Page 72 of Rah

I repeatedly moved my legs back and forth and stuffed my hands in my pockets to cope with the cold.

It was the beginning of winter, but it was already cold as hell in Chicago. January was only two days away. That’s when the real arctic air was going to blow through the city. As I waited for Solae to come to the door, I thought about New Year’s Eve being the next day. Memories of all that I had been through came to mind, especially the events of the last few weeks. The memories were eerie, but I was happy to start this New Year with hopes of a much better tomorrow.

All of those hopes were lost when Solaefinally answered the door looking like a walking car accident. Her blonde bang was all over the place and hanging in her face. Her eyes were bloodshot red as they rained tears.

When I realized that the stains on her shirt were blood, I lost it. “Solae! Oh my God! Are you okay?!”

In response, she turned away from the door and began to mope as she walked away. I hurriedly followed her inside, closed the door, and followed closely behind her with a million questions. “What happened?! Did Rah hit you?! What the hell is going on?!”

“He had the nerve to blame me for what happened to Essence!” She fussed in anger while making long, fast strides down the hall.

I was on her heels. I was damn near chasing her, confused as she rambled on and on and walked briskly through the house.

“He didn’t care! I told him what happened to Essence, and he still didn’t care!”

“Didn’t care about what, Solae?”

She didn’t even hear me. “I told him how much I wanted that baby. He just laughed. He dismissed my hurt like it didn’t mean anything. He told me that I was overreacting. He said that this wasmyfault. He told me that if I was the ride or die bitch for my man that I was supposed to be, this wouldn’t have happened to Essence.”

As we entered the kitchen, I still didn’t know what was going on. Yet it was obvious that Rah had finally gone too far. The look in Solae’s eyes was angrier than I had ever seen before.

She was possessed with fury.

Solae was still rambling on and crying, nervously running her fingers through her hair.

She sounded like a crazy person. “And do you know whathe had the nerve to say?” Her face lost all sanity as she recalled it in her mind. “He said that if Essence wasn’t such a hoe like her mother, maybe this wouldn’t have happened to her.”

I cringed. Rah’s words even hurtmyfeelings as I leaned against the island in the kitchen. “Solae—”

I stopped mid-sentence when my eyes fell upon the scene on the floor near the back door.

I gasped so loud that it bounced off of the walls. “Solae! What did you do?!”

Rah was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. He was on his stomach. It was obvious that he was dead. I was shocked by the sight of his body and the blood all over the walls. I then looked into Solae’s eyes, which showed no remorse; only fear of what would now happen to her because of what she had done.

I stood frozen in place, gaping at Rah’s lifeless body with my mouth ajar in pure shock. “How long has he been lying there?”

Solae shrugged her shoulders with weary eyes. She looked just as young and naive as Essence did. “I don’t know. Thirty minutes maybe.”

When she saw that I had the same fear, she began to justify what she had done through panicked screams. “He ruined my baby! He ruined me, Kahlani! And he didn’t even care. He didn’t even care!!”

I threw my arms around her. I could imagine Rah’s blood seeping into the fabric of my jacket as it pressed against Solae’s shirt. As I held her, she rocked back and forth in agony.

“I … I didn’t mean to. I just got so mad. I wassomad…” Her words trailed off in wails of sorrow and fear.

Suddenly, she released me and reached for the cell phone that sat on the counter.

“What are you doing?”

When she answered, “Calling 9–1–1,” I instinctively rushed towards her and snatched the cell phone away.

“No,” I told her. “Don’t call the police.”

It just didn’t seem right to call them. I imagined them showing up at this scene and hauling her away in handcuffs. I wasn’t about to allow Solae to ruin her life and lose her kids over Rah.

“I have to call the police, Kahlani. He’s dead.”

Even though she knew that it was the right thing to do, she looked so scared for what would happen to her when she did call them. When I imagined her being handcuffed and hauled away, it just didn’t feel fair. She didn’t deserve it. Seeing Rah’s body bleeding out and lifeless,thatfelt fair. Rah had taken every opportunity to ruin her life. She had fought him tooth and nail not to allow him too. Yet, he insisted on fucking with her because she had sense enough to leave him. Even in death, he was threatening to ruin her life.