For the remainder of the night, she hid in her bedroom. Tears like rain pellets streamed down her face and soaked her pillow. Sleep escaped her, As she was tormented by horrid thoughts of what she had done.
How could she leave her own child in a toilet to die? How could she be so evil and cruel? She had planned on telling her mother about her being pregnant. She had it all worked out. She would give the baby up for adoption because she had waited too late for an abortion. Week after week, she had hoped and prayed that Stanton would change his mind and tell her that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and the child they had made in love. But it wasn’t the case.
Stanton was far older than she was, and he didn’t want anything to interfere with his college studies. When she told him she was pregnant, he blew up. She’d never seen him act like he had done. He cursed her and accused her of trying to trap him. But it wasn’t true. She was fifteen and in love with him. She would never do anything to hurt him. But her words fell on deaf ears because Stanton told her he wanted nothing else to do with her. He warned her not to tell anyone that she was carrying his baby. How could such a smart, intelligent, kind hearted man who loved dogs and cats and x-box games, and who smiled at little babies whenever he saw them on the street; who was obsessed by his major in nuclear physics, who confessed his undying love for her, end up being someone she never knew at all? The way things turned out, he didn’t have to worry about anybody finding out he had gotten her pregnant. Her baby, their baby was dead, and left in a toilet all alone.
A mere teenager herself, she lay on her bed, frightened that at any minute, police would come storming inside her room, lead her out in handcuffs with her face plastered on every TV screen in America, revealing how terrible a person she was to leave her newborn child alone, in a school toilet to die. God would never forgive her. No one ever would. She would never forgive herself. Anything and everything that happened to her when people found out what she’d done would be deserved. She was a cruel, mean, wicked, wicked girl who had allowed her baby to die. She placed her pillow over her head, her hands over her ears, and she screamed.
Envy bolted upright in her bed drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. The nightmare had haunted her sleep again. What could it be? What did the dream mean? This was the first time in almost two years that she’d been plagued by night terrors. She sat up on the sofa where she’d taken a nap. Fischer was lying on the navy patched rug in front of the flat screen. She sat still, alone, and confused. The phone rang, and she made herself get up and walk over to the end table to pick it up.
“Hello. Oh, no; please no,” Envy screamed in the phone. “When did this happen? Is she going to be all right? Okay, I’m on my way.” Envy hung up the phone and dashed into her bedroom. Inside her closet, she hastily pulled a pair of jeans and a light sweater from the hangers and hurriedly put them on. She stepped into a pair of loafers, rushed to the front of the house and grabbed her purse and keys. Fischer sat close by with a look of bewilderment on his face. Envy said nothing. She rushed out of the house and headed in the direction of the Regional Medical Center. On her way to the hospital, she managed to hit the key that connected her to Kacie’s phone.
“Hello,” answered Kacie.
“Kacie, did you hear about Layla?” she frantically asked.
“What about Layla? What happened?”
“She’s been shot. Oh my God. Kacie, Layla’s been shot. I’m on my way to the Regional Med Trauma Center. She’s in critical condition. Her mother called. She said they arrested Mike.”
“But when? I thought she went to church with her parents today?”
“I don’t know the details. But I do know she never made it to church. Anyway, I know it was some time before church because her momma said they went to pick her up and that’s when they found her, sprawled in the front room just inside the door.”
“I’ll meet you there as soon as I can. Bye,” Kacie said and hung up the phone.
Tears flowed from Envy’s eyes. “God, please let her be okay. Please let her make it, dear Lord,” Envy cried. “Please, please, please.” She drove close to 90 miles per hour on the expressway until she got off on the Union West exit leading to the Med. She parked and ran all the way to the hospital’s trauma unit.
When she arrived, Envy saw Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs and Layla’s sister, Becky with her husband. Mrs. Hobbs stood and walked toward Envy with fresh tears pouring from her eyes. Envy nodded to everyone else, then asked, “How is she now?”
“She’s in surgery. She has damage to her internal organs and some internal bleeding. She’s in bad shape, I’m afraid,” Layla’s mother said through tears.
“Oh, no,” Envy cried. Mr. Hobbs and Layla’s sister walked over to comfort her. Mr. Hobbs led her to a seat in the trauma area while they remained standing like they were afraid if they sat down they would miss something.
“Honey, we have to stay in prayer. God is in control,” he told Envy.
Envy raised her head up and was met with a tissue from Becky. “Becky, when did you get in town? Layla didn’t say you were here when I talked to her last night.”
“She didn’t know that I had already planned on coming down and staying a few days while my husband went on a mountain climbing adventure with some of his friends. But after this, he cancelled his trip and drove me down here.” Becky cried and her husband, Alonzo, embraced her. “I had asked Momma and Daddy not to say anything because I wanted to surprise Layla.” Becky’s husband held her even closer and caressed her short, natural, black hair.
Layla’s father spoke. “Lee is on his way. He didn’t know whether he was going to drive from Chicago or fly.”
Becky nodded. “Yeah, but daddy convinced him to take a plane. He wasn’t in any condition to drive.”
“He should be here sometime later tonight,” Mrs. Hobbs added while she twisted her hands nervously.
“And you’re sure Mike did this?” Envy turned her head toward Mr. Hobbs.
“Yes. We’re sure,” Layla’s father answered angrily. “I wish I could get my hands on him. I swear, I would choke the life out of him.” Mrs. Hobbs rubbed her husband’s shoulders as he continued to speak. “Why would he do our baby girl like this? Why? I never trusted him the couple of times I saw him.” He wiped heavy tears from his eyes while Mrs. Hobbs cried along with him and held on to his arm. “The first time we saw him,” Mr. Hobbs added, “we knew he was no good for our Layla. His spirit didn’t set well with us, did it, honey?” He looked down into the tear streaked face of his wife.
Mrs. Hobbs shook her head. She was too distraught to answer.
“I’m so sorry,” Envy told the family.
“Come on, Daddy and Momma; sit down,” Becky told them. They didn’t hesitate to follow her orders. Mr. Hobbs embraced his wife and tears flowed from her eyes onto his starched white shirt. They all were still dressed in their Sunday best.
Envy started talking about the last time she and Layla had been together. “When I picked up Layla yesterday afternoon, we saw Mike running and chasing after my car. He kept calling her name and begged me to stop the car, but Layla told me to keep going. She was tired of him, she said. She leaned out the window and screamed for him to leave her alone and get out of her life. She made me speed up until he couldn’t keep up with the car. But who would have thought he would have flipped out like this? I, I just can’t believe it.”
“Neither can we,” said Mr. Hobbs and stood again when several of his and his wife’s church members from Middle Baptist came into the waiting room, followed by one of the associate ministers and two deacons from Cummings Street.
When Kacie appeared, Layla’s family embraced her too.
Envy glanced around. “Where are the kids?”
Kacie responded by rolling her eyes and waving her off. “Look, I don’t want to hear your preaching right now. Let me handle my own business. How is Layla?” she asked, shifting her attention away from Envy and focusing on Becky.
Mr. Hobbs didn’t allow Becky to speak. He shared the story of what happened with not only Kacie, but with the church people who had flooded inside the waiting room.
Kacie burst into tears. “I knew that son of a—”
“Stop it, Kacie,” Envy warned and grabbed hold of her hand.
“I’m just saying; we knew he was no good. He treated her like she was nothing. I hate him. I hate him, and I hope he rots in jail.”
The family shared tears, and Mr. Hobbs did his best to comfort the women. The associate minister talked to the family, prayed with them, and tried to do what he could to help ease the tension.
Two and a half hours passed before the doctor came to talk to the family.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs,” he said, “your daughter had some extensive injuries to her intestine and a portion of her stomach. We had to remove the damaged parts and that included removing a part of her stomach and her lower intestines. We located the bleeding and sealed it off.”
“Is she going to be all right?” asked Becky.
“The next twenty-four hours are important. We just have to hope that infection doesn’t set up in her body. We have her on an IV of antibiotics. If she can fight off the infection, I believe I can safely say that she’ll recover. We’re going to keep her in ICU for at least twenty-four hours to monitor her closely. She’s sedated right now. But I have to tell you, she’s very lucky to be alive. She took one serious shot to the belly and another shot to her shoulder, barely missing her jugular vein.”
“Oh, God,” Mrs. Hobbs gasped. Becky walked over to her mother to try to calm her down.
“Thank you, doctor.” Mr. Hobbs reached out and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thank you so much.”
“She’s in recovery right now. Only immediate relatives can see her. She needs to be protected from infection, and like I said, she’s heavily sedated. Two of you should be able to see her for a few minutes when she’s out of recovery. After that, I ask that you allow her to rest.”
“We will,” Mrs. Hobbs said and hugged the doctor before he turned and walked out of the waiting room. “God bless you, doctor.”
The family managed to laugh when Lee walked in.
“Lee, thank God you made it,” Mrs. Hobbs said. “I thought you were going to call so your daddy could pick you up from the airport.”
“No, I got a cab here. I didn’t want Daddy leaving the hospital to get me. How is she? How’s my little sister?”
“Layla is in serious condition,” Mr. Hobbs said. Then he relayed all that the doctor had just reported. He concluded with, “You know your sister didn’t deserve anything like this. She never did anything to hurt anybody.”
“I know, Dad. But everything is going to be okay. God has already spared her life.” He hugged his father, and then one by one, he went down the line hugging and kissing his family, Envy, and Kacie.
Moments later, one of the ICU nurses came in and allowed Mr. & Mrs. Hobbs went in to see their baby girl.
Chapter Eight
When we stop holding onto the ugly, beauty appears
and when we stop holding onto lies, truth appears. Laura Teresa Marquez
Layla’s recuperation miraculously came quickly. After ten days, she was discharged from the hospital. Many church folks and Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs called Layla a walking, talking, miracle from God.
Layla was determined to be taken to her apartment to see where it all happened. Against her parents’ wishes, they reluctantly gave in and took her. Shreds of yellow police tape still could be seen strewn on the lawn. Layla, with the aid of her father and brother, walked to the front door, and with barely a nudge, it came open. There was blood everywhere; on the walls, the furniture, and the floor. Layla covered her mouth with her hand and almost stumbled backward, but Mr. Hobbs managed to break her fall.
“Sis, come on; let’s get out of here,” Lee urged. “I can’t believe they haven’t had this apartment cleaned by now.” He tugged her by her shoulder.
Layla didn’t move. She was grateful that God had saved her life, but seeing what she’d just seen, she understood that she would never be able to go back to the place where she’d almost died.
Like he could read her thoughts, Mr. Hobbs said, “Come on, baby. Let’s get out of here. We’re taking you home with us.”
“Yes, baby, we’re going to take care of you,” her mother reassured her.
Layla didn’t put up a fuss. She needed to feel safe, secure, and taken care of. Her parents were the only ones she trusted to do that. All the way to her parents’ house, Layla cried. She didn’t know that her parents had spoken to the manager of her apartment complex. The manager immediately told them that she had already begun to work on getting Layla transferred to one of their other properties, but it was Layla’s decision if she wanted to move. The manager explained that the other complex was well kept, with beautiful grounds, spacious living, excellent security, and more amenities than her old apartment.
Layla was visited often by Kacie and Envy. They were good at cheering her up. Kacie even brought the kids to see Layla, which she loved. While spending the next three weeks with her parents, Lee, who remained in Memphis on FMLA, along with her father and several of Layla’s church members, moved everything out of her apartment. Becky also remained in town to help Mrs. Hobbs take care of Layla. Every day, Layla gained more strength. She quickly began to lose weight after having the surgery because it reduced the size of her stomach and removed some of her intestines.
“Layla, honey, when you’re able to be on your own, and only if you want to, the manager from your old apartment said that a unit far from the previous place you lived is available for you,” her mother explained.
“And it is beautiful,” Becky added.
“You’ve seen it?” Layla asked while she sat down in the family recliner. “Where is it?” Her voice was continually becoming stronger, and she was moving and walking with much more ease.
“It’s on Baldwin Avenue, two streets over from us. The Baldwin Apartments. Do you know them?”
Layla’s eyes flickered just a tiny bit. “Yes, they are really nice. I mean, really nice. But they’re also more expensive and I don’t see-”
“Shh,” her mother said. “Stop it. Don’t you think that if God brought you back from the brink of death, that He can surely provide you a place of safety? All you have to do is say the word, and when you’re ready, we’ll take you to your new apartment.”
“Are y’all trying to get rid of me?” Layla held her stomach to reduce the pain when she laughed.
“You know better than that,” Becky interjected.
“Yeah, I know. I was just kidding. But seriously, Momma, thank you so much.” Layla looked at Becky. “And you too, Becky, for taking care of me. I think I’ll be ready soon, just not right now, Layla looked down and sadness filled her face. “I want to wait until I see justice served. That’s why, even though it’s going to be hard for me today, I have to be in court. I have to.”
Lee sat down beside her on her bed. “Look, sis, you don’t have anything to prove to anybody. This bum has already pleaded guilty. So why not stay here and rest? We’ll all be there for you.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Lee, but I’ve got to do this. I have to do it or I might not ever get on with my life. I hope you understand.” She raised her head and looked at her brother with solemn, but serious eyes.
“I don’t know if I do, but I respect your wishes. In that case, you’d better get ready. It won’t be long before we have to leave,” he said and grabbed Layla’s hand.
Layla was right. She felt relieved when she went to court to face Mike. She believed that this was the start of regaining the life he tried so hard to end. She was still weak and in serious pain, but she tried to remain strong. She wanted to look at him in his eyes and hear what he had to say, which turned out to be nothing much at all, except the words, “Guilty, your honor.”
Layla could easily have been killed that night four and a half weeks ago. A
s a result of what Mike had done to her, she would never be the same. She would never be able to trust a man again. The scars that were still fresh and slowly healing reminded her of the night he barged inside her apartment and did the unthinkable. The mental sound of the bullets aimed directly at her made her jump.
Envy looked at Layla with a worried expression. “Layla, are you up to this? You still aren’t fully healed. Why not go home, and I promise to tell you everything that happened.”
“No, I can’t leave,” she spoke softly to reduce the pain she felt every time she breathed or tried to speak.
Her parents, Lee, Becky, and Alonzo, who had driven in from Chattanooga earlier that day, were there to support Layla. Envy was in the courtroom huddling close to the family as well. One last plea to convince Layla to go home went defeated. Layla could be stubborn when she wanted to, and this was one of those times.
Mike’s mother and his live-in girlfriend, who had mocked Layla once, were present on the other side of the courtroom. It was at the hearing that Layla found out that Mike had a rap sheet that went back to the time he was eighteen years old. He’d been in and out of jail for everything from assault to attempted burglary, and possession of drugs, but had never spent more than three years in prison. The judge today wasn’t lenient. Mike had far surpassed the three strikes law. The judge sentenced him to 25 years to life in prison.
Gasps and cries spilled from the courtroom from Mike’s side of the family, while praises to God were screamed on Layla’s side. But Layla remained quiet. She watched as they led Mike away in handcuffs and shackles. He looked back over his shoulder, and his eyes met hers.
“I’m sorry, Layla. I still love you,” he shouted as the armed guard pushed him through the exit door.
The girlfriend jumped up and screamed all kinds of expletives at him, but Layla couldn’t respond. She didn’t know if it were due to fear, or the fact that Mike could possibly equate love with hurt. One thing was for certain, she was glad it was over. Then a sweet, sweet spirit passed over her. She was free. Free indeed to start the new life God had granted her.
Beautiful Ugly Page 7
