Twisted (23 page)

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Authors: Tracy Brown

BOOK: Twisted
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Rah-lo grabbed Asia roughly by the arm and snatched her away from Celeste. He was furious. “Where the fuck did you come from?” he demanded.
Celeste was stunned and terribly embarrassed. She wanted to disappear, and she was mortified that Keisha and several other people on their way to lunch were around to witness this scene unfolding.
“I followed your stupid ass!” Asia yelled. “Some fucking gangsta you are. You didn't even notice.”
Rah-lo wanted to choke the shit out of her. “You're crazy, Asia. Get outta here. I'm not fucking with you anymore. Go home!”
“No!
You
go home, Raheem! Go home to New York, to your kids and your marriage and your regular fucking clothes, you sellout!” Asia was so upset that she was damn near out of breath.
Rah-lo was ready to forget about chivalry and whip Asia's ass. Celeste turned and headed back up to her office with Keisha in tow. She was mortified. Security rushed over and asked Rah-lo and Asia to leave. He stormed outside with Asia hot on his heels.
Once they got outside, Rah-lo turned on Asia with fire in his eyes. “Get the fuck away from me before I hurt you!”
“Fuck that! I came all the way down here so we can work this out. You're gonna listen to what I have to say, Rah-lo!” Asia jogged to keep up with his long strides as he angrily walked to the parking garage nearby.
“Fuck you,” he spat.
Asia ran ahead of him and blocked his exit. “You're coming up here, dressing all different and trying to impress this chick. Rah-lo, you
can't
leave me.” She looked serious. “I'm serious. I'm not having that. We've been together too long, and we got too many kids.” Asia saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes when she mentioned his kids. She thought they might serve as collateral. “If you walk away from me, Raheem, you will never see your kids again. This is a package deal. You can't have just
them
. I'm your muthafuckin' wife!”
Rah-lo flashed a sinister grin. “I was wondering when you would use the kids for leverage. You can't stop me from seeing my kids, bitch. I'm their father. Wherever you take them, I will find you. If you take me to court, I'll tell the judge the type of mother you really are. The girls are old
enough to tell him themselves. Don't play this game with me.” He started to walk away and then turned and walked back to where she stood. “And you're not my wife anymore. I'm divorcing your ghetto ass as soon as I get the chance.”
“Ghetto?” Asia asked. “Now I'm ghetto? Why? ‘Cause your little girlfriend works and I don't? 'Cause she got a smile on her face when she sees you? That shit is fake. She don't really love you. And you know I do. You can be yourself with me, Rah-lo. I know you grew up in the projects and you sell drugs. No matter how many button-up shirts and khakis you put on, you're still that ghetto bastard you've always been.”
Rah-lo shook his head at her. “I'm not trying to be somebody else. Some people can change, Asia. I know who I am. And I know what I want. And I don't want you. Accept that shit. You don't love me, ma. You love what I am and what I represent in your life. It's all about you. Even the way you're talking to me now. I
can't
leave you.
You're
not having it. You'll take the kids. What type of shit is that to say to somebody you love? You're not even trying to change.”
“Why do I have to change?” Asia demanded. “I was good enough for you before. You knew how I was, and you never complained. Now all of a sudden I'm not good enough for you.” Asia's voice cracked with pain. “What the fuck am I supposed to do, Raheem?” She was crying. “I don't know how you expect me to just accept this shit.”
Rah-lo shook his head. “I told you what I can't stand
about you. And not once have you said or done anything to correct that. All you talk about is you. Then you use the kids to make me feel guilty. You don't love me. This shit is over. Let it go, Asia!”
He walked away and left her standing there enraged. When he got to his car, Rah-lo took out his cell phone and dialed Asia's mother. Mrs. Hudson answered on the third ring.
“You need to come and get your daughter before I hurt her.”
“Rah-lo?”
“Come and get her before I kill her, Angela.”
“What happened?” Angela had just gotten out of a long steamy afternoon bath while her granddaughters were in school. It was the only time she had the house all to herself anymore.
Rah-lo recounted Asia's antics to her mother, and Mrs. Hudson listened in complete shock. This wasn't how she'd raised Asia to behave—not over a man. Angela had often had to fight in her lifetime, and she'd raised her children to do the same. If someone tried to take what's yours, you fight for it. If you were in danger, fight to defend yourself. But she had always taught Asia not to fight over a man. Mrs. Hudson had always taught Asia that men are a dime a dozen. She couldn't understand why her child was now acting like a damn fool. She assured Rah-lo that she would talk to Asia and hung up. Immediately, she dialed Asia's cell phone.
Seeing her mother's number, Asia sucked her teeth. She
didn't feel like talking to her mother right now, but since Asia was concerned that her daughters might be hurt or in trouble, she answered. “Hello?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Angela got right to the point.
“Ma, what are you talking about?” Asia pulled into the parking lot of a nearby Walgreens. She parked the car and lowered the power windows. Lighting a cigarette, she exhaled the smoke.
“Raheem just called me and told me what you did. Why did you go to that woman's job and act like that? Didn't I show you how to be a strong woman, Asia? You never lower yourself enough to make a scene over a man. Especially at somebody's job. And he told you he wants out, Asia! You can't make him stay. I don't know why you're doing all this, because you know he'll take care of his kids. I taught you better than this shit! He doesn't want to be with you anymore. It's over! He's down there with the woman he wants to be with. Let this shit go! You gotta let
him
go, Asia.”
Asia wasn't concerned about the tears that were falling from her eyes since no one could see her. But she kept her voice steady as she responded to her mother. “He's my husband,” Asia said. “I'm not gonna just let her have him. I came down here to fight for him—”
“You're fighting for a man who doesn't want you! What the fuck is going on with you?” Angela lit a cigarette of her own as she listened to her pitiful daughter.
“Ma, stay out of this.”
“How can I stay out of it when you got me all in the middle of it? I got your kids here missing both of their parents. I got your man calling me, threatening to hurt you if I don't come and get you. And not a damn word I say is getting through to you. How can I stay out of it?”
“Rah-lo shouldn't have called you. It's none of your business.”
“You're my muthafuckin' business, Asia! Your kids are here missing their mother while you're down there in Atlanta acting like a teenager. Grow up! You got three daughters who watch you to see how a woman should behave. What the hell are you teaching your kids?”
Asia hung up and tossed her cell phone into the backseat. She didn't want to hear that shit right now. She was far from done. She put the car in drive and headed to Uncle James's house. It was time to take this shit to the next level.
 
 
A Rainy Night in Georgia
C
eleste and Keisha sat in Celeste's office, downing a bottle of Southern Comfort, waiting for Ishmael to arrive. She had called him and filled him in on what happened and he assured her that he was on his way there to take her home. Celeste was in no condition to drive after all the drinking she and Keisha had been doing for the past hour or so. After the scene Asia had caused in the lobby of Celeste's job, Celeste had returned to work sick with worry. Thankfully, none of their immediate coworkers had witnessed Asia's bullshit. Still Celeste was concerned that the whole thing could jeopardize her job and her reputation. She had busied herself with work all afternoon to try to take her mind off of it. Keisha had given Celeste space enough to
digest what had occurred. But all day she had been eager to vent about the drama that had unfolded with Rah-lo and his wife. Now that it was after hours and most of their coworkers were gone for the night, Keisha sat with Celeste as she filled her in on her feelings about Rah-lo.
“I still love him,” Celeste admitted, downing her third cup of Southern Comfort and lime juice.
“You're fucking crazy!” Keisha looked at Celeste with complete disappointment. “You must have lost your mind. Seriously. This man has a wife! He has kids; he sells drugs; he's been to jail. Are you out of your motherfucking mind? What's there to love?”
“No. I—”
“No, nothing! I can understand that the two of you have history. I really can. But he is in your past. That part of your life is over. You're better than all this bullshit, Celeste. This bitch came to your
job
, girl. She put
all
your business in the street.” Keisha shook her head. If she were Celeste, she would leave town. But Keisha didn't want to tell Celeste that because she liked having her around. “I'm telling you that wife of his is gonna hurt you.” She saw the look of helplessness on her friend's face and felt sorry for her. “What the fuck are you gonna do now?” Keisha asked. She knew that Celeste had a problem on her hands. A
big
problem, because Asia seemed like she was a loose cannon. Keisha could understand Asia's reasoning, though. Her husband was, after all, in love with another woman. But still, Asia was bugging out.
Keisha felt powerless to help her friend. “You better be careful,” Keisha said to Celeste. “Females like her are dangerous. You have to watch your back.”
Celeste agreed. “I know—”
“No,
seriously
. You better listen to me. She knows where you work, so she already knows too much.” Keisha looked serious. “You're not the first one this has happened to,” she said. “When I was with my ex, Anthony, his baby's mama rolled up on me at work. The bitch caught me when I was working at the bank. It was all quiet in there, all the customers lined up waiting to handle their business. And this fat bitch got in line. It was a looooong line, too.”
Celeste couldn't help laughing as Keisha continued dramatically narrating her tale.
“She stood on line and inched closer to the front. I sat there, assisting the customers in front of her, stalling, taking my time so that she would go to somebody else. I kept telling myself, ‘Maybe that's not her. Maybe I'm bugging.' But it was her all right.” Keisha shook her head, distressed at the memory. “I stood there, trying to plot my escape. I held this one customer at my window for the longest time. I must've counted his money four times. And he was a regular, so he was looking at me crazy. He was wondering why I was counting so slowly when I was normally very quick. But Anthony's wife was next in line, so I didn't dare let my customer go until one of the other tellers called her over to their window. I was so glad when another teller called,
‘Next.' I thought I was out of the woods. But Anthony's wife was like, ‘No, I wanna wait for her!' and she pointed at me. The guy at my window looked at her; then he looked at me. I wanted to disappear, I swear. I just laughed because I didn't know what else to do. The guy left my window and she came right over, yelling the whole way, ‘Bitch, you can't find your own man? You gotta fuck my husband?' I just laughed and told her that I didn't know what she was talking about. All my coworkers were looking at me and whispering to each other. The guy that had just been at my window stood there and he was laughing, too. All the customers on line were snickering and all that. I wanted to jump through the window and beat her entire ass. 'Cuz she was a big bitch, make no mistake about it.”
Celeste was laughing so hard she thought she might need stitches. “Did that really happen?”
“Hell, yeah!” Keisha shuddered at the memory and sipped her drink.
Celeste composed herself. “So what did you do?”
“Well, like I said, she was a big bitch. So fighting her was not an option. I stayed behind the glass the whole time she was yelling at me. The guy I was helping came back to my window and smiled. He was like, ‘You didn't sleep with that woman's husband, did you?' I said, ‘Would I do something like that?' and he laughed. I closed my window and walked to the back of the bank. The wife stood there ranting and raving until security escorted her out of there. It was terribly
embarrassing.” Keisha gulped her drink and shook her head again. “I could have been fired for that. Even though I wasn't, I had sense enough to quit eventually.” She looked at poor Celeste. “Don't let it happen to you again. Handle your business. You need to take a few days off and talk to Rah-lo.”
“I can't—”
“Yes, the fuck you can, Celeste! You got all them vacation days, all that sick time. Be sick tomorrow. Talk to the man. Maybe you can convince him to leave you alone and go back to his wife. Or maybe y'all can even reunite and fall in love again. Stranger things have happened. You never know.” Keisha shrugged. “But settle your situation with him once and for all. At least make him get that bitch off your back. Force him to control his wife. Once you get Asia out of your way, you can work on seeing what's left between you and this … Rah-lo.”
Celeste loved her friend. She appreciated that Keisha could relate to her situation. But she couldn't let Keisha off that easy. “Why you keep cutting me off midsentence all the time?” Celeste asked.
“Shut up.” Keisha guzzled her drink and tossed her cup in the trash. “I gotta go before I can't drive home, either.”
Celeste laughed and hugged her friend good-bye. “Ish should be here soon,” Celeste said. “I'll see you in the morning.”
Keisha headed home and Celeste sat alone in her office
with a million thoughts running through her head. Close to twenty minutes later, the front desk called to tell her that Ishmael had finally arrived. Celeste straightened up her office and turned off the lights. Then she headed downstairs—staggering ever so slightly—to meet Ishmael.
When she got to the lobby she saw him standing near the security desk looking better than ever. Wearing a simple pair of jeans and a Sean John T-shirt, Ishmael looked sexy as hell. Celeste made her way over to him and threw her hand on his shoulder.
“I had a fucking terrible day, Ish,” she said, slurring slightly.
Ishmael looked at her, confused. “Are you drunk?” he asked, smelling alcohol on her breath.
Celeste waved her hand as if dismissing his question and he shook his head. “Come on,” he said. “Let's get you home.”
A soft May rain fell on the dark Atlanta streets as Ishmael held Celeste around the waist to steady her. He led her to his rental car and secured her safely in the passenger seat. He went around to the driver's side and climbed in. Looking over at Celeste, he shook his head. “You should see yourself,” he said. “Your boy Rah-lo and his drama with Asia has you acting real out of character right now.”
She leaned her head back against the headrest, her head spinning in a drunken haze. “You were right,” she slurred. “I never should have agreed to meet him for lunch. I should
have stuck to my muthafuckin' guns and told him to leave me the fuck alone!”
Ishmael tried not to laugh at Celeste's inebriated state. He drove toward her house. He looked over at Celeste when they came to a red light. “I don't wanna say I told you so,” he said.
Celeste frowned and glared at him. “You just said it, you son of a bitch!”
Ishmael laughed and brushed her bangs out of her face. He still found her to be a beautiful woman, even pissy drunk. He drove to her condo, listening to her recap what had happened although she'd already told him the story earlier. He let her repeat herself, knowing that she was really embarrassed by the scene Asia had caused earlier. When they arrived at Celeste's place, he pulled his car into the adjacent parking garage and found a parking spot. He turned the engine off and looked over at Celeste. Suddenly, she didn't look so good.
“I have to throw up,” she said. Her chest heaved as she tried to fight it. She opened the passenger door to lean out of the car and vomit on the ground. But suddenly she fell over, toppling out of the car and onto the ground. Celeste lay sprawled on the pavement, hurling her guts out.
He got out of the car and rushed to her side. “Are you okay, ma?”
Celeste didn't answer as she wiped the remnants of her vomit off of her chin. Getting back on her feet took much effort, so Ishmael picked her up. “I guess not,” he answered
his own question. He laughed as he carried her inside while Celeste rested her head on his shoulder. She felt like the world was spinning. Once they got to the front of her condo, he set her down gingerly while he fished her keys out of her purse. He opened the door to her home and led her to her bedroom. He helped her sit down on the bed and she fell back as soon as her ass hit the mattress.
Downstairs, Rah-lo sat in his car parked outside of Celeste's condo, loading his gun.
 
 
“Get undressed,” Ishmael said, walking to the bathroom to turn on the shower.
“I can't,” Celeste protested, sprawled out on her back on top of her king-sized bed. “I'm drunk.”
He laughed. “You're kidding! Really?” he asked sarcastically. He came back to her once he got the shower going and he helped her get back up on her feet. “Come on, smelly. You need to take a shower and brush your teeth. You smell kinda bad, ma.”
Celeste staggered into the bathroom and began to undress right in front of him. As eager as he was to see her naked, he didn't want to take advantage of her drunkenness. So he turned to leave, closing the door behind him. He went to the kitchen and put some water in her teapot so that he could help her sober up. Once the water boiled, he made a hot cup of chamomile tea and set it on the counter. He
heard the shower turn off and within minutes Celeste came into the kitchen with her long black silk robe tied tightly around her thin frame, looking terribly embarrassed. It seemed that the shower had sobered her up slightly.
“Thank you, Ishmael,” she said. “I can't believe I fell.”
He laughed and shook his head. “It's all right. That's what friends are for.”
She leaned against the counter and sipped her tea. She shook her head. “I feel like such a fool.”
Ishmael sucked his teeth. “Please!” he said. “Everybody gets drunk sometimes. It's no big deal. You're kinda cute when you're drunk,” he said, smiling at her.
She shook her head and smiled halfheartedly. “That's not what I mean. I feel stupid for even entertaining the idea of letting him back in my life, even as a friend. Now I look like a fool in front of my coworkers and this crazy bitch knows where I work.”
Celeste felt overcome with emotion. She felt silly; she felt confused. All the drama and mayhem she had run away from was now right at her doorstep. She felt stupid for loving Rah-lo still. She hated herself for not being able to stop wanting him. She turned her back to Ishmael so that he wouldn't see her cry. “Why the hell did he even come down here?” she asked rhetorically, wiping the tears that fell from her eyes.
Ishmael hated to see her cry. He came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. She felt a chill travel up her spine at his touch and turned to face him. Pinning her
against the counter, he leaned in close to her, his lips inches from hers. “Don't cry, ma. Fuck Rah-lo,” Ishmael said. “He don't deserve you.”
Celeste looked into Ishmael's eyes and was mesmerized. His lips brushed hers and she clung to him. He kissed her slowly, deeply, and she felt light-headed. He ran his fingers through her hair as his tongue explored her mouth, and Celeste did not protest. She wanted him in the worst way. She had wanted him this way for a very long time. Maybe he could make her forget about Rah-lo for good. Ishmael untied her bathrobe and was pleased to find her wearing nearly nothing underneath. Her flimsy nightie was short and silky and he caressed her body through the thin material. Celeste purred in response to his touch.
Ishmael continued to kiss her sensually as his hands explored her body. Celeste wasn't sure if she was feeling light-headed because of the alcohol she'd consumed that night or if it was Ishmael's touch. He slipped his hands underneath her baby-doll nightgown and palmed her ass firmly. Her nipples grew hard as he traced kisses from her lips to her chin, her neck, and her collarbone. Slipping her nightgown off, he caressed her breasts, squeezing her nipples gently and causing a moan to escape her lips. He sucked her breasts as her head fell back in sheer ecstasy.

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