Southern Comfort

by La Jill Hunt

  “Please, please tell me why you’re doing this to me,” she wailed. There was no answer. A hand slowly tipped her head back and she felt a cup placed on her lips. She shook her head, afraid to drink, thinking it was something to knock her out or even worse, kill her. “No, no!”

  “Drink it! It’s just water. It won’t hurt you,” the voice whispered. Sydni tried to figure out who it was, but she couldn’t even tell if her captor was male or female. The cup was once again placed to her mouth and she drank. The water felt so cool and good that she began to take it in too fast and almost choked. She could feel a cool towel on her face as someone gently wiped her mouth. The ropes around her ankles were loosened. “Get up!”

  Sydni did as she was told and stood. She was led a few feet away and then she was pushed backward. There was no way she could brace herself, but there was no need. Her butt fell onto a thick cushion and she knew it was a bed. Her captor spread her legs apart and tied each one to a post. The same thing was done to her hands. She began to whimper again, pleading to be released. Although she was blindfolded, she squeezed her eyes shut, not knowing what to expect.

  “Shhhhh! Be quiet. I’m not gonna hurt you. Go to sleep. I’ll be back later.” The gag was placed back in her mouth and she could hear the door open and then close. She was once again alone. She began to pray for God to help her, because she knew that he was the only one who could.

  Magic tried to think positive, hoping that they would find Sydni asleep in her bed when they arrived at the house. She wasn’t; the bed was empty. No one was there; not even her mother and Mr. Joe. As they waited for the detective, she went into Sydni’s room to search for any clue as to Sydni’s whereabouts.

  The detective finally arrived and took a statement from each of them, then said he would have the gun checked out. This could be the lead that they had been waiting for in the case of Aaron’s unsolved murder. Unfortunately, he also informed them that they would have to wait until Sydni had been missing for twenty-four hours before he could file a missing person’s report. But he promised to keep his eyes and ears open and let them know if he heard anything.

  “What time is it?” Magic asked after he finally left.

  “Almost seven,” Darrius answered, rubbing his eyes.

  “Where the hell is she? Why hasn’t she called?” Tears began to form in Magic’s eyes as she thought out loud. “And where the hell is my mother? She hasn’t called or come home either.”

  “She’s probably out with Mister Joe, because he ain’t here either,” Darrius said sleepily.

  “Oh shit! I’ll bet that bastard has something to do with this. Sydni probably went to him about what I told her. Oh God, we gotta go find him!”

  “What are you talking about? What does Mister Joe have to do with any of this?” Darrius asked in obvious confusion.

  Magic grabbed his hand in a panic. “We don’t have time for me to tell you right now, D. Just trust me, okay? I’ll explain it to you later. Right now we just gotta find my sister.”

  “All right, Magic, but even if Mister Joe had something to do with this, we don’t know where he is,” Darrius told her.

  “We can start at the cleaners. He has to go there some time today.”

  “Let’s go.” Darrius followed her out of the door and they set off for Davis Cleaners for some answers.

  Sydni had no idea what time it was. She didn’t even realize that she had finally fallen asleep until she heard the creak of the door and the footsteps echoing once again. She raised her head off the bed, once again trying unsuccessfully to free herself. She felt the hand on her head as the gag was removed, and this time she drank from the offered cup without resistance. Her face was wiped as it had been before. There was something about the tenderness that the person used with her that made her think that this was not a stranger, yet Sydni could not imagine who could be doing such a thing.

  To her horror, Sydni could feel her captor unbuttoning her blouse. She could feel the breath of her abductor against her skin and she began to cry as she felt hands running across her breasts, softly at first, then pinching her nipples. She could imagine the eyes on her body as the fingers rubbed along her thigh and in between her legs. She had felt that stare on her body before.

  “Mister Joe, please don’t do this to me. You need to think about this. Please, stop.” The hands were coming closer and closer to her essence and Sydni was nauseated at this point. “Mister Joe, stop!”

  The movements suddenly stopped and the only sound was heavy breathing. Sydni tried to raise up again. She could feel him putting her blouse back on hastily. She was confused.

  “What did you call me?” the voice asked.

  “I . . . I called you by your name,” Sydni answered. It was her own breathing that she heard now as she felt the blindfold being removed. She could not believe her eyes when they fell upon the face before her.

  “He touched you? Did he?” He didn’t wait for Sydni to answer. Her eyes told it all. “I am gonna kill that mothafucka!”

  “Noooo!” Sydni yelled as he ran out of the door. She used every ounce of strength she had and managed to free one of her arms. She moved quickly to untie the rest of her body, knowing that she had to prevent a murder from happening.

  “Miss Donna, where is Mister Joe?” Magic asked as she burst into the store.

  “Good mornin’ to you too, chile. Who done gone an’ took your manners dis mornin’?” Miss Donna frowned at her and Darrius.

  “Sorry, Miss Donna, but we need to see Mister Joe. Where is he?” Darrius asked her.

  “He not ’ere. Told me last night that ’e wadn’t gon’ be ’ere. Was takin’ yo Mama to Atlantic City or sumtin’. I had to open de store myself. Where’s your sistah dis mornin’, anyway? She went flyin’ outta ‘ere last night witout even sayin’ good-bye.”

  “We don’t know where she is, Miss Donna. That’s why we need to see Mister Joe. We think he may have something to do with her being gone.” Magic began to cry. She told Miss Donna everything that had happened between her and Mr. Joe.

  “Dat lowlife scumbag! When I see ’im I gon’ ta whip his ass me self. But chile, I don’ tink he got nuttin to do with Sydni not bein’ ’ere. I know he and yo Ma gone to Jersey. They called me dis mornin’.”

  “Then where the hell is Sydni?” Magic sniffled.

  “Dere’s sumtin’ else wrong too. It’s after eight an’ dat dere boy ain’t ’ere wit no coffee fer her!”

  “Who? Byron? Byron would never do anything to hurt Sydni. He loves her,” Magic replied. As if on cue, the doors to the store burst open and Byron ran in.

  “Where is he? Where is he?”

  “Where is who?” Magic asked. She was immediately frightened. Byron was beet red and his hair was wild all over his head. His clothes were rumpled, like he had been in a fight, and he was acting like a madman.

  “Joe. Where is that bastard? I need to see his ass right now! Now!” He ran past the counter into the back of the store, searching for Joe, but he was nowhere in sight.

  “Byron. Calm down, man. What’s this about?” Darrius walked over and tried to touch Byron, but he jumped away. “Byron, do you know where Sydni is?”

  Images of Darrius and Sydni kissing and holding hands filled his mind. He saw them walking into Maroon’s and then could hear Darrius telling Sydni he loved her. Byron reached into his pants and pulled out the gun, pointing it at Darrius.

  “Byron, what are you doing?” Magic yelled. Everyone remained frozen as Miss Donna began praying out loud.

  “Shut up!” he yelled at the mumbling woman. The sound of the door opening caused all heads to turn.

  “Sydni!” Miss Donna said.

  “Byron, don’t do this. Please give me the gun.” She walked toward him. He shook his head, eyes still on Darrius.

  “Sydni, what are you doing?” Magic cried out. “He’s crazy.”

  “He’s not crazy. Come on, Byron, give me the gun,” Sydni continued.

  “All I wanted
to do was make you happy. That’s all. I did everything, everything, to prove that to you. But it wasn’t good enough, huh? I just wanted you to love me, that’s all. But instead, you chose to love him. He doesn’t love you, Sydni. I do.” Byron continued to shake his head. “Don’t you know I would do anything for you? Do you know that?”

  “I know that, Byron. And you’re right. Just give me the gun,” Sydni pleaded.

  “You said you wanted to move back to Georgia. I didn’t have a problem with that. I gave you everything I had to prove my love for you, Sydni.” The tears flowed down Byron’s flushed cheeks as he talked.

  “I know, Byron. And we can go back to Georgia together. Just you and me.” Sydni was crying just as hard as he was. He looked at her to make sure she was telling the truth.

  “Together?” he asked.

  “As man and wife, Byron. I love you,” she whispered as she stepped within his reach. “But you’ve got to give me the gun.”

  Byron turned to place the gun in Sydni’s hand. He had finally heard the words he had waited an eternity to hear. Sydni was gonna marry him. The door opened again and a man and a woman walked in. Byron frowned at the gentleman’s face.

  “What the hell is going on up in here?” the man growled. Byron’s actions were smooth and swift as he lifted the gun and pulled the trigger. Screams filled the air as the bullet went into motion and people ducked for cover. When it made impact into the chest of its target, life as they all knew it stopped instantaneously, once again.

  “You ready to go, sweetheart?” Byron asked Sydni as she quivered on the floor. He placed the gun to her head and grabbed her arm to help her get up. “He won’t be touching you or hurting you like that ever again. I promised you, remember? Now let’s go get some of that southern comfort in Georgia that you always brag about.”

  Sydni tried not to freak the hell out. She smiled weakly at Byron and took his hand. She looked over at the blood spilling out of Mr. Joe’s body as she stood up. No one else moved.

  “Come on, sweetie.” Byron smiled. She could see the craziness in his eyes.

  “Sydni, no!” Magic screamed.

  “Shut up!” Byron took the gun from Sydni’s temple and aimed it at Magic. With swiftness, Darrius was up and grabbing Byron from behind. Sydni moved away from Byron and reached for the gun that was aimed at her sister. She struggled with Byron with all the strength she had, determined to keep him from hurting anyone else. The sound of the gun firing again resounded and she looked into Darrius’ eyes.

  “Sydni!” She heard the words coming from his mouth. Sydni frowned as the pain gripped her side.

  “You mothafucka!” She could hear Magic screaming as her eyes began to close.

  “Oh my God, Sydni. Sydni!” She could feel Byron’s arms around her as she fell.

  “You killed her! You killed her!” Magic yelled.

  Sydni could hear a lot of commotion in the distance, but her eyes remained closed.

  “I . . . Uh . . . Oh, God, please. No.” She heard Byron crying, but she knew not to open her eyes. She was in his lap and he was rocking back and forth. “Baby, I’m so sorry. Please don’t leave me. I love you. Please don’t leave me.”

  “Don’t do this, Byron. Give me the gun,” Magic pleaded.

  “I loved her. Oh, God, what have I done? What have I done?” Byron whispered. He leaned over her and kissed her on the cheek. “I am so sorry, baby. I love you.”

  “Give me the mothafuckin’ gun! Do not do this!” Darrius yelled. For the third time, a shot rang out and Sydni felt the wetness splatter on her face. She still didn’t open her eyes, too afraid of what she would see. Magic and her mother cried out in horror and Darrius quickly picked Sydni’s body up. Miss Donna was in shock and could not move.

  “Sydni, Sydni.” She heard the pain in Darrius’ voice and her eyes fluttered open.

  She looked into his tear-streaked face and whispered, “I just wanna go home.”

  That was the last thing she said to him as her world went black.

  Epilogue

  There’s no place like home. I know exactly how Dorothy felt when she said that in the Wizard of Oz. Since I’ve been back, my life has taken a three hundred and sixty-degree turn. And today, for the third time in my life, I am graduating. All my friends and family will be watching as I receive my degree from Spelman College.

  I think the move back home has done wonders for everyone, including Magic. Believe it or not, she is back in school, majoring in Massage Therapy. I’m quite sure she has ulterior motives, but school is school, I guess. Mama is glad to be back here too. She missed her family and they missed us. Come to find out, Mr. Joe had everything put into her name, including his life insurance and the dry cleaning business. So after giving him a cheap burial, she cashed it all in and sold the cleaning business to Miss Donna for two dollars. She is still running it, but now it’s Donna’s Cleaners.

  Malik Fitzpatrick is serving a life sentence for murder. It turned out that not only was the gun that Darrius had confiscated the one that was used to murder Aaron, but it was connected with two other shootings. He will never be free again.

  I have been accepted into the FBI Academy in Charlottesville, Virginia. All of my hard work and studies have paid off. I only wish my brother were here to see me check off my list. I miss him dearly. But at least I have his best friend, my lover, my hero, and soon to be my husband, Darrius. We are getting married in three weeks. Everyone thinks that I am shelling out too much money for this event, but hey, I had ten grand saved that no one ever knew about. And wait until they see the ring that I got for D, which was made from the one they never knew I had.

  New York may be the city of dreams for some folk, but as for me, all I need is some southern comfort.

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