Project Queen (Urban Fiction)

Chapter Five

The minute Shae entered the apartment, her mother yelled at her."So, you think you grown now, right? Think you can come and go as you damn well please? Let me tell you something, Miss Bitch. If you come up pregnant, I'll kick the shit out you. Hear me?" Shae didn't answer. She closed her mind to anything that her mother said so her words fell on deaf ears. The slap she received brought her back to the present. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Don't be slapping me," Shae yelled back.

"I'll do what I damn well please. I can't tell y'all grown-acting children nothing no mo'. While you were in the streets, ya brother done messed up and got arrested."

"What?" The words shocked her so much that she forgot about being hit. She needed to know what happened to Toby. "He got arrested? When?"

"Yeah. The PoPo came around here early this morning. Drug the boy out the bed in his drawers. They didn't even give him time enough to put on his clothes."

"What did he do?" Shae asked, sliding a finger in the corner of her mouth and biting down on the nail.

"They said he shot somebody. Some dope fiend or other. Now, if you had ya ass home last night, you wouldn't have to ask these fucking questions. Get outta my face befo' I smack ya ass again." Shae stepped back. She actually believed that her mother was crazy. The lady switched off and on like a faulty light. She just shook her head and left the room.

She figured if she stayed busy, she wouldn't worry. Upstairs, she cleaned the twins' room. She dusted and vacuumed to take her mind off things. When she stood in the middle of the floor and stared around the neat room, the weight of Toby's arrest rested on her shoulders.

For some reason, she remembered James talking about a drug dealer named Chancey getting killed. Could the person responsible be her brother? She'd known that his dealing drugs would lead to no good. Easy money always brought trouble. But, she refused to believe that Toby could be a cold-blooded murderer. Now, he sat behind bars, probably scared and confused. She had to do something to get him out of jail.

A little after noon, her grandmother's voice floated up the stairs. "Shae, somebody's here to see you." She peered out the window. Seeing the pimped out Chevy, she knew that Dana had popped up.

Downstairs, she checked to make sure that her mother had left. She could barely leave the house because her mama wanted her there 24/7. But she had to get out today. She needed to put her plan into action. She figured that in two weeks she'd have what she needed. With Dana's money, she would be out of the projects and away from her mother for good.

"Hey baby," Dana greeted. "Let's go for a ride."

"Okay. Wait a sec." She stepped back inside. "Ma Violet, I'll be back before the twins come home from school. Okay?" Her grandmother nodded, and Shae flounced out. She wore Baby Phat gear, from the Kimora Lee Simmons clothing line. Her figure filled out the tee-shirt and jeans shorts.

"So, what did you do last night?" Dana asked casually, a little too casually. Shae failed to pick up on the dangerous undertones as she got into his car.

"I stayed home and watched TV." The lie came easily. She certainly wasn't going to tell him that she'd been making out with Larry. She tingled all over, remembering what happened the night before.

"Is that so?" Dana drawled. He got in on the driver's side and put the key in the ignition.

Lying bitch. He could tell by looking at her that she'd been fucked. Picturing her being tossed and turned, getting hit from the back by another nigga burned him up. He felt like punching the steering wheel, but held his anger in check. He'd take care of her deceitful ass in due time.