by Ambria Davis
“I already knew that he was going to be mad, but I had no idea that he was going to act like that. I just need him to wait a little while for me, that’s all.” I laid my head on his shoulder.
“Jayden is a hard dude. He doesn’t let nothing get by him. If there’s a problem, he always wants to fix it right away.”
“Hell, I can see that!”
“It’s going to be all right, ma. He won’t be mad forever.”
I was about to reply when I heard a ringing coming from my purse. I was confused, because my phone was actually sitting on the table. For a few seconds, I was scared to touch my purse. Suddenly, I remembered that I still had the phone Mimi had given to me.
“What the fuck?” I grabbed my purse and fished out the phone.
“What’s going on?” Mark asked, but I didn’t answer him. Looking at the phone’s caller ID, I saw it read, “Private Caller.”
“I don’t know. This is the phone that Mimi gave me before she was killed. She’s the only person who’s supposed to know this number.” I sat still, staring at the phone in my hand.
“Maybe someone got the wrong number or something. Just answer it and see,” he said, hunching his shoulders.
“Hello,” I answered. “Hello, who the fuck is this?” I said when they didn’t say anything.
Pressing the phone closer to my ears, I could hear shallow breathing on the other side. “Helloooo,” I said, stretching the word, but the person still didn’t say anything. “I know you’re there, so you might as well just say something!”
The person on the other end still didn’t respond. Instead, they just disconnected the call. Throwing the phone on the sofa in frustration, I huffed and took a seat.
“What’s wrong, ma?”
“I’m just tired, Mark. Someone has been calling me for the past few weeks and won’t say shit. It’s starting to piss me off.”
“Well, get your number changed then.”
“I will. I’m going to do it later. Right now, I just need to get some rest for tomorrow,” I said, getting up. I walked in the bathroom and started running my bathwater.
“Well, do you need me to get you anything? Something from the store? Something to eat? Anything?” Mark asked, walking in the bathroom behind me.
“Nah, I’m straight. But you could go and get me a bottle of water and them pills out of my purse.”
“Okay,” he said, walking out of the bathroom. I kicked off my shoes, took my pants and panties off, and waited for him to get back so that he could help me take my shirt off. I knew my shoulder was too sore to try it alone.
“Here you go,” he said, handing me the pill bottle and water.
“Set it right there for me.” I pointed to the bathroom counter. “Can you help me take my shirt and bra off please?”
“Sure.” He placed the things on the counter, and then carefully helped me out of the rest of my clothes.
I removed two pills out of the bottle, opened the water, and took my pain medicine. When I was done, I got into the tub to relax my sore body.
“Hand me a washcloth and my body wash right there on the stand, please.”
Getting the washcloth and body wash like I asked, he came back over by the bathtub, but he didn’t hand them to me. Instead, he got down on his knees and wet the washcloth in the water.
“What are you doing?” I asked, suddenly becoming shy.
“What do you think I’m about to do?” he asked, chuckling. “I’m about to bathe you. Is something wrong with that?”
“Uh, no, no. Nothing is wrong with that,” I stuttered.
“Okay, then.” He shrugged as he took the washcloth and drenched my body gently with water. He made sure to soak every inch of my body, and when he got to my shoulder where the bullet hole was, I flinched a bit. I didn’t want him to see my scars.
“It’s okay, baby. I love every part of you.” He kissed me lovingly on my shoulder, and when I heard that, I thought, I can’t believe he just told me that he loved me. Hell, this is his first time saying it.
“I love you too,” I replied sincerely, looking into his eyes. I couldn’t believe I almost let Weedy get next to me again. I should have whooped my own ass for even thinking about messing with Weedy after all of the shit that he had put me through. Why would I want to go back to a man I had to share when I had my own man right here?
He squeezed some body wash into the washcloth and began to bathe me. I wanted to object, but I didn’t. It not only felt good, but it was actually nice to have someone cater to me.
“Stand up,” he said, getting up off the floor.
I stood up with my hands covering my breasts.
“You can put your hands down, ma. I already seen all of that,” he said, smiling.
I let my hands fall, and I started to breathe slowly as he started washing the top half of my body. My heart was beating like a bass drum. That’s how afraid I was. When he got to my midsection, he stopped.
“You can breathe normally, ma. I’m not going to bite you,” he said as he rubbed the washcloth against my stomach.
“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. He proceeded to wash the rest of my body and, when he was finished, he turned on the shower and rinsed me off.
“Where are the bath towels?” he asked, turning off the water.
“They’re in the linen closet in the hallway.”
“Okay.” He left the bathroom.
I stepped out of the tub to examine my body in the full-length mirror. Lately, I’d added on a couple of pounds. It went lovely with my body, and no one else could tell the difference, but I could, and I didn’t like it. Moving a little closer, I turned to see the holes left in my shoulder and side. They weren’t too big, but they looked huge to me. They were already starting to form into keloids. My eyes got misty as I looked over my once-perfect body. I figured no one was going to want me once they saw me completely naked.
“You’re still perfect, ma. Them little war wounds ain’t nothing. You’re just a gangsta chick to me, and I’ve always had a thing for your kind,” Mark murmured, walking up behind me. Wrapping the towel around my body, he began to dry me off. When he was done, he handed me the robe that was hanging on the back of the door, and I put it on.
I turned toward him and gave him a long kiss. I wanted him in the worst way. I needed him, and if things were different, I wouldn’t mind having him right this moment. “Call Jayden and tell him that you’re staying over tonight,” I said, looking intently at him.
“Okay.” He pulled his phone out.
“Y’all still staying at the motel?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, look, y’all go and get y’all things. I’ll let y’all stay in one of Mimi’s properties not too far from here.”
“Ma, you really don’t have to do that.”
“I can and I will. Why would I let y’all stay in some sleazy motel, when Mimi has a lot of properties around Georgia?” I went straight into my room to get some clothes to put on.
“Where you think you goin’?” Mark asked as I took out a pair of pants and a shirt.
“I’m going with you guys to pick up y’all things,” I said letting the robe fall from my body.
“Man, you don’t need to be going nowhere, ma.”
“Yes, I do,” I said, slipping on my sweatpants. I didn’t even bother to put on a pair of panties, and I knew there was no way in hell I’d be able to put on a bra.
“Ma, you don’t need to be going back out this time of night. You just got out of the hospital, bruh.”
“Mark, don’t fight me on this. I’m going with you guys to get your things so that y’all don’t have to sleep in that hotel no more.” I slipped on my tennis shoes and then went into my closet to get me a jacket, because it was getting kind of chilly outside.
“Come on,” I said, stopping in front of him. He said nothing. All he did was look at me, shake his head, and walk out of the room. I’d make it right later on, but right now we were leaving, and I
didn’t have time to argue.
I went to look for my keys so that I could take my own car, but then I realized that my car was in the shop. “Shit.” Suddenly, I remembered that one of Mimi’s cars was still parked in the garage at the house.
“I’ll just use her car until my car comes from the shop,” I said to myself as I cut the light off and went to meet Mark in the living room.
Chapter 6
Mimi
I was waiting on Margie to come and get her car. I was tired and hungry. I needed to go out to the store and get myself a few things. It was a good thing that I had clothes over here and that I was able to take a bath, or else I would have stunk and been hungry. Normally, I kept this house fully stocked, but since I was supposed to be dead, there was nothing in here to eat.
I’d only been here for a couple of hours, and I’d already damn near walked a hole in the carpet. Every time I spotted a car’s headlights, I thought that it was Margie. She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago. I hated being in one spot for too long, which was part of the reason why I broke out of that hospital. I was tired of being there, and I was especially tired of not getting any answers. That was one of the things that Troy and I had in common: we were always on the move. We never stayed in one spot for too long.
I was about to walk into the bedroom when I heard a car pull up in the driveway. Taking baby steps, I calmly walked to the window to peek out of it. I moved slowly, not wanting anyone to see me. I slowly peeked out the window to see Margie getting out of a cab. I walked over to the door and opened it, but I didn’t go outside because I didn’t want any of these nosy-ass neighbors seeing me.
“Girl, I didn’t think anyone was at home the way the house was all dark and stuff,” she said, walking up to the door.
“Oh, I decided to keep the lights off. I don’t need no one getting suspicious and calling Troy,” I said, moving to the side and allowing her to enter.
“So you haven’t called her yet?” she asked, walking into the living room.
“No, I haven’t,” I said, closing the door and following her.
“Why?” She removed her jacket and threw it on the back of the sofa. She then took a seat and waited for me to answer.
“Because, Margie, I can’t. I mean, I’ve called her a few times, but I never said anything. I always blocked my number and just listened to her voice until she hung up.” I sighed, plopping down on the sofa next to her.
“Child, you will never get any answers unless you call her. You need to call her. Never mind what Detective Webber said. Call your friend. She holds the keys to all of your unanswered questions,” she replied.
“What will I say to her? She probably won’t even believe it’s me when I call. She thinks I’m dead, along with the rest of the world.”
“You won’t know until you try.”
“Okay, I’ll call when I come back from the store.”
“Okay.”
“How did everything go with Detective Webber?” I asked, changing the subject.
“It went okay. He kept pressuring me about you, but I told him I didn’t know where you went. Told him that I had gone to check on something, left you there for a few minutes and when I came back, you were gone.”
“I know he had to be mad. He was trying his hardest to keep me in that hospital.”
“Girl, I’m telling you. That’s why I was late getting here. I drove around leisurely for a little while, just to make sure he wasn’t following me. I didn’t want to lead him to you when I know you have a lot of things to do,” she said, laughing.
“Thank you so much, Margie.” I walked over to her and gave her a big hug. “For everything.”
“You’re very so welcome,” she said, hugging me back. “Now let me get out of here. I have a few things to do at home, and you have a lot of things you need to be doing yourself.”
“Hold on, I’ll be right back,” I said, running to the master bedroom. I remembered having a safe in the closet where I kept some of Kaylin’s money. Since the safe was behind a lot of clothes, it took me a minute to get to it. It took me a few tries to remember the code, but I got it. Troy was the only one besides me who knew the combination. Kaylin didn’t even know it, and that was his money in there.
Opening up the safe, I grabbed a couple of bundles out of there, threw them in a small duffle bag, and shut the door. I safely secured the safe back behind the clothes and shut the closet. I was almost to the living room when I heard what sounded like fussing.
“I’m going to ask you one more fucking time. Who the fuck are you, what do you want, and how the fuck did you get in here?” I heard a female voice that sounded strangely like Troy.
“Who I am and why I’m here doesn’t concern you,” I heard Margie fire back.
“Bitch, you talking some slick shit considering the position that you are in.”
I heard Margie laughing, and I wondered what was funny. “The fuck you laughing at?” Troy yelled. Although I couldn’t see Troy, I bet her face was all screwed up.
“I’m laughing at you. You must be Troy. I’ve heard a lot about you,” I heard Margie say.
I inched closer to the living room, where I spotted Troy. She had two fine-ass niggas with her. Who the fuck were they?
“How the fuck do you know my name and what could you have possibly heard about me? I don’t know you, but you claiming that you’ve heard a lot about me. What, you a stalker or something? Don’t tell me, you’re one of Kaylin’s hoes too?”
“Like I said, I’ve heard a lot about you. Let’s just say that we have a little something in common,” Margie said, crossing her legs.
I watched as Troy went over by the TV. I knew that she was going for the gun we kept in a secret spot.
“See, I tried to be nice to you, but you don’t like nice. I’m already not in the mood. I just got out of the hospital, and my best friend’s funeral is tomorrow,” she said, removing the gun. She pulled the clip out and then cocked it. “Now I’m going ask you one last motherfucking time and this time I want an answer. Who the fuck are you and what are you doing here?”
“You really think that is going to scare me, little girl?” Margie asked, not looking scared at all. I watched as Troy decided to point the gun in her direction, and I waited to see if the two guys were going to interfere, but they didn’t. They just stood there looking.
“Wrong answer,” Troy said as her finger inched toward the trigger.
“Troy, wait. She’s here with me,” I yelled, which brought Troy’s two male visitors to full alert.
“Yo, who is you?” she asked, looking in my direction.
I stood there silent. How was I going to tell her that it was me? I knew Troy. She was hardheaded. She wasn’t going to believe me.
“It’s me, Mimi,” I replied, still standing where I was.
“Get the fuck out of here. Amina is dead and gone. I seen her with my own eyes, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. So I know you ain’t her.”
“No, it’s really me, Troy.”
“Nah, fuck that. Kaylin must have really done a number on these hoes. Got them out here pretending to be Mimi and shit. Where the fuck they do that at? I already done got shot by one of his hoes, and had to beat another one of ’em up. Now you over here with this shit?” She shook her head. “I tell you what: since you want to be Amina so bad, then I’m going to send you right where she is. Right after I shoot this old lady. Now come on out here and let us see your imposing, stalking, identity-thief-acting ass.”
“But it really is me, Troy,” I said, trying to plead with her ass again.
“Yeah, I bet. You can save all that fuckery for somebody else. Hurry up and get ya ass over here,” she said, motioning with the gun.
I took my time as I walked toward her. Troy really looked and sounded like a crazy woman. I didn’t need her ass shooting me. I had cheated death once before in the last couple of weeks. I didn’t need it knocking at my door again, because I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t b
e escaping it again. I was almost in the living room when I spotted the dude with the dreads. My mouth damn near dropped to the floor. I guessed he was really surprised that it was really me too, because he was looking at me like he had seen a damn ghost. Well, I guessed to him I was a ghost, since I was supposed to be dead and all.
When I came into view, her hands immediately went up, covering her mouth. Troy gasped, “Oh, my God, it can’t be! You’re supposed to be dead. I seen you with my own two eyes!”
“It’s me, Troy. It’s Mimi. I’m alive,” I said, taking two more steps toward her so that I was dead in front of her.
“It can’t be. I must be dreaming, because my best friend is dead and gone,” she mumbled to herself. The look on her face was one of pure confusion. I reached out to touch her so that she could see that I was actually real and she wasn’t dreaming, but she jacked her hand away from me.
“Get away from me!” she screamed, sounding like a deranged woman. She then took a couple of steps back and yelled, “Mark, get this bitch away from me before I shoot her!”
My feelings were actually hurt. Troy and I had been through a lot together. I looked from her to the two dudes she was with. The dark-skinned dude with the dreads still had this shocked look on his face, while the light-skinned dude was still looking at Troy. They looked somewhat familiar. I just couldn’t place them. Shaking my head, I looked back at Troy.
“Why are you still standing there looking stupid? Y’all know this shit ain’t real. Niggas playing with a bitch’s feelings, but they need to know that the shit ain’t fucking funny,” she cried, with tears falling from her eyes. I went to say something to her, but dude with the dreads had beaten me to it.
“Troy, this is as big of a shock to me as it is to you, but it’s not a joke, man. This shit is really real. She’s alive,” he said to her, with his eyes were focused on me. For some strange reason, I felt like I knew him.
“Jayden, this can’t be Mimi. Someone has to be playing a joke on me, because if my best friend were alive, I would’ve known about it,” she said, wiping frantically at her eyes; but the tears kept falling.