by Miss KP
At that moment, I walked Juanita upstairs to her room so we could get her stuff together. One good thing I could say about Trixie was that she kept my daughter fly as hell. Her closet was full of Flowers by Zoe, Juicy, and True Religions. She always looked cute…real girly, which I liked. Juanita talked me to death as I packed her bag. Daddy this and Daddy that, is what she constantly said, which made me smile every time she called me that. Over the past few months, I really enjoyed spendin’ time wit’ my baby girl, and hoped she felt the same. I was really tryin’ to be a better father. The last thing I wanted was for our relationship to end up like me and Denie or even me and Juan. I’d obviously failed wit’ both of them somewhere down the line, and didn’t want the same thing to happen again.
“Daddy, it’s lighting up,” Juanita said, then pointed to the green light illuminatin’ from the top of my phone.
After takin’ it out of the holster, I looked at the caller-ID. I immediately recognized the 202 number. It was the hospital.
“Hello,” I answered in my best professional voice.
“Yes, may I please speak with Mr. Juan Sanchez?”
“Speakin’. How can I help you?”
“Hello, this is Dr. Ju calling from Saint Elizabeth’s how are you today?”
“I’m blessed.” I had to hold back a chuckle from the way I was talkin’. “Mrs. Carter told me to contact you because there was some concern about my ex-wife.”
“Yes. During our session a few days ago Lisa had what we call a relapse. She attacked me thinking I was your daughter, Denie. We had to sedate her, but she seems to be in a better place now. I apologize for taking so long to inform you and Mrs. Carter. I took some time off after the incident and this is my first day back.”
“Really. Well, I’m so sorry about that, Dr. Ju.”
“There’s no need to apologize for Lisa’s actions. I’m actually quite used to irate patients. My concern however lies with what she revealed during our session. Now, normally there is a patient confidentiality policy that we adhere to, but it appears as if Lisa didn’t sign the proper paperwork when she first arrived. In that case we are allowed to inform spouses about patient sessions.”
I continued to listen and hoped that Dr. Ju would hurry up and get to the point.
“Mr. Sanchez, I do realize that you and Lisa are no longer married, which technically doesn’t make you her spouse, but since you were the one who sought help for Lisa in the first place, I’m making an exception.”
“Great. So, what is this all about?”
“There was an incident that took place in a warehouse that she spoke of. Now, I was a bit confused, let me look at my notes here.” I could hear Dr. Ju shufflin’ some papers. “She spoke about Denie trying to kill her for what happened in the warehouse. Do you know anything about this?”
“Dr. Ju, my ex-wife is really sick and I don’t understand why she would say such a thing.”
“She also revealed in the session that you murdered your brother, Carlos because they had an affair and how much she missed him.”
My eyes increased. Wait a minute. What the fuck did that bitch just say, I thought. “Excuse me?”
“Your wife told me that you killed your brother, Carlos, Mr. Sanchez,” she repeated.
I was speechless. I couldn’t believe Lisa had been runnin’ her fuckin’ mouth. I didn’t care if she was doin’ it as part of her treatment or not. Talkin’ reckless was unacceptable at any time.
“Mr. Sanchez, are you there?” Dr. Ju asked.
“I’m here. Umm…yes, my brother was murdered last year.” I had to get my thoughts together and fast.
“Daddy…you ready to…” Juanita said, right before I quietly told her to be quiet.
“It really saddens me that my wife is this sick, and makes up these delusional stories,” I carried on.
“So, you’re saying that all the things she’s been disclosing are false?”
“Oh, most definitely.” I wanted to say, ‘bitch why would you believe one of your crazy-fuckin’ patients anyway?’
“Well, that’s makes me feel a lot better. I know the patients here can make false statements sometimes, and in this case I just wanted to be sure. Let me tell you this though Mr. Sanchez. Another reason why Lisa probably can’t come out of this deep depression is because she’s holding onto a great deal of remorse. She kept asking God to forgive her for killing the baby. She kept asking God, why he made you the father.”
There was complete silence. I couldn’t believe that Lisa had finally admitted to takin’ my innocent baby girl’s life.
“My daughter supposedly died of SIDS. Lisa, however, was the last person wit’ her before she died, so I had a feelin’ she was responsible.”
“Well, Lisa’s condition isn’t getting any better, it’s actually getting worse, especially her hallucinations. I’m thinking that we might need to do a hypnotic therapy treatment to see if we can get to the core of the problem. I might even ask you and her mother to be present, just in case there’s something that’s revealed from her childhood. The next time you come to the hospital I’ll need both you and Mrs. Carter to sign off on consent.”
“Oh, you can give her whatever treatment you want, I don’t care. I’ll sign whatever you need.”
Dr. Ju was quiet for a minute. I guess she was surprised by my statement.
“Umm, okay.”
“Thanks again for your call.”
“I’ll be in touch. Enjoy the remainder of your day.”
“You too.”
Holdin’ back my anger in front of Juanita had proven to be a difficult task as the thought of Lisa tellin’ her doctor about Carlos and admittin’ to Carlie’s death. I was so pissed off, I could’ve snapped that bitch’s neck in two. For me that was all I needed to hear, Lisa really did have to go now. Until I could plan her demise I had to do damage control so she wouldn’t run her mouth anymore. My plans wit’ Juanita changed right away.
Makin’ my way back downstairs, I wanted to let Trixie know that I would have to get Juanita later. But by the time Juanita and I made it to the livin’ room, Trixie had the dude straddled and was fuckin’ him like a true jockey. My anger toward Lisa combined by my daughter witnessin’ her mother havin’ sex immediately took me out of my body. Before Trixie could get up, I pulled her off of his dick, then punched the young guy straight in his face.
“Nigga, I can’t believe you sittin’ here fuckin’ this whore while me and my daughter were upstairs.” Enraged, I grabbed my gun from my waist and placed it against his head. “I can see you don’t have no respect. Do you know who you fuckin’ wit’?”
“Rich, no!” Trixie screamed.
Juanita screamed right along with her.
As I watched my baby girl wail, I slowly lowered the gun. It was this muthafucka’s lucky day.
“Get the fuck out of here, you bitch-ass nigga,” I ordered. I made sure to keep the gun in my hand just in case this clown felt brave.
Holdin’ his face, the dude didn’t hesitant grabbin’ his clothes and runnin’ out the door wit’ just his tank top on. Puttin’ my gun away, I walked over and punched Trixie in her face, too.
So much for my daughter seein’ me in a positive light, I thought.
“You disrespectful bitch!”
“Rich, stop!” Trixie screamed. She held her hands up to protect herself.
“Don’t ever let me catch you doin’ that shit in front of my daughter again!”
“You fucked my money up!” she roared.
“Bitch, are you that pressed for a dollar?”
“I got bills! Your broke-ass ain’t doing shit for us!”
When I looked at Trixie’s face, I could tell she was gonna have a black eye.
“So, you think you’re that bitch because you got an upgrade off my doe. Bitch, the money that bought you all this shit was mine. That bitch-ass nigga Mike you was fuckin’ stole from me, remember?”
Trixie held onto her face. “Get out!”
“Daddy, no!” Juanita was in tears holdin’ onto my leg.
“I’m sorry, baby. Mommy was being really bad. I’m sorry you had to see this.” I kissed her forehead and started out the door.
Trixie yelled all kinds of obscenities as I headed toward my car. As bad as I wanted to go back and black her other eye I had business to take care of wit’ Lisa at the hospital before that bitch got me caught up.
Chapter 7 Lisa
It was the first day I’d felt back to normal in the past twenty-four hours. Apparently after being pumped with tons of medication, the groggy feeling had finally subsided, but I still felt drained. From what Nurse Betty informed me, Dr. Ju was going around telling everyone that I’d attacked her during our last session. If that bitch was telling the truth, I damn sure didn’t remember. All I know is that Becky’s crazy-ass from down the hall kept telling me, ‘congratulations’ all day, so something must’ve happened. I honestly didn’t remember. I just knew that I wanted my life back.
“Come on sweetie open up, you gotta get some food in your system. You’re all skin and bones.”
As my mother gathered a spoon full of mashed potatoes, I knocked that shit right out of her hand. I was so tired of her pity.
“Stop treating me like I’m five years old!” I yelled. “I don’t want anything to eat!”
This time she grabbed the fork and stabbed some cold-ass string beans. “Come on, Lisa. The doctor said you haven’t been eating well.”
I held up my hand. “Don’t bring that nasty food near me. I just told you that I don’t want any.”
“Why do you have to be so difficult,” she said, putting the fork down. I could care less if her ass was frustrated.
“Because I’m in here that’s why!” I yelled, sitting up in the bed. “Why don’t you just get the hell out?”
“Look, Lisa I’m trying to help you get what’s left of your life back on track. Don’t be disrespectful to me. I’ve been praying to God that he helps you through this situation.”
I stared at the small mole on my mother’s left cheek. “Praying to God, really Ma? You never gave a damn about me, so don’t try to act like you care now!”
She seemed hurt by my comment. “You’re my daughter Lisa, I do care about you. How dare you say that?”
“Why now Ma, huh? Why now?”
“Did you forget that you’re the one who shut your family out because of Rich? We never turned our backs on you, Lisa. You were always welcomed to come back home at anytime. You made the choice to be with Rich. Your mental state is because of him, so don’t blame me.”
“If Daddy was here, he wouldn’t have committed me into this God forsaken place. This is your way of getting rid of me. I wouldn’t be surprised if your money hungry-ass wasn’t trying to take over my money.”
“Money hungry? Are you serious, Lisa? I don’t need anything from you, including your disrespect,” my mother said as she got up. It looked like she was about to leave.
“You think I’m crazy, but I know more than you give me credit for. Just like you think I don’t know my daddy had a will. He told me years ago that he was leaving me enough to get away from Rich and now all of a sudden there’s no will. You think you’re slick, but I know the real you. I know who the real Mrs. Carter is, underneath the big church hat.”
“I told you your father didn’t have a will dammit! That’s all you care about Lisa is the money! Is this what Rich turned you into?”
“Last time I checked I wasn’t stealing from the church behind Daddy’s back. He told me a lot of things about you. I know that my brother, Brent, isn’t Daddy’s child. Yeah, all these years Junior really wasn’t a junior. But you’re supposed to be so much better than me. You’ve always been so quick to judge me and you’re no different.”
She stared at me for a few seconds. “Last time I checked I wasn’t the one in a mental hospital, so at the end of the day Lisa, we’re not that much alike. Have a nice life. Let your dead beat ex-husband care for you.” She turned around. “Oh, speaking of the devil, Rich she’s all yours.”
My mother stormed out with angry tears, as Rich entered with a look in his eyes that I feared in the past. But today there was a new Lisa in town. I was ready for whatever his ass was serving.
Lately Rich had been looking back to his old self. For a minute it looked as if he’d fallen off, but today he’d cleaned up nice. The crisp grey Prada shirt he had on looked brand new. I wondered if he’d come into some money. I wondered if he was out flossing while I was wasting my time in a mental institution.
“And what can I help you with sir?” I asked sarcastically.
“Lisa, I don’t have time to play games wit’ you. What the fuck did you tell that doctor?”
I just had to snicker. “So, Rich the gangsta is here to off me. What the fuck do you mean what did I tell her?”
“Dr. Ju called questionin’ me about the warehouse and Los. What the fuck did you tell them people?”
“Mr. Sanchez, I didn’t ask to be here, remember? You and that fucked up ass mother of mine admitted me without my consent. If you hadn’t brought me here you wouldn’t have to worry about what I tell people now would you?”
“I’m so sick of your damn mouth.”
“I don’t care what you’re sick of. If you don’t get me out of here I just might keep running my mouth!”
Rich peeked his head out my room door before closing it. He then walked over to me, wrapped my hair around his hand to make sure he had a good grip, then yanked my head to the side. He was obviously getting tired of my sarcasm, but I thought it was funny how pissed off he was.
“Listen bitch, I’m gonna ask you one more time what the fuck you told that doctor about me. She seems to think that I killed Los, but more than that she told me that you admitted to killin’ Carlie.”
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. There was no way Dr. Ju would’ve known about Carlie, so I really must’ve been talking too much. I hated that I couldn’t remember exactly what I said. Me hackling Rich was no longer funny. The look in his eyes told me that he was ready for war and that it was only a matter of time before he would send me to my creator. Nobody fucked with a snitch. Even more than that, if he really knew that I’d killed the baby, I would definitely never make it out of this hospital alive. Suddenly, I was nervous about what I’d revealed.
“I didn’t tell her anything like that!” I yelled in defense mode. “You’re tripping.”
“Well, how the fuck does she know about the warehouse? If you told her all that, then why shouldn’t I believe that you killed my daughter?”
“You and Dr. Ju are making shit up. Why would I kill my own daughter? Carlie died of SIDS. And why would I incriminate myself by telling her about Carlos?”
“Bitch, because you’re crazy, that’s why.”
“I’m not crazy! Stop saying that!”
If I had a knife I would’ve stabbed his ass right in this chest for calling me that.
“How does she know about the warehouse?” Rich repeated.
“I don’t know, they…they drugged me up.”
“So, you’re admittin’ it?”
I shook my head back and forth. “No, I didn’t say that.”
At that moment, Rich let go of my hair, but grabbed one of the pillows from behind me and attempted to place it over my face. If it wasn’t for the terrifying scream I let out, he probably would’ve suffocated me without a second thought.
“Get the hell out of my room. You need to be in here, not me!” I belted.
“You’re gonna pay for killin’ my daughter and runnin’ your fuckin’ mouth.”
“So, now you’re threatening me.”
“No, that’s a promise. I’ve given you way too many passes. You should’ve paid for what you did to Denie a long time ago,” Rich stated. “Consider yourself lucky to be breathin’ op w.”
All of a sudden my fear turned into bravery. “Rich, tell me what the fuck I have to live for anyway? If you kill me, who’s
gonna come to my funeral. Nigga, just do what you gotta do.”
Just before he was about to respond, Dr. Ju walked in.
“Oh, hello Mr. Sanchez. Mrs. Carter stopped by before she left to let me know that you were here. I didn’t know you were coming so soon. Are you ready to sign those papers?”
Rich quickly dropped the pillow. “I sure am.”
“Wait, what papers? He’s not even my husband anymore. He shouldn’t even be talking to you!” I yelled.
“Dr. Ju, do you think I could ever sign Lisa out on a day pass or somethin’? Her birthday is comin’ up, so I wanna celebrate like we used to,” Rich said.
I hoped Dr. Ju could see the devious smile plastered across his face.
“He’s lying. He just wants me out of here so he can kill me!” I roared.
“Lisa, please. Stop makin’ up lies. Dr. Ju is on to you by now,” Rich spoke as he ushered Dr. Ju out of the room.
As soon as they left, I knew I was on borrowed time now. There was no way Rich was gonna believe me now. It was a matter of time before he sent me to heaven with my son.
Chapter 8 Marisol
I made my way to the wine cellar and grabbed me something nice to calm my nerves. Normally, my dining room was only used for special occasions, but if things went as I hoped they would, this was certainly gonna be a night to remember. Popping open a bottle of white wine called Freaky Muscato, that my St. Louis partner sent me, I played with my mother of pearl .380 pistol I’d named, Miss Pearlie.
It had been days since Javier had given me the letter, and after walking around the house like a complete zombie, I was finally ready to confront Rich about the allegations of Carlos’ death. Admiring the gun, I thought of how Rich had obviously betrayed me. It was still hard to believe that he was responsible for killing my husband. I’d been sleeping with the devil the entire time, and never had a clue. As I mourned Carlos’ death and dealt with Mia being sick, Rich was there every step of the way. Now, I wondered if it was out of guilt, or if was he trying to keep close tabs on me for some reason. Obviously, I didn’t really know who he was, so anything was possible at this point. He’d crossed me, and I felt stupid now for loving him.
