Show Me You Care (11 page)

We all sat in the office in the back of the store. I was pissed and pacing back and forth, trying my hardest not to slap the shit out of Trey. He was holding Kenya since she was fighting her sleep.

              “We can’t go back there, Jordyn! It’s not safe for us or the kids. We have to think about them first.” I let out a deep sigh.

              “I want her family tree erased by tomorrow! So make that call,” I said to Shyla. There was one person we never talked about; my older brother, Nine. Nine was the child my mother had when she was around 14. She gave him to my grandmother Martha to raise. She died when I was three he was ten, and he didn’t want to come live with us. After my grandma’s death that’s when my mom went downhill. I called Nine the first time she let a man in my room and he killed him like it was nothing. Nine was the biggest and most successful hit man. He killed for everyone that needed it and never got caught. I knew calling him would really make this war start. I sat in my chair with my feet on my desk with the 2Pac line “I’m not a killer but don’t push me” running through my head. I was definitely pushed. Watching Shy pick up the phone, I dismissed everyone from the room as we waited for Nine to answer.

              “Hello. Speak fast. Time is money and you wasting both.”

              “Terrance!” I said, calling him by his real name. He started laughing in the phone.

              “I know this ain’t my green-eyed baby sister.”

              “Brother, I miss you! You need to come meet your nieces, and I have a problem that I need your help handling,” I said, waiting for his response.

              “Are you still in Miami?” I looked at the phone confused.

              “Yeah, I’m at my store it’s—”

              “I know where it’s at. I’ll see you in five minutes,” he said, hanging up.
Let the games begin
, I thought as I looked at my daughters sleeping in their playpen. I was stressed. This isn’t how it was supposed to be.

              Nine

It’s crazy how we turned out. I was the unwanted child. Jordyn was wanted but we still turned out the same. Jordyn may have been on the opposite side of Georgia but I knew her every movement. I knew about every boy that came and talked to her. I also knew that my mother had stole from her to go get help. I was supposed to be her protector so I didn’t have a problem killing off anyone fucking with her. It all stemmed from our mother being a side bitch to a drug dealer. I knew my mother was happy and in love but she settled for less then and Jordyn was paying for it. Star had offered me the job but once I heard Jordyn’s name I couldn’t do it. She did nothing to her, but it was okay. I had connections everywhere and Star was public enemy number one. Her daughter would be light work. She was too stupid for her own good. I pulled up in front of her store and demanded attention. Walking up on the nigga who was her baby father, I wanted to punch the shit out of him but I just walked past and went in her office, sitting in a chair across from her. Boss status looked good on my baby sister.

              “You ready for war?”

              “I was made for this shit, bruh.”

              “If you were made for it TaKiera would be dead in not in the hospital breathing.”

              “I slipped up but everyone else is dead and the house was cleaned by the clean up crew. I’m good unless she talks.”

              “That means you’re not good, you’re bad. It’s easy to have police come to the hospital and ask questions, especially in shooting cases. Understand me?” She nodded her head up and down. “First thing, where are my nieces?” She pointed at the playpen and I couldn’t help but to admire my nieces. They looked just like Jordyn. I was happy for her. She tried to hand me one of them but I declined. I didn’t do babies. Well, not until they were about four years old and in school half the fucking day. I looked at my sister and could tell she was a good girl gone bad.

              “Call in your baby father,” I said, staring deep into her dark green eyes.

              “Trey, to my office please!” she said as he walked in and sat down. He wasn’t interested in this. It was all over his face. He wasn’t interested in protecting my sister, meaning she needed to find a real nigga ASAP.

Trey:
               I sat in the office looking at this nigga Nine. I never knew Jordyn had another older brother, especially one that was a killer. I had to admit this nigga was big as hell. He had to be at least 6'6” and looked like a fucking football player. Jordyn and Shyla didn't say anything as Nine turned around and attempt to question me like I was the cause of this bullshit.
                   "It's funny how your first baby mother is the cause for all these problems," he said, staring me in my face.
                  "They ain't got shit to do with me; everything was cool until I starting fucking with your sister." Jordyn sucked her teeth. It was true. The moment Jordyn came into our lives drama came our way.
                     "So now you are blaming my sister?" he asked, standing up like he was about to do something.
                "I didn't say that, but the truth of the matter is before I talked to your sister drama was not even in my life." He looked at me and smirked.
               "You one dumb motherfucker. You didn't even know that the lady TaKiera was calling mommy was her grandmother. You didn't even know she was fucking with someone else the whole time. You want to talk about my sister brought drama to your life, but she stood by you every step of the way. When them cats broke in ya’ crib, who handled it? I'll wait!" I didn't have an answer because he was telling the truth. I didn't feel the need to respond. Jordyn knew where we stood. Our relationship was nobody’s business but ours.
            "Yeah, okay, I'll be that but that's still my girl at the end of the day," I said, pointing at Jordyn.
            "No, I'm not! Don't think the birth of my daughters changed what you did or where we stand. You don't love me, Trey. You never have. We were in lust and it resulted in my daughters." Maybe she was right. Maybe I didn't love her at first but I loved her now. She was the mother of my kids.
       "What are you saying, Jordyn?"
       "I'm saying Trey you never loved me, ever! Yeah, you might love me now but you didn't love me a couple months ago. Yeah, it took me a while to realize that I only fucked with you because you acted like you cared." I was broken hearing her say that to me. I did care but my heart wasn't in it. But after seeing her birth my daughters I had no choice but to care. I cared for her because she gave me my seeds.
Chapter 19:
               I sat in my brother's house as I tended to my crying babies. Trey had gone back to Atlanta after our little discussion. I knew he wanted us to be more but why would I waste my time doing that again? He showed me he cared so I tried to act like it was love. I thought it was really love until I realized he always went back to TaKiera. I held him down while he was in a coma and I still became the one to blame. I couldn't take the blame for everything ‘cause it all lead back to his girl and her mother.
Nine had already erased her family tree, killing off family members that I hadn't killed already. He even started killing off Star's family so she knew it was real. My mother was supposed to be coming to Miami this week but I told her to stay in L.A. I didn't want her in harm’s way.
            "Jordyn!" Nine called out my name.
            "What you screaming for?"
            "It's time to go back to the A and get rid of the head!" Walking back to my room, looking down at my babies, I knew everything I was doing was for them.
            "They are going to be good, Jordyn. I got you and them.” I didn’t want to take my babies to Atlanta not knowing the outcome of this war. But reluctantly I agreed to go. This shit needed to be over a long time ago.

              I headed to my room to pack. I got India ready while Nine dressed Kenya. I walked up on a sleeping Shyla. She looked mad as hell when I woke her up. It was crazy how we were turning into the female versions of our fathers. For the first time I actually smoked a Blunt with her. My ass was stressed and needed a stress reliever.

              Jayden:

The house had been crazy with us going to funeral after funeral for family members we never knew we had. I watched my mom slowly deteriorate. I could see her true colors coming out. After Dad found out that she cheated on him with one of his enemies, he did what I never thought he would do. He called it quits with her and went to L.A. to be with Tinker. I knew he would be happy for the first time in forever. I realized that my father only stayed in Atlanta for his kids and we were all grown now. Shit, he had three grandkids already and another one on the way. I had to figure out a way to tell Shyla that Treasure was back in Atlanta and that we had our own little apartment in Buckhead. She was a great mother and I was happy where I was, but I was also happy with Shyla. I had decisions to make before I saw them again. Hearing the doorbell ring, I saw Kayden and Trey standing at the door and I knew some shit was wrong. Kayden walked right past me to go hang with Ivy and Treasure, leaving Trey and I alone to have a talk, something we hadn’t done since he got with Jordyn.

“What’s going on, Trey?” He ran his hands over his face.

“I’m stressed out. Like I can’t understand where I went wrong. I love Jordyn but I love TaKiera the same way. I feel like Chris Brown when he said he loved two girls. Only difference is I have my daughters involved now. But with all this shit going on I don’t think Jordyn is going to even look my way now,” he said with sadness in his voice. “Look at it this way; we both got some shit to handle.”

“Listen, that’s my little sister. She’s hardheaded, bruh. If she thinks she got it she is not going to call you and ask for help. You made your choice when you laid in bed with TaKiera the same day she left,” I said, staring him in his face. He just blinked and wiped his hand over his face.

Shyla:

Arriving in Atlanta, I was happy to be able to finally go see my man Jayden. I know Jordyn wasn’t going to go to the house with me, so I allowed her and Nine to drop me off, only for Kayden to tell me he moved out the house. I was confused since he told me he would never move out of his parents home. I called Jordyn and told her to come back and get me; I met her at the end of the driveway. I guess Nine sped all the way to the hotel ‘cause she was alone. I guess she had Nine babysitting like the good brother he is. I laughed to myself at the thought of Nine watching the twins while they screamed and cried.

“So where was Jayden?”

“He moved into a condo by Atlantic Station!”

“You want to swing by there?” I nodded my head yeah, although something was telling me that some shit was going to go down.

Pulling up, I threw my hair in a ponytail because I couldn’t shake the feeling some shit was going to happen. I looked over at Jordyn and she followed suit doing the same thing. We walked up to the door. I watched Jordyn put her hand over the peephole as she knocked repeatedly on the door. I could hear Ivy crying in the background and knew for sure we were at the right apartment. Once the door opened I was taken back to see Ivy in the arms of some lady who was pregnant. I looked at Jordyn, hoping that she didn’t see the hurt in my eyes.

“Where is Jayden?” Jordyn asked with attitude.

“And who are you to be looking for my man?” I just watched the scene play out. There wasn’t anything to say. She confirmed what I already knew; he couldn’t wait for me to make my dreams come true. He had to find someone who wouldn’t mind having him do for them.

“Bitch, I’m his sister. Now go get my brother. Matter of fact…” Jordyn pushed past the girl. All I could do was look at the lady in front of me. “JAYDEN, BRING YA’ ASS HERE!” As soon as the words left her mouth he was running down the stairs. He looked as if he saw a ghost when he looked in my face.

“Jordyn…Shyla…what y’all doing back already? I thought you wasn’t coming back for a couple more months.” I just looked at those dark green eyes and wanted to slap the shit out of him. “Shy?” he said, stepping closer to me. “Look, I ain’t want you to find out like this. I’m so sorry, Shy!” I couldn’t hold in the tears anymore as I felt one roll down my cheek. I looked at Jayden one last time before walking out of the house. It felt like the walls were caving in around me as I damn near ran to the car. I played the scene in my head over and over again and knew I should’ve held my ground and slapped the dimples out of his cheeks. I laid my head onto the seat and allowed the tears to fall. I hated wasting my time. The sound of Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself, and I” filled the car and I sang along.

Me, myself and I, that's all I got in the end
That's what I found out and there ain't no need to cry
I took a vow that from now on
I'm gon' be my own best friend

Chapter 20:

              I couldn’t believe my brother did Shy like that, and got back with his baby mother and got her pregnant on top of that. I was so ready to slap the shit out of him. I was over all of this bullshit, as I pulled into the parking lot of the Waffle House. I hadn’t been here since I worked here almost a year ago. I grabbed my twins’ stroller out of the trunk and placed them both in there. I walked in with Shy right behind me.

              “How you feel about what happened the other day?” I asked, knowing she was most likely hurt but wouldn’t tell me that.