Bad Apple - the Baddest Chick(37)

Kola glared at her mother with contempt and was ready to knock her back down where she stood.

But it was Apple who Kola had the actual problem with. Her mother was just the scapegoat, until she confronted her sister. Kola felt it was Apple’s fault that their sister was dead. Apple was the one who got into debt with Supreme and didn’t pay back what she owed. She hated her sister and had the urge to brutally beat her down once they were face to face.

Kola was so enraged, she didn’t notice her right hand was bleeding. She had cut it when she’d snatched away the bottle and tossed it into the wall. The small cut on the inside of her palm turned her hand red, but she didn’t fuss about it. She exited the bedroom and went into the bathroom.

“Kola, you a’ight?” Danny asked.

“I’m f*ckin’ fine,” she responded heatedly. She turned on the faucet and ran cold water over her cut.

With the shades off and the water running, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes quickly became flooded with tears, and her breathing shallow. Her hands quivered as she gripped the sink. It felt like she was having a panic attack.

The death of her little sister once again overcame her, and she broke down with grief and remorse. The thought of her failing to protect Nichols was too much for her to handle. She surrendered to the weakness grief was bringing her body.

She suddenly fell to her knees and continued to sob, her wail echoing in the hallway.

No one bothered to disturb her from sobbing. Danny felt she needed to get it out of her system. With a straight-faced look, he lightly gripped the butt of the 9mm tucked in his jeans as he stood outside the bathroom door.





CHAPTER 15




Apple stepped off the city bus on Lenox Avenue and slowly made her way back home. It had been twenty-four hours since they’d found her sister’s body. After leaving the precinct, she couldn’t go straight home. She couldn’t bear walking into that apartment so soon, knowing she wouldn’t see Nichols alive in it anymore. She needed to escape somewhere far.

After she’d walked out the precinct early that evening, she got on the A train and rode it aimlessly until it reached the last stop, Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens. She then made her way to Rockaway Beach, where she sat in the sand and stared at the ocean for hours. She watched the sky gradually alter as the sun fell below the horizon and made way for the evening stars and the full moon that shimmered off the ocean. She sat close to the sea and listened to the waves crashing against the shore and let her tears fall. Though she was far from home, the pain was still close. She couldn’t believe Nichols was dead.

Apple curled against the sand as the night went on. She tried to find comfort with her body against the earth, hearing the ocean in the background, and fell asleep on the beach.

She woke several hours later to an orange sky and the soothing sound of the water. She lifted herself to her feet, dusted the sand from her clothes, and straightened her wrinkled clothing. Though it was a new day, she was still haunted by the previous day’s pain. She walked off the beach in a trance-like state and trekked back to the train station for her long ride back into Harlem. There she called the only Brooklyn friend she had, only she didn’t pick up.

“Yo, Cartier, I wanted to come through. This Apple. Nichols is dead. Gone. I f*cked up…call me when you get this. One.”

*****

Apple walked through the front door of her apartment, and before she could step farther inside, Kola came lunging at her from the hallway, screaming out, “You stupid f*ckin’ bitch!” and tackled her to the floor.

The sisters fought pound for pound, until Danny pulled them apart. “Yo, f*ckin’ chill!” he exclaimed.

“No! f-uck that bitch!” Kola shouted. “She got Nichols killed!”

Danny held Kola back, allowing Apple to collect herself as she got off the floor. Apple didn’t charge or fight back. Kola’s words had cut into her deeper than the sharpest samurai sword. She looked at her sister and then just walked right back out of the apartment, not bothering to dry her tears as she rushed down the stairway and out the lobby. She darted into the street and turned the corner, headed to the nearest train station. She wanted the nightmarish day to fast-forward.

The anger that resided in Apple needed to be released, and the only one she wanted to confront was Supreme. She was determined to hunt him down and take out her revenge. She walked every block in her Harlem neighborhood, searching for either him or Guy Tony, but they were nowhere to be found. It seemed like Supreme and everyone associated with him had just up and disappeared. It was odd. Apple figured Supreme knew the heat was on and probably left town for a few.

She ended up wandering around Harlem most of the day and late into the evening, not knowing what to do with herself, because she didn’t feel comfortable going home and fighting with Kola.

The night continued without any success, and Apple was exhausted from walking block after block. So she decided to take her chances going home. If Kola was still around, then she would knuckle up and fight her, if needed.

Apple walked into the lobby and pressed the button for the elevator. She waited around in silence, until she saw Lil’ Meek walk into the lobby clad in a tattered black jacket and old jeans that were clearly too big for him. She ignored the crackhead, knowing he was probably begging on the streets to get his next high.

Apple wished the elevator would hurry up. She didn’t have the patience for Lil’ Meek’s begging. As she felt him come closer, she prepared herself to curse him out and push him away. Lil’ Meek staggered toward Apple with a week’s smell on him.