Charity played by Stormi Reid
Chapter 60 will be part 2 of this chapter
Chapter 59
Have you ever felt like you couldn't breathe? Every time you take a breath, there's something squeezing your lungs tight preventing release.
That's exactly how Adrienne felt watching armed men hunting her sperm donor on the news. It was like the world stopped when his devilish face appeared on the screen with words "Inmate escaped". Shock was an understatement as her friends and family all stared at the screen.
When Adrienne came down the stairs to see everyone she knew and loved there, she was under the impression that they came for a visit, especially when her best friend, who she hadn't seen since her last surgery, came to her with a warm greeting. However the warm feeling she felt seeing her loved ones quickly went away as the tension settled.
Her mother, who was pacing the floor, held a worried expression on her face as she fanned herself with a stray envelope and her phone in the other hand. Then Adrienne's senses heightened as she heard an unfamiliar sound of a radio. As Adrienne walks slowly into the large living room and kitchen she sees a swarm of security guards and detectives. A man and a woman who she didn't recognize sat with Mama Rose, who seemed to be having a conversation with them over coffee. The guys were playing with the younger kids while Derek stood to the side with an unreadable expression on his face.
"What's going on?" The question that furthered her anxiety, led her to find out that the man and woman were her mother's parents, Shuga and Dan were shot, Chloe was missing, Max's death seemed to be a homicide, Josh somehow got out of the police custody, and everyone was their at the house for safety.
Now everyone's breath was taken away at the news of Andre being on the loose.
" Lord have mercy on us." Mama Rose pleated out loud.
" The inmate Andre Williams could be armed and dangerous. Witnesses said Williams appears to be disoriented and angry. If spotted, law enforcement advises to not engage instead call the crime hotline"
Suddenly Diane mutes the tv causing everyone to turn their attention to her.
"Let's keep our heads, everyone. We're safe right here." She spoke as she stared ahead at the screen. She had to reassure her family that everything will be okay. If she didn't they would probably make her go insane. With medication laced in her veins she was determined to keep her racing heart at bay.
" Not without daddy." Charity spoke from where she sat. She was the only one out of the younger kids that was aware of what's going on. " How can we be safe if daddy is not here?"
" Look around Charity?" James spoke softly." We are surrounded by armed security and you got your big brothers. You're safe."
He tried to comfort her but honestly everyone was a bit scared. Who wouldn't be scared of the unknown after everyone who was connected to that night was forced to come to the house? The teens parents were called and were of the ordeal. To keep their children safe, they didn't hesitate to allow them to come over for protection. You would think their families wouldn't want them to be involved but they all understood and felt for Diane and her family. Plus they didn't have the means to protect their own, the way that Jason could. What a difference a conversation makes?
Adrienne looked over at Derek who was already looking at her. His eyes held worry but there was also a stillness in them. It was like his plan for revenge was all washed away because it was being done for him. He knew that whoever crossed paths with Andre would be dealt with but unfortunately for them, he didn't care.
Why would he? Good things come to people that do Good and Good things come to those that wait. Well Derek waited...
Karma's a bitch.
Diane's phone rang and she immediately answered seeing it was Jason. " Baby please tell me you're alright?"
"I'm fine, baby. I promise. Put Derek on the phone for me." Confused, Diane did what he asked.
A simple word from Jason made Derek straighten up and walk out of the room for more privacy. Once he was out of earshot Jason started talking again.
" What did you say to him?"He asked.
" what?"
" What did you tell Andre?" Jason asked again.
" Not much of anything." Derek answered.
" This is not the time for games, son. Why did you go to visit Andre? You have to have said something. Literally, a couple days after you visited, he broke out of prison and has already killed somebody. If you said something to tick him off then I need to know" Jason explained.
Andre's words began to ring in his ear. " You were never here"
Why did I admit I went to see him? Derek thought.
" You said Andre called you and told you why I was there. So you must know what I've said."
Jason sighed. Truth was, Andre never called him. He just so happened to see a prison visitor tag on Derek's windshield. It just so happened that He and Diane were talking about how worried they were about Derek. Derek's angry persona never went unnoticed and visiting Andre just made sense, he was the cause of a lot of Adrienne's pain. Talking about it came with ease with his line of work. Diane did call him out for using his skills to get Derek to talk. She felt like he was intruding and could damage Derek's trust, but she did admit she would have probably would have done the same thing if she was in Jason's shoes.
" Do you have an idea of who hurt Adrienne?" Jason finally asked, hoping he said no. If he said yes, he would have to assume Derek aided Andre in whatever he was planning.
"No sir I don't. If I did, I would tell you, you know that." Derek said truthfully. Besides the obvious suspicion of Josh, Derek had no idea who the others were.
Sure from the outside looking in, this was Derek's plan all along. He would never confirm or deny that his plans were to let somebody's already dirty hands get even more dirty in the name of revenge. Nah, Derek made up his mind to choose life over death. It took visiting Andre to realize that his anger was slowly killing him. If Andre ever looked in the mirror he would be staring into Death's eyes. So Derek is taking this opportunity to allow justice to play out on its own.
Soon enough Jason stopped asking questions and hung up the phone. Derek made sure to give Diane back her phone before he decided to head upstairs to Adrienne's room, with permission of course. Adrienne seemingly followed behind him.
"If it's not one thing, it's another." Adrienne mumbled. "Are we in trouble?"
" Hell nah, we not. Our name is nowhere near this." Derek plopped down on the bed, already exhausted by the day's events. " I'm not worried about what's going on with them and you shouldn't either. They're getting exactly they fucking deserve."
Adrienne tried to shake the uneasiness, she felt and made her way towards the bed to sit next to him. " How many more people have to get hurt before this is over?" She asked softly. She didn't expect an answer but just poured out her feelings in wonder.
" I guess it's true, Hurt people hurt people. I wanted to hurt them so bad when our Angel died, so bad, but what good is going to come of it? I'll still be heavily scarred with my heart on my sleeve." Adrienne looked down at her unmanicured feet. Derek didn't say much of anything as he played with his fingers.
Derek was trying to be a listening ear. He felt her words deeply. He understood her pain to a certain extent, yet there was no room for comfort for him to give. There were no inspiring words of affirmation or a simple " everything will be okay" gesture. He had nothing more to give but pure brokenness.
" Maybe Angel dying was a blessing in disguise..."
" Don't do that." Derek got up from his seat. " Don't fucking do that."
" Do what? I'm just saying maybe this cycle ended with her. I couldn't imagine watching my baby grow up full of life, just to be hurt when she's a teen. My mother was hurt at 14. I was just told a sob story by that lady downstairs, who's apparently my grandmother went through the wringer during her teen years. Then I find out that my grandmother's mother was sexually humiliated at a church function as a teenager . Elbernita said that back then any act of sex is a sin if it's not with their husband, so when her mother was caught with a boy in the church van she was the one to be blamed and had to parade around as an example of what not to do . Can't you see this terrible cycle? We've all been sexually mistreated and used in some way. All of us had babies at a young age..."
" That's still fucked up thing to say. And Angel would have never gone through that. Why? Because her daddy would be in her life."
Adrienne shut her mouth after that. Sure, having an absent parent was a common denominator out of all the hurt women in her lineage. However, Adrienne knew that her rape had nothing to do with the absence of her father, the strain relationship between her and her mother, the clothes she wore, or the way she carried herself. It was all on the psychological imbalance of the sick individuals who hurt her. She had already gone through her self loathing stage of her healing. She had found ways to blame herself for what happened to her and the death of her baby countless times. She was over that. At least she thought she was.
" I'm sorry." She apologized. The tension in the room made her feel like she was suffocating so she took it upon herself to leave the room. She honestly doesn't know if she could ever breathe again.
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Omniscient
Andre sat in a chair with a small table beside him as one of his crew members poured him another drink on the rocks. Sweat dripped down from his brow from the heat and from the exhaust of energy he was pushing out. He clench and unclench his bruised and bleeding hands as stared at the individuals in front of him as if it were a movie. Chloe, Josh, and two other young men he barely recognized. Only one of them looked familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. One of the guys was hunching over in the corner squirming from the beating he received by the hands of Andre for having a smart mouth. Josh was beaten but he was beaten in jail by one of Andre's connections.
" He who seeks evil will find it." Andre quoted a french proverb before he took a drink from the cool dark liquor. " Your evilness has led you to me, your worst nightmare, so you speak out of turn..." He pointed to the beaten man. " you'll regret it."
" Now back to what I was trying to do before your ass rudely interrupted. Bigs take their picture, go to a secure location and send this to my baby momma husband. Make sure you get rid of the phone immediately after. I don't need them ruining my fun too soon." Andre ordered.
The four of the worthless nothing were cowardly in the corner of the large space trying to figure out what Andre was going to do to them. The building was packed with security and people from his old crew so he wasn't worried
" You!" Andre pointed at Josh after his picture was taken. " I have some questions for you, player." Andre got up and grabbed Josh by the arm as if he was a rag doll and sat him in a chair in front of him.
"And Chloe shut the fuck up, all that crying is getting on my nerves. I haven't done shit yet...Well besides killing your punk as uncle but anyways say man Josh right?"
Josh slowly nodded as he breathed heavily as if he was out of breath. " Well Joshua, I heard you had issues with your hands. You know I heard what went down at the scrimmage. If Derek didn't get to you first, I would have."
" Why would you care? I heard you were estranged from Adrienne." Josh asked bitterly.
Andre gave a sinister laugh. " So? You know how many niggas I fucked up for even looking Adrienne or her mother's way. You lucky Derek got to you first. I don't care if I never said a word to them ever again but in this line of business, I made sure that everyone knew not to touch them. You would have been gone like that *snaps* nigga." Josh jumps at how close Andre snaps in his face.
" Everybody knows who not to mess with!" Andre hit his hand on the table as his blood boiled.
He snapped his fingers again except this time it was to get his crew members attention to bring over the file of Adrienne's case. Andre had all the connections in the world. He was a very powerful man and what the Feds knew only scratched the surface. The only reason he was in prison in the first place was on his own accord. He wanted to be a better man or at least get back to his old mindset. He didn't want to continue this hold he had on Diane any longer. She was happy with Jason and his ignorance on being Adrienne's father has faded away. He knew being forgiven was impossible but he still wanted to be able to admit that he was wrong.
" Biggs before you leave, record this." Biggs did what he asked and began recording by only showing Josh's scared face and nothing else.
" You see this?" He pulled out a photograph of Adrienne's injury that was on her stomach. " In Adrienne's recall of the event, she said the shorter of the three men roughly assaulter her body on his own accord while making her look at herself in the mirror before showering her. " Andre looked up at josh. " You looked to be the shortest. She said the perp was the main aggressor during this period and said ' I hope Derek likes our work' I want you to look in this camera and say it like you said it."
Josh stared at the picture before him but was quickly snapped out of his trance when Andre clawed at his right eye making him cry out in pain. "I said say it"
Josh held his eye and continued to cry out in pain and said " I hope Derek likes our work"
Andre cocked his gun making the others squirm even more. " Shut the fuck up." he screamed at them. " Say it like you mean it, bitch. Say it like you said it." Andre pointed the gun right at his temple and picked up another picture of Adrienne. It was a full body picture in her underwear, her pregnant belly clearly evident against the somewhat faded yet still discolored body. Josh couldn't help but stare at the picture again making it clear that he was involved and enjoyed looking at his work. He repeated the words while his trance making Andre's skin crawl.
A predator making another predator feel sick....
Interesting.
Once Biggs got the necessary recording he was on his way.
Andre couldn't help peer in hatred at the four. Usually, Andre would have immediately killed the people who have wronged him or have someone do it for him. For some reason, killing them wasn't enough. Getting revenge didn't seem enough. What could possibly amount to the anger he felt?
" What I don't understand is why?" He wasn't expecting an answer for real. He was only trying to piece all the possibilities together. Sure, he's down his share of dirt but the reasons to come for Adrienne out of spite, did not make sense. What Diane has done in her lifetime, did not equate to this.
Most of Adrienne's life, Andre has bluntly denied being her father. He had his reasons. One of them being a mental asshole and the other he genuinely thought he was doing Adrienne a favor.
In the corner of his eye he could see Chloe getting up and approaching him. His crew was on guard ready for whatever that would go down with their weapons drawn. Andre gestured for them to fall back.
" Why not?" Chloe spat and tears cascaded your cheeks. " The bitch had it coming."
" You don't say? Why is that?"Andre inquired sarcastically. Chloe had some nerve to speak in such a way to the man with a gun.
" Yo Chloe, I don't know what you're on, but the man already proved he's crazy" one of the guys who still remain nameless warned. " Look at Corey man" he gestured towards the guy who was beaten.
" Shut up Lin, I know what the fuck I'm doing."
" Obviously you don't. Sit your ass down."
" Lin" Corey spoke in a raspy tone, " Let her be stupid on her own. She got us into this mess. Sir, we didn't know we were raping her."
" How do you not know? She had bruises all down her body. She cried for help." Andre yelled angrily as he got closer to them.
"Chloe came to us asking if we wanted to get laid. She was telling us about this girl who was her friend who had this fantasy of being overpowered by three guys in masks. I don't know about the rest of them but I did what I was told which was to hold her legs open. By the time I got my time with her she didn't say shit. I told her to moan for me and she did. I wasn't with the rough shit but I did my part because Chloe said that she has this thing with her boyfriend Derek, where she gets roughed up by a guy and he comes to save her. I've met them before so it seemed legit." Corey explained. Chloe stared daggers into him, desperately wanting him to shut up.
" What do you mean you met them before?" Andre asked, now intrigued by this story. He did feel like he's seen this boy before.
" At Club Dynasty, we were all there at the teen club. I was supposed to introduce myself, to get to know her. They said that she liked men with confidence and aggressiveness. I got into it with Derek, her saving grace. He almost broke my hand. And after the whole ordeal, they were practically fucking on the dance floor after that. Before Lin could approach her next, they were gone. Not even 10 mins later, shots rang out downstairs."
They were speaking of the night, Andre held Diane hostage, demanding the information she told Jason and his team. It was odd how his connections with law enforcement became suspicious and people around him became defensive and defiant which led him to wonder. That wandering led him to the Feds and Jason's group of vigilantes.
" Hmm." Andre nodded his head as he took in all this new information. Off impulse, Andre shot him in the foot. " Damn, i didn't even mean to do that, but I'm about to make y'all suffer"
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Hey guys! Hope all is well.
I can't believe Drama of a Teen is coming to the end. If things go as planned. There's one more chapter before the epilogue.
What do you think? How do you feel?
Help me tie up loose ends, Is there anything you want me to clarify before it ends?
Thank you for Reading.
Ps. The wedding was wonderful
Mrs. Anderson, Your girl Draya