Moth to a Flame

by Antoinette, Ashley

  Ethic walked out of the building with an entourage of bodyguards following him. His presence was powerful and commanded respect, as he stepped with the confidence of Denzel toward his limo. Ethic knew that he was a moving target. Six of Benjamin’s most trusted lieutenants had been murdered in the past week, and he was sure that he was next on the list. He did not know who was behind the takeover, but he fully intended on finding out. To the average eye, it seemed Ethic had come to town and been enlisted by Benjamin. The streets knew him as Benny Atkins’up-and-coming protégé, but they were sadly mistaken. Ethic was the birdman and the old woman who Benjamin had copped his work from was Ethic’s great aunt Dot. His intention was to move like a ghost through the streets of Flint. A real boss didn’t reveal his status and Ethic had no problem humbling himself in order to remain inconspicuous in such a ruthless environment.

  Hailing from humble roots in Kansas City, he had a drug ring that stretched all over the Midwest. He had an operation in almost every state, and Benny Atkins had been one of his biggest buyers. Benjamin had intended on increasing the number of bricks he ordered on consignment, and before Ethic agreed to the deal he wanted to personally ensure that his bricks were in safe hands. He came to Flint and joined Benjamin’s operation to remain low key. No one, except Benjamin and Aunt Dot, knew that he was the connect. Now he had more than a hundred bricks missing and his largest customer was dead. Ethic was not a fool. Yes, the police had killed Benjamin, but he was well aware that someone else had played a role in how everything had gone down. He did not know who, but he planned to find out.

  He unfastened the buttons on his suit as he walked underneath the umbrella one of his goons held for him. He nodded at the limo driver and went to get into the car, but halted when he noticed Raven getting inside of the car with her family.

  He stepped out and grabbed the umbrella from his goon. “I’m good, fam. Follow me in your whip,”he instructed as he walked off toward Raven.

  She looked up, and when she saw him approaching, she tried to hurry into the car.

  “Raven!” he called.

  She turned around nervously and looked at the ground while she shuffled her feet from side to side. She felt like she had to be accountable to Ethic, almost in the same way that she was accountable to her father, and the last thing she wanted him to do was notice her face. She did not want Ethic to know that Mizan had hit her.

  “Come take a ride with me,”he said. He was always so authoritative with her. He never gave her room to say no. “I need to rap with you about... .”

  Knowing that she could not avoid the inevitable, she lifted her head and looked Ethic in the face. There was no hiding behind the dim church lights now. She was out in the daylight and every imperfection on her once exquisite face could be seen. He stopped speaking midsentence as he stared at her damaged face. He grabbed her chin and turned her head from side to side so that he could see all that had been done, yet he showed no emotion. No anger. No sympathy. No nothing. He was stoic and expressionless.

  Ethic exhaled as he stared at Raven. He had seen so many young girls go down the path that she had chosen in the name of love, but he knew what love looked like, and what he was staring at was not it.

  “He did this to you?” he asked, his voice even. On behalf of her father, Ethic had no problem stepping in and handling the situation with Mizan, but he was not going to waste his time. He knew the routine of chicks who got sucked into abusive relationships. They always went back, and Ethic did not have time to be in the middle of a lover’s quarrel, because once he intervened there would be no turning back. Ethic did not play games. He would murder Mizan, and from the look in Raven’s eyes, he knew that she did not want that.

  Raven nodded her head, admitting that Mizan had hurt her, as she willed away the tears in her eyes.

  “Are you going to leave him?” he asked.

  Just as he had suspected, she shook her head and replied, “He didn’ t mean to. Things just got out of hand. We just need a little time apart ... some space, you know?”

  He averted his gaze from her in disappointment. Seeing as though Raven was bred from strong stock, he had expected her to be smarter than the average chick, but she was just the same. She would not realize that Mizan was no good until it was too late, and if she did not want to help herself by leaving him alone, there was nothing that Ethic could do. He would not step in to her rescue because she was right where she wanted to be; no one was making her stay except herself. He put the umbrella over her head and said, “Walk with me.”

  Mizan’ s nostrils flared when he saw Raven conversing with Ethic. Everything in him wanted to get out of the car and snatch her out of her Gucci pumps, but he remained inside his vehicle, seething.

  “Fuck the nigga touching her face for?” he asked aloud as he felt a streak of jealousy pulse through him. He knew that Raven was vulnerable right now because of the fight they had gotten into before she had left home, and the fact that Ethic was so close to his girl bothered Mizan. He noticed the intimate way she looked at Ethic. Everything about her interaction with him seemed intimate. Bitch is too fucking friendly with this nigga, he thought bitterly. Mizan sensed the respect and humility that Raven had for Ethic, which only made him angrier. He knew that she did not hold him in such high regard.

  When they began to walk around the block, Mizan’s finger began to itch. He wanted to detonate the bomb so badly that he was biting his inner cheek in anticipation. Ethic had disrespected him one too many times. Dude is way too close to my bitch, Mizan thought as a silent rage pulsed through him. He watched on, his heart beating a mile a minute. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to push the button that would make Ethic extinct.

  “I’m going back to Missouri, ” Ethic said.

  “What?” Raven exclaimed. She stopped walking and turned toward him in shock.

  “I thought you should know.” He went into his jacket pocket and pulled out a white envelope. “There is twenty thousand and a number where you can reach me,” he explained. “I know things may get tough for you now that your pops is gone, but if you ever need me, don’ t hesitate to call.

  “Why are you leaving?” She tucked the envelope inside her purse.

  “Because it’ s time for me to go. ” I have business back home that I need to tend to.”

  “What about your business here? ”

  “Your father was my only business in Flint. I don’t have anything keeping me here and there is too much going down right now. It wasn’t a coincidence that the cops were waiting at your father’ s house when he got home. Benny had hundred and twenty bricks of cocaine sitting in his safe. The cops only found one. That tells me that this entire thing was a setup, and whoever has those bricks are plotting a takeover. Every nigga who was affiliated with your father is a target. They’re being knocked off one by one. I’m not the type to get caught up in the crossfire.”

  “And what about the people you are leaving behind? Are we supposed to just get caught up in the crossfire? My father was grooming you. He chose you to take his spot,” Raven objected heatedly. She had already lost enough, and although Ethic was fairly new in her life, she refused to watch him walk out of it. His temperament and swagger were was a mirror images of her father’s. “You can’ t leave.”

  Ethic chuckled as he massaged the bridge of his nose. The more he got to know Raven, the less he thought of her. Everything in her world was so black and white. Good or bad. There was no in-between with her. She thought she was so knowledgeable about the hood, but in actuality she didn’ t know anything. She was green to the game, and chicks like her would lead to a hustler’s downfall; she was their worst nightmare. A wifey with beauty but no brains. “This ain’t a movie, Raven. This shit here is real life and you don’ t know anything about the streets. I haven’ t been groomed by a nigga in a long time. Little boys are groomed and I’m a grown man. I didn’ t work for your father. I worked with him and there is a difference. I don’t owe your pops anything more t
han what I’ve already given.”

  “What about me?” Raven asked.

  “You have a nigga that should be taking care of you. That’s his job and if he ain’t doing that, then you have my number,” Ethic reassured her.

  Raven nodded and began to choke up. “It just seems like my entire world is changing,” she said glumly. She thought about the baby growing inside of her, and of Nikki lying up in a hospital, then of her father’s death. Everything had gotten so complicated in her life. She had experienced more pain in the past few months then she ever had in her time on this earth.

  “You made it change, ma,” Ethic replied. “When you’re ready to change it back, you know how to find me,” he said as he turned to leave.

  She watched him walk away. Everything from his posture to his stride spelled power and honor. He was so much like her father that it was scary. As she felt the ache from the bruises on her face she knew that she deserved more. She wanted a man like Ethic ... like her father. A man who would never hurt her. “Ethic!” she called out just before he reached his limo.

  He turned toward her to see what she wanted.

  “What do I have to do?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “To be with you ... What do I have to do?” she asked with tears in her eyes. “Just tell me what I have to do and I’ll do it.”

  Ethic sighed because he was fully aware of Raven’s attraction to him. Her heart was young and so was her mind, which was why Mizan was able to manipulate her so easily. Ethic knew she wanted something she wasn’t ready to handle. He stretched out his hand and she grabbed it, allowing him to pull her near. He put his hands on the sides of her face and stared her in the eyes.

  The intensity between their gazes made Raven’s heart melt. “I’ll do anything for you, Ethic. Just tell me who I have to be to get you to like me.” Her voice was almost pleading, childlike as her tears graced his hands. She was pouring her premature heart out to him. Every other time she had attempted to come at him she was on that fly-girl, slick-mouth, princess of the streets–type stuff, but this time was completely different. She was open. She was letting him see how sincere her attraction for him really was. It didn’t take a teenage girl much to know when she was in love, and ever since the first time she saw Ethic she had been smitten. Ethic was the man she wanted, but Mizan was the man she could actually have. Mizan was simply her heart’s substitute.

  Ethic shook his head at the dilemma that faced him. “That right there is why I can’t fuck with you, Raven. You don’t even know who you are yet. You’re seventeen, ma. Don’t be so eager to do grown-up things,”he replied. “You’re moving too fast.” He stepped to the side and motioned for her to get inside of the awaiting car. “I’ll take you home.”

  Mizan hit the steering wheel in pure rage as he watched Raven get into the limo with Ethic. He was steaming. He could feel his body temperature rise as he watched the black Lincoln pull away. “Stupid bitch,” he mumbled. He knew that he could not finish the job with Raven in harm’s way. He contemplated pressing the button anyway. He reasoned with himself that Raven could be replaced, but he knew that she could not. She had managed to secure a small piece of his loyalty and it was enough to stop him from sending the car up in smoke. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number immediately. Envy filled his heart. Raven belonged to him and Ethic was to close for comfort. He followed the luxury car as it pulled away from the church. He was not willing to let Ethic slip through the cracks. Ethic was a problem and Mizan had every intention of getting rid of him ... one way or another.

  Raven sent Mizan to voice mail as she rode in the back of the limo with Ethic. She leaned against him comfortably as he held her tightly, but she knew that there was nothing romantic about his embrace. Ethic did what he did for her out of duty; as a tribute to her father. But still she cherished every second and stored every single detail of him in her memory, even down to the scent of his Issey Miyake cologne. He stroked her hair and they rode in silence until they pulled up to her house. She closed her eyes and sat still, wishing that she did not have to get out of the car, but when she felt Ethic move to exit she knew that the moment had passed. Reality was a cold, hard smack in the face.

  She followed him out of the car and stood in front of him. Her vision was cloudy and she shook her head and waved her hands in front of her face. “Aghh, I can’t stop,” she yelled softly in embarrassment, referring to her tears.

  “I didn’t ask you to, Ethic replied. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You take care of yourself, Raven.”

  Raven gave him a weak smile and nodded. “You too,” she replied. She watched him walk back to the limo, and as he pulled away she stood in the middle of her street. She wished that her life was a fairy tale and that the man she loved would turn around to sweep her off her feet, but she wasn’t that type of princess. The daughter of a street king never got her prince.

  Just as the limo reached the corner, Raven turned to see her mother and sister coming out of the house. Justine held her arms out for her oldest daughter. She recognized the signs of heartbreak on her face, but before Raven could take a step in her mother’s direction, a loud explosion rang in her ears. The deafening sound seemed to shake the entire block.

  She turned to the direction it had come from and her heart fell out of her chest. “No!” she screamed as she ran toward the burning limousine at the end of the street. She ran full speed toward the blaze as she watched the fire consume the car. She could hear her mother and sister screaming her name in the background, but she ignored them as her feet moved forward, carrying her as fast as they could toward the wreckage.

  The front of the car was in pieces all over the road and the back was burning quickly. She knew that at any moment the fire would reach the gas tank. She reached for the door, causing the skin on her hand to burn excruciatingly.

  “Aghhhh!” she screamed in pain. She removed her jacket and used it to block her hand from the simmering metal door handle. She could still feel the heat and it took everything in her not to let it go. Finally she snatched the door open and saw Ethic lying on the limo floor, unconscious. “Ethic!” she yelled. She could barely see through all the smoke. She felt hands pulling at her, trying to get her away from the car.

  “No! Please help him!” she yelled as she turned to see a firefighter dragging her to safety. “I have to get to him!”

  Paramedics and fire trucks surrounded the scene and immediately went to work putting out the blaze. They pulled Ethic’s body from the car as Raven was rushed into an ambulance and whisked off to the hospital.

  Chapter Eleven

  Raven closed her worried eyes as she lay back in the hospital bed. Ethic had been rushed into surgery as soon as he entered the hospital and she had not heard anything since. Second degree burns covered her hand, causing her great pain, but it was nothing compared to what she knew Ethic was going through.

  “Have you heard anything yet, Mommy?” Raven asked.

  Justine held a sleeping Morgan in her arms as she regretfully shook her head at Raven’s question. “Ethic will be okay, Raven. Your father went twenty years in the game without ever getting involved in a war. Violence has never been this close to us. Now that he’s gone, it is knocking at the front door,” Justine stated in disbelief.

  A knock at the door interrupted their conversation, and a young black woman came in. Her white lab coat, tired eyes, and hanging stethoscope let Raven know that she was a doctor. The girl could not have been a day older than twenty-five. Most black girls her age were wifed up or seeking a baller to get out of the hood, but the young lady before her was degreed up and making a way for herself. Raven knew that the doctor before her was the ideal daughter to someone. She was the perfect example of who Benjamin and Justine had hoped Raven would someday become. Raven lowered her eyes self-consciously, feeling as if she had let her parents down. In her city there were no doctors or lawyers to look up to. The role models of Flint’s youth were dope
boys and the women who loved them. According to that scale she was successful. She had been snagged by Mizan, and although he had not been a part of her father’s prestigious street organization, he was still knee-deep in the game, which gave her bragging rights all her own. It was a dire mentality, but it was life.

  Raven rolled her eyes at the doctor, letting the young woman know where she stood before any words were ever exchanged.

  “Hello, Raven, I’m Dr. Daniels and I’m an OBGYN. Your blood work indicates that you are pregnant. Were you aware of this?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I know,” Raven replied shortly.

  “Well, I would like to do an ultrasound and get you started on prenatal vitamins. It’s important that we nourish the baby early,” the doctor answered.

  Raven agreed, and as she allowed the doctor to place her feet in the stirrups her legs began to shake. She gripped the metal siding on the bed and held on to it for dear life. Her body tensed as the doctor inserted two gloved fingers into her vagina. “What are you doing?” Raven asked.

  “I’m examining your cervix to make sure it is healthy. Just relax,” she coached.

  Raven took a deep breath and closed her eyes to calm herself. She felt a cold gel on her stomach.

  “Open your eyes and look at your baby,” Dr. Daniels instructed.

  A steady rhythm resembling the sound of running water filled the room, and Raven turned her head to look at the monitor. She had no idea what she was looking at. The screen was filled with a black background and white shadows all over it, but the one thing she was sure of was the pulsing dot in the middle. The steady throb that could be heard throughout the room was her baby’s heartbeat. She smiled in disbelief at the miracle that was happening inside of her, and for the first time since her father passed, she felt happiness. “Is it a boy or girl?” she asked with stars in her eyes. Justine lay Morgan down in the chair, then stood to be by Raven’s side.