Page 41 of Welcome to the Table
After they finished cleaning and bringing a bottle of Don to our table, I sat on one couch, and they sat opposite me. The room was glass but soundproof, so no one would know what we were discussing, but they could see us. I looked downstairs, and they were dancing and partying like shit just didn’t happen, but that was a luxury of controlling shit. We all poured our drinks, and I knew Hellcat was dying to know what the fuck was going on.
“What the fuck was Frenchy doing in the city, and what the fuck was he talking about?” he asked, throwing back a shot.
I ran down to him everything that happened when I left the house, leading to where we currently were.
“I didn’t know anything about the shit he was talking about. It’s too late to try and make it back to Melph to talk to him, but them niggas not stepping in this club with coke. We don’t do drugs of any kind. I don’t give a fuck what he talking about,” I told them, and Hellcat rubbed his beard.
I knew he was in deep thought about some shit. I looked over at Hollygrove, and he was smiling wide as fuck. They were on the same page, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t read their fucking minds. Their antennas were sparking the same energy, but I couldn’t feel a fucking thing.
“The fuck y’all niggas thinking about?” I looked at them.
“Let them niggas push that shit through the club. Allies are better than enemies. We gon’ take half of everything they make on top of our own money. Drain their asses, but the catch is, we think smart. Calliope, you type up a contract and make them sign it. We can’t do shit with Melph out of commission for however long. We know Hellcat don’t fuck with Wisdom like that. This shit stays between us. They wanna come in and think they gon’ take over? Nah, we got something for they ass,” Grove said, and I thought about it. That was a smart move. We would make more money, and they would fucking drown.
“Man, fuck all that. We could have killed them niggas, and this conversation wouldn’t be happening, but y’all gone soft and shit and tied them up. They came into our shit and marked their territory, and you falling right into their fucking trap.” Hellcat was pissed and rightfully so, but this wasn’t the time for that.
“Nah, we gon’ kill their pockets. Why the fuck would we start an unnecessary fucking war, Hellcat? Think about it. We feed damn near the entire city, and the last thing we need is a war,” I told him. He put his head down because he knew I was right.
“Give me a few days, and I’ll have everything set up. Melph will be gone, and Wisdom ain’t gon’ know shit,” I told them, standing to my feet.
“Nigga, where you going? Back to the fucking forest to see if Klarity is there? I already know she not. You saw the way Athena looked at her, and we know what the look means,” he said, and my stomach went hollow.
I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I still had hope that she was at home waiting for me. Plus, I didn’t think my mother would break my heart like that, so my mind stood on the positive side of shit. If anybody knew about the ugly side of me, it was Athena, and she didn’t want to get on it because she wasn’t off limits either.
“Nigga, fuck you. I’m going home to get some sleep and ignore the fucking world for a couple of days, so don’t call my fucking phone unless it’s an emergency.” I dapped them up and headed out.
I thought about what the fuck my brother was saying, and the shit made sense. Athena had to have info on Klarity before we got there for her to have her damn near dragged out of the house as soon as she saw her. I couldn’t go against my mother for the simple fact that she was my mother, and I held her on such a high pedestal, but in a lot of ways, we were alike. Evil lived inside us because of Melph. We didn’t fear him, but would lay down any life for him. The shit was in us, not on us.
Hellcat was the loud, flamboyant one whose mess I always had to clean up, but Athena and I made silent moves. We didn’t talk much when handling business. I needed to speak with her, but it would have to be another day because I was tired, sweaty, and irritated. All I wanted to do was get to my fucking house, shower, and fall out in the fucking bed.
The dude brought my ride around, and I jumped in and took off. The breeze was cool, and I needed it to clear my head and figure out our next move. I already knew Athena was aware of what had happened in the club, so it was only a matter of time before she called me or showed up at my house. She was the only woman who could come to my house and do what the fuck she wanted, and I let her. I was a momma’s boy at heart, and that shit would never change.
“I got you, Calliope.” The valet shook me from my thoughts when he came around and handed me my keys.
I shook my head and hopped in my ride. I rode to my home in silence, reflecting on all the shit that happened today, from the second line and everything that led up to us being at my parents’ house. I knew they trusted Wisdom, but I didn’t. I kept that part to myself because the truth about him would come to light. Wisdom was Melph’s friend and had been for as long as I had been alive, so I never questioned it. This nigga never talked about having a family. Wife or kids? Where did he fucking live, and who was he fucking? I needed answers, and I was going to get them. And last, but not least, I think the nigga wanted my momma. It was the way he looked at her when we were at the table. Malice. Jealousy. Lust. If he ain’t already had her, but I didn’t have proof. The chemistry between the two couldn’t be missed, but that ain’t my business.
I pulled down the dark road once again to get to my house, but this time it felt different. A chill went through me, but I shook that shit off. I was the only one who lived in the fucking forest, and nobody but those close to me knew where I laid my head. Being surrounded by trees and different types of plants gave me a sense of peace that I didn’t know I needed. I didn’t ask to be part of this fucking family, but I played the hand that I was dealt and kept it moving.
As I got closer to my house, that feeling was slowly creeping up on me again. I pulled my gun and set it on my lap as I pulled into my circular driveway. I noticed Klarity’s Benz parked in the same spot it was in before we left earlier. That was strange. I hopped out of the car, pulling my other gun, and walked over to her car. I realized the engine was still going. Her tint was so dark that I couldn’t see inside the car.
I tucked one of my guns and pulled the handle on the door. It was unlocked, so I pulled it open, and she fell into my arms.Blood was everywhere in the car. She had a single gunshot wound to her head. I looked at the other seat and saw her pink and chrome .22 on the seat with blood all over it. I had to be fucking tripping. I held her in my arms as fresh blood poured out of her. This shit had just happened.
“What the fuckkkkk, mannnnn!” I yelled so loud the fucking trees shook.
I prided myself on being a private man, and now I felt violated. Crimson blood covered my hands and clothes as I almost vomited from the slick feeling of my shirt sticking to my skin. I laid her back in the car, moved away from her, and took off my shirt. I tried my best to get the blood off my hands, but it wasn’t working. My mind wasn’t fucked up, but the thought of blood soiling my hands had vomit rising in my throat. I backed up, just looking at her car with her in it, and anger took over my body. I hadn’t felt this way in years, and somebody was about to give me some fucking answers.
Something was off, though. She didn’t have on the clothes that we left the house in. She had on a white dress with a white scarf wrapped around her head like she was about to be baptized. She even had white gloves on her hands. This shit was personal. My first thought was that it was Athena, but she didn’t move like this. She was a different type of monster. Her body would have been chopped up in front of my house to send a warning. This shit was calculated, but nonetheless, it was sent as a message, and it was loud and clear.
White stood for innocence, new beginnings, cleanliness, and purity. All those things which she was not, and whoever did this shit was trying to show me who Klarity really was. My hands ran across my head as I stared at her lifeless body in her car. Shit felt like I was in a dream. She wasn’t who I thought she was, and I believed every fucking word she told me. I should have left herass where she was when I ran into her, but it was too late now. The damage was done, and she’d lost her life because of it.
My heart was crushed. She was the only woman I could ever love. Seeing her like this made me weak in the knees, and I knew in that moment that I would never love again. I looked to the sky for any type of sign that this shit wasn’t real, but found none. I didn’t know how long I had been standing there, but it was dark as fuck, and I knew I needed to call my cleanup crew to get rid of this mess. I didn’t know how to reach out to her family to let them know. I couldn’t. Her body would never be found. I reached into my pocket to pull my burner phone out because my iPhone was personal. I pressed one number, and the line connected.
“What’s up, chief?” He answered on the second ring.
“The forest trees are shaking,” I told him.
“Say less.”
The phone call disconnected, and I stood in my driveway. I knew I had to move the car because my cleanup crew didn’t know where I lay my head, and they weren’t about to find out today. I turned to look at the car in disgust. The shit was gruesome. I didn’t have any gloves, so that meant my fucking hands had to touch everything. I wasn’t worried about fingerprints; I just didn’t want to touch that shit. I knew I would scrub my skin off when this shit was over.
