ZAHRIAH CRUZ
At the sound of the door creaking, I quickly shoved my phone under my pillow and lifted my head up towards the television. As Dominic made his way out of the bathroom; the steam began to pour out with him. My eyes wandered over to where he stood, towel wrapped around his lower half, water still coating his skin. I bit down on my lip watching him as he walked over to place a kiss upon my lips. "How are you feeling?" he asked, giving me one last kiss before he stood back up and headed over to where his duffle bag was.
"Hmm, still a bit weak." I answered, although it was far from the truth. I was perfectly fine, in fact; I never normally got sick quite often. However, Dominic didn't need to know that yet. I needed him to believe that I was staying home because I was unwell and not because there was a psycho on the loose that was practically out to destroy him and God knows whatever else. I needed to be home for the sake of his protection and would pretend to be sick for as long as I needed to.
That day after rushing home from the station, I knew better than to come clean and tell him. I knew that if I was truthful Dominic would run. I knew that if he ran there was no telling when or where I'd be able to find him. I don't know if it was selfish or fear but I felt that in that moment it was the right thing for me to do without a doubt. What also made things better was the fact that Dominic didn't want to watch or hear the news, he said he trusted that if he needed to worry; I would let him know, until then he didn't want to see the negative stories that the news had to offer.
For now, Dom was focused on his online training. It was going on his fourth day and he seemed quite excited for the journey. Every morning he'd wake up as early as he did today, do a workout in the living room, shower, maybe squeeze in a quickie then get onto his training.
Chris had me working from home, mainly reports being as it was crunch time and most of the team was actually on the streets looking for Anaya, her father, mother and sister. Yara and Paula Caldwell were wanted for questioning, them disappearing right in the middle of this mess made them definite suspects. That along with the fact that we were in search of a recent picture of her, they had done a social media sweep and she was completely two steps ahead of us. Witnesses were able to describe her to our forensic artist but that didn't cut it, we needed something recent.
I had gone back and forth with myself about asking Dom because I was sure he would have something or know where to go. However, asking him would open up a whole can of worms that I wasn't ready for. It wasn't as if I could just ask him to see it, I needed a physical copy or something close to send over to Chris and soon. We just didn't know of any other ways of how to get it, so the sketch as all we had for now.
On the bright side, Dominic's involvement had faded somewhat in the background after the testimonies given by his mother, friend and Uriah. However, he was still guilty until proven otherwise which is what Chris was trying to clear up.
This morning Chris had finally broken through with getting in touch with the family's home security provider. Although the murder of Thompson didn't take place anywhere near where she lived, after hearing those witness statements they couldn't miss a single step. Every single move Anaya made needed to be tracked if we were going to find her and if we were going to work at closing this case, with all the other supporting factors it was almost certain that this was a set up and had been the entire time. We were just waiting for the glue, that would make it all stick; especially with the chief that wanted nothing more than for us to wrap this thing up and quick. If there was one thing he hated, it was a case getting cold.
"I'm about to get dressed and make you some soup, again."
"No, there's no need for that." I shook my head. "I can get up and grab something to eat when I'm ready. I'm kind of feeling for waffles anyways."
"Belgian?" he raised his brow and smirked.
"You know it." I gave him a little slow-motion nod, giggling at the look of excitement on his face.
"You sure you got the energy for that? I can always watch a YouTube video and learn."
"No, that's alright. I think I got enough strength to whip it up." I removed the comforter from over my legs and crawled off of my bed. Stretching at the fact that it felt good as hell to just be able to stand without him forcing me back into bed. If I would've known Belgian waffles was all it would take, I would've volunteered so much sooner. "Why is it that you insist on living out of that bag. I told you so many times before, it's okay if you unpack."
"I don't want to rid you of your space. I'm just a guest here."
"Oh, please Dominic." I rolled my eyes. "Unpack that bag and get rid of that old duffle bag, already!"
I headed for the bathroom and handled my little hygiene routine and took a good shower before making my way into the kitchen. Dominic stood by the inspiration wall for a bit with his eyes closed, redoing that little exercise we had done before.
Not wanting to disturb him I began to slowly and quietly take out everything I needed in order to make the waffles. I also made a mental note of the fact that I needed to run to the grocery store as soon as possible. With the both of us being home, we were running low on basically everything. Which was expected, but the worse timing.
"Everything okay?" I asked, watching Dominic turn away from the wall, finally coming over to join me.
"Hmm, I don't know. I'm having trouble shaking this feeling."
"What feeling is it?"
"I don't know?" he shrugged, "I just feel in the pit of my stomach like something bad is about to happen."
I froze for a moment, then gazed up at him. "What do you mean?"
"Not sure." He answered, "it's as if this feeling has replaced those brief episodes I've been having. Although they aren't as frequent, this feeling is something I can't seem to shake." I took in a deep breath then leaning against the counter, "remember that day you came home early?" he asked.
"Yeah," I nodded, returning my attention back to prepping.
"And I told you while I was napping, I heard those two loud gun shots."
"Mhmm." I nodded, following his every word. "You said you heard it in your nightmare, right?"
"That's what I've been having trouble with." He pointed, "it sounded a bit too real, to be just a bad dream."
"What do you think it was?" I asked.
"I'm... I'm not even sure. I'm tryna wrap my head around it, because I think that's the root of shaking this feeling. You know?"
"I know." I said, in agreeance. "You do also gotta keep in mind that you're so adamant on watching all those gansta movies with the volume at 100!" Dominic chuckled, "I keep telling you, this surround sound is nothing to play with."
"You right," he laughed. "Maybe that is what it is. I think I was watching John Wick when I fell asleep, too."
"There you go! That could be it."
"It could," he glanced over at the clock, "I should probably get set up now. Huh?"
"Yeah, you should." I looked up at the clock as well, "how long is today's training. The full 8-hours again?"
"Yeah." He said before yawning, "7 hours of those presentations, case studies and keynote speakers, then the last for the questionnaire."
"How's it been so far? I know I asked last night but I just want to be sure that you like it."
"I love it, I've been reading into some of the example case studies and they're definitely interesting."
"I see that, you wouldn't stop talking about it last night."
"How is that possible? I was far too busy eating your p-."
"Shit!" I groaned, throwing my head back. "We're out of milk." I held up the carton and shook it.
"My bad." He reached over for the carton, tossing it out for me. "When I was making your cereal yesterday, I must've forgotten the carton by accident."
"It's fine." I said, looking down at the ingredients I had available. The almond milk was something I couldn't skip, "I guess I gotta go out and get some. We're running low on a lot anyways."
"Why don't we do the groceries tomorrow? We get paid weekly and I get my first e-cheque and you can deposit it into your account. That way I can help out around here."
"No Dominic, there's no need for that."
"Why not? It's the least I can do."
"Well, for starters... I want my waffles right now. Second of all... that's it, I just want my waffles."
"Of course," he smirked. "Fine, but next time groceries are on me."
"Look at you, balling and everything now. Huh?"
"But you knew that." He held up his chain and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Such a loser, ugh." I playfully rolled my eyes, "you get set up for work. I'll head out now before the grocery store gets busy."
"Iight." Dominic leaned down to kiss my cheek then walked over to where I had set up a little office area for him. It was the greatest but it would do for now, I planned on grabbing something from IKEA just to make it more professional, but I hadn't gotten the time with everything else going on.
Now that I thought about it... I could kill two birds with one stone. IKEA was not too far from my local grocery store anyway. So, while I had the chance, I might as well handle it.
I got dressed in a pair of tights and one of Dominic's freshly washed shirts, tucking his chain into the collar of it. I let my curls hang freely as well, being as it was nothing but a quick errand run. I stuck my feet into my Vapormaxes then grabbed my key, phone and purse.
Once I got into the living room, Dominic had already started his session. Seeing him so focused and ready made me so happy, matter of fact it made me feel a lot of other things as well. Seeing his intelligence displayed was always such a turn-on for me. I, had to keep it together though, because last thing I wanted to do was distract him.
I walked over to where he sat taking notes, and kissed him a couple of times. Dom rested his hand against the small of my back, pulling me in for a much more intimate one before he let go. "I'll see you soon." I whispered.
"See you soon, be safe."
"Will do."
"And pick up more cereal as well."
"I will." I laughed, opening up the door and stepping out into the hallway. I made sure to lock up, double checking the lock just be certain then finally got onto the elevator.
Going down, I stopped at the lobby just to check if I had any mail waiting for me, I pretty much just expected bills anyways but unfortunately, I couldn't avoid them as much as I wanted to. As I stepped off the elevator, the concierge quickly waved me over.
"Ms. Cruz, so sorry to bother you." He said.
"Not to worry." I inched closer, "Is everything okay?"
"Slightly..." he answered, "I'm just wondering if you saw the tenant of apartment 4408, recently? We've gotten a call from his mother earlier today and haven't been able to get a hold of him."
"Oh," my brows furrowed. "That's strange. I did hear some noise last night and the night before... it seems as if he's there. It sounded like furniture being moved around to be honest with you."
"Oh, hmm... okay. I'm currently working the desk alone until 2pm. I'd love to go up and just check, but I-."
"Don't worry about it." I said, "I'm going to just run this quick errand and as soon as I come back, I will go on over and pay him a visit. I'm sure he's alright though, sometimes we just need to unplug; I guess."
"Fair enough, thank you for that Ms. Cruz."
"Don't mention it." I waved, while heading over to my mailbox. Thankfully, it was empty this time around. Shutting it back, I trotted over to the stairs and went down to wear my car was parked, hopping in.
While pulling out, I couldn't help but take a look at that girl's license plate yet again. I don't know what it was, but no matter how much I tried to mind my business; I just wanted to run those plates. I had no reason to do so yet, but it was good to know that I had it if anything.
Waving off the craziest ideas of this random girl, I pulled out and finally began my journey to the grocery store. Just as I merged into traffic, it finally hit me; today was Dominic's birthday.
ANAYA CALDWELL
"That looks nothing like me." I laughed at the dumbass sketch displayed on the news, while reaching over to for my cup filled with 1942. I leaned back on the couch just shaking my head at the disrespect. "It's time they hire a new artist cause, at this rate; I could walk in public and be good to go." I chuckled, bringing the cup up to me lips.
As the burning sensations ran down my throat, I glanced over at the balcony to see the rolled-up carpet that sat on the concrete. I knew I was eventually going to have to dispose of it properly, but the smell was beginning to get to me and I needed it out as quickly as possible; so, I did the next thing available. I wrapped his body up in garbage bags and rolled it up in the ugly ass carpet he had in this living room before. It needed to be gone anyways, and luckily; I had my old one to replace the empty spot on the ground.
By the time I finished cleaning up my mess, doing laundry and getting that out of the way; the house now felt brand new. With the help of readjusting some furniture; it was now comfortable, chic and so me.
"Breaking news... the police are currently still in the search for Anaya Caldwell, age 24. Witnesses describe her to be around 5"3, medium complexion, dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. They are working tirelessly to get an updated picture for the public's sake and are asking if you know anything that could help, to come forward at this time. Anaya along with her father, Stephan Kidman are described to be dangerous and couple potentially be armed. Please do not approach them, if you see them you are advised to call Crime Stoppers."
"Oh, please." I rolled my eyes.
"Yara and Paula Caldwell are also still at large and wanted for questioning, along with the Notorious Dominic Alexander."
"Oh, look at my baby, mmm." I smiled at the sight of his mug shot. "Don't you look good as hell. Happy birthday baby!"
Suddenly, there it was; the sound I had been waiting for. I shut off the TV and jumped to my feet, running over to the peephole to see Zahriah leaving. I watched as she closed the door a couple of times before heading down the hall towards the elevator. It had been days since she last left and I knew this before I hadn't slept a minute since, I was waiting for this moment right here.
I tossed whatever was in my cup all over me and walked over to the kitchen, grabbing a knife from the drawers. Standing in front of the mirror and let out a deep sigh, "whatever I gotta do for you, Dom." I quickly stuck the knife into the side of my belly and groaned out so loud, that I had to cover my mouth with my free hand. The pain was excruciating, nothing could've prepared me for it.
I removed the knife and tossed it over to the side somewhere, before dragging myself over to the door. I opened it up and mustered up enough strength to get to the front of Zahriah's door. I rested my head against it and looked down at my bloody hand, that I used to knock as hard as I could. Tears began to run down my cheek uncontrollably, "Dominic." I sobbed, "it's Anaya! Please, open the door!"
Almost suddenly, the door opened and I stumbled into his arms. "Anaya, what the hell are yo- what the hell happened?!" he exclaimed realizing the blood. "What...who did this to you?!"
"...T...the...neigh..bour." I grunted, feeling the pain continue to pulsate through my abdomen area. "He... li...lied...and. told me ... he ... knew... where... you... were." I took a deep breath once again, "he... tr...ied... to ra..pe me... and whe...en I didn...didn't le..et hi..m... he s...tabb..ed me." I looked down at my belly and watched Dominic's eyes widened, realizing the bump. "I ...th..ink... I lost... the...baby..."
"No, no, no, no, no you didn't." he shook his head. "No, you didn't. Where is he?" I could see the anger written all over his face.
"I hit him... with a b..ottle... then... ran ...out."
"Stay here!" he said, trying to place me to sit on one of the couches.
"No... please, Dominic, just call 911."
"For what?! Do you see what he did?!" Dominic insisted, that I sit, giving me no other choice.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean for ...this...to ...ha..ppen." I continued to keep my hand on the wound.
"Don't apologize Anaya! Just stay right here! Keep pressure on the wound until I come back." He marched out of the apartment, slamming the door shut. Using all my strength, I stood to my feet and shuffled to make my way over to the door.
Finally, I had opened it and looked out the hallway to see Dominic, not at the door or apartment whatsoever. Turning to the other side, there he was climbing onto the elevator. "DOMINIC!" I yelled.
"My mama warned me about you! It's clear you need to get yourself some help, iight?"
"Where the fuck do you think you're going?!" I screamed, "You are not about to leave me again!"
"Far away from here! Even if it means in cuffs. Thank God, you took away the last thing that linked me to your crazy ass." He stepped onto the elevator and before I could even think to run over to it, the doors closed.
"UGH!" I screamed, struggling back into the apartment. My eyes quickly saw the screen of the laptop I'm guessing, he was at; the news article right there and center. I dragged my body over to it, tossing it off the desk and onto the floor. I began to breathe heavily, trying to quickly think of what to do next.
That's when it hit me. I grabbed the throw from off of the couch and wrapped it around my wound tight enough for the added pressure. It was painful but this would hold me over for a bit.
I made it back over to Phillips apartment and hissed out a sigh as I picked up his phone from the couch. It had been on DND for the last couple of days due to his annoying ass mother flooding him with calls. I quickly opened it up and dialed 911, placing the phone up to my ear.
"911, What's your emergency?"
"I just saw Dominic Alexander on Jarvis." I said.
"What was he wearing?"
"White shirt, grey sweats, no shoes... there are blood stains on his hands and shirt."
"Was he going north or south?"
"I'm not even sure, I just know I saw him leave the Terrace Condominiums."
"Thank you, ma'am, we appreciate your call."
I hung up and tossed the phone across the room, picking up Phillip's keys as well. I stepped out of the unit and slammed the door shut. "This nigga thought I was joking when I said he wasn't going to leave me again, huh?!"
ZAHRIAH CRUZ
"Hmm, should I go for red velvet or vanilla?" I asked myself, staring at the beautiful cakes on display. "Dominic seems like a basic ass vanilla guy to me. So, vanilla... it...i-" My phone buzzed in my pocket, stopping me just in time from picking up the cake. "Hmm, guess it's red velvet then."
I reached into my pocket and took out my phone to see Chris' contact on display. Raising it to my ear, I used my shoulder to keep it up before saying, "hello?"
"Zahriah, are you busy?"
"No, why? What's going on?" I could hear the panic in my voice.
"We got the footage from the house. Anaya left that day, hoodie in hand. I've sent the clip to your email, you're not going to believe this."
"Oh, my goodness," I threw my head back with relief, "thank you Lord."
"Thank you, Lord is right, Dominic is now off the hook. We just gotta find Ana- hold on a minute." While he talked to whoever it was in the background, I picked up the cake and placed it into the shopping card. "Zahriah!" he exclaimed, causing me to jump.
"What? What is it?"
"I think we found Anaya!"
"What? Where?"
"We just got an anonymous tip call describing Dominic's location. You know they're going to bring him in for questioning just for the records sake."
"Of course." My brows lowered, "but... how did she describe his location? How does she know where he is?"
"She claimed that he was supposedly at the Terrace Condominiums... the call came from the Terrace Condominiums." He said, "it's a good think you're there with him bec-"
"Wait, WHAT?! She's at the condominiums?!"
"Apparently that's where the call came from, but not to worry keep the door locked until we get there."
"SHIT!" I ran away from the cart, through the crowded lines and towards the exit, sprinting until I got to the car. "Chris, I gotta call you back."
"Wait, why? Aren't you there with him?"
"No! I left to go grocery shopping." I started up the car, and sped out of the parking lot.
"I thought I told you to stay with him Zahriah!"
"I know! Ugh, can I just call you back?!"
"You know what? I'll just meet you there. Goodbye!"
And of course, on a day like today; I decided to go to the farther grocery store for the sake of getting the perfect cake.
I proceeded to speed through the traffic set before me, racing as best as I could to get back to my building. Although I had no lights, I could care less; I swerved when needed to and maneuvered my way through the busy streets until I finally pulled into the entrance of my building's roundabout driveway; I easily made a 30-minute drive into 15.
The entire street was filled with police cruisers, lights flashing to the point where it was almost blinding. I pushed through the group of worried tenants out front and made my way into the building, flashing my badge in order to gain access inside.
I could hear the mumbling of the other cops and by the looks of it, I could only assume that Dominic and Anaya were gone. There was no rush, there was no hustle and bustle; they all stood around with their notepads taking accounts from some of the staff and tenants.
"Zahriah." Randy called me over and said. The concierge by his side, pointing me out.
"Hey Randy..."
"Hey Z, concierge here said that the units involved included yours."
"Oh... oh really now?"
"Yeah?" he raised a brow, "before chief gets down here, I just want to ask... were you by any chance harboring a fugitive?"
"Wha...what are you even talking about?"
"He said that he saw you and Dominic on the camera twice." I locked eyes with the concierge who quickly looked away. "Zahriah, you know this could put you in a lot of trouble, right?" he grabbed hold of my arm and walked me away from the crowd, "look, we're friends... can you please tell me what is going on here?"
"I'd... love to, but I just can't right now." I looked over my shoulder at the sight of Chris alongside the chief.
"Why are we all standing around here?" the chief barked.
"Both units are clear." Our senior answered, "Both suspects have fled the area. From the playback we see that Caldwell we are assuming left by vehicle, Alexander by foot."
"I don't even care for Alexander right now," chief waved. "If this girl is as dangerous as you guys say she is, why the hell are all of you here?! Get to searching!"
"Chief!" a couple of my co-workers announced while coming out of the elevator, "we found a body in unit 4408."
"Is that yours?" Randy whispered, and I quickly shook my head.
Chief made his way onto the elevator to join them meanwhile Chris stayed back, searching around for who I assumed was me. I stepped out from the corner and waved him over, trying hard to ignore the angry glare he held.
Practically marching over to me, he shook his head. "One job." He said.
"I know and I'm so sorry. I was grocery shopping and today's his birthday so I wanted to do something nice." I began tearing up. "If I knew, I wouldn't have stayed, I swear."
"wait, is she talking about Dominic?" Randy inquired, causing Chris to look up in his direction.
"What are you talking about?" Chris asked.
"Dominic, we saw the unit... it's clear that he was living with Zahriah."
"Who saw the unit?" Chris continued.
"I... looked into the unit."
"Did you have a warrant to look through the unit?"
"We were looking for a suspect."
"After you were told he fled on foot or before?"
"After..."
"So like I asked, did you have a warrant to search a unit that wasn't involved in this crime?"
"N..no," his brows furrowed.
"Zahriah, did you give them permission to search your apartment?" I quickly shook my head.
"Alright, so then... what is this information you speak of?" Chris raised a brow, challenging Randy at this point. Randy however, fell silent. "Exactly, learn when to shut your mouth especially if it could be detrimental to the ones that would ride out for you if need be." He said low enough for only the two of us to hear, "now get out there and patrol, we got a suspect at large."
Randy waved him off and walked away from us, Chris waited for the coast to be clear before he looked down at me and pulled me over to one of the corners. Chris looked around his shoulder once more before speaking. "As long as Anaya wasn't in your unit, it isn't about of the crime scene. I'm going to work hard into getting your name cleared if it does happen to come up however."
"How will you? You heard Randy, right? Chief is going to charge me easily for harboring a fugitive."
"Not if you were being threatened ..."
"... what do you mean?"
"We'll find a story and run with it. Dominic was threatening you, you didn't know what to do so you kept it a secret until today."
"And how believable is that going to be?"
"Believable enough. If anything he'll catch a light charge and be out before you know it."
"I don't want to falsely accuse that man, he did nothing wrong."
"So, what do you want to do Zahriah? Serve time for keeping a wanted man hidden? Stripped of your badge and job at that? You want to tarnish your record for a man you barely even know?"
"Well, I did it... so, I don't see why not! I'm not about to have him go to jail again, not for something he didn't do. As we know, he's been set up consistently. I am not about to have it happen to him again. I knew it was wrong but I did it anyways, I deserve to serve the time."
"You're talking crazy now, Zahriah."
"No, it's fair. He's innocent, he doesn't deserve this."
"He will get over it." Chris said, growing agitated with me. Chris grabbed my wrist and looked me in the eyes. "Now, shut up and be grateful. Iight?"
"No..." I shook my head, "I will not be, I'm not letting him serve another damn sentence!" I exclaimed, snatching away from him.
"And this is why, I told you to keep it business related. I bet you opened your legs and caught feelings."
"Why is that even your business?"
"Because now you're standing here like booboo the damn fool, taking up for a man that couldn't stay out of jail to save his life! You heard his mother, you have seen his record. Get out of lala land for a minute and realize, regardless of now or later; he will end up in jail again. So, what good is it taking a sentence for someone that could and will easily be back to doing wrong in no time?"
"You said you believed he wanted to changed."
"Yeah, I'd say whatever possible to get in your pants Cruz."
"What the..." I looked at him as if he was crazy.
"All this to get you to notice me, to get you to pay attention at the fact that I've always went above and beyond for your loyalty, for your trust... for your love. Now I gotta stand here and really listen to you talk about some taking a charge for some aint shit nigga?" he scoffed, "you really are as dumb as they come." Without being able to control myself, I slapped him across his face so hard that I'm sure everyone could hear on the other side of the wall. Chris rubbed his jaw line and chuckled under his breath. "Randy!" he let out, turning his back to me and walking back over to where everyone was. I followed suit, with zero remorse. "Cuff her up." He pointed once he saw Randy.
"Do what you gotta do, ass hole" I held both my wrists up nonchalantly and waited until the cold steel finally, hit my wrists and locked tightly. "Remember, it takes two to tango. You knew just as much as I did and unlike you, I got zero feelings involved. I promise on everything I own; I will snitch." I said, causing his head to snap back just before Randy began to carry me out. "And you don't gotta pull me so hard!" I barked over at Randy.
"Chill, Z. I'm just doing my job."
"Your job would be reading me my rights before handcuffing me!"
"She's right." I heard someone within the ground say, causing the three of us to turn our heads. It was, chief. "She's right and both of you guys are beyond wrong." Chief stepped over to where we stood with his arms folded, "uncuff her." He said to Randy.
"Chief... I don't th-." Chris began to interject but chief finally raised his hand.
"I don't want to hear shit from you, I've heard enough on the other side of this wall. Enough to know how dirty your hands are in the midst of all of this. If you knew and encouraged it, you are just as dirty." He said.
"But I didn't actually do anything..."
"Yes, but you just admitted to knowing about it the entire time, not only that but using a case for your own personal gain; speaks a lot to your character. You didn't care about growing up in the company at all, it was all misogynistic for you."
"Chief, no... it wasn't like that at all."
"Save it Chris, I heard all I needed to hear. You're fired." He looked over at me, "you are also fired." He said.
"Now, if you'd excuse me. I have a case to handle here, which is not open to the public." He pointed at Randy, "you can guide him out, I will guide this one up to her unit."
"Sounds good, Chief."
Chris continued to cuss, both chief and I; meanwhile the both of us stepped onto the elevator taking opposite corners as it closed. Once it did, I let out a deep sigh. "I can do the time, I understand what I did was wrong."
"Dominic is no longer a wanted suspect, therefore arrested you would be pointless." He cleared his throat, "look, Kelise is a good friend of mine and when she called me earlier this morning; I just knew something was off." My brows furrowed, as I looked over at her. "She doesn't want you to throw your life away Zahriah and I, also agree. This is one of those bumps in the road that I can only hope and pray that you get over because not many people would be as forgiving as myself. You got a fresh new start ahead of you, if I were you; I'd steer clear of Alexander and accomplish those goals that you had in place before he came along. He was clearly a distraction. Your parents are rooting for you, don't let them down."
The elevator opened and silence fell between the two of us, he gestured for me to step out, which I did. There were a few people on scene taking pictures of the body bag that laid in the middle of Phillip's apartment. I covered my mouth and felt my eyes begin to well with tears.
"Miss, we can't have you up here." One of the detectives said.
"I... I was just going to my apartment." I pointed and said. "Is it clear to go?"
"You'll just be able to pick up a few items if need be, we need access for the sake of pictures. There's a trail leading inside your unit. We aren't sure of what we will find, but we will still need to go in there."
"Okay." I nodded, rushing for the door and stepping inside. The first thing I noticed automatically was the spots of blood that covered my couch and a floor. I stepped over it see the laptop on the floor along with Dominic's notebooks. No matter how much I didn't want them snooping, there was clearly a lot to see here. I knew this place was now technically apart of the crime scene.
Backing away, I headed for the door but just before I could; I noticed the sticky note right in the middle of my inspiration wall. With knitted brows I walked over to it, and peeled it off of the wall. In Dominic's small handwriting the note said. 'What is trust?' I read, in his voice.
DOMINIC ALEXANDER
My chest heaved as I ran into the back of the building, shutting the door behind me. Once, I knew I was safe and finally inside I let out a long, overdue sigh, wiping the sweat from my brow. I leaned against the wall just trying my best to gather myself after running so far.
"I know that aint who I think it is." I heard a familiar voice say. I picked my head up to be greeted by the grin that once welcomed me many years ago. "Almost got shot." He pointed towards his gun that he now tucked into his waist band, surrounded him were about ten other guys that he waved away once he saw that it was me. "I see you still know the code for the back door, huh?"
"Something like that." I said, still in the midst of catching my breath. After a couple deeper ones, I stood upright and outstretched my hand to dap him up. "Bout time you changed that; don't you think?"
"I thought about it, but then I realized... aint nobody else know that code but you." He laughed. "What the hell are you doing up in my trap, man?"
"Why else would I be here? I want in."
He sized me up for a moment, then gave me a questioning look. "You iight, Dom? I thought you were done."
"You know me already man. This is my life, I don't know nothing else." I sucked my teeth, "and nah, I aint iight. I just ran my ass over here from The Terrace Condos." I laughed.
"The hell you doing up in those bougie areas?"
"I don't know man, I don't know. But what I do know, is I found my way back home."
"Indeed, you did." He laughed. "And just in time..."
"Is that right?"
"I need someone to run shit for me in Miami. Other one got dropped."
"How fast you need me out there?" I asked.
"I can get you on my jet in the next hour."
"Might as well catch up until then." I shrugged.
"Wait, you serious? You'd be down."
"Nigga, when have I ever been the one to play?" I shook my head, "now, let's get in there; I'm tryna smoke something."
"Aye, my man Dom is back."
"You know it." I dapped him up one last time, this time pulling him into a half hug. "Only person, I could ever trust..."
--------
COULDN'T WAIT UNTIL THURSDAY.
HAD TO SPILL TEAAA.
THOUGHTS???