Green Eyed Monster

by Ashley Antoinette

  He was never too rough with her, but not overly soft either. He was in control, and he kept the pace while making her do no work. All she had to do was enjoy it. It wasn’t long before she exploded. She squirted, and it wasn’t long before he came too. He pulled out, and she turned to face him.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “About Miesha.”

  “What’s done is done,” he said. “Let’s just hope she pulls it off. It’s time to head back to New York. That’s home for you. Skylar is there. Ever since you came back you’ve been like a blank canvas, ma. Being around her, around family, will remind you of who you are and how much you mean to those around you. New York will put the color back into your life.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, kissed the nape of her neck, and then grabbed a towel off the rack before stepping into the shower.

  YaYa quietly opened the drawer and pulled out her pills. She popped three quickly and then watched her reflection sadly until the steam from Indie’s hot shower no longer allowed her to see.

  Chapter 13

  Trina entered the crowded airport with Chase by her side. She was still a minor, seventeen, so she couldn’t travel alone, and honestly, she didn’t want to. Having Chase by her side made her less nervous. This wasn’t fun and games anymore. She wasn’t just hanging out on the block, getting money anymore. She was risking her life. YaYa was paying all of the girls $5,000 per trip, but Trina was getting fifteen racks just because she was a part of the team. With two trips per month, she knew that she would be getting money; she just had to get used to the flow of things and make sure that she could handle the pressure. She had a lot riding on this. Chase had all but given up on their drug-addicted mother, but Trina had hopes of making enough money to get her out of Houston and clean her up in a new environment.

  “Relax, T. Don’t let your thoughts psych you out,” he said. “This is the easy part. We’re not doing anything hot on the way there, so just chill out and enjoy the free trip to Italy. It’s the trip back that is the challenge.”

  They checked in, and Trina looked around. She immediately noticed that YaYa had several other mules on her flight. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and said a quick prayer. She knew that she was asking God to ignore her sin and that it was pointless, but she did so anyway.

  The uneventful trip to their destination was boring and long, but when they arrived in Italy it was show time. They made their way out of the airport and hailed the first cab they saw sitting curbside.

  “You know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Trina,” Chase said. “You’re my baby sister. You’re going to eat regardless.”

  “And what about Mommy?” she asked. “Because it seems like you’ve washed your hands of her.”

  Chase opened the door for his sister and motioned for her to get inside. She did, and he walked around the back of the cab then entered from the other side. He was silent as he looked out of the window.

  “Don’t avoid the question, Chase. What about Mama?” Trina asked. “She’s addicted to the shit that we’re selling.”

  Chase shot Trina a sharp look and then nodded his head toward the driver. “Not the time or the place,” he said.

  “It’s never the time or the place,” Trina replied as she folded her arms in disappointment and looked out the window. “I miss her, Chase. I know she’s fucked up and she’s strung out and she’s done some selfish shit. She’s neglected us, beat us, and everything else under the sun, but she’s our mother. She’s the only one that we have, and she needs us.”

  “I’ve been there, Trina. I’ve tried to help Mama countless times and it’s gotten me nowhere. Every time I would pull her off the block, she would just sneak right back. I was fighting niggas left and ride, creating enemies for myself just because niggas was serving her. And guess what she would do? She’d be right back on the corners begging niggas to suck they dick for rocks. So I stopped fighting over her. I gave up. Mama gon’ do what she want to do, and right now she want to get high.”

  Trina had tears in her eyes hearing her brother’s words. She knew that they were true so she didn’t dispute them, but inside she hoped for change, prayed for God to heal her mother and release her from the demon of addiction.

  “We can help her. How do you know that things haven’t changed? When’s the last time you tried? She’s not a young girl out here no more. The street life has to get old one day and when it does, when she’s ready, I’m going to have my money right so that I can help her,” Trina said.

  Chase shook his head. “Yeah, good luck with that. Messing around with Mama you’re bound to wind up with your feelings hurt. My only responsibility is you and making sure you’re straight out here. Everybody else . . . fuck ’em. So I’m going to ask you again. Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Trina nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  Trina and Chase were dropped off at their five-star hotel. Chase checked in while Trina waited outside. They didn’t want to draw any attention to themselves. Two young black people in such an expensive hotel was sure to make people wonder. He retrieved the keys to the room and then headed up before calling Trina and telling her the room number as well.

  She discreetly headed toward the elevators and found their room, where Chase waited, holding the door open for her as she made her way inside.

  “Did they ask you any questions?” she asked.

  “Nah, we’re good. They don’t give a fuck as long as the room is taken care of. I just want to make sure we are dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s. I would rather be safe than sorry. The moment we get too relaxed or used to the routine is the moment we get caught up,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “Now get some rest. It was a long trip. We can’t go through customs tomorrow. That’ll throw red flags. So we’ll pick up the package tomorrow and catch a train to Florence, then fly out from there the day after . . . maybe even two days from now to be safe,” Chase said.

  “That wasn’t in YaYa’s plans,” Trina said.

  “Maybe it should be. I’m teaching you to think for yourself. You’re the one taking the risk, so you have to make sure you’re moving smart. Flying in and out of the same airport within days of each other is stupid. Most travelers coming to Europe for vacation stay at least a week. You’re a tourist not a drug smuggler, so your schedule has to match. Every detail counts. And next time no five-star hotels. Security and scrutiny in here is top notch. Student hostels will work better, especially for you because no one will question your age. You’ll look like just another American kid backpacking through Europe.”

  Trina was soaking up her brother’s knowledge like a sponge, and she nodded her head as she listened.

  “As long as the product gets back and it gets back on time, that’s what counts. If you have to make a few adjustments to the plan, then that’s your call. Always remember that it’s your life that’s at stake,” Chase said.

  There was no need to set up a fake shoot with Trina. She was the only girl that actually knew what she was carrying, so she wasted no time. She got right to the money. She was given an address to a small shoe shop, and as she dressed, her hands shook. Chase noticed immediately. He knew his sister, and her normal chatty persona was now stoic and quiet.

  “I’m going with you,” he said.

  “Chase, no . . . you don’t have—”

  “I’m not asking,” Chase said sternly.

  Trina didn’t argue because inside she was grateful for his presence. She had the most pressure riding on her shoulders. All of them other bitches have no idea. I know it all, so I feel it all, too, she thought as her heart beat rapidly. Adrenaline made it feel as though she had thoroughbred horses racing inside of her chest.

  The shoemaker’s shop was outside of the city, nestled in the folds of Italy’s mountainous countryside. YaYa had arranged for a driver to take them to their destination and as they rode, silence in the interior of the car was deafening. The car stopped at a small storefront in the middle of
nowhere. There was nothing but miles of nature around. Trina and Chase stepped out of the car. Trina was so nervous that she held her breath.

  “Breathe, T. This is your show; I’m just a costar,” Chase said. He placed his hand on her back. If he hadn’t been pushing her forward slightly, she probably would have never moved her feet.

  She entered the shop as Chase played the back and stood near the door. He wasn’t strapped, and without the pistol sitting on his hip, he may as well have had no clothes on. He felt naked, vulnerable, like any nigga lurking could see all his weak spots.

  An elderly man stood behind the counter, reading a newspaper. He never even looked up when he heard the little bell above the door announce their presence.

  Trina cleared her throat to get his attention, but still she was ignored. “I’m here for Bruno,” she said.

  The old man lifted his eyes and glanced back and forth from Trina to Chase then back down to his paper.

  “Nobody here by that name,” he huffed as he began to cough in his hand. He picked up the half-burnt cigar in the ashtray that sat on the countertop beside him and took a long drag of the cheap tobacco.

  “I’m here to see Bruno about a package,” she said again.

  “You hard of hearing a’ something? Eh? I said you got the wrong place,” the man replied.

  Chase came up off the wall. “Ayo, homie, why don’t you go to the back and make a call. Verify that we are who we say we are. Do whatever you need to do. We’re in the right spot and we’re not leaving until we see Bruno,” Chase said as he stepped up. He was halted by the revolver that the old man pulled from behind the counter. He pointed it at Chase as he leaned forward slightly.

  Chase’s hands went up in defense.

  “I was expecting a girl and she was supposed to come alone. She’s the only one with a pass. Who the fuck are you? You don’t call any shots here,” the old man said harshly with a heavy Italian accent. “You come here uninvited you might not get to leave.”

  Chase didn’t fear death; he half expected it in the business he was in. It came with the territory, and as he stared down the barrel of the gun, he made atonement in his head as his life flashed before his eyes.

  “I’m not crazy,” Leah said as she sat in front of her lawyer. Her hands were handcuffed in front of her as she slouched in the metal chair.

  “You told me to get you off. This is the only way I see to do it,” her attorney replied. “After what you did to that little girl, a jury is going to convict you without thinking twice.”

  “I didn’t harm Skylar!” Leah protested. “I took her from her whore of a mother because she didn’t deserve her. That stupid bitch had everything; she has always had everything and everyone to love her. So I took what she loved most.”

  Her lawyer looked at Leah, perplexed. “You’re sick, Leah. You need help, not to be locked up in a prison for the rest of your life. I’ve looked at your record. The things that you’ve done, mentally stable people do not do. You killed your mother, you put staples in your teacher’s coffee, when you were placed in foster care you put the family dog in the clothes dryer. You’re accused of murdering a man in New York, and that’s not even mentioning the unhealthy obsession you have with Disaya Morgan,” he stated.

  Leah sat, growing angry as she listened to him lay out all of her dirty deeds.

  “You think you know me?” she asked him. “You don’t know the half. That’s not all I’ve done, but you only see my actions. You reading about it in a fucking folder doesn’t tell you why I did that shit. Everything I did was a repercussion to something that someone did to me. So fuck you. I’m not crazy.”

  “You’re mentally unstable, and it is my opinion that you are unfit to stand trial. That’s the defense that we’re going with or you will have to hire other representation,” he said.

  “I didn’t hire you,” she remarked. “You were assigned to my case, and since you think I’m so crazy, I would think twice before you pissed me off.”

  Leah’s eyes were so dark and cold that her attorney was sure that she meant the threat. He stood to his feet, grabbing his briefcase as he hastily shuffled his paperwork together.

  “An insanity plea will get you off,” he said. As he exited the room, a cold chill ran down his spine. He had never worked with anyone as evil as Leah. She truly had no remorse for her actions. It was unfortunate, because his personal opinion conflicted with his job. He thought that she deserved to rot underneath the jail, but it was his responsibility to play the cards he was dealt and get her treated in a mental facility rather than sentenced to spend hard time in a federal prison. He opened his cell and phoned the district attorney.

  “I don’t think my client is fit to stand trial. I need to order a psychological evaluation for her before we proceed,” he said as soon as the D.A. answered the phone.

  “You’re telling me Ms. Richards is crazy?” the D.A. answered skeptically.

  “Leah Richards is a sociopath, but I don’t think it is entirely her fault. She’s dangerous to herself and to others. There isn’t a sane thought running through her mind, and if that’s the case, you can’t convict her.”

  “Wait, wait!” Trina said in alarm as she held her hands up in Chase’s defense.

  “Be quiet, Trina,” Chase said, not wanting his sister to face a similar fate. “It’s his move. Let him pop off. There are repercussions to those actions though. All it takes is one bullet to start a war. You sure you want to do that? I’m no threat. I came here to do business. You might want to ask who I am before you pull that trigger. I’m good. I’m just here for her protection,” Chase said calmly.

  The old man yelled to the back in Italian and another man emerged. This one was younger, early forties, and stood in a sweaty white wife beater and brown trousers that were held up by suspenders. The little bit of hair he was holding onto on the sides of his head had started to gray, and his large belly hung over his pants.

  “Papa, I see we have a problem?” he said.

  “We’ve got an extra guest,” the old man spat.

  “Well, let’s see who he is,” the younger man said.

  He picked up the old rotary phone that was attached to the wall and made a call directly to YaYa. He would get to the bottom of this, and if he didn’t get an answer, he would shoot first and ask questions later.

  “Bruno, to what do I owe this unexpected phone call?” YaYa asked as soon as she answered the phone. She knew the restricted call was only coming from one place. She also knew that Trina was making her first run, so she hoped that there were no hiccups in the first pickup.

  “There’s an extra person here with your girl. A guy. Says he’s—”

  “Her brother,” YaYa said, finishing Bruno’s sentence. “He’s good. I need them both returned to me safely. I vouch for them both.”

  Bruno hung up the phone abruptly and turned toward the old man. “He’s good,” Bruno said. He then turned toward Chase. “Today’s your lucky day. Next time let somebody know you’re coming.”

  Trina sighed in relief as she looked back at Chase. His facial expression hadn’t changed. In his eyes she saw no fear.

  “Can we get down to business now?” Chase asked snidely as his jaw tensed in anger.

  Bruno nodded reluctantly and pointed to the doorway that led to the rear of the store. The old man still followed them. “This way. The product is back here.”

  Trina and Chase followed him to a small workshop in the back where hundreds of pairs of shoes were lined up on shelves. He grabbed a pair and pulled the platform out of the bottom to show the cocaine package that was stuffed inside.

  “Practically undetectable,” Bruno said. “The new technology in the airports won’t pick it up. Body scanners, X-rays, it can get through all of that. Now, if you ever see dogs, you get out of there. The dogs pick up the scent of the cocaine. They don’t have to see it to know it’s there.”

  Trina nodded. “I can take back more than two,” Trina said. “One on my feet and one in
my luggage.”

  Bruno shook his head. “No, that wasn’t what I was told to do, sweetheart.”

  Chase agreed. He leaned in to whisper in Trina’s ear. “This is just the first run. Don’t get cocky. We don’t know shit about customs or the airports here. Just take one.”

  Trina conceded and the shoes were handed over in a box and a shopping bag as if she had just purchased them.

  “None of the other girls will come directly to you. You’ll send the shoes to the photography studios. That will be prearranged,” Chase said.

  Bruno nodded and Chase gave him a long stare then said, “Next time you pull a gun on me, you better make sure you pull the trigger.”

  Bruno scoffed and the men had a battle of egos as neither of them refused to back down or break the intense stare. Trina knew that this could easily go left, so she pulled Chase’s hand and forced him to follow her out of the shoemaker’s shop.

  It took two days for Miesha to be let loose into general population. Waiting to be arraigned was torturous. In a city as crowded as Houston, she was lost in the sauce of an overpopulated jail. She had been housed in a bullpen with petty drug dealers, prostitutes, traffic offenders, drug addicts, and anyone else who had happened to commit a crime on the same day as she did. All types of characters surrounded her, and the moment they closed the gates around her, she began to fear incarceration. The thought of being locked up was much different than the reality of it, and she had to admit that she was terrified.

  What the fuck was I thinking? she thought. She regretted her decision almost immediately. Instead of chasing fast money, she should have been starting a new life. She was a young adult and had the world at her feet just waiting for her to conquer it, but growing up in the slums of Houston she had developed a different dream. She craved the fast life, the street life. It was what she had chosen, and there was no turning back now. She had already landed herself behind bars. If she didn’t finish the job, she would be foolish. She would have a record and come out and be broke. Miesha had already ruined her life; she may as well get paid for it.