A Dangerous Game of Love

by Taylor, Mercedes

  Standing back, Gio watched the scene before him, seeing the people he cherished the most, hurting and in tears pushed him over the edge. People knew better than to touch his family. The person who did this was going to pay and he was going to make sure of that.

  The girls cried for over ten minutes, they didn’t stop until there weren’t any more tears left, the room was now silent. No one knew what to say, no one had anything to say for that matter, the quiet engulfed the room.

  Kendrick finally made his presences known; he walked to the side of the bed and stood behind Aniya rubbing on her back. Still remaining mute, he continued to hold that intense gaze on Nicole. He only broke it to turn his head in Gio’s direction. Gio started asking Nicole if she remembered anything about the guy that would be helpful. Glancing up at him… no it couldn’t be it just couldn’t!

  Gasping loudly, everyone turned back to her asking what was wrong, everyone but Kendrick.

  “Nothing, I…I just don’t want to think about that right now….I can’t, I just can’t!” Nicole said as she started crying again.

  “Aww honey, it’s alright you don’t have to talk about it right now,” Gia told her while rolling her eyes at her brother.

  “Yeah I’m sorry shorty, I didn’t mean to upset you baby girl.”

  “No its okay,” she started while wiping her eyes, “I know you were only trying to help.”

  “How about you get some more rest and well come back later with food and a change of clothes, by then you should have your discharge papers,” Gio suggested.

  “Yeah mama, how about that?” Aniya asked.

  Nervous, she couldn’t look at Aniya because that would mean have to look at Kendrick. Closing her eyes she released a heavy sigh.

  “Yeah I guess y’all are right.”

  Kendrick was the first one to leave the room, without a goodbye, but Aniya just brushed it off as him being uncomfortable. Gio hugged her and told her he was going to see her in a little bit. The girls was next to kiss her and hug her goodbye, before she let Gia go she whispered in her ear telling her that she needed to talk to her and ONLY her. Stepping back some, she noticed the look on Nicole’s face, something wasn’t right she could feel it.

  “Umm guys, you know what I’m going to stay with her, she shouldn’t be left alone.”

  “So I’m going to stay too then,” Aniya replied.

  “No you should go get her some clothes and make sure her room and stuff is cleaned, you know incase its messed up,” Gia quickly countered.

  Gio stood in the doorway with an eyebrow raised; he could read between the lines, something was going on but he said nothing.

  “Yeah Niya, can you bring me something to change into, I’m not feeling this hospital gear,” Nicole said trying to lighten the mood.

  Hugging her once more, “You got it mama and I’ll bring you some food too. Your place will be cleaned also.”

  Once everyone left Gia was about to start the questioning but a nurse walked in the room telling them she had to check Nicole’s vitals and make sure she was okay. She stood in the corner waiting patiently for the nurse to finish. She didn’t move from her spot until after the door closed. Pulling up a chair next to the bed she held Nicole’s hand asking her what she needed to talk about.

  It was now or never, she wasn’t 100% sure, but she was damn near close.

  Stammering, “Uh…I um…I think I know who rap…attacked me.”

  “REALLY?! Why didn’t you say something when my brother asked Nic?” Gia surprisingly asked. Then she figured Nic must’ve been embarrassed.

  “I couldn’t…Gia I couldn’t.”

  Something wasn’t adding up. “Why not Nic? What’s stopping you? Who do you think it was?” Gia was now sitting on the edge of her seat.

  “I….it was…” Before Nicole could get the rest out she burst into tears. How could she tell them this, how could she tell them who it was that raped her? It was no longer just her feelings that were involved. If she was right in her thinking this would crush them. But she had to; she had to protect them, if something else were to happen she would never be able to forgive herself. Closing her eyes, she relived the attack.

  “The whole time he was there he barely said anything and when he did he whispered it. But it wasn’t what he said; it was more what he called me.”

  “What did he call you Nic?” Gia was now gripping the railing on the bed tightly she didn’t know where Nic was going with this but she knew she wouldn’t like it.

  “He called…he called me…pretty…pretty lady.”

  Thinking to herself she racked her brain trying to remember where she heard that before, she tried to put a face with it but she couldn’t.

  “While he was attacking me I kept trying to fight him off. We started struggling and his mask rose and that’s when I saw it,” trying to compose herself she took a deep breath before continuing.

  “He had a tattoo of a skull with a snake going through it on the side of his neck. At first I was thinking that’s a common tattoo many guys can have, but it had A.M underneath it. I remember telling the person how cute it was when I first seen it.” Nicole wouldn’t look at Gia, she couldn’t! She avoided looking her way so she kept her down and twiddled her thumbs.

  “Son of a bitch!” Gia yelled while jumping out her seat.

  “He wouldn’t…he couldn’t, but he did. That piece of shit!” Gia exclaimed out loud, mainly talking to herself.

  As soon as Nicole mentioned the initials underneath the tattoo it clicked, it didn’t take long for her to remember being how she went with them to get tattoos. It was one weekend and Aniya wanted Gia to get to know Kendrick a little better so she invited both of them to get tattoos. That morning Gia had drove to Aniya house so they could all ride together. During the car ride the conversation flowed between all of them but mostly Gia and Kenny as Gia grilled Kenny and his intentions with her best friend. He could’ve got mad but he knew she was just being protective of Aniya so he answered each and every question. By the time they pulled up he felt Gia had warmed up to him. When they got in the tattoo shop neither of the girls knew what they wanted to get but Kendrick told the tattoo artist the idea he had in his head. The moment he mentioned getting the initials; A.M, both her and Aniya were shocked that he decided to get that after only knowing Aniya for a short time. Aniya tried her hardest to talk him out of it especially after he confirmed her thoughts telling her they were her initials but his mind was made up.

  Then the “pretty lady” that’s what he called Aniya. He hardly ever called her by her name; she always told him that the pet name was cute.

  Turning back around, she faced Nicole and just started at her while trying to get her thoughts together. She forced herself to ask a question she already knew the answer to.

  “You think it was Kendrick…don’t you?”

  “Yes….” Nicole stated barely above a whisper.

  “That piece of shit! Why…why the fuck would he do this man?” Gia yelled…she raved out loud. Stopping, it just clicked to her….ANIYA!

  “Niya! I have to call her and tell her to get away from this sick bastard,” she said as she reached in her bag to get her phone.

  “NO Gia….NO!! Don’t call her!”

  “Why not? She needs to know about the monster she’s dealing with. I have to tell her. She needs to know! We can’t keep this from her!”

  “You can’t tell her something like this over the phone. It will kill her and she’s with him. We can’t tell her yet…not like this. Plus I’m not even all the way sure that it was him.”

  “You’re sure enough! All the facts point to him, if I can’t tell her then I’m telling my brother. Somebody had to do something about this.”

  “No you can’t…”

  “DO NOT TELL ME what I can’t do. I agreed with you about not telling Niya just yet, but I am telling my brother Nic, he has to know. You need to let someone handle this. I’m telling him with or without your permission.”

&nb
sp; Nic knew everything Gia said was true but she was torn. A part of her just wanted to forget about it all and act like it never happened, then the other part wanted to expose Kendrick for the scumbag he really was. She didn’t want Aniya hurt, but it was evident she was going to get hurt regardless, that’s what pained her the most.

  “Fine….you can tell him, but he cannot tell Aniya! Make sure he knows that. We have to figure out how we’re going to break this to her.”

  “Okay…I’m going to text Niya to just stay at your house by herself because you’re not in the mood for others then I’m going to tell Gio to pick up the clothes from Niya and for him to pick us up when it’s time for you to get discharged.”

  Walking back to bed she smoothed back Nicole’s hair while telling her everything was going to be okay; she couldn’t take back the rape but she would make sure she was never alone again.

  After texting Aniya and Gio, they sat together and waited.

  About two hours later Gio knocked on the door then walked in the hospital room with a bag of clean clothes for Nicole. Walking closer to them he took in the silence and the grim expressions they wore.

  “What’s wrong yo?”

  “Nothing, she’s just ready to go,” Gia answered as helping Nicole into the bathroom. She turned back towards him to grab the bag out his hand while making a face as to say “we’ll talk later”. Nodding his head, he sat down while she helped Nic in the bathroom. She had already received her discharge papers right before he came; once she was dressed he left and headed for Nicole’s house.

  During the car ride no words were spoken; Gia sat in the passenger seat trying to figure out how they we’re going to break it to Niya. She didn’t want to believe Kendrick was responsible for this; he didn’t seem like the type capable to rape someone. Every time she seen him he was nothing but sweet. Guess everything isn’t what it seems. Nicole sat in the back with her eyes closed her head back resting against the headrest. Even though she showered she still felt dirty, she just wanted to go home and scrub the filth off her body.

  Gio couldn’t help but to steal glances at Nicole through the rear view mirror. She looked so sad. Even with her eyes closed he seen the tears falling. He gripped the steering wheel his knuckles turned white; he would inflict pain on whoever did this to her. His heart was hurting for her, he didn’t know why but he felt the need to pull her in close and never let her go, to protect her from the world.

  Pulling up in front of her house, he turned towards her. “You sure you don’t want to go back to my crib? You know it’s no problem.”

  “Yeah I know, but I just want to go upstairs, shower and go to sleep. Plus Niya is there waiting for me.”

  “Iight….but I’m coming back to check on you later.”

  “Me too!” Gia said agreeing with him.

  “Okay and thanks again.”

  “C’mon ma, you know you don’t have to thank me.”

  Dropping her head, she nodded instead of replying while easing out of the car.

  “So I’ll see you guys later I guess.’

  “YUP…Later ma!”

  “Bye mama…I love you!”

  They waited until Nicole got inside of her house before pulling off. Gio drove a couple blocks before throwing a quick glance at his sister. If something like this happened to her he would kill everyone in sight, no questions! Shaking his head,

  “Iight spill it…what’s going on? And don’t tell me nothing either, it’s written all over your face.”

  Knowing her brother knew her better than anyone else, she didn’t even try to lie. She told him everything Nicole told her and Gio was beyond infuriated. Gia tried to calm him down, but at this point, calming him down was like moving a mountain.

  "I always knew it was something pussy about him, I never liked him and that’s not because G is my nigga. It’s just something about him just rubbed me the wrong way. But I promise you I'm going to take care of this, that's my word; Nicole and Aniya are my like little sisters so if he did it he got to pay," he tells her.

  "Gio please don't do anything stupid, I don't want to lose you, let’s just tell the police," she suggested.

  "Nah I got this fuck the police they're not going to do anything," Gio replied.

  Continuing his rant out loud, Gia just sits and listens while softly crying. Pulling up to their crib he tells Gia to stay put until he gets back.

  “Do not leave until I get back. I mean it Gia, do not go anywhere! I’m not playing with you either.”

  "I’m not I promise and please be safe bro, I love you," Gia tells him while exiting the car.

  "I love you too and I got this I'm good. I promise you I'm going to take care of this.......”

  He watches her till she's in the house and then speeds to Gavin's house, on his way he calls up two of his lil homies to stay put outside of his house and Nicole’s. Barely parking he jumps out and starts banging on Gavin's door. About five minutes later Gavin finally comes to the door yelling.

  "Who the hell is banging on my damn door?"

  "Yo G, it's me up open my nigga," Gio fired back.

  "My nigga this better be good, fuck you doing banging..." Gio doesn't even let him finish, he pushes past him and goes into the living room while saying,

  "Your girl is in trouble yo."

  “Girl? Who the fuck is my girl? I don't have a damn girl! I swear if you're talking about Jayla that bitch is not my chick, hell out of here," Gavin stated now pissed.

  Laughing a little Gio replied, "damn my nigga she still on it, she haven't gave up yet? But nah I wasn't talking about that hoe, I'm talking about Aniya." Nervous for some reason he asked, "What about Niy man? Spit it out."

  "She good as of now but I heard some crazy shit bout her new nigga," Gio tells him.

  "What you hear G?"

  Spending about five minutes he informs Gavin of what took place with Nicole and what he and his sister discussed.

  "That nigga living foul Yo, I’m going to check his ass I swear I am," Gavin stated.

  He was beyond heated, fist balled while biting the inside of his cheek. Speaking ever so calmly he told Gio,

  "I swear on my unborn child if he does anything to Niy I will kill him with my bare hands Yo. Fuck that, why we still sitting here lets go handle this."

  "Chill G, we can't go run up and kill homeboy remember he has Niya with him, you don't want him to do anything crazy to her. We have to play this smart and get at him when he least expects it,” Gio told him.

  "True but, yo G I can't keep having Niy around him man. What if one day he snaps and does something to her? Shit he doesn't expect it now so we should just handle it," Gavin suggested.

  "You are not thinking, you running off of pure emotions. Think about this, if we go up in there while Niya there and tell him what we know you think she going to believe us? We have no proof, no nothing, yeah we can handle him other ways but that would be too easy I want him to feel it. But at the same time, protect Niya from getting hurt."

  Thinking about what Gio just told him, Gavin knew everything he was saying was right. See this is where they differ they was so much alike but yet different at the same time. Gavin was a doer; he reacted on pure emotions while Gio on the other hand was a thinker he sat and thought about the problem figured out a way to solve it while also thinking about a plan b just in case things went wrong.

  An Eye for an Eye…Right?

  They sat around trying to figure out how they were going to handle this situation. If it was another, they would’ve just made a couple of phone calls and it would be handled but this one was personal. They had to handle it themselves; they needed for it to be dealt with properly with no mishaps. Gavin sat with his head lost in the clouds; he felt he was part responsible for what happened to Nicole. No he didn’t tell Kendrick to attack her but he did give him the power once he lost Aniya and Kendrick entered their lives. If he would’ve been upfront with Aniya from the start they wouldn’t have broken up, she would’ve never met Kendrick,
he would’ve never been around to the point he felt comfortable to rape her own best friend. Though it was wrong he couldn’t help but to wish it happened to someone else and not Nicole. He thanked God that it wasn’t Aniya, but Nicole had become like a little sister to him so it still hit hard. The fact that Aniya was sleeping with the enemy still pushed him over the edge. All the “what if’s” begin to run through his head.

  Gio sat quietly while his mind went in overdrive trying to come up with a couple of plans. Kendrick crossed the line, not only did he harm someone in their inner circle; he was walking around with not a care in the world. On top of all of that he had Aniya so close to him, when at any moment he could snap and harm her. After much thought he came up with two ideas but one he was going to keep to himself unless it was truly necessary. He knew that one wouldn’t sit well with Gavin, but if it came down to it he had no choice. Calling out to Gavin, he broke him out of his own plotting. Gio took his time telling Gavin the idea he had just come up with.

  Gavin took in everything Gio told him and let it process in his head for a while. He played the whole scenario in his mind from the beginning, to how would it end. He then turned Gio’s way with a big smile plastered on his face.

  “That’s smart yo…real talk. I like it! When we putting this in motion?”

  “I say ASAP, but I got to get Nic situated at my crib first and then fill both her and Gia in on everything. As much as I don’t want Niya to continue to see that nigga, we need her to. We can’t tell her yet, you know if we do it’s not going to sit well with her at all and she might try to confront him. I’m going to get Gia to take of most of her time or something that way she’s barely with ol’ boy.”

  “Word we need to handle this quick. Just the thought of him hurting her, I get pissed all over again. That’s my word I can strangle him with my bare hands yo,” Gavin said as he felt himself getting angry.