by Johnna B
Where is Kidd? How come I’m not in jail? Why aren’t I dead? She had so many questions.
She turned her head, looking for the call button, not realizing she had one right by her face, and it was sensitive to the touch.
“Yes, how can I help you?” a young patient care technician asked as she walked into the room.
“I didn’t know I called.” Valencia turned her head toward the young lady. “I was actually looking for the call button.” She looked around the bed.
“Oh, here it is,” she smiled at Vee.
“I wanted to see if I could talk to the doctor.”
“I’ll tell the nurse.” The young girl smiled and walked back out of the room.
Valencia took a deep breath as she picked up the phone. She knew she needed to call Sena no matter if Kidd and Moochie had already told her the story. She needed to tell her own side of the story.
“Hello.”
“Well, I can’t believe you answered,” Valencia exclaimed in excitement.
“Hey, chic-a-dee! What you doing?” Sena really wasn’t in a talkative mood, but she needed to speak to her friend.
“I’ve been better. Have you spoken to Moochie?” she asked, trying to see what Sena had heard.
“Naw, we broke up last night.” Sena got choked up, and her voice cracked a little.
“Why? What happened?” She was surprised by this revelation.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when we’re face-to-face. Where you at?”
“At the hospital,” Vee answered, not knowing how else to answer.
“Hospital? For what?” Sena went from zero to Code Blue in one second.
“I’m okay. Like you said, it’s a long story. You can come and get me. I’m ready to get out of here.” Valencia was glad that Moochie hadn’t gotten to Sena before she could explain her own story. She got out of bed, almost forgetting that quickly that she was hooked up to the IV machine until she felt a pull in her arm. “Ssssss” she hissed at the pain. She made a quick assessment of her surroundings and noticed she only had to unplug it to get the bathroom, which she did, and pulled it along with her to the bathroom as she walked there. Passing the mirror, she saw the bandage that stretched alongside her face, and her knees went weak. She grabbed ahold of the sink to get her balance. Once she was stable, she began pulling the bandage off and was instantly sickened by the sight of the wound that stretched from her cheek to her temple. It looked to be about a thousand stitches. But in reality, it was only sixteen.
“Look at this. What did I do?” she cried. Images of hurt and fear in Kidd’s eyes flashed in her mind. It hurt her even more to know she had caused him more pain. But it wasn’t her fault. It was Raven’s. It was all Raven’s fault. Why wouldn’t she just leave well enough alone and let her live her life?
She couldn’t believe her life had come to a full halt. Why had she sunk so low? So low she tried to end her own life . . . Was it really that bad? She ran her finger along the stitches and sighed. “Life must go on.” She examined the wound one more time before walking out of the bathroom. Though she was trying to go on with her life, she knew her life would never be the same. She didn’t think she would be able to even go back to the way things were before Kidd came into her life.
Knock Knock Knock!
Valencia heard someone at her door, and she jumped at the thought of it being Kidd. But the sight of the nurse walking in quickly dashed her moment of hope.
“Yes? You wanted to see me?” the nurse smiled.
“Yes, I wanted to know what happened to me.” She unconsciously rubbed her wound.
“Well, according the guy that came in with you, he was teaching you how to use your new gun. You dropped it, and it went off. When his little brother found you two, the young man broke down the window in the back to get to you, and they called the police.” Valencia thought about the story for a minute. It was somewhat believable. She would go with it since Kidd had already put it out there.
“OK, thank you.”
Twenty minutes later, Sena came walking in.
“What the hell did you do?” Sena asked as she walked up to Valencia’s bed.
“Have a seat.” She scooted over and patted a spot on the bed for Sena to sit on.
“So you know how you joke and say, ‘Girl, what the hell is wrong with you? You got double personality or something?’” Valencia laughed at herself at how she sounded while mocking Sena.
“Um, yeah.” Sena gave her a strong side eye.
“Well, you weren’t wrong in your observations.”
“What hell you talking about, girl?”
“Remember when that girl in the mall got me mixed up with a woman named Raven?”
“Yeah . . .” Sena answered slowly.
“Well, she was correct.”
“What hell are you talking about? Stop talking in riddles and give it to me raw, dammit!” Sena was becoming impatient.
Valencia looked at her with tears in her eyes, fearful of losing her only friend in the world. She looked at her with questioning eyes. Will she believe her? Will she run for the hills? Will she stay around?
“Listen, honey, I’m here with you. You can trust me. I will not judge you. You will always be my sister,” Sena reassured her after noticing the uncertainty in Valencia’s eyes.
“Well, when I was younger, I went through a lot, as you know. So I won’t go into all those details. But somewhere along the line, I developed another personality to help me get through everything I was going through. She took in all the pain I was supposed to be going through. Raven came at a time in my life when I was at my most vulnerable.”
“Wait a minute, so you’re serious?”
“Let me finish while I have the gall, please, ma’am.” Valencia chuckled a little at Sena’s anxiousness.
Sena threw her hands up in surrender. “Carry on.”
“I won’t make this too long.”
“We ain’t got nothing but time, chile,” Sena interrupted again.
“OK, so me and Raven came up with a game plan that she would come out at night or when I needed her, which means when I was angry or hurt, she would come in to protect me. And I would live throughout the days.”
“You mean like a night shift and day shift type of deal?”
“Yeah, something like that. Any who, we never coexisted. So I didn’t know of the things she did when I slept. Until recently. Then I found out she’s a lesbian who likes to beat and torture women.”
“Wait—what!” Sena yelled.
“Yeah, I didn’t find that out until she came back and tried to take over for good.”
“Wait—what? So she was out here killing women?” Sena sat back a little, then a lightbulb went off in her head. “So that’s her on the news they been talking about?”
“Yes, that’s her. She’s sick and twisted, and I don’t know where it came from, because I never had problems with women.”
“And when you disappeared?”
“She took over and tried to take my life from me. But I guess one of the girls she had left for dead survived and came back with revenge on her mind.”
“I’ll be damned. This is too damn much.” Sena took in a deep breath, not knowing how to process all of this information. “OK, so let me get this straight. You have multiple personality disorder, she took over your life when you disappeared, and she’s a fuckin’ nutcase lesbian serial killer?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe it. So, all this time, you’ve been living with that your whole life?” Sena asked in disbelief. How had she not noticed this? But, then again, she would always ask Vee if she was bipolar because, some days, she seemed different.
“Yeah, I didn’t know how to tell you. What was I supposed to say? Hey, my name is Valencia, but, sometimes, it’s Raven.” She put the pillow to her face to block the scream that so desperately wanted to come out.
* * *
“OK, so what happened last night?” Sena needed all the details
before she made her assessment. See would never leave her friend high and dry, but she would definitely encourage her to get some help.
“Me and Kidd were about to have sex; then she showed up and showed out in a major way. She was still upset that I chose him over her. And, of course, he flipped out, and then, Moochie showed up. I couldn’t take the way they were looking at me. I knew those looks meant they would never want to be around me again. And I couldn’t fathom the thought. So I decided if I couldn’t live my life, no one would.”
“So you would leave me like that?”
“I’m sorry, Sena, but in that moment, I just didn’t want to live anymore.”
“But you would leave me when I need you most?” Sena thought about the unborn child growing in her stomach and started to cry.
“I’m sorry.” Valencia joined Sena in the shedding of tears.
“So where are they?”
“Probably somewhere never wanting to see me again.”
“I’m sure Kidd didn’t say that. You have to give him a chance to adjust. Shit, it’s a lot to take in.” Sena reached out and grabbed Valencia’s hand. “Shit, I’m still over here at a loss for words. I have so many questions, but they won’t come out.”
“I just want to give up, friend. I’m tired. I’m so tired of fighting her.”
“You can’t give up, babe.”
“I can’t fight her any longer, Sena. She’s draining me. Look at me.” Valencia pointed to the wound on her face.
“Look, we’ll come up with something. I can’t lose you again.”
“OK, can we come back to that later? I just want to talk about something else for minute. This has been consuming my life for so long. Enough about me. Now, why did you and Moochie break up? What did you do?”
“Why do you just assume it was me?”
“Because I know you. What did you do, woman?”
“I’m pregnant,” Sena whispered.
“Come again.”
“I’m pregnant.” Sena finally looked back up at Valencia.
“Bitch!” Valencia yelled. “OMG, I’m gonna be an aunt!” Valencia’s smiled faded. “Wait, did that nigga leave you when he found out you were pregnant?”
“No, I never told him.”
“What do you mean? Well, what happened?” Valencia was confused now.
“I started to tell him. But I panicked when I looked into his eyes. He had this look of horror in them that said he wanted no part of having any children. I didn’t want to be the one who ruined his life.”
“You didn’t even give him a chance, babe.” Though Valencia was going through her own crisis, she was trying to be there for her friend, but Sena wasn’t making any sense.
“I can’t tell him.” Sena shook her head. All she kept seeing was his eyes when she mentioned the possibility of him being a father.
“Why not? How will he find out if you’re not talking to him and I’m not talking to him?”
“I will not give him the chance to reject my child. All I need is you and my baby.” Sena looked out the window at the sky and breathed heavily.
“I understand that, but the man has really done nothing wrong for you to keep him away. He may not be ready to be a daddy, but I believe he would make a great father. If not, you know Kidd would gladly help. And besides, I don’t know how long I’m gonna be around to help out. It would ease my heart to know you’re being taken care of.” Vee could feel tears starting to form in her eyes. What would she do now? She needed to come up with a plan to keep Raven away. She wanted her life more than ever now. She wanted to be the best aunt ever, and she wouldn’t let Raven take that away from her. Raven had already taken the love of her life away. She wouldn’t be taking anything else if she could help it. She was tired of crying, so she shook the tears off.
“What do you mean? Isn’t she gone?”
“You never know. I hope so, but, just in case, please tell him.”
“Well, what we gon’ do?” Sena was willing to help her in any way she could.
“I don’t know. I never thought about actually getting rid of her. She’s always been around. Though right now, I want her gone. But in the beginning, I don’t think I could have survived without her.”
“Yes, you could have. You just didn’t know, but you are much stronger than her.”
“I don’t know about that. But, we’ll see.”
“I’m gonna tell Moochie when I’m ready. I just have to build up the courage.”
“OK, if you say so.” Valencia didn’t understand at all what Sena was talking about. How could she just give up on the love she and Moochie shared because she was afraid? She would never have given up on Kidd like that, and for that, she felt a little jealousy.
“You ready to get out of here?” Sena asked, breaking Valencia’s train of thought.
“Yes.”
Chapter 25
Want that Old Thing Back
The past four months had been hell for Sena going through the pregnancy alone. Valencia tried to be there for her, but it wasn’t the same. She couldn’t hold her at night or make love to her. She missed Moochie very much. She just didn’t know how to approach the situation with him. How would he react to seeing her after all this time? Then, to top it off, she was now six-and-a-half-months pregnant, so there was no hiding it. She had found out last week that it was a girl. She had returned to work, but Valencia never went back. She didn’t have a fat savings account to live off of like Valencia. The bills had to get paid, and she wasn’t into asking people for handouts.
Her stubborn pride was standing in front of her happiness because she knew Moochie would have taken care of her, especially if he knew the situation.
“Johnson and Associates, please hold.” Sena was back to her old routine and hating every bit of it. She looked up from her desk . . . and Kidd was standing right there. She almost pissed her pants.
“Uhh . . . Kidd . . . How you been?” she stuttered as she scooted up closer to try to hide her protruding baby bump.
“Lemme holla at you for a minute.” He studied her face and body and noticed some discrepancies.
“Uhhh . . . yeah. Give me a minute. Go into the conference room on the left.” She watched him walk away and wanted to run for the nearest exit, but she knew she would have to face him eventually.
She walked into the room, and his face turned into a ball of anger. “So why we didn’t we know nothing about this?” He pointed to her stomach.
“Because it’s none of your business, that’s why.”
“Don’t fuckin’ play with me right now, Sena!” Kidd was pissed beyond measure. His little brother was about to a father, and he didn’t even know about it.
“How do you even know it’s his?” She put her hands on her hips.
“It better be, and, if my calculations add up right, you’re about six months by the looks of things. And if it ain’t, if I know my brother, you gonna have a fatherless child.” Kidd was dead serious. He knew Moochie would flip the fuck out if he knew Sena was pregnant by another man.
She took a deep breath and slid down into a chair. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know how to tell him,” she pleaded.
“You sound like your friend now,” he countered sarcastically.
“Whoa, pa’tna! Leave her out of this.” No matter what, Valencia was still her girl, and nobody would be disrespecting her in any way, shape, or form. “She’s the one who told me to tell him. I just didn’t want him to hate me.” She started crying.
“Why would he hate you?” He looked away for a minute. He hated seeing women cry. It always reminded him of his mother.
“’Cause this ain’t the life he wanted, and I didn’t want to force him into anything.” She wiped the tears away. “When I met him, he made it pretty clear what he was about. Sex and money, and I was fine with that. Then, we started getting closer, and I was getting more attached than he was. Then, I found out about the baby. And I just panicked. I had to get away.” She kept looking at the floor.
“So are you gonna tell him?” He couldn’t help but think, Damn, this is supposed to be Vee and me. He felt a slight pain in his heart.
“Yeah. I mean, I really have no choice now that you know. Please let me tell him. I don’t want him to find out that way.” She sat up and leaned forward.
“Okay. I’ll let you tell him, but if you take too long, I’ll have to tell him.” He felt his brother had a right to know about his seed. He had heard the story on what went down and thought it was totally stupid of her to just leave for no reason. If Valencia didn’t have issues, there was no way in the world he would have let her leave his life.
“I know. I know. Well, welcome to uncle-hood.” She smiled and rubbed her stomach.
“Damn right! I’m gonna be an uncle. Damn! Moochie ’bout to be a daddy,” he said excitedly. “So what is it?”
“A girl. She’s gonna be a little minime.”
“Naw, homie. She ain’t gonna be no li’l freak monster.” He laughed at her.
“Shut up, punk. You know what I mean. Anyway, how’s he been doing?” She didn’t know if she wanted to hear the answer, but she wanted him to be miserable like her.
“He been all right. I guess you know Moochie gon’ always be Moochie. How you been? You been all right going through all this alone?”
“Yeah. Well, I haven’t really been alone. Vee has been a really big help. Catering to my cravings, rubbing my feet, dealing with the gas. Hell, I think she’s more excited than me. She has more stuff for the baby at her house than I do. She lives on the Internet and has all these baby magazines and ordering all this high-priced stuff.” She laughed a little. “She was telling me about the Bentley of strollers, and I told her my baby is a Chevy type.” They both laughed.
“How’s she doing?” She still held his heart. No matter what he did, she was still there in his memories to remind him of yesterday. He wanted to see her but didn’t know how to go about it. He was scared of the possibilities of Raven being there too.