72. Corinthians
Corinthians
After I filled a few syringes with boiling water, I went to the tubes connected to his chest. I pushed the first syringe filled with water into his right lung.
Robert gasped, but I didn’t stop until I was finished.
Once that was complete, I used the empty syringe and connected it to the other tube and pulled air from his left lung.
I repeated my actions. Being mindful to remember how much water I was putting into his right lung to take air from his left.
By the fifth syringe, Robert was gasping for air and drowning.
His body didn't know how he was dying; it just knew he was.
He fought against the straps, and all I could do was smile.
He had no control over me. No say-so in how I lived my life.
The fear I felt was no longer lingering in the back of my mind.
I was free.
I picked up my knife and walked to the head of the table.
"Robert?" I slapped his cheek to get his attention.
He struggled to keep his eyes open as he fought to breathe.
"Robert!" I hit him again, and his eye locked on mine.
"One last thing before you die, okay?" I put my mouth to his ear.
"Judah isn't your son. Kenbral switched the sperm that was inseminated into me.
He's Uri's." I stood, placed my knife to his throat, and made sure I pressed down as hard as I could, dragging it from ear to ear.
I watched as blood poured from his neck.
*BAM*
The sound of a gun going off made me look up. Sharon sat at the door with a hole in her chest. I looked over to Uri to see him holding a gun.
"I thought maybe you would let her live," I told him. Knowing that his mama was a victim too changed how I looked at her. She never had a chance to be anything but who she was.
"No." Uri crossed the room, machete in his hand, and chopped off her head. He picked it up and brought it to the table, then cut off Robert's head and set them on the table together. "I told you I would bring you the head of every person in that room and I meant it."
"That you did." We'd agreed that he wouldn't kill Kenbral. I didn't want him around, but I understood the situation for what it was. Could I be around him later? I wasn't sure, but for now we would keep our distance.
"You ready to go home?" Uri asked, and I nodded. "Then, let's go."
He picked up Robert and Sharon's heads, and we walked out of the warehouse. My cousins and sister were outside waiting for me.
"Why is this nigga carrying heads like they're shopping bags?" Krude asked as soon as he saw us. He threw his hands in the air and shook his head. "Nigga, do you realize that shit ain't normal?"
"I promised my wife heads," Uri said and shrugged.
"Her therapy is on Tuesdays. When do you go again?" He skeptically asked Uri.
"Wednesdays," Uri answered.
"Call that lady tonight and tell that lady you need to be seen tomorrow," Krude told him. He pushed off his car and rounded it. "As a matter of fact, get a session in on the way home. Y'all." He pointed to Uri and me. "Need it." He mugged us. "Crazy ass niggas."
Uri lifted Robert's head and turned to Krude. "You want it?"
Krude leaned over the hood of his car, then turned to Judge, who was standing next to him. Without asking, he took Judge's glasses off, put them on, then turned back to Uri. "Nigga, is that a nipple on his forehead?" Krude asked in disbelief.
Uri turned Robert's head around then nodded. "Yeah." He smiled. 'Cori cut his balls out of his body too, but I didn't pick them up."
Krude took off the glasses and handed them back to Judge.
"Oh nah. I'm out," he said, then opened his car door.
"I refuse to deal with this shit. Nipples on foreheads, cutting balls out. I don’t even want to know how you killed him.
Keep that shit to yourself. I'll catch y'all at the airstrip.
I need a moment of peace." He got into his car, started it, and pulled off.
"I bet he's calling Madea right now," Judge chuckled. "He snitching so hard."
"Oh well," I shrugged and laughed.
"You ready to go home?" Uri asked me.
"Yeah."
He guided me to the car, helped me in, then put Robert and Sharon's heads in the trunk before getting in.
"Cori?" Uri said as he drove us to the airstrip.
"Hmm?" I looked at him from the window. We stopped at a red light, and he faced me. "I love you."
I leaned across the armrest, cupped his face in my hands, and smiled. "I love you, too."
***
"Mama!" Judah yelled as he came running into the kitchen. "It's here! It's here!" He jumped up and down in excitement.
"What's here?" I wiped my hands with a napkin, then threw it away.
"My mini goat!" He held up his helmet then ran from the kitchen to the back door. "Daddy! You got him!" He pulled the door and ran out. "You got him!"
"I cannot believe him." I followed Judah into the backyard, where the rest of our family was hanging out.
I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the mini goat on a leash next to Uri.
He looked so proud standing there with a big smile on his face.
Dressed in blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a ball cap, he never looked sexier. "Uri!"
"Baby, I told you I got him a mini goat," he quickly said.
"I thought you were joking!"
"Joking? My son wanted a pet. You said no dogs. This ain't a dog."
Judah took the leash from him and dropped it. The mini goat started moving around. Cautious but curious.
"It's a goat!"
“It’s a mini goat!” Judah yelled excitedly.
"You acting as if we ain't got the space," he laughed.
We had a bunch of space, way too damn much.
The night we got back to KC from killing Robert, Uri drove me to our new house.
The one he'd secretly been building since he moved to KC.
He called it our home, the place we would live for the rest of our lives.
The seven-bedroom, seven-bath home that sat on nearly eight hundred acres was more than enough space for us.
For the last two months, we'd been decorating and getting comfortable with living in our new home. "Oreo is going to be fine."
"Uri," I groaned. "You named him?"
I watched as Judah put on his helmet then dropped down to the ground. Oreo reared back on his hind legs then head-butted Judah. The sound of his head hitting Judah's helmet echoed through the yard.
"Oh shit! Judah, let me try!" Krude yelled, then handed his daughter to his wife.
"Uri Strong!"
He laughed, then crossed the yard and pulled me into his arms. "It's going to be fine, Cori," he laughed, then kissed me.
I put my arms around his neck and playfully rolled my eyes. "If something happens to my baby, I'm going to kick your ass, Uri Strong," I scolded him.
"How long have I had your back, Corinthians DeCorte-Strong?" He asked then smiled.
"Forever," I answered, then kissed him again.