Part 8 (1/2)

Fatima put her ear to the thick cherry wood door, ear-hustling as she tried to intercept the entire conversation.

”Not good at all, fam. She's broken over this s.h.i.+t,” Macy revealed. ”It's f.u.c.ked up, because I'm sitting back watching her go through it.”

”Does she have any idea that it was you?” Edris asked.

Fatima's heart fell, and she felt as if someone had s.n.a.t.c.hed the air from her lungs. She hoped that she had heard it wrong, and she held her breath as she waited for Macy to respond.

”Nah, she doesn't know. It's all bad right now, though, fam. That s.h.i.+t is eating me up. Every day I'm looking her in her eyes knowing I killed Boomer. I've handled many n.i.g.g.as before, but Boomer is eating me alive,” Macy admitted. ”She's my wife, and I took a piece of her soul away. I don't think she will ever be the same.”

Fatima's emotions overtook her as she stormed into the office. Anger, sadness, shock, pain ... it all shot through her as she rushed Macy. She threw the b.l.o.o.d.y clothes at him. There was no need to question where they had come from. The brown stains were a brutal reflection of the crime that Macy had committed. It was Boomer's blood, and she felt as if she could not breathe as she attacked his killer.

”You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” she shouted. Her nostrils flared. ”You killed him! You killed my son?” she said, posing a question of disbelief.

Macy was taken off guard and was about to fix his mouth to deny her accusations, but she had heard it from his very lips. There was no lying his way out of it. She knew the truth, and as he tried to wrap his arms around her, he immediately sensed a change in her. Her body instantly went stiff as she stopped breathing.

Fatima didn't know if she was frozen in fear or if she was just stifling her anger. She could not believe what she had just overheard, and she just knew that her mind was playing tricks on her. But when she saw the expression of guilt on her husband's face, her stomach churned and she felt as if she would be sick. Fatima went ballistic.

”Don't touch me!” she shouted as she picked up the paperweight from his mahogany desk and tossed it at him. She swept the contents off of his desk, throwing anything that felt heavy enough to inflict harm. ”Don't touch me!” she yelled again when Edris tried to grab her. ”How could you? How could you, Macy? He was our son!” She was like a tropical storm as she flew through the room destructively, trying to get to Macy.

”It was an accident! Tima, listen to me!” Macy pleaded.

She backpedaled out of the room while shaking her head from side to side. ”No, I'm done listening to you. I trusted you. You're a liar!” she shouted as mascara mixed with anguish and created trails of black tears down her cheeks.

Macy raced after her as he tried to explain. He had not expected her to return home. He had gotten loose with his lips and had spoken of Boomer's death too freely. Fatima ran until she made it to her car.

”Fatima!” Macy called out as she locked herself inside. She started the car and ignored him as he banged on the driver side window and pulled on the door handle. ”Don't do this, Tima. Open the door, baby girl. Just hear me out!”

A distraught Fatima put the car in reverse and backed up slightly. She placed the car back in drive and pressed the gas all the way to the floor, aiming the car straight at Macy. He had pushed her to her breaking point. There was nothing that this man could say to fix what he had broken. He had deceived her and had manipulated her.

He saw me go through h.e.l.l and all along it was because of what he did? she thought as uncontrollable tears flooded her. Fatima was in a state of shock as she tried to wrap her brain around the truth. She just didn't understand. After years of her holding Macy down and playing the back so that he could s.h.i.+ne, how could he do this to her? Fatima had been a good wife to him, a loyal wife to him. She wasn't above doing dirt, but she had limits. Macy was never a target, and he would have never fallen into her crosshairs.

”How could you do this to us? How could you!” she shouted as she drew closer to him with her car, going full speed. Macy put his hands up in front of him, signaling for her to brake, but she never let up on the accelerator.

”Yo, she's not stopping, Macy! Get out of the way!” Edris yelled as he watched the domestic dispute unfold and escalate to a violent level. He knew Fatima well and had seen her temper flare once before, so he knew what she was capable of. This time even Edris had to admit that her outrage was warranted.

Macy stood his ground, not thinking that Fatima would actually hit him. When he noticed that she wasn't letting off the gas ,he dodged the car just in the nick of time. All he saw were taillights as Fatima sped off of their property. ”f.u.c.k!” he shouted. ”Put the word out that I'm looking for her.”

Edris nodded his head and followed Macy as he stormed back into his home.

Fatima ripped through the city streets, crying nonstop. Her husband's betrayal was too much for her to handle alone. She needed help, but she had nowhere to go and no one to run to. Macy ran the entire city, so going to the police was not an option. She was stuck, and as the hours pa.s.sed on the clock, she grew tired of roaming aimlessly. She found herself driving toward Santa Monica to see a man she hadn't spoken to in years.

Case had kept in close contact with Macy over the years, but his interactions with Fatima had been limited. They spoke briefly and cordially, but it was always too awkward for them to be too involved in each other's lives. Case had been the first man to show her love, and she had crushed him when she had chosen to be with Macy. Their friends.h.i.+p hadn't been the same since she had left him, but on this night, she needed him. She needed him more than she ever had before.

Fatima drove to the lavish beachside condo where he resided and parked her car on the street. The lights were on inside, and she knew that he was home, but she sat frozen as she thought of what she would say to him. What could she say? Karma had come full circle. She had betrayed Case to be with Macy, and ultimately Macy had hurt her. Macy had taken the one thing in her life that was irreplaceable.

She sat in the car for almost an hour, going back and forth in her mind as the cell phone rang repeatedly. Picking up the phone, she saw Macy's face flash before her eyes, and the sight of him made her sick to her stomach. She sent him to voice mail only for him to call right back. Disgusted, she powered off her phone. What could he possibly say to her? No words could take back his actions. What he had done was unforgivable.

Fatima gathered herself and pulled down her visor to fix her face, but when she saw her own reflection, she knew that she was too broken. There was no hiding her torment. No amount of makeup could conceal her hurt. Her eyes were red and swollen. The color of her skin was pale and had a green tint to it. She would have to face Case the way she was or not face him at all.

Fatima exited her car and walked up the walkway that led to his condo. She climbed the stairs that led to his front entrance and nervously rang the bell. She heard the chime sound on the inside, and she turned quickly on her heels, suddenly changing her mind. Why did I come here? she asked herself. He can't save me now. I chose Macy.

She heard the door open, but she didn't look back until he called her name. ”Fatima?”

She froze but refused to face him.

”Tima, is everything all right?” he asked. Case's deep voice offered security to her in her vulnerable state. She was in need of protection, of comfort, and Case was the only person who she could think to turn to.

Case put his hand on his waistline, clicking his .45 off of safety, and turned on his porch light to make sure that Macy's goons weren't lurking in the shadows of the foliage that covered the front of his house. Fatima being at his home was too much of a coincidence for Case. He stepped out, ready to shoot anything moving as his neck swiveled from left to right. He was surprised to see that she was alone. He had thought she was sent as a decoy to distract him, but as he looked around cautiously, nothing seemed out of place.

”Are you by yourself?” he asked.

She nodded her head as she turned to face him.

”Why did you come here, Fatima?” he asked. It had been too long for this to be a coincidence. Any other day she barely gave him the time of day. Although her attraction to him had never dissipated, her respect for her husband always overrode anything she felt toward Case. For her to be on his doorstep in the middle of the night was a surprise to Case, and frankly, it was suspect.

As she stepped toward him, the light shone directly on her face, and he saw how distressed she appeared.

She lowered her head and ran into his arms as he hesitantly welcomed her into an unsure embrace.

”He killed him, Case,” she sobbed as she cried into his chest. Her words came out mumbled, and Case held her, despite the fact that he had no idea what had gone on.

For the first time in fifteen years, he wrapped his arms around her intimately. She was sobbing so hard that she couldn't speak as she poured her soul into Case.

”What are you doing here, Tima? Macy know where you at?” he asked, his voice low as he loomed over her, resting his chin on top of her head.

”I ... I have to talk to you,” Fatima whispered as she pulled away from him. ”It's important.”

”Go home, Tima. Look at you. You're a mess. I don't know what happened between you and Macy, but you shouldn't be here,” he replied. He had been very careful not to cross any lines or rekindle any old flames with her over the years. Their interactions were always so rehea.r.s.ed, strategic, as if they were afraid to speak openly to one another. Now here they were, past lovers standing under a full moon as the Pacific Ocean left the scent of salt in the air.

”Please ... I can't go back there. I just need to tell you something. Can we please go inside?” she asked as she pulled at his hand desperately, like a little girl pleading for help.

Case shook his head and put his arm around her shoulders as he led her into his home. He locked the door and pulled back his window drapes once more, his paranoia working overtime.

”It's just me. Macy has no idea where I am,” she whispered as she wiped her red eyes. As she stared at Case, she couldn't contain her emotions. The features of his face were so familiar to her. It tugged at her heart as she stared at him carefully, studying every inch of him. Her eyes watered over and she shook her head. ”All of this is my fault. I should have never left you to be with him,” she whispered.

”Calm down, Fatima. Have a seat and tell me why you've come all the way here,” he said soothingly as he pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit.

She gripped his forearms for support because her legs threatened to give out at any moment. She looked around at Case's home and realized that it was her first time ever stepping foot inside.

”You've done really well for yourself.” She sniffled, beating around the bush and avoiding the real reason why she was there. ”You really did take over L.A., huh?” she asked in disbelief, remembering that he had always said he would when they were younger.

”Your husband isn't the only one getting money,” Case replied smugly as he leaned back in his chair.

”He killed him, Case. He killed Boomer,” Fatima choked out as she put her head in her hands as her tears leaked through her fingers.

Case frowned doubtfully. He had known Macy for a long time, and while he didn't doubt his gangster, he knew that he would never shoot his own son. ”He loved Boomer, Fatima. I'm sorry about Boomer's death, but you can't put that on Macy. Boomer was troubled. It was the drugs. Macy wouldn't do that. Nothing in the world would make him kill his own son.”

”It wasn't his son,” she said. Her voice was so low that it was barely audible.

”What did you say?” Case asked.