Zaria
While June and Dio were going back and forth, I spotted Samara’s mother rushing across the open field.
Without hesitation or warning, I ran after her.
I didn’t have time for the arguing. I wanted to do what we had come to do and leave.
I had a baby in the hospital and one who was in a shootout.
I was simply ready to end all of this shit.
Our life had been like a movie since day one, and instead of people watching our story unfold, I wanted to be the one who watched.
I was ready for rainy days on my deck while June and I sipped tea.
For Samara to come home from college for the holidays and crawl on the couch to snuggle beside me.
For Peace and Savior to tussle over toys while June sat back and watched.
For us to grow old together without the shootouts, without a family trying to destroy us, without someone needing to be saved.
I was simply a mother who wanted to see her family grow without all the extras.
Before she could enter her cabin, I slowly came up behind her, sticking the nose of my choppa into her back. “Bitch, I warned you. Now, where is she?” I gritted.
Her body stilled. Then she slowly turned around. The innocence she held slowly disappeared as she began to remove the cloth from her head. “The name is Shantel. Use it!” she snapped.
“Oh, so we do have a little hood under there,” I said, pointing my gun from side to side.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Fear is not of Babylon but of the Mighty One.”
The sound of June approaching took my eyes off her for a second. “Goddamn, Z! I didn’t know you could run that fast.”
Eyes on her.
The sounds of faint screams echoed from afar.
“That’s Mars!” Dio yelled and took off.
June, go! I got this. You can’t protect me forever.
Fuck, Z! The guys are all around here. If you need help, they are here. Zeus isn’t too far.
I knew he held this fear that I couldn’t take care of myself, but I could.
I wanted him to know that he could breathe without worrying that something would happen to me.
It was the same fear and breath I held every time he went out the door.
June and I had a deep connection, but it was also suffocating for both of us.
The love we shared was unlike any other, but it also trapped both of us.
However, tonight we both needed to let go to save our daughter.
I placed my focus back on Shantel as she stood there with a smirk. “The hero Calloways. The shero who’s dying to be the mother of the year, yet has a son who is dying in the hospital. Go figure.”
My lips curled as I aimed my gun at her face. “You know nothing about my fucking son. You know nothing about being heroic. This place is nothing but a front for sorry-ass mothers who make excuses not to parent! And how do you know about my child?”
She glanced around. “We’re everywhere. This isn’t the stopping point.
Our community and beliefs extend beyond these grounds.
We’re at your local stores, schools, and hospitals.
Just because everyone isn’t masked in garments like mine doesn’t mean they are not followers of Shine Your Light.
So, before you fix your lips to say anything to me, you think about that.
You stand there and spew all types of hateful things, but suppose you made a decision you thought would be better for your child, then later realized it wasn’t the best decision?
How would you make up for that? Huh? How would you explain or help your child see that everyone makes mistakes?
” She paused. “No parent is perfect; we all make mistakes. You choose what lengths you would go to get your child to see the light, and I choose mine.”
Closer.
“Miss me with the sob story, Shantel. The only thing you’re right about is that we all make mistakes.
However, it isn’t getting them to see the light.
It’s you as a parent understanding you fucked up, and you need to fix what you broke by being understanding and not forcing shit on a child who’s already destroyed inside. ”
Closer.
“Next time you decide you want to insert my child in a conversation, you’d better talk about him nicely, bitch. See, you might’ve dropped the ball with your child, but I’m not doing it with mine.”
I took the butt of the gun and hit her in her face, sending her head flying backward. Gunshots rang out near a white house that sat on a small hill not too far away.
“Take me to her,” I gritted.
She held her bloody nose and led the way. I was going to let her see Samara one last time, and before she could even utter a word, I was sending bullets through her.