Page 21 of The Road to You
“Grant, this is Bruqlyn,” I blurted after the operator connected the call. My leg shook as I stood there at the pay phone.“Um, I’m in?—”
“Bruqlyn, I know you’re in jail. The recording told me that much. What I need you to tell me is why you’re there, lil’ girl.”That fatherly tone was strong as hell in him.
I took a deep breath. In one breath, I responded.“I got into a fight last week with a girl in the gym, and I beat her up. I guess she’s salty because I moved her funny bone from her eyes to her mouth, then to somewhere else.”
“Bruqlyn, what the fuck!”Norma’s voice came through the phone. I guess he had me on the speaker.“Lil’ girl, I told you about your hot ass temper. Now your ass is sitting in jail. What they saying?”
I lowered my head like they could see me.“They said my bond court is in like two hours. Can y’all go to the restaurant with my spare key? Norma, you know where I keep my stash. Get some in case they give me a bond.”
“Nope, she’s not doing that,”Grant proclaimed.“What I’m going to do is call your damn man. We gonna let his ass handle this.”
My eyes bucked!“No, no, no! Please don’t do that, Grant. I haven’t told Euri that Bruqlyn isn’t my legal name anymore. If I tell him that, he’s going to ask why.”
“Well, it sounds like y’all will have a lot to talk about. What y’all kids call it, story time? Bruqlyn, I told you after I met that boy that you needed to tell him the deep dark of you,”Grant scolded.“Now you’re in a situation where you’re forced to tell him. I’m gonna call that man, and he’ll be down there soon. Bye, lil’ girl.” Click!
I pulled the phone away from my ear.Did he really just hang up on me?This could not be life right now.
I didn’t realizethat I messed her up as badly as I did until she hit me with the civil suit. I was surprised that she pressed charges because she didn’t seem like a police ass bitch. Then her lawsuit for a buck made total sense. As far as I was concerned, she should have been grateful that the alleged hit with the barbell didn’t cause brain damage.Maybe it did.
We were at the damn mediation, and the ho still didn’t understand how to watch her mouth. Euri was never her man, but you would’ve thought they had a baby together or something. Her ass acted like a bitter baby mama.
“Miss Jones, my client was assaulted by you, unprovoked, per the police report and witness statements. As a result, she has had to undergo eye surgery and will possibly have to undergo another cosmetic in nature to restructure that area of her face.” Her lawyer continued to talk.
I zoned out because I really didn’t care. I just came to get the bottom line of what she wanted. I didn’t need a recap of what the fuck happened. I was there. My focus turned to Euri when he gripped my thigh.
“Baby, really?” I glared at him with confusion. “You were humming.”
I closed my eyes with a chuckle. “I really have to do better.” I opened my eyes, then said, “Can we please get to the ask. The recap of events is not needed.”
My lawyer cleared his throat.Let me let this man do the job that he’s getting paid for.“Yes, my client is aware of the event. I wouldn’t say that she was unprovoked. Videotaping a person without their consent and posting on social media can beprovoking in its own right. Under North Carolina general statute 14-202, it is also illegal.”
He reached into a folder, pulled out a manila envelope, then slid it across the table. A smirk popped onto his face. “Celie Cencora, you have been served.”
I couldn’t believe that girl’s mama named her Celie Cencora. Two travesties occurred the day that she was born. The first was her actual birth, and the second was her mother’s name choice for her. Little baby never had a chance.
Her lawyer snatched the envelope and opened it. After a quick examination of the contents, he took a deep breath. “I see that you filed criminal charges against my client this morning for secret peeping. You’re also suing her civilly.”
“What! What do you mean, they filed charges against me?” The pitch of Cece’s voice competed with the finest soprano singer. “Can they do that?”
Her lawyer, who had continued to look at the contents in the envelope, responded without looking. “Yes, they can do that. According to these papers, they have the evidence that you made the recording and posted it online. The taping itself is a class I misdemeanor, but since it was posted online, that turns it into a class H felony.”
“As you can see, we have everything there,” my lawyer said. “I decided that learning about the criminal charges was heavy enough for one day. We can discuss the civil suit fully at a later date for the emotional distress of my client.”
Cece started cussing and fussing, so the mediator requested a break. My lawyer, Euri, and I left the conference room to give them the space they needed. “I hope her ass gets some sense,” Euri said. “Yeah, my girl could get two years, but that’s a far cry from being put on the sex offender registry.”
“Let’s hope she does,” my lawyer said. “The young lady seems a little on the delayed side, and her lawyer seems to be on theannoyed one. Hopefully, he can convince her to let this go or at least reduce her ask.”
We sat out there for another fifteen minutes before we were called back inside the conference room. By the end of it all, we both agreed to drop the charges, and she settled for twenty thousand dollars. That was a big jump from the over one hundred thousand that she originally asked for. I was confused about where she thought I would get that much money from.
“That went better than expected,” Euri said. We stood outside the office, about to leave. “Are you going to get Casper, then coming to the house?”
I noticed that lately, it wasthehouse and not justhishouse. I was spending less and less time at the RV park. I stayed there when I missed Norma, Grant, and Majesty. They shooed me away though. Grant told me that it was time I let a man truly love me. Something told him that Euri was that man.
“Yes, I should be there in less than an hour. I went to the grocery store yesterday.” I looked at my watch. “Well, I can make it to the bank to get these certified funds to pay this girl.”
He smacked my ass. “Don’t worry about that shit. I got it.”
“No, I got it. I don’t need you to pay anything for me, Euri. Especially not something like this.” He was crazy if he thought I would let him pay twenty thousand dollars to someone on my behalf. The two thousand he paid for my bond bothered me. I tried to give it back, and his ass cursed me out.
