18. Joker
Joker
T he moment Halo’s name popped up on my phone, I knew something was wrong. I dropped my lo’ for her to come over so that I could see what was going on. I had been avoiding her ever since we got back from Huntsville. It’s not her fault. She didn’t do anything wrong. I just needed to see what the fuck was going on at the stadium. It was better to keep her at arm’s length for the moment. From the tone of her voice, I couldn’t keep her away. If she needed me, I was gon’ be there for her, no matter the case.
Tossing the covers back, I climbed out of bed and treaded into the living room to wait for Halo to arrive. I paced the floor, heart skipping beats in my chest, not knowing what the hell was going on. The telephone next to the elevator began to ring. Snatching it from the receiver, I placed it to my ear and said, “Let her up.”
I hung the phone up and stood there, waiting for the elevator to stop on my floor. It dinged. The doors opened, and Halo stood there with watery eyes. She was dressed in her work uniform. She flew out the elevator and into my arms. Her face buried into my lower chest.
“He-he…”
Gripping her by the shoulders, I shoved her back from me and asked, “He what?”
Wiping the snot from her nostrils with the palm of her hand, she replied, “Steven from work. I was leaving, and he came onto me.”
“Came on to you how?” I asked her, hands balling into fists.
“He was trying to sleep with me. When I told him no, he got mad and threw me into the counter. See…” She lifted her shirt, and I saw the blue bruise on her ribs. My teeth clenched so hard, I was sure they were gon’ bleed soon.
“You good? You need a doctor?” My fingertips grazed her side, and she winced. I’m gon’ fuck this nigga up.
“I don’t know.”
By the time she said that, I was trekking down the hallway toward my bedroom. I stopped in front of the dresser and pulled out a pair of black pants and a t-shirt. Quickly, I got dressed and went into the closet to get my black Air Force Ones. Slipping ’em onto my feet, I picked my strap up from the nightstand and placed it in my waistline. Tucking my phone into my pocket, I went back into the living room, finding Halo standing there, hugging herself.
“Let’s go,” I told her.
“Where we going?”
“Just come on.” I nudged her into the elevator and stepped on behind her.
We got off and strolled through the lobby. Not many people were down there this time of night. It was typically quiet. When I exited the building, the valet took one look at me and grabbed my keys off the hook. He disappeared to the side of the building. I looked down at Halo. She stood at my side, nibbling on her thumbnail.
The lights from my truck shone on us before stopping in front of us. I grabbed the passenger door and held it open for her. She slid into the seat, and I shut the door behind her. Rounding the back of the truck, I got in alongside her and pulled away from the curb. I hopped on the interstate and headed toward Pike Road.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Halo turned and faced me to ask.
“Just chill. What you so nervous for? You safe with me, right?”
“Yeah.”
“A’ight then.”
After thirty minutes, I pulled into the long driveway and drove straight toward the house. It was dark. I hit the button on the pad above my head, and the garage door lifted. Pulling in next to the black G Wagon, I shut the truck off and got out.
“Whose house is this?”
Halo wasn’t gon’ stop questioning me. She climbed out, and I led her up to the door. The alarm beeped when I turned the knob and opened the door. I went over to the pad, punched in the code, and told Halo, “Wait in there.” I pointed toward the doorway that led down into the family room.
She took one look at me and then stepped down into the family room. I hit the light switch on the wall and then trekked down the hallway toward the bedroom. The light illuminated from the bedroom ahead of me. Before I made it to the doorway, she asked, “What brings you here this time of night?” She had to have caught me on the camera when I pulled in.
“I need you to check something out for me,” I told her when I stopped in the doorway. Ma sat there in the center of her gold-plated canopy bed, surrounded by dozens of pillows. I thought she would’ve been sleep by now seeing how she had to go to work in the morning.
“Look at what?” she questioned and tossed the covers back off her. She grabbed her Versace robe off the chair next to her bed and slipped it on.
“Let me show you.”
She approached, and then I turned around and led her down the hallway toward the family room. When I stepped down, I saw Halo sitting on the couch. Her eyes synced with mine. I stepped out the way, bringing my mama into view.
“You brought a girl home?” Ma asked, entering the family room. “You?...” Her head cocked to the side as she stared at me. “You good?”
“Ma, stop playing and just check her out for me. I need to know if she broke something or if I need to take her to the hospital.”
“Why that wasn’t the first place you went?”
“Just check her,” I said and sat down on the couch next to Halo.
“Your mama is so pretty,” Halo spoke, coaxing a grin out of her.
“Thank you. I’m Fatima, and what’s your name since my son acts like he doesn’t have any manners?” She closed in on us.
“Halo.”
“Where are you hurt at, Halo?”
She looked over at me, and I said, “It’s cool. She’s a nurse.”
“Okay.” Halo lifted to her feet and pulled her shirt up.
“Oh, that’s a nasty bruise there.” Ma lightly pressed against Halo’s side, and she winced. “I don’t think anything’s broken. You’re probably gonna be sore for a while though.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Halo sat back down on the couch and Ma turned her attention back to me. “Let me holler at you for a second.” I got up from the sofa and told Halo, “I’ll be right back.”
Ma stepped up into the hallway. We went down to her bedroom, and I shut the door behind me for privacy. “I’m gon’ leave Halo here for the night. You think you can look after her ’til I make it back?”
“What are you about to go do?”
“Just look after her, a’ight?”
“Fine.” Ma went back over to the side of her bed and removed her robe. I grabbed the doorknob to leave, and she asked, “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know,” was the only response she got, and I exited the room. I went back into the family room. Halo released a yawn, letting me know that she was tired. Stopping in front of her, I scooped her up into my arms and carried her to my bedroom. Her head rested against my chest, and her arms draped around my neck.
Love?
I wasn’t certain what that shit was when it came to a woman. I’d never been in love with one before. Trust was hard, and one thing I learned was that a bitch would cross you quicker than a nigga. I never allowed anyone to get close enough to betray me.
Pushing my door open, I stepped into the room and laid Halo against my California King. Removing her shoes, I placed them neatly on the floor alongside the bed and pulled the covers back. I went over and grabbed a t-shirt out the drawer and handed it to her. Turning my back, I faced the door while she stripped out her clothes.
“You can look now.”
When I turned around, she was sitting underneath the covers.
“Get you some rest.”
“Can you lay with me?”
Kicking off my shoes, I climbed into the bed with her. She turned onto her right side, and I slipped behind her like a puzzle piece. I don’t even remember the last time I cuddled or if I even did it in my life, but Halo made it feel so natural.
I lay there with her ’til I heard her light snores. Easing from behind her, I slid out of bed and put my shoes back on. Taking one look at her, I left out the room. I brought her to Ma ’cause I knew she’d be safe.
Removing my phone from my pocket, I called Dough. It took a few rings for him to answer the phone, probably ’cause it was late.
“Yeah?”
“I need a lo’, and I need that shit like yesterday. The manager, Steven, at Lotus. Get on that shit. You got twenty minutes before I touch the city limits.” Pressing the red button, I slid my phone back into my pocket and exited the house. Climbing into my truck, I lifted the garage door and backed out.
Just as Montgomery began to come into view, my phone buzzed. Lifting from my seat, I pulled it out and saw it was Dough. I typed the address into my GPS and burned rubber getting there. Shit like that pissed me the fuck off. All that pussy out there, and you wanted to try and take some shit that didn’t belong to you. Bet.
My tires screeched as I stopped in front of the house out in Dalradia. Sitting in the driveway was a black Ford Focus and a white Silverado. Marching up the driveway, I stopped on the porch, removed my strap from my waistline, and lifted my foot.
Boom!
The door shifted with the first hit.
Boom!
That bitch caved in that time. I was standing in the living room. From where I stood, I saw the kitchen to the left with the light above the oven on. To my left was a hallway. By the time I touched it, a white man stepped out of one of the bedrooms. His eyes expanded, and he ran back into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.
I ran to the door and hit it with my shoulder. One good smack and the bitch bent in. A woman let out a scream. I could only imagine if she knew what her man was doing at work.
“Who the fuck are you! What do you want!”
“You touched something that don’t belong to you. I’m ’bout to show you what happens to mufuckas that touch shit that doesn’t belong to ’em, especially my shit,” I said and broke completely through the door. Steven stood in the corner of his bedroom while his girl sat in the middle of the bed with her phone in her hand. I didn’t give a damn ’bout her calling the police. “We’re going for a ride. Let’s go,” I told him.
“I’m not going anywhere with you. Call the police, babes,” he ordered his girl. She took another look at me and then pressed the numbers.
Tilting my head backward, I released a breath. “I wasn’t asking, I was telling, mufucka,” I said when my eyes locked back with his. Lifting my gun, I told him, “Let’s fucking go.”
“I said I ain’t going.”
“That’s it.” Marching over to the corner of the room, I drew my hand back and smacked his ass in the face with my strap. Blood formed in his mouth, covering his teeth. “Bitch, I’m already pissed the fuck off and you making me even madder. I ain’t gon’ ask yo’ ass again.” The nigga just stood there, so I hit his ass in the face with the gun again. This time, the impact was so hard that he fell to the floor. Gripping him by the ankle, I dragged his ass out the bedroom. On my way to the door, I heard his girl on the phone. “Yes, he has a weapon…”
I dragged Steven out the house all the way to my truck. Opening the trunk, I grabbed him and tossed him inside. Climbing into the driver’s seat, I headed to Lotus, where all the bullshit started. When I arrived, the building was dark and empty. Getting out the truck, I opened the trunk, finding Steven lying there, looking up at me.
“Get out.”
“You do know that when the police catch you, you’re nigger?—”
Wham!
“I ain’t tryna hear that shit.” Gripping him by the throat, I lifted him from the trunk and tossed his ass to the ground like a rag doll. “Whatever gon’ happen to me, you not gon’ be here to see it,” I told him and dragged him toward the door by the hair. He tripped over his own feet, trying to keep up with me.
Using the butt of the gun, I burst the glass door, and the alarm began to scream. I tossed him inside and said, “Shut the alarm off.” He mugged me and just laid there. “Shut it off before I shut yo’ fucking lights off.”
Either way, this nigga was ’bout to fucking die. I just wanted a lil bit more time to torture his ass before I ended his life. Steven pulled himself up from the floor and went over to the alarm. I stood there, watching him as he typed in the code and the alarm silenced.
“Now you gon’ tell me why you put yo’ fucking hands on Halo?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.” Gripping him by the ear, I pulled his ass to the kitchen.
“The kitchen is one of my favorite places. Wanna know why?” I asked when I released him.
“No, but I’m sure you gon’ tell me.”
“There’s so many things in a kitchen that you can torture a mufucka with. For starters…” I went over to the drawer and pulled out a knife. It was a decent size, but I wanted something bigger for what I was ’bout to do, so I pulled out another and examined it. It was much bigger than the first, looking like some shit you’d butcher a piece of meat with. “…a knife. There’s so many things you can do with a knife.”
“Just put a bullet in me and get it over with.”
“Nah, that’s too easy. You deserve a slow death.”
Stepping to him, I gripped his hand and slammed it down on the counter. In one swift motion, I lifted my hand and sliced his wrist.
“Ahhh!” he screamed out. His hand was hanging, but the bitch didn’t cut through the bone completely like I wanted it to, so I lifted my hand again. That time, his hand chopped straight off.
“I been working my ass off to try and fix Halo, and here yo’ white ass come tryna break her again.” Going over to the counter, I yanked the extension cord out the wall and found another on the opposite wall. Going back over to Steven, I grabbed his good hand and wrapped the cord around it, tying it to one side of the shelf and then tied his other to the opposite side.
Strolling back over to the drawer, I pulled out a few of the knives and lined ’em up on the counter. Grabbing one, I looked Steven in the eyes and slung it in his direction. It landed in the center of his chest.
“How many of these do you think I can get to land in you?” I asked him, picking up the next knife. “I bet a hundred dollars that I can get this one to go into yo’ eye.” With all my strength, I threw the next one, and it landed in his left brow. “Damn, I guess I owe you a hundred dollars, huh?” I tossed two more knives into Steven before I got bored.
Treading over to the stove, I ripped the cord out the back, turned it on, and opened it. “It was fun playing with you and shit, but I gotta get back to my girl.” Yeah, my delulu ass was calling Halo mine ’cause in my mind, she belonged to me. Anybody could get it if they got in the way too.
“I’m pretty sure that you fired her once she told you that she wasn’t giving you any pussy, so now you and this mufucka gotta burn.” It angered me even more ’cause he, of all people, knew she needed this job.
I sauntered to the kitchen door, pulled my lighter out my pocket, flicked it, and tossed it toward the stove. The shit immediately began to catch fire. I ran out the building and backed out my parking space. Soon as I got on the street, the building exploded.
I went straight back to my mama's house. When I pulled in the driveway, there was a car parked out front. The closer I got to it, I realized it belonged to Monica. The question was, how the fuck she found out where Ma lived, and what the fuck was she doing here this time of night. Pulling into the garage, I hopped out the car and entered the house. I heard talking and laughing coming from the family room. I stepped down and found Monica sitting there with my mama.
“What are you doing here?” I questioned her.