“That’s because he’s not welcome in my house, nor is he allowed within shouting distance of me,” Toni quipped. “The things he did to my best friend… fuck it, long story short, he forced my best friend into a miscarriage and nearly drew a wedge between me and Derrick.”
My eyes grew wide at that last comment, silently pleading to her that I needed to hear it all, and Toni decided to finish the story as quickly as she could.
“When everything went down, I lost it, told D that it was either Omar or me; he couldn’t have both of us in his life.” Toni recalled, trying to blink away the tears. “Derrick is a stubborn man, and loyal to a fault, so he said that he wouldn’t do it, that he would just keep Omar away from me instead. They’d been boys since middle school and he couldn’t abandon him because of a bad decision.”
I didn’t know what to think at that point.
I didn’t want to share Toni’s disdain for what happened because I wasn’t there, and I didn’t want to come off like I was taking Derrick’s side because I understood where he was coming from.
Still, if it happened to Kyra or Candace or Tracie, I probably would have cut Omar, too.
“It took us years to build back to where we are now, and the fact that something’s happened at Omar’s house and Derrick might be hurt because of something that that jackass has done—“ Toni’s voice trailed off as we approached the chaotic scene that surrounded Omar’s condo.
There were police cars all over the place, and an ambulance was parked across the front lawn. The neighbors were out trying to figure out what was going on, which took me by surprise considering it was almost two in the morning.
One of the officers saw us getting out of the car and walked toward us to stop us from heading toward the house. “I’m sorry, ladies, this is a police restricted area. There’s been an incident.”
“We know; we were called regarding the incident.” Toni explained to the officer. “This is Derrick Morrow’s girlfriend, and I’m the ICE contact who was called, officer.”
I knew I wasn’t his girlfriend, at least not yet anyway, but it was the only way that the officers would let me in to see Derrick.
The officer spoke into his radio to let someone inside the house know that we were there. After a few seconds, the voice on the radio told him to escort us to where he was.
“Follow me, ladies.” he ordered.
We walked toward the house, noticing the front door had blood streaks on it. I looked over at Toni, and she had the same worried expression on her face as we continued to follow the officer to the stairs.
The place was a mess. It looked like someone really did a number and completely wrecked it. I’ve seen scenes like this on crime shows, and usually the actual crime scene itself was not something that a regular person would want to see in person.
I almost wanted to back out as we made it up the stairs toward the bedroom.
“Are you okay, Cori?” Toni could sense my hesitation. “I’m scared, too, these officers haven’t said much of anything, and it’s got me on edge. I’m here with you, okay?”
I exhaled. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Walking into the bedroom and seeing that Derrick was in one piece, I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. Toni quickly sat down on one side of where he was being attended to by the EMTs, while I found space on the other side of him.
The medic was wrapping his forearm, near his wrist. While we were doting on Derrick, I spotted a gurney being wheeled across the doorway, and I got a quick glance at a dark-skinned man laying on it. I only saw his arm, but from the skin complexion, I assumed that it was Omar, but I’d never seen him before, so I didn’t want to guess wrong.
I re-focused my attention back on him, and while he could hear us, he looked at us as if we weren’t really there.
“Did you call Toni and Cori, officer?” he asked, a blank look crossing his face. He looked really tired. “I know they would be here by now.”
“Baby, we’re here, both of us.” Toni took hold of his shoulder, trying to get him to snap out of the fog he was in. “Cori’s sitting right next to you, D.”
He turned his head toward me, looking right through me, it seemed. “God, am I glad to see you two? I tried to stop him, I promise I did, but he—“
“He what, Derrick?” I asked him gently, trying to pull him out of wherever his mind was.
“Maybe he might open up with you here, this is the most that he’s spoken outside of asking for you two.” the detective expressed to us. “He’s been through a lot, and he’s probably still in shock from being shot, but we need to get a statement from him before we leave.”
“Derrick, baby, do you think you can tell the officers what happened?” I tried to coax him by whispering in his ear. “Go ahead and tell them so we can get you home, okay?”
That seemed to do the trick, because Derrick all of a sudden straightened up, closed his eyes, and began to recount how he got to where we were right then.
At that moment, Brian showed up with another officer and saw us there with Derrick. Toni motioned for him to not say a word until Derrick finished making his statement.
“I left Brian’s studio to head up this way after he told me that Omar had been popping cocaine lines and that he might have graduated to doing that. I wanted to find out from Omar and maybe try to get him some help.” Derrick just sort of talked to the air around him; he wasn’t looking around at anyone. “I got here and headed for the door. When I went to reach for the doorbell, I noticed the door was unlocked and cracked open.”
The detective was furiously scribbling away on his notepad, obviously unprepared for the words to come so quickly and in such large bunches. “Continue, Mr. Morrow.”
“I went back to get my gun before heading into the house, and I saw that the inside of the house was trashed.” he managed. “I shouted for Omar to let me know he was in the house, and when I didn’t hear him, I headed upstairs to continue to look for him. I heard a shot when I got up here and grabbed my arm when I realized I was hit. I turned around to see what happened with my gun pointed and saw Omar standing there with his gun pointed at me.”
I saw the tears well up in his eyes as he tried to blink them away. I continued to massage his shoulders to try and keep him calm, and Toni kept a grip of his hand.
“He kept blaming me for all the shit that’s happened in his life, and no matter what I said, it didn’t sway him,” he stated further, his voice cracked while he spoke. “I told him that he was being unreasonable, that I didn’t do anything but be there for him, even when it was hot for me. Then he said it was over and turned the gun on himself.”
“Oh shit, he committed suicide?!?!” Brian couldn’t hold the outburst in. “I didn’t think he would take it that far.”
“I tried to stop the bleeding while I had 911 on the speakerphone of my cell,” he barely uttered. “I thought I had it stopped, but he fought me to let him go.”
The officer that escorted me and Toni walked in to whisper something to the detective before he walked back out. The detective dropped his head for a moment and then repeated what he’d just been told. “I’m sorry, Mr. Morrow, but your friend died before they could get him to the hospital.”
Brian shook his head when he heard that statement. “Damn, D, I’m sorry about O—“
“You should be sorry!” Derrick yelled, breaking free from us and getting in Brian’s face before anyone could react. “I could have done something before this shit got to this point! That sonofabitch could have killed me tonight!”
The detective whipped Derrick away from where Brian stood, trying to get him to calm down. “Sir, I understand you’re frustration, but don’t complicate matters.”
Toni got in his face soon after. “Derrick, listen to me, there was nothing anyone could have done about Omar. He did what he wanted to do.”
“He would have listened to me, Toni, and you know it!” he tore into Toni, this time the tears were flowing freely. “You’re probably gl
ad he punked out and took his life anyway!”
I’d never seen Derrick this irate before, and I probably would have been scared to move into his line of sight after what he said to Toni, but someone had to stop him before he got too far out of control.
“D, look at me… I mean it, look at me.” I focused his eyes to lock with mine. He was still huffing and I could feel the anger on him, but I didn’t shy away from him. “You’re hurting, I know it hurts like hell right now, but we’re here to help you get through it, do you understand me?”
To everyone’s surprise, Derrick softened up, and he closed his eyes when I caressed his cheek. “Cori, I… I just want to go home and go to sleep.”
He looked over at Toni, his body slumped as if he’d just been completely beaten down. “Toni, baby… I didn’t mean… I mean, that’s not what I wanted to say.”
Toni walked toward us, grabbing his hand again. “You don’t scare me; you never did, baby. Let’s get you home.”
“But I have to call his parents. They need to know what—“
“Shhh, baby, listen, we can take care of that in the morning.” I told him as I calmed him before he got hyper again. “Right now, we need to get you home.”
~Cori~
He was asleep before I got to I-75.
He was so peaceful compared to the raging storm that I witnessed just fifteen minutes ago.
It was almost adorable.
As I steered the truck onto the expressway, I found a lane where I could just ride down to Derrick’s exit without changing lanes too much and hit the cruise control so I could be alone with my thoughts.
And there was a lot to think about.
For starters, the fact that I was even driving his truck was a moment for pause in and of itself. The way that Toni explained before I got in the driver’s seat, no one, not even Toni, had ever driven his truck.
Considering the control freak that I thought Derrick was already, it made sense that everyone was in shock.
Then again, this was no ordinary night.
I felt needed when the officers said that he had been calling for me.
It felt nice… really nice to be needed like that.
It was enough to make me warm and moist.
I know I wasn’t supposed to have those thoughts after everything that he’d been through tonight, but I couldn’t help myself. Watching him stretched out in the passenger seat, I got to fully appreciate just how tall he was, and that only fueled the thoughts in my head.
My God, it made me want him so badly tonight.
I tried to take my mind off of my lustful thoughts to concentrate on the road, but my mind kept moving toward finishing what we’d started before we got interrupted the last time.
Damn, the intensity of that moment was hard not to think about. I wanted him to take me as hard and rough as he could. My body wanted to feel the abuse that I’d deprived it for the past six months, and my B.O.B. wasn’t doing it for me anymore.
While I drove, I kept hearing Derrick moaning and saying my name over and over while he was sleeping, which didn’t help the sensual state that I was trying my hardest to avoid. He sounded so good, his voice felt like it was calling for me, wanting me to do unspeakable things and have him do unspeakable things to me.
I needed to get away from these thoughts before we made it to his condo or I wouldn’t be held responsible for the things that may happen.
I was almost safe from my body betraying me until I heard Derrick slur in his sleep, “I don’t want to be alone tonight, Cori. Don’t leave me, please?”
Yeah, these thoughts wouldn’t be going away any time soon the way he sounded.
I remember a saying when being in a situation like this.
The only way to beat temptation is to yield to it.
I really needed to yield to it, be consumed by it, to no longer be afraid to let go.
The last relationship I was in taught me the consequences of not taking care of the needs that come to light at that moment.
The only problem was, I’d handled that part of the equation.
The other part of the equation handled that part with someone else. An unknown variable that I wasn’t aware was helping me balance the equation without my consent.
I promised myself that things would be different once the group was signed. Now that that was becoming a reality within the next day or so, I needed to keep that promise.
It’s only fair, after all.
We finally got to Derrick’s exit, and the moment that I decelerated, Derrick was stirring and waking up.
“Cori? Damn, where am I?” Derrick tried to get his bearings as he asked the questions in a rapid fire pattern.
“Derrick, baby, we’re heading to your house. Don’t you remember?”
“On the way home? I just left Brian’s studio an hour ago.” Derrick protested before he opened his eyes wider. “Wait a minute, why are you driving my truck?”
“Derrick, you’ve had a traumatic night. Your friend died tonight.” I told him, trying to be as delicate as I could.
“Who died? What the hell are you—“ he tried to say again before he clutched his arm in pain. “Damn, my arm… oh yeah, now it’s coming back to me; Omar punked out on me.”
“Baby, don’t get upset, I promise we’ll get you out of those clothes and get you to sleep as soon as we get in the house.” I vowed as I eased the truck into the garage. “You don’t have to worry about anything. Tonight, I’m taking care of you.”
~Derrick~
I was still in a fog.
I felt like I was in a bad dream that I couldn’t wake up from.
What the hell was Omar thinking?
I thanked God he wasn’t a good shot, but damn, why did he shoot me? And what was all that mess that he was talking about before the end?
I guess I wouldn’t have those answers or any closure, so there was no use in trying to go insane in search of either.
Even though the officers said that they would visit his parents, I still felt I owed it to them to let them know I was there, that he wasn’t alone.
That was the hardest call I’ve ever had to make.
His mom did not take things well and was raging at me by the time her husband picked up the phone. He wasn’t Omar’s biological, but he was the closest thing to a father that he had. All he could do was express his appreciation that I was able to do what I could for his stepson in the final moments.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to offer the detail that had Omar been sharper, I wouldn’t be there to make the call. I finally decided against it, there was no need in pouring salt in the wounds.
I took solace and comfort in the hot bath that Cori ran for me while helping me out of my clothes.
And even that I don’t have a complete recollection of at this point.
I still don’t know how she and Toni got there together, but I was grateful that they were both there. I rationalized that the officers found my cell phone and found the ICE number, which got the ball rolling. I knew I could count on Toni if I ever got jammed up.
Watching Cori moving in and out of the bathroom in nothing but my Falcons jersey was a sight to enjoy, but my mind kept trying to convince me that this was still a dream.
But I didn’t want to be alone tonight, so I wished against my mind with my emotions and hoped that this was all real, bad images included.
My muscles ached, and the sting from the wound made itself known, so being able to relax was a welcome feeling.
The minute she touched my arm to dress my bandage, I knew I wasn’t dreaming anymore.
She quietly moved about her business with the skill of a nurse, and I caught her staring, but it wasn’t at my lower arm.
She was staring at my brand with a smirk on her face.
“And what’s that look about?” I asked.
“You’re a Que-dawg?”
“Yeah, and your point is?”
“I should have known, you move like a Que,” she pointed out. “That expla
ins the swagger, like you own everything.”
I laughed it off. “I’m no different than any other man, and Alphas and Kappas think they own everything, too. I’m just saying.”
“Yeah, right, Mr. ‘Everyman’,” she winked at me while finishing the wrap. “Don’t think that I didn’t notice the women trying to get your attention at the showcase.”
Now that got my attention.
This whole time, she’d been trying to act like she wasn’t paying me no never mind, and now she wants to clock like she already had papers on me?
Two can play that game.
“Oh, like I didn’t see all the drinks that the ballers were trying to shoot in your direction, trying to get your attention?” I mentioned, staring at her. “And don’t try to front like they were going to Tracie or something like that, either.”
Cori blushed when she realized that I had her dead to rights.
“Alright, so I was keeping an eye on you and you were keeping an eye on me. So, now what, D?” she asked, studying my face to figure out my emotions.
I sat up in the tub when she asked that question. My eyes turned serious as I asked, “What do you want, Cori? We’ve been hinting around whatever this is between us ever since we met. What do you want most?”
Cori knelt by the tub and kissed me deeply. The force behind it caught me by complete surprise.
“I want you.” she whispered as she continued to kiss me before I could protest.
Like I was really going to argue at that point?
I adjusted to her kiss quickly, taking my hands and exploring under the jersey to find that she was completely naked underneath.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” she managed between moans.
“Not yet, but I am trying to feel my way around, if you don’t mind?” I joked, still working up her back, feeling her ass and slightly parting her thighs. “We were interrupted last time, remember?”
“Mmmmm, I know, baby,” she whispered again. “Just don’t stop this time, please.”
Feeling her skin was like sliding my hands again satin. I almost lost myself in the touch as she pulled against me, wanting me out of the tub. She walked over to the vanity across from the tub to get a towel to help dry me off.
All I Want... Is You Page 9
