Hades/Gills
Iwalked through the door, and Journei threw her arms around me cryin’ hysterically. That automatically made me assess the scene to figure out what was goin’ on. She was so shaken up that I could see the fear on her face.
“Mama, what is it? What happened?”
“I don’t know what he took, but he thinks I’m my mother. He pulled a gun out on me.”
It was the tryin’ me like I was the muthafucka to play with. I told that nigga the last time I was there not to play with me or my woman. Why the fuck did he test me?
Jourdell was indeed on somethin’ because he couldn’t get himself up from the floor to save his life… literally. He kept calling Journei’s mother’s name like she was really there in the flesh.
“Get in the car.”
She didn’t question me. She didn’t disobey me. She took her ass out that raggedy ass door and did what I said. What I was about to do to Jourdell wouldn’t be pleasing to the eyes. I had my strap on me, but that would add the finishing touch.
“You got my wife pregnant, muthafucka. She’ll never be yours. I own her. Her and that rotten-skinned daughter of hers. That’s my family!”
What he yelled would’ve hurt mama if I didn’t send her to the car. He talked about her as if he didn’t help make her at all. I was infuriated.
Grabbin’ Jourdell by his neck, I lifted him from the floor and threw him into the wall. He wasn’t gettin’ any mercy out of me. The kicks I delivered were to his face only. I didn’t give a fuck what I fucked up.
All I heard in that four by four was his body gettin’ tossed around. I was hurting for my woman, and that brought on a different rage.
She was too good to keep goin’ through bullshit with ain’t shit muthafuckas. She deserved better. With me, she was gettin’ better. I was all she needed.
“Bitch, you killed your wife; however, say hey to Journei’s.”
I pulled the blicky off my hip and unloaded the full clip. Each bullet went into his dome. I was taking head count in the underworld soon, and I needed his to be accounted for. That pussy nigga wasn’t surviving shit that way.
I walked out, not givin’ a fuck who saw me. I dared a muthafucka to touch me, and I dared a muthafucka to snitch. It could’ve been seven in the morning, and I would’ve did it the same way.
As long as you didn’t touch my shit, we were good. But he violated, so oh well. Being a pastor left me underestimated, and that was how I liked it. People didn’t know what to expect.
The car was already revved up and ready to go when I hopped in it. Journei was no longer cryin’, but her eyes were stuck on Jourdell’s door. I pulled off before asking her any questions.
“Did he touch you?”
“No.”
“Are you and Yurina OK?”
“Yes.”
“Are you upset with me?”
It took her a while to answer, but when she did, it was, “No.” That was all I needed from her. If she was good, then so the fuck was I. I wasn’t forbidding her to have emotions toward what happened. She just couldn’t have none around me.
GILLS
A full seven days had passed since Jourdell’s death. Journei was in her feelings about it for a day or two but then came out of it as if it never happened. I offered therapy for her to express any ill feelings she had left over, and I was put on punishment for suggesting it.
Our daughter was due any day, so I was making sure she was prepared mentally for a newborn. I’d hate for her to go through postpartum depression because she didn’t heal or grieve properly.
I walked into Ties & Tips to pick her up. Where she was in her pregnancy, I didn’t trust her driving on her own. She could barely fit in the passenger’s seat comfortably.
“Wassup, Christian?” India said as I walked through the dining hall.
“What’s good. She in her office?”
“Ain’t she always? When you take her home today, make sure she don’t come back until she have Yurina. I’m sick of seeing her waddle through here barking orders.”
We both shared a laugh. I personally knew what they were goin’ through. Mama was on my head the entire time we were at the crib. She wanted everything to be perfect for Yurina.
I tapped lightly on her door before I opened it. I found her sitting on her sofa with her feet up enjoying a bowl of fruit. I loved to see it. She only got six weeks to recover before I knocked her up with another.
“Mama, you won’t make a profit if you eat your own product,” I joked.
“Baby, I was doin’ fine and then Yuri was like ‘feed meee!’ So, I did.”
I chuckled off her dramatics. She was using my baby as an excuse to eat. She knew better.
“Well, can you put the bowl down for a second? I got somethin’ to ask you.”
“You ain’t got to ask me shit. I know all about the ring you been tryin’ to hide. Yes, I’ll marry you, and no, you won’t be alone. Diego and Kégo finally called. They plan on being here within the next few days. Kégo said you ain’t doin’ shit without him by your side.”
She extended her left hand and wiggled her fingers. There I was tryin’ to be secretive when she already knew what was up.
“That’s not how proposals work, mama. You got to give me a chance to make it special and romantic. This is ghetto and… ghetto.” I couldn’t find the proper words to describe what just happened.
“I am nine months pregnant, eating every thirty minutes, with swollen feet and headaches from hell. I don’t give a damn about doin’ shit the right way. Ain’t nothin’ been right between us since we met except our love.”
I couldn’t argue with her on that one. I pulled the ring out my pocket and placed it on her finger. She smiled and winked at me. All I could do was return the smile.
Journei Noelle Evans started out as a temptation but was ending as my wife. She was a perfect imperfection that had all of me. Whether she was living for the Lord with Pastor Gills, or taking souls with Hades, our souls’ ties were unbreakable.
THE END