“Get her up to an operating room! Tammy, I need somebody to poke this man’s finger and make sure he can give this girl some blood. Now!”
The young Asian nurse with short hair, Tammy, grabbed his arm and yanked him in the room with them. She poked his finger and ran out of the room with the sample of his blood. Moments later, she ran back in the room nodding her head frantically.
“He’s a match!”
“Javier!” Doctor Lawson said his name while he was brushing Maria’s hair out of her face. He looked back up just in time to see a set of scrubs being thrown toward his six-foot-one frame. “Put those on and follow Tammy to the operating room!”
* * *
Am I dead? Strawberry asked herself when her eyelids fluttered open. No. I’m in a . . . a hospital room? How did I get here?
She squinted because although the room was dimly lit, the little bit of light there hurt. She shifted her gaze from the ceiling to her arm and saw that she had an IV in it. It was connected to a machine that was monitoring her heart rate. She tried to move her body in the soft hospital bed, but she ached so badly that she couldn’t. She willed herself to remember what had happened, and once the memories flooded her brain, she wished she hadn’t. Flashes of Sir’s hateful face plagued her mind, along with the sight of his belt coming down on her.
“Mmm,” she moaned softly, and her lips pouted.
“You’re finally awake.”
The voice to the left of her shocked her, and she jumped. Swiveling her head, she was confused to see Javier sitting beside her bed. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing there, but he shook his head silencing her.
“Save your energy, shorty,” he told her. He stood up and went to a cart that wasn’t too far from her bed. “They told me to try to feed you some crackers when you woke up. You think you can eat something?”
Although Strawberry wanted to bombard him with questions, she didn’t. She watched him pick up the small two packs of saltine crackers and open it for her. There was some apple juice too that he put the straw in for her. He then scooted the chair he’d been sitting in closer to her and fluffed her pillows before pressing a button that made the bed go into a sitting position.
“Tell me if I’m hurting you,” he said softly while the bed was still moving. When she didn’t complain, he sat back down in his seat and held the juice to her lips. “Here.”
Her lips quivered when she opened them as he put the straw to her mouth. It hurt to swallow, but the juice tasted good going down. She released the straw from her mouth and tried to bite the cracker he put to her lips, but she was too weak to chew.
“I-I’m sorry,” she croaked in a whisper.
“It’s all right. We can try again in a little bit.”
“Why a-are you here?”
“My friend was hurt, and I was up here when they brought you in. You almost died,” Javier told her. “Twice. You needed a blood transfusion, and me being the Good Samaritan that I am, let them poke into me to get you the blood.”
Out of every reason he could have said, she didn’t expect to hear that one. He’d saved her life, but why? He was being so kind to her. She didn’t get it. If what he said was true, then that meant that she had his blood coursing through her veins. She blinked back the tears that had rushed to her eyes due to her realization at how pitiful she must look to him. Strawberry lowered her head, feeling embarrassed that he was seeing her like that, battered and bruised because she was a prostitute.
“Don’t do that, shorty,” Javier placed a strong hand on her chin and forced her head back up. “Chin up. You’re too pretty to cry.”
“I’m not pretty right now,” Strawberry shook her head. “I look like shit. I can’t believe he did this to me.”
“Your pimp?” Javier asked bluntly, and Strawberry nodded her head yes. “Has he done this to you before?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would you think he wouldn’t do it again?” Maybe he was being a little harsh. After all, she’d just woken up. But that didn’t change the fact that they were words she needed to hear. “You need to leave that nigga alone. You are better than this.”
“You don’t even know me to tell me what I’m better than.” The tears streaming down her face were hot. Javier had every right to judge her, but that didn’t mean she was in the mood to listen to what he had to say. “Did the doctor say how long I have to be in here? I need to go home and straighten some things out.”
“What?” Javier couldn’t believe the words that she was saying. “Go home to him? The nigga that put you in here, Maria?”
“You wouldn’t get it,” Strawberry told him. “It was just a misunderstanding. He loves me.”
“I guess the thirty cuts and that big-ass gash under your eye is a misunderstanding too, huh? Pshh!” Javier tried to collect himself, but it was too late. He had been watching her throughout the whole night. He was the one who heard her whimpers and who had held her hand through her shudders. He didn’t know what kind of shit she had gone through with Sir, but he sure had a good visual. “Are you stupid? Do I need to get you a mirror so that you can see what you look like right now? That mane don’t love you.”
“He loves me,” Strawberry said again, that time not sounding so sure.
“Who are you trying to convince—me or yourself? Love ain’t gon’ put you in the hospital, and from what the doctors were sayin’, you’ve been here ten times this year alone. Love ain’t gon’ have you selling your pussy every night. Do you even keep the money?”
Strawberry wanted to scream at him and tell him to leave, but she couldn’t. He was telling the truth, a truth that she’d known for a long time. In all honesty, she was just too scared to come to terms with the facts. She had tried to leave Sir in the past, but she always came right back like a fiend who needed a fix. She was too afraid to live without Sir because for so long, he had been her life. Without her, who would take care of him and make sure he was OK? But then, again, did he make sure she was OK? She stared at her arm and saw the purple bruises through her blurred vision.
“I know,” she said clenching her eyes shut. The sob that expelled from her lips made her sore rib cage hurt, but she couldn’t stop crying. “I don’t have anywhere else to go. I am what I am, and I’ve been this for a long time. I don’t know how to be anything else anymore.”
“Have you tried to be something else?”
“Not in five years.”
“What do you know how to do?”
“I’m-I’m good with kids,” Strawberry wiped her tears. “I was in college years ago. I never graduated, but I was going to be an elementary school teacher.”
“What if I told you that I can get you a job? Not as an elementary school teacher but close to it.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” Javier’s tone was serious as they stared into each other’s faces. “But you gotta let this life go, shorty. Dead this shit. I ain’t gon’ tell you what to do like your pimp did. You gon’ always have a choice with me. But I’ma let you know that whoever this Strawberry person is, she can’t roll with me.”
The room went silent, and Strawberry pondered her thoughts. She’d left everything she owned at the apartment, but all she really cared about were her family pictures. However, if she went back to get them, Sir would just put her in the hospital again for trying to leave—or worse. She couldn’t go back. Javier was right. Sir didn’t love her. How could he? Look at what he made her do.... Look at how he treated her. He put her in the hospital all the time and then would make her catch a taxi when she was released.
“I’ma let you think on it a little longer,” Javier said, preparing to leave the room, but Strawberry caught his hand.
“No.” She couldn’t hide the plea in her voice. “Please don’t leave me.”
He looked down in her face. Even tattered and beaten, she was one of the most beautiful women that he’d ever seen. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was just something about her that tug
ged at his emotions in a way no woman ever had. If she didn’t want him to leave, then he would stay.
“OK.”
“Javier,” she said still clutching on to his hand, “I haven’t seen my family in almost five years. I don’t even know where they are. I won’t have anywhere to go when I leave.”
Javier kissed the back of her hand tenderly and wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes before they dropped.
“Yes, you do.”
Chapter 6
Over the next month, Javier took some time from being the governor of the streets to be a real friend to Maria. He could tell that she was standoffish at first when it came to allowing him to get close to her, but soon, he could see the wall around her slowly wearing down. He moved her into the large home he owned in the suburbs in Collierville. Not counting the security and housekeepers, he lived alone, and it was nice to have some company for once. Maria was given her own room, next to his, and free reign of the entire property. He also kept his promise and got her a job at a day care he owned once she healed up well enough to move around. It was true that Javier was responsible for the poison circulating in the city, but he figured that would be there with or without him. He didn’t see why he couldn’t have any kind of business he wanted. Growing up with a single mother, he had always stayed house to house with whoever she could find to keep him. His mother, Nia Jackson, couldn’t afford to put him in day care. Every extra penny that entered their household went to a bill. His day care, Children’s Place, was one of the first businesses he opened, and he put his mother in charge of it. It was targeted to low-income families who didn’t qualify for assistance and couldn’t afford to pay for childcare out of pocket. Since he owned it, he could hire anyone he wanted to, and he felt that Maria deserved a fair chance. So far, she seemed happy, and for now, that was all he could ask for. Since she’d been working at the Children’s Place, his face had been seen around the day care more than usual, and his mother let him know that she noticed.
“You’ve been sniffing your nose around here quite often lately,” Nia told him with a raised eye.
The two of them were in the cafeteria area, and Javier was helping her prepare lunch for the kindergartners to third-graders. Children’s Place was always busier in the summer since the kids were out of school, so the kids’ lunchtimes were split by their age.
“I can’t come see how my mama is doin’?” Javier asked and finished setting the table he was working on.
“You know I love seein’ my baby, but I don’t think you’re here tryin’a see how I’m doing.”
Javier opened his mouth to protest, but at that exact moment, the doors to the cafeteria burst open, and a class of fifteen kindergartners ran in. Their laughter was contagious, and their teacher walked behind them instructing them to get in a straight line. A few of the kids ran to be the only ones to hold her hands, and Javier found himself smiling at how well Maria controlled her class. She looked radiant in the coral maxi dress that made her full figure look heavenly. The skirt of the dress came down and covered the gold gladiator sandals she had on her feet, and her new asymmetrical bob haircut bounced with every step she took.
“They say when a girl cuts her hair, she’s about to change her life,” she’d told him when she asked to be taken to the hair salon. And changed her life she truly had.
“Mmm-hmm,” Nia smirked and nudged her son’s arm with her shoulder. “I see why you like her. She’s very pretty.”
Nia was a beautiful older woman. She was a tiny woman, and her short, curly hair was completely gray. However, that was the only indication of her age. Her face was as smooth as the skin on a newborn baby, and she had a smile that could brighten up a room. Javier had gotten most of his features from her, including his defined cheekbones and eyes. She’d taken an instant liking to Maria, but the second she saw the way her son gazed at the girl, she did what any mother would do. She dug. The information she found on Maria almost knocked her off her feet. She would have never pegged a woman as well versed as her for a hooker, but then again, everyone had a past. She herself had once been addicted to the drugs that Javier sold. She had been young and living a fast life filled with bells and whistles. Getting pregnant by a complete stranger was what slowed her down and made her rethink her life completely. She thanked God every day that He gave her a healthy baby boy and not a disease that she couldn’t get rid of. The fact that she didn’t know who Javier’s father was made her love him all the more. It was why she raised him to not be as judgmental as other people, because at the end of the day, everybody had demons in their closet. Blessed were the ones who could clean them out. She didn’t know everything that Maria had been through. All she knew was that when she first came to work, she had the eyes of someone who’d lost the world. It was a wonder what being around good people could do for the soul, because now when Nia looked in her eyes, she saw a girl with some hope.
“I don’t like her, Ma, I’m just helping her get on her feet.”
“Boy, did you forget I pushed you out? I can read the look in your eyes from a mile away whenever you see that girl! Now, lie again! Talkin’ ’bout you don’t like her . . . Well, I do. How about that?”
“You crazy, Ma,” Javier laughed and brushed her off.
“Crazy my ass.” Nia gave her son a knowing look. “Go on. Go over there and talk to her. You know that’s what you want to do anyways.”
She handed him a handful of silverware and left him to set up another table. Javier took his leave and headed over to where Maria had just sat her class down at.
“Hi, Javi!”
“Javi!”
All the kids bounced in their seats, excited that their table was the one Javier had stopped at. He hugged a few of them and gave a few of the little boys daps. He handed them all their eating utensils before he reached the head of the table and stood by Maria. She gave him a curious look but waited for the kids to dig into their burgers, corn, and fries before she spoke.
“You’ve been here a lot this week. Is something wrong?” Her voice dripped with concern. She’d seen him across the room speaking to his mother, and she wondered if Miss Nia had told him something. “Am I doing something wrong?”
“Nah, chill out, shorty,” he calmed her nerves. “I’ve just been checking up on you, that’s all.”
“All week?” It was Maria’s turn to raise her eyebrow. “Don’t you have shit—I mean, stuff to do?”
“See, look at you, cussin’ around the kids,” Javier playfully shook his head. “This is why I gotta hang around here and make sure you aren’t teaching these kids bad habits.” He instantly regretted his words. Although he was just joking, Maria’s expression changed noticeably.
“I’m sorry,” she said sadly and looked at her hands. “I’ve been trying. I shouldn’t even be teaching these kids nothing, let alone be around them, period.”
“Aye, chin up, shorty.” Javier lifted her head back up and gave her a genuine smile. “I was just kiddin’, Maria. I wouldn’t have hired you if I ain’t think you would be good to these kids. They love you. My mom likes you too.”
“Really?”
“Really,” he told her. “She thinks I like you.”
“Do you?”
“Do I what?” He played dumb, and she smacked her lips.
“Stop playin’, Javier. Do you like me?”
“I guess I do,” Javier told her and then turned away from her to face the kids. “A little bit. You got an attitude problem, though.”
Maria studied him and felt the sides of her lips twitching. If he was telling the truth, she couldn’t tell. Since she’d been staying with him, she’d caught him staring at her a few times when he saw her walking around the house, or sometimes at work. He never made a move on her, though. She thought that maybe he was just genuinely trying to help her get to where she needed to be. The only thing was, that was what was attracting her to him. Since she’d been under his wing, she, of course, heard all of the gruesome stories about how he mo
ved in the streets, but as far as she was concerned, he legitimately was a good dude. That day, he was looking delectable in a pair of joggers, all-white Huaraches, and a white Ralph Lauren T-shirt that had a navy blue emblem. There was something about his dressed down look that made her want to fall into his chest and inhale his cologne.
“You don’t like me.”
“Why would you ask me a question if you were just gon’ disagree with the answer?” Javier asked and crossed his arms.
“Because somebody like you would never like somebody like me,” she told him, stretching her hand out to play with one of his Cherokee long braids. “We come from two different worlds.”
“How can that be possible when you’re here with me right now?”
“You know what I mean,” she shrugged, releasing his hair. “My past and your present just don’t mix.”
“I like mix-match shit. People would look at you crazy if they saw you with me. If I was the type of man that cared about what other niggas thought, those niggas wouldn’t be my employees,” Javier said briskly. “And if I cared what them other niggas thought, I wouldn’t be standing here now askin’ you to come to Hawaii with me.”
“What?” Maria was paralyzed. “Say that again.”
“You heard me,” Javier cast a serious look down at her. “This weekend. I saw all the pictures of the ocean you put up in your room, and I’m due for a vacation. We can leave tomorrow and stay for four days, until Sunday. I can get someone to fill in for you while you’re gone.”
“Javi, I—”
“I’m not taking no for an answer.” Javier leaned down and kissed her cheek. “After everything you’ve been through, you deserve it, shorty.”
“They kissin’!”
“Ooohh!”
“Miss Maria, is Javi your boyfriend? Javi, are you her boyfriend?”
Maria’s face had turned beet red, and Javier left her side before she could get another sentence out. She watched him walk away with a swagger that said he knew he was the man. She bit her lip to contain her giggle and turned back on the kids to settle them down.
Girls from Da Hood 12 Page 13
