Page 5 of Bern and Isley (D-Ville Projects #5)

Isley

“I told you to pull out!” I smacked Marshall hard on his bare back.

“My bad. It’s not my fault that pussy so good.” He snickered as he rolled off me.

“Next time you don’t have a rubber, you ain’t getting no ass.” I rose from the bed. I grabbed an oversized T-shirt and threw it on before going to the bathroom to relieve myself. I washed up then returned to the bedroom, rolling my eyes at Marshall.

“You can get rid of the attitude, Isley. I said my bad, damn!”

“I’m just saying. I can’t afford no baby. And you know that.”

“Hell, if it’s mine then I would take care of it.”

I glared at him. “What do you mean by if it’s yours? Who else would it be, Marshall?”

“Well, your boy home now.” He shrugged as he turned his back to me and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

“What does Bern being home have to do with it?” I stared at the back of his head.

“Don’t play dumb, Isley.”

“Are you accusing me of fucking my friend?”

He sneered. “The nigga just threw two thousand dollars at you for being a friend?”

“He knew I needed a ride, Marshall. So he wanted to help me out like most friends would if they could afford it. I didn’t fuck him for that money, contrary to what you believe.”

“All I’m saying is there’s not a bitch in this world that could get that kind of money from me without giving up some ass.”

I scoffed. “First off, I’m not a bitch. Secondly, I don’t even believe you would give that kind of money to a woman you are fucking considering you’re fucking me and didn’t offer to help at all.”

“You didn’t ask me for it.” He stood from the bed and headed toward the bathroom. “Closed mouths don’t get fed.”

Before I could rebut, he slammed the door.

My blood boiled. Not only did Marshall insult me by accusing me of sleeping with Bern, the bastard said he didn’t give me the money for my repairs because I didn’t ask.

I was beginning to regret even telling him where I had gotten the money from.

So much for trying to be honest with my man.

As much as I’d gotten accused of fucking Bern over the years, I might as well had fucked him.

But the thought had never crossed my mind.

Well, maybe it did a time or two. He was an attractive man.

I wasn’t blind. But he was my friend. And I would never want to risk the friendship we had.

Bern had been there for me when I had nobody else.

After Marshall emerged from the bathroom, we got dressed in silence.

I was still pissed at him and I guessed he felt some type of way too.

He dropped me off at home before he headed to work at the banking center.

I really needed to get groceries before he took me home, but I would rather walk to the grocery store than to ask him to do anything else for me.

I had two days to go before Mr. Bobby Joe would be finished with my car repair. And I was counting down. I got home with time to spare to fix my aunt breakfast before my first client arrived.

The timer on the stove brought me back to reality.

I stood from my seat at the kitchen table and grabbed a mitt to retrieve my food from the oven.

The smell of the homemade, buttery biscuits filled the room.

My stomach growled in response. I placed them on top of the counter while I quickly whipped up the gravy.

“Good morning, Isley B.”

I turned my head from the skillet to the doorway where my Aunt Fee stood. “Good morning, Auntie. How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling pretty good.” She adjusted her faded blue bathrobe around her frail body as she used her cane to wobble toward the table.

“Well, that’s good to hear.” I smiled. I could settle for that being my good news for the day because her days of feeling good didn’t come too often. “I’m almost finished cooking breakfast, give me a couple minutes to get your plate fixed, okay?”

“Take your time, baby.”

As soon as the gravy was ready, I placed a split biscuit on top of a plate then covered it with sausage gravy.

I cut a boiled egg in half and placed it on the side.

I thought scrambled eggs would be a better side, but she hated them.

I also fixed a small bowl of mixed fruit and the most important part of the meal was her black coffee.

I set everything in front of her then made a plate for myself then joined her at the small table.

As soon as I took my seat, she grabbed my hand. We bowed our heads as she said grace. “Thank you, Lord, for this food and for my beautiful niece that prepared it.”

“Amen.” I smiled as she released my hand. “Don’t forget to take your medicine.” I nodded toward the medicine cup that held her morning caplets.

Since losing my job, braiding hair had become my primary source of income.

I was good at it. Actually, I was excellent at braiding.

I could do any style my clients showed me and was also able to offer my services at an affordable rate.

Well, truth be told, I was undercharging.

But I knew the people in my hood couldn’t pay what I was really worth, so I adjusted accordingly.

“Good morning,” I greeted my client as I opened the door of the three-bedroom apartment I shared with my aunt.

“Hey girl, sorry I’m late.” Cece rushed inside with a breakfast sandwich in one hand and an iced coffee in the other.

Her thick, kinky hair was blown out and standing on her head like Don King and she was dressed in a baby blue teddy bear themed pajama set.

She even had teddy bear slippers on. I didn’t judge. Hell, if she liked it, I loved it.

“Cece, you are never on time, baby girl.”

“Girl, Kross kept me up all night crying. I think he has colic. And Juice dumb ass acted like he couldn’t get up and help me,” she ranted.

I could only shake my head. She stayed complaining about Juice being sorry, but kept getting pregnant by him.

The young mother had five kids, all under seven years old.

Her youngest, Kross, was barely eight weeks old.

I still felt bad for her, so I didn’t fuss too bad.

I just hoped she’d wake up and decide she deserved more than what she had been settling for.

She shared all the recent gossip of the projects while I hooked her hair up with some medium knotless braids.

It took me a little over three hours to finish.

And that was mostly because her baby daddy kept calling asking how much longer she was going to be.

I couldn’t wait to get her out of my chair. Her and Juice were disrupting my peace.

I had three more clients for the remainder of the day.

I was finally finished with the last one at five p.m. and had made a total of three hundred dollars.

And that was barely enough to cover the monthly utilities.

It was still early spring, but the temperatures were pretty high that we had to run the air conditioner more than normal to keep cool.

So that meant a high ass electric bill. But I didn’t stress because I had more heads to braid the remainder of the week.

And the money I had left over from what Bern gave me for my car would cover groceries for the next two weeks.

I was sweeping hair from the living room floor when I heard the doorknob turn. I blew out a deep breath. I wasn’t in the mood for Scrap. Not today. Or any day for that matter.

“Mama!” he yelled as soon as he walked through the door. “Mama, where you at?”

I rolled my eyes. “Scrap, please don’t come in here with all of that hollin’! If you don’t see her in the living room, there’s not too many other places she could be.”

“Shut the hell up, Isley,” he spat as he stormed to Aunt Fee’s bedroom, using one hand to hold up his baggy jeans.

I glared at him until he was out of view.

I knew he was only there to beg for money that she didn’t have.

That’s all his ass was good for. Twenty-nine years old and didn’t know the first thing about being a responsible adult.

He’d never had a job; he didn’t even bother finishing high school. He dropped out at sixteen.

“Steven, I don’t have any money, baby. You know Medicaid doesn’t cover all of my meds so I have to come out of pocket,” Aunt Fee explained.

“I just need to borrow it, Ma. I’m going to give it back,” he pleaded.

I bit my tongue as I finished straightening up the living room.

I was trying so hard not to call Scrap out because I didn’t want to upset my aunt.

But somebody needed to check his ass. It wasn’t enough that she was paying the car note and insurance on his brand-new Chevrolet Traverse.

Oh yeah and she gave him gas money weekly.

He knew she was on a fixed income, but that didn’t stop him from having his stubby hands out.

But when she needed a ride to her doctor’s appointments and running errands for him, he didn’t have time for her.

“Isley baby, can you come here for a second?” Aunt Fee called out. I hated that she was exerting so much energy going back and forth with her raggedy son.

I sighed heavily then put on the friendliest face I could muster. I already knew what was coming next. It was always the same song and dance.I slowly peeked into my aunt’s bedroom. She was lying on the bed while her new favorite soap opera “Beyond the Gates” played on the TV.

Scrap sat on a chair next to her bed with a smug smile. His brown, wide face was littered with acne and dark spots. He wore a dingy white Nike shirt with a black swoosh and oversized dark washed jeans. On his feet were the latest Jordans Aunt Fee had bought of course.

“Yes, Aunt Fee?”

“Baby, you think you can loan me two hundred dollars until my check hits on the fifteenth?”

I shot daggers with my eyes at Scrap. He winked in response. I knew that was the reason she called me in there. This was routine and had been for years. I loved my aunt deeply but the way she spoiled and coddled her son made me sick to my stomach.

“Aunt Fee, you know the utilities are due on the tenth. I was planning to pay that today so it wouldn’t get past due.”

“That’s okay, I’ll call and get an extension.”

Again, that was her usual response. Even though she could get an extension, I preferred to pay the bills on time.

Even early when possible. I wanted to tell her no.

But I didn’t. She’d done so much for me over the years.

I could never repay her for the sacrifices she made by taking me in at the age of twelve.

I didn’t know why Scrap was begging for money but I was sure it was for some bullshit reason.

I went into my pocket and grudgingly counted out two hundred dollars and handed it to my aunt.

“Thank you, Isley B.” She smiled.

“Mmhmm,” I mumbled in return.

I exited her room without a second glance at my cousin out of fear that I’d be tempted to slap fire from his ass.

Frustrated, I went to the closet and grabbed my fanny pack and keys.

I needed to step outside for some air before I blew a fuse.

I didn’t know who had pissed me off more, Marshall or Scrap.

I sat on a picnic table near the playground area. Surprisingly there were no kids around at the time. The rays from the sun were burning my skin and I was beginning to sweat a little. But I refused to return to the apartment. Not yet. I needed a mental break from my current living situation.

I really wished I had my own spot. I appreciated everything my aunt had done for me over the years, but I felt stuck and stagnant.

It was nearly impossible to save any substantial amount of money while living with her and Scrap.

But every time I thought about moving out, there would be a drastic change in her health.

And guilt wouldn’t allow me to move forward and live for me.

I couldn’t turn my back on my aunt. Especially knowing her son wouldn’t be there to pick up where I left off. He was useless.

My phone vibrated. I pulled it from my fanny pack and glanced at the screen.

Bern: What you cooking for dinner?

Me: Not a damn thing.

Bern: So what you gon’ eat?

Me: I don’t know. Cereal?

Bern: Hell nah. I’m picking you up for dinner. Can you be ready by seven?

Me: Sure.

Bern: Bet.

I didn’t really need to spend any money eating out, but I knew hanging out with Bern would help lift my pissy mood. He always knew what to say to make me feel better whenever I was down. I could confidently say, outside of my best friend Snow, nobody knew me better than Bern.

When I returned to the apartment thirty minutes later, I took a nice, long shower then got dressed.

He didn’t tell me where we were going to eat, so I just threw on a black graphic tee and biker shorts.

Since my toes were in dire need of a pedicure, I decided to wear New Balance sneakers with slouchy socks.

Marshall called me a couple times as I was getting ready.

But I declined each one, sending him straight to voicemail.

I still felt a way about earlier. His attitude toward me seemed to be really shitty since the news of Bern’s release.

Now that he was out, it had gotten worse.

I truly hoped Marshall could get his shit together. If not, I didn’t see a future with him.

By the time I was finished throwing my faux locs in a half-up, half-down style, Bern texted me that he was downstairs.

I checked in with Aunt Fee to be sure she didn’t need anything before I left for dinner, but she had already turned in for the evening.

Relieved that she was resting peacefully, I locked up the apartment and headed out to kick it with my favorite.