Page 5 of On Everything
Chapter 2
Ciara
“Yes sir, he came in and started fighting Kairo, speaking about a difference they were having.”
“Difference?”
“Kairo was sleeping with his lady, I guess.”
“Okay, I will be back in a second.”
Telling the detective that Kairo was cheating on me made my throat burn from the hurt inside my chest. I hadn’t saw him yet. God knows I can’t wait to see his ass so he can feel the wrath of this heartbreak. See the pain I’m sure that was set in my eyes from believing him through his lies. I know my eyes are bloodshot red, from all the screaming and crying I’d been doing tonight. Pernelle couldn’t even decipher what I was saying over the phone when I called her a few hours ago. She kept saying, “Bitch, you killed Kairo!” She even screamed, “Bitch, Kairo killed you?” Obviously, not hearing anything I was saying.
There is really no telling what rumor is going around the projects right now because when we were walking out of the building with the cops, there were crowds of people out in the hallways.
Now, I been cooped up in this small interrogation room for hours, freezing my butt off from the vent directly over me. Whenthe door finally opened, in came the short Italian detective with the spiked hair and large mole over his lip.
“Okay, Ms. Chalvez, you are free to leave now.”
“So, that’s it? You don’t need anything else from me?”
“No, that’s it,” he answered with his lips pressed together.
“So, what is happening with Kairo? Is he being charged with murder?”
My stomach was in knots waiting on his answer. Why I cared? I do not know. I guess I’m just used to it. Used to worrying about his fate even now, when I shouldn’t give a damn what happens to his dog ass.
“No, the department has more than enough evidence for a self-defense claim. A murder charge is out of the window for your husband.”
“Good. So, is he out of custody yet?”
“No, ma’am. Kairo is not out yet, nor will he be unless the judge has a soft spot for him at court. I can’t see that happening though. A felon with a gun is guaranteed jail time in most cases. Kairo is looking at a probation revoke and at least a ten-year sentence.”
My heart dropped to my stomach once he said that.
“Wow.”
“Yep. Unfortunate in this case, but it’s the law. Now, you can make your way out through those double doors to the left.”
He pointed where I should be walking, yet my feet couldn’t move. I was stuck for a few moments, almost winded from the gut punch he just gave me.
How could Kairo have been so stupid? He knew he could get in trouble for that gun. He had to know he could get realtime for a probation revoke and not those petty one year and six months sentences he was used to. I had no clue a gun was even in the apartment because I’m terrified of guns. Guns are terrible, and where a gun may have saved his life, it ended Diablo’s and changed mine forever. This is the last time I will let him have any effects on my future and I have to stand on business about that shit. I can’t wait on him for ten years just for him to get out and be the same person. It’s a risk I’m just not willing to take anymore.
Once I stepped out of the 43rdprecinct, the noise of the New York streets engulfed my ears. There was an overwhelming scent of butter and onion from the hot dog cart a few feet away from the front doors. The humid air wrapped around my body even though the sun was already down and I dreaded this trip back to my spot.
Usually at night, Kairo would walk anywhere with me. Walking alone was always against the rules, and the only exception was if I were with my best friend. I wish she had a car, but I am just going to thug it out and pray no one fucks with me on my way to my spot.
As soon as I started off down the sidewalk to the bus stop, a man came through on a bike dinging his bell before he had to swerve to keep from running me over.
“Watch where the fuck you going.”
He had a boom box on his handlebars, playing old hip hop music, with a beanie on his head in this hot ass weather.
“Rude muthafucka!” I shouted to him, hoping he didn’t double back on me with a gun or no shit.
I continued down the block, carefully stepping over the trash and piss covering the ground in front of me. As Iapproached the bodega at the end of the block, I noticed a group of Dominicans standing outside, speaking loudly about something that was probably irrelevant to the rest of the world. I only took a few steps past them when one of them grabbed my arm, which instantly pissed me the fuck off.
“Ayo Ma, let me holler at you.”
