Free Payback Is a Mutha by Wahida Clark

staring at her. “Know what? I agree. We’ll talk later. My head hurts and I need some sleep. Just make sure you and Marquis are packed and ready tomorrow night. And quit that fuckin’ bullshit job!” He got up and left her standing there but wondered what was up with this new attitude.
    When the phone rang, she didn’t answer. Shadee turned around. “Who the fuck calling you this early? And why you ain’t picking it up?” Her heart fell to the floor when he started for the phone.
    “Hello.”
    The room was so silent that she heard the dial tone when the caller hung up. “Janay let me find out you creepin’ with some nigga.” He was eyeballin’ her. “Who was that?”
    “Shadee please. I’ve been getting that a lot lately,” she said, turning to go to the kitchen where her cell phone was, while praying it didn’t ring. “Of course you wouldn’t know, you’re never here, right?” She heard the bedroom door slam as she put her cell on vibrate. “What have I gotten myself into?” she mumbled.

8
SHAN
    B riggen was silent as he drove. Shan was still recovering from her two beatdowns and the mace. When she got herself together she said, “I don’t believe this shit.” She grabbed her cell phone and called Brianna. When she didn’t get an answer Shan dialed her house phone. The voice mail picked up. “Hey, it’s me. Your car is still parked at the club. You need to go pick it up as soon as possible. If you would have stayed ten minutes longer your girl here wouldn’t have gotten her ass beat. I knew I should have left when I started to.” She put the cell phone away and looked into the mirror. “Look at my damn face! I have to go to work Monday. I can’t go to work like this. I can’t call out the first damn day!” She was practically screaming. Briggen pulled up in front of her house and before he could park Shan was outta the car and practically running towards her building.
    Briggen jumped outta his truck, caught up to her and grabbed her arm. “Shan, hold up.”
    She snatched her arm away and headed for her building with Briggen on her heels. “Why are you following me? Go home to all of them crazy ass hoes who need you and obviously put up with your bullshit and leave me the fuck alone! I ain’t the one Briggen.” She was struggling to get the key in the lock but it wouldn’t go in. She could barely see because now she was crying again and mad as hell.
    Briggen took the keys from her. “Let me do it.”
    “I don’t think so,” she snapped as she went to snatch them back. He held them up in the air so she couldn’t reach them. “Give me my keys. Don’t you think you’ve done enough for one night?” She tried to snatch them again. “Your motherfuckin’ bitches are lucky I didn’t have my gun on me.”
    Briggen stuck her key in the lock and stepped inside.
    “Are you coming in?” He smirked as he went over to the couch and sat down.
    She slammed the door shut, went into the bathroom and started some bath water. She went into the kitchen, grabbed a wineglass and a bottle of White Zinfandel, and took that into the bathroom. She then stripped, filled her glass up and immersed her sore body into the hot steaming water.
    Briggen went out to his truck, got her necklace and his little travel bag and came back inside. He got comfortable as he took his time and rolled a blunt. What a night, he thought to himself, placing the philly blunt box back into the travel bag.
     
    An hour later Shan was chillin’ in the tub and feeling a little better. She allowed the steaming hot bath to soothe her aching bones and had downed twoglasses of Zinfandel. She was drying off when the phone rang. She ran to it, hoping it was Brianna. “What’s up hoe?”
    Whoever it was hung up. Remembering that she had left Briggen in her living room she peeked her head around the corner. “Tell your bitches to stop calling my house and hanging up.”
    “I got your necklace.” He ignored her