Watching the documentary with Melissa's parents, Jionni realized by their silence how much danger she was in. They didn't speak. Afterwards, he offered little comfort for a crying Maria and Rosa.
"Look, I know y'all 'ont like me and all, but I just needed y'all to see it for y'allselves."
"So lets call the police." Rodrigo urged.
"See, dey' not gone take him in. He aint Benjamin no mo'." Jionni said. "Dey ain't gone take him in since he changed his ID."
"So what do we do?" Maria asked.
Jionni stood up, fixing his jacket. He wanted to take a rope and strangle Ray himself. Obviously, he wanted to avoid going to jail again.
"I'ma at least alert da' cops so they'll be aware." He said, heading towards the door.
"Jionni." Rodrigo said.
Turning to him, it was the first kind words Rodrigo spoke to him.
"Thank you. Keep an eye on her while we can't, okay?"
"I always have. And always will." Jionni said, smiling afterwards.
Having a smoke session at Trina's apartment, Melissa spoke to her about Jionni's run in.
"Then he came in there with a fucking gun. I swore he was gonna shoot him then and there!" Melissa shouted, blowing smoke out her nose. "He drops the gun, says that it was empty, then says that it was a joke?"
"That shit sounds like a movie!" Trina laughed. "A serial killer?"
"He's starting to become scary obsessed and I think i'm gonna file a restraining order!"
Taking another puff, Melissa blew smoke holes from her mouth.
"Oh shit bitch. Who taught you how to do that?" Trina grinned.
"Hehe. Jionni." Melissa giggled, under the influence.
"But seriously girl, i'ma tell him to chill out. He doing too much."
"Please do. Cause he ain't listening to me."
But Jionni's anger dawned on her. His assertiveness struck nervousness in her. Once Melissa was alone, she searched the episode Jionni requested.
She watched.
Videos of the man at large sounded just like Ray. After 2 years of dating the man, she knew everything about him. His posture. His walk. His phrases.
She knew it was him.
Then Melissa remembered a chilling statement he made before.
"We gotta visit the closest river when we get there. I got a few old papers to dump." Ray mentioned, packing his bag.
"Why not just dump the items back in the trash?" Melissa asked.
"Because people are nosy."
Looking through Ray's bags, she noticed nothing is out of the ordinary. Colognes, shirts, and pants were the only thing in his bags.
Then, it was an opened envelope.
Pouring the contents out, the paper contained cut up pieces of identification cards. After spending an hour piecing the items together, three identifications emerged.
The ID's of the missing women.
Melissa's heart sank. Before everything could register, she heard Ray unlocking the door.
"Babe?"
Scooping the pieces back into her hands, she grabbed the envelope and sprinted into the bathroom.
"Uh, babe, where's the lotion??" Melissa shouted from the bathroom. "I um, looked in your suitcase and didn't see it?"
"I took it with me!" Ray said, standing by the bathroom door. "What you doin', getting dressed?"
"About to shower!"
"Oh alright. I brought back wings!"
Sitting on the tub in fear, Melissa knew that it was time to turn him in. First, she sent Jionni a text.
"You were right. I'm so sorry. Please call the police, Jionni. I'm in the bathroom."
3 minutes later, officers entered the hotel room. Grabbing Ray by his wrists, he was blindsided by the arrest.
"What the hell?" Ray asked, looking away. "What are you doing?"
"Sir, what is your name?" One of the officers asked.
"Ray Gordon!"
"It's not." Melissa said, stepping out of the bathroom.
Hesitant, she handed the officers the envelope.
"Babe, what are you doing?" Ray asked. "What's going on?"
"You know already, Benjamin."
The officers read Ray his rights while they escorted him out of the room.
"Ma'am, we're gonna need to interview you further into the investigation if everything pans out. Okay?"
"Thanks."
As expected, Jionni was there.
Not knowing what to say, he gazed at Melissa as she sat by the window, mouth covered by her knuckles. Her boyfriend of two-years, was gone. Her world had done a 180° turn. Sitting beside her, she barely acknowledged Jionni.
"Lissa." He murmured to her.
She said nothing. Jionni smiled, leaning away from her.
"You' still the same Lissa, I tell you. Stubborn."
"You just couldn't stand to see me happy, could you?" Melissa scoffed, turning sharply towards him.
"Happy? Ya' boyfriend was a damn serial killer!" Jionni argued. "You not thinkin' with common sense!"
"But even before that, you meddled in. You wouldn't leave me alone. You practically bothered me constantly because I was with somebody else. Why?" Melissa asked. "I mean its been 5 years. Does it really bother you to see me happy with somebody else?"
"Yeah it do." Jionni admitted, not caring. "You mine. You know that."
Melissa shook her head, focusing back out of the window.
"But for real Lissa, thats how you fuckin' felt about me? A psychopath?" Jionni asked, angered by her comment. "Das' how you REALLY felt even after all that shit we done went through? Like dat' shit really hurt my feelings. What was you before me?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. What was you before me?"
"A girl who got better grades and didn't smoke. Don't flatter yourself."
"Real shit, Lissa? Fuck that. Who taught you how to style yourself? How to express yo'self? How to not take no shit from no nigga, bitch, or even yo' own family?" Jionni rambled, turning her chin towards him to look her in her eye. "Who taught you how to listen to whatever music you like?"
Viciously turning away from him, Jionni continued to try to get through to her.
"I taught you how t'fuck too but too bad you was doin' it with another nigga-"
"Get the fuck out of my face, Jionni!" Melissa snapped.
"I'm in ya' fuckin' face, Melissa." Jionni snapped back.
Melissa shook her head and turned away in frustration, wanting Jionni to leave.
Tears began to well in Melissa's eyes as she continued to gaze out of the window.
"You been treatin' me like i'm some random nigga like wasn't bound by tha' hip all throughout high school." Jionni expressed. "I'm never gone stop protectin' you, no matter how stubborn your ass act."
Tears began to well in Melissa's eyes as she continued to gaze out of the window.
"I just found out my boyfriend of two years is a murderer. Give me some time, alright?" Melissa said, voice gurgling from her tears.
Opening his arms to her, she hugged him as tight as she could, letting all of her tears soak on his shoulders. It wasn't an easy thing to register.
But she had someone there to help her cope.