Moth to a Flame

by Antoinette, Ashley

  “You have to call Ethic,” Nikki stated. “He can help you. You can’t go back there.”

  Raven nodded her head and replied, “I know... but what do I say to him, Nik? I played him. I know he probably hates me and I can’t just leave my baby there with Mizan. The nigga is crazy. He kept me chained up like an animal. What type of person does that? How could he make me give birth on his basement floor?” Raven asked sadly.

  “Call Ethic,” Nikki urged as she passed her the phone.

  Raven reluctantly dialed Ethic’s number and impatience took over her as she waited for him to answer.

  “Hello?”

  The sound of his voice was like music to her ears and she began to cry. If only life could be simple ... their love could have been so great.

  “Ethic ... please come and get me,” she whispered.

  “Raven?” he responded. The phone grew silent and then he spoke gently. “I’m not going through this with you, ma. You made your choice. I told you where I stood. You walked out on me. Had me thinking you were carrying my son.”

  “Please, Ethic ... I can explain. I will explain everything when I see you. Just please come and get me.” The desperation in her voice was immeasurable. She was broken. Since the day she had met Mizan her life had been nothing but strife. Trying to be grown she had walked down an irreversible path of pain and insecurity, now she was trapped and the only escape she knew was on the other end of the phone.

  Ethic sighed deeply because he was about to go against everything that he stood for. Raven had disrespected him and he knew that she deserved to be cut off. But he loved her deeply and could not leave her on stuck.

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “I’m at Nikki’s. I really need you, Ethic. I know I fucked up but—”

  “Save that shit, Rae. I’ll be there next week. You get your shit in order by then and you can meet me at Mott Park by the bridge. This is the last time I’m coming for you, Raven. If you don’t show, don’t call me again. I can’ t keep doing this with you,” Ethic stated. “I have two little girls to think about.”

  “I’ll be there, Ethic. I swear to God ... don’t leave Flint without me,” she said.

  “Six o’clock, Raven,” he stated.

  “I’ll be there,” she replied gratefully. “Ethic?”

  “What up?”

  “I love you,” she said.

  Without responding Ethic hung up the phone and Raven turned to her friend. Her pale face was flushed in red as she put her face in her hands. “He doesn’t love me anymore.”

  Nikki wrapped her arms around Raven and allowed her to cry on her shoulder. “Is he coming? she asked.

  Raven sniffled and nodded.

  “Then he still loves you. I don’t know a nigga in the world that would put up with your baggage if he did not care,” Nikki said with a small smile as she lifted Raven’s chin and winked.

  “How am I going to get my baby out of that house?” Raven asked hopelessly. “Mizan will never let me take him out.”

  Nikki’s eyebrows raised as a light bulb went off in her head, and she grabbed Raven’ s hand, leading her upstairs to the medicine cabinet. “I’ve got an idea,” she stated, and Raven was all ears. She was willing to do anything to get away from Mizan once and for all.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Raven prepared the candlelit dinner for Mizan and was waiting in lingerie when he walked through the door. The sexual ambiance was high in the room as she gave him a enticing smile and bit her bottom lip as she beckoned him closer with her index finger.

  “Fuck is all this?” he asked suspiciously as he walked into the kitchen.

  “This is me proving me to you that I’m trained, Daddy, and me saying I’m sorry for disrespecting you. I love you, Mizan. I just want us to be right again ... like we used to be back in the day,” she said convincingly as she reached up and kissed his lips.

  “Where’s the baby?” Mizan asked.

  “I fed him and he’s asleep. We have a couple hours to do what we do before he wakes up and spoils the night,” she replied with a seductive smile. “I made you food. Sit down,” she stated as she catered to his every need, pulling off his shoes for him.

  Mizan smiled as his eyes followed her ample behind as she walked back into the kitchen. “What you cook?”

  “I made soul food, baby ... I know what you like,” she replied. She was doing and saying all of the right things to get his guard down. As she fixed his plate she also poured two glasses of red wine. She opened the sleeping capsules that Nikki had given her. She was only supposed to use one, but she emptied four inside the glass hoping that it would work like a charm. She knew how he thought and she placed the spiked glass of wine near her dinner plate; then handed him the unaffected drink.

  “Taste it,” she said as she lifted the glass to his lips. Just as she suspected, he moved his head to the side and motioned for her to sit down.

  “You taste it,” he said calmly but with authority.

  She sipped the wine until half of the glass was empty and his suspicions melted away as he sat down in the seat with the spiked wine. He ate and drank like a king. Each time she refilled his glass she added more sleeping pills to it. By the time he was ready to stand up from the table he could barely keep his balance.

  “You grimy bitch, what the fuck did you give me? he asked.

  She stood up once she saw that he was discombobulated and leaned over the table as she glared at him. “Maybe you just don’t know how to handle your liquor,” she stated with a devilish smirk. He reached for her but before he could make it to her he collapsed onto the floor.

  “Nik, you can come out now!” Raven screamed as she sprang into action and grabbed her prepacked bag out of the front closet. She slipped on a pair of jeans and grabbed her baby from Nikki. She already had him strapped in his car seat and ready to go, but she couldn’t seem to find her keys.

  “Fuck! Where are my keys?” she yelled as she ran around the house searching for the keys.

  “You don’t have time for this, Raven. I don’t know how long those pills will last. Just get Mizan’ s keys and let’s go, Nikki urged. Raven cautiously reached into his pockets and retrieved the keys to his black Audi and they darted out of the house.

  Raven floored her engine toward Mott Park as her heartbeat sped up. She hoped and prayed that Ethic would be at the park waiting for her. She knew that they could never go back to the happy little family that they had once been. Mizan would come looking for her and if he ever found her with Ethic he would undoubtedly kill him. Raven would have to start a new life and leave behind the love that she had shared with Ethic, but she could not take his son away from him. She wanted Ethic to have a piece of her with him always and she knew that he would take care of their child. He was the perfect man to teach her little boy all he needed to know about manhood. She had not done many good things in her life. In fact, she had fucked it up along with the lives of many others, but as she glanced back at her child she felt accomplished. He was the one thing that she had gotten right. Now I have to keep him safe, she thought as she sped to her destination with a heavy heart and determined soul.

  Ethic checked his presidential as he leaned against his car. He couldn’t believe that he had driven all the way to Flint to meet Raven. He was skeptical that she would show up. He had already offered her an escape and she had crushed his heart under her stiletto when she walked away from him to go back to Mizan. As he looked up and down the deserted street he shook his head with impatience, feeling as though he was setting himself up for failure for a second time.

  “When is she coming?” Morgan signed as she popped her head out of the back seat.

  “I don’t know, he replied as his temple throbbed from anxiety. “I don’ t know.”

  He opened the door and ushered Morgan and Bella out of the car. “You and Bella go play until Raven gets here. She should be here soon,” Ethic stated. He rubbed his goatee as he watched Morgan and Bella run down the
grassy hill that led to the park. Out of frustration he hit the hood of his car and he began to pace back and forth as he continuously checked his watch. Come on, ma, just come back home, he thought as he felt himself become emotional. His cell phone rang and he answered it quickly hoping that it was her.

  “Hello?”

  “Yo , fam, we got that mouse in that trap. We finally caught up with that nigga Mizan. We’re following this nigga Audi right now. When we get him out in the clear we gon blaze on him and make that little problem of yours disappear. The ticket on that still the same?”

  Ethic hadn’t put in an order for murder in quite some time, but he refused to let Mizan live. Whether Raven showed up or not, he would not let her go back to Mizan. Under no circumstances could he allow her to end up with him again.

  “Yeah, fam ... handle that for me. Make sure that nigga don’t walk away from it. Wet that bitch up and make sure he’ s not breathing, n’ah mean?” Ethic stressed. “I got fifty for you when the job is done.”

  As Ethic hung up the phone he knew that half of his battles were over. In a few minutes Mizan would no longer exist; now all he had to do was get Raven and leave town.

  The closer Raven got to Ethic the more tears slid down her face. Knowing that she was running late, she drove like a bat out of hell. Her heartbeat was erratic and she could barely see through her teary vision, but she kept going. She refused to let her fear convince her to stay. More than her life was at stake. She hid behind the dark tint of the luxury car as she whipped through the city streets. The sound of her cell phone ringing caused her to jump out of her skin.

  “It’s Ethic,” Nikki informed as she handed Raven the phone.

  “I’m almost to you, Ethic ... please don’t leave. I’m coming right now. I’m like five minutes away,” Raven said. She was so focused on getting to her destination that she never noticed the blue SUV following her.

  “I’m not going nowhere without you, Raven ... just hurry up, ma,” Ethic replied.

  “I can’t come with you, Ethic, Mizan will come for me. I just need you to take care of our son,” she whispered as she whipped through the city streets like a NASCAR driver.

  “What?” Ethic stated.

  “He’s yours, Ethic ... I never slept with anyone else ... he’ s your son. Mizan told me if I didn’t end things with you then he would kill you. He had someone watching you at the cemetery that day. I had to go along,” she cried into the phone.

  Ethic beat himself in the chest when he heard her revelation. He instantly felt confident in the decision to give the green light on Mizan’s murder. “You don’t have to worry about him, Raven. My niggas are taking care of that as we speak.”

  Raven pulled onto the block and saw Ethic standing at the end. “I see you!” she cried in joy.

  Ethic frowned when he saw the black Audi round the corner as the blue SUV followed behind it.

  “You’re in his car?!” Ethic screamed into the phone as his heart began to pump in devastation. “Raven, no!” he ran toward the car, waving his hands in the air frantically as he watched his own soldiers hang out of the side of the SUV, automatic weapons in hand. The windows of Mizan’s Audi were tinted too dark to see that the wrong person was inside. “No!” Ethic screamed as he saw the sparks fly from the pistols. His world went in slow motion as he ran full speed toward the gunfire. The car rocked on its four wheels as bullet holes filled the body of the car. Ethic took out his pistol and ran up to the truck. Rage filled him as he let his cannon bark on his own workers, killing without hesitation. Smoke filled the black Audi as Ethic ran over to the driver’s side. As soon as he opened the door Raven fell out into his arms. He looked over and saw that Nikki was slumped against the passenger door.

  Raven gagged and choked on her own blood as he held her close to his chest, while blood filled her lungs stifling her last words. As she looked up at him she desperately wanted to speak, to tell him she was sorry, to tell him that she loved him, but all she could do was gasp as she drowned in a sea of red as the life drained from her body.

  “Raven!” he heard Morgan scream in the background as he cried, burying his face in her hair.

  Raven’s eyes penetrated his as she tried to speak. She held onto his hand tightly. She needed him now more than ever. At her side he supported her even in death. She could feel every agonizing bullet hole and every failed attempt at breathing.

  “I ... Eth ... .” She couldn’t get her words out.

  “Shh ... don’t talk, ma ... I love you, Raven. I love you more than life, ma, just breathe, he cried. “Somebody help me!” he screamed urgently. The sounds of a baby crying filled his ears. In his heart he knew that it was his son, but he couldn’ t tear himself away from Raven as she slipped away in his arms. The shrieking invaded his brain as he held her close, blood staining his white collared shirt, making it look as if he had a bleeding heart.

  Raven’s eyes looked into the sky and saw a moth flying. It was so beautiful and free as it floated above her face displaying the symbol of her life. As she watched it float she remembered her mother’s words:

  Don’t be the moth that flies into the flame.

  I should have never come back to him. It was the last though that crossed her mind. Her grip of Ethic’s hand loosened.

  “Don’t let go of me, ma. I love you, Raven, just hold on.”

  She heard his pleas and she wanted nothing more than to hold on to him forever, but she had no more strength left. She was tired of fighting. The more she tried to tighten her grip on him, the more she felt her fingers let go. His voice became a whisper in the distance and she faded away. There was nothing she could do. It was too late. A final tear slipped down her cheek as she gazed at the moth as it flew upward into the heavens ... leading her back home to rejoin her mother and father in grace.

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  Mizan sat in front of his connect, Dot, as he nervously anticipated meeting the main supplier. He was at the top of the city’s drug trade, but he knew that if he could buy directly from Dot’s connect then he could take over the entire state, maybe even the Midwest. When Dot had first called him and informed him that she was getting out of the game he knew that it would kill his business. She had the best coke in the city. He knew he would not be able to replace her, but when she offered to introduce him to her supplier he saw dollar signs. As he sat in Dot’ s bakery he watched as she yelled at a little boy who was running around her shop.

  “You got to excuse me, baby. I don’t get to spend much time with my great nephew. He is only here for the day and I’m telling you he is wearing me out,” Dot said as she chased after the small toddler.

  “Yo , when dude supposed to be coming? I don’t got all day to wait,” Mizan stated arrogantly as he fidgeted in his chair and leaned back, extending his left leg to make himself more comfortable.

  “He will be here any minute. He’s going to give you a good price, too. I’m getting too old for this business. It’s time for me to settle down and act like an old woman. I can’ t be dealing with this game anymore. I’m not a young’un anymore. I’ve got to help my nephew take care of this little boy right here,” she stated. “His mother died about a year ago and I’ve got to do my part to help, you know?”

  Mizan nodded as if he was listening but he couldn’t care less about what the old woman was saying. When he heard the bell above the bakery door ring he rubbed his hands together greedily. He could already feel the money between his fingers. He stood, but when he looked up into the face of his new connect pure panic and fear took over his face. He had been expecting to be hit with some bricks; instead he was hit with a fate that was a long time coming. Ethic stood deathly still as his goons came out of the back of the bakery and slipped a pillow case over Mizan’s head. They dragged him kicking and screaming to the back.

  Ethic leaned in to kiss his Aunt Dot on the cheek. “Lock the door,” he stated in a low, authoritative tone. He pulled out a copy of Raven’s autopsy report. It
showed every broken bone, bruise, and injury that she had ever suffered. It had been obvious to the coroners that she had been abused and Ethic planned on showing Mizan exactly how it felt to be in Raven’ s shoes. He was about to make Mizan experience every injury that he had ever given her first hand. “We might be awhile,” he stated. He unbuttoned his Ralph Lauren tailored shirt and placed it neatly over the bar stool. Before going to the back of the shop he picked up his son and kissed his chubby cheeks.

  “After today, Mommy can rest in peace.”

  Other Novels by Ashley and JaQuavis

  Dirty Money

  Diary of a Street Diva

  Supreme Clientele

  Trophy Wife

  Girls from da Hood 4

  The Cartel

  The Cartel 2

  The Cartel 3

  Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

  The Prada Plan

  The Prada Plan 2

  The Dopeman’s Wife

  The Dopefiend

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  If you enjoyed Moth to a Flame you can contact Ashley at:

  streetlitdiva@aol.com

  myspace.com/streetlitdiva

  WWW.ASHLEYJAQUAVIS.COM

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  Moth to a Flame Copyright © 2010 Ashley Antoinette

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