Love's Deadly Masquerade

by The Author- Yani

  “Derek, are you back?” she asked loudly as she stood in the middle of the bathroom floor. She waited for his answer. When he didn’t respond, she opened the bathroom door wider and began walking down the hall towards the living room. Though there was no sign of him, she still felt like someone else was in the apartment with her. Vanessa decided she would call Derek while she got dressed hoping that the sound of his voice would ease her paranoia. She turned to go back down the hallway to the bedroom and almost shitted on herself when she saw Eric standing near the bedroom door.

  The look on Vanessa’s face excited Eric so much, that pre-cum began to leak as his erection intensified. “What, you’re not happy to see me, V-Dot?” he asked with the same charming smile that once made her heart melt as it filled with love and passion. But now his smile chilled her to the bone and she was positive she was going to have a heart attack.

  Vanessa stood frozen as she looked at Eric, unable to believe her eyes. The day that she feared the most and prayed never came to be was here and very real.

  “We need to have a very serious talk, V-Dot. About you, me, our baby and how you thought you could just fucking walk out on me and let another nigga play daddy to my child. Why do you insist on learning shit the hard way?”

  Vanessa’s fear slowly began to turn to rage as she listened to Eric talk. “You are so full of shit,” she said in a voice that didn’t sound like her own when she spoke.

  “What?” Eric asked, with his eye-brows raised.

  “You know got-damn well you didn’t search for me because of this baby I’m carrying. You’re such a pussy, I don’t know why I didn’t see you for the punk-ass momma’s boy you truly are.”

  “Oh bitch, being away from me this long gave you some fucking heart to be talking to me like you lost your muthafucking mind,” Eric hissed.

  “Oh please, shut up, Eric. Shut up! You murdered my father! You stalked and plotted on me for years before making your move. And for what? To prove the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and you are no different than your woman-beating, coward-ass father?!”

  Eric looked at her shocked at her words. “How the hell does she know…?” he thought to himself. “Never mind the small shit, Ricky. This lil girl got some serious sass in her and it’s time to cut the small talk and remind her who really runs the bingo,” he heard his father in his head.

  “Bitch, you’re too smart for your own good. You gon’ learn today. I’ma learn you hard and slow, you bitch.” He moved towards her quickly and Vanessa turned to run. Her feet were still wet from the shower and she slipped on the parquet floors. Her arms flailed outward as she tried breaking her fall and protecting her baby, but she fell hard. She cried out loudly as she turned to her side, reaching for her belly. She felt Eric’s hand go around her ankle and begin to drag her backward.

  “No! No, Eric! No!” she screamed out as she kicked her leg at him…

  …

  Felix pulled up to the apartment complex where Derek lived and parked his car. He hopped out and went over to the door and pulled on it. When it didn’t budge, he groaned, annoyed with being stone-walled again. He dug in his pocket for his keys as he walked over to his car. He was just about to tweak his alarm when he had a feeling that someone was behind him. Before he had a chance to turn around, he felt the cold steel of a gun press against the back of his neck. His heart felt like it was in his throat and his stomach knotted up as he suddenly feared death was waiting for him right around the corner.

  “You need to be more mindful of your surroundings,” he heard a familiar voice say. He felt hands search his waist and then his gun was taken from him. “Letting somebody get the drop on you this easily makes me embarrassed to have had you as my partner,” Michaels said as he shook his head.

  “Fuck,” Felix mouthed, cursing himself. He had hoped that his partner didn’t turn out to be dirty. At that moment with a gun to his head, hope was dashed. He moved to turn around, but Michaels stopped him.

  “Nah, stay right there, just like that,” he told him.

  “This is bullshit, Mike. Seriously? This is how you’re going out? How long you been a fucking snake hiding behind your badge, nigga?”

  Michaels laughed, “Bruh, you always had a habit of asking unnecessary questions. You should’ve left this shit alone like the Lieutenant said. All you had to do was keep it fucking moving, but no, here you are trying to be a hero. Heroes die every day, B.” He yanked Felix by his arm and nudged him towards the back of the building. Though Felix was terrified, he managed to remain calm as he thought of a way to get himself out of this mess. It was still partially daylight and he wished like hell that the apartment complex wasn’t in such of a suburban area. At least if it had been an inner city setting like North Philly, Germantown or even West Oak-lane, people would be out and someone would surely see what was happening. But the only thing that was out were scattered clouds.

  They were almost to the back of the building when Michaels heard a car pull up. He took his gun away from Felix’s head and put it in his back instead. He yanked his partner over by a large oak tree and waited to see who the person was that was parking. When he saw that it as Derek, he cursed under his breath.

  “Could his timing be any worse?” Michaels mumbled under his breath.

  Felix heard what he said and thought that it was Eric that was parking his car. When the guy got out of the car and he saw that it wasn’t, he let out a sigh of relief. He knew he was just as good as dead if it had been Eric.

  “My man, parking is reserved back here so, you might wanna move your car if you’re parked back here because Tow Truck Bob be hawking and stalking every day around this time,” Derek said as he pulled his keycard from his back pocket.

  “Actually you’re just the guy I was looking for, Derek. Vera spoke with you earlier about Vanessa,” Michaels said, playing cop. He was trying to get Derek in perfect view so he could get a shot off that would take him out and then he could take Felix out as well.

  Derek stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Felix and Michaels. “Right as Pie” he heard Vera say in the phone again. It was something about that saying as well as the way she said it that didn’t sit well with him. “Yeah, she did…” he said as he looked at Felix and Michaels suspiciously. What bothered Derek was that he couldn’t see both of Michaels’ hands. He then noticed the slightly unnerved look in Felix’s eyes. “Right as pie,” he heard Vera say again. That time he heard the saying in his head, everything clicked. He remembered sitting in on a session with Vera where she shared her experience as a battered woman. Marcella suggested she come up with a phrase to let her know if she was in trouble whenever she called. Right as pie stood for Reach a Policeman. The moment it became clear that her phrase was her way of letting him know she was in trouble, Felix elbowed Michaels. A shot went off, hitting the ground and Derek ducked for cover. Felix grabbed Michaels’ wrist and pushed him into the oak tree, struggling to disarm him.

  “Derek, run! Now Derek, GO!” Felix yelled.

  Derek took off running to the complex doors. Felix saw that he was not going to get Michaels to drop the gun with the way he had him hemmed up again the tree so he head butted him. Michaels staggered back, dropping the gun but recovered quick enough to block a punch that Felix threw at him. They grabbed at each other, slinging one another around. Felix pushed with all of the strength he had and wrestled Michaels on top of Derek’s car. The alarm went off. He gave Michaels a couple of rib shots, trying to knock the wind out of him, but his punches didn’t have the desired effect as he’d hoped they would. Michaels brought his foot up and kicked Felix in his stomach causing him to fall back into the gate. He then reached behind his back and pulled his second gun, shooting it twice, quickly. The gunshots spun Felix around, knocking him to the ground.

  Michaels spat on the ground as he breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. His lip and his nose was bloody and his ribs were sore from the punches Felix hit him with. He took a couple of steps forward and w
as about to nudge Felix with his foot to see if he would move when Felix turned over quickly, holding the gun that Michaels dropped when the fight initially started. Michaels’ reaction was too slow and Felix got off four shots, all of which hit Michaels in the chest. He stumbled backwards before falling into Derek’s car and then hit the ground.

  Felix looked at his partner laying lifeless on the ground, trembling. Though that wasn’t the first time he had to discharge his weapon, it hurt him to the pit of his stomach that he had to discharge his weapon on his partner. He grabbed onto the gate to help pull himself up and winced in pain. He had on a bullet proof vest under his shirt but the second bullet hit him in his side where he was least protected by it. He placed a shaking hand where the pain was coming from and touched his side.

  “Fuck,” he groaned when he saw his fingertips covered in blood. He slowly limped in the direction that his partner was laying in, trying to breathe against the pain that he was feeling which was getting excruciating by the second. Michaels’ eyes looked up at the sky in a lifeless manner. Felix wasn’t going to make the same mistake that Michaels made. He kept his gun aimed at his partner as he kicked his gun away. He then turned towards the doors of the complex and limped towards them. He thanked God that someone was coming out as he was going in.

  “Hold the door!” he managed to say loud enough for them to hear him. The right side of his body felt hot as though it was on fire but he fought against it.

  “Aw man, are you alright?” the guy asked Felix.

  Felix shook his head. “No, I need you to call the cops. Tell them a man has been shot out back. Tell them another man has been shot and there’s a possible third man on the second floor with a gun,” Felix said in a breathy voice.

  “Jesus!” the guy exclaimed. He fumbled for his phone as Felix stumbled over to the elevators and pressed the button to go up.

  “Please, God…” he thought to himself. “I’ve come too far not to be able to save this woman. Please…” Felix felt like he was fading but the sound of the elevator arriving at the floor snapped him back. He got on and pressed “two”, and made his way up to Derek’s apartment.

  …

  Derek didn’t bother waiting for the elevator. He haul-assed up the stairs, skipping two at a time. He ran down the hallway to his apartment with his heart-racing. The hallway seemed longer than usual and the faster he ran, the further his apartment seemed to be as though this were a sick nightmare.

  His mouth and throat were dry suddenly, and each time he swallowed, it felt like sand and dirt were in his throat. He twisted the door knob and pushed the door opened. Derek saw that Vanessa wasn’t on the couch. Instead of calling out her name, he listened to determine if she was moving around. He heard noises coming from the bedroom and hesitantly walked in that direction. The closer he got to his bedroom, the tighter the knot in his stomach became. He breathed heavily as he partially feared what he was about to walk into.

  “You thought you could get away from me, bitch. You thought I was just going to let that shit slide. Well, you thought wrong, you fucking cock-sucking, whore-ass bitch. I’ma learn you good, bitch. Daddy’s gonna learn you real hard and real good.” Derek heard a man say.

  Derek walked into the bedroom. Nothing in the world could have prepared him for what he saw. The room was a mess and he could tell a small struggle ensued. But what fucked his head up more was Vanessa’s naked body bent over the bed with Eric ravaging her while his belt was tied around her neck like a dog’s leash. Vanessa’s face was bruised and bloody and the way her body flopped around lifelessly from Eric’s vigorous thrusts, he couldn’t tell if she were dead or had passed out.

  Eric heard movement from behind him and turned in that direction. He sucked his teeth. “Muthafucka, don’t you see I’m busy right now?” he asked as he yanked on the belt around Vanessa’s neck. He saw the way Derek looked from him to Vanessa while at a loss for words and smirked. “You must be the new nigga,” Eric said casually. He pulled his penis out of Vanessa which was partially covered in blood and wiped himself off on the sheet. “In case you never fucked this bitch, let me just give you a heads up. She was always a boring lay.” And then as though Vanessa was a piece of trash, he undid the belt from her neck and then flung her onto the bed.

  Derek saw red at that moment and before he knew it he had Eric by the throat. They struggled in the corner back and forth. Derek was able to get in quite a few good punches, but it wasn’t enough to knock Eric down. Eric wrestled Derek before picking him up and rushing him into the dresser. Bottles of lotion, deodorant and other items were knocked over as they fought and struggled in the room. Derek managed to hit Eric with a strong right cross, knocking him back. Eric recovered quickly and grabbed a flower vase, smashing it against Derek’s head. Derek fell to the floor feeling dazed. He crawled a bit as he tried to get his bearings together.

  “Yeah that’s right, pussy!” Eric said before kicking him in the ribs. “Crawl, muthafucka!” he kicked him in his back making him arch it and holler out in pain. Eric grabbed the belt that he had previously put around Vanessa’s neck and wrapped it around Derek’s, tightening it. “You wanna be a fucking hero? Huh bitch!? Huh?” Eric practically growled as he choked Derek. Derek grabbed for the belt as well as clawed at Eric’s hands trying desperately to stop him but Eric’s grip did not falter. “You gon’ learn today, bitch. You gon’…”

  His words were cut off by the loud boom from Felix’s gun. Eric was hit in the chest and fell backwards. Felix leaned into the wall for support and fired a few more times, emptying his clip. Eric lay on the floor very still, not moving.

  Derek looked up at Felix as he tore the belt from around his neck. Felix slid to the floor and dropped his gun. After Derek was able to get his breathing under control, he crawled over to Felix.

  “Jesus man, you’re fucking bleeding everywhere!” Derek said to him.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Felix said in a breathless voice. He managed to point a finger at Vanessa. “Check her.”

  Derek turned to Vanessa and scrambled over to her. She was laying on her side, still not moving. He listened closely to her mouth and could hear her breathing but barely.

  “She’s barely breathing!” Derek said in a panicky voice. “What do I do? What about the baby?” he asked frantically. When he didn’t get an answer, he looked over at Felix. His eyes were closed and he wasn’t moving. Derek pulled Vanessa in his arms and covered her body with the sheet. He used a clean part of the sheet and wiped the blood from her face. He then talked softly in her ear as he did the day she began hyperventilating when she learned that Arianna had been killed while he dialed 9-1-1 from his phone. He heard voices and what sounded like a police radio and disconnected the call. “Hang in there, babe. Hang in there, Vanessa. You’re okay, okay? You’re okay, just hang in there,” he told her.

  The first cop that came into the room pulled his gun on Derek.

  “Wait!” he said frantically. “This is my apartment.” He nodded in Eric’s direction. “He attacked my girlfriend and then attacked me.” Derek then nodded in Felix’s direction. “The guy right there I think is a cop. He shot the guy that attacked us but I think he was hurt outside by another guy,” Derek quickly explained.

  The cop put his gun away as a few other police officers came into the room followed by paramedics. A couple of them attended to Felix as two others came to Vanessa’s aid.

  “How far along is she?” one of the paramedics asked “She’s 34 weeks,” Derek said as he stepped out of the way. He heard a defibrillator go off and turned in that direction. They were administering CPR to Felix. He then turned back to Vanessa and watched as another paramedic came up with a portable ultrasound.

  “Baby is in duress, and the mother is hemorrhaging. We’ve got to move them and get this baby out fast or we’re going to lose them both.” A female paramedic said. They loaded Vanessa onto a stretcher and put an oxygen mask over her face. Derek followed them out of the room and climbed in the b
ack of the ambulance with her. He reached for her hand but was almost pushed to the side by one of the medics.

  “She’s coding!” one of them yelled. “Charge to 200!”

  “Wait, what’s happening?” Derek asked anxiously. He watched the way Vanessa’s body jerked when the medics shocked her and became frantic.

  They arrived at the hospital and raced down the hallway to the elevators to get her to the operating room. The doctors prevented Derek from getting on with her.

  “Wait, that’s my baby in there!” He yelled at one of the doctors. “What’s happening to her?”

  “Sir, I need you to stand back. If you want us to save your girlfriend and your baby, let us do our job and please go wait in the waiting room. We’ll send someone out to update you as soon as we have an update to give,” the doctor said to Derek. He then got on the elevator and Derek watched as the doors closed.

  28

  Vanessa was back at Temple University’s track field. Up ahead, she saw her father walking the length of the track casually. She ran to catch up with him.

  “Daddy!” she called out to him. He stopped and turned to her with a warm smile.

  “I’ve been waiting for you, Vanna. But I wasn’t expecting you so soon,” he said to her.

  Vanessa looked at him confused. “What do you mean? We came to the field together.” She froze for a second, as if she remembered something she never should have forgotten. And though her father seemed very real to her, she knew that it could not be possible because he had been killed almost eight years prior. Her heart ached as she came to that realization.

  Her father smiled before putting his arm around her. “Vanna, I can’t tell you what it did to me not being there for you like I planned to be. To protect you, to teach you, to guide you and help mold you into a beautiful, strong and intelligent Black woman.”