16. Empress
Chapter Sixteen
EMPRESS
“You hurt her and me, Melvin.” I cried looking into his dark eyes trying to read them the best that I could.
I hated seeing my sister cry but what made it all fucked up was how I had to hide my true feelings.
I think he hurt me worse, and I wanted to make that clear before my sister sent the gang after him.
“Baby, Queen won’t believe me, but you have got to believe me.
Yes, she is my wife and a couple of years back she gave me the okay to do me.
She is fighting cancer, that’s why I got to find her.
We haven’t been together for a long time; she doesn’t deserve to die brutally.
You know that is what Queen will do to her.
” I knew what my sister was all about, and I stood behind her a hundred percent when it came to her punishing those who crossed the gang.
“She doesn’t look sick Melvin! She’s pregnant with your baby and she looks healthy.” I argued while thinking back of the pictures Queen had shown me.
“She wants her family to have a piece of her when she leaves. What the fuck? Empress, you really sitting here not believing me? Your man? The person you claim you want to be with?” My mind felt confused, I wanted to believe him to make the hurt go away.
I kept thinking about different shit like, what if what he was saying were true?
I loved Melvin more than my young self and anyone around me which was wrong on so many levels.
He listened to my fears and how I truly felt about a lot of shit.
Things that Sovereign didn’t take the time out to listen to because she was always busy trying to sacrifice her own life for the both of us.
I felt like shit, but I couldn’t stop the love that I had for Melvin.
How would I even be able to be with this man without my sister killing us.
The more I sat and listened to him plead his case with me before he plead his case with my sister the more, I became worried and scared.
I couldn’t imagine my life without this man.
I was willing to sacrifice it all just to be with him even if it meant keeping our relationship a secret and away from the world.
Nobody had the right to judge me. Everything happens for a reason and Melvin reasoning for liking me and I liking him couldn’t be explained properly. I guess sometimes the very thing that’s forbidden becomes enjoyable to sinful souls.
“You listening to me Empress?” I looked into his eyes as his callous hands engulfed my soft trembling hands.
“I don’t even know what to do Mel, I don’t want you getting hurt or killed.
We both know Sovereign is powerful as hell and she has the money to move shit around.
” My breathing was constricted like I was being smothered.
I saw my sister in action, she could be very treacherous.
I saw the evil in her eyes and watched her kill men without even blinking.
I watched her track down each man that ever violated her as a young teen.
She tortured them with a vengeance until their souls begged out for mercy.
Half the shit she did that I saw, would keep me up at night replaying in my head. Sovereign acted like she was the most-high. It was like the more money we made the more power driven she became.
“I’m willing to sacrifice my life, Empress. I will never flip on you though; I love you too much. I know I fucked up, but I can’t leave this earth with you thinking that I betrayed you and lied about how I feel.” He squeezed my hands, and I could feel the truth revealing itself.
“Do you love Sovereign?” It was a question I always asked, and it was a sick one too. I expected him to love my sister as well, she deserved someone to love her just as much. I was willing to come in second to her with Melvin. Sovereign endured things from a teenager that I wouldn’t wish on adults.
“Yes, I love Sovereign. You know how she is Empress; she will never believe my side of the story.” That was true, once Sovereign came up with her own understanding of things, nobody could change her line of thinking.
“We have to plan something, Mel. I swear I would die if something was to happen to you.” He released my hand and wiped the tears from my face that I couldn’t stop from falling.
“I want you to be the one to take me to her. Sovereign is very vindictive when she feels like she has been crossed. In her mind, I have done the unthinkable. She won’t kill me right away; she got enough money to torture me for a couple of days and then end me once she feel like her revenge has been fulfilled.
In the time of me being captured, we need to put a huge dent in her pockets then move fast to help me escape. ” I immediately shook my head no.
“I can’t steal from my sister, Melvin! How the hell will I help you escape?” I questioned giving him a confused look.
“We have to, right now she worth a whole lot of money. Money moves mountains Em, just listen! We break down her pockets, so I can have enough money to survive when you help set me free. I know in my heart that Sovereign will torture me and try to hold me captive. You don’t know that dark side of Queen.
I watched her hold niggas for weeks until they were begging her to take their lives.
I watched niggas end themselves in front of her just to be put out of misery.
Its so much to your sister that you don’t know.
Just hear a nigga out, ok?” I nodded my head then crossed my legs Indian style.
I had to put my feelings to the side and really listen because if it meant his survival then I was down to do whatever to help him.
“Queen is going to play shit cool; I have to keep going around her and you for maybe a week or two before she sends one of y’all.
She might lie and say she wants me to make a drop to the warehouse that we store product and guns.
Up until she make her move on me, we will be able to move shit around like the most of the money that she keeps in her safe.
” He paused and lit his cigarette. I shook my head because I always told Queen to open up a bank account.
She had a lot of hidden places for cash.
She claimed she didn’t want the feds watching her, so she didn’t trust banks.
I had a bank account and I saved money up constantly just to have for whatever I needed.
“I can handle the money part and I got a couple loyal niggas on the team. Most of them niggas is gone have to sacrifice their lives for me once this shit blow up. What I need from you, is to get in good with that nigga Murk’um.
Don’t look like that, Empress. This shit important!
I need you to get closer with that nigga.
I see how he looks at you, he a weak ass nigga and pussy will convince him to do whatever it is that you want him to do.
He will play a major role in helping you.
" I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I felt like if we thoroughly planned this out properly with no hiccups that everything would work out and be done with.
I also had another feeling that told me that I should have just picked up the gun that I had on my nightstand and just ended Melvin.
I couldn’t do that; I just knew like hell that somehow some way this shit would all come back and bite me in the ass.
For Melvin, I was willing to chance that.
He was my first love and although it was wrong on so many levels.
Love didn’t disappear in thin air just because it wasn’t traditional.
I loved my sister without a doubt, I would lay down and die for her.
When our parents left, we were all we had.
Sovereign stepped up when most kids her age wouldn’t have.
“Its really dangerous, I just know in my heart that it will work. I need you and I need for my wife to have that baby. The least I can do is fulfil her wishes before she dies, Empress. You do understand right baby?” He stared deep into my eyes; I remained silent before I nodded my head up and down with out giving him a verbal yes.
My stomach started to ache; fear started rising inside of me.
My loyalty felt torn between two people.
Melvin wasn’t blood but he was considered my first love.
I wish back then I could change that entire conversation, I wish that I could have picked my gun up and killed Melvin myself.
I followed everything this nigga told me to do.
The only thing that he did for me was flip the script and black male me a year later.
I still couldn’t get over the fact that he took his daughter and sold her for more money.
It didn’t hurt me at first when I kidnapped her.
It bothered me hearing my sister cry over that little girl.
The last time I heard Queen cry was when our parents left.
I bonded with Princess; I considered her my daughter too.
It didn’t bother me because I just knew I would still be able to sneak off and be with her since her dad would finally have her.
Melvin didn’t see the shit that way, he got rid of her fast confusing me more and showing me how evil he truly was.
At first, he lied and said she was with family, but when I refused to steal more money he crushed me by saying that he would sell Princess and make a killing off of her.
I didn’t know what the hell this nigga was using all the money that he had stolen from Sovereign.
I didn’t even know where the man really stayed.
Each time we met was on the outskirts of the city.
He would leave the state and pop back up demanding.
Melvin was more obsessed with Sovereign then anything.
He would ask me questions about Queen, ask for pictures then get mad when he would find out that she was fucking multiple different niggas.
As more time passed, I finally fell out of love with him and saw him for who he truly was.
Murk’um and I got closer than close, and I kept trying to find ways to end Melvin.
Each time I had the opportunity I froze up.
I couldn’t explain why I froze up; I just did.
The fear of doing it just had me stuck. Now I let things get out of hand, it felt like I was running out of time.
It was only a matter of time, when all of this shit backfired on me and knocked me down hard.
I was tired of kicking money out to this nigga and going through the troubles of keeping him at bay.
It felt like I was constantly looking over my shoulders, living in fear.
Which wasn’t cool at all. I looked over at Murk’um and felt secure in his bed.
Picking up my phone, I went to Queen’s number and just stared at her contact name.
I often contemplated making that call to her for us to meet and for me to confess.
I always backed out of that because it was too late.
I knew Sovereign loved me but was it enough to keep her from killing me once she found out all the shit that I had done. I was apart of the reason to a lot of her troubles. Down to her taking a big loss on the money she had before me, and Melvin plotted hard against her.
“Lay down Clapback, I hate when you do that shit. It’s our off day and you up fighting with your thoughts and shit.
Let shit be what it is until it changes and faces you.
” Murk’um pulled me down next to him and spooned me.
My sleep was always chopped up. I could sleep for a hour or two but would wake up battling my own thoughts.
I stayed spinning shit a hundred times and my head trying to reason with myself.
That’s how it felt when you had demons riding your back all day. I would pray but I’ve done so many foul things along with Sovereign that I knew for a fact God would not be listening to us. When you made your bed, you had to lay in it.
“I got to make some shit right before its too late, what stresses me the most is I don’t know how.” My brows knitted together; I was trying my hardest to fight back the tears that somehow already escaped.
“Look at me.” I turned slowly until I was laying on my side looking at Murk’um. His eyes bored into mine. His hands gliding up and down my body slowly, I shut my eyes and tried to relax my scattered nerves.
“It’s too late to double back now, let that shit go.
On the real Empress, you got to let it go.
I done asked you several times did you want to plan a way to kill that nigga and each time you say some bullshit.
So, it confuses me how you be around here most days acting like a fuckin’ zombie.
I’m not trying to be mean or no shit like that.
I’m just being real, if you not trying to plot a way to kill this nigga then stopped stressing yourself over him.
We got bigger shit to focus on, you feel me? ”
I nodded my head because I couldn’t reveal my whole hand without revealing the next person dear to me hand. If I revealed more of what I knew about the whole situation, then bloodshed would spread and my life would not only be threatened by my sister but my Abuela too.