Authors: Mike Sanders
I had a finger in my right ear, trying to drown out the loud noise those big ass tires on J.T.’s Hummer was making as we zoomed down 1-85. My cell was pressed against my left ear as I tried to make out what Sapphire was saying on the other end.
I tried to calm her down, “Take a deep breath gurl and calm down.”
“They shot him, Justice! They shot him!” she was crying.
“
They
Who? And who got shot?” I asked with concern because she was crying hysterically.
“He’d just left my house. I mean, he hadn’t been gone five minutes. Somebody was waiting for him. Oh my, God.”
“
He
who?” I asked again because I had no idea of whom she was referring to. At first I thought it was Red because he’d been the last person I’d seen her with. Then I thought that maybe it was that dog ass Travis.
But she shocked the hell out of me when she said, “Cross! They killed Cross!”
“
Who
? What the hell?”
Now, I was really confused. I started to say something but I heard her speaking with someone in the background.
“Justice, the police wanna talk to me. Please come over here. Please!”
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in a minute,” I assured her. “J.T., speed up. Damn!”
It seemed as if the truck was traveling at a snail’s pace. I looked over and noticed J.T. looking at me with inquisitive eyes as I ended my call with Sapphire. I knew he wanted to know what was going on.
Just to curb his curiosity I told him, “Something just happened at Sapphire’s house.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” he stated sarcastically.
I looked at him and wanted to say something smart but I held my tongue.
“Who was it?” he asked.
I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “You probably don’t know him.”
I was looking out the window. He was still periodically glaring at me so I told him, “It was a guy who used to run wit’ my brother. A guy named Cross.”
As soon as I said the name I felt the truck swerve. I looked over at J.T. and noticed his eyes had gotten wide as hell and the blood seemed to have drained from his chocolate face.
“Damn, you aiight? You knew him or something?” I asked curiously.
“I got a cousin named Ross, he out here wildin’. I hope it wasn’t him,” he replied while regaining his composure.
“I said
Cross
, not Ross,” I corrected him.
“Oh, okay. I thought you said Ross,” he breathed a sigh of relief.
When we finally reached Sapphire’s neighborhood I saw that two police cars blocked off her street. I could see a taxi cordoned off by Crime Scene Investigators along with a slew of other officials that were checking out the scene. I assumed whatever had happened, happened inside that taxi. I could also see Sapphire’s house from where we were parked and I noticed my brother’s motorcycle parked next to my car in her driveway.
“I’ma get out right here,” I told J.T.
I gathered my handbag and bent down to slide my sandals back on. I was getting ready to exit the truck when J.T. asked if I was gonna be okay. The genuine concern in his voice made me smile. Unlike most men, J.T. seemed to be sensitive to a woman’s feelings and that was one of the reasons why I liked him and why I wasn’t in a rush to let Monk lay him down.
“I’m good, thanks.”
I leaned over and kissed those luscious lips, which were giving LL’s a run for his money. As soon as our lips met, I began to have flashbacks of the previous night. J.T. had done me oh so right! I could’ve sworn that his room had rotated when he’d made me cum. I had to break our lip lock before our hormones got out of control again.
“I’ll call you later, okay.”
I was still rubbing his chest while gazing into his eyes, not really wanting him to leave. But I knew I couldn’t let him stay because he’d probably end up finding out more about me than I wanted him to due to the tragedy that had just taken place.
“Make sure you call me and let me know you’re okay,” he stated as I was exiting the truck.
I closed the door behind me, waved goodbye as I walked down the sidewalk towards Sapphire’s house. I watched curiously as the police did their jobs. They were taking photos of the taxi and the area of the ground surrounding it. At several yards away I could clearly see blood on the windshield and what looked like the driver’s head slumped onto the steering wheel. I felt a shiver run through me as I watched this scene that looked like something straight out of a movie. I looked back and saw that J.T. was still parked in the same spot. He was looking at the taxi as well. When he saw me looking at him he waved at me once more and slowly pulled off.
“Ice!” I heard my name being called.
Looking up, I saw my brother walking towards me looking vexed.
“Why you didn’t answer ya damn phone when I called you? Had a nigga worried about your ass.” He looked at J.T.’s Hummer pulling off and added, “Neva mind, I see why. Let me find out you feelin’ dat nigga.” He looked at me curiously. “Don’t let the dick make you slip.”
I ignored him and thought back to when I’d missed his call. He had called while I was in the middle of having my fourth orgasm that afternoon. I’d planned to call him back later because I didn’t think it was anything important. As I looked around at the scene I was finally seeing what his call had been about.
“My phone was dead.” I lied while approaching Sapphire’s front yard.
I saw her standing on her front porch in a pair of gym shorts, a baggy T-shirt and a pair of flip-flops. Her hair was wrapped in a scarf and her eyes were blood-shot red and very puffy, obviously from crying. She had her arms folded across her chest while talking to an officer who was listening and taking notes on a small tablet.
My brother was at my side and I could tell he was heated. He just kept staring at the taxi and shaking his head. One of his crime partners had just gotten slain and I couldn’t even imagine what was probably going through his mind at that instance. I was somewhat confused and still didn’t know what the hell was going on. As Monk and I stood in the driveway near my car I was trying to piece that crazy ass puzzle together.
“What was you and Cross doin’ over here?” I asked curiously.
“I just got here right before you did. I’on’ know what Cross was doin’ over here. But fuck what he was doin’ over here, that don’t even matter. Somebody slumped that nigga!” Monk was leaning up against my car. He dug into his pocket for a cigarette and lit one up. I could tell he wanted some answers.
The atmosphere was solemn and the ambience of death was in the air. I’d never been afraid of death, but when it hits close to home it makes you think,
Damn, that could have been me!
I stood there and watched my girl answer the officer’s questions while periodically glancing at me with a peculiar look in her eyes. The more I watched her, the more familiar that look became. When you wear your heart on your sleeve the look in your eye tells a tale.
“Oh, hell no. I know she wasn’t…” I mumbled as realization dawned on me.
“She wasn’t what?” Monk asked in between puffs of his cigarette.
“She was fuckin’ that boy,” I stated. The look in Sapphire’s eyes told it all and I picked up on it. “That’s why she said he had just left her house. And that’s why she so upset. No wonder she was so hysterical. She was screwing that nigga,” I stated while eyeing her with a knowing look.
“Cross and Phire?” Monk was pointing over his shoulder at Sapphire. “Hell, nah,” he said in disbelief.
“Hell nah”
was exactly what I’d thought as well, but my girl’s eyes told a totally different story.
Just then, I saw Sapphire and the officer shake hands, which indicated that their conversation had ended. I walked over to the porch where she was standing and Monk was directly on my heels. I held open my arms and embraced Sapphire with a sisterly hug while she sniffled and let the last of her tears roll down her chocolate cheeks.
Patting her on the back, I whispered, “It’s okay, ma-ma, let it out.”
We held one another for a moment before breaking our hug, then we all went inside. Monk took a seat in the living room while Sapphire and I went into her bedroom. As soon as we entered the room I started with her.
“How long?” I asked.
“How long what?” she asked back while entering her bathroom to wash her face.
I looked around her room and noticed that her bed was sheetless. The unmade bed had confirmed the suspicions that had been swirling through my head.
“How long you been fuckin’ wit’ that boy?” I asked matter of factly.
Sapphire replied from the bathroom.
“Gurl, you know I ain’t did nuthin’ like th—”
“So he just stopped by to say hi?” I asked, cutting here off, yelling into the bathroom. Sapphire knew she couldn’t lie to me without me seeing straight through her game like it was glass. We’d been friends
way
too long.
She re-entered the bedroom, plopped down onto her bed, and looked at me with that look a person has when they know they’ve been busted.
She let out a deep sigh, then stated, “About a week after we met them that night of the Embassy Suites thing.”
For a slight moment I was in disbelief, but then I had to acknowledge whom I was dealing with. Sapphire’s men magnet
always
attracted niggas like that so I shouldn’t have been so surprised. She conveyed to me about how she had hooked up with Cross the previous night and how he had called a cab that morning and then was gunned down as soon as the cab left her driveway. I began to become concerned because it was evident that whomever had been responsible for Cross’s death had obviously watched him leave her house. They may have also been watching Sapphire as well. I told her my concerns.
“Oh shit! You think they want me too ’cause he was at my house?” Sapphire was getting scared.
“I hope not. Just stay on your Ps and Qs and if you see anything that don’t look right call the police.”
We went back into the living room where my brother was still seated and I told him what Sapphire and I had discussed. Monk had even more reasons to be concerned about Cross’s murder because he had been hanging with him and had even robbed with him on a few occasions.
Maybe
his
life was in danger as well.
Monk decided that he would have to be even more on point now than ever before, at least until he could find out the circumstances surrounding Cross’s demise. He even called D.C. and told him everything he’d heard from me and Sapphire. Even I was in a state of apprehension because the two people I cared about more than anything in this world could have possibly been in danger.
Monk left after about an hour or so after our conversation, leaving Sapphire and I alone. We had a few drinks and tried to relax so we could get our minds off of what had just happened. She told me about her cousin’s phone call.
“Joy called and left a message on my voicemail this morning.”
She told me what Joy had said about J.T. and his cousin and my response to this was, “Fuck Joy! Her hatin’ ass needs to get some damn bizness.”
I thought,
That damn girl is always hatin. It never stops with that silly heifer.
Joy was jealous as hell and enjoyed keeping that thing called
misery
company. But I wasn’t getting ready to feed into her childish drama.
Sapphire and I chatted for a while before I decided it was time for me to head on home.
“You gonna be okay here by yourself? You sure you don’t wanna come to my place for the night?”
I was concerned about her. She assured me that she would be fine, so I left and headed home to relax. As soon as I stepped inside my condo I kicked off my sandals and began removing my clothes, going straight to the bathroom to run some bath water. I was in dire need of a hot bubble bath because J.T. had left me with aching limbs due to all of the acrobatic positions he had put me through the previous night.
Apricot scented oils from Victoria’s Secret had my bathroom smelling delectable as I climbed into the tub with a tall frosted glass of Nuvo. All lights were out and the dim room was illuminated by candles as I relaxed and treated my body to a much-needed soak.
The rest of my night consisted of me drinking and watching television until my eyelids got heavy. I finally passed out after the eleven o’clock news went off. The last report I remembered seeing was about Cross’s murder. They reported that the police were on the lookout for a navy blue SUV. Neither make nor model was mentioned.
I slept the night away peacefully until my phone rang early the next morning, bringing me out of my alcohol-induced slumber. I rubbed my eyes and looked over at the clock and noticed the time.
“Who da hell callin’ here this goddamn early?” I hissed as I squinted at the sunlight that had peeked its way through my venetian blinds. I rolled over and snatched up the phone from my nightstand.
“Yeah?” I answered in a tired and agitated voice, ready to go off on whoever it was. However, what I heard the person on the other end of the phone relay to me snapped me wide-awake, and had me gasping for air!
I sat around and thought long and hard about what I’d gotten myself into. The game I had initiated myself into was
no
joke. I really started having major regrets for asking Justice to put me on with her hustle because it was just too dangerous. Whoever had gunned Cross down was more than likely someone who he’d robbed and the retribution he’d paid was something you can not give back. There were so many things I wished I could say to him. So many feelings and emotions I wished I could’ve expressed to him to let him know that he had someone in this cruel world that truly cared about him. The more I thought about him the more my heart ached. I felt as if I’d dissected the bitter ending of his life from what little I actually knew about him, and I ended up keeping the wrong piece.
I thought back to when I’d helped Justice gain entry to the house in Rock Hill and wondered if this incident with Cross had been a repercussion from that. If so, I knew those girls definitely knew what me and Justice’s faces looked like. So many thoughts swirled through my head, to the point in which I’d ended up with a brain-throbbing migraine. This night definitely called for a couple of Valiums.