A Secret To Treasure

Mon'Keese Brooks

It was Sunday and I had nothing to do. A few of my old potnas had reached out, but I didn't feel like hanging in the hood. A couple of guys from the team wanted to hit the scene, but I really just wanted to chill. On the other hand, a week had passed, and I couldn't stop thinking about Treasure and babydoll. I was trying to be respectful with the way that I approached her being that she was in a relationship. Yet, the devil on my shoulder was telling me ¨fuck that nigga.¨ I know that dude wasn't treating her right, I saw that with my own two eyes. Fuck it, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. I pulled out my phone and FaceTimed her. My heart beat out of my chest when the call started connecting.

Babydoll appeared on my screen. A sly smile spread across her face when her eyes connected with mines.

"Hey, My Baby Doll!" I spoke softly.
"Keeeeeez! Keeeeeez! Hi Keeez." She lit up with excitement as she waved. I didn't even realize she knew my name.
"What are you over there doing? Where's your mommy?"
"YouTube Keez. Mommy! MOMMY! Keez." She called out running with the phone. "Mommy doing work. You wanna talk to Day?"
"No babydoll, I wanna talk to you."
She had to be already in route. I heard him ask her where she was going with her mom's phone before he appeared on the screen. There was an awkward silent stare off between the two of us.
"Whats up? Tell Treasure to come grab the phone" I wasn't trying to be friendly nor respectful. I needed him to know that his spot in Treasure's life was up for grabs.
"Not shit. Treasure busy, right now. Lemme see if she got a second." He said before disappearing from the screen, calling out Treasure's name, and walking in her direction.

"You told me y'all saw that nigga again. You ain't say shit about y'all chopping it up. Don't make me tear this bitch down because you being sneaky." He said in a hushed aggressive tone.
"What you talking about DayQuan? I gotta get these orders out, I don't have time to play games with you!" She snapped.
"You don't know what I'm talking about? What's this?" He said throwing the phone at her.
"Don't be throwing my phone! It better not be crack-"She froze up when she saw me on the screen. "Keese. Um, Hey?"
"Don't let that nigga get you fucked up!" Roared from the background followed by the slam of a door.

"Everything good? I wouldn't have called if I knew it would be a problem." I lied, sympathetically.
"Everything is fine." She replied hesitantly. "This was just a little unexpected."
"I know, I just wanted to hit you up and see what y'all are up too. I think I interrupted Babydoll's YouTube time and possibly family time." I added.
She snickered, "YouTube, definitely. Family time?! What's that? I'm in here working. Key and I have been in the house all weekend because I got swamped with orders that I need to get sent out by tomorrow. I'm almost finished."
"Well, if you and Babydoll want to get out of the house, it's still early. I haven't been to the zoo since high school. Let go! It's a beautiful day." I offered.
I saw the hesitation in her eyes, but I could also tell that she was willing. I'm guessing keeping the peace in her household was holding her back. After a few seconds, she agreed. She said she needed an hour to get ready, so she'd meet me at the zoo in an hour and a half. It was almost 11:30, we agreed to meet up at 1. Disconnecting the call, I sat back and smiled.
I was happier than a kid on Christmas Day.