“What are you doing?” I grilled her as I positioned Rhema behind me.
“Exactly what it looks like. If you cared that much about your property, you wouldn’t have left it out in the open.”
No, this bitch didn’t.
“I’m going to give you one second to walk away.”
“And if I don’t?” she challenged.
I felt my body heating up, and my hands began to slightly shake.
I quickly glanced over my shoulder. “Rhema, baby. Cover your ears and look the other way.”
Her hands shot up to her ears, and I looked back at the woman who still had her hands inside my bag of fragrances. I moved closer to where the lady was on her knees near the bed.
Through gritted teeth, I said, “If you don’t, I’m going to show you why you should never touch shit that don’t belong to you.”
She looked up at me, remained in the same position, and now her fingers were wrapped around one of my perfume bottles. “Girl, ple?—”
Before the pale faced woman could get the full word out, I snatched her hair and dug my finger into her fake bun. Once I had a good grip, I snatched her head back, and her neck cracked.
“Ouch! Let go of my hair!” She finally released my property and was reaching for my wrist.
She was about half my size, but I slid her around the floor like she was as light as a feather. My eyes darted toward Rhema, who was still turned, facing the opposite way with her hands tucked inside her jean shorts. By the time I turned back around, the woman was getting up off the floor and speeding toward me.
I fixed my stance, prepared for whatever she was coming with. As soon as she got closer, I didn’t wait for her to touch me; I sucker punched her first. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth.
“Bitch, you must wanna die today!” she shouted with a bloody mouth.
Protecting Rhema and myself was my only concern, but I couldn’t say I didn’t feel bad. I was a grown woman fighting. I was no fighter, but this woman left me no choice. The last time I fought was in middle school, and it was for this same reason, someone trying to take something that belonged to me.
“Stop!” One of the women who worked at the shelter ran toward us with her arms flailing in the air.
“Ain’t no stopping. This tramp busted my lip!” thethiefyelled with blood still dripping from her bottom lip.
“If you want to get kicked out of this shelter, keep it up,” the worker threatened. Her stern expression showed that she meant every word.
I stood quietly, keeping my eyes on the woman, just in case she caught me off guard and tried to attack me.
“I don’t give a shit! Kick me out! This place is trashy as fuck anyway!”
“That’s it.” The worker grabbed the walkie from her back pocket and alerted the guards. “I need security in the room ASAP.”
Suddenly, the thief charged toward me, and before long, we were tumbling to the ground, throwing blows at each other.
“Momma!” I heard Rhema’s sweet voice through the commotion.
My baby.
The woman was doing a bunch of scratching and pulling on my hair.
“Let her go right now, Tabitha,” a male’s voice boomed.
“No!” the woman who I now knew as Tabitha, roared.
Next thing I knew, we were forcefully pulled apart. My chest heaved up and down rapidly as I struggled to catch my breath.Two big security guards stood as a barrier between us, making sure we didn’t get past them.
I was done.
