Crazy In Love With A Thug: Bari and Seven (19 page)

Chapter 37

"Grab that little one, Gucci. I'll get this one."

I bent down to pick up the box. The last of my belongings that needed to be moved to my new condo.

"I got it," Six said, picking it up effortlessly.

He followed Gucci out the door. As he walked out, Seven walked in. The past two weeks had been hell for us. We argued every day about me moving, and when we weren't arguing about it, we weren't talking at all. He took off his Gucci shades and looked at me for a long time.

"What, Seven?" I asked, knowing he was about to get started again.

He shook his head.

"I won't even ask if I can change your mind. I don't want you to go, Bari."

"I know, but I think it's for the best if I do."

"Best for who? Am I still gon' see you?"

"Of course."

"Damn, Bari."

"I know, baby."

I hugged him tightly, a lump forming in the center of my throat.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Seven. That's the one thing that hasn't changed between us."

He looked at me questioningly, and I knew what he was going to ask before he said the words. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"What?" he laughed.

"Ask."

"Ask what?"

"Quit playing, Seven, and ask. It's going to kill you if you don't."

He smiled.

"Stop trying to act like you know me, Milkshake." He laughed. "And tell me, are you gon' be with anybody?"

It was my turn to laugh.

"I do know you, and no. I don't want anybody else, baby. I love you so much. You don't ever have to worry about that, okay?"

"I'm not worried about it at all. You already know what's up. And I feel for the fool that even tries. He better not let me hear about it. Oh, Major said to tell you that he should have sent you to live with Uncle Teodore when he had the chance."

"He never had the chance!" I laughed.

I let Seven pull me back into his arms. I let him kiss me.

"You know you'll be back, right?" I didn't answer. "And when you do, I'll be waiting for you."

"You and who else?" I asked seriously.

I'd been thinking about that a lot lately; about who he would find to take my place. He smiled.

"You know better, Milkshake. These hoes can't do shit for me but s..."

"Seven!" I laughed.

"Listen to me, Bari, seriously. I haven't been with anybody else since the day you moved in here, I swear, and I don't want anybody else.”

"And if Maury gave you a lie detector test, would he find that to be true?" I asked.

We watched Maury Povich together a lot, and I always followed up everything Seven said with that question.

"Maury wouldn't find a mutha fuckin' thing, and if he said he did he'd be lying his damn self. Maury ain't above lying, Milkshake," he said in all seriousness.

I laughed, "Maury doesn't lie, Seven."

"Shiiit, I bet Connie has had to beat his ass a few times for lying. You can't tell me he don’t kick it with them decoys that be in the green room."

I was cracking up.

"I'm going to miss this so much," I confided to him.

"Me too, Bari. I miss it already, and if you change your mind right now, I promise I won't ever bring that shit up again."

"That's not realistic, baby," I said, rolling one of his dreads between my fingers.

"Why not? I'm dead serious. I don't want to be without you, Milkshake. This shit ain't cool at all."

He was starting to get mad again, and I figured it would be best if I made my exit. I released my arms from around him, but he held on.

"I love you, Seven."

"Bari..."

"I love you more than anything in this whole world. Don't ever forget that."

He let his arms fall to his sides. I bent down and grabbed my last bag and threw it over my shoulder. I didn't want to look back. I was afraid I wouldn't want to go.

"It's not too late," he said quietly.

"Don't, Seven."

"It's never too late, baby. Not for you." I turned around and looked into his eyes, which were shining brightly and wet with tears. "If it takes forever, it won't be too late for you."

I stood there for a moment, then ran back into his arms. My biggest mistake ever.

Chapter 38

What the hell does love really have to do with it? I asked myself that a million times over the past hour and a half. What was I doing? I was going out backwards, as Gucci would have said.

"What's up, Milkshake? You don't seem like you're even into this shit," Seven complained.

I looked down at him positioned between my legs, reacquainting himself with what he hadn't had in weeks. He was right. My mind was elsewhere.

"Seven, this isn't a good idea right now," I said, scooting up and away from him.

He looked at me strangely.

"You ain't had this shit in weeks," he said, more to himself than me. "And if you ain't got it from me and don't want it, that makes me think you've been getting it somewhere else."

That pissed me off.

"Oh really? Like from where? From who? The bum at the airport that blessed me with the sight of his dusty ass dick? Or do you think I paged Trim in the middle of the night and met him outside in the driveway for a quickie? No, no, maybe it was your uncle that's been slobbering all over me since he got here. Get serious Seven, and save that dumb ass shit for a bitch that wants to hear it."

He was fighting mad, and it showed all over his face.

"You better shut the fuck up, Bari," he warned.

"Oh whatever!" I yelled, frustrated and mad at myself for being so stupid in the first place. I got up from the bed, snatched up my panties and headed for the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind me. "Whatever!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Yeah, Bari just stands on the corner, offering up her pussy to any and everybody that passes through! Why don't I just post some flyers on the telephone poles all over town! Free pussy at Seven's crib! And now that I know how you really think of me, I'm going to be exactly what you think I am! You think I'm a ho now, you ain't seen nothing yet! And what are you going to do now? Kick the door in? Drag me out by my hair Caveman style?" I ranted at the bathtub, the double sink, the shower, the toilet, but never thought to yell at the door. "Ha-ha..."

I turned towards the door to get in one last ‘ha’, and there stood Seven, door open, key in hand. He started laughing; not just laughing, but cracking up, holding his stomach and doubling over, trying to catch his breath. I was beyond pissed.

"Damn!" He laughed. "Okay." He made a weak attempt at wiping the tears from his eyes. ''Now, now ...you're in here talking all this shit," he never finished his sentence.

He started laughing all over again.

"I'm glad you find this all so amusing, Seven, but I don't see a damn thing funny. Now, get your silly ass out of my way. I have people waiting on me. There's pussy to pass out, remember?"

That sobered him up really quickly. I suddenly regretted what I had said and wished that Gucci and Six were here instead of taking my stuff to the condo.

"Sev..."

The impact of his slap sent me over the toilet and sideways into the tub, where I came to rest on my right shoulder and right cheek. My head bounced painfully off the side. The room seemed to be spinning at top speed.

"Don't you ever say no shit like that to me again. I'll kill your ass, Bari. I keep telling you, you don't know who you're fuckin' with."

"I don't have to worry about that anymore, do I? Because as of right now, I'm not fuckin' with anybody," I informed him, struggling to get my footing so I could get out of the tub.

Something had to be broken, probably my skull.

"Sounds good. We'll see."

He turned and walked out. A moment later, I glanced out the window and saw his Hummer turning out of the driveway. My face was throbbing, but my feelings hurt way more than any injury I had sustained. I looked in the mirror and gasped.

"Gucci!" I cried into the phone a few minutes later.

"Bari! What's wrong?"

"I..."

"Are you okay?"

"I..."

"Are you crying?"

"Bitch, shut up! I think I need to go to a hospital."

"Six!" She screamed. "Six!"

"Bari? What's wrong?" He asked, taking the phone from her.

I was glad he took the phone because she was making my head hurt even worse. The room began to sway to the throbbing in my face and head.

"Come get me," I said loudly.

"I can't hear you, Bari, say that again. Gucci, I can't hear her, she's whispering."

Whispering? I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Please, come..."

I curled up on the bed. A little nap ain't gon' hurt nobody, I thought.

"Bari! Wake up, Bari!" I opened the only eye that would cooperate, and Gucci's face came into view. "She looks fine to me," she informed Six.

"Me too," he agreed. "Probably drunk."

I held my head and sat up on the bed, then ran my fingers through my hair. Gucci screamed. Six cussed loudly.

Chapter 39

"How did this happen?" The nurse behind the counter asked.

"I dropped a box of dishes on her head." Gucci said. Six looked at her like she was not just crazy, but stupid too. "Yeah, yeah. We were moving to a new place and I didn't see her laying on the floor and I dropped the box of dishes on her head."

She looked up at Six proudly. He rolled his eyes.

I left the hospital two hours later with some pain medication for my bruised ego, my bruised jaw, my bruised eye and my bruised head. I had suffered a minor concussion and had to have two stitches over my right eyebrow.

"We'll take you back to the house, Bari," Six offered.

"No!" Gucci interjected. "She ain't going back to Seven. You want to go to the new place, huh Bari?"

"Of course," I mumbled.

"I can't believe Seven," Gucci commented.

"Shut up, Gucci," Six ordered. "You don't even know what happened."

"Does it matter?" She snapped.

He looked at her. She sank down in the seat and glared at the side of his head when he wasn't looking. Six's cell phone rang.

"Six," he answered. "Yeah, she's right here, Sev. You alright?"

"Is he alright?" Gucci asked. "What damage could Bari have done to that big mutha fucka?"

"Shut up," Six said.

He reached back and held the phone out to me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Your ass at home when I get there," he replied quietly. "I don't want to have to come get you, Bari."

"Okay. I'll be there, baby," I said and hung up. 

Gucci was looking at me like I had lost my mind. Six smiled at me, happy that his friend got his way. Wrong.

"You goin' back, Bari?" Gucci asked.

"Hell no. I already told you where I wanted to go."

"I'm taking you home, Bari," Six said. "And why didn't you tell him that you just came from the hospital?"

"Why didn't you tell him?" I countered. "As far as I'm concerned, it ain't none of his damn business."

"Why the fuck would you take her back home?" Gucci demanded. "If anybody knows how Seven is, it's you, Six! Fuck that!"

"Who the fuck are you talkin' to?" Six asked her, his voice barely above a whisper.

A chill ran through me. He and Seven were so much alike. He sounded a little too much like Seven for me at that moment.

"I'm sorry. But, Six ..."

"Baby, if it were us, do you think Seven would keep you away from me on purpose?" Six asked.

She thought for a moment, even though she didn't need to. She shook her head.

"It's different though, babe. You and Seven have different ways."

She gave him a knowing glance.

"Bari knows Seven better than anybody, Gucci. Probably even better than me. He ain't gon' do nothing to hurt her."

"Oh, so, that's why she's sitting back there looking like a piece of black cauliflower with all them lumps on her head?" She asked sarcastically.

Six stared at her.

"Gucci, shut up. Do you think I don't care about what happens to Bari? I love her just as much as you do."

"I can't tell," Gucci responded.

"Me neither," I chimed in, my pills taking effect.

"You guys aren't being fair about this, and ain't neither one of y’all really thinking straight. If it was me, and mind you, me and my boy are exactly alike, Gucci would be more worse off if she didn't come home."

"That's his home, not mine. Six, please, take me where I want to go. Tell him you dropped me off at his house, and I took off after you left. I can't do this anymore."

"Bari, why are you talkin' like my nigga don't give a fuck about you or something? You ain't just some little piece of ass to him. That fool loves you. You don't think this shit is fuckin' him up? You ain't the victim this time, Bari," he snapped.

"Oh, no the hell you didn't!" Gucci yelled. "How you just gon' get at her like that, Six? Fuck that! She ain't did a damn thang!" She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders like she was calling him out. "What?" She asked. "Sho'll did shrug 'em!"

She was furious, and didn't care what her consequences would be. He looked at me in his rear view mirror.

''Gucci,” I called out.

"What!"

"Let it go."

"Why the fuck should I?" she yelled.

"So you won't look like me," I snapped back.

She looked thoughtful for a minute, then changed her whole tune.

"I'm just worried about her, Six. You know I didn't mean it. I'm mad at Seven though."

"How you gon' get mad at that man about what he do with his woman? That ain't your business, Gucci. And don't forget that Seven is your friend, too," Six pointed out.

"Not at this moment, he ain't," she replied.

We were pulling up in front of Seven's house.

"Look, Bari," he began, turning to face me. "I'm not gon' walk you to the door. I'm letting you out right here. What you do after that is on you."

I nodded and smiled. I felt wonderful.

"And take it easy, baby. That medication ain't no joke," Gucci informed me like I didn't know that first hand.

I reached for the door handle of Six's burgundy Escalade EXT. He hurriedly locked all the doors.

"Damn, sorry, Bari. I can't do that. I can't let you go nowhere and you all drugged up like that. I can't put my dog through that one."

He picked up his cell phone.

"Six, don't do that," Gucci begged him. "Please."

"Would you rather her be hit by a mutha fuckin' car or something? Fuck, Gucci, shut up!"

"That's cold, Six," she said with tears in her eyes. He ignored her. "You could have just took her where she wanted to go!"

Six grabbed her head and pushed it.

"Bitch, please! Damn! I'm telling you to shut the hell up!"

He held the phone up to his ear and waited for Seven to pick up. I knew he was home. His Hummer was parked in the driveway, blocking in my Land Rover. Done intentionally, no doubt. Instead of Seven answering the phone, he came outside. He must have seen the headlights. Six got out and spoke to him. They walked over and stood next to Seven's Hummer. Seven's fist came down hard on the hood.

I couldn't hear the conversation but knew that Seven was mad and thought Six was to blame.

"Bitch, if you really want to go, now is the time," Gucci said, turning to face me in the back seat.

"Wh...wha?"

"Aw, damn, Bari, forget it. Maybe Six is right. This probably is the best thing."

"I love you, too," I smiled.

She smacked her lips twice in frustration.

"Come on."

She helped me from the truck and walked with me over to Thirteen where Seven stared at me like he had never seen me before. I could tell that Gucci was worried about me. I touched her face.

"Aww, pretty baby," I smiled at her.

She looked from me to Seven, shook her head, then wiped her eyes.

"Baby, don't trip. She's gon' be fine." Six pulled her into his arms and hugged her.

"Seven, I was supposed to call you and let you know that we took her to the hospital, but after I saw her, I didn't want to call you for shit. I was mad. And I'm sorry, baby," she said to Six.

"Bari," Seven called, leaning against his truck.

"Huh?"

"Come here, Milkshake."

He took my hand and pulled me to him. He looked at my face, upset himself and kissed the top of my head.

"Can we come in? I'm thirsty," Gucci blurted out, and brushed past Thirteen and headed towards the front door.

"Gucci," Six said. "Baby, let's go home."

"I'm thirsty," she lied.

"It's cool. Come on," Seven said, winking at Six. "That's her girl, nigga. You gotta respect that shit."

"Yeah," Six nodded.

Seven looked at me sadly, then kissed my eye and the side of my face.

"Here." He handed Six his house keys. "I'll be there in a minute."

"You alright, Bro?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just want her to get some air," he lied.

Six looked at him sympathetically.

"I feel you, man."

"Baby, baby, baby," he repeated, hugging me against his chest. "I'm so sorry."

I had never heard nor seen Seven cry. Sure, I had seen tears in his eyes, but never had I observed him being so open with his emotions. "I am so sorry, baby."

"Don't cry, Seven," I said, or at least thought I did.

I wiped his eyes and told him it was okay. That didn't seem to help, so I told him I didn't want to leave him now or ever. I don't think he realized that it was the medication talking, or maybe he didn't care, but it seemed to ease his mind. Little did he know, I wasn't that damn high, I would tell him anything to keep him calm until I could get the hell out of there.