Stripping Asjiah I (23 page)

*****
“I still don’t think we should’ve left them like that.”

“Angel’s been up and down I90 plenty of times. He knows where the jakes be hiding and he knew what he was doing. Angel probably got caught because he was blunted and wasn’t paying attention; then again he probably saw the jakes and just didn’t give a fuck.” Caleb turned his hat to the back and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“They’re not gone see the light of day after the feds find out what was in the trunk.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it; Angel finds a way to get himself out of the stickiest situations.” Caleb got out the car and stuck his head in the window. “You got my number if you need me. I’ll see you around.”

*****

“Bills, bills, bullshit, bills.” Money sat in his living room as he skimmed through the mail. “What the fuck is this?” A piece of neatly folded stationary paper fell to the floor.

Paranoid, he walked to the front and back door and checked the locks. Circling through the dining room he checked the windows in the kitchen. He lived in a nice area and he knew if someone tried to break in one of his nosy ass neighbors would say something or call the police. Feeling assured that no one had been in his home he settled back on the couch and opened the letter. Money,

What’s up lil’ nigga? This letter was written as a precaution in case something was to happen to me. If you are reading this then that means either I got locked up or somebody finally got me and I’m no longer breathing. Either way I need you to pay close attention to what I’m about to say.

I’ve been watching you for a while now and you gotta lot of heart. I couldn’t trust you just off the fact that you’re my friend’s little brother so I had to p ut you through some shit to see how you would handle yourself. Lucky for you, you passed with flying colors.

After you read this, go outside and look in yo trunk. At that moment you’ll understand why I had us d rive in separate cars. I used to always carry everything in the truck but something about this trip felt different. The minute you fall into a pattern niggas notice shit like that and that’s when you get caught. Anyway, call it an early Christmas gift. Don’t worry about paying me back; I need a different favor. Leave Cleveland.

Don’t worry about that nigga Caleb. I need him to stay here for reasons of my own. But more importantly, Asjiah is moving to Atlanta in two weeks and she’s going to need someone to look after her. I know you’ve been trying to get at my lil’ sister so here’s your chance. Don’t hurt her. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what’ll happen to you if you do.

Angel
P.S. Remember, if it was this easy for me to find out where you rest your head at; it won’t be a problem for me to do it again.

Caleb was right, that nigga Angel did think of everything. He looked at life like a chess game when most niggas played it as if it was checkers. Only thing with checkers, there was always some thirsty ass nigga behind you waiting to jump you when you left your back exposed. Who would’ve known his summer would’ve turned out like this? Things had taken a big turn compared to when he used to be Angel’s lookout boy. They had gotten close, he had become part of his inner circle, and now Angel was calling on him to look after the most precious thing in his life; Asjiah.

He hadn’t seen her since the robbery and he didn’t know where she was. Last he heard; CJ had taken her out of town. From where he was standing it seemed like that’s all that nigga CJ did was run, where was he at when he bodied Vale? CJ never got his hands dirty. Instead he got to play Asjiah’s knight and shining armor and come whisk her away while Money was busy cleaning up the mess. Bullshit. Things were about to be different though.

“
So Asjiah’s moving to Atlanta huh?
” Mumbling to himself he walked out on the porch replaying the contents of Angel’s letter in his head. Taking his lighter out of his pocket he held the paper over the open flame watching as the colors changed from orange to black.
“I always did want to go down south.”

ChApTER ThIRTy-FOuR

“Get all that shit! Yeah, like that. Good girl.” Breathing heavily he watched as Keyshia sniffed the powdery substance off his dick. “Don’t let that candy go to waste.”

Keyshia licked around his head, up and down his shaft pretending he was a lollipop as the coke soon disappeared. She was hoping he didn’t want to have sex. The doctor told her to wait at least a week before having intercourse again to make sure her vaginosis had gone away. The only reason she agreed to follow him back to this pissy ass room is because she wanted to get high. His dick was borderline adolescent; she had to imagine he was Angel in order to keep herself from gagging. Wiping her nose she got off her knees, zipped up her Baby Phat hoodie and brushed off her sweatpants.

‘Where do you think you’re going?” Stroking his limp dick, he struggled to bring it back to life. ‘I’m just getting started.”

I know this lame doesn’t think he’s putting that nasty shit anywhere near my pussy.
With freshly manicured nails Keyshia walked over to him and held his dick between her fingers examining it as if it was a worm on a fish hook.

“Baby dicks aren’t in my brochure sweetheart.”
This cornball got me all fucked up. Even if I didn’t have to shoot this nasty ass medicine up my cootchie every night, I still wouldn’t fuck him.
Laughing
18

to herself, Keyshia grabbed her keys and walked towards the door. ‘Did I say you could leave?”

Before Keyshia had a chance to open the door he had his hand around her throat. Did she really think he was going to let her laugh in his face and walk out?

‘Did I say you could leave? You thought you were going to come in here, smoke all my shit and bounce without giving me some pussy?” Gasping for air Keyshia clawed at his hands trying to release his grip on her neck.
‘Now strip bitch!”

She didn’t like the look in his eyes. They looked cold, vicious. She wasn’t sure if he was playing or being for real. The coke had her doubting reality. Her heart began to race as he threw her towards the bed.

“I said strip.” Growing impatient he charged towards her striking her violently across the face splitting her lip. He didn’t love her the way he loved the other girl. She was nothing to him, he didn’t like the way she disrespected him, laughed in his face, and mocked his impotence.

‘Fuck you!” The drug raced through her body, created illusions in her brain, making her think that she could challenge him. Keyshia stood defiant as she wiped blood from her face.

Before she could say anything else, he grabbed her and tossed her effortlessly on the bed.
Her intoxicated mind struggled to think of a way out. With open palms she slapped his face harder and harder hoping it would make him stop. “What’s wrong baby?” Aggressively he palmed her breast. “You had all kinds of shit to say a little while ago, don’t get quiet on me now.”

Biting his forearm, stunning him momentarily; Keyshia rolled off the bed and ran towards the door. She felt like she was floating and she knew that her addiction was going to be her down fall.

Grabbing her around the waist he threw her back onto the soiled bed. In her mind, she screamed. “Help! Somebody help me!”

In reality, she barely said a word. She wasn’t much of a challenge. She had allowed her high to drain the fight out of her. The woman he loved would never put such harmful things into her body. He could never love a junkie, if she didn’t care about her body and what she did to it; why should he?

‘Shut the fuck up!” He punched her again daring her to scream. “Give that pussy up bitch!”

Keyshia cried out in agony as he shoved his dick inside of her infected pussy. For hours he raped her over and over again. It felt like he was tearing out her insides as he rammed his fingers inside of her anus simultaneously while he was fucking her. Is this what my life has come to? All the niggas she got to spend money on her, all the tricks she had turned, it had finally caught up to her. What do I have to show for this shit? Asjiah was right; I’m nothing but a whore. A high paid hoe. She wanted to cry but her mind wouldn’t function properly to allow it. The coke had caused her to be careless; she didn’t even know his name. All she remembered was the hideous scar across his throat as she closed her eyes for the last time.

ChApTER ThIRTy-FIvE

I could feel her moving. She must have known what I was going to do and that was her way of telling me it’s wrong, that she didn’t want to die. When the doctor told me how far along I was, I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t want to. I hated that I waited that long, I hated him for making me do this. I hated that he acted like it was so simple, like I was throwing out an old pair of shoes or something. This is just as much his child as it is mine.

I didn’t know what was going on in his head but I knew he was hurting too, he had to be. This was my body we’re talking about, my child. What if something went wrong and I couldn’t have kids in the future. Did he think of that? I missed my first two appointments on purpose because I thought that he would get the hint, see that I didn’t want to do this but he ignored me.

A person always reveals their true color’s when they’re backs against the wall and CJ is showing me who he really is right now; a fucking coward. So what we were young, so what I’m supposed to be leaving for Atlanta on Monday, we had seven months and I know we could’ve made this work. My mother was 19 when she had Angel and she didn’t get an abortion.

This is supposed to be my choice yet I allowed him to bully me into doing this.

He hasn’t said anything since he found out. I wanted to reach over this table and slap him in his fucking face. He couldn’t even look at me. I thought he loved me. But he proved me wrong when he paid the receptionist $300 to kill our child. He didn’t say anything on the drive over here either. I faked like I was asleep so I didn’t have to argue with him. The entire time I could feel her moving. Usually I was able to calm her down but she wasn’t listening to me on that dreadful day. She tried desperately to tell me not to do this and I wanted to listen but I was scared.

I wondered how old these other girls were; 15 or 16 at least. I heard one of them say this was her third time in here. How can you subject your body to this shit that many times? Her insides had to be all fucked up. Wouldn’t common sense tell you to either stop fucking or get some birth control? I mean raw sex feels good but not good enough to go through this. Easy for me to say that now, I should’ve stopped him when he said he didn’t have a condom. “Trust me A, you trust me don’t you?” ‘I just want to feel you ma.”

First they draw your blood, and then they call you into a room where some lady asks you if you’re sure this is really what you want to do. Your last chance to change your mind I guess. After that they do an ultrasound and then put you back in the lobby.

After a half n’ hour or so your name is called, they take you into another room, give you some pills and that’s when the real fun starts.

The doctor inserts a catheter which is supposed to have a balloon like effect which increases dilation and forces you to contract. Someone comes and takes you into the operating room where they pump you full of anesthesia and then its lights out. You wake up to find a pad between your legs and they offer you juice and crackers like that’s supposed to make you feel better after killing your child.

I always thought when I got pregnant it would be something to celebrate, something to be excited about, I suppose that was in the same book I read about your parents staying married forever. I thought I would finally have someone to love me unconditionally. All I wanted was to be the mother that mine once was. I didn’t want to do it. I knew I was supposed to protect her, keep her safe from harm, instead I allowed them to suck you out of me like your some kind of foreign object.

I read in a magazine that once the baby reaches a certain size they have to break their limbs in order to get them out of the womb. I don’t understand how doctors can do this shit. I had all these objections yet I sat there paralyzed waiting for my name to be called. Was it payback for what I did to Cash? How did this make me any different from my father? He took my mother’s life away and they called him a murderer. I killed Cash and now my unborn child’s so what does that make me?

“Asjiah Cappelli?” A middle aged white woman who resembled Mary Poppins appeared in the lobby.

Stripping Asjiah

I didn’t want to get up. Maybe if I just sit here for a while she’ll go away.

CJ’s eyes locked with mine and for a moment I thought he would say something, tell me that he didn’t want to do this, grab my hand and take me away from this awful place but he didn’t. I took my ring off and placed it on the table.

“Asjiah Cappelli?” Repeating my name Mary Poppins glanced over the chart as she waited patiently in the doorway.
It would all be over soon.

EpILOGuE

Two months later
“Step out onto the red line. As I call your number please step back into your cell.” The buffed officer barked orders as he took roll call.
“Inmate 3086160.”
The corrections officer stopped in front of Angel waiting for him to go back into the cramped cell.