G.A.B.O.S. (Original Version)

Chapter XXXIV

"Two days. Two whole fucking days, and I still don't know where Val is," December complained. He continued to pace Tamia's bedroom, stopping momentarily to pick Tania up when she reached out towards him. "I swear, I'm gonna kill that hoe when I find her."

Tamia grabbed December's arm and pulled him down to her bed. "Stop cursing so much before Jenay's husband comes in here reading Bible verses and shit. I'm not in the mood for that right now. Relax. Why are you so intent on finding Valerie? There are a bunch of other women working for you."

"Val is more valuable than all of them. Her and Nina. With Nina gone, I need Val. If they're both gone, I'm going to lose more money than I care to think about, especially since Caramel keeps lacing her own pockets with my bread."

"So Nina's really dead?" Tamia's voice was far from joyful. She didn't like Val or Nina, but she knew that they'd looked out for her a lot over the years. The thought of either of them dying so unexpectedly hurt her in ways she didn't understand.

Considering the fact that she knew that Nina was a police officer, she couldn't help but feel bad for Tremaine. She knew the police wouldn't stop searching for Nina's killer until they found him, and then he'd be sentenced to life in prison.

December shrugged. "There's still no body, but it would be illogical to assume otherwise."

"Do you think Val could have, you know, hurt herself? She loved Nina more than anyone."

"Val's not suicidal. She's too into the God stuff." He paused. "Wherever she is, I hope she's okay. I want her to be completely healthy when I break her fucking neck."

Tamia took her daughter out of December's arms and sat her on the other side of the bed. "You need to calm down. You came over here to see Tania, and you're too busy obsessing over Valerie to even pay her any attention. Are you going to relax on your own, or do you need my help?" She leaned towards December and placed her hand on the side of his face before kissing him. Their tongues met for a brief moment, and then Tamia moved her lips to his neck.

"This isn't exactly allowing me to give Tania any attention either," December said as he tilted his head upwards.

"Well, she's not the only one that needs attention."

"You can have all the attention you want if you come home."

"Nope." Tamia undid the top three buttons on December's shirt and kissed his chest. "I'm gonna stay here. I need time to think."

"Will you be thinking about trying to work shit out with Tremaine?"

Tamia backed away from December and stared at him. "If that question was meant to ruin the mood, mission accomplished."

December laughed. "What mood? Our daughter is on this bed."

Tamia rolled her eyes. "To answer your question, no. Tremaine doesn't want me. He hates me. Somehow, it's my fault that he killed Nina."

"All of that is great."

Tamia gave him a perplexed glance. "How so?"

December laid back on the bed and grabbed Tania. He sat her on his chest and smiled at her as he spoke to Tamia. "You don't know how to be without a man. Independence isn't something that you're interested in. You need a man to take care of you and hold you at night."

"That's not true," Tamia said, obviously offended by his words.

December snickered. "Yes, it is. But it's not your fault. And you may be fine right now. You're with your mom, looking for a little job or whatever, but pretty soon, you'll miss the big house and cars that you're used to. You'll need to shop, and you'll need someone to touch you in that special way that only I can touch you. Trust me, pretty girl, in a few weeks- and that's a bit of a stretch- you'll want to come home, and I'll be waiting for you."