Eye of Ra Read Free Page A

even her out. And if he attempted to tell her where to go and what to do with the most sordid vocabulary imagined while leaving, she’d attempt to take out his bad knee, then hold a knife to his throat threatening to slit it, and then her own throat, afterward.
     
    It was that or coming home to her burning herself with matches and cigarettes.
     
     He hated her when she was like this although it turned him on a bit. She was not remotely cute at that point while the hot lead pain ran through the knee he wanted to cut off, nor did he like being backed into a corner.
     
    “Shut up, and get your shit on.”
     
    ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
    With no money between the two of them, a twenty-minute walk took forty-five minutes on Laurence’s bad wheel. The March winter chill that refused to leave didn’t make his journey to his father’s apartment any easier. Rosemary’s attempt to assist him as a human crutch alleviated some of the discomfort, but also added to their travel time.
     
    It also didn’t help that he cursed and complained the entire time which turned into several spats between him and her on the street. Standing at the main glass double door entrance, he was overcome by the violent scratch that came from chasing the dragon as he squinted to find his father’s buzzer.
     
    Every second he stood there, hatred began to build toward Rosemary.
     
    He’d prefer to be anywhere, from a war torn country to the jaws of the devil himself, rather than standing at that door.
     
    Being flat broke with no friends to ask for a loan, the building agony in his knee was the only thing that kept him from limping away.
     
    Finally locating it, his finger hovered over the buzzer for a minute, as if there were some type of invisible cover preventing him from pressing it. He threw all of his body weight into the button, which emitted an annoying buzzing sound. After half a minute he released it and waited. Both of them stood glancing at each other and the environment around them. Laurence for the most part kept his head down hoping not to run into anyone familiar. The last thing he wanted on this day was to be recognized and asked what he was doing with his life, especially from those who knew his story.
     
    He went to lay into the buzzer again, when a deep voice came over the speaker system.
     
    “Who is it?”
     
    “Pop …,” he leaned in closer to the speaker. “It’s me.”
     
    There was no response on the other end.
     
    “Pop …,” he swallowed. “Can I come in please? I need some help.”
     
    The other end continued to remain dead silent. He looked over his shoulder at Rosemary who shook her head looking away. His heart partially sunk. A part of him did not want to see his father, and see the disappointment and shame in his eyes. Another part was hurt as it was becoming brutally clear that his own father did not wish to see him.
     
    The blaring buzzer granting entrance to the building brought clarity to the thoughts of his paternal parent. He pushed open the glass door entering the building with Rosemary following. A new dread fell over him. A junkie bringing his crackhead girlfriend to meet his God-fearing father was not a pleasant visit in any universe that he knew, especially when they were coming to ask him for money to further fuel their habits. He had to treat this as if he was walking on wet toilet paper over a lava pit, which meant doing all of the talking, and keeping Rosemary’s venomous mouth shut.
     
    They took the only working elevator in the lobby to the sixth floor. As he stepped out, the dread that sat on his shoulders began to increase its weight while smacking him repeatedly in the back of his head making his steps much heavier. Fifteen paces from his location; his attempt to remain incognito was thwarted.
     
    “Laurence …Laurence Danjuma …is that you boy?”
     
    Old Mrs. Smith adjusted her glasses as she stared