End of the Line Read Free

and he had been through hell and back. Feeling as if he could actually hear his own heart breaking into a million pieces, part of him wanted to die. Out of desperation wanting to at least hear her voice, he reached for his cell placing a call to Jessica. After allowing it to ring three times, he quickly hung up before the voice mail clicked on. Trying to call a few more times, Mike Mike did the same thing; ended the call prior to hearing the long drawn-out greeting. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to leave a message for the female that had caused him to cry, because he did. It was the sad fact, as Jessica had so cruelly pointed out, that he had a government phone; a government phone that was extremely low on minutes. Having exhausted the majority of the 250 allotted minutes trying to call his girl the evening before, Mike Mike was being cautious as well as smart. From past experiences, he’d learned what kind of diarrhea of the mouth he’d have to endure from Jessica if she happened to call late at night after her shift and not be able to get in touch with him. In her eyes, it was one thing if she didn’t pick up when he called her. Yet, let the shoe be on the other foot, it would be utter hell for Mike Mike to pay.
    Finally getting himself somewhat emotionally together, he stood to his feet. Taking stock of the way the interior of the house looked thanks to his tirade, he decided to keep himself busy. Flipping the coffee table right side up, the shattered-soul youth fought not to shed any further tears. Having gotten a few plastic grocery bags from underneath the kitchen sink, he collected trash, empty bottles, and other items off the living-room floor. Moving in silence, Mike Mike thought of different ways to seek revenge, especially on his girl. Nonetheless, they all ended up with him being without the one thing he desired the most: Jessica.
    As he cleaned praying for his beloved to call him, the unthinkable occurred. It was a knock at the door. Snatching his cell phone off the dining-room table, Mike Mike saw it was now close to two o’clock. Shaking his head in disbelief, he knew it couldn’t be who he thought it was. Since Jessica had been dancing, Derek had been falling through late night to play the game, smoke weed, and talk shit. However, Mike Mike knew good and well his best friend did not have the nerve to show up at his front door—not tonight—not after knowing his brother had been banging his woman the night before. He felt his blood boiling, staring at the locked door. He was outraged. How could he not feel that way? Out of all the different women in the city he could have picked to get some ass from, Buzzy had picked Jessica, and Derek knew about it. Whether his woman was a willing participant or not, the unforgivable deed was still unscrupulous in Mike Mike’s book. To say that Derek’s older brother crossed the line would be an understatement.
    Now it was time for Mike Mike to let his true feelings be known. He was devastated and ready to be heard. Taking the janky .38 revolver out from underneath the cushion of the love seat, hurt soul, he vindictively headed toward the door. Each step he took was packed with a heavy foot of resentment. Easing over to the window, the beige-colored blinds were moved slightly over to the side to get a better view. It was him. This fake-ass backstabber got the nerve to really show the hell up like he ain’t cross me. Not hard to spot, he saw the tail end of Derek’s car parked in the driveway.
    With haste, Mike Mike swung the front door of the small wooden frame bungalow wide open. The pungent smell of the disinfectant products he’d been cleaning with rushed out the door into the night air. With both feet planted firmly in the threshold of the dwelling, Jessica’s man disappointedly leered at his ex-best friend. Shaking as he spoke, his words were deliberate and full of malice.
    “Are you serious, dude, or what? I mean, what the fuck you doing over here at my