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

Chapter XI

Val rubbed her temples in frustration as she listened to December yell through the phone, just as he'd been doing for the past fifteen minutes. It was taking everything in her not to raise her voice at him, but she held her tongue, knowing that angering him any further would be all but beneficial to her wellbeing once he made it back home. With that knowledge in mind, she listened to him quietly. The shoulder massage Nina was giving her made it slightly easier for Val to control herself. Finding a pause in December's seemingly nonstop rant, Val used the opportunity to try to calm him down.

"Daddy, we've already been over this a million times," Val said, speaking slowly and deliberately so that December could understand every word that was coming out of her mouth. "Her phone keeps going straight to voicemail. Whenever I visit the group home, I'm told that she's not there. I don't know where Tamia is."

"I'm not trying to hear that shit, Val! Find her! Either figure out where she is, or start laying on your back again. I left you in charge because I thought that you could keep shit in order. How the fuck did you lose two damn people?!" December exclaimed.

"It's been two weeks since the last time I spoke to her. She hasn't answered any of my calls or made an effort to call me. Maybe she doesn't want to be found."

"Bitch, what? Fuck you mean 'maybe she doesn't want to be found'? Maybe I don't give a damn. Find my woman and my child before I kill your stupid ass, and do it before I call back. Do we understand each other?"

"Yeah, okay, December. I'll find her. I'll talk to you later, Daddy." After listening to December scream a few more threats and obscenities, Val pressed the end button and sat her cell phone on the dresser in front of her. She looked in the mirror and located Nina's line of vision. "That nigga has some serious anger issues."

Nina put Val's silky black hair into a bun and continued to rub her shoulders. "Chica, ya sabía eso. I don't even see why you were trying to reason with him. Talk about a waste of fucking time. What's up with lil mama, though? You seriously have no idea where she is?"

"Not at all. She's probably avoiding me."

"She's not avoiding you. I think she's avoiding December's mean ass."

"Well, December isn't going to kill his damn self over her games."

"He can't hurt you if you-"

"I'm not leaving, Nina. We already talked about this."

"I know, I know... but it's never too late to change your mind. Why don't you want to go? I don't want you to be here anymore. You're better than the rest of us. Leave for me, Val. Please?" Nina begged in her Brooklyn accent, which flowed well with the sultry smooth voice that she'd received from her half-Puerto Rican heritage. Of the pair, Nina was the ghetto, foul-mouthed hood rat with the rap sheet and street credibility in her hometown to prove it. At least, that's who she was to December and his associates. The Tae Heckard-lookalike appeared completely harmless because of her stunning image, but once she opened her mouth or balled up her fist, she proved that looks really were deceiving.

"December will find me and December will kill me, Nina. You know that. Besides, where would I go? My family doesn't want to deal with me. I don't have anyone but you and December. I'm not going anywhere."

Nina sighed and draped her arms around Val's shoulders, resting her head in the crook of her neck. "Okay. If this is all you want out of life, stay. I'd be lost without you, anyway."

Val took note of the hint of attitude in her voice and pushed Nina off of her. "Lose the attitude, Nina. If you want to leave, feel free. I love you. You're my best friend, but I'm not going to force a grown-ass woman to do something she doesn't want to do. Pack your shit and go. Just don't tell me where you're going because if December threatens to hurt me while he's looking for you, I'm giving you up without a second thought."