Chapter 16
Amal sat up in the empty bed and grabbed her ringing cellphone. She was a little disappointed when she saw Faisal's name on the screen and not Casper's. The time on the phone read 10:00AM and he never stepped foot through the door. He did say he would be back really early in the morning, probably when she was sleeping, but he stood her up.
Amal shook her head but answered her cellphone anyway. "Good morning Faisal. How are you?"
"Good morning Amal, I'm fine thank you for asking. May I ask how you're morning is coming along?"
She chuckled, rubbing her eyes. "It's indecisive for now. I just woke up."
He returned her light laugh. "The best part of the day huh. Well, about your friend's little sister. I have an update on that." He said.
Amal got off the bed suddenly wide awake. She clutched the phone and began biting her nails. "Okay, give it to me."
"I have good news and bad news."
"Bad news first." Amal said.
"Well you said you recently linked up with judge Ronald Bailey. But the bad thing is Bailey is a federal judge. He doesn't deal with issues like the one your friend has. That's more of a family court problem. So a family court judge has to handle that. So, since Bailey can't help us we have to get a different judge."
"But Bailey could have gotten us through easy because he was getting extra money from my friend." Amal said sadly. "This new judge is going to want my friend in the courtroom and he'll have to fight against his mother for custody legally. But he has a record, there's no way he'll get his sister."
"Yeah. Him having a record is the bad part." Faisal said.
Amal sank down to the ground as her eyes started to water.
"Don't worry though. The good part is I know three family court judges. One I know personally so he can squeeze us through like butter, no problem. I promise your friend will be able to get his sister. So don't stress over it. Okay?"
Amal closed her eyes and took a deep breath resting her hand on her chest. She exhaled dramatically and reopened her eyes feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Oh my gosh Faisal you scared me." She laughed, sniffling her tears away.
He chuckled. "Well I'm sorry for that madam..." The line got a little quiet before an awkward silence took over. Before it could last long Faisal cleared his throat and spoke into the phone. "Listen...I would love to take you out some–"
"Faisal I already told you, I have a boyfriend. I'm flattered but I can't." She said as politely as possible. Amal knew Faisal had a crush on her since that dinner from last time. He was handsome but she only had eyes for Casper. She was just hoping her denying him wouldn't affect their business relationship. She would just die if she couldn't get Brittany for Casper. She couldn't wait to have Brittany around permanently herself. That was like her daughter and little sister all in one. She loved that little girl.
Faisal sighed disappointingly. "I understand, my apologies for asking. No pressure. I'll get back to you with the information on this, okay?" He said.
"Alright." She mumbled feeling bad.
"And know I'll never stop trying. Since the moment I saw you I knew you were meant to be mine." He said.
Amal smiled and rolled her eyes. She felt like he took that line straight out of a corny romantic-comedy movie.
"Okay Faisal." She said amused.
She hung up then got off the floor and walked over to the dresser. She rested her phone down and looked in the mirror at herself. Casper was tall so his t-shirts fit her like dresses. Her eyes caught something sticking out the crevice of the black wood covering the perimeter of the mirror. She took it out and looked at it. A small smile slowly started to come across her face as her heart warmed.
It was a picture of her and Casper when they were teenagers. Back when she was the chubby sixteen-year-old Arab kid everyone made fun of. And Casper was the skinny cute fifteen year old thug with the deep country accent everybody loved. They were on a racetrack in a big public park that day.
Amal held a bottle of water in her hand and a green apple in the other. Her hair was in a messy bun and the sides of her hair was sticking to her face from the hot sun. He had taken her to workout as a suggestion since all the other kids kept making fun of her weight. Amal was eager to go just to be around him. She honestly didn't think he would show up—but he actually did. He did, and they worked out all day.
They took the picture at the end of the day, after their intense vigorous exercises.
Casper was the one who took the picture. His face was against her's with his arm around her shoulder. He was biting his bottom lip and throwing the peace sign up, upside down in the picture. Amal had remembered she was so nervous. She couldn't believe she was with the cutest, most popular boy that day.
But that one day was all it took. After that the rest had become history. It was always Casper and Amal...
Amal kissed the center of the picture where both of their faces were for a long time before pressing it to her heart and holding it there with both hands for several seconds.
Don't worry though. The good part is I know three family court judges. One I know personally so he can squeeze us through like butter, no problem. I promise your friend will be able to get his sister. So don't stress over it. Okay? Faisal's words returned, floating in Amal's head.
She looked up at the ceiling, still holding the picture to her heavy heart while saying a silent prayer to Allah. Once Amal finished her prayer, she blew out a stressful breath.
I promise your friend will be able to get his sister... The words rang again.
"Amen." Amal said making a cross sign across her chest. She hoped things went right, because she was ready to continue the next chapter of their lives. Because she knew it wasn't over.
*******
When Creanna got back inside her house it was fifteen minutes past ten o' clock in the morning. And she was dying to go to sleep. When Casper dropped her off at her mother's house it was four o' clock in the morning. Her mother woke her up at eight and she stayed over to chat, then caught a taxi back to her place after.
Creanna walked inside her apartment then locked the door. The first thing she did was kick her shoes off and rest her black bag with her previous worn clothes down by the door before traveling to the kitchen. She always kept things at her mother's house, so she had showered over there and threw on a black tank top with gray leggings before coming home.
She was so hungry it was killing her. The hunger pains she was feeling felt like she got punched in the stomach. Creanna went into her fridge and heated some rice and peas with chicken she cooked the day before.
She could hear commotion in the living room while she ate her food. She already knew it was Santana. There was a wall separating the kitchen and living room but she didn't feel like walking around it. So she ate her food in the kitchen in silence. Creanna rolled her eyes to the back of her head in bliss. She never understood why food sometimes tasted better after it was cooked days before. Or maybe it was because she was so hungry it tasted like the best thing on Earth right now.
After she finished five minutes later, Creanna was ready to get seconds, but just as she went to empty the bones and scraps of food a big stomp in the living room caused her to jump. She furrowed her eyebrows and travelled to the living room with the dish in her hand.
She looked to see what was going on and the first thing she noticed were things scattered around the floor and a large abundance of black rectangle shaped things stacked up top of their coffee table where their things use to be.
"What is that stuff?" Creanna said looking at it with a screwed up face.
Santana looked up at her with a confident smile on his face. "What I tell you. I told you I was gonna rob my boss. And guess what baby—I did it!" He said happily.
Creanna stood there for a second, starting to feel lightheaded. She stared at him in disbelief not believing what he just said. The conversation Casper had on the phone while they sat in his car was coming back to her. "Wait...what?" She whispered, squinting her eyes at him.
"Wiped that nigga clean out," Santana said rubbing his hands together. "Stole some little orange mini van up the block from us. Drove it back and parked it in the same spot before anyone could report it missing and then brought the bags in here. You know how much this is? Fifty bricks baby!" Santana said. "You could pay off mad of your school bills and—"
"What the hell! No! Santana you have to put this back!" Creanna yelled, mortified.
Santana pulled his head back and looked at her like she was high.
"Yeah! Put it back!" Creanna said nodding in confirmation once she saw his reaction to what she said. "Are you crazy?! It was you he was talking about! Your the one who robbed him!"
"What? Cre what the fuck are you talking about?"
"I was in the car with Casper and he got a phone call. Someone told him they got robbed. They said your name! They know the person's name is Santana! I heard it but I didn't think it was you!"
Santana sucked his teeth, now slightly annoyed. "Man why the fuck you acting so scary anyway? I told you I was gonna do it. You looked at me and said 'have fun with that.' Remember that shit? I was walking out the door you smiled and waved to me."
"I didn't think you were fucking serious Santana!" Creanna shouted, she was pissed. She didn't even mean to swear; she hated swearing, but right now she didn't care. "I was being sarcastic! I didn't actually think you'd do it!"
The place got quiet for a second until Santana rose up from the couch with a smirk on his face. "Oh, I see what this is about." He said walking over to her until he was looking down at her. His face was in a slight mug as he stared down at her. "You didn't think I had the heart. You were only making fun of me. You think I'm a pussy who was just talking shit."
Creanna's head was spinning. She couldn't believe she was going through this right now. She closed her eyes and put her index finger and thumb up to the bridge of her nose. "Oh my God," she said opening her eyes. "Santana what are you talking about?! It has nothing to do with me thinking you were scared! I just didn't think you'd be so stupid to try something like that! You think I would react that way if I really thought you were serious?!" She hissed.
"Yeah because you suppose to have my back. Not be a sarcastic bitch." Santana spat back.
Creanna sighed. "Santana, I'm not doing this right now. Get this stuff out of my living room and get it out of my house. Now!" She commanded.
Santana's upper lip curled and he shook his head at her seconds later. "Man you buggin'." He mumbled as he walked away to go pack up his newly stolen merchandise.
"No you are." She said watching him pack his things back into the duffel bags he got it out of. "I can't believe you..." she mumbled angrily.
Once everything was packed he zipped them and put each bag over his shoulders and looked at her. "Since you got a problem wit' it I'm taking them to my other girl's house tonight. My real girl who believes in me." He said walking to the back.
"Yeah whatever," Creanna said sticking her middle finger up at him. "fuck you Santana. You do that." She said knowing he was talking shit to get her mad.
When he disappeared in the back Creanna sighed out loud. She was instantly exhausted.
Not a moment later there was a creak behind her. Creanna wouldn't have thought anything about the faint noise behind her; but the hairs on the back of her neck thought otherwise. A chill ran through her and she suddenly straightened up having a feeling of the worse.
Creanna felt like she was in a horror movie. She gulped the instant gulf ball sized lump that formed in her throat and slowly turned around.
Creanna saw two pairs of sneakers then looked up and gasped, dropping her plate of food. The ceramic dish shattered as the bones and left over scraps of food landed on the hardwood floor. She stared at the two intruders in shock, putting a hand on her chest.
Casper didn't even flinch, instead his eyes were narrowed just slightly, lines in his forehead. "Creanna? What you doing here?" He asked calmly, although his eyes were curious.
"I-I live here. What are you doing? How'd you get in here?" She asked, her heart beating a mile a minute.
He never answered her so an eerie silence took over.
Casper knew Creanna lived in this area but he had no clue she lived in this apartment building. He never actually saw her come out any of the complexes. Every time he's seen her she's already been outside. He was a little surprised his research not only led him into her apartment building, but her exact apartment.
Casper watched her eyes travel down to the black gun he held in his leather gloved hand.
"Look at me." He commanded, softly.
Creanna looked up at him as her legs began to feel like jello. She'd never seen that facial expression on him before. It was blank, his eyes devilishly cold. The place was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Casper said nothing as he just studied her.
Creanna looked at the other man behind him, it was Michael. He was just looking around the place as if to see how her place looked. But she was more worried about Casper since he seemed more like the menacing of the two right now. She stared, afraid if she even blinked wrong he would know something was up.
"You live here with a nigga?" Casper asked. There was no anger in his voice. No jealousy. No iciness. His one was flat, it was just a question. She could see that right now he didn't care that they were now dating, or how they may have felt about each other. Right now he had something else on his mind and the gun in his hand said he needed to know.
"No." Creanna said.
Casper looked at Michael and Michael looked at Casper.
Michael looked at Creanna and stepped up but still stayed a far distance away. "We ain't tryna hurt you Creanna, we just gotta know. Does a Santana live here with you?"
Creanna instantly began to sweat. A million thoughts rang through her head. She knew she couldn't take forever to answer him else they would know something was up. It was her chance to spill everything. She could either tell them and die for being deceitful in the first place, or tell them and hopefully get a chance at living.
"No." Creanna mumbled. Something in her couldn't give Santana up. She loved him. They've been together for three years. She knew she was taking a chance of dying for him but right now her generous heart felt the need to protect him.
"Okay. What about anybody else? Nobody else lives here or is in here but you?" Michael asked.
"N-no." Creanna tried to say as confidently as possible.
Casper started to take small steps to her and Creanna began backing up at the same time. As he came closer she moved back. She felt like he was about to raise that gun and just shoot her any minute. Then it suddenly hit her, Santana was right in the back. He could walk out at any minute and things would be over.
Creanna stopped walking when she realized that and ended up standing right in the doorway that was only a few feet away from her bedroom. All Casper had to do was walk past her and make a small turn behind the wall and Santana would be discovered.
Casper stopped right in front of Creanna. He sighed out loud and put his hand up on the doorframe, gripping it as he stared down at her, "So if I search this apartment right now, ain't nobody gonna be in here." He asked sternly, as if to make sure she heard him clearly in case there were repercussions. "Not a man...another woman...a child. Not even a pet fish in a bowl."
Creanna looked at him and her eyes started to water because she knew she was about to die. She never saw him like this before. She couldn't believe this was the same guy she was chilling out with just hours ago. Looking at him now you would never think he would be capable of smiling. Right now he looked like he was ready to body something in a millisecond.
"Did I do something wrong?" Creanna asked rubbing her arm up and down out of nervousness.
Casper ignored her, shifting his eyes over her shoulder. The apartment was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Creanna sucked a breath in because she knew exactly what he was doing. Waiting for the slightest movement or sound. She was hoping Santana could hear them the whole time so he would stay in place. They hadn't been talking loud at all and Creanna knew she couldn't suddenly raise her voice to try and alert him because that would blow her cover.
It felt like forever as Casper just stood there staring past her. Suddenly his cold eyes switched back to her face, scaring her. She saw the muscles in his jaw twitch before he relaxed them. "You know...I hate a liar baby girl. And I hope you not lyin' to me."
A tear fell out of her eye but Casper never broke eye contact, ignoring the wet trail down her cheek.
"Because if I find out you ever lied to me," He paused, lowering his voice just slightly, "I swear on God—"
"She's not lyin' man, trust me." Michael, who who had been watching her body language the whole time, said.
He could see the way her body shook and the raise of her eyebrows every time they asked her a question that she was scared and confused. She didn't know what they were talking about.
She was just a scared girl and they had the wrong apartment.
Casper turned around and looked at Michael who nodded his head confidently at what he just said. She didn't know anything. He could tell.
"We gotta go man, I could hear people in the hallway calling the cops." He said.
Casper looked past Creanna once more and stared for a moment before he took his hand off the doorframe. He sighed, "Okay...I'll take your word for it." He said. He looked her up and down once before slowly backing away and turning before he walked.
Just like that. Without another word. Like she was a stranger he's never met a day in his life.
"Sorry, we had the wrong place." Michael said before he was out the door after Casper. He closed the door behind him and instantly it was like air came flooding back to Creanna's lungs.
She stood there for a moment before she ran after them on shaky legs. She locked her door again but hesitated to look through the peephole, but she forced herself to and they were actually leaving. She stood there watching them even after they were no longer in sight.
A moment later she heard car doors open so she ran to her apartment window. And peeked outside the curtain. They were both getting inside their cars. When they pulled off Creanna ran off heading toward the back, but Santana already came out meeting her in the living room with a black gun in his hand.
"I heard them the whole time baby! I was standing right behind the door. I was ready to blast if they—"
The sound of Creanna's hand landing across Santana's cheek could be mistaken for a firecracker going off in their small apartment. Santana looked at Creanna in shock. Never had she hit him in the three years they've been together. She stood there shaking, her two hands clenched in fists at her sides. Even though she was a light brown complexion, there was no mistaking the difference in the red tint that covered her face like a disease.
"Get this shit out of my fucking apartment." She snarled, menacingly. The fire in her eyes kept Santana frozen in place. She walked past him bumping his shoulder so hard he stumbled back before the bathroom door opened and slammed behind him so hard he knew he needed to repair a hinge or two.