Lovely Lies

by Lashanta Charles

  Chapter 30

  Kalil

 

  We had dinner with Mak’s mom last night. We finally got our fried pork chops. Mak told me that was how it’s supposed to be done. My mom and sister will be here later this evening. Mak keeps asking me why I can’t cook if I brag about them being able to. I’ve ignored her. She couldn’t sleep last night. Somehow, that translated to me having to stay awake with her. How does that work? I’m trying to sleep now and she won’t let me. KJ has ended up in our bed. I wonder if she went and got him or if he came on his own. She’s whispering my name now. I don’t answer or open my eyes.

  “Kalil, I know you’re awake.”

  I take a deep breath and peek up at her. My eyes burn. Why won’t she let me sleep?

  “My stomach feels funny.”

  Is she really waking me up because she’s nervous? I roll away from her and close my eyes again.

  “Baby, what’s your biggest fear?”

  She picks the craziest times to want to talk about serious shit.

  I yawn and say, “I’m a ‘G.’ I have no fears.”

  She laughs. “Seriously, baby?”

  “Going to jail.”

  She’s quiet. Probably wondering if that’s my biggest fear then why do I do what I do. I guess I should elaborate a little.

  “Not actually going to jail. I know it’s always a possibility that I could, but the thought of not being free to come and go as I please or do what I want or see who I want when I want. Not being around to wrestle with KJ or smack you on your ass when you get out the shower, or make you scream my name when I’m digging in ya’ guts, that’s what scares me.”

  “Jesus Kalil, the crap that comes out your mouth sometimes.”

  I smile and ask, “Yours?”

  “Fear what you don’t know.”

  I’d bet money that’s in a song that she likes.

  “Your biggest fear is the unknown.”

  “Yeah.”

  She says yeah as though there’s more to follow, so I wait for her to continue.

  “Right now that’s Nyeem.”

  I turn and look up at her.

  “I don’t know what he’ll do next. When he’ll show up or where he’ll be and just my luck it’ll be something simple and when you’re nowhere around.”

  “Where else would I possibly be if not around you?”

  She smiles a little.

  “He gotta go through me to get to you and I don’t know if you noticed or not, but I’m a pretty big dude.”

  She laughs and tells me to shut up. I give her a quick peck on her cheek and lie back down.

  “Go back to sleep, baby,” I say.

  She gets out of bed and grabs my hand.

  “Come see first.”

  She tries to pull me up from the bed, but I don’t budge.

  “Baby, come on. Get up for a minute.”

  Without looking at her, I say, “I’m tired.”

  “Okay, just a few minutes and you can go right back to sleep.”

  I think she’s in the bathroom. I don’t respond.

  “I’m not telling you again. Get your ass up.”

  She’s doing the “whisper-yell” thing so she doesn’t wake KJ up. Why does he get to sleep and I don’t? She’s not going to let me sleep until I see what she wants, so I get up and follow her into the bathroom. My eyes still burn, so I rub them as I go to her.

  She says, “Oh, cut it out. You’re not that tired.”

  I look up at her. She’s sitting on the countertop…naked. She’s right; suddenly, I’m not that tired.

  “We won’t have much time to ourselves once they get here.”

  She barely gets the words out. I did mention that she was naked, right? Was I supposed to stand there and actually listen to her talk? She tells me to be quiet and not wake KJ. He’s a grown man, he gotta learn one day. Besides, I’m quiet…she’s not.

  True to her word Mak lets me go back to sleep. It’s pointless though. KJ wakes me up ten minutes later to tell me he’s hungry. I tell him to tell her. He tells me she’s in the shower. I guess I’m not getting any sleep today. We go downstairs and after I fix us both some cereal we go in the living room and watch TV while we eat. When Mak comes downstairs she gives us both kisses on our cheek.

  She walks to the door and asks, “Are y’all coming to take me to lunch later?”

  “Why you holding your stomach?” I ask.

  She looks down at her hand and frowns as if she hadn’t realized she was doing it.

  “I don’t know, I told you it feels weird.”

  She makes a fist and drops her hand to her side.

  “They already like you. You don’t need to be nervous.”

  “I know, it’s just…” She’s struggling to get the rest out.

  “It just feels different, like it’s more than just my nerves.”

  “More like what?”

  She stares at me for a little while then forces a smile. “Nothing, I think I’m just making something out of nothing.”

  She opens the garage door then looks back at us.

  “Lunch with me today, KJ. Don’t forget, okay?”

  He’s in his own little world with The Bubble Guppies. He shakes his head up and down, but keeps his eyes glued to the TV.

  When she’s gone I say, “Come watch it in Daddy’s room while I shower.”

  Makynzee

  Jay’s glad I’m finally putting together the choreography for the hip-hop performance. She’s also mad that I keep changing it as we walk through it. We have four different songs that last a total of twelve minutes. We have three groups of dancers and for some reason she wants me to dance the entire time. It’s highly unlikely that’ll happen. I don’t plan to dance with them at all. I tell her and a few of the dancers within earshot that I’m sitting this one out and suddenly I’m being attacked.

  “Who’s going to take your place?” she asks.

  Why does anyone need to take my place? Why can’t they just dance without me?

  “Elise is knocked up and she’s the closest we have to a replacement for you,” Jordan says.

  “So this is my fault?” Elise asks.

  The attack quickly turns to her.

  “Who doesn’t know to either wear a condom or take birth control, or maybe even both?” Leela asks.

  “Only idiots,” Shelly says.

  Elise is on her feet now. The other three gang up on her. I wonder how long this has been brewing. Jay actually attempts to get between them. Is she crazy? I grab her hand and pull her back to me.

  “We’re just gonna let them fight?” she asks.

  Uh, yeah. Leela tells Elise she’s stupid for getting pregnant by Kaeden and he won’t even claim the baby. Jordan tells her she’s stupid for getting pregnant period, but even more so for keeping it. Elise tells them to kiss her ass; they’re not in her shoes. Shelly calls her an idiot again. Jordan tells her idiot fits her perfectly since she thinks now is the best time for her to have a bastard baby instead of focusing on her career. Wow! That strikes a nerve with Elise. She’s fighting back tears as she tells Jordan she would never come at her like that. They look around as though they’ve just realized everyone is watching them. After regaining their composure they look at me.

  “That was interesting,” Jay says.

  “Enlighten me,” I say.

  Leela is the first to speak.

  “She’s choosing a guy who doesn’t give a shit about her over us. Having his baby ain’t gone change how he feels.”

  Elise just lost her battle against her tears.

  “Hold that thought,” I say. Everyone is still watching us. Nothing pisses me off more than them fighting with each other. “Everybody on the line.”

  They all groan and mumble out their complaints. I start the music back up and they all take off running around the building.

  I turn back to the girls and say, “I’m listening.”

  Shelly says, “She’s abandoning us. We came in this togethe
r.”

  Jordan adds, “He doesn’t want her. She’s being stupid.”

  I look over at Elise. Tears stream down her face even though she tries to wipe them away. I tell her to take a break. She quickly heads towards the bathroom. The four of them are best friends…or they used to be. They all applied to come here at the same time. I picked Elise and Jordan first. They campaigned for me to pick Shelly and Leela. It’s safe to say they’re a package deal.

  I say, “What y’all say to each other when y’all not here is none of my business, but when you’re here keep it to yourself. If she wants to have this baby, then that’s her choice. Instead of putting her down try supporting her. She’s carrying a baby that the father hasn’t even acknowledged. If she can’t count on the three of y’all then who’s gone be there for her?”

  They have the nerve to actually protest what I’ve said.

  “Since y’all got so much energy, join everybody else and run,” I say.

 

  After lunch I have them practicing again. Kalil and KJ are staying here until it’s time for them to go to the airport. Elise is on the floor a few feet away from me sitting Indian style. She’s watching the guys practice. They’re dancing to Meek Mill’s “I’ma Boss” and they’re pissing me off. This song goes hard. I want them to go just as hard in their movements, but they’re not delivering. Me stopping them a few seconds after they start and making them start over seems to be pissing them off, so I keep doing it until I get them to react how I want. When they finally do I go back to watching Elise. Her legs are jumping. She wants to dance with them. I never told her she couldn’t dance. She stopped on her own. She’s not even showing yet…technically. She may have a teeny tiny bump. Or maybe it’s just my imagination since I know she’s pregnant. Just as I’m about to say something to her, something catches her eyes. They light up and her lips twitch as though she’s fighting a smile. She drops her head, but continues to sneak and look at whatever she sees. She looks nervous now. I think I know that look. When I follow her eyes to see what she’s looking at I see Kaeden walking to where Kalil, KJ, and Donte are sitting. I’m positive I know that look. It’s the same look I had for weeks after the first time I saw Kalil. It’s the same look I have when I haven’t seen him all day and finally see him at home. She’s in love with Kaeden. What is it about these two brothers? I look back at her and she’s walking towards me.

  She says, “If you don’t need me for anything I’m gonna head home.”

  I don’t think she shares my views on pregnancy and dancing, but I ask her just to be sure.

  “I never said you couldn’t dance with us, so are you just stopping on your own?”

  She frowns at me. I guess that was a pretty unexpected question, so I rephrase it.

  “Do you wanna dance?”

  “I do, but I’m scared. I’m not sure what’s safe for the baby and nobody’s given me any advice or talking to me.”

  I glance over at Kaeden. He’s watching Jay. What the hell is up with them?

  I say, “I’ll make up a part for you. You can do an intro and the first few counts of the guy’s dance.”

  She frowns again then looks at the guys practicing.

  “Just me and all of them?”

  Pregnancy obviously makes you self-conscious. Any other time Elise would have killed to be the only female in the group. It’s guaranteed exposure.

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  She nervously looks at the floor and says, “I’m starting to show.”

  “How about if Jay does it with you?”

  She looks over at Jay and frowns as though I’ve insulted her.

  “Jesus, Makynzee, I’m not that pregnant. Besides, I don’t think she likes me. She’s been mean lately.”

  I’m sure Kaeden has something to do with that and I guess I’m not sitting this one out.

  “Okay. I’ll do it with you.”

  She smiles and says okay. It’s been forever since I’ve seen a real smile from her. I glance over at Kaeden again and see that he’s watching Elise now. I wonder what he’s thinking.

  Kalil

  Mak has been glancing in our direction since Kaeden walked in. I wonder if she’s going to make him wait outside. Surprisingly she turns her attention to Elise and starts showing her some kind of choreography. After about fifteen minutes she stops the guys from practicing and tells them she has another change. They immediately begin to protest. Apparently she’s been making changes all day and they’re tired of it.

  “It’s not really a change, just an addition.”

  They stop complaining.

  “Elise and I are going to open for y’all. When Ludacris starts rapping I want y’all to start making y’all way into the same formation y’all start with for Meek Mill. Come in one by one doing the same steps and we’ll go into the first few bars with y’all then we’ll go off. Go ahead and choose what order y’all gone come in on.”

  She goes over to Jaida and gives her phone to her then goes back to Elise and stops a few feet away from her. I watch and listen as “Regret” by Letoya Luckett starts to play. Their moves are controlled…and slow…and sexy. I like it. After a few seconds I’m stuck watching Mak as she sways her hips and moves to the beat. I can’t look away from her until the guys join in. Scratch that. I still can’t look away from her. I love watching her dance. She’s such a little thug. She’s dancing harder than some of the guys. It dawns on me that Mak most likely added this part and picked this song just to mess with Kaeden. She’s good at making points. I look over at him and almost laugh. He’s watching Elise and has this weird look on his face. I look back towards Mak and see her and Elise moving away from the guys. At some point Donte made his way to Jaida and she’s too distracted by talking to him to change the music when she’s supposed to. A different song begins to play. They stop dancing and Mak tells them to keep going. They tell her no more changes, especially not to the music. She laughs and tells them it’s not practice, it’s freestyle. Everybody makes their way to where the guys are and start dancing.

  KJ runs to them and yells, “I wanna dance.”

  He does his version of dancing and they all cheer him on and dance with him. Kaeden is still watching Elise. She’s no longer paying him any attention though. If she wants to win him over that’s probably the best way to do it. Throughout the entire time that they’re dancing Mak holds her stomach every once in a while like she was doing before she left the house this morning. Is she really that nervous to meet my mom and sister? She’s talked to them a million times on the phone. I hope she gets over it quick. I get up and call KJ. She walks him over to me.

  She gives me a quick peck on my cheek and says, “Hurry back. Love you.”

  I want more. I point to my lips and she smiles and gives me another kiss.

  “I will. Love you, too.”

  I look back at Kaeden. He’s still watching Elise, but he’s frowning now. I look at her and see that she’s dancing with the guy who was Mak’s dance partner at the Big Boi show. I laugh a little before telling him let’s go.

  He keeps frowning and glancing back as we walk out. Elise doesn’t even notice him leaving.

  Makynzee

  I can’t understand why I feel so nervous. Is it seriously because Kalil’s mom and his sister will be here soon? That can’t be it. I feel the way I felt when we went to my mom’s house and she pulled a gun on Stanley…and Kalil broke his fingers. Who just breaks somebody’s fingers? It feels like something bad has happened. Since I’m not actually paying attention in the meeting I excuse myself so I can call and check on my mom. She actually sounds happy when she answers.

  “I feel weird, I just wanted to check on you,” I say.

  “I’m fine, excited to meet your in-laws tomorrow night.”

  My mom doesn’t have any friends, so I guess she’s hoping to make a friend out of Kalil’s mom. We’re going to her house tomorrow to have dinner. Now that I’m thinking about it, it would probably be more convenient to
have my mom come to us. She’s rambling on and on about what she’s going to cook, so I scratch that idea. My mom is fine, so I’m still left trying to figure out why I feel this way. I’m lost in my thoughts and don’t hear her calling my name.

  When I finally answer her she asks, “Makky, what’s wrong? What’s on your mind?”

  “I don’t know. I just have this bad feeling that won’t go away.”

  She’s quiet for a few seconds before speaking.

  “Maybe you should go home and take a hot bath or lie down and try to calm yourself.”

  I can hear the worry creeping into her voice. I’m scaring her. “It’s probably nothing, just nerves. I’m sure it’ll pass as soon as we get the initial introductions out of the way.”

  “Okay, still try to lie down for a little bit before they get here.”

  “I will, Ma. I have to go now. I love you.”

  She hesitates. I haven’t offered up those words to my mom on my own in months. I can picture the smile on her face.

  “I love you, too, baby. See you tomorrow.”

  It’s getting dark early. There’s a storm coming. Kalil calls and tells me his sister wants to go out to eat. I tell him I’ll meet them at the restaurant. I hope we don’t have another episode like the other night.

  I shower and get dressed at the studio then ask Jay, “Is this presentable for dinner with your mother-in-law?”

  I’ve never done this before. Is there a mother-in-law etiquette handbook? Her and Donte look at me and he laughs. I’m not sure why, but I get mad.

  She asks him, “What’s funny?”

  “Miss Badass nervous as hell. Since when do you need anybody’s opinion on what you wear?”

  I frown at the thought and tell him to shut up. By the time we make it outside it’s started raining. The clouds seem to have instantly opened and let out a downpour.

  Donte asks, “Let me guess, umbrellas in the cars?”

  “How were we supposed to know it would rain today?” Jay asks.

  Why does it sound like she has an attitude with him?

  “It’s called a forecast. I’ll pull the car up and we’ll drop you off at yours, Mak.”

  “That’s doing too much. I can just run to mine.”

  He doesn’t hear me. He’s already running to his car. Jaida asks if I’m okay. When I look at her I see she’s not looking at my face. She’s looking at my hand. Without realizing it, I’m holding my stomach again. I quickly drop my hand.

  “I’m fine, just wish today would hurry up and end.”

  “There’s more to it than just meeting your in-laws. What’s bothering you?”

  I hear a car start up and I glance up to look out at Donte. “I don’t know. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

  “Well, if you need a distraction, I have one for you. Kaeden and I kissed…probably would have had sex if Donte hadn’t called my cell and interrupted us.”

  I stare at her in disbelief. Something flashes in my peripheral. My instincts tell me to run, so I do. I don’t even look to see what it was. I just grab Jay’s arm and tell her to run. Surprisingly she doesn’t protest. She’s slow though. I’ll drag her if I have to. I yell for Donte and he looks up at us. He jumps back out of the car. His gun is instantly in his hand and pointed at us as he begins to run in our direction. I feel an arm around my waist and I’m jerked backwards. Donte didn’t have his gun pointed at us. It’s pointed at whoever’s behind us. My hand slips from Jay’s arm. She stops running and quickly turns back to me. Her balance is already warped, so the rain doesn’t help. She slips, but somehow manages to straighten herself without falling and grabs my hand. Donte yells her name as I tell her to run. I don’t have to see who has me to know that it’s Nyeem. Who else would it be? Kalil is nowhere around. His timing is perfect. Did I really predict my future this morning? I kick and scream; try my hardest to get away from him, but it’s useless. He has a gun in my side. I don’t care. I’d rather die than let him take me. He knows this. He takes the gun away from me and points it at Jay. Everything stops. Donte stops running towards us. Jay stops trying to pull me from Nyeem’s grip. I stop fighting.

  Nyeem says, “Drop it.”

  It takes me a few seconds to realize he’s talking to Donte. Jay is his intended target. Donte’s top priority right now is her safety. I yell for her to go to him, but she doesn’t move. She won’t leave me. Nyeem starts to back away. Everything in me tells me to fight him, but I can’t. Not with her in his crosshairs.

  I snatch my hand away from her and yell, “Go to Donte!”

  She blinks a few times as though she’s coming out of a trance and slowly backs away. When she gets close enough, Donte grabs her and pulls her behind him. I have a green light to fight again. I elbow Nyeem, but it doesn’t even faze him. I guess he expected it. I do everything I can think of and nothing works. Donte yells for him to let me go. I yell for Donte to shoot him. Nyeem laughs.

  “He’s the bitch of the bunch. He ain’t gone do shit,” Nyeem says.

  “Let her go,” says Donte.

  “Or what? You can’t make the shot, at least not without hitting her.”

  The look in Donte’s eyes confirms what he just said.

  “Donte shoot me, I don’t care. Just don’t let him take me.”

  He’s walking towards us; following to see what Nyeem does next.

  “Donte, just shoot him. You can’t let him take me!”

  He looks torn.

  “Shoot him! What are you waiting for?” Jay yells.

  If Donte doesn’t shoot I’ll never forgive him. So what if he’s worried about hitting me. Does he not understand what it means if Nyeem actually takes me?

  “Please, don’t let him take me. Just shoot.” I don’t understand why I have to beg him for this.

  A gun goes off. It’s Nyeem’s. He’s shot one of the tires on the car. Donte won’t be able to follow us.

  “You have to shoot him now. You can’t let him take me!”

  He won’t do it.

  “Fucking shoot him! He’s gonna get away with her!” Jay yells.

  If it were Kaeden, he’d have shot him a long time ago. I wish it was Kaeden. I wish it was Kalil. None of this would be happening. I think Donte realizes he’s left Jay open at the same time I do. He’s only a few feet away from her, but he’s not faster than the bullet in the gun Nyeem has pointed back at her.

  Nyeem says, “Let’s continue to prove how much of a bitch you really are.”

  I try to pull Nyeem’s arm down, but he shoots anyway. Jay grabs her stomach and stumbles back a few steps as she looks down at herself. I yell her name again and try to get to her. Nyeem’s grip is unrelenting. She looks up at me just as Donte reaches her. She collapses into his arms. She looks confused; as though she’s not sure what’s happening. Donte’s attention is focused solely on her. Trying to get him to help me at this point would be selfish. I need him to make sure she’s okay. The baby. Nyeem shot her in her stomach. I watch as Donte crumples to the ground and pulls his phone out. He has Jay’s upper body cradled on his lap. I think he’s crying. She’s not moving; her eyes are closed. She can’t be dead. This can’t be real. I hear a noise. When I look to see what it is my heart drops. Nyeem has opened a car trunk.

  “No! Please, don’t put me in there! Please, don’t do this! Just let me go!”

  He picks me up and ignores my pleas. I kept begging him as I used my feet to push us away from the car. He’s in a car. Where’s his truck?

  He says, “Always the fighter.”

  He covers my mouth and nose with some kind of cloth. I laugh. This has to be a dream. It’s impossible for any of this to be real. It’s chloroform. I claw at the blur that has become Nyeem’s face. My eyes refuse to stay open and my limbs feel like a ton of bricks. I knew something would go terribly wrong today, but never in a million years did I think I would seriously be kidnapped.

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