“Get in the back seat Kelsey, hurry!”
“Mommy I’m scared!” she cried.
“I know baby. Fasten your seat belt. He is not going to hurt us anymore. I promise.” She said. I was confused. I had enough of my own problems. Shit, I was better off at the house with Randy’s crazy ass and his pistol. “Kayla, what’s going on here? Whose little girl is this?”
“Don’t ask no questions! Shut the fuck up and ride Keisha, damn! Do you understand me!” she said pointing down at her gun again.
She didn’t have to tell me a third time. I was tired, scared and had seen and survived a lot the past couple of days. I wanted to grab the gun and shoot my damn self.
“I need to make one more stop and I want you to watch Kelsey while I run inside.”
I turned towards the back seat and glanced at the little girl. Her eyes were weak. She had specks of blood on her pink dress. She sat with her legs wide open wearing no underwear, all I saw were scratches from what looked like fingernails on her legs all the way to her vagina. It was obvious someone had seriously harmed this little girl.
“Kayla, we need to get her to the hospital.”
“Mind your business Keisha! If I take her to the hospital they’ll take my little girl away from me,” she said as her eyes tears up. “I promised her that I was coming back. I had to keep my promise.”
I was wondering who she left this little girl with. The place we picked her up from looked like a crack house. I wanted to ask more questions but Kayla was very erratic. She had warned me twice with the gun and I wasn’t taking any more chances. “Kayla, it is imperative that we get little Kelsey to the hospital.”
She ignored me and kept driving. She didn’t take her eyes off the road.
Sometime later, we drove up to an old run down hotel. I had never seen so many black, homeless folks in my life. They were hanging off the balcony screaming, “Aye shawty let me hold sum. Help a brother out!”
“Kayla, what kind of hotel is this?” I said, looking around in disbelief.
“Stay in the car. I’ll be back in five minutes.” Kayla jumped out of the car and stayed inside for almost twenty minutes. I grabbed my purse and searched for my phone. “I need to call the cops,” I mumbled.
I felt so sorry for the little girl. I knew what it was like to be in the system. I didn’t want that for her. “Maybe I should take her with me,” I whispered.
It took me a long while to decide, but I finally picked the phone up to dial. A call came across the screen from the pay-as-you-go-phone that I had Kayla investigate for me. After everything I went through, I really did not give a shit. I was curious to know who it was. I hesitated and then answered, “Hello.”
“Did anyone call this number?” I disconnected the line. “Well I’ll be damned. What is really going on?” I muttered. “A man is the anonymous caller?” I said, shaking my head. “Maybe it was someone he owed money.”
I looked back at the little girl; she had sadness in her eyes. I felt bad that I had to leave her, but not before I called the cops. Her eyes teared up as I gathered my things. “Don’t go!” she shouted. She reached her hand out at me. She wanted me to take her with me.
“I’m sorry sweetheart I can’t take you with me. Your mommy is going to take care of you. Are you okay with that?”
“No,” She said, with sadness. “She never takes care of me!”
“I’m sorry baby. I can’t take you with me. I promise that I will get you some help. Okay?”
“I want to go with you, please!” she said, wiping her tears.
I was tempted and in my indecision, I ran out of time. I glanced up and Kayla was hurrying towards the car. I noticed her fixing her hair and adjusting her clothes.
Getting in she said, “I have five hundred dollars. This will take us west.”
Looking back at the little girl she said, “What’s wrong? Why are you crying Kelsey?”
“I want a real home. I don’t want to live like this anymore mommy. I don’t like the old men anymore! No more touching and kissing me!”
Kayla eyes filled with tears. She was so taken aback, she barely spoke. She unfasten her seat belt and jumped in the back seat to comfort little Kelsey. “I’m sorry baby girl. I’m sorry that I left you in that bad place. Mommy will explain everything to you once we get to our new home. Okay?” she said, kissing the child’s forehead.
“Promise?” Kelsey said, looking up at her.
“Pinkie promise,” Kayla said, poking out her pinkie finger.
Their conversation really touched my heart. I was not mentioning shit about my decision to call the cops. I just needed her to get me to my destination.
“Kayla, do you mind dropping me off at the bus station? I’ve decided that I’m moving to Florida.”
“Why?” she said. “Do you have family there?” “No. I just want to start my life over; leave all the drama behind me and focus on finding my sister.”
“Well, I made five hundred dollars and that’s enough for Kelsey and me. I cannot help you with money. I’m sorry.” She said, looking straight ahead.
“That’s okay. I have a couple of dollars. I’ll manage.” I pulled my compact out to fix my hair. In my mirror I watches the tears pour down little Kelsey’s face. The little girl was damned. Her mother had made so many promises and never kept her word. She had no reason to believe her mom anymore.
“Poor little girl. I pray that Kayla keeps her word this time,” I thought to myself.
I stretched my legs and made my coat into a ball. As soon as I got relaxed and comfortable in the car, old shit came up. “Keisha, there is something that I need to tell you.”
I didn’t feel like hearing the nonsense, I couldn’t care less. “What’s up?” I said, not opening my eyes.
She inhaled. “My boyfriend slash Fiancé ran a whorehouse. Randy and I became very close through the company. I was one of his call girls many nights; especially when you were working. He told me that he was in a relationship, but never mentioned your name. Once I started working at the clinic with you, I never knew that you were dating him, because you never mentioned him.
Until one day, he came up to the clinic to pick you up from work. He saw me at the front desk and damn near shit himself. He texted me later that night and told me to resign from the clinic or he was going to get BJ fired. We were already fucking, so I couldn’t tell you about him and my heart wouldn’t let me. I had a lot of respect for you and you and I were building a friendship. After that, he and I decided to stop fucking, stay friends, and never tell.
One night he came over to my place and borrowed money from BJ. He told BJ that he wanted to pay some of your bills off and buy a couple of things from the store to make you a nice breakfast and maybe buy some roses. BJ let him borrow the money.
Randy was already way in debt with him, BJ just wasn’t aware yet. Randy promised to pay the money back within twenty-four hours with interest. He failed to pay up, so BJ threaten him. Remember when I stopped by your house to pay you back from the abortion loan, I lied. I was really stopping by to get the money he borrowed. When I saw you calling me unexpectedly, I thought he had confessed to you about the situation.”
I was disgusted at Kayla. As much as I wanted to slap the shit out of her, I was staying calm. I need this ride to get where I’m going. I was going to leave all the shit out of my questions and think of other things to ask.
“Why would Randy borrow money from BJ?
I must admit, I was saddened at what I heard from Kayla. This bitch had a gun and she was capable of anything at this point, so I sat there and forced myself to listen.
“You mentioned that you came by my house. What happened, once you got there?”
“He invited me in. I knew he wanted to fuck me. Whenever we got together it was wild, good sex,” she said, caressing herself. “I wanted it just as bad as he did, so I accepted the invite. I loved him and he loved me. Once we got in bed we start arguing about the situation. I wanted Randy to be w
ith me and leave you. He told me he was helping you out financially. He promised to be with me once you got back on track.
I became obsessed with him, forgetting about BJ. The argument led to wild, crazy sex. But then, you came home. He paid me and I slipped out the back door. I told him I was preg…”
“Please, spare me the details.” I interrupted, puckering my brows. She continued, “The money I borrowed from you was to abort his child. I couldn’t get the money from BJ because he wanted kids.” I tried so hard to fight back the tears. They poured down my face as soon as she said she aborted the baby. I cried because I lost a child and she selfishly killed one. “Wow,” I whispered, patting at my tears with my blouse. “I’m sorry. I had to do it because my daughter and I were in a terrible predicament. I would do anything to get us out, even if it meant hurting the people I cared about,” she said.
I was speechless, I sat there and the tears continued to pour heavily down my face.
“Please don’t cry Keisha,” she said, wiping my tears. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
“So, did your man BJ ever find out about this?” I said, choked up and ignoring her apology.
“BJ confronted Randy about his debt. Two weeks later, Randy had him fired. BJ called numerous times, but Randy ignored him. He wanted to come to Randy’s house but I begged him not too. The day of the picnic BJ broke into Randy’s house and waited for him. He had everything laid out for the attack. Instead of Randy coming home to the attack, you beat him there.”
“So, BJ was my attacker. I’m calling the police!”
“Wait! You can’t! BJ told me that if I ever spoke about this, he would take me down with him for conspiracy. I can’t let the system get Kelsey! I can’t Keisha. You must understand that BJ is cruel. He has a split personality. He knows how to get what he wants. He poses as an executive business man to lure women in.
I believe he’s schizophrenic. He had a hard life. When he was a teenager, he killed a couple during a hit and run. He ain’t been right since.”
“Why…Why were you living like that Kayla?” I stumbled over my words. “Why were you with that monster?”
“I told you I needed the money. I had to do it for Kelsey’s sake and me. I don’t have any family. I stayed in a foster home just like you Keisha. I had to do what I had to do to try and protect my daughter. If that meant hurting the people that I loved then so be it. When it’s all said and done, I promised Kelsey that she would be my priority .”
“I understand Kayla, but you could have come to me, you know that I would have helped you with Kelsey, despite everything. I lost a child, why would I want one in harm’s way.”
“Keisha, you are saying that now, but the love you had for Randy was too strong. If I admitted to sleeping with him….” she said, calmly.
“Well just to let you know, I’m putting all of that behind me.” I said, trying to be on her good side. She did have a gun in the car and I didn’t want her to pull the trigger on my ass.
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. Your forgiveness means the world to me,” she said.
“Kayla, I’m moving forward. I’m not going to hold a grudge against you and I told you that I understand why you did what you did. I commend you for sacrificing everything for Kelsey.”
Truthfully, I really didn’t care and I was ready to get the hell out of the car. I’d heard and seen enough.
ELEVEN
Kayla pulled up at the bus station. “Wow we got here fast!” I said, smiling. I was so ready to get away from all the drama I opened the door before she had a chance to make a complete stop.
“Come on Chico,” I said. He’d slept through the entire ride. I hurried and grabbed my purse. I could not stand to be in this car any longer than I had to. I was still so bothered about Kelsey.
As I was getting out of the car, she gazed at me with a blank face. I knew that Kayla had done a lot of sacrificing for her, but I’m not sure if she was stable enough to care for her. This little girl needed a bed and a bath. The back seat of a car wasn’t sufficient.
“I’m sorry.” I moved my lips silently. I walked back to the pavement and peeped to the rear of the car. I jotted down the tag number. I needed to keep track of the two of them.
Kayla said reaching for a hug, “Take care of yourself.” “I will. Get your daughter some help. She needs to see a doctor Kayla,” I said trying to be nice. I did not know if she had the gun stashed in her shirt ready to shoot me or not.
Kayla walked off to get in the car. “Promise me,” I yelled.
“I promise Keisha,” she said, starting up the engine.
They pulled off. Kelsey watched me from the back window. I waved goodbye, but she just stared in tears.
“I feel terrible about leaving her,” I mumbled. “If I call the cops, they’ll get Kelsey the proper care she needs. But then Kayla will lose her child and she’ll grow up in foster care like both of us did and I don’t want that for little Kelsey,” I muttered. “Let it go Keisha. Let go and let God.”
My focal point needed to be about me. The first thing I wanted to do was go directly to a local clinic and test for HIV. Then I’d get my records from the adoption agency. I desperately wanted to find my sister. I had a whole lot of things to accomplish. But for now, I needed to get some food in my stomach.
Across the street from the bus station there was this old, run down burger joint. The outside was the color of a can of tomato paste.
“I’m so finicky when it comes to my food, but I’m so tired and hungry,” I thought.
I noticed drunk, homeless men sitting outside. I made my way across the street. I was not completely on the other side before they started begging. “Aye, pretty young thang. Buy me a beer.” This one was scratching and digging in his ass, while pushing his raggedy grocery buggy full of soda cans.
“I’ll buy you some food,” I said in a high pitched tone. He smiled showing one rotten tooth. “How in the hell was he going to eat with one tooth?” I wondered.
“Lady, I ate already. Come on and buy ah brother a beer. Please?”
I ignored him and walked inside the pub. To my surprise the inside was spotless. “Can I help you?” the bartender asked, not giving me time to get through the door.
“Sure, I’ll have the…”
I glanced at the black and white TV mounted on the wall. Randy was on the news, “Sir, will you turn up the volume please!”
**** The reporter was saying, “Atlanta police are looking for two suspects to be charged with attempted murder. One suspect is already under arrest. Police say thirty two year old Randy Carter is being treated after being shot in the head early Wednesday morning. He is in stable condition.” “Well, I’ll be damned!” I mumbled under my breath.
“The son of a bitch survived.” I was stunned at the fact that Randy was still alive. “I didn’t do it!” The familiar voice coming out of the television startled me. I focused back at the TV. Zan was screaming at the camera with handcuffs on. The reported went on, “Police say Mr. Carter identified Zan Davis as one of the suspects. Kayla Richards is wanted for questioning. If you have any information about this case, please call the cops at…”
My heart started racing. I thought, “Shit. Shit. Shit.” All I could do was wonder about Kelsey. “What have I done?” I thought. I broke into tears. “I should have taken her,” I said. Everyone in the bar started to stare. I held my head down.
“Miss, are you okay?” a deep voice asked. I lifted my head and there he stood; a tall, dark handsome man. He was wearing a navy blue suit with a white-collared shirt underneath. His teeth were white as snow. “Damn, he could be in a Colgate commercial,” I thought.
His head was bald and shiny. He looked like a younger version of Morris Chestnut. “Sexy,” I said in my mind. I was so caught up in his looks I did not notice the handkerchief he offered me. “Are you okay?” he repeated.
“Ye…yes I’m fine,” I stuttered, getting a whiff of his Dolce and Gabbana cologne.
&nb
sp; “My name is Bill and yours?” he said, reaching for a
handshake.
“Keisha… Keisha Jackson.”
“Nice to meet you Mrs. Jackson,” he said, smiling. “Miss,” I clarified. “I’m sorry if my crying bothered you.
I’ve been through so much. I lost my best friend and I lost the
love of my life. Betrayal is a bitch. Waiter! Shot Please!” I
rambled on and on. “I don’t know where this road I’m about
to take is going to lead me to.” I did not stop for air. “Wow,” he said, after I talked a mile a second. “Where
are you headed?” he asked, sipping his drink, not taking his
eyes off me.
“Florida,” I said self-consciously, fixing my hair. I had
mascara and liquid foundation smeared all over my face.
“Really, that’s where I’m headed,” he said, surprised. “I have a
job offer there. What are your reasons for going?”
“Change,” I said.
“Change is always good,” he said. “Well, Miss Jackson it was a
pleasure, maybe we’ll see each other around. Here’s my card,
call me if you ever need a friend,” he said, waving the
bartender down. “Whatever she wants charge it on my card.” “Thanks,” I grinned.
I watched him walk away until he disappeared. “Better luck next time Keisha,” I said to myself.
He left so soon it prompted me to glance at my watch. I
looked across the street to the bus station, and the same-ass
people were sitting there waiting.
“Where is the bus?” I gathered my things and headed
across the street. While I waited, I had some down time to
reminisce. Randy came to my mind first.
“Well, I couldn’t believe my man of ten years, who I
desperately wanted to marry and start a family with, was
sleeping with numerous women including my best-friends. I
hate life.” I needed another drink. I couldn’t get over the fact
that Randy lied to the police about the shooting. He told them
Best Dressed Lie (Keisha Jackson) Page 9