He didn’t know I was headed to Atlanta. I didn’t want to get Kev any more involved than he already was.
“I know you busy and got more stuff to worry about than me,” I proclaimed. I was scared. I wanted to make sure Jason was gone and the only way I felt I could do that was if Kev found out for me, so what could it hurt? “But can you make sure he’s out of town? You know Jay can be lying. Please check.”
“I will make sure. I’ll call you right back,” Kev stated then hung up.
I sat on the bed and waited for Kev to call me back. A couple of minutes later my phone rang and it was Kev. “Reese, I can’t get through to him. He must have turned his phone off,” Kev explained.
I could tell by his voice he was frustrated. My heart started beating faster when Kev said he couldn’t find Jason. I wondered where he could have been and if he was really on a cruise or headed back to my house.
“Hold on, Reese. I got another call comin’ in.”
I anxiously waited for Kev to come back to the phone but in the meantime I could kill two birds with one stone and work on getting the money out of here. I grabbed the tote with the money in it, threw on a pair of shades and a baseball cap, and headed for the door. I knew I needed to get that money out the house.
I looked up and down the street, still fearing Jason. I ran to my car, started it, and zoomed down the street. Kev finally came back to the phone.
“Reese, Jason is gone. Trust me on that. You don’t have nothin’ to worry about. He’s gone.”
“Are you sure, Kev?”
“Positive,” he assured me.
I gasped a breath of relief. It made me feel better knowing Jason wasn’t in town.
“You hear me, girl?” Kev asked.
“Yeah, I hear you.” I kept driving to the bank, not telling him anything. “Okay, Kev, I will talk to you a little later. I need to check on the boys. Thank you so much for checking for me.”
“All right, Reese, I’ll see you later.”
I hung up. Dang, I felt so bad! I hated lying to Kev. He didn’t deserve that from me. He’d always been a good friend to me.
I pulled into the bank and went inside.
“Hello, I need to get into my safety deposit box please.” I smiled at the banker.
“Yes, ma’am, right this way.” The tall, blond-headed lady smiled. She led the way to the safety deposit boxes. I followed her. I wanted to get in and out of the bank fast.
“Here we are. I’ll leave you alone.” She shut the door where the deposit box was and left me there alone.
“Okay, thanks.” I smiled back and waited for the blonde to disappear from the room. I opened the box, counted the money again, then wrapped it back in the silk shirt and locked the box with the key.
“I’ll be back.” I sighed, took a deep breath, and then walked out, headed to my new destiny.
Chapter 19
Vegas
When I walked into Toya’s house, the boys ran up to me. They jumped up and down and screamed at the top of their little lungs with excitement. I had already prepared myself before I got there that seeing them would be bittersweet. I had cried and wished I didn’t have to leave my boys any longer. I felt bad because I had left them so many times just to do me and now, I was plottin’ so we all could have better lives. When I thought about it, I only had myself to be mad at ’cause it didn’t never have to get as bad as it did if I had just walked away a long time ago.
I hadn’t seen my boys in a few days so for me the time I shared over at Toya’s with them was priceless. The boys seemed to have grown so fast. My youngest was talking more and both of them needed their curly hair to be trimmed. I found myself sitting there, stuck, and staring into space thinking about my poor choices and wishing I had just stayed connected with Jesus. I felt Michael tapping me on the arm, trying to get my attention.
“Mommy, what happened to your face?” Michael rubbed my cheek with concern. “Did Jason do that, Mommy?” he asked.
Oh my goodness. It tore my heart apart with the realization that I had been letting my sons see me like this. But there was no way I would leave without saying good-bye.
I looked over at Toya before I answered my son. “No, son, Jason wouldn’t do that to Mommy. Men don’t hit women.” I had to lie. Yes, they’d heard a couple of the fights between Jason and me, but they’d never seen him put his hands on me.
“Okay. Mommy, I’m so glad you here. Are you coming to take us home?” Michael’s eyes were so bright and so full of hope.
I rubbed his curly brown hair and closed my eyes before I answered. Staying away from my boys was the hardest thing I ever had to do and to think it was the best thing for them made wanna kick myself.
“No, Michael. You guys are going on an adventure with Toya. She’s taking you to Daddy’s house! I will be there to pick you and your brother up in a week.” With the disappointment I saw on their faces, I tried to add, “We are going to a new place.”
Gabriel, my baby boy, came and wiped my tears away. “Don’t cry, Mommy.”
I talked with Toya for a bit about the boys’ trip to their dad’s, making sure she had everything she needed to get them there safe. I stayed with them and held on to each of them, drowning them with my kisses before I had to hurry off and get back home to complete the plan.
I sat in the car and cried before heading back home. “God please help me,” I asked. “I don’t want this life! What happened to me? Jesus, please.”
I picked up my cell to call my grandma, but I didn’t want them to worry about me. And I knew I wasn’t good at pretending everything was good. So I opted out of calling them now.
I got back home and sat in the living room for a minute with the TV on. I couldn’t help but think how Jason had put a gun to my head. I got up and walked over to the kitchen to get something to drink out the fridge, then laughed out loud and thought how stupid Jason would feel when he realized he would never find his money or me.
I sat down at the kitchen table. I thought about how right I was to take Jason’s money and I reasoned within that he definitely deserved this. I got up walked to the fridge and took the lemonade out. I poured myself a glass, took a drink, then set it down on the kitchen table.
“I wish I could be a fly on the wall when he comes back here and realizes I’m gone.” I finished my drink and got up from the table, went to the patio, and looked out. “But I’ll be long gone,” I whispered.
Today proved that it was time to get out of Columbus.
