by Nicety
Ivan Smear jumped out of the car too anxious to see them. He stood six feet tall hovering over the ladies like the Sears Tower. His smile resembled a devilish clown as it shined bright from ear to ear. He was lanky but held his physique intact as Pandora watched his muscles bulge through his tailor made, button down, striped collar shirt. Forget State’s Attorney, in her mind he looked like a bodybuilding champion. His green eyes and creamy white skin gave way to the typical Caucasian male but his dark, jet black hair and sultry stance made him look like he was fresh out of a GQ Magazine.
“Ah, if it isn’t my dear, sweet, daughter Oxy, hello baby,” Ivan smiled as he walked up to them with open arms, shooing Pandora in the car quickly, “Well aren’t you going to give your dear old dad a hug?”
“Hey Ivan,” Oxy mumbled as he pulled her in close for a welcoming hug.
“Well let’s get the hell outta here huh,” Ivan chuckled escorting her into the front seat of the car.
“I didn’t think you were going to personally pick us up yourself,” Oxy said staring over at Pandora yet addressing her dad.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I couldn’t have my only baby girl out here scrimmaging for a ride up North now could I?” Ivan responded watching Pandora with a close eye through the rear view mirror.
Pandora looked over at Oxy wondering what was wrong with her. Her whole demeanor changed once Ivan stepped out of the car to greet her. There was tension in the air but truthfully she could care less about the issues her and her dad faced with each other. Being able to view the orange and blue morning sky as a free woman was all she concerned herself with at that point.
“So Pandora, murder huh, that’s quite the doozy don’t you think?” Ivan’s words rolled off his tongue sarcastically. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we can get you off with a self-defense plea.”
“Yeah, he was trying to rape me and my sisters. I had no choice.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“Because, it’s hard to call the police when you’ve got a big, shiny black ass gun being toted in your face,” Pandora responded sarcastically.
“Ah, I see you’re a potty mouth little girl huh?” Ivan smirked eyeing her through the rearview mirror, “I know just how to handle potty mouths.”
“Dad, let’s just drop it okay?” Oxy said shaking her head and refocusing her eyes on the outdoor scenery.
“Oh Oxy, you know your old man doesn’t like a potty mouth.”
“Yes but we are grown women so none of that applies to us.”
Pandora sat studying both of their demeanors from the back seat as the car drove on in complete and utter silence. There was something strange about them but she could not put her finger on it. She wanted to engage in conversation and address his remark with a quick sly yet educated comment, but something in her gut just told her to let it go. Instead she chose to stare blankly out the window at the beautiful, bright orange sunrise. Thirty minutes later they pulled up into the driveway of Ivan and Oxy’s luxury 2 story home. They all exited the car with Oxy walking further ahead, quickly making her way up to the wooden door with a stained glass center. The house was not huge at all it seemed from the outside, in the small Bolingbrook suburb, but once they entered, Pandora felt like she was in a miniature paradise.
“We’ll be in my room if you need us,” Oxy said quickly snatching Pandora’s hand attempting to head up the long staircase.
“I’ll be in my office. I need to talk to your friend there about her case if I’m going to get her off,” Ivan said shutting the door and walking past the ladies disappearing into the darkness behind the stairs.
“Wait,” Pandora gasped as she snatched her hand back. “Let me look around a bit damn.”
“Ugh. It’s just a regular old crummy house. Well when you’re done, I’ll be upstairs,” Oxy turned in disgust at her gawking.
Pandora could not even focus on her rude departure having been so engulfed in the beauty of the house. The curtains on the windows looked like they were Victorian inspired, as did the plush sofas to her left and mahogany wood dining set to her right. The walls were all filled with various paintings and family portraits as if they were once a beautiful loving family, as if the now cold and dark house once had life inside. Right at the foot of the stairs was a huge picture of a beautiful dark haired woman. Her eyes were mystical reminding her of that of her own mother’s. Breaking her gaze before she turned emotional, she stared down the dark hall Ivan dissolved down wondering what was beyond the blackness. She could only imagine what the kitchen looked like, her most favorite part of any house.
Done with the shock and awe tour, her feet made their way up the long stairwell and down the picture framed filled hallway to a well lit room at the end, Oxy’s room. She pushed the door open to find a huge lovely room full of anything and everything that had to do with the color pink. From the carpet to the paint, the entire room blinded her by the presence of the hue. It was amazingly clean and her king size bed adorned a shimmering pink spread across it. There were huge bay windows that Oxy left open allowing the sunlight to dance into the room. The doors to her walk in closet were agape revealing an astonishing array of clothing that she could not wait to sink her claws into.
“Bitch, you live in a fucking mansion and get anything you want, a trust fund? I wish I had some shit like that,” Pandora blurted as she turned to the fifty-inch screen TV mounted on the wall attractively, “Maybe I wouldn’t be in the shit I’m in now…”
“Well if you want it, you can have it,” Oxy replied slipping her jeans off then hopping on the bed in only her tattered white t-shirt and dingy panties.
“Ewe.”
“What?” Oxy sucked her teeth, “Awe girl please, like you’ve never chilled with your sisters in your shirts and panties before.”
“Yeah but…never mind. So anyway I would take it off your hands but there’s only one problem, I’m not related to you!” Pandora laughed with her.
“Man, fuck this shit. The only reason why I care about this shit is so I can take care of you once we’re married, that’s it. If I never met you ain’t no telling where I’d be.”
“Yeah” Pandora hesitated. “The wedding is gonna happen just as soon as I get some shit in order.
“Humph.”
“What? What the hell does that mean?”
“Nothing Pandora.”
“No, you obviously have something to say. So spit it out.”
“I’m just wondering why settling scores is the only thing on your mind when I was the one to get you out of jail and I am the one you are supposed to be marrying. You ain’t even appreciative of that shit,” Oxy growled. “I thought you would at least try to focus on the wedding.”
“God, why does it always have to be about that with you? I said we would get to it so we’ll get to it. Can we just breathe and smell fresh air before we do anything?”
“Air, bitch you were the one who brought up the whole marriage shit in the first place…unless you were just using me to get what you wanted,” Oxy exclaimed.
Even though she knew the answer she just wanted to see if Pandora had the balls to say it. If she did not then it meant that she had a tiny bit of love and enough respect for her not to break her heart or hurt her feelings. But if she came out putting her intentions on full blast then she knew Pandora was only out for self and could care less about her. Lies she could deal with since she was a master of them and had gone through life living them. She tucked her hands under her legs to keep the sweat from dripping from them as she leaned in with interest awaiting the answer she would speak.
“Ugh!” Pandora sighed in hatred as she rolled her eyes and plopped down on the bed, “No, I’m not using you Oxy. I just need to focus on tying up loose ends. Is that cool with you?”
“Yeah, I guess it’s cool,” Oxy breathed relieved from the lie Pandora told.
“You guess?”
“Yeah, I guess. I’m just saying; try not to lose sight of the main objec
tive for getting out of jail. You know what I’m saying?”
“Never, I got you babe,” Pandora played her card, moving in to seductively stroke her chin with her fingernail just the way Oxy liked it.
“Naw you ain’t got me yet, but you will,” Oxy said laying Pandora down on the bed pressing her lips to hers.
“Mmm, wait. This is great and all and trusts I want my pussy licked badly especially after all that damn sneaking and shit. But baby you need to get your stanky ass in the fucking shower,” Pandora giggled as she slowly slid out from under her.
“What? You ain’t never minded my smell before. Now cause we here you wanna act brand new.”
“Shit, I’ve always had a problem with it. Why do you think I always ask you to brush your teeth before you eat my pussy? Being locked up is one thing but we’re free now bitch, so go clean yourself.”
Oxy dismounted her and headed into the bathroom connected to her room. She headed straight for the small corner shower turning the water on not even giving it a chance to warm up before stepping inside. As she lathered up she began to daydream about the married life with Pandora having two kids and a dog in a nice quiet suburban life. She would be the perfect mom to her kids that her mom never was to her and ensure that no harm ever came to them. She thought about giving her wife and kids any and everything they wanted and could not wait to be able to do so to see the smiles on their faces. Once she was done she quickly grabbed a huge, blue beach towel from the nearby rack then dried the tiny water droplets stuck to her skin.
“Ha! I’m so fresh and so clean,” Oxy said flinging open the door and jumping out as naked as the day she was born.
To her disappointment, she found a fast asleep Pandora curled up in a ball on the bed with the covers pulled almost to her head. She walked over to see if she was really sleeping and found that she was not only sleeping but also snoring as well. With her head hung low she pimped around to the other side of the bed and slid underneath the covers with her. Oxy wrapped her bony arms around Pandora’s waist spooning her closely, placing tiny pecks on the back of her neck. She leaned in laying her head close to hers then closed her eyes grinning and happy to have such a beautiful body lying in front of her.
Chapter 9
“So because he didn’t respect you, you killed him?”— Ivan
“Awe shit!” Kojack bellowed as he read the results on the paper.
His heart knocked louder than the storm brewing outside of his office window. Never in his life had he been so nervous or scared of something even with knowing how unavoidable it was. He rose from the sofa bed ready to tear the paint off the walls and scream to the top of his lungs. A knock at the door startled him from his gaze at the paper. It was the type of knock that had quickly turned into a police type of banging as his heart jumped up out of his shirt the closer he moved towards the door.
“WHAT?” he yelled as he yanks the door open.
“Um, I’m sorry Kojack but there is someone on the phone for you who say it’s a matter of life and death,” Nikki said handing him the company’s cordless phone that she carried around the site often.
“Didn’t I tell you I didn’t want any calls?”
“I understand sweetie but they said it was life or death and I didn’t know if it was someone from your family or not. I didn’t want to take any risks if it was something very serious,” Nikki rebutted insisting he take the phone from her hand with a shoving gesture.
Kojack reluctantly snatched the phone from her hands and turned to take the call. He put the receiver to his earlobe without uttering a peep hoping to listen to the background noise to figure out who it was on the other end. He slowed his breathing so the person would not know that he was on the phone listening in. For the most part, there was very little noise in the background that he could identify with and pinpoint a person or location. He twiddled his nose a bit as he stared back at Nikki who was standing there either patiently waiting for the phone or being nosey. Either way it ticked him off.
“Yo who is this?” Kojack spoke authoritatively.
“Nigga this is Diamond. Who the fuck else you thought it was? You don’t know my fucking number by now?”
“Oh, guess I wasn’t expecting a call from you so I wasn’t paying attention. So what you want?”
“Damn it’s like that now? Check it, ya girl is in the hospital. I’m here with her now but I got some things I need to take care of.”
“Well what’s wrong with her?”
“They don’t know yet Kojack. They are waiting for the test results to come back. The doctor said it should be within the hour.”
“Well if she’s still alive then she’s alright then right?” Kojack asked.
“Look, I know you and her broke up and shit but she needs you. The least you could do is act like you once gave a damn,” Diamond growled.
Kojack sighed knowing he may have been acting unreasonable, “Where she at man?”
“I drove her to the city to Christ Hospital. They’re the best at trauma situations and I didn’t want to leave my sister’s life in the hands of some second rate Resident.”
“Aight man, I’ll be there in minute.”
“Well your company is right up the street so it should barely take you that. She really does need you.”
“Ay, don’t rush me. You talking about she needs me, but what about you? Huh? Why are you leaving?”
“I just got some business I need to handle. That’s all.”
“Diamond, what business could be more important than your family?”
Diamond stewed for a minute on the thought. It never ran through her mind that her leaving could quite possibly be wrong on her part but she felt if she did not tear herself apart from the hospital early she would never be able to.
“Nigga, can you just bring your ass up to this damn hospital and be with your damn girl. I don’t even know what you all broke up for. You know you in love with the damn girl, shit,” Diamond spat evading the question.
“Jeez. Aight, I’ll be there in a few.”
With those words Kojack hung up the phone. He was not the least bit interested in continuing on in conversation with her since she was the initiating cause of all of his heartache and grief. He was perfectly fine with his life until she came in disrupting it with her incurable disease. His world was stomped on, confused, and turned upside down because of it and the very thought of having to see her face again fucked his head up. Nonetheless, he walked to the bathroom turning the shower on then headed back to the office to escort Nikki out so he could get dressed in private.
“Here, take this phone girl. If I say I don’t want no calls I mean no calls. You got it? If it ain’t my momma, fuck the world. You understand?” Kojack spoke firmly.
“Yes. Yes I understand.”
“Thanks. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get dressed,” Kojack raised his hand to give her the gesture to leave.
“Asshole,” Nikki mumbled.
“What did you just say?”
“Huh? What?”
“Don’t play coy with me. I heard you say something. Be a woman and spit it out.”
Nikki sighed annoyingly, “If you must know, I called you an asshole…sir.”
“Why? Why am I the asshole?”
“Because Kojack, I have been working for you for three years now and I don’t get any attention at all. I daydream every day about us being together. I handle all your business when you’re not here, holding it down for you. I’m your shoulder to cry on, your cook when you need it, your nurse, and I’m every woman for you. But you don’t know a good woman when you see her. You’d rather run up behind whores all day.”
“Nikki, why must we go through this again? I wish I had never fucked you that night two years ago. We were drunk and you’re reading into it, making it something it’s not. It was just drunk sex. That’s it.”
“See that’s exactly what I mean. Yeah it was drunken sex but you’re not even thinking about what could’ve grown from that
or how long I was in your corner before then. You just use females for your own personal gain. You don’t give a fuck about nobody but yourself,” Nikki’s facial expression went from distraught to pissed in under a minute.
“I do care…ugh. Nikki, I never said I didn’t care about you. I’m just in a really weird time in my life right now and it’s fucking with me.”
“Yeah, well so am I, Kojack. But I refuse to let it fuck with me any longer. I love you. Can you say that you love me too?” Nikki asked walking up to him preparing for a kiss if he decided to deliver one.
“Love, are you sure?” Kojack already knew the answer gazing down into her eyes. “I…I…”
“That’s what I thought,” Nikki mumbled, as she turned headed for the door. “Consider this my thirty day notice.”
“Shit!” Kojack blurted as she slammed his office door.
He did not have time for that shit from her. She had threatened to leave a couple of times before when he refused to commit to her but she never did. This time seemed no different. He headed for the closet to pick out a simple white tee and a pair of Sean Jean jeans to wear for the day with some wheat colored Timberlands and dashed into the shower. The only thing he could wrap his head around after that was if there was something really wrong with Lexi or was she playing yet another one of her games. He felt if it was a game, it would be one that he wasn’t in the mood for and she would dearly pay for her actions this time. Kojack walked around cleaning the room before he headed out the door.
*****
Pandora awoke with the warm sunrays beating across her face. She sat up noticing she was entangled in Oxy’s embrace. She wiggled her waist out of it slyly, careful not to wake her up noticing the time on the Hello Kitty clock mounted on the wall next to the oversized, big screen TV. It read 8:32 am, which puzzled her because it did not feel like she was asleep that long. After stretching as long as she could and gazing out the window at the wildly huge backyard beyond the balcony, she turned to find Oxy staring back at her eerily.
Pandora breathed rolling her eyes, “So what can I wear and where’s the bathroom?”
