Page 18

All of a sudden, the tone of his voice sickened her. He thought this was amusing, meanwhile she was trying her best not to fall victim to a panic attack.

“Bring yo’ ass back in here. You not going nowhere for a while.”

Sniffling, Bria took staggered steps back inside. Lo stared at her with the eyes of the devil. What used to be toasted brown irises were now raven.

“You always running and now you gotta suffer the consequences for playing me. That’s what got you in this position in the first place. Running to a hotel with this nigga like I wasn’t gon’ find out is crazy.”

Bria was stunned. How did Lo know she had been with Dough? Was he aware of how far they’d gone? She was bewildered and suddenly felt lightheaded.

“Have a seat.”

She looked over at the folding chair and timidly sat.

“Lo, I’m so—”

“Sorry?” he finished. “Nah, you ain't sorry. You were about to carry on like you wasn’t just dick surfing with this nigga last night. But don't trip, Bri-Bri. I’ll make sure you never fuck with me again.”

“Lo, please!” she pleaded, pressing her palms together. “I’m really sorry.”

Ignoring her, he stalked toward Dough and ripped the duct tape from his mouth.

“You bitch-ass nigga! I swear on my life, I’ma make sure I murk yo’ punk-ass for even trying me. Get me out of this bullshit!” Dough yelled.

Lo peered at Bria. “How long you think it will take before his arms pop out the socket?”

“Huh?” she asked confused.

Lo kicked the bucket Dough had been standing on. His body hung while his arms stretched awkwardly, making Bria wince before covering her eyes.

“Aaarrrggghhhh!” Dough yelled. “Shit!”

Lo’s heavy footsteps thundered throughout the room. Bria’s hands were suddenly snatched away from her face.

“You don't get to cover your eyes. Look at the fucking mess you made. Stand on your shit, Bria.”

“I can’t watch this!” she screamed.

“Oh, you can’t take it? You don't like seeing your boyfriend be tortured?” he sneered, squeezing her chin. “Well, guess what I had to watch? I had to watch this man walk you out of a hotel and kiss you on the lips. So, if I gotta watch that, then you gon’ watch this.”

Bria whimpered as Lo stormed over to the table.

There were an array of weapons laid out as if he was getting ready to perform surgery.

Clutching her chest, Bria prayed she wouldn’t be forced to witness a murder.

Lo had turned out to be more than a basket case.

He was a certified psychopath. Insanity was something she didn’t know was a part of his character.

What had she gotten herself into? Would anyone be able to save her from this man who had a long cord in his hand?

“Bria, you really let me down.” Lo began wrapping the end of the wired cord around his left hand. “I don’t understand how you were moving like you don’t know you married to a fucking king.”

A chill vibrated through her trembling frame. She watched him with a keen eye as he strolled over to Dough. Lo looked so comfortable in this position as if he had done this a million times. His fierce eyes pierced Bria before he swung his arm and struck Dough across his back.

“Fuck!” he yelled in agony.

Bria covered her mouth, stifling the scream that begged to be released. Lo swung again, striking him so hard, a trail of blood splattered across the cemented floor.

“You wanna know why I ain't touched you, Bri-Bri?” Lo snorted.

“Because you're a liar. You told me you were a virgin, knowing your pussy been broke in. And you wanna know how I found out? Your man here been bragging about beating you down. Ain’t that some shit. So, this the nigga that took what was mine?”

Bria’s eyes ballooned, mortified that Dough had been telling everyone about him being her first sexual partner. He hit Dough again, drawing a loud yell that sounded as if it came from Dough’s gut. She almost felt horrible for him until she realized he had been running his mouth.

“Answer me!” Lo bellowed, startling her.

“Yeah, nigga I got that pussy first! You mad!” Dough managed to say between his heavy pants. “Go cry about it, bitch!”

Lo peered at him and angled his head. What proceeded next was something Bria wished she could erase from her psyche. Lo whipped Dough, relentlessly, drawing blood from so many cuts, Bria knew his body would be marred by scars.

“Shhiittttt!” Dough shouted.

Bria gawked when she realized his arm had popped out of the socket.

All the bucking he’d done while Lo whipped him with the cord, prompted his arm to dislodge from his shoulder.

Bria gagged at the sight, doubling over as she anticipated her own vomit.

Heavy footsteps resounded through the room, until she felt her head being forcefully lifted.

“Ain't no getting sick, ain't no acting like you can’t stomach this shit. This is all on you. You made me do this,” Lo gritted in her ear.

When a man said, ‘you made me do this’, that was a sign he was nuts. Lo was exactly who people painted him to be. Demented and unstable. She should’ve known better than to put herself in this position.

Standing behind her, Lo held her head up by gripping her chin. His hand was shaped in a U as she whimpered like a baby. Dough looked as if he was on the verge of fainting. Blood dripped from his cuts as his head tipped backwards. He was in pure agony while Bria was stuck in a mental one.

“Let’s play a game called tell the truth. I ask you a question and you be honest.” Lo snorted before spitting on the ground. “What did y’all do last night?”

Bria shook her head. Not because she was in severe distress, but she didn’t want to tell Lo that Dough had feasted on her like Sunday dinner.

“Go ‘head, Bri-Bri, tell your husband what I want to hear.”

His tone was so sinister it caused her heart to jump several beats.

“W-we kissed,” she confessed just above a whisper.

“And what else?”

Bria coated her dry throat with saliva, contemplating if being honest would hurt or help her.

Lo seemed to know everything. Maybe he had a camera installed in the room.

Or he had intel on what they’d done. Her mind told her to be honest, but fear immobilized her.

She was scared of lying and telling the truth.

Lo tightened his grip on her chin. “I’m waiting, baby. Tell me what I want to hear.”

“Okay… he gave me oral sex. Nothing more. I swear that was it.”

Lo stood up straight and headed over to the table. He grabbed a bottle and stepped over to Dough who barely hung onto being conscious.

“You let him taste my pussy? Mine! You lost your mind?”

Lo poured the liquid all over Dough’s body, waking him up from his agonizing daze. The yell was so piercing that Bria covered her ears. She couldn’t stomach seeing him in this kind of torture. It was cruel and heartbreaking.

“You know what’s crazy, Bria? This is just level one. A nigga can really get messy with this shit. I’ve heard niggas plead with cries of a baby. I’ve heard niggas pray to a god that they never served. I done seen plenty people in their last moments. This shit is a sport to me.”

“Bria! Stop this nigga!” Dough lamented.

“Lo, please stop,” she begged, pressing her hands together.

He smirked. “If you tell me, you love him, then I’ll stop right now.”

That was a trick question. Lo was playing a game with her and Dough.

He received the physical consequence while she had to suffer through the psychological one.

Professing any kind of love for Dough would be a sure death sentence for him.

She’d already gotten him in this situation and couldn’t bear to have his murder on her heart.

“You love him?” Lo interrogated.

Hesitantly, Bria shook her head, causing Lo to smile.

He returned to torturing Dough by emptying the bottle on his mutilated skin.

Afterward, he unfastened the wrist lock, and Dough’s body fell to the ground.

Lo walked over to the table and wiped his hands with a towel.

Bria wondered if she was next. Her betrayal had infected everyone in the room.

Lo was disappointed while Dough was a bloodied mess.

Her eyes were glued to Lo, following his every move.

She didn’t want to be caught off guard when he turned his wrath on her.

Grabbing a phone, Lo placed it up to his ear.

“Come pick this nigga up.” He hung up.

Bria stood, hoping someone wasn’t coming to finish the job on Dough. There was a protest in her spirit, but she was too afraid to voice it. Lo was now her monster in the closet. He was the guy that she feared the most. Her husband, the one she had exchanged vows with, was now her menace.

Lo stared at her, awaiting whatever she was going to say but Bria had punked out. She didn’t have the heart to put her life on the line for Dough, especially when he had disappointed her.

“You ready to go?”

Just like that, Lo had returned to factory settings. He’d ushered in the toasted brown eyes that she had become accustomed to. Bria nodded, unable to find her voice under all the horror he had injected in her.

Nodding, Lo walked over to her. “Come on. Let’s go home.”