by Mercy B
Rain began to sprinkle, splattering drops on the large windows throughout. Clouds had gathered and began to deposit, both physically and emotionally. The usually inviting atmosphere had evaporated into thin air and been replaced with a cold, lonely whiff of despair. Nothing would ever be the same.
Outside of her parent’s bedroom, Reign stood for over five minutes. Tears stained her pretty brown cheeks and diluted her effort to pull herself together long enough to say the few words she’d come to say. She hadn’t left their family’s home; not even for a minute.
Closing her eyes, Reign attempted to relieve the burning sensation that occurred due to the tears uprooting the mascara that she’d managed to coat her lashes with this morning. She hadn’t bothered with any other form of makeup and had only spruced up her lashes out of pure habit.
Flashbacks of the fatal moments came rushing in. The screams. The blood. The feeling of the AK that she clenched in her arms as she sprayed everything in the distance. The sound of her ammunition being reloaded. Again. And, Again. The knowledge of Kierce standing beside her letting his guns blow while her mother showed her ass with the piece she was toting. The heart-wrenching sound of her father’s pleas before he succumbed to the same silence he was beckoning for her brother to be released from.
Sniffles and grunts were blasted through the silent hallways with them being the only indication of sound and movement throughout the entire home. Reign’s eyes popped open as she witnessed the bodies laying on the cellar’s floor for the millionth time. The scene had replayed itself over and over without remorse. It had gotten to the point where sleep wasn’t an option for her.
I can’t. Reign admitted while wiping her nose with the butt of her sleeve.
“Go ahead,” she heard a faint whisper from behind. “It is time.”
Nodding, she convinced herself that her husband was accurate. She hadn’t heard him walk up behind her, but was grateful for the warmth that he covered her with as his arms wrapped around her body and squeezed. He’d been the most doting during her lapse in rolls. With everything going on, she had been separated from her children, who were in another ward of their family home, during her time of grief. Kierce was the glue that held them all together.
Reign nodded, attempting to get her thoughts aligned. “Yes. It is time,” she whispered in agony.
Stepping forward, Reign waited for her husband to supply the space needed for the task at hand. Kierce stepped off, but not before giving her a reassuring rub of the shoulder. She leaned into his large hand and wiped the tears from her sore eyes onto it. For her, Kierce’s heart had ruptured a million times during the course of her emotional stint.
The woman he had been aiding was merely a shell of the one he’d fallen face first for. Either version was lovable, but this Reign was just breaking his heart into pieces. Knowing that there was nothing he could say or do to uplift her spirit was eating him alive, but he didn’t let it stop him from simply being there. Being present and loving on her even when she couldn’t love herself. It was his job and he took it seriously. Top priority, it was.
Alone, again, Reign lifted her right hand and softly knocked on the door in front of her. With her left hand, she twisted the nob and entered the bedroom. The gloom that covered the sky was nothing in comparison to the melancholy ambiance that haunted her parent’s bedroom. The curtains on the large windows had been replaced with thick black comforters that were nailed to the wall. There was no way that sunlight could reach the inside even if it did decide to appear. Other than the darkness and the new window décor, everything else was pretty much the same and that was what Reign was most afraid of. Bella’s small frame was balled into a knot on the left side of the bed which didn’t belong to her. It was his side.
Stepping further into the room and closing the door behind her, Reign closed in on her mother. Bella’s skin was pale, nearly white with no traces of color. Her eyes were nearly swollen shut from the amount of tears they’d cried. From a few feet away, Reign could smell the foulness that emitted from her body. Disregarding it, she stepped even closer. She could see that her mother was still in the same clothes she’d left her in. Even after a million attempts to get her to eat, she refused to move. Refused to say a word. Reign required a second and took it by halting and closing her eyes. At the sight of the attire her mother’s body clung to, the visions reappeared. She was still covered in his blood. Their blood. Both RahMeek and Heavy. She hadn’t showered in what seemed like forever. Her hair stuck to the side of her face and lips were crusted something awful.
“Mom,” Reign’s voice was barely audible.
There had been so many tears and so much crying that it hurt to even open her mouth. She’d been goggling with salt water, per Kierce’s request, but the sessions were pointless with the ongoing emotional battle she was facing.
“You have to get dressed. The cars will be here in a minute,” she pled.
Reign expected more silence, but was met with a sniffle before her mother’s eyes found hers. “I can’t,” she repeated the words that Reign had thought to herself just a minute prior. “I can’t do this without the…”
“Mom, we must. I need to get you up and in the shower,” Reign pushed forward despite her mother’s lack of cooperation.
“No,” Bella was fragile—physically, emotionally and mentally at the moment.
“Yes,” Reign argued, her emotions jumbled and threatening to break her.
The same pain that Kierce harbored for her she harbored for her mother. Seeing her so weak was disheartening. Bella had always been the strongest woman she’d ever encountered and it wasn’t based on the fact that she was her mother. It was the truth. The potency of her foul odor encouraged Reign’s desperation, leading her to her mother’s side and forcing her into Bella’s personal space. Reaching forward, she tucked her arms under her mother’s and began tugging.
“No,” Bella repeated while shaking her head, but she wasn’t strong enough to dispute her daughter’s actions due to her lack of nutrients and physical energy. She’d laid in the same spot for days, only getting out of bed to empty her bladder.
“We must, mother.”
Reign knew that she wouldn’t stand on her own, so she lowered Bella to the ground before dragging her sluggish body toward the bathroom. It was the one occurrence where she wished her parents living wasn’t so lavish. Their bathroom was the size of two normal-sized bedrooms. The walk to the shower was dreadful with Bella’s frame weighing her down. There was grunting and groans, but after a few minutes they made it into the glass enclose.
“Reign…” Bella sobbed as the water started and connected with the bottom of the shower. She was in the clear, but not for long.
“Yes.”
“I need my husband,” her mother had a request that simply couldn’t be granted. Diverting Bella’s attention, Reign tried focusing on the task ahead.
“I need you. I need you to get yourself up, undress and stand under this showerhead so that I can wash you down,” Reign’s voice splintered.
She was coming undone at the seams, but was determined to hold herself together for the woman who had done the same for her when she couldn’t wipe her own ass during childhood. It was her duty and she was going to make sure that no stone was left unturned. Bella would do the same for her if the shoe had been on the opposite foot, no matter how old they were or how much Reign protested.
“Reign.”
“BELLA JONES!” Reign gritted and raised her voice up a notch. “I know. I know it hurts. I’m hurting, too. But, one of us has to be the voice of reason right now. I’m not good if I crawl beside you on that cold tile and cry my eyes out like I really want to. I don’t even think I have anything left in me to cry. SO, I won’t. Right now, we’re going to focus on getting through this service and we can figure the rest out later.”
“I’m not going,” Bella confessed.
“You must. I won’t let you stay behind and regret it months down the road. Mom, please,” R
eign begged, “Get up.”
Finally lowering her head to meet her mother’s swollen eyes, Reign stomped her feet like an impatient toddler in an attempt to will herself not to cry. Her mother was complicating her situation further. On one hand, she wanted to squat next to her so they’d have a pity party together. On the other hand, she knew that it was necessary to tuck her own tail and get on with their day. Whining wasn’t going to get either of them anywhere.
Disregarding the fact that she was about to drench her perfectly pressed dress and bone straight hair, Reign reached down and grabbed her mother for the second time. This time, she didn’t stop pulling until they were both underneath the water as it cleansed Bella’s clothed body. The dried blood – their dried blood – from days prior that had lingered on her skin wasn’t as stubborn as Reign had predicted. It combined with the water and made its way down the drain. Bella turned into Reign’s chest and wrapped her arms around her neck. Pain soared through her achy body.
“Everything hurts,” she confessed as she began to convulse.
“Everything,” Reign agreed, feeling her mother’s pain.
As Bella cried in her arms, she used this moment of vulnerability to undress her. Within seconds, she was able to get her down to her panties and bra. The thought of letting her mother go to remove them both was too daunting, so she continued to rock her body back and forth as Bella’s tears washed away under the water.
The shower had taken much longer than Reign had considered, but she couldn’t worry about the time that they were keeping. Her main concern was prepping her mother so that she could accompany her to the car and beyond. Anything beyond that was too much to consider at the moment with so much riding on both of their backs –pain being the main culprit.
After showering Bella, Reign dried her with a thick, plush towel and laid her on the sofa instead of laying her down on the soiled sheets that would soon be discarded. The minute Reign found the time, she’d put their family’s staff to work. Bella kept them at bay with light chores here and there, but it was obvious that they were needed now more than ever. With Bella alert and attempting to show signs of livelihood, Reign skipped over to the compact fridge in her parent’s bedroom that stored beers and late night snacks.
It was very important that Bella got something down so that she could muster up enough strength to begin to help her daughter. Reign blotted her hair and clothes as she searched the fridge and settled on a cup of applesauce, some chilled pears that were in a can and a bottle of orange juice. It wasn’t much, but the items she’d chosen would definitely give her mother some nutrients and get her together for the time being. Besides, Reign was certain that she wouldn’t be eating much more than what was in her hand as she approached her.
“Here. I need you to get this down,” she softened, damn near pleading with her mother.
Chapter Two
The sound of pads scrubbing the floor could be heard as Kierce descended the stairs to the cellar. Stuffing his hands into his pocket, he tried combating the chilliness that had suddenly approached. The brick stairwell spiraled until it reached the cellar floor, where Kierce was careful not to access. For a few seconds he simply stood wondering what his reaction might be if shoes were traded and it was him who’d nearly lost it all on behalf of love.
Catching himself before he was too deep in thoughts, he peered at the man with the bucket at his side, white cloth drenched in red hanging from the side of it and scrubber in his hand. He was positioned on all fours with two hands attached to the handle of the scrubbing utensil as he maneuvered it across the large red stones that made up the cellar’s floor. The potency of the bleach he’d chosen was obviously irritating his eyes because every few seconds he would rub his face into his dingy shirt and sigh.
“Mr. Jones,” Kierce called out.
“All of these years… I’ve been untouchable. The only time I ever got myself caught up was because of another’s man disloyalty. Personally, I’m slick as oil. Nothing can hold onto me. Nothing could break me. But, this. This right here. This is my boy’s blood that I’m cleaning from my floor,” RahMeek paused long enough to look up from his work, “You feel me?”
Nodding, Kierce acknowledge the fact that RahMeek’s pain was justified.
“This should be him… cleaning what’s left of me,” RahMeek continued to scrub. “I’ve been in Philly my entire life and there hasn’t been a soul bold enough to dot my doorstep uninvited. Until you…” RahMeek paused and looked up, again. “And, then there was her.” He let a sarcastic chuckle fall from his lips as he referred to Hampsher, Rafeeq’s companion. “That love shit is nothing to be fucked with. It will either be the life of you or be the death of you.”
“Very true.”
“I knew who she was and I said nothing,” RahMeek confessed. “A beast. Fearless. She’s soulless. I haven’t encountered a single man as ruthless as her. And instead of warning my son and risking losing him, I let him fall for her because I know from experience that you only meet that one woman once. After you’ve encountered her, there’s nothing in the world that can hold you apart.”
“You can’t blame yourself for this.”
“I’m not. There’s another motherfucker to blame and I won’t stop until that motherfucker has paid their dues. I’m assuming that’s why you’re here. To tell me that you’re ready to ride.”
“I ain’t got to tell you that. That’s something you already know. I’m here to tell you that it is time for Rafeeq’s service.”
“You’re wasting your breath. I ain’t going.”
“You must.”
“Says who?” RahMeek paused and looked up for the third time.
“Listen, I know this shit is all fucked up, but your wife is up there in shambles. She needs you at her side.”
“Bella doesn’t need me at her side. Bella needs me in the field. Until vengeance is ours, then she’ll never be the same. If I went up there right now and asked her to accompany me on this mission, then she wouldn’t blink before getting herself together and meeting me at the door with her favorite gun in tow. Don’t tell me shit about my wife. I know who the fuck I married,” he grunted and began scrubbing. “There’s this stubborn stain right in the cracks of this brick. It will not come out for shit.”
RahMeek was in no shape to hold a decent conversation. There were two things on his mind and neither included a memorial service for his son. One was clearing the cellar of Rafeeq’s blood and the other was smearing the blood of his offender. Anything outside of those margins was pointless to mention. The doorbell rung, prompting Kierce to twirl on one foot and head back up the stairs.
“I’ll be back, son,” he heard RahMeek make out as he exited.
Kierce wasn’t surprised to see both Kelly and Roc standing outside of the door when he opened it. Neither greeted him on their way inside. Instead, they parted ways and blended with the leery silence that consumed the entire household it seemed. From the distortion of Kelly’s makeup, it was obvious that she hadn’t exactly been able to keep herself together on the ride over. Roc, on the other hand, was stone-faced. One couldn’t read his expression and gauge his train of thought unless they knew him well.
Unfortunately, Kierce didn’t have the luxury. He’d only known Roc for a few years and saw him on occasion. Just as he sealed the door to its frame, he heard a thunderous knock. He didn’t bother checking the security cams knowing that security had been amped up and no one was able to get to the residence unless they were family. Kierce found R on the opposite side of the door. The two had grown exceptionally close over the years, both with Reign’s best interest at heart. R tossed him a quick head nod and mumbled a short greeting under his breath that Kierce hadn’t quite caught.
The following words were clearer and more understandable. “There’s more behind me. Dade and his wife, SaeKu. Lorde and his spouse, Sage. Liam and his wife, Wise. My uncle RaKeem and aunt Reed. Don’t bother shutting the door,” he advised. “How is Reign?”
“She’s… she’s fucked, yo. Moms is even worse,” Kierce informed him, knowing that Reign was always his biggest concern. “Where’s the family?”
“They’re on their way. Rowe is a mess,” R sighed.
“They all are.”
Unbuttoning the suit coat that was held together by a single button, R exposed his button down that was accompanied by an upper body holster equipped with two pistols-–one on either side. The extra padding underneath his shirt exposed the fact that he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
As R had promised, a heap of bodies came piling into the Jones’ residence. The women all headed in the same direction as the men gathered in close proximity to R as if they were waiting on something. Someone. Kierce fell in line as he noticed exactly who they were awaiting. RahMeek emerged from the cellar in a pair of bleached sweats. His shirt had been removed on the way up, exposing the bloody padding that was attached to his body by surgical tape.
There were six of them. He’d been hit four times, two of the bullets leaving exit wounds. The others were still lodged into his body. He’d made promises to the family doctor that he’d allow surgery once his most important vessel healed. His heart. That wouldn’t happen until the one his victim possessed had stopped.
No one spoke a single word. They all fell in line behind RahMeek as he made his way through the foyer, towards the kitchen and down another set of stairs that led to his man cave. It wasn’t until everyone had a seat at the large table did anyone speak.
“Roc. I need you at my side. Keem, accompany the women to the memorial service. Make sure that everyone is in tow. Liam, I appreciate you coming this way for me, homie. There’s something special locked away in my basement that no one can have access to. I need to keep that package safe until I return home. Do me a solid and keep an eye on that for me. Lorde,” RahMeek started but was interrupted.
“If it doesn’t involve blasting a nigga, then I ain’t doing it. Sorry, dog, but I came to put in work,” Lorde flexed.
