URBAN: What A Thug Wants

by Shantel Johnson

  “You touch me and I’m going to make sure that they do mandatory drug testing on you.” Those words from Laura stopped them both. “Go sleep it off Ms. Rita.” She demanded.

  “You bitches-”

  “Go sleep it off!” Laura shouted..

  Ms. Rita looked at the both of them. She could easily have fought them both, but the look in each lady’s eyes told her that they were serious. She didn’t want to lose the kids because she knew that her money would be gone. She just puffed her chest out and went back to the bedroom. She crashed on her bed and quickly fell to sleep.

  “Are you okay?” Laura turned to Giselle.

  “Do you know what you just signed up for? She’s going to go after you.”

  “Not today.” Laura shrugged. “You can’t think about that though. You concentrate on going to the funeral and you let me worry about her.”

  Giselle wore the same funeral outfit that she did at her parent’s funeral. She looked at herself long in the mirror, before leaving the apartment. When she walked down the hall, she passed Lionel’s door. She stood in front of it and touched it. How quickly things have changed. She felt the tears coming on but she ignored them. She just pushed through. She made it outside and hailed a cab. She told the cab driver to take her to the funeral home. She sighed and for the first time in a long time, she fell asleep.

  “Miss?” The cab driver turned to his sleeping passenger. “Miss!” He raised his voice. Giselle started to wake up. She saw everybody wearing black. She didn’t even have to ask if they were there. The somber feeling in the air, people crying in the background, and the procession starting, told it all. She missed the funeral but she would be in time for the burial. That’s the important part. That’s what she really came there for.

  “You want me to drop you off? Or would you like me to follow them? It will be free of charge. I can see that you’re in a bad situation.”

  “Thank you.” She nodded. “Just follow them.” She gave him her best smile but even he saw that it was fake. He focused on the road and she just looked out the window. The streets were buzzing. She wondered how many people were feeling what she was feeling. There were so many stories out there and she tried to see if she could see hers. Could someone else out there be feeling the type of despair that she was? She tried to see if she could spot the sad faces. It wasn’t until she pulled up to the burial that she saw them.

  “This is it.” The driver slowly turned to Giselle. “Family or friend?” He asked and she looked at him.

  “I don’t even know. I can’t say that I knew him all that well.” She mumbled. “I just thought that I should come here.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Why do you care?”

  “Why shouldn’t I care?”

  “Because that’s none of your business.”

  The cab driver chuckled. He’s heard that too many times before. He couldn’t help to care. She was dressed in all black and looked like she could use a friend or at least someone to talk to.

  “Today, let’s pretend that it’s my business to care.” He gave her a warm smile. He started to remind her of her father.

  “I wanted to come here to see.”

  “See what?”

  “To see if he was really dead. I guess I have been in denial in such a long time. I just needed to see it.” She pressed her face against the window.

  “Aren’t you going to go inside?”

  “I don’t think I can move.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  The cab driver found a parking spot. Giselle took a deep breath. The driver got out of the car and approached her door. He opened the door and held out his hand. In his eyes, she saw the same kindness of her father.

  “Are you ready?”

  “I don’t think I can do it.”

  “You are not doing it alone.” He reminded her with a toothy grin. “I’m here.” He took her hand. “Whenever you’re ready, we’ll go right over there.”

  “I can’t go over there.” Her voice was shaking and she was getting weak. Her knees were not staying still and she knew that she would turn into jelly if she stood up.

  “Then we just stand here and whenever you’re ready, we’ll go over there.”

  They leaned against the car and looked across the street at the cemetery. The people were walking decked out in black. She started to move but she stopped and leaned back on the car.

  “There goes the mother.” He pointed at a woman sobbing and being held by two others.

  “How did you know that?” Giselle recognized her.

  “You can just tell. When my mother died, that was me. I couldn’t even move.” He confessed.

  “How did she die?”

  “Cancer.”

  “My parents died, but I was numb.” She exhaled. “When death comes around, all I do is get numb. I should have never came here.”

  “You came to pay your respects.”

  “But I barely knew him.” She opened the car door. “I just had-”

  “You don’t have to explain anything. You are just trying to do your best and that’s okay. You don’t have to do it by anybody’s rules but your own.”

  “I thought I could do it.”

  “You’re allowed to change your mind. “

  She smiled at him. She was feeling better. Despite everything, she started to come around. She couldn’t feel bad anymore. Ever since hearing of this death, she’s been in a horrible mood. It was understandable, but now she was at the point where she really hated feeling helpless. Everywhere she turned, things just happened to her. Her parents died, she was getting abused by her foster mother, and now this. She had to turn her life around. She had to make the moves, or else her life would just get out of control like it is now.

  “Look there are police.” The cab driver pointed out. “What are the cops doing here?” Giselle saw the officers stand outside of the cemetery. “Oh my God, this is the funeral of that shooting.” He looked to Giselle. “Did you hear about it? It was all over the news. Someone came and shot him. They shot and killed him. Did you know the victim? Were you friends with him?”

  “Not really.” Giselle started to open the car door. “This was just something I had to do.”

  “You want to go back to where I found you?”

  “No, I need you to bring me someplace else.”

  The cab pulled up in front of a motel. The cab driver leaned in and looked at it and then to Giselle. He would have never pictured a beautiful young lady going into a seedy motel.

  “I know I’ve been in your business all day, but I have a question for you. What are you doing here?” She opened her mouth to tell him, but decided against it. She wasn’t sure what she was doing there either.

  “Doing a favor for a friend.” She smiled.

  “You want me to wait for you. I feel uncomfortable letting you go up there by yourself.”

  “I’m a big girl. I need to learn to fight my own battles.” She gave him $100. “I know you said that it was free, but here. Thank you for all that you’ve done. I needed it more than you’ll ever know.” She exited the car and made her way into the motel.

  Once inside the motel she could see why the cab driver didn’t want her to go inside. The walls were covered in horrible decor. There was a smell that she couldn’t identify. She saw young ladies dressed in sexy outfits. They were practically in bikinis and heels. They had on tacky makeup and on top of the weird smell, their perfume scent was just as strong.

  “Hi, may you please show me where the front desk is?” She politely asked them. They all pointed to this old, worn out, check in desk. She rang the bell and could have swore that she saw dust come out. She coughed and fanned away the dust from her face.

  “What?” The person behind the desk sighed.

  “I’m looking for a guest.” She whispered.

  “Speak up.” The person sighed.

  “I’m looking for a guest.” She replied confidently.

  “Room 202.”


  “I didn’t even tell you who it was.”

  “I’ve been told to look out for you.”

  Giselle walked through the musty halls and pressed the button for the elevator. She listened to the low hum and looked down at the faded carpet that was beneath her. She saw a roach scurry across one of the walls and she shuddered. She wanted to run out and bail, but she had a promise to keep.

  Knocking on door 202, she rolled her eyes. She should have brought hand sanitizer. She listened for footsteps and suddenly the door opened. Lionel stood on the other side. He took a deep breath and then let her in. He gestured for her to sit down but she shook her head.

  “Now, can you tell me what happened?”

  Chapter 2

  Lionel hesitated. Seeing her now made him all the more nervous. He’d been hiding out in this ratty motel for a while. He sat on the edge of the bed while she stood over him with his arms crossed. She tapped her foot impatiently.

  “What happened?” She asked. “Tell me what happened that night.”

  It was the night that Lionel stormed out the luxury hotel, leaving behind Giselle after their night of passion. He didn’t want to leave but he was blinded by the feeling of revenge that was taking over him. The image of his best friend in a hospital bed was consuming him. It fueled him in a fury so much that it drove him to purchase a gun and go to the club looking for the people responsible.

  “Excuse me.” Lionel walked in the club. He knocked on the counter and a man came out.

  “How can I help you?” The man asked.

  “I’m looking for someone that works here.”

  “Sure. Are you looking for a DJ? Are you looking for a bartender? Who are you looking for specifically?”

  “Those bottle service girls. I’m looking for one with big natural hair.” Lionel remembered Antwon’s description.

  “Yes, I know who you’re talking about.” The man smiled but then he squinted. “What do you need her for?”

  “I just want to talk to her.”

  “A lot of men come here looking to talk to the bottle service girls or bartenders.” He sighed and started to move away.

  “I just need to talk to her.”

  “Listen man, if she didn’t give you her phone number, that means that she didn’t want to. Don’t take it hard. It’s almost part of their job to flirt with you.”

  “Can I just get her name?”

  “I’m sorry, no.”

  “Well what time is she coming in?”

  “I can’t tell you that either.”

  Lionel huffed. He left the club and waited across the street outside. He thought if he just waited a little bit, that he would see her come in. He sat in the laundromat and looked out of the window. He saw some people go in and out of the club, but he didn’t spot the woman yet. He was just about to walk away when he saw a green four door car pull up to the club. The passenger door opened and she stepped out. He leaned and squinted. If only he could see who drove her, he’d probably be one step closer to the person that tried to kill his friend, but the car pulled away before he could get a good look.

  He got out the laundromat and walked to the club. He watched her walk in and tried to walk in behind her, but when he saw four men rush into the club he stepped back into the laundromat. He then heard gunshots and screams. He rushed out and went towards the club. He saw one of the four men point a gun at the man he was talking to before and pulled the trigger. One of the other men started walking out with big garbage bags and ran around the corner. When he got around the corner, he threw the bags into the same green car earlier.

  “Oh shit.” Lionel mumbled to himself. He noticed what was going on. The club was being robbed. He stepped back, hid behind a car, and kept watching. Two of the men came out and once again he saw the female from before.

  “What the fuck!” She screamed. “Take me back to the strip club. I need to be there in fifteen minutes.” She shouted and they all got in the car and drove off. Minutes later sirens were heard and police were everywhere. He watched the cops tape off the scene, speak to witnesses, and let the EMTs do their work. When he saw the body bags come out, that’s when he left.

  Lionel was roaming the streets of Brooklyn. He didn’t think about where he wanted to go. He was just still shocked about what he saw. He didn’t know what to do or what was happening. He looked up and noticed he was at the hospital where Antwon was. He went inside and signed the visitor form. The hospital staff moved Antwon. He wasn’t in a private room anymore, but he didn’t have another patient sharing the room with him, so he was still alone.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Antwon's face lit up when he saw his friend. “I’m guessing you’re here to tell me how it went with Giselle.” He gave his friend a knowing look. “I know we boys, but there’s some stories that I just can’t hear.” He laughed. “Nah, nigga, I’m lying. I couldn’t even keep a straight face. So what’s up? She freaky? She suck the dick like a pro?”

  “Come on son.” Lionel laughed. “I didn’t come here to talk about that.”

  “Damn. I won’t lie, but I’m kind of disappointed.”

  “Shut up man, I’m serious.” Lionel was stone-faced.

  “What is it?” He was now humorless. “Give me the bad news.”

  ‘I wouldn’t say that it is bad news, but it isn’t good news either. I know you’re going to be mad, but I went looking for that bottle service girl.”

  “Bottle service girl?” Antwon’s face screwed up. “What bottle service girl?” Then his eyes opened wide. “I thought I told you to let it go.”

  “I couldn’t.”

  “All you had to do was wait for me to come out, let me feel better, and then we can both go after them.”

  “ I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Clearly!” Antwon shouted.

  Antwon sighed and sat up on the hospital bed. He shook his head. He was disappointed a little bit. He was the hothead one between the two of them. He Kind of relied on Lionel to always keep his cool. He wasn’t used to seeing Lionel like this.

  “I get it.” He sighed looking over at Lionel. “I guess I would have done the same if it was you in this bed. So what happened? Did you find her?”

  “I went back to the club and the owner wouldn’t give me any information.”

  “So I guess you didn’t find her.”

  “But I stayed and waited.” Lionel continued. He was speaking as if he was in a trance. He was physically in the hospital room, but it was as if he was back in front of the club. “And I saw a car pull up and she got out of the car.”

  “So you saw her?”

  “And then later a whole bunch of niggas ran into the club shooting.” Lionel nodded his head. “I saw one of them pull the trigger and then the girl came out with the dudes.”

  “What?”

  “And she screamed about going back to the strip club. Next thing I knew, they were all gone.”

  Antwon fell silent. The information was racing around in his head. He kept going over what Lionel just told him. Lionel was quiet too, but he was still absorbing everything that was going on. He looked at Antwon and could see that he had a confused look on his face.

  “What is it?” He asked Antwon.

  “I don’t want to sound crazy, but I think that I heard this before.” He was rubbing his head. “Leo, I know I heard this before. Oh shit, this was on the news.” He nodded. “Yes I saw this on the news earlier. It said that the owner was killed and one of the robbers. Damn, do you know what I’m thinking?”

  “What?”

  “I think that bitch be setting niggas up. I think that night she saw that I had money, so she set niggas up to rob me. But I don’t get on why she chose me.”

  “Well you are a flashy type dude. She probably saw you popping bottles and took it from there.”

  “Yeah, I guess, but I don’t get it. A lot of niggas go to the club and pop bottles. A lot of niggas throw stacks and cash, why me?”

  “I don’t know. Have you ever seen her be
fore?”

  “I see bad bitches almost every day, I don’t keep a list of all of them.” Antwon shrugged.

  “I don’t know, it just seems fishy. I don’t get why she chose me.

  “Maybe it was just the money.”

  “From me being in the club? You know how niggas like to front that they have money when they really don’t. How she didn’t know that I wasn’t in there tossing up my rent money or child support money there?”

  “You don’t have kids.”Lionel pointed out.

  “I’m just saying, why me? Plenty of niggas throwin up money, buying bottles, going crazy and she picked me. Something ain’t right.”

  Lionel shook his head. The more that Antwon talked about it, the more it made sense. Now that he thought about it, why was Antwon shot? He thought at first that it might have been random, but after seeing the club getting robbed, maybe it wasn’t so random after all.

  “Too bad we don’t know who they are.” Antwon said out of nowhere.

  “Why?”