Choosing Sides

by Treasure Hernandez

  Just as Halleigh was about to knock on the door, she saw Mrs. Johnson look through the curtains. Halleigh thought once she saw her that she would answer the door, but she didn’t. I know she knows I’m out here, Halleigh thought in frustration. Tired of playing games, she knocked on the door with force. She shouted, “Mrs. Johnson, please open the door. We need to talk!” She heard the bolt lock click.

  Mrs. Johnson opened the door with a stone face. “Stop beating on my door,” she said, no emotion in her voice. Her eyes were red, and she still wore her house coat, even though it was one o’clock in the afternoon.

  Halleigh looked the woman in the eyes. “I’m sorry, but please . . . I need to talk to you.”

  “What do you want, little girl? Haven’t you done enough damage?” Mrs. Johnson said coldly. Her eyes pierced Halleigh’s soul like a pair of machetes, her glare was so cold. “You’ve already ruined my son’s life, now what?”

  “Listen, I love Malek, and I know you think that I’m a gold-digger and that I’m only with him because he’s going to the NBA, but that’s not true.” Halleigh could see that Mrs. Johnson was about ready to close the door on her, so she quickly put her cards on the table. “Look, I know you don’t like me, but this is not about me. I’m here because I want to help Malek. I know that you and Mr. Johnson work hard just to maintain, and probably don’t have money stored away to get him out of jail, and I can’t help him by myself. I think I can come up with half of the money for his bail. If you all can put up the other half, we can help him together.”

  Mrs. Johnson just stared at Halleigh without any expression on her face. Her heart hated the girl that stood before her. In a way she was jealous of the way that Malek felt about Halleigh. For so long it had just been her and her son, until her husband came into her life. And before him, they never had much, but as long as they had each other, it always seemed to be enough. Mr. Johnson did some telemarketing sales work, but was mostly in and out of town with his second job as a Kirby Sweeper salesman, going to different conventions and traveling afar in search of new clients. So even now, it was still pretty much her and Malek in the house. And if Mrs. Johnson was being honest with herself, Mr. Johnson only married her out of guilt from his own childhood.

  After meeting Malek and befriending him, and Malek so quickly taking to him as if he were his biological father, Mr. Johnson couldn’t imagine exiting the boy’s life. So he did what was right and committed himself to the family.

  When Malek met Halleigh, Mrs. Johnson had to share her son’s heart, and it hurt her dearly. She felt as if Malek had given up so much just to be with her, and that he didn’t even know that the young girls these days were all alike. They come a dime a dozen, and they come running when their so-called man is on top, but are the first to get ghost when things look as though they’re about to crumble. That’s why Mrs. Johnson was a little surprised herself that Halleigh was trying to stick around, now that her son was obviously at his worst. But even that didn’t melt the hard ice around her heart as she looked at Halleigh and thought, I will never let her get her claws in my son’s back again.

  She figured this was the perfect opportunity to get rid of Halleigh and she took it. Mrs. Johnson burst into patronizing laughter right in Halleigh’s face. “Sweetheart, do you really think that I would let my son stay in jail? That his father would let him stay in jail? Malek came home this morning,” she lied. “Being a future NBA star has its perks.”

  A smile spread across Halleigh’s face. “Can I see him, please?” she asked. “I just want to make sure he’s all right.”

  “Halleigh, I’m sorry to be the one to break this to you, but Malek left this morning. His father came into town and thought that it would be good for him if he got away from all this madness until things died down.” Mrs. Johnson was starting to believe the fable herself, and so she continued to add yeast to make it rise. “He didn’t want to see you, honey. He said that you were the reason why his chances of getting in the NBA was now jeopardized. He’ll be lucky to even get a decent college to accept him after this little stunt.”

  Tears built up in Halleigh’s eyes from the news she had just received. “Mrs. Johnson, can you please just call him? Just let me talk to him?”

  “I’m sorry, honey, but he asked me not to give you or anyone else his number, and I have to respect his wishes. I know that you and I have had our days, but I truly am sorry that you had to hear this from me, the same way I had to hear about my son being in jail from you.” Mrs. Johnson cleared her throat, forcing down the sarcasm stuck there. “He just feels that it’s time to move on with his life. A life that no longer includes you.”

  On the inside, Mrs. Johnson was smiling, pleased with her deception. She could tell that her words were breaking the young girl’s heart into a thousand pieces. Anything to take care of my baby. He doesn’t need her in his life, she thought.

  Mrs. Johnson knew that Malek’s arraignment was set for the next morning, but she refused to let Halleigh know that. I’ll do anything to keep this girl away from my son. Mrs. Johnson banked on her perception about the girl being correct, thinking that by later that night the hoodrat would already be sticking her claws into the next boy.

  Halleigh was too shocked to move. She was too shocked to speak, so she just watched in desperation as Mrs. Johnson shut the door in her face. Her heart and mind couldn’t quite grasp what Malek’s mother had told her. Why would he do this to me? she thought as she began the long trek back to the South Side of town, not having Mimi wait on her. She had thought only positive thoughts. She’d go talk to Mrs. Johnson, and then the two of them would work things out.

  Halleigh wasn’t surprised that Mr. Johnson would scoop Malek up like that. After all, he’d always been the voice of reason in the home. Of course, he didn’t care for Halleigh all that much either, but he didn’t dislike her the way Mrs. Johnson did. Halleigh couldn’t help thinking that things would have turned out different if she’d gotten to Mr. Johnson earlier.

  Halleigh tried to hold her tears inside as she treaded through the city, often stopping just to get her thoughts together. It was like she was in a trance. Before she knew it, light became dark, and confidence became insecurity when she thought about her relationship with Malek. She was so sure that he would never leave her. He promised me that he would take care of me. What am I going to do without him?

  Feeling like her world had come to an end, Halleigh lost all perspective of her circumstances. Her mind went numb, and she headed back toward the new place that she hoped she would be able to call home.

  Chapter Eleven

  Two days after witnessing the brutal rape of her own daughter, Sharina had shot up a week’s worth of products and was in need of a new fix. Actually, she hadn’t noticed that Halleigh was gone until she needed her services again.

  She ranted and raved through the house, “Halleigh, where the hell are you?” tossing furniture over as if Halleigh was hiding under them.

  In a fit, and with a monkey on her back, she tore the house up, searching under tossed pillows on the sofa, under the bed, and in the closets. She even groveled on the carpet with a straw when she thought she saw a white dash of powder. Unfortunately, it wasn’t crank (amphetamine) or crack, but a piece of lint.

  “Where the hell is that heifer?” she grumbled, scratching an open sore on her arm. “She know I need her. Much as I done did for her, she better be glad I ain’t callin’ the law on her. If Flint PD wasn’t so crooked, I’d report her underage ass. But, hell, the damn cop would probably fuck her too before they even made it to the station.”

  After what seemed like hours of destruction for Sharina, she had finally worn herself out. The last place she had searched was the bathroom, removing everything from under the sink and the medicine cabinets, and tearing down towels and washcloths from the racks that held them. Sweaty, funky, and exhausted, she slumped down the wall and onto the floor. She stared at the toilet across from her, feeling like a piece of shit, wanting to just
dunk her head in and drown herself.

  But all of a sudden, it was as if she was having an epiphany. Her eyes lit up as she crawled over to the toilet. She found a little bit of blow that she’d hidden from her friends a few weeks earlier in the bathroom commode. She’d forgotten all about it until now. “Thank you, God,” she cried out. “Thank you, Lord,” she added, giving God thanks for the devil’s work.

  Elated at the discovery of the drugs, Sharina snorted some then shot up the rest. “I can quit any time I want,” she murmured to herself as her high settled throughout her body, “but I don’t wanna.” She smiled. “Shit feels too good.”

  She slumped, and her eyes closed. “I’m gonna get high forever,” were the last words she spoke out loud. But the last words she thought were, And Halleigh’s going to help me to be able to do it.

  Chapter Twelve

  Manolo watched Mimi step her skinny legs into a purple thong. Her body was slim, but stacked just right, her ass cheeks filling out voluptuously, causing him to lust after her. He asked her, “Where she go?”

  “She went to see the young boy’s mama.” Mimi studied his facial expression to see if he was upset, but saw no sign of anger in his eyes. “Don’t worry, she’ll be back,” she said, once again studying his facial expressions. “You upset?”

  “Nah, I ain’t mad. We haven’t given her a reason not to want to come back. She doesn’t know the deal yet. I still got to break li’l mama in.” He thought about how easy it was going to be to get into Halleigh’s head.

  Tasha walked into the room, strutting as if she belonged on a runway. Her layered hair was held out of her face with a pair of large Chloe glasses, and her manicured feet were covered in red flip-flops. She struggled with the many bags in her hand.

  “Did you get what I asked you to?” Manolo asked.

  Tasha nodded her head, removing outfit after outfit from large shopping bags. The outfits were all revealing, short mini skirts with low-cut tops, and a pair of matching stilettos for each outfit.

  Manolo had sent her on a shopping trip for Halleigh. He had big plans for her; she just didn’t know it yet.

  Mimi observed some of the items, measuring them. “Yeah, she should be able to fit this stuff.” She then frowned. “But you sure she’s gon’ be down for this? She seem kind of timid to me.”

  Tasha chimed in, “She’s taken a bath and cleaned up, but her clothes still look pretty bad. She gonna be able to work it?” Tasha snapped her fingers with the twitch of her ass.

  “I gave her something to wear for now,” Mimi told her. “She a’ight.”

  Manolo, tired of hearing the girls go back and forth over his latest project, and whether he could pull off getting her right where he wanted her, said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.” He looked at Tasha. “When I first got a hold of your ass, you was the deacon’s daughter. Now you the baddest bitch in Flint.” He slapped her on the ass. His dick swelled a bit at the thought of Tasha’s sweet pussy, and how he had broken her in.

  Although only twenty-three, Tasha knew how to please a man. She was a freak and had no problem giving Manolo the goods anytime he wanted it. That’s one of the reasons why he’d made her the madam of the house. He preferred to have her all to himself and didn’t want her working niggas anymore. He wasn’t trying to share her pussy.

  Tasha thought about Manolo’s comment. Halleigh did remind her of herself a little bit when she first got into the game. Which is why a part of her was a little intimidated. She was going to make sure that Halleigh didn’t dare try to come after her crown as the queen of that there throne.

  Mimi rolled her eyes at both Manolo and Tasha. Bitch always getting special treatment. She then finished dressing, looking as Manolo pulled Tasha toward him, grinding his swollen dick into her backside.

  All of a sudden, they heard the front door slam. They saw Halleigh run past Manolo’s bedroom and into her own. They could hear her crying.

  Tasha shook her head and sighed. “You better save that for her.” She rubbed Manolo’s crotch. “It looks like you gon’ have your work cut out for you.” She then maneuvered herself out of his grasp and left the room, taking Mimi with her. “We’ll be at the hotel,” she said, knowing Manolo would want privacy while he entertained the young girl.

  Manolo paid for hotel rooms on a weekly basis for his girls to turn their tricks. This way he could more easily keep an eye on them and their johns. On a regular basis, he would show up there unannounced, so the girls had to be on their toes at all times.

  Manolo wore some sea-green slacks with matching gators, and a white wife-beater that showed his tattooed arms. He had a button-up shirt to match the slacks, but it was thrown across the chair in his room. He walked into the hallway and knocked lightly on the frame of Halleigh’s door, announcing his presence, even though the door was already ajar. He walked inside over to where Halleigh lay across the bed sobbing.

  Halleigh was on the floor crying so hard, she didn’t even notice he was standing beside her.

  “You a’ight?” he asked in his well-rehearsed tone of fake concern.

  Halleigh quickly tried to brush her tears away, turning her head toward the wall and away from Manolo. “Yeah, I’m good,” she replied. Her voice cracked in mid-sentence. She broke down in sobs at the thought of all of the words Mrs. Johnson had said to her earlier that day.

  Manolo sat down next to her. He put his hand on her back and guided her head into his lap. He then gently began to rub her head, massaging her neck as he listened to her cry. “Shhh, tell Nolo what’s wrong, baby girl,” he whispered. He blew air into her ear in a seemingly innocent way.

  Halleigh couldn’t respond. Every time she attempted to speak, her words got caught in her throat, and she found herself weeping even harder.

  “Don’t talk, baby,” Manolo said, trying to soothe her. “Just get it all out.”

  Halleigh cried and cried until she felt emptied out. She eventually stopped crying but still couldn’t speak. Her eyes burned as she stared blankly at the wall.

  Afterwards, Manolo and Halleigh sat in silence in the same spot for an hour. He asked her, “So are you ready to talk yet?”

  Halleigh sniffed. “He left me,” she said, her voice cracking again. “You were right. He blamed me for getting arrested, and he left me.” Just hearing herself say it made more tears spill down Halleigh’s face.

  “It’s okay, baby girl. You’ll be okay.”

  “He was all I had,” she said, her voice breaking up from the thought of being alone in the world.

  Manolo could hear the pain in her voice, a pain that put a devious smile on his insides. But he had to stay in character. He eased her head down in his lap and massaged her scalp and her hair. He kept smoothing back her hair. “You’ve got me, baby girl. Fuck that nigga. He just up and left you. He don’t know how to hold you down. I bet he promised he would always take care of you, huh?”

  Just like clockwork, Halleigh nodded.

  “And now when you need him most, he gets ghost on you.” Manolo paused. “And besides, he let somebody else touch you, baby girl. If he was really your man, he would’ve handled that for you. Fuck robbing a store with a bottle. He should have been shoving that bottle up the mu’fuckas’ asses who did that shit to you.”

  Manolo spoke in a low, hypnotic voice. He slowly ran his hands all over Halleigh’s body, sending chills up her spine. Suddenly tears flooded Halleigh’s vision. She had a flashback as to how powerless she felt when she was being raped and began to shake uncontrollably.

  He lifted her head out of his lap and looked into her eyes. “They hurt you, didn’t they?”

  She nodded her head and dropped it shamefully into her chest.

  “It makes me crazy just thinking about somebody hurting someone as sweet and innocent as you. That nigga should’ve protected you.”

  Halleigh gazed up in surprise at how upset Manolo had become.

  “Fuck that, Halleigh,” he continued, going for the Oscar nominat
ion at least. “Any nigga put his hands on you, they gotta die.” He stood up and motioned for Halleigh to follow him into his bedroom, where he pulled a .45 out of his closet.

  Halleigh’s eyes bucked at the sight of the pistol. She put her hands up to calm Manolo down. “No, wait a minute,” she said. “I don’t even know who did it. I don’t know who they are.”

  The way he had erupted in anger scared her, but excited her at the same time. Her mother didn’t protect her, Malek didn’t protect her, but here someone who had barely known her was willing to protect her. Willing to make sure that the two bastards who had raped her never had the opportunity to touch her again.

  “Fuck! If you don’t know the cats who did this to you, then I’m going for the next best thing—that nigga Malek. That mu’fucka should’ve held you down, Halleigh. Fuck basketball and the NBA. You was supposed to be his girl. I’m murking that stupid nigga for letting them get away with it,” he yelled, inserting the clip and pulling back the chamber of the gun.

  “No!” Halleigh yelled as she rushed to Manolo to grab the pistol from his hand. “No, don’t!” She couldn’t even fathom the thought of Manolo harming Malek. She especially didn’t want to be the cause of it. She had already been the cause of enough bad luck in Malek’s life. She removed the gun from Manolo’s hands.

  He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I’m sorry if I scared you. I just want to keep you safe, baby girl, that’s all.” His voice took on a syrupy tone. He held on to her tight. “I want you to feel safe,” he repeated, as if he had known her all his life and it was his duty to keep her secure.

  Halleigh held on tightly to Manolo. The truth was, he did make her feel safe. The fact that he wanted revenge on the dudes who’d hurt her made her feel special. Like he truly cared for her.