Black Waters (Frank Ocean Love Story)

Chapter 二十九

Christopher’s View.

The incident that happened three nights ago still felt very wrong to me. Firstly, I felt like I had committed a crime. Sure, I know that I was trying only to protect myself. But what if I presented it to a judge? I could bet he would think much more of that little altercation.

But she said it herself. She wanted to kill me.

But why? As much as I could try and ponder on it, I just couldn’t figure out what I had done that would make Mia hate me so much.

The whole reason we work for the boss is because he wants to find that kid, and now you want him dead?

I was ‘that kid’. The boss wanted to find me. From what I picked up from the conversation, the boss didn’t want me to die, but Mia did. I just had to figure out who this boss was. That should be easy, right?

I’m not kidding anybody but myself.

As I walked along the inclined pavement, I looked around frequently for someone who might be following me. Of course there was no one, but I still felt the sensation. Now I understood how nervous Mia was that day when I took her to my house.

But that person couldn’t be here, following me now, because I wasn’t in California. I flew myself back to Portland.

The reason I came back was now in front of me. I came back for her; she seemed to be the best one to help me figure out anything, to find anything.

Darcelle.

I pushed the door to Yellow-pages and walked in, determined to find the Boss.

Darcelle’s View

Something about that girl, the Ajahni girl, seemed really desperate. But not only was she desperate—there was much more to her, behind her synthetic pleasantness and smiling eyes. Her need to find Christopher was just coming off as really shady to me. But I disregarded it, since it was really none of my business. As long as she was willing to pay before I coughed up Chris’ whereabouts, it was fine with me.

I had caught a cold somehow, so I decided to take the day off from work. They didn’t need me, anyway. Irene could take care of the shop all by herself.

Instead of staying inside and letting my cold get the best of me, I left the house for an outing to Cannon Beach. This time I actually wanted to go swimming instead of sitting on the sand like I usually do.

The beach was warm and empty; nothing new. There seemed to be less sand, though, like someone or something was stealing it. I didn’t quite like that feeling. It felt flat beneath my feet. But I continued on, my long skirt brushing against the grainy floor. And then I noticed the posters on the trees, explaining the lack of sand. They explained that they were in the process of removing all of the sand and replacing it with new imported sand, since the previous sand was said to have had tracking devices found in it.

Satisfied with the explanation, I found a good spot and peeled my skirt off, leaving myself in a bathing suit and a jeans jacket. As I began to take off the jacket, someone tapped my shoulder.

I looked to my left to see no one. When I looked to my right, there was a guy that I almost thought was Chris. After all, they looked a lot alike: they were both unbelievably gorgeous, with flawless chocolate skin, defined jaws, and significant eyes. The guy smiled at me, and I noticed that his smile wasn’t half as attractive as Chris’ was.

“Hi?” I said after realizing that he wouldn’t say anything. He just smiled even wider.

“Darcelle, my rose,” He started, “it’s about time we’ve seen each other face-to-face, don’t you think?”

Now I was scared. “Who the hell are you?”

“You know my name well enough.”

I backed away from him, but he only came closer. “No, I don’t.”

“Alright, fine.” He said. “Let’s not play the guessing game. I’m Roshon Solomon. Now do you remember me?”

It didn’t take much for me to remember Chris pleading to me to find this ‘Roshon Solomon’, and the disappointment that fell onto his face when he thought that I wouldn’t be able to find him. This was the man that I couldn’t put a face to, only a location.

“Yes,” I said. “But how do you know me?”

Roshon paused. If he was thinking, I couldn’t tell, because he was just staring at me blankly. But he was staring past me, too. My fear grew until he spoke again at last, after glancing briefly over at the posters on the trees.

“That’s not important. Your near future is what’s important, which you can let me determine. Well, you have to let me determine it, since there really is no choice for you.” Roshon grasped my forearm, making my breathing become shallow. My eyesight faltered as I studied him. “I know you saw her last night, that Ajahni devil. She’s such a sweetheart, but she can be such a bother. I’ve actually grown quite tired of her.”

I was puzzled as to why he was speaking so properly; was he from around here? Or was this just an edge to his eerie persona?

“Anyway, I want her away now. I’ve given her too many chances; it’s time for her to go. I want to kill her, but I must say—she’s learned a few things from me. She’s smart. It won’t be easy to just go ahead and kill her. That’s why I need your help, Darcelle. She’s already put so much trust in you because of her dire need for Chris. She’ll never expect you to be the one to kill her. You won’t even have to do all the work. I’ll be helping you.” Roshon explained.

“I’m not helping you kill anyone. Let me go!” I ordered and begged at the same time. He didn’t even budge.

“Did I not tell you that you don’t have a choice? It’s either you kill her, or I kill you. Choose one quickly, Darcelle.”

Something about his eyes was intoxicating, blurring my thoughts. His touch softened and turned into a caressing. He seemed to know what he was doing to me.

“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly. “We’ll kill her.”