Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss. (14 page)

"Hey Vicky," Jimmy said, eyeing her suspiciously. 
"Hey Jimmy. Can you do me a favor and hand this to Nic?" she said, placing the duffel bag in his hands.
It didn't take Jimmy long to feel the neatly packed money through the bag. He sighed and looked back at her.
"Vicky, I..."
"No, please don't say anything Jimmy. None of this is your fault. I think you're a great guy. But nothing you can say will make me stay."
Jimmy leaned on her door. He brushed his hand through his hair and looked at her. 
"Alright, then I'll keep quiet."
"Thank you," Victoria said, as she moved the gear to reverse. 
"But you know he's going to come after you when he gets this, right?"
"I doubt he'll even care, Jimmy."
Jimmy scoffed, "Come on Vicky, he's crazy about you, he just won't admit it."
Victoria shook her head, "I thought maybe there was something there. I hoped it was. But, he couldn't say those things to me if he cared. I don't see how he could. But I have to go now. And can you tell Raymond I said 'bye'?"
Jimmy looked down at her. "I'm sure Raymond would rather hear it from you...and trust me, I'll give you a fifteen minute head start, but he's going to come find you. I know him."
Victoria planted a small smile on her face as Jimmy lightly squeezed her hand and then turned to walk back through the gate.
Victoria cursed herself all the way back to Nic's loft. She should have packed first, then driven to Paul's. That way she could just drop off his car and go. She really didn't want to go back there, and now the thought of Nic maybe showing up was more than she could handle. She just wanted this done and over with. 
Jimmy waited exactly fifteen minutes before he walked into Nic's office. He and Eddie were leaning over his desk, looking at maps.
"But what about this territory...that's still me, right?" Nic asked.
"Yes, but that's what Sonny was telling Ensor about. And..."
"What?" Nic asked Jimmy, cutting Eddie off. "And where did you go? You're my second...you need to be looking at this."
Jimmy walked up to the desk and placed the bag down. "Victoria wanted to drop this off for you," Jimmy stated matter of fact.
Nic's eyes dropped to the bag. He had seen bags like this before. Several times. They ALWAYS contained money. She couldn't...Nic looked back up at Jimmy.
"Did you open it?" Nic asked.
"No."
Nic slowly unzipped the bag and stared at its contents. Several neat stacks of hundreds were staring back at him. He felt a tightening in his chest. She wanted to get away from him that bad? He was having trouble breathing. He grabbed his keys and walked around his desk and left without so much as another word to either of the men in his office. Eddie looked at Jimmy and then peeked into the bag. Jimmy walked over to the couch and sat down. He hoped that wasn't the last he would see of Victoria. 
As soon as Victoria parked, she quickly said hey to Sam, and rushed upstairs. She flung open the door and sprinted to the bedroom. She grabbed her old duffel bag that was tucked into the corner of the closet. She picked up her new and old converse, the few clothes she had brought over to his place and her toiletries from the bathroom.
She ran out into the front room to grab her Scrabble board but then she couldn't find her poetry book. She usually kept it on the coffee table, but it was missing. She looked by his entertainment center, but it wasn't there either. She ran to the bedroom again, and searched around for it, dropping to her knees and was looking underneath the bed when she heard the front door slam. 
She slowly lifted her head as she heard him coming down the hallway. When he walked into the room, at first he didn't see her, but then their eyes locked. He looked pissed and...well something that she couldn't pinpoint.
"Where did you get the money?" he asked her, walking towards her.
"It doesn't matter. It's all there and now my family and I are done with you," Victoria said, rising to her feet.
"It does matter. Where did you get it?!" Nic shouted at her. He normally kept his voice in check, but he looked livid. Well, she was done with this. She wasn't about to let him intimidate her.
She tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm and slung her towards his body.
"Nic, let go," Victoria quietly said, while trying to pull her arm from him.
"Where the fuck did you get the money?!" Nic repeated, locking her upper arm into a death grip.
Victoria just stared at him. She wasn't going to play this game with him. She looked down at her arm, waiting for him to release her.
She wasn't fighting him back. She wasn't pulling away from him. She really was done with their arrangement. Nic had thought he had more time. More time to figure out what to do with her. She still had several more days with him, and now it had all ended. Rightfully, he had no reason to hold onto her, but he couldn't let go of her arm. This was it...in a few moments she'd be walking out of the door...and leaving his life. He tried to tell himself that this was the best for both of them, and that he needed to get his business under control, which he couldn't do with Victoria around. At least that's what his mind was telling him...but the heart...well, that's a separate matter entirely. He hadn't really used those muscles in a long time...and now the only good thing he felt about himself...was about to be ripped from him. She would move on with her life...meet someone...oh fuck. Nic licked his dry lips to say something. Anything.
But nothing came.
Victoria saw his eyes go soft. That was the first time since he had promised to make her Italian food that she had seen that look. But too late. She gently pulled her arm from his grip and walked around him. She needed to leave before anything happened. Before she weakened. She would just have to leave her book. She walked out to the front of the condo and grabbed her bag. 

"You're not going to take your clothes?" Nic asked, leaning against the wall. He would try to act like it didn't matter. Try being the operative word. He was good with a poker face.
"They're not mine," Victoria said as she walked towards the door.
"I gave them to you as a gift," he said softly. "I'd like you to keep them."
Victoria paused at the door. "I don't want them," she said as she pulled the door open and closed it behind her.
"Good bye, Victoria," Nic whispered to himself. He wasn't sure how long after she had left that he remained motionless, leaning against the wall...but he knew when he left this place, he knew it would be a long time before he'd ever return.
Nic tried to walk out calmly, but he felt the heat rising through his body. "Fuck!!" he shouted as he threw a lamp into the bar area, shattering glass all over the floor. He pushed his hands through his hair and walked out, slamming the door behind him. He couldn't let her go that easily. 
Victoria leaned her head against the bus window. This was the third and final bus before she reached her parents' apartment. She looked out onto the street and saw a few homeless men sitting in between cracks and corners of buildings. She saw groups of middle or high school kids playing around while walking down the street. She saw the old basketball court she had walked by a million times. It was empty, most likely due to the cold. She sighed as the bus turned a familiar corner and made its way down to her street. When she finally reached the area where her apartment was located, she exited the bus and stared at the ugly brick building. It seemed like forever since she had been there. 
When Victoria unlocked the door to the apartment, she instantly smelled her mother's cooking. That memorable smell made her feel all warm inside, despite it being freezing cold outside. She figured they had probably settled in for an early nap. She quietly tiptoed to the couch. She noticed new blankets were folded up and placed at the bottom of the couch. She figured her mother had probably been sleeping out here. She did that from time to time when she wasn't getting along with James. That would usually force Victoria to sleep on the hard floor. But they must have gotten over their problems if her mom was back in bed with her dad. 
It felt so good to actually be back among normal people. People who didn't jet set to exotic locations. Or have cooks and housekeepers and drive in the latest cars that had been imported from overseas. Yes, the land of the normal people was where she fit in. She sat down and was about to lean her head back, when the overhead light blinded her.
"What are you doing here?" her father's voice asked. She turned around, and was about to smile until she saw the mean expression covering his face. What now?
"Hi daddy, I've missed--,"
"I asked you what are you doing here?" James repeated, folding his arms across his chest.
Victoria didn't know what to make of her father's unwelcome greeting. She studied the hard lines on his face and the tiny patches of gray that settled to the right side of his head. Her father looked much older than he was. And he had a constant wrinkle in his forehead from worry and disgust. He was always one of those two things. Worried or disgusted. And right now he looked disgusted. She looked behind him, and noticed her mother joining her father's side.
"Um, I've come to move back in," Victoria said, looking from her mother to her father.
"No the hell you haven't! You're not welcome in my place," James said.
Victoria stood in the middle of the floor, completely confused. Was her father joking? He never joked, but he had to be. Not welcome?
"You think people didn't tell me what you was doing with him? How you erased our debt? Oh, I know. I know everything," he spat out, narrowing his eyes at her.
Shit. She knew people talked, but she had hoped staying out of town would have stopped any rumors spreading. But...as always, they did. "Daddy, I--," Victoria started again.
"You hear me? You're not welcome here. I don't want some trashy daughter who whore herself around in my place!"
"James, don't call her that!" her mom shot at him, while tying her robe around her.
"Why not? It's the truth. I never in a million years think you stoop so low to clear our debt," James said, his eyes raking over her body in repulsion.
Victoria started to feel her blood boil and tears brimming on the surface of her eyes. Damn it, you better not cry, she chastised herself. Stand up!
"First off, it's not OUR debt, it was YOUR debt. But because of your bad decisions, me and mommy were drug down with you. You think this is what I wanted?! To do that?! He threatened to hurt you two if I didn't. And now, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have, but then, I didn't know that. I did it for you, and this is the treatment I get? Trust me, daddy, I already feel bad enough. You don't have to add to that," Victoria shouted, letting the tears finally fall.
"Calm down, honey. Everything just happened so fast. One moment you're here, the next we hear these awful things about you living with him--," her mom said, before her father interrupted.
"No, not living with him! From what I heard, she was staying at a separate location since he's MARRIED, and he would go whore around with her there. He didn't even have the decency to let her live in his home. Either she was just too dumb to get it or enjoyed being a common slut."
How dare he stand there and call her names. He knew NOTHING about what she had gone through. She was sick of this. Her body was weak and she needed rest. "Daddy, you don't know what went on between us. You have no clue. But I'm tired now, and I'm going to bed," Victoria said, while picking up her bag and heading to the bathroom. Her father caught her arm and swung her backwards, almost knocking her off balance.
"Oh, no you're not! I'm not having my enemy's slut staying in my house. You aren't welcome, now leave!" he demanded.
Olivia sucked in a gasp. "James, you ain't putting her out on the street like that. It's freezing out there," Olivia stated.
"This is my Goddamn apartment! My name is on the lease and she can't stay here. Seems like you gave that white man exactly what he wanted, now you going to come crying to us. I don't think so! I swear before God, I'll drag you out of this house myself. Or call the cops. Street seem exactly where you would be best off. Make some more money I guess. You ain't no child of mine, you hear me!" James yelled furiously, while jerking her bag from her and flinging it towards the door.
Victoria's face was on fire with shame and shock. She couldn't believe she was being treated like this by her father. Someone who was supposed to love her unconditionally. Not that he had ever shown her that growing up. The only reason she was even in this situation was because her love for them...or at least her mom, WAS unconditional. She did all of this for them. She could have left home, started a new life, and left Nic to do whatever to her family. And this is her treatment in the end. But she knew her father...he would put her out or call the cops. He was like Mr. Parker in more ways than one.
She couldn't even look at him anymore. She turned to her mother, who was on the verge of tears herself. "Mommy, I don't have anywhere to go," she whispered, pleading with her mother to overturn her father's statement. Her mother quickly looked away. The sure sign that she was going to let her husband win this battle. Victoria felt so hurt and betrayed. She stared at her mother's turned down face a few moments longer, while a tear rolled down her cheek. Victoria nodded and walked to the door to retrieve her small duffel bag. She quickly wiped at another tear and exited her parents' apartment without looking back.
Outside, the cold air hit her, stinging her face. She could see her breath every time she breathed in and out. She wrapped her coat tightly around her and started walking towards her old bus stop. She had taken that bus everywhere. To school, to the mall...back when life was less confusing and harsh.
She sat down on the cold metal bench to think. It would be getting dark soon, and she only had twenty-two dollars and eighteen cents in her purse. She had to think of something. She refused to go back to Paul. He had already shown her more generosity than she felt she deserved. She looked out at some of the stores that were starting to turn on their closed signs. Fuck, it was freezing. She needed to think of something soon.
Victoria had worked all through school, so she never really hung out with anyone. Not anyone she could actually call on to stay with for a while. Yet another reason she resented her father. And her high school boyfriend had moved away a few years ago, or else he probably would have helped her out. But there was one other person. Perhaps there was one other person who could help her out of her homeless situation. She prayed that she could still call him "friend" even after what he knew about her and the way he was treated by Nic. She used the last of her money to hail a cab to Antonio's house. She was thankful that she had paid attention that night to where he lived. 
When she arrived at Antonio's, she knocked on the door. She had worked on her speech in the cab about what she was going to say to him. She realized she was showing up out of the blue and she didn't want to seem desperate...although she was. This was her last resort. If Antonio wouldn't accept her, perhaps she could find a shelter...but the thought of that made her miserable.
When Antonio answered the door, she watched the perplexed look on his face. He glanced around her looking down the street, and then he looked back at her again. "Victoria? What's wrong?"
"Hi, Antonio. Um, I know this is going to sound strange since I haven't spoken to you in a few weeks, but, I—I...oh, shit," Victoria whispered before she burst into a flood of tears and buried her face in her hands. She felt so pathetic. She thought she had been so brave today by leaving Nic, only to fall apart at her father's words. But at least she had refused to let Nic or her father see her cry. 
"Holy fuck," Antonio said, as he ushered her into his house. He quickly closed the door, then turned around and grabbed her in a bear hug. "Sshh, what's wrong?" he asked.
Victoria didn't want to let go of him. She buried her face into his chest and wept. Finally, someone who fucking cared if she was on the street and freezing to death. Someone whom she hoped who would treat her like a human being, and not some item or thing.
"Ssh...tell, me what happened," he said, as he pulled away from her and rubbed his warm hands over her frozen ones.
After a few moments, Victoria was able to calm down enough to explain to Antonio what happened. She told him everything and he sat and listened, nodding every now and then. When she was completely done, he pulled her close for another hug. 
"You're alright now, you know. And I know what you need. A nice, hot shower," he said, as he grabbed her hand and led her upstairs. He handed her a towel, washcloth and one of his large t-shirts. 
"Okay, now it's not much of a bathroom, but hey, the shower works and the toilet flushes. That's all I need," he smiled at her. Victoria nodded in agreement.
His bathroom was one tenth the size of Nic's, but something about that made her feel more comfortable. You certainly couldn't make love in his shower, but just that thought made Victoria want to burst into tears. She thought about that first kiss. How soft Nic's lips were, and how he had been staring back and forth from her eyes to her lips the whole time she had been talking to him. She let the hot water pour over her cold body...feeling as though little needles were pricking her.
Antonio stood outside the bathroom, leaning against the wall. He shoved his hands into his pockets, tilted his head back and sighed. Nic's words to him at his party ran over and over inside his head. He knew some would think him a fool, but there was no way in hell he could have turned her away. Consequences be damned. In a way, he was glad she had come to him. The thought of her being out there on the streets, while it's dark and freezing cold...sent a shiver down his spine. Thinking about all the lowlifes who could have hurt her and how scared she would have been pissed him off. But...this was Nic's girl. And he had already been warned. Antonio wasn't naïve. You don't fuck with these guys. They don't believe in calling the police or getting the courts involved. They accused, tried and executed those they felt deserved it. 
He heard the water shut off. He would deal with all of this later. Right now the most important thing was that she was happy and safe. Right now, that was all that mattered. Something about this girl made him feel overprotective of her. Even the first day he met her. He knew she was miserable at that party, and he wanted to see her smile. So invited her to his party instead. Something told him she would like it more. Until Nic showed up.
When Victoria got out and dried off, she put on his large shirt and pulled her jeans back on. She met him back out in the hallway. He grabbed her hand and led her to the end of the hallway.
"And you can take my bedroom," he said, while opening the door.
Judging on his room, he was definitely not expecting company. There were clothes all over his floor and a plate of food sitting on the floor by the bed. Pictures of different rappers and naked women littered his walls. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw a questionable plant in the corner of his room.
"Uh, yeah...I believe in an herbal existence," Antonio said, noticing her staring at the plant. Victoria burst into a laugh. She sat down on the messy bed and looked up at him.
"I can take the couch. I would feel bad kicking you out of your room," Victoria said, but Antonio wouldn't hear of it. "No, absolutely not. My momma raised me better than that," he said, winking at her. 
"Where's Sean?" Victoria asked, remembering Antonio's roommate's name.
"Oh, he's visiting family back on the west coast. He'll be gone for the rest of the week."