Dirty Laundry 3: Love and Pain Read online

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  FROM DIRTY LAUNDRY 2

  All three guys sat in the car silently as they waited for Nessa to call Rio to let them know that the cost was clear. Ten minutes passed before she called and gave them the okay.

  “As soon as I see you exit the hotel I’ll start driving down the street to scoop you,” Rio said.

  Supreme nodded his head before putting his black hoodie over his head and getting out of the car. He made sure that the hood was pulled low over his eyes. It was quiet in the motel when Supreme entered He and Nessa made eye contact as he walked over to the counter and picked up the spare key to Bear’s room. Supreme took the steps two at a time.

  Flashes of seeing Choice in the hospital bed flashed through his head like a Polaroid camera... the screams from her nightmares. Supreme clenched his jaw at the anticipation of killing this man. He’d never wanted to take another person’s life as much as he wanted to take Bear’s. Choice was the only person who had been able to heal Supreme’s heart. She brought joy back into his life.

  Bear had violated her. He could’ve killed her and his unborn child. That was a major violation and Bear’s time was up. Supreme quietly opened up the door to Bear’s room as he held the gun tightly in his hand.

  “Oh shit!” Bear hollered when he saw Supreme.

  Supreme fired his gun but missed. Bear quickly rolled off of his bed. He reached under his bed for his loaded gun. A smile spread across his face when he felt the cold steel in his hand. He fired two shots and hit Supreme in the chest.

  Supreme looked down at his chest as he felt a burning sensation throughout his body.

  LOVE & PAIN

  CHAPTER ONE

  Supreme could feel himself becoming weaker. He looked up into the eyes of his killer then stumbled back and fell up against the wall. The warm blood that ran down his chest was frightening but also comforting at the same time.

  Mockingly, Bear stumbled back holding his chest. His evil laughter bounced off the walls in the hotel room. Bear was taunting him and Supreme knew it but there wasn’t anything he could do about it as death whispered his name. Supreme’s eyes fluttered closed. He could feel his life slipping away. The burning sensation he’d felt throughout his body was long gone and replaced with a calmness he’d never felt in life. Blood oozed from his mouth as different scenes flashed in his mind from his adulthood to childhood.

  Supreme gasped for air as he sat up in bed. He ran his hand down his sweaty face then looked around his bedroom. The dream he’d just had was very disturbing and it bothered him. Everything from his dream felt so real, him killing Rosco and then Bear killing him. Supreme rubbed the spot on his chest where Bear had shot him in the dream. It felt sore as if something had actually happened.

  He pushed back the cover and got out of bed. He grabbed a pair of boxers and sweatpants from his dresser then headed to the bathroom for a shower. The warm water was usually very soothing as it beat against his skin. It was usually very relaxing but today it did nothing for him. He had too much on his mind and too much on his plate that he had to take care of; the first thing being Bear. Wherever he was hiding, he was doing a damn good job because no one could find him. But Supreme knew he would have to come out of hiding eventually. Supreme would be there waiting when he did.

  “Hey bae! I made a late lunch for the both of us.”

  Supreme could hear Choice holler from their bedroom.

  Choice walked into the bathroom and Supreme turned off the shower then got out. She handed him a towel to dry off with.

  “Thanks. I’m hungry as hell,” Supreme said as he dried off his body.

  His cell phone started ringing the same time as Choice’s phone.

  “Who the hell could be calling us at the same time,” Choice said as she walked out of the bathroom and into their bedroom to retrieve her phone off of the nightstand. Supreme slid on his boxers and then his sweat pants before putting the towel over his head. He followed behind Choice.

  “I don’t know this number,” she said as she slowly picked up the phone to look at the unknown number. Choice ran her finger slowly across the screen without answering it. She was hesitant and Supreme could tell.

  “It’s not Bear, ma. Go ahead and answer it,” Supreme said as he reassured her with a nod.

  “Hello?” she said as she waited for the person on the other end to speak.

  Supreme picked up his phone to see who’d called him. It was his nana. He made a mental note to call her back when he was done getting dressed. While Supreme continued to get dressed, he watched Choice’s facial expression go from calm to scared.

  “How’d you get my number?” Choice asked with raised eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

  Supreme looked over at Choice. Her body swayed from side to side as if she was going to pass out. Tears started to run down her face. He was by her side within seconds. It was evident by the look on her face and the tears that fell that the caller was delivering bad news.

  “Ma, what’s the matter?” he asked before taking the phone out of her hands.

  “Who the fuck is this?” Supreme barked.

  “Hello sir,” the person on the other end of the phone spoke.

  “This is Metropolitan Hospital calling. We have a female by the name of Ashley Smith here. She had Choice’s name stored in her phone under best friend. Ashley is in critical condition. We called her mother and left a message letting her know that her daughter was here in the ICU. We called someone she had stored in her phone under the name hubby but he didn’t answer. I take it she’s married?” The receptionist asked.

  “No, she’s not married. Hubby is what she calls her boyfriend,” Supreme responded.

  “Oh I see. Well since we couldn’t get in touch with Ms. Smith’s mother or boyfriend, we decided to call Choice to inform her of her best friend’s whereabouts.”

  Supreme looked over at Choice. He could see pain and hurt in her eyes. He watched as she hurriedly pulled some leggings from her dresser and began putting them on with shaky hands.

  “Thanks for informing us about her whereabouts. We’ll be there as soon as possible,” he said before hanging up.

  Supreme stood off to the side as he watched her get dressed. He was at a loss for words. Choice sat down on the bed to put on her tennis shoes. Her cries broke his heart. Supreme walked over to Choice and put his hands on top of hers. Her hands shook beneath his as he tried to find something encouraging to say.

  “Take slow deep breaths, ma. Everything is going to be okay.”

  Choice held her head down as tears fell from her eyes and onto her leggings like raindrops. She closed her eyes and did as Supreme told her to. She took a couple of deep breaths before speaking.

  “Supreme, I can’t take losing another person I love. I just lost Ky. I can’t lose Ashley too. I’m not going to be able to handle this.”

  Supreme shook his head from side to side before kissing her forehead. He didn’t know how to respond to that so he said nothing for a while. He tapped Choice on the leg before standing up.

  “Come on, ma; let’s get up to the hospital.”

  Choice walked over to the dresser to get a hair band to put her hair up into a ponytail then turned around to look at Supreme.

  “They didn’t even say what happened to her,” she said as she leaned up against the dresser. “How did she get there? I just spoke to Ashley a couple of hours ago. Everything was good. She was happy.”

  “We’ll find out everything when we get there,” Supreme
said as he put on a white t-shirt.

  Choice nodded her head then picked up her cell phone and dialed Ms. Smith’s phone number as she and Supreme headed out of their house in a hurry.

  “Ms. Smith, this is Choice. Please call me back. Better yet, meet me at Metropolitan Hospital,” she said once she was in Supreme’s truck. She looked out of the window and up into the gray sky. “This storm is getting bad. Did they tell you what room number she was in?”

  Supreme felt a knot in his throat as he swallowed slowly. This was the question he tried to avoid but he knew she would find out sooner or later. Either he could tell her or he could wait until they got to the hospital. Supreme cleared his throat. He had to tell her; it was his duty to do so. He took his eyes off of the road briefly to look over at Choice.

  “Ma, I don’t want you to flip out because what I’m about to tell you may not be as bad as it sounds.”

  Choice’s breathing accelerated as she waited on him to speak. “I’m not gonna flip out. Please, just tell me she said.”

  “Ashley’s in the ICU,” Supreme said as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

  “What the fuck happened to her? Did she tell you anything else? Did she give you any details?” Choice rambled on.

  “She didn’t really go into detail over the phone but we’re about to find out right now,” Supreme said as he pulled into the hospital’s parking lot.

  “Oh my goodness! This doesn’t sound good! I have to call Petey,” she said as tears continued to fall from her eyes.

  She dialed Petey’s number but it went straight to voicemail.

  ****

  Bullets were flying everywhere as people started to run for safety. Petey reached into his waistband and pulled out his 9mm while keeping his eyes on the Pontiac Bonneville. Petey fired back as he ran backwards trying to make it to safety behind the house.

  If I get behind the house, I’ll be fine he thought as he continued to fire back.

  “Oh shit,” Petey said out loud when he felt the burning sensation in his chest.

  “Go! Go!” Buddy yelled at Petey when he saw that he’d been hit.

  Petey ignored Buddy as he continued to fire back. This was his hood, the same hood he’d grew up in. No one was going to run him off like a bitch. There wasn’t a soft bone in his body. As long as he had air in his lungs, he was going to shoot back.

  Petey pressed his hand tightly over the gunshot wound in his chest and continued firing back until he made it behind the house. When he got behind the house, he looked down at the dark blood oozing slowly out of his chest. He wasn’t sure if he’d been grazed or shot and he didn’t have time to figure it out either. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Grace. Grace was an older white lady in the hood that everyone went to when they got shot or stabbed. She used to be a nurse at Metropolitan Hospital years ago. Now she was the hood nurse.

  “Grace, are you at the crib?” Petey asked. “I need you.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Choice felt like she was holding her breath as she waited for Petey to answer his phone. It rang a couple of times before going to voicemail just like it had the four other times she had called him.

  Why isn’t he answering? Choice thought nervously. She sighed deeply before deciding to leave a voicemail message.

  “I don’t know where you are or why you’re not answering the phone but you need to get to Metropolitan Hospital. Ashley is in ICU,” Choice said as a low sob escaped her mouth.

  “Please hurry. Nana, Supreme, and I will be here waiting for you,” Choice said before ending the call.

  “Nana is on her way,” Supreme said as he hung up his phone then reached in the backseat for the umbrella he had on his floor.

  Choice was such a wreck she hadn’t even noticed Supreme on the phone.

  “Here,” he said as he handed her the umbrella. “Let’s hurry up and get in the hospital.”

  With rain pouring from the sky, Supreme automatically got wet while he waited for Choice to get out of the truck. Without an umbrella, the rain beat against his skin like a drum set. He and Choice quickly made their way into the hospital and out of the rain.

  “Excuse me, ma’am?” Choice asked the receptionist when she and Supreme reached the ICU.

  The receptionist held her finger up to Choice as she finished up her conversation on the phone. When the receptionist hung up, she gave Choice her undivided attention.

  “How can I help you, ma’am?” the receptionist asked with a smile on her face.

  “Someone called and informed me that my friend Ashley Smith is here.”

  “Okay, ma’am. Let me see if she’s in the computer.”

  The receptionist typed something into the computer. “Ashley Smith? Yes, she’s here. Let me page the doctor for you.” She picked up the phone and dialed some numbers.

  Supreme pulled Choice into his arms and hugged her as they waited for the doctor.

  “Doctor Oran, these two are here to see Ashley Smith,” the receptionist said as a short and fat African-American doctor approached. He shook Supreme’s and Choice’s hands before speaking.

  “Ashley Smith was brought in earlier today. She was attacked. Her injuries are an indication that she has been beaten excessively. We did a cat scan on her and she has some swelling to the brain and a fractured rib.”

  Choice shut her eyes tightly and prayed to wake up from the horrible nightmare she was having, but when Choice opened her eyes, she was still standing in the hospital and reality came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks. This was her reality. Ashley was hurt and she hoped that her friend had enough fight in her to pull through. Choice wiped her tears away before looking at the doctor.

  “I didn’t see any permanent damage but we won’t know for sure until she wakes up.”

  “She was pregnant. Did she lose the baby?” Choice asked.

  The doctor nodded his head sadly. “Yes, Ms. Smith miscarried. If you would like, you can both see her. She’s in room 203,”the doctor said as he looked through a small notepad. “If you think of any more questions, you can have them page me. I have to make my rounds.”

  Choice nodded her head. “Thank you, Doctor Oran.”

  Supreme was right by her side as she slowly walked into Ashley’s room. She was so used to seeing Ashley vibrant and full of life that Choice was scared of what she would see. She stopped in her tracks and broke down crying. Choice didn’t have to stand by Ashley’s bedside to see how bad her condition was. It was quite visible from where she stood.

  “Shhh, she’s gon’ be okay,” Supreme whispered in a soothing tone.

  He pulled her towards him for a hug. He rubbed her back up and down comforting her the best he knew how. Choice sobbed loudly as she rested her head up against his chest.

  “I feel like I’m losing everyone. What if she doesn’t pull through? Then what?”

  “Stop talking like that. Ash is going to be fine.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because I expect nothing less and you shouldn’t either,” Supreme said.

  “I hear you but I can’t expect to think anything differently, especially since Kyree is gone,” Choice said.

  “Kyree is gone because God needed another angel and she was the chosen one.”

  Choice looked up at Supreme with wet eyes. “You know what, Supreme? I feel like if I blink long enough, you’re going to disappear too. And then I’ll be all alone.”

  “Choice, hush. That’s nonsense. I’ll never leave you,” he said with a smile. “What would the world be like without Choice and Supreme?”

  With a faint smile, Choice shrugged her shoulders and looked up at him. “Without us the world would be a fucking disaster.”

  “My point exactly. I’ll never leave you.”

  “I believe you,” Choice said with a nod. “I really do but, babe, can you please call Petey? I need him here.”

  “I got you. I’m gone step out of the room and call him now. Go on over there and s
ee about Ashley while I make that phone call,” Supreme said before stepping into the hallway.

  Choice looked over at Ashley as she slowly approached her bed. Tears ran down her face with every step she took. She felt like life was being sucked out of her. Choice wanted to cry so hard and loud that her chest ached.

  Ashley’s eyes were so swollen they were the color of prunes. Her lips looked like busted biscuits with dry blood surrounding them. The cut on the side of her face was at least two or four inches long and the bruises behind her ears were visible. Then there was her hair.

  Ashley’s hair had been cut all off and cropped very short to her head. Ashley was unrecognizable. If it weren’t for the cluster of freckles across her nose or her red hair, Choice wouldn’t have even believed it was her best friend.

  She walked over to Ashley and rested her head lightly on Ashley’s stomach when she thought of the baby Ashley was once carrying. When Choice and Ashley had spoken on the phone earlier that day, Ashley told Choice that she decided to keep the baby and was ecstatic about it. Ashley was going to be heartbroken when she found out that she had miscarried her and Petey’s child.

  “I’m here, Ash. I’m here. Petey is on his way and so is your mom,” Choice whispered. “How did you end up here, Ash? What happened?” Choice asked as she wiped away her tears and then her runny nose.

  She could feel herself becoming angry. Whoever did this had beat Ashley badly. They had no remorse at all. All sorts of horrible things began to race through Choice’s mind.

  “What happened?”

  That was the one question she needed answered and she was going to make sure she got it.

  Choice kissed Ashley’s bruised cheek before storming out of her room. Supreme and Nana were sitting next to each other on the hard green loveseat. Choice ignored them both as she made her way over to the receptionist desk.

  “Excuse me; can you page Dr. Oran, please? I have a few questions for him,” Choice said.

  “Choice, what’s the matter?” Supreme asked as he quickly walked over towards Choice. He could tell she was upset by her facial expression.