by Jade Jones
Jude was completely grief-stricken, and confused about how to go about going on to the next important step which was letting go. Instead he was pushing his loved ones away while trying to deal with the pain on his own. Little did he know that strategy would actually hurt him more than help him.
***
Jude strolled casually through the courtyard the following afternoon. It was the closest thing the inmates came to getting a breath of fresh air. Most prisoners entertained themselves with a game of basketball, others stayed busy by exercising, while the rest conversed.
Jude kicked a nearby pebble while lost in his own thoughts. He had barely said more than two words to his own roommate, and honestly he just wanted to be left the hell alone. His gaze wandered over towards a group of inmates doing a vigorous workout routine together.
Suddenly, Jude heard the rapid sound of footsteps approach him from behind! Before he could even turn all the way around, a closed fist quickly connected with his jaw. Jude instantly lost his balance and crashed onto the concrete.
Inmates immediately stopped what they were doing in order to see what the hell was going on.
White and two of his boys proceeded to viciously stomp and kick Jude while he lay helplessly on the ground, shielding his face and head from the devastating blows. His torso and legs took a major beating, and he was certain that one of his ribs may have been fractured.
Unfortunately, he had been caught slipping instead of watching his back. That was the number one rule or prison.
Every part of Jude’s body was a target for White and his goons as they continued to violently stomp out Jude. None of the other inmates bothered to step in, and stop the madness. After all, no one wanted to get involved in someone else’s drama.
Jude suddenly tried to grab White’s leg in a desperate attempt to make him fall over, but that proved to be a big mistake. The bottom of White’s shoe connected with Jude’s head which bounced off the concrete immediately knocking him unconscious…
***
The minute Cameron returned home from the prison, she checked her mailbox for the bills that were bound to be there. After sifting through the electric bill, water bill, and her cellphone bill, she noticed a letter that she had received from the Cuyahoga Department Corrections Facility.
A smile slowly crept across her face because she knew that it was from Jude. However, her smile quickly disappeared when she wondered why he had chosen to mail her a letter only to turn around and refuse her visit. After further scrutinizing the letter, she noticed that the handwriting on the letter didn’t seem to match Jude’s at all.
Cameron hoped for the best but expected the worst as she made her way inside her condo. She decided to go ahead, and open the letter the minute she stepped inside the foyer. Carefully, she removed the folded piece of notebook paper. She expected to see a hand-written letter but instead was greeted with the disappointing sight of a blank paper, and inside of that a Green Dot Pre-paid card.
Jude had gotten up with a trusted CO that he paid to put his earned money on the Pre-paid card. He then instructed him to mail it off to the address given. It wasn’t much, but it was all he had in order to help her out financially.
Cameron’s cheeks quickly flushed in anger. “Why would he send me this bullshit, and then turn around and not even see me during visitation. What the fuck is he on?” she asked herself.
In a sudden fit of rage, she placed the meaningless Pre-paid card into the envelope and tossed it inside the drawer of the of the accent table on top of the picture of her deceased brother. Cameron hated trying to figure people out, and she was frustrated that she was unable to try to even figure out what Jude was on.
I wish that I could have this moment for life…
‘Cause in this moment I just feel so alive…
Cameron’s cellphone rang in her purse. She dug into her purse and answered the call. “Hello?”
“Hey, Cam. What’s up girl? It’s Ki Ki,” she greeted cheerfully.
Cameron wished her mood matched Ki Ki’s but unfortunately it didn’t. Instead she felt a combination of irritation, confusion, and disappointment.
“Hey, girl. Just getting in the house,” Cameron told her. “What’s up?”
Ki Ki sounded like she was inside of a car. “So, look I know the first lil’ private party we did didn’t go as planned, but on some real shit, I love the money we made,” she admitted. “It was fast, convenient, and right on time. You know? On the real, I’m trying to get some money like that again. Damn this bartending gig,” she said.
Cameron thought about what Ki Ki was saying. She had promised Jude that she was done with the stripper lifestyle, but she had already broken her promise when she agreed to do the private party with Mike.
Anyway Jude seemed to be on whatever he was on, so Cameron decided that she could play the same type of game. “Fuck it,” she said. “I’m down too…”
16
Daggers was a popular hood after hour spot located off Miles Rd. After Smoove’s closed down this was pretty much the spot that everyone migrated to for late night entertainment. It was the type of place where anything went down, and although it could indeed get pretty rowdy there were some ballers who frequented the club on a regular basis.
“You ever danced here before?” Ki Ki asked as Cameron pulled into the broken up gravel that served as the small club’s driveway.
“No. But I’ve danced at after hour spots before. Trust me, there’s money to be made,” Cameron told her. She didn’t dare want to go into details about the fact that she’d also been raped, and witnessed one of her best friends get murdered in after hour spots.
Cameron parked her truck in an empty space and turned off the engine. She was just about to step out her vehicle, when Ki Ki suddenly grabbed her wrist.
“Wait, Cam,” she said. “I gotta ask you something that’s been on my mind.”
Cameron closed the driver’s door and relaxed in her seat. “What’s that?” she asked.
Ki Ki drew in a deep breath and released it. “That day when you fought that chick in the parking lot,” she began. “What did she mean when she said ‘be careful around you because all you friends die’?”
Cameron figured the question would arise sooner or later so she wasn’t surprised. Hell, if the shoe was on the other foot she’d ask Ki Ki the exact same question. “That bitch was just being stupid,” Cameron answered. “Don’t feed into that shit.”
Ki Ki nodded her head. “Well, I knew she had to just be talking shit,” she said. “You seem like a damn good friend. Especially since you came back for me at the hotel and all. Shit, I don’t know what those niggas would’ve did to me if you hadn’t come back,” Ki Ki told her.
Cameron shrugged it off. “We gotta have each other’s backs,” she said. “Now you ready to go in here and get this money?”
“You know it.”
Daggers was pretty crowded that night. It was a BYOB type of place so almost every guy in the place had a bottle or beer in his hand. The place was set up much like a club on the inside. There was a spacious dance floor in the center of the room and lined along each wall of the club were several booths which all happened to be occupied.
In the center of the dance floor was a metallic pole. Cameron did a double take when she noticed Juicy doing her thing on stage. She hadn’t seen her since she last worked at The Shakedown.
People were posted on the walls and there were a couple fellas playing pool in the farthest corner of the club. The lights were always dimmed inside of Daggers and it was that way for a reason. Anything and everything went down in that place from the dancers fucking in the booths for the right price, to the fellas hitting licks and trying to earn a dollar. It was just that type of spot.
“You nervous?” Cameron shouted over the music to be heard. “If you nervous we don’t gotta stay,” she said.
Ki Ki watched a flurry of bills rain down on Juicy as she slid down from the metallic pole into a full blown split positi
on, and began humping the stage in a seductive manner.
Ki Ki turned to face Cameron. “Are you crazy?” she asked. “This is just my kinda spot!”
“Well come on. Let’s go get dressed.”
Ki Ki followed Cameron towards the dressing room. Inside had to be over fifteen dancers prepping for their upcoming performances. A few were smoking weed, and some were even cleaning their kitties so they’d be fresh when they sold it to the highest bidder in the club. Those were the types of females that were all about their money, and didn’t give a damn how and what they had to do to get it. Although, it wasn’t Cameron’s cup of tea, she had no choice but to respect it. At the end of the day they were all hustlers.
“Oh, goodness. Don’t tell me it’s more hoes coming in here,” one of the dancers complained as she watched Cameron and Ki Ki file into the dressing room.
Cameron tossed the woman a nasty stare. “I don’t know about any hoes, but if you mean dancers then yeah. We’re in here trying to get money just like you.”
The woman rolled her eyes, but didn’t respond.
“Damn. Are all strippers bitchy like that?” Ki Ki whispered.
Cameron began pulling her outfit and shoes out of her rolling suitcase. “Women just hate competition period,” she answered not looking at Ki Ki. “And that’s all we are to each other pretty much. The more females…the more competition.”
“Is it like that in the actual strip clubs?” Ki Ki asked.
Cameron snorted. “It’s worse,” she said.
Cameron taught Ki Ki how to work the floor by getting lap dances and flirting with guys for tips. With a roster full of strippers no one was guaranteed a turn to go up on stage, and there was always the possibility that you wouldn’t get “rained” on so you had to make it do what it do by working the floor to your advantage. Luckily, the two ended up going on stage after the stuck up rude chick in the dressing room. They actually decided to go up together. Mainly because Ki Ki was afraid and nervous to go up alone. Secondly, because they would probably clean up twice as much on the tip side if they performed together. The two could split the tips fifty-fifty.
Ki Ki worked her end of the stage while Cameron worked the opposite end. Suddenly, Cameron watched as the last face she expected to see approached the stage with a small wad of bills in his hand and a wide grin on his chubby face.
Cameron purposely walked away from Wallace not even bothering to provide him with any up close and personal interaction. Instead she walked over towards the other men who were standing and waiting to tip her.
Once their turn on stage was up, Cameron rushed Ki Ki to hurry up and get dressed so they could leave, but Ki Ki was not trying to hear that shit once again.
“Cameron, it’s so much money to be made in here still,” Ki Ki argued. “Why are we running out? You said so yourself that we’d clean up working the floor? You’re going to let all these other hoes get our money?”
Cameron couldn’t stand the thought of being in the same exact setting as Wallace. Every time she laid eyes on him she wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
“Ki Ki, you wouldn’t understand—”
“We’re friends, right Cameron?” Ki Ki demanded to know.
Cameron nodded her head.
“Then tell me.”
Cameron exhaled in frustration. She never told a soul about what Wallace did to her the night Pocahontas and Juicy left her at the strange home in Columbus.
“Did you see the fat ass dude with braids that came up to the stage to tip us?” Cameron asked.
“The one you walked away from?” Ki Ki asked. “Yeah.Why?”
“Well…he…attacked me a few months ago,” Cameron admitted. She couldn’t bear to say the word raped.
“Attacked you?!” Ki Ki repeated. “What do you mean attacked you?”
Cameron gave Ki Ki a knowing look. “Please don’t make me say it,” she pleaded.
Ki Ki’s eyes bulged in their sockets. “I would’ve killed his ass if he had done that shit to me,” she said.
Little did Cameron know, Ki Ki was dead ass serious. “We’ve ran into each other a few times after the incident, and every time he makes it his mission to fuck with me,” Cameron said. “So now do you understand why I want to leave?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Ki Ki answered. “I do…”
She followed Cameron into the dressing room where they promptly dressed and headed out towards the parking lot. Cameron walked hastily towards her truck, and pulled out her car keys—
CLINK!
Cameron’s car keys dropped from her hands and landed on the gravel. She was totally caught off guard by the sight of Wallace leaning against her driver door. He was leaning against her shit like he had purchased it. Obviously, he had been waiting for her.
“You just love fucking with me. Don’t you?” Cameron asked in irritation.
“It’s too much fun,” Wallace answered smugly.
He was so into Cameron that he didn’t even notice Ki Ki standing on the opposite end of Cameron’s trunk. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even know that the two had come together.
“So I see you ain’t wanna dance for a nigga on stage,” Wallace noted. “What? First you turned down my drink now my money ain’t good enough for you either?”
“You need help,” Cameron said in disgust.
He laughed. “Nah, I need some pussy,” he corrected her.
Cameron backed up as Wallace made his way towards her. “I never get tired of this cat and mouse shit,” he said. “I could do this—”
His sentence immediately trailed off after Ki Ki jammed the blade of her Harley Davidson pocketknife into the side of Wallace’s neck.
“Uurgghh!” he groaned in pain.
Ki Ki quickly snatched the knife out of Wallace’s neck and backed away. The knife had once belonged to RJ, but obviously the weapon was useless to him now that he was rotting away in the woods.
Blood spurted out of Wallace’s neck similar to CG effects, only this shit was the real deal. A look of fear and panic was etched on his feet as he grabbed his neck in an attempt to stop the rapid blood flow. He uncontrollably fell against Cameron’s truck before tumbling to the ground.
Gurgling noises came from his throat as he choked and spat up his own blood. Ki Ki casually wiped his blood off the knife onto her leather jacket.
“Ki Ki,” Cameron said in a low tone. “What did you do?”
“He was about to try to hurt you,” Ki Ki defended herself. “You said we gotta have each other’s backs, right?” she asked.
Cameron didn’t respond as she stared down at Wallace in horror. The gurgling noises had quickly ceased, and he was now completely motionless. His glazed over eyes were staring up at the star-filled sky.
Wallace was dead.
“Ki Ki…what did you do?” Cameron repeated. She was in total shock and disbelief about what had just taken place in a matter of seconds.
“Would you stop asking that stupid shit?!” Ki Ki snapped. “Help me get his body in the trunk before anyone comes out. We can’t just leave his ass here.”
Cameron slowly looked up at Ki Ki, and for the first time, she realized that she truly didn’t know this chick. Why do I ever try to be friends with females, she asked herself.
17
“Pull over right here,” Ki Ki instructed.
Cameron slowly eased her truck to a stop alongside Turner Rd. If it wasn’t for the few street lights illuminating the downhill road it would have been pitch black.
“Put the blinkers on just in case,” Ki Ki said.
Cameron did as she was instructed.
“Come on let’s hurry up and get this shit done with,” Ki Ki told Cameron.
Cameron seemed out of it as she climbed out the truck and rounded the vehicle. She opened the trunk and Wallace’s limp arm fell out. Great. Cameron would be scrubbing the trunk for days in order to get all the blood out.
“Come on. Help me get him out,” Ki Ki said.
Cameron may have been tripping, but it seemed like Ki Ki was a little too relaxed about everything almost as if this wasn’t her first time doing this shit.
Together they carried his body deep off into the woods near the side of the road. The task was anything but easy considering Wallace’s weight.
“Fat fuck,” Ki Ki complained.
Cameron sniffed the air around her and made a face in disgust. “What is that smell?” she asked.
Ki Ki smelled it too, and she knew exactly what the putrid odor was. It was the smell of RJ’s body decomposing a few yards from where they stood.
“I don’t know,” Ki Ki lied. “Maybe a dead deer or some shit. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just hurry up and drop this fat ass nigga and get the hell out of here.”
***
“Are you mad at me?” Ki Ki asked once she and Cameron were back inside the truck.
Cameron sat motionless in the driver’s seat as she stared straight ahead. The sound of her blinkers clicked repeatedly as they sat on the side of the road. Her hands were covered in Wallace’s blood, and all she could think about was the look in his eyes after Ki Ki had brutally stabbed him.
“Cameron…Are you mad at me?” Ki Ki repeated in a concerned tone.
Cameron turned to face Ki Ki. “It’s not about me being mad at you,” she said. “Dude, you just killed a man…”
“You act like we just killed some innocent ass nigga—”
“We?!” Cameron repeated. “You stabbed him. I didn’t do shit,” she corrected her.
Ki Ki smiled. “Whatever you say to make you sleep at night, Cameron,” she said. “But you and I both know that he would’ve never stopped if someone hadn’t stopped him.”
***
Jude stepped into Stone’s cell the following afternoon during rec time. “You wanted to see me?” he asked. Both of his eyes were blackened, and there was a nasty bruise on the left side of his head. White and his boys had been removed from the general population due to their actions.
