Trap Queen.

22♛

                                            C H A P T E R - 2 2

        “What did I tell you, though?” Rah questions me. After my father explained to me what had happened with my mother and him, I told my boys. Reggie claimed he didn’t know nothing about my family, but Rah did. It’s like he knew my family better than I did and I thought that was weird. I guess I should’ve listened to Rah when he told me that my father was a pedophile, but, my father said he was accused of that. He ain’t never been convicted of it.

      “Bruh, it ain’t that I don’t trust you, it’s just that I need to find out that kind of shit on my own. I hadn’t seen my father in years and I just wanna see what he had to say for himself,” I explain to Rah. He does sideways duck-lips that make me laugh a little. Rah was so goofy.

       “Do you know what you gon’ do about the funeral? Or are you going to cremate her?” Rah knows to be careful about the situation still. Even though I’m basically over it now, it still hits a soft spot in me. I can’t lie, I miss Momma, but I need to know who’s lying to me and who’s telling the truth. Ain’t no way for me to know now, but I can only hope she wasn’t lying to me about it.

      “I don’t know. My daddy says he’s gonna help me out with it, but I don’t know if I can take his word,” I reply. “What is Reggie going to do about his baby?”

      “That baby ain’t mine, Egypt. Quit playin’, yo. If we take a DNA test, hell yeah I’ll take care of it. But best believe I refuse to be affiliated with that evil, connivin’ bitch!” Reggie exclaims from his room. All I could do was shake my head at that situation. I would’ve thought that Serena wouldn’t know better than to go run off and get pregnant, because Lord knows that’s the last thing she needs. Serena ain’t got no type of support system, so she basically assed out unless she gets an abortion.

      “Don’t talk about her like that, Reg. You know damn well if that baby is your’s, all the shit you saying is going to come back to bite you in the ass. I guarantee that shit.” I say.

     “And if it isn’t, I’ll just laugh and move on with life,” he replies.

       “Just as you should.” I smirk a little.

                                    S E R E N A - P O V

      I walked slowly up to my friend Desean’s doorstep. At this point, he was my only friend right now. Yeah, I had Egypt, but it seemed like she was siding more and more with Reggie (basically, saying that baby couldn’t have been his). I don’t have nobody to rely on now. Before, it was different because I wasn’t pregnant, but now I have a baby that’ll I have to take care of nine months. I’m not sure I’m ready for it—I can barely take care of my damn self at this point.

      I knocked on Desean’s door. I was surprised that I could walk all the way to Long Beach from Compton; but I did it. Desean opened his door almost five minutes after I knocked. He had a warm smile on his face. “Hey Serena,” he greets me. I smile back at him.

       “Hey Desean.” I had a smile on my face as well.

      He let me inside of his house, and it smelled like Febreeze and a mix of Lysol. His house always gave me a warm feeling every time I walked in. Desean had I been childhood friends, and when he moved away, I guess that’s when my life started to kind of spiral out of control. Ever since we reunited, we were damn near inseparable. I told him all my secrets and I was telling him about my life since he left. We had a lot to catch up on.

      “What made you come over?” He asks me. He hands me a cold water bottle, and I don’t hesitate to drink it. The California heat was a bitch more times than not.

      “I need to talk to you. Somebody, at least,” I tell him. What I was about to tell him I wasn’t sure if anybody would understand. I could get killed or some shit.

      “And you chose me? I feel like somebody special,” Desean grins. I laugh at him, even though I’m very serious. I sit down on his couch and cross my legs. I feel like I’m starting to feel sick already. “Well, you might as well just tell me now.”

      I exhaled deeply as I begun to tell him. “I snitched.”

        “On who?” Desean asked, concerned. He furrows his eyebrows.

      “On my friends, Egypt and Reggie,” I reply. Desean’s eyes widen and he looks shocked. I know he is, and I’m shocked I did it also. But I had to—Allah was telling me to do it; and so is my conscience. Even though Dante did my wrong, I still had this weird love for him. It was crazy. I never really wanted him to die, I just wanted him to treat me with respect like anyone deserved.

     “Why the fuck would you do that?” Desean exclaims. “I ain’t know you were the snitch. And since they was your friends, why you be disloyal to them? Them niggas were the only family you had and you snitchin’?” 

      “I thought it was the right thing to do! My conscience was telling me to do it and I couldn’t take it anymore,” I explain. “What Egypt and Reggie did was wrong and I care about them, that’s why the snitched!”

     “So you rather just let them rot in jail instead of just letting them know? They was killing folks on yo’ behalf cuz they cared about you. Don’t you get that they could kill you or worse for snitching? They only in they teens and you tryna turn them in. They ain’t even live life yet!” Desean screams. He sounds angry.

      “I just need somebody on my side, Desean. Please. I’m pregnant, and I ain’t got nowhere to go. If Reggie and Egypt find out that I snitched on them, I’ll have nobody. I just need somebody to be with me.” My eyes began to sting because I thought I was going to cry. I thought my life was already shitty, now it was beyond shit.

      “I just can’t side with you on this one, Serena. I’m sorry, but what you did wasn’t right at all.”

      I bit my lip and looked down in the floor. I didn’t say anymore, and I slowly walked to the doorknob and turned it. Tears began to fill my eyes, and I walked outside of the house.

     I had to depend on myself now.