"Are you crazy, Lani!? How could you do that to him?" Chanel asks me as we ride to my studio.
"Listen, I was just looking out for myself. Holloway is the type of cop that'll do something lowdown to get back at you. He was tryna take me to jail, basically, because I didn't wanna give him no play. If I had to throw Drummer under the bus, to save myself then so be it."
"Milani, you are my best friend so I'm gonna keep it real with you right now. You're being a selfish bitch. Everybody can see that Drummer wants you and he's your type. I know I told you not to fuck with him, but I've changed my mind. You need to give him a chance. Stop acting like you only care about yourself or you'll be lonely forever. You act like you don't want a relationship but deep down, I know you do. You're about to throw a man's life away to keep yourself out of trouble when you could've told Drummer about Holloway's plan then y'all could've figured out how to deal with it. You need to fix this before you lose the only man that seems to care about you." Chanel says as we get out of the car, our mouths dropping when we see glass all over the ground from the broken windows of the dance studio.
"OH MY GOD! What the fuck!!"
Being careful not to step on glass, I run inside and see a message on the wall in red paint that reads, "Next time, get your own man Bitch!"... My face distorts into a frown when I realize it has to be Ariyah.
"What are you doing, Lani?" Chanel asks me as I pull out my phone, calling Drummer who doesn't answer so I tell Chanel to call Brandon and tell him what happened.
Chanel and I clean up until Brandon and Drummer finally get to the studio, helping us scrub the paint off the walls with a Mr. Clean magic eraser sponge.
"Aite, ima head out." Drummer scoffs, throwing the sponge away.
"Nigga, you ain't going nowhere! Yo bitch did this and I work too damn hard for my shit to have it destroyed by a bitch who couldn't keep her nigga. You need to pay for this shit or ima call Holloway and have him arrest her ass, right after I find her and beat the shit outta her."
"Gone call him. You been fucking with the opps anyway. Take this lil money and don't call my phone no more. We ain't got shit to talk about."
Drummer pulls a stack of money out of his pocket and throws it at me, making it hit my face and fall onto the floor. Running towards him, I try to fight him, but Brandon catches me and holds us apart.
"Milani, you wrong for the shit with Holloway. He got a right to be mad at you. D, you ain't have to throw that money in her face. The only way we gone get rid of Holloway is by working together, meaning we gone have to let Lani in on the plan and gone get this shit over with. Y'all can argue later." Brandon says, making us both calm down.
"Damn, that shit crazy as fuck. Y'all really wanna do this?" I ask, after hearing the plan to get rid of Tony, Jarell, and Holloway. Apparently when Chanel grabbed Tony's phone at the dinner, she found out that the three of them were working together.
"Yes, Lani. We have to. That's the only way, we'll all be happy. We can't let them niggas take over this city or the bar. I can't believe Tony is the one that Holloway and Jarell answer to. I thought he was out the game." Brandon says, passing one blunt to Chanel and the other to Drummer.
"I knew sum shit was up when I saw that video of Jarell shooting my bar up and Tony ass always got sum up his sleeve. He never just comes to town for no reason. Every time he comes, he start fucking shit up. I'm sick of that old ass nigga." Drummer says before passing me the blunt.
"I'm just glad Jarell will be out of my life soon. I'm tired of his ass." Chanel smiles, her eyes low and red.
"You just wanna be with me." Brandon laughs. "Me and my boy gotta head out though. We got business to handle."
Chanel walks Brandon outside while Drummer and I stay inside and talk. "I'm sorry, damn! I just didn't wanna go to jail."
"So you was just gone send me to jail? How the hell ima trust you after this shit?" He asks me, putting his hands in his pocket.
"Honestly, I don't know. I had plans on telling Holloway all about you, but I started feeling you and didn't wanna do it. I forgot all about the shit until you threw my phone at me. I don't need your trust to be your fuck buddy. We both want the same thing so lets just start fucking and forget about everything else."
"Nah, I'm good. Pussy everywhere, I can get that. I just thought you was different. Guess I was wrong."
He walks out of the studio and I really start to feel bad about almost setting him up. I'm just glad I can help him get rid of Tony and his crew, maybe that'll make him forgive me.
After 4 hours of practice, Chanel drops me off at home and goes to be with Jarell so I take a hot shower then get dressed. Once I'm finished, I turn on my music and go into the kitchen; making myself Cajun seafood pasta with garlic bread and steamed broccoli. As soon as I turn my tv on American Horror Story, there's a knock on my door so I check the peephole and open it up.
"Ryleigh, what are you doing here?" I ask, confused that she's here alone. I only let the girls come over when we have a sleepover for them to unwind after competitions.
"I-I didn't have a-anyone else to talk to. I've had a lot on my mind and I can't stop thinking about my rapist. I see him all the time especially at home. I think I'm ready to say his name." She says as I let her in, make her a plate, and let her sit down.
Once we finish eating she starts crying in my arms as she describes the story of her rape, still not mentioning the guy's name. "Awwwww baby girl, I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve that at all. Who did this to you?" I say, trying not to cry because I know she needs me to be strong.
"His name is J-Jarell. Jarell Hamilton. He's actually my aunt's ex husband. He still comes around and stuff to hang out with my dad. Some of the girls at the studio said that he is Ms. Chanel's boyfriend. Please don't tell her. I don't want her to hate me."
"He'll be off the streets soon. Don't worry, we'll make the bad man go away. I won't tell her and she won't hate you even if she knew."
"I-I don't want to have his baby. I can't have his baby! I already can't get the rape out of my mind and a baby is going to be a constant reminder. I'm already so tired of this. I want it all to end. Help me, Ms. Lani. Please help me." Ryleigh sobs loudly.
Thinking for a minute, I decide to call Chanel and tell her to come over. We walk into my bedroom and I convince her to help me with Ryleigh.
"Ryleigh, put your shoes back on. I'm going to help you, but you can't tell your mama about it. You have to keep it a secret or Chanel and I could be in a lot of legal trouble. You understand?" I explain as I put my jacket on.
"Yes ma'am. I understand."
All three of us get into my car and I drive us 45 minutes away to a little run down shack, in the corner of a dark parking lot. The same shack I came to when I found out I was pregnant with Tariq's baby after I caught him fucking my sister. I didn't want that baby to be born into a life like that so I made a decision to end it. I'm glad I found this shady, illegal ass abortion clinic. All you do is come here, pay, and never look back.
"Do you know what this place is?" Chanel asks Ryleigh who shakes her head up and down. She stays in the car while Chanel and I get out to talk and make the abortion arrangements.
"Are you sure we should be doing this, Lani? I know I said if I was her mama I would let her get an abortion, but this is crazy. We shouldn't be making this decision for her."
"Chanel, it's Jarell's baby. He's the one who raped her. She told me that tonight and didn't want me to tell you because she didn't want you to hate her." I say before talking to the same woman who did my abortion then paying her with the money Drummer gave me to fix my studio windows. "Now do you think we should help her?"
Chanel's facial expression goes from disgusted to saddened as she nods her head up and down. I know she's feeling some type of way about Jarell being a rapist, but the focus isn't on her right now. We walk back to get Ryleigh then go inside the clinic. I explain to Ryleigh how I went through the same thing, but I was alone. I told her that at least she has us and that we'll be right here when she returns.
15 minutes later, Ryleigh comes from the back with a white bag that has pain medication in it. The ride back to Ryleigh's house is filled with awkward silence. She hides the pills in her pocket before thanking us both with a hug and a promise not to tell anyone.
"You did a good thing, Milani. I guess you're not as selfish as I thought. I just can't believe Jarell would do that shit. Maybe he was high on drugs." Chanel sighs loudly, looking out the window.
"Chanel, it doesn't matter if he was high on drugs or not. That doesn't make his actions excusable. I just hope Ryleigh gets the counseling she needs because I know how tough that shit is."
"You know, you never told me that you were pregnant and got an abortion. Why did you keep it a secret?"
"Honestly, I didn't want to be judged. I judge myself enough because of it and I didn't want that from anyone else. Till this day, my mama still doesn't know about it. I'll never tell her." I say as I unlock my door and open it.
"Never tell me what?" My mama says back with her arms folded.
"Hey, mama Ross....Bye, mama Ross."Chanel tells my mama as she hurriedly grabs her things and leaves my house. I guess she remembered when I told her how I had a meltdown the last time I met with my mama and grandma.
"Damn, I shouldn't have given you that key."
"Watch your mouth, little girl. I came over here because we were worried about you. You haven't been answering my phone calls since we had that little come apart at the restaurant. I even called your daddy to tell him to check on you, I doubt he did it though."
My mama fixes herself a plate of food and joins me on the couch. "Milani, we really miss you. I know I don't say it much, but I'm proud of you and I love you. Do you think you could come over this weekend for a barbecue? Your sister has an announcement to make and she really wants you there. You can bring a plus one. I know you have a man because I smelled cologne and saw a pair of men's shoes and a durag in your bedroom."
Rolling my eyes, I try to calm myself down because every time I hear something about my sister, I get upset.
"I'll only come if you give me the key you used to get in here. I don't want you popping up here because you've been snooping. You don't need to be doing that."
"Fine." My mama says as she gives me the key back. "So are you bringing somebody or not? I need to know how much food to get." She says as she makes her way to the door.
"Yes ma'am. I am."
Once my mama is gone and the door is closed, I mentally slap myself when I realize that the only person I can tolerate going with me is Drummer and we're mad at each other right now. Hopefully we can put our differences aside long enough to get through that damn barbecue. It'll probably be shitty anyway.
Pulling out my phone, I put my pride aside and send him a message; secretly hoping he replies.
After his last message, I decide not to respond to him because I don't have time for his attitude. Little does he know, I don't give out free head so I hope he gone be ready to use that tongue.