Hold U Down (21 page)

“Why would Patience fuck Tone?” Cezar asked, still stunned.

“I don't know, but the tape had to have been made a couple of years ago, because her hair was shorter,” Bigg explained.

“What you think Unique gon' do when she find out?” Legend questioned.

“I don't know, but can't none of y'all tell her.”

“You gon' tell her?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, but not tonight. I don't want to spoil her night. Fuck!” Bigg screamed while kicking a chair over. “This shit is gon' kill her when she find out.”

“Calm down, man.”

“Fuck that calm down shit! Didn't I tell you my girl rented this muthafucka? You breaking chairs ain't gon' solve nothing. Am I my brother's keeper?” NaSheed yelled.

“Yeah,” Bigg answered.

“A'ight then! We gon' handle this shit, but don't be trashing my muthafuckin' room.”

“I just want to know what kind of sick muthafucka fucks a fourteen-year-old girl.”

“Damn, she was fourteen on that tape?” Legend asked, repulsed.

“Yeah.”

“Don't even worry about it, dog. It's a done deal. The boy is dead.” Chris cocked his gun in the air, showing that he wasn't playing games.

“You're right. I gotta calm down, though, before Unique suspects something. Let me go splash some cold water on my face, man.”

After splashing some water on his face, Bigg retied his tie, took a deep breath, and headed downstairs. He found Unique on the dance floor with Zoë and Patience, dancing the night away. A grin was plastered on her face, and for a split second she almost seemed angelic.

Unique had changed into a winter white Versace blazer with no bra underneath and a pair of cropped pants with heels. Waving at Bigg, she signaled for him to come over and join them. He shook his head no, smiled, and continued to watch her dance to her favorite song, JLo's “Get Right.”

Looking at her made Bigg want to break down and cry. She was his everything, and in a year she would be his wife. He couldn't imagine how the news of Patience and Tone would affect her. For the life of him, Bigg couldn't figure out why Patience would fuck Tone, let alone let him catch it on tape. Until he told Unique and they sat down and talked to Patience, he wouldn't know.

“All the ladies put yo' hands up! Put yo' hands up!” DJ Elite yelled as Destiny's Child's “Soldier” came on.

“Ah, shit!” Bigg could see Unique yell as she shook her ass to the beat. She sang along as she winked her eye at him. Seeing Unique look so happy, Bigg didn't know if he could hurt her by telling her about Patience, but he knew that she needed to know. Telling Unique was the only way that they could help Patience.

“Yo, Bigg, I'm sorry about Patience. I know how this must be tearing you up,” Legend stated.

“The situation is fucked up, man. That's my gal sister on that tape. Who knows how many niggas have seen that shit?”

“I know. I ain't even think about that part.”

“I have.”

“You weren't really serious about killing Tone, were you?”

“Hell yeah, I was serious! I'm gon' put two in that nigga—one for Unique and one for me.”

“Well, look, dog. I'm up. Happy birthday.”

“A'ight, Legend.” Bigg hugged him.

“Why you ain't come out there with me?” Unique asked, walking over to him.

“I'm a little tired, that's all,” Bigg lied as he gazed into Unique's almond-shaped eyes, holding her close.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing. I'm good. You a'ight?”

“Of course I'm cool. Whenever you're around I'm good.” She kissed his nose.

“I love you. You know that, right?”

“Yes, and I love you too.”

 

 

After a weekend filled with nothing but lovemaking at the WS, Unique lay across her bed, reading the latest issue of
XXL
magazine. An article on Bigg, Chris, and NaSheed was in the Show & Prove section. Grinning from ear to ear, she knew that Bigg's company was going to surpass everyone's expectations.

Home alone and feeling nauseated, Unique glanced at the clock and wondered where Bigg had run off to. He had been in and out of the house all day. Patience was gone too. She had gone skating at Saints with Chantell.

Hearing Bigg enter through the front door, Unique called out for him. She knew that something had been bothering him, but he refused to tell her what the problem was. Unique had decided that enough was enough. She told herself that by the end of the day, she would know the truth.

Easing off the bed, she held her stomach and waddled into dining room. Unique's stomach was hurting. When she entered the living room, she noticed that Bigg was on his cell phone. Holding up his finger, he instructed her to wait a minute before speaking. Shortly after he hung up the phone, he stared at her and sighed.

“Did you get me a 7-Up and some crackers?”

“Nah, baby, I forgot. I had to do something else.”

“You know I've been in the house all day sick and shit. You could've stopped and got me something from Walgreens, Bigg. Quit being so inconsiderate.”

“I'm sorry, but come here,” he said with outstretched arms. “I need to talk to you.”

Taking a seat at the dining room table, she sat face to face with him. “What you want? I wanna go back and lay down.” Unique was now aggravated.

“For the past two days I have been wondering how I was going to tell you this, but there just ain't no right way to say it.”

“What the fuck is going on, Bigg? You don't want to marry me no more? Is that it?”

“Unique, that ain't even it. Calm the fuck down.”

“Well, what the fuck is it then? I don't feel good. Why you bothering me?”

“Yo, chill! I got something to show you.” As Bigg walked across the room to the entertainment system, she rolled her eyes.

“I don't feel like watching no damn DVD!” Unique spat as she picked up the DVD cover. “What the fuck is this shit?
Dime Hoes
! Nigga, is you crazy?”

“Just watch the muthafuckin' DVD and shut up!” Bigg ordered, becoming impatient.

Rolling her eyes once more, Unique got up and sat on the couch as the DVD began to play. “Nigga, do I look horny to you? I don't wanna see this shit.”

“Unique, shut up and watch the fuckin' TV.”

Seeing Tone's face, Unique became even more annoyed. “Why you got me watching this bullshit? So what? Tone's a porn star. And?”

“Keep looking.”

Looking closely as the camera panned around to the girl's face, Unique sat stunned at what she saw. “What the fuck is this shit?”

“I didn't know how to tell you, ma.”

“Tell me what? That you like watching li'l girls fuck grown-ass men?”

“Fuck nah! I didn't know how to tell you that your sister was fuckin' Tone.”

“Got me watching this ol' sick-ass bullshit! What the fuck is wrong wit' you?”

“I ain't the one on the muthafuckin' screen fucking yo' sister, so calm the fuck down!”

“Why is my sister on a porn tape fuckin' Tone, Bigg? Why?”

“I want to know the same thing.”

“This some ol' bullshit,” Unique cried, slumping down on the couch.

“I'm sorry, baby,” Bigg whispered, consoling her.

“Why would he do this to me?”

“'Cause he's a sick fuck. That's why!”

“How am I going to explain this to Mommy when I go see her? I was supposed to protect Patience.”

“You did the best you could do, ma. Don't go beating yourself up over this shit.”

“You don't understand, Bigg. My momma blamed me for everything that was wrong with her life. I thought by raising Patience for her that I could somehow make things right between me and her.”

“You can't blame your mother's mental illness on yourself. You ain't have nothing to do with that.”

“I know.” Unique continued to cry.

“Patience fucked Tone 'cause she wanted to.”

“Uh-uh, something ain't right about this shit. Patience would never fuck him off GP.”

“Whatever the reason is, I'm gon' handle it. Where is baby sis now?”

“She's gone skating with Chantell.” Unique sniffed and wiped the snot from her nose.

“I told you I ain't want her hanging around that fast-ass girl. She's probably the one that put her up to doing the shit.”

“Well, damn, Bigg, I'm sorry! It's already clear that I don't know what the fuck I'm doing, so go ahead and yell.”

“Yo, my bad. I'm just as torn up about this as you are. Patience is like a sister to me for real. You know that.”

“I know. I just gotta go sleep. I can't deal with this shit right now,” Unique said, getting up and heading to the bedroom.

“You ain't going nowhere by yourself. I told you I'ma hold you down. Let me be there for you,” Bigg said, holding her hand.

He picked her up and carried Unique into their bedroom and laid her down. Lying down beside her, he held her securely in his arms as he watched as she drifted off to sleep. A few minutes later, he kissed her on the forehead and left.

An hour later, Unique awoke drenched in sweat. She had had a nightmare about her sister being raped by Tone. Reaching for Bigg, she noticed that he wasn't there. Hoping that it was all a bad dream, she returned to the living room. She pressed play on the DVD and watched the horrid visual all over again.

“Unique, I'm home!” Patience yelled, coming through the door. Unique was not able to turn off the DVD in time, so Patience caught her sister watching the porn tape.

“Where you get that from?” Patience asked, trembling with fear.

Without any words, Unique hopped up off the floor and charged toward her. Hitting her sister as hard as she could, Unique beat her sister until she lay curled up in a ball on the floor.

“How could you do this to me?”

“Unique, I'm so sorry. Don't be mad at me. He made me do it.”

She pulled her up by the hair and slammed her sister into the wall, slapping her face. “I have broke my neck trying to take care of you and this is how you do me?” Unique yelled into her sister's face. “What the fuck were you thinking, Patience?”

“He said no one would ever know.” Patience began to cry.

“What?”

“I'm sorry.” Patience sobbed uncontrollably.

“Why? Why did you do it?”

“I'm sorry.”

“Tell me what happened, Patience,” Unique yelled, shaking her.

“He told me that he loved me and that since he took care of us, that was what I was supposed to do.”

“What?”

“Tone said that if I didn't sleep . . . with him that he would put us out and that we wouldn't have anywhere to live. He said . . . he said that he wouldn't pay for Mommy to go . . . to the clinic no more, and that . . . if I ever told you he would kill you and Mommy, and I believed him.”

“Patience, why didn't you tell me?” Unique cried as well, holding her sister.

“'Cause he was gon' kill you. Who would've taken care of me then?”

“You should've told me. I would've helped you. I would do anything for you.”

“I'm sorry.”

As more and more tears fell, Unique became angrier. Having heard enough, she headed back into the bedroom and pulled out a pair of jogging pants and Timbs. She unlocked her safe and pulled out her .380.

“Unique, what are you doing?” Patience asked, fearing the worst.

“Don't go nowhere, you hear me? Stay here. I'll be back.”

“Don't go over there, Unique. What if something happens to you?” Patience cried hysterically.

“You heard what I said, Patience. Just do as I ask, okay?” Unique cried.

Nodding her head, Patience agreed as she watched Unique grab her car keys and coat, storming out of the house on a mission to kill.

Playing the tape back as he sat in Federal Agent Lansing's office, Legend couldn't help but feel bad. He was about to turn over evidence of Bigg saying that he would kill Tone to the district attorney's office. Little did Bigg know that Legend had on a wire the night of his party. He knew all about the DVD of Patience and Tone. Once NaSheed got word that the DVD was floating around, he brought it in and showed it to Federal Agent Lansing.

Lansing couldn't have been happier. They finally had something that they could use to make Bigg snap. The whole thing was set up perfectly. NaSheed would show the DVD, and Legend would catch Bigg's reaction on tape. Just as expected, Bigg exploded and threatened to kill Tone. The only thing left to do was wait until Tone came up dead or missing.

“You're here early,” NaSheed said as he entered the room. Ignoring him, Legend continued to sit quietly, deep in thought. “Oh, so you not talkin' to a nigga now?”

“Shut the fuck up, NaSheed!”

“A'ight, nigga. Damn.” NaSheed put his hands in the air as a sign of surrendering.

“You really don't care that you're sending your best friend to jail, do you?”

“When it comes to my freedom? No. I don't give a fuck if it was Momma. I would send her ass to jail too.”

“You ain't shit.”

“And neither are you.”

Grabbing him by the collar, Legend whispered, “If I didn't give a fuck about losing my job, I swear to God I would fuck you up right now.”

“Boys, what is this?” Federal Agent Lansing questioned.

“It's nothing,” Legend said, letting go of NaSheed and pushing him back into his chair.

“If he keeps this up I'm going have to file charges against the police for harassment,” NaSheed scoffed, fixing his shirt.

“So what did you get?” Federal Agent Lansing asked.

“We got that nigga on tape saying that he was going to kill Tone, just like I said he would.”

“Good. Let me hear it.” Legend pressed play on the tape recorder and played back his entire conversation with Bigg.

“NaSheed, you are a fucking genius. You might not be going to jail after all.”

“Ay, what can I say?” NaSheed grinned.

“Can I go now?” Legend asked, upset by the whole situation.

“Yeah, that's all for now. I'll call you when we have something else.”

“A'ight.”

“Ay, Legend, it's just a job. Don't take it so hard,” NaSheed said, trying his hardest to get under Legend's skin.

“Nigga, fuck you.” Legend slammed the door behind him.

“Legend!” his partner of three years called out.

“What's up, Tori?”

“I just wanted to say sorry again for the other day.”

“It's cool.”

“No, it's not.” She pulled him to the side. “I know how much you like Zoë. My mind just went blank when she approached us. I didn't mean to say her name, though. I will say that you're dead wrong for getting in so deep with these people, but I understand.”

“I don't think you do. I think I might really love this girl.”

“Damn, it's like that?”

“Yeah, but it's fucked up, 'cause I know it can't work out.”

“I don't know what to say, man.”

“Me either. I don't know what I'm going to do. On the real, sometimes I wish that I never took this case.”

 

 

The clock read 9:55 as Zoë sat at her desk studying for a sociology test, listening to Faith Evans' “Catching Feelings.” She tried her best not to think about Legend but found it very hard not to. It seemed like every time she tried not to think about him, her mind would drift off to some moment they shared together. Whether it was their first kiss or their first date, she could vividly remember them all.

“I'm not going to call him. But what could one phone call do? It's not going to hurt anything,” she said out loud.

Not able to take it anymore, she picked up her phone and dialed his number. Zoë let it ring four times before hanging up. Feeling stupid for even calling him, she got up to get a drink of water.
He's probably with his baby momma
, she thought.

Zoë was halfway to the kitchen when she heard the phone ring. She turned around and quickly made a mad dash for the telephone.

“Hello?” Zoë answered, almost out of breath. “You just call me?”

“Yeah, I was just calling to see what you were doing,” she lied, knowing full well that she just wanted to hear the sound of his voice.

“I ain't doing shit. What you doing?”

“Nothing. I was kinda hoping I could see you tonight.”

“I wish I could, but I ain't gon' be able to do it tonight. My day has been all fucked up.”

“What happened?”

“I don't even want to talk about it.”

Unsure of what to say or do, they both sat quiet for a minute.

“Well . . . I didn't want to bother you, so . . . I'll let you go.”

“A'ight. I'm gon' holla at you later,” Legend said, needing to clear his head.

Hanging up and feeling even dumber, Zoë vowed to never dial Legend's number again.

 

 

“Who is it?”

“It's me.”

“And to what do I owe this surprise?” Tone asked, opening the door.

“I need to talk to you.” Unique pushed past him. Searching around the house, she made sure that no one else was there.

“Well, hi to you too, Unique.”

“I saw the video, you sick bastard!”

“What video?” Tone played stupid.

“Now you wanna play stupid. The video of you fuckin' my sister, you stupid bastard!”

“Oh, that video.” He grinned while taking a seat on the couch.

“How could you do that to her, Tone? She looked up to you.”

“Patience is not as innocent as she seems. Trust me. She wanted it.”

“What? My sister wouldn't fuck you off GP. I know you threatened her.”

“Who the fuck you think you talkin' to? You better calm the fuck down. So what I fucked her? What you gon' do, tell yo' bitch-ass boyfriend?” Unique didn't answer. “That's what I thought. Fuck you and that nigga.”

“I hate you! I wish I never met you.”

“Bitch, I took care of you. I took you and yo' li'l pissy-ass sister in. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have shit. Yo' crazy-ass momma didn't even want you. You thought I gave a fuck about you crying to me all those nights about yo' mother? I didn't give a fuck. You need to be thanking me for all the shit I did for you.”

“Fuck you!” Unique yelled, pulling out her .380 and aiming it at his head.

“What you gon' do with that Unique, kill me? You ain't no killer. I taught you a lot of things, but I ain't teach you to be a killer. Put the gun away. You're making a fool out of yourself.” Tone picked up the Sunday paper and continued reading as if Unique weren't there.

“You're right. You didn't teach to me to be a killer; Bigg did.”

Unique pulled the trigger and fired at Tone twice but missed. He charged toward her and tackled her to the floor, causing Unique to drop the gun. With all of her might she hit Tone as hard as she could. Unique tried her best to get him up off of her, but Tone was too strong. He grabbed her hair and hit her square in the face, causing Unique to lose her vision for a minute.

Even more enraged, Unique kicked and scratched until she was finally able to break loose.

Seeing that he was about to grab the gun, Unique kicked Tone hard, causing him to fall back and hit his head on the edge of the wooden coffee table. Shocked by her actions, she sat wondering if he would get up. Seeing that he didn't, Unique got on her feet and gathered what little strength she had and headed over to Tone.

He was out cold, and blood was trickling from the back of his head. Unique leaned to check and see if he still had a pulse. Feeling one, she stood back up, grabbed her purse, and headed out the door, never looking back.

 

 

“Unique! Unique! Where the fuck she at?” Bigg said to himself just as he was about to dial Unique's cell phone number. Looking up, he saw her car pulling into the driveway.

“Where have you been?” he questioned as she walked through the door.

“I went to see Tone.” She spoke calmly.

“What the fuck? I told you that I was going to handle it. You hard-headed.”

“I know, but I had to talk to him. Where is Patience?”

“I don't know. She wasn't here when I came in—and talk to him for what?”

“He threatened Patience into having sex with him, Bigg. He told her that he was going to put us out and that if she ever told me, he was going to kill me and my mother.”

“Did he admit to it?”

“Not in so many words, but I know he said that shit.”

“Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid, Unique.” Avoiding his eyes, Unique didn't say a thing. “Baby, tell me you didn't.”

“I'm sorry, Bigg. It had to be done—but I didn't kill him. He was still alive when I left. ”

“What happened?”

“I tried to shoot him, but I missed. We ended up getting into a little tussle. While we were fighting, I kicked him, and he fell back and hit his head on the coffee table.”

“A'ight, I'm gon' handle this.”

“I'm sorry, Bigg. I just couldn't let him get away with doing that to my sister,” Unique cried.

“I know, baby, I know. Did you touch anything?”

“No.”

“Where is the gun?”

“Right here,” Unique said, going into her purse but not finding it. “Fuck!”

“What?”

“I left the gun at Tone's house.”

“Did anybody see you go in?”

“No. I don't think so.”

“A'ight. Well, look, you stay here. Go take a shower and burn those clothes in the fireplace, okay?”

“All right.”

“I'll be back in a minute.”

Getting in his black Chevy Caprice, Bigg called NaSheed. He let the phone ring ten times before hanging up. Calling his cell phone again two more times, he finally got NaSheed to pick up.

“Hello?” he answered, out of breath.

“Damn, nigga. What the fuck were you doing?”

“Nothing. What's up, man?”

“I need you to meet me downtown in front of Tone's crib in about twenty minutes.”

“A'ight. Where that nigga stay?”

 

 

NaSheed and Bigg pulled up to Tone's house at the same time.

“What's up?” NaSheed said as he hopped into Bigg's car.

“I got a situation. Unique tried to kill Tone tonight.”

“What?” NaSheed said, surprised.

“Yeah, she went ballistic when she saw the video.”

“Damn, yo' chick really is 'bout it, 'bout it.”

“Ha ha, funny. But look, we gotta go up in this nigga's crib.”

“For what?”

“Unique and him got into a fight. He fell back and hit his head. She got nervous and ran out, but she forgot to get her gun. She did say that he was out cold when she left though.”

“Damn.”

“I swear to God if that nigga still alive when we walk up in here, I'm gon' kill him myself,” Bigg said, cocking his gun.

“A'ight, nigga, calm down. Come on,” NaSheed said, hopping out of the car and making sure the coast was clear.

With his shirt covering his hand, Bigg checked the lock and saw that the door was still open. Walking in together, they saw that Tone had more than a head wound. He not was shot point blank in the head and in the heart.

“I thought they just got into a fight.”

“I thought so too. Unique said she didn't kill him.”

“Well, somebody shot that nigga.” Noticing the temperature in the room, NaSheed said, “Damn, it's cold than a muthafucka up in here. What that nigga got the air on, full blast?”

Spotting Unique's gun on the floor, Bigg picked it up without covering up his hand. “Here. I need you to get rid of this for me.” Bigg handed the gun to NaSheed, forgetting to wipe his fingerprints off of it.

“A'ight, I got you.” NaSheed took the gun, holding it with his shirt covering his hand.

“Don't fuck this up, man.”

“Am I my brother's keeper?”

“Yeah, nigga, just don't fuck up, like I said.”

“I won't. I got you,” NaSheed replied as they left.

With his shirt covering his hand, Bigg wiped his fingerprints off the doorknob. After giving each other a pound and a hug, NaSheed watched with a sly smile on his face as Bigg pulled off. He had all the evidence he needed to put Bigg away and to save his own ass.

 

 

It was the crack of dawn. The house was quiet and everyone was asleep. The sun had just begun peeking through the clouds, and the bedroom was still a color of gray. Unique and Bigg lay face to face as his lips lightly touched her forehead and he held her tight. It had taken her hours to finally fall asleep.

Memories of Tone's eyes staring at her as he lay lifeless awoke her every time she drifted off to sleep. Finally, after three attempts at sleep, she was able to go without waking up. Little did Unique know that her worst nightmare was about to come true. Nobody knew what was happening outside the front door of the loft.