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Sonjay arrived home from work to see that Klein nor Anderson were home.
She opened the front door and something just wasn’t right. An uncanny silence crept through the house, making every hair on Sonjay’s body stand.
She tossed her bags on the couch and started toward the kitchen when someone seized her from behind and flung their arms around her.
She attempted to scream but a sweaty hand smothered her mouth.
“What’s this?” Zayden whispered, his mouth against her ear. “Looks like I caught me a nigger. My very own nigger girl for me to do whatever I want.”
Sonjay shoved her elbow in his stomach and turned to run.
“Run and your folks are dead.”
Sonjay faced him, struggling to breathe.
“My boys got an eye on your folk’s restaurant.” Zayden straightened himself, wearing a sweat-stained wife beater and ripped jeans. “All I got to do is call and they’ll burn that motherfucker to the ground.”
Sonjay glanced around the room looking for something to grab.
“Think I’m playing with you, gal?” His eyebrows raised over his demonic eyes. “Be stupid if you want to.”
Sonjay backed up into the living room.
“Stop moving.” He took out a silver revolver. “You like this gun?” He raised it, nose crinkling. “It’s a Colt Python, a classic. Part of my daddy’s collection. He got all them guns just lying in the cabinet and ain’t doing shit with ‘em.”
Sonjay inched away from him until his eyes warned her to be still. “Why are you here?”
“To teach you and the rest of them uppity niggers a lesson. This is our town, bitch.” His lips shined with spit. “We ain’t letting you have it.”
“Your town?” Sonjay straightened her shoulders, determined to tell this sick motherfucker what she thought of him no matter the danger. “Thompsonville doesn’t belong to you.”
“I see what’s happened in the rest of the country and it’s turning into a shithole because of niggers and them damn illegals. Look at California. It’s a hell hole now. Detroit is a mess. Chicago is full of crime and what do they have in common?” He squinted. “Niggers and fucking Mexicans everywhere.”
“I could try to educate your dumb ass but why? You feel and breathe hate and until you stop doing that, Zayden, you won’t ever have a life.”
“Everywhere I turn, I can’t catch a break. Tried to get a new job, outnumbered by bosses wanting to feel a quota. They got to hire a certain amount of niggers or some cunt that’s not even qualified. Oh yeah.” He nodded. “Women screwing the country up too and need to stay in their place.”
“Wow. I’d laugh if you weren’t so sad.”
“You know what’s sad?” He extended his neck. “Hard-working white people who helped make this country what it is today, can’t put food on the tables because everyone’s hiring illegals. White folks can’t get loans because of government programs telling loaners to target minorities. You think we’ll just sit there, Sonjay? Just sit there while you erase us little by little and take everything?”
“It’s not yours to take.” She ran hot with rage. “You don’t own shit and that’s why you’re mad. Don’t blame minorities or women because you didn’t get your shot.” She scoffed. “It’s not our faults you’re uneducated. Go to college then.”
“How? Blacks get scholarships just for being black. How can I compete with that?”
“You’re only twenty-five, Zayden. You got your entire life ahead of you but you’re too afraid to try so you blame others because you’re a pussy.”
He bared his teeth. “Where you get off looking down at me?”
“I don’t look down on anyone.”
“Liar.” He walked around, pointing the gun to their expensive furniture and antiques. “Klein struts around like he’s the king of Thompsonville just because he’s sucking the mayor’s dick.”
Sonjay swallowed.
“And you.” He gestured the gun toward her. “You wear them fancy dresses with your hair all done up. Fuckin’ perfume costs more than I make in a month and you don’t appreciate how you got.”
“Klein and I went to college and got degrees. If you had instead of walking around acting like the world owes you something, you’d be in a better place.”
“As I said, women forgot their place but I’ll remind you today.” He inched toward her. “Oh, you won’t forget it today, bitch.”
“You can’t teach me anything.” She shivered, focusing on the gun. “What you’ll do is leave before you do something you’ll regret.”
“I won’t regret it.” He curled his tongue with amusement. “I’m gonna enjoy it. You’re my little nigger girl tonight.”
“Go to hell.” She ran around the couch and he caught up, grabbing her blouse.
“You’re mine tonight, Sonjay.” He held her by the curve of her back. “Do what I say, girl.”
“Get off me.”
“I’m in charge here, bitch.” He pushed the tip of the gun into her cheek.
She quivered, tears sneaking to the corner of her eyes. “Zayden, listen.”
“Oh, I listened.” He smiled. “Someone’s shivering now. What happened to all that big talk?”
“Just leave!”
“Boy, Sonjay if I didn’t know better I’d think you didn’t care for white men.” He fondled her buttocks, and she tightened up, a scream stuck in her throat. “But we know that’s not true, don’t we? Dex can attest to that.”
“Please.” She pressed her fists against his solid chest muscles. “You can make this right before things go too far.”
“Thought you was a teacher.” He sniffed her neck. “Not a counselor.”
“You want to go to prison?” Her voice trembled. “Huh? Is that what you want?”
He switched his eyes left and right. “I ain’t scared of prison. Been to jail lots of times it don’t scare me none.”
“Prison’s different.” His funk turned her stomach, but she fought to get through it. “The last thing you want is to be in some overcrowded, smelly piss trap with the blacks and the browns.” She scoffed. “What do you think they’d do to a pretty little white boy like you?”
A vein pulsed in his temple. “Probably the same thing I’m about to do to you.”
“It ain’t happening.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna teach you a lesson, Sonjay.” He stroked the gun against her cheek, eyes narrowing as if he were in a haze. “This is for Nate, my people, and everything I stand for.”