The Plug's Daughter 2: It's Love and War

by Nika Michelle

  “Don’t turn this around on me,” I said calmly. “This ain’t about me. I’m doin’ all I can Sen and I won’t stop. You… you just don’t seem to get it at all. I fuckin’ love you on some real shit, but yo’ ass is hell bent on destroyin’ yourself. Anything to ruin something good, because you used to shit bein’ bad. If only you’d listen. For real. It’s never been about pussy wit’ you. I can get pussy. That’s no problem. All I want is for you to grow the fuck up and start thinkin’ before you do shit. That’s all, but I can’t get through to you. I can’t fix you. You have to fix yourself. Until then, we can’t be together.”

  “Whatever. Fuck you Keys! Don’t say shit else to me.” She got dressed in a huff and packed her things.

  I just watched and when she was ready we left in silence.

  * * *

  When Sen got out of the car she grabbed her bag, slammed the car door and stomped toward the house without even looking at me. She hadn’t said one word to me the whole trip. Leaving her at her father’s house was hard as hell, but I didn’t know what to do anymore. We were past the physical stage and shit was getting real. As much as I wanted to be with her, she was hurting me.

  The thought of her getting herself killed and the multitude of love I had for her was a recipe for disaster. I didn’t want my future to seem barren before it even started. If I married her and she kept up her old ways it was only going to result in heartache and pain. I didn’t want a broken family. We were both products of that shit. I’d rather be alone for the rest of my fucking life than to repeat history.

  Damn, I had to distract myself, so I turned on some music. I had my iPod hooked up to the speakers, so I just let some random shit play with a blunt dangling from my fingers. I took a pull and tried to let the lyrics of the song pull me in. Shit, no matter what I did my mind drifted back to what was going on with Sen.

  I didn’t even know where I was meeting Mendosa at or why. The address that he had given me was somewhere on the west side. When I drove down a dark narrow road that led to an old, abandoned warehouse I really wondered what was up. Was that nigga going to kill me? Had Sen told him that I had broken up with her?

  My nerves got the best of me, but I grabbed my strap and jumped out of the car anyway. I dialed Mendosa’s number.

  “Yeah.”

  “I just pulled up man.”

  “Come to the side door.”

  “A’ight.”

  I hung up and used the flashlight on my phone to see because it was pitch black dark and shit. I found the side door and stood there. Suddenly it opened and Mendosa was standing there with rubber gloves on. My heart dropped. Was I going to have to kill that nigga? My hand was on my piece.

  He shook his head. “What the fuck nigga? Come in. Ain’t nobody gon’ do shit to you.”

  I walked inside and the metal door closed loudly behind me. It was dark inside, but there was a faint light shining down the hall.

  “What’s goin’ on?” My eyes darted around trying to observe the scene, but I still didn’t know why I was there.

  “I got that nigga Mack and you know you wanna put yo’ hands on him for hurtin’ Sen. I saved some for you.” When I looked closely I could see that blood was all over his tattered clothes.

  A sly smile crept up on my face. “Damn man, you on point right now.”

  “So, what did he do to my baby girl?”

  I told him and he flinched at the thought. Instead of saying anything about it he led me to where the light was coming from. Mack was tied up with a rope to two beams that hung from the low ceiling. The ropes were long enough for him to be at my eye level and his feet were on the ground. Of course Mendosa had already got the party started. Mack’s face and body were covered with bloody cuts and bruises.

  “Well damn Mendosa. That nigga’s damn near dead already. This ain’t gon’ be no fun,” I complained.

  Mack suddenly looked up and his eyes grew wide with terror.

  Mendosa let out an evil cackle. “Oh, as long as he’s breathin’ he’s alive. He can feel everything.”

  I walked over to him and quickly pulled his pants down around his ankles. “So, what was that you said about fuckin’ my girl in the ass nigga?”

  “No…no…!” Mack screamed. “I didn’t fuck her in the ass. I was just talkin’ shit man!”

  “But you wanted to fuck her in the ass though right? She said you was going to rape her, but for some reason you stopped…”

  “She’s fuckin’ lyin’…”

  “So, she beat herself up too huh? You got one of those cigars on you Mendosa?”

  “Mmm hmm.” He reached in the pocket of his jeans and then passed a cigar and a lighter to me.

  “Thanks.” I lit it and blew the smoke in Mack’s face. “You fucked up nigga.”

  “That bitch ran up in my crib and killed my girl…”

  “That bitch was yo’ girl, my pops’ girl and JJ’s fuckin’ girl! Why you claimin’ her like the hoe was exclusive to you! The bitch was beggin’ me for the dick! You really think that hoe gave a fuck about you? Wow. Niggas are the new bitches these days.” I shook my head and stuck the lit end of the cigarette to his forehead. “That’s the bull’s eye right there. I’m gon’ put a bullet right fuckin’ there mufucka.”

  Mack closed his eyes and tears slid down his fucked up face as he tried to man up and take the pain.

  “Fuck!” He took a deep breath and held it in.

  “Don’t bitch up on me now. This shit ain’t halfway over yet.”

  I continued to burn him with the cigar over and over again. By the time I charred his skin for the twentieth time he was yelling his head off.

  “ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH….SHIIIIIIITTTT!”

  “And now, for the grand finale…” I walked behind him and stuffed the hot cigar inside of that nigga’s asshole.

  “FUUUUUUCCCCKKKK!!!!! ARRRGGGGHHHHH!!”

  Mendosa just stood there and frowned at the smell of his rank, burning flesh. As the inside of that nigga’s rectum burned to a crisp he passed out, but I slapped him over and over again until his eyes opened partially. Mendosa had beat him good, so his eyes were starting to swell shut.

  “Bitch ass nigga…We done kept you alive long enough. Time for you to be reunited wit’ yo’ hoe.”

  He could barely keep his head up and his battered face looked like an oversized pumpkin. I aimed my gun and squinted at the spot on his forehead.

  “Don’t…don’t…” Mack whispered as his body shook and convulsed from the shock of the beating and burns.

  “Nigga, fuck you.” I squeezed the trigger and hit him right where I aimed. Brain matter, skull fragments and blood spewed onto the walls and floor.

  “Good shot,” Mendosa said with approval.

  Less than a second later he untied Mack’s body and wrapped it up in a huge, plastic tarp. After that I helped him put him in the trunk of his car. I noticed that Kelly’s body was in the trunk too.

  “I’m takin’ this mufucka and his bitch to Macon to get rid of the bodies. I’ll be back in the mornin’. Oh, and that nigga gave me most of your pops money back. I think it’s ‘bout two hundred fifty stacks. I’ll give it to you when I get back. Make sure that my baby girl is good. Tell her I’ll talk to her tomorrow,” he instructed.

  My heart pounded because I was hoping that she’d be able to stay there with him. I knew that he didn’t want her to be by herself, nor did I plan to tell him about our potential break up.

  “A’ight.”

  I walked off to my car and got in. Before driving off I sent my pops a text.

  That bitch was handled and I got most of your money back thanks to Mendosa.

  My anger at Sen hadn’t dissolved and I was dreading having to deal with her and her attitude. Still, I couldn’t just not do what Mendosa had asked of me. Also, I just didn’t have the heart to leave her alone.

  Chapter 11

  Keenyn

  It was a little after ten pm when I got to Mendosa’s. Ana let me in and tol
d me that Sen was in her old bedroom and she had been there since I dropped her off. After taking two stairs at a time I had a nostalgic feeling. Memories of playing with her in her huge bedroom when we were kids flooded my mental. We were young and didn’t know shit about physical attraction then, so Mendosa didn’t mind. Once we hit the age of eleven, he cut that shit out. We were only allowed to play outside, or in the playroom and we had to be supervised.

  Instead of just walking in, I knocked on the door. I waited and then knocked again. After that I decided to just open the door, but it was locked. Why would she lock the door? I was sure that Ana was respectful enough not to walk in. Maybe she was keeping Mendosa out. I knocked again and again, but there was still no answer. Then I decided to call her cell phone. I could hear it ringing, so I knew that she was in there.

  Without alarming Ana I swiftly made my way to the kitchen to get a butter knife. I ran back up the stairs and stood in front of Sen’s bedroom door. My nerves were all fucked up as I used the knife to manipulate the door’s lock. In seconds it snapped and the door was open. I walked inside and it was pitch black dark. When I popped the light on, I noticed that Sen was under the covers. She appeared to be sleeping soundly, but I still wondered why she’d locked the door.

  I stood over here and shook her gently. “Wake up Sen. We gotta go.”

  She didn’t move, so I tried again. “Sen,” I said a little louder. “Wake up.”

  After that she didn’t budge. “What the fuck?” I checked to see if she was breathing and she had a pulse, but it was really slow.

  “Sen.” I shook her harder. “Sen.”

  My mind drew a blank. Why the hell was she sleeping so hard? I got up and went in the bathroom and noticed that a cup was sitting on the counter. I filled it with cold water and returned to her bed. I splashed the cold water on her face and she jumped up.

  “Shit!” She shrieked and tried to wipe the water from her face. “What the fuck Keys.”

  Her voice was slurred and I figured that was because she was asleep.

  “I’ve been tryna wake you up. I ain’t never known for you to sleep this hard.”

  Her pupils seemed to be rolling around and shit, which was strange. The swelling around her eye had gone down, but the bruise was darker.

  “I’m fine…” She laid back down. “Turn…the light off…and leave me alone. Go home. You dumped me, remember?” If I didn’t know any better I’d think she was pissy drunk, but it wasn’t that.

  “I didn’t dump you.”

  “Just leave.”

  “We killed Mack. Your pops told me to take you wit’ me. He had to go somewhere.”

  “Ya’ll still keepin’ secrets? I’m glad he’s alive, but fuck the both of you. Just let me sleep.”

  Did she forget that she had kept her share of secrets from me and her father too? Her eyes were closed and she was lightly snoring in no time. I picked her up and she didn’t stir. It wasn’t like her to sleep like that. Honestly, she barely even slept when she drank alcohol and smoked weed. After carrying her into the bedroom, I sat her down in the tub and then turned on the shower. The water was cold as hell, so she nearly jumped out of her skin.

  “What are you doing?” She screeched with her hands out like that was going to keep the water off her.

  “Did you take some of those Xanax?” I asked. “Cause weed don’t have you like this. It’s no way you went through what you went through today and now you sleepin’ like nothin’ fuckin’ happened. How many did you take?” I wasn’t a fool. Her pupils were not only dancing around, but they were dilated and her eyes were glassy.

  “I don’t know,” she moaned as she looked up at me.

  Her eyes closed again and I wondered if she was trying to kill herself again or simply get high. She wanted to escape and self-medicate and it made me wonder if she had taken Xanax before.

  “Baby, talk to me. How many did you take?” I slapped her cheek lightly.

  Her eyes opened again, but she couldn’t focus. She was shivering and her teeth were chattering. I didn’t care. I needed her to stay awake until she was aware. My instinct told me to take her to the hospital, but I decided to do something else. I stuck my finger down her throat instead and she started throwing up.

  Once it was all up and flowing down the drain, she seemed to be waking up. She coughed and I held her head down so that she wouldn’t choke.

  “Breathe baby,” I said soothingly. “I’m right here. Just breathe.”

  I turned the water off and held her as she finally seemed to be able to focus.

  “Keys,” she whispered with tears in her eyes. “Shit, I’m a fuckin’ mess. I need some help.”

  “Have you used Xanax before?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I…went to rehab because of Xanax.”

  I helped her out of the tub and then dressed her in some dry clothes. Her hair was wet, so she grabbed a blow dryer and I dried her hair. She was silent for the most part, but then she started telling me more.

  “I had an abortion a while back. My child’s father was older and married and…well…he didn’t want anything to do with me after that. I didn’t realize how risky it would be. About a month later I was still bleeding heavily and I went to the doctor for a follow up. I had some really bad scarring and hemorrhaging. I had to be admitted into the hospital. After a few days they told me that it was a very slim chance that I’d ever get pregnant again. Although I always feared I’d be a horrible mother like mine, I didn’t want to rule out having children completely. It sent me on a downward spiral and I started doing whatever I could to numb the pain. Shit, I felt lonely enough and the thought of not ever having children was hard to bear. Soon after that I admitted myself into rehab. I found the pills when I was looking for something to smoke earlier today. At first I was just going to drug Jake, but then…the urge became too strong. I took some of the pills to use after I killed Kelly. Then when you…dumped me…it was just too much for me to handle and it was easy to take a handful of pills and escape. I didn’t want to kill myself though, well, not really. I just don’t want you to feel that keeping me alive has been in vain. I see clearly now Keys. I’m going to change my ways. I won’t take another Xan and I won’t do anything to lose you again. That’s my word. Just don’t give up on me. I need held and I’m willin’ to admit that I can’t go through this shit without you. I need you. I can’t do this alone. I’m so tired of being alone.” Tears welled up in her eyes, but she wiped them away before they could fall.

  I nodded. “We’ll talk about us later. Right now I just need to make sure you’re okay. You gotta be okay. Don’t worry about us being together. You’re stronger than that Sen. If I find out you took another damn pill it’s gon’ be fuckin’ hell to pay. You got me?”

  She nodded obediently. “Yes. I got you. To be honest, I don’t like the way they made me feel. You don’t have to worry about me touching another Xanax or any other pill.”

  “And you promise that you wasn’t tryna kill yourself? Don’t fuckin’ lie to me.”

  “I promise. I wasn’t trying to, but I wasn’t trying not to either. If it happened I was willing to welcome it, but now that I think about it, I don’t want to die. I want to have a future with you. Then the thought of not being able to give you children depresses me all over again.”

  “Don’t worry about that right now Sen. Let’s just go home. Okay.”

  She looked up at me with a hopeful look on her bruised face. “Okay,” she sighed.

  * * *

  Two weeks later

  Keenyn

  Dame was awake finally after almost three weeks in and out of a coma. Not only that, but his toxicology reports had come back. His mother called me and told me to come to the hospital because he was asking for me. I had been there the day before and it was honestly a miracle to know that my boy was going to make it.

  When I got there his mom filled me in before I went into the room.

  “All of his tests were negative. Even the HIV test.
Turns out he had ethylene glycol in his system,” she said.

  I gave her a confused look. “Anti-freeze? How the fuck did that get in his system? Was he tryna commit suicide?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know Keys. He won’t talk to me, but maybe he’ll talk to you.”

  Pulling her into me for a hug, I assured her that I’d try to get what I could out of him. “I’ll try.”

  “Thank you.” She sobbed and her hot tears fell on my shirt.

  When I looked around I noticed that nobody else was there. Where the hell was Arica and Deliah? I hadn’t seen them there in a while. Last time I called Arica she didn’t even answer.

  “Where’s Arica?” I asked.

  “She called me yesterday to check up on him. She claimed she didn’t have a babysitter for DJ and I offered to keep him for her to come see Dame, but I didn’t get an answer when I called her back. She hasn’t answered the phone all day.”

  “And Deliah?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I can’t stand that one. She ain’t been here at all to see him and I ain’t seen my grandbaby.”

  “Damn,” I shook my head. Shit just wasn’t adding up to me.

  “Well, gone and see him baby. He’s been waitin’. I’on know how long he’s gonna be able to stay awake. They’re tryna make sure that all of his organs are okay, so he may be here for a little while before he can go home.”

  I nodded and walked off to go check up on my nigga. He was sitting up in the bed, but he still looked weak. There was an oxygen mask on his face that he removed when he saw me.

  “My nigga,” he said weakly as he reached out his fist for a pound.

  “Good to see you up man.” I had so many questions, but I didn’t know where to start.

  Just as I started to ask some of them I heard a voice behind me.

  “Damian Carter, I’m Detective Burns and this is my partner Detective Arnold. We were notified that you’d been poisoned. In instances of such the authorities are always notified to investigate. We have a few questions for you.” The tall, barrel chested dark skinned man looked at me. “Uh, can you please excuse us?”