12. Corinthians
Corinthians
“You can't tell me what to do,” I said, staring at my daddy. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and his eyes narrowed. “You can't tell me what to do.”
“I can and will, Corinthians,” he argued as he stood. “I am your father. What I say goes!”
“You let him hurt me!” I yelled, not caring who or what would hear us.
I was tired, my body hurt, my private parts were swollen, and green stuff was on the tissue when I wiped.
Mommy took me to the doctor that Robert had at the warehouse.
They gave me a shot and told me to sit down for a few days.
That was almost two weeks ago. I knew Robert would eventually come back and want me to be with him.
I wasn’t going back there; I couldn’t go back there.
“You told me that you would always protect me!”
The door opened, and Robert walked into the house. He came and went as he wanted. Never knocking, never caring who was here. He acted like he owned the house.
“What’s the problem?” Robert sat on the couch, crossed his legs at the ankle, and watched Daddy and me. He smelled like cigarettes that weren’t cigarettes. When we didn’t answer, Robert turned his attention to Daddy. “Ruben?”
“She ain’t trying to go,” Daddy answered with a sigh. He reached for his belt, but I didn’t care. He could whoop me all he wanted; I wasn’t changing my mind. He took his belt off and started wrapping it around his hand. “You got one more chance, Corinthians; get your ass to that door.”
“No,” I said, watching him. “I’m not going.”
“Pet,” Robert said slowly. I hated that name, hated when he spoke, hated that he thought it was okay to do the things he did to me. “Look at me.”
I continued watching Daddy; he hadn’t moved yet, but I knew that he was coming, and when he did, I was going to fight.
“Pet!” Robert yelled and slammed his hand on the table, making me jump.
And Daddy too; he didn’t think I saw it, but I did.
He was scared of Robert. Slowly, I turned my head to look at Robert.
“Let me show you something.” He straightened his leg, reached behind him, and took something out of his back pocket.
It was a Polaroid picture; he flipped it over so that I could see who.
My cousins' smiling faces stared at me. They were at the boxing arena that Daddy had first taken me to before all this started. “Your cousins have started lessons. How those lessons go depends on your next move. You either get in my car, with no fight or hassle, and they continue never seeing my special gym, or you don’t, and I have them in there by the end of the day.”
“Madea and Granddaddy-“
“Will be dead,” Robert cut me off, shaking his head.
“I will kill anyone who tries to get in my way of having you. Do you understand me, Pet? Your cousins and grandparents will be buried together in a family plot before I let you go.” He stood, dropped the picture on the table, and put his hand out.
“Which decision are you making?” I stared at his hand for a second, then sighed.
“Go Corinthians,” Daddy said, nodding. “You won't be long, just a few hours.”
Robert wiggled his fingers at me. “You have five seconds to make up your mind,” Robert said. “If you don’t, then it’s option two as the only answer. Logan has already got his sights on a few of your cousins anyway.”
I took his hand.
***
“Corinthians?” Madea stepped around the car with a smile on her face.
I wanted to jump up and run into her arms, but I didn’t move.
“Come here, baby girl,” she said, smiling.
She opened her arms wide, and I looked over at Daddy to see that he was watching us.
He’d warned me before we pulled up that if Madea or Granddaddy started asking too many questions, he would take us home.
I didn’t want to go home. Daddy pushed me towards Madea, and I ran as fast as I could to her.
When her arms wrapped around my body, I wanted to scream out in pain, but I didn’t.
I missed her too much to care about the pain I felt.
“Oh, baby girl, you’re getting so big!” She lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around her body. “How are you?”
“I’m tired, Madea,” I softly told her.
“Oh, girl, then you can lie down in my bed while I talk to your parents,” Madea said as she turned and headed back to her house.
“Every time I call or stop by your place, you’re at some damn practice.
When do you get a chance to be a kid, huh?
” We walked up the stairs, and she called out for Granddaddy.
“I’m here, Mary; you ain’t gotta yell,” Granddaddy chuckled as he opened the door. As Madea walked into the house, I watched as Mama and Daddy followed behind us. “Oh, if it ain’t my disappearing daughter.”
“Hey, Daddy,” Mama said, laughing. She smiled at him, and for a minute, everything felt normal. “How you been?”
“I can’t complain now, can I?” Granddaddy replied. “Where’s Psalms?”
“At her friend's house,” Mama answered, waving him off before he could start up complaining. Granddaddy kissed his teeth, then closed the screen door on them before they could walk into the house. “Daddy!”
“Go get my grandbaby,” he said, shaking his head. “Y’all ain’t welcome here until my grandbaby is here too.”
“Daddy!”
“Don’t get to calling my damn name like you ain’t been saying it your whole life,” Granddaddy told Mama. “Go on and get that baby. I haven’t seen her in a month of Sundays and a few Tuesdays.”
“She’s busy,” Daddy said, shaking his head.
Madea sat on the couch, rubbed my back, and sighed. “Make her unbusy, and if she's mad, tell her to come tell me herself,” Madea told them. “Close the door, Gabriel. They’ll be back.”
“Mama!”
Granddaddy closed the other door in their faces, and I held on to Madea tighter. Psalms wasn’t at a friend's house; she was with Jonathan and had been since last night.
“Alright now, you want to take a nap in my room until your parents get back with your sister?” Madea asked. She tried to pull back, but I held on tight.
“No, ma’am,” I said, shaking my head. “I want to stay right here. With you.”
“Alright then,” Madea laughed and held on to me. “We will stay right here for as long as you need.”
***
“Didn’t I tell you your parents don’t run shit?” Jonathan yelled at Mama. He grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her to him. “What did I say about my time with Psalms?” He was so mad that he was shaking, and spit was flying from his mouth. “Huh? What the fuck did I say, Angel?”
“That she was with you until you said otherwise,” Mama mumbled her answer.
“And did I say otherwise?” Jonathan questioned her, and Mama shook her head. “That’s right, I didn’t. So what does that mean for you, Angel?”
“I have to replace her for the time you missed,” Mama replied.
I looked over at Daddy, who was busy talking to Robert.
He didn’t care that she was getting yelled at or that she was in trouble.
The entire car ride over, Mama had begged for Daddy to talk to Jonathan, and he said no.
He told her that since it was her parents who wanted to see Psalms, it would be her who had to deal with Jonathan and whatever punishment he decided on.
“That’s right,” Jonathan laughed. He pushed Mama away from him, making her fall to the ground, and shook his head. “You interrupted a training session, so that means that you will deal with all the punishment that Psalms would have to.”
“But-“
“No buts, Angel,” Jonathan said calmly. “Get on your knees.” His hands went to his belt, and Mama looked over at me standing in the middle of the ring.
“My daughter is right here!” Mama said, pointing at me.
Jonathan barely looked my way before he shrugged.
“Not my concern what Robert does with his Pet,” he said.
He unbuckled his belt, took it off, and stepped around Mama.
“This punishment might teach her a lesson as well.” Jonathan never took his eyes off me as he looped the belt around Mama’s neck and then pulled it.
Her hands went to the belt to try to loosen the pressure, but Jonathan wasn’t letting go. “You want your mama to live?”
“Pet!” Robert called out, but I didn’t take my eyes off Jonathan. He was choking Mama, and still, Daddy did nothing. “Pet! Come here!” Mama’s eyes started rolling in the back of her head, and her hands dropped from around the belt. “Let Angel go, Jonathan.”
“Lesson one.” Jonathan laughed as he loosened the belt. Mama dropped to the ground, coughing, and rolled to her side. “Your daughter takes her lessons better.” He stepped over her and walked to the edge of the ring. “You’re lucky your owner called for me to stop; otherwise, you’d be down a parent.”
“I wouldn’t have cried,” I told him, then walked away.