Page 12 of Through Treacherous Weather
Fatima walkedinto her guest bedroom to see Heiress tossing her clothes into a suitcase. “Dang, I wish you were leaving tomorrow. I know you would have so much fun with my people.”
Fatima was a little confused on how Heiress went from not knowing when she was leaving to telling her that morning that she had booked a flight for later in the evening.
“I know. My mom has been calling me for two days going on and on about drama with her and my dad. I need to get back before they kill each other.” Heiress looked around the room making sure she wasn’t forgetting anything before she zipped her suitcase. “When are you coming back to Miami?”
“Probably in another month or so. Even though I work for my family, I still want to do things the right way and let them know in advance when I’m going out of town. I don’t want to seem like I’m taking advantage.”
“You’re a lucky bitch,” Heiress giggled. “I wish I had not one but two boss ass family members just waiting to hand me a job.”
Fatima laughed while opening her arms. “Give me a hug. I have to go get ready.”
Since she had plans, Heiress was taking a rideshare to the airport. Fatima had already showered, so she stood in thecenter of her massive closet and scanned her clothing items for something to wear. It didn’t take her long to decide on mint green spandex pants and a matching top that stopped just underneath her breasts. The outfit was simple but cute and once she added her jewelry, some fire heels, and put on some makeup, it would set everything off.
Aside from Winter and Trinity, everyone else in her immediate family had significant others and kids. The frequent trips to the club had switched to family vacations, bowling, dinner, yacht parties, etc. But every now and then, the crew gathered to hit the club. As she did her makeup, Fatima prayed that no fights would occur. The triplets and Kadafi were changed men for the most part, but they still didn’t take shit from anybody. One wrong move, and it was lights out for a person.
When Fatima went out, she was always selective about the jewelry that she wore because her shit was real and expensive. There was no way she’d ever don super expensive pieces to hood clubs and kickbacks. Niggas would rob a person for way cheaper jewelry than the kind Fatima wore. She knew she should be glad that Shawn and Caleb snuck her earrings and watch while she was asleep, and they didn’t stick a gun in her face.
Fatima’s eyes darted over her jewelry, and she chose a diamond encrusted, heart-shaped ring to slide on her index finger. She then slid a platinum band on her ring finger that had heart-shaped diamonds going around the entire band. After adding a Rolex, three Van Cleef bracelets, a few necklaces, and diamond encrusted Cuban link anklet, she was done. Since she was going out with her family, Fatima didn’t hesitate to put that shit on. A robber would have to go through a lot of people to get to her.
The crew was riding to the club in a Sprinter van, and Justice had hired a driver for the night. Fatima had just thrown back a shot of tequila and chased it with some juice when Loyaltexted her that they were three minutes away. Fatima popped a stick of gum in her mouth, grabbed her purse, and waited by the door. When she climbed into the van, Loyal, Ryan, Justice, Kadafi, Yaminah, Chicago, Ireland, Truce, Shalaine, Winter, and Jaiseem were present. Natalie and Lauren were pregnant, so they stayed at home. They were so deep that Loyal had reserved two VIP sections.
Winter was holding her phone up, rapping along with Lucci, and making a Snapchat video. Partying with her friends was always a vibe, but for the umpteenth time, Fatima was glad that she decided to move back home. Her family was lit and when you had them, you didn’t need friends. Kadafi lit a blunt and passed it to her after a few tokes. Winter stood up and put the camera in front of Fatima, so they were both in the lens. Fatima blew smoke into the camera and began rapping along with her sister.
Her brother and cousins showed her that even if she got married and had kids, she could still have fun. Life didn’t have to be over. Fatima wanted a cool ass partner that she could have a good time and create beautiful memories with. She passed the blunt to Jaiseem and before she knew it, they had arrived at the club. The crew filed off the van one by one with the women in the front and the men in the back. The triplets plus Kadafi were like hood celebrities, and the bouncer waved them all in without checking them.
A bottle girl promptly walked them to their sections which were side by side. Two more bottle girls walked into the section holding signs. One read:The treacherous twinsplus two, and the second sign said:Congratulations, Fatima. The bottles with lit sparklers attached were brought into the section, and the liquor began to flow in abundance. The women danced on their men, and Fatima danced alone with drink in hand. The club was packed, and she was liking everything that the DJ played.
“Y’all good over here?” Fatima heard a deep voice rumble over the loud music.
She glanced up and did a double take at the handsome man wearing a bullet proof vest that hadsecurityon it.
“Esco, my nigga,” Loyal grinned before giving Esco a homeboy hug.
His curls, smooth dark skin, thick eyebrows, the tattoos decorating his exposed biceps. His bow legs. Everything about him was making Fatima aroused. When he grinned, his dimples made her knees buckle. As much as she hated to tear her gaze away from the fine specimen only a few feet away from her, she didn’t want to get caught gawking. She would have loved to leave the club with that and not just for the purpose of dick. Fatima didn’t just want sex. She wanted a connection with someone. A connection that went past the physical, but the person she wanted her connection with damn sure needed to look as good as this Esco guy.
The downside to going out with the men in her family was that guys wouldn’t dare try and approach her. It was all good, though. Fatima wasn’t a hoe in college because she didn’t have sex with every man she hung out with, but she’d had her fair share. It wouldn’t kill her to be without male companionship for a while. After her fourth shot, Fatima was done. She had no desire to have a hangover the next day.
No one wanted to stay until the club closed, so the crew left thirty minutes before. They didn’t even have to stop for food because the club they were at had great wings, fries, and shrimp. There would probably be no talking in the Sprinter. Just smacking and chewing. As they left the club, per usual, the women were in the front, and the men were in the back. Fatima was the first one through the exit, and she spotted Esco standing outside. Shit, he was even better looking in the light he was standing underneath versus the dark club.
“Aye man,” Fatima kept walking toward the van as Loyal and Justice stopped to talk to Esco.
Fatima was looking over her shoulder listening to Winter talk about how she couldn’t wait to dig into her food when she heard tires screeching and she was pushed so hard that when she hit the ground, it felt like her arm broke. She couldn’t even scream because a weight so heavy was on her that she could barely breathe. It felt as if she was being suffocated and as deafening shots rang out. Fatima realized that Esco had shoved her out of the way and was covering her body with his. Several semi-automatic weapons let off rapid successions of gunfire. Fatima was trembling underneath the heavy weight of Esco’s body. It felt like he was on top of her forever as shots and screams pierced the air.
The moment the car sped off, Esco jumped up, and she could breathe again. Fatima could barely move her arm, but when she heard frantic screams and crying, she made herself get up off the ground. A sinking feeling in her gut made her extremely queasy when she saw Kadafi, Yaminah, Jaiseem, and two other people on the ground. They had all been shot. Fatima’s mouth opened, but no sound came out as she stared at Kadafi. He wasn’t moving. Yaminah was flat on her back crying while blood stained her dress, and Jaiseem who was shot in the leg was trying to sit up.
“Fuck!” Justice yelled as he stood over Kadafi.
Loyal was pacing back and forth talking to a 9-1-1 dispatcher when Justice’s panicked voice sounded off again. “Bro, what the fuck? What was this nigga even doing out here?” looking over, Fatima saw her brother standing over one of the other bodies. He appeared distraught, and though Fatima didn’t know who the person was, Justice seemed disturbed. Swallowing hard, she moved closer even though she had no desire to stare at a possible dead body.
Justice looked over at his sister with tear filled eyes. When recognition set in, all she could do was gasp. The person on the ground, not moving with his eyes wide open was Calvin. He wasn’t even old enough to be in the club. Fatima couldn’t stop trembling. What the fuck had happened.
The next day, Fatima peeked in her guest bedroom at Yuri, Samir, and Yana. Kadafi and Yaminah’s children. Samir didn’t biologically belong to her, but she loved him like he did. Her mother and sisters had been at the hospital all day with Yaminah, so Fatima volunteered to watch the kids. Thank God, her arm wasn’t broke, but she could barely move it. Still, she felt watching the kids was the least she could do.
Yaminah had been shot in the stomach and had to undergo emergency surgery. Kadafi was shot in the chest and had internal bleeding. He had to undergo surgery as well. Shortly after his surgery, he suffered a seizure, and he hadn’t regained consciousness. Jaiseem’s injury was the least serious. Fatima felt as if she’d been trembling since the shooting occurred. Everyone was all over the place, and she hadn’t been able to really get a good understanding of what occurred. She remembered Esco pushing her out of the way. Did that mean the gunman was aiming at her, or was he simply aiming in her direction?
It was pointless to wonder who would have shot at them because even though they weren’t in the streets, the men in her family were the men in her family, and the possibility of them having unresolved beef from years ago was never out of the question. A chill ran down Fatima’s spine each time she thought about the fact that she could have lost multiple members of her family in one night. Closing her eyes briefly, she inhaled deeplythrough the pain in her arm. The pain medication she received at the hospital made her sleepy, so she wasn’t going to take it while she had the kids.
Fatima made her way into the living room, and her phone began to ring in her hand. She didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”
