“Sir, when will that happen?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, still with his back to her.
She didn’t believe him. “Can’t you look it up in the computer or something?”
“No.”
Feeling defeated, she went back to the car and sat there, before deciding to go back to his apartment and wait for his call.
A week and a half went by and still nothing. Joy thought she was going to go crazy. Most of the time she sat in a daze, not knowing what to do. She called the police station but they wouldn’t tell her anything over the phone. After she had returned from the police station, she called a locksmith to fix the lock on the shop door. She only had half of the money left and she knew that wasn’t going to help her bail Kevin out.
She got up to use the bathroom and passed the bathroom mirror. Catching a glimpse of herself, she stopped and went back. Her face looked dry and her hair was all over the place. The white shirt she had on was wrinkled, and for the first time she noticed the odor coming from underneath her arms. She stripped off her clothes and hopped in the shower, making the water as hot as she could get it, to wash the days of dirt and funk off her body.
After her shower, she was surprised at how much better she felt. She threw on some jeans and a t-shirt and decided to go to the police station again. As she was closing the bedroom door, she heard footsteps coming up the back door entrance.
Kevin opened the door, looking like she had 30 minutes earlier. She rushed over to him and tried to hug him, but he pushed her away.
“Baby, I’m so glad you’re okay. What happened?” she said, trying to ignore his diss.
For a minute Kevin didn’t say anything. His jaws were clenched together like he was trying to control his anger. He took five deep breaths before he spoke. “Because of you I spent over a week in jail. I had to hire a lawyer I couldn’t afford, just to get out. They weren’t trying to let me out. The guy who was here was Josh’s cousin. He told the police that I killed his cousin.”
“Kevin, I —— ”
“You shut the fuck up and listen. They questioned me for hours about it, asking what kind of car I drive, telling me that a car that matches the make and model of a car registered to me was seen leaving the scene. Do I own a gun? You better be glad that gun wasn’t registered to me. I can’t believe you dragged me into this shit. I should have known you were more trouble than it was worth. Nothing but drama from the day I met you. The only reason I got out is because they had no proof. Joey admitted to coming over here and fucking up the shop. He had a gun on him; he was going to kill me,” he yelled in her face. “You fucked up my life and I only known you for like two months. I have to go to court in a few weeks. You know how much work I missed? That I’m gonna miss? Do you care? I should tell the police it was you.”
“Kevin, no,” Joy said, beginning to cry.
“Now you cry, you dumb bitch. I’m no snitch. They might drop the attempted murder charge, or rule it as self-defense. They didn’t charge him with anything because they say he was under duress. What if he comes after me again? I have to still deal with this mess, and my lawyer told me not to worry about the murder charge because they have no evidence.” His voice was much calmer now.
Joy didn’t know what to say. She was afraid he would go off if she said the wrong thing. So she stood there and looked at him, tears trickled down her face.
Kevin left the room and headed straight for the closet. He started pulling out all Joy’s clothes and shoes, piling them in the middle of the floor.
When Joy saw what he was doing, she ran to him and begged. “I never meant for this to happen, I’m sorry. Please don’t throw me out. I have nowhere to go.”
Kevin stopped and turned to look at Joy. She saw fight and pain in his eyes. Kevin turned his back and returned, piling all her stuff on his bedroom floor he said, “Get your shit and leave.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Joy looked out the window. It took five trash bags but she packed it all and pulled them outside, then sat on one and tried to think of what to do. The friends that she used to have, she hadn’t spoken to in a long time. She scrolled down her phone list and Tanya’s name stood out. She dialed and prayed that she would answer.
“Girl, you should have called me sooner,” Tanya yelled over the music.
Joy told her everything that had happened, Tanya wasn’t even mad. She told Joy she would be right there as soon as she got her boyfriend’s car. True to her word, twenty minutes later she was there. Now they were on their way to the boyfriend’s apartment, where Tanya stayed.
“Thank you for coming to get me. Are you sure your boyfriend won’t mind me staying at his apartment?”
“Yeah, I asked him before I left.”
Joy laid her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes. Tears burned behind her eyelids. She remembered the pain on Kevin’s face when he threw her out. She begged, cried, and reminded him she had nowhere else to go. He didn’t care. He was done. Kevin slammed the door behind her as she grabbed her last bag. She felt low and ashamed.
Forever Joy wanted to feel love and Kevin showed her that. She blamed him for giving up. Her heart became colder. She felt worst than when she didn’t have love and vowed never to fall for another dude. Love equals pain. She thought about the men in her life and realized they only hurt her. They each turned their backs on her when she needed them the most. Her father, Josh and even Kevin.
From that moment on Joy developed a hate for men. She looked at them as a way for pleasure or a come up to advance in life.
“Girl, don’t sweat that shit. That’s why you need a handful of dudes for when shit like this happens,” Tanya said, breaking her thoughts.
Joy didn’t respond. She kept her eyes closed until she felt the car stop. She looked out her window and saw a series of apartments.
Shit
, she thought to herself. They were the apartments near where they got rid of the gun. She started to panic, but then realized it didn’t matter. Nobody else knew.
Tanya called her boyfriend and told him to come get Joy’s bags. Three guys walked out, all sexy as hell. The two at the front had beautiful brown skin and were built, but when she saw the third one, her eyes almost jumped out of her head. He looked Dominican. He had pretty black curly hair and the smoothest mocha-colored skin. He smiled; his teeth were white and straight. The wife beater he had on showed off his big, muscular arms. Joy wanted to melt, and then she wanted to die when she watched him walk up to Tanya and kiss her. Tanya put both her arms around him and they pressed their bodies together.
One of the guys yelled out, “Ya’ll need to stop all that boo loving shit.”
“Shut up, Rob,” Tanya’s man replied.
“Aight. Everybody, this is Joy. Joy, this is my baby Shawn, his big mouth friend Rob, and the quiet one is Dre.”
“Wassup?” they all said.
“Hi,” Joy said.
They grabbed the bags and went into the apartment. Joy looked around. All the living room furniture was burgundy and the walls were painted cream. It had the most comfortable looking burgundy leather couch, a love seat, and two recliners. The carpet, also burgundy, was thick, and Joy wanted to take her shoes off to feel it on her feet. There was a mini bar and a huge plasma TV covered almost the whole wall. Joy was impressed.
“You can put your stuff in here,” Tanya said, leading her into one of the rooms. “This was Shawn’s son’s room, but his bitch of a baby mom refuses to let him come over since I moved in. Shawn can only see him at her house. Do you believe that shit?”
Joy looked at all the toys and the Sponge Bob TV in the corner and felt nothing but sadness. Her throat tightened and she fought the urge to cry as she stared at the five bags sitting side by side. Covering her face with both hands, she took several deep breaths. After taking some time controlling, she went into the living room, where the others were. Tanya and Shawn were sitting on the sofa. Dre was sitting on the love seat, and Rob on one of the recliners. So Joy took a seat in the one remaining recliner, almost moaning out loud when she sunk into the chair. Her whole body felt like it was floating.
She turned to the TV.
BET
was on. The new Game video was playing and everybody watched in silence, bobbing their heads. Joy looked around the room and noticed Dre rolling a dutch. She watched his fingers as he expertly rolled, her eyes traveling up his thick arms. She looked at the tattoos that lined both arms. Continuing her search, she looked up at his face.
He is so cute
. He had chocolate skin, long curled eyelashes, light brown eyes and a dimple on his right cheek. He kind of reminded her of Kevin.
After he finished rolling two dutches, he took a few puffs from both and then set them in motion. Joy’s heart started beating fast; she had never smoked before but didn’t want to be considered a lame, so when one of them came her way, she took it. On her first pull, her throat burned and she began to cough. Her lips felt numb and she coughed for ten minutes straight.
“Somebody get her some water,” Rob yelled. Everybody laughed.
“Here you go,” said Dre, handing her a glass.
She took the cup. “Thanks.” The wetness felt good going down her throat. Her coughing stopped but her throat hurt.
They continued to pass the dutch and Joy passed it on every time, not ready to give it another try.
Tanya got up, lit three candles and turned all the lights out. The flicker of the TV and the aroma of the weed and candles were very calming.
“Joy, you want a drink?” Shawn asked.
“Yeah.”
“Whatchu want?”
“Um, surprise me.” She tried to sound cool, having never drunk before.
She watched him mix her drink, imagining his arms around her and how his lips would feel. They looked so soft. She caught herself, hoping nobody had noticed her staring. Quickly, she turned to Tanya and breathed easy. Tanya was knocked out; head back, mouth wide open. Shawn handed her the drink and she took a sip.
“I like this. What is it?”
“Rum and Coke,” he replied, licking his lips.
Joy took a big gulp to push down the lump in her throat. She felt a tingle between her legs and prayed it would go away. She turned away and tried to concentrate on the TV. Rob and Dre started playing Madden. Joy’s eyes kept sliding back to Shawn, who was watching the game intently. Suddenly, he looked at her and she almost spilled what was left in her cup. She drunk it down quickly.
“Refill?” Shawn asked, smiling at her.
Joy handed him her cup without a word. He made her drink and handed it to her, then woke up Tanya and told her he was ready to go to bed. She got up and followed him into their room.
“What the fuck is that smell?” Dre shouted.
“Excuse me,” Rob said and laughed.
“You nasty mutherfucka.”
Joy burst out laughing, covering her nose. Rob farted again and they all laughed. Tanya came out of the bedroom in just a shirt, nothing else, the bottom of her butt cheeks hanging out, and went into the bathroom. Rob’s eyes followed her the whole way. After a few minutes, Rob got up and went into the bathroom. Joy looked at Dre and then back at the bathroom door. Dre got up and laid down on the couch, completely dismissing the situation. Muffled moans came from the bathroom. She couldn’t believe that they would be so bold, with Shawn in the next room.
Joy went to get up and go to her room, but when she tried to stand up she became dizzy and fell back in the chair. Dre jumped up and helped her. She didn’t even feel herself walking. It was like she was flying. It seemed like seconds later she felt herself drop onto the bed. Her eyes hurt and she couldn’t keep them open. She didn’t even hear Dre leave the room as she curled up and went to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-three