Betrayed (21 page)

“Don't say it, Mimi.”

“Victor needs to make peace with God; I'm not going to wait for the police to figure this out. I'm going to take that bastard out myself.”

“You need to call your husband.”

“John, you need to drive this car and get me to my daughter. I'll call Raphael as soon as I've seen Afrika.”

John stared straight ahead and didn't open his mouth again until he pulled up beside the Emergency Room at Duke. Mimi didn't wait for the car to come to a complete stop before she was out of the car and into the ER.

Frantic, Mimi approached the window of the intake processor. “Excuse me, my daughter was brought into the hospital by ambulance an hour or so ago. I'm her mother and I need to see…”

“Ma'am,” a woman in a pink and purple print smock waved, “follow me. You are here for…”

“Afrika Bailey.”

“Right this way.”

“Mrs. Bailey.”

Mimi stopped and turned in the direction of the person who called her name. There was Asia, her eyes as red as tomatoes. Several police officers were in the room, continuing their investigation, trying to get answers…anything that would lead to the shooter.

“Hi, Asia,” was all Mimi could say, fighting back the tears. “Thanks for being here.”

“Hello, Mrs. Bailey, I'm Miss Deavers, the cheerleading coach. We're all so sorry about what happened to Nikki. It is incomprehensible.”

“Thank you, Miss Deavers. I appreciate you being with Nikki when she was taken to the hospital. The one time my phone was off…”

“Don't worry about it. We've been praying that Nikki will be fine.”

Asia went to Mimi and hugged her; the other cheerleaders got up from their seats and followed suit. They all began to cry and console each other. Mimi moved away first.

A police officer stepped in front of the girls. “Are you Ms. Bailey's mother?”

“Yes, sir, I am. Right now I have to see about Afrika; the nurse is waiting on me.”

“Ma'am, I'm Officer Stokes. I'll need to ask you some questions when you get a moment. I understand you need to be with your daughter.”

“Thank you, Officer Stokes. I'll be happy to answer any questions later.” Mimi turned to the others. “Thanks, Asia; Miss Deavers.”

“Tell Nikki I love her,” Asia said, echoed by the others, tears continuing to flow from their faces.

“I will,” Mimi said and turned to leave. Just as she did, she caught a glimpse of John. She nodded in recognition and he found a seat and waited.

The nurse escorted Mimi behind the Emergency Room doors, through a long hallway and a large room of makeshift smaller ones, separated by walls made of heavy muslin hung by metal rings that slid along metal bars. Finally the nurse stopped beside a bed, whose curtain had not been drawn as a team of doctors stood around, prepping the patient for surgery.

“Are you this young lady's mother?” a doctor asked upon seeing the nurse and the woman behind her.

Mimi held her chest and willed herself to move closer. Her nerves were on edge, and it felt as if a spear was piercing her heart. She moved closer still until she saw Afrika with IVs running from her arm to a pole. Her eyes were closed; she seemed so peaceful.

“Yes, this is my daughter, Afrika.”

“Ma'am, I'm Dr. Daniels. We need to get your daughter to surgery as soon as possible. We're waiting for clearance to take her to the operating room. She's suffered a bullet wound in her back; she's fortunate to be alive. She's lost a lot of blood.”

“Oh my, God.” Mimi blew air from her mouth. “Thank you, doctor. Please save my baby.”

“We'll do everything in our power. It may be a tough road, but for a Saturday afternoon, you've got a good team of doctors on call.”

A phone rang.

“Let's move her to the OR,” Dr. Daniels said.

The team pushed the gurney out of the room to an elevator, on their way to the surgery room, as Mimi stood helplessly by.

A gentle rub made Mimi look up. “I'll take you to the waiting room,” the nurse said. “Is there anyone in the ER waiting room that you'd like to have go up with you?”

Finding her composure, Mimi shook her head. “Yes. My daughter's fellow cheerleaders and a friend of mine are in the lobby. I could use their comfort about now.”

“Let's go and get them.”

“I need to make a phone call first; then we can get them.”

M
imi walked back into the Emergency Room waiting room on her way out of the building. She saw the girls look her way, and she lifted a finger and mouthed that she'd be back. John got up from his seat and followed Mimi outside.

“John, I need to do this by myself. I'm going to call Raphael. I need to talk to him alone.”

“If you need me, I'll be inside,” John said.

“Thanks.”

Mimi watched John reenter the hospital and then dialed Raphael's number.

“Hello.”

“Raf, this is Mimi.”

“Hey, baby? How are you doing?”

Mimi hesitated trying to get it together. “Not well. Someone shot Afrika this afternoon…”

“Mimi, did I hear you correctly? Someone shot Afrika? How?”

“Yeah, Raf. Afrika was cheerleading at the football game. Someone shot her, and now she's in surgery.”

“Jesus. Don't let nothing happen to my little girl. Is she going to be all right?”

“She was hit in the back; lost a lot of blood. The doctor said he'll do all that he can to save her.”

“How in the hell did this happen to our little girl, Mimi? Have
the police found the shooter? Somebody's going to pay. Our baby is just beginning her life.”

“I know, Raf. We don't have any answers yet. I've been beating myself up about letting her come to North Carolina. Only if I had been more forceful and put my foot down.”

“Mimi, you couldn't control what happened today. Look, let me get off the phone. I'll be home on the first flight out. How are you holding up?”

“As best as I can under the circumstances. I've got to go now. Please come home as fast as you can get here, baby.”

“As soon as I get the paperwork done, I'll be there. I love you, Mimi. Afrika is going to be all right.”

“I want to believe that so badly. And I love you, too. Please hurry; I need you.”

“I hope to see you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Mimi ended the call and held the phone to her heart. She let the river of tears flow—an image of Afrika lying on the bed lifeless so vivid. She thanked God for this private moment…a moment where she could sift through the rubble of her broken heart to try and discern what this was all about without answering everyone's questions.

It was to be short-lived. She looked up as she heard someone calling her name. It was Brenda.

“Mimi, how's Afrika?” Brenda asked upon approach.

“She's in surgery. A bullet is lodged in her back.”

“Oh, my God. Mimi, I'm so sorry.” Brenda went to Mimi and hugged her. Mimi hugged her back.

“Let's go in. The nurse is waiting to take me to the surgical waiting room. I had to call my husband to tell him about Afrika. Brenda…”

“Yeah, Mimi, what is it?”

“Do you think…do you think Victor did it?”

Brenda's ashen face gave away her thoughts.

“Why do you ask? Victor is many things, but he wouldn't do anything as ludicrous as try to hurt Afrika.”

Sadness took on a different meaning. Mimi felt sorry for Brenda. Although she was a successful psychologist, Brenda allowed Victor to control her life…impair her vision of the road she had mapped out for her life. Mimi remembered how she and Brenda would have sleepovers when they were teenagers and their fathers were stationed together in Germany and how they said they would conquer the world—Mimi as a successful singer and Brenda a renowned researcher who was going to find a cure for cancer. Neither had followed their dream; both had been double-crossed… betrayed by a man—the same man, who had taken from them without any apology.

“This isn't the time,” Mimi conceded. “Let me go in and check on Afrika.”

“Okay, I'll go with you.”

They began to walk toward the entrance into the ER when the door opened. Brenda looked at Mimi and then back to John.

“John Carroll, is that you?” Brenda asked. “I haven't seen you in awhile. What are you doing at Duke?”

John looked from Mimi to Brenda and smiled. “I heard that Mimi's daughter had been in some kind of accident, and I came to see if there was anything I could do.”

“Uhm, hmm,” Brenda said under her breath, smiling for the first time.

Mimi smiled and blinked her eye at John. “Thank you, John. I need to go to the waiting room. You all come with me.”

A
LL WAS QUIET WHEN
V
ICTOR FINALLY ARRIVED HOME
. H
E MOVED
quietly through the house but jumped when Beyonce sauntered into the hallway from out of nowhere.

“Damn cat. You need to get a freaking job, walking around the house like you own the damn joint. Get out of here.”

Beyonce ignored the snide remarks from the man of the house. She went to her litter box and did her business.

Believing he was by himself, Victor pulled off his trenchcoat and plopped down on the leather couch in the family room. He picked up the remote and turned on the television. The scene that played out in front of him was lost on Victor as a blank stare covered his face, his mind consumed with the events of the day.

Several minutes passed without any signs of life. Reaching for his coat, Victor pulled the gun out of his pocket. He turned it over in his hand and sat it in his lap, the weight of the world now on his shoulders. Without warning, Victor dozed off. Fifteen minutes passed.

A noise broke the silence in the house and woke Victor from his mini-nap. He scrambled to hide the gun under his coat and looked up to see Trevor staring at him as he walked down the stairs.

“What's up, Trevor? Just getting home from the game? Where's your mother?”

A deep frown clouded Trevor's face. “I was up in my room. Mom wasn't here when I got home.”

“How was the game?”

“The game? It's what happened after the game.”

“What happened after the game?”

“Asia's best friend was shot?”

“Who, Afrika?”

“Yeah. The police wouldn't let anyone out of the stadium…at least the ones that didn't get out before the police were on the
scene. They questioned everyone. Asia went to be with Afrika at the hospital.”

“That's terrible. I hope she'll be all right.”

Trevor sat at the opposite end of the couch. He glanced at the television. “Tyler Perry is making bank with
The House of Payne
.”

“What?”

“The show on television.”

“Oh,” Victor said.

“Dad, may I ask you a question?”

“What is it, son?”

“Was that a gun I saw on your lap?”

C
urtis Payne was going through his nightly tirade, yelling at C.J. and his kids, threatening to put them out of his house. Aunt Ella, as usual, saved the day, admonishing Curtis to be nice to his nephew before God strikes him dead. And Curtis doesn't hesitate to remind Ella that C.J.'s crackhead wife had burned down their house, and if C.J. had paid a little more attention to what was going on in his home, he and his eating him-out-of house-and-home kids wouldn't be in his house at all.

Trevor picked up the remote and switched channels and stopped abruptly at a news bulletin.

“There was a shooting today on the campus of North Carolina Central University,” the newscaster said.

Trevor sat up. “This is it!” he shouted.

“A young woman, one of the North Carolina Central Eagles cheerleaders, was hit by a stray bullet that was fired as the crowd began to leave the stadium at the end of the game. The young woman, identified as Afrika Nicole Bailey, was taken to Duke University Medical Center. We have yet to get a full report from the doctors on the severity of Ms. Bailey's injuries; however, we were able to find out that she was whisked away to surgery upon the arrival of Ms. Bailey's mother, Mrs. Setrina Bailey.

“Police have yet to apprehend anyone at this time for this senseless shooting. Officers interviewed a number of persons who were in the area at the time of the shooting after blocking entrances off
and onto the campus. However, no leads have been obtained. There is some question as to the response time of the police officers; especially since the shooter is believed to have been among the fans that attended the football game. At this time, the subject is still at large.

“I'm Charlotte Wilson, reporting to you live for WTVD News. We will bring you up-to-date news on this breaking news story as soon as it becomes available.”

“Dang,” Trevor said to no one. “What animal would do such a thing?”

Victor flinched. “Whoever did it should have both arms cut off.”

“I say the perpetrator should have to stand in front of a firing squad so they can feel the agony of being gunned down just before the executioners fire their weapons. What did Afrika do to deserve this?”

Victor felt a chill run through his body. He wanted to get as far away from Trevor as possible. Hearing Trevor talk that way made him extremely uncomfortable. The deed had been done, and now he felt like crap. He didn't want to kill Afrika; he simply wanted Mimi to go away. He pulled out of his trance as Trevor continued to drone on about the punishment he should receive.

“For real, I hope they catch the son-of-a-gun real soon and put him away for life…in solitary confinement without food and water.”

“You have strong feelings about this.”

“Yeah, it happens every day, but I've never known anyone it has happened to. I really like Afrika. So…what are you doing with a gun, Dad?” Trevor said, changing the subject.