Write In The Middle of It

Mekayla was no longer cold. She was shaking out of fear as well as pain. With every step Brett took closer to her she saw her whole life played out in front of her. She saw herself as a little girl playing with her sisters, graduating high school, going away to college. She saw Erik in their freshman year in college before the hair grew. She saw them both studying for exams, going to poetry events, spending holidays together. She remembered braiding his hair, playing spades, smoking together. She remembered how he looked when he performed his poetry, the fact that he couldn’t stand losing unless it was to her.

She remembered how he was the only one that took care of her when things didn’t go right with whatever man she was dating. The late- night phone calls buggin out to movie dialogue or music lyrics. The long emails that they shared when they both should been working. She remembered that no matter who the chicken head was he was dating and having issues with, she didn’t like them and had no problem with telling him that. She remembered him telling her the same thing.

She remembered the late- night conversations about his goals and his dreams and how no matter what he was going through personally, he was always there for her.

She recalled the kiss and the evil glare he gave her the last time she ever saw him. Mekayla knew that Brett had every intention of snuffing her life away the life she was supposed to have with Erik and she let out a blood-curdling scream.

***

While driving up to see Mekayla, Kevin had an epiphany. She did not trust him. As much as he loved her and he thought she loved him, a relationship cannot survive without trust. He had every intention of coming up there to set the record straight and fight for their relationship but now all he could do was apologize, let her go, and pray that they could still be friends.

***

The doctors, her father, Autumn Green, Pete, and Erik surrounded Sadiah. It was a time for celebration as well as a time for sadness. As Sadiah retold the story of her and Ms. Howard to her father, Stephen Gibson, broke down and cried and promised to have that woman out of the house before Sadiah came home to them in Nebraska.

The doctors explained that it would be a while before Sadiah came home because she still had extensive rehabilitation to go through to regain her fine and gross motor skills.

“Now sweetie,” her father said gently but with firmness while holding her hand.

“I know you have been through a lot, but we have to know who did this to you,” Stephen said trying to choke back the tears.

“What animal did this to you?”

Sadiah swallowed and the loudest voice she could muster up stated, “His name is Brett, Daddy, Brett Saunders.”

Pete and Erik fled from the room. Pete to the police station; and Erik to Mekayla.

***

Mekayla heard what she thought was thunder from outside her bedroom window until her back door flung open and there stood a very winded and sweating Officer Mancuso with his gun drawn.

“Freeze!” He shouted. And for an instant Brett stopped. But then an evil glare came over him and he rushed Mancuso. The gun fired into the ceiling but then fell onto Mekayla’s bed.

Instinctively, she picked it up and pulled up with the sheet as she watched the pair struggle. She screamed again because she knew that the officer was no match for Brett. Brett hit Mancuso with a hard, right uppercut and the man was out cold on her bed with blood pouring out of his mouth spilling onto her sheets. Brett let out a psychotic laugh as he came towards Mekayla again.

“I am so sick of whores like you. All my life, I had to get rid of em. You ain’t no different.” As Brett walked over to her Mekayla shakily drew the gun, which she could barely hold because her wrist was broken, so she had to hold it with both hands.

Brett let out another maniacal cackle.

“Whatchu gonna do with that bitch? Shoot me? He backed away and pounded on his chest. “You don’t have the heart! I dare you slut. Shoot me!”

Mekayla sat there shaking, trying to keep the keep the gun level to his head. She heard thunder again or was it her rapid heartbeat. It was coming from both the front and back of her apartment. Brett seeing that she was frightened lunged over to grab her by her throat.

He was determined to choke the life out of her. He did it before and he could do it again. Just then two male figures came bursting into her apartment.

Erik from the backdoor; Kevin from the front.

Mekayla closed her eyes and squeezed the trigger.

One of the three men fell to the floor.

When the rest of the police finally arrived, it took hours to pry the gun out of Mekayla’s hand, let alone sort out the details. Brett was carted off to prison. Mancuso was in the kitchen putting ice on his jaw and somewhat fragile ego. Kevin sat by Mekayla’s side and tried to cover her eyes when they put a tarp over Erik’s body. But a look of horror came over her face and officers had to restrain herfrom beating him even with her bandaged wrist.

“You son of a bitch!” Mekayla screamed. “Look what you made me do!!! Look what you made me do!!!” She screeched in horror.

“All you had to do was talk to me!!! Now look! Oh my God!!! Oh my God!!! Erik I am so sorry!!! I love you, I’m sorry!!!”

Mekayla’s rant died down as Kevin held her while she sobbed.

END ...BUT

Mekayla’s Mekayla’s apartment was silent. Everyone had their own respective pillow and a manuscript in their lap. Cigarette smoke was everywhere. Mekayla sat cross-legged in the middle of her floor editing her work. Although eager for their responses, she made each and every one of them promise not to utter a word until the last person was finished reading and she would not look at anyone. Prudence, Mekayla’s best friend and confidant since they were in high school was the last person to finish the book. When she flipped the last page over into her lap, she sighed and put her cigarette out in the astray, motherly waving the smoke away from her daughter, Sadiah.

“I have only one thing to say.” Prudence announced which caused Sadiah to stir and Brett and Kevin to look up.

“Why the fuck is my part so damn small?!”

Everyone groaned.

Mekayla chuckled. But Prudence’s expression did not change.

“No fuck that Kay, I’m serious!”

“Is that all you could say?” Brett said standing up brushing off his Armani suit and wiping his glasses with a matching handkerchief.

“She made your husband a child molesting, murdering, rapist, your daughter a drugged- out prostitute, but all you can ask is why your part is too small? Seriously Pru.”

“I’m sayin,” Pru retorted confused by Brett’s remark.

With that Sadiah sat up and whined, “I still don’t know why I am here. Shoot you put me in a book I’m not even allowed to read and I couldn’t even watch T.V. I coulda been home downloading ringers, Aunt Kay.”

“Unt uh no you couldn’t chile,” Kevin stood up with his infamous hand on his hip. “Just because I bought you that cell phone, it’s still on my bill okay. Your little fast ass is costing me a fortune. I was supposed to get another wig this week but no, I had to pay your raggedy cell phone bill.” Kevin walked over to Mekayla, helped her up from her sitting position, looked her up and down and grabbed her hands like the diva that he was.

“It was brilliant honey. But next time you want to write a story and put my name in it, try not to make me so butch okay.”

Kevin shuddered in disgust. “All that stubble, Jesus, you were giving me the creeps. C’mere, kiss kiss.”

Mekayla kissed both sides of Kevin’s face through a giggle.

“I have to go,Brett darling are you coming?”

“For the love of God Kevin please don‘t call me darling, unlike you, I have a dignified reputation to protect.” Brett said in a voice too Caucasian even for Mekayla to stand.

“Oh God Brett lighten up!” Both Kevin and Prudence said at the same time, but brother and sisters have a habit of doing such things.

Brett walked over to Mekayla and sternly looked her in the face causing Mekayla to wince a little.

“Are you mad at me?” She asked him.

Brett let out a sincere chuckle, which surprised everyone in the room because everyone knows that Brett was way too serious for his own good.

“Not at all dear.” He bent down to kiss her on her forehead. “I just never knew you thought I was so sexy.”

“Ewe!” Mekayla hit his chest with half disgust half amusement, which caused everyone to erupt in laughter.

“It is late though,” Brett said with a stern fatherly voice. “All that’s riding the Saunders train, hop aboard.”

“In a second, Brett,” Prudence said as she was getting up. “Go warm up the car, I want to have one last cigarette with my best friend, who barely puts me in her novel here.”

“Bye Aunt Kay,” Sadiah said as she kissed her on her cheek. “C’mon Uncle Kevin, I’ll race you,” she said as shshe darted out the door.

“My goodness that girl is gonna kill me.” Kevin said as he darted after her. “I’ll call you Meek.”

Brett just shook his head and gave his wife another stern glare.

“Not too long dear.” Prudence waved him off dismissively and with that he exited closing the door behind him.

As her and Pru walked over to the kitchen counter Mekayla sighed and began her apology to her best friend,

“Look Pru…”

“Oh shut up,” Prudence interrupted lighting a cigarette. I ain’t worried about my part in the book I’m worried about you,” she paused, “And Erik.”

Mekayla sighed and also lit a cigarette and blew smoke up in the air.

“I know, me too. He never came out of my room and I know he reads faster than any of y’all.”

“True,” Pru said with a nod. “But he’s probably wondering what I’m wondering.”

“Whatchu mean?”

“Why you’re such a punk?” Prudence said with a smirk. Mekayla looked stunned and Prudence frowned,

“Don’t look at me like that heifer; you have a flair for words but sometimes you just straight stupid. You could have said in one sentence that you have always been in love with this man for years. Instead you had to drag it out in one hundred and fifty pages.”

“Almost two hundred actually.” Erik said from the hallway manuscript in hand, startling the mess out of both Prudence and Mekayla.

Regaining her composure Prudence said, “Well you heard my husband, the Saunders express is departing downstairs.” She bent over to kiss Mekayla and also whisper to her.

“Call me tomorrow, I have a feeling y’all be up for a while.”

She turned to Erik.

“Nite Erik.”

“See you Pru.” Erik said as he walked over to the kitchen. Mekayla didn’t even watch the door shut as she began doing dishes. Erik sat on a stool and placed the manuscript on the counter. Mekayla didn’t even look up when she asked.

“So did you like it?”

Erik lit one of Mekayla’s cigarettes and blew smoke out of his nose so he could answer her.

“Yeah it was damn good. Are you happy with it?”

Mekayla still not looking up shook her head no. “Nah it wasn’t what I intended it to be. I wanted it to be more literary, but it ended like a soap opera.”

“Not really,” Erik retorted. “But you have to work on your kitten symbolism that sucked.”

For the first time Mekayla looked up at him slightly frowning and shut off the water to join him on the other stool.

“Gee thanks E.”

“Hey I keep it real,” Erik said through a chuckle.

“Too real.” Mekayla said with a smirk. They sat in silence for a long time smoking until Mekayla uncomfortably broke the silence.

“Well maybe it will make a good HBO series or something.”

“More like Lifetime.” Erik said deadpan.

Mekayla blurted out playfully, “Fuck you,” but went slap his shoulder. Erik caught her hand in mid-flight and held it tightly. Mekayla felt every part of her body get warm.

“Listen to me, in order for this to work you have to understand one thing…”

“I know, I know,” Mekayla interrupted, “Our friendship is the most important thing. That’s why I was so afraid of telling you how I felt. Cuz everyone knows that once you take friendship to the next level if it doesn’t work out, the friendship is broken, beyond repair, and I…”

“Got dammit woman!” Erik interrupted angrily and let go of her hand.

“That’s your damn problem; you are too busy talking to listen. That’s not what I was going to say.”

Mekayla slightly stung, grabbed Erik’s hand back and put it in her lap.

“I’m sorry E. What were you going to say, I’m listening, I swear.”

Erik slightly frowning yet slightly smiling looked at Mekayla and said,

“What I was trying to say was,” He swallowed hard.

“If this thing is really going to work between you and I…” He grabbed both of her hands now and Mekayla held her breath in anticipation.

“Your punk ass is really gonna have to learn how to braid.”

Through giggles, they kissed.

THE END

FOR REAL