Page 20 of The Heart Of A Real Woman
I lost my fucking cool. “Nah, you got shit all wrong. I get you’re upset, but don’t lie on me. I didn’t kidnap her, and I damn sho didn’t rape her.” I said, which only seemed to fuel his anger.
“You lucky I don’t do more than that. I should break your fucking face.”
“You got me fucked up.”
“No, no! Officer, that’s not true. He didn’t kidnap me or rape me!” Mary shouted, tears streaming down her face as she tried to defend me.
“Mary, hush.” Her mother told her, pulling her towards the car.
“Alright, everyone, please remain calm. Mr. Richardson, could you please step over there with your family? I need to take his statement as well. Rest assured, if any crime has been committed, I will take appropriate action.”
After her mother finally got her father to back off, the officer officially introduced himself.
“Hello, I’m Officer Jenkins, badge number Mel-2245. I need to take your statement. First, could you please confirm your name and age for me?”
I just stared at the nigga. Where I came from, we didn’t talk to 5-0.
“Listen, I’m just trying to do my job here. If you refuse to talk, it will only make the situation worse.”
I nodded, blowing out a breath as I thought about my son. He needed me. “Moses Levi Mikaelson, and I’m 19.”
“Do you have any identification to verify that?”
I nodded and reached for my wallet, handing over my license, but my eyes never left Mary. By now, her father had noticed the hickies on her neck and was cussing her out. It took everything in me not to step in. I had to keep reminding myself that getting involved would only make things worse.
After he verified my name and age, Officer Jenkins inquired about my relationship with Mary and where all we had been that day. As he took notes, I felt like I was walking on eggshells, unsure how this would unfold. Fortunately, since Mary maintained that she hadn’t been kidnapped or raped and we were both of legal age, there wasn’t much the officer could do.
However, this outcome only infuriated Mr. Richardson further. That was the last day I saw Mary for quite some time. He forcibly put her in the car, ordering her never to see or speak to me again as if she were a fucking kid.
The next day, I tried calling her, but they had already changed her number. I even stopped by Katrina’s place after some time had passed, hoping to catch her there. But I learned that they had grounded her too, restricting her from going anywhere or doing anything. I couldn’t even catch her at the library she normally went to near her school.
Quickly, our shit fell apart just as I had always feared it would, and it fucked me up. That was exactly what I had been trying to avoid.
Chapter Eight.
Moses
The next time I saw Mary was when she finally gathered enough courage to call me from her new number. It had been months, and so much had changed. I was in a meeting with my OG when she hit me, but as soon as I heard her voice, nothing else mattered. I dropped everything and headed to her, even if it meant showing up in her parents’ neighborhood. I was desperate and didn’t give a fuck about running into her old man.
I pulled up to the park in her neighborhood, ready to hop out and meet her on the bench where she sat. But before I could even open the door, she was already heading across the grass towards my car.
As soon as she slid inside, I pulled her close and kissed her, and she kissed me back with equal emotion, tears streaming down her pretty face.
“Why didn’t you call me, Shorty?” I was on her ass.
“I just got a new phone. My daddy took my last one.”
“I know. Katrina told me you were punished and all that. But you got homegirls at school. You could’ve hit me from one of their phones before school ended. You know my number.”
“He kept threatening to have you locked up, Moses.”
“I don’t give a fuck about that. The officer said as long as you are of age—”
“I know what the officer said, but my daddy can be an asshole. You saw that firsthand. I don’t want him provoking you and you getting into trouble. You already have a record.”
I nodded, understanding where she was coming from. Truth be told, I didn’t want that either, but I was ready to risk it all for her. The thought of losing her was unbearable.
“You trying to make a life for you and your son. I don’t want to complicate your world any more than it already is.”
