Chapter 26
Roz wished she could blame her lack of sleep on Boogie’s light snoring, but she couldn’t. It was one of those sounds she had grown accustomed to, and she always slept like a baby when she was next to him. However, that night was different, and she knew exactly why that was. The thought of Adam being locked away in the cellar below them gnawed at the back of her mind. Three days had passed since anyone had gone down there. He hadn’t been given any food or water and hadn’t been allowed to use their restroom facilities. She had hoped that he would just die, but he was still holding on.
She glanced over at Boogie and then at Amber, who was snuggled underneath him. Careful not to wake them, she climbed out of bed and slid on a pair of jeans over her underwear. After throwing a hoodie on, she reached under the pillow, where Boogie always kept his gun. Since Amber often slept with them, he kept the magazine separate but next to the firearm, and she grabbed that, too.
Her footsteps were quiet on her way out of the room, and she looked quickly back at the bed before shutting the door behind her. She walked down the dimly lit hall and couldn’t help admiring it. The floors were marble, and the lantern-style lights illuminated her way to the winding stairwell. Since her stay, she had fallen in love with the home and wished they could live there. However, she knew it was a safe house for all five families, not just her and Boogie. That was why he had it built so big. Still, she hoped as much detail would be put into their house.
Roz crept down the stairs and heard the sounds of a television coming from one of the sitting rooms closest to the foyer. Although there were people watching the exterior of the house, Boogie’s cousin Tazz had made it his business to stay with them while Boogie was recovering. Once Roz reached the main level of the house, she inched alongside a wall and peeked around the corner to see into the sitting room. Tazz was there, but his consciousness wasn’t. He was sound asleep on the couch in front of the television. An old episode of Martin was playing, and Roz saw Sheneneh pointing all in Gina’s face.
Knowing the coast was clear, Roz went the rest of the way to the door that led to the cellar. It was biometric, and only a handful of people could get the door to open. She was one of them. Roz pressed her thumb against the keypad, and there was a low clicking sound when the door unlocked. When she swung it open, she flicked on the lights and took a deep breath. On her way down the stairs, she placed the loaded magazine in the pistol and tucked it away in the pocket of her hoodie. It was time to face her demons.
She stepped off the final stair and went directly to the cellar. There he was, still bound to the chair, staring at her as she approached. She began inhaling the strong stench of pee with every breath and turned her nose up in disgust when she stopped in front of him.
“You stink,” Roz said and peeled the duct tape back from his lips.
“You would too if you were left in a cellar for this long,” he said weakly. “Have you come to finally take me out of my misery?”
“Misery? I wanted you to be in despair. No . . . torment. Maybe I should leave you down here a few more days.”
“No! Please. I’m begging you, just kill me.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.”
She looked at him in his frail state. She found it hard to believe the man before her was the same one who used to evoke such fear in her heart. He was just a mere shadow of him and barely even that. Still, Roz didn’t feel sorry for him. In fact, she didn’t feel like she’d put him through enough pain yet. To the right of her, there was a long counter against one of the walls. The cabinet had drawers filled with utensils. Knives to be exact. She walked over to one of the drawers and pulled a paring knife from it.
“Tell me something, Adam,” she said with her back to him. “What was going through your head when you were about to smother my daughter to death?”
“I just wanted her to stop crying.”
“Did it ever cross your mind that was because she didn’t know you? That she wanted to come home to her mother?”
“I know that’s exactly why she was crying.”
“But you just couldn’t bring her back to me, could you? Not the bitch who left you hanging while you were locked up, huh? Go ahead. You can let it all out. Speak your piece before I send you to hell.”
“What happened to the two weeks?”
“I thought you were ready to die now,” Roz taunted, turning to face him. “Plus, I just don’t like the thought of you being this close to me.”
“There was a time when you loved me being close to you.”
“That was before the evil in you showed its ugly face. You getting locked away was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Hmm.” Adam gave a weak chuckle. “You know why I used to hurt you? It was just so easy. You were so weak, and I can tell nothing has changed. The only difference now is that you have a little knight in shining armor who makes you feel strong. But where is he now? Not here, and that’s why you haven’t done what you want to do with that knife yet. You’re scared.”
“I’m not scared of you.”
“You’ll always be scared of me. I’ll always haunt your dreams. No matter what you do, I’ll always be with you, and that’s why you don’t have it in you to kill me. Because you know it won’t do a thing.”
“It will. You’ll be out of my and Amber’s lives for good.”
“Then do it! Do it, you stupid bitch! You’ve always been a stupid-ass cunt. You could never do anything right. And pretty soon Boogie is going to see that you aren’t worth a damn thing! Just like I did.”
His words made her angry. No, they infuriated her, so much that she charged at him with the knife aimed for his chest. Her hatred for him had such a hold of her that she hadn’t seen him snap his wrists apart and break the zip tie binding them together. When she was close enough, he swung his fist with power and precision, locking in on her jaw and sending her flying backward. The knife in her hand went flying across the room, and while she was in a daze, Adam finished untying himself from the chair.
“A little trick I learned while I was in prison. Patience.”
He stood up from the chair in his soiled clothes and took a step toward her. A slow, mischievous smile spread across his face, and she noticed a difference in him. Adam wasn’t the feeble man he was when she had first come into the cellar. And by the way her jaw felt, he wasn’t weak either.
“You were playing me,” she said when the realization hit.
“Bingo. In jail there were times where I went whole weeks without food. And in doing so, I had to learn how to conserve my strength.”
“You were waiting for me to come down here, weren’t you?” Roz asked and tried to scoot away from him.
“Yes. I prayed every day that when you finally came back down here you would be alone. And it looks like my prayer was answered. Ironic, isn’t it? You thought you were breaking me. But really it’s me who’s going to break you for good!”
He lunged at her and wrapped his hands around her throat. She felt her airway closing, and all she could see was the hatred in his red eyes. He bared his teeth, and she could see he was trying to use all his strength. Adam was going to kill her.
“N . . . no.” She clawed at his hands, but there was no point.
“When I’m done with you, I’m going to go wake lover boy up and kill him, too. But not before he can see little Amber’s dead body lying next to him. I can start over with a new family. One that appreciates me!”
He meant every word, and tears rolled down Roz’s face as she choked for air. She fought, but he was just too strong for her body, especially with her energy waning by the second. She thought of the ones she loved the most in the world dying because of her mistakes and pushed them fast from her mind because she wasn’t going to let it happen. She remembered the gun she had in her hoodie pocket and grabbed it with a shaky hand. When the room started to turn black, she used her remaining strength to put the gun to his temple. By the time Adam realized what was happening, Roz pulled the trigger.
The close range of the bullet entering his skull snapped his head to the side violently. His blood splattered on her face, and she shrieked. She felt his body grow limp on top of her, and she summoned any strength she had left to push him off. She made the mistake of looking into his dead eyes as he lay next to her, and she hurried to crawl away, gasping for air.
“Yo, Roz!” a voice shouted.
Shortly after, she felt someone’s arms around her. She looked up and saw Tazz looking down at her. He had a stupid look of concern mixed with confusion on his face, and it almost made her laugh.
“He’s dead,” she said in a hoarse voice.
“Yeah, I see that.” Tazz widened his eyes as he looked at Adam’s dead body. “Why didn’t you let me know you were comin’ down here?”
“You were asleep.”
Tazz looked at Adam and then at his bindings strewn on the floor. “How did he get free?”
“He preserved his strength and broke free. He . . . he was waiting for me. This whole time.”
“Damn. Yo, Boogie would have killed me if somethin’ happened to you!”
“Well, it didn’t, and now the devil can get out of this house.”
“Hell yeah. I’ma get that nigga out of here ASAP. We don’t need that pissy motherfucka’s blood fuckin’ up the wine!” Tazz helped her to her feet and led her to the stairs.
She was able to lean her shaking body against him as they walked up the stairs. Roz didn’t know if she was shaking because she had come so close to death, or because she had caused it. Maybe it was because her body was still regaining its strength. But either way, she was glad Adam was really gone.
Roz tried to think of a story she could tell Boogie as to why she had gone to the cellar alone, and so late at night for that matter. She would have to wake up early and put some makeup on her face because she was sure it would bruise up by the morning. But it looked like luck wasn’t on her side with that.
The moment she and Tazz emerged from the cellar, the hall was brightly lit, and Boogie was standing at the door. He took one look at Roz and knew what had happened. Tazz instantly let her go and stepped to the side.
“Ay, I ain’t have shit to do with this. I was in there asleep and watchin’ Martin in my dreams. Gotta go!”
Roz stared in disbelief as Tazz made his quick getaway, leaving her to deal with Boogie’s disappointment. They stared at each other for a short while, and she was waiting to hear whatever speech was about to come from his mouth. But he did something that surprised her in the moment. He embraced her tightly.
“Is it done?” he asked when he leaned back and looked down at her.
“Yes,” she said into his chest.
“Then let it out.”
He didn’t need to ask her again. She clenched the back of his nightshirt in her hands and cried until she couldn’t anymore. She cried for her past, for the present, and for the future she still got to have.
A wounded heart is always more dangerous than a wounded ego.