Within

by Rachel Rae

  “Yes I do, completely. We’ll be in touch.”

  I pressed end on my cell and sat back on my bed, smiling and crying until something hit me. Why were they so willing now? “Something’s not right,” I said aloud to myself. That thought came and went, because I was so excited to tell my aunt that they agreed finally to meet with us. “I hope she hasn’t left yet,” I said to myself once more, jumping out of bed, darting through my room door and then downstairs.

  The smell of bacon and pancakes filled the air as I walked towards the kitchen, and sat down at the breakfast table. “Good morning, Aunt Courtney.”

  She didn’t speak, she just continued to flip the pancakes on the griddle and fry the bacon. I stood up walked over towards her, and asked her if she needed some help with breakfast.

  “No, I think I have it,” she said, taking a plate from the cabinet, piling two pancakes and three slices of bacon on to it. “We need to talk though, Krys,” she said, handing me the same plate.

  “Okay, but I need to tell you something really quick and it’s good news!” I said smiling, walking back to the breakfast table and sitting.

  “Okay, go ahead; you go first,” she said, sitting across from me with her plate.

  “Sooo, remember when I told you I couldn’t get in touch with those girls that killed Bishop?” I asked, sticking a piece of bacon in my mouth.

  “Yeah the ones that you said made you put the flour on the floor last night?” she asked, looking at me with a straight face.

  “Yeah them! Well, I spoke with them today and guess what? They agreed to finally sit and talk with you!”

  She lifted one eyebrow and stuck her fork into a piece of her pancake, placed it in her mouth and chewed, never taking her eyes off me.

  “Did you hear what I just said, Aunt Courtney? They agreed to meet with us finally! Now you can finally see I’m not lying!”

  “So where does that leave your friendship with them? After they admit this, are you going to give up trying to be their friend? Turn them in? What’s the next step Krystle? And be realistic, because that bullshit last night was unacceptable.”

  “I… I haven't thought that far ahead, but don’t you think it’s starting to look up for me? I told you it wasn’t me, and I think they want to speak with you to tell you the truth. And last night was bad, but like I told you and my dad, they tried to break in here, what else was I supposed to do?” I asked, dropping my fork on my plate.

  “Call somebody, Krystle!”

  “You are starting to be just like your brother. You think I’m a liar too,” I said, slowly folding my arms across my chest.

  She took a deep breath first then leaned in towards me. “We are trying to protect you and all you are doing is making excuses, for people who could give two fucks for you! People who are obviously violent and don’t care about your well-being at all! Am I supposed to get excited to meet those hoe ass friends that hung my niece out there to dry? Hell nawl, I am not and I will not!”

  “So you don’t want to meet them and get down to the bottom of it?” I asked, with my arms still crossed, looking opposite of her direction.

  “I’ll meet them, Krystle, but on my terms, do you understand?”

  I was so happy and overjoyed; I jumped up, hugged her, and began to skip out of the room.

  “I’m not done talking to you, girl! And come back and get this plate!”

  “Okay Auntie, I’ll be right back; I’m about to go call them to set a date!” I yelled. I heard her suck her teeth then and sigh, but it didn’t bother me none. I was on cloud nine; I knew they were going to tell my aunt the truth and clear me from the hell I’ve been going through.

  It took some convincing for Akira and FiFi to meet up as quickly as I wanted them to, but I guess with me constantly on their ass; they finally gave in. I sat on the seat as I normally did when I visited and talked with my aunt about what happened to Bishop. Aunt Courtney says there are too many holes in my story for me to be proven innocent, I simply told her that is the reason the girls were coming. I wanted my dad to be here too, but he had to work; I simply asked my aunt if she could voice and video record our session for him, which she agreed.

  We talked for a couple of hours as we waited for Akira and FiFi to show up; by the third hour, Aunt Courtney seemed to be getting irritated. I tried to ignore her impatient attitude, until she finally came out and asked where they were. As I did the previous hours, I took my phone out of my back pocket, glanced down at the time on the screen, and then at my aunt.

  “It’ll probably be any minute now, Auntie.”

  “You’ve said that before, and again another hour has passed; now I know you have some sort of trust or faith in these girls, but I don’t. I’ve cleared my schedule to meet them, the least they could have done was show up on time.”

  “They are coming; they promised they were going to be here.”

  “I'm only giving them five more minutes,” Aunt Courtney said dryly.

  She sat quietly as I paced the floor, wondering what the hell was taking them so long and where they could be.

  “Alright Krystle,” she said, slapping both hands on her knees and standing, “I gave them more than five minutes and still they aren’t here, we’re leaving.”

  As I turned back around still walking the floor, I noticed my phone lighting up on the couch I was sitting on. “Wait!” I yelled, running to my phone. “My phone was on silent; they’re here! Let me go out to meet them and bring them in.”

  Aunt Courtney sat back down in her brown leather chair, then crossed her legs and waved her hand in a well go, kind of way and so I did.

  I ran outside just in time to see their shadows coming from behind the grassy hill, then onto the sidewalk where I was standing. “It took y'all long enough! She was getting ready to leave!” I yelled at them while they approached me. Akira stopped in front of me with her hands on her hips and her left foot out, while FiFi stood beside me, shaking her head.

  “I’m not sure about this y’all,” FiFi said strongly.

  “Oh not today! Y’all ain’t about to back out on me now! Y’all came all the way here and we’ve been waiting for three and a half hours!” I screamed.

  “Let’s do this!” Akira said, pushing past FiFi and me, into the building.

  “Wait, you don’t know which room it is,” I said, speed walking up to her with FiFi not far behind me.

  “Stop!” FiFi yelled. “Now just fucking stop! I don’t want to do this!”

  “Shut the hell up!” Akira stopped and yelled down the hallway at FiFi. “This shit needs to be done!”

  “Don’t you know how this is going to make you look, Krystle?” FiFi yelled at me.

  “Yes! Innocent! Now are you going to help me or not?”

  “Whatever!” FiFi said, rolling her eyes.

  I sped up, walked past Akira and went directly to my aunt's office where she was waiting; we walked in and quietly sat on the couch.

  “Auntie, this is Akira,” I said, pointing to her sitting on my left side, “and this is FiFi, the girls I’ve been telling you about.”

  “Please to meet you,” FiFi said, with her head down.

  “So what do you want to know?” Akira asked, crossing her legs and folding her arms.

  My aunt scooted up to the edge of her chair and leaned in with her eyes darting from left to right; then she stood up, now pacing the same area that I was walking earlier, rubbing her forehead.

  Chapter Five

  COURTNEY

  I sat back down on the chair and tilted my head back closing my eyes, because this had to be a sick ass joke Krystle was trying to pull on me. I know I told her I was ready to go and I wasn't going to wait any longer than I already had, but why would she go to these extremes?

  “Aunt Courtney?” Krystle asked.

  I lifted my head, opened my eyes and looked directly at my niece. “Yes?”

  “Well, say something. You’re embarrassing me right now.”

  “Are you fuck
in’ kidding me right now?” I yelled, sitting back upright.

  “Can y’all excuse us please, don’t leave; I have to speak to my aunt. I guess she’s shocked that y'all actually showed up,” Krystle said, with an embarrassed giggle.

  Before she could finish her sentence, I was already out the door, now pacing the hallway, massaging the front of my head.

  “What is wrong with you, Auntie?” she whispered, shutting my office door behind her.

  I stopped walking then squinted my eyes at her in confusion. “You’re asking the wrong person that question,” I said, starting my walking back up.

  “You said if I got them here, you would get down to the bottom of it, now that I have them here, you don’t have anything to ask them? Don’t embarrass me like this; I’m begging you. They have no problem telling you what happened that night, the least you can do is be open to whatever it is that they have to say,” Krystle said, taking a stern tone.

  “Are you serious with all this, Krystle?”

  “Very much, Auntie, I just want to clear my name… Please,” she said, blinking hard.

  I took a deep breath, shook my head and then looked back at my niece. “I’m going to go with whatever game you are trying to play for right now. I guess this is what it takes for you to speak with me openly, so I’ll go with it.”

  “Thank you, Aunt Courtney! All I ask is that you listen to what they have to say,” she said, giving me a huge hug, and kissing me on the cheek.

  “Go ahead and go back in; I’m coming.”

  Krystle smiled at me before walking back into my office and shutting the door behind her. I collected my thoughts, walked to my hidden area behind the “Maintenance” door and locked it. The camera that sat on a tripod was still recording through the two-way mirror, where I was holding the meeting with my niece and her so-called “friends”. I’m sure I don’t have long, so I have to think quickly… “I got it,” I said aloud to myself in a slight whisper. If my niece wanted to play games, she got the right one; I’m the queen of that. I grabbed three sodas out of the mini fridge and headed back into my office.

  I walked into silence as I entered my office. “I want to do something real quick.” I said, placing the drinks on the coffee table. “Let’s take this couch and move it here where my chair is and move my chair to where the couch is sitting.”

  We moved the furniture then sat at the same time, staring at one another. I walked over to the end table that once sat beside the couch before we moved it, and grabbed a notepad and pen out of the drawer; then sat in my chair. I watched as Krystle leaned to her left and cupped her ear. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

  “FiFi wants to know why we just moved the furniture like this?”

  “Who’s that to your left?” I asked, writing down some notes.

  Krystle pointed to her left first, and told me again that her name was FiFi, and then to her right, introducing me to Akira.

  “Well FiFi, Akira, and Krystle, I moved the furniture, because behind me as you can see is a huge mirror. I wanted to do an exercise with you all before we got started, is that okay with everyone?”

  They all answered individually, each agreeing, “Umm, so with this activity, I want each of you to stand right here in front of me and this mirror, say your name and tell me a little bit about yourselves. After that, I want you to tell me one thing the others don't know about you. Who wants to go first?”

  At first there was silence as I knew it would be; I looked up briefly from my note pad, then back down, still writing. “Krys, why don't you set the example for Akira and FiFi?”

  “Okay…”

  I can tell she was a bit hesitant to start off, but I was anxious. “Stand right here in front of me and look at yourself in this mirror, say your name, tell me about yourself and something that other girls don’t know about you. Go ahead.”

  “My name is Krystle. I’m nineteen and I have two angels in the sky protecting me, watching my every move. The thing that I guess y’all don’t know about me, is that I wish I could have protected them better than I did when I had them here on earth with me, and that’s it.”

  She hurried and sat back down in the middle of the couch.

  “FiFi?” I asked, never taking my eyes off my paper.

  “I don’t have much to say.”

  FiFi’s voice was soft and airy to me, sounding very unsure of herself, lacking very little confidence. “It’s okay, just introduce yourself and go from there,” I said, still looking down, writing.

  “Well, my name is FiFi. I suppose I’m an only child, but I don’t feel that way. Akira and Krystle made sure of that. I have a hard time realizing the difference between what's in my mind and reality, but I think I'm starting to understand. I feel like I'm stuck in between a rock and a hard place.”

  “With whom?” I asked, still looking down at my paper taking notes. I heard a hard sigh and her light voice trail off, “In between Akira and Krystle.”

  I heard footsteps and the leather couch as if someone one else had gotten up, but my eyes never left my paper.

  “Go sit down,” I heard the voice whisper softly.

  I finally looked up from what I was writing and took a breath. “I'm assuming you're Akira.”

  “And I would say you're correct”

  “You're very confident and a bit overpowering,” I said, looking back down at my paper, beginning to write again.

  “I've been told that before; I try and hide that part of me, but I realized it's something I won't be able to hide too much longer.”

  “So you're the alpha between the three; my niece and Fifi is what I'm meaning.”

  There was a small chuckle before she answered, and then a sigh. “I would like to think that, yes.”

  “Why is that you think?” I asked, getting more curious.

  “Because both of them are weak as hell, and if it wasn't because of me, honestly, your ‘niece’ would still be living in the hell y'all put her in.”

  “I see, what kind of hell are you speaking of? I don't understand.”

  “Oh, you know just as well as we do; her outlet was me and FiFi.”

  I continued writing, shaking my head at the same time; I couldn't believe what I was hearing and how far it was going. I don't think I will be able to sit through much more of this.

  “Have a seat please.”

  “You seem a little confused and frustrated ma’am. I'm sorry; we never wanted any of this to happen, if I can be honest,” FiFi said softly.

  “FiFi right?” I said, pointing my pen towards the sound of her voice.

  “Yes.”

  “Forgive me, I’m trying to get used to your names and voices as well.”

  “I'm sure, since we all look alike.” Akira tsked. “You know what, I'm tired and this was a waste of time. She wants to act like she didn't know about Krystle! Lady look; if this doesn't tell you anything, then it should show you who killed Bishop.”

  “You killed him, Akira?” I asked.

  Her eyes were damn near black as night; when she spoke, it was cold and boastful.

  “Wouldn't you like to think so? But no, I mean I had my hand in it, but killing him? Naw, your niece did that,” Akira chuckled.

  “You're a liar, Akira! I watched you!” Krystle said standing.

  “Why you acting all booty hurt, Krystle?” I heard Akira laugh.

  I couldn't take the back and forth any more it was becoming exhausting. “Let's take a break,” I said putting my pen down on my note pad tilting my head back.

  “Great, I need to take this in anyways, Auntie, she's lying and I can't take this.”

  When I heard the door shut, I opened my eyes, popped my head up and stared at the couch that was just occupied. I couldn't get FiFi and Akira’s voices out my head. Picking up the pen and pad that held my notes, I stood and walked to my desk.

  “This is crazy as hell,” I sighed to myself, placing the pad down with my palms flat on the top of it. I have to tell her father, I can't keep th
is inside; this conversation is not going to go over well.

  I walked behind my desk, opened the drawer and got my cell, and then proceeded to call my brother. He didn't answer, so I left him a message, “Tony it's Courtney, I need you to call me as soon as you can, it's important. Umm, I didn't think Krystle was this bad off.”

  Before I could finish my message there was a knock on my door and an entry, I waved her in sat down and finished my message. “Yeah, like I was saying, call me back. Love you, bye.”

  “Ms. Courtney, I'm sorry to bother you, it's me, FiFi; can I talk to you really quick?” she asked, speaking softly.

  “Umm yeah, I guess… so have a seat,” I said, extending my hand towards the seat in front of my desk.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “I saw how you looked at us once we walked into your office. But I'm not in here to talk about any of what we just discussed, and I have to hurry.”

  “You have the floor.”

  “It's no secret to what's going on here; I keep trying to tell Krystle that this has to stop, but she doesn't listen to me. You have to try to separate Akira from Krystle, as soon as possible. It's not healthy the way she's become accustomed to her presence… even mine. As hard as I try to stay away, it doesn't work; I can't escape. She deserves a happy ending,” FiFi paused, blinked extremely hard, and then looked back at me.

  “I have to go; I'm sorry.” She stood up and walked out the door swiftly, not speaking another word, closing the door behind her.

  I knew the information I was just told was true, but I just can't wrap my mind around all this.

  I sat in my office for another fifteen minutes, contemplating about how I was going to approach my niece about this issue, and explain to her that she will be possibly going to jail.

  “Krys?” I asked, sticking my head out the door. I looked down the hallway both ways and didn't see her. Oh shit, it's still recording, I remembered. I rushed to stop it, turned it off and placed it inside my purse, and then headed to find Krystle.

  I found her sitting on a bench outside rocking.

  “I've been looking for you everywhere.”