Chapter 18 #2
“He’s right,” I agreed. “I’m going to talk to Luca about everything tonight and we will go from there. I’ll call you guys in the morning before you’re off to work, James.”
“You ain’t got to call me. I know what I’m gone do to his ass. Ole ain’t shit ass nigga. Ain’t worth a damn. God probably ashamed of niggas like him. Just running around causing hell like it’s nobody’s business, but now it’s my business. It’s mine, now.”
I’d known James long enough to know that he’d be at it for a minute. I wouldn’t wait around for him to finish his tantrum. The girls and I were going to head to the door as soon as they returned. I nibbled at my ice cream until they did.
By the time we made it to the truck, I was almost finished with it. Though I hated eating in the car, I couldn’t stand the thought of tossing it so I didn’t. Both Emorey and Essence had finished theirs before coming outside. For that, I was thankful.
“You girls buckled in and ready to go?” I looked in my rearview mirror at their smiling faces and asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Essence responded.
“Yup,” Emorey replied.
Of course, she was the ruthless one. She didn’t care what came out of her little mouth. Though I wanted to let her have it sometimes, I loved her spunk. She was the feistiest of the two, and I lived for her shenanigans sometimes. Tonight was one of those times.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
I’d always loved my mother’s neighborhood. It wasn’t the one I’d grown up in, but it still felt like home. Years before I moved away from Channing, she and James had purchased their home. Their block was extremely quiet and had some of the most beautiful, middle-class dwellings in all of Channing.
How you ain’t say you was moving forward?
Honesty hurts when you’re getting older.
I gotta say I’ll miss the way you need me
Yeaaaaaa
I sang along to SZA’s “20 Something” as I tried clearing my head of the millions of thoughts that were flowing through it.
I felt like I’d had the day from hell, and I honestly just wanted it to be over already.
Luca was at my home ready to make amends, and I couldn’t wait until he swallowed me with his warm embrace and love.
I’d apologize until I turned blue in the face to show him just how sorry I really was.
I had projected my bullshit onto him without warning, which was so unfair.
Seeing Scar had thrown me completely off my square, and I had yet to recover when everything with Emorey went down.
I needed to explain that to Luca. That and everything else that was happening in my world at the moment.
How you ain’t say you were getting bored?
Beep.
The familiar beeping sounded in the background, causing me to look up on my dashboard and at my gas hand.
I cringed at the thought of stopping by the gas station, but I refused to chance the twenty miles that were left in my tank.
My apartment was sixteen miles away. There was no way I was testing the mileage or playing so closely to a disastrous end.
I’d needed gas on the way to my mother’s, but assumed I’d leave early enough to stop sooner.
We were nearing the expressway and almost out of the neighborhood, which meant there would be gas stations galore.
Turn for turn, my eyes darted between the road and the gas mileage.
Though it had barely changed because we hadn’t even made it far enough, I still kept an eye on it. I didn’t want any surprises.
Finally, out of the neighborhood, we stumbled upon three gas stations.
The task wasn’t finding one. It was choosing one.
I decided on the closest and on the same side that we were on and pulled into the parking lot.
I pulled up to one of the pumps closest to the gas station entrance and slid out with my card already in my hand.
“Stay put girls. I’m just going to step out and pump the gas, alright?”
“OK.”
Emorey couldn’t respond because she’d already fallen asleep. My little baby was out for the count. She could never hang. The princess definitely needed her beauty rest. My Essence, however, was always up for the adventure.
“Be right back, Es.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I circled the truck and made my way to the pump.
My card slid into the small slot with ease.
I waited for the screen to request its details, but instead, it insisted I went inside to see the cashier.
I felt like my day was still doomed as I knocked on the window that Essence was closest to.
She rolled it down and waited for me to give her instructions.
“Lock the doors. I need to go in and pay for the gas. Is there anything you want out of here?”
“A bag of hot chips. Can I have that?”
“Of course you can.”
Essence was the sweetest and always had been. She reminded me much of the present me. She was the chillest kid one would ever meet. Essence didn’t give me any issues. She did what she knew she was supposed to and kept out of trouble.
“Make sure you get Em something. Or else she’ll be upset when she wakes up.”
Just like me, she was always putting other’s feelings before her own. Emorey would definitely fuss if she didn’t get anything out of the store but I didn’t need Essence worried about that. I’d worry about Little Miss Feisty.
“Don’t I know.” I laughed. “Roll up the window and lock the door. Stay away from the front seat.”
I absolutely hated going inside of the gas station when I didn’t have to, and I hated it even more when the broken card system on the pump was the reason.
See Cashier were two words that made me cringe when they popped up on the screen because I’d use the same card in the store to get the gas that I was trying to get outside. It made no sense.
Ding. Dong .
The bell sounded to alert the cashier that a new customer had walked in. My first stop was the chip aisle where I grabbed Essence a bag of hot chips and Emorey a bag of Cheetos Puffs. When I made it to the counter, the cashier had his face planted in his phone.
“Uh. Um.” I cleared my throat to get his attention.
“My bad. Will this be all for you?” He grabbed the chips from my hand and started ringing them up.
“Uh, no. Actually, I need eighty on pump…” I started, but then stopped to look back at the pump to find out exactly what pump I was on.
Because I couldn’t see over the large racks, I was forced to get a little closer to the door.
The swift movement near my truck caught my attention.
My brows furrowed as my eyes squinted, trying to figure out what was happening.
When I saw both Emorey and Essence’s tiny figures being loaded into the black Yukon that I was far too familiar with, my heart sank.
I pushed the door to the store open as my vocal cords completely shut down on me.
The screams that were in my head simply didn’t come through my mouth.
As fast as I could, I put one foot in front of the other, speeding through the parking lot to get to my girls.
By the time I’d made it to my vehicle, they’d already been stuffed into the other truck.
“HELP!” I found my voice. “HELP!”
WHAM! Dewayne’s fist slammed into my face, dazing me upon impact. I could feel the blood rush from my nose and mouth instantly as my world began to spin. Still managing to keep my balance, I ran toward his truck where my girls were.
I didn’t make it far. His hands wrapped around my hair.
I could feel strand by strand being torn from my head as he pulled me backward and in his direction.
Once I was close enough, his arm went around my neck, and he began to squeeze the life out of me.
My airway was almost completely restricted.
I clawed at his arms, face, and head, trying anything to get him to let me go.
He wouldn’t. Killing me was his intention.
“If I can’t have you, nobody else will. You stupid bitch!”
Those were the only words that came from his mouth before he squeezed even tighter.
I managed to shove my thumb into his right eye, forcing him to let me go.
Before I could make it to my girls, I felt him grab me by the hair again.
This time, he didn’t wrap his arm around my neck; he punched me square in the face while holding my hair in his left hand.
WHAM.
WHAM.
WHAM.
WHAM.
With each blow, I could feel my body growing weaker and weaker. My strength was depleted by the time the fifth blow came. My legs turned into mush. As soon as he released my hair, I hit the ground.
Showing no remorse, Dewayne lifted his size twelve shoes and kicked me in the chest. Seeing that there was no stopping him, my motherly instincts kicked in and my only goal was to save the baby growing inside of me.
Naturally, I balled up, locking my hands against my stomach so that his blows would not carry as much weight on my abdomen area.
WHAM . Another to the chest.
WHAM . One to the side.
WHAM . One to the back.
WHAM . One to the face.
A kick to the face disabled all my efforts to protect myself or my child.
My world began to spin as my sight blurred.
Frozen in place, I no longer had the energy to do anything.
Tears fell from my eyes as I thought of my children, all three of them.
The thought of losing another child pained me.
As Dewayne continued to assault my body, I began to slowly lose consciousness.
My eyelids were swollen shut, forcing me into darkness.
I could hear and feel everything, but I couldn’t see anything.
My end was near. And with the pain I was feeling, I hoped it was quick.
“Aye, dog! Back the fuck up!” I heard a voice yell as it got closer.
“This ain’t yo’ fucking business,” Dewayne responded.
“It is now!” The sound of a gun being cocked could be heard just a few feet away.
I waited for another blow to the body from Dewayne but I felt nothing. Instead, I heard his steps backpedal as he retreated. Seconds later, I heard screeching tires.
“My… my ki—” was all I made out before everything faded into black.