Cameron

by Jade Jones

  “Please--”

  Whap!

  My ear rang after his hand connected with my face for the second time.

  “How you just gone say fuck me, Cam?” His voice cracked and for a minute I expected him to burst in tears. Obviously, he was pissy drunk and unfortunately, his emotions were getting the best of him.

  I just hated that I was the cause as well as the victim of his anger.

  “And you been giving this nigga my pussy too?! How many times you fuck him?” Silk asked me. His speech was slurred.

  “Silk--”

  He quickly raised his hand as if he was going to strike me again, and I instantly flinched...but the slap never came.

  “I said how many times you fucked this nigga?!”

  Before I could open my mouth, he grabbed me roughly by my throat and slammed me against the desk.

  “Fuck it! I’ll find out myself.”

  I tried my best to fight him off, but I was no match for him as he yanked my capri sweatpants down just beneath my ass. He snatched my panties to the side, and jammed two fingers inside me.

  “Owww! Owww!” I cried. The pain was unbearable as he pushed his fingers in and out of my dry walls. “Silk st--”

  He quickly clamped his hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming as he continued to assault my pussy with his fingers. His nails sliced the skin of my insides and tears streamed from my eyes. I screamed as loud as I could, but with his hand covering my mouth, the only effect it did was causing my throat to grow sore and hoarse.

  Suddenly, someone began knocking at my door. “Cameron? Cameron, I forgot my purse.”

  I quickly began banging on the desk and doing whatever I could to make a loud noise. Obviously that pissed Silk off, because he quickly withdrew his bloody fingers from inside me and punched me in the cheek with his closed fist.

  I fell off the desk and tumbled onto the floor.

  “Cameron?! Is everything okay in there?”

  “Hel--”

  Silk quickly snatched me up by my hair. “Silk, please. Please stop,” I cried. “Poca...Pocahontas is dead.” I didn’t know why I had told him but I figured he would somehow feel sympathetic and cease the ass kicking he was inflicting. “Pocahontas is dead,” I repeated.

  “Fuck that bitch!” he spat. “I know the nigga she robbed. I’m the one who told him where to find her ass. I told the nigga what time she get off--the whole nine!”

  “He killed her!” I screamed.

  “Oh well, serves that bitch right for always fuckin’ up nigga’s lives. She had to get her issue someday!”

  It fucked me up to hear Silk speak about the mother of his child that way. Instantly, it put fear in my hear because I could only imagine what he was capable of doing to me.

  Suddenly, there was a loud boom at my door before several police officers rushed in.

  “Get away from her! Put your hand up!”

  I quickly pulled my pants up as the officers rushed Silk. They didn’t waste time as they slapped the cuffs on him and escorted him out the room. Our gazes connected briefly and he mouthed the words: It ain’t over, before they led him out.

  “What the fuck happened?” Tiffany asked walking into my dorm room.

  “It’s okay n--”

  “You’re bleeding!” She pointed to my pants leg where there were little specks of blood on my inner thigh. Silk had sliced me up pretty bad.

  “Oh, my God! Did he rape you?! You have to file a report, Cameron! If you don’t want him to continue harassing you, you have to file a report!”

  ***

  Poca was dead, Silk was in jail--shit had changed drastically over a mere two months span. The only positive thing that had come out of it all was me meeting Jude, of course.

  Jude, his older brother, Jerrell and a few of his cousins were having a little get together at the Buffalo Wild Wings Grille and Bar in Lyndhurst. It was basically a celebratory get together to congratulate Jude in his position as co-owner and manager of the new dealership he and his brother had just opened in Brookpark, Ohio.

  “What up, bro’?” Jerrell greeted as soon as Jude and I stepped into the bar. “‘Bout time you got here. Get-together for yo’ ass and you the last mothafucka to arrive!”

  Jude’s cousins laughed at Jerrell’s remark.

  “Fuck you, man,” Jude laughed. “Anyway, it’s Cameron’s fault I’m late. She wanted to take twenty years and shit to get dressed.”

  “Tell his ass being beautiful ain’t easy,” Jerrell said.

  “Exactly,” I laughed.

  Jerrell held his arms out for me and we gave each other a hug. It was funny, just a few months ago, I had been popping my ass in Jerrell’s lap and now he was like a big brother to me. Crazy, how some shit played out.

  “Go find us a table while I get us something to drink,” Jude told me.

  “Alright,” I agreed.

  I found us a booth near the window. Just as I took a seat inside, I noticed a familiar face sitting in the booth in front of me. Suddenly, my cheeks flushed in anger and embarrassment. How could I forget that face?

  “Oh, shit!” Wallace burst out laughing.

  The two other guys he was seated with turned to look at me and I quickly looked away.

  “Yo, I smashed that broad at my nigga’s party,” Wallace bragged.

  Smashed, I thought. More like raped.

  “Word?” his homie asked looking all in my face. “How was she?”

  “She was aight,” Wallace said. “Could’ve used a lil’ lube, but it was aight. I’d give her a strong eight!”

  His homies burst out laughing before they turned back in their seats and I never felt so embarrassed. Jude approached our booth, with a beer in one hand, and a Smirnoff for me, in the other.

  I quickly stood up. “I’m about to go to go the bathroom,” I told him.

  “Alright, baby.”

  Walking past Wallace’s booth, I could feel his eyes following my every move. Once I made it inside the restroom, I used the toilet, washed my hands and fixed myself up in the mirror. “You good, girl,” I told myself. “That’s old shit. Fuck them. You’re here with your man.”

  After finger-combing through my bob, I gave myself a final once. I had just exited the bathroom when suddenly, I was grabbed and pressed harshly against the wall of the lobby.

  “Can’t speak?” Wallace asked. “Actin’ brand new now that you with yo’ nigga?”

  “Move, Wallace.” My voice trembled and all I could think about was the way he had brutally raped me the night I was in Columbus.

  “Why you playin’? You know you liked the dick,” he whispered pressing his erection against my thigh. “When you gone lemme smash again?”

  “Get off me!”

  “The fuck?!” Jude came out of nowhere. Before Wallace could open his mouth, Jude rushed him and punched the shit out of him.

  Wallace stumbled backwards before falling against the wall. Suddenly, his friends ran up to help and shortly after Jude’s brother and cousins jumped in. Before I knew it, there was a full on brawl in Buffalo Wild Wing’s.

  Chapter 27

  The following morning, I bailed Jude out of jail who turned around and bailed his brother and cousins out. He had been arrested for disturbing the peace and criminal assault, but with a high profile lawyer on his team, he wasn’t too worried about the outcome of his court date.

  I hated that Jude had ended up in trouble with the law, but I did enjoy seeing him pummel the hell out of Wallace.

  “We gotta hurry up if we wanna make it for the condo viewing I scheduled.” Jude said as we walked out the Beachwood Police Department.

  “You still trying to go see that condo?” I asked in disbelief.

  He tossed me the car keys. “Hell yeah,” he smiled.

  I shrugged. “Alright.”

  After giving me directions to the condo located in Lakewood, we arrived thirty minutes later.

  “Put a jacket or something on, Jude, or you’ll give the leasing
agent a heart attack.

  Jude looked down at his white v-neck with tiny specks of blood on it. “Oh, damn. Don’t worry. I got it covered. He reached into the backseat of the truck and grabbed his blue and white Varsity Jacket. After pulling it on, he zipped it up. “Better?” he asked.

  “Much.”

  “How does it look?” he asked after I parked the truck.

  “Jude, it’s beautiful,” I told him. And I was only admiring the outside. The Clifton Pointe Luxury Ecohomes were the most beautiful condos I had ever seen in terms of architecture.

  “Guess what else,” Jude said.

  “What?”

  “They’ve got private boat docks, a kayak and bike sharing.”

  “You don’t even ride bikes,” I laughed.

  “No. But I can start,” he smiled.

  We met the leasing agent in the leasing office, and her expression clearly stated that she was surprised by the fact that we were young and black.

  “Hi--Hello,” she stammered. “My name is Tabitha Banks.”

  Jude shook her hand. “Jude Patterson.”

  After giving us a brief history of the building she led us to the model apartment. Beautiful was an understatement.

  “As you can see, the building offers panoramic views of the Rocky River. You have a private rooftop deck and terrace,” she explained. “The SmartHome technology enables you to control home theater, music, lighting, temperature, blinds and security while at the same time reducing overall utility costs and energy consumption.” She turned around looked at us. “I’ll give you two a minute to explore the condo on your own.”

  “Okay, great,” Jude said.

  “I will return momentarily with some paperwork and pamphlets if you’re further interested.”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  As soon as she closed the door behind her, Jude turned to me and asked, “So, how you like it?”

  “It’s not what I like? It’s what you like. You’re the one buying it.”

  Jude slowly pulled me close to him. “I know you’re a big girl, Cameron,” he said. “I know you’re capable of takin’ care of yourself. I been got that vibe from you when you declined me payin’ for your school.” He kissed my cheek. “But bay, it’s okay to let someone else take the load off you. I told you, I ain’t like the last nigga.”

  He tilted my chin upwards and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “I love you,” he admitted.

  It was crazy how I had went through so much shit over the last couple months. X-Rated dying, finding out about Poca and Silk, and then Poca ending up getting killed. I had suffered pain and losses but at least one good thing came out of it all.

  “I love you too,” I told him.

  CAMERON 2 IS AVAILABLE!!

  CLICK HERE TO GRAB YOUR COPY

  Excerpt from “My Brother’s Keeper”

  It was 9:04 p.m. when Imani and I were leaving La Casa de Sirena, when a young Hispanic woman gave me the strangest look. Standing on the curb right outside of the Mexican restaurant, it was obvious that she was soliciting. But it wasn't her outlandish attire that made her stand out. It was the hideous scars and bruises exposed on her face, arms, and legs.

  I tried not to make a face at the gruesome pinkish skin abrasion on the left side of her face. I wrapped my arm around Imani's waist as we walked away from the restaurant, and pretended I didn't notice her staring at me the entire time. However, after several seconds she quickly ran across the street, dodging a few passing cars in the process.

  Instantly, I felt my stomach knot up. I had a bad feeling about that woman. Imani turned her head to see what was causing the screeching tires and beeping horns.

  "What was that about?" she asked. I ignored her as I watched her run up to a Ford Explorer parked underneath a street light, right across the street from La Casa de Sirena. After the driver quickly rolled its window down she began eagerly pointing in my direction.

  "Come on, Imani," I said, speeding up the pace. We had parked around the corner, and I couldn't get to my Taurus fast enough. I wasn't in the mood for any bullshit.

  I turned to look over my shoulder, and saw the prostitute climb into the back of the truck.

  "Let’s go," I grabbed Imani by her elbow and began speed walking to my car.

  "What's going on?" Imani asked.

  The truck quickly sped off and I knew they were coming after me. But for what reason, I had no idea. I yanked Imani along as I broke into a full on sprint towards the car.

  "What's happening?" Imani screamed in fear. The moment we reached the corner, the truck executed a sharp left turn burning rubber in the process. With trembling fingers I jammed the key into the keyhole, missing it the first two attempts. I quickly unlocked the car, jumped in and reached over to unlock the door for Imani.

  Three men hopped out of the truck at the exact same moment Imani climbed in. I only caught a glimpse of the black metallic object, before it came crashing through my window. Glass shattered and spilled in my lap.

  Imani screamed. Everything was happening all too fast. The car keys dropped into the car seat gap. I didn't get a chance to look at my aggressor before he slammed his gun into my jaw. Imani screamed again.

  The attacker reached into the car, unlocked the door and dragged me out at the exact same moment another assailant snatched Imani from the passenger seat.

  "Leave her alone!" I screamed. Suddenly the air was knocked out of me, as the attacker punched me in stomach, I keeled over in pain instantly.

  "Pick his ass up!" The man said. I struggled to look up.

  "Please...don't h--hurt her," I cried.

  The man was tall, dark skinned, and looked to be in his mid-thirties. He was wearing a black and white Addidas track suit and black Kangol hat. A toothpick was hanging out the corner of his lip, and a gold rope chain dangled loosely around his neck.

  "Don't hurt her? Don't hurt her like you hurt my bitch?" he spat.

  I looked down at the floor, "I don't know what you're talking about?"

  "Roxie?" he barked. "Roxie get your ass out here?"

  I heard the click-clacking of her knee high heels and forced myself to look up at her. Her wounds were even more gruesome up close and I wished I could slap the shit-eating grin off her ugly ass face.

  "Bitch, is this the nigga or what?" he asked.

  Roxie looked me over for a mere two seconds, puffing on a cigarette.

  Smiling, she said, "Yeah, Ghost. That's him. I'm sure of it." She nodded her head. "That's the motherfucker that robbed me and pushed me out of the fucking car!"

  Ghost gave me a disgusted look as he chewed on his toothpick. "Yo, I hate a nigga that lies"--

  "She's lying!" I screamed. "I've never seen her in my life!"

  "It's him papi!" she yelled. "He made me suck his dick and swallow!Then he took my money and did this to me!" she screamed, pointing to the side of her face.

  "She's lying!" I screamed. Ghost pulled the toothpick from his mouth and tossed it onto the asphalt.

  "Hold that motherfucker still."

  "Wisdom!" Imani screamed. I writhed in the man's grip, but he was too strong to get away from. Before I saw it coming, Ghost punched me in right in the nose.

  The bone-crunching sound was distinctive and at first the only pain I experienced were my tear ducts stinging. When the pain finally came to, my knees gave out. I felt my entire face begin to throb. The pain was totally unbearable. Blood oozed from my nose and seeped into mouth.

  "Hold him still," Ghost said as I vehemently began coughing up blood.

  "Leave him alone!" Imani screamed. Ghost grabbed me by my hair, pulled my face close to his.

  "Ain't so funny when the shoes on the other foot," he screamed. He reached in my pants pocket and snatched out my wallet.

  "Is that what you want? Take it! Take the damn money!" I yelled. "But I didn't push anyone from a car."

  After fishing through it, he pulled out two twenty dollar bills. "All you got in here is forty dollars?" he asked. "You
owe me another forty. But it's cool. I'll just get the rest of the money out of her ass," he said smiling in Imani's direction, revealing a seat of shiny gold teeth.

  I screamed, "Leave her alo"--Ghost had quickly delivered a gut-wrenching punch to my lower abdomen. I instantly spit up a mouthful of blood, but that didn't stop him from hitting me in the stomach once again. The man holding me mercilessly dropped me onto the pavement.

  "Yo, what you think, Bobby? You think I could get some money for this jawn?" Ghost asked, pointing at Imani. Imani cried and writhed in the man's grip.

  "Wisdom, please help me!" Ghost began cackling as he looked around at the few people who were watching all of this shit take place, too scared to do anything to help. No one wanted anything to do with another person's drama.

  Suddenly Roxie walked over to Imani and pressed the lit cigarette butt into her cheek. The sound of Imani crying and screaming brought tears to my eyes. Being her man, it was my job to protect her at all costs. But now I was unable to do just that.

  "I told you we'd find your ass," Roxie said, smiling at me.

  "Leave her the fuck alone," I screamed, struggling to stand up. Suddenly the bottom of Ghost's Nike Force's connected with my forehead. The back of my head smacked the concrete harshly and I quickly found myself losing consciousness.

  Ghost stood over me, pulled the gun from the back of his track pants, and aimed it down at me. "I usually kill dumb motherfuckers like you," he spat. "But I got something worse in store for your ass."

  Blackness began to engulf me, but not before I heard him say, "Put her ass in the truck."

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jade Jones discovered her passion for creative writing in elementary school. Born in 1989, she began writing poetry as an outlet. She then converted her poetry into short stories. Later on, as a teen, she led a troubled life which later resulted in her becoming a ward of the court. Jade fell in love with the art and used storytelling as a means of venting during her tumultuous times.