A Gangster's Dream 3

by Charmanie Saquea

  <><><><>

  Maliek was a in a very precarious situation. He had a killer on his ass and he didn’t even know it. Carmelo was whipping towards East New York with murder on his mind. He wasn’t necessarily a violent person by nature, but when necessary, Melo would turn the fuck up. Now was one of those times.

  Summer was just coming off of a slow recovery. She had experienced something that had her more scared than she had even been in her young life. Her body had been riddled with hot lead bullets that would forever change the way she functioned. Carmelo always held himself personally responsible for Summer’s welfare and he had failed her this time. Someone had to pay!

  That someone was Maliek. Since finding out that Maliek was the gunman, Carmelo dreamt about when he would catch up with him. Trip had come through like always and delivered Maliek on a silver platter. Carmelo knew exactly where to find Maliek. Trip had learned that Maliek was vicious gambler, and on that night he would more than likely be in one of the gambling spots that BK was known for. On top of that, Maliek pushed one of the most unique whips in the hood. He had a Monte Carlo on 24’s, candy painted bumblebee yellow. The whip stuck out like a sore thumb. Carmelo’s logic was simple; find the car, find Maliek.

  As Carmelo whipped through the Brooklyn streets, he rode in silence. No music played. Instead, Carmelo zoned out with his thoughts over the hum of his V8 engine. He was on a mission. The first two gambling spots Carmelo had investigated had proved unsuccessful, but Carmelo’s gut told him Maliek would be at the third spot.

  “It’s only a matter of time,” mumbled Carmelo as he slowly navigated his truck around the block.

  Finally, there it was; the bright yellow car with the glistening rims. Maliek always had been a flashy dude, which was not a good thing for a shooter to be. He was the type of person who wore all his jewelry every day and was always talking shit and popping fly. Maliek made good money with his gambling hustles, but none of that was about to matter in a few short minutes.

  Carmelo left the truck running and hopped out, headed inside the gambling spot. With the respect he had, everyone knew better than to touch his truck even though the keys were still in the ignition. Quickly, Carmelo slid through the double doors that led to the stairway, which opened into the gambling room.

  The scent of weed filled the air of the large basement room, and the sound of pool sticks hitting cue balls and dice hitting the floor littered the air. Carmelo quickly scanned the murky room looking for his target.

  “What up, Melo?” said a young woman’s voice from a card table to the left, but Carmelo paid her no mind.

  Carmelo was only interested in Maliek at the time being.

  “Where Maliek at?” barked Carmelo, with a sense of authority in his voice.

  Slowly, Maliek rose from his dice game and turned to face Carmelo. Both men already knew what was up. There was no need in fronting anymore. It was like a wild west showdown, and whoever was quickest with their weapon would be the lone survivor.

  Maliek reached for his waistline and grabbed a hold of his Ruger, but Carmelo was one step ahead of him. He already had his revolver aimed in Maliek’s direction! Pandemonium ensued as everyone scattered throughout the room to take cover. Carmelo pulled his trigger three times in rapid succession.

  “Shit! I’m hit!” screamed Maliek as the hot metal slug pierced his abdomen.

  Maliek dropped to the floor instantly, completely devoid of the strength it would take to retaliate. As everyone either made a break for the door or hid underneath tables, Carmelo walked up on Maliek.

  With a menacing look on his face, Carmelo let off one final shot into Maliek’s head, killing him right on the spot.

  “Don’t fuck with my family,” calmly said Carmelo, as he turned and walked out of the gambling spot.

  Maliek was handled and Melo felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Of course, Shaquille was still on his hit list but Melo was at peace knowing that he would soon catch up to him and serve him the same fate he’d served Maliek. He paid the owner of the spot, Chucky, a nice piece of change to have the spot cleaned and all traces of himself to be erased. Chucky was good when it came to making shit disappear so Melo was confident that nothing that had gone down would come back to bite him in the ass. If anything, the streets would really know that he wasn’t to be fucked with, and neither was his family.

  Chapter Eleven

  Before anyone knew it, three months had flown by since Carmelo had brought Dream home. Things had changed drastically and it wasn’t so much for the good. Carmelo tried to give Dream the space that she demanded every so often, all the while still being there for her and their unborn child. He tried to handle the nightmares that Dream up from screaming four nights out of the week, and he tried to deal with her shutting him down and keeping everything to herself. It was proving to be too much for him, though. Carmelo wasn’t used to feeling helpless and that’s how Dream had him feeling. She didn’t want his help for anything. The only time he really even got close to her was during their doctor’s appointments. You would think that finding out she was seven months pregnant with a baby boy would have brightened Dream’s mood. Some days it did. She had good and bad days, up and down moments.

  Even though Carmelo was preoccupied with trying to get his hands on Shaq, he still made it his business to be there for Dream and Summer. All he cared about was having his family in a good space but he knew that would never happen with Shaq still lurking. For the time being, they all had to take it one day at a time.

  <><><><>

  Dream walked out of the walk-in closet adjusting the button-up shirt that clung tightly to her protruding belly. She looked over at Carmelo who was sitting on the edge of the bed completely lost in his own thoughts. For a minute, she thought it would be best to pick his brain about what he was thinking about but decided against it. Dream knew that asking him what was on his mind would lead to him questioning her about how she felt and the demons she was battling internally. She wasn’t up for discussing it, so she let him be.

  “I’ll see you later,” Dream said as she picked up her bag from the chaise and made her way toward the door.

  Carmelo’s head snapped up and he looked at Dream sideways. “What you mean, you will see me later? First off, I’m not really feeling the idea of you going out on your own, and on top of that, you didn’t say I love you, no kiss… nothing.”

  “I love you, Carmelo,” she said while turning and walking out the door.

  Dream knew that what happened to her wasn’t Carmelo’s fault but somewhere deep down inside, she blamed him. If only he’d put the street life behind him? If only he did a better job protecting those he loved? If only, if only? So many things could have been done differently but Dream couldn’t dwell too much on what could and should have been done. She was facing the daunting task of putting the pieces of her life together after being kidnapped and raped repeatedly. No one could understand that hurt, the emptiness, the uselessness, or how broken she felt. Carmelo said he understood but Dream knew that was impossible. She was tired of pretending to be okay. Tired of pretending that life was the same. It wasn’t! It probably never would be.

  Dream stood outside of the home she shared with Carmelo and Summer and contemplated her next move. Although she had made the appointment, she was still hesitant about actually going through with it.

  “You need this,” she said a loud in an attempt to will herself to go.

  Slowly, she took baby steps toward her car. Dream’s energy and tolerance for anything was at an all-time low. It surprised her that she even managed to get out of bed most mornings. She did though, and prayed that it was a sign that things would get better.

  Dream found herself fumbling with her keys as she tried to open the door to her truck with shaking hands.

  “Get it together. Damn!” she barked.

  It frustrated Dream that she was so jittery and on edge. That was the main reason she knew she needed help. Moments later, Dream found her
self behind the wheel of her truck. She allowed a deep sigh to escape as she turned the key in the engine and headed toward her destination.

  <><><><>

  Dream walked into the office building with pure disgust on her face. She was beyond annoyed that it took her nearly fifteen minutes just to find a parking spot. She was still able to make it to her appointment on time because she had left the house early. She looked around the dimly lit reception area before making her way over to the desk. There were charts placed on top of the desk with pens attached. Nine out of ten, they were for sign in but Dream didn’t have a clue as to which one was appropriate for her to sign.

  “Who are you here to see?” the receptionist asked after sensing her confusion.

  “Talehia Bell,” Dream announced.

  “Are you her one o’clock? If so, you don’t have to sign in. She can see you now.”

  Dream nodded her head yes. The lanky receptionist rose to her feet and gestured for Dream to follow her.

  “Ms. Bell, your one o’clock is here,” she announced before stepping aside so Dream could enter the room.

  Dream thanked her before walking over to the leather sofa and plopping down. Talehia looked up at her longtime friend and smiled. They had been friends since their freshman year in college. Even though Talehia told Dream that she didn’t have to pay, or even go to her office for a session, Dream had insisted. She trusted Talehia with her life, which is why she preferred her over any other therapist in the state, and there were some good ones.

  “Hello, pud,” Talehia said.

  Dream sat in silence as tears streamed down her face. It wasn’t her first time experiencing silent cries, but it was her first time doing so openly. Like the true professional she was, Talehia didn’t say a word. She allowed Dream to cry because she knew that her soul was hurting. Besides talking, there wasn’t a better way to cleanse one’s aching soul than to cry.

  “It hurts so bad, Talehia,” Dream spoke up finally, after twenty minutes of complete silence.

  “Tell me exactly how you feel.”

  “Damaged… I feel as if every part of me is tainted, included my soul. I’m just a shell. I feel empty, completely worthless.”

  It pained Talehia to hear such hurtful things come from her friend’s mouth. The Dream she knew would never feel that way about herself. She never would have allowed her spirit to be broken beyond repair. She was a fighter, she was the epitome of strength.

  “Why?” Talehia asked.

  “They raped me… over and over again. I just wanted them to kill me. Death would have been too easy for them because instead they just raped me. I was beaten, starved, and raped; every single day.”

  “Who are they? You told me of one person, you never mentioned the other.”

  Dream realized that she was about to open Pandora’s box and decided against it. She had mentioned Shaquille’s name, but no matter what happened, or how painful the memories of her kidnapping were, she couldn’t bring herself to speak the second perpetrator’s name. It wasn’t out of fear; that emotion no longer existed, it had died with her inner self. She couldn’t… Well, wouldn’t mention his name because of what it would do to people who she loved. Because she was damaged didn’t mean she had the right to cause damage to others, especially, if she loved them. Her second attacker didn’t physically rape her but he witnessed and did nothing, which to Dream was equally as bad. Yet and still she wouldn’t utter his name. Even in her darkest hours, Dream found ways to care about others before herself.

  Talehia could see the discomfort she had caused Dream by asking her to reveal the second attacker. She didn’t want her to shut down all together so she switched the course of the conversation.

  “How do you feel about Carmelo and Summer?”

  Dream smiled. “I love Summer. I love her so much. She’s such a bright girl with an even brighter future ahead of her. She’s responsible, a little sassy, super mature… She has a huge heart. Yea, I love her… As if she was mine.”

  “And Carmelo?” Talehia asked.

  “I want to love him. I want to say that he’s everything and more to me. At least, that’s how I used to feel. I want those feelings back.”

  “How do you feel now?”

  “Disgusted. He represents everything that has hurt me.”

  There was a pained expression that shot across Dream’s face, alarming Talehia almost instantly. She rose her seat and rushed over to her friend’s side. “What’s wrong, Dream?”

  “Something is wrong,” she whispered before leaning over to the side and grabbing her stomach.

  “Ohhhh!” she groaned as she was hit another pain.

  “I’m going to call 911. Sit tight.”

  Talehia rushed over to her desk and grabbed the phone. She went into panic mode from watching the pain Dream was in. She got so distracted that she fumbled over numbers and had the hardest time dialing out those three simple digits. Finally, she had them on the line and was rambling off her office address.

  “Oh my God, your water broke!” Talehia announced as she walked back over toward Dream. The stream of liquid dripping from her sofa, and the giant wet spot on her carpet gave that away.

  “It’s too soon. It’s way too soon, Talehia. Why am I being punished?”

  Talehia felt bad for her friend. However, there wasn’t anything more that she could do other than provide her with some comfort until the ambulance showed. She put a throw pillow behind Dream’s back and tired her hardest to make her comfortable.

  “He is going to be okay, Dream. Just hold tight. The ambulance will be here shortly.” She took a seat beside Dream and took her hand in hers. “When you are hit with pain, just squeeze my hand. I don’t care how tight you have to squeeze, just do it.”

  She had spoken way too soon because before she knew it, Dream was clenching her teeth and nearly stopping the blood flow to Talehia’s hand.

  “Talehia, if anything happens to me, just make sure they save my baby. Carmelo is a good man. He deserves to have his son. I don’t want to take that away from him,” Dream cried.

  “Stop it. He deserves to have you both, Dream. I promise you, both you and baby Melo will get through this.”

  Talehia half-believed what she’d said. In her heart, she knew something was terribly wrong. She agreed with Dream, it was too soon. The ambulance had arrived a short three minutes after Talehia promised Dream that everything would be okay. She opted out of going in the ambulance with Dream, but promised to meet her at the hospital. She needed to get in contact with Carmelo and prepare a story. She and Dream had agreed that Dream’s sessions would be kept a secret. Just because Dream went into labor didn’t mean that Talehia was going to go against the grain and reveal to Carmelo the real reason that they were together.

  <><><><>

  “This baby is ready to come out,” the doctor announced after giving Dream a quick pelvic exam.

  Dream frantically shook her head no. She didn’t want to bring her son into the world without Carmelo being there to witness it. She didn’t want to rob him of that experience. In addition to that, she was scared. Her baby wasn’t due for another two months and she didn’t want to face the possible complications of giving birth to a premature baby alone.

  “I can’t,” Dream protested.

  “Ms. Coleman, we have to get him out as soon as possible. He is in distress. The sooner we get him out, the better,” the doctor tried to reason with her.

  “I can’t… I can’t do this.”

  “Yes, you can, baby.”

  Hearing Carmelo’s voice was like hearing the sky split and the voices of the angels. Dream hadn’t had a clue how he made it there as fast as he did, but she was grateful. He tried to rush to her side but was stopped by the doctor.

  “Glad dad could join us. However, I need you suited before anything else.”

  Carmelo nodded in agreement with the doctor. He definitely didn’t want to pose any threat to Dream or their son so he didn’t mind throwing on the scr
ubs provided by the nurse. Once he was suited up, he was by Dream’s side with her hand in his.

  “I’m right here, Dream. I got you. You can do this,” Carmelo coached.

  Dream winced in pain and gripped Melo’s hand just as she was hit with another contraction.

  “We have to push now, Ms. Coleman. You think you can do that for me?”

  Dream huffed and puffed before looking over to Carmelo for reassurance. He was mouthing that she could do it and the more he mouthed it, the more she started to believe it. With tears streaming down her face, Dream let out a low growl and pushed with every ounce of energy she had in her.

  “Good, good… Now take a few breaths in and out. Relax, that was perfect.”

  “Melo, I’m sorry,” Dream cried to Carmelo.

  “For what?”

  Suddenly monitors went off, grabbing the attention of the doctor and the nurses.

  “What happened?” Melo asked.

  “I don’t want you to panic, but we have to speed this along. His vitals are dropping and we may have to perform a caesarean section.”

  Dream shook her head no. “Please, do not cut me. I will push. I can do this,” she pleaded.

  The doctor was willing to give Dream a chance, but he ordered for the operating room to be prepped just in case she couldn’t push the baby out in the next few tries.

  He took his position and coached Dream through three more pushes. As she stated, she was able to do it and brought her and Carmelo’s baby boy into the world naturally.

  For a minute there was a silence that caused Dream and Carmelo both to panic. Before they could question whether or not the baby was okay, his piercing scream erupted, bringing the entire room to cheers and smiles.

  “There we go. Healthy set of lungs, huh?”

  Before the baby was whisked away to be weighed and cleaned up, Carmelo was allowed to cut his umbilical cord.