Page 30

CHAPTER 30

EARTH

“You’re going to propose and get married all on the same damn day?” Krude asked me, for what felt like the millionth time. “What if she says no?”

“She’s not,” I said, shaking my head.

“She might,” he countered, and I mugged him. “Nigga, you can keep the scary looks for somebody who don’t know your future wife kidnapped you and had you locked in her damn house. You aren’t tough!”

“Ex, come get your fuckin’ cousin, man!” I yelled for Exodus.

“Krude, what the fuck are you doing, man?” Exodus asked, coming into the room with a bowl of fruit. How these niggas always managed to find food was beyond me. Between him, Krude and Domo, there was never an instance one of them wasn’t eating something. “I swear I can’t take you no-fuckin’-where without you showing out.”

“All I did was ask the nigga what he would do if she said no,” Krude said, mugging Ex. “And what the fuck you mean, you can’t take me nowhere? You rode with me, remember?”

“Because Madea said keep an eye on your dumb ass!” he replied and threw a grape at him. “You were just sliding down walls and singing love songs at her house not even a week ago, or did you forget?”

“Because I was heartbroken,” he said, shaking his head.

“And you not now?”

“Nah.” He laughed. “Me and Megan back together,” he answered with a shrug.

“Does she know that?” I asked. I tried my hardest to stay out of Krude’s relationship issues, but that nigga made it hard. Every time I turned around, he was plotting ways to get back together with his ex, Megan, who, by the way, had declared she wanted nothing to do with him on more than one occasion.

“My baby not about to let me be a single father out here,” Krude said. I looked at Ex, who shook his head but didn’t say a word. He knew his cousin was slow. “Watch what I tell you. As soon as she finds out a new woman is gonna be around Jr., she gonna come crawling back. You know women don’t like their baby daddy’s girlfriends and shit.”

“I’m not dealing with his shit today,” Exodus said, shaking his head. “Where the fuck is Judge? It’s his turn to watch your crazy ass.”

“He over there with my best friend, trying to talk her into being like his whorish ass,” Krude said, waving him off. I turned to see Sasha and Judge standing in the corner, talking. I couldn’t even front; they looked good together. Judge had breathed life back into the former Madam and she radiated confidence.

“Judge!” Ex called out. “Come get this nigga.”

“No,” Judge replied. He was so serious with his answer, he didn’t raise his voice. “Send him to Corinthian or Psalms.”

“The heathen and the drug dealer?” Krude gasped as if he was offended. “Harlot, you got a lot of fuckin’ nerves.” Krude stood from his chair and looked around. When his eyes landed on his grandmother, he laughed. “Madea, we need to talk.”

“Yeah, Madea, y’all need to talk,” Exodus agreed. “Go on over there and talk to your grandma, nigga.”

“I am, hoe, and when I get over there, I’ma tell her Paxton is pregnant and y’all wasn’t gonna tell her.”

“Bitch, you better not!” Exodus hissed through clenched teeth. “She already side-eyeing us ’cause Mahogany had her baby and now she got baby fever!” He reached for Krude, but he was able to sidestep him and headed toward their grandmother. “Madea, that nigga lying!”

I laughed as they walked away. Fire made his way over to me and dapped me up. “What the fuck was that about?” he asked, nodding toward the DeCorte cousins, who were fussing at each other.

“It’s the Bible Thumpers,” I said as if that answered his question. I looked around for the boys. “Where is Lake and Ocean?”

“With Mama,” he answered with a shrug. “She said they needed to get away from me and all my anger.”

“They do.” I laughed, and Fire mugged me. “I told you being mean to that girl was gonna backfire on you, but you didn’t listen.”

“Who the fuck told her to get a damn boyfriend?” Fire asked. “That nigga ugly any-damn-way.” Fire had been in his feelings for the last few weeks since finding out Lynx had a boyfriend. On a daily basis, his temper was getting the best of him when it came to everything except the boys. With them, he was still his loving self but everyone else got the short end of the stick.

“Get out your feelings, nigga.” I laughed and mushed his head. My phone vibrated and I looked at my watch to see a text from Lynx saying they were pulling up. “Alright, Coy on her way up.” I grabbed my brother’s arm and pulled him from his seat. “Get yo’ ass on, nigga.”

“Alright, y’all, let’s go!” Fire yelled and everyone started clearing the room.

Since West’s restaurant was our first date, I thought it was only right that I proposed to her here. The door was pulled open and McCoy walked in. She was too busy talking to Bradley and Lynx at first, but then she noticed me standing there and stopped talking.

“Come here, Coy,” I said. She didn’t hesitate to do what I said, and I smiled. She trusted me with everything in her.

“What is going on, Earth?” she asked, looking around.

Everyone was hidden in the back, though. I wanted my proposal to be intimate, just me and her. I looked over her shoulder to make sure Bradley and Lynx had left and they had.

“What did I tell you was the only thing you had to do?” I asked her. McCoy stared at me confused and I laughed. “Think, baby. I told you it was one thing you had to do, and I’d take care of the rest.”

“Love you?” she questioned, and I nodded.

“That’s it,” I said as I got down on one knee. “I told you I knew you were it for me from the moment we met. In that fuckin’ warehouse a few months ago, you were mine. I was just waiting for you to love me back.”

“And I do, Earth.”

“I know.” I chuckled. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring I had for her. “Now all you gotta do is say yes and birth my baby.” I nodded to her still-flat stomach. “And let me keep loving and protecting y’all. Can you do that?” I slid the ring onto her finger, not caring that she hadn’t answered me. “Huh? Can you do that, Coy?”

“Yes,” she answered, with tears falling from her eyes.

“Good ’cause we getting married today,” I said, standing.

The door to the back opened and everyone came inside. Pastor DeCorte walked right to us and opened his Bible. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony.”

The End.

Hold on. Turn the page. lol