by N’Tyse
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Bobbi’s smile dissolved and an emotionless stare took its place.
“We have to go. If Ruben found out you were here, he’d…”
“He’d what?” Bobbi spat, her attention still on the baby. “He’ll come from L.A. and kill me? Or would he have you do it instead?” After making the last comment, she looked directly at Levi who stood to her right. His eyes met hers but never did he reveal during their stare-down that the only thing in life he regretted doing was killing Harvey. Like everything else, it was nothing but a job to him. However, when he saw the look in Bobbi’s eyes while she hovered over Harvey’s blood-drenched body, he knew the bullet he put through Harvey’s chest hit Bobbi in the heart and killed her too. That night he demolished a love in desperate need of blossoming and in its place created a dead zone by the name of Bobbi. Killing Harvey and babysitting Bobbi was supposed to be easy. Instead, it turned into the hardest thing Levi ever had to do.
“Let’s go, there’s nothing here for you,” he whispered.
“Nothing here for me? I beg to differ.” Her head turned toward the newborn.
“Listen,” he whispered. He looked around, assuring no one was listening. “I’ll speak to Ruben and see about having them moved out of New York. Sort of like an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ kinda thing.”
Bobbi laughed, her shoulders moving up and down. “That’s exactly what I had in mind: out of sight, out of mind.”
Levi’s neck tightened. He didn’t like hearing Bobbi threaten his cousin’s family. He grabbed her by the elbow pulling her away from the nursery, but the second he made contact, she looked down at his grip.
“You don’t want to do that,” she snarled.
Through her blackout shades, he identified a heartless killer. An animal in the form of a human who was ready to attack at any minute. He released his hold of her and fought to calm himself down. It was things like this that confirmed Ruben had no idea who his wife had turned into after the death of Harvey.
• • •
“Rue, you told me this would be an easy way to wipe out my brother’s debt. Yet you got me babysitting the fuckin’ Bonnie to your Clyde over here.”
Levi stood in front of his car parked in front of Bobbi’s house. She wouldn’t let him in, but when he finally used the key supplied by her husband, she welcomed him with a gun to the face. This was week two of him being on the job and if things like this continued, he didn’t know what he would do.
“I consider killing my wife’s boyfriend and making sure she doesn’t fuck another one of her surgeons easy. Especially when in return, you’re receiving fifty-thousand dollars. And what the fuck are you talking about—Bonnie? She runs shit over there for me, but she’s no killer.”
“Let me ask you something, Rue. When was the last time you seen her?”
“It’s been a minute, why?”
“Because I’m beginning to think the woman you knew no longer exists. She’s cold and if you ask me…lost.” Levi looked back at the house. All the lights were off and the darkness of the night masked him from prying eyes. Looking up at Bobbi’s window, he sensed her watching him, regardless that her curtains were shut tight.
“What are you trying to say, that I don’t know my wife?”
“I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying that maybe she’s not who you thought she was. Maybe killing dude really fucked her up.”
Ruben sat up straight on his couch and leaned over, his free hand forcefully pushing the female who was napping on his lap off of him. He adjusted the phone firmly to his ear, confident that Levi would hear everything he had to say.
“I’ma act like I didn’t just hear you accuse me of not knowing my wife and her being emotional over another motherfucker, only because you’re family. So whatever mood you think Bobbi is in, brush it off as her being on her period or some shit, and do your fuckin’ job.”
The line went dead. Levi’s huge hand squeezed the phone until his skin turned red. He jammed it into his pocket. He couldn’t stand the way Ruben spoke to him. If it wasn’t for his brother’s debt, he wouldn’t be Ruben’s errand boy.
He jumped in his car and didn’t hesitate putting the key in the ignition, but the moment he prepared to pull from the curb, something told him to look at the house once more. Again, his eyes landed on Bobbi’s window. Her silhouette materialized. Without warning, the tables had turned and Levi was no longer the one watching Bobbi, but the one being watched.
• • •
Levi snapped back to reality right in time to witness Bobbi leave. He watched as she slowly walked past him and in the direction of Ruben’s mistress’ room. He knew he should have stopped her. Controlling Bobbi and assuring her puppet strings remained tight was part of his job description, but he owed it to her to look the other way. Stuck in his thoughts, he never noticed Bobbi had turned around and now stood behind him.
“You work for me…tell me everything you know about Ruben. I want to know about his women and the business he’s hidden from me. He took from me; now it’s time I take from him. You do so and I will pay off your brother’s debt within a matter of days.”
Levi didn’t look her way; instead his eyes focused on the many people tapping on the glass and admiring their new additions. His silence indicated that she had his full attention.
“But if you don’t, your brother dies while all you do is watch.”
Levi’s eyes jumped around the crowded nursery. No one heard the death threat he was receiving, and no one gave the woman dressed in solid black a second look. The guard nearby socialized with a doctor, never sensing Levi’s discomfort. Bobbi calmly walked away, the powerful echo of her boots reinforcing her last words to him.
Thoughts of betrayal bounced around Levi’s mind. He should have spat in her face and been confident that if he told his cousin her proposal, he would have been pulled out of this compromising position, but he wasn’t so self-assured after all. Telling Ruben would have done nothing but make it look like he needed Ruben once more. When Levi’s older brother’s gambling got out of hand, he found himself owing a total of fifty-thousand dollars to various people he couldn’t pay off. Time was of the essence and with each day that passed, his life was closer to ending. Levi did everything he could to try and scrape up the money, but it was a lost cause that wound up pushing him and his brother to do the one thing they dreaded: go to their cousin for help.
Being Ruben’s cousin was never easy. It required patience and a lot of tongue holding. Growing up, the shoe was on the other foot, and Levi and his family were the wealthy ones. Several times Ruben’s mother was forced to ask for her sister’s help financially, and although the family never minded lending a helping hand, Ruben did. The jester made him feel belittled and needy; however, each time his mother asked for help, his hunger for money grew without boundaries and his determination to outdo his cousins flourished. At the age of twenty-five, the tables had turned, and Levi’s family wealth unexpectedly went down the drain. It must have resurfaced in Ruben’s pockets because the moment they lost it all, he gained the world. Numerous times the brothers were in need, but after seeing how Ruben behaved once he finally made a buck, the siblings stayed away from acquiring his help.
Ruben waited for the day his cousins would need him, and although it didn’t happen right away, he knew one day it would. That one day came one month ago. Standing on his doorstep, Ruben listened to everything his cousins had to say and when they were done speaking, he told them he would help them but under one condition.
“I’ll give you the money but not for free.”
Levi and McDaniel didn’t expect to receive a handout, but they did expect for their cousin to remember all of the money their mother had given him without asking for it back. Each generation that came along was nothing like the one before and Levi was witnessing it firsthand.
“What do you want?” Levi inquired.
“I want you to work for me. It looks like my wi
fe is having an affair, so I want you to take care of that problem, and then watch her for two months. Make sure her head is back in the game. Then, and only then, will I give you the money.”
Levi’s face wrinkled.
“Hold up, why Levi? I’m the one in debt. I’ll be your little errand boy,” McDaniel voiced.
“Two months! You won’t give us the money until the next two months?” Levi questioned, his tone filled with disgust.
Ruben looked at Levi, but what came out of his mouth was the answer to McDaniel’s question. “Because I want to break him.”
And there it was, the answer to everyone’s assumptions. Ruben hated Levi for some unknown reason.
He turned to Levi and answered his question. “In two months, after everything’s done, you’ll get your money.” And without another word, he stood up and left from out his living room.
McDaniel looked at his brother. He was the oldest, but Levi always took the lead, leaving him to do nothing but follow.
“What do we do?”
Levi didn’t want to answer; he was too engulfed in anger. It took all he had not to run behind his cousin and beat some sense into him.
“We do what he says. But while we wait on the money, you can’t stay in L.A. You have to hide out somewhere. Somewhere not even he knows about.” Levi nodded his head in the direction Ruben left in. Seconds later, he reappeared, taking the seat he occupied prior.
“Deal or no deal?”
Levi faced his cousin and without hesitation answered, “Deal.” His guard was laid down and off the strength of his brother, he would do what he had to in order to save his life.
“Great.” Ruben stood up. “You start now. If you’re going to work for me, there are a few things you should know.”
“I don’t need to know anything about your business, Ruben,” Levi responded.
“Of course you do. You’re my cousin and I have a feeling you’ll do so well that I’ll want you permanently on my payroll. I always wanted you to work for me,” Ruben antagonized.
Levi looked into space, semi-listening to everything he said.
“But first we have fun.” Ruben smiled and on cue, the doorbell rang. He walked to the entrance and opened it for a group of women clad in tight skirts and heels. Within seconds, a few of them flocked to Levi and McDaniel, their hands exploring their bodies while playing Christopher Columbus. Their laughs filled the air, but all Levi and McDaniel could do was stare at one another and wish they didn’t need Ruben.
A toddler ecstatic to see her new baby brother banged on the glass from on top of her uncle’s shoulders and shook Levi from his past. He looked in the nursery at the child whose attention the little girl was desperately trying to receive. He smiled. The newborn was a spitting image of his sister. Soon after, Levi’s eyes jumped from child to child. Life was different when you weren’t aware of the horrors that lay in the world, so in that moment, Levi wished he could trade places with either of those children. His eyes landed on Ruben’s firstborn. His face dropped in shame and his leg shook in fear. It wasn’t until he was the only one staring at the babies did his hand touch the glass and he told her, “I’m sorry.”
He had no choice but to accept Bobbi’s offer. She didn’t require much, and in some kind of way he would be making up for what he’d done, not to mention she agreed to pay off McDaniel’s debt faster than Ruben. Levi looked one last time at the child. He wasn’t at all sorry for betraying his cousin, however, he was sorry that he was betraying his new family.
4
Tucked away in a dark corner, Bobbi watched her prey who was in a deep slumber. Her past face stared back at her and reminded her of what used to be. Her heart rate sped up and she practiced maintaining control by pacing her breaths. The figure in bed tossed and turned, her legs kicked, and head moved from side to side, discomfort disturbing her rest. The hospital door opened, blocking Bobbi’s view of Robbi. In walked an elderly African American woman who made her way to Robbi’s bedside. Observing her restless sleep, she placed her hand on her arm in an effort to calm her down. Robbi’s eyes shot open and her body twisted out her reach.
“Who are you!” she shrieked, her head inches off the pillow while her mind fought to make sense of what was taking place.
The nurse smiled, unfazed by her frazzled behavior. “It’s okay, sweetheart, you had a bad dream. I’m Nurse Teller.” She paused, smiling at Robbi so that she could see she came in peace. But by the look on Robbi’s face, it was obvious that she was still wound up and had yet to relax.
“Oh,” was the only thing that escaped her mouth. She had given birth over four hours ago and there was still no sign of Ruben. Her head sunk into the pillows and tears tumbled from her eyes. She turned away from Nurse Teller, unwilling to have her see the defeated look splashed across her face.
“I was told you’ve been complaining about pain due to the C-section. I’m here to give you something and then I’ll be on my way.”
Agitated that the nurse was still in her presence, Robbi held out her hand without looking her way. “Let’s get this over with,” she spat. Rushing Nurse Teller to drop the pills in the center of her hand, she wiggled her fingers.
An uneven grin crossed Nurse Teller’s lips.
“Oh no, my dear. I have to give you a needle.”
Robbi wiped away her tears and turned in the nurse’s direction. “Fine, just hurry up. I want to be alone.”
Her nasty tone of voice made Nurse Teller proud to give her a needle; it was people like her she liked bringing pain to.
“Sit up, honey, and hold your arm straight out for me.”
Robbi did as she was told. Glancing around the room, she felt the nurse prep her for her needle, then finally felt her injecting the meds.
“All done! See, it wasn’t that bad.”
Robbi didn’t respond; she waited for her to clean her wound and cover it with a bandage. When she finished her task, Robbi said one last thing to her.
“Why is this room so dark? Can I get some light in here?”
“Of course, on my way out, I’ll turn on the light.”
Slowly, Nurse Teller headed for the door, her small hands cutting on all the lights while closing the door behind her. “Goodnight, sweetheart. Now don’t scream too loud.”
Before Robbi got a chance to respond to her comment, the nurse had closed the door, giving Robbi a clear view of Bobbi.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” It was like seeing a ghost. The last time Robbi saw her sister was months ago. She had been standing with Ruben by her side, telling Bobbi she was pregnant.
“I can’t see my sister after she gives birth?”
“Where’s Ruben!”
“In L.A. Where else would he be?”
“Don’t fuck with me, Bobbi! Where is Ruben? What did you do to him?”
Robbi was sitting upright, her body trembling in fear. It was hard for her to accept that Ruben screwed her over, so instead she blamed it on her twin.
“I have nothing to do with his absence. He abandoned you and that little bastard all on his own.”
“Get the fuck out!” she yelled. Tears welled in her eyes. She thought she finally had Ruben all to herself.
“I’ll leave when you don’t have my husband’s child…oops, you already have. So I guess that means I’m not going anywhere.” Bobbi leaned over, her elbows positioned on her knees. She cocked her head to the right and the light bounced off the tightness of her left cheek.
“You’re so ugly. I wish you succeeded when you tried killing yourself.”
Robbi’s stunning face was drenched in tears. What she never told her sister was that she missed her—but not in the everyday sense. She missed how she used to be before she met Ruben; she missed her inner beauty and her drive to become a surgeon. Bobbi wasn’t the only one who found it hard living in her new skin; her twin suffered, too, with every day that passed.
Robbi’s affair with Ruben started when she tried to tear him and Bobbi apart. She
wanted her sister to have her life back and the only way she saw that happening was if she seduced her husband and got her from under his thumb, but it didn’t work. Not only did Bobbi not leave her husband, but Robbi fell for Ruben. Her entire scheme had changed within the snap of a finger. Long gone was her determination to save her sister. Robbi had now set out to keep her man.
Bobbi’s hand flew up to her neck, rubbing the spot where her scar once was. Before Harvey died, he removed the recurring reminder. He never got a chance to work on her face, but he did get a chance to right the biggest wrong she had ever committed.
“I guess we can’t always get what we want,” Bobbi whispered. The comment stung. Her older sister had wished death on her when she was the one recovering from giving birth to her twin’s husband’s illegitimate child.
Robbi wanted to say more, but the stiffness in her feet prevented her from speaking. She tried to wiggle her toes, but nothing moved, so she tried her feet and got the same response. Bobbi watched her eyes stare holes into her feet.
“Why did you do it?”
Robbi took her eyes from off her numb feet and redirected her attention to her sister.
“Because I wanted you to have your life back. It was a ploy to get you to leave him.”
“And when it didn’t work?”
“I fell for him.”
Bobbi thought she’d have so much to say when she finally came face to face with Robbi. The last time she saw Robbi she had told her she was pregnant with Ruben’s child. Bobbi never got the chance to express how she felt. Never got the chance to tell her that him getting her pregnant was only a way for him to control her, just like her having work done on her face was his way of controlling her. But now that she was back in front of Robbi, she had nothing to say.
“Walk away, Bobbi, and let it go.”
Bobbi leaned her upper body forward, her hands folded and elbows planted on her thighs.
