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“My ole girl did that same shit. She knew way in advance about her cancer, but since I was right where I wanted to be in my career, she didn’t tell me, figuring that it would knock me off my square and not have me fighting to my same potential. Years later, here he is doing that same shit,” Miami vented, and I let him.
He did all the talking, and I didn’t say anything. There was about five minutes of silence before my phone started ringing. I reached to the side of me and dug in my purse for it, praying to God that it wasn’t Trip calling back because the timing was so off. I don’t want to even imagine the way that conversation would go. I retrieved my phone, and it wasn’t him. It was Jabari calling, and I showed Miami the phone, so he could see.
“He’s probably calling you because I wasn’t answering my shit,” he said and took the phone out of my hand before answering it.
While they talked, I lingered around because I wanted Miami to ask Jabari something for me. I stood with my arms crossed, and when I saw that the conversation was fading, I looked at Miami.
“Ask him how Mahogany is doing,” I whispered to him.
Miami shook his head at me like I was wrong, but he still went ahead and asked.
“Shae said how is Mahogany?” he questioned, and I shoved his ass because he wasn’t supposed to say that I said it.
He knew it too. I wasn’t sure what Jabari told Miami, but it got him to laugh right quick. They stayed on the phone for about another minute or so, and then they hung up. I noticed Miami look at something in my phone, and then he passed it back to me.
“What did he say about Mahogany?” I questioned.
He took about a minute to answer.
“Who were you on the phone with for damn near ten minutes? The time said 5:07, which means you were on the phone on your way home from work,” he said, never even answering my question about Mahogany.
If I could crawl under a damn rock right now, I would. Hell, anything to get my ass out of this situation. I hated confrontation with Miami. It didn’t make the situation any better that he was already mad and running high off his emotions, especially after finding out that his dad had cancer. I blew out a breath, knowing that this conversation had the potential to go left.
“Trip,” I let him know.
All he did was shake his head. “Trip! I’m so fuckin’ tired of hearing that nigga’s name. I love you, shorty, I swear to fuckin’ God I do, but—”
“But what?” I screamed, cutting him off.
“Ay, pipe the fuck down. I ain’t Mahogany. That tough girl shit don’t scare me. I weigh almost three of you! I don’t have no regrets about this shit, but I should have made sure what whatever the fuck you had going on with him was really handled before I pursued you,” he said.
“It is properly handled. What are you talking about?” I quizzed.
“Is it, Shae? Let me ask you something. Prior to today, when is the last time he called?” he questioned.
“He hasn’t because I changed my phone number…” My voice trailed off because I had just caught myself in the lie that I told Miami when I told him the fake reason on why my number had been changed in the first place.
He let out a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head at me.
“Shorty, I knew your ass was fuckin’ lying when you told me the shit. I was just waiting for when you finally came to me with the truth. You lying for that nigga, Shae, which only means you love him. On some real shit, Jashae, you got me fucked up! Real fucked up. Out of respect for you and our baby, let me get the fuck out of here for a few. I’ll be back,” he said and attempted to walk out of the kitchen, but I jumped down to stop him.
I grabbed his arm, trying to pull him, and he shrugged me off.
“Baby, where are you going? Toddrick, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to start any more problems and—”
“Shorty, you caused yourself a whole heap of fuckin’ problems by lying to me, yo. Looked me straight in my fuckin’ eyes and lied to a nigga. You lying to me for that nigga! Protecting that nigga! Fuck you think that shit make me feel, yo? I don’t question shit that you do, Shae. You told me that you wanted to take Maya in, and as much as I didn’t want to raise another nigga’s baby, I did that shit for you. I did it because of the love that I have in my heart for you. Don’t that account for something, yo? Most niggas would have told your ass no straight the fuck up!” Miami yelled.
“Baby, it counts for everything. Don’t leave. Why are you leaving?” I asked, tugging at his arm.
“Because I don’t know if I can trust you, shorty. Had I not had your
phone, I know you wouldn’t have told me that you exchanged words with that nigga earlier because that’s how you do. You protect that nigga. I’m out, man,” he said, and I started crying.
If he left, I didn’t know if he was going to come back.
“I wasn’t protecting him, Toddrick. I just want to protect us and—”
“Jashae, we fuckin’ protected! Why the fuck do you feel like we at fuckin’ jeopardy over a nigga that’s serving a life sentence? Ask yourself that question, yo! Who is it that you’re really protecting? Us or that nigga?” he questioned. His hand was already on the door, and he was leaving.
