“I don't know,” Julius replied.
“Well, forget them. I was watching
Law & Order
one time, and the cops kept doing that to a lady, and she filed a harassment complaint against them. Your parents might need to think about doing something like that.”
“Maybe so,” Julius answered right before a girl from his science class walked over and gave him a hug.
“Hey, Citra,” Julius greeted her with a mischievous grin.
“Hi, Julius,” she said as she caressed his arm.
Julius gave Citra a tight hug and said, “What's up, girl?”
Citra then turned to Domingo and greeted him with a teasing tone. “Hello, superhero. Do you have a big
S
on your chest under that shirt?”
Confused, Julius asked, “Why are you calling him a superhero?”
“Oh, you haven't heard about our little hero?” Citra asked. She gave Julius another hug and, before walking off, said, “I'll let him tell you. See you in the cafeteria.”
After Citra walked away, Julius asked, “Superhero?”
“That's why I was blowing up your phone,” Domingo stated. “You're not going to believe what happened to me yesterday.”
They started walking down the hallway together, but Julius stopped in his tracks when Domingo told him about Viper and what happened at the barbecue joint.
“You got caught up in a shoot-out? Tell me your bullshitting me.”
“Hell, no, I'm not bullshitting,” Domingo replied. “It was like the Wild, Wild West up in there, bro. I don't know who that fool was that was shooting at Viper, but he meant business, whoever he was. Since Mya was with me, I knew I had to do something.”
“I still can't believe you tackled the guy. You could've gotten your ass shot,” Julius stated.
It was still a minute or two before the bell was scheduled to ring, so they stood outside their classroom and continued to talk about what had happened.
“All I was thinking about was keeping my ass alive so I could save my sister. I wouldn't have been able to live if she had got hit,” Domingo said as the bell rang. “Look, I'll tell you more after school.”
“Maybe later. My tutor, Denim, was in a car accident yesterday, and I want to take her some flowers or something,” Julius revealed.
“Is she okay?” Domingo asked.
“She said she was a little sore but otherwise okay. I'll know more after I see her.”
The pair gave each other a handshake and agreed to finish their conversation later.
Â
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After school Julius hurried out the door to the bus loading area so he could catch his bus. Dré spotted him rushing down the stairs and called out to him.
“Hey, Dré. I'm sorry, but I can't talk right now. I have to catch my bus.”
Dré grabbed him by the back of his jacket, stopping him, and said, “Slow down, youngblood. I can take you home. I want to holler at you for a sec.”
Out of breath, Julius asked, “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I'm sure,” Dré answered as he stood there with a couple of friends. “Just call your parents and make sure it's okay.”
Julius quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed his father, who gave him permission to ride with Dré, but he also gave him a short lecture on being responsible. Once the call was over, he hung up and said, “My dad said it was okay. Thanks.”
“Great!” Dré replied as they walked toward the parking lot. “Did you hear that Denim was in a car accident?”
Julius sighed and said, “She sent me a text this morning. I called to make sure she was okay. Is she really okay?”
Dré deactivated his car alarm and opened the door.
“She's pretty banged up, but she's fine. I'm getting ready to go by there, so I thought you might want to ride with me.”
Julius climbed into the passenger side of the car and said, “My plan was to take her some flowers, anyway. I hope you don't mind stopping by the store so I can pick some up.”
Dré smiled and said, “Of course I don't mind. Let's go.”
Chapter Seven
“Denim! You have company!” her mother yelled from downstairs.
“Is it Dré?” she yelled back.
“No, it's not. Just get down here, sweetheart.” Mrs. Mitchell smiled at Denim's guest as they waited for her in the foyer.
When Denim finally appeared, she couldn't believe her eyes. “R.J.? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be somewhere with your leg elevated?”
Denim led R.J. into the family room as he replied, “I didn't break my driving foot.”
Mrs. Mitchell followed them into the room and said, “I'm sure the doctors told you to take it easy, though.”
He sat down and laid his crutches on the floor. “They did, but I'm hardheaded.”
Denim giggled as she sat on the sofa and curled her legs underneath her body. “Are you in any pain?” she asked.
“A little, but the pain pills help,” he replied. “I just wanted to come by to apologize about totaling your car and to see how you were doing.”
Denim held out her arms and showed off a couple of bruises and said, “I'm a little bruised, but I'll be fine.”
R.J. reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick envelope and gave it to her. “I also wanted to thank you again for saving my life. I could've burned up in that car if you hadn't gotten me out.”
“What's this?” Denim asked as she slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of money. “I can't accept this,” she announced as she put the money back in the envelope and handed it back to him.
“She's right,” Mrs. Mitchell added as she glanced inside the envelope. “Denim did what anyone would do.”
“That's the point, Mrs. Mitchell. Denim was the only one who did do something. Everyone else was content to stand on the curb and watch me burn to death,” he replied. “Besides, her car is damaged, and it's my responsibility to make sure it's repaired or replaced.”
“That's true, but I think that is more than enough to replace Denim's car,” she answered.
“There has to be at least ten thousand dollars in there. We can't accept this.”
“If my suspicions are correct, you're probably losing time from work by staying at home with Denim. I'm sure Denim's losing time from school and maybe a job herself. It would make me feel better if you would let me do this for you,” R.J. explained.
Mrs. Mitchell took the envelope out of Denim's hand and said, “I'm not concerned about losing time from work, but we appreciate you offering to pay for her car. If there's anything left over, we'll make sure it's returned to you.”
R.J. reached for his crutches. “No need. Put it in Denim's college fund or something.”
Denim helped R.J. up from his seat and said, “It was really nice of you to come all the way over here to see me.”
He put the crutches under his armpits and said, “I wouldn't have it any other way. I hope you're feeling better soon.”
“You too,” Denim replied as she and her mother walked him to the door.
When Mrs. Mitchell opened the door, they were met by Dré and Julius on the porch.
“Hey, guys,” Denim greeted happily.
Julius couldn't speak. He was in shock, and so was Dré.
“This is R.J. He came by to see how I was doing,” Denim explained. “R.J., this is my boyfriend, Dré, and my friend Julius.”
R.J. held his hand out to the boys, and when he shook Julius's hand, he asked, “What's up, li'l man? I know you, don't I?”
Julius shrugged his shoulders and stuttered, “IâI don't know. I mean, maybe.”
“I've seen you around the neighborhood and playing ball in the park. Yeah, I know you,” R.J. said. “You're a good kid. Make sure you stay in school and away from all the craziness in the street.”
“Great advice,” Denim answered.
R.J. shook Dré's hand and said, “Everybody knows you, man. You're a hell of a ballplayer, and you made me a lot of money last year. I can't wait until the season starts this year.”
“Thanks,” was all Dré could say as he walked past R.J. Then he mumbled something under his breath.
Julius nervously followed him into the house, with his head hanging. Denim looked at them curiously and wondered why they were acting so strangely. She decided to discuss it with them once R.J. was gone.
“You don't have to walk me to my car, Denim. I got it. Go back inside with your guests.”
“Good-bye, R.J., and drive safely.”
“I will,” he replied, then walked to his car, threw his crutches in, and climbed inside.
Denim reentered the house and found Dré and Julius talking to her mother in the family room.
“What the hell was that?” she asked them as she joined them in the family room. “I know you two have manners. Why did you treat R.J. like that?”
Mrs. Mitchell exited the room and said, “Watch your language, young lady.”
Once her mother was out of the room, Denim folded her arms and said, “I'm waiting.”
Dré walked over to her and asked, “Why was that man in your house?”
“What are you talking about?” she asked. “That's R.J. He was the passenger in the car that hit me, and he came to thank me for getting him out of the burning car and to see how I was doing. Oh, and he also gave me some money to fix my car.”
Dré shook his head in disbelief. He turned to Julius and said, “You know who he is, right?”
Julius nodded in silence because Denim and Dré didn't know the half of what he knew.
“Denim, you might know him as R.J., but that's Viper!” Dré revealed. “He's bad news, and he's dangerous. Stay away from him.”
“He doesn't seem dangerous to me. Actually, he's really nice,” she insisted. “What has he done? Killed somebody?”
Julius's heart skipped a beat because he knew for a fact that Viper had killed someone, and that was only the victim he knew about.
Dré walked over to Denim, clearly frustrated. “Denim, he's tied to drugs, gangs, murder. You name it, he's done it. If your parents knew what we know, they would go ballistic.”
Denim looked at Julius and asked, “You know about him too?”
“Yeah, I know of him. Dré is right. He's bad news.”
Denim sat down and finally noticed the flowers in Julius's hands. She smiled and asked, “Are those for me?”
Julius snapped himself out of a trance and handed her the flowers. “Yes, they're for you. I hope I didn't ruin them by squeezing the stems to death. Seeing Viper at your house kind of messed me up.”
“I didn't know,” she said as she sank down on the sofa, stunned by all the information.
“Well, now you do,” Dré replied. “And if he comes around again, let me know and I'll handle it. He needs to know that he's not wanted or needed around here.”
“Dré's right about that,” Julius added. “There are people who want him dead. You can't afford to get caught in the cross fire. Somebody took a shot at him in a crowded restaurant yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” Dré asked. “What time?”
“I'm not sure. It was sometime yesterday afternoon. My friend Domingo and his sister were there when it happened.”
“Maybe that's where he was coming from when they T-boned you,” Dré stated.
“Okay, you two,” Denim said. “Calm down. It's in the past now.”
Dré sat down and put his arm around the love of his life and said, “Yes, it is because I don't want you nowhere near that man.”
“I'm, talking crazy,” she said as she waved Dré off. “No, we're going together.”
“Julius, you sure are quiet,” Dré asked. “Are you okay?”
Julius rubbed his eyes and sat down in a nearby chair and then said, “Not really.”
Concerned, Denim asked, “What's wrong?”
“Yeah, li'l bro, what's up? You know you can talk to us.”
With tears in his eyes, Julius said, “Not on this one. It's too deep.”
“Wait a minute,” Denim said, as if a lightbulb had gone off in her head. “Has Tybo been bullying you again?”
“Nah, it has nothing to do with him,” he replied. “Look, just forget I said anything.”
“A look like that is hard to forget,” Denim answered as she put her flowers in a vase filled with water. “I don't want to pressure you into talking, but if someone's bothering you or you're in some kind of trouble, you need to tell someone.”
Julius smiled to try to break the tension in the room. “I'll keep that in mind, Professor.”
“Since you have jokes, don't you have a test coming up?” she asked.
“Yes. Day after tomorrow,” he revealed as he stood.
“You'd better be studying for it.”
Julius smiled and said, “I am. Dré, I'd better be getting home. I hope you feel better soon, Denim.”
She hugged his neck and said, “I will. Thanks again for the flowers. Now, go home and study.”
Dré gave Denim a kiss and said, “I'll be back shortly. I have to run Julius home.”
Denim settled in on the sofa with her laptop and said, “Take your time.”
Â
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When Dré returned to Denim's house thirty minutes later, he found Denim in the family room, still surfing the Web.
He sat down next to her and asked, “What are you doing?”
Without making eye contact, she said, “Googling information on R.J.”
“Why?”
“I need to see it for myself,” she answered. “What's his real name?”
Dré shook his head in disbelief. “Do you really want to know the truth? Because I don't think you can handle the truth,” he said in his Jack Nicholson impersonation from the movie
A Few Good Men
as he tossed a sofa pillow in the air like a basketball.
Denim giggled. “Seriously, what's his name?”
He sat down beside her and let out a breath. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Yes. Now, for the last time what's his name?”
“Reginald Jackson.”
Denim typed in the name and watched as the search engine brought up article after article with Reginald Jackson's name included in it. There were news reports of some of the worst crimes imaginable, and Denim couldn't believe her eyes.
She closed the lid on her laptop and turned to Dré. “Okay, I get it. Are we cool?”
He gently kissed the bruise on her shoulder and then her lips and said, “You're more than cool with me, Cocoa Princess.”
Dré continued to kiss her, this time more passionately, until they were interrupted by Mrs. Mitchell clearing her throat.
“You must be feeling better,” she said to her daughter, who was startled by the interruption and jumped away from Dré.
“Yes, ma'am.”
Dré blushed and said, “Sorry about that, Mrs. V.”
She sat down across from the young couple and stared directly at Dré.
“I appreciate you apologizing, Dré, but I was young once, so I understand what it's like to be young and in love. What I do want to reiterate with you two is that you have to be extremely careful with the choices you make because your futures are at risk, and I'll leave it at that,” she said, then stood and walked out of the room.
Dré's eyes were as big as basketballs. He was totally caught off guard by Mrs. Mitchell's comment. “What was that all about?”
Denim took his hand in hers and said, “She knows we're having sex.”
He covered his face with his hands in disbelief. “You're kidding, right?”
“No, I'm not. I had to tell her. We were in the emergency room and the nurse was asking me all these questions and one of the questions was if I could possibly be pregnant. I couldn't lie.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and said, “Well, you can forget about ever doing it again. They're not going to let me take you anywhere now.”
Mrs. Mitchell walked back into the room and asked, “Dré, are you staying for dinner?”
He looked over at Denim, who was nodding her head.
“Yes, ma'am, if it's okay with you.”
She waved him off and as she exited the room she said, “Of course it's okay. Just call your parents to get their approval.”
“Okay, Mrs. V.,” he answered as he pulled out his cell phone and sent his parents a text.