Page 29 of Don't Kross Me
“Don’t cross me, Zeke. We brothers, but if I find out you holding out on intel again, you might as well join them Chi-raq niggas ‘cause I’mma come for you too. Understood?”
The two met for their signature handshake, sealing their mended brotherhood. “We got each other. From the cradle to the grave.”
“From the cradle to the grave,” Kross agreed.
Chapter Thirteen
Covering up bruises and scars had become Remedy’s specialty. She spent countless hours in the mirror dabbling in different foundations, concealers and color correctors. The power she had in her hands with makeup concealed the ugly truth of her life more than it enhanced her timeless beauty. She was a perfectionist, never leaving her spot in the mirror without ensuring her face was flawless. It was no exception this morning as she gently patted the beauty blender along her face and watched the scratch underneath her eye vanish within seconds. She buffed out the edges of the concealer application before eyeing herself in the mirror.
She couldn’t find it in her to gaze at herself for too long. Her attention averted to the warm body that laid comfortably in the bed behind her. Her insides began to churn. It had been so many years that her anger had subsided into pure disgust. If she had a weak stomach, she was sure she would have regurgitated everything she ate every time she set her eyes on him.
After ensuring her face was flawless, she turned away from the mirror and shuffled to the bed. His snores always stirred up her insides and made her want to scream. His comfort and peace were sickening, especially since he hadn’t served her witheither for the past two years. Every morning, she debated waking him up with a pot of scorching hot grits to smolder his smooth caramel skin, but she feared that would only drive his sadistic ass to beat her to a pulp. Instead, with a gentle hand, she caressed his back, hoping to ease him out of his slumber.
“Tone, I’m heading out,” she advised him, willing his eyelids to part to allow his eyes to look at her.
With his brown orbs, he looked up and assessed her face, ensuring that she concealed her bruises properly. Whenever he went on one of his rampages due to her not falling in line, the next morning, he had to make sure she didn’t leave the house without her mask of makeup. What happened in his household was his business, and if it leaked out in the street, then he had a problem, and only Remedy would be to blame for it.
“You’re good,” he gave her clearance to leave the home. His raspy voice mixed with his slick Chicago accent used to send chills down her spine and butterflies in orbit within her stomach. Now, all it ever did was send her body into defense mode.
“Can I have my keys, please?” she requested with her hand out.
After another late-night tussle, Tone ended up snatching Remedy’s keys as soon as she threatened to leave. Once again, he made her feel trapped. Then, the next morning, she was stripped of all the dignity she had left when she had to ask for permission to leave like she was a child under his authority.
Sitting up in bed, Tone’s hand dug in the pocket of his basketball shorts and retrieved the keys to Remedy’s Lexus. As he dangled them in her face, she tried her best not to make any sudden movements that would reveal how eager she was get the fuck out of his presence.
“Remedy I’m serious. You got ‘til the end of this week to get these motherfuckas out my house,” he reminded her before sitting the keys in her palm.
The troubling thought of finding housing for her mother and little brother crowded her mind once more. Their night of tussling ensued after Remedy’s mother Ava almost burned down the house after she attempted to cook. Ava suffered from schizophrenia which was tapping into early onset Alzheimer’s. She had been clinically sick all of Remedy’s life, but her father Deno had done an exceptional job of giving her as normal of a life as possible and her little brother Melo a normal childhood. Sadly, with Deno’s passing, Remedy had to take on the responsibility of taking care of Ava and Melo.
She was struggling bad with juggling her mother and her moody teenage brother, and crawling out of the debt her father left her with once she took on his barbershop. She thought she could handle it all, especially when she convinced Tone to allow Ava and Melo to move in once they got an eviction notice on their door. After only a month of being together under one roof, Tone was over it and wanted Ava’s crazy ass out. He didn’t have the patience or compassion that was needed to deal with someone in Ava’s condition, which was partially understandable since he wasn’t obligated to deal with it. Still, Remedy thought Tone cared for her enough to allow her to help her family until she figured out other living arrangements.
They fussed and cussed all night until Remedy said something lethal enough for him to strike her with a closed fist. He gave her an ultimatum: she either figured it out by the end of the week, or he was going to put Ava and Melo’s asses out on the curb. Deno had entrusted her with everything since Ava was too sick to be responsible, so it was up to her to make sure that Ava and Melo had a stable life. Now that it was all on her, she had a different level of appreciation and admiration for her father. He handled everything effortlessly while she was drowning.
“Tone, I heard you. I’ll figure it out.”
With that, she grabbed her purse, along with her phone, and exited the bedroom. Their goodbyes never consisted of affection unless he was putting on a front for his folks. They barely liked each other at this point, but Tone had a bad case ofwhat’s mine will forever be mine, so Remedy was stuck.
Once the bedroom door shut behind her, Remedy let out a heavy breath, thanking God for allowing her to swallow down the urges she had to slice Tone’s throat while he was sleeping. In the living room, she was met with the sight of Melo and Ava on the couch. Despite Melo’s snappy attitude half the time, he was a big help when it came to their mother. Deno taught him everything that needed to be known about Ava since her condition worsened after Remedy left Miami to chase Tone’s ass in Chicago. Melo did a great job with keeping their mother tamed, but it was impossible to supervise her 24/7. Hence the fact that she damn near started a fire in the kitchen while Melo was in the shower.
“Good morning, Melo. Good morning, Ma,” she greeted them before shuffling over to sit a gentle kiss onto Ava’s cheek.
“‘Sup?” Melo replied, shooting her a curt nod as he granted her a dry greeting. That was the usual from him. He didn’t think he had anything to be smiling and happy about.
“Good morning, baby. How’s the semester going?” Ava asked with a proud smile gracing her beautiful face.
Remedy exchanged glances with Melo, which prompted him to shrug. Whenever Ava was having an episode, her memory would send her back to when Remedy was eighteen years old. It was the last time she was lucid before she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She would always ask Remedy about college, even though she dropped out nine years ago and went to barber school instead. At first, Remedy would try her best to correct her mother, but challenging her reality would only frustrate her andcause meltdowns. Deno made it clear that it was best to just go along with it until she snapped out of it and was lucid again.
“The semester is treating me well, Ma. How about you? Are you okay?”
“Oh, Rem, I’m so happy for you. You don’t have to worry about me. Your father and I are doing good. He already went into the shop. You just missed him.” She pointed toward the front door, indicating it was the one Deno had just went out of.
Remedy could feel a huge lump lodge into her throat. Ava had yet to register that Deno passed a month ago, and it had been a struggle whenever she would snap back into reality and realize that he wasn’t around.
“It’s alright, Ma. I’ll just catch him at the shop,” she assured her mother with a faint smile. “Melo, there’s left over pasta in the fridge. Heat some up for the both of you. Call me if you guys need anything. And don’t talk to Tone.” She was sure to whisper the last part so Tone wouldn’t hear her from the main bedroom.
A loud scoff aired out of Melo as he cut his eyes at his sister. “I don’t got shit to say to the nigga anyways.”
A troubled sigh drifted out of her as she shook her head. The tension between Tone and her little brother was evident. Melo wasn’t as oblivious as their mother; he heard and sometimes even saw the abuse. At times, he defended his sister, but Remedy was too afraid that Tone would seriously hurt her sixteen-year-old little brother, so she told him to stand down. Melo couldn’t stand watching his sister get pummeled with blows and tried his best to encourage her to leave Tone’s ass, but Remedy seemed to let everything he said go in one ear and out the other. He wished the gunshot wound to the shoulder Tone came home with a few weeks ago had gone through his heart and laid that nigga out for good, but it didn’t. What Melo didn’t understand was that financially, Remedy was tied up, and Tone was giving her thehelp she needed. She was going to leave, but only when she was ready.
