Authors: Jahquel J.
Tags: #United States, #African American, #Urban, #Romance
“Bitch, have you lost your mind letting another nigga touch my fucking daughter!” I yelled at her while still punching her.
“She…she needs discipline, Donovan,” she stuttered. I slapped her ass again before I spoke.
“By her father. You don’t let another nigga beat my fucking child, you a trifling, foul bitch,” I screamed while coughing up spit from the back of my throat. I spit it into her face.
I grabbed my daughter and we left and got in the car. I slammed my hand on my steering wheel when I got in the car as the tears came down my face. Why did I fuck such a scandalous bitch in the first place? My daughter jumped and with her face still wet from the tears. I hated she had to see me beat her mother’s ass. Kareema forced my hand and now she felt what that shit felt like.
While bathing Tavia, I noticed she had marks up and down her back. I knew I didn’t put hands on my daughter because she was an angel; there was never a need to. When Tavia told me her mother’s new boyfriend was laying hands on her I rushed over and beat the shit out of her. I warned Kareema when I first saw her little boyfriend all over the blogs, to keep him away from my daughter. She promised she would. There was only how many times you could keep being nice before you had to put your hands on people.
I knew exactly who her new little boyfriend was. I would catch his ass sometime soon; I had to let the heat die down. I did a number on Kareema and I hoped she kept her mouth shut but I knew she wouldn’t. My goddaughter, Miya, was in the hospital and I needed to be dealing with that. I couldn’t even trust for my daughter to stay with her mother during this time.
“Tavia, I promise I will never put you in harms way like that again,” I promised her. She leaned out her seat and kissed me on the cheek.
“I love you, daddy. Can we go home?” she asked, I shook my head and pulled out of the parking lot.
*
The next morning we walked passed the paparazzi straight into the hospital. I held on tightly to my daughter’s hand as we made our way into the hospital. Milan was already waiting to take us up to the suite where Ashley and Miya were being held. She kissed me and Tavia and we hopped on the elevator to the top floor.
“Ashley is finally awake. She can’t speak but she’s up and alert,” she told us and I was happy.
“How is Miya?”
“She’s doing better, her fever is down so that’s a plus. She just have that awful bruise on her head and they are doing scans of her brain,” she revealed.
“Daddy beat up Reema,” Tavia announced. Milan looked at me confused.
“What is she talking about Donovan?” she held her hands on her hips. Tavia ran to Micah once we stepped off the elevator and Milan stood waiting for an answer.
“She let ol’ boy put his hands on my daughter and I put hands on her. Make sure you get the lawyer on speed dial,” I warned her. I knew the cops were coming from me I wasn’t that naïve.
“What the hell, Donovan? Why did you do it? You should have let us handle it together not just you,” she sighed while holding her head.
We walked into Ashley’s room first. They put both Ashley and Miya in rooms across from each other. Ashley was propped up looking around the room. She tried to speak but the nurse who was attending to her wounds encouraged her to stop. I walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead.
Although she had been gone most of the time, we bonded whenever she was in town. On many occasions I spoke to her about me and Milan’s problems. It killed to know she was did this way, I felt better knowing that the nigga was dead.
“Donovan? What happened to your hands?” Minka came into the room. She was dressed in week old clothes and smelled a little ripe. I backed up from her and spoke.
“She won’t change, shower or eat until Miya is fully okay. Don’t mind the odor, man,” Micah laughed. I was glad he found humor in it.
“Long story. Who sent all these flowers and balloons… you think she got enough? I asked observing the balloons, flowers and mountains of teddy bears.
“Homeboy on the basketball been sending shit and calling like crazy. He’s supposed to make the drive this weekend to see her… think she might have finally found a keeper,” Micah informed me.
*
“Donovan Jackson, you are under arrest for the assault and battery of Kareema Blois,” the white officer who was escorted with hospital security. Micah picked up Tavia as they slapped the cuffs on me and read me my rights. Tavia tried to reach out to me but Micah held on her tight.
“What the fuck, Donovan? I’m calling the lawyer right now,” Micah said handing Tavia over to Milan. I was escorted out the hospital with camera flashing and people calling my name. As I sat in the back of the cop car I knew I was about to do some time. I was still on probation.
32
Milan
FIVE MONTHS LATER
We gathered around the table singing happy birthday to Miya and she laughed and clapped her hands while trying to reach for the cake. Minka waddled out the house with more bags of gifts everyone kept sending. She was now six months pregnant with their son, Micah Jr. Apparently, she was already a month pregnant when everything went down. Ashley walked in the house hand and hand with Kyree and Ashland. She made sure she showed that fat rock he put on her finger. Micah held Miya while smiling like luckiest man in the world.
Us
magazine were doing a spread on the birthday party and Minka’s new pregnancy. I sat back watching everyone interact with their lovers and was jealous and missed Donovan.
Because he was on probation and Kareema pressed charges he took a plea deal of two years. He turned his self in last month and started his sentence. With good behavior he could be out in 9-12 months. I was praying my baby was on his best behavior so he could come home to Tavia and me. At least we got to spend Tavia’s sixth birthday with him. Who would have thought I would be nineteen and being a single mother until my husband was released from prison.
Kareema’s trifling ass was married to that fucking kid beater and got to have Tavia every other weekend. I instilled in Tavia that if he hit her, to take a knife and stab him when he was sleeping. After all I was still only nineteen.
This was the calm before the storm; it was as if Sasha disappeared of the earth. Her sister and husband were found butchered in their home. Lisa, Micah’s side bitch, was found drowned and dead in her condo. The eerie thing about the deaths was the police had no suspects even after we handed them Sasha’s damn photo.
“Come sing happy birthday,” Minka said while grabbing my hands.
“Make a wish My-My,” I yelled and clapped my hands. She clapped her hands and yelled ‘dada’. She was such a daddy’s girl.
I stepped away to answer the phone; it was Donovan calling. He promised to call Miya during her party since he was missing it.
“Hey, baby!” I yelled. Each time I spoke to him tears threatened to fall. I missed him so much.
“I miss you, Cookie. What’s going on there? Make me feel like I’m there,” he spoke into the phone. I could tell he wanted be here with his family right now.
“Well, I got this bomb ass white short Chanel dress on with matching jelly sandals. My ass looks real good in it right now. Tavia has a similar outfit because you know we twins. Miya is trying to take apart her Doc McStuffin cake and Micah is holding her back from demolishing it.”
“I know you looking right in that dress... tell everybody I said hi.” I pulled the phone from my ear and went back where everyone was.
“Donovan said hi, y’all. He loves y’all, too,” I yelled and everyone started speaking at once.
“Tell Donovan that he’s not getting his car when he comes home,” Morocco yelled. Donovan laughed. Morocco was staying with me so I wouldn’t be alone. I couldn’t imagine going back to California and being alone. Everyone I loved was here in Florida.
“Bae, I love you and will call later on tonight… keep it tight for me. And I heard that single you working on,” he said. I smiled because Amadi had me in the booth frequently doing this album.
“Thank you, Papa. Me and Tavia will come up to see you next week.” I kissed him through the phone and ended the call. It never got better when we ended our calls. I missed him so much that all the beef and drama we went through didn’t even matter anymore; I just wanted him home.
33
Sasha
“Thank y’all, my little angel gave me ass for days. I appreciate the love, as you know I’m the bitch everyone loves to hate. Thank y’all again. Turn up, turn up.” I watched the YouTube video of Minka as I did every morning before I started my morning.
I got out of bed and started to brush my sandy brown locks and applied the makeup the same way she did. I fixed my panties on my ass. People made fun of me because I looked like I was carrying a tumor. I didn’t care; I needed to be Minka so that Micah could want me. After I dropped their daughter and she was unconscious for three hours, I dropped her off at the hospital and hightailed it out of Miami and straight to Jacksonville, Florida. That was where Meghan was put to rest and where my parents resided. I had to sit through that bitch’s funeral and act like I was sad. In reality, I wanted to continue stabbing her while she lay there looking better dead than she did alive.
Lorenzo’s ass was shipped back to Oklahoma to be buried on his family’s plot. My parent’s attended but I didn’t. I wasn’t going across the country to morn his death; I was happy and wanted to rejoice his death. Now, I was back home living in my parent’s basement apartment. All I did was eat, sleep and dream about Micah. I had surgery planned tomorrow to have the same nose and cheekbones Minka had. I wanted to be her so bad I could feel it.
I looked over at the magazine with Micah, Minka and their daughter. She was now welcoming his son. I was supposed to have his babies, not her. Why couldn’t we be happy and raise Minka’s kids together. I felt like everywhere I turned I was slapped with the reality of Micah. His ex-bitch Patrice was still on the show with Kareema. She went and got married; I had a few tricks for her ass.
“Sasha, you need to go out and get a job. You’ve wasted the last four months sitting here doing nothing but getting body augmentations. Meghan would be so upset if she saw how you looked now. I don’t know how we are going to pull through now that she’s gone. You girls were so closed. Come upstairs so I can give both you and your daddy y’all medicine at the same time.” She walked back upstairs as I rolled my eyes.
I started thinking maybe it was time to send her ass with Meghan. All my life it had been daddy and me against my mother and Meghan. They claimed we were crazy based on what doctors said. It was passed on to me and I was crazy as a bucket of monkeys, my mother said. If I didn’t take the right medicine I was off my rocker. I hadn’t taken that medicine for years and I still wasn’t taking it when mama gave it to me. Daddy taught me how to put in the back of my mouth and spit it out when she wasn’t looking.
I sat and watched the cars going back forth with daddy. It was moments like this we enjoyed. He looked over at me and smiled and I did the same. I ran my hands through my hair and blew some hair out my lips.
“Daddy, how do you stay here with her? It’s so boring.” I blew air out my mouth.
“I’m never here baby, in my mind I’m some where else. You need to spread your wings and do what your heart desires.”
“Even if that means killing Minka and being Micah’s wife?” I questioned getting perky.
“Yes, baby. She is stealing your husband. I think this is what Meghan would want.” He smiled; I sat back and made up my mind. It was time to go back to MIAMI!
34
Patrice
I sat in the Starbucks reading the
Us
magazine with Micah and his family on the cover. I missed him so bad and ever since he stopped filming and answering my calls the ratings on the show dropped. I felt sorry for myself and I wanted to be with Micah. It wasn’t fair that Minka got it all and I got nothing. I knew it was my fault for getting my feeling back involved with him but now I was too deep in. He changed his number and didn’t come to the beach and jog like we did so many times. I didn’t want to seem like a stalker because I wasn’t that kind of chick. Micah made me that kind of chick.
I would settle on being number two and I wanted to badly tell him that. How could I when he avoided me like the plague? I got up and walked over to the counter. The girl was busy in the bag mixing, stirring and preparing coffees. She stopped for a minute to look at me before she asked me for my order.
“I would like a ice coffee with caramel and extra coffee,” I ordered. She took my order and I handed her my money. She went off to make my coffee and I waited again while she went through the process of making my iced crack. She handed me my coffee and handed me my change. Money was limited right now so I saved every chance I could.
“I’m short five dollars,” I said while holding my hand out.
“Oh, like 1.5 million short.” I heard that familiar southern accent behind me. I felt it on my shoulder. he was so close. I turned around and there stood Amadi Obwalden in the flesh.