Violet sighed. You’re acting like an idiot, she thought. They are just fucking around. She turned the oven off, slipped on her mitts, and pulled the mac and cheese out. She sat it on the stove top to cool by the biscuits, pulled off her mitts and gave a little shout when Bunky appeared in the doorway. A slow smile slid across his face and Violet’s heart jumped into her throat. His smile made fear wash over her like a flood. With a scream, she raced to the back door. Bunky caught her by the hair and yanked her into his chest. He pulled her into the living room and threw her on the table like a rag doll.
***
Violet gagged at the memory of Bunky and Amir ripping inside of her while Kyle watched. She forced her mind back to the present. Her inner thighs burned as if it were yesterday. Tears blurred her vision. She blinked hard to clear her eyes. There were at least three cop cars tailing her. She ignored them. She heard the sirens so she turned the music up. Violet jack-knifed the turn on Broad and Vine and entered the express way doing 120mph. She sideswiped a blue caviler and lost control of the car briefly- her back end slid into the passing lane sending a jeep onto the shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, Begonia.” She said softly. “I miss you so much and I am so sorry.” She eyed the cops in her rear view. “Come on,” she whispered. A vision of Kyle’s smiling face flashed before her. She could still taste the dirty sock he stuffed in her mouth to stop her screams. She shook her head as if she could shake away the memory.
“Come on!” she screamed.
95 became a blur as Violet accelerated to 140. I just need this to be over, she thought as she approached the Welcome to Delaware sign.
“I’m tired.”
A helicopter bathed her Lexus in white light.
“I’m so tired.”
She closed her eyes and let her arms drift from the steering wheel. The car smacked into the median and flipped over the divide. Violet’s airbag diploid knocking her out cold.
Chapter 2
Shanice stepped on a squeaky floor board outside of Tabitha’s room and froze. She thought that they had heard her for sure but Tabitha and Darren kept talking and giggling in their own little world. Shanice breathed a sigh of relief and almost choked to death on the thick cloud of perfume floating in the hallway. God, Tab, use the whole bottle why don’t ya, she thought as she pulled her t-shirt over her nose.
Shanice was nervous as hell but determined to get her sisters car keys. Begonia was going to walk all the way Southwest Philly to see her baby sister Daisy, and Shanice wasn’t having that. She tried to get Begonia to wait on the steps for her but only God and all of his angels can stop Begonia from doing what she wants do. Shanice sure as shit wasn’t going to see her girl walk across the city when there was two cars parked out front. She eased the rest of the way to Tabitha’s door. Her sister’s voice floated through the crack.
“Come on Darren, you know that we can’t do that in here. You said you wanted to see me in it, not screw me in it.”
“I just want a little bit,” Darren said.
Tabitha giggled. “Okay but we have to be quick.”
“Okay, baby, whatever you say. Now come on and climb on top of daddy.”
“Yes,” Tabitha whispered responding to the deep timber in Darren’s voice.
The room light clicked off and Shanice thought she would be sick. She waited until she heard the first moan escape her sister’s lips before switching the hall light off and opening Tab’s bedroom door.
“Yeah,” Darren growled that pussy fits daddy like a glove.
Oh my God, Shanice thought. She got down on all fours and began to crawl into the bedroom.
“You like mommy’s pussy don’t you?”
“Yeahhhh, baby.” Darren was grunting like a dog in heat.
Oh I know I’m going to throw up now, Shanice thought as she crawled towards the dresser. I am going to get sick and die. She reached her hand up on the dresser and patted around blindly for the keys. When her hand brushed up against them she sighed heavily, their keys were side by side so she grabbed them both. Tabitha and Darren were deep into it now and the room was filled with the sounds of there lovemaking. Shanice shivered. I am never going to sit on her bed again. She slipped one set of keys into her bra and crawled backwards outside of the room.
Tabitha screamed like someone slid a knife in her back.
Okay brother-in-law!!!
The lamp on the nightstand flicked on and Tabitha scrambled to cover herself with the sheet. “What are you doing in here, girl?”
Oh shit!!! “Ummm, my uhhh earrings…” Shanice patted around on the floor. “You know the ones mamma Mabel bought me; I think I lost them in here.”
“Yeah un huh, sure, the little diamond studs that mamma gave you?” Tabitha growled.
Shanice stood up and nodded. “Yeah that’s right the studs.” She looked at Darren and nodded again.
Darren laughed. “Those wouldn’t be the studs that are in your ears right now, would they?”
“What?” Shanice asked. She slid the second set of keys in her pocket and felt her ears. “Uhhhh duh! They were in my ears the whole time.” She walked toward the door, “you know, I really should lay off the weed.”
Tabitha sat straight up in the bed and gave Shanice a stare hot enough to melt butter. “Yup, Shanice, I think laying off the weed would be a real good thing, real good. Now get out of my room!”
Shanice opened her mouth to say something but Tabitha cut her off. “I don’t know what you are up to, and I don’t care. Just get out of my room.”
Darren sat back against the headboard and tried his very best not to laugh at the look on Shanice’s face.
“I’m going, I’m going. Sheesh! I know when I’m not wanted. Carry on with the fucking cause I’m gone.” Shanice glanced at Darren’s bare chest. “Looking good there brother-in-law. What, you working out?”
“Get out!” Tabitha screamed. She chucked a pillow at Shanice who dodged it and slipped out of the room.
She ran to the end of the hall.
“Not so fast you little fucking thief. Stay right there.”
Shanice looked at the stairs longingly then turned around to face her sister. Her jaw dropped when she saw what Tabitha was wearing; a baby doll lace teddy with sheer thigh high stockings and black pumps. “You are such a freak!”
“Shut up Shanice and give me whatever it is you slipped in your pocket.”
Shanice rolled her eyes and pulled the car keys out of her pocket and tossed them in Tab’s outstretched hand.
“Oh yeah, you’re trippin’ hard now. You are smoking too much weed, if you think I’m going to let you drive my car. It’s almost midnight. Where in the world are you trying to go?”
“I gotta make a run.”
“You got to make a run, my ass. You better run along to bed before I call your mom.”
“You gonna call my mom and momma Mabel all the way in Atlantic City because I want to use your car? You trippin! I’m not a little girl anymore, Tabitha.”
“Well, stop acting like one, Shanice!”
Tabitha rolled her eyes and walked back into her bedroom. Shanice sighed heavily and continued on down the stairs. She was on the third step when Tabitha ran back into the hallway.
“Give me Darren’s car keys too.”
Shanice didn’t say a word, nor did she look at Tabitha. She just pulled the second set of keys out of her bra and threw them on the hallway floor before running down stairs.
“You keep playing with me, girl, and I’m going to have Lisa kick your ass.”
Shanice sat down hard on the last stair step. “Lisa aint gonna kick shit.” She mumbled under her breath.
“Is that right?” Lisa asked walking out of the kitchen. She wore her trademark braids and a McDonalds’ uniform.
“Lisa, when did you get here?”
“I’ve been here long enough to know that you need your ass beat. Why are you stealing car keys?”
Shanice sighed. “Begonia doesn’t have carfar
e to go and see her baby sister, so she’s walking. She’s walking all the way across the whole damn city. I just wanted to give her a ride that’s all.”
Lisa was quiet for a long time. She dug in her purse and handed Shanice her car keys. “All you had to do was ask, retard. I owe Begonia for helping to free me from my crazy ass mom. The least I can do is give her a ride!”
Shanice hopped off of the steps and hugged Lisa with all of her might. “Thank you, sissy.”
“Yeah, yeah, right, right, just be careful, and tell Bee that I’ll be expecting to see her at work on time tomorrow!”
Shanice caught up with Begonia on fortieth and Girard, a good twenty blocks from where they lived. “Damn, girl, what where you running? I asked you to wait.”
Begonia shrugged. “I may have jogged a little bit. I couldn’t wait for you Shani. I know Daisy won’t go to sleep until I get there.”
“Well hop in then. I had to go through hell to get this ride.”
Begonia got in the car and buckled her seatbelt. “Sweetheart, you really don’t have a clue as to what hell is.”
They pulled up in front of a large two story house off of Limburg Avenue. “Damn this is nice,” Shanice said, taking in the front lawn sprinkled with flowers.
“It’s okay,” Begonia said. “Pull over around the corner will you.”
Shanice parked the car. “I can come back in the morning to get you.”
“Naw, Shani. I don’t think that would be necessary.” Begonia hopped out of the car. She ducked her head in before closing the door. “Thanks for the ride, for real.”
Begonia closed the door and walked to the back of the house where her sister was being held hostage. She looked around to make sure no one was out before scaling the wall using the gutter bolts as a stepladder. After bracing her self on the ledge she taped twice on the window and waited for her sister’s smiling face to appear.
“Why’d you take so long?” Daisy asked her face was crumpled into a frown and her little hands gripped her tiny hips.
“Unlock the window, little girl.” Begonia was trying her best not to laugh at the expression on her sister’s face. She waited somberly as Daisy pushed a chair from the corner over to the window. After she unlocked it Begonia slid the window up and entered the room soundlessly. She scooped Daisy up and swung her around and around until they were both to dizzy to stand. They fell onto the bed giggling softly.
Daisy climbed up on Begonia’s stomach. “Well?”
Begonia chuckled bucking slightly sending Daisy tumbling onto the side of the bed. “Well, what?”
Daisy’s face crumpled again. “What took you so long?”
“I had some things that I needed to take care of.”
“What kind of things?” Daisy sat up on the bed and grabbed her teddy bear from the corner. “You mean like stealing and stuff?”
“No, not stealing. I told you that I don’t do that kinda stuff no more. No bad stuff. I want us to be together as a family again, so I won’t be doing any bad stuff. No stealing, or robbing, or boosting. Things are gonna change for us, you’ll see munchkin, everything is going to work out fine.” Begonia scooted up in the bed to get under the covers and Daisy scrambled up after her.
“Have you seen Violet?”
Begonia’s chest tightened and a lump rose in her throat. “No baby, I haven’t seen her.”
“What about mamma?”
“No I haven’t seen her either,” Begonia lied. She made it her business to see Doreen at least every other day. She would pull her out of one crack house or another and make sure she got something to eat. Begonia hugged her sister close and stroked her hair until she fell asleep. She alternated between watching the clock and gazing out the window at the stars. Daisy began to snore and Begonia smiled.
It took a full year for Begonia to find her. It wasn’t easy breaking into the state building that held her records but she did it. She would do anything for her family—any and everything. The feel of Daisy’s heart beat, the rise and fall of her chest, and the sound of her soft snores acted like a sweet lullaby that threatened to ease Begonia gently into sleep. Begonia fought the feeling, however. She couldn’t afford to stay the night, because there was so much she had to do in the morning on top of walking all the way back to North Philly.
Begonia scooted out of bed careful not to disturb Daisy. She said a little prayer while tucking her in tight. When she stood up to go, her heart almost leaped out of her chest at the sight of Daisy’s foster mother standing in the doorway.
Mrs. Briggs put a finger up to her lips and motioned Begonia into the hallway. Begonia instantly went cold. She curled her hands into fist and walked out into the hall without saying a word.
Mrs. Briggs closed the door and leaned against it. “I need to talk to you.” She said in a hush tone. “My name is—
“I know who you are, Mrs. Briggs. What do you want?”
Mrs. Briggs looked at Begonia like she’d been slapped. “I want you to stop coming here. I know that you brake into my house every night to be with Daisy. I don’t know how long it’s been going on or when it started, but I need it to stop. My daughter is never going to adjust to her new life if you keep this up.”
Begonia went from cold to frozen instantly. She trembled with the need to punch Mrs. Briggs in her face; however, she steeled herself against that need. She spoke slowly through clenched teeth. “Daisy Brown’s mother is in a crack house somewhere beaming up to Scottie as we speak. You are not Daisy Brown’s mother. You are not Daisy Brown’s anything. That is my sister, my blood, and the only family I have left to hold onto. You may want to burn those facts into your memory.
Mrs. Briggs backed away from the crazy look in Begonia’s eyes. She took a deep breath and stood up to her full height. “That may be true but we have filed for adoption. Daisy is going to be a member of this family now and you are going to have to accept and respect that.”
Begonia raised her hand as if to hit Mrs. Briggs, but she pushed Daisy’s door open instead. She started to go in and then changed her mind. She gave Mrs. Briggs a frosty smile. “No need for me to go out the window, since you know I’m here.” She walked towards the steps. “I think you are a nice lady, Mrs. Briggs. You take good care of my sister and I appreciate that. As a matter of fact, that is the only thing stopping me from beating the shit out of you right now. I need you to accept and respect that. I’m going to leave. Do me a favor and tell my sister that I will be back tonight.
“You don’t scare me, Begonia.”
“Well then, you’re dumber than you look.”
“Maybe I’ll put bars on the windows.”
Begonia looked up at Mrs. Briggs from the middle of the stairwell. “You really are an idiot if you think bars will keep me out of here. That’s funny. Begonia laughed as she walked out of the house. You are funny as hell!”
I
Chapter 3
Violet woke up handcuffed to a hospital bed. For a few brief and beautiful second, she thought she was dead. However, the pain killed that dream. She was alive but not well at all. Violet was covered with a million and one bumps and bruises. The beeps of her hospital monitor echoed like a sledge hammer in her head and the smell of hospital disinfect was nauseating to say the least. Violet opened her eyes slowly.
You can’t even manage to kill yourself right, she thought. She turned her head slightly so that she could look out the window to the hall. It’s like I am caught in some cheap ass movie. She watched the cop flirt with one of the nurses bustling around outside of her room. That explains the handcuffs. She brought her free hand up to her face and ripped the nasal chord out of her nose. Her monitor started dinging and buzzing like a car alarm. The pretty blonde nurse stopped gazing into the police officer’s eyes and ran into the room.
“Are you okay?” the nurse asked. She hit a few buttons on the monitor and reinserted the nasal chord. She leaned over Violet’s head and looked into her eyes. “Are you having any pain?”
Vi
olet tried to speak, but nothing came out. I’m in a whole lot of pain, lady. Violet thought. Morphine, Vicodin, or Percocet, won’t dull the pain that I’m in. I can’t even seem to die right.
The nurse leaned over and brushed Violet’s hair behind her ear. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’m going to see what the doctor can give you that will be safe for the baby.”
Baby, Violet gripped the side rails as pure anguish flooded her system. Baby, I’m having a baby. Kyle, Bunky, and Amir’s face flashed before her. “I don’t want a baby.” Violet said softly.
The nurse frowned slightly and left to get the doctor.
A bald man with glasses and a white lab coat walked into the room with the police officer in toe. He walked over to the sink and washed his hands. “Hello Ms. Brown my name is Dr. Hertz. I’m here to tell you that you are a very lucky young lady and you are carrying one very strong and special baby.” He pulled out a little flashlight and stared at both of Violet’s eyes. “On a scale of one to ten, how bad is your pain, with ten being the worse pain you ever experienced?”
Violet laughed. “The worst pain I’ve ever experienced happened six weeks ago. I don’t want anything for pain.” She nodded to the officer. “Am I going with him?”
“I’m afraid so,” the doctor said sadly.
“Well what’s the hold up?”
I just need to examine you once more and then the nurse will be in to go over your discharge instructions. You’ve been here for three days Violet. I had to administer Narcan to combat the high levels of cocaine in your system.”
The doctor kept on talking but Violet stopped listening. She went through the motions, and said whatever they wanted her to say. She was going to jail, and Kyle was going to walk free, free as a fucking bird.
Violet: Strawberry Mansion 3 Page 2
