Page 79 of I Heard It All Before

“Girl, please,” Asha said, laughing with her.

“And she’s your sister-in-law. Ain’t that right Quincy?” the woman said, laughing the entire time.

“Stop playing with me,” Quincy said.

“Play dumb if you want to. You were fucking that bitch and that I’m sure of. You were at her house damn near more than you were at ours. That’s a secret you better take to your grave though,” the woman said, now getting serious.

Laila realized that themystery woman had to be Kelly, the mother of Quincy’s children.

“And you know why I was there. We have three kids and bills that need to be paid,” Quincy replied.

“Girl, that’s the trap house. My brother ain’t messing around with her aggravating ass,” Asha chimed in.

“Yeah, okay,” Kelly replied sarcastically. “Ain’t that much damn trapping in the world.”

“The fuck you mean?” Quincy yelled. “How do you think I was able to pay for that big ass wedding and reception that you wanted? You spent damn near ten grand on our honeymoon alone. You better miss me with that dumb shit. I don’t want that fucking girl and I never did.”

“Selling dope is all that takes place over there, sis. I’m there with him most of the time and you know I would be ratting his ass out if he was doing anything wrong,” Asha spoke up.

“Asha, please. You ain’t no better than him. Nia and Cam should have fucked you and Randy up for the stunt that y’all pulled. You knew not to bring his stupid looking ass to my house,” Kelly replied.

Laila had heard enough. She hung up the phone feeling like a bigger fool than her sister said she was. She had basically ruined her relationship with her family, all because she was in love with a man who probably didn’t even like her. She cried from her soul, hurting like she’d never hurt before. She couldn’t believe that Quincy had gotten married. He was a liar and she was a fool for believing them all. She was a joke to them and she hated to be laughed at. Laila wiped her eyes and sat there deep in thought. Her heartache had quickly turned into anger and she was ready to do some damage. After scrolling through her phone’s contacts, Laila dialed a number that she was happy that she’d saved. She had a feeling she was gonna need it and she was right.

***

Lawrence pulled up to the hotel room that his girlfriend had rented and took the elevator up to the tenth floor. He was mentally drained and in need of a break. Kamari had been his boy since they met when they were both sixteen years old. Lawrence had run away from an abusive home and met his best friend while sleeping under the Claiborne bridge. When Kamari was able to afford his first hotel room, he took Lawrence along with him. When he got put on in the dope game, Lawrence was always right there by his side. For that, Lawrence would be forever grateful to him. Although Kamari had been driving him crazy with the moves that he’d been making lately, Lawrence had his boy’s back.

“Open up bruh, it’s me,” Lawrence said when he knocked on the door.

He heard the extra lock being undone before the door was opened, and he came face to face with Kamari. Lawrence shook his head when his boy looked up and down the hall, just to make sure no one else was with him. Kamari had a gun in his hand, looking like a paranoid fool. Three weeks had passed since he shot at Demi and Cam, and he swore that someone was watching him. He stayed at Lawrence and his girlfriend’s apartment for a few nights after the incident, but he didn’t feel comfortable there either. He wanted to be alone, but he didn’t want to risk putting a hotel room in his name. He and Demi still shared a bank account and he didn’t want anybody to be able to track him down. He had acted on impulse when he shot at his wife and her new lover, and he didn’t know if she’d called the police or not. Even worse, he didn’t want Cam to catch him slipping and end his life like he’d tried to do him. He didn’t even know for a fact if they’d seen him or not, but he didn’t want to take any chances. Lawrence had recently started working, at his girlfriend’s urging, and he didn’t have as much time to be with Kamari anymore. Working a nine to five was harder than he thought, but he had to do it to keep up appearances.

“Come in man,” Kamari said as he stepped to the side and granted his only friend’s entrance.

“What’s up bruh? What’s so important that I had to get over here at six in the morning? You do know that I have to work, right?” Lawrence asked.

“That bitch set me up man,” Kamari said as he paced the floor, tapping the loaded gun against his leg.

“Who? Who set you up?” Lawrence asked.

“That bitch Asha,” Kamari replied.

“How did she set you up?” Lawrence questioned.

“Last night I kept getting a call from his unfamiliar number, but I never answered. The number called all night until I answered about five this morning,” he revealed.

“Who was it?” Lawrence asked.

“Ole girl whose house we used to meet Asha and Randy at. Lisa, Lena, Laila, or whatever the fuck her name is,” Kamari answered.

“What did she say?” Lawrence quizzed.

“That bitch Asha set me up. She had that lame ass nigga Randy following me around for weeks, clocking my moves. The three niggas that ran up in my house were her brothers. Niggas sat in front of my house until me and Demi got home and ran up on us while Randy waited in the car for them,” Kamari fumed.

“Why would she call and tell you some shit like that? I thought she was Asha’s girl,” Lawrence wondered.

“Yeah, well, she must have pissed her off because she called and ran it all down to me. That bitch Asha was the mastermind behind everything,” Kamari informed him.

“Yoooo,” Lawrence dragged out, “are you fucking serious?”

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