Chapter 24

“I don’t know Asha, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Laila said over the phone.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that you’re not me,” Asha flippantly replied as she watched the lady do her pedicure.

Cam was serious about not dealing with her until he found out the paternity of the baby. Asha had called him so much, until he blocked her from calling altogether. He blocked out every number that she called from and didn’t think twice about it. Blocking numbers wasn’t Cam’s style, so she knew that it had a lot to do with his new bitch. Asha decided to get an amniocentesis test done because she was curious herself. She told Cam that she was sure, but she really had no idea. She’d slept with him and Randy on the same day more than once, so she was clueless.

“I heard that the risk for miscarriage is high when you do that though,” Laila said, shaking Asha from her thoughts.

“Well, my doctor said that he’s done it a million times and none of his patients have ever miscarried. He said that a little light cramping is all that I have to worry about,” Asha replied.

“Cam is wrong for that shit. He knows that’s his baby. Nigga got all that money and want to try to act brand new,” Laila instigated.

“That’s his new bitch probably in his ear, but they better be on their knees praying that he’s not the daddy. Their lives will never be the same when I get through with them,” Asha replied.

“Either way, you’ll be good. Randy is still making money with Lo and he still has his shop,” Laila said.

“Girl, please. That shop barely be open now. Cam took all his business and most of his employees too. He doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, so he needs to just close it down. He’s been working more with Lo than anything,” Asha replied.

“I can’t believe that Cam is messing with Lo’s wife. How does she look?” Laila questioned.

“She’s okay,” Asha said, downplaying the beauty that she’d seen at Cam’s apartment.

“I heard that she’s moving in the new house with him and everything,” Laila commented.

“What don’t you hear Laila? You always hearing some shit,” Asha snapped.

“I hear everything boo. And what I don’t hear, I see,” Laila laughed.

“You see everything but the obvious,” Asha chuckled, throwing shade like she was known to do.

“What does that mean?” Laila asked.

“I’m just fucking with you, girl, but I gotta go. I need to put my feet under the dryer for a while,” Asha replied before hanging up.

She eased out of the chair and grabbed her shoes from the floor. The paper slippers that she had on made it hard to walk, but Asha made it to the chair and put her feet under the dryer. She took out her phone and played a game while she waited for the mint green polish on her toenails to dry. When the door chimed a few minutes later, one of the Asian ladies who owned the shop asked the person who entered if they needed help. When Asha heard the ghetto tone in the person’s voice, she looked up into the face of one of Nia’s sisters. She would recognize those hood rats from a mile away because they often ran in the same circle. Whether it was a card game or the club, Asha was always seeing them somewhere. Nia was the youngest and the only one with her head on straight. She was also the most boring one of the siblings, which was why Randy left her.

“Come here Nia!” the loud, ghetto woman yelled, making everyone in the shop look over at her.

When Asha saw Nia walk in, she already knew that it was about to be some drama. Nia was dressed in a pair of loose-fitting joggers with a tank top and some Nikes. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled back into a ponytail, like she was ready to put in some work.

“Handle your business,” another one of her sisters walked in and said, right before Nia swung and hit Asha in the back of her head.

The shop was in an uproar soon after. The ladies who worked there were screaming for them to leave, but Asha was in survival mode. Not just for her, but her unborn child. Nia was no match for her and Asha had her on the ground in no time at all. Of course, her sisters weren’t having that.

“Get off my lil sister bitch!” one of them yelled as she pushed Asha away.

“That bitch know better than to run up on me!” Asha yelled as she tried to control her breathing.

“Get out! Get out now!” one of the ladies yelled as she ran up to them.

“Bitch, shut up and go finish doing those pedicures!” one of Nia’s sisters yelled, as she grabbed Asha by her hair and pulled her outside.

Asha was swinging like crazy, but the other woman was heavier and unfazed by her licks. “Get off me, hoe!” Asha yelled as she pulled away from her.

“You better deal with this hoe, Nia. And Randy’s punk ass is next,” another woman who was waiting outside said.

It was Nia and three other women, and Asha was all alone. She could tell that Nia didn’t want to do it, but they were pushing her up to make an example out of her enemy. Asha wasn’t scary, but she couldn’t just think about herself anymore. She was never the type to back down from a fight, but there was a first time for everything.