AALIYAH JASMINDA
I was sitting in the family room face to face with another
victim by the name of Cassandra. I don't
know how she found out the address to Geoffrey's house but I guessed once she
found out his real name she had done some research of her own. This really put a hitch in the plans that
Omar and I had. She came out of nowhere
ringing the doorbell like a mad woman. I
made Terry go downstairs and sit in the family room so that I could keep my
eyes on her because I had to answer the door when Cassandra started banging on
it just to avoid any attention from the neighbors. When I opened the door, she stared at me as
if she didn't know what to do next. I
immediately recognized her from the photos that Omar had of the other victims.
"Cassandra?"
I asked.
She seemed stunned that I knew her name. I then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her
inside of the house.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.
Again, she still seemed stunned. It appeared that I had caught her off
guard. She finally got her bearings
together and managed to speak. "How
do you know my name and who are you? Are
you Geoffrey's wife?"
I led her to the family room and pointed to Terry. "No, she is. Again, what are you doing here?"
"To tell you the truth, I didn't even know he was
married until some guy named Smith said that Jason, I mean Geoffrey had a
wife. So I got on the internet and found
this address and figured I had nothing to lose if I told the wife what was
going on. Now who are you again?"
"I never said who I was and all you need to know is that
I am taking care of the situation. You
need to get out of here now," I said.
"I'm not going anywhere until I tell his wife what has
been going on," Cassandra stated.
"You think she doesn't already know? Look, I've got this, you need to go."
Cassandra then looked around and then her eyes landed on the
broken vase on the floor. "Really? From the looks of things, it seems as if some
things got out of control."
It was right then and there I realized that I was not going
to get this crazy chick out of the house as she was not budging. I then picked up the phone, called Omar and
told him that we had a situation and that he needed to come back to the house.
"Cassandra, did you get your money back?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"Then what else do you want? Clearly the matter is being handled," I
needed to get her out of there. I didn't
need to run the risk of someone else knowing what Omar and I were up to.
Cassandra then started walking around the family room
looking at the photos of Geoffrey and his family on the walls and on the
mantle. She picked up a frame of a photo
that appeared to be from a professional photo shoot. She rubbed her fingers across the frame and
then out of nowhere flung it across the room.
A flicker of anger and rage came across her face but then she quickly
regained her composure. This chick without
a doubt was cookoo for coco puffs. It
was clear and apparent that she was actually in love with Geoffrey. Great. A woman
scorned was never a good thing.
I walked over to Cassandra and stood in front of her. "I know," I said. "You're hurt, you're angry. You don't know if you are angrier at yourself
for falling for him and his con or angry that you saw that something wasn't
right all along. You're mad that you
didn't follow the feeling that you had in your gut that was nagging at you all
along that you chose to ignore. You feel
betrayed, I get it, but this is not the way to handle it."
The anger and rage returned to Cassandra's face. "I don't think that angry even begins to
describe how I am feeling. This bastard
was in my bed and he has a family. He
has a child. He didn't even acknowledge
having a son. Who does that?" At
this point, Cassandra was yelling. I
looked at my watch as it was feeling like an eternity for Omar to get there.
Terry then spoke up.
"How do you think I feel?" she asked. "This was supposed to be a simple scam,
sleeping with other women was not a part of the deal."
I placed my hands on my head and began rubbing my temple
because I knew what was about to happen next.
Cassandra stood there and stared at Terry. I watched Cassandra as it began to slowly sink
in.
"So you mean to tell me that you were in on the
scam?" Cassandra asked Terry. I could see the rage growing by the
second. Before I knew it, Cassandra's
hands were around Terry's neck and the two of them were rolling around on the
ground. I then lifted my hand gun and cocked
it.
"I suggest that the two of you stop," I said
calmly. Cassandra looked at me and her
eyes widened as she acknowledged the gun and let go of Terry's hair. "Are we serious right now? Are the two of you sitting here fighting over
this man when all of us are victims?"
I nodded over to the couch as I looked at Cassandra. "Sit down. I told you to leave and you couldn't just
listen. " At that moment I heard
the garage door open. Shortly
thereafter, Omar entered the family room.
He looked at the three of us and then said, "Oh hell
nah! What the hell are you doing here
Cassandra?"
Before she could answer I said, "I told you that we had
a situation. I tried to get her to leave
but she wouldn't and now she knows that the wife was in on the scam.
" My head started pounding. This whole situation was getting out of
control. I couldn't think straight
anymore.
Cassandra looked frightened.
I was beginning to think that she had some serious issues below the
surface. Her mood swings seemed off the
chart.
Omar walked over to Cassandra and said, "I think you are way in over your head
Cassandra. You have no business here and
you are going to leave and make no mention of what you saw here tonight. If you do, there are consequences that you
will have to face."
Cassandra then glared at Omar. "I am the one who has been
violated," she said through clenched teeth. "These people cannot get away with
this."
"Why do you think we are here Cassandra?" I asked.
"We are trying to right the wrongs done by these people. You got your money back didn't you? Look, the less you know about what's going on
here, the better off you are."
The next thing that I knew, Cassandra slid down to the floor
and began crying. She balled her hands
into a fist and banged them against her calves.
Omar and I looked at each other and exchanged glances. We had a nut case on our hands. Cassandra hugged her knees to her chest and
began rocking back and forth. I pulled
Omar to the side and said, "Omar we have got to get her out of here. She is about to blow a gasket and lose
it."
Before Omar could respond, Cassandra started mumbling about
how she was tired of men hurting her and how she was tired of being used. Her voice carried anger that seemed to be
deeply rooted. Omar began to walk
towards her and I lightly touched his arm and shook my head no. This required a woman's touch. I walked over to Cassandra and sat down next
to her.
"You know, I get where you are coming from and I really
don't blame you," I said softly.
"You're human and you have feelings and it hurts to be taken for
granted. No one deserves that kind of
treatment but it is in moments like this you have to take the hurt and the pain
and turn it into something positive.
Moving forward, you will never make the same mistake again. You now know how important it is to learn as
much as you can about a person before you let them into the inner parts of your
heart. " I paused.
Cassandra lifted her head and looked at me. Her make-up was smeared all over her face due
to her tears. I then continued. "I know you want to take revenge out on
every last man who ever hurt your heart, but trust me, it's not worth it. Look around, you have nothing to gain. You have two people here who are going to
handle this for you. I promise you,
these two will get their just desserts but you have to let us do our jobs. You need to keep your name out of this if
not, you run the risk of being an accessory.
Let me ask you this, do you have any kids?"
Cassandra nodded.
Clearly still too choked up to speak.
"Well think about them. You
can't afford to get yourself into any trouble for their sake." I then looked up at Omar who in turn walked
over and held his hand out to Cassandra to help her stand up. Cassandra hesitated and then reached out and
took his hand. I looked over at Terry
who looked relieved that I managed to talk Cassandra off of the ledge.
"So what happens now?" Cassandra asked.
"You go home, hug your kids and you forget that you
ever met us," I replied.
"Where is Geoffrey?" Cassandra asked.
"Don't worry," Omar said. "You will never hear from him
again. I can ensure that."
Cassandra looked around and her eyes landed on Terry. Omar and I both braced ourselves because this
chick was visibly unstable. "The
only reason I'm not going ape shit on your ass is because this lady here has a
point. I have my kids to think
about. I hope you suffer from whatever
they have in store for you. You and your
rat bastard of a husband deserve everything coming your way." With that said Cassandra turned back to us
and said, "Thank you." She
then headed to the door and left.
I must have stopped breathing because I felt myself taking a
really deep breath. "That was
intense," I said to no one in particular.
I turned my attention to Terry.
"Go get your packed bags and your son, we need to leave."
"Where are we going?" Terry asked.
"That's not pertinent information right now. You'll know when you get there." I turned to Omar. "You can help her with her
things." As the two of them went
upstairs, I sat down on the couch. This
whole revenge thing was getting out of control and it needed to come to an end. I was beginning to wonder if seeking revenge
was even worth it anymore. What was to
stop some other crazy shit from happening?
I was getting tired as it was a long day and an even longer night. It was the wee hour of the morning and like a
car driving around all day, my body was on empty. I felt like I had no more fight left in
me.
I stood up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen
table and turned on the laptop. I needed
to get Terry and her son out of town for a while. Omar and I still had to deal with Geoffrey
and get him situated. Up to this point I
had no idea where Geoffrey was but I wanted to make sure that I personally had
the last word. I went to one of those
cheap bus websites and purchased two one way tickets to Albany, Georgia. I remembered from my research that Terry's
mother lived there. If it wasn't for the
little boy, Terry would have been wherever Geoffrey was. That was for sure. But the child was innocent and needed to be
shielded from his parents' transgressions.
A few minutes later, Omar, Terry and the little boy came
downstairs. Omar was carrying the child
as he was still sleeping. Terry looked
nervous.
"No need to look like that," I said. "We are not going to kill you. You are going to go to Albany to stay with
your mother for awhile. I have purchased
two one way bus tickets so that is where you will go. We will drive you to the bus station but you
cannot come back here until I say it is okay."
"But what about my business?" Terry asked.
I laughed. "Are
you serious? You said it yourself that
business had not been that great. Do I look
like I was born yesterday? The only
income you had coming in was from the scam.
It looks like you may have to find a real job because as you know, your
bank account has been drained. You're
lucky that I even paid for your bus fare.
The only reason I am being so generous is because of your son. By the way, if you come back before I say
it's okay, you are going to regret it, I can promise you that. Plus we need to go before some other crazy
chick shows up."
I motioned for Omar to go into the garage and then looked at
Terry. "Take one last look around
as it will be awhile before you come back here anytime soon."
Omar had secured the boy into his car seat and Terry slid into
the back. I pressed the garage door
opener and saw that there was car in the driveway. Omar walked over to the entrance of the
garage door to get a closer look at who was inside of the car.
"Omar, who is that?" I asked as I walked towards him. The person then got out of the car. It was Cassandra.
"Shit," I whispered to Omar. "I thought she left."
As Cassandra approached us, she had a crazy looking smile on
her face.
"Cassandra is everything okay?" I asked.
"Well, we have some unfinished business to
discuss," Cassandra replied.
Omar and I looked at each other knowingly. This Cassandra was throwing a monkey wrench
into our plans and I had no clue how to deal with crazy.
"I want in on whatever you two are doing or I go rogue
and handle things my way."
I placed my hand on my forehead, if I thought my day was
long, my night was about to get longer.
Omar and I needed to get rid of Cassandra quick, fast and in a hurry, if
not, everything we have done thus far would have been for nothing. I was deep in thought on what to do next when
suddenly Cassandra dashed back to her car and opened the trunk taking out a
baseball bat. She tapped it on the
ground and then walked back towards us.
"I'm tired of waiting for you to answer." Cassandra lifted the bat and was about to
slam it into one of the car windows when Omar grabbed the bat from her
hand.
"Okay, you're in," he said. I looked at Omar as if he had lost his
mind. He shot me a look that said he could
handle it. Before Cassandra had time to
react, Omar swiftly wrapped his arm around Cassandra into a sleeper hold until
she passed out. He then quickly picked
her up and brought her inside of the house and then came back out into the
garage.
"Omar what the hell?"
"Get in the car," Omar said.
"But..."
"Get in the car!" Omar yelled this time.
Omar rarely ever yelled.
I didn't know what was racing through his mind but all I knew was for
me, shit just got real and there was no turning back......
