by Sienna Mynx
The officer started banging on her window with his fist. Valentina looked over to find a short Hispanic cop about her size in height and weight. She glared at him, pressing the button to roll the window down.
“Did you not hear me tapping!” he snapped.
“What?”
“Give me your license and registration.” He ordered.
She hesitated over the unexplained hostility.
“License and registration!” he shouted at her.
She passed him both and he snatched them from her fingers. He called in the traffic stop by speaking into the speaker box on his shoulder. Rolling her eyes she hit the button to roll up the window and shut him out.
“Keep your window down, ma’am!” he ordered.
Valentina sighed. “Can you just give me the ticket already?”
“What did you say?” the cop asked. He removed his Ray-Ban sunglasses, and tucked them in the pocket of his uniform.
“I said, can I have my ticket please, officer.”
“Oh I’m sorry, am I holding you up?” he looked down at her license. “Valerie Masters?” he said reading her birth name. He looked up at her. “Ah, I know who you are. You’re Valentina from the Black Diamonds aren’t you?”
She cringed.
Staring straight ahead she pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything more.
“Look at me when I’m talking to you!” he demanded.
Valentina cut her eyes over to the officer. He put his arm on the inside of her window and leaned forward, so she could see the hateful golden brown color of his eyes. “Valerie or Valentina, which is it?”
“Why was I stopped?”
He snickered. “You made an illegal right turn.”
“How can a right turn be illegal?” she mumbled.
“Maybe if you read the traffic sign you drove right past instead of talking on that phone in your car, you’d know how!”
“Whatever. Can you get off my car please?” she asked. She had enough of the pip-squeak Robo-cop’s bullying. All she wanted to do was head home before the groceries in the back of the car spoiled.
“That’s it. Get out of the car.”
“What?” Valentina frowned.
“You heard me. Get out of the car!”
“For what?”
The officer reached inside and unlocked her door. Valentina tried to lock it back knocking his hand out of the way. Enraged he snatched the car door open. “I told you to get out of the car!”
“I didn’t break any law.”
He grabbed Valentina by the arm roughly, dropping her license and registration. Frightened she fought back as his nails cut into her skin. “Let me go! You fucking asshole!”
He was much stronger. He pulled her so hard she fell out of the car into the street. Tears sprung to her eyes from the pain. The more she fought back the more the violence increased. The officer snatched her hard and slung her upward to her feet, then threw her on the hood of his squad car, making sure to slam her head down on the hot surface. Valentina burst into tears, as he kicked her legs apart and began to handcuff her.
Cars slowed. People on the sidewalks stopped, some in shock, most in disgust at the rough force used by the officer. Valentina fought back through her tears, while the handcuffs locked on painfully tight to her wrists.
“You fucking stars think you can come to South Beach and do whatever the hell you want.” He grunted then leaned over on her and whispered in her ear, tightening her cuffs to the point she whimpered. “Well you’re wrong!”
He snatched her back up by grabbing a fistful of her dreadlocks.
“You asshole! I’m going to sue your ass!” she grunted out through her sobs. She blinked through her tears. The paparazzi were arriving. They were never far in this town. Several jumped out of their vehicles. They must have police scanners or something, because they arrived quickly, immediately aiming their lens her way. Valentina hated her fear but it took over and she cried. The officer pushed her into the side of his squad car as two other police cruisers arrived. He forced her into the back seat and slammed the door.
The cameras flashed until the other officers on the scene forced them away from the car. Valentina kept her head down, her dreads hanging over in her face. She still didn’t know what happened. How she got there. Lifting her head she saw two policemen searching her truck. She dropped her head again and willed her tears to stop. She did nothing wrong. She was going to make that fucking cop pay for his attack on her.
“So you’re not only a spoiled bitch, but a pothead too.” The officer snickered when he got inside he car.
“What?” Valentina asked confused.
“We got your weed out of your purse. You’re going to jail.”
“You had no right to search my vehicle!”
The officer ignored her and began to call it in. “You saw those cameramen, you asshole! Did you? They took your picture too, when I tell them what you did to me—”
“Shut up!” the officer yelled back at her.
Valentina kicked his seat. “Fuck you!” she shouted back.
The officer glared up at her in the rearview, then smiled as he drove her away.
**
“Matt, telephone!”
Mattel remained slouched in his leather swivel chair listening to the artist in the sound booth through his headphones. He didn’t hear his tech come in or mention the phone. The guy walked over and touched his shoulder. “Matt? Telephone.”
Snatching the earphones off he frowned. “Take a message, can’t you see me working!” he snapped.
The tech shrugged and walked off.
“Wait! Who is it?” he asked.
“Valentina.”
“Keep recording. I’ll be right back.” He left. Turning his Miami Heat cap backwards he walked through his studio. Valentina said she needed space. He was giving it to her. In fact he had prepared himself not to hear her voice for the next week. Now she was calling him after a day? Would she give him her decision over the phone? With Valentina he never knew what to expect next.
“Valentina?”
“Matt, you got to… you got to come get me… I… he said, they said…”
“Valentina? I can’t hear you, what’s all that noise in the background? What’s wrong?”
The mixture of her deep sobs and garbled words left his heart racing and head spinning. He had to drop on the desk and calm himself down. “Baby, tell me what it is,” he tried again.
“Jail…they put me in jail,” she wept.
“They? Who?” Mattel gripped the phone. “Talk to me, baby, tell me where.”
“I wasn’t doing anything wrong. He threw me on the car. He attacked me for no reason, that fucking asshole. And they’re treating me like some kind of criminal. Please come, Matt. Please.”
“I’m on my way,” he said.
He dropped the phone, not even bothering to hang it up. He snatched up his keys and ran for the door.
“Boss, what about—” Jameson, the sound tech, hurried out just as Mattel got in his car. He was swerving into the street before he could hear the rest of the question. The needle on the speedometer kept rising. He hit the boulevard and floored it. He grabbed his cell phone from out of his pocket and shuffled through the numbers until he found the number he was looking for.
“Hello?”
“Zephyr? That you?” he asked.
“Of course it’s me. Who is this?”
“It’s Matt, can you call Raven? I need you both to meet me at the police station. The one downtown.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Valentina, she’s been arrested and that’s all I know. Can you two get in contact with her attorney, I can’t think of his name.”
“Randy Pierce, yes I’ll call him. Wait, why was Valentina arrested? How did—”
“I don’t have any more details than that. Just get there okay. I’m already on my way.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll call Rae and we’ll get her attorney on it.
”
Mattel hung up. He soon realized he didn’t know what station Valentina was being detained in. He said downtown but for all he knew she could be in Opa Locka. “Shit! Fuck!” he hit the steering wheel, swerving around one car then the next. He would have to start downtown first. It was the precinct where they booked most offenses that happened in and out of South Beach.
“Hold on, Valentina,” he said with no regard for the speed limit. He wanted her out of there and wouldn’t leave unless she left with him.
**
“Resisting arrest, possession, making terrorist threats against a police officer. What the hell are they talking about?” Raven paced back and forth in front of Mattel and Zephyr. She stopped and put her hands to her temples. “This isn’t happening. How could this be happening to her?”
“It’s been two hours.” Zephyr pointed out. She looked over to the attorney, “Shouldn’t she be out by now?”
Mattel checked his watch. Over an hour ago he ran out to the bank and made the withdrawal to avoid the nastiness of a bondsman. He sat on the other side of Zephyr watching the door. Each time it opened with a released inmate walking through, his heart jumped. He expected to see Valentina. It was making him crazy.
“Zee’s right. She should have been out by now,” Raven said.
“Ladies, it’s a process.” Randy advised. “We’ve posted the bail and paid the fine. They’ll discharge her soon.” The attorney stood. “Let me check—”
The door opened once more. Valentina appeared. She carried her things in a large plastic zip bag, including her purse. She looked dazed. Zephyr and Raven nearly knocked each other over in an attempt to reach her. The girls threw their arms around her and hugged her tightly.
“Sweetheart, you’re okay, you’re okay.” Raven said. She kissed her face.
Zephyr rubbed her back. “It’s fine, Valentina. It’s over now.”
Valentina clung to Raven, weeping. To see her in such pain was torture for them all. But even more so for Mattel. From his peripheral he could see the female officer along with her partner snicker.
“What the fuck? What’s so funny?” he shouted at them both. The officers’ smiles faded. The attorney stepped in the line of view to get Mattel’s attention.
“Don’t make a scene. We’re going out the back. There’s press out front.”
“Watch your mouth,” The female officer said from across the room pointing at Mattel. He glared at her. Zephyr touched his arm. “Matt, please don’t. Hasn’t she been through enough? Let’s get her out of here.”
He blew out a heated breath and went to Valentina. He took her from Raven he hugged her and squeezed her tight. She clung to him. “Are you okay, baby?” he whispered in her ear.
“I just want to go home, please,” she said.
“I’ll take you,” he said.
**
“I’m worried about her,” Raven said. She looked up when Zephyr came out of Valentina’s room. “Zee, is she okay?”
“She’s fine, she’s okay,” Zephyr said and dropped on the sofa. “I don’t even want to turn on the news. I’ve put her laptop and phone up. I don’t think it’s a good news week for any of us.”
“Raven, I’m sorry about Paper Dolls,” Mattel said. “I heard the Larry Richards interview with Max Steele.”
“You and the rest of the world, but I don’t give a shit about any of it. I want to know what happened to my girl! What did she say, Zee?”
Zephyr shook her head. “She won’t talk about it. She’s just sitting in there not talking, but she isn’t crying anymore, so that’s good, right? I mean she won’t get depressed and stuff like before. Will she?”
Mattel leaned forward. He dropped his face in his hands. “The lawyer says he could probably get the search thrown out, he thinks it was illegally done. That’ll take care of the possession charge.” Mattel said into his hands and then looked up. “I don’t know about these other charges though. They don’t make any sense.”
“Exactly!” Zephyr exclaimed. “And the possession should be thrown out cause Valentina doesn’t do drugs! Those officers are lying, they couldn’t have found marijuana in her car. They planted it there!”
Mattel and Raven exchanged looks.
Zephyr stood. “I think we should stay the night. You know, to make sure she’s okay.”
“No.” Valentina walked into the living room with her hands in her back pockets. “You guys go home. Seriously, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I just want to get under the covers.”
“You need us,” Zephyr said. “I’m not going anywhere. I won’t leave you alone.”
“I’m fine, Zee. I really am just tired,” she said.
Mattel cleared his throat. “I can stay.” He stood. “I want to. If she needs anything I’ll call.”
“You sure, Valentina?” Raven frowned. “We’re always here for each other. Always.”
“Yeah, guys, I’m tired. We can talk tomorrow and I’ll explain it then. Right now I need to lie down.”
Zephyr hugged her and kissed her once more. She cupped her face in her hands. She spoke in her stern motherly voice. “Don’t turn on the TV or radio. Don’t turn on the computer either. Just keep that negativity out, and don’t you worry we’ll get those assholes for doing this to you.”
“Whoa! Rae, did you hear Zee say assholes?” Valentina joked.
Raven laughed. “Don’t piss the debutante off she might drop the F-bomb next.”
They all smiled and hugged each other. “I love you guys,” Valentina said.
“We’re sisters, we love you too,” Raven said. “Call me, for anything. Or if you need anything.”
“I will. I’ll be fine. Matt’s here he’ll protect me. Won’t you, Matt?” Valentina smiled.
He winked.
“What about AK? Did you call him?” Raven asked. “He has to have heard about it by now.”
“He’s in LA or New York. I’m not sure. I don’t want to worry him. I’ll call him in the morning.”
The phone started ringing, and Valentina looked over at it. “In fact, guys I’m turning the phone off tonight. I don’t want to talk to anybody. Okay?”
“Okay, love you,” they said in unison.
Valentina walked them to the door. “I’ll call you both in the morning. Good night,” she said. She closed and locked the door. When she turned from it she found Matt staring at her. “I feel grimy. I can smell the musk and stale stench of that jail cell on my skin. I’m going to go shower.”
Mattel tried to stop her but she walked into her room and closed the door on him.
**
“Valentina!”
She looked up at herself in the mirror. She cried in the shower, she cried out of it, now she just stood at the sink crying. Turning she unhooked her satin robe from the back of the door and wrapped herself up in it. She was tired of crying, but just found it hard to stop.
“Valentina!”
She heard him call her repeatedly. The sound of his voice made her feel safe. She walked out of her bathroom and then out of the room. As soon as she emerged she was greeted by the wondrous smells of his cooking. Wiping her eyes she walked over to the table. “What’s this?”
“You need to eat.”
“That’s sweet. I can’t. My stomach hurts,” she said.
“Try a little something for me?” he smiled.
She nodded and sat down. He put a plate before her. “Wait a sec. You didn’t cook this?” she inspected the pasta.
“Who said I did? I ordered it from the Italian King.”
Valentina laughed. “Ha! I knew it. I eat enough of it to know it when I see it.”
Mattel plopped down across from her. He passed the buttery garlic rolls. She grabbed the breadbasket and avoided his stare. The thing about Matt that always worked was that he knew how to read her. Even better than her talkative friends.
She loved them, but their method was to talk a situation to death until they collectively agreed it was for the bet
ter. Valentina couldn’t go through that again tonight. Her humiliation was worse than when her group dropped her and trashed her name in the press. Worse than anything she’s ever experienced.
They ate in silence. Neither of them spoke. She would look up every now and then and he’d give her that sexy wink that would make any girl giggle. She’d smile and continue eating. Half way through the meal he fetched himself a beer and her one too.
“How do you feel?” he asked. He twisted the top off and handed the beer to her.
Valentina pushed back having eaten her full from the meal. She picked up her beer and returned to the sofa. Mattel followed. He gave her space on the sofa. He seemed overly careful not to crowd her.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he said.
“I don’t know, Matt. I swear he attacked me. One minute he’s being all smart-ass about me being a celebrity, and then the next minute he’s dragging me out of my car. All from a frickin’ illegal turn. He came to the car hostile, and when he found out who I was he thought it gave him license to treat me like trash.” She put her hand to her mouth. Tears clouded her eyes. “He threw me on the car in front of everyone.”
Mattel took the beer from her hand and put it on the coffee table. He then took her hands into his, turning them over. He could see the red bruising from the handcuffs on her wrists. His jaw tightened, and stomach soured. “Yeah that fucker is going to pay for this.”
“I didn’t make it any better.” she confessed. “I should have just shut the hell up. Why is it I can never shut the hell up?” she broke down. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in.
“It’s not your fault, baby.”
“My life is such shit. Now this is going to be all in the press, it’s like no matter what I do I can never undo who they see me as. Maybe it’s because it’s who I am,” she said.