“You mad?” he asked once we got back to the hotel.
“Who said I was mad?” I asked him.
“If you’re not mad, what’s up with the silent treatment?”
I swear, I wanted to choke his ass to sleep sometimes, but his fine ass was now wearing that face that I loved so much, making it hard for me to stay mad.
“I’m not mad, Qua,” I told him, trying to keep the mad face going, but a smile deceived me as it slipped onto my lips.
“Give me a kiss, and stop playing with a nigga.”
I was really smiling now that his lips touched mine, sending a tingling sensation to Ms. Kitty. He had her purring for his touch. His hands went to my waist, made their way up my blouse, and caressed my breasts. A small moan escaped my lips once he made contact with my mouth again. He slipped his tongue inside my mouth, and I sucked on his tongue. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and I wiggled my butt to help him get me out of my jeans. My panties followed, and then he dove in, with me riding his tongue.
Soon my juices flowed from the orgasm I was having, and my body jerked. I had to bite down on my bottom lip to stop from screaming out from the way he was assaulting my insides. Any pent-up stress that I was feeling about the earlier situation was gone as he thrust in and out of me. No longer able to hold in what I was feeling, I screamed out in pleasure. I could tell the pressure was building up in him, as he let out a growl and began aggressively hitting me with deep, long strokes. I responded by digging my nails in his back. We both came together, then collapsed. We were both trying to catch our breath when I looked at him, ready for round two.
“You good?” he asked, pulling me into his arms.
“I’m better than good,” I said. I turned to face him, then kissed his lips.
“I need to talk to you about something,” he said, causing me to sigh.
I didn’t know what he needed to talk to me about, but I did know that I just wanted to relax and savor the ride he had just taken me on. Hearing the tone of his voice, I just knew I wasn’t going to like the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
“Can it wait until tomorrow?” I whined, not wanting to ruin the moment if I didn’t like what he was going to say.
“I’d rather get it over with now,” he responded, rubbing my thigh.
“Okay. What is it?”
“My mother’s doctor said that it’s going to be about six to eight weeks before she has healed.”
“And?” I asked, already knowing what was coming next. I had got defensive before he even finished.
“I’m going to have to take a leave from my job to be with her until she’s able to do it on her own again. Had her husband not been involved in the accident with her, he could have taken care of her, and I wouldn’t have to,” he explained.
“Well, who’s going to take care of him?” I asked, again already knowing the answer.
“His niece, Savannah, will be staying with him to care for him. She’ll be taking a leave from her job as well,” he said.
“So, when was this decision made?” I wanted to know.
“Well, when we went to the store, she told me that she took a leave to care for them both, but I don’t want to burden her further with the care of both of them. My mother has me, so I told her that I would care for my mom.”
“Really? So that means the two of you will be under the same roof for six to eight weeks. Is that what you’re telling me?” I asked, getting upset.
“Jakiyah, we’re family. You have nothing to worry about,” he said, getting upset too.
It was easy for him to say that I had nothing to worry about when he was going to be away from me for almost two months. It felt the same way it had when he left for college, after telling me that I had nothing to worry about, because the long distance wasn’t going to change the love we had for one another. Those words were proven wrong when he’d been gone for only a year and a half before he called to say that the relationship wasn’t going to work. No, I didn’t want a replay of that, but what could I say? I couldn’t stay with him here for almost two months, and I couldn’t ask him not to stay and take care of his mother. I put my game face on again, trying to hide how I really felt about the situation.
“Qua, I guess you have to do what you have to do. I have no choice but to trust you when you say I have nothing to worry about. But I do have a question.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“We drove here together, so how will I get home?”
“I’m going to get you a rental to drive back, and you can drop it off to a New York location.”
“So, you’ve got it all figured out, huh?” I asked. Then I got up to take a shower, not even waiting on a response.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jakiyah
I had been back home for about a week now and was missing Qua something awful. Even though work and Yessenia had been keeping me from hitting the highway to go and stay with him, they didn’t stop me from thinking of him. He called and texted me often, but it wasn’t satisfying this appetite, this need to feel him inside of me.
Ty had invited Yessenia and me to the club tonight, but we had decided just to chill at her house. He was having open mic on a Wednesday night, and if I didn’t have to work tomorrow, I would have gone to hang out. I shouldn’t even be at Yessenia’s house right now. I knew I wasn’t going to want to get up and go to work tomorrow after the two glasses of wine that I had already had.
“So, what’s up with Qua?” she asked me as we sat on the couch.
“Girl, I’m missing his ass something awful,” I responded, making the sad face.
“So, you’re good on ole girl staying with him at his mom’s house?” she asked, knowing damn well I didn’t need a reminder.
I had a little time to dwell on my answer to her question, because someone was knocking on her door just then.
“Are you Yessenia DeCruz?” a male voice said through the door. It sounded like the voice of Detective James, so I got up to go to the door.
When I got to the door and looked through the peephole, sure enough, it was Detective James and his partner. I opened the door, and my eyes met Detective James’s. Mine were filled with confusion. Then he took his attention off me and told Yessenia that they had a warrant for her arrest for the murder of Cydney Wilks. It didn’t register with me at this point that she was being arrested for my sister’s murder. All I saw was my friend being put in handcuffs. I yelled out for Keem, who came running downstairs, in his boxers and nothing else.
“What the fuck is going on?” he asked, rushing toward the officer who had Yessenia in cuffs.
“Sir, I’m going to need you to step back,” Detective James informed him, with his hand now resting on his weapon.
I heard a loud noise outside and glanced out the window. When I noticed the tow truck taking Yessenia’s car into custody, I felt light-headed and unsteady. Realizing I needed to sit, I made my way to the couch and plopped down on it. Detective James walked over to where I was sitting on the couch, then told me that Yessenia’s car was the car in question the night of my sister’s murder, and that was why she was being arrested. My eyes pleaded with him to tell me that this was all some misunderstanding and they had the wrong car, but he just gave me a sympathetic touch on my shoulder. A moment later, he informed me that he would be in touch, and then he and his partner led Yessenia out of the house, leaving me broken as tears flowed from my eyes.
Keem touched my shoulder, causing me to flinch. I knew that he was only offering me comfort, but I didn’t want him to touch me. At this point, I didn’t know who to trust anymore. Did he know that she did this? I thought as I looked up at him with questioning eyes.
“Jakiyah, I don’t know what’s going on.” He spoke as if he had read what my eyes were asking.
I didn’t know what to believe anymore, and I was giving myself a headache, trying to figure out why Yessenia would be accused of murdering my sister. They had been wrong about Andris being a susp
ect, so maybe they were wrong about her too. My sister and Yessenia had never been friends and probably had no interactions that didn’t include me, as they had never hung out together or anything. I had always had to force them to be in each other’s company. Since Yessenia was my best friend and Cydney was my sister, I had wanted them to get along.
Cydney never liked Yessenia and only tolerated her because of me, I thought as I looked up. Lost in thought, I had forgotten that Keem was standing in front of me. My eyes noticed that he was still in his boxers, and the view gave me a better understanding of why Yessenia always wanted to be home, under his ass. I averted my gaze as I stood and told him that I was leaving. He told me that he was headed to Jersey as soon as he put some clothes on and that he would keep me updated.
When I got to my parents’ house, I summarized what had happened for my parents and Ty. By then I had one of those pulsating headaches. What was so bothersome to me was the fact that someone whom I would give my life for and whom I considered family would commit this type of betrayal. My heart hurt, but at the same time, my heart was betraying me, as I felt the need to know if Yessenia was okay. I called Qua. I needed to hear his voice. I felt that, besides my family, he was the only one I had left. His voice mail picked up, so I just left a message, telling him to call me as soon as possible. My mother handed me two Tylenol and a bottled water and told me to go lie down. I gratefully accepted the Tylenol and the advice, because my head was really hurting.
When I woke up, it was six the next morning. I hadn’t even realized how tired I was. I knew my mother was up because I could hear the church music that she was playing downstairs. I reached for my phone and checked for any missed calls, but I didn’t have any. This made me wonder why Qua hadn’t returned my call, especially after hearing the urgency in my voice. I didn’t know why I expected a call from Yessenia from the police station, one in which she told me that this was all a mistake, but I didn’t receive that call, either. I thought about calling Keem but quickly dismissed that idea. Instead, I showered and got ready for work. I wasn’t about to sit at home and drive myself crazy with my thoughts. At least if I was at work, I could keep busy, the time would seem to go faster, and maybe I would get some answers by the time I got off work.
Once I was dressed, I headed downstairs.
“Good morning, baby. I didn’t think you would go in today,” my mother said, seeing me in my scrubs.
“I thought about it, but I’ve missed too many days already. And if I sit home, all I’m going to do is drive myself crazy,” I told her.
“I didn’t wake you up last night to go home, because I knew that you were tired and needed to rest.”
“You did right, as I wasn’t going home last night, anyway. Did Ty spend the night too?” I asked her.
“No, he didn’t spend the night. He left about ten minutes after you went upstairs. He got so angry with me because he wanted me to be angry, and I refuse, since I put it in God’s hands. I wouldn’t be a child of God if I didn’t believe in forgiveness,” she said, giving me the same feeling my brother must have felt. I told her I had to go.
I was all for forgiveness, but it was just hard when it was someone that you’d trusted, someone who you’d believed would never do anything to hurt you or anyone you loved.
After a long day at work, all I wanted to do was go home, get in the fetal position, and cry, as once again, I felt alone. Qua not reaching out didn’t make it any better. I decided not to go home and instead went back to my parents’ home. When I got there, Detective James was exiting his car.
“How are you?” he asked me as I let him in the house.
“I could be better,” I said to him.
I walked him into the living room, where my parents were sitting, watching the news. I walked over and picked up the remote to turn the television off. I offered Detective James a seat, but he remained standing.
“Okay, so it wasn’t easy, but we did get a written confession from Yessenia DeCruz,” Detective James announced. “She states that your sister, Cydney, was having a relationship with her boyfriend, Keem—”
“What the fuck does she mean, Cydney was having a relationship with Keem?” I asked, interrupting him.
“Again, she states that they were having a relationship, which he broke off. She insists that your sister kept calling and texting him for months, stating that she needed to talk to him, but he ignored her. She said that on the night in question, Cydney texted her boyfriend’s phone, telling him that she had been trying to get in touch with him, and that she understood that the relationship was over, but she and his daughter needed him.”
“His daughter?” my mother questioned.
“Yes, his daughter, according to her. Ms. DeCruz said that she was hurt and was not thinking straight when she texted the phone back, pretending to be Keem, and asked Cydney where she was. Cydney supposedly texted the phone again on the night of her murder, stating that she was going to leave Andris that night. Ms. DeCruz, still pretending to be Keem, asked for the address to where she was staying, and when she received the address, she left work and headed to Jersey.
The detective went on. “She admits that when she got to the home, she sat in the car, not knowing what her next move was going to be, until she saw your sister pull out. Ms. DeCruz followed slowly behind her. She said that all she wanted to do was tell Cydney that her boyfriend, Keem, wasn’t the father of her child and to just leave them alone. Before she got the chance to approach her, another car pulled into the gas station, with a man behind the wheel. We now know this was Mr. Wilks.”
Detective James took a deep breath and then continued. “After the gas station attendant scared him off, threatening to call the police, Ms. DeCruz said she pulled up, just to see if Cydney was okay. She admits your daughter started going off on her, telling her that her boyfriend was going to leave her once he saw his daughter. She said this caused her to snap, and she pulled out the weapon and shot her.”
I tell you, I was numb and had no words as tears fell from my eyes. I didn’t understand how you could kill my sister over a fucking man who she clearly knew wasn’t shit because he was having a relationship with her. If Yessenia knew that Keem had broken it off with my sister, and thus wanted nothing more to do with her, that meant Cydney was no longer a threat to Yessenia. I didn’t believe the part about my sister saying that her daughter was his, and if she did, she probably said it just to get under Yessenia’s skin.
“So, what now?” I heard my father ask the detective.
“She will be formally advised of the charges against her and will be asked to enter a plea to the charges. The court will decide if she will be released pending her trial. She wanted me to let you know that her boyfriend, Keem, knew nothing about any of the text messages or what she did,” Detective James replied. He then told us he would keep us informed once the trial started.
After he bid farewell to my parents, I let the detective out. I continued to my car, having decided in that moment that I needed to get away. I was headed to Vermont to see my man. I needed him.
When I got to Vermont and pulled up in front of Qua’s mother’s house, I grabbed my bag and got out of the car. I had tried to reach Qua while en route but received no answer. It was kind of pissing me off because I didn’t know what the hell was going on with him that he couldn’t answer or return any of my calls. I rang the doorbell, and some female answered the door, wearing nothing but a T-shirt. Just as I was about to tell her that I was there for Qua, I saw him come from the kitchen, wearing just his boxers.
I ran down the front steps to my car, climbed in, and pulled off as the tears fell. My judgment clouded, I decided to make the drive back home. I didn’t understand what the hell I had done in my life to be getting hit after hit of betrayal. By the time I had driven for three hours and had made one stop to fill up my tank, the whole sordid affair had started to take a toll on me. I thought that Qua would have at least been blowing up my phone by now, but he wasn’t—and he had
not even sent a text message—which hurt me more.
I felt much better when I saw that I had a little less than two miles to go before my exit, but before I made it to my exit, I fell asleep at the wheel. When I opened my eyes and realized what had happened, it was too late. I tried to regain control of my car as it swerved across the road and hit the gravel shoulder. A moment later another car hit mine, and my car jerked right before I blacked out.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Qua
I had just got the call from Ty, telling me that Jakiyah was in a car accident. And to think I wasn’t even going to answer the call, but something had told me to. I was en route to New York, and I swear, I had had no idea that she was even coming to Vermont. I had been dealing with my own shit and had blocked her out, but now I felt fucked up. I felt like it was my fault that she was in an accident. Ty had told me what happened with Yessenia and what she was dealing with, and that made me feel even more fucked up. We both were going through some shit, and instead of me reaching out to her for comfort, like she was reaching out to me, I decided to deal with my shit on my own. Ty didn’t give me any details on her condition. He just said that I needed to get there, and he instructed me to drive safely. I drove safely, but I drove fast as hell and got to North Shore Hospital in three hours. I pulled up, found parking, and headed to the emergency entrance, where I saw Ty and Jakiyah’s parents.
“What’s up, Qua? What did you do? Fly here, nigga?” Ty asked me, giving me dap.
“Nah. I just drove the hell out of that truck, and there wasn’t much traffic on the road. How is she doing?” I replied after saying hello to her parents.
“We haven’t heard anything about her condition as of yet. We were told by the officer on the scene that she may have fallen asleep at the wheel,” Ty said.
By around 6:00 a.m., which was about an hour after I arrived at the hospital, we still hadn’t heard anything about Jakiyah’s condition. Jakiyah’s parents were starting to worry, but I told them that no news was good news. Well, at least that was what my mother had always told me. I had almost forgotten that I wasn’t traveling alone, until I saw him walk in the door. I had left his ass in the dust. When he walked up on me, Ty and his parents looked at me with questioning eyes, but before I could say anything, we heard the doctor call for the family of Jakiyah Smith. Her mom and dad rushed over to the doctor.
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