The Deviant

by Tiana Laveen

  He took a microphone from the coordinator and began to speak.

  “Good evening, everyone. I want to first thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight. It truly means a lot to me. For those of you who don’t know my real name, only the Deviant Artist moniker, I’ll introduce myself now. My name is, King Chrysalis. I’m originally from Harlem, recently relocated to Brooklyn. I’ve traveled many places, but no matter where I go in the world, New York will always be home.

  “The people here are amazing. We come from strong stock.” Several heads nodded. “This city embodies culture, abundant art, expression with no apologies. Nowhere else in this world can you get such a collage of people from all walks of life.” He scanned the crowd. “This environment helped foster who you see before you. Tonight, I am presenting another display from my Deviant collection. I must be honest, however. I had an entirely different frame of mind when this project initially began. And then, some things happened in my life. I met new people who changed my world.” He looked in Suri’s direction. “I went through some challenges, but I also received many sanctifications. I found myself again. Art saved me.”

  The crowd broke out in applause.

  “These paintings depict aspects of me that I’ve never been comfortable delving into. Until now.” He went over to one painting, and a spotlight immediately shined upon it.

  People began to gather closer to study the black and white close-up painting of a wide-eyed boy with wild black hair and large eyes looking right into your soul.

  Oh my God, it’s him. He then went to the next painting. Colors exploded on the canvas, and in the center was a boy painting on an easel. The third painting was of a child in a deep, dark black hole. Another consisted of mere shadows of what appeared to be children… and so it went.

  “I will allow each and every one of you to interpret this series how you wish. All I ask is that you start from the first painting here, and work your way down to the seventh.” The last painting made her heart stop. It was a shadow, dancing under rays of light. “On the other side, I have some other pieces that have nothing to do with the Deviant Artist show, and they are for sale. Many of you came for that as well. The prices are listed, and if you have any questions, I’m a bit of an introvert, so please feel free to catch me if you can.”

  Pockets of laughter echoed throughout.

  “Thank you all again for coming, and I look forward to conversing with you further tonight. Enjoy.”

  Applause broke out once more and the crowd began to disperse. King made a beeline towards her, and she couldn’t wait to get close to him. He caught her in his arms and kissed her.

  “Baby, did you meet my mother and—”

  “Yes, yes. I met your entire family.”

  “King, your father is outside,” his mother stated with a definite attitude. “He missed the entire introduction.”

  “No, I didn’t. I’m right here standin’ in the back.” Brian emerged from several feet away, his hands shoved in his pockets. “I heard the whole fuckin’ thing. You think I’d miss any of this? Jesus! If you’re not complaining about me, you’re not happy, are ya, Cassandra? You keep my name in your mouth more than Chris di—”

  “Stop. Don’t say it. Let’s not do this,” King urged, his voice carrying. “Take your beefs somewhere else.”

  Suri did an inward sigh of relief. She looked to one side and spotted her parents talking. It was rather odd to see. Both were smiling, too.

  “Mom, Dad, both of you…” King smiled at Brian, then at his stepfather. “Lucas… Suri’s parents!” he called out, laughing as he waved them over. Everyone huddled around King. “Yeah, gather around here for a minute before I get pulled away again. Right now everyone is looking at the paintings, so it’s the best time to do this. Suri, come here.”

  Confused, she played along and stepped closer.

  “So, since you all have met, I don’t have to do any introductions. I apologize for that. I had planned this differently but there was an issue I needed to take care of.”

  “That’s okay,” Mom said. King smiled at her, then clasped his hands together.

  “So, as you all know, Suri and I have been dating for some time now.” He wrapped his arm around her, drawing her closer. “I love her very much and uh, I asked her to move in with me some time ago. She told me she would think about it.”

  Suri shot a look at everyone, her face flushed with heat. What the hell is he doing? I know he isn’t about to try and embarrass or shame me in front of all of these people and my family because I still haven’t made up my mind?!

  He seemed to sense her discomfort. “Relax, baby…” he whispered in her ear. “So, I thought about it further, ya know? I thought about what I really wanted, what she really wanted, and I realized, I was not really following my heart. I didn’t ask her what I really wanted to do. We love each other, we’ve started a business together, we’re cultivating ourselves separately, as well as part of a team. A union. So then why aren’t we a union in the literal sense? I mean, sure, we’re a couple. We’re definitely united spiritually, right? We’re on the same page mentally, too. I couldn’t imagine meeting someone that could top this woman. She’s perfect for me.”

  He stepped away from her and reached into his pants pocket. When he slid his hand back out, he was clutching a black box.

  “Oh my God!” Mom squealed, spun around and began clapping. King’s mother gasped and shook her head, a big smile on her face. In fact, everyone was smiling, including Brian. Suri had forgotten how to breathe. She stood there trying to control her shock. Her shaking. Her joy.

  King dropped down to one knee. He seemed to draw the attention of some of the guests. People began to whisper. He took her hand, tears in her eyes. He was tearing her apart with the way love flowed from him to her at that moment. He reached deep inside of her and did what he couldn’t do except through his art. Be vulnerable.

  “Suri, I love you, baby.” His voice cracked. “I love you more than dancing by silver crescent moons, live jazz in a whiskey bar, rainy afternoons with Netflix and chill, and Lays potato chips stuffed in a glove compartment while drivin’ around Queens.” She smiled big, her tears flowing freely now. “I don’t know what it was, but it hit me. I finally woke up. I thought about you, how open and free you are, but there’s a part of you that kinda clings to tradition, too. And I love that. I love all aspects of you. I thought, ‘Why ask her to share just an address with me, when she could share my whole life?’”

  Suri could hear his mother crying in the distance. He opened the box. Her voice caught in her chest. Inside sat a large diamond ring surrounded by bright red rubies.

  “So, I just need to know one thing, baby. Will you be my wife?”

  “Yes, King. I will!” The entire place went from quiet to an explosion of applause and joyous shouts. He slid the ring on her finger, picked her up in his arms, and swung her about. As he held her, they looked into each other’s eyes, both smiling from ear to ear. She drew him close for a kiss. Then, she whispered in his ear, “King, if you go to jail, you better make a mold of your dick because I’mma need that while I wait like some damn body from ‘Love After Lockup.’”

  He burst out laughing, his forehead wrinkled.

  “You are crazy, girl.” He kissed her again.

  “Oh, shit!” Shane yelled from across the room.

  “You didn’t tell me Shane was here?”

  “Why wouldn’t he be?”

  She twisted her lips. Shane was at times annoying and definitely insane, though she secretly adored him. She would just never admit it. When they approached the man, Suri about screamed. There the bastard was, standing by the nude painting of her, sporting a big, greasy ass smile on his face.

  “King, I see why you asked ’er to marry you now!”

  Another explosion of laughter rang out. Suri’s face felt hotter than the sun. She swatted King’s arm several times, mad as hell!

  Between gritted teeth, she muttered, “You didn
’t tell me you were puttin’ that painting of me in this damn show!”

  “How could I not?! Look at it! It’s beautiful!” She faced the canvas, seeing herself in the buff. All of the shades were exact, from her lips to her cupid’s bow, to the coils of her hair. He’d even made it look wet, just like when she’d gotten out of the shower. “It’s not for sale, just display, and besides, people would have to actually know you to know it’s you!”

  “The painting is called, “Suri,” damn it, and obviously Shane does! The town clown and pervert!”

  King burst out laughing, and that made her even madder. But then, her parents showed up to fuss over them and congratulate them on their engagement. She was on cloud nine, just like in the painting he’d done of her the night they met. It made her forget, at least for the moment, all about her tits being on full display for all of New York to see…

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  A Picture is Worth a Thousand Tears

  “It was nice meeting you, King. I will be travelling out of the country again soon, but will definitely be back in New York for the wedding.” King cradled the phone as he hopped around his apartment, careful to not step on anything sharp. He was still on the hunt for a box of art paper that remained elusive in the spare room.

  “It was nice meeting you, too, and I know Suri is excited and wants you there, though she told me you keep a busy schedule.” He bid Suri’s aunt, Carlita, goodbye and ended the call. She was back in town and had helped Suri pack. Now, Suri’s things were in his place. No, their place. “Suri!” King called out, growing more frustrated by the second.

  “Yeah!”

  “Do you know where I set my coffee?! Shit! I can’t find anything.”

  “It’s exactly where you left it. In the kitchen. With me. I’ll bring it to you.”

  He slumped against the wall and took some deep breaths. Things had been crazy. His website was doing far better than he even imagined, so much so that he had to hire an assistant. Sometimes people recognized him from various clothing ads, and that would cause him to receive unwanted attention he definitely didn’t want. Especially the underwear billboard for Hanes, which none of his friends would let him live down. He and Suri had started another website together, named Surine, a blend of their names and pronounced like ‘serene.’

  Suri didn’t get the contract with his mother’s hotel, but she did get two others, and that afforded them a nice chunk of money to put where needed. He sold every single art piece that had been for sale in the art show, and that money proved enough to live off of for quite some time, in addition to the check he’d received from Ricky for a buy-out for his designs. He’d received offers for the painting of Suri, which he refused to sell. It belonged to them and them alone, and now hung in their bedroom. He’d decided to take more classes to finish school as early as possible, and the assignments were due every other day, causing his time for play and leisure to be quite limited.

  Suri demanded he participate more in the wedding planning, knowing he didn’t care. He’d told her to do everything as she wished. That answer didn’t sit well with her. All he wanted was to see this woman he loved come to him in front of a few witnesses, take his last name, and then to move on with their lives. But she’d suggested hyphenating her name or even keeping her maiden name. That had resulted in an argument during which he’d been called a sexist, amongst other things.

  He never cared about her accusations. The hell with that. The makeup sex had been stellar, definitely worth the aggravation, and afterwards, he’d kept insisting that she be Suri Chrysalis, period.

  “Here, baby.” She handed him the coffee. “You look perturbed.” She looked beautiful as ever in an over-sized gray sweater and matching leggings. Her hair was cornrowed, flowing down her back, threaded with silver and clear beads, and small diamond earrings glistened in her ears. She’d taken the day off work to move in.

  “I’m exhausted. I’ve been living here by myself all this time, and this second bedroom is still a pigsty. It’s been the ‘put it here until I can get to it’ room. It’s cool, though. This’ll be over soon. Once we get all your stuff in its rightful place, I can breathe again.” He hated clutter, but sometimes, it was inevitable.

  “Let me help you in here. I’ve already finished in the kitchen. I was going to work on getting the dining area decorated with the new stuff I picked up from that furniture store, but instead, let’s join forces in here and knock this out.”

  “Bet.” He turned on some music and the two got to work. About an hour into it, Suri screamed.

  “What?” He figured she’d seen a bug or something. It wouldn’t have been the first time she freaked out about some insect she demanded he kill.

  “I found it! The elusive box!”

  He grabbed it from her, excited that his drawings and new sketch pads had finally been found after all of this time. As he went through them, Suri worked on a couple of other bags of hers that had been tossed in, discarding some cosmetics she no longer wanted and organizing her sneakers to take into the master bedroom closet. The music was upbeat, the mood was grand, but then, everything crashed when he saw a drawing he’d forgotten about.

  It was wedged inside the pad, torn from the rings and folded in half haphazardly. A forgotten thought. Wishful thinking. The drawing was of him holding a stick and his brother Tomas cowering behind him. He stared at the smudged ebony pencil drawing, shaking. I didn’t even remember drawing this. Fuck.

  “King… King!” Suri yelled his name, yanking him out of his deliberations. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He allowed the picture to drift from his hands onto the floor. She picked it up and stared at it. He turned away, rubbing his eye. “What is this?” Her voice was low, as if a part of her knew. As if she was in some way inside of his heart and soul, and realized this was the shit he’d been avoiding. The shit that poisoned him. The shit that had changed his life forever.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “Okay. What is it?”

  “I killed someone before.” The words just tumbled out of his mouth.

  Her eyes grew wide and her mouth opened as if she wanted to scream, but nothing came out. He had no way to pretty this shit up, make it an easier pill to swallow. Somehow, Ricky had discovered this information. Perhaps that was why he respected him, despite all that had transpired. He didn’t know how he found out, and right then, he didn’t care. Suri was distressed and confused by his confession. And damn it, so was he. He looked down and hugged himself, shame washing over him all over again.

  “Why did you kill someone? What happened, King?” she managed to ask after several seconds.

  “Years ago, when I was a kid, Chris and my mother were working one Halloween. I took my brothers out trick or treating. They were too young to go by themselves. Lucas ended up getting sick. He’d eaten a lot of candy at a Halloween party at school that day, so our neighbor at the time let him stay over there with her so I could take Tomas around. It was just us two at that point, finishing up a couple of blocks. He was dressed like a fireman.” He smiled sadly, the memory now fresh in his mind. “So, we were walking, right? He went up to the brownstones and apartments with his little sack and everyone was talkin’ about how cute he was, the usual stuff. The night progressed, and at one point I told him we needed to head back home.

  “He started crying, begging me for just a little more time. He wanted a completely full bag, and it wasn’t quite there yet. So, I told him we’d do just a few more houses, and that’s it. The street started clearing out, most kids were wrapping up their night. So, Tomas walked up to this one house and, uh, this guy came to the door, right? I was standing beside a tree, not many street lights were working, so I guess he didn’t see me. I wasn’t that far though, just waiting for him to get the treats and for us to head back. He looked around, then said something like, “Well, aren’t you a cutie? I’ve got some candy for ya, but it’s in my kitchen. Wanna come get it?” Something like that, proba
bly not verbatim, but close enough. I don’t know what Tomas was thinking, but he said yeah. Before I could even get to the damn door, the guy yanked him in and slammed it shut.

  “I pounded on the fuckin’ door… Poundin’, Suri! I screamed my brother’s name.” Tears welled in his eyes. “I screamed for help. I was a kid myself, but you would’ve thought I was a grown man the way I was tryna knock that door down. Then I heard my brother screaming his head off! He was crying, losing it. I could hear all of it. You know we didn’t have cellphones back then, and the way the neighborhood was, people just didn’t come out and help. There was more crime, stuff like that. I know people heard me screaming for help, but nobody came… nobody came, baby!”

  Suri placed her hand on his shoulder.

  King had never told this to anyone. Ever. Until now.

  “So, I found a stick, some rocks, and threw ’em at the window… Hold on, I’m fuckin’ snottin’ all over the place,” he blubbered, disgusted with himself.

  “No, you stay right there, baby.” Before he could think, she was gone and back in a flash with a box of tissue. He grabbed one and wiped his eyes and nose. “So, uh, I busted the window and climbed in. My leg was all sliced up from the broken glass and I raced through this fucker’s house, tryna find Tomas. I found the guy in his bedroom with his fuckin’ pants down around his ankles, tryna do God knows what to my brother. When I saw that, I… I lost it, Suri. I took the stick I still had in my hand and beat the living shit outta this man. I musta been hopped up on adrenaline, fear, anger, I don’t know.” King took a deep breath.

  “Tomas saw all of this… he saw it… saw me a kill a man. The police were finally alerted. I guess someone had finally had enough of all the screaming. The guy’s head was all bashed in… blood and shit everywhere.” He waved his hand about. “I was covered in blood, like, dripping in it. I wasn’t arrested or anything, but I did have to go down to the station. Like I suspected though, people had heard me yell out about my brother being dragged inside, and they’d also heard Tomas cryin’ for help, too. So, come to find out, the guy had been a convicted pedophile.”