by BlaQue
“Well, where is Pinky now? Is she still in Georgia with you?”
“Naw, I sent her back to D.C. Shit was getting weird and her showing up when she did fucked my head up. Now I am gonna close up shop down here for a few days to come to D.C. I need to find out what the fuck is going on. I’m gonna need somewhere to lay my head. I would stay in a hotel, but if something janky is going on, I don’t want to use my credit cards. You understand?”
“Yeah, I got you nigga. Just let me know when you get in town. I got you. I’m in the same spot. Do you need the address or do you remember where I’m at?” Shadow asked.
“I know you ain’t telling me you are still living in the hood, Shadow. I left you the shop and everything when I moved down here. You should be rolling in the dough by now.”
“Ain’t no dough rolling when you got all these kids like I got. All of their asses smart too, Neko. I’m paying for all seven of their asses to go to college,” Shadow laughed.
Shadow had seven children and if you let him off of his leash he would probably make seven more. He was a ladies man before I moved to Georgia; and knowing him like I did, I was willing to bet he was a ladies’ man now.
“I bet you won’t have another one,” I chuckled.
“Hell, naw nigga! My baby making days are over. They have been over for some time now. Look…hit me up when you cross the city limits. I’ll have the place ready for you when you touch down.”
I said my goodbyes to Shadow and then Pinky crossed my mind again. A thought popped in my head and I don’t know why I hadn’t thought about it before. I picked up my cell phone and hoped she wouldn’t just hang up on me when I called. She answered on the first ring and I swallowed the lump in my throat. I knew I was wrong as two left shoes for asking her for anything considering I had basically told her to get out of my life after she had smoked Cassandra.
“Pinky, it’s me Neko. I know we parted on bad terms and I wanted to apologize. It turns out that I will be headed up north after all. I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor before I get there.”
“Umm hmm. What do you need, Neko?” she sighed into the phone.
“I need you to make sure YaSheema Nicole is in school like she’s supposed to be. I thought since you worked at the school you could confirm that she was really there. Could you look around and see if you see her for me?”
“Oh, now you need my help? I haven’t been back to work since I left Atlanta. I am not due back in the office until Monday and being that it’s Friday I don’t know how much help I’m going to be. I’ll tell you what…when I get to work on Monday, I will check the registry and see if she checked in. If you need me to, I will go to her dorm and make sure she’s there. Then I’ll call you back.”
“Pinky, I know I don’t have to tell you this, but be careful and please don’t let her know I am coming up there. Whatever you do, do not let her know I sent you to look in on her,” I warned Pinky.
“Yeah, whatever Neko. I will let you know what I find out on Monday when I get to work. When will you be here anyway?”
“I should be there on Tuesday or Wednesday. Look…thanks again Pinky. I owe you big time for this.” Then I hung up.
I hated lying to Pinky. I didn’t need anyone to know when I would be arriving in town. My family still has enemies in Drama City and I damn sure didn’t want to alert anyone of my arrival. That included Pinky. I mean…she knew I was coming, but she had no idea I was preparing myself to leave tonight and she didn’t need to know that either.
Chapter Twenty
Unleashing the Beast
YaSheema Nicole
I’ve been on campus for a whole week and I am excited to say that I think I’m going to like it here. Coming to D.C. was the best decision I think I could have made for myself. I even made an effort to get to know my roomie Paige. I found out she is in her second year here at Howard and she isn’t as goofy as I initially thought she was. Takiya still doesn’t like her though. She doesn’t like anyone. Sometimes I don’t think she likes me either.
Takiya has been quiet for the last couple of days since I moved on campus and I am grateful. The only noise she’s made was when she had me use Aunt Rhina’s credit card from her wallet to continue paying for the hotel room I left Rhina’s body in in Richmond. Takiya said that if we kept paying for the room, no one would bother the room and find out that Rhina was in there. By then, my alibi would have been established. To say Takiya thought about everything was an understatement. She was always a step ahead and I was always struggling to keep up. Takiya was always making my life difficult, but she was making good on her promises to take care of everything.
Now it was Friday and I had been chatting with Lamont on Facetime and I finally agreed to go out with him. Takiya was totally against that. When she found out I was going to go out with him, she did everything to keep me from going. I guess she didn’t know what it was like to be lonely. She always had me, so I guess she was never really alone. I, on the other hand, needed some interaction with the outside world. I still hadn’t spoken with Uncle Neko. It ain’t because I didn’t want to talk to him. It’s because I didn’t know what to say to him. I had let his wife die alone in a hotel room out of state and I didn’t even bother to do anything about it.
You shouldn’t feel guilty about that. We probably did her whack ass a favor by killing her.
I ignored Takiya and started getting myself ready for my date with Lamont. The fall weather in D.C. was much cooler than what I was used to, so I decided to wear a simple pair of jeans and a nice blouse. I studied myself hoping I wasn’t underdressed for whatever Lamont had planned. I was so excited about him asking me out that I didn’t bother to ask him where we were going.
At seven, Paige came in with a bunch of her friends and she invited me to a campus party. I told her I was going out and that she should leave me the address to where the party was so I could stop through if my plans changed. She scribbled the address down on a notepad and left it on my desk and left. About ten minutes after she left, Lamont called my phone and asked me if I was ready. I told him I was and he told me he was in the lobby of the dorm.
When I got downstairs, Lamont was leaning on one of the bookshelves with his shades on. I couldn’t understand why he had them on being that it was early evening, but I didn’t question it. He was standing there looking as scrumptious as the day I met him. He had a fresh shape up and his clothes were flawless. When he caught sight of me he smiled from ear to ear.
I returned the smile and closed the distance between us.
I don’t think you should go out with this joker. Something about him ain’t right. You watch what I tell you. He’s gonna be a problem. I can feel it. He ain’t the reason we’re in D.C. We’re supposed to be finding your father not finding niggas to lie up with. Takiya whispered inside of my head, making me uncomfortable. She always found the worst possible times to barge in. I shrugged her off and greeted Lamont.
“Hi. You didn’t say where we were going so I didn’t know what to wear,” I said shyly.
“Naw, baby girl, you’re perfect. We’re just gonna head to Georgetown and see if we can catch a movie and grab something to eat. I figured since you ain’t from around here, I could be your private tour guide,” he said, licking his lips.
“Well, let’s go then,” I said excited about spending time with him.
We went to the movies and caught some flick that was playing. I don’t even remember what the movie was about because Lamont and I spent the majority of the movie talking and exchanging glances. Once the movie was over, we strolled through historic Georgetown hand in hand. We passed by many clothing shops and bars that were lit up even at that hour of the night. I had never seen anything like Georgetown before and I was mesmerized by the people and its beauty. My Uncle Neko had spoken of living here briefly and it was everything he had claimed it to be.
Lamont pointed out different landmarks and led me around until we both decided to grab something to eat. He said
he was going to take me to a spot in Northeast that supposedly had the best fish in the city. We pulled up in front of a little hole in the wall called Horace and Dickies. It sat on a side street from the posh H Street in Northeast D.C. The fish joint had no tables and you called out your order to one lady and another tired looking woman took your money. The counter held makeshift tip jars made out of old Lemon Head candy containers. The entire establishment, if you could call it that, was suspect; but the line of hungry customers told me otherwise. I liked different stuff; but I didn’t think this place had anything I wanted, but I didn’t want to seem rude. We ordered two fish sandwiches and lemonade. I watched as the cook opened a loaf of bread and laid sizzling hot fish from grease that had to be two months old on it.
“So, tell me about yourself, YaSheema. Why did you come to D.C.to go to school with so many good schools in the south? I would have expected you to stay in the Bible Belt. You don’t seem like you belong here. Why Howard? Do you know anyone here?” Lamont asked while we waited for our order.
“I needed to get out of Atlanta. I spent the majority of my life there and it was time to get out of there. I am originally from D.C. I was born here, but I was raised in Georgia. My uncle moved us out of D.C. when I was about one. I really don’t know much about D.C. but that’s what college is about; right? New experiences?” I responded. I didn’t know him well enough to tell him the real reason I was here. Sure I wanted to get a good education, but the other reason for being in D.C. was none of his business yet.
The woman at the counter called our number and we got our food and got back in the car. To my surprise, the sandwich was better than I thought it would be. Lamont spent the rest of the night being my private tour guide of Washington, D.C. I never imagined that the capital city would have areas that were crime ridden and drug infested. Lamont pulled up in a park and I started feeling nervous. He killed the engine and turned off the lights in a secluded part of the park’s many parking lots. The sun had gone down hours ago and I didn’t know if being that close to him so fast was a good idea.
“Umm, why did we come here? I don’t think being in a park after dark is a good idea,” I said, scanning the area. I instantly started to panic and look for places to run if I had to.
“Damn…chill, YaSheema. I got you baby. Ain’t nothing gonna happen that you don’t want to happen. I don’t get down like that. If you ain’t with anything more than talking, then I’m cool with that. You ain’t gotta be afraid of me,” Lamont said.
Don’t trust this nigga. He could be a rapist. I already told you that I ain’t trust his ass. I don’t know what it is about his fuck boy ass, but he can’t be this nice for no reason. You need to make him take us home. Takiya demanded. I hated when she played off of my emotions.
“Lamont, I think it’s best if you take me back to my dorm. I don’t think being here is a good idea right now,” I said. Maybe Takiya was right about him.
“I told you I ain’t gonna do nothing to you, but if you want to act all shitty then I’ll take you home,” Lamont said firmly. He backed out of the space and sped out of the parking lot and we rode in silence for about ten minutes before I started noticing the scenery was becoming more rural. I had only been in D.C. for a week, so I didn’t venture too far from campus, but nothing looked familiar. I tried desperately to get a glimpse of a street sign, but this nigga was speeding down narrow two lane roads that no one should speed through.
I thought about opening the door and jumping out. We were going sixty miles per hour and jumping out wasn’t going to be a smart thing to do if I wanted to live. I was going to have to wait until he stopped the car and make a run for it as soon as he stopped the car. I was all prepared to run when he pulled into an old trailer park. As soon as he stopped the car, I pulled the latch to open the car door, but Lamont was too fast. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of my hair pulling me toward him. My back violently slammed into the gear shift causing me to wince in pain.
“Ahh!” I cried out in pain.
“Bitch, I wasn’t trying to do nothing but talk to your stuck up country ass. Now since you didn’t want to let me be a gentleman and show you a good time the right way; I guess I’m gonna have to do it the wrong way,” Lamont growled, snatching me around wildly and causing me to hit my head on the steering wheel.
“Please don’t hurt me,” I begged, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. Lamont held me in place by my hair with my head wedged between the steering wheel and his lap.
“Hold still and shut the fuck up, bitch. I’ma give you something to remember about the DMV!” Lamont yelled, gripping my hair tighter. He fumbled with his free hand down by his door and when his free hand came back into my view he had a switchblade in his hand and all the fight I had was gone. Either I had better do what he said or he might kill me.
Lamont yanked my head again and put the knife up to my throat. “Take off those jeans. If you ain’t want this dick why did you go out with me? You ain’t shit but a tease. Now this is what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna unfasten your pants and pull down your panties. If you try to make a move other than pulling your pants down I will cut you! You got that?”
I did what he said and pulled my pants down as best as I could with him holding the knife to my throat. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. Where was Takiya now and why wasn’t she helping me? I was able to get my pants down a little past my thighs. Being in the awkward position and held at knifepoint prevented me from getting them down any further. Apparently that was all Lamont needed. He put the knife on the dashboard and his hands violated me in the worst way. He ripped my blouse open and pawed at my breast. I cringed from his touch and he slapped me so hard all I could see was a bright light flash before me like the flash from a camera.
“Didn’t I tell you not to move? You’re gonna make me kill you!” he said with his hands travelling down below my waistline and into my womanhood. I cried out. My body wasn’t aroused so his finger’s entry was unwelcomed. After he got frustrated because my body wouldn’t respond to him, he opened his door and grabbed the knife off the dash. He dragged me out like I was a weightless ragdoll and threw me to the ground. I couldn’t run because my pants were tangled. My bare ass was on the concrete and he proceeded to drag me to the back of the car. He opened the backdoor and made me get inside.
“Lay on your back bitch,” he growled.
I did as he instructed. If I didn’t…he would kill me. Lamont pulled my slides off of my feet and my jeans off. He unfastened his pants and climbed on top of me with his hand wrapped around the handle of the knife. I lay perfectly still while Lamont raped me over and over again in the back of his car in a trailer park. When he was done, he tossed me out of the car and spit on me.
“Don’t even think of telling anyone shit. It ain’t like they’re gonna believe your slow country ass anyway,” Lamont laughed as he pulled his pants up and got back in his car. I didn’t move because if I did there was no telling what his crazy ass would do.
“Bitch count to one hundred and then you can get up,” he barked then he cranked up the engine, made U-turn and sped off into the night. As soon as I couldn’t see his tail lights anymore, I got up on my feet as quickly as I could. My insides ached from the brutal attack, but I had to get out of there in case Lamont decided to not be so generous and come back and finish me off.
My eyes searched all around and they landed on a trailer that had all of the interior lights on. There was no shame in my game. I hobbled over to the trailer and banged on the door for dear life. I just hoped that the people on the other side would take pity on me and help me. When the door of the trailer opened, a little old white lady peered out at me in horror.
“Oh, my God! Chile, what done up and happened to you?”
I looked down at myself and I hadn’t noticed before that I was still naked from the waist down with Lamont’s semen running down my thighs and my blouse was wide open. All I could think about was getting away from where Lamont had left me.
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br /> “Dear God, chile. What the Sam hell happened to you?” the woman asked with a wide-eyed stare plastered across her face.
Just as I was about to tell the woman what happened, I saw headlights headed in our direction and my fear returned full force.
“Ma’am, please…can you just let me in before he comes back? If he sees me talking to you he will come after me,” I cried hysterically. The woman moved aside and let me in. She told me to wait right there while she went to the back to find something for me to put on. As soon as the woman was out of my sight Takiya popped up.
Now will you listen to me when I tell you I don’t trust someone?
“You left me, Takiya. He could have killed me and you didn’t do anything to stop him,” I whispered. I didn’t want to startle the woman who was kind enough to let me into her home and help me.
I had to teach you a lesson first. You had to learn that what I say does matter. I just don’t tell you shit to hear myself talk. I told you that fuck nigga was shady and you ain’t believe me. You still went out with him and look where that got you. That got your gullible ass raped, naked and stranded in God only knows where.
I felt the hot tears pouring from my eyes while I stood there naked and shivering. I didn’t need to be chastised at a time like this. I needed help and Takiya was pressed to hear that she was right about Lamont and how wrong I was about him.
“Look, Takiya you were right and I was wrong. Is that what you wanted to hear? I was wrong! Now what are we gonna do about it? This poor lady is probably scared out of her mind back there. She might even be calling the cops as we speak. So since you have all the bright ideas…what the fuck do you want me to do?” I damn near screamed.