Chapter Twenty- Nine

Venus and BJ pulled up in front of their apartment. BJ was on crutches, and Venus grabbed his backpack and held the door open for him. The minute they got inside, Bullet and Diamond started growling and barking at BJ. Venus had to put the pits away just so he could come into the apartment. She helped him into the bedroom and then went to check her messages.

BJ’s cell phone was on the nightstand by the bed. He picked it up and checked all the missed calls he had. They were all from Annette and he immediately erased them. He hopped into the living room, leaving the crutches behind and sat on the sofa. There was a faint spot on the carpet where he had bled that Venus tried to clean. It reminded him of the night they fought. It was their first fight. It upset him to think that he had gotten physical with Venus in that sort of way. He remembered when his father used to beat his mother, and he had vowed to never hit a woman. If anything, he should have hit Annette. Grimy bitch, he thought. To think she had been blowing up his phone. What if Venus had answered? But it didn’t make a difference now anyway, because he had already come clean with her.

Venus had fried fish because she knew it was BJ’s favorite meal. They ate and watched a DVD afterward. When the movie was over, they turned on the news. If anyone has seen this man...the reporter stated, and a photo of Petie flashed across the screen. She recapped the vicious attack on Share and the attempted murder of Will at McDonald’s.

Venus and BJ sat in silence as they listened to the story. The reporter urged viewers to call Crime Stoppers if they had any information on Petie’s whereabouts. He was a wanted man.

Good for his ass, Venus thought. She turned off the TV and she and BJ got ready for bed. She thought about the fight they had the last time they’d been home together. I guess that makes the relationship official. She began to laugh. BJ asked her what was so funny. ”It’s just one of them things,” Venus said.

What the fuck is wrong with everybody? Petie wondered looking at his phone. It seemed as if everyone was turning their backs on him. Fuck it. He got undressed and went into the bedroom to bone Roz. She wasn’t turning her back on him, and if she did, it was only because she wanted something up in her.

Petie lay there after they finished fucking and smoked a cigarette. He fell into a nightmarish sleep. He dreamed about the police kicking in Roz’s door and shooting up the place. If it had to come down to that, then that’s just the way it would have to be.