, I do as I'm told and sit down. All hell is gonna break loose in a little while when her ass gets carried away, so why not play her game for just a little while? "You've got such a temper on you, Crystal. I never understood why you were always so quick to get angry. You need to learn to RELAX." Dany says, pacing back and forth in front of me as I'm sitting down at the dining room table. Now she's coming over to me and is playing with my hair. I push her hand away, and she just laughs. Won't THIS be fun?
"You want to talk things out, so I'll start. Ever since we parted ways, you've done NOTHING but try and make my life a living hell ever since. I've done nothing to you, so why keep bringing on more and more trouble?" I said, looking at her.
"Why? Because we never should have parted ways as you put it, in the first place. We were destined to be together, and you knew it. As soon as Dwayne and Maia waltzed into your life, you were as good as gone from me. I wish things could be back to the way they used to be, Crissy." Dany said, standing in front of me and giving me a pitiful look, like I was supposed to sympathize or something. "Me too. I personally don't know where we went wrong. Other than you being jealous of Maia and Dwayne, we were fine." I said, smiling. "And we WERE fine. We had some good times, didn't we?" Dany asked me.
"Yeah, we did. Can I just ask you what you personally had against Maia or Dwayne other than me spending time with them?" I asked. "Maia just didn't seem trustworthy to me. She's the type to use you and just leave you to hang high and dry after she gets what she wants. And as for Dwayne.well, you know what I feel about you two and what you're doing. It's morally wrong, and it's against UM's beliefs and what we, as a school, stand for." Dany answered. "My judgement and how I want to live my life is my business and noone else's." I said, getting just a little defensive. "Crissy, Crissy, Crissy. There's no need to get hasty. Why don't we just slow things down a bit. How about a drink?" Dany asked, standing up.
"Fine. I see I don't have a choice in the matter anyhow." I answered. "Okay, now don't you go trying anything funny. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt up here, would we?" Dany asked with a smile, before finally walking into the kitchen. Not even 5 minutes later does she come walking out the kitchen, in her hands carrying 2 strawberry margaritas. She must have already made them before I got here.
"Strawberry margaritas.our favorite, remember?" Dany asked, setting mine down in front of me. I took a sip of mine and smiled. "Remember every Friday night when we would chill out at our apartment and stay up all night drinking these? We'd have a good time together, wouldn't you say?" Dany asked, taking a sip of hers.
"It was okay, I mean, we wouldn't really do anything. We would just sit there talking about stuff and drinking and just being dumb the whole time. Nothing more would happen." I said, shrugging my shoulders and taking a drink. This margarita was good as hell! "If you say so." Dany said smiling, and taking a sip of her drink. "No, I KNOW so. What's that smile for?" I asked, confused.
~*~*~*~*~*~*Later, outside of the house.*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Okay D, you take my car and go to the police station. Me and Jay are gonna go on in here and see if we can find Cris." Maia said, looking at Dwayne, and tossing him her keys. "Don't hesitate to call me if anything happens. I'mma have my phone on the whole time while I'm gone." Dwayne said. "Don't worry, man. We will." Jay said, slapping hands with Dwayne.
"Aight, you two be careful now." Dwayne said, just before getting into the driver's side of Maia's car and then driving off. Jay and Maia walk up to the house, only to see that the front door to the house is open. The two of them walk in, and immediately start looking around for Crystal. "I'mma check upstairs, and you check down here. Holla if you find Crissy." Maia said, before finally splitting up with Jay.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"We'd have some really good times together those nights, but it's a shame that you can't remember what happened any of those times. I thinks I would put just a little too much of my secret ingredient in your drink, my dear. That's why you'd get those headaches and would be so tipsy. In retrospect, I could have been more careful." Dany said, hovering over me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "You were DRUGGED, honey. All the same, though, it wouldn't matter. The next morning, you'd be too hung over to remember a thing." Dany answered, smiling. "What a minute, what? You would DRUG me each week?!" I asked, starting to get defensive again.
"Yeah, I did. But I didn't mean for you to get those terrible headaches, that was my bad. You might've been drugged, but that STILL didn't keep you from enjoying yourself. I know I had a DAMN good time with you in more ways than one." Dany said, smiling. "What are you getting at? I'm not gay, Dany." I said, giving her a weird look. "You may not be, but you sure as hell acted like you knew what you were doing! I know you weren't complaining at all when I was pleasing you." Dany said, smirking and then winking at me.
What the hell am I even doing up here? I'm in Dany's mother's room, and I feel kinda woozy, but she keeps playing with me. Like, she won't stop touching my shirt. And because it's one of those v-neck low cut ones, she's all touching my boobs and shit. I got a disgusted look on my face and suddenly Dany off of me. Suddenly I start thinking about all that she had been saying. Even though I would have them terrible headaches every Saturday when I'd wake up, I would feel extremely strange, like I would need to talk to Dany about something. And then I would keep seeing stuff in my head, like of her and I doing things, almost like hallucinations. The only difference would be like, it was like I was having déjà vu. So I just mistook it for me still being hung over and wouldn't say anything. I figured it was just my imagination playing tricks on me.
"What's the matter, sweetie? Are you taking a trip down memory lane and seeing that I'm right after all?" Dany asked, chuckling.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this." I said, shaking my head in disbelief at her. "And that's your problem right now. You don't believe anything until someone like me comes along and PROVES it to you, and then and only then, when the shit hits the fan, do you start to care." Dany said, glancing at me. "No, you have it all wrong Dany." I said, shaking my head.
"Oh I have it all wrong? No, I believe YOU have it all wrong. Just like MAIA did, some days ago, when I shot her ass. I should've killed her when I had the damn chance." Dany said, raising her voice. "You know what? I'm not even upset. I knew you shot her all along as soon as I found your earring in her hoodie that night in the hospital. So what, you're deciding you wanna come clean now? You wanted me to come up here so you could make your little confession and make me feel bad? Well honey, I already suspected as much. You just confirmed it." I said, smiling at Maia as she stood in front of me.
"POLICE! Drop the gun, and put your hands over your head NOW!" And what perfect timing, huh? I'm sitting here watching a whole flock of Florida PD cops bombard Dany and start reading her rights to her. All the while she's giving me this weird look. I could care less, because this puts a perfect ending to my day. The police have a taped confession of Dany saying that she shot Maia, and so there's no way she's getting out of this one. Not even her Daddy can save her this time. Suddenly Dwayne, Maia and Jay all come bum-rushing into the room, practically knocking all of the police officers down. This is HILARIOUS, because they're literally running over to me now.
"Girl, come here! Don't you ever do that shit again!" Maia said, pulling me up to hug her.
"What's he doing here?" I ask, looking at Jay. "Look, I just wanted to say that I was sorry for all that happened earlier on today, and that you was right." Jay said, looking at me. "I guess I can take that sorry ass excuse of an apology." I said, smiling and going to hug Jay.
"Are you okay? I was worried SICK about you, girl!" Dwayne said, pulling me close and hugging me. "You underestimate my mind, don't you? I told you I could handle this myself." I said, looking at Dwayne and then 2 of the cops that were making their way over to me. "You?! Honey, I am the one who got the cops here!" Dwayne said, differing with me. "You went to the cops? I went to them before I came here.that's why they got me wired. They gave me this pin to put on my bra so that in case anything major would happen that they'd be right here." I said.
"Great job, Crystal." Officer Smith said, shaking my hand. "I tell you, we should get someone like you on the force as a decoy. You didn't break out in a sweat or nothing." Officer Jones said, smiling and also going to shake my hand. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll stick to becoming an attorney for now, but if I change my mind, I'll let you know." I said, smiling. "You actually don't want to KEEP the wire pin, do you?" Officer Smith asked, chuckling.
"Oh! I almost forgot." I said, smiling at the two officers.
Going to unbutton my shirt, I could see that a crowd of cops had started to form. Now, I'm just trying to take these wires off of me, not give them a peep show. Oh lord, here comes Dwayne stepping in. "Ain't nothin to see here.back up." Dwayne says in a tough voice, standing in front of me so that I can't see behind him as he starts to unbutton the rest of my shirt. "You're so wrong." I said, cracking up.
"You didn't see the way they was looking at you, girl. They were gawking at you like they was some hungry savages and you were today's lunch. I can't have that." Dwayne said, taking the pin off of me and making the police officers just a bit jealous. "Here you go." Dwayne said, tossing the small pin over his shoulder to Officer Smith and Officer Jones, who as he could tell, were scowling. That's a shame.he had to make them feel bad.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Knock-Knock!)
"Who in the blue hell is it?!" Dwayne asks, getting pissed off and going to the door. "Don't get mad, D." I said, giggling.
He was mad though, because every time the two of us just wanted to get a LITTLE "quality time" in, someone had to call or knock on the door or do something. And now it was all going to his head. He really needs to calm the hell down, but ever since the drama I put him and everyone else through today, I could see why he wasn't able to do so. "Hey man, what's going on?" Dwayne asked, hugging his nephew Hiram. Behind him stood Nikki, who looked like she was upset. "Honey, what's the matter?" Dwayne asked, putting his arms around Nikki, who looked to be crying.
Hiram, Dwayne and Nikki all came into the living room and sat down. Hiram sat in one of Dwayne's armchairs, and Dwayne and Nikki sat next to me on the couch. "My parents are gonna be so mad at me.they told me that this was gonna happen, and they said that once it did, that I couldn't go back to them ever again." Nikki said, crying.
"If what happened? Nikki, you have to tell us what's wrong or we can't help you." I said, putting my hand on Nikki's back. "I'm pregnant." Nikki answered, in between sobs. "Oh." Dwayne said, seeming to be a little taken back.
"And you know how Mom is, Uncle D. She won't be thrilled at all with what's happened. She's got high expectations for me and stuff, and Dad really wants me to play football, but with this, I can't really concentrate on that, can I?" Hiram asked, looking worried.
"Come here, man." Dwayne said, making room for Hiram to sit next to the rest of us and then hugging him.
"Nikki, I know that you and Hiram love each other very much. But have you weighed out all your options? What is it that you want to do?" I asked, putting my arm around Nikki and looking at her. "Even if it means deserting my own family for Hiram, I don't care. I'm keeping this baby." Nikki said, wiping her tears.
Dwayne and I looked at each other and then at the two of them. I didn't know what to say, but if that's what she wanted to do, then I support her. "And it's real crazy, because her parents don't like me at all. I don't know why, they just don't. And I love her, and we have even talked about the possibility of getting married after we graduate." Hiram said, causing him and Nikki to smile at each other.
"Marriage? Well damn, boy! You wanna go all out, don't you?" Dwayne asked, making all of us laugh. "I do, yeah." Hiram answered, laughing. "So you two want to make this a long-term thing, I take it?" I asked. "Yes." Nikki and Hiram said, not hesitating at all.
"Well, for you Hiram, I'll work on my sister. I know she's not the easiest to get along with at times, and she thinks that just because she's the oldest of the family that she can get her way and that everyone should do what she wants them to do. I'mma have to get in on her ass, but she'll know that it's for good reason. I've been meaning to talk to Miss Ashleigh lately anyway. And no offense to you, but your dad is an asshole. I'm gonna have to deal with him too." Dwayne said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And if you want, I'll go with you to your parents' place. I know it won't be easy for you, so I'm here if you need me." I said, smiling at Nikki, who was no longer crying. "Really? You would do that?" Nikki asked, smiling. "Yeah. It's no problem. Whenever you get ready, just let me know something. You know where I live now, right? I moved since the last time we really talked to one another." I said.
"Yeah, you and Maia live together, right?" Nikki asked. "Yeah. So you can call or just come over anytime, no matter what time of the day it is. I don't care. I really want to help you, and you know you're my girl. Us J.Lo's gotta look out for one another." I said, smiling and hugging Nikki, afterward making her laugh.
"You know what? Scratch that idea. We're all going to my sister Ashleigh's and we're all going to see your parents, Nikki." Dwayne said, standing up. "We are?" Nikki, Hiram and I all asked. "Yes. If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it right. All 4 of us are going to take care of this." Dwayne said, walking to the door. "Now?" All of us ask, confused. "Yes! Get up, and let's go take care of this right now. I'm not waiting any longer to put this off." Dwayne said, opening up door and waiting on us to get up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ashleigh, you're gonna listen to me. Sit down!" Dwayne bellowed, making me and Nikki jump. Hiram was in the other room trying to reason with his dad, as not to start any trouble between him and D. We were in the kitchen of Hiram's parent's house. I could tell that Nikki was beginning to feel uncomfortable. The way Dwayne and his sister were arguing, it just scared us a little bit. She was getting bold a few times and getting in his face, and he's done had to slam her down in that chair a couple times. She just won't sit down and stay down, and it's getting on his nerves. "My son is NOT going to have his whole football career thrown down the tubes because of some bitch!!!" Ashleigh yelled, making Nikki cry. She didn't need to call her that, for real.
"Ms. Johnson, I really think that was uncalled for. She's not a bitch, she's your son's girlfriend. Now you should respect her because of the simple fact that your son DOES love her, whether you want to believe that or not. Don't you trust your son's judgement?" I said, looking at Ashleigh.
"Okay, who is SHE, and why is she in my house disrespecting me like that? Let me tell you something, whoever the hell you are. You don't TALK to me like that! Who the hell do you think you are?" She asked, walking over to my direction, only to be blocked by Dwayne. "CRYSTAL happens to be Nikki's good friend and one of my students that I asked to come here with Nikki and Hiram and I, because I knew that some shit like this was gonna happen. You're sitting here and bad mouthing Nikki, and she's done nothing wrong except love your son, and you're up here flipping out." Dwayne said, looking in Ashleigh's eyes. "I don't care WHO she is. You're not gonna bring her in here and she disrespect me like that. She don't KNOW me, Dwayne." Ashleigh said, sitting down finally. "She's not disrespecting you, but trying to make you understand things just as I am. You won't listen to a word Hiram says, and so that's why he had no choice but to come to me. If he knew anyone would get it through to you, even if it meant getting on your case, it would be me. Now, I'm not gonna leave here until you finish listening to what I have to say." Dwayne said, pacing back and forth.
"Wait, wait, wait a damn minute! I am 36 fucking years old! I'm older than YOUR ass, and you're up here telling me what to do?!" Ashleigh asked, eyeing Dwayne like he was crazy. "YES." Dwayne said, staring her down, making her quickly get quiet. "What I wanna know is, why don't you even like Nikki in the first place and why you're being such an ass about this whole thing when your son needs you the most?" Dwayne asked, sitting down. "She's just trying to trap my baby because he's going on to the NFL and he's actually gonna make something of himself. God, Dwayne, what do you TEACH them in your class?" Ashleigh said, looking disgusted at her brother.
"That last fucking comment shouldn't have even came right out your damn mouth! I KNOW you're not trying to start anything you can't finish!" Dwayne said, raising his voice. "And anyway, Hiram's dad is Cuban and hers is black. Our families don't get along as it is. And Antonio doesn't want Hiram getting involved with a girl who's half black." Ashleigh said, ignoring Dwayne. "What the fuck does that have to do with anything? YOU'RE half black, so what the hell is he trying to say? Don't make the same mistake HE did? Oh that's it.his ass is mine now. I've done had it up to HERE with his shit!" Dwayne said angrily, getting up. Nikki and I looked at each other with a worried look on both of our faces. Ashleigh looked horrified as she saw Dwayne stand in front of her and ball up his fists and get angry.
"Dwayne no!" Ashleigh, Nikki and I yelled, getting up and rushing to stop Dwayne in his tracks. "Honey, don't do it. I'm sorry about everything I said back there, just PLEASE don't." Ashleigh pleaded, trying to help me and Nikki push Dwayne back into the kitchen. "Sorry ain't gonna work this time." Dwayne said, lightly pushing me, Nikki and Ashleigh off to the side.
"Antonio!!!" He yelled, walking out the kitchen and down the hall to Hiram's room. "You son of a bitch." Dwayne said, stopping in the doorway. "ASHLEIGH! Tell your asshole brother to get the hell out of my son's room! NOW!" Antonio yelled. Ashleigh, Nikki and I went running to Hiram's room to stop Dwayne from what he was about to do. Antonio and him were squaring up, with poor Hiram in the middle trying to calm the two men down.
"Dad.Uncle DJ.ya'll don't need to do this." Hiram said.
"What's your father been teaching you Hiram? According to your mom, he's been telling you not to get involved with any woman that's half BLACK! Ain't that right, Antonio?" Dwayne said, staring Antonio down. "You stay the fuck out of my business, motherfucker." Antonio said, staring Dwayne down. "No, see I can't DO that. My sister and I happen to be half BLACK. And when you tell my sister's only child that he shouldn't get involved with any woman of black descent, I believe I have a problem with that. That shit becomes personal. You're indirectly offending my sister, and when you fuck with my sister, you fuck with me." Dwayne said, eyeing Antonio. "I don't give a flying fuck WHAT you think, asshole!" Antonio replies, then spitting in Dwayne's face.
"Oh no you fucking DIDN'T!" Dwayne yelled, wiping the spit out of his eye. Pushing Hiram out the way, soon he was battling it out with Antonio. Fists were flying, their bodies were going everywhere.it was crazy!
"Stop it!!!" Ashleigh, Nikki and I say, all of us crying. "Come on." Ashleigh says, pulling Nikki and I away from the chaos that was taking place in Hiram's room. Ashleigh takes us to her and Antonio's room and shuts the door. We couldn't be around all of that, and though it was wrong for us to break it up, deep down, all 3 of us know that even we wouldn't be able to separate our men and have them stop for good. This makes me start to worry about how things are going to look down the line. Nikki and Hiram don't know what's going on between Dwayne and I, and I feel wrong for not telling them, but I can't help thinking that it would just add to their problems if we told. They're too much involved in their relationship to be concerned with ours. And then there's Dwayne's sister Ashleigh.she's a case all in herself. For now, I guess once we finish up here and then go to Nikki's parents house, then we can tell her. I'll have to discuss it with Dwayne first though, because I don't want him getting pissed with me for running my mouth and him not knowing anything about it. Because then where will we be?
(Bam!)
Someone just threw someone else into the door, and now I'm backing away from it, scared for my life. I don't like all of this fighting. I'm not used to all of this, to be honest. I hope they stop this fighting soon, because if not, we won't make it to Nikki's parent's house at all. "I need you two girls to listen to me, and listen good." Ashleigh said, signaling for us to come sit with her on the bed. "Antonio has a strict ruling over his son, and he expects Hiram to abide by him at all times. One of his rules that he's most strict about is the fact that he, by all means possible, is not to get involved with a girl of black descent. And as his wife, I have to support him on that. He supports me in any and everything I do, and so I'm returning the favor. This right here is NOT acceptable. And I know what you may be thinking.sure, Dwayne and I are brother and sister and we're both Samoan and black. But, the fact of the matter is, he and I have different fathers. That's just the way it is. So, truth be told, I'm NOT black. I'm just Samoan. Dwayne, on the other hand, IS both. He doesn't know that we had different fathers, because by the time he was born, our mother had already gotten married to his father, and he was born a year later. I was 8 years old then, and I really didn't understand what was going on, but as I got older, Mom explained everything. He, on the other hand, was kept in the dark about a lot, because Mom doesn't necessarily want him to know yet. I'd like to keep it so that he still DOESN'T, understand?" Ashleigh said asked, glaring at us.
"Yes." Nikki and I answered nervously. "My son has big dreams. He's going out for the NFL next year after he graduates, and he's going to be GOOD. With the way he's been playing these past 2 years, he's GUARANTEED a scholarship from UM. His future is bright.VERY bright in fact. Nothing is going to get in his way, and I'm going to make sure of that. You, Nikki, have a plan that's NOT going to work. You're not gonna USE my son to get what you want. I see right through your little games you're trying to play with my baby's head. And I'm here to tell you that, I'm sad to burst your little bubble of hope, but it's not going to happen." Ashleigh said, looking right at Nikki. "You have your own mind, and you don't have to dislike Nikki just because your husband does." I said, looking right at Ashleigh.
"And YOU.I don't have the slightest idea as to why Dwayne REALLY brought you here. What I DO know, is that I see right through you, and I can see that, in addition to your little friend here, that I'm gonna have a problem with you too. You and Dwayne are just alike. You try and push your opinions off on me, and it's like, do as I say, not as I do. And come to think of it, you've been speaking up quite a BIT here, young lady. Dwayne must have SOME influence on his students. Didn't your mother teach you any manners? I guess not." Ashleigh said, making me upset. "You don't know a damn thing about me or my mother, so don't even talk to me like that. By the way, I'm not trying to push anything off on you either. Dwayne has nothing to do with this, other than the fact of him bringing me here for Nikki's sake. You should try and listen to other people's thoughts and not stay so centered on your own sometime." I said, getting Nikki and going to walk out of her and Antonio's room. "Don't you walk out on me!!!" We hear Ashleigh yell, coming for us.
"Back the fuck up, Ash! NOW!" Dwayne booms, all of the sudden walking past us quickly and restraining Ashleigh. Nikki and I walk into Hiram's room to see Antonio knocked out in the corner, and Hiram standing nearby, shaking his head. "Baby, are you okay?" Hiram asks, as soon as seeing Nikki.
"Just a little shaken up with what's all happened, but.Hiram, I don't know about this. Both your parents clearly don't want you to have any part of me, and vice versa." Nikki said, looking worried. Meanwhile, I was still by the door to Hiram's room. I was looking at Dwayne, who was looking at Ashleigh, who was looking at me. Things were not cool at all, and unless Hiram did something, things were only going to get worse. "This is IT! I've had it up to HERE, now!" Hiram yelled, making all of us turn our attention to him. Dwayne brought Ashleigh into the room and stood her in front of him. He was going to make sure that she listened to him. Antonio was touching his head and looking up at Hiram, so now everyone had his full undivided attention. "I love Nikki with all my heart, and I'm not going to let anything get in the way of it. Together we're going to have this child, and there's nothing that anyone can do to stop us. We love each other and this baby very much, and we're going to get married just as soon as we both graduate." Hiram said, looking into the eyes of all of us. "You WHAT?" Ashleigh asked in disbelief, then giving the evil eye at Nikki, only to have her face turned back in the direction of Hiram by her brother Dwayne.
"Son, you're going to have to make a decision. It's come to this, and I wish it hadn't, but it did anyway. You choose-us or her." Antonio said, getting up out of the corner to face Hiram. "Okay, I choose her." Hiram says immediately, pulling Nikki to him, who was crying. "Get out! Get out of my house!" Ashleigh yelled, starting to cry.
"That's okay, I can make my own way." Hiram said, taking Nikki and walking out of the room. "Your ass should be ashamed of yourself. That's family. You don't turn your back on family." Dwayne said, looking disgusted at his sister, who was scowling. "You know what?!" Antonio asked, raising his voice. "WHAT?!" Dwayne asked, raising his voice even louder and going to stand in Antonio's face.
Antonio looked like he wanted to say something, but instead took it all in and changed his mind. Out of the room he walked, and I listened as the front door to the house slammed. Nikki and Hiram had left, and were waiting for Dwayne and I in the driveway. "Now what do you have to say for yourself?" Dwayne asked, looking disappointingly at his sister. "Screw you, screw HER, and screw Nikki! Thanks to you three, I've lost my son!" Ashleigh screamed, looking at Dwayne and I. "Ashleigh Lilani Johnson!!! What the fuck did you just say?!" Dwayne asked, his voice booming.
"Screw YOU and screw HER and screw Nikki! All of you can go straight to HELL as far as I'm concerned! And you know what else? I'm not apart of the Johnson Family anymore, from HERE ON! And YOU, Dwayne, YOU can be the one to tell Momma that, because it's YOUR fault! You sit there, and you watch those tears fall down her face, and you take all that shit in, because it's all going to be on your conscious, not mine!" Ashleigh yelled. "Wait a minute, screw ME? I didn't do a goddamn thing to you! I just came to support your son! What the hell is so wrong with that?!" I said, finally speaking up. I had gotten tired of being silent. "Who the hell are you TALKING to, baby girl?! Cause it sure as hell AIN'T me! Dwayne, I know she don't know that I'll fuck her ass up, but I'm bout to spare her the details and just do the damn thing anyway!" Ashleigh said, coming forward.
"Dwayne, that's your sister, but I'm bout tired of her mouth." I said. "Why don't you DO something about it, baby girl?" Ashleigh asked, backing up and looking me up and down. "Someone NEEDS to knock some sense into your ass, anyway!" I said, going towards Ashleigh.
"Honey, come here! No!" Dwayne yelled, pulling me by my waist, and bringing me back to where he was standing, no matter how much I struggled to get out of his arms. "Oh no, Dwayne! If baby girl gonna go head and do something, let her! Just cause she's taller than me don't mean a damn thing!" Ashleigh said, starting to bounce around in place. "Do you realize how fucking stupid you look right now? You're a 36 year old woman trying to get all down and dirty with a damn 22 year old college student! Back the fuck up and act like you got some damn sense!" Dwayne said, pushing his sister back up against the wall, but not so that it hurt her. "You know what? Like I said, I'm not apart of the Johnson family anymore, which means I don't know you. Get the fuck OUT!" Ashleigh yelled, her eyes getting big.
"I will then! Have a nice fucking life!" Dwayne yelled back.
"Honey, let's go. Hiram and Nikki are waiting." Dwayne added, grabbing my arm and leading me out of Hiram's room. By the time we had all piled into Dwayne's lincoln, there wasn't ONE person who was calm. Every last one of us was upset or pissed off, or both. I felt bad for them, though. Dwayne didn't have a sister anymore, the only family Hiram has IS Dwayne, and Nikki.her story isn't done just yet. We're on the way to her place next. It's 9:41pm, still early. Nevertheless, we know we have to do this. After catching this breather, I guess we'll see you guys at Nikki's. "Okay, Nikki, Hiram, listen up. Now, we might as well get this out in the open before we go, because things are fucked up as it is." Dwayne said, looking at me and sighing. He sets his hand on mine and starts to squeeze it. I think I know what's about to go down. Maybe we're not leaving just yet AFTER all.
"Crystal and I are in a relationship right now, and so far, it's remained secret for the most part. The only other people that know about this are Maia, Dany, and now you two." Dwayne said, taking a breath, and looking at Nikki and Hiram, who were in the back seat. "It's cool, Uncle DJ. I won't say nothing. Ya'lls secret is safe with me." Hiram said, looking at Dwayne and I and managing a smile. "I won't tell." Nikki said, giving a look of promise on her face. "Thank you." I said, smiling and reaching back to hug both of them. "Yes, thank you very much." Dwayne said, looking in the rear- view mirror at Nikki and Hiram and smiling before finally starting the car.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Mom, Dad, open up the door!" Nikki said, pounding on the door to her parent's house. The door swung open, revealing Nikki's mother and father. They looked at me, Dwayne, Hiram, and last but not least, Nikki. "What's he doing here?" Nikki's mother asked, looking at Hiram. "Well hello to you too, Mom." Nikki said, rolling her eyes.
"You remember Crystal, don't you?" Nikki asked, trying to move on. "It's after 10, Nikki. You came here unannounced, which means that you have something to tell us. And, you came here with HIM and his father, it looks like. Whatever you have to say, make it quick." Nikki's father said, scowling at Dwayne and Hiram. "Sir, Hiram, Nikki and Crystal are all students of mine. I'm not this young man's father." Dwayne said, trying not to get defensive.
"ANYWAY, Nikki, you better say whatever you have to say." Nikki's father said, looking at Nikki. "Can I come in the house, please?" Nikki begged. "Sure, you can come in. Just as long as he doesn't join you." Nikki's mother said, smiling. "Why do you two have to be like this?! I'm having the man's BABY for Christ's sake, and you're acting completely standoffish towards me in every way possible!" Nikki said, starting to cry.
"You're WHAT?" Nikki's mother and father asked, incredibly shocked. "That's right. I love Nikki, and we're having this baby. And when we graduate, we wanna get married." Hiram said, standing by Nikki's side and taking her in his arms. "You're WHAT?!" Nikki's mother and father asked, shocked yet again. "That's right. We're getting married." Nikki acclaimed.
"Well then," Nikki's father said while starting to cry, "I don't have a daughter anymore. It's as simple as that."
"Daddy? Daddy!" Nikki yelled after her father as he walked back up the stairs.
Nikki's mother just stood at the front door, shaking her head in disappointment. She started to close the door but stopped. "I had so much hope for you, Nikki. But, you just went and threw your whole life away. What happened to my baby, I swear I'll never know." Nikki's mother said, finally slamming the door.
"Mom??!!! MOM!!! Open the damn door! Come on, Mom! Please!" Nikki said in between tears, pounding hard on the door. Dwayne and I watched as Hiram went to try and comfort her, as she continued banging on the door. I don't know about Dwayne, but I'm starting to cry now. This is so sad, seeing Nikki literally have the door slammed in her face by her own family, all because of her love for Hiram. She doesn't deserve this, and neither does Hiram. But, in the end, I guess this just shows how much more they're meant for each other.
"Come on, ya'll, let's go." Dwayne said, ushering us back to the car.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
*****
I always hated Wednesdays, because they're smack dab in the middle of the week, and nothing interesting ever happens on a Wednesday. Oh well, I'm sitting here, bored out of my mind, searching the Net in the middle of my Criminology class. Dwayne's going on with this story about how he and his friends used to cut up and stuff when he went here. He must have just said something stupid, because the whole class is cracking up. Hey! Maia just sent me an Instant Message! What the hell is he talking about?
She is so dumb! I don't wanna laugh out loud right now, because if I do I'll cause attention to myself, and who wants that? Let me write this girl back. Okay, I'm done. I'm telling you, this guy is such a clown! Of course you know he had to give me the 5th degree last night after the thing with Sean and what he said to me. I broke down and told him, and he was upset to say the least. I didn't tell him in the first place, and that's what made him the maddest. But after walking it off, he came back and by that time he had calmed down. He said he knew something was up as soon as Sean winked at me. But oh well, what can you do? Here's Maia again! You need to shut ya man up, girl! We all know how you can go ahead and do that, but I ain't gonna say because you should know by now. I don't know about that girl sometimes. She wanna talk about I'M sick? Oh no! Sometimes she really has me beat and she don't even know it half the time. I don't know if I should interpret that as a sexual comment or what, because she's up here talkin bout me shutting Dwayne up, and.I don't know. We'll see what she says.
Girl, don't ACT like you don't know what I'm talking about! Give him some of that "pie" as he calls it! That'll shut his ass up for sure! LMFAO! It'll keep his ass busy for a long time, too! Do you see what I'm talking about? I swear, she's not RIGHT! I should have known that's what she was talking about. Nikki's looking over here at my computer, giving me this weird look. I wanna laugh so bad! "What the hell are you and 2 talking about?" She whispered.
"We're just kidding around. Besides, he's up here running his mouth, so what else is there to do?" I answered, smiling. "Okay, I got you chica." Nikki said, smiling and logging on her computer soon after.
Look at Spanky touching his belt! He's looking at you, girl! He knows you're being bad, and you're bout to get it now!
"Crystal, what are you doing up there?" Dwayne asks, looking at me. See, I told you!
I wish Maia would shut up! She's about to really get me in trouble! Let me answer this guy before he comes up here and starts his own investigation or something. "I'm not doing anything, Mr. Johnson." I answered sweetly.
"I think you're lying." He said, smiling.and touching his belt!!!
Spanky's got your name all over that belt, girl!
What is wrong with this girl? And why does she keep calling him that? It's funny, but it's getting on my nerves! Let me say a few words to this girl before she makes me have to smack her. "I'm not lying, Mr. Johnson. I'm really not doing anything." I said.
"Crystal, as a soon-to-be lawyer, you should be much better at telling lies. Cause right now, you suck." Dwayne said, making the class laugh and walking up the steps. Uh-oh! He's coming up here! Spanky's got a bone to pick with you!
I quickly closed out the IM Maia had sent me, and I opened up the page to the UM web site that I had minimized earlier. And just in time too, because he's right here at my desk! "What you looking at there, Counselor?" Dwayne asked, coming up from behind me and peering over my shoulder. "Just checking out the UM site." I said a bit nervously.
"Oh really? Hmm.oh, from here I get a NICE view of J.Lo number 2's computer too! Coincidentally, she's ALSO logged onto the UM site." Dwayne said, looking at Maia, who was now turned around in her swivel chair and smiling at Dwayne. "Is this what you wanted to see?" I asked.
Dwayne chuckled and shook his head, touching his belt (yet again) and then looking at the ground. He started to walk back down the steps but then stopped. "I'm gonna catch you one day, doing something you're not supposed to be doing, Counselor. Then you won't be so quick." Dwayne said, finally walking down the rest of the stairs.
"Ooh!" Said everyone in the class (except me and Maia who were relieved that he hadn't caught us talking about him).
You should've never asked him that question about "Is this what you wanted to see" because he's gonna make you regret it later on when he's got you screaming his name!!! See, why does she always have to start something? I haven't said anything else about her and Jay, and she just wants to keep it going! I don't know why I even bother with this girl sometimes, I swear. It's not MY fault Mr. Spanky said he was gonna get you! LMAO! I'm playin, I'm playin. I know you wanna kick my ass right about now, so let me stop while I'm ahead.
Thank you GOD, she's calmed down! For a minute there, I didn't know WHAT I was gonna do with her! Looking over at Nikki's comp, she's talking to Hiram. I tell you, those two are really in love with each other. But H is taking one hell of a chance talking to her because D is right down there in front of the class talking in front of him. Nikki, Maia, Hiram and me are the only ones on our comp's. Everyone else is listening.we've GOT to stand out, I just KNOW it. "AHEM! Attention 3 J.Lo's and Hiram! And you 3 know who you are too.I'm about to make an important announcement, and I need you to be paying attention." Dwayne said loudly. Unfortunately, Maia and I aren't paying attention. By him getting loud, we just thought he was trying to cut up and be foolish.like normal! We're still chatting with each other, regardless. "Don't MAKE me call you two out!" Dwayne said, again going unheard by Maia and I.
"That's it." Dwayne said, getting off the corner of his desk and starting to walk up the steps.
It wasn't until the class started making noise that I finally figured something was up. Seeing Dwayne approach me and Maia really made me get the point then. "You and you.come with me." Dwayne said, pointing his finger at me and then Maia.
Maia and I turned off our laptops and then looked at one another, then Dwayne, who was walking down the steps. He stood at the bottom of the steps looking at us. "Did you not understand me? Do you need for me to speak it to you in another language? Ven conmigo! Ahora!" Dwayne said annoyingly. That was it, Maia and I KNEW to get up then. I knew what he was saying, I just didn't know if Maia knew. From the look on her face, she doesn't CARE. Just as long as he don't wring our necks, she's cool. That's the kind of look she's giving me. As we're walking down the steps where he's waiting for us, our fellow J.Lo's give us some words of encouragement. "Keep ya head up, baby! It's okay!" Nikki said, smiling.
"I know that's right! No matter where he puts ya'll, we'll still remember where you came from! The Bronx, baby!" Yolanda said. Now everybody knows we (Maia and me) sure as hell didn't come from no damn Bronx, but in the J.Lo spirit, we still gotta keep up, you know what I mean? It's funny! Don't act like ya'll don't wanna laugh at her! Yo is real crazy! It's okay, you can admit it! I won't tell! "No talking to them two.I'm putting these prisoners in solitary confinement. Visiting hours are OVER." Dwayne said, ushering us over to the door to his "chambers". Still, you know I gotta have the last word and be a smart-ass.
"You know, Mr. Johnson, I know some Spanish too." I say, winking at him and making the class crack up. Maia is CRYING! You should see it now! "Girl, get the hell in here and be quiet. You too, Maia. Class, I'll be back as soon as I get done dealing with these delinquents." Dwayne said, lightly pushing us and closing the door behind him. Maia and I walk over to his desk and simultaneously sit down, all while looking at him. He damn sure knows he ain't gonna do nothing to us.disciplinary-wise anyway. "Ya'll two just keep on misbehaving." Dwayne said in a sexy voice, walking slowly over to us.
"We were just having fun." Maia and I said in an innocent voice.
Me and Maia looked at one another and started smiling. Dwayne put one of his hands on my right thigh and the other on Maia's left, then started slowly moving them up. "I can't have misbehavior in my class, I thought I made that clear to you two before." Dwayne said, continuing to move his hands up me and Maia's thighs. Maia and I jumped at his sudden touch at the same time, and then settled down. We both went to move his hands, but we were only pushed away. "Uh-uh.See, I still gotta get ya'll two back for the little game you played on me last Friday. Thought I forgot, huh? Well let me tell you something about Dwayne Johnson. I NEVER forget." He said with a kinky smile, then felt on us both. "You know you can't possibly finish this right now." I said, moaning a little bit afterward.
"Oh yeah, I know. There's more where that came from, believe me. I'm not done with either one of you yet. But for now, you can go back out there." Dwayne said, smiling and backing up so that we could have room to get off the desk. Maia wastes NO time getting off the desk and walking out. To tell you the truth, I think she was a little shocked by what just happened. Or maybe it hasn't settled in yet? I'll find out later. But right now, I got something I gotta do before I go. Pressing Dwayne up hard against the long, cherry-wood furnished bookcase, I madly kiss him. For some reason, I just can't help myself. That HAD to be done. Dwayne's in shock because of what I just did, but he's chuckling. So it's cool. "What the HELL just came over you, Counselor?" Dwayne asked, laughing.
I let go of his collar and backed up, having to laugh a little myself. It WAS a little unexpected.
"I just couldn't hold back, I'm sorry. But you started it by what you did not too long ago. I guess it just went to my head." I said, smiling at him. "No need to apologize," Dwayne said in a sexy voice, pulling me up against him, "I like when you act all wild like that. I like to be in control when it comes to, you know.but every now and then, you gotta put me in my place! And if it takes getting all physical and aggressive, well what the hell!" "I'm glad you think that." I said, kissing him. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Hey peoples, what's the deal? It's me Maia, and I'm borrowing ya'll for the time being. I don't care WHAT Crissy says, she ain't gonna do nothin! So anyways, me and her are home now, and we're getting ready to go get something to eat. Dealing with Dwayne Johnson makes a chick HUNGRY, for reals! (Knock-Knock!)
"Who the hell is this now? We just got the hell home!" I say, sighing out loud and walking to the front door.
"Girl, there's something out front for you with your name on it! You better go see what it is." Our neighbor across the hall, Maria, said.
"What?" I ask, confused. What the hell is she talking about? "Maia, come on!" Maria says, pulling me out into the hallway, and dragging me down the steps.
"Oh my god! This is mine?!!!" I ask, looking at what's in front of me.
Parked in the parking lot in front of our apartment building is a black Lincoln Navigator! It's got tinted windows and everything! Oh wait, there's a note! I'm reading it right now, and it says that the car is from my brother! Can you believe that shit? It's a gift from him as an early birthday present! He's always on business doing something! Damn! I'mma have to get him something for Christmas now all early and stuff! But that's aight.it's ALL chicken and gravy, baby! "Crissy? CRISSY!" I yell, making Crystal come running out the apartment like a mad woman. You should see her! This shit is too funny right now!
"What's wrong? What happened?" She asked, rushing down the steps all quick and shit. "Look at this! This is MINES! All mines! You can borrow it whenever you want, but only when I don't got it.then again, that's gonna be like all the TIME, so never mind! (laughs) Sike nah, I'm playing with you girl." I said, grinning.
"Who got you this? This is nice!" Crissy said, walking around the car. "My older brother got it for me. He's going out of town for a business trip and won't be back until sometime after Christmas, so this was sort of like an early birthday present for me." I answered, all smiles.
"Well, I need to get in REAL good with ya brother then. Think you can put in a good word for me?" She asked, innocently smiling. "You ain't right girl. I'll think about it. But in the mean time, what you say me and you go get something to eat?" I asked. "Oh yeah! But you know you're treating though, right?" Crissy asked.
"Hey.J.Lo number 2 ain't cheap no way! I still got class!" I said, cracking up and getting in the car with Crissy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'm back, people! I don't know who Miss Thing thinks she is by taking ya'll just cause she got herself a ride! Looks like I'mma have to remind her that she IS J.Lo number 2 and that I'M number 1! I'm playing, I'm playing.
"For real?" I asked, laughing as we walked into BK.
Maia is in the middle of telling me this funny as hell story, and I'm sorry for bringing ya'll in all late and wrong like that. But it's too funny for her to start over, so ya'lls is just gonna have to deal with it! "Hell yeah! I fell flat on my ass! It was in front of this fine boy too! He was all smiling and shit, but at least he did come and help me up! So its all good! You know me, I had to play the damsel in distress.a role that I play soooooooo well!" Maia said, laughing and making me crack up.
Now, I'm laughing even harder. I can't believe she busted her ass all after tripping over her shoelace! How dumb was she! Thank goodness this happened when I didn't even know the girl, because if I was with her and that happened, I would've started CRYING and then ran out the room! It's ignorant of me, but I wouldn't wanna laugh all in her face! Ya'll feel me? Everyone in here is looking at us, I take it because we're laughing all loud and being dumb. But you know what, I don't give a damn! If I think something's funny, I'mma laugh, and I'mma laugh my ass off!
HOLD UP! I don't know what has been going on these past few days. Yesterday I see Dany and Sean in my Salsa class, and today I SWEAR I see Jay all hugged up on some chick right across the room! Ooh! I can't let Maia see that asshole and that trick, or else she's gonna fuck some people up! I'm going to stand in front of her right now, and she's looking all weird at me! It's funny, but what's across the room is so NOT funny! "What the fuck is you doing, chica? Move!" Maia says, laughing and going to push me out the way. I'm not moving though. "Come on, Crissy. I wanna eat, and I know you do too." Maia adds, going to push me again. "We can't eat here!" I blurt out, feeling like a complete ass.
"Why the hell not?" Maia asks, getting a little defensive.
"I, um.I don't want BK anymore. Sorry, but I changed my mind. I guess I had Dwayne on my mind, and that's why I wanted to come here. I want some, uh.Chinese! Yeah! I love me some egg rolls! I ain't had those in a MINUTE, girl!" I said, laughing and hoping she would follow my lead. "What's the point? We're already here! So come on, let me go, girl!" Maia said, still struggling. "I don't care! We're going NOW." I said, grabbing Maia towards the door with me. "Let me GO! Damn!" Maia said, breaking free of my grip and walking up to the front yet again.
"Maia no!!!" I said.
Maia didn't answer me. Instead she just stood there for about 5 minutes, staring in Jay's direction. She just shook her head now, so I know some shit is about to go down! Suddenly she's turning around and now she's walking past me, still not saying anything at all. "Maia, come back here!" I said, going to grab her.
"I'm not hungry anymore, okay? I've just lost my appetite, but here go head. I said it was my treat, so go head and go get yourself some lunch. " She answered, sounding a little upset. I wasn't too particular on taking her money, but from the look on her face, I can tell you that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "You sure?" I ask, just to make sure it's alright.
"Yeah. You go ahead and hang out. Just call me and I'll come and get you whenever." Maia answered, walking out. Alright, for the record, I just wanna let you people know that I'm thoroughly and officially pissed off right now!!! Where the hell is this ass at? Oh there he is.wouldn't you know, after all of what Maia just saw, he's STILL up on that ho? I'm putting a stop to this shit right now. Excuse me for a minute, things are about to get a little nasty. "What the fuck?" Jay asked, looking at who had pulled on his arm just now. "We need to talk.like, right NOW." I said, eyeing him strongly. "What's up, Crissy?" Jay asked.
"Don't 'what's up Crissy' me!" I said in a bitchy voice.
"What's wrong with you?!" Jay asked.
"Come here and I'll TELL you." I said, dragging him over to a nearby corner. I could see that ho he was with was getting angry. She's tryin to give me a dirty look? Oh no, I'm not the ONE. I just rolled my eyes at her and she's getting even more pissed now, but I could care less. "Who's that ho, and why were ya'll up on her just now?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of Jay. "Shit!" Jay said, sounding like he was pissed off.
"Well I wanna know. Who is she? Oh, and while I'm on the subject of asking QUESTIONS, how the fuck are you gonna tell MY girl that you like her and all that shit, and yet you wanna be all up on some ho like that?" I asked, waiting for an answer. "Dammit, Crystal! I don't even mess with her.we used to go out and she wants something to happen that ain't got no chance of happening ever again. So stop trippin'." Jay said, rolling his eyes at me. "Right, and so the reason why you just didn't set her ass straight from the beginning was because.?" I asked, smirking. Jay just stood there, not being able to say anything. I knew he wasn't going to say anything, because he's stuck. He knows he's wrong for what he's doing, and it wasn't right any way you wanna look at it. He was just WRONG!
"So quiet all the sudden, aren't we?" I asked, smiling.
"Man, whatever. I don't know WHO you think you is, coming all up in here and telling a brotha off like you got some damn authority or somethin!" Jay said, trying to sound tough.
"Oh yeah? Well, since you feel that way, I guess I'll use just a little bit MORE of my authority since you seem to be enjoying the HELL out of it so much. Stay the hell away from Maia, stay the hell away from me, and have yourself a good time with that ho because I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't DROP your ass like Maia's done did." I said, walking off and leaving him to look stupid in front of everyone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It's me again, Maia. I can't believe Crissy wanted me to go with her a couple hours ago to get her hair did! She must be crazy! I wasn't gonna go back home and get changed AGAIN! I'm flossin right now! I got on my baby blue short-shorts and matchin hoodie (like J.Lo's in the "I'm Real" remix video!) and my baby blue nike wrist bands on and my white air force 1's. So you KNOW I'm happy! I'm just gonna play by myself for a while and shoot some hoops. Oh lawd, not him again! Man, I've been tryin to avoid his ass ever since seeing that shit in BK earlier on today! Yeah, that's right. I'm talkin bout Jay. Oh, he wanna "talk" now.
"Please Maia.we gotta talk." Jay said, touching my hand.
"We ain't got nothing to talk about." I said, continuing to play.
"Please? I really like you.a lot." He says, grabbing my arm.
"Oh yeah, I'm so sure. You really showed that earlier today, so thanks so much. Get the fuck outta my face." I say, releasing his grip and continuing on with what I was doing.
"I really like you, I do. It's just that-"
(Ring-Ring!)
Jogging over to where my water bottle was, I take a sip and then grab my cell phone out of the pocket of my jacket.
"Hello?" I answer.
"Maia, it's me, Dwayne."
"Oh, hey D. What's up?" I ask.
"It's Crystal. I'm worried bout her, Maia. I came here to pick her up because we was gonna go to the movies tonight. And there's a note here sayin how she has 2 finish some business with Dany. Something's goin down, I know. I didn't know who else to call." Dwayne said, sounding pretty worried. "Dammit! Crissy didn't tell me a damn thing about wanting to do ANY fucking thing. And that bitch Dany don't know when to quit! She's gonna get her ASS kicked! Where you at?" "I'm at your place. Shit, I got a real bad feeling about this." Dwayne said, sounding even more worried by the second.
"Aight, just calm down. I'mma come get u aight? Sit tight." I said, trying to be calm. "Yeah, I'll be here." Dwayne said.
(End Call)
I put my cell on my hip, grabbed my things, and just ran past Jay without sayin nothin to my car. He's following me, running behind me and shoutin my name. Oh lawd, this boy ain't never gonna quit is he?! "Maia! Where you going?" Jay asks, stopping me.
"Not that it's any of your concern, but I got me some personal business to attend to." I answered. "What happened?" He asked, sounding a little concerned.
"I got three words for you: Crystal, Dany, Showdown." I answered, unlocking the driver's side and getting in my car. "Well, I don't care what you say. I'm going because I'm not about to let that bitch do anything stupid and hurt you." Jay said, walking up closer to my car. "No, that's alright. I can hold my own and don't really need you there, but thanks anyway." I said, starting to put my window up. "Let me do this, Maia. Please." Jay insisted. "Okay fine, get in." I said, sighing.
He jumps in and we drive off, with the ride being mostly quiet. Now, when we're almost to me and Crissy's apartment, that's when he decides he wants to talk. "We need to talk, Maia. I really wanna get this sorted out. Crystal got on my case, and it's a good thing, because I realize how you gotta be feelin' some type way now." Jay said. "Oh, you really think so?" I ask sarcastically.
"I'm not with her, and I don't want her. I want YOU." He said, I guess trying to sound sincere. "I can't be dealing with no playa right now, and besides, you got what you want.HER. So it's cool, we're friends, and that's the end of it." I said, not looking at him.
"Maia please." Jay begged.
"I really don't want to talk about this right now." I said, ignoring his pleas.
"But I really wanna talk about what-"
(Ring-Ring!)
My cell AGAIN? What the hell is going on? I can't just NOT answer it, because it could be Dwayne or Crissy! Fuck! I'm trying to get it off of my hip and drive at the same time, but this shit is NOT working! And would you believe it if I told you if I said this fool is over here smiling??? What the hell is he so damn giddy about?!
"You need some help with that?" Jay asked, still grinning.
"Huh? Oh yeah, but my phone is all the way on the other side of my hip." I said, twisting my hips and hoping to have some luck with this phone.
"Don't worry, I got it." Jay said, unbuckling his seat belt and leaning over my lap to reach for my cell, which was still ringing.
I know I'm supposed to be technically "mad" at Jay right now (and I still am somewhat), but he's up here trying to get this phone off of me and the back of his hands keep brushing up against my legs! How can I be mad at him when he's touching me like this.even when it's accidental???
"Damn, this shit is hard!" Jay said, still struggling and getting a little frustrated.
"Just click the button and it should come off." I said, chuckling even though I knew it was wrong.
"Okay, I got it." He said, but he was still struggling. I can tell!
"Damn boy! Move your head! I can't see!" I said.
"Sorry girl, my bad!" Jay answered, laughing and moving.
I took a sharp left, and accidentally sent Jay right into my lap! Oh no! I can't believe this!
"Jay, now I know that you wanted to try and get this relationship back on track, but I didn't think this was what you were talking about exactly." I joked, cracking up.
"Shut up and take your phone." Jay said, smiling and shaking his head as he went to get up out of my lap.
"Hello?" I said, finally answering the phone.
"Why the hell did it take you so long to answer the phone?! Where the hell are you at?!"
"Dwayne, what the hell did I say? Your ass is hard headed, I'm telling you! Sit tight! I'mma be there in 2 minutes, aight?! And where are we supposed to find her anyways, do you know?" I said, a little pissed that he got all loud and wrong with me.
"Yeah, but it may be a while before we actually get to her." Dwayne answered.
"Fuck! Aight, I'll be there to get you real soon. I'm like a minute away from you now. Wait for me out front, okay?" I said.
"Yeah. See you soon." Dwayne said.
(End Call)
I thought things were really gonna be simpler than this! Why the hell do things always gotta be so complicated for me no matter where the hell I go? If Dany wants to start a fight, I'mma kick her fucking ass and make it so that HER ass is the one leaving in a damn ambulance this time! Not the other way around! Shit, what if she shoots Crissy? No, that ain't gonna happen. I gotta stop thinking like this, because if I know Crissy, I know she can be a tough bitch when she wants to, and she ain't gonna put up with Dany's shit. She fucked her ass up when they had their fight. At least that's what I thought ever since seeing the evidence that was left on Dany's face when she came to the WC that time and shot me.Oh well, I gotta go peoples. I just pulled up to me and Crissy's apartment, and Dwayne's standing right outside just like I asked. He's getting the car and we're off. Catch ya'll later.
Hey people. I know that I just kinda disappeared for a while and ya'll didn't know where I was. Maia and Dwayne probably got everybody tripping out wondering where I am. I'm on the way to see Dany, (I took Dwayne's car, which I know he's gonna be pissed about later on when he sees me) and she wanted to meet me at her mother's house. I figured what the hell, since I wanted to get this thing handled once and for all between me and her. But the thing with Dany is that, she's got a lot of tricks up her sleeve. She's extremely smart, and I'll give her that. So for her to call me out of the blue wanting me to come see her and whatnot? Something's up. And having that law mentality that I do have, I took it upon myself to make a little trip to the Florida PD and let them know something's bout to go down and to file a report on her. Now, Dany's mother's house is a little far and out the way. What they're going to do is, they have me wired, just in case. They gave me this pin thing to hook onto my bra. The house is off on the left side of the road, and it's definitely secluded. So there aren't too many people around. Okay, I'm pulling up to Dany's mom's place right now. This is going to be interesting, huh? Enough fun and games, let's get it on.
Walking up to the door, I knock on it, and Dany answers. She's got this huge smile on her face, and that's something that really befuddles me as to why she's doing that. Nevertheless, I walk right in, not caring that she didn't welcome me in herself.
"Now why the hell-"
"Before you say another word, you're gonna sit down right now, and we're gonna have a heart-to-heart talk. Now SIT." Dany says, pointing a gun right at my head. So, I do as I'm told and sit down. All hell is gonna break loose in a little while when her ass gets carried away, so why not play her game for just a little while? "You've got such a temper on you, Crystal. I never understood why you were always so quick to get angry. You need to learn to RELAX." Dany says, pacing back and forth in front of me as I'm sitting down at the dining room table. Now she's coming over to me and is playing with my hair. I push her hand away, and she just laughs. Won't THIS be fun?
"You want to talk things out, so I'll start. Ever since we parted ways, you've done NOTHING but try and make my life a living hell ever since. I've done nothing to you, so why keep bringing on more and more trouble?" I said, looking at her.
"Why? Because we never should have parted ways as you put it, in the first place. We were destined to be together, and you knew it. As soon as Dwayne and Maia waltzed into your life, you were as good as gone from me. I wish things could be back to the way they used to be, Crissy." Dany said, standing in front of me and giving me a pitiful look, like I was supposed to sympathize or something. "Me too. I personally don't know where we went wrong. Other than you being jealous of Maia and Dwayne, we were fine." I said, smiling. "And we WERE fine. We had some good times, didn't we?" Dany asked me.
"Yeah, we did. Can I just ask you what you personally had against Maia or Dwayne other than me spending time with them?" I asked. "Maia just didn't seem trustworthy to me. She's the type to use you and just leave you to hang high and dry after she gets what she wants. And as for Dwayne.well, you know what I feel about you two and what you're doing. It's morally wrong, and it's against UM's beliefs and what we, as a school, stand for." Dany answered. "My judgement and how I want to live my life is my business and noone else's." I said, getting just a little defensive. "Crissy, Crissy, Crissy. There's no need to get hasty. Why don't we just slow things down a bit. How about a drink?" Dany asked, standing up.
"Fine. I see I don't have a choice in the matter anyhow." I answered. "Okay, now don't you go trying anything funny. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt up here, would we?" Dany asked with a smile, before finally walking into the kitchen. Not even 5 minutes later does she come walking out the kitchen, in her hands carrying 2 strawberry margaritas. She must have already made them before I got here.
"Strawberry margaritas.our favorite, remember?" Dany asked, setting mine down in front of me. I took a sip of mine and smiled. "Remember every Friday night when we would chill out at our apartment and stay up all night drinking these? We'd have a good time together, wouldn't you say?" Dany asked, taking a sip of hers.
"It was okay, I mean, we wouldn't really do anything. We would just sit there talking about stuff and drinking and just being dumb the whole time. Nothing more would happen." I said, shrugging my shoulders and taking a drink. This margarita was good as hell! "If you say so." Dany said smiling, and taking a sip of her drink. "No, I KNOW so. What's that smile for?" I asked, confused.
~*~*~*~*~*~*Later, outside of the house.*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Okay D, you take my car and go to the police station. Me and Jay are gonna go on in here and see if we can find Cris." Maia said, looking at Dwayne, and tossing him her keys. "Don't hesitate to call me if anything happens. I'mma have my phone on the whole time while I'm gone." Dwayne said. "Don't worry, man. We will." Jay said, slapping hands with Dwayne.
"Aight, you two be careful now." Dwayne said, just before getting into the driver's side of Maia's car and then driving off. Jay and Maia walk up to the house, only to see that the front door to the house is open. The two of them walk in, and immediately start looking around for Crystal. "I'mma check upstairs, and you check down here. Holla if you find Crissy." Maia said, before finally splitting up with Jay.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"We'd have some really good times together those nights, but it's a shame that you can't remember what happened any of those times. I thinks I would put just a little too much of my secret ingredient in your drink, my dear. That's why you'd get those headaches and would be so tipsy. In retrospect, I could have been more careful." Dany said, hovering over me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "You were DRUGGED, honey. All the same, though, it wouldn't matter. The next morning, you'd be too hung over to remember a thing." Dany answered, smiling. "What a minute, what? You would DRUG me each week?!" I asked, starting to get defensive again.
"Yeah, I did. But I didn't mean for you to get those terrible headaches, that was my bad. You might've been drugged, but that STILL didn't keep you from enjoying yourself. I know I had a DAMN good time with you in more ways than one." Dany said, smiling. "What are you getting at? I'm not gay, Dany." I said, giving her a weird look. "You may not be, but you sure as hell acted like you knew what you were doing! I know you weren't complaining at all when I was pleasing you." Dany said, smirking and then winking at me.
What the hell am I even doing up here? I'm in Dany's mother's room, and I feel kinda woozy, but she keeps playing with me. Like, she won't stop touching my shirt. And because it's one of those v-neck low cut ones, she's all touching my boobs and shit. I got a disgusted look on my face and suddenly Dany off of me. Suddenly I start thinking about all that she had been saying. Even though I would have them terrible headaches every Saturday when I'd wake up, I would feel extremely strange, like I would need to talk to Dany about something. And then I would keep seeing stuff in my head, like of her and I doing things, almost like hallucinations. The only difference would be like, it was like I was having déjà vu. So I just mistook it for me still being hung over and wouldn't say anything. I figured it was just my imagination playing tricks on me.
"What's the matter, sweetie? Are you taking a trip down memory lane and seeing that I'm right after all?" Dany asked, chuckling.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this." I said, shaking my head in disbelief at her. "And that's your problem right now. You don't believe anything until someone like me comes along and PROVES it to you, and then and only then, when the shit hits the fan, do you start to care." Dany said, glancing at me. "No, you have it all wrong Dany." I said, shaking my head.
"Oh I have it all wrong? No, I believe YOU have it all wrong. Just like MAIA did, some days ago, when I shot her ass. I should've killed her when I had the damn chance." Dany said, raising her voice. "You know what? I'm not even upset. I knew you shot her all along as soon as I found your earring in her hoodie that night in the hospital. So what, you're deciding you wanna come clean now? You wanted me to come up here so you could make your little confession and make me feel bad? Well honey, I already suspected as much. You just confirmed it." I said, smiling at Maia as she stood in front of me.
"POLICE! Drop the gun, and put your hands over your head NOW!" And what perfect timing, huh? I'm sitting here watching a whole flock of Florida PD cops bombard Dany and start reading her rights to her. All the while she's giving me this weird look. I could care less, because this puts a perfect ending to my day. The police have a taped confession of Dany saying that she shot Maia, and so there's no way she's getting out of this one. Not even her Daddy can save her this time. Suddenly Dwayne, Maia and Jay all come bum-rushing into the room, practically knocking all of the police officers down. This is HILARIOUS, because they're literally running over to me now.
"Girl, come here! Don't you ever do that shit again!" Maia said, pulling me up to hug her.
"What's he doing here?" I ask, looking at Jay. "Look, I just wanted to say that I was sorry for all that happened earlier on today, and that you was right." Jay said, looking at me. "I guess I can take that sorry ass excuse of an apology." I said, smiling and going to hug Jay.
"Are you okay? I was worried SICK about you, girl!" Dwayne said, pulling me close and hugging me. "You underestimate my mind, don't you? I told you I could handle this myself." I said, looking at Dwayne and then 2 of the cops that were making their way over to me. "You?! Honey, I am the one who got the cops here!" Dwayne said, differing with me. "You went to the cops? I went to them before I came here.that's why they got me wired. They gave me this pin to put on my bra so that in case anything major would happen that they'd be right here." I said.
"Great job, Crystal." Officer Smith said, shaking my hand. "I tell you, we should get someone like you on the force as a decoy. You didn't break out in a sweat or nothing." Officer Jones said, smiling and also going to shake my hand. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll stick to becoming an attorney for now, but if I change my mind, I'll let you know." I said, smiling. "You actually don't want to KEEP the wire pin, do you?" Officer Smith asked, chuckling.
"Oh! I almost forgot." I said, smiling at the two officers.
Going to unbutton my shirt, I could see that a crowd of cops had started to form. Now, I'm just trying to take these wires off of me, not give them a peep show. Oh lord, here comes Dwayne stepping in. "Ain't nothin to see here.back up." Dwayne says in a tough voice, standing in front of me so that I can't see behind him as he starts to unbutton the rest of my shirt. "You're so wrong." I said, cracking up.
"You didn't see the way they was looking at you, girl. They were gawking at you like they was some hungry savages and you were today's lunch. I can't have that." Dwayne said, taking the pin off of me and making the police officers just a bit jealous. "Here you go." Dwayne said, tossing the small pin over his shoulder to Officer Smith and Officer Jones, who as he could tell, were scowling. That's a shame.he had to make them feel bad.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Knock-Knock!)
"Who in the blue hell is it?!" Dwayne asks, getting pissed off and going to the door. "Don't get mad, D." I said, giggling.
He was mad though, because every time the two of us just wanted to get a LITTLE "quality time" in, someone had to call or knock on the door or do something. And now it was all going to his head. He really needs to calm the hell down, but ever since the drama I put him and everyone else through today, I could see why he wasn't able to do so. "Hey man, what's going on?" Dwayne asked, hugging his nephew Hiram. Behind him stood Nikki, who looked like she was upset. "Honey, what's the matter?" Dwayne asked, putting his arms around Nikki, who looked to be crying.
Hiram, Dwayne and Nikki all came into the living room and sat down. Hiram sat in one of Dwayne's armchairs, and Dwayne and Nikki sat next to me on the couch. "My parents are gonna be so mad at me.they told me that this was gonna happen, and they said that once it did, that I couldn't go back to them ever again." Nikki said, crying.
"If what happened? Nikki, you have to tell us what's wrong or we can't help you." I said, putting my hand on Nikki's back. "I'm pregnant." Nikki answered, in between sobs. "Oh." Dwayne said, seeming to be a little taken back.
"And you know how Mom is, Uncle D. She won't be thrilled at all with what's happened. She's got high expectations for me and stuff, and Dad really wants me to play football, but with this, I can't really concentrate on that, can I?" Hiram asked, looking worried.
"Come here, man." Dwayne said, making room for Hiram to sit next to the rest of us and then hugging him.
"Nikki, I know that you and Hiram love each other very much. But have you weighed out all your options? What is it that you want to do?" I asked, putting my arm around Nikki and looking at her. "Even if it means deserting my own family for Hiram, I don't care. I'm keeping this baby." Nikki said, wiping her tears.
Dwayne and I looked at each other and then at the two of them. I didn't know what to say, but if that's what she wanted to do, then I support her. "And it's real crazy, because her parents don't like me at all. I don't know why, they just don't. And I love her, and we have even talked about the possibility of getting married after we graduate." Hiram said, causing him and Nikki to smile at each other.
"Marriage? Well damn, boy! You wanna go all out, don't you?" Dwayne asked, making all of us laugh. "I do, yeah." Hiram answered, laughing. "So you two want to make this a long-term thing, I take it?" I asked. "Yes." Nikki and Hiram said, not hesitating at all.
"Well, for you Hiram, I'll work on my sister. I know she's not the easiest to get along with at times, and she thinks that just because she's the oldest of the family that she can get her way and that everyone should do what she wants them to do. I'mma have to get in on her ass, but she'll know that it's for good reason. I've been meaning to talk to Miss Ashleigh lately anyway. And no offense to you, but your dad is an asshole. I'm gonna have to deal with him too." Dwayne said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And if you want, I'll go with you to your parents' place. I know it won't be easy for you, so I'm here if you need me." I said, smiling at Nikki, who was no longer crying. "Really? You would do that?" Nikki asked, smiling. "Yeah. It's no problem. Whenever you get ready, just let me know something. You know where I live now, right? I moved since the last time we really talked to one another." I said.
"Yeah, you and Maia live together, right?" Nikki asked. "Yeah. So you can call or just come over anytime, no matter what time of the day it is. I don't care. I really want to help you, and you know you're my girl. Us J.Lo's gotta look out for one another." I said, smiling and hugging Nikki, afterward making her laugh.
"You know what? Scratch that idea. We're all going to my sister Ashleigh's and we're all going to see your parents, Nikki." Dwayne said, standing up. "We are?" Nikki, Hiram and I all asked. "Yes. If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it right. All 4 of us are going to take care of this." Dwayne said, walking to the door. "Now?" All of us ask, confused. "Yes! Get up, and let's go take care of this right now. I'm not waiting any longer to put this off." Dwayne said, opening up door and waiting on us to get up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ashleigh, you're gonna listen to me. Sit down!" Dwayne bellowed, making me and Nikki jump. Hiram was in the other room trying to reason with his dad, as not to start any trouble between him and D. We were in the kitchen of Hiram's parent's house. I could tell that Nikki was beginning to feel uncomfortable. The way Dwayne and his sister were arguing, it just scared us a little bit. She was getting bold a few times and getting in his face, and he's done had to slam her down in that chair a couple times. She just won't sit down and stay down, and it's getting on his nerves. "My son is NOT going to have his whole football career thrown down the tubes because of some bitch!!!" Ashleigh yelled, making Nikki cry. She didn't need to call her that, for real.
"Ms. Johnson, I really think that was uncalled for. She's not a bitch, she's your son's girlfriend. Now you should respect her because of the simple fact that your son DOES love her, whether you want to believe that or not. Don't you trust your son's judgement?" I said, looking at Ashleigh.
"Okay, who is SHE, and why is she in my house disrespecting me like that? Let me tell you something, whoever the hell you are. You don't TALK to me like that! Who the hell do you think you are?" She asked, walking over to my direction, only to be blocked by Dwayne. "CRYSTAL happens to be Nikki's good friend and one of my students that I asked to come here with Nikki and Hiram and I, because I knew that some shit like this was gonna happen. You're sitting here and bad mouthing Nikki, and she's done nothing wrong except love your son, and you're up here flipping out." Dwayne said, looking in Ashleigh's eyes. "I don't care WHO she is. You're not gonna bring her in here and she disrespect me like that. She don't KNOW me, Dwayne." Ashleigh said, sitting down finally. "She's not disrespecting you, but trying to make you understand things just as I am. You won't listen to a word Hiram says, and so that's why he had no choice but to come to me. If he knew anyone would get it through to you, even if it meant getting on your case, it would be me. Now, I'm not gonna leave here until you finish listening to what I have to say." Dwayne said, pacing back and forth.
"Wait, wait, wait a damn minute! I am 36 fucking years old! I'm older than YOUR ass, and you're up here telling me what to do?!" Ashleigh asked, eyeing Dwayne like he was crazy. "YES." Dwayne said, staring her down, making her quickly get quiet. "What I wanna know is, why don't you even like Nikki in the first place and why you're being such an ass about this whole thing when your son needs you the most?" Dwayne asked, sitting down. "She's just trying to trap my baby because he's going on to the NFL and he's actually gonna make something of himself. God, Dwayne, what do you TEACH them in your class?" Ashleigh said, looking disgusted at her brother.
"That last fucking comment shouldn't have even came right out your damn mouth! I KNOW you're not trying to start anything you can't finish!" Dwayne said, raising his voice. "And anyway, Hiram's dad is Cuban and hers is black. Our families don't get along as it is. And Antonio doesn't want Hiram getting involved with a girl who's half black." Ashleigh said, ignoring Dwayne. "What the fuck does that have to do with anything? YOU'RE half black, so what the hell is he trying to say? Don't make the same mistake HE did? Oh that's it.his ass is mine now. I've done had it up to HERE with his shit!" Dwayne said angrily, getting up. Nikki and I looked at each other with a worried look on both of our faces. Ashleigh looked horrified as she saw Dwayne stand in front of her and ball up his fists and get angry.
"Dwayne no!" Ashleigh, Nikki and I yelled, getting up and rushing to stop Dwayne in his tracks. "Honey, don't do it. I'm sorry about everything I said back there, just PLEASE don't." Ashleigh pleaded, trying to help me and Nikki push Dwayne back into the kitchen. "Sorry ain't gonna work this time." Dwayne said, lightly pushing me, Nikki and Ashleigh off to the side.
"Antonio!!!" He yelled, walking out the kitchen and down the hall to Hiram's room. "You son of a bitch." Dwayne said, stopping in the doorway. "ASHLEIGH! Tell your asshole brother to get the hell out of my son's room! NOW!" Antonio yelled. Ashleigh, Nikki and I went running to Hiram's room to stop Dwayne from what he was about to do. Antonio and him were squaring up, with poor Hiram in the middle trying to calm the two men down.
"Dad.Uncle DJ.ya'll don't need to do this." Hiram said.
"What's your father been teaching you Hiram? According to your mom, he's been telling you not to get involved with any woman that's half BLACK! Ain't that right, Antonio?" Dwayne said, staring Antonio down. "You stay the fuck out of my business, motherfucker." Antonio said, staring Dwayne down. "No, see I can't DO that. My sister and I happen to be half BLACK. And when you tell my sister's only child that he shouldn't get involved with any woman of black descent, I believe I have a problem with that. That shit becomes personal. You're indirectly offending my sister, and when you fuck with my sister, you fuck with me." Dwayne said, eyeing Antonio. "I don't give a flying fuck WHAT you think, asshole!" Antonio replies, then spitting in Dwayne's face.
"Oh no you fucking DIDN'T!" Dwayne yelled, wiping the spit out of his eye. Pushing Hiram out the way, soon he was battling it out with Antonio. Fists were flying, their bodies were going everywhere.it was crazy!
"Stop it!!!" Ashleigh, Nikki and I say, all of us crying. "Come on." Ashleigh says, pulling Nikki and I away from the chaos that was taking place in Hiram's room. Ashleigh takes us to her and Antonio's room and shuts the door. We couldn't be around all of that, and though it was wrong for us to break it up, deep down, all 3 of us know that even we wouldn't be able to separate our men and have them stop for good. This makes me start to worry about how things are going to look down the line. Nikki and Hiram don't know what's going on between Dwayne and I, and I feel wrong for not telling them, but I can't help thinking that it would just add to their problems if we told. They're too much involved in their relationship to be concerned with ours. And then there's Dwayne's sister Ashleigh.she's a case all in herself. For now, I guess once we finish up here and then go to Nikki's parents house, then we can tell her. I'll have to discuss it with Dwayne first though, because I don't want him getting pissed with me for running my mouth and him not knowing anything about it. Because then where will we be?
(Bam!)
Someone just threw someone else into the door, and now I'm backing away from it, scared for my life. I don't like all of this fighting. I'm not used to all of this, to be honest. I hope they stop this fighting soon, because if not, we won't make it to Nikki's parent's house at all. "I need you two girls to listen to me, and listen good." Ashleigh said, signaling for us to come sit with her on the bed. "Antonio has a strict ruling over his son, and he expects Hiram to abide by him at all times. One of his rules that he's most strict about is the fact that he, by all means possible, is not to get involved with a girl of black descent. And as his wife, I have to support him on that. He supports me in any and everything I do, and so I'm returning the favor. This right here is NOT acceptable. And I know what you may be thinking.sure, Dwayne and I are brother and sister and we're both Samoan and black. But, the fact of the matter is, he and I have different fathers. That's just the way it is. So, truth be told, I'm NOT black. I'm just Samoan. Dwayne, on the other hand, IS both. He doesn't know that we had different fathers, because by the time he was born, our mother had already gotten married to his father, and he was born a year later. I was 8 years old then, and I really didn't understand what was going on, but as I got older, Mom explained everything. He, on the other hand, was kept in the dark about a lot, because Mom doesn't necessarily want him to know yet. I'd like to keep it so that he still DOESN'T, understand?" Ashleigh said asked, glaring at us.
"Yes." Nikki and I answered nervously. "My son has big dreams. He's going out for the NFL next year after he graduates, and he's going to be GOOD. With the way he's been playing these past 2 years, he's GUARANTEED a scholarship from UM. His future is bright.VERY bright in fact. Nothing is going to get in his way, and I'm going to make sure of that. You, Nikki, have a plan that's NOT going to work. You're not gonna USE my son to get what you want. I see right through your little games you're trying to play with my baby's head. And I'm here to tell you that, I'm sad to burst your little bubble of hope, but it's not going to happen." Ashleigh said, looking right at Nikki. "You have your own mind, and you don't have to dislike Nikki just because your husband does." I said, looking right at Ashleigh.
"And YOU.I don't have the slightest idea as to why Dwayne REALLY brought you here. What I DO know, is that I see right through you, and I can see that, in addition to your little friend here, that I'm gonna have a problem with you too. You and Dwayne are just alike. You try and push your opinions off on me, and it's like, do as I say, not as I do. And come to think of it, you've been speaking up quite a BIT here, young lady. Dwayne must have SOME influence on his students. Didn't your mother teach you any manners? I guess not." Ashleigh said, making me upset. "You don't know a damn thing about me or my mother, so don't even talk to me like that. By the way, I'm not trying to push anything off on you either. Dwayne has nothing to do with this, other than the fact of him bringing me here for Nikki's sake. You should try and listen to other people's thoughts and not stay so centered on your own sometime." I said, getting Nikki and going to walk out of her and Antonio's room. "Don't you walk out on me!!!" We hear Ashleigh yell, coming for us.
"Back the fuck up, Ash! NOW!" Dwayne booms, all of the sudden walking past us quickly and restraining Ashleigh. Nikki and I walk into Hiram's room to see Antonio knocked out in the corner, and Hiram standing nearby, shaking his head. "Baby, are you okay?" Hiram asks, as soon as seeing Nikki.
"Just a little shaken up with what's all happened, but.Hiram, I don't know about this. Both your parents clearly don't want you to have any part of me, and vice versa." Nikki said, looking worried. Meanwhile, I was still by the door to Hiram's room. I was looking at Dwayne, who was looking at Ashleigh, who was looking at me. Things were not cool at all, and unless Hiram did something, things were only going to get worse. "This is IT! I've had it up to HERE, now!" Hiram yelled, making all of us turn our attention to him. Dwayne brought Ashleigh into the room and stood her in front of him. He was going to make sure that she listened to him. Antonio was touching his head and looking up at Hiram, so now everyone had his full undivided attention. "I love Nikki with all my heart, and I'm not going to let anything get in the way of it. Together we're going to have this child, and there's nothing that anyone can do to stop us. We love each other and this baby very much, and we're going to get married just as soon as we both graduate." Hiram said, looking into the eyes of all of us. "You WHAT?" Ashleigh asked in disbelief, then giving the evil eye at Nikki, only to have her face turned back in the direction of Hiram by her brother Dwayne.
"Son, you're going to have to make a decision. It's come to this, and I wish it hadn't, but it did anyway. You choose-us or her." Antonio said, getting up out of the corner to face Hiram. "Okay, I choose her." Hiram says immediately, pulling Nikki to him, who was crying. "Get out! Get out of my house!" Ashleigh yelled, starting to cry.
"That's okay, I can make my own way." Hiram said, taking Nikki and walking out of the room. "Your ass should be ashamed of yourself. That's family. You don't turn your back on family." Dwayne said, looking disgusted at his sister, who was scowling. "You know what?!" Antonio asked, raising his voice. "WHAT?!" Dwayne asked, raising his voice even louder and going to stand in Antonio's face.
Antonio looked like he wanted to say something, but instead took it all in and changed his mind. Out of the room he walked, and I listened as the front door to the house slammed. Nikki and Hiram had left, and were waiting for Dwayne and I in the driveway. "Now what do you have to say for yourself?" Dwayne asked, looking disappointingly at his sister. "Screw you, screw HER, and screw Nikki! Thanks to you three, I've lost my son!" Ashleigh screamed, looking at Dwayne and I. "Ashleigh Lilani Johnson!!! What the fuck did you just say?!" Dwayne asked, his voice booming.
"Screw YOU and screw HER and screw Nikki! All of you can go straight to HELL as far as I'm concerned! And you know what else? I'm not apart of the Johnson Family anymore, from HERE ON! And YOU, Dwayne, YOU can be the one to tell Momma that, because it's YOUR fault! You sit there, and you watch those tears fall down her face, and you take all that shit in, because it's all going to be on your conscious, not mine!" Ashleigh yelled. "Wait a minute, screw ME? I didn't do a goddamn thing to you! I just came to support your son! What the hell is so wrong with that?!" I said, finally speaking up. I had gotten tired of being silent. "Who the hell are you TALKING to, baby girl?! Cause it sure as hell AIN'T me! Dwayne, I know she don't know that I'll fuck her ass up, but I'm bout to spare her the details and just do the damn thing anyway!" Ashleigh said, coming forward.
"Dwayne, that's your sister, but I'm bout tired of her mouth." I said. "Why don't you DO something about it, baby girl?" Ashleigh asked, backing up and looking me up and down. "Someone NEEDS to knock some sense into your ass, anyway!" I said, going towards Ashleigh.
"Honey, come here! No!" Dwayne yelled, pulling me by my waist, and bringing me back to where he was standing, no matter how much I struggled to get out of his arms. "Oh no, Dwayne! If baby girl gonna go head and do something, let her! Just cause she's taller than me don't mean a damn thing!" Ashleigh said, starting to bounce around in place. "Do you realize how fucking stupid you look right now? You're a 36 year old woman trying to get all down and dirty with a damn 22 year old college student! Back the fuck up and act like you got some damn sense!" Dwayne said, pushing his sister back up against the wall, but not so that it hurt her. "You know what? Like I said, I'm not apart of the Johnson family anymore, which means I don't know you. Get the fuck OUT!" Ashleigh yelled, her eyes getting big.
"I will then! Have a nice fucking life!" Dwayne yelled back.
"Honey, let's go. Hiram and Nikki are waiting." Dwayne added, grabbing my arm and leading me out of Hiram's room. By the time we had all piled into Dwayne's lincoln, there wasn't ONE person who was calm. Every last one of us was upset or pissed off, or both. I felt bad for them, though. Dwayne didn't have a sister anymore, the only family Hiram has IS Dwayne, and Nikki.her story isn't done just yet. We're on the way to her place next. It's 9:41pm, still early. Nevertheless, we know we have to do this. After catching this breather, I guess we'll see you guys at Nikki's. "Okay, Nikki, Hiram, listen up. Now, we might as well get this out in the open before we go, because things are fucked up as it is." Dwayne said, looking at me and sighing. He sets his hand on mine and starts to squeeze it. I think I know what's about to go down. Maybe we're not leaving just yet AFTER all.
"Crystal and I are in a relationship right now, and so far, it's remained secret for the most part. The only other people that know about this are Maia, Dany, and now you two." Dwayne said, taking a breath, and looking at Nikki and Hiram, who were in the back seat. "It's cool, Uncle DJ. I won't say nothing. Ya'lls secret is safe with me." Hiram said, looking at Dwayne and I and managing a smile. "I won't tell." Nikki said, giving a look of promise on her face. "Thank you." I said, smiling and reaching back to hug both of them. "Yes, thank you very much." Dwayne said, looking in the rear- view mirror at Nikki and Hiram and smiling before finally starting the car.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Mom, Dad, open up the door!" Nikki said, pounding on the door to her parent's house. The door swung open, revealing Nikki's mother and father. They looked at me, Dwayne, Hiram, and last but not least, Nikki. "What's he doing here?" Nikki's mother asked, looking at Hiram. "Well hello to you too, Mom." Nikki said, rolling her eyes.
"You remember Crystal, don't you?" Nikki asked, trying to move on. "It's after 10, Nikki. You came here unannounced, which means that you have something to tell us. And, you came here with HIM and his father, it looks like. Whatever you have to say, make it quick." Nikki's father said, scowling at Dwayne and Hiram. "Sir, Hiram, Nikki and Crystal are all students of mine. I'm not this young man's father." Dwayne said, trying not to get defensive.
"ANYWAY, Nikki, you better say whatever you have to say." Nikki's father said, looking at Nikki. "Can I come in the house, please?" Nikki begged. "Sure, you can come in. Just as long as he doesn't join you." Nikki's mother said, smiling. "Why do you two have to be like this?! I'm having the man's BABY for Christ's sake, and you're acting completely standoffish towards me in every way possible!" Nikki said, starting to cry.
"You're WHAT?" Nikki's mother and father asked, incredibly shocked. "That's right. I love Nikki, and we're having this baby. And when we graduate, we wanna get married." Hiram said, standing by Nikki's side and taking her in his arms. "You're WHAT?!" Nikki's mother and father asked, shocked yet again. "That's right. We're getting married." Nikki acclaimed.
"Well then," Nikki's father said while starting to cry, "I don't have a daughter anymore. It's as simple as that."
"Daddy? Daddy!" Nikki yelled after her father as he walked back up the stairs.
Nikki's mother just stood at the front door, shaking her head in disappointment. She started to close the door but stopped. "I had so much hope for you, Nikki. But, you just went and threw your whole life away. What happened to my baby, I swear I'll never know." Nikki's mother said, finally slamming the door.
"Mom??!!! MOM!!! Open the damn door! Come on, Mom! Please!" Nikki said in between tears, pounding hard on the door. Dwayne and I watched as Hiram went to try and comfort her, as she continued banging on the door. I don't know about Dwayne, but I'm starting to cry now. This is so sad, seeing Nikki literally have the door slammed in her face by her own family, all because of her love for Hiram. She doesn't deserve this, and neither does Hiram. But, in the end, I guess this just shows how much more they're meant for each other.
"Come on, ya'll, let's go." Dwayne said, ushering us back to the car.
~TO BE CONTINUED~