“Fatima!” Macy called out as she locked herself inside. She started the car and ignored him as he banged on the driver side window and pulled on the door handle. “Don't do this, Tima. Open the door, baby girl. Just hear me out!”
A distraught Fatima put the car in reverse and backed up slightly. She placed the car back in drive and pressed the gas all the way to the floor, aiming the car straight at Macy. He had pushed her to her breaking point. There was nothing that this man could say to fix what he had broken. He had deceived her and had manipulated her.
He saw me go through hell and all along it was because of what he did?
she thought as uncontrollable tears flooded her. Fatima was in a state of shock as she tried to wrap her brain around the truth. She just didn't understand. After years of her holding Macy down and playing the back so that he could shine, how could he do this to her? Fatima had been a good wife to him, a loyal wife to him. She wasn't above doing dirt, but she had limits. Macy was never a target, and he would have never fallen into her crosshairs.
“How could you do this to us? How could you!” she shouted as she drew closer to him with her car, going full speed. Macy put his hands up in front of him, signaling for her to brake, but she never let up on the accelerator.
“Yo, she's not stopping, Macy! Get out of the way!” Edris yelled as he watched the domestic dispute unfold and escalate to a violent level. He knew Fatima well and had seen her temper flare once before, so he knew what she was capable of. This time even Edris had to admit that her outrage was warranted.
Macy stood his ground, not thinking that Fatima would actually hit him. When he noticed that she wasn't letting off the gas ,he dodged the car just in the nick of time. All he saw were taillights as Fatima sped off of their property. “Fuck!” he shouted. “Put the word out that I'm looking for her.”
Edris nodded his head and followed Macy as he stormed back into his home.
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Fatima ripped through the city streets, crying nonstop. Her husband's betrayal was too much for her to handle alone. She needed help, but she had nowhere to go and no one to run to. Macy ran the entire city, so going to the police was not an option. She was stuck, and as the hours passed on the clock, she grew tired of roaming aimlessly. She found herself driving toward Santa Monica to see a man she hadn't spoken to in years.
Case had kept in close contact with Macy over the years, but his interactions with Fatima had been limited. They spoke briefly and cordially, but it was always too awkward for them to be too involved in each other's lives. Case had been the first man to show her love, and she had crushed him when she had chosen to be with Macy. Their friendship hadn't been the same since she had left him, but on this night, she needed him. She needed him more than she ever had before.
Fatima drove to the lavish beachside condo where he resided and parked her car on the street. The lights were on inside, and she knew that he was home, but she sat frozen as she thought of what she would say to him. What could she say? Karma had come full circle. She had betrayed Case to be with Macy, and ultimately Macy had hurt her. Macy had taken the one thing in her life that was irreplaceable.
She sat in the car for almost an hour, going back and forth in her mind as the cell phone rang repeatedly. Picking up the phone, she saw Macy's face flash before her eyes, and the sight of him made her sick to her stomach. She sent him to voice mail only for him to call right back. Disgusted, she powered off her phone. What could he possibly say to her? No words could take back his actions. What he had done was unforgivable.
Fatima gathered herself and pulled down her visor to fix her face, but when she saw her own reflection, she knew that she was too broken. There was no hiding her torment. No amount of makeup could conceal her hurt. Her eyes were red and swollen. The color of her skin was pale and had a green tint to it. She would have to face Case the way she was or not face him at all.
Fatima exited her car and walked up the walkway that led to his condo. She climbed the stairs that led to his front entrance and nervously rang the bell. She heard the chime sound on the inside, and she turned quickly on her heels, suddenly changing her mind.
Why did I come here?
she asked herself.
He can't save me now. I chose Macy.
She heard the door open, but she didn't look back until he called her name. “Fatima?”
She froze but refused to face him.
“Tima, is everything all right?” he asked. Case's deep voice offered security to her in her vulnerable state. She was in need of protection, of comfort, and Case was the only person who she could think to turn to.
Case put his hand on his waistline, clicking his .45 off of safety, and turned on his porch light to make sure that Macy's goons weren't lurking in the shadows of the foliage that covered the front of his house. Fatima being at his home was too much of a coincidence for Case. He stepped out, ready to shoot anything moving as his neck swiveled from left to right. He was surprised to see that she was alone. He had thought she was sent as a decoy to distract him, but as he looked around cautiously, nothing seemed out of place.
“Are you by yourself?” he asked.
She nodded her head as she turned to face him.
“Why did you come here, Fatima?” he asked. It had been too long for this to be a coincidence. Any other day she barely gave him the time of day. Although her attraction to him had never dissipated, her respect for her husband always overrode anything she felt toward Case. For her to be on his doorstep in the middle of the night was a surprise to Case, and frankly, it was suspect.
As she stepped toward him, the light shone directly on her face, and he saw how distressed she appeared.
She lowered her head and ran into his arms as he hesitantly welcomed her into an unsure embrace.
“He killed him, Case,” she sobbed as she cried into his chest. Her words came out mumbled, and Case held her, despite the fact that he had no idea what had gone on.
For the first time in fifteen years, he wrapped his arms around her intimately. She was sobbing so hard that she couldn't speak as she poured her soul into Case.
“What are you doing here, Tima? Macy know where you at?” he asked, his voice low as he loomed over her, resting his chin on top of her head.
“I ... I have to talk to you,” Fatima whispered as she pulled away from him. “It's important.”
“Go home, Tima. Look at you. You're a mess. I don't know what happened between you and Macy, but you shouldn't be here,” he replied. He had been very careful not to cross any lines or rekindle any old flames with her over the years. Their interactions were always so rehearsed, strategic, as if they were afraid to speak openly to one another. Now here they were, past lovers standing under a full moon as the Pacific Ocean left the scent of salt in the air.
“Please ... I can't go back there. I just need to tell you something. Can we please go inside?” she asked as she pulled at his hand desperately, like a little girl pleading for help.
Case shook his head and put his arm around her shoulders as he led her into his home. He locked the door and pulled back his window drapes once more, his paranoia working overtime.
“It's just me. Macy has no idea where I am,” she whispered as she wiped her red eyes. As she stared at Case, she couldn't contain her emotions. The features of his face were so familiar to her. It tugged at her heart as she stared at him carefully, studying every inch of him. Her eyes watered over and she shook her head. “All of this is my fault. I should have never left you to be with him,” she whispered.
“Calm down, Fatima. Have a seat and tell me why you've come all the way here,” he said soothingly as he pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit.
She gripped his forearms for support because her legs threatened to give out at any moment. She looked around at Case's home and realized that it was her first time ever stepping foot inside.
“You've done really well for yourself.” She sniffled, beating around the bush and avoiding the real reason why she was there. “You really did take over L.A., huh?” she asked in disbelief, remembering that he had always said he would when they were younger.
“Your husband isn't the only one getting money,” Case replied smugly as he leaned back in his chair.
“He killed him, Case. He killed Boomer,” Fatima choked out as she put her head in her hands as her tears leaked through her fingers.
Case frowned doubtfully. He had known Macy for a long time, and while he didn't doubt his gangster, he knew that he would never shoot his own son. “He loved Boomer, Fatima. I'm sorry about Boomer's death, but you can't put that on Macy. Boomer was troubled. It was the drugs. Macy wouldn't do that. Nothing in the world would make him kill his own son.”
“It wasn't his son,” she said. Her voice was so low that it was barely audible.
“What did you say?” Case asked.
“Boomer wasn't Macy's son,” she repeated while still crying.
Case calculated the years in his head, and his heart dropped instantly as he put the pieces of the puzzle together. He knew that Fatima hadn't been with another man in yearsâeighteen years, to be exactâand he felt an ache in his chest that made it hard for him to breathe.
“He was yours, Case. Boomer was your son,” Fatima admitted. She had told herself that she would never tell him, but now she felt as if he was the only person she could go to.
“What?” Case said, his anger surfacing.
Fatima lowered her head, too ashamed to face him.
“Don't look at the fucking floor, Fatima! Look at me. You can't just come up in here and drop a bomb like that! It's been eighteen years!” Case shouted. “And you're just now telling me I had a son?”
“I'm sorry!” she screamed in defense.
“You're sorry?” he shouted. His loud voice only made her cry harder, and he caught himself to avoid making things worse. He stood from his seat and paced the floor as he tried to process what she was telling him. His rationale went out the door as his emotions got the best of him. “He was my son?” he asked.
She nodded.
“How could you keep this from me?” he asked as his voice cracked. He cleared his throat to regain composure, and his eyes burned into hers, displaying his rage, revealing his uncertainty. He didn't know how to feel. He felt a combination of emotions, but sadness prevailed over them all. He had known Boomer, but not in the way that a man was supposed to know his son. They had never gotten a chance to bond or to even know one another. Case had never had a reason to become a better man. He lived for himself and took risk on top of risk because he wasn't afraid to die. He hadn't known that he would be leaving his firstborn son behind.
“I just wanted a better life for Boomer. You were in the streets, Case, living the fast life. You weren't ready to settle down, and you definitely were not fit to be a family man. I wanted to protect my son.”
“And you call this protecting him?” Case shouted.
“I didn't mean for this to happen!” she defended. “When Macy and I started messing around, he was saying and doing all of the right things. He had plans, Case. He was going to school and getting out of the game. He was focused on me, whereas you were focused on many. You didn't think I knew about all of those other bitches?” She paused as she looked at Case knowingly. “I knew, Case, and I didn't want to be just another chick you were dropping off at the clinic!”
“You didn't even give me a chance, Fatima! You didn't tell me! You just took my son away and let the next nigga raise him! Does he know?” Case asked.
Fatima shrugged her shoulders, feeling overwhelmed.
“Don't tell me you don't know, bitch,” Case said angrily. “Does he know that Boomer was my seed?” he asked sternly.
Fatima was keeled over in her chair crying her heart out and Case immediately felt bad. He knew that she was going through a lot, and he tamed his animosity before speaking again.
“I'm sorry, ma,” he said as he knelt before her. “But you've got to tell me something. This is fucking me up. You have to help me understand why you would do this to me.”
“I just wanted the best for my baby,” she whispered.
“That could have been me, Tima,” he replied. “I could have given you and Boomer the world. I was young and stupid back then, but a family would have helped me grow up. I would have changed for the two of you.”
“I'm sorry,” she whispered. She could see it in his eyes that he was struggling with her revelation.
“Did Macy know that Boomer wasn't his?” he asked again.
“I think he felt that Boomer wasn't his son, but he never spoke on it. Not once did he question me or speak his doubt aloud. He just took what I told him as truth, but I could see the skepticism in his eyes,” Fatima replied.