Greystone City
I woke up to my mama callin’ my name like she was crazy.
At first, I thought I was dreamin’ ‘cause her voice kept movin’ in and out while I tried to pull myself from sleep. Then she pushed my room door open and called my name again with more force behind it.
“Sha’Nelle, wake up!” my mama said while standin’ near the doorway. “Why Couture car parked in my damn driveway?”
I blinked a few times until the room came into focus, then pushed myself up against the headboard. “What?”
“His car,” my mama repeated while pointin’ toward the window. “It’s sittin’ right next to yours. Did he come over here last night?”
I frowned and looked toward the window like I would be able to see the driveway through the closed blinds. Couture ain’t tell me he was comin’ over, and he damn sure ain’t have no reason to pull up without callin’ first.
“I’on know, mama,” I answered while reachin’ for my phone. “Maybe he came to surprise me with breakfast or somethin’.”
My mama folded her arms and looked at me like that answer ain’t make no sense to her either. “Then where he at? I been up for twenty minutes, and I ain’t seen him knock on this door.”
I unlocked my phone and checked the screen. There wasn’t no missed calls from Couture and no messages sayin’ he was outside. His name wasn’t nowhere in my notifications. But Renza’s was.
My fingers stopped when I saw the message he sent hours earlier.
Since he the better nigga, go get his ass
For a few seconds, I stared at the words without understandin’ ‘em. My brain was still too sleep-heavy to put the message together with Couture’s car sittin’ in the driveway.
Then everything inside me dropped…
I read the message again while my heart started poundin’ so hard it hurt.
Now Couture’s car was outside my mama’s house, and Renza was tellin’ me to go get him.
“What’s wrong with you?” my mama asked while watchin’ my face. “Why you lookin’ like that?”
I turned my phone facedown against the bed before she could see the message. “Nothin’. I’m just confused.”
The lie came out weak, but I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t tell my mama that there was a real chance Renza’s crazy muthafuckin’ ass flew into Greystone, found Couture and done somethin’ terrible ‘cause I hurt his damn feelin’s.
Renza had already proven what he was capable of.
When I got shot, he went after every person involved and made sure none of ‘em lived long enough to ever hurt me again. I knew that was different. Them folks almost took my life, but Renza ain’t seem like the type to care about the difference once anger took over him.
My stomach twisted so hard that I bent forward and pressed my hand against it.
“What’s wrong?” my mama asked again while steppin’ into the room.
“I said I’m good mama,” I told her, but my voice came out lower than I meant for it to.
She studied me for another second before lettin’ out a breath. “Well, you need to get up and figure out why that man car sittin’ out there. I gotta get ready for work.”
My mama left the room, but I stayed in bed after the door closed behind her.
I couldn’t move…
Every awful possibility ran through my mind at the same damn time. Maybe Renza had shot Couture and left his body in the car. Maybe he cut him up, beat him half to death or done some other sick shit I couldn’t even picture without feelin’ like I was gon’ throw up.
I looked at the message again.
Go get that nigga.
That sounded like Renza knew Couture was alive, but I couldn’t trust it. With him, alive could mean barely breathin’. It could mean broken, bleedin’ or hurt bad enough that the man I knew would never be the same afterward.
I pushed the cover away and put my feet on the floor. The second I stood, my knees felt weak, and I had to grab the edge of the dresser until I felt like I could walk without fallin’.
I pulled on a pair of shorts and grabbed the first shirt I saw. I ain’t stop to fix my hair or put on shoes. I slid my feet into some sandals and left the room while holdin’ my phone tight enough for the edges to press into my palm.
My mama was in the kitchen when I walked past, and she turned toward me with a coffee cup in her hand.
“You see him?” she asked.
“I’m finna go look,” I answered without stoppin’.
The mornin’ light hit my face when I stepped outside, and Couture’s car sat right there in the driveway beside mine. My chest hurt worse when I saw it.
The car looked normal from where I stood. The windows was up, nothing was broken and there wasn’t no blood on the outside that I could see. Still, the fact that it was here without him standin’ beside it made the whole thing feel wrong.
I moved closer with every part of me tellin’ me not to.
I looked through the driver’s window first, but the seat was empty. The passenger side was empty too, and I couldn’t see nothin’ in the backseat except darkness and a jacket tossed across one side.
“Couture?” I called while lookin’ around the yard.
Nobody answered. I walked around the front of the car and checked the other side. The doors looked closed, and there still wasn’t no sign of him.
Then the car moved…
At first, I thought I imagined it. The back end gave the smallest shake, then stopped before I could fully process what I saw. I stood there frozen.
A few seconds later, it moved again. The sound that came out of me was halfway between a scream and a gasp. I slapped my hand over my mouth and backed away, but my eyes stayed locked on the trunk. Somethin’ was clearly inside it.
My whole body started shakin’ as I moved toward the driver’s door. I pulled the handle and found it unlocked. When I opened it, Couture’s keys was sittin’ in the seat.
That scared me more ‘cause it meant whoever left the car here wanted me to open it. Renza wanted me to see exactly what he had done.
I picked up the keys and stared at the button for the trunk. My thumb moved over it while every terrible image came back. I could press it and find Couture dead. I could see somethin’ I would never be able to erase from my mind.
The car shook again, harder this time, and I heard a low sound come from inside. He was alive, and that was enough to make me press the button.
The trunk popped open, but I couldn’t make myself walk around to it right away. I stood beside the driver’s door with my hand pressed against my chest, tryna pull enough air into my lungs to move.
“Couture?” I called, my voice breakin’ around his name.
Another muffled sound came from the trunk, so I forced myself around the car. The second I looked inside, my hand flew over my mouth again.
Couture was curled inside the trunk with his wrists tied behind him. Thick duct tape covered his mouth, and his clothes was wrinkled and damp from sweat. His face looked tired, pissed and lost all at the same time, but what hurt me the most was seein’ how vulnerable Renza had made him.
Couture was never a weak man. He carried himself with confidence, handled his business and always looked like he knew exactly what he was doin’. Now he was trapped inside his own car, tied up and left in front of my mama’s house like some package Renza wanted delivered.
The humiliation of it hit me before Couture ever said a word.
“Oh my God,” I whispered while steppin’ closer. “Oh my God, Couture.”
His eyes found mine, and the look in ‘em nearly broke me. He looked relieved to see me, but confusion was all over his face too. I could tell he had no idea why this happened, who did it or how he ended up here.
“I’m finna get you out,” I promised while reachin’ toward his face. “Just hold on. I’m finna get somethin’ to cut this shit.”
I ran back toward the house so fast that one of my sandals nearly slipped off.
“Mama!” I yelled as soon as I got through the door. “Mama, where the scissors at?”
She came out the kitchen lookin’ irritated until she saw my face. “What happened?”
“Just get the scissors,” I told her while lookin’ through drawers. “Please, Mama! I need some scissors right now!”
“What you cuttin’?” she asked while settin’ her cup down.
“Mama, just get ‘em!”
She finally opened another drawer and grabbed the big kitchen scissors before followin’ me outside. I was already halfway down the walkway when I heard her footsteps behind me.
Soon as she reached the trunk and saw Couture, she stopped so fast I nearly ran into her.
“Oh, Lawd!” my mama shouted while one hand flew to her chest. “What happened to that boy?”
“I don’t know,” I lied while takin’ the scissors from her.
My mama stared at me. “How you don’t know when he in our driveway?”
“I said I don’t know, Mama,” I replied while leanin’ into the trunk. “Just help me get him out.”
I started cuttin’ through the zip ties around Couture’s wrists. They was pulled so tight that the skin under ‘em looked red and swollen, and I had to move slow so I ain’t cut him too.
“It’s okay,” I told him while workin’ the scissors underneath the plastic. “I got you. Just give me a second.”
Couture kept his eyes on me, and that only made the guilt in my stomach worse. I knew who did this. I knew why he did it and I was standin’ here actin’ confused ‘cause sayin’ Renza’s name out loud would open a whole other problem none of us was ready for.
The first tie snapped, then the second one loosened enough for Couture to pull his hands free. He moved ‘em in front of him and winced while the blood started flowin’ back into his fingers.
I reached toward the tape across his mouth. “This might hurt.”
Couture nodded once.
I peeled the tape away as careful as I could, but it still pulled at his skin and beard. His face twisted, and my mama muttered another prayer beside me.
Once the tape was off, Couture sucked in a deep breath and turned his head away for a second like he needed time to understand that he was really free.
“Can you move?” I asked him.
“Yeah,” Couture answered, but his voice sounded rough and dry.
I reached for his arm while my mama helped from the other side. Couture pushed himself upright, then climbed out the trunk with his legs movin’ stiff from bein’ folded up so long.