RedBone

by Styles, T.

  It was a good thing, because she had a big week ahead of her. For one, Rhonda’s shower was Saturday, and she still had to move on her plans to get Lesa fully out of her apartment. They’d already paid a service to clean the shit from Lesa’s walls, and Farah went hard, by throwing most of her stuff in a storage area in the building. She wanted to move things along because she had taken too much of her time. Nice went out the window, and she would step to anybody who got in her way. The only things she allowed to stay inside of Lesa’s room were her computer and purses. And that was only because they were valuable, and could be sold if she didn’t run her the back rent she owed.

  After finishing the pancakes, she removed them from the stove, buttered them, and placed them on the counter. She was about to fry some eggs when there was a knock at the door. Wiping her hand on the towel, she looked through the peephole and saw Randy on the other side. Gas escaped her body as she quietly paced around in place. She couldn’t believe he came over to her house, and she couldn’t believe she was home. That meant he knew she didn’t live with Brownie. If Lesa came in, or her sisters or brother, she’d be caught red-handed.

  “Fuck!” she said in a low voice. “How did he know I was here?”

  “Farah, either open this mothafuckin’ door or I’m breaking this bitch down! I know you in there! Don’t fuck with me!”

  She backed away from the door, and sat on the couch. Placing the tips of her fingers in her mouth, she chewed on her nails to settle her nerves. There was no getting out of her situation now.

  “Bitch, I know you in there! Your roommate told me everything.” He banged on the door like he was the police. “I put out no less than fifty thousand on your ass in less than six months, and you carry me like this?” Bang! Bang! “You never lived with your fucking mother! So why the fuck you lie?”

  Silence.

  “You want to play it like this?” He was breathing so heavily that she could hear him from the other side of the door. “You better wear a bulletproof vest, bitch, whenever you step outside. I got fifty thousand to whoever murders you. I ain’t got to do shit but sit back and watch them work.” He laughed. “I’ll get up with you later. Believe that.”

  When he left, she tried to pull herself together. She thought about the way Dio’s face looked as she sucked the life from his body. He was so sweet that she drained him, so he could last her for the rest of the month. What good would it do her to worry about Randy right now? If he was gonna make his move, he was gonna make his move, and there would be nothing she could do to stop him. Suddenly she thought about getting a new victim, so she could feel even more powerful. There was something about the act that drove her more than the taste.

  From the moment Farah discovered she had porphyria, which started the legend of the vampire, she was obsessed with making it go away. Unfortunately wishing didn’t work, until the day she met Grand Mike. So what the doctor told her that drinking blood was an urban legend, she felt better when she killed, and would continue to do so, until she was arrested or murdered.

  After frying the eggs, there were a few quick raps on the door. She doubted Randy would come back, but that didn’t stop her heart from pounding outrageously in her chest. Like a cat, she quietly moved toward the sound, increased her height by standing on the tips of her toes, and looked out the peephole. A smile covered her face when she saw Slade; what a great morning treat. She examined her clothes, dusted herself off, and opened the door.

  “Hi, Slade. Were you here for Audio? Because I think he walked to the store with my sister.”

  “I’m not here for him, I see his ass all the time. I came to see if you’re doing better.” He smiled. “You had me worried about you. You gotta take care of yourself.”

  She looked into the hallway to be sure Randy wasn’t coming. For a brief moment she forgot that she had a hit on her head. “Was anybody in the hallway when you knocked?”

  “Naw ... why?” He looked around. “You look scared about something. I mean, is everything okay?”

  “No.” She pulled him by his wrist into the house, and locked up. When she realized she touched him she dropped her hand and said, “Oh ... I’m sorry ... I know you don’t like that shit. I forget sometimes.”

  “It’s cool.” He shrugged. “I don’t want you to think I’m crazy or nothing. There’s a reason I’m like that. Maybe I’ll tell you later if I start fucking with you hard.”

  “If you fuck with me hard?” She giggled. “Well, I’m not worried about none of that. Once you spend time with me, you’ll be wanting to tell me everything.”

  “Is that right?”

  “All the way.” She dropped her head, and tried to conceal the happiness that spread across her face. “Hungry?” She pointed to the food on the counter. “I made enough for everybody.”

  “If you can burn.” He grinned, rubbing his stomach. “I can eat.”

  After fixing his plate, they ate in silence in her bedroom. The TV was on but the sound was muted. Every now and again she would look over at him. Where did he come from? What was his story? There were so many questions, and she hoped this time that he’d hang around long enough to give some answers.

  “I see you can burn. I ain’t gonna lie, I didn’t pick you for the cooking type,” he said. “I can’t give you too much, but this food almost as good as my mamma’s. And if you knew Moms, you’d know that’s a huge compliment.”

  “Thank you. I can’t cook a lot of stuff, just the meals I eat a lot. Chicken ... rice, and things like that. Oh ... and breakfast food.” She looked down at the floor. “I’m real good at morning food.” She placed her plate on the floor, and picked up the remote. “You wanna watch a movie? I have a few DVDs.”

  “I’m not trying to watch TV; we played games long enough.” He paused. “I want to talk to you. I want to know who you are, and where you come from.”

  “Okay, ask me anything.”

  “A’ight.” He set his plate down. “Where you from?”

  “I grew up around here ...” Before she could finish her statement, Slade moved in for a kiss. Her breaths were heavy, and she was aroused by the wetness in the seat of her panties. When the kiss was over she said, “Uh ... I grew up around here ...”

  He kissed her again and broke away a minute later. “I been wanting to do that forever. It was better than I thought.”

  “Can you do it again?” He grinned and their lips connected like magnets. They fell on her bed, and she eased on top of his body. Slade hadn’t kissed a woman in years, so to him, this moment spoke volumes. “That felt so good.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and said, “It was better than that.” Farah crawled off of him, and stood before him. Then she gave him a strip tease by dropping her pajamas, and then her shirt. Naked, her nipples hardened and small chill bumps rose on her skin as he looked at her.

  Slade rose and looked over her body. His dick was so hard, he knew there was no way he wasn’t gonna hit that pussy today. Appreciating the fact that he broke his vow, he moved his rough hands over her soft breasts, arms, and thighs. Now that he touched a woman again, he knew there was no way he was ever going back. How could he be so stupid to give up God’s gift to man?

  “When you touch me, for some reason, I feel like it’s the first time,” she said. “Like you never touched a woman before. I never had that feeling before.”

  “If a nigga never appreciated your body, you don’t need him.” That was a jab at Randy and she knew it.

  She grinned. “I feel safe around you.”

  “You don’t know it, but I was here the first night you were sick. You were having a nightmare or something. When I put my hands on you, you went back to sleep.”

  “I don’t remember.” She pulled him to her, and leaned against his chest. “I have nightmares most of the time, especially when I was a kid.” She hugged him tighter. “When I was younger, I used to pray for you. I’d pray somebody strong would enter my life and protect me. You believe in stuff like that?”<
br />
  “Yeah ... you don’t have no reason to lie to me. So until you prove me wrong, I’m gonna trust everything you say.”

  Keeping her eyes on him, she unbuttoned his pants. His blue boxers peeked through the top of his True Religion jeans, and she ushered them to the floor. He stepped out of them one foot at a time, and tossed them into the corner. Wanting to see all of him, she removed his jacket and T-shirt. It was as if she were unwrapping a gift with too much paper. Standing in the middle of the floor, they held each other closely, slowly rocking in place. With her head on his heart, she wondered how good he would taste. She thought about how the red blood pouring out of his body would look against his chocolate tone. When she realized the vile thoughts in her mind, she pushed away from him, and put her clothes on.

  “Okay, what just happened here?” he asked. “Did I do something wrong? Did I squeeze you too tightly?”

  “No ... uh ... I just got some stuff on my mind.” She rubbed her arms. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have teased you.”

  They were caught up in the moment when Chloe yelled, “Ahh’n, ahh’n, mothafucka, you can’t come up in here! She paused and then said, “Farah, lock your door! Randy is in the house acting crazy!” Upon hearing his name, Farah rushed toward her door at top speed. Randy was just about to twist her doorknob, when she slammed it shut, leaned up against it, and activated the lock.

  Slade quickly got dressed, and was about to move her out of the way to deal with Randy man to bitch when she whispered, “Please ... please don’t go out there.” She shook her head and tears rolled down her face. “He’s gonna kill me ... and you.”

  In the lowest voice possible he said, “I don’t care about that shit. Look at how scared you are. I can’t have this nigga come up in here, and carry shit like that.”

  “Please ... I’m begging you.”

  As she looked into his eyes, Randy continually kicked the door. Her body would move forward with each thump, and it was obvious that his mission was to break it down. “Come out here and talk to me, Farah! I gotta know why you been lying to me!” he yelled. “You fucked with the wrong nigga. You might as well kill yourself. You better not have no nigga in there.”

  “Let me go out there,” Slade whispered. “This nigga’s a fucking punk. I can handle him, Farah. Trust me.”

  “Please, don’t,” she sobbed. “Don’t go out there. I’m falling in love with you, and I don’t want you hurt.” Slade bit down on his bottom lip, and tried to hold it together. Hiding from a human being was not his thing.

  Randy continued to kick and bang on the door, when they heard Shadow say, “Nigga, what the fuck you doing in my crib?” The last thing she wanted was Shadow and Randy to go at it. He was in jail most of the time Farah was with him, but he still heard the stories.

  “Shadow, I ain’t got no beef with you,” Randy said. “This shit is between me and your sister.”

  “If you think beefing with my sister means you don’t got a problem with me, you don’t know shit about me,” Shadow said calmly. “She ain’t trying to be with you no more. Just leave it at that. Cool?”

  Farah listened intently for Randy’s response. “You tell your sister to remember what I said earlier.”

  “I ain’t telling her a mothafuckin’ thing.”

  Randy laughed, as she heard his footsteps walk away. Focusing back on Slade she said, “I’m sorry about that. I don’t know why he doesn’t just leave me alone.”

  “You must be leading him on,” he said, taking his frustration out on her for not being able to push off on Randy. “Why else would he come over here like that?”

  “Slade, it’s a long story. Just keep it light, baby.”

  “Stop saying that shit to me! I hate it!”

  “I’m sorry.” She swallowed. “I won’t ever say it again. Can’t we just start all over?”

  “We’ll rewind when you keep shit straight with me.” He moved her out of the way of the door. “Until then, I’m out.”

  Chapter 56

  “There’s gonna come a time when you have to choose a side. Be sure to choose right.”

  —Slade

  The weather was nicer than it had been all winter, as the Baker Boys put traffic on a momentary pause. Every female in view, and a few men too, couldn’t believe their eyes. In the dead of winter, four men jogged down the street shirtless, and in jeans. Although it was cold outside, sweat poured off of their bodies as they performed their daily routine. This workout was particularly important, because Slade needed to get Farah off of his mind. She invaded his thoughts, and forced him to forget about what was important ... bringing his family back together.

  When Major seemed to be slowing down, Slade turned around and yelled, “Major, push it! Go harder, faster, and longer!”

  When he seemed to be disconnected, Slade slowed down his pace, so he could jog by his side. “I miss him too, Major. We all do. That’s why we gotta stay strong and keep shit together.” Major avoided eye contact. “Do it for Knox.” He placed his hand on his shoulder, and Major looked at him. “Now push!”

  With the mention of their brother’s name, all four brothers ran faster. They already jogged four miles, and only had one more to go. “Move!” Slade yelled as he pointed forward. “We almost there!”

  They were so motivated that in the last few minutes they were able to beat their record. When they finally made it back to Markee’s apartment, they sat wherever they could to catch their breath. Markee was in the living room watching TV, but cut it off when Slade walked inside and into the kitchen.

  “What, man?” Slade threw each of his brothers a water bottle from the fridge before twisting off the cap on his own. “Did my brother call or something?”

  The brothers walked in the kitchen and waited for Markee’s response. “No, not yet.”

  “So what the fuck is up?” Major asked, breathing heavily. “Why you looking all crazy and shit?”

  “Randy wants to meet with y’all tonight. He has a job he says can’t wait.”

  Slade wasn’t feeling the shit one bit. After the situation at Farah’s apartment, he hated him even more. But to prevent Randy from killing his cousin, he reluctantly agreed. “What he want us to do?”

  “He says he’s meeting with someone he don’t trust. It’s the first of the month, so he got his other men out on the streets making collections. He says he needs y’all, and he’s not taking no for an answer.”

  “How this mothafucka know we won’t put the gun to his head and pull the trigger ourselves?” Killa laughed.

  “Yeah. He bet not give me no gun,” Audio added, rubbing his hands together and grinning slyly. “Because I’m liable to do that shit too.”

  “You not going,” Slade said. “I need you here safe. I ain’t got time to be worrying about where you are.”

  Audio looked confused. “But I wanna help my brothers out.” He looked at all of them. “Y’all can’t keep treating me like I’m some bitch ... I’m tired of this shit.”

  “Audio, shut the fuck up,” Slade barked, still breathing heavily from his workout. “I said you staying here and that’s the end of it.”

  “Actually Randy wants all four of y’all, Markee said. “He said it specifically.” He paused. “Sorry, Slade, but it’s all or nothing.”

  Audio smiled until Slade gave him a stare that knocked the grin off of his face, like a jab to his jaw. “Where does this nigga live?” Slade asked.

  “Huh?”

  “I ain’t stutter, mothafucka!” Slade yelled. “I said where does he live? If you in contact with him like you are, I know you up on where he rests his head.”

  “In Maryland.”

  “You know where exactly?” Major asked.

  Markee seemed uncomfortable. “Yeah, I know ... but why?”

  “What difference does it make, nigga?” Killa ranted. “You act like we not family. If we ask you where he stay and you know, then you best be telling us.”

  “I know y’all family but I’m just as
king because—”

  “Because what?” Slade interrupted.

  “I’m only asking because y’all seem upset.” They looked like they were five seconds from deboing his ass to the floor. “Randy ain’t the kind of nigga you can step to like that. I know y’all used to that kind of shit in Mississippi, but out here things run differently.”

  “There’s gonna come a time when you have to choose a side.” Slade said. “Be sure to choose right.”

  The parking lot was dark and desolate as Randy waited for a man he hadn’t seen in five months. The silver six-passenger Ford van Randy rode in was so quiet on the inside that you could hear butt cheeks clap together. “I think that’s him right there,” Randy said from the passenger seat. Major was driving and the others were in the back. “When we get out don’t say shit to him. Thinking ain’t your job, country niggas.” He turned around to look at all of them. “Looking pretty and protecting me is.”

  He was reckless with the mouth and Slade was getting tired of it.

  “Who is he?” Slade asked. “The nigga you meeting.”

  Randy looked back at him as if he had no business questioning him. “My pops.”

  Slade looked at his brothers and said, “All this for your father?”

  Randy smirked. “If you knew him, you wouldn’t say that shit.”

  Willie Gregory, Randy’s father, was very cunning and conniving. In fact, Randy learned every hateful and deceitful characteristic he possessed from him. Although it was true that they shared the same bloodline, the two couldn’t stand each other. There was so much hate between them that when they were in each other’s company, people assumed they were enemies instead of father and son.

  Randy always wanted love from his father, and when he was younger he’d do everything in his power to get it. From wearing his crocodile shoes to taking his father’s side when his mother was angry with him, he went over and beyond to prove he wanted his acceptance. And after all this time, despite many tries, nothing seemed to work. Randy didn’t realize that there was nothing he could do to win him over until later. Willie hated everything about him, including the dead woman whose pussy he slid out of.