17. Ream
Chapter Seventeen
REAM
I looked at Reaper from across the table and her arms had fallen to the sides of her thighs.
Her face was stuck in a painful, frozen trance as her eyes looked glossed over.
I knew she had mental issues but didn’t get the chance to look deep into what she suffered from and what the effects were.
Seeing the shit firsthand made me feel bad for her and I started to understand why she kept such a hardcore persona.
I didn’t want her to feel embarrassed by the people that were sitting amongst us, so I ordered everyone to get out.
I had Solo stick around to help me out because I didn’t know how to deal with something like this.
I made my way to her as Solo talked on the phone with a doctor, trying to figure out what our next steps with her should be.
I scooped her into my arms and sat down with her in a cradling position as drool seeped from the corners of her mouth.
I didn’t understand how she lived alone and suffered from something that had her so stuck.
“She don’t got no medication in her purse.
I think the best thing is to call her father and let him know what’s going on with her.
He got to know how to help her at a time like this.
” I nodded at Solo’s words. I could even tell that he felt bad watching Reaper be in such a frozen stupor.
Before I could bring up the addresses and names along with phone numbers that I had saved in my email of Reaper’s family my mom was calling.
Fear clutched my stomach for the worse, but I answered anyways.
My mom wasn’t the kind of mom that called me on a regular to shoot the breeze.
I was the one who always called her, just to check in on her.
“Yea Ma.” I answered as I listened to her sniffle into the phone. I tapped my foot impatiently and sighed.
“You need to get over to the house as soon as possible. Pops is not doing good at all. God forbid he doesn’t make it through the night, and you haven’t seen him to say your last goodbyes.
I think he is holding on for you.” Clutching the phone tight, she hung up.
I went through my email and found the number I was looking for and dialed it.
“Speak.” His deep baritone voice reminded me of my grandfather’s once strong voice. Right to the point sounding very assertive. You could tell by how he answered the phone, he was a force to be reckoned with.
“How are you sir? I’m calling to-”
“Save the bullshit, I don’t know who the fuck you are so don’t waste my fuckin time asking how I’m doing. I got three kids missing in action, so if you not calling about one of them then get the fuck off my line.” He barked.
“Beast! That’s not how you talk to people!” I could hear a woman scolding him in the background.
“This my muhfuckin’ phone Kayori, don’t tell a nigga how the fuck to talk.” He fussed back.
“I got your daughter Re…umm Mattea, she seems to be having an episode.” I didn’t know what else to say, I could hear him breathing hard into the phone. I hated that I almost slipped up and called her by her nickname. I wasn’t sure if her dad knew her by Reaper.
“Is this Hakeem, her best friend?” he questioned acting as if he didn’t just hear what the hell, I just told him.
“No, this is Christian Powers.” Silence, for a couple of seconds. I put my focus on Reaper she was starting to move slow into my arms.
“Powers huh? It’s only one person I know with that name, so I wonder what the fuck my daughter doing with you, nigga?
Don’t even answer that shit, if she was with Hakeem, he knows what to do in a situation like this.
You can’t bring her to my house lil nigga, take her hard-headed ass to Torrance memorial. I’ll get with her there.”
“Beast!” I heard the female voice yell. He had already hung the phone up in my face. I see just where she got her personality from, and it wasn’t her mother. I should’ve called Hakeem, but I thought I would give her family the courtesy of knowing what was going on with her.
I stood up with her in my arms and made my way to the exit of the warehouse.
I would love to stay with her and make sure she was straight, but I had family issues myself that I needed to tend to asap.
Solo opened the back door, I put her in and placed her seat belt on.
Kissing her forehead, I stared at her for a while and placed a gentle kiss to her lips.
It bothered me, for the first time in my life I wanted to heel her and make her feel better.
She needed someone to stay on top of her when it came to her health.
I dropped her off at Torrance memorial and felt bad having to leave.
I made it to my parent’s home in record time since I was the one driving today.
Usually, my driver went the speed limit only going fast if I demanded.
My nerves had been so bad since leaving the Dominican Republic that I wanted to drive myself.
For years everything ran smoothly with no hiccups.
Now it was someone in my team that had become a fuckin’ leak.
When Hector made me aware that the boat had been hit, it took everything inside of me to stay calm.
I wanted to go on a killing spree but had to play things smart.
Before the meeting, I told Solo that he would be in charge while I sorted out everything with my family.
Right now, everyone was suspect. I was committed to playing the background watching everyone moves in the shadows to spot out who had been fucking with the enemy.
My parents always taught me from a youngin’ how to control my emotions and not show what I was thinking.
I drove up the long pathway onto my parent’s estate and parked right in the front.
Before stepping out of my vehicle, Crystal was calling.
“Hey Ream, I made dinner tonight. I wanted to know what time was you coming back home?” She talked timidly because she knew she was doing too much.
Crystal was supposed to be out my house a week ago and here she was on my line talking about some nasty ass food she had made.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I calmed myself.
“Crystal, I’ve been being very nice to you.
You’re smart as fuck, in school, so I know you comprehend the things I say and do.
It’s Thursday, I’ll be at my parent’s estate until Sunday.
If you don’t get all of your things out of my home, by Sunday, you’re going to force me into doing some shit I don’t want to do to you baby.
” I didn’t understand why she didn’t take the keys and all the money I gave her and bounced.
She was forcing my hand to cut her off, people like her that knew a little too much about my personal business ended up getting killed when I did decide to cut them off.
Crystal had a bright future, and I didn’t want to ruin her potential, she was starting to become a thorn in my side.
“Ream baby, please, I love living here with you though and it’s not like I’m in your way.
I told you I’m scared of living alone and I-” I hung up in her face and got out of the car.
I needed to find a new assistant and figure out other work to give Crystal.
My footsteps became heavy as I braced myself and walked up the rest of the driveway.
I noticed multiple cars scattered in the front and knew my uncles and the rest of the little family I had left was inside.
Security stepped aside and let me in, when I entered the front room my favorite cousin Angel hopped up fast and ran into my arms hugging me tight.
The older we got the more distant we became with one another.
It wasn’t because we disliked one another, it simply had to do with the different lifestyles we lived.
My uncle Joel, her father, kept her locked into the books like my mom and father had me.
Every kid in this family was smart, we just all went on different paths as we got older and hung with different people.
“How you been doing? The school still kicking yo’ ass?
” I joked as I let her out of my embrace, she nodded her head and caught me up on everything.
She was sad under the circumstances but happy that we would all be under the same roof for a couple of days until she went back to school.
Angel stayed in school for something, always looking for ways to move up a step higher in her career.
“Where everybody at?” I asked curious, usually everyone kicked it in the family room.
“Well, your dad ran out to the store, and everybody in the kitchen because uncle Cease is in there eating and auntie wants to keep an eye on her food.” She laughed because her and Cease argued all the time, most of the time the arguments were all about food.
No matter where Cease went, he made it a point to raid your kitchen.
He’d eat all your food up and complain when there was no food left for him to eat as if was your fault.
Cease was the type of nigga to go in your kitchen and eat up all your favorite snacks.
“Bet, let me go in there and fuck with them.” I chuckled before walking away.
I started down the long hallway and sighed.
I missed living in this house, it was huge as hell and took you a minute to get to the next part.
When I moved out, I downsized, a lot of people said my house was huge but to me this house wasn’t just an ordinary house.
It was a fucking palace, it was a three-story mini-mansion, with fifteen bedrooms and too many bathrooms to count.
Everything you needed was here, an indoor pool, outside pool, theatre room with a fully loaded gym.
All the amenities you needed my parents had.