Braver (14 page)

It was too late for that, now. I had to find a cab wherever I could.

“Hey, doll,” came a voice from an alley I was hobbling by. “Let me help you with those bags.”

“Fuck off,” I threw over my shoulder, hurrying along as fast as I could. A cab? I’d take a police car, at this point. Any car. Anybody I could flag down to help me.

“I will, once I get a taste of this pretty thing,” he said, catching my tote bag and dragging me backward.

There was nothing else to do, I told myself later. I released the tote bag and propelled it back into him with a jerk of my elbow. As he stumbled backward onto the pavement, I took off, forcing myself to run in spite of my heavy limping.

My assailant would get the surprise of his life when he opened the bag, expecting money, credit cards, and valuables, and only getting a few clothing items, toiletries, and a bunch of random photos and letters.

It hurt worse than any of my injuries, however, to lose those memories. Each of the photos had represented a happy time with the girls. I wouldn’t have that anymore. Even worse was the loss of Jazz’s letter. That was a blow. Those words had convinced me that I could make it on my own. Now, I wouldn’t have them to guide me in this new life I was going to be forced to take on.

At least he hadn’t taken my purse. That contained all the necessities.

I sobbed in relief. A blessed, blessed taxi. Finally, I wiped at my face with my sleeve, trying to mop up the blood as I ran into the street toward it, waving like a crazy woman. I stood in front of it and forced it to stop, the driver’s mouth moving in silent curses as he leaned on his horn and piled on the brakes.

“Thanks for stopping,” I panted, climbing into the backseat.

“Why’d you jump out in front of me like that?” he shouted. “I coulda killed you!”

“I really needed a cab,” I said, my chest heaving as I looked down the street and saw my assailant making his way toward us. “Just drive!”

The driver took off, the tires burning rubber. I didn’t breathe easily until we were two blocks away.

“Where am I taking you?” the driver asked, looking at me in the rearview window. “Shit, you’re bleeding. To the hospital?”

“No,” I said, “I’ll be fine.” I didn’t know that for a fact, but I had to have something to believe in. I reached into the purse at my side and retrieved the sheet of paper Blue had given me. Hope. That’s what the paper represented. I handed it to the driver.

“But that’s all the way across town,” he said. “And I’m driving in the opposite direction.”

“I’ve got the money if you’ve got the time,” I said. “And it’d be better if we didn’t backtrack through the neighborhood we’ve just come out of. Find a different route.”

Sitting in the back of the taxi, holding onto my suitcase and purse for dear life, everything caught up to me.

Mama had tried to kill me, I realized, even though I’d seen her holding the gun, jumped out of the window to dodge the bullets. The woman I’d grown to love through my years living in her boarding house had tried to kill me over a paltry two grand.

I shook my head, dumbfounded at Mama, dumbfounded at myself and the tears running down my face. Why was this so upsetting? I’d always known that Mama was a little bit too close to her money. Was I that surprised that she would try to kill me over it?

Yes, yes I was. Mama and I had always been close. She trusted me just as much as I trusted her. I supposed we’d both surprised each other tonight — her switching from miserly to murderous in a matter of a few hours, and me standing up for myself.

It had been Jazz who had warned me about Mama and the money I’d been earning. Jazz had never liked the idea of keeping all of her earnings in Mama’s safe even though it was the rules. My former roommate had asked me if I thought Mama would let me withdraw all of my earnings if I’d asked. Back then, I’d supposed Mama would. Why wouldn’t she? It was money that I earned, that she’d been keeping for me in the safe.

Now I knew the truth. In Mama’s eyes, it was all her money. Sure, she might release a little bit at a time to the girls so they could buy snacks, clothes, toiletries, and other necessities, but none of us was saving up to buy a car — or saving up to get out.

That’s how Mama earned the real money. By none of us standing up to get what was rightfully ours.

I shook my head. I’d seen Mama mad before, but this had been extreme. She’d been after me, but I hoped Blue hadn’t been caught in the crossfire. Blue had only been trying to protect me and help get me out of there.

“This is the place,” the driver said. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the hospital? There’s one not too far from here.”

“No, but thank you,” I said, handing him enough bills from my purse to pay him for the ride and his kindness. “This is me.”

“Good luck, then,” he said.

I pushed my suitcase out of the cab and climbed out after it. The taxi departed and I peered up at the apartment building — and the next part of my life.

The apartment building Blue had directed me to was a tall, well-kept place. It had about twelve stories that I could see. And the area of town was an upgrade from what I was used to.

I stepped up to the entrance and scanned down the list of names. Grimacing, I realized that Blue hadn’t had enough time to tell me Casey’s last name. All of the tenants of the building were presented with the initial of their first name, then their full last name. There were no less than ten people whose names began with a “C.”

Sighing, I pushed the first one. The loud buzzer made me jump. I was about to make as many as nine people unhappy campers.

There was no response, so I pressed the button again. Maybe Blue hadn’t been able to call Casey ahead of time to let her know I was coming. My heart clenched. Maybe that was because Mama had hurt Blue. I would never be able to forgive myself if that happened.

“Whadd’ya want?” a gruff voice boomed out of the speaker, startling me.

“I’m looking for Casey,” I said, speaking as clearly as possible.

“No Casey here.”

I took a deep breath and pressed the second one. The response came immediately.

“Yes?”

“Is there a Casey there?” I asked, feeling hopeful at the kinder voice.

“Do you know what the fuck time it is?” the person exploded. “It’s the middle of the fucking night is what time it is! Have a little respect!”

I recoiled from the speaker, but I forced myself to keep going. I needed help. I needed to find Casey.

I pressed the third button.

“Cocoa?” came the voice from the speaker. “Is it you?”

I sagged in relief. “Yes, it’s me,” I said. “Are you Casey?”

“Yes, come on up,” she said. “Apartment 7A. On the seventh floor.”

The front door buzzed and unlocked. I laughed in relief. If Casey knew I was coming, that meant Mama hadn’t killed Blue. Blue had been able to call her friend and give her a head’s up. I hauled the door open, yanking my suitcase after me. The pain in my ankle was unbearable. I resorted to hopping on my other leg all the way inside to find the elevator out of order.

Seventh floor? Heaven help me.

I found the stairwell, leaning on my suitcase as I hobbled across the lobby. It was dimly lit, which was to be expected for this time of night, but it looked nice enough. It was clean, and that was what was most important to me. Mailboxes lined one of the walls. There was an assortment of potted plants near the elevator. I wondered how long it had been since it functioned.

The stairwell was empty and a little dingy. I looked up at all the flights of stairs and felt more than a little hopeless. Dragging the suitcase and hopping up them on one foot left me breathless by the time I reached the first landing. For the second flight, I resorted to sitting down and scooting up on my ass, yanking my suitcase step by step.

That’s how it took me ten minutes to get up seven flights of stairs. Painfully.

Praying that Casey hadn’t given up on me, I stood and pushed open the door on the landing. A pretty, petite redhead was hurrying down the hallway toward me.

“Cocoa?” she called. “It’s me, Casey. I was coming looking for you — what took you — oh, no.”

She got close and took stock of my appearance. I hadn’t even had a chance to do that. I hope I didn’t frighten her.

“Let’s get you inside,” she said, taking me by the arm so gently that I wept.

It had to have been the shock of the night — first getting attacked by Mike, then discarded and attacked by Mama, and mugged on the street. I was bone tired, hurt, and didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing.

Casey didn’t say a word. She shifted her touch and hugged me tight even though we’d just met.

“You don’t have to tell me what happened,” she said after my tears had stopped falling. “Unless it would make you feel better. Now, let me take your suitcase. I’ll get you cleaned up.”

Unthinking, I turned to follow her up the hallway and fell, gasping as I’d tried to put my full weight on my ankle. Casey turned quickly.

“Should we go to the hospital?” she asked. “There’s one just a few blocks away.”

“I just want to rest,” I said. “I know I look beat up. Maybe tomorrow I can go to a doctor. But, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get some rest.”

“It’s up to you, Cocoa,” Casey said. “Let me run your suitcase down to the room and I’ll be back to help you. Don’t go anywhere or try to get up. Just relax. You’re safe here.”

I watched her jog away, her hair bouncing against her back as the wheels of my suitcase sang over the carpet. The thought flitted through my head that maybe she was robbing me blind, but at this point, she could have it. I was too tired to fight. I felt like a shell of myself.

“You okay?”

I jumped as I looked up, Casey regarding me kindly but critically.

“That was fast,” I said.

“I leave you alone for, what, thirty seconds, and you go falling asleep in hallways,” Casey joked, helping me to stand. “Now, lean on me and don’t put any weight on that bum leg. We’ll go as slow as you need to.”

The redhead was small but strong. She carried me each time I took a step with my right leg. Both of us were sweating when we reached apartment 7A.

“Home, sweet home,” she said, pushing open the door. “I’ll give you the tour in a minute, but let’s get you to the bathroom, first.”

From what I could see from the light by the front door, the apartment was small but cozy. There was a lot of stuff, but it was kept pretty well organized. The bathroom, I was relieved to discover, was spacious enough to fit the both of us along with a sizeable sink, commode, and a pretty big bathtub.

When Casey flipped on the light switch, I gasped. Blood had dried on my face, caking one whole side. Something glittered on my forehead. I leaned forward and swooned. A chunk of glass was protruding from my skin.

“Easy,” Casey soothed, taking me by the shoulders. “It’s going to be fine. I’m going to take care of you. Just sit down right here.”

I sank down onto the commode, feeling woozy. Maybe I should go to the hospital.

Casey turned on the faucet in the sink and soaked a washcloth before wringing it out.

“Let’s get that blood cleaned up so we can see what all we’re dealing with,” she said, talking more to herself than to me.

The water was warm and I allowed my eyes to shut, absorbing her gentle dabbing with no small degree of comfort. It felt good, making me believe that everything was going to turn out okay, somehow.

“Head wounds always bleed a lot,” Casey murmured, making me open my eyes. She was examining my forehead, holding the bloody washcloth.

“Sorry for ruining that,” I said, pointing at the square of terrycloth.

Casey made a sound in the back of the throat. “A little cold water and it’ll come right out,” she said. “And what’s a washcloth to fixing you up? Priorities, Cocoa, rearrange them.”

I had to smile. Casey was turning out to be a fireball.

“Okay, I have to get this glass out,” she said. “I’m going to sterilize some tweezers in some alcohol and hit the first aid kit for some gauze. It’s going to hurt some — I won’t lie to you.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “Do whatever you have to. I’m just grateful for your help.”

“No need to be,” she threw over her shoulder as she bustled from the bathroom. “Any friend of Sandra is a friend of mine.”

I had to think for a moment before I realized that Sandra was Blue’s name before she started working at the nightclub.

I snaked my hand up my damp face and felt at the glass. It stung a little, but I thought the majority of my pain was smothered with exhaustion.

“No touching,” Casey said, swatting my hand away. “I’ve washed my hands and sterilized everything. Your greatest risk now is infection. Who knows what’s on your hands?”

“Garbage,” I said. “I jumped from a second-story window into a dumpster.”

Casey whistled before setting a formidable first aid kit on the sink. “Must have been pretty desperate to do that,” she said.

“I was being shot at,” I said. “Landing is what happened to my ankle.”

“I’ll check that out next as soon as I solve the situation with your forehead,” Casey said. “Anywhere else that you’re hurt?”

“I think I might have some broken ribs,” I said.

“A big fall will do that.”

“It wasn’t the fall,” I said. I kind of wondered how much I should be holding back from Casey. I didn’t want to scare her, but my words were just pouring out of me. She was easy to talk to. “Some asshole attacked me. He also punched me on my jaw — and bit my boob.”

“Fucker,” Casey observed, rattling around in the first aid kit.