Page 11

CHAPTER 11

Anna

The Monday After the Flight

I had been nervous at work, feeling Glenn watching me. I asked one of the cooks to escort me to the car every night after my shift. In fact, it wasn’t just work. I was nervous all the time.

Barely sleeping, I was startled by every sound, getting up to double-check the locks at least once per night. I didn’t own a gun, but I had put my old softball bat next to my bed. The problem was that Glenn could easily overpower me; plus, a bat wouldn’t do me much good in a gunfight. But the texts to me with pictures of his target practice were the last straw. I couldn’t stand this shit anymore.

Who could possibly help? My mind scrolled through my entire list of friends and family. Certainly not Jasmine. She was God knew where with this guy she met. Not my mom. She would freak out with worry. My two younger brothers were more pacifist types and would never stand up to a guy like Glenn. My coworkers at the bar and other friends around town were busy with their own worlds and would want to stay away from this. There was only one person who came to mind: Raven.

Raven could handle any situation. I had never seen her back down from anyone or anything, and she had connections everywhere. If you were in jail, Raven would be the one to get you a pocketknife, contraband food, cigarettes, drugs, condoms, or booze. Somehow, she would bribe a guard or do whatever she had to do. I picked up my phone that morning and called her.

“Anna!” she cried out as a greeting.

“Raven, it’s good to hear your voice.” I told her of my predicament, of how Jasmine had left and Glenn was now making threats against me and I didn’t know what to do. It all came out in a rush. I barely took a breath as I spoke, the words tumbling over one another. She was quiet until I finished.

“Jasmine told me about this super dickhead Glenn some months ago. I’ve got you covered, girl. Just text me his address and it will be dealt with.”

“What will you do?” I asked, suddenly thinking of some of the more nefarious possibilities and feeling jittery.

“Don’t worry, Anna. He will never bother you again. I know lots of people in Madison. If I could hop on a flight right now, I would, but I’ve got a lot of things going on here in Hot-lanta at the moment. But you’re my girl and so is Jasmine. I protect my girls, and of course I always take care of myself.”

“What do I owe you for doing this?” I asked, thinking that I didn’t have a lot of extra cash after loaning that $500 to Jasmine. And when would I get that back?

“Free,” she said. “I have some buddies who owe me a favor. Just text me his address.”

Thanking her profusely, I hung up. I didn’t know Glenn’s address off the top of my head, but I remembered a card Jasmine had sent me for Christmas less than a month ago. I kept all of my cards in a cigar box. Retrieving the envelope, I found their address, plain as day. I hesitated for only a moment. Would I regret sending this to Raven? Nahh. I needed her, and as she said, she always took care of her girls. Herself too, of course, but in this case she was protecting us.

I texted Jasmine:

Glenn is getting weird but Raven is going to help out.

She wrote back:

Really? She’s helping me with something too

That was odd. Raven hadn’t said anything. I replied:

What is she helping with?

But Jasmine did not respond.