Page 35 of The Hood's Finest: Jersey & Mylani
“Hey! What’s going on in here? I could hear y’all all the way from the driveway.” I walked in between the two, waiting for somebody to give me an answer.
“Your sister done went and got herself pregnant! Her ass can barely clean her lil’ pussy, and she out here tryna be grown and fucking!” my mom yelled. I snapped my head in Trinity’s direction, and she immediately put her head down in shame.
“Trin, really? How far along are you?”
“Ten weeks.”
“Ten weeks? How long have you known?
“About a month.” I looked at my little sister and shook my head in disappointment. I didn’t want to yell at her because our mom was doing enough of that.
“Fast ass done went out here, tryna be like you and get her a drug dealer, and got herself fucking pregnant! This is all your fault!” My mother pointed her finger in my face as she yelled.
I looked around to see if someone else was around, because she couldn’t be talking to me. “My fault?” I asked, pointing my finger at my chest.
“Yeah, your fault. Instead of running ’round here sniffing that nigga’s dick, you should’ve been paying more attention to your sister. Now look. She’s fucking pregnant!”
I couldn’t believe this shit. Was she really blaming me for this shit?
“The last time I checked, Trinity was my sister, not my damn daughter! Maybe if you took more time paying some attention to her and less time putting that shit up your nose, you’d realize that!”
Slap!
I grabbed the side of my face where my mom had just slapped me. It took everything in me not to knock fire from her ass. Instead, I looked at Trinity and turned to leave.
“Trin, we’ll talk later. Stay in this house, and don’t go no damn where.” I left the both of them standing in the same spot that I found them in and left.
***
I walked into Jersey’s house, and he and Jerz were sitting on the couch, playing the game. He had him full time now, so heslowed down with his street business for the time being. When he noticed my face, he paused the game and rushed over to me.
“What the fuck happened? Who gotta eat some hollow tips?” He surveyed my face to see if there were any other signs of abuse besides the bruise I had on my face, my red nose, and puffy eyes.
“Trinity’s pregnant, and my mom blames me for it. When I called her out on it, she slapped me,” I confessed.
He looked down at me, pulled me into his body, and circled his arms around me before resting his chin on the top of my head. “I’m sorry, bae. What you need me to do to make it better? You want me to send my mama over there and check her for that shit? You know she will.” I could tell he was smiling without even looking up at him. I knew he was serious, though. In these few short months, we had grown so close, and I could honestly say that I loved him. I hadn’t voiced it, for fear of him thinking we were moving too fast, but the love was definitely there.
“No, that’ll only make things worse. I’ll go back tomorrow, and hopefully, she’ll be calmer.” Knowing Robin, she’d still be on good bullshit, but I was gonna talk to Trinity and Dantè’s ass.
“Aight, bae. We’ll do whatever you want. Gone upstairs and calm down while I finish beating Jerz’s lil’ ass in this 2K. I’ll be up there to beat you too if you want me to.” He smirked and then kissed my lips. I trekked up the stairs and lay across the bed. I had developed a headache, and all I wanted to do was lie down and possibly catch a nap.
I must’ve been asleep longer than I expected, because when I opened my eyes, Jersey was sitting on the side of the bed rolling a blunt; it was pitch black outside.
“What time is it?” I asked, searching for my phone.
“After nine.”
“Why did you let me sleep that long? Did you feed Jerz?” I jumped up, about to head downstairs to fix him something to eat like I normally did.
“Chill. That lil’ nigga straight. I let his ass order something from DoorDash. I let you get your rest because you been running off fumes lately. Between looking out for me and Jerz, your sister, and working, I know you’re tired, shawty. Your body needed that. I can’t have you ’round here wasting away on me and shit. A nigga done fell in love, so I ain’t letting you check out like that.” I stood in front of him, shocked. He just said that he loved me. I knew I loved him, but I never thought that a man like Jersey would feel the same way about me.
“Don’t look so surprised. I’on let nobody outside my immediate family know where I lay my head. Shanna’s ass don’t even know, yet this has been the only place I’ve brought you. Hell, I’on even get mail here. Street niggas have feelings, too. We’re just selective in who we share that side of us with.” I watched him… my man, in amazement, and was glad that I finally had someone in my life who genuinely seemed to care about my feelings. That emotion was scarce in my household.
“I’m in love with you, too,” I admitted.
“I know, shawty. Once I get a handle on this shit, I’m gonna show you just how much. I appreciate you not nagging a nigga and shit. This shit is already stressful. All I need you to do is to continue being my peace, and I can handle the rest. Aight?” By now, he had lit his blunt and was now smoking on it. His requirements seemed simple and easy enough to handle. I just hoped I could continue to live up to his expectations.
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