AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This sounded like a good idea in the beginning, but the only thing that I wanted to do right now was curl up in a bed and take my ass to sleep. As promised, Miami, Maya, and I had all gotten on a jet around midnight to come to Atlanta. After landing, Miami rented a car, and here we were, sitting outside the strip club where Krystal supposedly worked. It was a struggle to stay up. I was uncomfortable as hell in this car, and the whole waiting process was annoying the hell out of me.
Krystal hadn’t posted anything on her social media that would lead us to believe that she was there, but then again, she hadn’t even posted on her social media that she was dancing. If we’d flown out there for nothing, I was going to be mad as hell. We hadn’t told Maya why we’d gotten on a jet and came all the way to Atlanta yet because we didn’t want to get her hopes up, only for her not to be able to see her mom. Of course, I tried to call Krystal before we came, but like always, all of my calls were ignored.
“If she doesn’t come out in thirty minutes, we can go,” Miami let me know.
Five minutes later, two girls who looked to be in their twenties came out and were about to get in the car that was parked next to us. Miami rolled down the window, and like they’d won the lottery, they both damn near tripped over themselves to get to him. Funny how I said I was tired, but the moment I saw a bitch looking at hi
m, I sat up in the seat.
“Was Temptation dancing tonight?” he asked the two girls, calling Krystal by her stage name.
They looked at Miami the same way I looked at him every day, which was with love and lust.
“Yeah. She still in there. Damn, I would love to be your temptation. You are too fuckin’ fine in person. Miami, right?” one of the bitches asked.
Her words slurred when she spoke, which only screamed how drunk her silly ass was. I leaned over the seat, so she could get a good view of my face.
“Please don’t tempt me to get my ass out of this car and beat your ass. You don’t see me sitting right here?” I asked.
“I actually didn’t. Share him with us, sis. This man is too fuckin’ fine,” she said.
I pushed myself off Miami, prepared to open the door and lunge at her ass, but he pulled me back. He let out a sarcastic laugh as he looked down at the two women.
“Y’all better walk away while you can. If I let her go, it’s over for both of you bitches. You’ve been warned,” Miami let them know.
They eventually took the warning and walked away from our car and jumped into theirs. At the same time, Miami started rolling the window back up, all the while, he was laughing like the shit was funny.
“Don’t roll down another window and ask a bitch shit. I’ll do all the talking the next time. At times, I secretly wish your ass was ugly,” I voiced in all seriousness.
“I wouldn’t have been able to bag you if I was ugly. On top of that, we would have some ugly ass kids. Chill out with all that, though. I think that’s her right there” Miami said, making me drop the conversation and look up.
About three dancers were walking out. They each carried some type of duffle bag in their hands which more than likely had their money in it or their clothes. I had to squint because I couldn’t tell if it was Krystal or not. After a few seconds of looking, I realized that it was her. The lime green wig that she wore didn’t have her looking like her usual self. She was laughing and smiling, like she didn’t have a care in the fuckin’ world, and that shit pissed me off like none other because on the opposing side, her daughter has been worried sick about her and crying herself to sleep every night. She was in the back seat sleeping right now, but I was sure that if she was up, she would be questioning where her mother was.
Krystal didn’t look like a bitch who was struggling to me. She was in a new Fendi jogging suit with the matching sneakers. Her hair was nice and neat, like she’d just gotten it done today. The way that wig looked like it was coming out of her damn scalp proved to me that whoever she went to wasn’t cheap. Seeing all of that and then knowing what Maya had been through over the past couple of weeks sent me in a rage. I jumped out of the car, not even giving Miami enough time to try and stop me.
“Krystal!” I barked her name like she owed me some money.
She along with the two girls that she was walking with all stopped and looked in my direction. By this time, it was like we were the only ones in the parking lot. The club had closed already, so everyone had pretty much left. Miami had stepped out of the car as well, but he was hanging by the door. I liked how he was taking the back seat and allowing me to handle this on my own. I saw Krystal squint, and when she saw that it was me, she started walking fast as hell in my direction.
“Jashae, what are you doing here? Where’s Maya?” she had the fuckin’ nerve to ask.
“Bitch, how dare you! How fuckin’ dare you ask about the whereabouts of your child, when it’s been two weeks that she’s been in my care! You don’t give a fuck about that little girl, so let’s not try to pretend! Your phone doesn’t work? If you ever see a phone call from me, know that it’s your daughter calling and not me, so you can have the decency to answer it. Me, personally, I couldn’t care less if you walk your ass out into incoming traffic, but for whatever reason, your daughter actually gives a fuck about your dumb ass.
“You don’t look like you’re struggling to me, though. This Fendi outfit set you back about two stacks, right? I know it because I bought the same one for myself last week. Your hair and nails all done up. Explain to me again why you’re not in a situation to take care of your child? You look like the epitome of a dead-beat mama right now,” I let her know.
She sighed like she was embarrassed. Her eyes were on everything except for me. That right there was how I knew that she was full of shit!
“Jashae, I ain’t asking for you to judge me right now. For the past five fuckin’ years, I been raising Maya on my own. No help from no fuckin’ body, not even my own fuckin’ mama. When I was working, I couldn’t get a babysitter, so most times, I would have to bring Maya in to work with me. I was tired of fuckin’ struggling. One of the girls back there waiting for me is my cousin. She was the one who put me on to this dancing shit. Right now, I’m living in a two-bedroom apartment with her, her two kids, and her baby daddy. Where am I supposed to let my daughter sleep? On the couch with me?” she asked.
“Krystal, that’s life. I hate to sound so fuckin’ heartless and blunt but deal with it! I had my son at thirteen! Thirteen years old Krystal. I barely knew math at the time, but here I was about to bring a damn baby in this world. Although my grandma loved me and my son to pieces, she showed me tough love. She would watch Vonte for me during the day, but the moment my ass came home from school, Vonte was my responsibility. I was back and forth between a baby, doing homework, studying, everything. I remember walking to the library, pushing Vonte in a stroller. Need I remind you that by the time Vonte turned seven, Trip was hauled off to prison?
“You don’t think life got hard on me? You don’t think that I had times when I just wanted to give the fuck up. The fact that I pushed through that shit is what made me strong. You pushing your daughter off on somebody else makes you look weak! You don’t know shit about me other than the fact that we went to school together and that we share the same baby daddy. How can you trust a complete stranger around somebody that’s supposed to mean the world to you? I don’t get it,” I said, trying to get through to her, but it didn’t look like it was working.
“I don’t know what you want me to do. She’s better off without me,” she said.
At the same time, I heard the back door open. We both turned around to see who it was, and it was Maya. We’d forgotten to put the child lock on the rental. My eyes stayed on Maya’s, and when she saw Krystal, she smiled big for the first time. I helped her get out of the car, and before her feet could even hit the ground good, she raced out of my arms and over to her mother. Krystal was crying herself. The whole time that Maya was hugging her, Krystal wouldn’t hug her back.
“You ccc… came… ttt… too gg… get… mm… mee Mommy?” Maya asked her mom with her little arms wrapped around Krystal’s leg.
