Lovin' Harlem

Ch. 15

Nicki's POV

                When Terrell went upstairs, I went to change clothes. He was in the shower when I ran downstairs, grabbed his gun and left quietly. The sky was dark and there weren't barely any stars out. The air was cool and a little windy. My hands were shaking by the time I figured out where I was gon' take DJ's body. It was a little over two hours out of Winston just outside of Asheville. Terrell really shot DJ and now I had to hide the body to make sure nobody found out. Harlem needed him just as much as she needed me and I was willing to do anything to keep us together.

                My skin felt like 1,000 fire ants were biting and crawling up my body as I sat in the driveway. Even though I told Terrell to go upstairs, I didn't wanna do this by myself. I was calm and relaxed on the outside but on the inside, I was the exact opposite. My hands didn't usually sweat but tonight that's all they did on top of shake uncontrollably. Eva was the only other person I would call to help hide a body but she was out of the picture. By now she should be settled in her jail cell. She would be calling any day now just like the last time she got arrested but this time I wasn't gon' be able to clean up her mess. Last time cost me over $2,000. This time, she'd be lucky if I answered the phone. Lewis crossed my mind but I shoved the thought to the side until I remembered how eager he was to be my friend when I hired him a few years ago. Tears clouded my vision as I reached for my phone with shaky hands. He answered right away.

                                "Girl it better be good, got me answerin' the phone in the middle of a dick down session...Nicki? What's wrong boo?" Lewis's voice was concerned and that made me break down. Everything I was holding in poured out over the phone and he waited quietly until I could speak.

                                "I just need someone to ride with me...I need to...get away and handle something but I um...need..." I closed my mouth and shook my head. This was a bad idea. I went to hang up but hearing him call my name made me put the phone back to my ear.

                                "Come pick me up, I can help. I'll be ready before you get here," he chirped and then hung up. I felt sick as a dog. My forehead was covered in sweat and I was hyperventilating. Images of Terrell sitting on the bed with Harlem while he rubbed her to sleep played over and over in my head. It made my chest hurt. Harlem was so much happier now that Terrell is around. She smiled more and had fewer tantrums and I loved it. She was turning into a completely different little girl because of Terrell and I don't think he even knew it. There was nothing going to break the bond they were building and I was gonna do anything I had to do to make sure I kept that promise to myself.

                When I pulled up to the apartments Lewis stayed in, I saw him standing under a street light with a dark blue hoody over his head. I hid the gun before he opened the door and slid in the passenger seat with a smile. His blonde hair was in a sloppy bun on the side of his head and his brown skin had a dark blue hickey on his neck.

                                "Girl tell me whatchu got goin' on, you look like you just saw a ghost," he said and turned to face me. I felt myself getting annoyed already. I put the car in drive before taking a glance at him. He had his listening ears on and his attention was on me. The thing about Lewis that I didn't like was his need to spread gossip. I knew if I told him anything, the entire Triad would know before we made it back. I didn't plan on telling him anything. The plan was to just bury the body and drive back to town. I glanced in the back seat at the two shovels and then Lewis did the same.

                                "Um...girl no foreal, whatchu got goin' on? You look like you trynna hide a body or somethin'," his eyebrows were raised with fear and since we weren't out of Winston to yet, I lied to him.