Resurrection

by Treasure Hernandez

  “What are you trying to do, Mr. Hill? We are not going anywhere. You must work for a drug dealer. I can’t stand people like you. You come in here with your fancy suit and blinging cuff links, trying to push people like me out of the community so you can continue to poison it. You can tell your client that I said no thank you,” Moses said as she walked to her door and opened it. “Have a good day, Mr. Hill.”

  Hill closed up the briefcase and proceeded out of the door.

  “Good day,” Hill said as he exited the office.

  Moses didn’t know what she had just gotten herself into. Whether she liked it or not, that neighborhood belonged to Malek Johnson.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ever since Sweets had made that “girlfriend” remark, Malek was concerned for Halleigh’s safety and was keeping constant tabs on her. He called Halleigh’s cell phone and didn’t receive an answer. He hadn’t heard anything from Sweets, but the threat that he had made was still fresh in his mind. Yeah, he had been paranoid since seeing Sweets, and the fact that Halleigh wasn’t answering her phone only irritated him more. His money had still been coming short, and as the rehab center grew more popular, his pockets grew shorter and shorter.

  Malek had plenty of money saved up, but he wasn’t ready to let go of the game. He loved the power and respect that he received in the hood. He was a boss, and he was going to hold on to that status until he no longer could.

  His lawyer had called and informed him that Moses had denied his proposition, so he knew that he had to approach the situation differently. He was going to go to plan B. If Moses wouldn’t leave his hood willingly, he would make her.

  Halleigh sent Malek to voice mail for the third time. She hated ignoring his calls, but if he knew that she was in the inner city, he would trip on her. She couldn’t handle his questions right now. She just wanted to help Scratch, and she knew that Malek would never understand why.

  When Halleigh walked into the clinic, Moses greeted her with open arms. “Welcome, Halleigh,” she said. “It’s so good of you to come here as often as you do to check on your friend.”

  “It’s really not a problem. I just want to support him. I know how hard this is, and I’m proud of him for trying.”

  As Moses nodded, her medium-length dreads, bounced up and down. She was the kindest woman that Halleigh had ever met, and Halleigh would’ve never guessed that the woman had once been strung out on drugs.

  “Well, his body is still detoxifying itself. He’s in a lot of pain, so be sure not to touch him.”

  Halleigh nodded and then made her way back to Scratch’s room. She sat with him as he shook and trembled. He looked so weak, and seeing him like that reminded Halleigh of her own experience. Tasha had taken good care of her. She was there for Halleigh and had been such a good friend, and Halleigh missed her dearly.

  She sat with Scratch for an hour and promised to come back later that week.

  “Take care,” she said when she left. She looked at her phone and noticed that she had two more missed calls from Malek. She knew that she would have to come up with a good excuse because he was going to want to know where she was.

  When she walked into her house, Malek and Mitch were sitting in her living room. Both men looked up at her, and she could see the worried expressions on their faces.

  “Where you’ve been?” Malek questioned. “I’ve been blowing your cell up all day.”

  “I was at the mall.” She felt bad for lying to him, but she couldn’t tell him the truth.

  “When I call you, answer the phone!” Malek yelled as he pointed his index finger in her face.

  “Okay, Malek, damn it! You don’t have to yell at me.” It was the first time that Halleigh had seen him display that kind of aggression toward her, and tears came to her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you call. I probably didn’t get service in the mall,” she added, hoping that he believed her story. The last thing that she wanted was for him to become suspicious of her and think that she was cheating.

  “You heard what I said!” He grabbed his car keys and put on his fitted hat. “Keep your ass in the house until I get back,” he said as he walked out of the house.

  Mitch rose from the couch. As he walked past Halleigh, he could see that she was on the verge of tears. He wiped away a single tear that had trickled down her face, and she tensed up from his touch.

  “When that nigga fuck up, you got somewhere to go,” he whispered in her ear.

  Halleigh knew what he was getting at. She could tell that he was feeling her, but this was the first time he had verbalized his interest. Every time she was around him, she felt awkward, but she couldn’t see herself jeopardizing her relationship with Malek to be with him. She turned her head to the side and walked to her bedroom as Mitch let himself out of the house.

  Mitch had been spending a lot of time at Malek’s crib, since the two of them were constantly talking business and trying to make sure that everything was straight. And ever since the second time that he had come over to the house, he would flirt with Halleigh with every opportunity that presented itself.

  Halleigh thought back to the second time that Mitch had come over to the crib with Malek and what had transpired when Malek went to the basement of the house to use the bathroom.

  Mitch spoke in a low, seductive tone as he moved in close to Halleigh. “That pussy still tight?”

  Halleigh’s heart began to beat from fear of what Malek would do if he walked in the room and saw Mitch all up on her. “Mitch, what are you doing?” Halleigh said through gritted teeth. “Back up off me!”

  “You ain’t tell Malek that we fucked, did you?”

  Halleigh’s heart sank to her feet. “Mitch, you are really bugging right now! Do you know Malek would murder you in a heartbeat if he heard what you just said? No, I didn’t tell him!”

  Mitch smiled and then leaned in and kissed Halleigh on her neck and said, “Good. Then we still got our little secret.”

  “Mitch! What is wrong with you?” Halleigh punched Mitch and pushed him off.

  “My bad, my bad,” Mitch said, smiling a devilish smile and then backing off Halleigh just as Malek re-entered the room.

  Halleigh’s stomach turned sour at the thought of Malek not knowing that she had been with Mitch, and at the thought of lying to him. She felt like she had to throw up and rushed into the bathroom as the contents of her stomach came up.

  Afterward, she ran herself a bath and prepared herself for bed. She was extremely tired. She looked at the clock on the nightstand beside her bed. It was only eleven o’clock, so she knew that Malek wouldn’t be home anytime soon. She picked up the phone and dialed his number, but Malek’s phone sent her directly to voice mail.

  Halleigh left a message saying, “I love you, Malek,” and she retired for the night, but she felt a huge amount of guilt as she lay in the bed tossing and turning.

  She felt like she had to come clean with Malek, so she called his cell phone right back. She was actually glad when he sent her to voice mail once again, but this time she left a longer message:

  “Baby, I feel bad about something, and I just gotta come clean with it. But please promise me that you won’t get upset. Okay, well, I know how you feel about the rehab center cutting into your business, and I just wanted to tell you that when you was calling my phone and you couldn’t get me, that was because I was really with Scratch at the rehab, trying to get some help for him.” Halleigh winced as she said those words, as if she were bracing to get slapped by Malek.

  Then she added, “And, baby, there’s something else that I wanted to tell you, but I have to tell you that in person. It’s about Mitch, okay, baby. I love you. Be safe. Call me back.”

  Halleigh let out a huge sigh of relief, but she knew that she had to first wait for Malek’s reaction before dropping the bomb on him that Mitch had fucked her. But at least she felt like she could turn off the TV and sleep in some peace.

  Halleigh felt Malek crawl into the b
ed with her at around four o’clock in the morning. Her heart began to race. She was feeling nervous, not knowing whether Malek had listened to her voice mail. She still had no idea why he had tripped on her the way that he had. She didn’t know what was up with him and Sweets, and she was wondering if he was just stressed about his business.

  Malek realized that by loving Halleigh publicly, he had exposed his weakness to those around him, and now Halleigh could be a potential target. Her back was against his chest as he held her tight. He didn’t say anything; he didn’t have to. She knew that he loved her.

  Halleigh could feel his heart beating through his chest. Something inside of her glowed as she thought about Malek. She thought about all that she had been through and knew that she would do it all again, if that’s what it took to find her way back into the arms of this man.

  The next morning, Halleigh woke up with the same urge to hurl. Feeling nauseated, she lay in bed groaning from the horrible feeling.

  “What’s wrong?” Malek asked.

  Halleigh realized that Malek must not have heard her message, so she decided to just not bring up the subject. “I don’t know. I don’t feel good at all.”

  “You need to go to the doctor so you can get checked out.”

  “I don’t think it’s that serious,” Halleigh replied.

  Malek sat up on his elbow and brushed Halleigh’s hair out of her face. “Do it for me, a’ight. I just want to make sure everything’s good with you, ma.”

  “Okay, but you’re coming with me.”

  Halleigh’s trip to the doctor revealed that she was four weeks pregnant. It was the happiest news of her life. Tears came to her eyes when the doctor told her.

  She looked at Malek to see what he thought, but she had a hard time reading his emotions. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  Malek was silent for a minute, so she continued, “If you don’t want me to have this baby, I won’t.” She let her tears fall at the thought of terminating her pregnancy, but she would do anything to keep Malek, and if he wasn’t happy about their situation, she would have no choice but to change it.

  “You’re having my seed,” Malek whispered in disbelief as if the news was just now hitting him. He placed one hand on her flat stomach. “I can’t believe I’m about to be somebody’s daddy.”

  “So you’re not mad?” she asked.

  “Hell no,” he said. “You’re having my baby. I didn’t think it was possible for me to love you anymore than I already did, but I do because you are the mother of my child.”

  Malek thought about his mother. How he wished she was still alive to be able to see her soon-to-be-born grandchild. Then his thoughts went to having a little boy. He visualized teaching him how to play sports, how to mack hoes. A huge smile came across Malek’s face. He was about to be a daddy. Life is so beautiful, he thought.

  Malek left the doctor’s office that day with a new inspiration for life. He was about to be a father. He and Halleigh had made a lifetime commitment. Through their child, they were about to bond forever.

  With his new responsibility to consider, Malek was determined to get on his grind even harder because he was going to make sure his family was taken care of. And he wasn’t going to let Sweets or Moses get in the way of his family’s safety or financial security. He made a phone call on his way home.

  Mitch answered on the first ring. “What’s good, fam?”

  “Have you heard anything about Sweets?”

  “Nah, since that shit popped off at Big Al’s, he’s been laying low. Maybe he got the message,” Mitch replied.

  “For his sake, I hope so. I’m tying all loose ends. Hal is pregnant, and I need to get this money, nah mean?”

  “Yeah, I hear you, fam.”

  “Ride out with me tomorrow, a’ight. It’s time to take care of that rehab situation.”

  “No doubt,” Mitch replied. He thought of the seed that was growing inside of Halleigh’s womb and couldn’t help but wish that she was his. “Congratulations, fam. Send Halleigh my love.” He hung up the phone and tried to take his mind off Malek’s woman.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Scratch sat through a lecture by a reformed drug addict and was proud of himself. He hadn’t touched a drug in eight weeks. Today was the day he graduated from the twelve-step program. Scratch kept glancing at the door, waiting for Halleigh to walk in so that he could share his special day with her. She promised she would be here.

  I know baby girl ain’t gon’ let Scratch down, he thought as he played with his fingers nervously. He thought of how he had wasted years of his life in the streets, being a menace to society. He thought about Halleigh coming to his rescue like she did. He wasn’t used to anyone showing him any kind of concern, so it was a breath of fresh air to have someone in his corner.

  As the motivational speaker spoke, Scratch saw something that almost made his heart stop. Sharina, Halleigh’s mom, walked in. It had been years since he had last seen her, and she looked good. Scratch was so happy to see her. He had honestly thought that she was dead, that she’d suffered the same fate as many of his drug-addicted cronies.

  The crackhead’s glare that was in her eyes the last time he had seen her was now gone. She came in and sat in the back of the crowded room. He couldn’t believe the resemblance she had to her daughter. Even at her mature age, she looked as if she could be Halleigh’s sister.

  Scratch was glad that he’d decided to shave that morning. Back in the day, he had a thing for Sharina, and clearly the attraction was still there. He sat up straight and patted his Afro, trying to look as presentable as possible.

  “Yo, we outside of the building right now,” Mitch said as he sat in the black Navigator with three of his goons. “We’re just waiting for the go-ahead.” They all had fully loaded semi-automatic assault rifles.

  Malek was on the other end of the phone, watching as Halleigh pulled off to go to her doctor’s appointment. “Is their kids there?” he asked, not wanting to hit any children.

  “Nah, there aren’t any children.” Mitch took another glance to ensure that he was correct.

  “Good. Wait until the majority of the people leave and do it. Hit it! We gotta send a message. They’re fucking up the money,” Malek said before he closed his cell phone and walked over to the couch. He didn’t want to send a message that malicious, but Joe had taught him, when in the drug game, you had to be ruthless and detach all emotions from business.

  Malek took a deep breath. He never thought that he would be ordering the shooting of a building full of innocent people, but to keep his position of power, he had to do it.

  Halleigh rushed out of the house. She hated lying to Malek, but she had to be there for Scratch. He had finally completed the program, and she wanted to be there in his final steps to leading a clean life. She had even put some money up so that Scratch would be all right. She had managed to save five thousand dollars for him, trusting that he would do the right thing with the money.

  Over the years she had grown to love Scratch. He had given her real advice during some of her toughest times, and she felt honored that she was able to repay him by helping him get clean, introducing him to a new life.

  She glanced at her watch and noticed that she was late for Scratch’s ceremony. She had promised him that she would be there to witness him receive his completion certificate from the drug program. I’m so proud of Scratch for cleaning himself up, Halleigh thought as she got in her car and headed toward Genesis.

  Scratch’s hands became sweaty as he approached Sharina, who was sitting in the back and listening attentively to the motivational speaker. It had been so long since he had seen her, and he wanted to reintroduce himself.

  “Hey, beautiful lady,” Scratch said.

  Sharina looked at Scratch, and when she realized who he was, she looked like she’d seen a ghost. It had been years since she’d last seen him. “Oh my God,” she said, placing her hand over her mouth.

  Scratch leaned over and gav
e her a hug.

  “Look at you, all cleaned up,” Sharina said as she took a good look at Scratch. She had been in the streets a long time and could tell that Scratch hadn’t been using.

  They just stared at each other for a brief moment.

  Sharina continued to look Scratch up and down. “How long have you been clean?”

  “It’s been eight weeks now,” Scratch said proudly as he played with his fingers.

  “I’m proud of you,” Sharina said. She placed a gentle hand on Scratch’s shoulder. “I know how hard it is to get the monkey off your back.”

  “Thanks. You looking good, Rina. I can tell by your eyes you’re clean.”

  “Yeah, I have been clean about a year or so now,” Sharina said confidently. “I had to get away from Flint for a while. I’ve been in Detroit for the past year. That’s where I got my rehabilitation at. Moses helped me out before she relocated down here. She invited me back to speak.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, I’m serious. I’m here to share my story with the group.” Sharina’s smile suddenly dropped, and she looked down before adding, “And I have some unfinished business.”

  “You talking about Halleigh, aren’t you?” Scratch asked before he could catch himself. It just came out.

  Sharina looked up with tears in her eyes. She was surprised to hear her daughter’s name. It had been so long since she’d last seen Halleigh, and it ate at her daily. She had been preparing to come back to Flint to find her baby girl. She owed her so much explanation because of her bad drug problem. She had sold her daughter’s virginity to the local dopeman just to feed her habit. She was ashamed, and she needed to find her daughter so that she could apologize. She knew that the words wouldn’t mean much at first, but she was hoping that Halleigh would eventually forgive her.