Side Chic 3 (The Ratchetness Continues) Read online

  Prologue-Tre

  I remember my parents warning me a million and one times that all of the wrong I’d done would eventually catch up with me. “Boy, one of these days you are going to end up in a heap of trouble all behind some foolishness.” My mama had warned. “For every action there is a reaction.” Never had I thought that it would be like this.

  I felt like I was trapped in a bad dream as I lay on the floor in Casper’s hallway in a pool of my own blood. It was like the dream where you are falling and can’t catch yourself or wake up. I could feel my life slowly slipping away. I tried to open my mouth to yell for someone to hurry up and get me some help but for some reason I couldn’t make my mouth move. I could hear people screaming around me but they sounded further and further away with each second that passed. I thought that I heard Kisha’s voice. I could hear her calling my name. She was saying something else but I couldn’t make out what she was saying because she sounded so far away. I wanted to reach out and touch her. Open my eyes and get one last glimpse of her face and tell her that I was sorry for all of the pain that I’d cause her but I couldn’t. I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to make it and that the end was close. I’d heard tales of what it’s like when you’re close to death. I’d heard some say that you see your whole life flash before your eyes. I was seeing images of the people that I loved the most. I wasn’t sure if that was the same thing or not. I saw my parents, the boys, the girls, Kisha, and Lala. I didn’t want to die and leave them behind. I wanted a chance to see my children grow up. I wanted a chance to make things right with Kisha. I wanted a chance to grow into the man that I knew I was capable of being. I fought harder to open my eyes but still nothing happened. The sounds that I once heard seemed even further away and minutes later I was surrounded by complete silence. Even the images that were flashing in my head went away. Everything went black and I knew that it was over…

  Side Chic

  3

  (The Ratchetness Continues)

  Lala

  “Oh my God…my baby…lawd my baby!” Mrs. Jefferson screamed repeatedly into the phone! “Oh lawd, somebody help me! Jesus please…” She sobbed. She’d been crying and screaming since I picked up the phone. I’d been able to make out that something was wrong with Tre but I wasn’t sure what!

  “Mrs. Jefferson, what is it? What’s wrong?” I asked nervously pacing back and forth across my mama’s living room floor. My heart was beating rapidly, it felt like it was about to come out of my chest. “What’s wrong with Tre?”

  She sobbed louder, several seconds passed before she was able to speak and then it still wasn’t any better than before. “Tre…Lala, my baby…”

  There was a brief silence and then Mr. Jefferson came on the line. “Lala, Tre’s been shot. From what Kisha told us it doesn’t look like he’s going to make it…”

  I dropped the phone and dashed for the door, my mama was right behind me. She’d been sitting in the recliner watching me the entire time waiting for me to tell her what was going on. I’m sure that she’d made out that it had something to do with Tre but she didn’t know what.

  “Lala, where are you going?” She yelled after me.

  I’d made it out the door and looked around for my car but I didn’t see it! That’s when I remembered that I hadn’t driven and that Tre had dropped me off! Shit! I turned around and bumped smack dead into my mama. I tried to go around her but she grabbed me. “LaQuela, what is it? Is Tre hurt?”

  “He’s been shot!” I revealed before breaking down in tears. My hands were trembling and it felt like my heart rate had tripled! “Ma, what am I going to do if he…”

  “Shhh…now you hush that fuss up!” She pulled me into her arms and held me tightly rubbing my back. “Calm down…Tre is going to be fine.”

  “But his daddy just said…”

  She cut me off again. “I don’t care what his daddy said. God didn’t say it so don’t go claiming none of that negative talk. Tre is going to be fine…he has four babies to live for. I believe that boy got some fight in him and he ain’t ready to leave these babies. He is going to fight to live. You calm down and dry your tears so that we can go up there to the hospital.”

  “Okay…” I sniffled wiping my tears with the back of my hand. “Ma, I’m scared.” I admitted.

  “I know baby but just have faith…he’s going to be alright.” She looked at me. I could see tears in her eyes but I knew that she was trying to be strong for me. “Where are his parents now? Are they already on their way to the hospital?”

  Before I could answer my dad was at the door, “LaQuela, Tre’s daddy is on the phone. He wants us to meet them up at the Sunoco up the street so that we can get the babies because they also have the boys.”

  “Alright…” I sniffled.

  “Alright, we’ll be up there in a minute that way we can follow y’all up to the hospital.” My dad spoke into the phone before hanging up. He handed me my cell and I slipped it into the pocket of my jeans.

  We all went back inside and gathered our things and then left to meet Tre’s parents. After meeting them and getting the kids, we all headed up to the hospital. On the way there so many things were running through my head. I kept thinking of how crazy things had been between us the past few months and how he’d finally gotten his act together and was trying to do the right thing. Now this shit go and happen! I couldn’t help but wonder why somebody would shoot him. I knew that he could be a little hot headed but damn that didn’t give anyone the right to try and take his life. He’d called me earlier and told me that he was going over to his friend Casper’s house because it was his birthday and he was having a little party at his house. All I could think was that he’d gotten into an argument with someone over something petty. I shook my head these guys now-a-days didn’t believe in fighting with their fists. They were cowards quick to shoot somebody because they were afraid of taking an ass whooping. I was scared and at the same time mad! Regardless of Tre and my differences, whether we agreed or disagreed, he was the father of my children and somebody hurting him in any kind of way angered me in a way that was indescribable.

  Tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked out the window. We were on our way to Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, VA. I couldn’t help but think about all the days that Tre and I had traveled that same road on our way to work. In my head I could see us laughing and cutting up on our way. I could see his smile in my head and the way that he used to look at me. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach at the realization that I may not ever get a chance to see his smile again. I couldn’t control myself as I sobbed loudly. I broke down crying like a newborn baby. Things couldn’t end like this!

  “LaQuela, he’s going to be alright.” My ma unbuckled her seatbelt, turned around in her seat and reached into the back. She rubbed my arm trying to console me. “He’s going to be alright baby.” It took me a few minutes to pull myself together and stop crying. “Are you alright now?”

  I nodded my head. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  When we arrived at the hospital, my mama and daddy carried the girls inside because I honestly couldn’t. I was a nervous wreck. With each step that I took fear overtook my body more and more because I wasn’t sure of what the doctors might tell us once we got inside. Mrs. Jefferson was still crying and the boys looked terrified. I felt bad for them because I knew that they must be scared to death seeing everyone so upset and hearing that their dad had been shot. I wanted to tell them that everything was going to be okay but I couldn’t because I wasn’t sure of that myself and I didn’t want to lie to them.

  We walked inside to find the waiting area in an uproar and it looked as if everyone that was at the party
had come to the hospital. There were people crying and hugging each other, some people had blood on their clothes. I looked around at all of the sad expressions that covered everyone’s faces and my heart fell to my stomach. An eerie feeling went throughout my entire body.

  “Lord please let him pull through this.” I prayed silently.

  Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson spoke with the receptionist and she informed them that Tre had been rushed into surgery and that all they could do for the time being was wait. We found seats in a corner of the waiting room and waited.

  Five minutes later, I heard commotion just outside of the front entrance. Everyone looked in that direction to see where it was coming from. Kisha stormed into the waiting area with a brown skinned woman and a man on her heels! “I don’t give a fuck what nobody says, y’all had better pray that bitch dies because if she doesn’t when I am done with her ass she is going to wish that she was dead!” Her dress was covered in blood. Her eyes were red, it was clear that she’d been crying. She marched up to the desk. “I need to see Tamika Evans, please!” She announced loudly her left leg bouncing.

  The older white lady looked up at her, fear covering her face. “Ma’am, I apologize but no one can see her right now she is in surgery. You may have a seat and wait if you’d like.”

  Kisha opened her mouth to respond but before she could get out what she was going to say, a slim light skinned girl who looked to be in her early twenties, yelled. “Bitch, you have a nerve to come up in here talking about you hope my cousin dies! I hope your sorry ass babydaddy dies! You mad because that nigga was cheating on yo ass! That ain’t nothing new!” The girl spat as she charged towards Kisha!

  A few people rushed to get between the two!

  “Rakita, I swear on everything I love that I will stomp a hole in your ass right here in this hospital!” Kisha yelled back, clapping her hands together with every word that she said! “Your nasty hoe-ass cousin had the nerve to sit up in my house and pretend to be my friend all the while she was fuckin my man! That bitch ain’t shit! And like I said if she don’t die she is going to wish that she had because I am going to beat that dirty stank pussy bitch into a coma! And if you want some then bitch you can get it too! You and anybody else who has a problem with it!”

  “Kisha!” The lady that had come in with her grabbed a hold of her arm and snatched her towards her! “Shut your mouth! Why would you wish death on someone?”

  “Kish…chill.” The guy with them added. “This isn’t the time for this shit yo…for real chill the fuck out!”

  “Fuck that nasty hoe!” Kisha spat nostrils flared looking like she was ready for anything!

  I could see embarrassment and frustration written all over the woman’s face that was with Kisha. There was a striking resemblance between the two so I assumed that she was her mama. If not her mama then some other close relation. “I said shut your mouth! This mess right here don’t make no sense!”

  Kisha was quiet but the other girl, Rakita, kept on running her mouth until two security officers came into the waiting area. “Ma’am, that’s enough!” The taller of the two told her in a firm tone. “I’m going to need for you to leave, now!”

  “Gladly!” Rakita replied flipping her long weave behind her shoulders! She looked at Kisha. “Bitch, I got you when I see you!”

  “Do I look like I am worried?” Kisha yelled back! “You know where I be! Bitch, you can get it any day of the week!”

  “Ma’am if you say another word, I am going to have to ask you to leave as well.” The second security guard turned his attention to Kisha while the other one made sure that Rakita left.

  Kisha paced back and forth. She looked like a mad woman!

  “Ma’am, can you please have a seat or stand still?” The security officer asked. He looked nervous like he was afraid that she may flip out on him!

  She stopped looked at him and let out a frustrated breath then sucked her teeth. “Don’t you pace when you are nervous or have a lot on your mind?”

  “Ma’am, please have a seat or stand still…or you can leave.” His face reflected his aggravation.

  “Here’s a seat over here.” Mrs. Jefferson told Kisha. The seat that she was referring to was right across from me.

  Kisha marched over in our direction. When she noticed me she rolled her eyes, then she started to laugh. “Look at this hoe, sitting up in here crying over my babydaddy!” She flopped down in the seat! “I swear jump-offs have come a long ways! They just be chillin’ like they are a part of the family.” She stared me down.

  I ignored her because I knew that things would only escalate into a big mess. Plus, I felt that this wasn’t the time nor place to show my ass! We could settle our difference another time. Right now, Tre was in surgery fighting for his life. The bullshit could wait!

  “Yeah you’d better not say shit because right now I am a ticking time bomb and if you even look like you want to say something I am going to explode all over that ass in this hospital!” She continued.

  “Look, I am trying to remain respectful because of the situation but you ain’t going to be disrespecting me!” I snapped and then instantly regretted it because I knew that I’d fed right into her bullshit!

  She jumped out of her seat and got in my face! I jumped out of my seat at the same time, there wasn’t going to be a repeat of what’d happened the last time. “Bitch, what do you know about respect?” She asked pointing her finger in my face! “You call lying up with my man and getting pregnant respect?” Without warning she drew back and slapped fire from my ass! It stunned me for a second but when I realized what had happened I started swinging. She fell back and I got on top of her. I was wearing her ass out. All of the frustration from everything that was going on and the memory of how she’d jumped on me when I was holding my baby in my arms caused me to momentarily black out on her ass! I was tired of her. I’d tried my best not to fight her because I understood her anger towards me and the pain that she must’ve felt after finding out about Tre and me. And not just the fact that he’d cheated with me but that I’d gotten pregnant and had twins by him. I knew that was a hard pill to swallow but enough was enough. I felt her nails dig into my face and it fell like she was ripping my skin off! That shit hurt so bad that it brought tears to my eyes but I didn’t stop swinging. I landed a few more good licks in her face before I felt someone lift me up off of her.

  I was trying to break a loose but whoever was holding me wouldn’t let go. When we got outside he put me down and I finally saw who it was. It was my daddy. I turned to go back in the hospital but he stepped in front of me.

  “Take your ass to the car LaQuela!” He roared pointing in the direction of the parking lot!

  “I’m not going anywhere but back in there and finish whooping that bitch’s ass! I’m sick of her feeling like she has the right to jump in my face everywhere that she sees me!” I tried to get past him again but he blocked my path. “Move out of the way!” I was breathing hard and mad as hell!

  “Move me, bad ass!” He challenged. I just stood there staring at him. “I’m not going to tell you again to take your ass to the car!” He yelled getting in my face! “Y’all have to be some of the dumbest women, I’ve ever seen!”

  “She hit me first!” I yelled full of rage. I was mad that he was acting as if he hadn’t seen that bitch hit me! He hadn’t raised me to sit back and let anyone put their hands on me and not defend myself so why was he acting like I’d done something wrong by defending myself!

  “You didn’t have to open your mouth because she was running hers!” I heard my mother’s voice. I looked past my dad to see her walking towards us with both girls in her arms!

  I wanted to snap on both of them because they were acting like all of this was my fault when I’d been minding my own damn business not bothering Kisha! “Whatever!”

  “Whatever nothing!” My daddy replied. “Let’s go before I knock the hell out of you myself! I am so damn sick of this foolishness! That poor child is in there
fighting for his life and look at how the mother of his children are out here acting. Y’all should be somewhere praying.”

  “You all need to leave off of the premises right now!” One of the security guards said walking towards us.

  “We’re leaving.” My mother assured him.

  I took Laila from her arms and started in the direction of the car. I didn’t see any use in continuing to argue with them. It was obvious that they weren’t going to see things my way. It didn’t matter though, all that matter is that I’d finally whooped Kisha’s ass. I knew that then hadn’t been the time nor the place because of the situation but there was no way that I was about to sit back and allow this woman to put her hands on me and not do anything about it. That wasn’t about to happen.

  Kisha

  Skeet snatched me up and took me outside. “Yo, what the fuck is yo problem?” He growled getting in my face once we were outside!

  “What do you mean? What’s my problem?” I yelled getting up in his face as well! “Do you really need to ask me that question?”

  “Kisha, you are being really stupid right now! That girl hadn’t done shit to you! You act like you ain’t know that she would be here! Whether you like it or not she has kids by him too! You want to wild out on everybody but real talk ain’t nobody make you do shit!” He barked.

  “Me? What do you mean me? I didn’t do shit!”

  “You accepted the shit!” He corrected me! “You want to play victim and blame everybody else for this shit but you should be pointing a finger at your damn self! You been knowing how Tre is! That nigga done ran through most of the bitches in Southampton and you took his ass back every time! You knew what the deal was so cut the victim act! You ain’t no fuckin victim! You are an enabler! I been told you that?” I looked at him with my mouth dropped opened. “Don’t stand there and look stupid yo! I’m not like the rest of these motherfuckas sugar coating shit for you, on some ‘awww poor Kisha shit’! You out here acting a pure fool in front of your kids! How do you think that makes you look? Regardless of what that nigga did, whether he was wrong or right, right now he is in there fighting for his life and I know Quan and Shaun got to be scared. Instead of you comforting your kids and trying to ease their fear some. You are out here showing your ass! You need to grow the fuck up! I don’t know this woman that you’ve been showing me for the past few weeks but on some real shit I can’t deal…for real!” He turned and headed towards the entrance of the hospital.