trusted.
âGirl, what da fuck you ovaâ there doinâ?â I asked playfully as soon as she picked up. I was jusâ glad she ainât let me go to voice mail. When we left Virginia, Michelle insisted we cut everyone off, but I couldnât let my entire family jusâ think Iâd off and died or disappeared. My cousin, Shanice, was the only person I trusted enough to still keep in contact with.
âHey, boobie, I miss yoâ liâl crazy ass. You lovinâ dat married life yet?â She was being sarcastic as usual. She always was a smart ass.
âI donât even wanna go into the details. I think she seeinâ that muthafucka again or a new somebody. I ainât figured it out yet, but when I do itâs gonâ be on.â
âLarissa, you ainât marry dat bitch jusâ to have her doinâ all the same shit. Check her ass, foâ I come out there anâ check her for you. Paper or no paper all that extra shit ainât worth it.â
I sighed into the phone; she had a point. It wasnât worth it and I knew it. After all of these years of loving Michelle and only Michelle it was finally starting to break me down. Itâs like how they say a tiny stream of water can eventually wear down a mountain until thereâs nothing left but a flat piece of land and a river. Well my love at one point was that mountain but all these doubts and fears been wearinâ and tearinâ away at that mountain for so long that we were on the verge of beinâ completely torn apart and wiped away.
âShanice, youâve known me my entire life. I think this the longest my ass evaâ been straight-up, flat-out sober. Hell, I donât even drink like that no more. The stress anâ these kids, all this shit is startinâ to get to me.â
âBitch, a blunt ainât nevaâ hurt shit. My ass ainât nevaâ heard of a muâfucka bitinâ nobody face off âcause they was smokinâ on some purpâ.â She was talkinâ âbout the recent drug shit thatâd happened down in Miami. Niggas snortinâ bath salts or whatever and eatinâ other niggaâs faces and brains while the nigga was still alive on some for real zombie-type shit.
âGirl, I tried to tell Michelle we need to get our asses the fuck up outta here before da Zombie Apocalypse start, an dat heffa told me stop watchinâ da damn horror channel. You anâ me bof knowâdonât no black folk do no shit like that, anâ especially not off no damn weed. Hell, you donât even do nothinâ close to that off a bad crack rock.â
âTrue, bitch, that is so got-damn true, â Shanice yelled in my ear in agreement and we both fell out laughinâ.
Most of my life Iâd had a problem with various drugs from crack to cocaine, you name it. Michelle was on some warden-type shit right now. I could barely sniff a glass of wine without her looking at me sideways, getting all weary and talkinâ to me in her âhouse niggaâ voice. I could hear saying, âLook nah, Risi-cup, you done made it dis far now, anâ ya knows what dey says âbout stayinâ strong anâ takinâ one day at a time.â
Ugh.
âYou ever grow that Chia Pet I sent yoâ ass?â Shanice was gigglinâ in the phone like a straight-up little girl.
âGirl, what da hell Iâma do witâ a damn . . .â I stopped, realizing what she was saying before I could even finish my sentence. âShanice, you didnât.â
âYup. Dat last package I sent you. Liâl Mr. Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia had a present inside his ass. I hope yoâ ass ainât throw him away.â
I didnât think Iâd felt this damn happy the entire time Iâd been in Florida. Iâd gone to the post office one day and set myself up a post office box so I could have things shipped without my âwardenâ all