Page 12 of The Hellcat Barbies: Aubree

brASI

“Yooo, earth to Brasi,” Cook waved his hand in front of my face. “You good?” he asked with hiked brows.

It was my first time seeing him since I found out about Brianna from Aubree’s mouth.

It had been three days, and I was still stuck.

I had a kid that was being raised by someone else.

Was I supposed to just forget about her?

Act like she didn’t exist? Just wonder about her for the rest of my life?

In a way, I would have rather not known.

“It was true. I have a daughter named Brianna that someone else is raising. How the hell do I go about that? Like, just pretend I don’t have a kid?”

Cook sighed. “Technically, you don’t fam. Someone else has raised her for what, five years? That’s her daughter.”

“Aubree not giving me a say in this shit was foul as hell.”

“How, Brasi? If she really wasn’t in the position to raise a kid by herself, do you think you could have talked her out of it from prison?”

“Yeah maybe. You wouldn’t have looked out for my kid?”

“Hell yeah, I would have. Kind of question is that?” he asked with a frown.

“A question that proves my point. I would have been locked up, but she could have called on you, Ish, my mom, my grandmother. She wouldn’t have been out here by herself. Now, my daughter is thinking another man and woman are her parents. That shit is fucked up.”

We were on the strip. I was supposed to be having a good time.

When I wasn’t at the gym, I was moving coke.

More than I wanted the money, I wanted the drugs out of my possession, and I was working overtime to get rid of it.

I had been going so hard and thinking so much that when Cook invited me out, I agreed, but I still couldn’t get out of my head.

“Dwelling on it now won’t do any good, fam. At this point, you just have to be relieved that she’s with someone that loves her and treats her right.”

Scrubbing a hand down my face, I gritted my molars.

It was hard to keep my emotions in check.

Especially when I saw those loud colorful ass cars going down the strip in a line.

Aubree was second in the lineup, and seeing her car made me even angrier.

I had no idea where she worked, but from her house and the car she drove, she seemed to be doing well for herself.

I was having a hard ass time understanding why she couldn’t have done the same things while raising my daughter.

I was so pissed my upper lip twitched. “Fuck Aubree.”

Cook sighed once again. Alcohol wasn’t doing much to calm me down, but I kept drinking because I didn’t want to kill the mood by bitching.

I wasn’t even sure if I should tell my mother.

What good was telling people I had a child, when I didn’t know anything about her?

I didn’t even know what she looked like. Shit was sick.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see that a chick I met a few days ago at the carwash had texted me. I texted her back because I wasn’t going to keep putting pussy off. Two times since I’d been home wasn’t enough. Cook rubbed a hand over his belly in a circular motion.

“You trying to grab some food? I got more liquor on deck and some weed. Putting something on my stomach is imperative.”

Despite my foul mood, I chuckled. “Imperative. You been watching Sesame Street again?”

Cook stuck his middle finger up making me laugh louder.

While looking around for a trash can to toss my empty cup into, I spotted Aubree.

Nice was in her face, but it wasn’t in an intimate way.

The crease in his forehead, and the glower on his face made me aware that they were arguing.

When she tried to walk away, and he snatched her back, I couldn’t stop my feet from moving in their direction.

I shouldn’t have cared what was going down between the two of them but going to stop it wasn’t even a thought for me.

My body began to move off muscle memory.

By the time I reached them, Nice still had a grip on Aubree’s arm, and Saskia was by her side. “We not doing that, Nice. Let her go. You about to be causing a scene and shit.” Her tone was calm, but I got a strong feeling that if Nice moved wrong, The Hellcat Barbies would be on his ass.

“I don’t give a damn about a scene. She better know who she’s been playing with.” Nice spoke to Sas, but he never took his eyes off Aubree.

“I know men in your line of business look down on snitching, but I swear if you don’t let me go, the next officer I see patrolling, I will alert him to how your black ass is harassing me.”

“Yo, Nice.” I stepped forward and flicked the tip of my nose. “Let her go.”

Nice glared over his shoulder with a frown on his face. When he realized it was me, he chuckled. “You used to fuck her, right? Yeah, I know. I also know you all gentleman like and diplomatic and shit, but I’m having a conversation with her. Okay?”

“You can have all the conversations you want with your hands to yourself.”

Nice gritted his teeth and stared at me while his hand remained on Aubree. “There’s no need for you to intervene because if this nigga doesn’t get his hands off me immediately, after I mace him, I’m calling the police. Fuck out of my face,” she stated between clenched teeth.

Nice released her arm and took a step back. “I get it. You gotta show out and shit. Cool.”

“I’m not showing out. You were just in a public dispute with a female that said you didn’t come home the night before. You clearly have a girlfriend or at least someone that you live with. I’d appreciate it if you leave me alone. You lied, and we don’t have anything to talk about.”

“You got it.” Nice walked off, and I stared at Aubree for a bit. She avoided eye contact and eventually, I just walked off.

“That nigga looked mad. He said some fly shit?” Cook asked as I walked back over to him.

“Nothing that I gave a fuck about. All I wanted was for him to take his hands off her.”

“I don’t like that nigga.”

That was news to me. “Since when?” I looked over at him.

“Since he came up. I remember that nigga just playing the background when he was with Ish. He wasn’t broke, and he dressed fly, got women and all that, but he didn’t have it like that.

People actually referred to him as Ish’s homeboy.

They didn’t even call him by name. Since he started getting a little money, he’s real cocky and arrogant.

Walks around trying to son people. If he ever tries that shit with me, I don’t care how many people deep he is. I’m beating his ass.”

I released a breath. “I need food and a blunt. Shit was supposed to be calm when I came home. Shit has been the exact opposite of that.”

Two hours later, I was walking to my car when I saw Aubree bending down to pick up the keys she’d dropped. As soon as she had them in her hand, she dropped them again. With a shake of my head, I walked over to her.

“You good?”

The moment she stood up, I knew she wasn’t. Aubree’s eyes were low and glossed over.

“Yo you aren’t driving like that. You might as well prepare to leave that car here.”

Aubree kissed her teeth and frowned. “Nigga, you are not my daddy. I don’t need you telling me what to do.”

Stepping forward, I snatched the keys out of her hand. “Beat my ass and take them,” I glared at her serious as a heart attack.

“You really get on my nerves,” she growled. “You hate me, right? What do you care if I drive drunk?”

“Stop talking stupid,” I snapped. “You might be foul as hell, but that doesn’t mean I want anything to happen to you.”

“Wow,” she chuckled with a laugh. “And because you feel like I did you wrong, I’m supposed to put up with this shit from you?”

Ignoring her, I took off walking toward where my vehicle was parked. She didn’t have to follow me, but she wasn’t going anywhere in her car because I had her keys. After releasing a dramatic groan, Aubree began walking behind me.

“I don’t need your condescending ass concern. Give me my keys. I’m fine. Don’t you have pussy to chase.”

“I can chase pussy with your keys in my pocket,” I stated in a flat tone.

Aubree didn’t respond, so I kept walking. When I reached my car, I turned my head to look behind me, and she was a few feet away, standing in place. Crying.

“I do not have the patience for this shit,” I grumbled. Aubree had never been a big crier, so I knew it was more than likely the alcohol she’d consumed.

I could hold grudges with the best of them, so I refused to walk back to where she was. “You coming, or you got another ride?”

Aubree’s eyes cut into slits as she glared at me.

I knew she was pissed off, but she’d be okay.

Maybe both of us were being childish as hell, but hiding a child from me was wrong, and I’d stand on that shit forever.

After a few seconds of pouting, Aubree stalked toward me.

The closer she got to me, and I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks my soft ass folded just a bit, but I kept my poker face on.

I didn’t say shit, but I was going to ease up on her.

In the car, Aubree folded her arms across her chest and glared out of the window. After a few minutes of silence, I spoke. “I’ll come back with Cook and get your car.”

“You don’t have to do anything for me. I’ll get my own car home.”

“Cool.”

The silence returned, and the tension in the car was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

The way my emotions fluctuated when I was around Aubree pissed me off to no end.

It had never been hard for me to walk away from anyone.

Except her. I had cut people off for doing way less to me than she did.

Was I selfish for being upset? Was it wrong of me for wishing she had thugged it out and chosen the single mother route with Brianna just until I came home?

I was confused as shit, and that was another thing that I didn’t like.