Chapter 6 – Gutta Barbie
Chapter
Six
GUTTA BARBIE
“We killed a police officer, babe. What did you expect to happen? You gotta stay ten toes until I can figure this shit out.”
Wrizzle's voice replayed over and over in my head as I stood in front of the judge with my hands handcuffed in front of me and my feet shackled with chains.
I had snapped and lost control, and the consequences of life in prison weighed heavily on my conscience.
I knew that right now I needed to keep my cool and my attitude in check because I had just gotten out of solitary confinement for crashing out over the fact that I had missed my niece's birth. Lately, it seemed like I was a ticking time bomb, and every single thing was setting me off. It was really hard to adapt to living behind these walls. Every day, I was thinking about my family, missing everything about them. They made sure I was straight, keeping money on my commissary and my phone, and I even had a tablet. Someone was here to see me every weekend for visits, and most days, I was lucky if they would all come up to visit me together. Even though I was upset at missing the birth of my niece, I refused to allow my sister Gorgeous to bring the baby here to visit me; this was not a place for babies. Everything about this place was dirty, trifling, and unsanitary. I didn’t want her anywhere around this place or the people in it.
“Chanel Key, you are currently being charged with Capital Murder in the Death of Officer Latoya Graham. How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?” The judge spoke.
I took a minute to think about the question. I knew what I had done, and I was as guilty as they come.
“Not guilty,” I answered.
I could hear the gasps coming from her family, but I didn’t give a fuck.
She had come for my family and me by trying to frame my man.
As far as I was concerned, she got what she deserved, but this fight wasn’t over.
I was going to stand on ten toes as my man told me to; there was no time for folding or backing down.
“Did you not have a conversation with your attorney about the consequences of your decision if it were to go to trial?” My judge looked at me and asked.
“Yes.”
“I recommend giving it more thought. We will take an hour break, and we will meet back here.” The judge adjourned. My attorney stood beside me, shaking her head, and I knew what she was thinking, but it didn’t matter. I had made my decision, and I was standing on it.
“You are one strong woman. But I swear you and that man of yours surprise me every time.
I am not saying that you shouldn't enter a not guilty plea, but I want you to be aware of what you are facing and that these allegations and the evidence against you are strong. I am willing to fight this with you, but I need you to be all in and ready for whatever comes with this shit,” she spoke to me in a real and raw tone, not holding any punches, which was the reason that Wrizzle had hired her years ago.
She had been our attorney for years and handled all and any of our legal matters.
“Tiffany, this is what I’m doing; the decision was already made before I walked through those doors this morning. I am prepared and ready for whatever they come with.”
“I get that and understand that you’re going to ride for your man and vice versa; it is something that I always respected about your and Wrizzle's relationship. I know you will do anything to help him, but my one question to you is, are you willing to do anything to help yourself as well? You matter,” she spoke.
I stood there thinking about what she had said; her words resonated with me, and it was really a good question that I had to ask myself.
I had spent so much of my life helping everybody else and riding for the ones that I love that it was rarely I put myself first. I needed to be more gentle with myself and to give myself more grace.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Even if Wrizzle wouldn’t approve of it?” she asked, causing me to take a minute to think about her question.
“I ain’t folding on my man.” I sternly stated.
“I am not asking you to do that. We are on the same team, and I need you to always remember that. Some sacrifices may need to be made to get you out of this situation, but it doesn’t require you to lose anyone; that’s my word,” she promised.
We didn't have long to talk or get into detail, but the most important thing was that I trusted her word.“Yes, I’m down. Let’s do it.
” I answered just as the judge looked in our direction.
The judge called my lawyer, Tiffany, up to the podium.
I watched closely, observing their body language as they spoke in low tones.
My lawyer, Tiffany, looked at me with a smile.
I trusted her to do her job, and she did it well.
I stood patiently in chains waiting for them to finish their conversation, but judging from the look on my attorney's face, I knew she had some good news.
She confidently strolled in my direction, wearing a cold expression. “The judge wants to see you in his chambers in the next thirty,” she winked before walking out for lunch, leaving me standing there with my eyebrows raised.
What the fuck does this bitch got going on?
My thoughts were racing as the sheriff's officers led me back to the courthouse holding cell. I wasn’t sure what the judge wanted to see me for and was hoping that in the next thirty minutes, I would at least get a chance to talk more with my attorney.
I stared at the clock on the wall outside the cell.
Twenty-five minutes later, my attorney quickly approached.
“What the fuck is going on?” I asked in a low but serious tone.
She had been my attorney for years and knew how I got down.
I wouldn’t hesitate to strangle this bald hoe if I had to.
I know I said that I was down with the shit, but something was telling me that I had bitten off a little more than I could chew, and I needed to know what the fuck was about to go down.
“Hey,” she whispered. “I’m going to have to talk quickly because we don’t have much longer before you have to be in the judge's chambers. I set something up between you and the judge. Sis, this is a very hard case, and I’m sorry, but money isn’t enough to get you out of this shit.
You're gonna have to stand on business,” she said, giving me a hopeless look.
“What the fuck are you saying to me right now, Tiffany?”
She leaned closer and lowered her voice even lower, “You don’t have to fuck the nigga, but you're gonna have to at least let him eat you out,” she said, and my mouth dropped.
I couldn’t believe that I was being sexually exploited, but she was right: there wasn’t much time left, so if I wanted to get the fuck out of this shit, I was gonna have to stand on business.
I thought about Wrizzle and how he would feel.
If it were vice versa, I would’ve told that nigga to enjoy it to the fullest and get his ass home to me.
“So what’s it gonna be?” my lawyer asked.
“I’ll do it. But only some top, it’s no way that nigga fucking me in any of my holes.” I told her, making sure to emphasize.
“Ok, ok, I got this, I promise,” she said, causing me to roll my eyes.
She walked away, and I stood in the cell, deep alone in thought.
I had told myself that I was done fucking with niggas for money, but this was different.
This shit wasn’t about money; it was about my freedom.
I tried to think of another way out of this situation, and I knew that there wasn’t one; this was the only way.
When it was time to meet with the judge, an officer approached and opened the cell, ordering me to exit and to follow him.
I slowly walked behind the officer, barely keeping up.
My feet dragged, causing the officer to quickly get annoyed with me, but I didn’t give a fuck.
The last thing I cared about was his job title.
I was about to sell my soul to the devil, and once I stepped behind that corridor, there was no turning back.
I took a deep breath, pausing in front of the doors.
I had to give myself a motivational speech.
The officer nudged me forward, and I snatched my elbow away with an attitude.
I knew that most of them had beef with me for killing their coworker, and I wasn’t expecting to make friends with anybody here.
The judge and I made eye contact as the officer removed the tight cuffs from my wrists.
“You’re too beautiful to be in those,” the judge said, looking at me intensely. He was of darker skin and tall. His thick beard gave him a mature look, but I could tell that he wasn’t that much older than I was. He smiled for the first time. He had a nice smile.
“Relax. Have a seat, so we can chat a little.” The judge spoke, motioning for me to have a seat in front of him.
I took another deep breath, trying my best to relax.
It was hard, and I was nervous. I didn’t want to be here, but I also didn’t want to sleep in a cell for another night. What I wanted was to go home to my man.
“Officer Graham has been trying to blackmail me for years; she was a pain in my ass, and I wanted to personally meet you face to face and thank you for getting rid of one of the biggest headaches in my life,” the judge said.
“When I first saw you, I couldn’t help how beautiful and sexy you were, which turned me on even more. So basically, what I want to know now is how we can continue to help one another?” the judge asked.
“I want you and your fucking flunkies to leave my family and me alone after this.”