“Nothing personal,” Freeze said calmly and raised his nine.
He shot Ronnie twice in the head and sped away. “Strictly business,” Paulleen said and smiled at Freeze.
Travis and Jackie heard the shots and jumped up. “Stay here!” he yelled at Me’shelle when she called out to him from the bedroom.
They grabbed their guns and ran outside, but it was too late. They got to the street in time to see a truck round the corner. Ronnie’s body lay dead in street.
Jackie dropped to her knees and held Ronnie’s head as she cried. Travis ran back inside. “Call an ambulance! Ronnie’s been shot!” he yelled.
When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics pronounced Ronnie dead at the scene.
Chapter Forty-three
On the night before Ronnie’s funeral, Me’shelle waited until Brandy had fallen asleep before leaving the room to call Travis. She asked him if she could come over. Naturally, Travis said yes. He hadn’t seen Me’shelle since Ronnie’s murder. In those three days, she had called once to see how he was doing, but the conversation was a short one.
“You had a lot going on, Travis. I just went through all that with my family. To be honest with you, I didn’t feel up to it again,” Me’shelle explained.
“You don’t have to explain, Me’shelle. I understand completely,” Travis asserted, but he really was disappointed that she hadn’t called more often. After the way he treated her when she needed him, though, Travis felt like he had it coming. It hurt, but like most men, he tried not to show it. “I’ll see you when you get here.”
When Me’shelle arrived, she tried to get right to the reason for her visit that evening. “Wow, where do I start? You know, it’s funny when you have something to say and you go over it and over it in your mind, and you know exactly what you wanna say, then when it comes time to say it, you just can’t get it out.”
“Just say what’s on your mind, Me’shelle,” Travis encouraged, but he was uncertain. Just like she felt the day he admitted he was a robber, he was afraid of what she might be about to say.
“Okay.” Me’shelle took a deep breath. “You know that I’ve been through a lot these last few weeks, and I understand that you have too. My family has been through a lot and-what I’m trying to say is that I’m not going to the funeral with you tomorrow.”
“I understa-”
“Please, Travis, let me finish. I came here to tell you that I can’t see you anymore.”
“What are you sayin’?”
“I came here to say goodbye,” she answered.
“Why?”
“That night, lying under that car listening to the shooting, I thought I was going to die. And then to see the bodies drop when you killed them-I know that I never want to go through anything like that again.”
“And you won’t have to, Me’shelle. Nothing like that will ever happen again. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“You can’t say that. And even if you could, I still have Brandy to think about.”
“What about her?”
“I’ve got to get her away from here. Far away from here, someplace where she’ll feel safe. Where I’ll feel safe,” Me’shelle said softly. “That’s the only way Brandy is going to have a chance at living a normal life. She deserves that after all she’s been through.”
“That’s fine with me, Me’shelle. I want to get away from here too. Where ever you go, I want to go with you. Be with you,” he insisted.
“I don’t want you to come with me,” she said without emotion.
“Why?”
“Travis, you represent-what am I saying? You
Travis sat quietly.
“You robbed a bank and a grocery store, and those are just the two that I know about. I heard on the news that there were shootouts with the police both times.”
“That’s true. But all that is over. I’ve given all that up.”
“Gave it up for what? For me? For love?”
“Yes, Me’shelle. I love you.”
“And I love you. But what happens when the money runs out? Do you rob another bank? Or what if the police come after you? Do you shoot it out with them? And what happens when somebody comes to kill you like they did Ronnie? Do you kill him too?”
Again Travis had no answer.
“Travis, you’re violent man, surrounded by very violent people. I can’t, I won’t be any part of that. It’s already cost my family too much.”
“I promise you that it won’t be like that.”
“I know that you mean what you’re saying, and sometimes I want so badly to believe in the perfect picture you paint. But I know that promises get broken. Even ones we really mean.” Me’shelle stood up. “I’m gonna go now, before I get weak for you and change my mind.”
Travis stood up and stepped in front of her. “Please don’t go. Don’t do this to us. I love you, Me’shelle.”
She put her arms around Travis and kissed him on the cheek. “Goodbye, Travis.”
Travis held her tightly in his arms. When he let her go and stepped aside, Me’shelle walked past him and out the door without looking back. She cried as she walked to her car. She knew she had done the right thing, but it still hurt.
Travis stood in the doorway and watched as Me’shelle got back in her car and drove away. He felt numb all over, like somebody had just kicked his insides out. He walked back in the house slowly and sat on the couch. He stayed there for hours, thinking for maybe the first time about the cost of the choices that he had made.
The following morning, Jackie came to pick Travis up for the funeral. As soon as he was in the limo, Jackie asked where Me’shelle was.
“She doesn’t want to see me again.”
“Where have I heard that before?”
“I think she means it this time,” Travis said as he stared out the window.
“Okay, she means it this time, huh? If she had meant it the last time, you wouldn’t have gone over there fuckin’ with them people, and maybe Ronnie would still be alive.”
Travis looked at Jackie. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Look, Travis, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I know that this whole thing hasn’t been easy for you. And for her to drop that on you-”
“I’ll be all right,” Travis said. He went on to tell Jackie every word that Me’shelle said.
Since Me’shelle walked out of his door, Travis had replayed the conversation over and over, like a movie in his mind. Sometimes his arguments would change, as he thought of the things that he could have and maybe should have said to make her stay. But Me’shelle’s response would always be the same. And in the end, she would always stand up and walk away without looking back.
Jackie sat quietly and held his hand while Travis talked. He spoke about how wasted he felt. Jackie’s mind began to drift.
The thought made her mad as hell.
Once the funeral was over, Travis and Jackie walked back to the limo. “How do you feel?” Jackie asked.
“I buried my best friend today,” Travis said coldly, and then had to apologize. “I’m sorry, Jackie. I know he was your best friend too.”
