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“Because you’re going to kill him.”
“And?”
“And I don’t want you to go back to your old ways for me.”
“You think I give a fuck about that shit? A nigga took what was mineandput his hands on you. His ass gots to pay!”
“He didn’t take me, Elite, I gave myself to him, andIhave to pay for that. I’m not going to make you suffer any more than I already have by sending you to prison for life.”
“Just a few years for this bullshit ass assault charge, right?”
“Elite…”
“As far as I’m concerned, we don’t have anything else to talk about, Jah.”
“Let me fix this. I’m sor—”
After disconnecting the call, Elite resisted the urge to throw his phone against the wall. Instead, he tossed it onto the table and stood. If he stayed in that room, Elite would lose his fucking mind. There was so much pent-up rage within him, it was best if he kept his distance from people. Deciding to grab a few bottles of liquor from the store up the street, Elite kept telling himself that things were going to work out with time. Jacintha would come to her senses and drop the charges, and if he was lucky, he’d find out who she cheated with so he could take his anger out on one of the two people who truly deserved it.
eight
Jacintha
Once the swellingon her face and bruising to her pride and heart had gone down some, Jacintha went to go see her parents. Since Henry’s attack, Jacintha kept the twins away. She didn’t want them to see her in that state.
To her surprise, Dedrick stepped up in a major way when she told him about what happened. He offered to take the girls while she healed and to keep her updated on their virtual learning process in case she needed to go to their school for anything. They checked in with Jacintha daily, and so far, the girls were enjoying spending time with their father and stepmother. The girls were also excited about having two half siblings, and Jacintha wondered if they would want to come back to Memphis when the time came.
Pushing her shades up the bridge of her nose, Jacintha cut her car off and looked toward her parents’ home briefly. She hadn’t spoken to Elite in over a week and she was missing him like crazy. Jacintha didn’t realize how much she enjoyed having him in her life until he was gone completely. All the complaints she had about him and their marriage didn’t matter at all without his presence.
The sound of her phone ringing pulled Jacintha from her thoughts. At the sight of her mother’s name, she smiled.
“Hey, Ma,” she answered.
“I was just wondering how long you were going to sit out there in that car.”
“I’m on my way in.”
“Alright, baby.”
After disconnecting the call, Jacintha looked her face over in the visor mirror. She had on makeup to cover the bruising on her face, so the hyperpigmentation wasn’t showing through too boldly. As she made her way to the door, Jacintha tried to brace herself for her parents’ judgment and disappointment. Not only had she cheated, but she’d gotten pregnant. And the way she treated Elite… Jacintha didn’t even recognize herself. It didn’t matter how much she told herself she wanted everyone involved to suffer like she had, Jacintha couldn’t deny that she’d taken things too far.
That was easier to think than to actually say or fix. It was easier to spew out hate and pain than admit she’d made the biggest mistake of her life. For whatever reason, a small piece of her believed Elite wouldn’t leave her when he found out she cheated. And maybe they could have worked it out if she wasn’t pregnant. Now, she didn’t have the baby, Elite,orHenry. She felt as if the last two months had been for nothing. All the pleasure and happiness she’d received at the cost of her marriage meant nothing.
Letting herself inside her parents’ home, Jacintha made her way to the living room. She smelled greens cooking, which meant her mom was more than likely in the kitchen. Her father was seated in the recliner of their tan leather sofa with a Coca Cola in one hand and the TV remote in the other. At the sight of her, Baxter stood and pulled her into his arms.
“What have you gotten yourself into, Jacintha?”
Even if she didn’t want them to, her tears fell. She’d spoken to the detective that was handling her case that morning, and he informed her that the district attorney wanted to add a murder charge since Jacintha was pregnant and lost the baby. Everything was spiraling out of control, and she didn’t know if she could even stop it at this point.
When Jacintha first posted the pictures, it was just to make Elite look as bad as she felt. She was angry and lashing out at the wrong person admittedly. Hehadput his hands on her, but not to the extent Henry did, and she felt like she was angrier with Elite than the man truly responsible. Maybe it was because she didn’t want the world to know she’d cheated, or maybe it was because she expected more softness from Elite. Whatever the case, she’d screwed up.
Jacintha thought the police would merely send out a warrant, charge Elite with a misdemeanor, and give him probation or some shit. The felony charge had completely caught her off guard, and hearing about the additional charge had her sick to her stomach. Unfortunately, Jacintha hadn’t taken into consideration who Elite used to be in the streets and how many charges and cases he’d been able to beat before going legit. Now, it felt like they were literally going to throw the book at him and keep him in jail for as long as they possibly could—and Jacintha was helping them to do so.
She knew as soon as Elite found out about the extra charge, all hope would be lost, so Jacintha was hoping her parents would help her figure out a way to get out of all of this.
Looking from one parent to the other, Jacintha ran her hands up and down her thighs.
“I don’t even know where to start,” she confessed, smiling nervously.
