They pulled on the block where the park was located and parked on the side of the school.
“So, what’s the plan? Or we just running into the park shooting?” Kory asked sarcastically.
Sym sucked her teeth while checking the clip of her pistol. “Don’t be sarcastic. And the plan is simple; we get the money, rock him sleep and get back to the car.”
“Wow, real specific,” Nadja uttered.
Sym pushed open the passenger door and stepped out while tucking her gun in the waistband of her sweat. She looked behind her and saw that Nadja and Kory were moving but dragging their feet.
“I can just go handle it myself,” she snapped.
Knowing that she was serious forced them to put some pep in their step. After locking the car, the trio proceeded down the block and bent the corner en-route to the basketball court where Rory assured them he’d be waiting. As they strolled through the park, they spotted him standing with a female and a duffle bag resting on the ground at his feet.
“What up?” Rory spoke out loud but more so to Kory and Nadja since he knew Sym wasn’t really here for him after she disregarded his handshake earlier that day.
“Sup,” Nadja tossed him a head nod and Kory did the same.
Sym eyed the chick suspiciously. She knew for a fact Nadja told him to come alone. Because of his hard ass head, his shorty was going to have pay with her life.
“Oh, this my shorty, Keisha. I bought her along ‘cuz she part of the reason I even had to reach out to ya’ll. She been fucking with the nigga Mitch but couldn’t get shit out of him.”
Sym froze hearing that Mitch was fucking with this chick behind her back, not knowing that she is planning to line him up. Her blood boiled. She was internally battling with herself. She could have taken the money and handled Mitch for Rory, or she could go there with what she went there to do. She was completely torn. She was hurt behind Mitch dissing her for a wack bitch, but it wasn’t enough for her to end his life. She definitely wouldn’t be dealing with him after that night, though.
Nadja and Kory listened to Rory’s spiel waiting for the sign from Sym that it was time to execute.
“Aight, I hope all the bread there,” Sym finally spoke up after convincing herself that she was still doing the right there.
Although Mitch greased her, she wouldn’t pay him back by taking his. It wasn’t that serious. She had no one to blame but herself for not sticking to her guns and staying the fuck away from him.
“Oh, it’s definitely all there. How long ya’ll think I’ma be waiting?” Rory wanted to know that Niem, Nino, and Mitch was going to be taken care of right away. Little did he know, he wouldn’t be waiting around for anything much longer.
Sym reached down and grabbed the duffel. Simultaneously, Nadja and Kory backed out their guns and pumped Rory and chick with lead.
Tat, tat, tat,
They spun around and made a run for it while Sym tugged the duffel bag along.
Tat, tat, tat
Gunfire erupted behind them and was then that they realized Rory pulled up with reinforcement. With the duffel in one hand, Sym used her free hand to let off shots wildly in the direction the gunfire was coming from. She turned around in time to see Nadja’s body jerk and collapse on the ground. At the moment time stopped. She released the hold she had on the duffel bag and ran over to Nadja's side. Small stains of blood formed on her back.
“Don’t tell me she dead,” Kory panicked while letting her gun speak at the people who were advancing toward them and still shooting.
Sym’s hands shook violently, while she swept Nadja’s hair out of her face. Nadja coughed violently and attempted to speak.
“Don’t talk, Nadja. You going to make it. Kory, here, keep letting off. I got Nadja,” Sym tossed her sister her gun because she knew Kory was bound to run out of rounds.
She stood over Nadja before reaching down and cuffing her arms under her underarms and lifting her to her feet.
“Fuck, Nadj.” Sym barked as the weight of Nadja fell onto her.
“Sym, we gotta move. They’re getting closer.”
Sym didn’t need her sister to state the obvious. She needed her to focus on keeping them at bay with her gun while she lugged Nadja to the car.
“You good, best. You gotta be good.”
Nadja coughed before slowly nodding her head up and down.
“And I’ma remind you to lay off the fried food and junk food. You heavy as fuck, b,” Sym joked in an attempt to make light of a very dark situation. “We almost there.”
“I’m out,” Kory announced as they bent the corner.
Sym reached on her hip and got Nadja’s gun that she dropped when she fell and tossed it to Kory but by that time she didn’t need. They had made it to the car, and Kory helped Sym get Nadja in the back seat and laid her on her stomach before they jumped and the front and got low.
“Nadj, stay awake,” Sym instructed her best friend.
“If you would have never…” Kory started.
Sym’s eyes darted to Kory. “Don’t even start that shit right now, Kory. Save it for later. Right now, I need to think clearly without you bitching and moaning about what I should or should not have done!” She shouted, even though she knew whatever words were about to come out of Kory’s mouth were facts. “We were running, the track. It’s believable; we dressed in sweats and sneaks. We usually meet up this late for a late run something broke out, and we were caught at the wrong place, wrong time.
Kory remained quiet even though she heard what her sister said, she chose not to acknowledge her. She still couldn’t believe that this happened. It wasn’t supposed to happen the way it did.
__
They pulled up at Kings County Hospital in record breaking time. Sym had second thoughts about going to the hospital that most referred to as killer county, but she didn’t have a choice if she wanted Nadja to live. Before Kory could come to a complete stop, Sym jumped out the car and darted toward the emergency entrance where she flagged down help. Once they got Nadja on a gurney and ushered inside, Sym instructed Kory to return that car back to their spot and come back with one that had papers. Kory wanted to protest but she knew, for the first time that day, Sym was right.
Sym paced the waiting area for what seemed like hours, before being joined by Kory. While Kory was worried about Nadja, she had to check her sister.
“You realize that this is your fucking fault, right?” Kory spat in Sym’s direction.
Symphony turned around and stalked in Kory’s direction. She pushed her back toward the exit, grabbed her arm, and nearly dragged outside
“This is not the time, nor the place. Don't you think I know I fucked up? You don’t think that I don’t know me making the wrong decision could have possibly caused Nadja her life. I know that! And I feel fucked up about it. Don’t stand here with the judgmental ass tone and come at me crazy like I allowed this to happen purposely.”
“I know it wasn’t on purpose, but you didn’t fucking listen. We told you, this is not how we do things. We asked why the switch up? And what you do? Listen to the little fucking voice in your head, now look where we are! Nadja is laid on a fucking operating table getting her back sliced open, for what? Because you just didn’t want to do a job but wanted the money?”
Sym shook her head but remained silent. She could have stood there and had a battle of words with her sister, but why? Kory was right. She also deserved answers that Symphony wasn’t ready to share especially after learning that Mitch was just like every other nigga.
“I’m sorry, Kory,” Sym admitted before walking back into the emergency room waiting area and taking a seat.
The sun peaked over the horizon, and the glare caused Sym’s eyes to flutter open. She jumped up and quickly scanned her surroundings. She and Kory had fallen asleep while waiting on Nadja to get out of surgery. They were exhausted after an hour of telling the cops the same story over and over again. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was a lit
tle after six. She stood from her seat and stretched before setting out to find a nurse or doctor that could fill her in on Nadja’s condition.
“I was just coming to speak with you. You’re Miss Morales’ sis, correct?” The middle eastern man inquired.
Sym nodded her head yes. “Our other sister is there in the waiting area still. But, how is she, can I see her?”
“She’s doing great. She’s up and speaking. She was asking for the two of you, which is why I came out here. The bullets missed her spine, so no damage was done there. She should heal nicely and be back on her feet in three weeks to a month. I’ll wait here while you get your other sister, then I’ll take you back.”
Sym thought about it and decided to let Kory wait for a few more minutes. She needed a minute alone with Nadja.
“I’d like a minute alone with her if that’s okay.”
The Doctor uttered, “Sure.” Before leading Sym to Nadja’s room.
When Symphony walked through the door of Nadja’s hospital room, her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Her best friend was lied flat on her stomach looking pale as Casper.
“Come on; nigga fix your face. I’m good,” Nadja croaked before clearing her throat.
Sym slowly inched toward her bed. She reached her then she ran her hand across Nadja’s hand.
“I’m sorry, Nadj. You know I…”
“Chill, Sym. I don’t blame you for this. And I forgive you for not listening when we told you it was dumb ass idea. But this could have happened even during one of your best plans. We good, best. I’m good. At least, right now, while they pumping these drugs into me. I see how niggas get strung on this shit. I don’t feel nothing.” Nadja flashed Sym a weak smile. “I need to know, though, why though? This wasn’t like you. You been somewhere else lately and I gave you ample time to fill me in and you didn’t.”
Sym grabbed a chair that was in the corner of the room. She pulled it closer to Nadja’s bed and took a seat. She knew Nadj was going to get in her ass about losing herself over a nigga, but it was time she told her. Sym started a year ago. She told Nadja the shortest version possible of her and Mitch’s situationship.
“So, I almost died because you were trying to save that nigga? I gotta meet this man,” Nadja joked.
“Nah, I have some words for him, and that’s a done deal. I can’t have this. Shit, like this, ain’t supposed to happen.”
“This is life, Sym. It could happen to a model citizen. You know I’m all here for you finding someone. What I won’t do is force this guy on you. I’ve seen first hand how you handle losing love, and I don’t want that experience for either of us again.”
Sym listened to Nadja, but her thoughts traveled back to after she lost Derrick. Everything about her changed when he died. She became a person she didn’t recognize. Not only did she lose the love of her young life, but she was also forced to abort the baby she found out she was carrying three months after seeing him laid to rest. The only way she knew how to cope with the lost was to make others feel pain. Sym took her hurt out on any and everyone possible. Mainly, people Derrick was known to have beef with. She self-taught herself how to use various weapons and used them to take down his enemies; one at a time. Of course, the goal was for her to eventually get to the person who had killed him, but in the meantime, she enjoyed satisfying her thirst to end someone’s life, on people she felt deserved to die. Due to the number of people, she killed between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, she had graduated to serial killer status.
At one point, she had stopped eating and looked physically ill. That’s when Nadja stepped in and nearly beat the truth out of her. Sym had a problem; she wanted to stop killing, but she didn’t know how. She yearned to do it, and when she didn’t, she felt empty. It was Nadja’s idea to shift gears from what Sym did back then to what they did now. It was the only way she knew how to get her friend back while aiding in her need to harm others. It was a sick, and twisted way of thinking on both of their behalf’s but Nadja would do anything to keep her best friend whole and for right now, this is what was doing the job.
Sym’s past haunted her and had her afraid of her future. It’s the main reason why she was so cold and calculated and why didn’t didn’t want to have ties to people. She always said out her mouth that she didn’t want to be hurt, well, that was part of it, but she mostly didn’t want to hurt them. She viewed herself as broken and unable to be fixed. She couldn’t understand for the life of her why she still was the way she was and used to pray for God to help change her. Years later, she was the same her. Sym felt prayers didn’t work on her.
“Get out of your head, Sym. Whatever you’re thinking, stop thinking it. You’re not damaged goods that don't deserve to be loved. Yea, you’ve made a bad decision we all have and still do. It doesn't mean shit. We’re doing the best with the cards that we were dealt, and that’s it. But in regards to this guy, if you want him in your life, allow him in your life. He gotta be able to accept all of you. If you weren’t worried about hiding who you were from him, we wouldn’t be here right now. That’s the only thing I blame you for. No matter where you go, you are what you are player and you can try to change, but that's just the top layer,” Nadja ended her spiel with a Jay-Z quote.
Sym leaned over and kissed her best friend on the forehead.
“I love you, Nadj. I’m going leave you some time with Kory, plus I need to get McKenzie and change then we’ll be right back up here.”
“No rush, I ain’t going nowhere, and I love you too.”
Sym headed back to the waiting area where she woke Kory up and told her to go see Nadja. Before leaving, she got Kory’s car keys because she didn’t want to catch an Uber in her blood stained shirt. After jumping behind the wheel of Kory’s car, Sym headed in the direction of her home. However, plans changed and she made a detour to Mitch’s place. When she got there, she checked Kory’s glove box for the backup piece she had stored there. As expected, it was there. She tucked it into her waistline before getting out and heading into his building.
Boom, boom
“Yo, who the fuck banging on my door like that?” Sym heard Mitch curse out loud before hearing fumble with the locks. He opened the door in nothing boxer briefs and socks. His jaw dropped when he saw the condition Symphony was in.
“Yo, what happened to you?” He yelled while pulling her into the house. He raised her sweater and sighed after realizing the blood wasn’t hers.
“Who the fuck is that?” A female spoke coming from the back of the apartment.
Sym bust out laughing at how everything was unfolding; first the chick with Rory, now this one. It didn’t take too long for Mitch’s true colors to show.
“I believed you, Mitch. I couldn’t give you everything you wanted but believe it or not, I tried. I really fucking tried and this is what I get back from you in return.”
“Why is this bitch?” The girl shouted.
Mitch ignored her completely and focused on Sym.
“What are you talking abut, Sym? Don’t speak in code, say what you need to say.”
“Nah, bitches got me fucked up thinking they can just bust up in my nigga shit.”
Sym darted her head in the direction of the female and backed out her gun.
“You called me way too many bitches, bitch. And let’s be clear, I’m sure it is you who got me fucked up. Speak out of turn again and I’ll send metal into your fucking mouth. Test me if you want.”
“What the fuck? Yo, Sym, chill.”
The girl was frozen, still not believing that she had just had a gun pulled out on her. Mitch stood in the line of fire. If only he knew better, he probably wouldn’t have done that.
“Janelle, can you go?” Mitch barked without taking his eye off of Sym.
“You really about to dismiss me for this b…” She swallowed the remainder of the word after hearing Sym cock back on the gun. She spun and shuffled into the living room to grab her things, before exiting as quiet as a mouse.
&nb
sp; “Sym put the gun down.”
“Because of you, my best friend is in a hospital. I tried to protect you and ended up failing the one person who always been there for me.”
Mitch through his hands up in the air in exasperation. “What are you talking about? I don’t know your friends.”
She lowered the gun at her side and paced around his foyer while shouting to him the events that led up to Nadja being shot.
“Wait, Rory hired… Pause, you killed Rory?” Mitch questioned, he had to be sure he was actually hearing what he thought he was hearing.
“And his bitch. Keisha! Yea, that Keisha. The one you were fucking while begging me to give you a chance. I should blow your fucking head off right here, but then all would have been for nothing.”
“I never fucked that girl,” Mitch defended himself.
“Don’t matter. The bitch was setting you up for Rory and now they both dirt napping. I did that. I fucking saved your life. I saved your boys! What the fuck have you done for me?” She shouted before collapsing in his arms and breaking down crying. Her shoulders heaved up and down, and she sniffled to keep snot from dripping from her nose. Mitch knew that there were things about her that he didn’t know, but this was all far beyond his imagination. He didn’t even know how to process it.
“Get the fuck off of me,” Sym pushed him away and took a few steps back. “You’re welcome and goodbye.”
“Sym, wait. I want to see your home girl. I need to see her. I just want to tell her personally that I’m sorry,” Mitch didn’t know in detail how everything went down but knowing that it all happened because of him.
She paused and thought about everything Nadja had said to her before she left the hospital.
“I’m going home to shower and change. You can meet me at Kings County in an hour. After you say your peace to my friend, I never want to see you again.”
Street Symphony: A Tainted Love Story Page 13