I was heated. “O, you lucky you high ’cause I would fuck you up right now,” I said to him.
“What?” he asked, as if he had no idea what I was pissed for.
“That was some fucked-up shit to say,” I told him.
O dropped me off at the hospital. They had just got Tina settled in a room. I was allowed to go back. When I walked in that room I didn’t know what to do. Tina’s face was three times the normal size. She was bruised badly. I threw my palms over my face and ran over to her.
“Oh, my God, Tina, who did this to you?”
Tina could hardly open her mouth to speak. Her top lip was so big it completely overlapped her bottom one. I held her head in my arms and tried to keep from crying.
“Over a couple dollars,” she mumbled.
I know this may sound crazy, but I was relieved when Tina said that. It would have scared the shit out of me if this had been about one of her dudes finding out about her like O had suggested.
Tina stayed in the hospital for two days until the swelling went down. The police asked her if she wanted to press charges, but she said no. Her exact words were, “And get killed next time? Please.” I took her to my house. She didn’t want to go home. She was scared Chris would be there waiting for her. She stayed with me for about a week.
I finally got the whole story. Tina had been stealing money from Chris all along. She had been telling me that he been hookin’ her up. But apparently he wasn’t as loose with his money as most of the guys were that we dealt with. He was the stingy type, and Tina wasn’t having that. I asked her why she didn’t just cut him off and find a replacement, and she said that it was sweeter rippin’ him off. That was Tina. She had the craziest logic.
April
The alarm clock went off at exactly five-thirty. I was definitely not used to waking up that early. I had to force myself out of bed. Tina was already in the shower. I ate a bowl of cereal and got dressed. Tina was ready at six sharp, bags packed and everything. I found myself rushing, trying to be out of the house on time to get her to the airport by seven.
“Does he have all of your flight information?” I asked as we drove through the empty early morning streets.
“Yeah,” Tina said.
“I’m gonna miss you!” I whined.
“I’m gonna miss you too, girl, but I gotta get out of here,” she said.
“I know.”
“That’s all right, because I’m gonna be sending for you like every other weekend.”
“Then I’m gonna be forced to deal with Terry,” I said with a frown.
“I don’t know why you don’t like Terry, he’s perfect for you,” Tina said.
“He’s OLD and BALD,” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, but he’s rich and he gets down the way you do.”
“But that’s the problem. I need a man, not a bitch. I’m the bitch.”
“What do you mean?” Tina quizzed.
I looked at Tina with confusion in my eyes. “I didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Terry likes it up the butt.”
“Oh, my God! No, you didn’t tell me!”
“Girl,
“Oh, my God!” Tina laughed.
“That’s the only way he could cum. I begged him to put it in me, but he wasn’t into that,” I explained.
“Um, um, um. Well, I’m glad Derrek ain’t like that.”
Tina’s face looked a lot better, but she still had bruises. She was wearing a pair of big Gucci glasses to cover her eyes and the tops of her cheeks. Her top lip was still swollen but a whole lot smaller than what it was in the hospital. She acted as if the incident with Chris didn’t bother her, but I knew it did. I didn’t try to beat anything out of her, though. I just decided to be there for her.
“Awww, take care of yourself,” I moaned as I hugged Tina tight.
Tears were forming in my eyes. Even though Tina wasn’t going to be gone forever, the thought of her leaving me here in Philly to fend for myself was scary, especially with all the drama that was going on.
“Don’t you dare cry. We gonna be on the phone every day like normal,” Tina said. “And we gonna see each other at least twice a month, I swear,” she continued.
I gave Tina one last hug and watched her walk off into the airport. I got back into my car and drove off. I was on my own.
Tina called me as soon as she got to L.A. to let me know she was safe. Derrek was happier than a cat in a birdcage to have her there with him for such an extended period of time. He got on the phone and joked that I better get on the plane and come out there too because Tina was never coming back. I just giggled.
With Tina gone, I had a lot of time to think. There were no parties, concerts, or bars to distract me. Tariq was out of my life, so I had no cuddle buddy, and O was busy getting high and sellin’ dope. He was at a point where he was moving sixty thousand pounds a week. He had money in five states and twelve cities. He had houses in Delaware and one in Jersey, a town house in D.C., and a loft in New York. I was sure he had girls in all of those places too, or maybe boys, who knew? But I didn’t care. He was paying all my bills and maintaining my wardrobe. I couldn’t complain.
I spent one Sunday afternoon reminiscing and putting things into perspective. I got up out of my king-sized poster bed and dragged my feet across my mink rug. I went into my walk-in closet and retrieved some photo albums from an old suitcase I had hiding behind all my clothes. I pushed a pile of shoes to the other side of the closet and sat in the middle of the floor. The first album I opened had pictures of me when I was just a baby. Times my mom and dad took me to the zoo and the circus or just times we all spent at our house. There were pictures of me in the bathtub, taking my first steps, all the way up to me on my first bike. I just smiled at the sight of myself so young and innocent. Those were the days, I thought, when life was so simple, when my mom and dad were happily married, before I started messing shit up. It made me cry.
I wished I could go back to those days. Nobody even knew I was gay, except for my dad, according to my mom. She said my dad knew something was wrong when I started having more girl friends than guy friends and when I showed a strong interest for fashion. She claimed that was the reason he left us. I’ll never forget the day she told me that.
