and he still won’t talk to me.”
“You are about to go to L.A. and start a whole new life. It’s about time you leave all of this drama behind, anyway,” Tina said as she helped me place my clothes in suitcases.
“I just hate that it has to be this way. Why couldn’t he have been with it?” I was thinking aloud. Tears began to form.
“Celess, when are you going to let go of the sensitive shit? Damn, you ain’t changed a bit,” Tina said. “Just be glad all you got was a smack and a broken vase. Shit, it could have been worse.”
I sighed. “I know.”
“Just cheer up. Tonight we’re gonna bring the New Year in right! Just like old times! We’re hittin’ up every club, every bar, and every party in the city! It’s gonna be on and poppin’!” Tina yelled.
I wiped my eyes and smiled. I slapped Tina’s hand. I was trying to convince myself that everything was going to be okay, but deep down inside I knew it wasn’t.
“That’s cute,” I told Tina, complimenting her on her fur coat.
It was a sporty baby pink, blue, and white short rabbit with a baby pink ribbed collar and cuffs. She wore a pair of fitted low-rider Diesel jeans and a wife beater. To match her coat she had on a pair of baby pink Manolo Blahnik Tim boots. She looked fly.
“Thank you,” Tina said as she whirled around, slowly modeling the coat. “That jacket is hot too,” she said, returning the compliment.
I was in a short black leather Harley-Davidson coat with a fox collar, a pair of Seven jeans, and a red big-neck sheer sweater. I had on some red pointy-toe Prada stilettos and a matching oversized bag. We both looked sporty but fly.
Tina was in the powder room putting on her final touches, eyelashes, and makeup. I was in the living room moving my luggage to the foyer. Our flight was scheduled to depart from Philadelphia at ten-twenty in the morning, so I wanted to have everything ready and by the door. Especially since we knew we were going to get home drunk as skunks and have no time or balance to do anything in the morning. We already had a town car scheduled to pick us up from my house at eight o’clock and everything.
“I’m ready, you ready?” Tina asked, exiting the powder room.
“Yeah, let me just get my keys and we out,” I said, grabbing for the small Gucci key ring that bonded my keys.
Tina and I both looked at each other, confused.
“Who are you expecting?” Tina asked.
“Nobody,” I said, just as bewildered as she.
“Who is it?” I asked too lazy to look through the peephole.
“It’s me, man, open the door.” The masculine voice sounded agitated.
I cracked open the door. “Khalil?”
“Celess, where Tina?”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised.
Khalil made his way through my front door. Tina was standing right behind me in the foyer.
“Tina, let me holla at you real quick, over here,” Khalil said as he walked into my living room.
Tina looked back at me with a confused expression on her face. I closed the front door and we followed him into the living room.
“Yo, Celess, can I have a minute with Tina, please?” Khalil asked. “I know yall all dressed and ready to hit the streets, but I need a minute.”
I didn’t know about Tina, but I was nervous. Tina gave me a look that told me to wait in the foyer. So I did. But I listened closely to what they were saying.
“When did you get out?” Tina asked curiously.
“Never mind all that. I’m out, that’s all that matters,” Khalil said.
Tina got to the point. “Okay, well, what’s the surprise visit for? I mean, you pop up here at Celess’s house after, what, a fuckin’ year, and you’re coming at me sideways, for what?”
“First of all, lower your fuckin’ voice. Second of all, I went past your house and your grandmom told me you was staying with Celess, so that’s why I came here to Celess’s house.”
“Okay, so now that you found me here, what’s up?”
“You know what the fuck is up. James wrote me a long letter-now you tell me what the fuck is up,” Khalil said.
I went back into the living room because at that point I knew exactly what Khalil was there for.
“Matter fact, why don’t both of yall tell me what the fuck is up,” Khalil said.
“Listen, neither of us has time for this shit right now. I’m sure you have a lot of people you want to see, being as though you just got released from prison and everything,” Tina said sarcastically.
“Naw, I got plenty of time. And I got released almost two months ago, so I made all my visits. Matter fact, I went to see James play in L.A. a couple weeks ago, and it was funny ’cause he told me he seen you, and I was looking for you but I couldn’t catch up with you, but I knew I would eventually catch up with you. I made it my business to catch up with you.”
Tina rolled her eyes and looked at me. I was standing there contemplating how we should handle the situation. I was ready to go for the phone, but Tina gave me a hint that she had everything under control.
“I don’t know what yall lookin’ so lost for, yall home,” Khalil said as he stood up from the sofa.
I took a deep breath. “Khalil, this isn’t the time or the place,” I said.
“You need to shut the fuck up!” Khalil snapped.
“Don’t even involve her!” Tina said in my defense.
“I didn’t involve her, she involved me! Both of yall bitches involved me!”
Tina started to walk away from Khalil toward the front door. I followed her lead.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Khalil asked as he pushed past me and grabbed Tina’s arm.
Tina was scared, I could tell, but she played cool.
“Just tell me one thing, Tina,” Khalil began.
“What’s that?” Tina asked, with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.
“Is what James told me true?”
Tina rolled her eyes and said, “Celess, go wait for me in the car. I’m only gonna be a minute.”
“I’m waiting in here,” I insisted. Regardless how scared I was, and how bad I would have loved to have waited in the car. I wasn’t about to leave Tina in there with Khalil by herself.
“You damn right you’re waiting in here,” Khalil said as he grabbed my arm with his free hand.
I swung on him and yanked away from him. Tina took advantage of the opportunity and yanked away from him too. We both dashed for the door and then we heard a loud
“Tina!” I screamed, startled and frozen.
Tina rolled onto her back. She was bleeding from a small hole in the back of her leg.
“Leave Celess out of this. This is between me and you,” she said with tears streaming down her face. That was the first time I actually seen Tina cry.
“You know what, bitch, you fucked with the wrong one! I’m gonna kill you right in front of ya little boyfriend, and then I’m gonna kill him! You played the wrong card this time! You fucked with the wrong one!”
“TINA! TINA!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I dropped to the floor and placed my hands over Tina’s drooped head, trying to comfort her. My hands were immediately drenched with Tina’s blood. I was shaking uncontrollably. I looked up at Khalil one last time.
My head fell up against the wall. My body was lifeless. My mind went blank.
I woke up to silence. My face felt heavy. I could only seethe ceiling. I lifted my arms and felt my face. It was covered with bandages. I panicked. I opened my mouth to speak, but only a whisper came out.
A nurse appeared. “Hi, there,” she said in a soft tone. She was smiling. “My name is Nurse Schwartz. I’m going
