Chapter 1 (Jay)
Man, I couldn't believe I was back in this raggedy ass jail again. If somebody would have told me this a few months ago, I wouldn't have believed it. I've been in the Jefferson Prison for about two months waiting to be transferred to the Orleans Prison. Courtney didn't press charges on me, but I still had a probation hold for the gun that was found in my truck. I was supposed to have been transferred last week, but I had to wait for them to send someone to come and get me. Being in prison was no walk in the park no matter where you were, but I would have much rather stayed where I was then to be sent to that hell hole in Orleans. I mean, being back in my city would be nice, but that was the bottom of the barrel for real. I could hold my own no matter where I went to. Right now I'm sitting around playing cards with a few of the old heads waiting for my upcoming visit. My dad and my brother Ty were bringing my kids to come see me today. I hadn't seen them since I got locked up and I was missing them like crazy. I just hated to be talking to them from behind a glass barrier. My brother told me that Courtney kept asking about visiting me. She claimed she had to talk to me about something important. It probably had something to do with the divorce papers I sent her. If that was the case, no words were needed. I appreciated the fact that she didn't press charges on me, but I was still done with her trifling ass. Beyonce was another story. I tried to get my brother to call her, but she would never answer the phone. He and my dad went to the condo and all of her clothes were gone. She didn't waste any time moving on. I was hurt, but given the situation I was in, there was nothing that I could do. I know I shouldn't have been worried about her after the way she did me, but I couldn't help it. If we never got back together that was cool with me, but I needed some answers before I could really move on. We never got a chance to talk before I got locked up so I was never able to confront her about cheating on me. Even after my brother and cousin told me they saw her in the club with another man, I still had my doubts. That's the kind of hold she had on me. I've had plenty of time to think since I've been here and I realized that everything my mama and the rest of my family said about her was true. She did me the same way I did my wife. It was cool though, I could bounce back from anything, no matter what it was. Even a broken heart couldn't keep me down for long. “Shawn Carter!” The guard yelled to get my attention. I stood up and walked over to where he was. I waited for him to call a few more inmates' names for their visits before we walked down the hallway towards the visiting area. My kids were the first ones I saw when I walked through the gate. They were jumping up and down and I could tell they were happy to see me. I felt like shit for putting them through this again. I smiled and waved at them as I went to take my seat. I almost pissed on myself when I saw who was with my pops and my brother. Of all people, why would they bring that bitch, Courtney, to come see me? I didn't send her a visiting form, so she must have used the one I sent to my mama or my sister. My brother saw the look on my face and motioned for me to pick up the phone so we could talk. I swear, if this glass wasn't separating us, I would have slapped that bitch in her mouth. The only thing we could talk about was her telling me that she signed the divorce papers, other than that, we didn't have a damn thing to talk about. “I know you probably mad, but mama gave her the visiting form to come see you. She said y'all need to talk about something important,” Ty said. “I just talked to you this morning and you couldn't tell me that?” I asked him. Before he could answer, my dad grabbed the phone and started talking. “Look, I know this was an unexpected visit, but don't act a fool in front of these kids. They've been looking forward to coming see you all week.” He said and he was right. They didn't need to see no more drama between me and their mama, so I figured the least I could do was to hear her out. “I'm good. Tell her to let me talk to my kids first and I'll holler at her,” I replied. He handed my kids the phone and one by one they told me everything that I missed during the last few months. Drew was usually the quiet one, but he even had a lot to say. After a few minutes of hearing about school and everything else, my brother took the phone from them. They were upset, but my time would be up in a little while and I still didn't hear what it was that Courtney had to say. “We gon' take them in the waiting room so y'all can talk. Call me later bruh, love you,” my brother said. “Love you too man,” I replied. I waved to my pops and my kids before turning my attention to Courtney. I didn't notice it at first, but she looked like she had gained some weight. She has lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw her, but she picked it all back up and then some. “What's up?” I asked her getting right to the point. I really didn't want to talk to her at all, but I was curious about what she had to say that was so important. “Um, we need to talk,” she said, looking down at the table. “Ok, talk. I'm listening,” I replied, sounding as aggravated as I was. I don't know why she was trying to be shy now, she was never shy before. “I'm sorry about everything that happened…” she started. I cut her off by holding my hand up in the air. It was no need for her to be sorry, the damage was already done. “Sorry is not going to get me out of here so you can miss me with that. If that's all you came to say, you can leave,” I said while standing to my feet. “No, that's not all I came to say,” she said. “Well, say something because you wasting my time,” I said getting impatient. “I'm pregnant,” she blurted out. I sat back down as she looked up at me smiling. I don't know what the hell she was smiling about because there wasn't a damn thing funny. “I'm three months. I should find out what we're having next month,” she continued. “Wait, what the hell you mean, we?” I asked. I know she wasn't trying to say she was pregnant by me. “We as in me and you. I wasn't having sex with nobody else. Even before we had sex the last time, it had been a while for me,” she replied. “Man you got me all the way fucked up. You fooled me once with Drew, but you won't get me again. You better go find your real baby daddy because it's not me!” I said, pointing to my chest. “Are you serious right now?” She yelled, looking at me sideways. “I'm dead ass serious! Before a few months ago, we ain't had sex in a minute and you want me to believe you wasn't fucking anybody else? Fuck outta here with that!” I said heated. “Look, I admitted it was a possibility that Drew wasn't yours, but I know for a fact that this one is. We can take a test if you want to,” she said. “The only reason you are owning up to the situation with Drew is because you got caught. It's no telling how long you would have kept that lie going if you wouldn't have been forced to tell the truth. Shit, getting a test is the first thing I will be doing, so don't even trip off that. I ain't signing nothing until I know for sure!” I yelled, “And since we're talking, what's up with those papers you supposed to be signing?” I asked her. “What about them?” She countered. “What you mean, what about them? When you plan on signing them?” I asked. She stood up and looked me up and down before replying, “I'm not.” She slammed the phone down and walked away like everything was cool. I couldn't do anything being in the situation I was in, but I'll be damned if I played this game with her trifling ass again. I had to hurry up and get the fuck out of here to see what was really going on.
