He walked back over to JoAnn, “I'll give you the packs if you let me go upstairs with the boy for awhile.”
“Go ahead.” That was the voice. “He’ll be alright. You was younger than him when BJ started touching you,”
JoAnn hadn’t thought of her step-father, BJ, in years. Yeah your right, she thought.
JoAnn knew she should have said no, but she needed the packs. She looked down at her hands and they were starting to shake again. One pack wouldn't be enough.
“He'll be ok,” the voice kept whispering.
JoAnn should have taken Corey and ran, but she needed to get this pain off of her. Tony must have heard the voice, too, because he took the packs out of his pocket and dangled them in front of her face.
“You gonna go easy on him?” she asked, snatching the packs out of his hand.
He nodded.
JoAnn walked right over to Corey in the dining room. She had to tell him something to get him to do it.
“Baby,” She said to him as he stood up. “I'm gonna go use the bathroom. You go with Uncle Tony, ok. I'll be right back.”
He glanced over her shoulder at Tony and shook his head.
“BOY, YOU DO WHAT I SAY, YOU HEAR ME!” JoAnn yelled at Corey.
“Leave him,” the voice said.
She turned around and walked towards the bathroom, leaving Corey and Tony alone. JoAnn hadn’t had her first love in a while. She usually smoked crack because it was cheaper, but this was what she craved.
She was in the bathroom, getting her needle out and ready, when she heard a noise and Tony talking in the other room, but now she didn’t care. The needle felt like paradise going into her arm.
“You did good ” the voice said. It was happy.
JoAnn was around his age when her stepdad started coming in her room.
Corey would be alright, she tried to convince herself.
Chapter 10
Sabrina had knots in her stomach on the ride home from school. Nervous knots, the kind that had frequented the pit of her abdomen when something was wrong. She called the house to check on Corey, but her calls went unanswered. She dialed his cell phone and it went straight to voicemail. The engine in her car revved as she coasted to the house.
Maybe he went with Momma M, Sabrina thought as she called her grandmother’s house.
“Momma, is Corey with you?” she asked before Momma Montgomery could fully say hello.
“No, I just got home. What’s wrong?” Momma Montgomery asked, starting to feel the same knotted stomach affliction that Sabrina was suffering.
“I’ve been trying to call him but he’s not answering. Something’s wrong,” Sabrina said as she weaved in and out of lanes. She nearly clipped the bumper of an SUV as she made it towards her street.
“I’m about to be home now. I’ll call you back,” Sabrina said, throwing the phone down on the passenger seat. She didn’t hear Momma Montgomery tell her to calm down. Nor did she hear her say that he may be sleep. All of those excuses were irrelevant to her.
If Corey’s not answering, then something is wrong. He knows better than to leave the house before I get home. Sabrina replayed the multiple times that she told Corey not to leave the house before she got home.
He had usually obliged and the few times that he hadn’t, he was merely on the front porch reading a book and talking to some neighborhood kids, waiting for her to come home.
Screeching to a halt in front of the house, she threw the car into park and jumped out. An onlooker would have thought there was a fire by how fast she moved. She banged on the door at first and then let herself in with her key.
“COREY!” she screamed as soon as the door opened. “COREY!” she yelled louder as she made her way from the living room, to the kitchen and, finally, to Corey’s bedroom.
His bedroom light was on and his television was off, but the most startling thing was his empty money can. All the change had been shaken and discarded onto the comforter of his bed. Sabrina quickly looked through the change and saw the hundred dollar bill she gave him was gone.
Maybe he walked around the corner to the video game store to buy that game that he wanted, she thought to herself.
Making her way back through the house, she continued to scream his name. “COREY, DON’T PLAY. WHERE ARE YOU?” she called frantically, thinking maybe he was hiding.
She looked under the kitchen table and in the hallway closet before she emerged back outside. Again, she screamed his name. Maybe he’s just outside playing in someone’s yard, Sabrina told herself.
“COREY MONTGOMERY,” she yelled loud enough for the neighborhood to hear.
Sabrina had a few excuses and thoughts of where he could be, but nothing made sense. Her knotted stomach hadn’t subsided; the knots had multiplied. The voice of her neighbor broke Sabrina’s thoughts.
“Hey, Sabrina. You looking for Corey?” Sabrina looked up to see Harriet leaning over her fence.
“Yes, ma’am. Have you seen him?” Sabrina prayed as the words left her mouth that Harriet knew where he was.
“Yeah, he was walking up the street with this lady about twenty minutes ago,” the words eased out of Harriet’s mouth with no alarm.
“WHAT? With a lady? What lady?” Sabrina walked closer to the fence.
As Harriet spoke, her head spun in every direction looking to see if Corey would come waltzing back down the street.
“Yeah, she was a little bad looking. Like she hasn’t seen a comb in a while, but he called her Momma, so I didn’t want to get in y’all business.” The words Harriet spoke flowed easily to Sabrina’s ears and implanted a bomb on her brain.
Sabrina knew exactly who the woman was. “Dammit, Harriet. Your nosy ass didn’t stop him? Jesus.” Sabrina didn’t wait for a response as she ran towards her car and grabbed her cell phone.
Harriet still leaned on her fence, digesting the insult that was just slung her way. What did I do wrong? she thought.
Sabrina grabbed her phone and dialed the number for emergency.
“911, what’s your emergency?” the operator asked after a couple of rings.
“Yes, my brother, whom I have custody of, has been stolen by our mother. Please hurry,” Sabrina said, feeling the tears on her face.
Harriet heard the exchange and didn’t understand. “Sabrina, I’m sorry he called her Momma,” Harriet said to defend her actions. “I thought everything was fine.”
Sabrina’s eyes darted to the middle-aged woman.
“IT’S NOT HIS MOTHER, SHE IS THE DAMN DEVIL!” Sabrina yelled as she slammed her fist on the roof of her car. She ran back in the house to find Corey’s custody papers. The police will want to see them when they come.
When Sabrina stepped in the door, she noticed the note on the coffee table. She didn’t see it before.
Hey, Brina. Went with Momma. Be back soon.
Corey
Sabrina’s knees buckled when she read the note. She heard the police sirens in the distance as she hung up with the 911 operator. She pressed another number on the cell phone to call Momma Montgomery.
“Momma, she came and took him,” were the only words that flowed from Sabrina’s lips. In a daze, Sabrina sat on the living room floor and cried.
I’m gonna kill that bitch, Sabrina said to herself as she had said many times before when JoAnn had done something despicable and wrong. Only this time, she meant it.
* * *
“UGHH SHIT” he yelled as he fell to the ground. He had his member hanging out from his boxers and wanted Corey to touch it.
All Corey could think about was how Brina told him to kick and run.
"You little motherfucka," he continued to yell as he rolled around on the floor.
“If someone bothers you and tries to hurt you, I want you to kick them and run,” Corey remembered Sabrina telling him. He had already kicked him and now Corey was running. He ran to the front of the house and started to look for his Mother.
She said she was going to the bat
hroom, Corey thought as he went to find her. He opened the door to the bathroom and found her sleeping on the toilet. He thought she was sleep untill he got closer and saw the needle in her arm.“Momma. Momma…” he said, shaking her.
“Naw, gotta go shake...when they…” she was mumbling, not making any sense. He tried to grab her but she pushed him away.
Corey couldn’t understand why she got so mad and wanted him to stay with that man, but now it all made sense. He tried again to grab her so they could go, but she yelled at him.
“Let goo…” she slurred and said other words that he couldn't understand.
Corey had never seen her actually getting high. This is what Brina meant. Before this, the closest he came to drugs was watching it on tv, but now he saw it in the flesh.
Corey heard the man in the other room still yelling for him. From the bathroom to the hallway Corey ran, he saw the man struggling to his feet.
“Little bastard, I’m gonna KILL YOU!”
Glancing back in the bathroom at JoAnn he knew one thing. She was just trying to use me like Brina told me before, Corey thought to himself. She was right that she didn’t care about us. She just let me come with her so she could get high. Man, I wish I was older and bigger. I would beat that man up.
Tony was limping down the hallway when Corey made it to the front door. His pants were still on the floor like they were in the living room. They had talked about people like him at school.
Ms. Trent called them molesters. He wasn't gonna do that to me. Corey opened the door and sprinted from the house. There were some people outside and a man was still passed out on the porch, but it didn’t matter. He jumped over the man sleeping on the steps and ran past the people on the sidewalk.
He ran the same way that he and JoAnn had come. I hope I’m goin’ the right way, he said searching for familiar landmarks through the now darkened streets.
“Come here, kid... Wanna play?” one woman said as Corey ran past her. She was rail thin with a short skirt that revealed her profession. He didn’t stop, he just ran.
Why did everyone want to hurt me? Corey wondered. How was I gonna get home? I should have listened and never answered the door. Brina told me not to answer the door when she wasn’t home.
Corey knew he had to call Brina to come and get him, but he left his cell phone at home. There was a busy street up ahead. I need to get there and find a phone or get on the bus.
As he got closer to the main street, he saw the bus rolling by. YES, he thought. Increasing his speed, he tried to catch his chariot out of hell. Looking back for a brief moment he turned to make sure no one was chasing behind him.
Without paying full attention he jumped off the sidewalk and ran across the street. Hearing the blaring horn and the screeching car brakes forced him to turn his head. The headlights were right in his face. Corey hadn’t seen it before he tried to cross the street.
“Look both ways when crossing the street,” Corey remembered Brina saying like she was standing right beside him.
I just wanted to go home. The lights from the car felt like fire on his face. In the middle of the street Corey closed his eyes and waited for the car to hit him.
Chapter 11
Brandon sensed Corey was going to make a move towards the street. He had begun slowing down when Corey dashed in front of his car. The car bumper was close enough to kiss Corey on the cheek, but it didn’t hit him. Throwing the car in park, Brandon jumped out.
“ARE YOU OK? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WIT YOU, JUMPING IN THE STREET LIKE THAT?” Brandon screamed.
Corey shook uncontrollably, as he stood transfixed inches in front of Brandon’s bumper. . I shouldn’t have yelled but , damn, I could have hit him.
“Hey, you ok?” Brandon asked, kneeling down on one knee so they were eye-level.
The questions sprouted through Brandon’s mind. What the hell was he doing out this late anyway?
“Hey, man, are you ok?” He repeated, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Corey jumped when Brandon’s hand touched his shoulder.
“Hey, hey, hey…I’m not gonna hurt you little dude. What’s going on? Why are you out here so late?” Brandon asked, trying to calm Corey down.
Corey’s head whipped frantically from the crack house to the main street he was running towards. Brandon looked up towards the main road as well. He soon figured out why Corey was running. He was trying to catch the bus that just flew by.
Corey looked at the bus speeding by and then looked back at Brandon. Instantly, he started crying.“I..I..I just wanna go home. I was…trying to get the bus,” he said, covering his face with his shirt.
“Awww, man, come on. Don’t cry. I can take you home. Do you know your address?” Brandon asked him, standing up and looking around. He still couldn’t believe the boy was out here walking around by himself.
“4922 Crawford Street,” he said, sniffling and wiping his face.
“Aww, man, that’s not too far. Come on. Jump in,” Brandon said.
Corey hesitated. He looked at Brandon and then looked back down the street in the direction he had run from. He didn’t look long before he got open the passenger side door and got in.
Don’t wanna force him to come with me, Brandon thought to himself. Hell, I am a stranger and isn’t that the rule; not to get in the car with strangers?
Brandon put the address in his GPS as he eased the car up towards the busy main street. He looks like a good kid, Brandon thought as he glanced at his passenger. Nice hair cut and decent clothes let Brandon know Corey was being taken care of. But why is he out here? Brandon wondered. This is where the crack heads and prostitutes hung out.
“Make a Left on Hawthorne Street,” the voice of the GPS filled the car. Brandon did what she told him.
Neither of them spoke. Instead, they sat quietly with the radio off and followed the GPS directions. Corey stared down at his hands and didn’t say a word.
“You wanna call your mom or somebody?” Brandon finally asked.
Corey’s head turned so fast Brandon thought he would get whip lash. With an angry look on his face, he said, “My momma don’t care about me.”
“Well, where am I taking you? Do you live with your mom? I know somebody wants to know where you are. Your dad, maybe?”
Corey shook his head.
“Merge onto I-45 WEST.” The GPS gave more directions.
“I live with my sister, Sabrina,” he said, turning his head to look out the window.
“Do you wanna call her? You can use my cell phone.”
“No,” he said, not turning his head from the window.
“In 200 Feet, merge right at the Rooter Avenue East Exit 209.” Damn, I guess it is closer than I thought. I knew it wasn’t far, Brandon admitted to himself as he exited the highway.
He kept trying to make small talk with Corey until they reached his destination. In the small talk from the highway Brandon was only able to learn Corey’s name and age, he didn’t say much else.
“Make a right at Crawford Street. Your destination will be on the right.” When Brandon turned on the street, he saw a group of people and police cars outside a house. Instantly, he knew that must be where Corey lived.
“Is that your house?” Brandon asked him. Corey nodded yes.
Brandon pulled up and parked behind the police cars. Brandon noticed a woman , crying and talking to the police.
When she saw Corey, she stopped and ran to him. That must be the sister he was talking about.
“What did she do to you? Are you ok? Did you eat?” A million questions flew out of her mouth before he could answer one.
Corey squeezed Sabrina tight and started crying into her shoulder. Damn. I wonder what really happened to him, but before Brandon could say a word to her to try and explain, an officer came over.
Brandon explained to the officer that he almost hit Corey. “The boy looked out of place, so I brought him home.” Brandon explained.
“Well, you did a good thing, sir. App
arently, he has a drug-addicted mother and he left a note saying he was going with her .”
Ahhhh, so that’s why he was over there. He must have seen some shit and left, Brandon realized. That’s why he was running like that.
While Brandon talked to the cop, the crowd seemed to drift away. He saw Corey and his sister, walk into the house. He was about to leave and maybe come back another time, but Brandon saw her emerge from the house and come towards him.
He was so taken by her beauty that he became nervous. Walking over to him couldn’t have taken more than a second or two, but Brandon would swear it seemed like a lifetime.
“I can’t thank you enough for saving my brother and bringing him home,” Sabrina said. Brandon didn’t know how to respond. She has the voice of an angel. I have to calm down, Brandon thought to himself.
“He was running and jumped in the street. I almost hit him. I had to bring him home.
He seemed scared of something.” Sabrina took a deep breath and began to explain their mother and how Corey didn’t understand her problem.
“Something happened today while she was with him. I can just feel it. I’m gonna kill that bitch if she hurt him,” she said. Brandon saw fire in her eyes. Even though Sabrina was mad about this serious moment, he couldn’t help but get aroused listening to her. “I’m sorry I’m being rude, I haven’t even asked you your name.”
“Brandon Phillips. And you’re, Sabrina, right?”
“Yep, Sabrina Montgomery. Look, I want to give you something for gas and your time,” she said. Brandon was blown away when Sabrina pulled out a one hundred dollar bill.
Brandon didn’t need it and refused, but the offer turned him on more than her beauty. I haven’t seen a beautiful, responsible woman that had money in…well... I don’t think I’ve ever met one.
“Naw, I can’t accept that, but what you could do is let me help you and Corey out. I’m a volunteer for a mentoring program and maybe me and Corey could get together some time and talk and do some things,” Brandon offered as he went into his pocket and got a card from his wallet.
Freaks Cum Out (Dawn of the Freak) Page 7