Read Online I Gave Him My Heart by Krystal Armstead - Free Book Online Page B

because he was putting his needs before mine. He knew I missed Nina. There were plenty of nights that I called him up, crying because I missed her. There were plenty of nights that I held London in my arms, crying, just looking at her because she reminded me of the fun I had that summer with Nina and Ricque’s crew. I knew Niq’ wanted to be around his kids, but he was pissing me off because he was letting Peanut use his kids as leverage. Whenever she called him, asking him to do anything, he always would. Why? Because if he didn’t, the bitch would tell him she was going to take his ass to court. She knew that nigga was going to be rich one day. Child support was something he didn’t want to get stuck with, so whatever the bitch needed, he gave it to her, whether it involved the kids or not. He swore up and down that he wasn’t having sex with her, but it was only a matter of time. I was tired of playing second to her. At first, I didn’t mind Niq’ stopping by the bitch’s house from time to time to see the kids. He really loved those little girls. And Peanut knew it, too. Peanut didn’t know anything about my relationship with her baby daddy, and after a while, I started to feel like the side chick. The bitch would call the nigga over at all times of the night, claiming that one of the twins couldn’t sleep if he didn’t sing her to sleep. So, when Niq’ said he wanted to stay in California, I chucked up the deuces on the nigga.
    Aunt Toni held the newspaper up to her face. “Ricque Cole is going to be Charlotte in two weeks!” she exclaimed, winking at me. She lowered the paper to see the “really, Aunt Toni?” expression on Nina’s face.
    I laughed out loud. “We rollin’ or what, Nina?”
    Nina looked at me like she wanted to smack my head from my body. “Y’all are both trippin’.”
    I looked at her, laughter subsiding a little. I knew the reason why she avoided Ricque. That girl wanted that boy more than anything. We were nineteen-years-old. She hadn’t seen or heard from that boy in four years. He stayed away to protect her from his ruthless family, but she stayed away from him to protect her secret. She didn’t want him to know she’d had an abortion, unknowingly pregnant with twins, killing one, leaving the other disabled. Don’t think that girl wouldn’t walk all the way to Charlotte to see that boy if that was what it took. When that boy left her, he took a piece of her with him. He’d awakened something in that girl from the first time she saw his face in person. I felt bad for my cousin, and I even felt bad for Ricque. Just about every song that he wrote had something to do with his encounter with Nina. And he was still showing off that tattoo he got back in 1998 that had her signature underneath it. He still loved her. The nigga had released three albums in those four years, and he dedicated every last album to his “Little Nina.”
    “It’s not your fault what happened to those babies, honey.” Aunt Toni sat the newspaper down on the dinner table.
    Nina just looked at her aunt. “How is it not my fault, Aunt Toni?”
    Aunt Toni shook her head at her niece, eying her niece’s short, curly tresses. She remembered Nina’s long, intense mane just like I did. Five years had gone by, and Nina’s hair had grown to meet her chin. It was super cute, but it still wasn’t what it was back in San Diego.
    “Your bitch-ass mama is the one who made you have that abortion, Nina.” Aunt Toni watched Nina shake her head. “She made you give up that baby! She was your mother; you had no choice than to do what she said! This woman has abused you all of your life! Do you know how long I’ve been asking your parents for you? I’ve been asking for you ever since you were three-years-old, and I went to visit you for Christmas. You had a black and blue handprint wrapped around your arm, Nina! I damn near tried to snatch your mama’s head from her shoulders that day! Every holiday that I came