Black Waters (Frank Ocean Love Story)

Chapter 十七

Ajahni’s View.  †

I have never been so desperate in my life.

I wanted to know so much, but Roshon wouldn’t let me ask questions. He would just occasionally feed me, and then leave me in a corner to wonder how I ended up here. I wanted to make sense of the voicemail message on Hodgy’s phone after he left, but I couldn’t. To discover something, you needed more than one piece of the puzzle. That message was the only piece I had, and everything else was blank.

Anytime I tried to ask Roshon something, he would tell me to shut up. If I didn’t, he would hit me. It happened many times before. It only stopped two days ago when I gave up. Well as a matter of fact, it might not have been two days. It might have been an hour. How could I know? I had no sense of time.

“Just tell me where we are.” My frail voice pleaded as I stared at the breakfast bread in front of me with tears in my crusty eyes.

“In the middle of nowhere. Didn’t I tell you that already?” He replied with annoyance.

(Good. At least he’s willing to answer you. Keep inquiring.)

That was the first time Chanel spoke to me in a while. I hadn’t been in the mood to speak to my inner spirit, so I kept her quiet for a long time. I guess she found her way back to the surface.

“I know that. But nowhere in the world is the middle of nowhere. We have to be somewhere. So tell me.” I demanded. Roshon chuckled softly.

“And what happens if I don’t tell you, Ajahni?”

I looked to Chanel for this question.

(Then you’ll just have to keep asking questions.)

“Then I won’t stop asking you questions. And I know you don’t want that.” I said, managing to crawl closer to where Roshon was sitting. My eyesight had gotten better over the past few days with the mere nutrition I was getting. I could see that Roshon looked a lot like Christopher. I mean, of course he wasn’t as handsome as Christopher, but he wasn’t half bad. Maybe that’s why Christopher liked him…

Shut up. Their relationship wasn’t real. It couldn’t be, I told myself.

“Alright, fine, little miss determined.” Roshon started, putting out his cigarette. “We’re in New York City, baby. Remember the place you came to for fame, but they weren’t giving you love? That’s when you fled to California, right?”

My eyes widened. “How would you know that?”

“I have my ways.” He confidently replied.

“Why did you take me here?”

“Because I couldn’t have you running around Portland causing trouble. And anyway, I have business to take care of here in New York.” Roshon said.

“But wouldn’t you want me in Portland? Hodgy was there, and we were together. So that was straying me from looking for Christopher. Wouldn’t that distraction be good for you?” I asked him, repeating Chanel’s words.

“You’re right. Hodgy Beats was a good distraction. That was all thanks to me. I set your relationship with him up. You’re welcome, by the way. But that was until he stole Christopher’s phone. I knew as soon as he stole the phone, it would cause trouble. So I made arrangements to take you away, finally.” Roshon explained.

“Wait, when did Hodgy steal Christopher’s phone?”

“When he met up with him a few nights before I took you.”