“What’s going on with you?”
“It’s just Charles. He’s planning to retaliate on Tiger.”
Sanaa reminded her, “You can’t let him. Tiger got his gang. They don’t play fair. They got guns.”
“And that’s just it. Girl, Charles got one too.”
Shocked, Sanaa said, “Oh my gosh, girl! You better make sure you don’t get shot.” There was a long pause. “You just gotta stay out of it, Olive.”
“Sanaa, that’s easy for you to say. None of this would even be happening if it wasn’t for me. They’re in here fixing my house, patching up bullet holes, because I was with the wrong guy. I can’t just let Charles ruin his life trying to save mine.”
“But then what if both you and Charles end up like Shawn, in the hospital or worse ... you both end up dead? Then what?”
“Then I guess we’ll both just be dead,” Olive said nonchalantly. “But I can’t live with anybody else getting hurt, and I’m not. I can’t do it,” Olive declared, and then she got hysterical. “Oh my gosh!”
“What?” Sanaa said, hearing Olive’s panic.
“He’s about to leave now!”
“Please stay out of it! Please! Just—”
“I’ll call you back, okay?” Olive quickly hung up the phone. She ran out of the house, following Charles, who was clearly ready to settle a vendetta. “Charles, please, we need to talk about this.”
“Olive, there’s nothing to talk about! My boy is in the hospital.”
“But, he’s gonna be fine.”
“But he almost wasn’t fine. You and I both know that better than anybody. He was practically choking on his own blood, for goodness’ sake.”
“Oh, you’re being dramatic!”
“I’m about to show your ex dramatic.”
Olive got in front of Charles. “I’m not moving. I’m not leaving. I’m not letting you do this. You think Shawn would want you to go and face them guys on your own?”
“What you saying? I should wait until he’s better and take care of it then? Nah. I’m not hearing that. I gotta go honor him.”
“Where’s the honor in fighting for him if you go and get yourself hurt?”
At that moment, Charles couldn’t say a word. Olive was happy she had him silent. She needed to figure out what to say so that he would change his mind, follow her back inside, and cool down. The only thing she could think of to do to get him to chill was to share her real feelings. She didn’t think she could have feelings for a guy anymore after Tiger completely used her up by letting all his boys hit it before dumping her, but she did. Since the day Tiger said “Hit the road” to Olive, Charles wanted to hit him. He actually did when they tussled in the cafeteria last month, which set these crazy, heated exchanges spiraling out of control. Olive knew Charles was her knight.
“What’s all this ruckus about out here?” Ms. B came out of the house and yelled.
Charles gave Olive a look like Don’t you dare let her know what I’m about to do.
“Oh, nothing,” Charles said to her.
“Well, you need to go on and get to that store and get on back here. Be careful in my car now, baby, alright?” Ms. B told him.
“Yes, ma’am. Just some milk, that’s all you need, right?” Charles asked in a sweet tone, not letting on his true intentions.
“You know what?” Ms. B said, thinking. “Go on and get me that bag of chips. And get Shawn some honey buns for when he gets back from the hospital. I gotta go to work tomorrow, but I at least want him to have some snacks. You got enough money, baby?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be right back.”
Out of the blue, Olive said, “I’m going with him. Is that okay, Ms. B?”
“Yeah, that’s good. It’s late. You go with him, Olive honey.”
It was written all over Charles’s face that he did not want Olive going anywhere. However, she knew if she couldn’t stop him from leaving, she had to go with him and try and stop him before he did something stupid. She ran inside, grabbed her purse, and headed to the door.
“So what you gonna do? Go to the grocery store and then go shoot? Or you gonna go shoot Tiger and then go to the grocery store?” Olive questioned after Ms. B closed the door.
“Okay, see you tryna be funny.”
“Well, don’t you see how ridiculous this all is?”
“I’m going to the grocery store, and that’s where I’m going to leave you because I don’t want nothing to go wrong.”
“You think I’ma let you go by yourself? You can’t do this, Charles. You can’t!”
Suddenly Charles started yelling, “You can’t tell me what I can’t do! You don’t know how it feels being threatened by Tiger and his chumps all the time. And then they gon’ shoot up my house? The only thing I got to call home. It’s bad enough I ain’t really got one, and they gonna shoot up the foster home? They didn’t know if those little kids was in there or if Ms. B was in there. They just gon’ do what they gon’ do and think there’s no repercussions? Forget them! We’re all okay, but they not gon’ be okay.”
“Charles, you can’t. You can’t!” Olive said as she searched his jacket for the gun, but when she found it, he snatched it away.
“It’s loaded. Don’t play. I’m about to tell you I’m handling them, and if I have to shoot you, I will.”
Olive looked at him with horror in her eyes, and he looked back at her, equally abrasive, and said, “I’m just saying. Stay out of my way. Ride if you gon’ ride, but you can’t stop me. I don’t appreciate you trying to stop me from being martyrly.”
CHAPTER NINE
Organically (Octavia’s Middle)
Octavia came to school excited because this was the day Shawn was getting out of the hospital. She saw Willow and yelled, “Hey Willow, wait up!”
“For you? Please,” Willow turned and rudely said to Octavia.
Octavia stood there, real confused. She didn’t know why her new friend was angry at her. Before she could ask questions, Olive and Sanaa came up on both sides of her.
“She’s tripping and not just mad at you. She’s mad at all of us, thinking we didn’t have her back,” Olive explained.
Octavia sought clarity. “Have her back on what?”
“Did you see the petition that went around?” Sanaa asked.
“I didn’t see it, but I remember us talking about it. We weren’t going to tell her about it because we didn’t want to hurt her feelings or anything.”
“Exactly,” Sanaa reminded.
“Well, I don’t want her to be mad at me. I need to explain what we were thinking,” Octavia uttered.
“She’ll come around. Right now she just needs to cool down,” Olive said. “Plus, I’ve got so much else on my mind. Shawn is coming home today, and I want to be there, but I’m here.”
“I know we can’t skip school again, but I can take you home right after school to get you there quicker than the bus,” Octavia offered.
“That’s great. Can you take Charles too?” Olive asked.
“Sure,” Octavia said.
Sanaa squinted her eyes tight. “How are you and Charles? How did all that play out yesterday?”
“I don’t know how we are, considering he told me he was gonna kill me.”
“What?” Sanaa squealed.
“Huh?” Octavia said.
Olive explained, “He wasn’t playing, but as you see I’m still here. It’s weird, though. He’s mad at me because I basically told him he wasn’t going to go and shoot up anybody.”
“But threatening to shoot you, that’s too much,” Sanaa declared. “I almost came over to your place when you said he had a gun.”
“You knew?” Octavia uttered.
“Yeah, I was on the phone with her when she was freaking out,” Sanaa said. “Just glad you handled it. But if you’re scared—”
“I’m fine,” Olive said. “He apologized and settled the heck down. We just went to the grocery store and back home.”
Sanaa
said, “’K, cuz you got backup. We’re the swoop girls.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be negative?” Octavia asked.
“No. We’re turning it around,” Sanaa boasted. “We swoop in and save the day. It might not be easy, but we’re turning the whole swoop connotation around.”
Olive and Octavia nodded. Then Octavia said, “Has anybody seen Pia?” The other two shook their heads. Bummed, Octavia continued, “Hopefully Ms. Davis will call a meeting soon, and the five of us will have a talk. This bond, this group, this whatever we’re forming is only going to work if we all want to be a part of it.”
“I’ll see you after school,” Olive said to Octavia when the bell rang. “Thank you, and hopefully you’ll have time to come in and check on our boy.”
“I’d like that,” Octavia said, happy Olive was finally cool with the fact that she and Shawn liked each other.
Octavia couldn’t wait for school to be over. Octavia had been texting Shawn back and forth over the last few days, making sure he was okay. Even though they were really cool, as the school day was ending she got a little nervous. She didn’t want to just show up without him expecting her, so she texted him, “Glad ur home, but I wanna check & make sure it’s OK if I come by 2 c u. I’m dropping Charles & Olive off.”
“Naw, I’d love 2 see u 4 a minute. I’m pretty weak, but seeing u will make me stronger,” Shawn texted.
Olive texted back with a smiley face.
Shawn texted back, “Hurry up & get here already.”
“R u going to b a good patient 4 me?” Olive texted.
“Ur reading my mind. I plan 2 b real good 4 u 4 sure.”
“R u talking dirty 2 me?”
“Me? No,” Shawn texted, trying to come off mischievous.
Three hours later Octavia was actually in the room Shawn shared with Charles. Charles gave him privacy with Octavia. Octavia’s heart was beating double time.
“Charles didn’t say much in the car, only I shouldn’t tire you out. He’s not too happy with me coming to see you,” Octavia shared, breaking the ice.
“No sweat. Charles ain’t been happy about much since our house been shot up.”
“Yeah, I don’t blame him really. He almost lost his boy.”
“I don’t want to think about that. I’m resilient, so don’t mind him. Don’t stand all the way over there. Come here.”
Octavia was real nervous. She felt something strong for Shawn. When she thought he wasn’t going to make it, she couldn’t even sleep. Now that they’d been communicating, she wanted to get even closer. Shawn asked her to come closer, but she kept hesitating, like her back was stuck to the door and she couldn’t move from it.
“No, I don’t want to mess up anything going on with you.”
“What’s wrong?” Shawn probed as he held out his hand. “I’ve been thinking about you all day, been waiting for you to get here, and then it seems like you don’t want to be here or something. Scared I’ma bite?”
“It’s not that,” Octavia said, unconscious of the fact that she was moving toward Shawn.
She certainly didn’t want to upset him, so her body glided close to his. He tried to sit up from the bed, but he groaned. She got concerned.
“Don’t push it,” she told him.
“I got stitches, but I’m going to be okay. The bullet is gone. It went in one side and came out the other.”
Once she got close enough, Shawn pulled her to him and started trying to kiss her. She backed away, really upset, and said, “I’m sorry. I can’t do it.”
“Calm down.”
“How do you want me to calm down, but you want to kiss me? I can’t do both. I can’t give you what you want.”
“Okay, relax. I don’t just want to be with you because of sex.”
“Whatever, I’m on the list. I know you think I’m easy.”
Offended, Shawn cared enough to explain. “Olive’s on the list too. I think the list is stupid. I wanted to kiss you because I wanted to. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. No need to worry. As long as you want to pursue whatever this is, we can take it slow. If anything else is supposed to happen physically between us, it will happen organically.”
CHAPTER TEN
Pathetically (Pia’s Middle)
Pia was excited that the basketball team lost the first round of the play-offs. She didn’t want the basketball team to advance because she now knew that the guys who assaulted her were on the team, plus she was also tired of cheering. She didn’t want to quit the squad. So, with the season now over, she was relieved when her coach dropped her off at home.
Pia was also happy to find that there was not a lot of action going on at her house. Most nights her mom and her mom’s Mexican girlfriends were throwing house mixers or margarita parties. Sometimes Pia couldn’t count on relaxing because too much was going on. But tonight, thankfully, there weren’t any lights, and she didn’t see any cars in front of their house.
When Pia came in, she yelled, “Mom! I’m home!” But she heard the shower going. Pia put on her nightgown and slipped into bed.
Before she could go to sleep, her cell phone rang. It was Octavia. “Hey, I’m just checking in on you. I heard y’all lost the game. I wanted to make sure you got in alright.”
“Oh, that’s sweet. Yeah, I’m fine. How’s everybody else doing?” Pia asked, caring. She knew she could have done more to stay in touch with the girls over the week, but she’d been distant.
“Everybody’s cool. Willow’s a little mad at us, but hopefully she’ll get over it,” Octavia explained.
“Mad at y’all for what?”
“I actually think she’s mad at you too.”
“Whatever. I’m still mad at myself, so Willow better get in line,” Pia said.
“Well, you sound exhausted. I was just gonna call you to get your thoughts on my situation.”
“Okay, the way you’re talking sounds like you don’t wanna let me go to sleep until you get it out, so what’s going on, Octavia?”
“It’s just Shawn. You know I can’t talk to Olive because it’s her brother.”
“So what’s going on with Shawn? Is he okay?” Pia asked with genuine concern.
“Yeah, he’s gonna be sore for a while, but the bullet just went through-and-through. He lost a lot of blood at first, but thanks to donors he’s recovering. Pia, he’s a really sweet guy, and I don’t know. I was feeling some type of way for him, and things got a little heated, and ... ”
Assuming where Octavia was going, Pia cut her off and reminded her, “I thought we all agreed we were gonna take things slow with all guys. Please tell me you didn’t ... ”
Sensing her friend was getting it all wrong, Octavia laughed and said, “No, no, that’s just what I’m saying. He’s not trying to pressure me about anything. We kissed. I pulled away. He was fine with it. I’m the one tripping. I don’t know. Am I crazy to be excited about him? Is a guy not just wanting me for sex too good to be true? Should I be hopeful about what’s growing between me and Shawn?”
“Okay, you asked a bunch of questions. I’m tired, so let me see if I can answer them. First, you are not crazy to be all into him. No, a guy acting like a true gentleman isn’t too good to be true. And yes, you can have hope that things could work. The way I see it, coming from where I’ve just come from, going through what I had to go through, if it’s working for you, Octavia, you should embrace it.”
“Ooh, I wish I could come through the phone and hug you, Pia! We gotta hang out soon.”
“Alright, girl. I’m going to sleep.”
The girls said their good-byes. When Pia hung up the phone she realized she cared for her swoop list buddies. They all had been through so much, being the jokes of the school, but hearing Octavia happy made Pia smile.
Pia tried to sleep, but then she heard her door squeaking open. “Mom? I was telling you I was home, but you were in the shower.”
It was weird because her mom did not respond. Pia felt uneasy when she
saw a shadowy figure coming closer. She started to cringe when she looked at the figure, and it was not a person with a bunch of hair on her head like her mom. Actually, it looked the opposite, and Pia started to scream. It was a man, and he put his hand around her waist and wouldn’t let her get away from him. He pinned her down.
“Get off of me! Stop! Mom! Mom!” Pia yelled out.
“Your mom’s not here. She took my car to get some beer. But no need to fear, baby. This is your Uncle Jim.”
She remembered Jim, with his bad breath and all. Her mom was supposed to be done with the crazy, lazy dude.
Suddenly, Jim tried to kiss her neck. Pia hated that her purse was so far away because she had a can of mace in it. Quickly, Pia kneed Jim right in the balls, hard. He squealed, and Pia turned on the lights and ran out of her room. She headed toward the front door. Thankfully her mother was coming in.
“Oh my gosh, Mama! You gotta get him outta here!”
“Honey, you know Jim,” her mother said calmly.
“Yeah, Mama, and I thought you weren’t gonna mess with him anymore.”
“Well, I had to pay the rent, sweetie.”
“Okay, well hopefully you gave him what you needed to for the rent, but he’s gotta go because he’s trying to get something from me.”
Jim came rushing around the corner. “I don’t know what your daughter’s telling you, but she’s lying. She was screaming and thinking she heard noises. She didn’t know it was me. I tried to calm her down, but she kicked me in my private parts.”
“Oh my gosh, Pia,” her mom said, believing Jim’s pitiful excuse and running to his side.
Pia wanted to bash some sense into her mother’s fool head, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good at all. She had just been groped by her mom’s friend, and her mom didn’t even pretend to care. Pia dashed to her room and locked her door. In her eyes, her mother was now her enemy. She had hurt her daughter badly and pathetically.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Judgmentally (Sanaa’s Ending)
On Your Knees Page 4
