Share turned on her block and parked. She sat in the car for a few minutes, trying to digest all the events of the day. She got out and took her Coach briefcase from off the back seat. She then hit the car alarm and took her house keys out of her purse. Petie eased up behind her as she put the key in the lock. ”Open the door and put the dog away before I kill both of y’all,” he said and placed his burner firmly to the back of her rib cage. The only thing she could do was obey.
They stepped inside the foyer and into the hallway of the brownstone. Pirate came running down the steps and Share instructed him to go back. He did what he was told. Share locked him in one of the rooms and turned toward Petie. ”Now what?” she said. He back-slapped her without hesitating. Share fell hard to the floor and looked up at Petie with a bloody lip as she tried to crawl away from him. He took off his jacket and reached down and popped the chain that hung from her neck.
”Petie, please, I never did anything to you. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you now. I swear I will,” Share cried, with blood spilling from her mouth and snot dripping out of her nose.
”Take off your clothes before I rip them off,” Petie ordered. Before Share could move, he pulled her up off the floor by her throat. Petie ripped the clothes from her body and dragged her into the bedroom by her hair. Share began to scream.
”Stop fucken screamin’ and cryin’. You wanna make all that noise—huh? I’m gonna give you reason to make noise,” Petie said. He spit a razor out of his mouth and cut off Share’s bra and thong. She stood before him, naked and shaking. She had never been so scared in her life. Petie asked her whether she was going to give it to him or did he have to take it.
”Fuck you!” Share said and spit in his face. Petie wiped her saliva from his face with his finger and licked it. ”You sick son of bitch. I don’t know how I could ha—”
Petie punched her in the face before she could finish her sentence. He unzipped his pants and pulled his dick through the zipper hole. He pushed Share onto the bed and lay on top of her with his dick and knees in her face. He was shoving his meat into her mouth when she bit him. Petie hit Share in the face until she stopped moving. He went to the dresser and pulled two pairs of pantyhose out of one of the drawers. He pulled Share up to the headboard and tied each of her arms to the bedpost with the pantyhose. She lay on her stomach now, and Petie got completely undressed and lay back on top of her, rubbing his dick between her butt cheeks. She pleaded with him to stop, but he ignored her and roughly entered her. She was bleeding when he finally pulled out; he had ripped her. He rammed his dick back into her ass and fucked her over and over.
Share went into shock and somehow shitted on herself. Petie got up and walked to the bathroom sink, washed the blood and feces off his dick and left her lying there.
Will came in the house and called out to Share. There was no answer, and he thought she might be asleep. But Pirate was barking like somebody had snatched his food. He let Pirate out of the room, and he frantically rushed past Will and ran up the steps.
Will called out to Share again, and Pirate was barking like a mad dog now. Following Pirate, he walked to the top of the stairs and saw Share’s clothes thrown about. He walked into the bedroom and stopped in his tracks. Share was tied to the bed, and blood and shit were all over her legs. The room smelled like raw ass.
Will ran over to the bed and untied Share. He called 9-1-1 and then he called Kalif. Petie was definitely going to die tonight.
Chapter Twenty- Six
Venus was recuperating from a hangover. She hadn’t been to work and she hadn’t heard from BJ. She decided to call the hospital and get his room number. Her head pounded when she moved, and she felt like she had to throw up. Venus started drinking again, knowing full well that she was an alcoholic and should stay away from liquor.
The phone rang. It was Will, calling to tell her that Share was in the hospital. Will told her everything, from the incident at McDonald’s to coming home and finding Share. Venus was in shock. She hung up, washed her face and drove to Columbia Presbyterian.
Share was lying on her side when Venus arrived. There was a cop outside the hospital door. Venus knew it was serious now, seeing Share with police protection. Why did she ever get involved with Petie to begin with?
Share smiled up at Venus, who bent down and kissed her forehead. ”How are you, sissy,” Venus asked her with tears in her eyes.
”I’m in pain and I can’t shit. The doctors want to give me a bag to shit in,” Share said crying. ”He ripped me up bad, Venus, and I have internal injuries...he fucked up my insides.” Venus wiped Share’s tears and then wiped her own. Share’s face was beat up and her lip had four stitches in it.
Venus wanted to kill Petie. Share told her the doctors were running lots of tests on her—including the one for HIV. Petie had ripped her so badly that the doctors had to give her eleven stitches to close up the wound. She said it hurt even when she peed.
Venus and Share talked until the nurse came to give Share a shot of morphine. Venus watched as her best friend dozed off into a restless sleep.
She quietly left the room and approached the officer outside the door. ”Please make sure that anyone who comes to see her shows proper identification...please, sir,” she begged. ”Guard her with your life.” The officer told Venus that he would do his best for the eight hours he was there.
Venus left and headed to Lincoln Hospital to see BJ. Now that her mind was clear, she would listen to what he had to say.
Will and Kalif were sitting in the Durango when Ladelle and Lydia pulled up in front of them. Ladelle was getting a bag of groceries out of the car and Lydia was walking toward the building. Kalif recognized Ladelle immediately. ”Yeah, that’s one of the niggas who jumped out that burgundy truck on me—him and this other cat. This Jamacian kid tripped me up, and that’s how they caught me. But that’s definitely him,” he said.
Ladelle didn’t notice them at all. And he had no idea what was about to go down.
BJ was ready to leave the hospital. He felt handicapped. There was a cast on his ankle and his wrist was bandaged up. Being that he worked at Lincoln Hospital doing custodial maintenance, the entire staff knew him. There were flowers and cards all over his room, but enough was enough; it was time to go.
BJ was sitting up in bed eating fruit when Venus came through the door. Damn, he loved her. She stood there looking at him for a few moments and finally said, ”Do you mind if I come in? Don’t worry; I left the dogs home.” BJ smiled at her and they both started laughing. Venus sat on the side of the bed and kissed him. ”I’m so, so sorry, baby. I swear I am. I was just so hurt, hearing you over the phone with that...girl.” She didn’t know what to call Annette.
BJ came clean with her about everything and hoped that she would take him back. She told BJ she didn’t know if she could ever trust him again. After speaking further and going back and forth, they finally decided to start over.
Venus told BJ about what had happened to Share and the condition she was in. It had been one thing after another lately.
Venus left the hospital and went to the ATM to withdraw some money. She then filled up her gas tank and went shopping. She wanted to replace some of BJ’s clothes that she’d cut up. Afterward she went to Pathmark to buy groceries.
BJ would be home tomorrow. He said he’d be leaving with or without the doctor’s consent. Venus knew she couldn’t stop loving him just like that. And she didn’t want to anyway.
Renee was on the phone talking to Petie. She told him his picture was on the news and he was wanted for attempted murder, rape, assault and a bunch of other charges. Petie told her to go home in the morning, gather up some of his clothes and meet him in Queens. Renee wanted to know what he’d done. ”I’ll explain everything later, ma. I love you, and tell my sons that Daddy loves them to death,” he said brushing her off. Renee hung up wondering what he had gotten himself into now.
Renee wanted to call Ladelle. He had been acting
real shitty towards her since he came home, and especially since Lydia was pregnant now. How could he forget all the times we spent together—all the freaky things we did? Don’t I mean anything to him? Apparently not.
Renee wanted to fight Lydia again. That bitch can’t even fight, she thought. Punk bitch. She decided to wait until Lydia had her baby and then catch her ass outside the projects and put the beats on her—embarrass her right in her own hood. Why not? It’ll give the neighbors something to talk about.
Petie was at Roz’s house in Queensbridge. She was a chick he used to fuck with. He needed to hide out for a minute. NYPD had put out an all points bulletin for his arrest. The news reporter had said that he was armed and dangerous, and no one other than the authorities should try to apprehend him. Instead, the public was urged to call 9-1-1 or Crime Stoppers.
Roz was a bonafide thoroughbred. He knew she would let him lay low. He was thinking about going out to Pennsylvania, and from there down south. He didn’t really have a plan, but he wasn’t going to let anyone take him alive. He wasn’t trying to go up North on rape and sodomy charges. Fuck it, he thought. I’ma shoot it out with them niggas. Fuck them charges and the police...live by the gun, die by the bullet.
Chapter Twenty- Seven
Share’s doctor came into her room, and she knew something was wrong by the look on his face. He told her that the internal bleeding had stopped. That was the good news. The bad news was that her HIV test came back positive.
”Noooo!! Oh, God, please...no! Doctor, please tell me there’s been a mistake. Please, doctor. Oh, God, retest me, please,” Share pleaded, unable to accept what the doctor had just told her. He said that if she wanted to be re-tested, he’d arrange to have her blood work done again.
Share lay in her hospital bed and cried until her head hurt. There were so many things going on in her mind. Did I get infected when Petie raped me? Did Will infect me? How am I going to tell Will? Should I even tell him? Are people gonna look at me and know I’m HIV positive? How am I gonna live with a death sentence? Should I tell Venus? How is she gonna react when I tell her?
Share’s pillow was soaking wet from her tears. She felt sorry for herself. Her face was battered, her ass was sewn up...and the doctor said she was HIV positive. How could all this be happening to her? She was a businesswoman, damnit, and these kinds of things didn’t happen to women like her—but they did.
Share thought about a way to get to Petie. The answer came in an instant. She could talk to Renee. She knew Renee, but Renee didn’t know her. Well, after she got finished talking to her, she’d know everything about her.
Share called Venus and told her the news about her health. They both cried, and Share told Venus that she was planning to call Renee. Venus said she would make the call for her and bring Renee to the hospital. She knew it was the only way Share could get some answers. She just hoped it wouldn’t make matters worse. Share gave Venus the number as they prepared to hang up.
Renee picked Darnell up from the hospital and took him to her sister Rhonda’s house. She had a lot of running around to do. She called Ladelle and he asked if he could meet her over at her building. He wanted to give her something for Petie.
Ladelle was sitting outside when she got to the front of her building. He opened the window and gave her a thousand dollars. He told her to take care and he pulled off. That was it; he had nothing else to say to her. Renee was disgusted. Fuck you, she thought. Dick was corny anyway. He had a nice tongue game, but that was about it. Besides, he made more noise than I did. Fuck him!
Renee went upstairs to her apartment and got some clothes together for her fugitive husband. She gathered clothes for the boys, too. She didn’t want them back in the house until those two thugs were caught.
Renee checked her answering machine. She knew everyone who called except for one person. She played it again and heard Venus’ voice, asking her to please call her. It concerned her husband’s health, and maybe hers, too. What the fuck is that about? she thought.
Renee immediately called Venus back. She listened in horror as Venus told her some of what she knew. Renee wanted to meet Share. She wanted to see her face-to-face.
Petie was laying up with Roz in Queens. He hadn’t fucked with her in a while, and she took it in the ass, too. Nasty bitch, he thought. He also thought about how he had rammed Share in the ass and she shit on him. That’s what saved her. If she hadn’t done that foul shit, he would have still been up in her.
Petie called Renee at her sister Rhonda’s house and was told that she had to make a run. He left word for her to call as soon as she got in. She never did.
Renee got to the hospital and waited for Venus. Venus had told her what she looked like and what she’d be wearing. Renee thought it was some kind of setup at first, but her heart told her it wasn’t.
Venus arrived late and apologized. She and Renee introduced themselves to each other and registered for Share’s room. Renee did not know that Share’s boyfriend was one of the guys who had come to her apartment that day, and she didn’t know about Share’s involvement with her husband. Renee also didn’t know that Petie had infected Share; Venus only told her that he had raped and beat her so badly that she had to be hospitalized. Venus told Renee that there was something else she needed to know, but she had to hear it from Share.
Venus and Renee walked into Share’s room. Venus immediately walked over to Share, who was lying on her side, and hugged her. Share introduced herself to Renee and started off by saying, ”First off all, I’m sorry that I had to meet you under these circumstances. Unfortunately, certain events have occurred that left me no choice but to speak with you.” Renee looked at her and thought about how professional she seemed. Share told her about her and Petie’s relationship—how it started, the times they spent together and how often. She also informed Renee how he flipped when she told him not to call her anymore, and how she had shot Giselle in self defense. She told her about everything that went down, except how Will and the fellas had jumped Petie and put him in the hospital.
Renee was numb when Share was done. There was nothing she could say. Then finally, Share told her about her HIV test, and Renee broke down in tears. Seeing her cry made Share cry. They talked some more and Renee told Share she would turn Petie over to the police herself. She wasn’t only hurt, but she felt embarrassed, knowing that Petie had brutalized a woman like that. She knew he was violent, and she told Share she believed everything she had said.
Renee bent down and hugged Share. Now she wanted answers from Petie, and after she got them she was going to tell the police of his whereabouts.
Renee was devastated. When she left the hospital she did-n’t go back to Rhonda’s house; she went to the Department of Health and took an HIV test. She wanted the results right then and there. God forbid she was positive, because if she was she was going to beat Petie with a golf club. But first she’d make Jell-O out of his balls. Yeah, Petie was a dead man if she was positive. He wouldn’t have to worry about the police, because she’d kill him.
She thought about all the times she and Ladelle were together and didn’t use protection. What if we both have it? Would that mean Lydia and the baby have it too? Lots of people’s lives were at stake now because of her no good, low-down, cheating-ass husband.... If Petie did give the virus to Share, then where did he get it from? Renee knew he wasn’t gay, but she wondered about his activities during the times he was locked up. There was too much going on. She needed to sit back and just breathe.
Chapter Twenty- Eight
Petie was on his way back to Manhattan. Ladelle had agreed to meet him at Copeland’s on 145th. Renee never showed up with the money or his clothes... What the fuck happened to her? And why is Ladelle acting so funny all of a sudden? Petie was suspect; he did-n’t really trust anyone now that there was a manhunt going on for his capture.
Petie pulled in front of Copeland’s Restaurant and waited for Ladelle. After a few minutes passed, he got out of his truck, went to
a bodega and bought a beer and a pack of cigarettes. On his way back he saw a kid he knew named Bobby who he’d been locked up with while on his second state bid. Bobby had lost a lot of weight. He looked like he was smoked out or sick, one or the other. Petie got back in the Navigator and talked to Bobby from the window.
”So what you been up to? Look like you shed some pounds,” Petie said to him.
”Yeah, I lost a little weight,” Bobby replied. He was dressed in a Sean John suit and a pair of Kenneth Coles.
”So, what—you smokin’ on the down low or what?” Petie asked him, thinking he already knew the answer.
”No, I don’t fuck with that shit. I got the virus,” Bobby told Petie and saw the expression on his face immediately change.
”Oh, shit!” was all Petie could say. He told Bobby to take care of himself and he kindly dismissed him. Petie wondered how long Bobby had been sick. He should have asked him. He used to run up in Bobby when they were in the same housing unit. Damn, now he had something else to worry about.
Ladelle pulled up and parked behind Petie. He opened the passenger side door of the Navigator to get in and he and Petie sat and talked for a few minutes. Ladelle said he couldn’t understand why Renee hadn’t met up with Petie, because he’d given her the money hours ago. Petie thought that maybe the police were harassing her, thinking she knew where he was. That was the only reason he could think of that would keep her from contacting him. Ladelle told Petie he loved him like a brother, but he was done with all the rah-rah shit; it was over for him. He said the only things guaranteed from that lifestyle were prison and death. It was time for a change. Ladelle and Petie gave each other a firm hug, and Ladelle headed home where he felt he needed to be—with wifey.
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