Boss Bitch (Bitch Series)

Copyright © 2012 by Joy Deja King
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This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, events, establishments, or locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Other names, characters, and incidents occurring in the work are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, as those fictionalized events and incidents that involve real persons. Any character that happens to share the name of a person who is an acquaintance of the author, past or present, is purely coincidental and is in no way intended to be an actual account involving that person.

THEY SAY KILLERS are born. I believe killers are made. In life when the people you love and trust turn on you they murder your goodness. They destroy whatever innocence God gave you when you were birthed into this world. I know because I was becoming that person. After sitting in jail for over eight months, with each passing day my soul was leaving my body and I was becoming an empty vessel.

“Aaliyah, I need you to answer the question.”I paused for a moment and stared at my attorney. “What question?” I asked, not knowing or caring what he was talking about because I knew he wasn’t here to give me my release papers.

“Aaliyah, we’re going to trial in less than a month. I need for you to focus.”

“Mr. Anderson, it’s kinda hard to focus when this is what you wake up and go to sleep to everyday,” I said waving my arm around, pointing to the four dreary walls that confined me.

“I understand this isn’t the best accommodations but you know the judge felt with your family’s financial standing you were a flight risk and  wouldn’t grant you bail.”

That’s bullshit! I was granted bail, and then they locked me back up again.”

“Yes, but that was before Justina identified you as the shooter. Based on that information and the charges you’re facing the judge felt you were a flight risk.”

“Can you tell me something that I don’t already fuckin’ know? Like when the hell am I going to get out of this dump and go the hell home?”

“Aaliyah, you have to calm down. I’m doing everything I can to get you back home to your family. I have the best investigators on this case.”

“They haven’t come up with shit to help my case, so they can’t possibly be the best.”

“Unfortunately, these things can take time.”

“We’re both aware that time isn’t something I have.”

“Yes, that’s why I need you to answer my questions so we can prepare for your case. Let’s go over what happened at that hotel.”

“We’ve been over this a hundred times. I’ve told you everything that I remember about that night. Who you need to be grilling is Justina. She’s the liar in this equation.”

“I understand that but Justina is also the victim. I have to be careful how I approach her.

We don’t want to turn the jury against you. She was shot and in a coma so she will garner sympathy.”

“Sympathy my ass. That conniving bitch is the reason I’m locked up now. She knows damn well I never pulled the trigger, although in hindsight I wish I had.”

“Aaliyah, don’t ever say that again. You don’t know who’s listening.”

“Oh please, you’re my attorney. That’s what you get paid for, to hear me vent and hopefully get me off.”

“Then I need your help. I know we’ve been over this many times but you never know something you might remember that can help your case.”

“I’ve replayed that night over so many times I feel like my brain is about to explode,” I said shaking my head.

“I’ll tell you what, why don’t we revisit this tomorrow. You have someone who has been waiting to see you, anyway.”

“Someone’s here to see me . . . who?”

“Amir.”

“Amir is here?” I said standing up from my chair. “I can’t believe it,” I grinned.

“You’re smiling, that’s something I’ve never een.”

“Because you never give me anything to smile about.”

“Before I put you back in a bad mood, let me o get Amir.”

Oh fuck! I look like shit! I barely brushed my hair today. Being locked up with a bunch of broads isn’t exactly a motivator to look hot. I don’t want Amir to see me like this but I can’t turn him away. I need him. I patted my hair down and started doing some bullshit facial exercises my mother had drilled in my head to do ever since I was a little girl. She claimed it was like giving yourself a quick facelift, which I didn’t believe. But at this point I was willing to try anything if it would help me look halfway decent in front of Amir.

I looked at my reflection to see if the exercises were working but all I saw staring back at me was the same stressed and worn out face that had become a permanent fixture since being locked up. But none of that mattered when Amir walked in; he seemed to be even more handsome than I remembered if that was even possible. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I’m sorry. I stayed away too long.” I hadn’t seen Amir in over six weeks when normally he would come see me every week. It was tearing me up inside that he’d been gone so long but what mattered was he was here with me now.

“You don’t have to apologize, I’m just happy you’re here,” I said wrapping my arms around him. I quickly let go, knowing the guard would give me a hard time if I didn’t because I could’ve held on to Amir forever.

“Let’s sit down.” I willingly followed Amir’s lead wishing he would never leave. “So how are you holding up?”

“Look at me. Doesn’t this face say it all?”

“You’re still beautiful to me.”

“Whatever,” I laughed. “I appreciate you trying to make me feel better but a blatant lie isn’t going to help.”

“It’s not a lie. You’ll always be beautiful to me,” Amir said, with his voice trailing off.

“You make it sound as if you’re giving me some last departing words.” An eerie silence fell upon us. “That was supposed to be a joke. Maybe it didn’t come out right.”

“Aaliyah, I wanted to tell you face-to-face and not in some letter.”

“Tell me what?”

“I can’t come see you for a while.”

“Why?” Amir turned away and then put his head down. “Answer me. Why can’t you come see me anymore?”

“It’s not forever, just for a while.”

“You don’t get it. Each day I’m locked up in here, feels like forever. But when you come see me, you make forever seem possible. I can’t believe you’re turning your back on me.”

“I would never turn my back on you. But I can’t turn my back on Justina either.”

“Oh, so this is about Justina. She’s taken verything away from me and now she’s taking you away from me too.” I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. I was trying to fight the burning sensation but I couldn’t.

“Baby, please don’t cry.”

“Then make the tears stop. Don’t leave me, especially when I’m down. I don’t have anybody. I feel so alone.”

“You’re not alone. Your parents, your grandfather they’re all behind you.”

“My mom and dad are too busy fighting and you already know that Nico is in the middle of a war and my grandfather means well but trying to keep a family together that’s divided is damn near impossible to make time for jail visits but at least he tries,” I said softly as my voice trailed off.

“I promise you, I’ll never abandon you.”

“That’s what you’re doing right now.”

“Justina was shot and almost died. She feels like I’m taking your side. By coming to see you, she feels like it’s a slap in the face.”

“Do you think I killed Sway and shot Justina?”

“Of course not. You know I don’t believe that but Justina does and I have to give her my support, at least until the trial is over.”

“And then what? What if I’m convicted are you going to find me guilty too and dismiss me for good.”

“You won’t be found guilty.”

“You’re only saying that to make yourself feel better for walking away. But go ‘head. Poor Justina. I know how fragile she is. She needs you way more than I do. Now I know why you disappeared for the last few weeks. All the while I thought you were busy holding things down with your dad,” I said sarcastically.

“Aaliyah . . . ”

“Just stop!” I barked, cutting Amir off before he could continue. “You’ve made your choice and I’ll have to accept it.”

“I love you both just in different ways. I want to support you but I have to help Justina too. You have to understand where I’m coming from.”

“I get it. I’ll be fine. One thing you’re right about is that my grandfather is always behind me. As long as I have his support I can get through anything. Goodbye, Amir. I wish you well.”

“Aaliyah, wait,” Amir called out as I stood up and left the room. There was no reason for me to turn around and listen to whatever else he had to say. In my world you’re either for me or against me, there’s no in between. When Amir made the decision to stand by Justina then he was now against me, which made him my enemy.

You should never
become a mother unless you’re prepared to have your heart broken. remember Ms. Duncan telling me that when I was a little girl. It seems like yesterday I was sitting in her cramped apartment in the Brooklyn projects watching her make me a hot meal as she shared what she called her words of wisdom. I barely listened to what she was saying because I was more interested in the food she was cooking. By the time my mother would drop me off, so she could go run the streets I was starving. But for some reason when she said those words they resonated with me, even as a little girl. Maybe because I wondered if one day I would break my mother’s heart or would she be too high to care. Whatever the reason, here I was over thirty years later reflecting on what Ms. Duncan said and those words couldn’t ring more true. My first-born child was in jail facing a first-degree murder charge and I didn’t know if she would spend the rest of her life behind bars . . . my heart was officially broken.

“What time are you going to see Justina?” I heard Supreme ask me, taking me away from thinking about the past.

“I’m about to take a shower, get dressed and head over there.”

“I have to go out of town for a couple of days but before I leave I want to go with you to speak with Justina.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Chantal was already reluctant about letting me come over. I don’t want her to feel like we’re trying to tag team her daughter.”

“Aaliyah is going to trial in a few weeks. It’s time for us to apply the pressure on Justina.”

“I agree, but if we want to get answers that could help Aaliyah we have to move with caution when it comes to Justina. I know what I’m doing.”

“I hope so because our daughter’s life is depending on it.”

“Supreme, don’t you think I know how critical shit is right now,” I said, lifting up from the edge of the bed. “Aaliyah is my baby. Every day she is locked up I’m locked up too.”

“I apologize, that came out wrong. This shit just got me all fucked up, Precious. I hate feeling like this, like my arms are handcuffed behind my back and I can’t do shit.”

“Supreme, it’s gonna be ok.” I stood behind Supreme and wrapped my arms around his waist.

My head rested on his back and for a brief moment I felt completely connected to my husband. All the love I had for him resurfaced in an instant and then just as quickly he pushed me away.

“I can’t do this with you right now, Precious,” he said releasing my arms and stepping away. He walked over to the floor length windows that overlooked the custom pool with fountains, and waterfalls that streamed into a river. The water seemed to be hypnotizing Supreme because as I called out his name he ignored me.

“Supreme, you have to stop walking away from me . . . from us.”

“You walked away a long time ago. Just because you’re ready to come back doesn’t mean I’m ready to have you back. Now go get dressed. You need to handle that with Justina.”

I stared at Supreme for a few moments before rushing off to the bathroom. I closed the door and when I turned around I was facing myself in the mirror. With my hair up in a ballerina bun and wearing a long white silk negligee I almost appeared angelic but without sin I was not.

I slipped out of my negligee and got into the shower. When I turned on the knob and the water poured over my body it seemed as if it triggered all the pain and frustration that had been building up for the last few months to be released and I couldn’t stop it. The tears flowed and the hot water washed hem away but that couldn’t erase the crossroads that my life was in. I was on the verge of losing my family and I was partially the blame.

My marriage was already fragile but when I began my affair with Lorenzo it was the final nail in the coffin. Although Supreme didn’t know that I was seeing someone else, emotionally I had checked out but so had he. But with Aaliyah in the fucked up predicament she was in I needed Supreme’s support and I was reaching out to him trying to salvage whatever was left of our marriage but I was starting to feel that I needed to admit to myself it was too late.

I closed my eyes searching for answers on how my fairytale life had turned into a nightmare. I wanted to breakdown and give in to my grief but I couldn’t. I was born into a life of chaos but I beat the odds and I wouldn’t fold now. My number one priority was getting Aaliyah out of jail and bringing her home. No matter what I had to do to make that happen I would and it started with Justina. Whatever was going to happen between Supreme and I would have to wait as my focus was on one problem, and crying in the shower wouldn’t solve it, I decided as I turned off the water and got out. This time when I looked in the mirror I didn’t see anything angelic instead I saw Precious Cummings . . .  the fighter staring back at me.

When I arrived at Chantals’ and T-Roc’s house I sat in the car tapping my fingers on the steering wheel for a few minutes going over exactly how I would approach the situation. During my ride I had come up with several different scenarios but hadn’t settled on one. A lot of it would depend on how forthcoming Justina was willing to be but my gut told me she was going to give me a hard time and I was prepared for that. I got out the car and walked towards the front door on a mission but I did my best to put on my game face as I rang the doorbell.

“Hello, Precious.” Chantal’s tone was dry and flat when she opened the door but it didn’t faze me. I wasn’t expecting her to greet me with open arms. But instead of reciprocating her negative energy I played it cool and extra polite—for now.

“Chantal, thank you so much for having me ver.”

“You didn’t leave me much of a choice.” Chantal let her annoyance be known as she moved to the side to let me in.

“Where’s Justina?” I asked ignoring Chantal’s shade.

“She’ll be down shortly.”

“How are you? I know things must be difficult for you and your family right now.”

“We’re as good as can be expected under the circumstances. Of course this has been the most difficult for Justina.”

“I can only imagine. Is T-Roc here?”

“No, he’s out of town.”

“When will he be back?”

“I’m not sure but it will be in time for the trial,” Chantal added trying her best to get under my skin.

“Of course he will. I know he wants to be here to support his daughter,” I smiled. I had never been a fan of Chantal’s and it was taking all of my strength not to smack that smug look off her face but I kept my composure.

“No doubt, and speaking of our daughter here comes Justina now.” I turned in the direction Chantal was looking and saw Justina coming down the stairs. I was trying to read her mood but her face and body language was telling me nothing.

“Hi, Justina, it’s good to see you.” Justina didn’t say zilch and walked over near her mother not giving me any eye contact.

“Chantal, would you be so kind as to get me something to drink please?” I asked sitting down on the couch and crossing my legs. It was my way of letting them know I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“Estelle should be down in a minute, she can get you whatever you want.”

“Water would be fine, do we need to wait on the maid for me to get that?”

“If you want it then yes. That is her job.”

“Of course.”

“We have a lot of things to do so what exactly did you want to speak to Justina about?”

“For one I wanted to see how she was doing. Justina, I haven’t seen you since you first got out of the hospital. You look great.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m concerned about you. It must be difficult accusing your best friend of murder and trying to take your life too.” Justina remained nonresponsive and Chantal rubbed her hand as if to console her. “What did Aaliyah say to you before she shot you?”

“Huh!” Justina looked up at me for the first time and her eyes widened as if surprised by my question. “What did Aaliyah say before she pulled the trigger? I’m sure she said something . . . like why she wanted you dead.”

“I don’t remember. It all happened so fast.”

“I understand. You probably went into shock.”

“Yes, I did.”

“So did she kill Sway first and then shoot you or did she shoot you first?”

“She shot me first, I mean Sway and then me,” she said shaking her head.

“What are you doing . . . trying to cross examine y daughter?”

“Of course not. I’m just trying to understand what happened. Aaliyah and Justina were best friends, how did that turn into attempted murder. It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe if I knew what Aaliyah said right before she tried to kill you I would get a better understanding.”

“I don’t remember what she said right before she shot me. But we were arguing earlier about Amir.”

“As you know, your daughter was trying to get Justina’s boyfriend in bed. What type of best friend is that?” Chantal snarled.

“Speaking of boyfriends, why were you in Aaliyah’s boyfriend’s hotel room?” I countered, ignoring Chantal’s comment.

“Sway invited me.”

“So what were you doing when she shot Sway?”

“I told you I don’t remember. All I know is we argued about Amir. “

“So you’re saying that you believe Aaliyah tried to kill you because of Amir?”

“That’s exactly what she’s saying,” Chantal barked, answering for her daughter. “Is that so hard for you to believe?”

“Yes it is. As a matter of fact I don’t believe it at all.”

“Are you calling my daughter a liar?”

“Justina, isn’t it true that Amir wanted to be with Aaliyah too so why would she need to get rid of you. You weren’t the competition.”

“You liar! Amir is committed to Justina.”

“Am I lying, Justina? Why don’t you tell your mother the truth?”

“I know the truth. Like mother like daughter. The same way you think you’re entitled to anything you want, Precious, your spoiled daughter feels the same way. But this time Aaliyah couldn’t get what she wanted. Amir chose Justina and Aaliyah couldn’t handle it.”

“So if it was about Amir, why kill Sway?” Silence loomed, as neither had an answer.

“Would you stop grilling my daughter?”Only if you stop speaking for her and let her answer the questions.”

“She’s my child. I have every right to speak for her.”

“If she’s grown enough to accuse Aaliyah of murder then she’s grown enough to answer some simple questions.”

“I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“I’ll leave but trust you’re not getting rid of me.” I turned to Justina who was trying to maintain her sweet and innocent demeanor. “Justina, you may have your mother and father fooled and even the prosecutor but I know how to spot a snake. See you remind me a lot of someone I know. My ister Maya.”

“How dare you! Justina is nothing like that twisted woman.”

“But she is. Just like Maya wanted to walk in my shoes and take my life that’s exactly what you’re trying to do to Aaliyah but you’ve picked the wrong girl. Aaliyah is my daughter and I promise you’ll never get away with this. Check my stats, I am not to be fucked with.”

“How dare you speak to my daughter like that! You’re nothing but a lowlife hoodrat.”

“Chantal, shut the fuck up. I know all about your past. The fake suicide attempt, spending your entire pathetic life scheming and scamming for a come up with a man. You finally lucked up and hit the jackpot with T-Roc but you’re still a miserable bitch who raised a miserable daughter. So call me a hoodrat if you like but this Brooklyn Bitch is going to bring your daughter down and if you get in my way I’ll take yo’ ass down too. Now I’m leaving,” I spit, grabbing my purse and making an exit.

After I slammed the door, I turned around tempted to go back inside and slaughter mother and daughter but I knew this wasn’t the time for me to be sitting in a cell next to Aaliyah. What I also knew was not only was Justina lying but I believed she knew a lot more than what she was letting on, now I had to figure out how to prove it. As I got in my car I felt my phone vibrating and it as Quentin.

“Hey, Quentin, what’s going on?”

“Are you home? I wanted to stop by and talk to you about something important.”

“Actually I’m leaving Chantal’s house. I just had an interesting conversation with her and Justina.”