Nookie's Secret (Nookie 2) (Nookie Series) (3 page)

She sat down on the steps, just now remembering that it was late and none of the buses were running. Joy got up and walked towards Frankford Ave. Once she reached the corner, she looked around. No cars were in sight, so she kept walking towards Bridge and Pratt.

The night air felt good on her face. She continually looked behind her to make sure nobody snuck up on her. She had all this money in her bag and she decides to go after three in the morning. A car drove by, the driver horning at her. She ignored him and kept up her pace. A hospital sign caught her attention and she walked towards it. When she got close enough, she saw that it was Frankford Hospital.

Joy walked inside and saw that no people were in the waiting room. She went over to the payphone and opened the phone book to look for a cab company. When she found one, she dialed the number from her cell phone, despite the no cell phone signs posted throughout the waiting room.

The wait for the cab wasn’t long. Not even ten minutes later, the cab driver was beeping the horn for her to come out.

Once inside the cab, Joy gave the driver the directions and hoped that she was making a wise decision.

Chapter Six

Joy looked up at the building she had the cab driver let her off at. She knew his new address because he had somehow got her cell phone number and left her a message letting her know where to find him, if needed.

She looked for his name among the bells. She pressed. No answer. She pressed it again, a little longer.

Finally, she heard a groggy, “What the fuck you want?”

“It’s me, Joy.”

“Oh my God, Joy?”

He buzzed her in and she went inside. She took the elevator to his fourth floor apartment. He was standing in the hallway waiting for her. When she made it close enough to him, he grabbed her and hugged her. Joy stood there, confused by his strong display of affection. After all, she just recently met him and found out he was her estranged uncle Curtis. And then shortly after that found out he wasn’t her uncle because her father wasn’t even her father.

“Come inside.” he pulled her inside his apartment before she could move.

“Sorry to bother you but I need your help.”

“No problem. I was so worried about you since what happened to your parents. And with everything you found out all at once.”

“Well you don’t have to be because I’m doing okay. I been doing a lot of thinking about the shit I’ve been through lately………” Tears raced down her face and Joy stopped mid-sentence.

“Look sit down over there and I’ll get you some water.”

Joy went over to the sofa, sat and waited. She used the back of her hand to wipe her tears. She couldn’t believe how choked up she wasn’t getting. The feeling to cry has been present strong lately. Curtis returned with a glass of water. After drinking it down in a few gulps, Joy got up and went in the kitchen and poured herself another one. Returning into the living room, she started over.

“Lately, a lot of the things I’ve done wrong have been on my mind and made me think about why I’m doing these things. I think it’s because my father or the man I thought was my father, was so distant.”

“Joy, what things are you talking about? You had your father in your life.”

“He wasn’t my father and he acted like it. I need to know what you know about my real father or for you to tell me who does because I’m no longer believe you don’t know anything.”

“I told you I didn’t…” Curtis voice trailed off when he noticed the look on Joy’s face. Her eyes stared at him with such intensity, he wondered if looks could kill, would he be dead now?

“You have to know something.” Joy pleaded with him.

“I’m sorry.”

Curtis couldn’t even look her in the eye. Joy knew it was up to her. Finding her father occurred to her when she was deep in thought about her life and all the things she’d done. Joy felt hatred for the man standing in front of her. She knew that she couldn’t believe or trust him. Thinking this caused a chain of thoughts to cruise through her mind. He could even be lying about having sex with her mother before.

“Why don’t you lay down on the sofa for a little bit? I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket.”

“Okay.” Joy replied but she didn’t want to lie down. She wanted answers.

Curtis returned with the pillow and blanket and set the sofa up. Joy lied down and he went into his bedroom. Feeling wired Joy thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep but as soon as she turned on her side and got comfortable, she was out.

Joy woke up hours later with a headache. She slept so hard her eyes hurt. She placed both her feet on the floor, and sat back against the sofa. She needed to get her self together. She had money and she had yet to spend it on herself. She grabbed her bag she had under her pillow and opened it, in search of her cell phone. It was four o’clock in the afternoon.

It was really quiet and Joy wondered where Curtis was. She went to his bedroom and knocked on the door. The bathroom had to be in the bedroom because it wasn’t one out there, just the living room and kitchen. After no answer, Joy opened the door and she went in.

The room was empty, Curtis was nowhere to be found. Joy went into the bathroom. She patted down her hair. She grabbed a towel from the shelf in the corner and placed in on top of the toilet seat. She didn’t have any clean clothes because she’d left her clothes in Dre’s car. Thinking of buying new clothes made her smile as she tested the water for her shower.

After her shower, she wrapped herself in the towel. She went to the sink, grabbed the mouthwash. She leaned her head back and swished some in her mouth, spit in the sink and left the bathroom. She sat down on Curtis neatly made bed. She hadn’t thought about her mother in a while but suddenly her image appeared in her mind. Joy studied her Mother’s features, trying to compare them to hers. Nothing stood out. They didn’t look alike at all. She didn’t know whether to believe Curtis because she looked nothing like him either. Sadness fell over her. Maybe her life would have been different. She thought that her life was missing only money. Now she knew what people meant when they said, “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” She had money. She could do what she wanted for a while but she felt like there was a hole in her heart. The thought of spending the money excited her. But then what?

“Fuck this feeling sorry for myself shit.” Joy said aloud and got up; the towel came from her around her fell to the floor. She went towards the bathroom to put her clothes back on when she heard a noise behind her, it sounded like a sharp intake of breath. She turned her head to the side. Curtis was standing in the doorway, his eyes glued to Joy’s heart shaped ass. Joy stood there longer than she realized before she continued in the bathroom. She hurried into the bathroom picked her clothes off the floor. She put them on as fast as she could.

She opened the door. Curtis was sitting on the bed with his head down. He said nothing when Joy walked by him and went into the living room. She didn’t know where to go. She made sure she had everything with her and prepared to leave. Cutis still hadn’t come out of the bedroom

Chapter Seven

It seemed like the storm had intensified as Detective Hartford and Detective Banks finished talking to the manager and the clerk working at the gas station. They still were no closer to identifying the girl on the videotape.

“What did the manager say?” Detective Hartford asked.

“He said the girl came in, beat up and crying. He called the police while she hid behind the counter from Andre Hobbs, until the police arrived. He looked away and when he turned around she was gone. He didn‘t give a good description, only thing he was sure of, was that she was African American.” Detective Banks replied.

“The video tape shows her come in. The tape is dark. She steps through the door but immediately looks to her left. The image of her face isn’t clear. The clerk I talked to said he didn’t see her come out the back, even though he was back there taking a smoke break.”

“We know that the girl was hurt and trying to get away based on the manager’s statement. But why did she leave?”

“I say case closed. Hobbs had a .357. The manager and the police both confirmed that much.” Detective Banks said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Something in my gut is telling me that it’s more to it. We found suitcases in the trunk with clothes belonging to what I guess is both Hobbs and the girl.”

“Maybe they had a fight or something.”

“Yea, maybe.” Detective Hartford wasn’t convinced but there were other cases that needed his attention.

βββ

Joy was at a complete lost as of what to do. She felt uneasy about being in Philly. Her stomach growled and she realized that she couldn’t remember the last time she ate anything. She saw a Wa-wa at the corner and walked faster in its direction.

She decided on a turkey and cheese hoagie. She grabbed a Pepsi from the cooler. There was a line at the counter, so Joy looked around for something else she wanted, hoping the line would die down. By the time Joy got in the line that was down to two people, she had a bag of sun chips and some blue shark candy.

After paying for her food, she walked out the store. She ate as she walked down the street. She needed a place to stash the money; she didn’t want to walk around with while she figured out to do.

She passed some houses, so she decided to sit down on one of the steps. She finished her food and tried to plan her next move. She took a few sips of her soda. Her mouth felt watery. She tried to swallow but the feeling only became worst. She drunk some more of her soda. Before she could swallow, she felt her food come back up. Leaning over, she threw up right there on the sidewalk. She dropped her soda and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She forgot to grab some napkins and wiped her hand on the leg of her jeans.

Panic began to set in. She thought back to when she last had her period. She had her period since moving to Philly over six months ago. So if she was pregnant, it’s not Josh’s. Shawn had a vasectomy. Depending on how far along she was, it was down to Dre or Kevin.

She got up from the steps, her stomach still a little queasy. She swallowed, trying to ease the lump in her throat. The urge to break down and cry was strong. She tried to stop the tears from falling. Her eyes watered and she knew once the first tear fell, it was over. She needed to find a doctor to go to. What the fuck am I gonna do?

Joy hadn’t been to the doctor since moving and she had no clue as to where to go. She looked around at the people walking. She figured she could ask some. The thought came to her that she could look in the phone book.

She walked down the block. Her mind was numb. She continued to walk with no distinct destination. “I could go back to Curtis’ apartment to see if he has a phonebook,” she thought.

Before Joy realized she was still looking down, she almost brushed into a woman with a stroller at the corner, waiting to cross the street. “Sorry,” Joy said and started to walk around her. “It’s okay,” the woman said with an attitude.

Joy didn’t want to ask but she needed to know, “I don’t mean to be in your business but can I ask where you went to the doctor when you were pregnant?”

“Why you wanna know?”

“I was just asking because I might be pregnant and I don’t know where to go.” Joy said, trying to hold her anger in check.

“The closest place I know around here is the clinic on Cottman and Bustleton. If they can’t help you there then they can tell you where else to go.”

“Thanks.” Joy said and walked away.

Joy felt a heavy burden. She couldn’t believe that she was pregnant. She didn’t need a test to find out. Once she didn’t use a condom the first time, it was easier not to after that. Tears rolled down her face. She couldn’t control it and she didn’t care that people were staring at her as she walked down the street.

She opened her cell phone. The screen was blank. She tried the on button, but nothing happened. She remembered that she didn’t charge her phone. She needed to find a way to the clinic. She should have asked the woman how to get there.

Joy wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. She stopped walking and looked around. She saw a bus stop across the street. She crossed the street and crossed again to the side where the bus stop was. A man dressed in a suit and an older lady waited.

Joy stood next to the lady. “Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to Cottman and Bustleton avenue?”

“Yes. You can either walk three blocks that way. Or you can wait here for the fifty-eight. It would take you there.”

Joy looked in the direction that the lady pointed and decided to walk. “Thank you.”

It didn’t take long. She made it to the corner and waited at the light. Directly across the street, she saw a gas station and farther down there was the clinic. The light changed and she crossed. She went to the door and went in the building. She walked over to the desk.

“Can I help you?”

“Umm I need to take a pregnancy test,” Joy whispered.

“We only give testing on Wednesday’s.”

“Okay. Do I need an appointment?”

“No. You just need to come between 12 and 3.”

“Okay.” Disappointed, she left.

Joy walked outside and looked around. Wednesday was almost three days away and Joy didn’t want to wait that long. She stood there for a minute trying to decide what to do.

She didn’t realize that she was standing in front of the door, when she heard a voice behind her.

“Excuse me.”

Joy turned around and saw a girl on the other side of the door trying to get out. She moved over so the girl could get out.

The girl looked at Joy and started to walk away but turned around to face Joy.

“I don’t mean to be in your business but I heard the receptionist tell you to come back for a pregnancy test. You could go across the street to the Rite Aid and get a home pregnancy test.” she said.