by Twyla T
The next morning, she rolled over and wanted some more. I remembered that I was out of condoms, so I jumped up and left to go and get some, along with some Advil since we had been drinking the night before. On the way back to the room, as I was about to get off of the elevator, that’s when I ran into Cameron. I said a silent thankful prayer that I didn’t let Carla go with me then like she had insisted, or our secret would have been discovered then.
“So mom, have all of your ‘business’ trips been with Mr. Edwards?” Cameron asked, sounding slightly annoyed. Stanley snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Cameron’s voice.
“Just a minute; one thing you will not do is act like you’re my mother, young lady. I won’t stand here and deny nor try to explain my actions; let’s go, Stanley,” Mrs. Miller said, adjusting her purse on her arm, ready to exit the awkward scene.
“Pops, what’s going on? Mom is gonna kill you,” Keith said while shaking his head.
“This won’t happen again,” was all Stanley could manage to say.
Keith’s phone rung and when he answered it, everyone jumped because the silence had reoccurred again. “Yo,” he answered.
“It’s done,” the caller on the other end said.
“Bet,” Keith replied and hung up. He noticed the voicemail icon lit up but decided he would check it later. He didn’t remember missing any calls, so he shrugged it off. They all rode the elevator to the first floor in silence, wanting to hurry and put this dreadful scene behind them.
On the ride home, Mrs. Miller was already mentally preparing herself to admit her wrong doings to her husband and put this affair behind her. Stanley was a great man, but they both knew that they couldn’t keep the secret love affair they had going. They had already planned for this to be there last rendezvous, but meeting up with their children really confirmed it. This was a very dangerous game that they all were playing. Guilt had her wanting to call Charles, but she made up her mind not to call until she made it to her car, which was parked in Winona. Not sure of what it was, but a bad feeling had come over her, and she was really just ready to get home.
Stanley was having his own private thoughts as well. He knew that nine times out of ten, his wife already knew what he had been doing because she treated him like a child instead of a husband, but he was going to tell her anyway. The problems that they had in their marriage had been going on so long that he was sure she felt like it was okay, but things were going to have to change. Stanley realized that having a peace of mind was worth much more than anything in life and he would give his marriage a try, but if it didn’t work, he wouldn’t continue being miserable.
They finally broke the silence and shared with each other the private thoughts that they had been having. They agreed, once again, that breaking things off was the right thing to do, but they also talked about the good that they learned from this. “Some kind of way, I want to remain friends,” Stanley said.
“So do I, but we both know that will be very hard,” Carla replied, sounding sad.
“You’re right, but we will just see how it goes,” he said.
“They were right beside us last night; you think they heard you doing all that screaming?” Stanley asked while laughing, attempting to lighten the mood. She couldn’t help but to laugh and blush, knowing there was no way they couldn’t have heard with the way Stanley had put it down.
When they finally made it to her car, they shared a long hug and said their goodbyes. Neither wanted to let go, but it was the end of something beautiful that they wish could have happened years ago.
Cameron decided to drive home because as soon as they were leaving, Keith ran a stop sign, so she told him to pull over because his mind was not on the road. Not putting up a fight, he did as she said. Assuming his mind was on the incident that just played out, Cameron brought it up and Keith said he wasn’t even worried about it. “I guess everybody got decisions they need to make,” he followed up with. Unbeknownst to her, his mind was fucked up because of the hit he had put out on his supposed to be right hand man. He truly hated to do it, but sitting back waiting to be taken out was not something he was about to do. When he finally remembered the voicemail and was about to check it, his phone rang. It was Phebe’s mother telling him that she had been a car accident and she didn’t know all of the details, but she knew things were looking pretty bad.
“Shit,” he said when he hung up.
“What’s wrong?” Cameron asked.
“Phebe has been in an accident and she’s in the hospital in Jackson. Her mom said it’s not looking good. They were almost at the exit to get off in Winona. I can call my mom to see where she is if you want me to,” Cameron said.
“Let me think for a min,” he replied.
“Damn, I wonder if that was what that voicemail was about. Let me check it,” Keith continued. Putting the phone on speaker, Keith pressed the play button on his voicemail icon.
“I’m pregnant”
“Word, well I know for a fact now that it’s time for me to make you all mine.”
“So, how far along are you?”
“Only a couple of months. I know Keith keeps up with my cycle and ovulation days, so I faked it. I slept with him on a day I was ovulating so that he would think that was the day I conceived because I didn’t know what was going to happen between us, but knowing that you are happy, it’s time to stop playing games.”
POW POW POW POW POW POW POW… loud screams, then the line went dead.
Cameron swerved a little while the message played and Keith was in shock. “Was that Luke and Phebe’s voices?” Cameron asked, but not really wanting to know the answer.
“Ain’t no muthafuckin way,” Keith said. “I gotta play this shit again,” he continued. After playing the message again, Keith leaned up and punched the dashboard four times in a row. Cameron didn’t know what to say because she had never, in all of the years that they had known each other, seen him this mad before. He let out a loud scream, then kicked the dashboard.
“Calm down baby, please,” was all Cameron could manage to say.
“Got dammit! This is some muthafuckin bullshit! I feed these bitches. I have given these two my muthafuckin last and this is the thanks I get,” Keith said. “Drive straight to Jackson,” he continued. His phone rang and he answered by screaming what, not even bothering to see who was calling.
“Brah, them laws came by looking for you,” the caller on the other end said.
“What the fuck they want?” Keith asked, becoming angrier.
“I’ll have to fill you in on what I heard when I see you, but that move we made earlier, it was most definitely a must,” his homeboy said.
“Today just ain’t my muthafuckin day,” Keith said when he hung up the phone.
Not wanting to argue with him or piss him off any more than he already was, Cameron bypassed their exit and kept riding down Interstate 55 South. The remainder of the drive was silent.
Chapter 19
Mr. Miller went straight into his room, in his closet, and retrieved one of his pistols and loaded it. This bastard has really fucked up now, he thought, as he finished with what he was doing. Calling Malcolm multiple times without an answer, he decided he would just go to his mother’s house. I’m sure she still lives in the same place, Mr. Miller thought to himself. Hopping in his truck and headed to Bertha’s house, tears rolled down his face as he apologized to Cameron and Fred and even Charlotte, for bringing that lunatic into their family and lives.
“I’m so sorry kids. I failed you all tremendously and I’ll never be able to forgive myself if I don’t make this right. It’s all my fault. All I had to do was own up to my mistake,” he said through tears while continuing on his route.
After cutting the fifteen-minute drive in half, Mr. Miller was pulling into Bertha’s driveway. Tucking his gun in his waistband, he got out and headed to the front door. Looking out of the curtain, Bertha became a little frightened once she realized who Mr. Miller was. She was thankful that
Malcolm wasn’t there because the look on his father-in-law’s face was one of pure rage. Thinking that he was there to bash Malcolm about getting his oldest daughter pregnant, Bertha began thinking of ways to de-escalate the situation in her head. Not giving him a chance to knock, Bertha went ahead and opened the door.
“Hello Charles,” she said.
“Where is that lunatic son of yours?” he asked, without even speaking back.
“He’s not here right now…” Bertha began saying as Mr. Miller pushed her to the side and forced his way into her house. “Wait, what are you doing?” she asked him. Ignoring her, he searched from room to room looking for Malcolm, but he was nowhere in sight.
“WHERE IS HE?” Mr. Miller screamed, causing Bertha to jump.
“I know he messed up by sleeping with Charlotte and getting her pregnant, but we can handle this like civilized adults,” Bertha said.
Mr. Miller spun around so fast that he bumped into Bertha again, causing her to stumble once more. “HE DID WHAT? WHAT KIND OF SON DID YOU RAISE?” he asked with utter disgust dripping from each word.
“Isn’t that why you’re here? To get onto him about sleeping with Charlotte and getting her pregnant?” Bertha asked. Mr. Miller stood there thinking, not saying a word. He knew, without a doubt, that Malcolm had to pay for all of the hell he caused his family, but he knew he couldn’t tell his mother what he was thinking. Finally calming down just a little, he began to formulate a plan in his mind.
“Tell Malcolm to call me ASAP!!” Mr. Miller said and headed for the front door. He didn’t give Bertha time to answer before he hauled ass out of the front door, leaving it wide open without looking back.
With no destination in mind, Mr. Miller was just driving. He felt the need to call his daughters, but when he reached for his phone, he realized that he must have left it on the bed at home. Tears began to roll down his face once again, and he started having crazy thoughts about ending his life. I’ve caused all of this pain, I’m not fit to live, he thought to himself. After riding around in circles for almost an hour, Mr. Miller finally pulled over on the side of the road when he saw a road that looked abandoned.
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Malcolm had left his mother’s house about twenty-five minutes before Mr. Miller showed up. He felt like he was really losing his mind because he could have sworn he saw Fred the night before. He kept telling himself that what he did was not wrong because Fred was going to kill him if he would have gotten to him first. Flashbacks about that day weighed heavy on his mind.
I knew I was taking a chance by getting someone else to do my dirty work, but I just couldn’t do it on my own. That would have been way too risky. I searched and searched until I found the right candidate. His mom had just lost her house, so I knew he would do anything for some extra cash. Everything was going according to plan until the day before. We had been conversing and I made half of the amount I offered to pay upfront. It seems that he was getting cold feet for some reason, but I was able to talk him into sticking to the plan. I had to make sure he really died, so I instructed him to set a hidden camera up and send me the video immediately. If there was a way that I could have witnessed it in person, I would have but they were overseas.
My guy was instructed to push Fred into the road only when a big truck was coming. It must have really been his time to go because less than two minutes into the walk, a big truck was on the way. I saw the guy laughing like he was telling the best joke in the world and raise his hands like he was playfully punching Fred, then he pushed him right in front of the eighteen wheeler just as we had planned. Fred didn’t stand a chance because of the impact and being pushed dead in the center. He was able to get Fred to walk with him because they were in the same unit and he struck up the conversation talking about some lunatic he wanted to kill for hurting his sister. Fred was interested because he considered me to be the exact same problem. I told the guy a completely different story; he didn’t need to know the truth.
When my father-in-law called me and told me about Fred’s death and said he needed me to come home to help with the women he loved; I had just finished watching the video for about the hundredth time and I told him I would be there as soon as I could. I mailed him a cashier’s check about two weeks after the funeral. I will never tell a soul about this and I hope I can stop thinking about it so much before I go crazy.
****************************************************
Since Charlotte knew that it would be later in the evening before her mom made it back home, she wasn’t in a big hurry to get up. The bonding that she and Crystal had been doing was quite pleasant, and she wanted to continue it. They had talked about so much and were getting to know each other without distractions. Charlotte felt a little uneasy with how her mom may feel, but she needed her to know that no one could ever take her place. She just felt that getting to know Crystal was needed. It may help her figure out her crazy life. She also wanted to be there for her during her time of need. She called her dad’s cellphone and the house phone because he was on her mind, but he didn’t answer. Next, she decided to call her mom’s cell to check on her. They talked briefly, but she still didn’t tell her that she was visiting; she wanted it to be a surprise. After finally getting dressed, Charlotte and Crystal decided that they would go and eat at a restaurant that had great reviews called Georgia Blue, then they would do a little shopping at North Park Mall.
Chapter 20
Luke was taken straight into emergency surgery once the helicopter landed at the University Medical Center in Jackson. He had been hit two times, with one of the bullets lodged near his heart that needed to be removed right away. CPR had to be performed on him twice and he had to be given blood because of the excessive amounts he lost. The doctors were not hopeful at all because they kept running into problems along the way and the family had been called to come right away.
Phebe had only been hit in the shoulder, but she was pretty banged up from the car wrecking. She was thrown out of the car and the immediate impact from the tree she hit caused her to pass out. She was flown to the same hospital as Luke for trauma testing. Her blood tests proved that she was pregnant. Therefore, Phebe was able to get the best care in a better hospital and was moved to her own private room.
Three Hours Later
When they made it to the hospital and Cameron parked, she just sat there. She didn’t want to go in, but she also didn’t want Keith to do anything stupid and end up in jail. He hopped out of the car and took off walking until he realized that she didn’t get out. Walking back toward the car, he yelled, “COME ON!”
“Shit,” she mumbled under her breath while grabbing her phone. As they were walking, her phone rang and it was Malcolm. ‘I guess my craziness is about to start now,” she said while sending the call to voicemail.
It rang again, so Keith grabbed it and answered, “Don’t call this muthafuckin phone no mo you bitch ass nigga.” He hung up and handed Cameron the phone back, like he had only said hello and kept walking. In her mind, she was thinking this nigga really about to flip out now.
Keith went to the first desk he saw and asked what room Phebe Edwards was in. When they told him, he then asked about Luke and was told he was on the Critical Care floor and it looked like he had just come out of surgery. Wanting to look into Luke’s eyes first, he told Cameron to come on and they headed up to the third floor. It was actually visiting hours, so Keith was able to walk in with no problems. Cameron stayed in the hallway. Seeing his friend hooked up to all types of machines broke Keith’s heart on the inside, but he wasn’t about to let it show on the outside.
Walking slowly up to Luke’s bedside, Keith gritted his teeth and asked himself a thousand times, “Why?” When he made it directly beside him, Luke stirred a little. “I put yo muthafuckin ass on and this the thanks I get? You supposed to be my family, but you plotting to take me out and take everything that’s mine. I never dreamed you were a got damn snake,” Keith sa
id, becoming angrier. He looked down and saw a tube and stepped on it. One of the machines started beeping and he noticed that Luke’s breathing changed; he was struggling. He didn’t remove his foot from the tube until the machine started beeping louder and he saw a nurse walking towards the room. “If you make it outta here alive, I suggest yo bitch ass disappear because I won’t fail to finish the job,” Keith whispered and walked out.
“I don’t even wanna know what you did in there, but Malcolm has called twenty damn times,” Cameron said.
“Fuck that nigga too,” Keith said as they headed to the elevator to go back down to Phebe’s room. Cameron bit her tongue once again because she knew he was pissed the fuck off, but she couldn’t help but to think about her own life. Her plan to get rid of Malcolm wasn’t complete and she didn’t need to be caught off guard. Making it to room 234, Cameron, once again, stayed back. Phebe was most definitely the last person she wanted to see. Heading into the room, Keith was ready to give Phebe a piece of his mind, but her mother was sitting by her bedside crying. When the door opened, she looked up and saw him and started smiling. Having her mother there put Keith in an uncomfortable position. He was forced to ask how she was doing.
“She’s still unconscious,” her mother said through tears. He just stood there, not really knowing what to say. After three minutes of complete silence, Keith turned around to walk away. “You’re not staying?” she asked him.