Who Can I Trust: A Naptown Hood Drama (Trust Issues Book 1)

by Tamicka Higgins

  “Oh my God,” she said, not being able to take what now seemed like a deafening silence. “What the fuck happened? What the fuck happened?” Just then, she thought about Marcus. He was not knocking at the bathroom door, nor was he talking from the bedroom. Her eyes bugged out of her face again as she looked at the wall that separated the bathroom from Marcus’ bedroom. “Marcus!” she yelled. “Marcus!”

  There was no response. Rather, upon trying to calm down a little, Kayla could hear what sounded like Marcus groaning – a sound that definitely let her know that he was in some sort of pain. Kayla jumped up and pulled the bathroom door open. Quickly, she looked both ways, for no particular reason, before hurrying back into Marcus’ bedroom. As soon as she stepped across the threshold, her hand instantly covered her face. Within the flash of a second, a tear was strolling down her cheek and her noise was getting stopped up. Standing there, in the doorway of Marcus’ bedroom, Kayla could see his long, dark muscular legs sprawled across the floor on the other side of the bed, in the space between the patio door and his bed. Kayla rushed around the front of the bed and leaned down to Marcus.

  “Marcus!” she yelled, kneeling over his body. “Marcus, baby? Marcus? Marcus, Marcus, Marcus.”

  Marcus’ eyes barely fluttered open. Once Kayla turned his body over some and looked into his face, she could see that he had been hit – hit in his shoulder. Blood was coming out of him so fast that she just did not know what to do. Tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably while her heart beat fast and her emotions ran high on alert. Even her own breathing seemed loud and thunderous.

  “Marcus, what is going on?” Kayla asked, frantically. “What is going on?”

  Marcus smiled a half-smile and looked into his woman’s eyes. “Kayla,” he said, softly then coughed a little. “A couple niggas in this black car pulled up…”

  Marcus’ eyes were starting to close, showing Kayla that he was losing consciousness.

  “Marcus, baby,” Kayla said, trying to keep him awake. “Marcus, Marcus.”

  “Yeah,” Marcus responded. “Two niggas rolled up and just started firing.”

  Kayla decided at that moment that she had to take action. Immediately, she grabbed his phone and called the police. After giving them a quick rundown of what had happened, or what she had heard happen since she was in the bathroom, she stayed on the line as the dispatcher instructed. Following the dispatcher’s instructions, Kayla quickly grabbed a towel from the bathroom and covered where Marcus had been hit. If nothing else, she wanted to stop the bleeding.

  “I called the police, Marcus,” Kayla let him know. “I called the police. Just hang on, okay. Just hang on.”

  “You…” Marcus said, obviously struggling to stay conscious let alone put together coherent sentences. “You ain’t get hit, did you?”

  Kayla shook her head. “No,” she answered. “No I didn’t. I was in the bathroom when it happened and I got down to the floor real quick when I started hearing them shooting. Marcus, something is just not right. What is going on?”

  “I…” Marcus started to explain. “I told you.”

  “Naw, I mean what is really going on,” Kayla said. “Who are these dudes that rolled up and just started shooting at your place? Who is they, Marcus?”

  Marcus was obviously, and thoughtlessly, trying to shrug his shoulder. He winced as a sharp pain rippled through his body.

  “Don’t move, Marcus,” Kayla told him. “Don’t try to move. Just tell me who they were.”

  “I…” Marcus said. “I just saw them roll up and one dude…one dude hopped out and shit and just started shooting.”

  “And you didn’t recognize any of their faces so I can tell the police when they get here?” Kayla asked.

  Marcus shook his head and remained silent, his blinks now getting longer and longer as the seconds and the minutes passed with Kayla kneeling over his bloody body.

  “Marcus?” Kayla asked.

  “Naw, baby,” Marcus answered, in a way that was clearly letting her know that he just did not want to say. “I ain’t know them niggas.”

  Kayla nodded. She then realized that the two of them did not even have any clothes on since taking their nap together. She knew she would just have a few more minutes before the police and ambulance came rolling into the parking lot of the apartment complex. With that in mind, she quickly slid into what she had worn over to his place. Frantically, never feeling so scared that her dude might die right there on the floor in front of her, Kayla pulled his dresser drawer open. She dug through until she found a pair of his sweatpants then went back over to him and slid them up his legs.

  Marcus chuckled.

  Kayla smiled, looking into his eyes. “Nigga,” she said. “What the fuck could you possibly be laughing at a time like this? You know you shot in the shoulder, right?”

  Marcus nodded again, again letting out a little chuckle. “You,” he said. “Thanks for covering my shit up before the police get here.”

  “Of course,” Kayla said.

  Within seconds, sirens blared into the air. While they were indeed still at a distance, they sounded like an ambulance and God only knows how many police cars.

  “The police is almost here, Marcus, okay?” Kayla said, pushing the towel into his wound. “They almost here, they almost here.”

  “Good…” Marcus said, his voice clearly getting weaker. “Good. Fuck, it’s cold.”

  Kayla’s heart started to beat faster and harder as the tears were just streaming down her face, uncontrollably left and right. She was never really into learning stuff in the medical field but she knew that if a gunshot victim was talking about they were feeling cold, that was not a good sign.

  Within seconds, tires screeched against the snow out in the parking lot.

  “They here, they here,” Kayla said, jumping up. Quickly, she ran into the living room and opened the door so there would be no confusion about which apartment. She waived her arms at the EMT crew then the police car that swooped in behind their ambulance. Within the matter of seconds, Marcus’ usually very calm apartment was virtually like a crime scene Kayla had seen on television and in movies. It was all just too much, watching a bunch of people in uniforms rush in and head back to the bedroom. While she watched them carry Marcus outside, covering his body with a very thick kind of blanket before going out into the cold winter wind, Kayla found herself getting oh so emotional. At this point, Marcus was not responding in the same way he had minutes earlier. His eyes were closed most of the time he was rolled by her, only opening ever so slightly as he disappeared into the back of the ambulance. Now, this left Kayla to deal with the police and their questions – to do the thing she hated the most.

  ***

  Kayla knew what she had to do to deal with the police. Quickly, she grabbed Marcus’ phone from the bedroom and put it into her pocket. After answering the police’s questions, giving them as much detail as she could about what she had heard from the bathroom, she really did not feel like she was all the much of a help. Marcus had told her that he did not know who the dudes shooting into his apartment were. However, Kayla was convinced that he probably did and was trying to keep her safe by just not telling her. Nonetheless, she made it a point to cooperate with the police. However, she did feel herself tensing up a little when the police officer asked where Marcus worked. Remembering how Marcus had things laid out, and how he had always told her, Kayla told the police that he worked at his uncle’s store over on Clifton. With saying that, she could tell the police really did not believe that answer. Any store over on Clifton would not pay Marcus enough to have an apartment like he had. However, that was the only answer Kayla had and she was going to stick with it.

  Once Kayla was done giving her statement to the police, she was feeling a little agitated. She hated how they would send multiple uniforms to ask her the same questions. She made sure to give them all the same answers because she knew that the system was just looking for any reason to look a nigga up, even if he
was clearly the victim of the shooting. As she stepped outside with the officers, the ambulance was pulling off. At that moment, an officer came walking up with good news: it looked like Marcus was going to make it. He had lost a lot of blood, but because there was a quick response and he did not get hit in any major organs, he would more than likely be okay.

  “Thank God,” Kayla said, feeling her emotions coming down a little bit.

  Kayla asked what hospital Marcus was being taken to and without a second thought, she hopped into her car and headed toward the highway. Every block seemed twice as far; each stoplight seemed to be red and take twice as long to turn green. In so many ways, she felt frustrated and helpless. As soon as Kayla got onto Interstate 70 and headed toward downtown, she pulled Marcus’ cell phone out of her pocket. Careful to watch as she was driving down the highway, she scrolled through his contacts, asking herself who she would call first. She knew that Marcus was close to his daddy, but his mother would probably want to know first. With that thought, Kayla called his mother, Lorna. It was a quick conversation to say the least. She was at work but told Kayla that she would meet her at Methodist, the hospital where Marcus was taken to be treated, which was downtown on 16th Street.

  Once Kayla hung up with Lorna, she knew that she had to call Marcus’ boys. Ever since Kayla had been talking to Marcus, he and his friends Brandon and Juan had practically been as thick as thieves. If there was any sort of social function going on in the hood, Kayla could bet that one of those two niggas would be there. In many ways, she was almost envious of that because she wished that she had as many friends who really cared for her like Marcus did. However, at the same time, she knew that she was just not as social as Marcus.

  Kayla drove as she scrolled through Marcus’ contacts until she came across Brandon. She called.

  “Wassup nigga?” Brandon answered, clearly assuming that it would be Marcus calling.

  “Brandon?” Kayla said. “This Kayla.”

  Immediately, Brandon was alarmed. “Oh,” he said, sounding a little confused as to why his boy Marcus’ girl would be calling him from his phone. “Wassup, Kayla?”

  “It’s Marcus,” Kayla said, feeling herself start to tear up again as the sight of Marcus’ bloody body popped into her mind again. She kept it together, though.

  Immediately, Brandon turned down whatever music was playing in the background. “Marcus?” he asked. “What, Kayla? What happened to my nigga?”

  Kayla sniffled. “He on his way to Methodist,” she answered. “He got shot, Brandon. He got shot.”

  “Shot?” Brandon asked. “When? Where?”

  “We was at his place chillin’,” Kayla explained. “I got up to go to the bathroom and next thing I know, there are gun shots coming into the apartment. Like a dozen or something, I don’t know. I just got down on the floor as low as I could. When I came out, that’s when I found him.”

  “Found him?” Brandon asked, clearly concerned about his boy.

  “Yeah, Brandon,” Kayla said. “I found him on the floor in his bedroom. He got hit by one of the bullets that came through his patio door.”

  “Damn,” Brandon said. “You serious?”

  “Yeah,” Kayla said. “In the shoulder. Brandon, there was….there was…there so much blood.” At the end of her sentence, Kayla could not help her emotions. She was now on the verge of breaking fully into tears from it just being so much to deal with and think about.

  “Fuck,” Brandon said. “And you headed to the hospital now?”

  “Yeah,” Kayla said, wiping her face. “I’m headed downtown right now.”

  “Aight then,” Brandon said. “Let me hit Juan up and we gon’ see you down there.”

  “Okay,” Kayla said.

  Just as Kayla was about to hang up, she heard Brandon say her name.

  “What?” Kayla asked.

  “Where you tell the police that Marcus work?” Brandon asked.

  “At his uncle store,” Kayla said. “Or at least, that’s what he told me to tell anybody if they ever asked.”

  “Good deal,” Brandon said. “I’mma hit Roy up and tell him what happened. I know that he is gonna wanna know this shit. This shit is fucked up. Just foul. I hope he gon’ be alright, man. I hope my boy gon’ be alright.”

  “They told me that he would be,” Kayla let Brandon know. “When I was coming outside with the police, there was a officer who walked up and told me that he had lost a lot of blood, but since he was not hit in a important organ, he would more than likely be okay.”

  “Bet,” Brandon said. “I’mma see you down at the hospital, Kayla. Let me hit up Roy and let him know his nephew got hit. This shit fucked up. I’m sure he gon’ wanna know about this.”

  “I mean, who would do some shit like this?” Kayla asked. “In fuckin’ broad daylight, just roll up and start shootin’ and shit.”

  “I don’t know,” Brandon said, in a way that was not totally convincing to Kayla. “Let me call that nigga Roy and I’ll see you down at Methodist.”

  Before Kayla could say anything else, the phone disconnected. Brandon had hung up. For the rest of her twenty minute or so ride into downtown, Kayla had a terrible feeling in her stomach. She felt like she was being kept out of the loop on something, and she really wanted to know what it could be.

  Chapter 3

  The hospital was the usual sad, funny smelling place. By the time Kayla got there, parked her car, found out what room Marcus was in, and had gotten up there, his mother Lorna was already there. Without even thinking, Kayla and Lorna hugged. In all reality, Kayla had always been rather close to Marcus’ mother. At just sixteen years older than Kayla, Kayla always saw Lorna as a bigger sister rather than a motherly kind of woman. She was so pretty and had stayed in shape even after having three kids. Dressed in tight blue jeans and a cute sweater with her hair in a stylish pixie cut, Lorna broke away from her embrace with Kayla and wiped the tears away from her eyes.

  “What they say, Miss Lorna?” Kayla asked, looking passed her and into Marcus’ hospital room.

  Lorna held her head up. “The doctor said that he lost a lot of blood and stuff,” Lorna explained. “But he gon’ be alright. They operating on him now and asked that I leave the room so that they could have some space and stuff, so I came out here.”

  “Oh, okay,” Kayla said.

  “Kayla, tell me what happen,” Lorna said. “Please, what the fuck happened?”

  Kayla took a deep breath before explaining it all to Lorna. She did not know if Marcus’ mother knew what kind of life he was involved in, but she would not be surprised if she did. In fact, even though Lorna was rather polished as she had gotten older, Kayla could tell that she used to be about that life when she was younger. Every so often, she would say something that would let Kayla know that if somebody were to mess with her, they would be messing with the wrong person.

  With the explanation now on her mind, Lorna looked back toward the hospital room. “So, you was in the bathroom and somebody just started shooting?” Lorna asked.

  Kayla nodded. “I swear,” she said. “It was so scary. I didn’t know what was happening. I was so scared to come out of the bathroom when the gunshots finally did stop. I’m so sorry. It was just so scary.”

  “I know, I know,” Lorna said. “It’s gon’ be okay, okay? It’s gon’ be okay.”

  Lorna hugged Kayla again then the two of them sat down in a couple of chairs in a waiting area. Within minutes, the elevator doors opened. Brandon and Juan, both dressed in black hoodies with black jeans sagging and swishing at mid-thigh level, stepped off. Kayla quickly noticed how Lorna rolled her eyes.

  “These niggas,” Lorna mumbled then shook her head.

  “What about’em?” Kayla asked, wanting to know why Lorna’s reaction to Marcus’ boys was like that.

  Lorna just shook her head, letting Kayla know that she would fill her in later.

  Brandon and Juan came walking up. Brandon, who was tall and light-skin with tattoos on h
is neck, practically towered over Juan. Juan was short and kind of pudgy with gold permanents in his mouth. They spoke, being nice.

  “What the doctor’s say?” Brandon asked.

  Kayla and Lorna filled the two of them in not only on what the doctors had said about Marcus’ condition, but also on what Kayla had heard and saw happened. Brandon and Juan looked at each other and shook their heads. Once again, Kayla felt like something was just not right. When Kayla glanced over at Lorna, she could see that her eyes were oh so cold as they looked at Brandon and Juan. This made her want to know even more what the tension was about. It was very obvious that Brandon and Juan were not all that well liked by Lorna. When Brandon and Juan walked away and sat in another cluster of chairs in the waiting area, they talked quietly amongst themselves. All the while they talked, Kayla wished that she could hear what they were saying. Her eyes were locked on their mouths, but she really could not make out much of what they were saying. Lorna broke Kayla’s focus by tapping her arms ever so slightly. Quickly, Kayla’s head jerked to the side and her eyes met with Lorna’s eyes.

  “What?” Kayla asked.

  “What you know about them two niggas?” Lorna asked, glancing over at Brandon and Juan as she barely opened her mouth.

  Kayla shrugged. “I mean…” she started. “Them Marcus’s boys, I guess. They always chill together and stuff. I called Brandon when it happened and you shoulda heard how he sounded. He got Juan, I guess, and they came right on down here. Why?”

  Lorna rolled her eyes. She looked toward Marcus’ hospital room then to Brandon and Juan, who were still talking low amongst themselves. When she looked back into Kayla’s eyes, she just shook her head.

  “No good,” Lorna said. “I told Marcus about hangin’ out with them niggas. But, you know how that go. Men don’t listen…never do.”

  “Why you say that?” Kayla asked. “Why you say that he shouldn’t hang out with them and stuff?”