Ashanti Renèe Robinson, NY 📍

The next day came around and the boys were still not home. They haven't texted or called us. We were worrying but not that much. We know that Jay and De know what they're doing. But other people is who we worry about. They might not have the same intentions as them.

"Aqua been sleep all day girl." I said as she laid on my chest.

"TT baby."

We sat in the living and watched tv. About 30 minutes later the front door open and slammed shut.

"Jay?" I called out from the couch. They turned around the corner and came up behind us.

"Where tf have ya niggas been?" Jo'nae asked as I put Aqua in her car seat.

"Man. We was steakin out to see what the fuck was up. And it's Layla bro." I looked over at Jay that stood up against the wall.

"So it's that damn girl again."

"She called her pops."

"Huh."

"Remember when I told you my record was cleared."

"Yea and?"

"It didn't do it on its own. Layla's dad worked with my dad. I promised him when I was 16 I would make sure Layla was straight."

"Okay?" I said with a face.

"I tried giving her a job at the club but she keep startin shit there. So she don't got no job. She went and told her dad I fired her and put my hands on her. That's why a nigga was following you."

"That dude looked mad young."

"It wasn't him. It was one of his goons."

The look on his face said it all. This is the first time I've ever seen him look scared.

"Ion want you leavin this house Shanti." He said walking away. "If this nigga try something else. I'll go to jail."

"Why me though?" I asked De. He moved closer to me.

"If they can't get him they'll get someone he cares about most and that's you. He's more scared that he'll catch you with Aqua." He whispered.

I looked toward Jay and he was in the kitchen drinking water. I picked up Aqua out her car seat and brought her to him.

"You okay?" I asked while I held her.

"For now yea. Hey daddy baby." He whispered to her. He put down his water and took her from me.

He held her and just looked at her. "I love you Ashanti." He said not looking up.

"I love you too." He looked at me and kissed my temple.

---

2 months later

"Ugh!" I said flopping on Jo'nae's bed.

"Girl wth is wrong wit you?"

"I've been stuck in this house for the longest. I'm so tired of being here."

"Uh- You don't wanna be here wit me?"

"Girl yes but like I wanna go out!!"

"I'm sorry girl. Jay jus don't want nothing to happen to you."

"We should escape." I said to her.

"Chile-..."

"No fr." I said cutting her off. "Aqua's at Aaliyah's house and the boys are out we can leave and come back before they even get back."

"We share locations with them. Did you forget?"

"And we can easily leave our phones here."

She looked at me with a worried face. "I don't know Ashanti."

"Come on. Let's at least go to the park."

"You sound like a child." I laughed and hit her arm.

"Come on I'm fr!"

"I'm not gettin yelled at by Jay."

I rolled my eyes. We were in the kitchen getting ready to bake when the doorbell rang.

"Who is that?" Jo'nae asked.

"Girl. Am I supposed to know?"

"Imma go look cuz if it's anyone bad they lookin for you."

Jo'nae walked to the window and peaked out. "Girl what the hell." She said to me.

"What?"

"It's nicole." I damn near spit my water out.

"And she cryin. Fuck is she cryin for?"

I walked over to the door and opened it. She looked at me with teary eyes her skin looked like it was loosing color.

"Ashanti."

"What?"

"Can I talk to you?" I was more confused then anything. I thought this girl didn't like me. Like you was just sneak dissin wit Rachel.

"Please, I just want to make sense of something."

Before I could respond Jo'nae grabbed the door and stepped outside. "What do you want? You're not welcome here did you forget? Cuz I can easily remind you."

"Nae hold on." Something in me wanted to hear what she had to say. "Speak." I told Nicole. Before she could she passed out.

"What the hell. How she just gon die like that. Now we won't know what she wanted to say."

"Jo'nae are you serious? She didn't die! She passed out. Help me drag her in the house."

"Hell nah. These neighbors nosey if they two black girls dragging a body in the house they would swear we doin sum."

"Okay so leaving another black girl on our porch is any different?"

"You right."

---

"Okay now what?" Jo'nae asked as we had Nicole in the tub.

"I don't know how to wake people up when they pass out."

Jo'nae crouched next to her and smacked her cheek a couple times.

"Jo'nae don't hit it."

"Aight I got an idea." She turned on the shower heard and pointed it towards Nicole letting the water run down her face.

"She gon drown!" Jo'nae laughed.

"She gon be aight." Seconds later Nicole wakes up spitting the water out her face.

"Why am I in a tub?"

"Cuz we put you in here...I hope you wasn't planning on layin on my bed."

I smacked my teeth and looked at Jo'nae. This damn girl has zero filter.

"Can I get something to wipe my face?"

"Use your hand." Jo'nae said.

I laughed and took the towel from the sink and gave it to her. She wiped her face off and stood up in the tub.

"PAUSE! Do not step on my floors wet like that shawty!" I went to my room and grabbed a pair of spare sweatpants and a tank top.

"Here." I said handing them to her. She thanked me and we left so she can change. I took her wet clothes and put them in the dryer.

"That baby changed you." Jo'nae said as we stood there waiting for her.

"Whatchu mean?"

"Cuz you're so considerate now. You know damn well the real Ashanti would've left that girl on that porch." She's not wrong. Aqua changed me a lot.

---

"So tell us why you're here" Jo'nae told Nicole as we were in the kitchen.

"There was a lot going on. I just wanted to take to someone. I don't know why I thought of you guys, I just did." The look on her face said it all she was hiding something she didn't want to say.

Her body language and the way she was talking reminded me of my mother. My eyes got big when I realized it. I think Nicole been beat on. I didn't want to assume thought that's a sensitive topic.

"What's been goin on?"

"Rachel kicked me out. She told me I brought to much drama and was making her look bad." I made a face.

"First of all, Rachel makes herself look bad. Second, what is she tryna have a good image for?"

"She started a youtube channel not to long ago and it took off. But all our old beef can resurface and cause people to see her differently."

"Anyways what that gotta do with why you in my house." Jo'nae said emptying the cake powder into a bowl.

Nicole went on to tell us every damn thing. When I say everything I mean everything. She told us that after Rachel kicked her out she set her up to get robbed. So she had no dough. She ended up meeting a boy and he was beatin on her for so long so she broke up with him. I knew it! I knew the look, the body launguage, allat. I felt so bad for the girl.

"Why do you expect us to want to help you when you put us through all this shit." I asked her.

"Rachel told me you spoke on my mother. And that's a sensitive topic for me extremely sensitive."

"I never spoke on ya moms." I said walking up to her.

"I figured that but I just ended up letting her lies get to me. She manipulated the fuck outta me. It took me a while to realize it but she did."

"We could've told you that." I said laughing.

"I know. I'm really sorry. I know that sounds like shit but I'm being honest. I am. So many things could've been avoided if I never listened to her. I knew she wasn't solid when the police asked us about Laura's disappearance." When she said that Jo'nae laughed out loud. I snapped my neck to her with a straight face and she stopped.

"Go head." I said turning back to Nicole.

"She just disappeared. Like gone."

"Well damn. I'm pretty sure she's okay." I lied.

For the rest of the day we just baked a cake and sat around talking. I never had a real conversation with Nicole but the girl isn't that bad but she ain't good either. You can't go from hating a girl to loving her that easy. They did a lot of damage to me and the people I love. But when your being controlled and abused there's only but so much you can really have self control over.

"So where's Rachel now?" We asked her. She shrugged.

"I cut all ties with her after I found out her lil tricks. Aside from the manipulation she knew that my boyfriend was beating on me. And didn't help not one bit. She tried to flip it on me like it was my fault it happened."

"It's not ya fault." Jo'nae said. Awe change of heart bestie? "But you know what is your fault? Allowing it to happen." Never mind.

"What do you mean?"

"You could've came here a long time ago before the situation got worse. Every single time that boy pushed you away from him you went running right back. I seen ya instagram story girl. I know. You ran back just to be his punching bag again." She was listening to her like actually listening.

"You have to realize that you aren't a push around bitch. You have to tell ya self to boss up. You gotta be the baddest on the block." She said making Nicole smile.

"But not this block. This my block. Go find another block." I laughed and shook my head.

"Basically she's saying to learn ya worth." Nicole nodded.

---

It got dark out and I told Nicole she can sleep on the couch but just this one night tomorrow she gotta get up outta here.

"Thank you." She said with the blanket wrapped around her.

The doorbell rang again. This time it was Aaliyah dropping off Aqua.

"Thank you bye!" I said waving before shutting the door.

"That's the baby?" She asked. I nodded. "Can I hold her?"

"Aht aht. Don't push it now." She put her hands up in defense.

"Okay okay. But again thank you."

"You're welcome sleep well." I said walking to Jo'nae's room.

"Is she sleep yet?"

"Nah she goin to sleep though." I put Aqua in her crib and she just looked at us.

"I feel really bad for her." I said to Jo'nae.

"Me too. But not that much. God don't like ugly."

"You right. I just know what it's like to have to go through toxic ass situations like that and I wouldn't wish it on no one!"

"Yo yo!" We heard from the living room.

"The fuck?" We got up and ran out there to the boys hugging them.

"You guys are back!" We said in a whisper.

"Why is she here?" They asked pointing to Nicole on the couch.

"Long ass story. But she's okay for right now come on."

We all sat in Jo'naes room and talked. We told the boys why Nicole was here and what happened to her. Demarcus acted like he gave a fuck but Jay was like me. Had a small change of heart. I guess Aqua changed him to.