by Shontaiye
Mann ignored her lies and excuses. “I wasn’t good enough for you…I wasn’t rich enough…. I could have given you everything you wanted if you had given me time…But you used me and then dismissed me. Noah was more important. Fuck me.” His image of her had been forever tainted.
Shaleea shook her head back and forth and cried. “I’m so sorry you feel that way, but you’re wrong. Please let me leave,” she begged.
“I can’t. Everybody leaves me. I won’t let you do that again.”
She now knew what the plastic was for.
“Oh my god Mann, please don’t,” she screamed. He went to lift his gun but the door flew open.
It was Noah, and he come armed with his gun drawn. Emotions overwhelmed her. Her sister must have called him. She had no idea how he found her. God had answered her prayers.
“Mann let her go,” he stated firmly. Mann smiled at him and his slightly limped walk. Noah and his silly ass walk amused him.
“Fuck you pussy—,” he said, before firing at Shaleea.
Shaleea saw him squeeze the trigger and the bullet flew past her face. She immediately screamed and hit the floor in fear. The sound was loud and her ears were ringing from it. Maybe she had been hit. She was sure she had saw a spark and a bright light.
As soon as Mann put his finger on the trigger, Noah emptied his clip on him. The shots caused his body to jerk, as he took one after another until he hit the floor with a hard thud. He gasped for air as he automatically fought to hold onto the life that was escaping him. The bullets hurt but Mann prayed they would end his life. He had nothing left to live for.
Shaleea lay on the ground and covered her ears. She continued to scream even after the sounds of gun fired stopped. Soon she felt Noah’s hands pull her stiff body up from the floor and embrace her. She knew it was him and proceeded to cry into his shoulder. She kept her eyes closed as she sobbed. She refused to open them because she didn’t want to see the aftermath of what had just happened.
Several minutes later, the cops arrived, along with Gina and Shaleea’s sisters. Shaleea’s nightmare was finally over. Noah’s however, was just beginning. The cops placed him under arrest and everyone watched as he was hauled away.
As she loaded up into the car with her mother, her sister Shyanne asked, “Shaleea what happened to the gun you said Razul took you to get.” She was more curious than anything.
“It’s in my purse…I never even pulled it out…. I was too scared to use it.,” she replied solemnly.
Shyanne had known that the day she said she had gotten it. Anyone that knew Shaleea, knew that she had never been a fighter. That was part of the reason everyone rushed to her aid when she was in trouble, Noah included.
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Several days later, Noah was cleared of any wrong-doing and released. John successfully convinced police and prosecutors that he acted in self-defense, and speculated that Mann would have killed Shaleea had he not come to her defense.
Naomi’s body was soon found in the home after cops entered to carry Mann out, further adding to Noah and Shaleea’s claims that Mann was crazy and had to be taken down with deadly force.
The nightmare was finally over for everyone.
EPILOGUE
Shaleea didn’t care about messing up her expensive patterned tights or her $400 Vince Addie booties as she knelt in front of Jahkee’s tricycle shaped headstone.
“This is your brother,” she said with a smile to her twin boys Isaiah and Christopher. Heaven, who was now eleven and standing nearly the same height as her, put down Isaiah and he walked over and touched the stone. Christopher, a mama’s boy wouldn’t budge, choosing to remain attached to his mother’s chest.
“Come get your flower baby. We gonna lay them down for Jahkee,” she said to Isaiah, who was a busy bee and liked to wander off.
It had been two years and she would never forget her late baby boy. Even when he had passed, she had held him long and still shared a bond with him. She would come out as often as she could to visit him, and while she never would get over the pain of losing a child, she thanked God for what he gave her in return for passing him along to Him.
Noah, who was holding a sleeping Eva, allowed Isaiah, Christopher, and Heaven to pick out their flowers from the fresh, mixed bouquet. He laid what was left on top of the grave. Shaleea stood up and kissed Noah and quickly took a look over her beautiful family. She was blessed.
She knew people looking in on her situation would call her stupid, but she didn’t care. Her decisions were hers and hers only. She told herself that as long as her decisions made sense to her heart, then that is what she would base it on. Noah had changed. With therapy and lots of forgiveness they had made it. Every tear she had cried, every blow she had thrown, every prayer she had prayed was not in vain. She was happy and nothing could take away what she had.
Walking away from Razul wasn’t easy. He was an awesome guy. Shaleea came to the conclusion that she would let someone else experience what Razul had to offer. She felt that God had another plan for her. She truly believed her and Noah were soulmates, destined to be together.
Noah too felt blessed. The day that Shaleea decided to cut ties with Razul and allow him back into her life, he was overjoyed and relieved. He loved her with every fiber of his being. He agreed to give up all things in his life that weren’t good. He had a good woman. A woman that had been his rock and his guide, a woman that had prayed beside him when she thought he was dying, and finally, a woman who had opened her chest and gave her heart to a child that was not hers. He wanted to live with her, grow old with her, and eventually die with her. He loved her and he was genuinely lucky.
He knew he didn’t deserve her or anything he had. He had selfishly taken a life. He knew he was wrong and would end up in Hell behind it. He prayed that God could forgive him for all his wrongs. If he didn’t, he would understand. He had given him everything he had now, and it was worth an afterlife in Hell.
“Come on bae,” Noah said. “They’re all tired and need naps. We’ll see him again soon. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek and they prepared to leave. She hated saying bye.
“Heaven baby, grab Isaiah for me before he takes off,” she said with a smile. He had just gotten some new walking shoes and he was all over the place.
As they walked to “their” family vehicle, a new Mercedes S550, she now knew the answer to her question from several years ago. Things had changed a lot. Things were “different.” Gone were people she had once loved and now in place were new ones. “Was different always better?” she had asked herself. To her, it depended on what, and who was different…and in her case…this time, yes.
A message from Shontaiye:
Hi everyone. I hope you enjoyed the series. Please direct any questions or comments, good or bad to [email protected]. Tell me if you liked part three and how you liked the ending.
Thank you to all those that waited patiently for the book. Also a big thank you to those, (and you know who you are) that put me in check for taking so long. I appreciate raw honesty and like to be held accountable. A few of you showed a sista no mercy, lol.
Last but not least, look out for Uptown Books newcomer, Messiah Raye. He’ll be dropping The Takeover soon through the imprint. I got a sample of it and I think it’s going to be dope!
