“Hell yeah, I get it. I’ve already been wrapping my brain around the shit. I think I know what to do.”
Suddenly, my phone rang. I looked down at the display.
“Who is that?” Q asked.
“Wayne,” I replied, while simultaneously answering the call. “What?” I said into the phone. “I’m already on top of that. Talkin’ to Q about it right now. Just get the paperwork going for this fight and be around for whatever else I need you for.”
I disconnected the line and looked at Q.
“What happened?” he inquired.
“He was calling to let me know that he goes to Vegas in a few days. He got the meeting we needed to get everything in motion.”
“That’s what’s up!” Quinton exclaimed.
“In the meantime, I need to get in touch with somebody that I’m pretty sure can help.”
“Alright, well, just let me know what’s next. My schedule is cleared until we bring her home.”
“I appreciate that, Q. You just don’t know how much.”
“I do know. And I know you’d do the same for me.”
I nodded, in affirmation. “One-hundred percent.” Quinton and I stood from our seats, in preparation for Q’s departure. “This shit is crazy,” I said, out of the blue, as we walked to the house. “Surreal as hell. This shit happens in the damn movies.”
“Yeah, it’s gonna play out like one, too,” Quinton said, solemnly. Then, he smiled. “Only there won’t be stuntmen, and fake blood in any of our scenes. I’m just sorry that you’re going through this, D.C. We’ll fix this shit, bro. We’ll bring her home.”
“Not a single doubt about that, Q.”
CHAPTER 32
Tracie
Tracie stood in her bedroom window, looking out into the pool of her condominium complex. The sparkling water was beautiful under the moonlight, but as beautiful as it was, seeing it only made her cry. She buried her face into her hands and proceeded to cry into the Kleenex she had soaked just minutes earlier. She backed away from the window to retrieve more tissue, and to throw the used one away. She couldn’t believe all the chain of events. She had never witnessed anything like that in her life. And then, hearing Chanel scream the way she did, was too much. It was all that Tracie heard. It wouldn’t go away. Even the two times she did try closing her eyes, the sounds brought her right back to her waking life.
Just minutes earlier, they had been laughing and giggling about her upcoming engagement party and plans to hang out that night with Quinton and Dario. Now, she was gone. Well, not gone-gone, Tracie convinced herself. A river of tears fell, when she allowed herself to believe that Chanel being permanently gone could actually be the case. Chanel, I’m so sorry, she sobbed. Please, let her be okay, she requested of the universe, in silence. She’s a good person. Please, just bring her back. She has a son! She’s good.
When Tracie’s phone rang, she was tempted to ignore it, as she’d done for most of the day. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. She had already told Rush that she needed a few days off, and he was understanding about it. Alika had called her shortly after, probably out of concern, but she let the phone go to voicemail. She knew she would have to call her at some point, but now wasn’t the time. She didn’t want to do a data dump on Alika. Not now, when everything in her life was so perfect, with her finding out about her twin sister, being mama to beautiful, twin boys, and a little girl on the way. No, she’d wait until the dust settled.
With sleep nowhere in the picture, and nothing on television able to hold her attention, Tracie opted to turn on Pandora and listen to her Monica playlist, while making her a drink. She figured that maybe a few shots of Dirty Tequila could knock her out, and quiet the noise of her mind. The first shot went through with a slight burn, alongside the cinnamon and pineapple. She closed her eyes and let it simmer, before downing a second shot.
She walked into her living room and opened the patio door to let the breeze in, and then sat on her oversized chair, right near the door. She laid her head back and focused on the ceiling, waiting for her lids to get heavy. As soon as they did, however, visions of Chanel came flooding back—even with the slight buzz. Monica singing about ‘Still Standing’ drove Tracie from her seat to change the playlist, but just as she was about to do that, her doorbell rang.
Alika got tired of waiting for me to pick up the phone, was her first thought, as she slowly trekked toward the front door. She tried to gather her composure. She didn’t want to have to explain everything. Her plan was to just act as though she needed a break from work, and that it was nothing more than that. She got to the door and stood on her tiptoes, slightly, only to be pleasantly surprised by who her visitor was. She hurriedly unlocked her door and fell hard into Quinton’s arms.
“You’re here,” she whispered, into his chest, feeling all the weight of the day fall from her shoulders.
“Yeah,” he said, walking her backwards into the house, so that he could close the door. “I’m here.”
“I’m glad. I needed you.”
“That’s why I came,” he whispered, into her hair.
“Can you stay?”
“Yeah. I have to leave in the morning, though. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I heard you, and that I feel the same way.”
“Really, Quinton?” she asked, her eyes blurring.
“Yeah. We waited long enough. After Chanel is back, and me and Dario have everything taken care of, we can sit down and figure this us thing all the way out. That cool?” he asked.
“That’s perfect,” she acknowledged, hugging him even tighter. “I’d love that,” she gushed.
Minutes passed by, as they stood in Tracie’s hallway, locked in each other’s embrace. “Let me get you to bed,” Quinton suggested. “I know you’re probably sleepy and fighting it. Come on,” he urged, picking her up into his arms and carrying her into her bedroom.
Instinctively, Tracie kissed along his neck, ears and cheek, as they made the short trip to her room. By the time they made it to their destination, a deep hunger, built off of pent-up feelings and the heaviness of the day’s events had overtaken them. Their bodies called out to one another, sending them down a pleasure-filled path that was the start of something beautiful and new.
CHAPTER 33
Dario
I stood in the mirror, looking at my bloodshot red eyes. I hadn’t been asleep at all. If I had dozed off, at any point, I didn’t know it. I took in my disheveled hair and how crazy it was starting to look. ‘Rugged’ is what Chanel would call it, whenever I was late to get a trim. It was sexy when she said it, but there wasn’t a damn thing sexy about what the fuck was looking back at me right now. I rubbed my hands down my face, in slow motion, encountering a build-up of stubble. In just two days, my facial hair was doing its own thing.
Too bad.
It was going to have to do its own thing for a while, because right now, any kind of grooming was going to have to take a back seat. The front seat of my life was jammed pack.
Fuck! I said to myself, out loud.
It sure as fuck didn’t seem like only two days had passed. Shit felt more like months! Sensing my frustration, Lennox did a slow walk over to where I was and laid at my feet. He’d been quiet and whining quite a bit since Chanel had been gone. I guess he missed her too. I went to pick him up yesterday, because I felt his presence would help—and it did. Rai was so excited about staying another night, that he didn’t say too much. It broke my heart in fucking half to look at that kid and imagine how he would take the news about his mother. I was going to have to tell him something soon enough. As well as the rest of the family.
Shit . . .
“She’ll be back soon, boy,” I consoled, kneeling down to pat Lennox’s large head, when he began whining loudly.
When I went to stand back up, almost instantly, FaceTime called out to me. As Denise’s name came across the screen, I debated whether to pick up or not. I hadn’t talked to her live, and no amount of preparations w
ould get me to that point. Chances were that she had already called Chanel and was met with voicemail. She might’ve already gone by her house as well. The more the phone rang out, the more my mind raced. I couldn’t. Not yet. I picked the phone up and headed out the bathroom, just as the call ended.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Initially, I figured I’d bought some time. That was, until seconds later, the phone rang right back, again. With Lennox on my heels, I journeyed to the kitchen, while accepting the call.
“Dario, what the hell is going on?” she asked, without a greeting, or waiting to be greeted. “I got the text that we were postponing the engagement party and we made the calls to let everybody know. But really? A week before? What the hell is going on?” She was pounding the questions out in the same way those speed typists punch keys—only faster. “Are y’all good? I haven’t even heard from Chanel. You got my baby crying somewhere and she doesn’t wanna talk? Oh my god! Did y’all break up, Dario? Answer me!” she shouted.
I didn’t know how she expected me to answer her, when she wasn’t even taking breaths in between her heated interrogation. Truthfully, I didn’t really want her to stop, because wherever she stopped, that’s where I would’ve been expected to begin. I didn’t even know how to do that. How do you tell a mother that their child is missing? How the fuck do you do that?!
“Dario! I’m looking right at you, so I know you’re there. Are you going to answer anything I asked you? Where is Chanel? And why isn’t she answering her phone? And why is the party being postponed? Or is that just the word y’all are using to keep from saying ‘cancelled’?”
“It’s not cancelled, Denise. It’s postponed. I’m not cancelling anything,” I said, slowly. “If it was up to me, there wouldn’t be an engagement party, we’d be going straight to the altar.”
I meant that with everything in me. I didn’t need to be engaged to this woman. I just needed to be in life with her . . . as my wife. That was it.
“Well, then, what’s going on? Look at your face! You haven’t shaved?! Your hair is a mess! Dario! What aren’t you telling me?!”
“Denise—”
“We’re all confused,” she charged ahead. “I’m just the one doing the asking. And, again . . . why won’t this girl answer her mother’s phone calls? There has to be something going on. Why is Rai at Veronika’s, and going to school from there?!”
When I failed to respond right away, Denise’s eyes grew on the other side of the screen. “Oh my god! There is something. Where is she, Dario? Where is my baby girl?” she asked, in a panic.
The look on her face was what I was trying to avoid seeing. I thought to break eye contact but knew that would’ve made things a hundred times worse than they already were.
“Dario!” she yelled, pounding her fist down on her countertop.
“Denise, I’m on my way to my mother’s house. I’ll see you guys over there.”
“What the fuck does that mean?! Antonina’s house for what?!” she shouted. “Tell me something, Dario! Please!” she cried.
I hated seeing her like this. Shit was killing me.
“Chanel is fine,” I said to her, feeling in my heart that it was the absolute truth. Anything different, I would’ve felt, and Denise would too. So, I was sure of what I was saying. But it didn’t negate the fact that there was something wrong and she needed to be told. “I do need to talk to you guys together, though. So, can you just make your way over there for me?”
Her hands covered her mouth to muffle cries built on confusion and fear. She nodded her head, quickly, as a few tears fell over her hands and slid out of sight. “I’ll see you there,” she said.
“Okay. Everything is going to be alright,” I assured her, before disconnecting the chat.
It just had to be.
CHAPTER 34
Dario
After I hung up the phone with Denise, I called my mother to tell her that I was coming by and that Denise was already on her way. Of course, there was concern in her voice, but I didn’t go into detail. I had things to get out of the way, so that I could get there as quickly as possible. I shouldn’t have waited this long to fill them in, but the shock of everything and then trying to get loose ends tied up to get this fight going, was all I could think about.
I fed Lennox, then took him out on a run, so that he could get his exercise and do his business. The run actually helped me as well. It gave me the opportunity to think about how I was going to approach telling this news to two women who were bound to be more emotional than I was prepared for.
An hour or so after our run, and a quick shower, Lennox and I were on our way to my mother’s house. I didn’t want to leave Lennox there by himself. Besides, after talking to them, I would have to make my way to Rai, and that was probably going to be the hardest thing I’d ever had to do. Having Lennox there might help . . .
Pulling up to my parents’ house took great effort. I had to really pull myself together for this trip. I didn’t want to be around anybody at the moment, because the beast inside of me was present and awake. I needed to be in a place where I could think, and think clearly. I had shit to do; and being in the company of anybody was going to slow that down. But whether I wanted to or not, this was where I needed to be right now. This precise moment was more than just about me. Just the thought made me sick to my stomach, and I was hoping against hope that I would be able to maintain my composure and be my strongest self.
I arrived at the driveway’s incline and reached to turn the radio’s volume down, only to realize that I’d never turned it on. I paused for a bit and took several deep breaths to make an attempt at calming my nerves.
Before I even got all the way up my parents’ driveway, I saw Denise pacing in front of my garage. She had on a turquoise-colored tracksuit with white stripes down the side, a pair of white tennis shoes and her arms were folded across her chest. Her hair was pulled high over her head, and she had a scarf tied around like a band, its tail hanging down her back. She looked worried and I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to get out of the car good before she pounced. When she spotted me, she moved a few feet over, so that I could pull in. As soon as I was inside, she opened the door and stuck her head in and started to frantically look around the inside of my car.
There was desperation in her eyes. “Chanel’s not with you,” Denise said, nervously. “I was thinking that she’d be with you. What’s going on? And why is she still not answering her phone?”
I got out the car, and as I let Lennox out, my mother came running outside. “What’s this all about, son? We’re nervous wrecks. Denise told me that she hasn’t talked to Chanel. I tried—”
“Let’s go inside,” I instructed. Behind me, both women were hot on my heels, as we made our way into the house.
As soon as I walked inside, the thickness of the air settled on me like humidity in the southern states. Everyone was waiting on me, I’m sure to bombard me with more questions than the ones I’d already answered about Chanel.
“Is Papà here?” I asked, when we were behind closed doors.
“No, he’s not,” my mother answered. “Tell us what the hell is going on. Something doesn’t feel right.”
I inhaled a deep breath and then released it quickly. I had no idea how I was going to break the news and I was dying a quick and painful death on the inside. I addressed Denise, directly, since it was her daughter.
“Chanel is missing,” I said, quickly. It was either right then . . . right now . . . or never.
The words falling from my mouth felt wrong. They felt so wrong. The loud wail from Denise that followed confirmed it all.
“What do you meeean, missing?!” she hollered, her breaths labored. “Missing . . . l-l-like what?! Like, she just took off somewhere or . . . nooo! Somebody took my baby?! Dario! Nooo! Is that it?!”
“Is it, son?!” my mother chimed in, her voice shaky.
“Somebody took her,” I painfully admitted.
At those words, as expected,
both my mother and Denise fell into inconsolable hysteria. I didn’t expect anything less from either of them. They were hurting just like I was. My heart went out to them both, but my mind was on Rai, and how he was going to take the news.
“Why are you here?! Why aren’t you somewhere helping to look for her?!” Denise charged, turning her anger on me. I couldn’t blame her. Not one bit. “Whyyy?! Ohhh my god!” she hollered. “What about Rai?!” she asked, through heart-wrenching sobs. “What about him?! Are the police looking for her?! How much do they know?!”
“Son, when did this happen?!” my mother cried.
There was so much emotion that it was tearing me apart. I knew then, that I had to share with them everything that was going on. While I hoped that it would provide some relief, I knew that it would probably make them worry even more.
“I promise, I’m going to tell you guys everything that I know when we get to Aunt Veronika’s house. I’m only doing it this way because the whole family needs to be involved in the process for Rai’s sake. This is going to be the hardest on him and we need to protect that.”
“I just can’t believe this has happened,” Denise whispered, clutching onto my mother in a fierce embrace. “You said that she was okay? You know this for sure? You talked to her? Never mind. If something was wrong with my baby, I would . . .” Denise sniffled back heavy tears, my mother rubbing her back the whole time. “. . . I would sense it. She’s okay.”
“Yes, she is,” my mother consoled.
CHAPTER 35
Ace
Ace had just walked out of one of his new chicks’ houses when his cell phone rang. At the top of the stairs, he pulled the device from the pocket of his hoodie to check the display. He saw the 786, and knew it to be a Florida area code, but when he didn’t recognize the phone number, he quickly rejected the call and sent it to voicemail.
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