by Natavia
She was still alive, fighting to breathe. Blood poured from her lips while I held on to her. I couldn’t remove the knife, it was deep inside her chest where only the handle was visible. My cellphone was on the couch, I was able to reach it while cradling Naya. I called 9-1-1, the dispatcher was asking too many questions, I heard myself screaming and yelling to send someone now. I hung up the phone after the dispatcher told me someone was on the way.
“Naya, baby, listen to me. I love you with everything I have! I’m still learning, shorty. I’m still learning so please don’t leave me here to figure this all out. We’re supposed to grow old together, have kids and all of that shit.”
Naya’s lifeless eyes were staring at the ceiling. I shook her, even cursed her out because she wasn’t supposed to walk or run with a knife facing upwards. We were taught that at an early age. After I fussed at her, I apologized all over again, telling her how much I loved her. I heard the sirens out in the parking lot, and a few seconds later there was a knock on the door. It took a lot to pull away from Naya to unlock the door, but I did it, with the hope of them saving her. I let the paramedics in and they rushed to her. Police were also on the scene, questioning me.
“What in the fuck are you questioning me for? She fell on the knife!” I said for the twentieth time.
“Sir, someone in the building reported a loud disturbance coming from this apartment before you called emergency. We just want to know what happened,” the officer said. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when they covered Naya’s body with a sheet. Somehow, Naya’s death turned into a crime scene. They thought I killed her.
I got arrested for murder and they didn’t have any proof I did it. Two officers escorted me out the condo while I looked back at the bloody white sheet that covered Naya. I didn’t have any more strength left in my body. Even though it was an accident, I was the murderer. Naya’s blood was on my hands and I didn’t deserve to be alive. I saw Dream walking up the sidewalk when the police officers escorted me outside of the building.
“Where is Naya!” Dream screamed.
The entry to the building was blocked off where nobody could come in. An officer told Dream it was a crime scene.
“Where is Naya?” Dream shouted out.
I was put in the back of a squad car where people in the parking lot looked at me with disgust. My head was hung low so the people who were looking couldn’t see me break down. All I had on was my boxers and socks which were covered in blood. I didn’t deserve to live anymore.
Deerie
Ifollowed Dream to Naya’s home so that she could drop her car off. Police and ambulances were in the parking lot. Dream was talking to an officer when I got out of my truck. A police car rode past me, and in the back seat was a man with dreads. We locked eyes when he lifted his head and it was Trell. We stared at each other until the car was out of sight. I rushed to Dream to see what was going on.
“Ma’am, step back!” the officer said to Dream when she tried to go inside the building.
“That was my brother in the police car! What is going on? Her sister lives here!” I said.
A white woman dressed in a white button-up shirt and black pants came over to me and Dream. She must’ve heard the commotion going on between us.
“This building is under investigation at the moment,” the woman said to us.
“Can I please check on my sister?” Dream asked the detective.
“Not at this moment, so can you please step away from the crime scene tape!” she said.
“My brother was in the back of that police car, please tell me what is going on?” I asked.
“We cannot disclose that type of information at this moment, now please step away,” she said before walking away.
Dream sat on the brick wall rubbing her temples. “I hope Naya and Trell wasn’t up in there fighting. What if he beat her ass really bad? I told him to tell Naya about Kabella,” Dream said.
“You gotta relax, you gotta think about what the doctor said about being stressed while pregnant. Maybe Naya is up there talkin’ to the police.”
“Fuck all of that! Crime scene tape is never good, Deerie. Naya isn’t okay! This has Trell’s bitch-ass all over it,” she said.
I remained quiet because it wasn’t the right time to argue. Trell was a lot of things but he’d never put his hands on a girl. If anything happened, it had Naya written all over it because she had always been the aggressive one. I walked away from Dream to call Tryst.
“Yooo, what’s good?” Tryst answered the phone. I heard a woman in the background asking him if he wanted French dressing on his salad. My siblings were driving me nuts!
“Is that Tierra?” I asked.
“Dream told you to call and see where I was at, huh?” he asked.
“No, where is Jasma?”
“Damn, yo, the fuck is you really questionin’ me for? Jasma is good, fam,” Tryst said, and I rolled my eyes.
“Something happened with Trell and Naya. We’re in Naya’s neighborhood and her building is blocked off and Trell was taken out of here in the back of a police car. I need you to figure out where he’s at while I stay here with Dream.”
“Tell Trell call that nigga June Bug up since he got him stealing from me! Muthafuckas keep shittin’ on me while I’m tryin’ to be good to everybody! That nigga stole from me, Deerie. Stole forty g’s and you think I’m supposed to go see about that nigga? I’ll see him when I run into him,” Tryst said.
“We’re still family and we’ll get through this, but you need to see about Trell.”
Tryst hung up on me. I called back, and his phone was off. Dream didn’t look too good, so I couldn’t leave her. I called Trell’s aunt Tierra, she answered on the second ring. “Tryst just told me about Trell. I’m on my way out the house now,” she answered.
“Call me back once you get more info,” I said before we hung up.
I sat next to Dream to hold her hand in case she had an anxiety attack or needed to break down again. We had just found out she was ten weeks pregnant a few hours ago.
“My life is fallin’ apart. This is my karma, I just know it,” she said.
“We’ll get through this.”
I didn’t want to tell Dream I had a bad feeling about the situation, too. There was no telling at the moment what Trell and Naya did to each other. Two middle-aged black women walked by us. I overheard one of them say there was a dead body lying in the middle of the floor of the condo next to hers and that she saw it on her way out of the building.
“I knew that young girl was trouble the moment she moved next door. I could tell by the way she dressed, and she never speak to anyone. Her and that boy they locked up were fussing. I knew that boy was up to something when I saw him waiting for her in the parking lot. He caught her with a man, I bet that’s why he killed her,” a woman said.
Naya is dead? No way! Can’t be!
A police officer went over to the ladies, to ask them a few questions.
“Did that lady just say Trell killed Naya?” Dream asked. I didn’t think she was paying attention to them.
“We don’t know all the facts yet,” I said.
Dream walked over to the ladies and the police officer, asking them questions.
“Is my sister dead?” Dream yelled at the woman.
“They covered her with a sheet,” the woman replied.
Dream ran through the small crowd in front the building to make her way through. She somehow passed the officers that chased her upstairs to Naya’s floor. Since there was a commotion going on, I ducked behind a few people to make it under the tape. Dream’s screams echoed throughout the building. I couldn’t fight back tears anymore. Naya and Trell drove each other insane. I don’t think they loved each other, just possessive over one another.
“You don’t have to do that! Take those cuffs off her. She’s pregnant!” I told the officers that were practically dragging Dream down the stairs. She cursed, kicked, and yelled at them.
�
�She’s pregnant!” I told them.
I followed them out the building and they told me they’d lock me up, too. Dream was shoved into the back of a police car in handcuffs. I called Tryst and his phone was still off. All I could do at that moment was wait until they brought Naya’s body out of the building. The coroner came an hour later; people were still standing outside, I guess they were waiting to see the body bag, too. I said a silent prayer for our family as tears fell down my face.
Two hours later…
I went home and waited for Dream to call me. Tierra still hadn’t called me back so maybe she couldn’t get in contact with Trell. My mother called me, but I ignored her call. She must’ve heard what happened to Naya because it was already on the news. I took a sip out of Tryst’s liquor bottle to make the pain go away a little. Naya was heavily on my mind. We fought a few times, but we made right back up like sisters. She had a bubbly attitude with a loud mouth. You could hear Naya’s voice from a block up. Her death took me back to when David died. I still hadn’t gotten over it because I didn’t get a chance to apologize to him for being a problem child.
Someone rang the doorbell as I guzzled the rest of the warm brown liquid. I wanted to ignore it because I didn’t need any more bad news, but the person wasn’t going away. The ringing stopped after a minute, but then there was a knock on the basement door where I stayed.
“Go the fuck away!”
“It’s me, J-Breezy!” he called out.
I opened the door for him, and he stepped into my apartment with his cologne following him. J-Breezy was a rugged type of handsome. He was light-skinned with a neatly shaped beard. J-Breezy reminded me of a younger version of Method Man. He was on the lean side like Trell and a few inches shorter than him. I’ve known J-Breezy for over three years; I met him through Trell. Matter of fact, he also helped us move in the new house.
“What are you doing here?” I asked when he sat on my couch.
“I need answers. Please tell me Trell ain’t merk Naya. The hood sayin’ he killed her because he caught her with a dude or some shit like that. Trell crazy but he ain’t that crazy,” he said.
“Something happened between them, but I really don’t want to believe Trell went to Naya to kill her. I just can’t see it, I don’t want to see it.”
“This whole situation is crazy, yo. Trell wanted to make things right with Naya,” he replied.
I sat across from J-Breezy. Maybe it was the wrong time for what I was about to ask but I had to ask it anyway. Tryst said something about Trell stealing from him for June Bug. I wanted to know how deep Trell had gotten himself because it seemed to me he was moving sloppily.
“Is Trell doin’ business with June Bug?”
“That ain’t my business, shorty,” he replied.
“Are you a thief, too? Is that why you don’t want to sell him out? Did you get a cut?”
“Yooo, chill with all of that. I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” J-Breezy said.
“You wouldn’t tell me anyway.”
“Do you want me to leave because I’m not feelin’ this police shit. I don’t fuck with June Bug anyway, never did,” J-Breezy said.
“Naw, you can stay here. I need someone here with me because I’m gonna lose it.”
“Where that lil’ silver spoon nigga you fuck wit’?” J-Breezy asked.
“Why do you want to know?”
“I know this shouldn’t be the time to tell you this, but I’ve been lookin’ at you for a minute,” he said.
“I don’t do hood niggas.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing because once you come on this side, that’s it,” he replied.
I heard a car pull into the driveway, so I rushed upstairs to the second level to see if it was Dream or Tryst. The front door opened, and Dream came into the house with swollen red eyes.
“I failed my sister,” Dream said.
I helped her into the living room because of that wound on her head. Maybe it was her adrenaline that sent her running through Naya’s building up the stairs.
“You didn’t fail her. Don’t say that.”
“I was supposed to look out for her but I ignored her and Trell’s drama thinkin’ she had to figure it out on her own. My original plan was for me and her to go to school off the money I was making. All I did with that money was shop and hold on to it just for it to get stolen. I was a horrible example,” she sniffled.
“I know how you feel but you did good things for her. You moved her into a condo and she didn’t have to work as much. You showed her how to be independent. Maybe you need some time alone.”
“I told the police officer that took me to the station that Naya had a security camera in her condo. They are gonna see that Trell killed her. I know that’s your brother, but I don’t give a shit what happens to him, I hope he dies,” Dream said.
What could I say? That I’d beat her ass for talking ill about my brother? Trell might not be my blood brother but in my eyes, David will always be my father.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need me,” I told her before walking away.
J- Breezy was on the phone when I went back down to the basement. He told whomever it was that he’d call them back. I rolled my eyes at him when he looked at me.
“The TV is on the wall.”
“I know, I helped Trell hang it up for you. You look better than what’s on TV, though,” he said. I didn’t respond, just watched the TV instead.
J-Breezy sat up with me until the sun came up. We still haven’t heard from Tryst, Trell or even Trell’s aunt. I got up to put a blanket on him since he’d fallen asleep. While I was in the shower, I heard a knock on the outside door. I hurriedly rinsed the soap off before grabbing a robe. Trell was sitting on the couch talking to J-Breezy when I went into the living room.
“I didn’t kill Naya. She tripped over somethin’ when she tried to stab me,” Trell said.
“Why did they lock you up? Were you fighting on her?” I asked.
“We were arguin’, that’s it. Naya grabbed a knife and ran towards me. They locked me up because I was a suspect. I was sittin’ at the detention center for eight hours before they came in to tell that they saw what happened on her security camera. They let me go,” Trell said.
“I’m sorry about Naya but I knew you didn’t do that shit,” J-Breezy said.
“Naw, this is my fault. I know Dream hates me,” Trell replied.
“I’ll go upstairs to talk to her,” I said.
“Dream!” I knocked on the bedroom door. Once I realized it was slightly ajar, I walked into the bedroom she shared with Tryst. Dream wasn’t there. She must’ve left while I was asleep. I went back into the basement, Trell and J-Breezy were on their way out the door.
“Where are you two going?” I asked.
“I gotta take Trell to his whip. Hit me up later if you need someone to talk to,” he said.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
I hugged Trell before him and J-Breezy left out of the house. It was time for me to get dressed and take care of a few things.
*************
I went to our old house next to Newtowne. It still had furniture inside as if we never left. Tryst wanted to keep it in the family and not sell it; he said it was a backup plan in case he failed. Downstairs in the basement is where I kept my gun. I was afraid to take it to our new house, plus it was easier to hide between the cracks of the old brick walls. I wore a pair of black joggers so that I could wear the gun on me.
“DEERIE!” Sebastian called out while I was downstairs. I cursed myself for leaving the door unlocked, even though I was expecting him someone else could’ve come inside.
“I’m coming!” I yelled out.
Sebastian was sitting in the living room with a manila folder. He was wearing basketball shorts, a gym shirt with a pair of tennis shoes. The sight of him no longer excited me. He was a good person when it came to needing him for support, but he just couldn’t get it right. His phone vibrated, I caugh
t him turning it on silent, but I played it off.
“I got what you asked me for, so are you going to tell me why you needed me to get these records?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you when the time is right.”
I sat next to Sebastian and he reached in to kiss me, but I curved him to grab the folder. Originally, I wanted dirt on Connery because I didn’t trust him, but since Dream told me about seeing Adrian with a man named Con, that piqued my interest. I assumed Con was short for Connery especially after she gave me his description. Since I didn’t have all the information, I hadn’t told anyone about my real father and him being David’s older brother. Besides, it was my mother’s secret. She would disown me if I told anyone but that was a risk I was willing to take.
I went through Connery’s file first and couldn’t believe what I was reading. Connery was released four months ago from prison after serving nineteen years. That meant he got locked up right after my mother got pregnant. Connery was in jail on a gun charge, attempted murder and was caught with three kilos of cocaine.
Kimberly lied to me! That bitch knew damn well she didn’t run into him at a church event. Connery doesn’t even look like he goes to church.
Sebastian was feeling on my legs while I read, and I smacked his hand away.
“Nigga, do it look like I’m in a good mood right now? Naya is dead and I’m just finding out my mother lied to me,” I said.
“Wait, Naya is dead? When? How?” Sebastian asked while hugging me.
“She fell on a knife and it went through her chest.”
“Do you need me to do anything? Maybe my father can pay for her funeral,” he said.
“It’s okay, we have it.”
I went through Adrian’s files after I finished reading about Connery’s criminal history. Adrian’s criminal history was the total opposite of Connery’s. Adrian had a few juvenile charges against him when he was sixteen years old for stalking and harassing his fifteen-year-old girlfriend at the time. There were even a few complaints from the victim’s mother in Adrian’s file. Adrian was a sick person! He did things like masturbating on the porch of the victim’s house, and after he was finished he would smear his sperm on their door. Adrian even went so far as to take a dump on the victim’s mother’s car.
