10th Commandment | Revamped

Chapter 26

Fantasia showed up at Taraji's house, stumbling out of the cab and making her way to the front porch where she slumped down. Desperate for more booze, she practiced what she would say to Taraji until she finally mustered enough courage to knock on the door.

With all the lights turned off, Taraji didn’t notice at first. Fantasia began pounding on the door, yelling, "Taraji, open up! I love you! What do you want from me, woman?" She knocked furiously until Taraji flung the door wide open.

“Bang on my door again, and I’ll call the cops on you,” Taraji warned, dead serious. "You wouldn’t do that. You love me too much to ruin my freedom," Fantasia shot back, but Taraji pulled out her phone and began dialing. It didn’t register for Fantasia until she heard the unmistakable sound of a patrol car approaching, sirens blaring. Her face flushed with realization as she glanced at Taraji. “Wow. You really hate me,” she murmured, the alcohol sobering her up in an instant. Taraji noticed Fantasia freezing in place. “Run!” she urged. But Fantasia just laughed through her tears. “Run? I’m not running; I’m surrendering. In fact—” She slammed her fist against Taraji’s front window, shattering the glass. Taraji gasped, caught off guard, and that sound immediately drew the police out of their car.

“Are you crazy?!” Taraji yelled.

“Apparently, yeah!” Fantasia replied coolly, hands raised. The officers rushed in, knocking her legs out from under her and forcing her to the ground; she was already weak and crumpled onto the pavement, groaning in pain. Blood started gushing from her hand, making Taraji’s heart race.

“Stop!” she commanded the police, but they didn’t relent. Taraji shoved them aside. “I said stop! She’s innocent. She hasn’t done anything.”

“She’s the one who broke your window,” one officer pointed out.

“I told her to! We couldn’t get in because she was getting the key. Look—” She held up the key from the door. “It’s just a misunderstanding. You don’t need to arrest her.”

“Are you sure, ma'am?”

“Absolutely. Everything's fine, officers. Thank you,” Taraji insisted.

They took off the cuffs and helped Fantasia to her feet. She had bruises on her knees and blood streaming from her hand. Once the police left, there was an awkward silence. Fantasia flopped down into a chair with a heavy sigh.

“You’re bleeding,” Taraji observed.

“Oh, thanks for the newsflash,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “I’m going to bed now. You can come in and wash that blood off if you want,” Taraji offered.

“No thanks, I’m fine! I’m going for a walk!” Fantasia declared, springing to her feet, only to feel dizzy and fall back into her seat. The bleeding was getting worse, and the alcohol wasn’t helping matters.

“You’re not fine. Let me help you. Come on,” Taraji insisted, helping her up and leading her inside.

She took Fantasia to the bathroom, cleaned up her cuts, and wrapped her hand with a bandage.

“Want to lie down here tonight? You can’t ride your bike like that. I can take care of you,” Taraji suggested.

“Why?”

“Why?” Taraji was caught off guard.

“Yeah, why do you want to help me?”

“Does it even matter? Just let me do it; you need assistance.”

“I can’t accept help without knowing why. Tell me your reason.”

“Because I feel guilty for calling the cops and that causing you to lose it like that, which was, let’s be honest, pretty dumb,” Taraji explained.