C H A P T E R | NINETEEN
GOTTA GO, GOTTA LEAVE
𝙲 𝙰 𝚁 𝚃 𝙴 𝚁 𝙼 𝙴 𝙺 𝙷 𝙸
CARTER made his way over to Harlem by the time night fell, forgetting that he had promised Destini he'd be back in time for dinner. He didn't have time for her complaints right now though, he had business to take care of with Judas. Carter climbed the stairs of the home where the culprits were staying - - some nasty ass apartment building in Harlem that looked as if it had been forgotten for years. His appearance was different than the environment that he was surrounded in - - drastically different compared to the gritty neighborhood.
"So this is where ya'll niggas been hiding out at?" Carter stood in front of two young Hispanic guys in their cramped kitchen, "Who the fuck they with, Ju?" He turned to Judas to ask, "Who sent them for me? Better yet," he grabbed the stringy hair of one of the youngsters and pulled back roughly, "You tell me yourself. Who you fucking work for? I know two small time niggas like you didn't pull this shit without no muscle behind you."
"They ain't talking, son," Judas said, "All day and not a word."
"No? Well maybe," Carter yanked one by his hair over to the stove, "That's because we aren't making them talk - - asking the right questions."
"What the fuck are you about to do man!" The other one screamed but got a mouthful of Judas's pistol.
"Shut the fuck up," said Judas to the one he had hit, "Nobody asked you shit, nigga."
"Let's see if he'll talk now," Carter turned on the stove's front burner and the flame ignited, heating up quickly. He pushed the viles of crack and the coffee pot they had been using to cook it in, away, "Get on your knees, muhfucka," he pushed him down when he didn't comply, "Ju looks like we gotta teach these young niggas some discipline." Carter looked down at him, "Who you fucking work for? Who sent you to kill me?" He waited a few seconds before he forcibly slammed the man's face down on the burner.
A loud scream shattered the silence of the room, "Ahhhh! Fuck! I'm burning! I'm burning! My face!"
"No shit Sherlock," Carter said, "Now tell me who the fuck you roll with and I'll let your ass go."
"Don't say shit!" The other one screamed, "Man don't say shit!"
"Judas," Carter turned around, "Kill his ass," in less than two seconds Carter heard Judas's gun fire a shot - - right in the forehead and knocked the man down onto the ground. His body slumped against the wall, blood sliding down with him when he made his final decent, "Thank you - - now that you realized we not playing," he turned back to the man on the stove and pulled his head up, "Who the fuck sent you to the court that day? Huh?"
He took a big gulp of air and the tears started falling from his eyes, "Please Carti," he cried, "Please - - don't kill me. I got a girlfriend - - and a baby - - and - -,"
"Were you thinking about them other people who had girlfriends, babies, and lives when you shot up a fuckin' court filled with people, huh?" He licked his lips and pressed his face against the burner again, "Did you stop when they were running and screaming - - all that shit just to get to me and for what? So you can get your fuckin' face scolded and die like a bitch in your own fuckin' kitchen? You killed a fuckin' innocent kid." Carter pulled him off of the burner again, ignoring the blood and burned skin.
"Now I'm giving you one last fuckin' chance ese, tell me who the fuck you work for or else you end up like your friend over there," he turned his face toward the dead man in the corner, "That what you want? You tell me and I'll let you live."
"Mateo!" The man cried out, "Mateo sent us to do the job - - we worked for Mateo," Carter licked his plump lips and looked over at Judas standing in the doorway.
"Mateo," Carter repeated, "Fucking Mateo."
"Please don't kill me - - please," Carter pushed the man's head away from him and turned his back, hearing him clamoring on the floor behind him.
He walked over to where Judas stood and looked at him, "This muhfucka Mateo wants war with me," he shook his head, "I'm not having anotha' incident like what happened at the fuckin' court."
"We wont," Judas said, "You know I got your back, bro," Carter grabbed the back of Judas's neck and nodded.
"I know," he said, "I know." Carter looked over his shoulder and let Judas go, "Do him."
"No! Please! Don't! I told you what you wanted to know!"
"You killed an innocent kid, you got my brother shot, and you could have killed me," Carter said with a stone face looking at the man in his graveling state, "And you honestly think I'm gonna let you live?"
"You told me if I told you who I worked for you would!"
"Yeah," Carter shrugged, "Life's a bitch and then you die muhfucka," his tongue swiped over his bottom lip and looked at Judas, "Do him. I'm done with this shit," Judas nodded and cocked his gun in the direction of the wounded man and like that he was gone. One shot straight through the head and he was just like his friend - - laid out dead in the kitchen.
"What you want me to do with the bodies?" Judas asked as they exited the kitchen.
"Burn the whole house," Carter said, "I'm going home," he dapped Judas up and opened the front door, trying to ignore Judas's looks but he couldn't for long, "Home, home, Ju."
"Make sure you do," said Judas as he rounded up the other men that would help him burn the evidence.
"Yeah - - tell ma I said I'm gonna come see her sometime next week, aight?" Judas nodded and dapped Carter up one last time before Carter was ushered into the Rolls Royce that was waiting for him.
He slid into the car's leather arms and the door was closed behind him, a million things running through his mind. His eyes watched as the city lights passed him and he began to think about the incident back at the court and about tonight. Somebody wanted him dead - - that much was obvious. Carter ran his hands over his face, trying to ignore the demons that haunted him for his past deeds and rested his head against the leather head-rest to close his eyes. The minute he closed them he felt his phone vibrate in his lap.
Message Received 12:23 A.M.
Sender: Stoni
Message: Papi come see me.
Message Sent 12:30 A.M.
Message: Working baby doll...
Part of him felt bad for lying to Stoni but he knew he needed to go home especially after taking that trip to Paris and being away for so long. Besides, he'd promised Judas that he would go home to Destini and he promised Destini he'd make it home for dinner which he didn't but he wanted it to count for something that he'd showed up anyway. He had a lot of shit on his mind that he just didn't feel like talking to Stoni or anybody else and for the first time in a long time, home was were he wanted to be most.
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She wasn't sure why she kept doing this to herself and her children. Why did she keep putting herself through hell when she knew that Carter would only keep putting her through it even more. For every hurt that she had - - he had one ten times worse for her to feel and it never stopped. Destini wrapped the silk Vera Wang robe around her body and stood outside on their balcony looking out at the lake on their property beyond the golf course. Sighing she looked down at the thin stick in her hand and brought it up to her lips and inhaled; she hadn't smoked in about a year but the craving always came back when the times got rough.
Destini plopped down in the chair on the balcony and closed her eyes to take in the solitude and quietness of the night. She couldn't hear anything but crickets chirping and fish moving around in the water outside in the lake, all of nature's beautiful soundtracks. Destini inhaled the weed smoke and calmly blew out what was left. By this point she was in a mellow state but it was a depressive mellow.
"It's Wednesday," she said as she put her feet up in the chaise that cost more than it should have, "Gardenia day," Destini slowly opened her eyes and touched the white gardenia she had put in her hair - - every Wednesday he sent them. He didn't even have to say a word for her to know he was there; when she opened her eyes and turned to the door Carter stood there with his tie resting on his shoulder, collared shirt unbuttoned, and out his pants, "And you send me these fuckin' flowers," she whispered, "But you can barely remember where you live."
"I got caught up again," Carter said, "I got Brooklyn back in school today."
"Thank you, Carter," Destini took a long toke, "Thank you for doing what you were supposed to do - - would you like a medal for that? A brownie for actually being there and being her father?" She shook her head, "The poor girl thinks you hate her."
"We talked, Des," he walked out on the balcony a little more, "Me and her - - we're good now," Carter walked up behind her on the chaise and massaged her shoulders, "What you smoking? I thought you quit."
"I thought you did too," she said and instantly his massage stopped for a moment - - he knew what she meant. Destini extended the blunt to him and he took it and inhaled, "Carter," she spoke calmly, "You are breaking me down," he watched the smoke blow from his lips and out into the abyss and then took a few more tokes until he felt it working it's mellow magic. The only reason why she was so calm was because of it, "You didn't come home for dinner. Your word means nothing to me - - do you understand that?"
"Baby," he put the blunt in the ashtray and kissed her neck, "I know you're sick and tired of me not being here but you know the nature of the business."
"Is it the business?" She said, "Is it always the business? Sometimes I think you blame things on the business that are all your doing. I've been hearing things about you. About some girl - - some girl out of Harlem - - some Dominican bitch. Tell me it's not true, Carter," she sighed and watched as he squirmed his way into her lap beginning to feel the weed even more.
"Destini please," he whispered, "I'm beggin' you, ma."
"No don't Destini please me," she said, "Get off," she pushed him a little, "You'll do anything to avoid telling me the truth won't you?"
"Cause you'on want the truth."
"What I want," she looked away and shook her head, "What I want is for you to stop fuckin' this family over."
"I work myself to the bone for you and the girls - - I give you all this," he pointed, "Took us from nothing to all this - - I'm not perfect," his hand went for the ribbon of her robe and it came undone revealing her nakedness to him. Carter's kisses made their way down her chest while his hand rubbed between her thighs and he heard a light moan escape her lips.
"You're right - - you're just a man. And money don't buy love," he slowly lifted up his head, "Them bitches didn't love you before you had all this like I did. Cause whether we were in the poor house or the white house I loved yo' ass - - for you - - for Carter - - not what he could do for me," she pushed him off of her and stood up, "You think you can fix everything with your big dick and your money - - well you can't - - you just fuckin' can't!"
Carter got up from the chaise and followed her inside, "Destini," he said, "Destini - - please don't do this, aight?" He grabbed her shoulders and kissed her neck, "Please just - - just don't."
A tear rolled down her eyes as she looked away, "Fine, I won't," something told her she didn't want to know the truth even though she'd known it, "But she's not the only one I heard about - - something came for me today," Destini pressed play on the DVD player and on the screen popped a video footage of he and Aiko.
"Where the fuck did you get this?!"
"It showed up on my fuckin' doorstep today! With my name on it and a letter." He scrambled around trying to get the remote but she wouldn't let him have it, "No! I want you to watch it! What you can't handle what you've done?! Huh?! You weren't looking away when you were fucking her, were you!?"
"Turn it off Destini!" Carter screamed, "Turn that shit off!"
"Why!? You've made a fool of me! Don't you enjoy it?! Carter you been fuckin' this family over time after time! I'm losing my fuckin' mind! I'm losing it! I sat here all fuckin' night thinking about how I was gonna kill you!"
"I said turn it off!" He screamed back at her and then ripped the DVD player out the wall and threw it down on the floor where it smashed to pieces. Destini cried and collapsed on the floor with her head down, beating the floor with a closed fist as she sobbed.
"Don't you break another gotdamn thing!"
"I paid for EVERYTHING in this house! I can break whatever the fuck I want!"
"I don't give a fuck what you paid for! I don't give a fuck! Get...out...of...this... room," she moaned through her tears, "Get out of my sight - - I want you out of my life," slowly she sat up, tears running down her cheeks, "And you tell that bitch Aiko when I find her ass," Destini spoke calmly, "I'm gon kill her so she better sleep with one eye open," Destini had never felt so disrespected in her life, "I'm gon kill her."
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Khloe's eyes peered in through the crack in the door as she stood there awakened by her parents argument. She saw the whole thing right before her eyes and could barely speak - - her mommy was crying on the floor while her father was in a rage, breaking and throwing things. The DVD player wasn't the only thing that he had broken - - he'd broken mommy too. She ran back into her room when she saw Carter heading for the door.
"Don't cry, Lo," Brooklyn said as she sat up in her bed, "Mommy will forgive him," Khloe turned and saw Brooklyn awake.
"Not this time," Khloe cried, "She won't. She'll make daddy go away and we'll never see him again."
"Yes she will," said Brooklyn as she pulled back the covers and let Khloe get in her bed with her, "She always forgives daddy."
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