ain’t got time to kill this fool. We gotta find Jessica.” He turns back to Chris. “First.”
I nod but don’t take my eyes off Chris as he lies motionless on the floor. No one is in the hallways, and I doubt if anyone called the police. I bend over and slap him with the gun, and he cries out holding his face and rolls around. Pussy-ass nigga.
We turn to walk out the door, when Malcolm turns back to face Chris. “If we can’t find her, we’ll be back with a lot more time on our hands—ya feel me?”
Chapter 19
“I’ll drive, bro. You can’t focus right now,” he says, reaching out his hand for the keys.
I toss them to him and sit in the passenger seat. I don’t know where we’re going, but I know that for Chris’s sake we need to get the hell out of here. I let out a breath and lean against the window. Malcolm turns to me as he drives off. “Call Angela and see if Jessica stopped by your house,” he says.
“Angela’s at work. She wouldn’t know,” I say. “We can drive by my house real fast. Ain’t no hurt in checking.”
Malcolm nods and starts speeding. I start fidgeting and sweating hard.
We get to my house seven minutes later, and I jump out with Malcolm close behind me. I shove my key through the door, but the room is empty and exactly how I left it this morning. I never thought there’d be a time when I hoped things would look like someone had been in my house without me knowing. I walk in the living room looking around for any signs that Jessica was here. I stare at the kitchen and think about her making dinner for me. I remember the burned chicken she was trying to hide by turning it to the unburned side. I smile and my chest aches.
I search through the rest of the apartment, but there’s no sign that Jessica was here. Malcolm has worry lines across his forehead. “Where the fuck could she be?” he asks, looking around the room.
I feel worse than he feels. If I hadn’t said that she was dead to me, she would have come to me when she needed me the most. Did she really think I’d turn her away if she needed help? I shake my head and think back to the day three months ago when we fought. I am angry, frustrated, confused, and just disgusted that I lashed out at her.
“Let’s go look somewhere else. We got to find her, and I’m not stopping until we do.”
Malcolm nods, and we both leave the apartment. Malcolm’s behind the wheel again, but we don’t go anywhere. We have nowhere to start. “Maybe she went home. You know, back to Grandma Mae’s house?” he asks, starting to drive off toward the freeway.
I shrug but give the decision more thought after we’ve driven for a couple of minutes. “Mom would have told us if she was home, though. She’s right next door.”
“Maybe Mom don’t know. Let’s just check out the area anyway,” Malcolm says, entering on the freeway ramp starting the hour-and-a-half drive to Aurora. “What do we got to lose?”
“Time.”
Malcolm doesn’t say anything in response, and I stare out the window the whole time watching the Chicago skyline get smaller and smaller.
I pick up the phone and call Angela. She’s pissed that I won’t be able to pick her up from work, but she gets over it when I tell her what’s going on. She seems genuinely concerned and says she didn’t see or hear anything from Jessica. I thank her and hang up. Malcolm glances my way every so often, but I never acknowledge him or start up a conversation. It’s starting to get darker and making it harder to find people on the streets.
We arrived in Aurora almost an hour later and drive down our old neighborhood on Fourth Street. The street is somewhat empty except for a few kids and teenagers hanging out on their porches talking without a care in the world. We park the car across the street from Jessica’s old house that was boarded up after the death of her grandmother and went into foreclosure. The grass is completely yellow, and the trash
I nod but don’t take my eyes off Chris as he lies motionless on the floor. No one is in the hallways, and I doubt if anyone called the police. I bend over and slap him with the gun, and he cries out holding his face and rolls around. Pussy-ass nigga.
We turn to walk out the door, when Malcolm turns back to face Chris. “If we can’t find her, we’ll be back with a lot more time on our hands—ya feel me?”
Chapter 19
“I’ll drive, bro. You can’t focus right now,” he says, reaching out his hand for the keys.
I toss them to him and sit in the passenger seat. I don’t know where we’re going, but I know that for Chris’s sake we need to get the hell out of here. I let out a breath and lean against the window. Malcolm turns to me as he drives off. “Call Angela and see if Jessica stopped by your house,” he says.
“Angela’s at work. She wouldn’t know,” I say. “We can drive by my house real fast. Ain’t no hurt in checking.”
Malcolm nods and starts speeding. I start fidgeting and sweating hard.
We get to my house seven minutes later, and I jump out with Malcolm close behind me. I shove my key through the door, but the room is empty and exactly how I left it this morning. I never thought there’d be a time when I hoped things would look like someone had been in my house without me knowing. I walk in the living room looking around for any signs that Jessica was here. I stare at the kitchen and think about her making dinner for me. I remember the burned chicken she was trying to hide by turning it to the unburned side. I smile and my chest aches.
I search through the rest of the apartment, but there’s no sign that Jessica was here. Malcolm has worry lines across his forehead. “Where the fuck could she be?” he asks, looking around the room.
I feel worse than he feels. If I hadn’t said that she was dead to me, she would have come to me when she needed me the most. Did she really think I’d turn her away if she needed help? I shake my head and think back to the day three months ago when we fought. I am angry, frustrated, confused, and just disgusted that I lashed out at her.
“Let’s go look somewhere else. We got to find her, and I’m not stopping until we do.”
Malcolm nods, and we both leave the apartment. Malcolm’s behind the wheel again, but we don’t go anywhere. We have nowhere to start. “Maybe she went home. You know, back to Grandma Mae’s house?” he asks, starting to drive off toward the freeway.
I shrug but give the decision more thought after we’ve driven for a couple of minutes. “Mom would have told us if she was home, though. She’s right next door.”
“Maybe Mom don’t know. Let’s just check out the area anyway,” Malcolm says, entering on the freeway ramp starting the hour-and-a-half drive to Aurora. “What do we got to lose?”
“Time.”
Malcolm doesn’t say anything in response, and I stare out the window the whole time watching the Chicago skyline get smaller and smaller.
I pick up the phone and call Angela. She’s pissed that I won’t be able to pick her up from work, but she gets over it when I tell her what’s going on. She seems genuinely concerned and says she didn’t see or hear anything from Jessica. I thank her and hang up. Malcolm glances my way every so often, but I never acknowledge him or start up a conversation. It’s starting to get darker and making it harder to find people on the streets.
We arrived in Aurora almost an hour later and drive down our old neighborhood on Fourth Street. The street is somewhat empty except for a few kids and teenagers hanging out on their porches talking without a care in the world. We park the car across the street from Jessica’s old house that was boarded up after the death of her grandmother and went into foreclosure. The grass is completely yellow, and the trash
Similar Books
