by Queen Pen
I sat up and looked him dead in his eyes. I was now his lawyer and I had to act as such. “Maddey, where is that little girl?”
He didn’t break eye contact, but he didn’t answer, either. I cocked my head to the side and arched my eyebrow. “Maddey?”
He broke his gaze and ran his hand down his perfect face. “Man, she’s upstairs.”
My head lurched back in shock. I had a small inkling that he knew where the little girl was and that was why he was refusing to tell anyone about any of this, but to hear that she was upstairs was shocking to me.
“Upstairs?” I repeated. I didn’t know what else to say. My mind needed to process this information and figure out what it all meant.
“Yeah, Bel. She’s upstairs and nobody knows about the shit so don’t say anything.”
I opened my mouth to respond and then closed it. I wasn’t sure if I could just keep this little girl’s whereabouts a secret. I had no idea what state she was in. What if she needed a doctor? Maddey sure wasn’t fit to be a parent to anyone, so I wasn’t sure I could just let this slide.
“Why is she here? Why don’t you call CPS, Maddey?”
“When I was released on bond, I went and found her. It wasn’t hard. I was a homeless kid once. I knew where to look.” I stared at him with crinkled brows and a frown, which seemed to frustrate him. “You don’t get this shit, do you? You had your dad your whole life. Being a homeless child or a foster kid is scary as fuck. I can’t tell nobody about her because I don’t want her to go through what my brother and I went through. I can tell she’s already been through some shit, man. She had bruises and shit all over her when I found her. I see myself when I look at her.”
I took my lawyer hat off and reached my hand across the table. My small hand covered his large rough one, “I thought you had a good foster mom? Noella talks about her all the time. Being a foster child can’t be all that bad.”
He shook his head at me, “Mrs. Burdett was the shit. She was never the problem. Maddoc and I didn’t get to her until we were eleven and by then, we had seen too much. That shit couldn’t be undone. People think I’m fuckin crazy, and maybe I am, but it’s because of the shit I went through as a kid. By the age eleven, Maddoc and I had been beaten, homeless, and my brother was almost raped by one of the foster parents we had been placed with. I killed that nigga before he could even touch my brother and I was only seven at that time. I did some time in juvie, but I was lucky as hell to have a social worker in my corner and fight for me to have a reduced sentence since it was self-defense. The other foster kids in the house testified in my favor, along with my brother, so I only did a few years and spent a long time in therapy. When I got out, we went to live with Mrs. Burdett.”
My heart was heavy as I listened to him talk. No wonder he was so hardcore all the time. I couldn’t imagine the psychological damage he had from such a young age.
“I been through a lot of shit, Bel. I guess you can say I have a lil soft spot or some shit for the lil girl. I can’t let her go through that shit, man. I can’t. I’d rather keep her here and know that she’s good than turn her loose to the system.”
I wanted to hug him. I wanted to tell him that I understood and that everything would be okay, but I also needed to be real with him. “Honey, she probably has a family. If you’re found with her then you’ll get arrested for kidnapping along with your murder charges. You have to think about this, Maddey. She’s a kid. She needs to go to school and be around people her own age. She needs to be educated. She can’t just stay cooped up in a room until her eighteenth birthday.”
“Fuck all that!” He snatched his hands away from me and stood up. “I ain’t turning her in and neither are you!” He pointed his large finger in my face.
“Maddey I—”
“No fuck that!” He was yelling now, and I felt tears streak down my face in frustration more than anything. “If you tell anyone, Bel…”
His sentence hung in the air. “You’ll what, Maddey? Kill me?”
I stood up and even though I only came up to just below his chest, I stared up at him with tears in my eyes, daring him to say yes.
He dropped his head. “Nah, man. I couldn’t fuckin do that, Rebel, but it would be the worst type of betrayal. I wouldn’t be able to forgive that.”
I sighed and sat back down. He looked down at me from where he was standing as I thought about the situation. My heart was torn, but I was also relieved. Maddey was still a murderer, but I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t agree with it. I wasn’t sorry those people were dead. I thought about Madame and how I’d imagined her death a million times. I hated anyone that prayed on innocent children. That was too close to home for me.
Feeling all the fight disperse out of my body, I looked up at him. “Can I at least meet her?”
“Are you going to tell anyone?”
I shook my head, “No, I won’t tell anyone, but I want to meet her.”
He slowly nodded his head and reached for my hand.
The room looked like a little girl’s dream. There was pink everywhere with a plush bean bag chair to lounge in, a big flat screen TV and a large queen-sized bed with a pink canopy.
The TV was turned on, but the volume was turned all the way down, so there was no noise in the room. Laying in the middle of the bed was a girl. She had long black hair that was thick and matted. It was thrown into a ponytail at the nape of her neck and I wasn’t sure that those tangles could come out. She was extremely skinny, and her big brown eyes held a pain and maturity that I was all too familiar with.
She was laying on the bed looking up at the ceiling lost in thought. I wondered what her young eyes had seen that was causing her to be in such deep thought. She turned her head and looked over at us. When she noticed me, she sat up and huddled in the corner of her bed. I took a tentative step towards her and she scooted back even further.
I stopped and smiled at her, “hi—” I stopped short. I realized that I didn’t know her name. “My name is Bel, what’s yours?”
She eyed me warily and Maddey spoke up from behind me. His voice softer than I had ever heard it before, “It’s okay. Bel is my…friend. She wanted to meet you.”
The girl eyed me with her sad eyes, and I smiled gently at her again. She must have decided that I was trustworthy because in a small voice, barely above a whisper she said, “Jazmine. Maddey calls me Jazzy.”
I looked back at Maddey and grinned, “he does, does he?” I arched my eyebrows at him, and he looked away grunting something under his breath.
I turned my attention back to Jazzy, “can I sit by you?”
She nodded her head and kept her eyes on me with each step that I took. I sat next to her on her plush pink bed. Up close I could see how young she was. She looked to be no older than ten years old. She was clutching a tattered blanket in her hands. “What’s that you have there?”
“My blankey,” she simply said while studying my face.
I smiled, “I have one of those, too. My best friend gave it to me when I had nothing else. It comforts me when I’m afraid and I don’t go anywhere without it.”
She clutched it closer to her body, “It protects me,” she said in a small voice.
“From what, sweetie?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t pushing her too far, too fast.
Her eyes fastened on mine for a moment and she wrinkled her brow as if she was deciding if she wanted to tell me or not. “From bad people.” She finally answered.
My heart sank, but I kept a smile on my face. A part of my heart, felt for hers. I could sense the pain in her, but I prayed that my gut was wrong. I decided not to question her further on it tonight, though. “My blankey protects me, too. I have terrible nightmares, but they aren’t so bad when I wrap it around myself before going to sleep.”
“What are your nightmares about?” She asked innocently.
I stiffened before deciding how to best answer that question, “about bad things that people have done to me in the past,” I hesitat
ed, “and bad things I have done to people, too.”
Jazzy nodded at me as if she understood exactly what I was talking about, then directed her attention to Maddey. “Can I have ice cream?”
I laughed as the tension broke in the room. As shy and quiet as she was, she was still a kid. Maddey nodded his head, “yeah, Jazzy. I’ll bring you up some ice cream.”
She nodded, content with his answer and then looked at me. “Will you come see me again?”
My heart melted, “yes. I’ll come tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay.” She responded.
I got off the bed and watched as she wrapped her blanket around her and laid back down on her back. She intently watched the ceiling, getting lost in her thoughts once more. Maddey ushered me out of her room and into the hall. I knew that I was probably going to start an argument, but I also knew this needed to be said.
I boldly grabbed Maddey’s hand and I instantly felt butterflies in my stomach. He had stepped onto the first stair on the staircase heading back down to the kitchen, but he stopped when he felt my hand in his and turned to look at me. Since he was standing down a step, we were almost at eye level and standing extremely close. I had to swallow the lump in my throat before I could begin, “Maddey—” I started to say but he interrupted me.
“You aren’t going to tell anyone about this shit, are you?” His voice was hardened, and my blood ran cold at his menacing gaze.
I took a step back and then took a deep breath, “I won’t tell anyone, but I think that you need to consider telling Ms. Keddle about her. She needs a motherly figure and someone around her age that could help brighten her spirits. Chip and Ms. Keddle could help. I won’t even get into the therapy she probably needs. I’ll save that for another time, but Maddey she needs people. You’re gone all day. What does she eat? She needs direction and education and—”
“Fine.” He cut me off. I was thrown off. I wasn’t even into my speech good before he agreed. He must have noticed that I was shocked because he continued, “We can tell Ms. Keddle in the morning, but that’s it. I ain’t telling nobody else shit. Understand?”
I was too excited about this small victory to argue. I would slowly work this whole mess out with him, but I knew I couldn’t push him too hard this soon. I exhaled and my shoulders relaxed. “Thank you.”
“For what?” He grumbled.
I squeezed his hand that was still secured in my own. “For opening up to me tonight.”
“I just want to win my case, shorty.” He responded nonchalantly.
I quirked my eyebrow up at him knowing that he didn’t open up to anyone easily, but I let him play the situation down. I didn’t respond. I knew he had to be wondering if this new information gave me any insight that could win his case, but I decided to let him sweat.
“Don’t forget to bring Jazzy some ice cream,” I said, as I let my hand drop from his and turned on my heels.
“Don’t you want to finish dinner?” He called after me.
“No, I’m tired. I’ll see you in the morning,” I responded as I walked away towards my bedroom, which was on the opposite side of the suite as Jazzy’s.
I wanted to go back to her room and keep her company, but I didn’t want to be overbearing, so I continued toward my own room. I was exhausted, but my mind was racing. I closed the door to my room and walked straight over to the desk where the laptop lay along with the case files.
I knew it would be a long night, but one thing was made extremely clear to me tonight. I was willing to do whatever it took to win this case for Maddey.
Thirteen
“R ebel wake up!”
I swear I had just fallen asleep only to be shaken awake again. I rolled over and glanced at the clock that sat on the nightstand. It was eight fifty in the morning.
I rolled back over and saw Noella perched on the edge of my bed eying me. As tired as I was, I let out a soft giggle. Maddey had been right in his prediction that Noella would be here by nine.
“What’s so damn funny?” Noella cocked her head to the side. Her sleek dark brown hair fell over her shoulder. Her brows were drawn together in an angry scowl and her hand was on her hip.
I sighed, too tired to deal with her, while knowing that she wouldn’t allow me to not deal with her. “Nothing, Noe.”
“Good. Get up and meet me down in the living room.” Before I could respond she was heading out the door.
I knew better than to keep her waiting. I rolled out of bed and glanced at the wall in the corner by the desk. It looked like I was filming a crime show. I had pictures taped to the wall with sticky notes stuck to them with notes haphazardly written. My laptop sat carelessly placed on the desk with the case files strewn across the surface and some on the floor.
Seeing all my work from last night sparked a pull in me to jump back in right now, but instead, I stripped out of my pajama’s and headed towards the bathroom. I stepped into the shower and allowed the hot water to relax my muscles. I let my mind wander to the tasks of the day, and I felt dread in the pit of my stomach. First, I had to deal with Noella, and then we had to tell Ms. Keddle about Jazzy and there was no telling how that would go over.
I got out of the shower and massaged lotion into my body before getting dressed. I threw on some sweatpants and a hoodie and didn’t even bother with my hair. I slid some slippers on my feet and padded out of the room and down the hallway.
At the top of the stairs, I could hear Noella yelling and I knew that Maddey was the victim. I walked down the stairs quickly, hoping to rescue Maddey from Noella’s wrath. At the bottom of the stairs, Amir was hanging out laughing at the scene before him.
Maddey was sitting on the couch with an icepack held up to his eye, while Noella stood over him yelling. His muscles were flexing, and his jaw was ticking. I knew he was angry, and I made a move to break the argument up, when Amir grabbed me by my arm. He jerked his head towards the balcony doors. I looked back at Noella who was now mushing Maddey in the face.
“Don’t worry about them. This shit is normal for those two. I want to holla at you for a sec,” Amir said in a low tone.
I looked back at him and nodded. We stepped out onto the balcony and closed the door behind us. I drank in the morning air as I looked out over the strip.
“How you holding up, Rebel?” Amir asked catching my attention.
I shrugged, “I’m fine.” I’d never really talked to Amir one on one before, so I wasn’t really sure what he wanted or what to say. I also wasn’t sure how much Noella told him. Knowing her, she probably told him everything.
Amir didn’t beat around the bush. “So, you and my brother, huh?”
I cringed. I always forgot that Amir and Noella shared siblings. They were both fostered in the same home, but the sibling connection never really took form with them. Instead, a different kind of love did. It was an odd situation, but they were open and comfortable with it and everyone else seemed to think it was okay, so I wasn’t one to judge.
“Yeah,” I said just above a whisper.
Amir chuckled, “I never saw that shit coming.”
I stiffened and immediately became defensive, “I mean, we aren’t together. We’re just friends. I mean, I’m helping him with his case and—”
“Chill, Rebel. It’s all good,” Amir said with a laugh. “For the record, Maddey must like you if he told us about you. “
“He didn’t tell you guys. I told Noella,” I pointed out.
“Same thing. That nigga wouldn’t have allowed you to do shit if he didn’t like you. We ain’t never seen him with anyone before. I mean, maybe a chick at the club here and there, but never someone in his own home.”
I stayed silent, so he continued, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Noella has been worried about you. She is a lot to handle sometimes and I know you’re a lot more mellow and quiet. I just wanted to give you the chance to talk to me away from all that. Do you need anything? Is that nigga treating you okay? I know he’s crazy as hell,” he
laughed again.
“I’m good. He’s different with me. We really aren’t together, for the record, but he treats me well. We are just warming up to each other and taking things one day at a time. I’m not sure what will happen after this court case, but it’s probably something I have to figure out.” I shrugged.
“What do you want to happen?” Amir asked.
It was a good question. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Although I had been wrapped up in this summer break and the fantasy of living in this beautiful hotel, I knew that after this case was over, I would have to go back home and back to school. “I guess I’ll go back to school.”
“That nigga ain’t gonna let you go that easy. I know you’re just getting to know him, but I been knowing that man my whole life. He has a displaced way of showing love. All of his emotions filter into one, anger.” Amir shook his head.
“Why is he so angry all the time?” I asked.
“I don’t even fucking know. He’s been like that ever since I can remember. Noella is the only one that can ever get his crazy ass to calm down. He is getting better the older he gets, though. Which was why, I was surprised that he was caught up in these murder charges. I’ve seen him make the scariest and biggest nigga’s cry, but he ain’t never killed someone that didn’t deserve it.” Amir said looking at me.
I wished I could tell him what really happened, but I needed to keep that between Maddey and me. I knew that I couldn’t betray him like that and tell Amir about Jazzy.
“Amir, I’m good. I promise. I’m going to do everything I can to get him out of these charges and then I will have to figure out what happens after that.”