Page 7

ROCHELLE “KK’S MOM”

M y head felt like it was going to spin off my shoulders. My life was spiraling out of control right before my eyes, but this was small shit to a giant. This wasn’t the first time my world had fallen apart.

When Kimmie asked if she could ride with me, I almost started to let her but then I remembered I had to stop by Scrap’s to get a pack. Thanks to Todd, he had gotten me hooked on smoking weed something real bad. Todd smoked weed and tooted powder occasionally but that was because he was going through a rough time. He was recently laid off from his job and I could tell that mentally it was beginning to take a toll on him. I was the breadwinner for the house at the moment and his constant excuse for flying off the handle was because his manhood was affected by him not working.

When Kimmie said that Todd was making her feel uncomfortable I understood where she was coming from. That confirmed that she had noticed the recent change in his behavior. Him being in between jobs at the moment wasn’t her concern. He was rapidly depleting his savings but yet and still contributing, even if it wasn’t very much. All Kimmie needed to focus on was doing good in school so that she could graduate and not get pregnant…simple shit.

As for Todd though, I truly felt the cocaine took away from who he used to be. He was changing into a more dramatic, erratic version of himself. He already had a low tolerance and was quick to snap but now it was on a whole other level.

I needed to figure out a way to explain to Kimmie what was going on with Todd without telling her too much. She was still a child to me so certain things that pertained to me and Todd needed to stay off limits to her.

“My daughter’s lil boyfriend is jumping on my husband in our home and I’ma shoot him dead if y’all don’t hurry up!” I shouted as loud as I could.

I wanted the police and the entire neighborhood to hear what was going on. When I walked into the house I never in a million years would’ve ever thought this shit would be going on. Why was Darius here and why was he fighting my husband? I had heard rumors about Todd and Darius’s mom, but I was never shown any proof or seen any.

Darius was beating the shit out of Todd and Kimmie was just standing there crying looking like she was a deer caught in headlights in shock and terrified at the same time. I couldn’t wrap my mind around any of this. All I know was all I saw was red.

“I just asked if y’all was messing around, lil girl, and what did you tell me, damn it?!” I bellowed as I walked up to Kimmie.

“Darius, please stop!” Kimmie cried as she tried to pry her friend and Todd apart, ignoring my question.

“Don’t even worry about it. I got his ass. If I kill him, it’ll be all your fault!” I jeered as I stormed out of her bedroom and into mine.

Heading straight for my nightstand I grabbed my loaded .22 Ruger then rushed back to Kimmie’s room.

“Darius, she has a gun!” Kimmie pleaded.

Todd was lying on the ground a bloody mess and Kimmie was holding Darius in a bear hug. He and I were having a stare-down until the police arrived.

“Yeah, I called the law! Who the hell do you think you are coming up in here putting hands on people. Kimmie, this all your fault. We told you this boy was trouble and now look!” I snapped, grilling Darius as he grilled me back.

“Ma, what are you doing?! Put the gun down, you don’t even know the whole story.” Kimmie cried as our doorbell started ringing.

“Why is he here then? What beef you got with my husband?” I jeered at Darius, but he didn’t say anything.

“Police!”

Todd scrambled to get off the floor, “I’ll get it.”

“Bitch ass nigga.” Darius mumbled.

“What was that?” I asked, gun still pointed.

“Ma, please, put the gun down.” Kimmie cried. “He was only trying to help me.”

“How was he helping you in my house? Who told you he could come over?” I fussed but Kimmie never got the chance to respond.

Seconds later two officers walked into the bedroom. Long story short, when Todd told his version and said that he caught Darius sneaking in Kimmie’s bedroom and they got to fighting I was furious. But, when Kimmie told her story, I fell to my knees in despair and was at a crossroads on who to believe. Too much was happening at the same time, and I couldn’t think straight.

“I was on the phone and this nigga was attacking Kimmie!” Darius shouted, still staring me down with venom in his eyes.

“Attack how?” I asked but Darius ignored me.

“I came and stood on business. Something her mommy who lives right under the same roof with this pedophile shoulda been doing. Mrs. Rochelle, no disrespect but you had every opportunity to make sure KK was safe yet right under your coked out nose, your daughter was prey to yo nigga. The women around the neighborhood just wasn’t enough for him, nigga want yo daughter too.”

“Darius please,” Kimmie interrupted, but he wasn’t backing down.

“Nah, KK, fuck them bozos! She left you in a house with a fuckin’ pedophile on some selfish shit! Then gon’ stand down on me like I’m the problem.”

“Bozos?!” Todd huffed with a dose of energy. “This the shit I’m talkin’ ‘bout, officers. You see what I mean?”

“Both of y’all calm down so we can get to the bottom of this.” The male officer spoke up.

“They both lying! I caught him sneaking in her window and yeah, I snapped but that’s my right. Earlier she pranced her ass up in here with a hickey on her neck. Now he sneaking in my window but I’m a pedophile?! You tell me officer, was I wrong for protecting my family? Is my wife who walked in on this mayhem wrong for protecting her family?”

“They need protecting from yo ass if anybody!” Darius shouted.

The police arrested Darius, the whole time Kimmie pleaded with them to let him go. “He doesn’t deserve to get in trouble. He was just protecting me. I’m not lying!”

One of the officers asked Kimmie to write a statement about what happened, and I snapped.

“She not about to write a gotdamn thing! She a minor and until we speak with a lawyer, tah hell with your statement!” I spat.

“Ma’am, with all due respect, your husband allegedly violated your teenage daughter.”

“Who lied about a damn hickey being a mosquito bite not even an hour before alleged hickey giver is caught sneaking in her bedroom window!” I chuckled. “Do you have any kids, officers, in particular teenagers?”

“None of that matters, ma’am,” the female officer spoke up. “It’s not up to you whether your daughter who is a minor, speaks to us or writes a statement for us or not.”

“Long as she is in my house, I guarantee you it is.” I shot back.

“Obstructing a police investigation, humph, unless you wanna go to jail with your husband tonight, I suggest you stand down.” The female officer shot back with venom.

The male officer gave the female officer a look that I wasn’t able to read. I didn’t want to end up getting cuffed, so I decided to tone it down just a bit.

“Kimmie, you know what to do.” I smirked, giving her a, you better not try it look.

Kimmie wrote a statement and the only reason why she wasn’t taken out of the house was because Todd didn’t penetrate her. She said he tried to put a finger inside her so a rape kit wasn’t necessary because a full sexual assault didn’t happen or could be proven. Kimmie was adamant on the no sexual penetration and told the police that she was not going to do a rape kit either way.

The female officer had a hard on to up her arrest numbers for the day, so she still felt it was necessary to arrest Todd. The fact that Kimmie did state that he made her feel uncomfortable, and was groping on her and didn’t want to be around him, the only way to get him out of the house was to arrest him. Either that, or they would have to remove Kimmie from the home; however, whichever way we worked it out, Kimmie and Todd couldn’t be around each other.

I’d never seen Todd touch my daughter inappropriately outside of him whooping her ass. When that happened that was something she caused and ass whoopings in my opinion were a sign of discipline not abuse. That was the way I was raised and the way I raised Kimmie. Granted, that didn’t mean we beat on her because overall for the most part Kimmie was a good kid. But lately, between her and Todd they both were about to drive me insane with all their emotional, dramatic antics.

“You better hope I don’t have to come back and arrest you.” The female officer smirked.

Kimmie also told them about her father. She only knew his name, Karl Kendall. While they looked into her dad, I was tasked with proving that I was a mom before I was a wife. I was fine with that, but what I wasn’t cool with was for someone to be charged for or get in trouble for something they didn’t do. Especially something so serious like touching on and violating a minor.

Once Todd bonded out, if he came around and Kimmie lives here, regardless of whether this was his house or not, as long as I am aware I would be held in contempt and arrested and that was some bullshit if you asked me. But Kimmie was a minor and the state had the obligation to be able to automatically put in an order of protection in place.

The female officer told Kimmie that she was going to check into the information regarding her dad, and in the meantime, she was given a number to call in the event she felt “unsafe” again. It was all bullshit if you asked me.

Once the officers left, I marched into Kimmie’s room and found her curled on her bed crying.

“Ion know why you crying. And another thing, I’m not going to jail for you, Todd, or no damn body. If them people feel like I can’t keep you safe cause you want to paint that picture to them just know next stop, they taking yo ass out the house. You accusing Todd of touching on you but don’t want to be examined cause you been in bed with that boy! You think I’m stupid, Kimmie, but I was your age once just young and dumb over a boy. But defaming Todd’s integrity as a man is an all-time low! Now he sitting in jail and something like this on his name could ruin his reputation forever.”

“I didn’t lie about anything and in due time, you will see that. The things I did lie about, I came clean on and admitted my fault. But you getting Darius arrested for protecting me and pulling a gun on him was just wrong! I hope they find my dad and he comes snatch me out of here. You’ll see for yourself if you don’t know already that Todd is not right in the head. I hate it here!”

Slap!

“You hit me!” Kimmie screamed.

“I damn sho’ did and I’ll do it again if you don’t lower your damn voice! I get you mad about your lil boyfriend?—”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Kimmie cut me off.

“Whatever Kimmie, there you go lying again! But I get it now. I see what this is all about.” I smirked, shaking my head now, gaining much clarity about what just happened. “You think causing all this bullshit gon’ get you taken out of here cause you want to live with your dad. Nah, baby girl, they gon’ take you to a boarding house with a bunch of homeless kids til you turn eighteen and that’s if you even survive an environment like that. Yo daddy don’t want to be bothered but that’s some shit you just gon’ have to see for yourself.”

“I’ll run away before I let anyone take me anywhere.”

“Living in the streets you have a better chance at cause yo dad not about to give you no shoulder to cry on. If he was on that, he would’ve been coming by and checking for you. I don’t do well with liars, Kimmie. How am I supposed to believe a liar?”

“I’m not a liar, ma. Todd is tho.” Soon as the words let Kimmie’s mouth, I slapped her across the face again. “If he wasn’t in here trying to touch on me, Darius wouldn’t have ever come over here. I tried to tell you earlier, but you wasn’t trying to hear me. Darius didn’t break in, like I said, I was on the phone with him. Phone records can be checked but breaking in a window with no cameras can’t. I’m sorry for lying about talking to Darius. Now he is going to hate me forever because of you!”

“Because of me!? How dare you! What about the hickey?! Girl, save it.” I smirked. “Yeah, you let that boy fuck on you. Got you up in here doing the most. The difference between you and him and me and Todd is, we’re married. We real grown round here, Kimmie. You can’t go round saying shit like that about people just cause you feeling emotional! You lucky I just slapped you and not tagged yo ass like I really want too! Seventeen fuckin’ years old and you fuckin’! You better hope yo ass not pregnant.”

I stormed out of my daughter’s room and all I can say is that I wish I would’ve just stopped for a minute and really listened to Kimmie before all of this mess took place. Part of me felt like she was telling the truth and another part of me wanted and prayed to believe that she was lying and covering up her sneaking around with that damn boy. Both theories were very plausible. If it was true that Todd was trying to touch on my daughter tho, I was going to kill his ass dead myself!

I was hard on Kimmie because I loved her. I didn’t want her falling in love with a man and giving him her body just so he would do her wrong like her father did me. I wanted her to see raw and uncut how much damage that shit caused. This shit with Todd though had me twisted. I would admit that part of me was with him because he was what was best for me and Kimmie when I first left her dad, especially because I had to start over. Was Todd perfect, no, but no man was. The fact that he stepped up and took me and Kimmie in without so much as a blink of an eye made me feel like he was a stand-up man.

Did he have anger problems, yeah sometimes, but hell so did I. I never thought that any of this would lead to him getting locked up for trying to violate my daughter. Hearing that rocked me and I really didn’t know what to do with that information.

Kimmie asking if the police would take her to her dad really made me feel like she was saying all of those disparaging things about Todd as a way to leave and get to her dad. That’s what made me feel like she wasn’t telling the truth. That’s what really infuriated me.

Kimmie was hell bent on having her dad in her life and for the life of me I just didn’t understand it. I cheated and then left Kimmie’s dad, Karl, to be with Todd and I only did it because I realized I had no choice but to move on from Karl. Karl hurt my heart real bad, and one thing my momma always taught me was to never love a man more than he loves you.

I know Kimmie resented me for shutting her dad out of her life, but he was only going to hurt her heart just like he had done mine. He didn’t want a family, but Kimmie was too young to understand that. Me leaving and moving on was my way of showing Kimmie that her dad didn’t love us the way that we loved him, but I loved her enough to not give up on her. Yet still in her eyes she would still pick a man that turned his back on us over me.

Todd though, he left his wife to be with me when he didn’t have to. He married me and made an honest woman out of me, something that Karl could never do; something he never wanted to do. Todd hated any and everything about Karl because he lowkey knew that my heart was still with him. Todd would sometimes treat me fucked up and take his anger out on me because he felt that I made him feel like I settled to be with him. He would get into arguments with his ex-wife then blame me and say that he walked away from his life to be with me and I’m still in love with my ex.

I did my best to tell him that he was wrong, and it wasn’t true, but the truth was it was true. Now with Todd getting high, I knew he would go on these wild tangents, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for Kimmie to go be with her dad. That is, if he was willing to take her on cause all he really cared about was slanging his big ole dick. It would hurt my heart to hand her over to him but Todd touching on her was something that wasn’t sitting right with me. Yet, I couldn’t accuse him of something I didn’t have proof off. At the same time, I couldn’t risk letting them be around one another again after today either.

Karl though, was very well endowed, and he had a very high sex drive to go with all his dick, which I found, as well as any other woman that had ever been with him, I’m sure, that those two things were a very lethal combination. You’d have to have no walls and base to your pussy to be able to keep up with him sexually. Cheating was a must and given for Karl because one woman could never satisfy him…ever. That was our main problem and reason for me leaving him.

He let me and Kimmie walk right out of his life. At first, he would try to come around, but Todd wasn’t having it. He felt that Karl would come around and be about me and not his daughter and he wasn’t about to have that. Todd was the main reason I had to cut Karl out of me and Kimmie’s life. But now, she could have her dad.

I guess it was time for Kimmie to see for herself that her dad was not going to be the type of parent she was hoping he would be.