Page 1 of When Darkness Comes Knocking
Prologue
Three months earlier
The loud banging on my door pulled me from my drunken stupor. I shook my head as I used my arms and rose to my knees. The banging continued.
What the fuck? Them niggas knocked like I owed them money. Wait. Did I?
I stood to my feet and swayed. My body tittered back and forth as I thought about who could be at my door. I paid Jay the money I owed him yesterday. That was how I was able to buy all that beer yesterday because I had a little money left after I paid my debt.
Bug at my job would get his money next week for the lotto tickets he bought me. He knew that already, so it couldn’t be him. I set to walk out my room when I stumbled over the many empty beer bottles that littered my floor.
“Shit!” I voiced loudly. My head throbbed as I looked down and kicked the bottles out the way.
I needed to stop getting drunk like that. My son needed me to get my shit together, but after losing his mom, I didn’t know how to anymore.
Slowly, I eased into the hallway. The house felt as if it was about to crash down on me at any second. That malt liquor had got the best of me yet again.
I dragged one foot in front of the other as I used the wall to guide me to my son’s room. This seemed to be the hardest task of the day for me. It felt like I was pulling a truck while trying to walk.
My head pounded. That didn’t help the situation either. The banging continued.
I was in no hurry to answer the apparent urgency of whoever waited outside for me. When I finally made it, I peeped inside AJ’s room. His cartoon character bedspread had fallen to the floor.
AJ was balled into a ball, sleeping soundly. That boy could sleep through anything. I stumbled into his room and placed his blanket over him. Now that he was nine, he thought he was too old for my kisses, but he was my baby. He had a while to go before I stopped kissing the top of his head and cheeks.
I left quicker than I arrived. My hands gripped the railing and wall as I descended my stairs. The banging kept going. “Hold on! Damn!”
With weary bones and an aching head, I stepped off the last stair, then snatched opened the door. The bright sun hit me. Quickly, I shunned my sight with my forearm.
Seconds later, I shook my head, and my slightly blurry vision was able to lock in on the three sheriff deputies that stood before me, and an older black woman dressed in a gray blazer and gray skirt. One deputy held a pink slip in his hand as if I was expelled from high school. I wiped my eyes and glared at them.
“What the fuck do y’all want?”
A couple of deputies and the older woman fanned their noses. Apparently, my breath smelled. Oh, the fuck well.
“Y’all fanning y’all noses, but ain’t nobody opened up their mouths and explained why the fuck y’all at my house so damn early.”
The older woman cleared her throat. “Mr. Price, I’m Latena Notes. I’m a social worker with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
“Your son will be removed from your property today because of his outstanding absences at school, reports of malnutrition, and abandonment,” she voiced in a calm yet stern tone. There wasn’t an ounce of sympathy for me.
A rage the size of Lake Michigan filled me. I clenched my fists at my sides. They were here to take my son. There was no way in hell he’d leave me.
I’d never let them take AJ from me. Never! We’d already lost my Naya. That shit wasn’t gon’ fly today.
“Over my dead body! Y’all ain’t taking my son out of here!” I shouted.
Latena stepped back and pushed her glasses up on her mocha brown face. Two deputy sheriffs walked up on me, and swiftly, I popped one in his face. Before I could counter the attack, the second deputy hurriedly tased my ass.
My body shook from the voltages of electricity that filled me. I swung at him drunkenly as I stepped out my house and onto the porch, but he dodged my lick.
The deputy I hit knocked my ass on the ground like he was Tyson and I was Holyfield. All three deputies immediately jumped on my back to cuff me. Licks repeatedly rained down on me, but the only thing I could focus on was the social worker racing past us to get AJ. They won now, but I’d get my son back. That I could bet my life on.
<<<
Weeks later
The rain pelted hard against me as I raised the hood of my car. My son ate his hot dog in the front seat, and my headlights flashed because of my emergency signal. The scene was perfectly set.
