by Kenya Wright
“I don’t know if that will be good for my stomach. What is it?”
“A little brandy to calm your nerves.”
“It’s early in the morning, Ru.”
His voice held an edge. “Take it.”
I reached my hand out, grabbed the glass, and sipped the bitter liquid.
“Go ahead. Finish it all.”
I sighed and swallowed the rest. “Can I go to the bathroom now?”
“Yes.” He backed out of the room and closed the door.
I took my time sliding the shower glass back. A regular man’s razor sat on the ledge. I didn’t think it would do much, but it was all I had. There was no plunger behind the toilet. I felt dizzy, but kept pushing on. None of Ru’s hair products were big enough to slam him with. I did grab his cologne, thinking I could spray it in his face and sting the shit out of his eyes.
Then I’ll kick him in the balls, slice him with this razor. Do whatever to get the fuck out of here.
I turned around, armed with my weapons, ready to launch out screaming and attack him. But my walking felt slower than normal, like I was moving in quicksand. I stumbled toward the door. My vision blurred. My lips felt numb. No. I reached out for the doorknob, thinking it was closer to me, but I just grabbed thin air. It was further away.
No. He put something in the drink.
“Gio!” I stumbled forward, slipped, and crashed to the ground. Darkness swirled around me.
Gio!
Chapter 22
Giovanni
Music is a weapon
in the war
against unhappiness.
~Jason Mraz
Twenty minutes passed. That was all I could deal with as far as Simone’s independence. I knew she could take care of herself, but there was nothing wrong with getting help. God only knew what Ru was filling her head with. Firing him shouldn’t have taken this long. It was just three words—you are fired. Nothing more. Nothing less.
I slung on my pajama bottoms, opened the door a bit too hard, and headed down the stairs. A worried David met me on the stairwell. “Sir, I heard screaming around the west wing and wanted to—”
“Simone is over there.” I raced that way, not letting David finish.
The old man struggled to keep up with my pace.
Fuck. Fuck. What did I let her walk into? Why did I let her go alone? So fucking stupid. Why is she screaming? No. God no.
I made it to Ru’s room in no time, grabbed the knob, and then banged against it. “Open the fuck up, Ru!”
Red-faced, David fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a long key. “Here, sir. This will open anything.”
He stuck the key in while I banged against the fucking door, needing to hit something. What the fuck was he doing to her? If everything was okay, he would’ve responded or opened the door.
We got it open. My heart stopped beating. Simone lay on the bed, on her back, passed out. Her gown was tossed to the side as if someone had yanked it up. Ru sat in the corner, sobbing and shaking. “I didn’t do anything, man. Just calm down. I’ve got a problem.”
Everything left me. I raced over and beat the shit out of him, grabbing him up and slamming him into the wall. He tried to fight back, but it was lackluster. His face looked defeated. A wicked sickness pooled in his eyes. I punched him so much, blood streamed down his face. He couldn’t even stand, just slump over in the corner. I went so hard, Midnight, Chucky, and David couldn’t get me off him.
It took the police.
I had no idea when they’d come or how long I’d been beating Ru. The cops dragged me away. EMTs rushed to Ru as he slumped over to the ground. His eyes were closed. Midnight was cursing and yelling into his phone. Blood covered my hands and chest. Simone was gone—someone had taken her off the bed. I hoped it was the EMTs as the police led me out of the bedroom, handcuffed.
I walked in a daze, drunk off rage. Drowning with guilt.
Why did I let her go by herself? Why didn’t I get rid of Ru earlier? How is she? What did he do to her? I hope I killed him.
When we got outside, cameras were already outside. Not a lot, but enough paparazzi to spread the word. I gazed off to the right and saw medical techs carrying Simone on a stretcher and loading her into the ambulance vehicle.
Midnight rushed to my side. “Look, baby. We’ll get you out of jail fast. This is just a technicality. They don’t know Ru will wake up. They saw you hitting him and—
“Where are they taking her?”
Midnight looked in the direction I was gazing. “They’re taking her to the hospital.”
“Go with her and make sure she’s taken care of. Best doctors. Best room. Get her back to me.”
“Man, we have to get you out of—
“Call the lawyers. That’s why I pay them, but make sure she’s okay.”
“Okay.”
“Have someone notify her family. Let’s fly them up, if they want to be here. I don’t want her to wake up by herself.” I targeted him with my gaze. “I’m serious, Midnight. Keep her safe until I get out.”
“I will, man. I will.”
The police ride to the station was silent. Every now and then the cop driving glanced over his shoulders. My hands were still cuffed behind me. Snow fell. All I could do was worry about Simone and beat myself up for letting her get harmed.
It was crazy how fast a decent morning could shift into a life-changing and horrible day. It was just that fast. We’d been warm and under our blankets, kissing. Barely an hour later, Simone had been violated and was passed out on Ru’s bed.
The cop driving whispered to the one in the passenger seat. “Is that who I think it is?”
He nodded. “Yeah. And the guy that’s heading to the hospital is Ru.”
“Who?”
“Don’t you remember that movie, Kid Detective?”
“Oh yeah, he was the lead, right?”
“Yeah.” The cop glanced back at me. “Wasn’t your mother in that movie too?”
I nodded and looked back out of the window.
“Wow, man. Isn’t that crazy?” the cop said to the other. “Life is circular that way.”
“Circular? What the fuck are you talking about?” He lowered his voice as if he didn’t want me to hear him. “That guy beat the other into a coma. There’s no way that guy’s waking up.”
“Eh, did you see what he did to the female? He probably deserved it.”
“Who was she?”
“Don’t know.”
“Everyone will know soon.”
I closed my eyes and leaned back in the seat, trying to clear my head of the fear tornadoing aground me. I was powerless. All I could do was take this moment by moment until the universe revealed what the hell would happen to us.
When I arrived, they processed me. I’d only seen things like this in the movies—the fingerprinting and taking of my mugshot. One of the officers stood in awe and snapped the picture. “I love all your music.”
I didn’t say anything, not in the mood to talk about anything. My head still spiraled, trying to make sense of the craziness of the day. I felt that same sense of helplessness that I had at Jason’s funeral. That humbling feeling that no matter how much money I made or power I held, pain could touch me, tragedy would hit me, and fucked up things would happen to the people around me.
But this time, it was different. Where I’d been ready to hide in the mountains, after Jason’s death, I didn’t have that same feeling. Right now, all I could think about was having Simone in my arms, taking care of her, holding her body, making sure that she was okay. In fact, the worst part about the officers handing me the dreary orange uniform was the realization that I wouldn’t see Simone tonight. I wouldn’t be able to touch her. I wouldn’t be able to tell her everything would be okay.
And it would be okay, because it had to be. I would accept nothing less. This cell wouldn’t hold me back from her. No matter what and who tried to keep us apart, we would never stumble. We would never fail.
I undressed in a line of four other men. One smelled of garbage and then vomited on his feet. Officers scrambled to clean it up. Others stared at me, whispering to each other and wondering why they recognized me.
A huge uniformed man got in front of me. “Turn around and bend over.”
I swallowed and did as I was told, feeling degraded and defeated.
“I can’t believe I’m looking in Gio’s asshole. Wow. What a day?”
I stood and turned around. “I’m glad I could be of service to you.”
He shrugged. “Put on the uniform.”
I did, and they guided us to a cell. Dreary concrete passed us by. We moved further beyond two cells that had people in their regular clothes. My heart dropped, realizing I wouldn’t be in a holding cell, that they planned to keep me overnight.
Fuck. How am I going to find out if she’s okay?
The officer kept him and I further back from the others. “My girlfriend loves your music.”
“What?”
“She goes crazy for it. I bet she would give me head for a week, if I could have you sign something for me.”
“Of course.”
His face brightened and then he winked at me. “You know? If you need anything, let me know. You’re a good guy. They say you’re a possible murderer. I don’t believe that. I could make your life comfortable.”
“Could you sneak me a phone?”
“Oh no, I’m not that bold, but if you wrote something I could get it to the person.”
“Okay. I want to try that. I’ll give you the number and who to call. They’ll pick it up and deliver it.”
“Sounds good. And I’ll see if I can find some things for you to sign. It sucks I don’t have one of her posters here now.”
“Whenever you get them, I’ll sign them. Whether I’m in here or not.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
We rounded the corner. Bars lined both of our sides. Two to three men hung out inside each cage. Some jumped up off their bunks and catcalled us. A few recognized my face.
“Is that fucking G-to-the-I-to-the-O?”
“Sing something for us?”
“What the fuck did you do, man?”
“Shit ain’t been the same since Jason. Who you kill, man?”
The officer opened my cell. “We’re going to have you in one by yourself. Sometimes they’re not good to celebrities. Other times they are. The warden figured, better safe than sorry.”
I nodded and stepped in. The door slung closed behind me. I couldn’t see anyone on my sides, just the men in the cage ahead of me. A toilet sat against the wall. A gray cot lay close on its right. I climbed on top, drowning in the darkness seeping along the bars and trapping me in.
I lay on the top of the cot and thought of her. The men made a racket for a while, screaming my name out and even singing some of my songs. After a good hour of not replying, they tired and gave up. Another hour passed, and silence mingled with further darkness and descended into my cell.
There was something comforting about silence. It gave me time to gather my thoughts, and there was an overall calming feeling that poured over me. I pictured Simone’s face and I somehow knew it would be okay. There was nothing else I could consider. It all had to be okay.
Everything had to work out. If not, that mean God was a sadistic bastard.
It’s all going to work out. She’s going to be fine. I’m going to be out of here.
Later, the officer from earlier slipped in a notebook and pen.
I jumped off the bed, grabbed it, and wrote to Simone. Everything just poured out of me. All my love. All my fears. All my hope. I wanted her to know that she’d done nothing wrong. I wanted her to know that I would always be there. That I loved. That I cared. That my life was nothing until her. That I hadn’t truly lived, truly breathed until I met her.
For the first time since the cops had handcuffed me, my eyes watered at the realization that she might never wake up. What if I never got to see her again? What if her last moment on earth was that sick fuck’s face?
No. Don’t say that. Don’t think about it.
An hour later, the officer got the letter from me and handed me several posters to sign. Apparently, one of his friends had run to the store, bought a few, and rushed them over.
“I put the number of my manager on the back.” I pointed to the bulky letter. “Make sure you give it to him or whoever he sends over here.”
“No problemo. We’re all supporting you. There’s people outside gathering around the jail. They’ve got signs and everything. GioKnights shirts and hats.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. It’s been the biggest news all day. They’re calling it a deadly love triangle.”
My heart crushed. This wasn’t the way I wanted the world to meet Simone. The media craved a dirty headline, and what would be better than some portrayal of Simone as this temptress, seducing two powerful men to the point where they try to kill each other?
“Any news about her?” I asked, gripping the bars.
“It’s just pretty much the same. She’s awake and not talking to anyone.”
I froze. “She’s...awake?”
“Yes.”
I let out an exasperated breath.
“Oh. I forget you have no idea what’s been going on since we grabbed you.” He tucked the posters under his arm. “He’s awake too.”
“What?!” I yelled so loud the cop jumped back. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I thought he’d died or something.”
“No, he’s awake and handcuffed to his bed. He confessed to drugging and sexually assaulting her, but he’s saying that you attacked and tried to kill him.”
“I was defending her.”
“Hey, this is why your lawyers are all over the news, man.” Something beeped on his side. He shook his head. “I’ve got to go. I’ll get this letter to her and thanks again for the posters.”
“No, thank you for letting me know what’s going on.”
He nodded and left.
My spirits lifted. Simone was alive. Ru was alive too, not that I wouldn’t have mind if he died, but I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life and jail due to killing him.
It’s going to work out.
I headed back to the cot and lay down, trying to stay positive.
She’s okay.
But how much was she okay? Sure, she’d woken up, but what had he done to her? How much did she remember? Was she drugged the whole time, or did he attack her before and then drug her?
I could kill that sick fuck. Maybe he should’ve stayed in the coma.
It took several minutes of dark silence to calm me down.
How much did he hurt her? Would she still be my happy Simone?
It didn’t matter, if she changed from all of this. In many ways, I half expected it. Ru had hurt her so much, and not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. She would need time to heal and I hoped she would let me help her.
Would she still believe in love—in us—after what that monster did to her? Would she still want the feel of my arms around her, or did he ruin the concept of physical touch to her? How much damage did you try to do to us, Ru?
No matter what he did, I would be there for her. There was nothing Ru could do to keep me away. I just hoped Simone still wanted to give us a chance. Many victims of sexual assault and rape didn’t want to be physically comforted or touched in anyway. Jason had confessed that to me long ago.
His mother had woken him up in the middle of the night, brought two hookers into his room, and had her friends laugh and watch on as the women slept with them. He said it took him days to sleep again without the fear of his mother doing the same thing. It took him several months to stop wetting the bed, and so many years before he ever let anyone touch him.
Damn you, Ru. Why did you have to hurt her?
I wanted to scream and rip the cot and everything apart.
I never fell asleep that night.
I never stopped thinking of her.
And most of all, I held on to the hope that we would be together again. And that everything would be okay.
Chapter 23
Simone
Music was my refuge.
I could crawl
into the space between the notes
and curl my back to loneliness.
~Maya Angelou
I lay on my side in the hospital bed. My mother sat right next to me, held my hand, and smoothed down my hair with the other. It had been so long since I’d seen her. More gray scattered around her long black wavy hair. She didn’t have any wrinkles, but worry creased her face, making her look older.
“I’m okay.”
Tears left her eyes. “I know, baby. I know.”
I didn’t know how long I’d been out, just that when I opened my eyes, my dad and mother stared back at me. It was the most perfect thing for me. Just the thing to help me heal. The only thing that would’ve made the moment better was Gio standing right there next to him.
Midnight told me later that Gio had beat Ru to a pulp and been arrested for aggravated assault. Suddenly, the calm that my parents had brought me, all vanished.
No. Not Gio.
He was the last person that deserved to be in jail. Ru should’ve been thrown up under one, but not my Gio. That news crushed me. I couldn’t eat or sleep after that. It seemed life was too fucking unfair. The only thing I needed in this moment was Gio, and the world had locked him away.
He’s innocent. He’s fucking innocent. All he did was help take down a monster.
I’d said the same to Midnight and the police officers that interviewed me. I demanded that they release him. I threatened to file a lawsuit and take that jail apart brick by brick unless they let him go. Midnight ended up finishing the interview fast and hired two of my own lawyers tp explain that I was just as crazy as Gio.
My mother patted my head. “It’s going to be okay.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. “I know.”
Is Mom right? Will Gio ever be free? And will I ever be me, again?
I’d changed. Everything about me shifted to something darker. Before Ru attacked me, I had a faith that lived inside of my heart. He’d crushed that. There was no more faith in the world, after that. He ruined that sweet part of me. I didn’t know if I could ever look at a man I didn’t know in the same manner again. In fact, I didn’t want to be around any guy I didn’t know for too long. Even the police officers made me uneasy.
