Chapter 21
One year later, Nicole was as restless as a caged animal as she tried to grow accustomed to the life of an imprisoned murderer. Although she’d been sentenced to life without parole, she told herself that one day this nightmare would end.
Each day she woke up at four in the morning. But the morning felt exactly like the evening. Time meant nothing in prison.
She spent her days playing dominoes, working out, and hoping that someone would come to visit her. Once a month, Evelyn and Mimi stopped by. Twice a month, Shyla showed her face.
But Nicole never wanted to see Ajalon Cantu again. She closed up her heart to his memory, and after a while it almost felt like he never existed.
One particular day in the fall, she went to the yard. A game of volleyball was about to begin. It was the black team versus the white team. The black team wore black T-shirts. They rolled up their sleeves. The white team didn’t.
Three minutes into the game, Nicole was hit hard by an ugly, almost six-foot-tall woman with the thickest arms she’d ever seen. She braced herself, for Viv had warned her how things could pop off any second.
The thick-armed woman hit Nicole so hard she fell to the floor. Soon three other females pulled Nicole’s shoulders to the ground, keeping her from being able to get up.
“Move,” she screamed. “Get the fuck off of me.”
“Shut up,” said one of the women.
Another chick said, “Get her.”
Nicole’s eyes enlarged with horror. She was dragged by the arms into a corner of the yard. The rubber surface of the floor made it feel like her skin was on fire.
As the three women pressed her back hard down on the floor, she started to yell. But one other chick came out of nowhere and held her hand over Nicole’s lips. Some sheets were shoved into her mouth, making it difficult for her moans to be heard.
The big, tall chick, with a thick neck in addition to her huge arms, walked over to Nicole and bent over her. The lady was just about to kick her in her stomach. This reminded her of the last time she got kicked. Nicole screamed, “Don’t, please!”
In a rare moment, the woman simply laughed and walked away. The violent kick that was planned for Nicole never happened. The women all abandoned her, and she was relieved.
As she lay alone on the ground quivering from fear, she wondered if that would just be the last time that she’d be targeted. And her helpless feeling made her want to remain on the ground and not get up.
Nicole prayed that one day Karma would leave her alone, but she knew in her heart it may not happen until the day she died.
* * *
On that same day in the late afternoon, Kiara Eason met up with Ajalon Cantu at a fancy Italian restaurant in the Montrose area.
They sat in a private booth far away from all the other diners and ordered their entrées and drinks.
“Do you have any news for me?” she finally asked.
“Yes. Nothing has changed. She’s not doing too well. She got back-doored this morning.”
Ajalon had taught Kiara prison terminology and she knew exactly what he meant. She gave him a blank stare, then finally muttered, “I would have given anything to see a video of her getting attacked. And it’s a damn shame that she lost her baby last year. Having a miscarriage in jail must have been a nightmare. Or maybe not,” she concluded. Kiara took a tiny sip of champagne.
Ajalon continued and exaggerated his report. “From what I was told, someone gave her an ass whipping she’ll never forget. ‘Her jaw turned to jelly’ is the quote I was given. I think she’d tried to make a friend or two in there, but that won’t be happening. Nicole always told me she didn’t trust anyone. Too bad she learned she can never trust an inmate. Once a criminal, always a criminal.”
“Ain’t that the truth? You definitely can’t trust anybody and everybody. Not in this crazy-ass world.” After they ate their delicious pasta meal, Kiara reached in her purse and left a thick pile of cash on their table.
“This money will pay for the meal plus there’s a bonus for the waitress. There are two tips, actually. Thirty percent for her, and the rest is for you.”
“Thanks, as usual. I appreciate that.”
Kiara got up, sweetly told Ajalon good-bye, and quickly left the restaurant. She reached for her cell phone and placed an immediate call to Alexis.
“Hey there, Mrs. Alexis Brown. I have something crazy to tell you. I heard that some lesbians treated her like she was a piece of hamburger and they were the brass meat tenderizer.”
Meanwhile, back in the restaurant, Ajalon took another long sip of his bubbly champagne. He felt a teensy bit of regret about what happened to Nicole. At one time he loved her with all of his heart. But love made a fool out of him and left him a broken man. Ajalon shrugged and grabbed the generous tip money that Kiara had set aside. He counted off the bills and decided to skip out on paying for their meal. He looked both ways and pocketed all of the money.
He’d already decided not to meet with Kiara anymore to inform her about Nicole. Ajalon reached down and lifted a suitcase that Kiara never noticed. It was filled with all of his belongings. He calmly walked past the other diners until he had exited the restaurant. He stood outside and glanced up at the sky.
Ajalon was on his way to the Greyhound bus station. For he no longer wanted to be involved with the criminal life, or with love and all of its tragic revenge.