Snapped (Urban Renaissance)

by McKinney, Tina Brooks

  “She’s gonna mess around and lose me if she doesn’t change her attitude.” I was talking shit and I knew it, but it made me feel better to say it out loud. I knew it was going to take some convincing to get Cojo over to my side of the bed, but I really was willing to put in the work because I recognized her for the jewel she was. I just had to convince her I was the better man, which wouldn’t be hard to do since Merlin has always stood in my shadows.

  My room was a mess. I hadn’t fully unpacked, and I hadn’t bothered to do any cleaning since the day I moved in. I had dirty dishes in the sink and clothes strewn all over the floors. Even as a child, housework was never my thing. But if I ever hoped to bring someone back to my place, I knew that I needed to clean up.

  I scooped up all the dirty clothes from the floor and hid them in the tub. I didn’t have a washer so after I had worn my last piece of clean clothing, I would go over to my mother’s house while she was at work and wash. There was no way that I was going to pay seventy-five cents a load to wash and dry my clothes when I could use her utilities for free.

  I took off the clothes I was wearing, threw them into the tub, and took a shower. I had just enough time to catch a couple hours of sleep before I had to go to work.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  ANGIE SIMPSON

  Detective Adams said, “You’re looking a lot better.”

  I was sitting up in bed, sipping ice water. “I feel much better. I can go to the bathroom on my own.”

  “You’re making progress then. You’ll be out of here in no time.”

  “I’m having a difficult time shaking the morphine, but they’re weaning me off it with Demoral.”

  “The lesser of the two evils.” He pulled up a chair and straddled it. “I need you to ID this guy, Ms. Simpson. Here’s a pen.” He gave me an expensive pen; it probably cost more than his suit. “I’m going to show you a photo card with six pictures on it. If you see the guy who did this to you, I need you to sign your name right beneath his picture.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  He gave me the photo card. I recognized Merlin as Detective Adams was passing me the photo card. There was absolutely no reason to consider the other five potentials.

  “This is Merlin Mills.” I put a fingertip on picture number four. It was a mug shot from when he was younger, probably around seventeen or eighteen, but it was him. “This is him.” I signed my name under the picture of the unsatisfying piece of dick who’d tried to kill me.

  Nurse Graham came into the room. Clearly something was bothering her. Since she’d been caring for me, I’d learned that she wore her emotions on her face.

  Now I was concerned. “What’s wrong, Ms. Graham?”

  She nodded at Detective Adams. “Do you mind giving us a few minutes?”

  “It’ s okay, I said. “It can’t be that bad. He can stay.”

  Ms. Graham shook her head as if she pitied me. “You’re pregnant.”

  I lost my breath. I prayed that I did not have a monster growing in my womb.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  MERLIN MILLS

  My heart was heavy when I put my key in the door. For all my bravado, I accomplished nothing as it related to getting Gavin to leave my wife alone. I had been by my mother’s several times. Even though her car was back in the parking lot, she didn’t appear to be home. I wanted Gavin’s ass so bad, I could taste it.

  “Any luck?” Cojo asked after I closed and bolted the door.

  “Not yet. I could not get in touch with my mother, and Gavin is not answering the cell phone I gave him. He could be hiding because he knows that I would be coming for him, but for some reason I doubt that. Gavin has always had a problem with boundaries.” As soon as I said it, I realized that wasn’t the best thing to say to my pregnant wife, who was being led around by wild hormones.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” She was clearly agitated.

  “No, sweetheart, you misunderstood me. What I meant to say was that Gavin’s sense of right and wrong are different from the normal person’s.”

  “Oh, that’s supposed to make me feel better?” She burst into tears.

  I rushed to her to take her in my arms.

  I knew that I was not explaining myself well, but I was never good at discussing the enigma that Gavin was. “Let me run you a bath. Have you eaten yet?” I was trying to remain calm for her; but, inside, my emotions were raging just like hers.

  “No, I can’t take a bath for forty-eight hours.” She sniffed.

  I led her to our bedroom. I turned on the shower and went to whip up a light snack for her. While she was in the bathroom, I continued trying to reach my mother. The bad thing for me was that I knew nothing of her life, so I didn’t know any other number but her home.

  I had just heated up some soup and made a sandwich for Cojo when the doorbell rang. I wasn’t expecting anyone and the disruption really irritated me. Whoever it was on the other side of the bell was practically lying on it.

  Don’t tell me that bastard Gavin has the nerve to come over here after he’s followed my wife, I thought. Putting my tray to the side, I strode to the door, ready to knock this fool’s head off his shoulders. I snatched open the door ready to do battle.

  “Merlin Mills?”

  Facing me were two military police officers.

  “Uh, yeah, what’ s this about?” For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why two police officers would be standing outside my door.

  The tallest of the two said, “You are under arrest.”

  They stepped forward, turned me around, and cuffed me.

  “What in the hell are you talking about? What did I do?” In the meantime, Cojo had emerged from the bathroom in her robe. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she witnessed me being arrested.

  “In other words, Specialist Mills, you have been listed as AWOL, absent without leave, and in violation of a direct order,” the shortest officer said.

  My eyes swung wildly between the two officers and my wife. “I’m sorry, there must be some mistake. I’m not AWOL. I was at work today. Call my captain, she can vouch for me.”

  “Merlin, what’s going on?” Cojo’s eyes were bucked.

  I said, “I don’t know, sweetheart, but don’t worry.”

  They were trying to drag me through the door, but I wanted Cojo to assure that I didn’t do anything wrong and I would be back by her side in no time.

  “Call Captain Jamison; let her know what happened and ask her to please help me.” At this point I was practically screaming this to Cojo as the other officer grabbed the door and shut it in my wife’s face.

  This day had turned into a nightmare, and I didn’t know how to stop it from getting any worse. It was killing me to leave my wife at this emotionally vulnerable time especially when my stupid-ass brother was running amuck and following her.

  “Where are you taking me?” I assumed that they would be taking me back to the base so I could clear up any problems that they had, but we were traveling in the opposite direction.

  “I suggest you put a lid on it, Specialist. We don’t owe you any explanations,” short stuff said.

  “No disrespect, sirs, but I still think this is a big misunderstanding. I’ve been to work every day since I was assigned a temporary job on base while awaiting my redeployment orders.”

  “Well, your orders called for you to head back to Iraq on June thirteenth. Obviously, one of us is wrong, and I guarantee it’s not us.”

  “Stop talking to the prisoner. You don’t owe him shit.” The tall one frowned.

  “Wait, hold up for a second. If I was going to go AWOL, why would I be at my house instead of going somewhere else?” It was like I was talking to a wall. “Think about it, if I was going AWOL, why would I report to work every day as if things were normal? If I were truly AWOL, I would have left the state or even the country, but I didn’t do that. Come on, people, think.”

  “Maybe you’re one of those crazy niggers!”

  Since bo
th of my arresting officers where white, I saw nothing funny about his remarks.

  “Please, before you put me on a plane and waste taxpayer money, please just look into this. If I’m wrong, then I should be punished, but I promise you that I did nothing wrong.”

  “Shut your pie hole, Specialist.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  GINA MEADOWS

  I was not believing this shit. And the worst part about it was that I couldn’t even call Tabatha and tell her about the shit that had just gone down, ’cause she warned me, and my hardheaded ass wouldn’t listen.

  Everywhere I looked I saw boxes. It seemed like it had taken forever to pack the boxes, and now I would need to spend the next week unpacking them. That was, if I could get my landlord to allow me to stay. If not, I would be out there pounding the pavement, trying to find an apartment that I could afford.

  This whole situation was a nightmare that I could not believe I was living. Part of me wanted to start unpacking immediately just in case someone dropped by and I had to explain to them why all my shit was in boxes, but I just didn’t have the energy.

  I went into the kitchen and fixed a drink. If I ever deserved a drink it was now. I had never been so humiliated in my life. Ronald had been giving me the shaft for years, but no one outside of us knew what was going on.

  I embarrassed myself in front of a total stranger. I wanted to get mad at the woman and go back out there and kick her ass. The reality was that it wasn’t her fault. She probably didn’t know jack shit about me.

  Ronald was the motherfucker at the root of all this shit. If she knew anything about me, things might have gone differently.

  Hell, she could have shot me for walking up in her spot like I owned it. I had no idea what was in the boxes that I left at their house. I figured it was just a matter of time before Ronald showed up and dropped them off. Seeing that he was a coward, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d just dropped them off one day when I was at work.

  That bastard really didn’t want to see me. Just thinking about Ronald started my blood to boil. I was angry, no doubt about that, but I was also curious as to why he would treat me in this fashion. Hell, I was a good woman to him. Mentally, I went through all the conversations that I had had with Ronald over the last several months when he announced that he was moving home. At no point did he indicate that I would not be living with him.

  If that was the case, he didn’t even have to tell me he was coming. He could have just shown up, and I wouldn’t have been the wiser. It ain’t like I traveled to Alpharetta on the regular. He could have lived his life to the ripe old age of one hundred, and I would have never known the difference. Shit just wasn’t adding up. I lay down on the sofa, too tired to think anymore.

  I was going to have to find a way to get past this hurt and move on with my life. I wanted to call Tabatha so badly, but I could not hear “I told you so.” Not tonight. I was whupping up on myself already. I didn’t need any more help in that regard.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  MERLIN MILLS

  I wasn’t able to speak to Captain Jamison when I saw her come through the door, but I immediately began to relax knowing that I had someone on my side coming to the rescue. I could tell by her stride that she was pissed. She went into the commander general’s office and slammed the door.

  “Yeah!” I screamed.

  She didn’t take too well to people fucking with her folks, but she didn’t appear as confident when she came out of the office. My heart sank. I still couldn’t figure out what the fuck I could have done to get myself in trouble. She came into the room they were holding me in, with a confused look on her face.

  “Specialist, I’m trying to fight this, but I have to know why you signed these orders.”

  “Orders? I haven’t received any orders.”

  She slid some papers across the table to me. I could tell from her demeanor that she was pissed.

  “Captain, I’ve never seen these papers before. Why would I sign something without speaking with you? This makes no sense.” I picked up the papers to look at them more closely. They had been sent by Certified Mail and someone signed for them the same day that I had taken Cojo to the mountains. “Captain Jamison, remember I told you I was taking my wife to the mountains because I had just found out she was pregnant?”

  “Yeah.”

  “These papers were signed for after I left. There is no way I could have signed them!” Things were finally making sense, but I still didn’t know who signed for them.

  “Someone signed for those papers, and that is why we are both here.”

  “But I didn’t do it. Can’t they compare the signatures?” The only other person who knew I had orders coming was my mother, and I didn’t want to believe that she had thrown away our newfound understanding. I just couldn’t believe that, so I wouldn’t throw her under the bus yet.

  “That might be enough to get you out of here tonight, but we have got to get some answers. Specialist Mills, I have gone out of my way to make concessions for you. Don’t let this bite me in my ass!”

  “I have one more question, how did you know about the orders?”

  “That’s a good question.

  It took another few hours before I was finally released. Captain Jamison agreed to take me home because I didn’t have my car with me. She started speaking after we got into the car. “They were gunning for you for some reason. Is there anything else that I should be aware of?”

  “I promise you, Captain, I’m as squeaky clean as they come. I don’t have any surprises in my closet that will come back to bite you in the butt.”

  “I hope you’re telling the truth, ’cause I take objection to folks chewing on my ass.”

  I wanted to laugh because it was a funny comment, but the severity of the situation made it impossible for me to laugh. “Do you really believe that I would have traumatized my wife over some bullshit? Oops, I’m sorry, Captain, but this has really pissed me off. My sick-ass brother is running around trying to hit on my wife, and now this.”

  “That’s crazy your brother would do something like that.”

  “Yeah, we look just alike. He tricked my wife into thinking he was me and had sex with her. Lord, I can’t believe that I’m telling you all this.”

  “Go ahead, I think I need to hear this.”

  “It was while I was on my way home from my last tour. I never told her about him, because he did some foul shit that he blamed me for. But the truth came out and he went to prison for a long time. Hell, I forgot all about him. Anyway, he got out of prison and showed up at my house. My wife thought he was me and one thing led to another. I made it home right after they finished. Now my brother wants to claim the baby as his.”

  “Oh, damn.”

  Hearing Captain Jamison cuss somehow made her seem more human to me. “I know, it’s jacked up. I left today because my wife went to the doctor’s today to take a paternity test because she was afraid that it might be my brother’s. She didn’t tell me because she didn’t want to stir up some shit, but my brother showed up at the doctor’s. My guess is that he has been following her.”

  “Wow, some Jerry Springer–type shit.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it. I had just gotten home when they arrived to arrest me. Talk about bad timing.”

  “Have you spoken with your wife yet?”

  “No, I didn’t get a chance to grab my phone before I was forced to leave the house.”

  She fished around in her purse and handed me her phone. I was grateful for the chance to put Cojo’s mind at ease, but I didn’t feel all that comfortable speaking to my wife in front of her.

  Despite my misgivings, I called her. “Hey, babe.”

  “Merlin? Whose phone are you calling from, and what in the hell is going on?”

  “Hold on, baby, calm down. I’m with my captain, and she is bringing me home. I told her what we’ve been dealing with, and she let me use her phone to call you to put your fears to rest.” I heard her exh
ale, and I could tell that she’d been worried out of her mind.

  “Thank God.”

  “Is everything okay at the house?”

  “Yeah, just been waiting to hear from you.”

  “I’ll be there soon. Love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  I closed the phone and handed it back to Captain Jamison. “Thanks, I really needed to do that.”

  “Don’t mention it. I shared a lot of my story with you, so I understand what you’re going through. I only wish that someone would have taken an interest in me when I was going through similar situations after I enlisted. The biggest problem that I see is when people get these positions in the military they forget that they were people first, and with that comes life’s problems. My CO didn’t care about anything unless it was connected with the Army.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t enlist back then, ’cause I probably would have gone AWOL.”

  “I understand what you’re saying, but don’t even joke about that. My ass is on the line for this. They really wanted to ship you out tonight. I had to call my direct supervisor to get it stopped. I don’t want to have to shine a spotlight on my stuff like this again.”

  “You won’t have to. As I said, I’m squeaky clean. Once I get my sick-ass brother under control, you’ll probably never hear about me again.”

  “I’m gonna hold you to that!”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  COJO MILLS

  Merlin was on the way home, and I wanted to look extra nice for him. I took a hot shower and swept my hair into an updo. I went into the bedroom and oiled my body down. I didn’t know if his captain would come in, so I wanted to put on something under my clothes that I could strip down to.

  I had a red teddy that would be perfect for the occasion. I was very meticulous about my clothing and knew where every item was placed, but I could not find it to save my soul. I pulled out every drawer and sorted through each item in them, but I couldn’t find it.