The Score (19 page)

“Miss. Miss. What airline?” the cabdriver called out to me, breaking up my nightmarish memory. I blinked a few times to shake it off.

“Oh, um, American,” I said, finally opening my eyes to see that we had already made it to the airport.

I took a deep breath and hoped for the best. I contemplated backing out of the trip back to Virginia Beach but each time I told myself not to go, something tugging at my conscience would propel me forward. I was at the airport now. It was final. I was going back. It was up to God now.

I had spoken to Daysha and she had confirmed for me that Mrs. Shepherd was in bad condition. Daysha had laid it on thick with the guilt trip about me coming to see Mrs. Shepherd. By the time I had finished speaking to Daysha, I was an emotional wreck. I thought she would've still been mad at me from the gift card situation, but I guess she put it on the back burner because of what was going on with my foster mother. I was glad for that.

I will say that she didn't know the entire reason behind why I had left town. I had only told her that I was leaving Matt for cheating on me again. She knew how Matt could get, so the story and the fact that I needed to leave town just fit together perfectly. I told her I needed to hide out for a while and that when I got settled I'd let her know where I was so she could visit. That was the truth, though. I couldn't wait until I felt it was safe to let Daysha know where I was. I missed hanging with crazy-ass Daysha. She always knew how to make me laugh even when I was feeling depressed. I was definitely going to make sure I took care of Daysha after the dust cleared. She was my girl. I wanted so badly to give her some of the money when I first got my hands on it, but that would've meant telling her the entire story, which I couldn't. I loved Daysha to death but I knew Daysha's mouth ran like water, especially when it came to talking about money. If I had told her my plans about the lick and how I was going to steal all of the proceeds from Matt and Yancy, before long the entire hood would've known. Even with the credit card and check operation, I would've loved to add Daysha to the mix instead of that traitor Yancy, but I knew how much Daysha talked and bragged. She was never any good at keeping secrets. She was also a loose cannon when it came to spending money and showboating. Daysha liked to act like she had more than she actually did. I was guilty of that, too, so I couldn't judge her too much.

I did plan on hitting Daysha off when I got to the safe, though. After all, she was the only person I could trust. I would just have to tell her I hit the number or something. I chuckled just thinking about how she'd react when I told her I won the lottery.

Daysha had agreed to pick me up at the Norfolk International Airport. At least she sounded happy to get a chance to see me. I begged her not to tell anyone I was coming. I hoped she had kept her promise. I didn't even want my sister, Mariah, to know I was in town. It would open up a whole situation I wasn't prepared to deal with.

I was mentally fried by the time my plane landed in Norfolk. I hurried out of the airport wearing dark shades and a head scarf. I'd dressed up simply because I didn't want Daysha to think anything about me had changed. When I lived in Virginia Beach I always kept myself well put together so I had to keep it up.

I spotted Daysha waving at me. Instantly a smile spread over my lips. I happily rushed toward Daysha's little Hyundai. It felt so good to see her.

“My boo is back,” Daysha cheered as I opened the back door and dumped my bag onto the backseat.

“Girl, damn. This was so unexpected. I'm so happy to see you, boo,” I huffed as I flopped into the front passenger seat. “And damn you're looking good. Love the new hair,” I said, smiling.

“Humph. You too. Looking mighty rich,” Daysha said snidely.

“Oh please. Far from it,” I replied with a little chuckle. “And what? You don't miss a bitch enough to give me a damn hug?” I joked.

“Girl, you know my mind be all over the place,” Daysha said. We both reached over from our seats and gave each other a quick hug.

“Are you hungry?” Daysha asked as we pulled out of the airport.

I looked at my watch. I was on a time restraint. I needed to get to the hospital and then to the assisted living place so I could get the hell out of town before anybody got wind of me being in town.

“No, girl, I ate in the airport,” I answered quickly. I looked at my watch again. I didn't want to make Daysha feel like I was just using her for a ride.

“Well I'm hungry and we are not going anywhere until we stop at our spot and grab some food. We have a whole lot of catching up to do. Shit, you've been gone three damn months. I'm not letting you get away that easily for three more long damn months,” Daysha said. She was leaving me no choice. I let out a long breath.

My heart sped up. I balled my toes up in my shoes.

“Um . . . I . . . I . . . really can't stop, boo,” I said nervously. “This was not a pleasure trip. I have to check on Mrs. S., take care of a little business, and bounce before anyone gets wind that I'm here. Which I hope is still a secret,” I said. I hated to disappoint her like that. Guilt immediately trampled on my mood.

“Uh-huh. First of all it is still a secret because who was I going to tell? But you are not going to just come into town and run back out without at least having lunch with me. Hell no, Lauren. I will be putting your ass in the used-to-be-friends category if we can't even sit down for a few minutes and chat,” Daysha snapped. I knew she was serious, too. I didn't want to lose her as a friend.

“Okay. Okay. But look, we have to eat, catch up a little bit . . . and then I really have to run, Daysha. I'm not even spending the night in town,” I told her. “Deal?”

Daysha let out a long, exasperated breath and twisted her lips.

“You know you get on my damn nerves being so damn bossy all the time. Okay, deal. You spoiled damn brat,” Daysha relented jokingly. I laughed at her.

“You're the one that just threw a tantrum because I said I couldn't do lunch and you're calling me spoiled? Your ass is still as crazy as ever,” I replied with a laugh. Damn, I loved Daysha. A true ride-or-die chick who never let me down.

“So to make the most of our time, start catching me up now,” I said as we drove toward downtown. “I know your Ms. Benita ass got all of the scoop for me.” We both laughed.

Daysha smacked her lips, and sang in the ghetto bird way she always did, “Shit, girl, it's so much stuff going on in the damn hood I don't even know where to start . . . Okay. Wait. Let me start with the craziest shit to happen. Your man—” She stopped and rethought her words when she saw the hostile side eye I gave her. “I mean Matt. That condo he was living in burned to the ground and it was real suspicious. Suspicious as in Randy's lil brother says he saw two hulking dudes walking away from your place just as smoke began shooting out.” Daysha paused and smacked her lips again, so I knew the next bit was going to be even more juicy . . . or tragic, judging by what she'd just told me.

“And then he saw Matt crawling from the place looking like he'd just lost a fight with The Rock. I mean, he was beat up like hamburger. Crazy, right? And would you believe his boys on the block, I mean his ex-soliders, just stood by and let them dudes get away with . . .”

I just stared at her. Blank. No expression. But inside my mind was whirling, like what the hell was going on!? Leaving Matt high and dry was my revenge; I really hadn't had any fantasies of Matt getting a beatdown. I'm not saying he didn't deserve it for all the dirty he'd done to me, but I didn't want that kind of karma. No, I didn't want to lay a hand on him, I just wanted him to be broke, desperate, and miserable because he'd fucked up a good thing. But back to what Daysha was saying.

“. . . and word on the other side of the block is that Yancy is pregnant with Matt's baby,” Daysha said in a gossipy old lady voice. “Mmmm hmmm. Yup. They saying she is big-time pregnant, like seven months along. Like Matt is going to be a father any day now type of shit,” Daysha reported. “If he ever tried to deny it, there's your proof there. That baby proves that they were fucking on the side. That bastard!” Daysha finished up her news with a wave of her hand, like she was Vanna White revealing the final letter.

My entire body got hot. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I was immediately feeling crushed, but I put on my brave face. I was not going to let this throw me off from what I'd come back to accomplish.

“Oh really? Well I guess he's her problem now. Good fucking luck with that. Matt is selfish so he won't even be able to give of himself enough for a child,” I replied as if the news didn't even bother me. In actuality, I felt like someone had driven a knife right into the center of my chest and kept turning it and turning it. Daysha could've kept that little tidbit of information to herself.

“Mmm. Hmm. That's what I said when I heard about it. I know everything you been through with that nigga. But I ain't gon' lie. If I was you I would feel some kind of way. Especially because you couldn't hold one in for the nigga after all of those tries,” Daysha said. The end of her statement landed in my brain like a hard kick to my skull. A sharp pain literally exploded at my temple when she said it.

I whipped my head to the side and shot her a dirty look. I didn't even realize that my chest was heaving, but I could feel the wave of emotion swelling in my throat in the form of a hard lump that had formed there.

“Why the fuck would you say such a cruel thing!” I shot back. I could not believe she had brought up the three miscarriages I'd suffered over the years. “My struggles have nothing to do with Matt and his nasty bitch. That was nothing to bring up,” I said, my voice rising and falling with emotion.

Daysha of all people knew how painful those experiences had been for me. Even now, I felt like screaming and crying just thinking about it. Especially the one I carried and didn't know that I was pregnant. It had taken me months to recover from that. Matt reacted like an asshole too. He had spent days out drinking with his friends. I guess he didn't know how to deal with his grief either.

My head was swirling with the pain of thinking about my failed pregnancies on top of hearing that Yancy was pregnant by my man. I really felt like crying when I thought about it. Yancy was going to give Matt the most precious gift a woman could give a man and I had been unable to do that. I was crushed inside. Once again those feelings of inferiority I had experienced when I first found out about Matt and Yancy were back. It was the first of many things that made me regret coming back.

“That was so fucked up, Daysha. I'm really thrown off by that coming from you,” I said, breaking the awkward, tension-filled silence that had enveloped the inside of the car.

“Oh oops. My bad, boo. I didn't realize that still bothered you. I mean you left the nigga like a thief in the night . . . or so I heard. I didn't think you'd care what he was doing now,” Daysha said matter-of-factly. I had to do a double take and make sure this was my best friend, my road dog, my ride-or-die who I was riding with and not an imposter. Not even ten minutes earlier she was all saying how she missed me and wanted to catch up. Now, she had turned into a bitch.

“Damn. Whose side are you on, Daysha? You sound real crazy right now,” I said, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Just real unexpected coming from you. Especially because we haven't seen each other in forever. I thought this little quick visit was going to be all about laughs and catching up.”

“Ohhh, boo. Don't take it the wrong way. I'm always on your side. Always. But, sometimes we all need a little reality check about life. I am just stating the facts and giving you the scoop . . . nothing more . . . nothing less. This is not about sides. I don't have to pick sides when I'm telling the truth,” she said flatly. Then she let out a raucous laugh. Something wasn't right about my best friend, but I didn't have time to piece it together.

I just fell silent. I was still going to have a quick lunch with her, but after it was over I would just go about my business. I had decided I didn't need her to chauffeur me around. I'd take a taxi to the place. Something about her was different in a way that I couldn't place a finger on. Maybe she was mad that I left town and didn't give her much detail? Maybe she was mad that I looked so good? It wouldn't be the first time Daysha had gotten jealous of me. I didn't know what her problem was and in my assessment, I didn't have time right now to figure it all out.

In and out of Virginia Beach. That was my plan. Little did I know a bunch of other people, including my so-called best friend, had different plans for me.

MATT

I
pulled my fitted cap down farther on my head and slid down a little bit in the driver's seat of the rental car I had Daysha rent for me. When I spotted Lauren for the first time since she had betrayed me, something inside of me started ticking like what I would imagine the inside of a bomb to feel like right before it exploded. The feeling I was experiencing was surreal to say the least.

So much shit had happened to me since the last time I saw Lauren. I felt like someone's eyes were constantly on me. I noticed it after the condo burned down, and even though I tried to ignore it, there was no mistaking that I was being hunted. I coulda sworn I was about to get jacked as I left Ryan's house, but the SUV tailing me did nothing. Spooky as shit to not know why I was being followed and why those thugs left me for dead in my burning condo. All I knew was this situation had something to do with Lauren. She either set me up or . . .

I squinted my eyes into slits and blew air out of my flaring nostrils like a bull on attack. Up until that moment, I didn't know how I would feel or react if I had ever laid eyes on Lauren again, but now I knew. I was having an out-of-body experience because I could actually see myself rushing from the rental car, running up to Lauren, pulling out my gun, and murdering her in front of thousands of witnesses while she stood outside at the cab stand of the airport. I blinked a few times and realized that I was still sitting in the car. I touched my waist where I had my burner locked and loaded. My hands were shaking fiercely trying to keep myself from pulling that shit out.

“You so lucky, bitch,” I whispered harshly. I bit my bottom lip so hard I could taste the sting of my own blood on my tongue.

I swear on everything I love it was taking everything inside of me not to run up on Lauren with my burner and blow her fucking head right off her shoulders. Besides there being too many witnesses, I knew it would be wise to wait. I knew she didn't have the money on her but I also knew that it had to be very close. Sometimes it felt like I knew Lauren better than she knew herself. I took her in when she was just a teenage girl looking to be taken care of. I watched her become the woman she is today, so it baffled me why she thought she could ever get away from me after she stole my fucking money.

I watched her every move until Daysha showed up and picked her up. My body felt hot all over watching that Lauren's smug ass saunter toward her car like she was a fucking celebrity. She walked like one of those rich chicks that didn't have a care in the world. She probably felt like it too. I'm sure Lauren most likely thought I would never have a reason to be near the airport and that she could dip in and out of town without me ever finding out. The fucking joke was on her. Little did Lauren know she was about to be sitting in the car with Daysha—the worst traitor since Sammy “The Bull” Gravano.

I snorted and shook my head left to right in disgust. Lauren looked real good in all of her designer threads, with her head and eyes covered like some high society, black version of Jackie O. She was always good at fronting like she had it all together. Most people admired her but I knew the real Lauren Kelly. The Lauren Kelly who was thrown around from one foster home to the next. The Lauren Kelly whose mother was the neighborhood ho and back-alley-sucking-dick crackhead. Lauren was one of those chicks that I considered the lowest of the low in the hood. I had only chosen her because she was gorgeous and most of the niggas in the hood wanted her but couldn't have her. At first it was a competition thing for me, but I can't front, I fell in love with her after a while. I had bitches back then that were real high class, not fakes like Lauren became. I had chicks who went to college, had degrees and were professionals. They might've been attracted to me for the money I had at the time, but so was dirty-ass Lauren. I was so furious now that I didn't realize I was gripping the steering wheel so hard the veins in my wrists were cording against my skin. There was no anger worse than a broken fucking heart. I see now why niggas ended up doing life behind a chick. Some say it was ego but I say that it was truly being heartbroken that men couldn't handle. I was feeling that shit right then.

“If you run up on the bitch right now you'll never get the money. All you will end up with is a life sentence. Stick to the fucking plan. Go home, smoke a blunt, and chill until you get the call from Daysha,” I grumbled out loud to myself. It was taking a lot of convincing because my trigger finger was itching.

I watched Lauren throw her bag in Daysha's backseat and get into the car. There was a bit of a pause before Daysha's car pulled away from the airport's pickup curb. My hands were itching against the steering wheel and my foot was tapping on the gas pedal. “Don't do it. Don't do it.”

I sucked in my bottom lip. I had to exercise great restraint to keep myself from pulling out behind that fucking car. The way I was feeling, there was no telling exactly what I would've done to Lauren. I was liable to bust shots into Daysha's back windshield, which would've only landed my ass back in the clink. I sat there staring and thinking until I could no longer see any traces of the car.

When Daysha's car was fully disappeared from the airport, I sent Daysha a quick text message:

I pulled out of the airport and turned up some Rick Ross in the rental. I needed something to keep me calm, but also keep my head in the game. All of this shit was almost over. I would have the money soon and Lauren's ass would be in the morgue.

Back at the condo I couldn't rest. I tried all types of shit to make my mind relax. Even a full blunt of the best bud in Virginia ain't do that trick. My nerves were on a wire's edge and my whole body still hurt from the beatdown I got from those strange dudes. I could not sit still to save my life.

First, I paced Buddha's condo at least ten times going over the plans in my head incessantly. I rearranged shit in my closet and made a pile of the shit Lauren had left behind so I could burn it later. I counted the money I had took from Ryan. I rolled a couple more blunts for my reserve stash. None of those things could stop my imagination from running wild about what was going on with Lauren and Daysha. I must have checked my cell phone every minute since I had gotten home. All of this hard-pressed, stressing behavior wasn't me. All of these years I had prided myself in always being cool under pressure. I was a boss so why the hell was I acting like a straight-up bitch?

“Yo, nigga, you straight trippin'. You a boss, nigga. Shit is going to work out,” I told myself. Even I couldn't convince myself that everything was going to be all right. By the time I finished moving around the condo like a crazy person I was sweaty as hell.

I went and took a shower to calm myself down. As I got out of the shower I heard my cell phone ringing.

“Oh shit!” I huffed, breaking into a run to get the phone from my nightstand.

“Hello?” I wolfed into the phone. “Hello?” I said again. There was no voice on the line but I could hear background noise and breathing. My whole body went cold. The last time I answered the phone and got no response, I got jacked and almost torched. This couldn't be happening a second time—this had to be a coincidence. I racked my brain for someone who could be playing this silly phone game.

“Yo, stop fucking playing, whoever this is. I can fucking hear you breathing, you stupid-ass cunt,” I barked. My damn nerves were too touchy for games at that moment. I hung up the call and looked at the screen. Unknown. I had been getting mad unknown calls and the person just always breathed into the phone but didn't say shit. Honestly, I thought for sure it was Yancy this time. It was like I just couldn't get rid of that crazy bitch.

“Fuck!” I cursed. I slumped down on the couch and flicked on the TV. I needed to find something funny to watch so I could shake the edgy nerves and the bad mood I was in. As soon as the TV screen came on, the news was the first thing popped up. Just as I was about to change the channel I heard some shit that caught my attention....

Yo, it was like a bomb had just exploded in the room. The reporter's words resounded like firecrackers in my ears.

“Ain't this about a bitch!” I sprang up on my legs like a jack-in-the-box. I literally had to pinch myself to make sure that I wasn't trapped in some crazy-ass nightmare. I couldn't believe that my fucking name and picture were floating around on the news. But, worst of all, I couldn't believe that police were calling me out as the sole suspect. I don't know how they figured it out, but since they did, how could they not know Lauren was involved? How did that bitch manage to get away free and clear?

This score was supposed to put me on top, but at every turn it looked like I was digging my own grave. I looked around the living room, suddenly paranoid. The cops were on to me, so I had to be careful. They could come crashing in the door any minute to drag me back to the pen. Crashing at the condo Buddha had set me up in was now more than temporary housing—it was my hideout. It would take the cops a while to go down my list of known associates and question everyone about my whereabouts. By the time they dug in and tracked me to Buddha's condo, I planned to be long gone.

“Argh!” This could not be happening to me right now. Not when I am so close to catching this bitch Lauren and getting all of the money back. This shit could not be happening!

“Argh!” I growled again, sending the TV remote crashing into the wall across from me. “I can't fucking win!” I howled. “Argh!” I swiped everything off the coffee table onto the floor and then like the Incredible Hulk I hoisted the entire table up and threw it over onto its side. “Argh!” The bookshelf went crashing to the floor. I sent more things flying across the room and into the walls. I went on a rampage tearing the condo up until I was finally exhausted.

I stalked to the bedroom and plopped down on the side of the bed. I put my head in my hands and squeezed my scalp. I had to think now. The more I thought, the more I could see my world going up in flames. I was a wanted man and my name plus my face was all over the news. The news report played over and over in my head. The news reporter had said the police have a cooperating witness, which in the hood means a fucking snitch. In my assessment, that could only be one person . . . fucking Yancy. She was the only person alive, aside from Lauren and me, that knew about the lick.

“That bitch. I will kill her, too,” I huffed.

I knew I should have at least tried to make shit right with Yancy two weeks ago when she came by the condo to tell me she was pregnant. I couldn't process that information at the time. I was looking dead at her swollen stomach but I couldn't even grasp the fact that the baby was mine. I guess it was a knee-jerk reaction when I had told her that it wasn't no fucking baby of mine and that she better go find the trick she had gotten pregnant by. I knew it was wrong when I was saying it, but I couldn't help it. I was wrong for dissing Yancy like that, but after Lauren lost our babies I had completely given up on being a father. When Yancy brought that shit to me, I was just thrown off. Losing those babies with Lauren had really hurt 'cause I had always wanted a seed of my own. Now, chances were I was going to be a father for the first time and I would be on the run and never see my seed at all. All of this stress had me contemplating putting my own gun in my mouth and pulling the trigger.

As I sat there regretting ever getting involved with Yancy, my cell buzzed with a text from Daysha:

“Fuck!” I growled. I text Daysha back.

There was no way I could get caught right now after what I'd heard on the news. I was positive the cops would be swarming around that assisted living place, thinking I might come through there with Lauren. The entire plan to get Lauren's ass back and to get the money back was a bust. Now, I was going to have to wait for it to get dark, take what I had left from my raid of Ryan's safe, and bounce. Leaving Virginia Beach was my only option right now, but that was going to be real hard with the good and the bad guys searching for me.