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Elijah Baker
Marc decided to go with a car accident.
A fiery crash made Coby have a closed casket funeral, and made it impossible to find signs of strangulation that would've been there.
The toxicology report showed his blood alcohol content was double the legal limitâ Texas had a high number of DUI's, nobody thought twice about it, adding him to the statistic that flashed on the screen above the bridges on the interstate.
It was a well-thought-out plan, one that couldn't have been thought of in the short period that it took for him to leave my house and die.
"What was I supposed to do?" He asked casually, "He knew who I was, still decided to fuck with Lau, Ion' get how anybody mad at me."
"You could've just beat his ass, scared 'emâ some besides that. Lauren still walking and breathing ain't it?"
"Lani need her mama. That's the only reason."
My head was hurting, as Marc continued to explain his thought process, "I can't let nobody disrespect me like that. All in my house and shit for weeks. Weeks Eli. Nigga had to know how it was gone end."
I wasn't surprised it'd been happening for weeks since they'd made it to the point of them discussing her and Marc's marriage, but it did surprise me that he was stupid enough to be in the house. A house filled with cameras.
The timeline had to be around that night he dug the hole and saw her at my house, asking who she was and I told him not to worry about it because she wasn't Jai.
Their paths wouldn't have crossed again unless he wanted them to, but even if Coby didn't know better, Lauren did.
"Why you wait weeks to do some?"
"Ain't his bitch pregnant? Just like Lani need her mama, his baby needed him." He almost sounded ashamed, "I was hoping they'll just stop... But nah. She in my face giggling at her phone and shit like she finna run off with 'em. Fuck them."
Our conversation paused when Lani walked into the living room, "Hey, Uncle Eli." She shifted her eyes to her dad, "When's mom coming home?"
"Ion' know. You asked her?"
"She told me to ask you."
He knelt to smile at her, "I wish I knew, baby. Next time you talk to her, ask her if it was worth not being able to see you. Ask her why she wanted to leave us."
"Don't tell her that shit, Marc."
"What?" Still smiling, "She ain't talkin' to me. Maybe Lani can figure out what was going through her big ass head."
I later found out that she was forced to stand by and watch Coby die, a large part of why she wouldn't talk to him.
She wasn't gone though, she was in the apartment Marc rented for the woman Lauren killed in their home.
Tit for tat, back and forthâ it didn't seem worth it.
"Eli?"
I put the paper I was reading down, as Jailyn was the last person I wanted to see it, "Yeah?"
"I cooked if you're hungry?"
"Not forreal."
She nodded, "I kinda... just don't wanna eat by myself. Again."
Jai might as well be my new best friend.
It was a compromise, on Kensley's part, since she was sleeping at their apartment with Jai so she wouldn't be alone, her not wanting to sleep in their newly moved in house because it reminded her of Coby.
I felt like shit since my brother was the one who killed him, so I didn't have an issue with her staying here.
At first.
Days turned to weeks, and she never left unless she was going to an appointment. She just sat there.
Kensley wouldn't ask her to leave, I didn't wanna ask her to leave, we just adjusted to having another person in the house.
The trip never happened, Zi and Maria went alone. Kensley started her new job, she was never hereâ it was just me and Jailyn.
"What you made?" I asked, standing up.
"I been watching the cooking channel and I tried the birria tacos. I know Ken said she wanted to try them."
The kitchen smelled like cilantro, making me wrinkle my nose. Jai laughed a little, "I remembered you hate cilantro. I didn't put any on yours."
"My nigga."
I could've made my own plate but she wouldn't let me, asking if I wanted something to drink while putting sauce in a small bowl.
"Jai." I touched her arm, "You know you ain't a maid, right?"
Her shoulders slouched, "I know. It's just, I'm not contributing anything else. This is the least I could do."
"You good. Kensley said she gone take care of us."
"Sugar mama Kenny."
We ate, Jailyn passing the time by running baby names past me, "I came up with a list." She chewed while reaching for her phone, "Stop me when you hear one you like: Miracle. Heaven. Promise. Eternity."
I saw where this was going.
"Dream. Precious."
She might as well name the baby, Bible.
"Angel. Trinity." Jai finally looked up from the phone, "You hate them huh?"
Absolutely, "You ever think about... Jailyn Jr?"
"I'm being serious, Eli." She laughed, "I want her name to be a reflection of how I, like, went through a lot, but still made it out on the other sideâ a rainbow after the rain."
I was about to tell Jai to name her 'Flood' when she stood up excitedly, "Oh! What about Rain?"
"Rain?"
"Yes! We can spell it differently, maybe R-e-i-g-n?"
"R-a-y-n-e?"
Her eyes shone as she bounced up and down, "Yesss! Rayne Makayla McCants! I love it!"
"Say it like she in trouble so you can see how it sound."
"Rayne Makayla McCants! Getcho' ass up off that ground before you get dirty!"
"You gotta twist ya' lip up when you say it. That's the only time I took my mama serious."
Jai practiced that a few times before she got it right, trying not to laugh, "Okay, I think I got it." She held her fist up, "We make a great team. Lemme go tell Ken that I'm replacing her."
"Nah 'cause then you'll have to give her my middle name and Ion' think that'll sound right."
She was in the process of asking me what that name was when the doorbell rang. I told her I'd be back, opening the door and seeing a gnat at my doorstep.
"Wassup?"
I stared at the bags in Marc's hands.
"I heard his baby mama was staying witchu' so I brought some stuff.... for the baby. Mama said it's a girl."
"Want me to ask her do she want some gifts from the nigga who ran down on 'the baby' daddy?"
Marc looked over my shoulder, "You stay throwin' rocks and you live inna glass house. I'm tryna' do the right thing. It's a start ain't it?"
This was a lotta things, but a start wasn't one, "Not forreal."
"Me and Lau been going to church, and the man had said some that stuck with meâ he said, "If somebody is in Christ, then the old is gone, and the new has come." He held up the bags, "I'm in Christ. I'm a new person."
Stepping back, I closed the door and went to finish my tacos.
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Kensley Parker
"I wouldn't know."
He eyed me suspiciously, "How don't you know?"
"He doesn't tell me anything."
"So you're saying, you live with him and have no knowledge of what goes on in your home?"
Examining my nails, I tried to sound as uninterested as possible, "That's exactly what I'm saying. Look, I'm just the girlfriend, okay? I've learned more about him during this trial than I've known in the last year."
"We have witnesses who place you at the crime scene." He slid a picture of a stick figure towards me, "Is this not you?"
"I hope not. Sis is baldheaded."
Alex laughed and took his paper back, "If that's the type of defendants I'll get, I'ma just stick to my family law."
My workday had been over for going on 2 hours, still, I stayed and helped Alex impersonate David Rosen. It wasn't going well, my fault, since we never made it to the "hard" questions without me making a joke.
I moved from the imaginary trial stand, "Family law is fun, right? Why you wanna change?"
"It's only so many divorce cases you can do before you get bored."
He should've helped with my divorce case before he decided to stop.
Elijah's divorce had already been finalized though, and Leah disappeared off the face of the Earth. She hadn't tried to contact either of us, thankfully, since she called Elijah at game night stating her demands.
"Then you get shit like this." Alex sighed, looking at a will in his hand, "Her mama went missing a couple of months ago from Pearl Gates. Has dementiaâ walked right out the door. She wants to sue for negligence, they said they told her she was a flight risk. The daughter said that doesn't matter 'cause they advertise themselves as one of the most secure nursing homes in the area."
"Who names a Nursing Home Pearl Gates?" I asked, trying to remember where I'd heard the name.
Alex smiled and spread his hands apart, "This is the concept. You're way over hereâ not even close to grasping it."
"Sounds like an easy win. They're supposed to watch her, they didn't."
"It's deeper than that." He reached for another paper, "They reported they'd been having outages for weeks, sent emails to the residents' family and everything. They weren't understaffed, it was just a split second, and she was gone."
I leaned over to grab the document he was reading, seeing the name at the top and remembering why the home sounded so familiar.
"So you'll lose?"
"Honestly?" Alex shrugged and looked around the table, "I think the daughter is just upset and wants to feel like she tried to do something. I'll still try, of course, but I don't think this is going anywhere."
Ari's mom was nice the few times I met her. She never remembered me, and I always had to re-introduce myself, but still nice nonetheless.
I probably would've known that it happened if we still talked, yet Jade didn't mention it, more concerned with a false narrative.
Glancing at the time again, I told Alex I'd see him tomorrow and went to get my charger. I was pulling it out of the wall when he spoke again, "Oh, I wanted to tell you we're having a house-warming party. I told Nia I'd invite co-workers, but I've seen their houses and I don't want shit they have to offer."
He'd told me he had a wife, which still confused me as he never wore a ring, "When is it?"
"Saturday. I know it's last-minuteâ She said she wants to meet my work wife."
"Not you telling her about the affair. I'll bring Elijah to throw her off."
He laughed, "Yeah, bring him. I think she's on to us."
I made it home fairly quickly, pausing outside the door when I saw bags of baby items sitting there.
There was a card on top, the inside note a simple: Sorry for your loss,
-Marc
Taking the things inside, I found Elijah and Jai in the living room watching a movie. They didn't look at me, the sound of Norbit coming through the speaker, "You wanna see a bitch go down the slide? I'll show you how a bitch go down the slide."
"I'm thinking you was forreal about replacing me, Jai. You know this our movie."
She was still laughing when she turned around, "I could never. Eli said he's never seen it and I'm tryna' see howwww when you know the whole movie by heart."
"I can see how." Eli stood and came to take the bags out of my hand. "It's not a good movie." A kiss, "How'd work go?"
"I'm about to quit 'cause y'all having too much fun without me."
I wasn't seriousâ happy that Jai was distracted from everything going on. It didn't seem like she'd be leaving anytime soon, though I slightly wanted her to.
It was giving bad friend.
"Well hurry up and put the stuff down so we can finish watching it together. And after this we watching Tyler Perry movies."
"Is this ghetto movie night?"
"Yes, it is trueeee." Jai pointed at Elijah, "And yerrrrr gonna tellerrr."
He didn't get the reference but I did, laughing loudly as I made my way upstairs.
Elijah followed me, sitting on the bed, "I think we had a good day today."
"I heard you was out here tryna' show me up with the names. It's not a fair competition if I didn't even know we was competing."
"You still winning. My name ain't no where in there."
"Speaking of," I pointed to the gifts he still hadn't given to Jai, "Why Marc bought her stuff?"
Elijah shrugged lazily and pulled one of the bears out, "You know my mama talk a lot. They prolly felt bad."
Didn't we all.
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Jailyn Smith
I stood outside their door listening for sounds of movement, an inkling of guilt coursing through me as I went down the hall where Eli spent most of his day.
The door was unlocked, the knob turning quietly as I entered and went straight for his desk.
Kneeling, I pulled open the drawer and looked for somethingâ anything to prove or disprove what Lauren had told me.
She didn't have a reason to lie, but I refused to believe that he had something to do with it without any proof.
Eli was always nice before any of this happened, and nothing had changed on his end to make me think he was acting differentlyâ overly nice, avoiding me, he was the exact same.
That's why I felt guilty for going through his things but I needed to know, to know if the only reason he let me stay here was to relieve his own feelings of guilt.
I wondered if Kensley knew who she was sleeping with, the type of people they were.
That thought was quickly disregarded since the only thing I was completely sure of at the moment was our friendship. She'd never hold on to that type of information and be able to see me daily.
I pulled a paper from the desk, noticing the seal in the top right corner. There wasn't a reason for Eli to have a copy of the autopsy or toxicology report, nor would there be a legal way to get it as he wasn't immediate family.
Angling it towards the window, I used the moonlight shining through the blinds to read what it said, already knowing most of the information.
I went to continue my search, stopping when I felt someone's presence. I hoped it was Ken, but that was wishful thinking. From my place on the floor, I saw Eli standing in the doorway.
Neither of us spoke, his face devoid of any emotion. I would've preferred angerâ something, but he just stood there.
An excuse for being in his office refused to come to mind.
Throughout the restless nights I spent lying awake, Eli and Ken never left their rooms. Luck wasn't on my side tonight.
Time ticked by, and eventually, he came in and closed the door behind him, walking towards me, "I thought Kensley would've told you there's cameras in here."
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now where the hell ari mama snuck off to? ima ask eli & see what he say.
i like jailyn. nice girl.
thanks for reading ð