Lord above instead of Kim’s dumb ass.

  He re-entered the living room immediately after he got off the phone. I pretended like I was

  engrossed in what was going on in TV land. “Yo' home boy, Neil, just told me that somebody blew up

  Magic City last night while people were in there.”

  I acted like I was surprised. I didn’t want Devin to know I knew anything about the explosion. I

  didn’t want to be associated with it at al . “Nah, I didn't know that,” I replied.

  I didn’t want to seem coldhearted. That would’ve been a dead giveaway. Devin would’ve either

  suspected I knew who did it or I was involved in it somehow. I was sure he heard rumors that I had

  gotten blackbal ed around town. After al the shit that went down with Duke, he made sure I couldn’t

  get a job bartending in any of the clubs in the Tidewater area. So I had to play my cards very careful y

  with this guy. He didn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself.

  When we dated, I was just another piece of pussy he could run up in. I didn’t mean shit to him.

  And I knew I real y didn’t mean a thing to him now, especial y since he wasn’t bending me over. He

  wasn’t loyal to me when we were fucking, so I knew he wouldn’t be loyal to me in the streets. So

  whatever secrets I had I knew I would be safer if I kept everything under close watch.

  He shook his head and sat down next to me. He looked as if he had just lost his best friend or

  something. I had to know what was on his mind, so I asked him what was he thinking about.

  He sat in a daze and then said, “I can’t believe people were in that joint last night when that shit

  blew up. People I knew, people I had talked to, chicks who gave me lap dances.”

  “What time it happened?” I asked.

  “Neil said the news people said it happened around seven or eight o’clock last night. He said he

  heard it was packed in there. And that a few niggas he knew said that they had just left before it

  happened.”

  “Wow! That's scary,” I commented.

  Devin continued to shake his head. And then he turned around and faced me, “Do you know that

  one of those dead bodies could’ve been mine? I would be dead right now if Kim didn’t cal me and

  asked me if she could come by here last night.”

  “I realize that,” I replied.

  He took his focus off me and picked up the remote control. I sat back and watched him surf

  through at least twenty channels until he got to Channel 10.

  He waited for a broadcast to feature the story on Magic City, but nothing appeared in the thirty

  minutes while we sat around and watched. I had the urge to tel him I was there and I saw everything. I

  even wanted to tel him that Neeko’s brother got kil ed while I was waiting for him inside his truck. But

  again, I knew it would’ve been a bad idea.

  Devin wasn’t someone I could trust. I’ve known him to gossip more than a bitch. And for him to

  come back in the room and tel me al of what his friend, Neil, told him, I knew he’d get right back on

  the phone and cal Neil up and tel him everything I told him. And then from there, Neil would be cal ing

  niggas he knew and before I knew it, I’d be the talk of the fucking town. And I didn’t need that type of

  attention. It was bad enough that I was trying to keep Duke and Chris off my ass.

  So I figured I’d be in good shape if I didn’t let this big mouth ass nigga know what I knew.

  Moments later, he got another cal . This time it was Kim. She must’ve said something about what

  happened at Magic City last night, because he got up from the couch and said, “I know. I just heard

  about it from my boy Neil.” Then he left the room again. He didn’t go that far because I can hear

  every word of this conversation.

  The first part of the conversation made me sick to my stomach. He kept tel ing her over and over

  again how grateful he was that she cal ed him last night and prevented him from going to the club. As

  much as I wanted to believe him, I knew what he was saying was bul shit. Yeah, he was grateful today,

  but he’l be cal ing her a bitch tomorrow. That’s just how he rol ed.

  After several minutes of kissing her ass, he fed her some bul shit ass lie about how he thought he

  was ready to settle down. He told her he also believed the only reason why God used her to prevent

  him from going out last night was so that he could have a chance to get his life together.

  I swear, if I had a violin I would have serenaded that whack ass conversation he was having with

  her. With al the shit he had done in his life, it was gonna take him two lifetimes to make up for it. So

  the only reason why I believed God spared his life was so he could find something for recreational to

  do other than exploit naked ass women with those measly ass dol ar bil s he fed them. In other

  words, God gave that bastard another chance because he felt sorry for his sil y ass! That’s it! End of

  Story.

  Devin’s bul shit lies lasted approximately five minutes. But before he hung up with the dumb ass

  chick, he lied to her once more and told her I had left his apartment before he got up. I mean, if she

  believed that then she was sil ier than I gave her credit for. And to add insult to injury, he even told her

  that he loved her. I swear, I almost laughed out loud and blew his cover.

  When he came back in the living room, I smiled at him and said, “So, you're in love, huh?”

  He smiled. “I might be,” he said and then he sat back down on the couch next to me. “I wonder if

  your girl, Diamond, was in the club when it blew up.”

  I hunched my shoulders as if I couldn’t care less. I knew she wasn’t there, but I wasn’t going to let

  him know it. “If she was, it served her right,” I commented, then I rol ed my eyes. The sound of her

  name made me cringe al over.

  “Damn, that's kind of fucked up to say.”

  “It ain’t no more fucked up than how she carried me!” I snapped. “Me and her were like two peas

  in the pod. We did everything fucking thing together. We were inseparable. When she didn’t have, I

  had it for her. So for her to double cross me like she did was foul. I swear, I would spit on that bitch’s

  grave if I had the opportunity.”

  Devin started rubbing my back in a circular motion. I figured this was his way of tel ing me that

  everything would be al right. Whether he knew it or not, once upon of time I would’ve spit on his

  fucking grave too, especial y with al the drama he caused me during our courtship. He better be glad

  he let me into this apartment last night, because I was on the verge of fucking up his car if he hadn’t.

  Devin al owed me to vent a little bit more and then he flipped the script on me and asked me what

  did I have planned today? I had to admit that he kind of caught me off guard with that question

  because I real y didn’t know where I was going. I thought I would’ve come up with a plan overnight but

  it didn’t happen, so what was I going to do? I looked at Devin in hopes that he’d help me come up

  with an answer. But he was just as clueless as I was.

  “I was planning on cal ing my sister, Nita, when I think she’s off work,” I final y said. But it was an

  outright lie. I believed he knew it too.

  “I didn’t know that you and your sister, Nita, were back speaking again,” he commented.

  “We just started back talking before I got out,” I continued to lie. I did this because if I let on that I

  had no one in my corner, then he’d use that shit against me. He’d love to know that I needed him.

  He’d eat that shit up for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Especial y after al the times I dissed him at the

  club. He’d relish in the moment if he knew I had nowhere to go. And he’d try to milk it for what it’s

  worth.

  “How your mama doing?” he surprised me again. But I knew what he was doing. Devin and I

  dated for over a year, so he knew I didn’t fuck with none of my family. That included my mama’s

  money hungry ass too. So he either asked me that question to be nosey or he just wanted to make

  idle conversation.

  “I haven’t spoken to her. But Nita said she was fine,” my lies kept coming.

  “Do you think she found out about you copping that murder charge?”

  “I’m sure she did. But Nita didn’t say anything about it,” I replied.

  When Devin was about to ask me another one of his dumb ass questions, his doorbel rang. He

  looked at me very strange. “I wonder who that is?” he said aloud as he got up from the sofa.

  I got up from the sofa as wel , but I headed into the bathroom, because I needed to empty my

  bladder. Right after I closed the door to the bathroom and locked it, I heard Devin yel out, “Who is it?”

  I didn’t hear anything else because the sound of me peeing overpowered what was being said in

  the other room. So I handled my business and al owed Devin to handle his.

  And I wondered if kings of old ever made any big decisions while they sat on the toilet.

  Cheaper to Keep Her part 2 Unique

  Unexpected Guest-Chapter Eighteen

  Even fortunes of the stupid have to change sometimes.

  I flushed the toilet, washed my hands and exited the bathroom. But as soon as I re-entered the

  living room, Devin wasn’t anywhere to be found. I cal ed his name out twice, but I stil got no answer.

  So I walked to the front door and noticed it was cracked, so I grabbed a hold of the doorknob and

  pul ed it open. I looked outside but he was stil nowhere in sight. It real y seemed weird that he’d leave

  his fucking front door cracked and then he disappeared. I mean, who in the hel does that?

  I didn’t know whether to close the door and lock it or go outside to see where the hel he went. But

  then it dawned on me that maybe Duke and Chris found out where I was and grabbed Devin up so he

  wouldn’t be in the way when they kil ed me. The thought of them being able to move on me like that

  gave me an eerie feeling. I wasted no time locking the door, and then I rushed into the kitchen to grab

  the sharpest knife Devin had. It seemed like everything I picked up was dul or rusty so I left them

  where they were.

  Then I remembered Devin had a .45 caliber handgun he used to tuck away underneath his white

  tees in the bottom left drawer, so I rushed into his bedroom to see if it was stil there. With my heart

  beating a mile a second, I ransacked his tee-shirt drawer and found it. After I picked up that heavy

  piece of metal I let out a long sigh of relief, because I knew if what I believed was true, then I would

  be able to fight those bastards off me with no problems.

  Once I put it in my head which angle I was going to go at those niggas, I laid the gun down on the

  floor next to me and proceeded to place al of Devin’s t-shirts back where they were. I knew Devin

  didn’t check his tee-shirt drawer every day.

  After that was done, I got up from the floor with Devin’s gun in my right hand and I headed back

  down the hal way towards the living room. I honestly didn’t know whether to sit back down on the sofa

  or hide in a fucking closet somewhere. I real y didn’t know what to do, so I decided to stand next to

  the front door and occasional y look through the peep hole.

  Five minutes went by and I heard nothing and no one came to the door. Then al of a sudden, I

  heard footsteps and just as fast as I heard them, they stopped. My heart seemed like it stopped too.

  I held my breath to prevent anyone from hearing me. I wanted to look through the peephole but I got

  cold feet. Although the person on the outside couldn’t see me, my eye against the peephole would

  prevent the reflected light from the inside of the house from appearing through the peephole, and

  whoever was on the other side of the door would know someone was inside.

  Seconds later, someone turned the doorknob and tried to push on the door. “Lynise, open the

  door,” I heard a guy yel . But it wasn’t Devin. So my heart sunk into the pit of my stomach. I didn’t

  know what the fuck to do. I knew I had Devin’s pistol, so if this man on the other side tried to break

  down the fucking door, then I’d have some hot lead for his ass.

  Whoever it was knocked a couple more times. “Lynise, are you in there?” the guy yel ed through

  the door. But I didn’t budge. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out who the fuck this man was standing

  outside Devin’s front door. It didn’t sound like Duke or Chris, so who in the hel was it? This shit wasn’t

  cool. I didn’t like this feeling.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to risk being detected so I looked through the peephole and saw

  who this unidentified man was. I raced away from the door and then I yel ed, “I’m coming,” after I

  realized it was Devin’s friend, Neil. Neil was his sidekick. So if he saw me with Devin’s pistol in my

  hand, he wasn’t going to receive it very wel .

  I rushed back down the hal way and shoved Devin’s gun right back where I got it from and then I

  raced back down the hal way to open the front door. When Neil walked in, he looked at me pretty

  strange. “You al right?” he asked as he walked in slowly.

  “Yeah, I’m cool,” I lied.

  “You sure?” he said.

  “Yeah, I'm sure,” I replied sarcastical y.

  “Wel , why you sweating and shit?” he asked jokingly. Neil was a very handsome guy with

  excel ent taste in clothing, but he was also a fucking wise guy. So, I never liked him. He had a huge

  influence on Devin’s decision making. When Devin and I were dating and I wanted him to hang out with

  me, Neil would always come up with some bul shit about how they had already made fucking plans.

  That shit used to burn me up. Not only that, whenever Devin and I got into fights, Neil always threw in

  his two cents. Truth be told, he was one of the main reasons why Devin and I broke up. I thought he

  was Devin’s undercover lover at one point, so I used to tease him about it. I knew he hated my

  fucking guts. But guess what? I hated his fucking guts too, so we were even.

  “Why the fuck are you always up in my space?” I responded.

  Neil walked away from the door and headed towards the kitchen. “Trust me, I'm not in your

  space,” he replied with his back facing me.

  I ignored his immaturity and switched the conversation around. “Do you know where Devin is?” I

  asked him.

  He walked back into the living room with a beer in his hand. “He's outside talking to some chick

  named Kim. He’s keeping her from coming in here and seeing you, so you won’t get your ass

  kicked!” he replied and then smiled.

  “You got your own opinions, and I got mines. And so you know, she was already here when I broke

  up their little rendezvous. So if she wanted to have a boxing match with me, she would have tried her

  hand last night. End of story,” I told him as I rol ed my eyes.

  He took a sip of his beer and said, “So you’re proud that you got my homeboy to pul his dick out

  of her pussy just so he could push it up in you?”

  “Fuck you, Neil! For your information, I didn’t fuck Devin last night. I’m not skanky like those hoes

  you fuck with. I’ve got more class than any woman you ever been with. So get a grip on yourself!

  You’re looking real y tacky right now sipping on a beer at ten-thirty in the morning. That's a sure sign of

  a broke ass alcoholic!”

  Neil took another sip of his beer and then he smiled. “Is this your way of venting your frustrations

  because your life is pretty much fucked up right now? And in order for you to feel good about

  yourself, you try to find fault in other people.”

  “Neil, please shut the fuck up! You don’t know shit about my life. So stay in your own lane please.”

  Neil was about to come back at me with another one of his sarcastic remarks, but Devin stopped

  al of the bul shit when he walked through the door. “Yo’! Yo’! Yo’! I can hear y’al when I was walking

  up the stairs,” he commented.

  I sucked my teeth. “If your best friend would mind his own business, then the world and everybody

  in it would be better off,” my sarcasm continued.

  “Come on now, let’s not fight, boys and girls,” he said with humor as he closed the door and took

  a seat on the sofa. He looked directly at Neil and said, “Yo’, dude, did you see how she was acting?”

  Neil sat down in the recliner across from Devin. “Yeah, I saw her. She’s gonna be unmanageable

  if you don’t get her ass straight now.”

  “I know. I’m gonna probably have to break up with her ass sooner than I thought,” Devin told Neil.

  I wanted to shake my head and ask Devin did he remember last night when he was talking

  marriage and shit because he thought Kim had saved his life. Short term memory. That was the shit

  too many of us suffered with.

  And to hear these two talking about this chick real y rubbed me the wrong way. Okay, granted, I

  didn’t exactly like her ass after she made that comment about how dirty I looked. Hel , I would have

  kicked Duke’s and a bitch’s ass for barging in on us in the wee hours of the morning. But stil , it made

  me sick to my stomach that Neil had so much influence on Devin. I mean, mind your own business.