It can't ... Be.
"Damn! No hug ? No 'I missed you'? Tsk.tsk.tsk. How you been, baby girl?" Markell stepped out of the shadows. His firearm was still smoking from the shot he sent to Shaq's head.
I was a fuckin wreck and Zahir was losing it.
I thought I was strong but this night was draining all of me.
"Shut that kid up, before I do it." Markell threatened.
I quickly rocked my little King and tried to comfort him, planting soft kisses on his lips and cheeks.
He quieted down and looked up at me as if to say 'It's okay, mommy. I know you're trying.'
"Markell... Why? why would you do all of this, huh? I thought we had a understanding ! Did you think of my child being emotionally scarred from all of this ?!" I struggled to keep my emotions in tact.
"Bitch, did you think of that shit when you toyed with my heart?! Fuck you, fuck ya son, fuck ya happiness I don't give two shit-"
"ARE YOU FUCKIN SERIOUS?! TWO PEOPLE KILLED TONIGHT ALL BECAUSE YOU COULD'NT GET OVER SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED SO FUCKING LONG AGO?!" I screamed.
"I'd keep my voice down if I were you. Plus...I ain't kill your sister, you did. See, everyone forgot about Kamille Jacobs's old boyfriend. You fucked me up. A man like me don't get played, so when you came around and pulled that shit... Oh, I vowed to get ya ass back." He spoke as he came closer.
I knelt down.
"Markell why couldn't you have just told me how you felt? Was this all necessary ? How did you even pull all of this off?" I asked.
"Glad you asked. Well, I been following your activity, ever since the school dropped you, and I found out everything. I did my research and saw you had a little sister that got you into all of this mess and eventually you got her imprisoned. So, I paid her visits... Bailed her out... Fucked her... and made her fall in love with me so that I could get her to do anything for me. That little girl... Is a freakkkk. But anyways, she was all for bringing you down. So we followed you around and saw that you and August weren't together so we targeted your new happy family. All I wanted was to fuck you up and put your happiness to a end like you did me... so... how'd I do?" He smiled.
"You're a twisted lil nigga. You soon get yours." I shook my head.
I heard a commotion upstairs and a lot of gunshots.
"What the fuck is going on?! You got people up in here?!" I saw Markell start to panic.
Thank you, God !
Markell turned around and I quickly texted Aug.
Downstairs, basement. Markell is here.. Don't come alone.
Send.
"HELPPPP!!! HELPPPP!!!" I screamed.
Markell whipped his neck in my direction so fast, I could have sworn I heard a crack.
"Get the fuck up! You gon die before I do. Get in front of me !" He said as he yanked me up by my hair.
He held Zahir and I like human armors.
"Markell .. You don't have to do this.." I tried to stall.
"Fuck you! You did all of this ! It's either me or you Kami... We both ain't leaving here alive tonight." His voice shook.
"We can... You just have to put the gun down..."
"No! and in case you were wondering, I did ya lil boyfriend a favor... You always bouncing back and forth to cure your fuckin heart from that August nigga! It was just a matter of time before you played with this nigga the way you did me. Then that lil lightskin bitch would come skipping on by with his faggot ass and sweep you off your feet again and make you forget about who you was with. You welcome, nigga! That shot ain't hurt half as much as what you was bound to feel in the near future." He called out to Shaquille's lifeless body.
As nuts as Markell was and as much as I hated him at this point....he was right about how I dealt with my pain. I tended to confide in other men then bounce back to August... I wasn't going to do Shaq like that though. Shaq was perfect... I couldn't help but think, though things ended terribly for him... Maybe it wasn't meant to be?
All things do happen for a reason.
***
AUGUST
"Yo, Rex head downstairs with me. My baby boy and my wife down there." I quickly spoke during the gun brawl.
"Your wife ? Nigga didn't y'all split up?!" Rex threw shade.
"Man, if you don't bring ya ass on...! You worried about all the wrong shit." I exclaimed, feeling embarrassed.
"Iight, man. I gotchu. You ready?" He asked.
"Yeah, bruh." I said as I headed down the steps.
"Markell, I'm sorry!" I heard Kamille's voice.
I ran down faster with Rex close behind and we both stood in front of a gun-wielding Markell.
"Oh, what's this?" Rex said pulling out his nine, and aiming it at Markell, the same time I did.
"Ahhh... The case of a bitter ex. Wassup, Markeezy? Still harboring resentment, cuh?" I smirked.
"Nah. I'm harboring your baby moms and your child, nigga. I can wipe that smile off ya face with one pull of this trigger. Keep thinking shit is funny."
He spat.
I saw that he was sweating bullets. The nigga looked scared and I wanted to fuck with him a bit.
"Awwww... You mad I fucked the love of your life and made her play you ? Damn Markeezy. I ain't know you was still hurt, Brody." I laughed.
Rex laughed too.
"Aug, don't!" Kamille screamed .
Markell gnawed at his lower lip in angst then pushed the barrel of the gun into Kamille's temple.
"Oh you wanna laugh even harder?! I got a joke right here-"
Pop!
I looked in disbelief as Markell's body went limp and he fell backwards.
I looked to my left at Rex, who was looking back at me with a raised eyebrow.
"That would've been Kamille's ass, bro. You gotta think quick with crazy niggas like that."
"Good lookin out, my nigga." I gave him a manly hug... No gay shit.
"Anything for my bro's little sister. You comfort ya wifey and baby... Ima go get shit cleaned up upstairs with the police, cuz you know they comin. Yall head on out as fast as y'all can. I got this. Rex can talk his way up outta everything." He gave me a dap.
"I owe you my life, boy." I spoke.
"Nah man... Just go check up on ya wifey... She lookin out of it right now. Just remember, this too shall pass... Life is gonna go on after tonight. It's gonna be a hard road to recovery but y'all gonna be alright. Aight?" Rex spoke.
"Yeah, no doubt. Thanks again, Rex." I said one last time before rushing over to Kamille.
"You good, ma?" I asked.
She looked up at me.
"Yeah.. I'm good. Thanks, Aug." she finally spoke.
I cradled my bawling son.
"Daddy's here,King. I promise, this time I'm not going anywhere, no matter what mommy does, okay? I'm sorry for everything, but just know daddy loves you and mommy with all of his heart. You gonna grow up with your father around." I kissed him, calming him down.
I looked over at Kamille's boyfriend and couldn't help but feel bad.
She didn't even want to look at him. Her face stayed in her knees while tears ran down her cheeks.
Tonight was a wild night... But the people that mattered to me were still alive, and that's all I cared about.
***
KAMILLE
I was glad Aug and Rex came through.
However...my heart was still damaged knowing that I would never hear Shaquille's voice or feel his touch ever again.
I had butterflies in my stomach and I felt sick.
"Kami...?" Aug spoke.
I wiped my tears and looked at him with tired, hurt eyes.
"Let's go home."
Honestly... Coming from his mouth, nothing sounded better.
"That's all I want, right now."
***