Page 142 of Quasim III: King Inferno

Beingin witness protection wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. They provided me with a home, car, and some basic money in exchange for risking my life. All day, I spent time on the internet and watching TV, because I didn’t have a life.

Didn’t have family after my parents kicked me out for getting high in their bathroom. Told me I needed to get clean or leave, and I decided to leave. I was a grown ass woman and could choose to get high if I wanted to.

It wasn’t like I had a child anymore, and I was thankful for that. Having to go through all of this with a kid would have been torture. Though, I worried about Elijah at times and hoped he was happy. I realized we been through hell together and he deserved to be happy.

Quasim had always been good to him, so I knew he was taking care of him. I just hoped he didn’t turn him into an intense mute like him. That man could kill you with just a look and no words. I also hoped he didn’t turn him into some bible thumper that quoted scriptures all day long.

Once he introduced Elijah to the bible, he came home tossing scriptures at me and acting like a damn Jehovah Witness. Um,little boy, I am trying to shoot up and you shooting verses at me to tell me that I could be better.

The only verse I cared about was getting as high as Mariah Carey’s voice on my favorite song, “Emotions.”

Here he was in my face, looking like a miniature preacher.

I leaned my head back on the couch and watched the news. My eyes popped open when they said that Mercer was found dead in his cell. They said it looked as if he and another prisoner got into a fight and the prisoner killed him.

My hand flew to my chest as my mouth became moist. What the hell did they mean he was found dead? Shouldn’t he have been taken to a different part of the prison?

The knock at the door caused me to jump. I was safe here, and no one was after me. However, what did that mean for me? With this man gone, there was no case. There were plenty of others connected, but I didn’t know them.

I knew Mercer and Lucia.

She always called me weak, and she went and killed herself to avoid answering to her crimes. The knock sounded again. “Alexandria.”

My fake name was so irritating. I guess that was better than being a damn Thea, so I couldn’t complain. His voice was familiar, so I quickly rushed to the door and opened it.

“Fuquan, did you hear the news?”

He was the agent assigned to me, and we had become familiar. It was nice to have someone treat you like a person, and not some loser junkie. It helped that we understood each other, and he knew I needed to get my fix and couldn’t leave this room.

“I heard on my way over here… shit fucked up.” He handed me the bag of food and then sat in the armchair.

The light from the TV glistened across his bald head, showing everything about Mercer. “What happens with the case now?”

“Honestly, I don’t even know. We wait to find out what they want to do about it… there are others so they may want to probe you for information about that.”

“I don’t know anything else… what happens to me?”

He went to close his eyes and then remembered something and dug into his pockets. “Got your shit.”

I laughed. “I wish you would stop referring to it as that.”

“Why do you do it?”

My eyes became wide when I saw that baggy, and I quickly rushed into the kitchen under the cabinet and got my little black bag with my spoon and lighter. Sitting Indian style, I watched as he closed his eyes, and I got right down to business.

As it heated up on my spoon, I was becoming so damn excited that I couldn’t contain myself. Luckily, his eyes were closed, and he didn’t see me acting like a complete junkie.

Soon as I sucked it up in the syringe, I got comfortable on the couch and crossed my feet. The best thing about not having kids was not having to explain it to them. I don’t know how many times I had to tell Elijah that this was my medicine to keep me alive.

He used to believe, then I was met with judgement from him. I injected it into my vein and tossed my head back as I pushed all of it into me slowly.

Funny enough, I used to be scared of needles as a child.

The minute I felt it enter my veins, it felt different. It burned more than usual, and I felt hot. “Fuquan, the same person?” I asked, unable to put full sentences together.

He opened his eyes and smiled. “Nah… my own home mix… ride the wave all the way to hell, Thea.”

My body became paralyzed, and I couldn’t move, as my entire arm bubbled and started to swell right before my eyes. He walked over toward the kitchen and came back over to me with black gloves on.

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