Side Chic 3 (The Ratchetness Continues) Read online

  “Yeah everything is good out here!” He barked. “Take your nosey ass back inside and mind your own damn business! That’s what part of our problem is now! Nosey ass motherfuckas all up in our shit trying to find out, what’s going on!”

  “Fuck you, you fat ugly motherfucka!” Kamia shot back! “That’s my damn cousin right there and if I want to come and check on her then I will! I know how your abusive woman-beating ass get down!”

  He turned loose the back of my shirt and took a few steps closer to Kamia. “Bitch, I will beat the brakes off of your ass out here! Don’t be talking to me sideways like you don’t know who the fuck I am!”

  “Mello just leave.” I begged grabbing a hold of his arm trying to pull him back. I was trying to prevent what I saw about to take place. “Please leave! Please…” He snatched away from me and continued towards Kamia.

  She opened the door up wider and stepped outside. “Like I don’t know who you are?” She threw back her head and let out a sarcastic laugh. “Nigga, who are you? A fat ass coward who beats on women…”

  Before she could say another word, Mello’s hands were wrapped around her throat. He lifted her up off the ground by her neck! She was digging her nails in his hands and trying to get him to let go but it wasn’t working. Her eyes were huge and looked as if they were going to pop right out of their sockets.

  I jumped on his back hitting him in the back of his head. I was hitting him with every ounce of strength that I had in my 4ft. 11in. frame but my blows didn’t seem to have any effect on him.

  “Somebody help!” I screamed. “Call the cops! Do something!” A few seconds later, my cousin Nelle and Kim, the other girl who worked for me, ran outside.

  “The cops are on the way!” Kim yelled as she and Nelle ran over and started helping me fight Mello and trying to get him off of Kamia. He finally turned Kamia a loose and she fell to the ground holding her throat and gasping for air. Once I saw Kamia fall to the ground. I immediately stopped hitting Mello and went over to her. Just as I kneeled down to see if she was okay. I was pushed roughly from behind. I fell literally face first. I felt the pavement scrape the skin from my face but before I could recover from that I felt pain in my back, head and side. I could hear Nelle and Kim screaming, begging Mello to stop. It felt like two or three people were stomping me at once.

  "Bitch, I can't stand your ass!" He yelled as he continued to stomp me. I had balled up into a fetal position trying to shield my body from some of the blows but it wasn't really helping. "All I wanted was to see my fuckin' baby! That's it!"

  I heard sirens in the distance just before I passed out.

  Mina

  I woke up a few hours later at Southampton Memorial Hospital hooked to an IV and several monitors. I looked to the side of me and saw Nelle sitting in the chair next to my bed. As soon as she noticed that I was awake she got up from her seat and rushed over to the bed.

  "Hey lady bug, how are you feeling?" She asked rubbing my arm.

  "I feel alright." I replied my face felt swollen and it was really sore. I tried to sit up and that's when I felt the pain from the stomping that Mello had put on me. My entire body ached. I felt like I'd been hit by an eighteen wheeler. "Ahhh...damn!" I moaned in pain my words were coming out a little slurred because of the soreness in my face and it also felt like I maybe had bitten my tongue.

  "Don't try to move." Nelle told me. "I hope that no good son-of-bitch rots in jail!"

  “He'd better hope like hell that he does.” Nelle's husband Corey said as he walked into the room carrying their one year old daughter Korey. “He'd better pray that they give him a life sentence because if he brings his ass back to Boykins, I've got something for his ass!”

  “Corey calm down.” Nelle told him.

  “Nah, fuck that! That nigga ain't have no right putting his hands on Mia or Mina! He's a straight fuck-boy...a motherfuckin' coward!”

  “Corey, chill out. Remember that your daughter is in the room...watch your mouth!”

  I watched as he paced back and forth. I could see the anger in his face and I knew that he wasn't joking about Mello's ass being his if he saw him. “Man, I don't like that shit at all! Did you see the bruises on Mia's neck? If I don't get that nigga first, Ron gone get his ass!” He said referring to Mia's boyfriend Ron. “You can bet your last dollar that he's going to get his! That's a promise.”

  I felt bad about what Mello had done to Mia because I felt that it was my fault. She'd only been trying to help me and now look what had happened. “Did the police arrest him?” I asked. I thought that I'd heard Nelle say they had but I wanted to be sure. I was silently praying that they had because I didn't want Corey or Ron to get in trouble. It was worse enough that Mia was hurt because of me.

  “Yeah, they arrested him. By the time that they arrived he’d left the salon walking but I gave them a description and they picked him up down the street.” Nelle informed me.

  I closed my eyes and let out a breath of relief. “Good. How is Mia doing?”

  “She's good. They checked her out and found that there was only bruising so they released her. She and Ron left about twenty minutes before you woke up.”

  “Oh okay.” I felt a little bit better knowing that Mia was alright.

  There was a soft tap at the door and then the door opened slowly. A middle-aged nurse wearing dark purple and yellow scrubs walked into the room. “Hello, Ms. Jarrett. My name is Sandra and I will be your nurse. The doctor will be in soon to talk with you but everything looks fine. You have severe bruising to your back and face. He's a little concerned about you being knocked unconscious so he wants to keep you overnight just to keep an eye on you."

  “I can't stay overnight. I need to go home.” I objected trying to sit up once again but again pain shot throughout my entire body. “I need to go home and get my daughter.”

  “No Mina, you need to stay right here so that the doctor and nurses can keep an eye on you and make sure that you are okay. You won't be any good to Simya anyways. You can’t run behind her in the shape that you're in. She’s fine right where she is with Ms. Joanne.” Nelle interrupted. “I’ll stay with you if you want because you don't need to leave here.”

  “Nelle, you have a family. I can't ask you to stay here with me.”

  “Girl hush, you are my family too.” She turned her attention to Corey, who’d finally stopped pacing and was sitting in the corner holding a sleeping Korey. “Baby, you don't mind me staying here with Mina do you?”

  “Nah but I'm going to either need you to come home first thing in the morning to get Korey or I'm going to have to bring her up here because your mama is still out of town.” He explained.

  “That's fine. I can come home first thing in the morning because I will have to come and take a shower anyways.”

  “Alright.”

  Nelle turned her attention back to me. “Well it's settled, you're staying.”

  “Thanks Nelle but...”

  “But nothing.” She cut me off. “You’re staying and so am I.”

  I knew there was no use in continuing to argue with her so I decided to let it go. Besides my mouth and face were too sore to continue to try and argue with her. I turned my attention to Sandra. “I guess, I will be staying.”

  “Good.” She smiled patting me lightly on my foot. “We just want to make sure that everything is okay before we release you. I’d feel so horrible if we released you and then you went home and something happened to you that we could have prevented.”

  I gave her a slight smile. “Thanks.”

  “Oh no need to thank me, suga. I’m just doing my job.” She checked my vitals and then told me that she would be back a little later.

  After she left Corey stood to leave. “I’m going to get out of here and go put my youngin’ to bed. I’ll see you in the morning baby.” He wrapped his free arm around Nelle, pulling her to him and then leaned down and kissed her. “I’m going to miss you being beside me tonight woman.”

  “Aw
www…I’m going to miss you too baby.” She kissed him again. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She kissed her daughter on her chubby cheek and told her she loved her.

  Seeing the affection between her and Corey made me feel empty and depressed. I envied what they had together because I’d wanted that for so many years. I wondered why Mello and I couldn’t have that. Why did he have to be the way that he was? Why couldn’t he try harder to be a good man to me and a good father his daughter instead of being the abusive monster that he’d become? I eyed Nelle and Corey from where I lay in my bed. I couldn’t help but wonder what she had that made him so crazy over her.

  “Alright you take it easy Mina.” Corey said glancing back at me as he was walking out of the room. “I hope that you feel better.”

  “Thanks.” He left closing the door behind him. “Girl, you sure are lucky. You found a good one.” I told Nelle.

  “Hmph…he wasn’t always like that.” She replied. “You remember all of the shit that I went through with him and that crazy bitch Amy.” She shook her head as she took her seat back next to the bed. “We have been through a lot but I will admit that it wasn’t all in vain. I think he and I both learned some very valuable lessons through it all. It definitely brought us closer and I think that it made us appreciate each other more.”

  “Yeah…I wish that Mello would’ve learned something after all of these years and all of the shit that he has put me through.” A tear rolled down my cheek and I reached up and wiped it away. “I have tried my best to stick with him no matter how bad shit has gotten because I understand the pain that he has gone through and the pain that he is still dealing with but that hasn’t gotten me anywhere. It’s like he can’t see how much I love him or that I am here for him regardless of what. I’m not against him or out to hurt him…yet and still he’s constantly hurting me. I just don’t understand. Then when I finally get tired and walk away, this is the result. I just don’t know what to do!”

  “First of all, calm down. Don’t get yourself all upset.” She replied sympathetically reaching over and wiping my tears. “You’ve done all that you could do for him. You’ve done too much if you ask me. Your only mistake was, you should’ve been left a long time ago and stopped feeling sorry for him. Yes, it’s sad the abuse that he suffered as a child but that is no excuse for him to turn right around and do that to you and his child! He has sense enough to know that he didn’t like having someone knock him upside the head and treat him like shit! So why do it to the people that he claims to love? I’ll tell you why because he has no idea what love is! He doesn’t even love himself because if he did he would get some help and deal with those demons that he’s been carrying around for years so that he can be a better man and parent than his parents were! Life is too short for the bullshit, Mina.” She said looking me directly in my eyes letting me know that she was speaking from her heart. “You took the first step by getting your baby and leaving but the key is to move forward and don’t look back. I know that you still love and care for him and that’s natural. It’s not possible to be with someone that long and then leave and not still have feelings for them but in this situation it is in your best interest to love him from a distance! Move forward with your life and find someone who will love you and treat you the way that you should be treated. You deserve to be loved and pampered. Not only that, but Simya deserves better than that. Don’t allow her to grow up watching her daddy or any other man beat on you or her because she will start to believe that’s how a man is supposed to treat her. You don’t want that for her.”

  “You’re right. I don’t.” She got up from her seat and leaned over the bed and gave me a hug. “Aaahhhh…”

  She quickly jumped back. “Dag, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She looked concerned. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  She sat back down. “I just want you to know that everything will be fine and if you need me, I’m here for you regardless of what it is that you need.”

  “Thanks cuz.”

  “No problem.” We continued to talk and I told her about me bumping into Tremaine earlier and giving him my number. “Tremaine Jefferson?” She asked giving me the screw face.

  “Yes, Tremaine Jefferson. Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Girl, what is wrong with you? I know that I just got through saying that you need to move on but not in that direction. Tre is a straight up dog! That dude has slept with almost every chic in Boykins and all of the surrounding areas.”

  “Nelle, he’s slept with quite a few but I think that you are exaggerating a bit.” I tried to laugh but it hurt too badly.

  “Exaggerating my ass! Tre is a dog!” She folded her arms and swiveled her neck at the same time. “Not only that but I know you don’t want to have to deal with Kisha and or his other babymama, Lala. He has too much babymama drama. Don’t get me wrong, Lala ain’t a bad person. I used to do her hair a while back and she seems like the laid back type but it may be a little different dealing with her on a more personal level. Kisha on the other hand. She has become a hot mess since she left Tre! I hear that heffa is off the chain! I heard that she whooped Lala’s ass while she was holding her baby in her arms!”

  I rolled my eyes up in my head. “And…what does any of that have to do with me? Tremaine is single and free to talk to whomever he wants and so am I.”

  She looked at me like I’d said something wrong. “Mina listen, no offense or anything but you and I both know that you can’t fight. So I am trying to warn you before you get your little ass into something that you can’t get out of! And honey there ain’t no need in calling me because I refuse to be somewhere helping you fight over a bunch of foolishness. I have a child to raise. I can’t be getting locked up.”

  “Whatever.” I snapped becoming defensive. “I’m not scared of Kisha or Lala! They don’t own Tremaine because they have kids with him!”

  “Okay but don’t say that I didn’t try to warn you.” She told me getting up and walking over to the window.

  Everything was quiet for a few minutes as I lay there thinking about Nelle’s warning. I would never admit it to her but I knew that she was right about Kisha being a problem and maybe even Lala. I’d heard how silly some females could be when they found out that they’re babydaddy had moved on with someone new. I didn’t want any problems with Kisha or Lala but both of them needed to realize that Tremaine wasn’t their property.

  All of a sudden Nelle’s head snapped around. “Hold up! Mina aren’t you and Kisha some kin on your daddy’s side?”

  Her question caught me off-guard because I hadn’t expected that to cross her mind. Like I said before, Kisha and I didn’t claim each other. Hell, we barely even saw each other and when we did, we spoke and kept it moving. “Girl that mess doesn’t count. We are like fourth cousins or something.”

  “It still counts Mina!” She all but screamed. “Uh-uhh, you don’t need to mess with that boy. He has kids by your folks. That’s just nasty! You’re not supposed to lay-up behind your folks. You are doing way too much.”

  “Nelle, chill out.” I was starting to regret ever saying anything to her about Tremaine. “You are taking this thing and running with it. I only gave him my number. Who’s to say that anything will come of it?”

  She rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. “Girl stop playing stupid. This is me that you are talking to. I know that you are grown and that I cannot tell you what to do but all I see coming of this right here is trouble. Take my advice and don’t mess with Tre. Find somebody else.”

  I didn’t reply because I didn’t feel like discussing the issue with her anymore. She was starting to get on my nerves. She was acting like Kisha and I were close kin or like we hung out with each other or something. I wasn’t trying to hear that shit that she was talking. It was easy for her to sit back and judge me and try to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do because her shit was all peachy. She didn’t fully understand how I felt or what I’d been
through. Yes, Corey had taken her through some shit but nothing like the things that Mello had taken me through. Corey had never abused her. They may have had a fight or two. He may have even smacked her once or twice but it was nothing like the abuse that I’d suffered at the hands of Mello. She had no idea what it was like to have someone make you strip down to nothing and beat you with an electrical cord and then lock you in a closet with nothing to eat for over twenty-four hours. I did! So she could save that bullshit that she was talking because I didn’t care to hear it. Mello was locked up and I was more than sure that he’d be in there for a while because I was definitely going to press charges and I knew that Mia was too. He was on probation and wasn’t supposed to get in any trouble or else he would automatically have to do eighteen months that he had over his head. This was the perfect time for me to move on. This way I didn’t have to worry about Mello’s crazy ass trying to kill me as soon as he found out that I was dealing with someone else. I could handle Tremaine’s babymamas and any other little ratchet bitches he had chillin’ in the cut! It was time for me to be happy for a change and that is exactly what I planned to do. It wasn’t like I was trying to marry Tremaine or anything. All I was interested in was having a good time. I’d been chained to Mello for the past five years it was time for me to let my hair down and enjoy life a little. Kisha had moved on with Skeet, one of Tremaine’s best friends. So there was no way in hell she could open her mouth to speak on me dealing with Tremaine.

  Mina

  I’d been home from the hospital for a little over a week now. My bruises were starting to fade a little and some of the soreness had even gone away but I still had a ways to go. Nelle and Mia were holding things down at the salon for me and I appreciated it a lot. Nelle, Corey, Mia, Ron, Tremaine and my mama had all been keeping a check on me, calling every other hour to see if I needed anything. I really did appreciate all of the love and concern that they’d been showing me. My mama had taken Simya home with her so that I wouldn’t have to be up and down chasing behind her. She was a handful and into everything. Sore as I was there was no way that I could run behind her even if I wanted to.