Pointe of No Return: Giving You All I Got (18 page)

“But I’m not though,” he said, not agreeing with Nasir at all.

“You are, and before I get thrown away I rather throw you away,” Nasir said.

“Throw Away?” Like he built this shit by himself. Before he could think any further, his gun was pulled and pointing to Nasir.

“Whoa!” Roderick said, loudly.

“Papa, what the fuck is you doing?” Malachi asked.

But Nasir had nothing to say because he knew Papa’s ego was bruised and he wouldn’t really pull the trigger.

Papa was breathing so loud, blowing steam out of his mouth, pissed off that they were trying to oust him.

“You knew about this?” Papa pointed the gun to Malachi.

Malachi told him, “We need to sit down and talk like men.”

“FUCK THAT!” Papa pulled the clip back.

His girlfriend’s voice took his concentration off of blowing Nasir’s head off because he was about to do it for real.

“Papa, what are you doing?” she asked, with tears in her eyes.

“Demi, go to valet and tell them we need the car,” he told her.

“Please don’t do this,” she begged.

Malachi knew Papa would shoot Nasir’s ass, because he wasn’t wrapped too tight.

“You gone shoot your brother?” Sean asked Papa.

“Man, miss me with that brother shit. Y’all in here voting me out. Ask Polo, I hustle hard every month, pussy nigga.” Papa jumped as spit flew from his mouth.

Jordyn said, “I’m calling the police.”

Nasir raised his hand. “No need, Papa was just leaving…with his life,” Nasir told him with death in his eyes and the difference between the two men was that Nasir rarely spoke, so when he did people knew he spoke the real.

Papa stared at him, contemplating his decision, his gun never lowered.

“Let’s go baby,” Demi begged.

“This not how we supposed to do this,” Malachi said.

Papa dropped his gun by his side. He made sure they all saw his eyes when he spoke. “Keep your distance.”

He walked out of the room with Demi in tow.

Demi said nothing, especially when Papa punched the wall on the way out of Nasir’s house. She watched his knuckles swell along with blood dripping on the carpeted floor.

She was so embarrassed and if she would have known he had vengeance on his mind prior to them going to Nasir’s home for what was supposed to be a nice dinner, she would have stayed home and begged him to stay there as well.

Demi rubbed her stomach. In eight months she would be welcoming a child into this world with a man who had the worst temper in America.

As they drove back to his condo, Demi felt the need to speak up using the voice God gave her.

“I gave up a lot for you,” she told him.

Papa just knew she wasn’t trying to start no bullshit….not tonight. He had enough on his mind right now to be dealing with Demi’s dramatics.

“Don’t start,” he warned.

“No, I have to start because apparently you don’t know how to stop. You can’t keep going off on people and pulling your gun out like you’re a cowboy.  One day someone is going to kill you!” she shouted.

Papa bit down on his tongue and clenched the steering wheel as he cracked his neck. He figured that if he held on the steering wheel that would keep him from popping Demi in the mouth for not minding her fucking business.

“Yo, what’s up with you?” he asked.

“I’m sacrificing so much for you Papa, but you gotta get it together. You’re not twelve having temper tantrums. You are a grown man and you need to act like it,” she told him, matter of fact.

“I never asked you to sacrifice anything for me, you did that shit on your own,” he told her.

“But I did though, okay? I did and it’s done now and we are having a baby. You need to get your shit together!” she cried.

Papa looked over in her direction, thankful they had approached a red light.

“What you mean, you’re pregnant?” he questioned.

“One plus one equals three,” Demi mumbled.

It was still hard for her to accept that she had life growing in her body, but it was here and there was nothing she could or would do about it. What Demi planned on doing was making sure her baby had the best childhood, just as she did growing up and that started with Papa getting off the streets.

Unbeknownst to Demi, he thought the opposite. That turned in his head the moment Demi told him they were having a baby. Papa now felt the need to hustle harder because he had a mouth to feed, his seed’s.

11

“So what are you going to do?” Briana asked Demi.

Demi looked at her with attitude all over her face. “I’m four months pregnant, what do you think I’m going to do, Bri?”

She was second-guessing her decision of having a girl’s night, but with Papa running around the streets like he was the main character in
Paid in Full
, she was bored and wanted company.

I’m just saying, is this something you really thought through?” Briana asked.

Nichelle took up for her best friend. “Damn Bri, just say what you really wanna say. It’s apparent you want to tell her something.”

Courtney laughed. “Chelle don’t play about Demi, honey.”

It was known amongst their clique that Nichelle often had to take up for Demi because she was naïve to everything happening around her.

Demi got up from the couch in her living room and went to the kitchen to get another slice of pepperoni pizza. Briana followed her into the kitchen.

“I don’t want you to end up like my cousin. She was all in love with Malachi, gave that nigga a kid and everything, and the first bitch he met that he thought was better, he left her,” Briana told her with a comforting pat on her shoulder.

              Demi moved away from her touch. “Can you please leave my house?” she asked one of her best friends.

Briana’s face softened. “Are you serious? I’m just looking out for you,” she told her.

Demi didn’t want to hear anything else she had to say. “I want you to leave.” She walked away and went to the living room.

“Chelle, can you make sure my door is locked, I have somewhere to be,” she asked her friend.

“What happened?’ Courtney asked.

Demi through her New Balances on. “I’ll come get my key from you later this week.”

“It’s raining, where are you going?” Nichelle asked.

But it was too late.  Demi was already out the door and heading for the elevator. She needed to see Papa. She and Papa needed to talk right now.

She would never tell Briana how her words affected her and it was almost confirmation of her worst fear. Demi had always been spoiled and dependent on someone, and prior to her becoming pregnant she found nothing wrong with being taken care of by someone else.

Although marriage and family wasn’t at the top of her to-do list growing up, she always knew she would marry rich and move to the Hamptons or another nice subdivision near her parents’ home.

              Meeting Papa wasn’t in her plans, but he was here now and she loved him more than anything in this world. Well, until her baby entered into the world. When Briana said aloud what Demi had been thinking for a while now it was almost as if God was telling her to put something into motion.

Her dance studio was doing well, but it was just pocket money. Her father still took care of her bills and anything else he thought she needed. A monthly deposit of five thousand dollars was what she used to take care of everything.

Along with her boyfriend buying her tons of shit on the daily, Demi had her boyfriend and her daddy, but she wanted herself. She yearned for independence. God forbid if something happened to Papa or her father, who would she have?

She was sure there were a few trust funds set up in her name, but the way her mother had been behaving Demi knew there would be some setbacks with receiving the money.

She didn’t want to be a trust fund baby. Demi knew plenty of people who ran through their trust fund money in less than three years and she didn’t want to be
that
girl. Once she made it outside she realized it was pouring down raining.

“FUCK!” she cursed. Demi wasn’t too big on using profanity, but she needed to talk to Papa and there was no way she could drive in the rain.

Demi turned around and asked the bellhop in the lobby to call her a cab. Since she now lived in one of the busiest parts of New York, Manhattan, calling a cab took less than thirty seconds. She was ducking her head and sliding into the back of the seat in no time.

When she made it to The Barbershop where she knew Papa would be, she ran into the shop, soaking wet, her growing belly sticking out in the thin shirt she wore with no bra and her nipples stood erect. Demi’s curly hair was all over her head and she wore no jacket.

“What are you doing here?” Papa stood and came to her.

“I need, I need to talk to you.” She stumbled on her words because she was so overwhelmed with emotion.

“Calm down, you need some water?” Papa asked.

Unc smiled. He was so proud of his nephew, slowly growing up and becoming a family man. As soon as he saw Demi enter the shop he stopped bullshitting around and gave her all of his attention.

He cupped Demi’s chin and looked in her eyes, coaching her to catch her breath and calm down.

“You’re not going to leave me are you? After I have the baby are you going to leave me?” she asked.

Even though Demi’s voice was light, it was late at night and everyone heard what she asked Papa.  He bit his bottom lip and remained quiet.  His relationship, his first relationship at that, was the one thing he was silent about.

“Demi, go get in the truck,” he told her.

She didn’t want to get in the fucking truck, she wanted her question to be answered, but the look Papa gave her moved her feet and she made her way to the truck that Papa had unlocked.

He shook his head and dapped his uncle up and a few more of the OG’s.

“Let me get her home before she gets sick,” Papa said.

Unc smiled. “Alright neph, be safe out there.”

Papa smirked. He knew Unc was getting a kick out of him finally having women problems, especially when Papa used to claim he would never be tied down or catering to a woman. His words had come back to bite him because Demi had Papa wrapped around her finger and he was breaking the bank on her as well.

Love had a way of bringing you out of the norm of what you’re used to and before you knew it, the new routine was the one you needed your whole life.

It wasn’t meant for Papa to keep fucking random girls and staying out all night. If he would have continued with his lifestyle his downfall would have been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Demi saved Papa and he didn’t even realize it yet.

When he got in the car, Demi was leaning her head against the window.  He saw the tears, but didn’t know what to say.

“Hungry?” he finally asked her, ten minutes into the drive home.

She told him, “No.”

“What happened to the sleepover?” he asked.

“It was going good. I was having tons of fun until Briana told me how YOUR friend, Malachi left her cousin after she got pregnant and is now in love with someone else. You gone do me the same way, because that’s what she thinks and wanted to warn me. In so many words, she suggested I get an abortion,” she spat.

Papa slammed on the brakes, which almost pushed Demi’s body forward. He stuck his hand out and held her back from hitting her head. He kept going after everyone honked at him and went around him.

“You wanna kill my seed?” he roared.

She shook her head. He always heard what he wanted to hear.

“You ignored everything I told you. What about how Malachi left her after she had her baby!” Demi shouted.

Papa wouldn’t throw him under the bus even though he wasn’t fucking with them right now.

“Aaliyah was never important to him, that’s all I’ma say.”

“And how important am I to you?” she asked.

“Man, if you gotta ask me then you ain’t that damn important. What’s understood ain’t gotta be explained,” Papa told her straight up.

“Don’t give me that, Papa.”

“I’m giving it to you the only way I know how to and that’s real, baby. I’m with you and we are having this baby and we together, ain’t no leaving this relationship.”

It felt good to hear him claiming her. Although she knew Papa loved her unconditionally, sometimes things got complacent, so to be reassured that they were on the same page, she was delighted.

“I love you,” she told him.

“I know, but aye, don’t ever come to the shop without calling if it’s not an emergency, and don’t come in there without no damn bra on. I wanted to snatch your li’l ass up.”

Demi blushed. Most girls would coward under Papa’s brash tone, but she loved it. Her juices on the inside immediately churned.

“Won’t happen again,” she promised.

“Good, come give me a kiss,” he told Demi, while never taking his eyes off the road. He hated driving in the rain just as much as she did.

Demi reached over and kissed his cheek and ran her hands through his rough hair.

“I’m kinda happy your hating ass friend pissed you off.”

“She didn’t piss me off, I just needed to talk to you,” she corrected him.

“Oh, so you caught a cab in the rain just to ask me one question?” Papa teased.

She held her hands up to show she surrendered. “Okay, okay. I’ll admit I was missing you and didn’t want to sleep without you tonight.”

He smiled. “Yeah, daddy already know,” he told her, confidently.

***

Isaac stood at the car waiting for Dorane to come out. Even though their marriage had been over for quite some time, he knew how much it took out of Dorane to admit herself into rehab. Dorane had always been a prideful woman, too scared and embarrassed to admit that she wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought she was.

Outside of being talented, she had nothing else. Her mind and soul was empty. Dorane couldn’t cook and she wasn’t too fond of cleaning. She was never good with making or keeping friends because her mother raised her to think that everyone wanted to be her. The dance industry was a very competitive one, and Dorane always thought that any dancer that befriended her had ulterior motives, so she kept her distance from people. Dorane schmoozed the instructors and got cozy with a few pianists. She was gifted, but a few times here and there she didn’t have a problem bedding a few of the members on the board of several dance companies for the top spot. Dorane sacrificed any and everything for the prize, she never felt like her talent was enough.

After a while her urge to succeed and stay at the top was fueled by pills. Dorane danced way after the normal age for a dancer. Her body ached and there were nights she could barely stand up on her toes for long, but she did it anyway.

When Dorane retired, industry insiders threw a party. It was time for someone else to leave their mark. Dorane couldn’t hold the title down forever, although she wanted to.

When Dorane had her daughter, she stared in her eyes and out of all the beautiful names she read in her baby names for girl’s books, she chose Demi.

Demi-plie, her favorite dance position.

Demi Westbrook was her daughter’s name and Dorane knew two things after holding her precious baby girl, she would be her mother’s legacy and she was her last child. Dorane was never fond of children, but because her husband damn near tricked her into having a child she had no choice.

Demi had been playing around the house in tutus since she could talk and all her birthday parties were ballet-themed. It had become her life before she knew it.

Dorane didn’t smile at Isaac when she approached him, she looked down at the roses he tried to hand her.

“Shows how well you know me, I hate roses,” she spat before opening the passenger door and sitting down, leaving Isaac with a disappointed look on his face.

As they drove home, Dorane had nothing to say and neither did Isaac. He was prepared to drop her ass off and be on the next flight back to his girlfriend in Florida.

“Oh look, you kept the yard up in my absence,” Dorane said sarcastically.

Isaac told her, “Dorane, I’m going back to Florida. The divorce papers are on the counter. As soon as you sign them let me know and I’ll have someone come pick them up.”

Dorane snatched her shades off.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! I’m about to take you for everything you’ve got, you selfish-,”

Before she could get another word out, Isaac told her, “Let me tell you something, the house is yours, your alimony is enough to cover your drug habit, since we both know you’re not done with that, and I even left you your seat on a few of the charities, so be grateful Dorane, be very grateful.”

“What am I supposed to do in this in big ass house?” she asked.

Isaac told her, “You have a daughter that’s waiting on you to call her, take care.”

Dorane stared at him as tears ran down her face. She was alone; she had no one. Demi broke her heart, Isaac was asking for a divorce, and here Dorane was pointing the finger at everyone else, except herself. She never stopped to evaluate what she had done wrong or how she hurt the ones who loved her the most.

Dorane always played the victim, but look at her now, alone and Miserable.

***

Papa stared at the sonogram he had just received after Demi’s appointment. Only four more months until his son got here.

He was about to be a father in less than a hundred and twenty days. It was still so hard to believe he was having a baby, but the sonogram confirmed it. Tears ran down his face as he sat in his truck after dropping Demi off at home. He told himself he had to get it together for his baby boy.