by Kiki Swinson
“Bitch, you’re lying! You attacked him first,” Sam said with rage.
“Yeah, Maxine, why you lying?” I interjected.
“You’re a P.O., for real?” the security guard asked her.
“Yes, I am. Here’s my badge.” She handed him an ID with her face and credentials plastered all over it. Once he scanned over all the information printed on her I.D, he handed it back to her and said, “Do you need me to help you make an arrest?”
Before she answered, I looked at this nigga like he was fucking crazy. I mean, did he actually think that I was going to make her job easier by letting him take me into custody? Was this fake-ass, non-guntoting nigga stupid or something? Before he could make a move, I settled the whole thing by saying, “Maxine, before you answer this cat’s question, I just want you to think about the repercussions he is going to face if he put his hands on me. Now you know I ain’t nothing to be fucked with, and I would seriously hurt him if you don’t send him on his merry way.”
Maxine stood still and acted like she was contemplating taking this guy up on his offer, so I reminded her again that if the nigga touched me, I was going to lay him out on the ground. I told Samantha to get back in the car and I followed her.
The security guard stepped aside when I started the ignition, but Maxine refused to move. “Trust me, you can run but you can’t hide,” she said. “Remember, I got eyes all over the place.” She kicked a huge dent in the driver’s side door with her boots. When I pulled off, she got on her phone and started dialing numbers.
“Don’t go to your mother’s house because the U.S. Marshals will be waiting for you,” she warned me.
SETH
The Real Wifey
Samantha complained about her hand the whole time I was driving, and I swear I wanted to tell her to shut the fuck up, even though I knew that wouldn’t have been the right thing to say under the circumstances. What she needed was a first aid kit or something. I pulled over to the nearest drugstore and got everything I figured she would need to medicate and bandage her wound. Afterward we rode down to the Lafayette Park, found a parking spot by the tennis courts, and sat there trying to figure out what we were going to do.
“What’s going through your mind?” I asked her right after I shut off the ignition.
“I’m just trying to figure out what I am going to do. I mean, I know the U.S. Marshals are going to be waiting on me when I get back to the halfway house, which makes me not want to go back there.”
“If you don’t want to go back, I won’t take you.”
“But where else am I going to go? Those people are going to put out an APB if I don’t show up. And not only that, if I go back there today without a copy of my application from the SSI office and a receipt from DMV showing them I’d been there, they are going to railroad my ass for real.”
“So whatchu wanna do?”
Frustrated and confused Samantha started crying. “Seth, I don’t know what I want to do. Shit would’ve been a lot easier for me if you hadn’t fucked with that bitch from the beginning. But, nah, you had to play big dawg and act like you were a fucking lover or something. And now I’m sitting here on pins and needles, trying to figure out if your stalker bitch is going to rat us out.”
“Trust me, she ain’t gon’ rat us out.”
“Trust you? Come on now, Seth. That sounds like a joke.” She wiped her tears.
“Listen, I know I fucked up and I do a lot of shit without thinking about the consequences. But believe me, I’m about to turn all of this shit around.” I pulled my Blackberry out of its holster and dialed Maxine’s number.
Samantha sat there in awe, not knowing what to say. I really didn’t know what to say either, but as soon as Maxine answered her phone, the words came out of nowhere. I started by telling her how I would like to sit down and have a talk with her before she did something she was going to regret. Then I mentioned to her how sorry I was about how everything went down and that if there was any way I could make it up to her, I needed her to give me the chance to do it. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as receptive as I anticipated. She started screaming through the phone like she was out of her mind and told me that if we didn’t turn ourselves in to her office within the hour, she was going to have our faces plastered all over the six o’clock news.
“Come on now, Maxine. I know we can work this out without bringing the marshals in it.”
“That bitch of yours attacked me and fucked my face up. Do you really think I am going to let her get away with it?”
“Look, I know you’re upset, but I’m telling you right now, bringing in the marshals ain’t gon’ do nothing but add fuel to the fire,” I warned her.
“Seth, do you think I give a fuck about you telling my supervisor about my relationship with you? I already know my career is over. So you are talking to somebody who has nothing else to lose. See, you betrayed me. You broke my heart. Then, on top of that, you lied in my face, knowing goddamned well you had every intention of getting back with her. That’s why I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you regret you ever screwed around on me.”
“So, you’re telling me that there’s no way I can make this right?”
“Seth, the damage is done.”
“I understand all of that, but you’re telling me that I can’t make this right?”
“What could you possibly do to make it right?”
“I got a few things in mind.”
“Like what? Let me hear one of them.”
“Can we talk about this in person?”
“What’s wrong? What, you can’t talk around her?”
“She’s not even around me.”
“Where is she?”
“I dropped her off at one of her friend’s house until I can get shit straight with you.”
“Oh, so since she’s not around, you want to call. You got some nerve.”
“Listen, Maxine, you and I could go on and on about how I betrayed you, but the fact of the matter is, you still love me. I know you want us to be together, so let’s stop all this nonsense so we can sit down and try to work this thing out.”
“It’s too late for all that, Seth.”
“No, it’s not, so stop saying it.”
“Seth, what do you want me to say?”
“I want you to say you’ll give me another chance.” She fell silent. I said, “Did you hear me?”
“Yes, I hear you.”
“So, whatchu gon’ do, because we need to make things right.”
“Where are you?” she asked calmly.
“I’m in Hampton,” I lied.
“Well, meet me at my apartment in the next thirty minutes.”
“A’ight, I can do that. But let me ask you something.”
“What’s that?”
“Did you call the marshals on us?”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know.”
She sighed heavily and said, “No, not yet.”
“So, who were you calling when I pulled off in the car?”
“I was calling the marshal’s office, but when I couldn’t get in touch with the person I was calling, I hung up.”
“Let me ask you this.”
“What?”
“Why did you lie to that security guard and tell him that Samantha attacked you because you were trying to arrest me?”
“Did you think I was going to tell him that we were lovers? That I was upset, started attacking you, and she got mad and jumped in it?”
“Why not? That is what happened.”
“So what? He didn’t need to know that.”
“Yeah, a’ight.”
“Are you coming or what?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”
“All right.”
Immediately after I got off the phone, Samantha looked at me with the most vicious expression she could muster. I asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“So, you’re really going to go see her?”
I started th
e ignition. “Yeah, I got to.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do,” I said. I put the car in DRIVE and drove off.
“What are you going to do with me?”
“I’m gonna drop you off at the DMV so you can handle your business.”
“And how am I going to get back to the halfway house?”
“I’ma give you some dough so you can catch a cab.”
“So, you gon’ leave me, just like that?” she snapped.
“What else do you want me to do, Sam? You know I got to go and see her so I can iron all this shit out.”
“But what about us?”
Confused by the way she worded the question, I asked, “What about us? Whatchu mean?”
“You gon’ go back to her?”
“Hell, nah! Are you crazy? I’m not ever fucking with her again. I told you it’s about us, and that’s how it’s going to be.”
“What are y’all gon’ talk about when you see her?”
“If you wanna know the truth, I am gonna go sit down with her and sell her another dream. I am going to tell her that I’m not gonna ever see you again and that she and I are going to be exclusive from this point on.”
“Oh, my God! You’re making me sick to my stomach.” Sam buried her face in her hands.
“Look, Sam, I know you don’t want to hear all of this, but making her think that I am going to be with her again is the only way to get her off our backs until I can come up with a way to escape from this place. I don’t know how she managed to follow us without me seeing her, but she did. So, I know she’ll do it again, and I can’t chance it.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that we’re gonna have to lay low for a few days without seeing each other.”
“No way that that’s gonna happen!”
“Sam, baby, trust me; it’s only for the best.”
“What am I going to do in the meantime?”
“Don’t worry. We’re gonna talk to each other. We’re just not gonna be able to see one another.”
“But for how long?”
“Listen, I’m working on some shit right now, and if everything goes according to plan, we are going to be some rich-ass motherfucker’s. And when that happens, I’m gon’ snatch you out of that halfway house and we’re going across the border.”
“You’re talking about Mexico?”
“Yep. But don’t tell nobody. Not even one of those bitches at the halfway house.”
“Shit, I promise I ain’t gon’ tell nobody,” she said and finally smiled.
My meeting with Maxine was going fairly well until she got pissed when she said something about Samantha and I jumped to her defense. “I see this little arrangement of ours isn’t going to work.”
“What do you mean?” I asked her.
“I noticed that every time I say something about her, you always correct me or jump to her defense. I mean, look at my face. She did this to me. But you didn’t jump to my defense about this.”
“I did say something to her about it,” I lied.
Maxine chuckled in a cynical way. “Did you fuck her?”
“How did I have time to fuck her when I’d just picked her up?”
“I’m talking about before then.”
“Maxine, today was my first time seeing her,” I said with a straight face.
“Well, I’ma give you one more chance, Seth. And I swear, this is your last time. You better tell that bitch it’s over.”
“I already did.”
“When?”
“Before I dropped her off to her friend’s house.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Well, I did.”
After I dropped more lies on her, telling her how much I loved her and that I was stupid for messing up what we had, I could tell that she really wanted to believe me. But since I had damaged our trust so much, I was gonna have to do a lot of showing and proving. After our little chat, I talked her into letting me bathe her in the shower, you know, to take the edge off. When she encouraged me to hop in there with her, I knew I had her right back where I wanted her. I pulled out a pocket camera I bought on the way and pressed the record button. I was getting some real good footage and I had her talking her ass off about our relationship. She just didn’t know she had incriminated the hell out of herself. And boy, did it bring me much pleasure.
SETH
Plan A
Maxine took off work for two weeks so the injuries on her face could heal, which meant she was all up my ass. I couldn’t breathe for nothing in the world. She was everywhere I went, and it was getting on my nerves. I couldn’t even go over my mom’s house without her tagging along. I told her that I needed to take care of some business with Mike. Now she wasn’t too happy about it, but I told her that this was something that I really needed to take care of and that she couldn’t go.
“What time are you coming back?” she asked.
“Give me a couple of hours, a’ight?”
She sighed and said, “All right.”
When she gave me the green light, I kissed her on the lips and hauled ass. As soon as I got into my car, it felt like I had just gotten released from jail. I mean, this bitch was smothering the hell out of me, and I had to find a way to get the fuck away from her, and I was gon’ have to find it quickly before Samantha gave up on me. Today made five whole days since I had seen or talked to her. My mom had been keeping me informed of what was going on with her. Just yesterday, she told me that Sam found a job at Ziespot clothing store in MacArthur Mall. I drove downtown so I could see it for myself. Mind you, the whole time I was driving, I was looking through my rearview mirror. I was not going to let Maxine’s stupid ass mess up this surprise visit, because I had some making up to do.
When I first walked into the store I didn’t see Samantha, so I walked up to the lady behind the counter and asked if Sam was working. She told me yes, but she had stepped out for a minute to go to the bathroom.
I asked, “Which way are the bathrooms?”
“When you go out of the store, turn right. After the third store, you’ll see the signs on your right.”
“A’ight, thanks.” I left the store, but guess what? I didn’t have to travel far at all, because as soon as I walked out of the store I saw Sam walking right toward me. I rushed up to her before she could get back into the store. “Miss me?” I asked and grabbed her into my arms.
“No,” she said, trying to play hard.
I started kissing her all over her face. “Yes, you do, so stop fronting!”
“Get off of me, because I know you’ve been with her.” She tried to push me away.
“Sam, stop trying to push me away. I’ve been missing the hell out of you, so don’t do this to me. Baby, you have no idea what I’ve been through these last few days.”
“No, I don’t, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“Listen, we don’t have time for that right now. Tell me what time you get off.”
“Tonight I get off at eight. But tomorrow and Saturday, I’m gon’ have to work until we close at ten o’clock.”
“What time do you come in?”
“Tomorrow and Saturday, I gotta be here at two o’clock.”
“A’ight. Well, check this out. I want you to be prepared to leave the halfway house for good on Saturday.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going across the Mexican border.”
“Stop playing with me, Seth.”
“Sam, I am dead serious. When you leave the halfway house on Saturday to come to work, make sure you take all your important documents and paperwork with you. Don’t leave none of that shit behind.”
“What about all my letters?”
“Yeah, bring that too. Don’t leave any kind of paperwork behind.”
“What about the clothes you bought me?”
“Fuck that shit! With all the money I’m about to take from that nigga who tried to get me killed, I coul
d buy you a Saks Fifth Avenue.”
“Wait a minute, what are you talking about? Who tried to kill you?”
“Not now, Sam; this ain’t the place to talk about it.”
She wasn’t going for that excuse. She wanted to know what was going on and why somebody wanted to kill me. She pulled me to the wall alongside the next store, but before she made me talk, she looked around to make sure no one was within five feet of us. “Seth, you are not leaving out of here until you tell me what happened,” she demanded.
I hesitated because I really didn’t want to scare her and have her start to act paranoid every time she was in my company. I wanted her to always feel safe around me, so I was very leery about telling her. But then she mentioned to me that I should never keep anything from her because of what we had been through, and then I reconsidered. “A’ight, this is what happened,” I began. “Remember I told you about the cat named Mike I was doing business for?”
“Yeah, I remember. What about him?”
“Well, after all the money I made for this nigga, he hired a couple of cats to kill me so they could take all the money I made for myself.”
“But why would he do that?”
“Because I found out that he tricked up millions of dollars he owed to some big-time motherfucker’s. They gave him another shipment and basically told him that if he wanted to keep his life, he had to work the dope off for free. Since he couldn’t move all of it by himself, he got myself, Jay, and several other dudes to help him move the dope. When he figured he was finished with a nigga, he’d either get you killed or knocked off by the police. Either way he looked at it, you were gone, so that gave him access to run up in your spot and take your stash.”
“What exactly did he do to you?”
“Well, one night he asked me to do a job for him, and I didn’t know it until later, but he was setting me up to get killed. But his little mistress got the bullet instead.”
Stunned, Samantha asked, “Did you kill her?”
“No, baby, I didn’t. She got caught up in the crossfire while those niggas was shooting at me. Before she died in my arms, she told me everything I’m telling you.”