delirium (sequel to apathy)

05

        05

 Sitting in the basement of Grandpa Romelo's house, I felt nervous. I was sitting at the head of the table, while Grandpa sat at the other end, Ramiro and Lorenzo sitting opposite of each other. There was these two others, Blade and Terrell, Grandpa's old friends. I wasn't going to lie, Grandpa sure did have a lot of connections. On the way over here, Mom had filled me in on each of their roles. That only made me even more nervous. I didn't see how Ramiro did it. 

Grandpa's basement was filled with all types of weapons, blueprints, and everything in between. I didn't know how he was allowed to own all these guns, he had a rap sheet longer than Bonnie and Clyde. But then again, he was in the drug business, and I assume that he had connections. It wasn't that hard to see why he had so many enemies..he was fucking crazy. I often wonder how Mom was so chill with a dad like him. 

"Lorenzo, Terrell, Blade, this is Monae's son, Amir." 

Lorenzo turned his head to me, smiling. It kind of surprised me when I first saw him, as Grandpa forgot to mention that Lorenzo was his twin brother. They looked exactly alike, accept Lorenzo had green eyes. Blade smirked at me, "You do look like your momma." "Naw, he looks more like his daddy," Terrell said, making me look at him. He had his feet up on the table, his arms crossed over his chest. "If Dante wasn't in the picture, I'd be yo' dad-" 

"That's my daughter Blade, watch that shit." 

Grandpa rolled his eyes, and tossed a photo onto the table. It slid my way, and I picked it up, looking at the man in the photo. He was light skin, with hazel eyes. Tattoos covered his neck, and he had a tattoo of a music note by his eye. "That's Martin, the nigga that kidnapped your momma when she was younger. You might not remember him, but he's supposed to be dead, supposedly shot by your dad. Now, before he kidnapped her, he was sending her these letters. He even sent her an eyeball and a tongue." 

He slid another thing down to me, a notebook. Opening it up and reading through the pages, it was filled with sexual fantasies, of what he wanted to do to my then teenage mother. It made me feel like I had to throw up. I pushed the book back up to him, taking a deep breath. "I found that when I went to his home after he was dead."

"Do you have a possible list of suspects?" Terrell asked, taking his feet off the table. He leaned forward, and Grandpa sighed. "That's the thing, T. We don't know who is sending her that shit. It could be anybody."

"Do you think it was his brother? She told you that he helped her escape, and that he didn't like Martin. Maybe he helped her escape because he knew Dante was going to kill Martin, and used her to get him out of the way?" Lorenzo suggested. 

"Jose?" Blade piped up, shaking his head. "The man can't talk, and only has one eye. I don't think he would want to harm Monae, nor use her for his own benefit." 

I listened to them talk, throwing theories in the air about who it could be. Some of them were completely crazy, like one of Grandpa's old enemies being obsessed with her, which was absolutely disgusting. Then there was the theory that it was Jose, but Blade shot that down so many times. I was beginning to get annoyed. This was my Dad's well being on the line, and with all these damn resources they got, they should know who it was, instantly. I would do it on my own, but then again, I don't have the information like Grandpa does. 

"..What about Monique? Mom told me that the reason Martin kidnapped her was because he wanted a replacement for his dead girlfriend.." I mumbled. 

The table fell silent, all eyes on me. I gulped, biting my lip. 

"What?"

Looking at Ramiro, he was staring at me, his eyes wide. "What did you just say?" he asked me, his voice loud, expectant. I sat up from my slouching position, "Monique. Mom said that Monique was Martin's girlfriend before she died. She was murdered and placed on his doorstep." They all seemed to be thinking about what I had said. It was a wild guess, but maybe that was the person who was sending those notes and letters. 

"Who might know something more about this Monique, chick?" Ramiro asked.

"Jose. That is, if Martin told him anything," Blade added, a smile spreading across his lips. 

"Well, what the fuck are y'all waiting for? Terrell, I want you find out anything and everything on him, and get in contact with him, get him on a plane over here. And if he can't come, I'll come over there and see him." 

"Sounds like a plan."

For a few days, I was on edge. 

I was anticipating the call from Grandpa that would confirm that Jose was in town. I hadn't told Mom about it yet, but the waiting was killing me. I didn't sleep much when I went home later, and I've been drinking sodas and energy drinks like no other, trying to stay up. There was an abundance of cans around my room, on my dresser, on the tv stand, there was probably some in my bathroom, too. I would have to clean that up, sooner or later. 

Stepping out of the shower, I pulled on some fresh boxers and sweats, exiting my room. Today was a Friday, the reason that I was out of school being that it was something called a furlough day, which I didn't care to learn about. All I knew was that I didn't have school today, and I was happy. Walking down the hallway, the smell of breakfast invaded my senses, luring me towards the kitchen. I could hear the sizzling of bacon being made as I entered, Mom the culprit of it all. 

"Well, aren't you up early," she smiled, looking at me. She was wearing sweatpants and a tank top, which was weird. Usually, she would be dressed for work, as she took extra clients on Fridays. Maybe she was just getting a late start. 

I came behind the counter, looking into the skillet. "Hi, Mommy." She kissed my forehead, "Good morning, sweetie. I know you're hungry. It'll only be a few minutes more." I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her. "I love you too, baby boy," she chuckled, and I released her. Grabbing a plate from the cabinet, I took a seat in one of the stools at the island, waiting for her to finish. 

"Ma, why ain't you dressed for work? It's not like you to be late?" I asked her, watching her hands as she placed two pancakes on my plate, along with some strips of bacon. She shook her head, "I'm just not feeling well, that's all. So I decided to take off of work." I nodded, beginning to cut up my pancakes. "Did you get that call from Grandpa, yet?" she asked, making me drop my fork. She came behind me, kissing the top of my head. I looked up at her, wondering how she found out. She laughed, "You always stay up when you're waiting for something important, sweetie." 

I sighed, and she continued. "I'm your mother. I know you like the back of my hand, baby." 

I rolled my eyes as she walked away from me, going down the hall. Returning to my delicious breakfast, I was about to take another bite, but the phone started to ring. I nearly knocked my plate of the counter, and almost knocked the stool over as I flew to the phone, answering it. 

"Hello?" I answered, my mouth full of pancakes and bacon.

"Swallow your food, lil nigga." 

Doing what Grandpa said, I heard him chuckle on the other line. "Anyway, tell your momma to bring you on over here. Jose's over here. And while you're at it, tell her to bring me some breakfast." The door bell rang, and I had to tell Grandpa to hold on as I walked to the door. "Who is it?" I heard Mom ask, coming up behind me. 

I opened the door, a man with light brown eyes and curly hair staring at me. I raised my eyebrows at him, and he looked surprised to see me. 

"Brandon? What are you doing here?" 

an: photo of amir and brandon provided.