The Woman on the 25th Floor | Short Story

7.

I banged on Teyana's door the following week until she answered. She came to the door annoyed. She came out shutting the door behind her.

"Something came over me the other night - something I can't even explain," I lied, "I want you back in my life - as friends again. I miss you and I can't live knowing that I probably hurt you-"

"You didn't." She cut me off.

"Okay...am I forgiven?"

"You know what, yeah you are."

I soon figured out our relationship wouldn't be like it used to be.

•••

Jalen, Micah, and I were at Hooters. Of course De'Andre didn't come along. Micah and I still weren't on speaking terms but that didn't seem to bother either of us. Jalen and I had our own separate conversations while Micah and Jalen had theirs - I was unbothered.

I still wasn't mentally stable. I was seeing my dad's spirit still, and hell that shit bothered me.

"Aye, ain't that De'Andre and his old girl?" Micah said pointing at De'Andre and Teyana laughing and eating.

While I can barely get a smile from Teyana when we go out, she's here laughing it up with Andre. That's fowl as hell, I thought.

"It sure is. Let's go talk to 'em." Jalen said.

Micah rose to his feet and so did Jalen. I got up just following them like a lost puppy like I usually did.

"Wassup Dre," Jalen asked dapping Dre up. "Hey Teyana." He said to her nodding his head towards her.

De'Andre had a huge grin on his face as he dapped Jalen and Micah up. Micah just nodded his head towards Teyana. I came up from behind them. I watched as De'Andre's smile faded as his eyes landed on me.

I opened my arms wide. "Teyana."

"Hey Quan." Teyana said with a smile as she hugged me.

I kept my eyes on De'Andre as he stared me down. We pulled from our hug. The scene got real awkward.

"Well Dre, you shoulda kicked it wit us tonight, considering we're at the same place." Jalen said trying to make everything seem less awkward.

"I appreciate you trying to make this a calm environment but just face it, you can feel the hatred in the air. Besides, Teyana and I was just leaving." De'Andre said paying the bill.

"I still ain't finished." She said sipping her water.

"Baby, we can get it to go." He said pointing to the take away plates that sat in their table.

The couple slid out from their booth. De'Andre stopped in front of me and scoffed while brushing against my shoulder. I stumbled back as I turned around.

Get him tiger, I heard my father's voice tell me.

I lunged for him but Jalen pulled me back.

"Damn, you always try'na fight somebody," Micah said, "I can't go nowhere with you."

I ignored his comment as I backed to our table and set my part of the bill in the check book. I drove home without saying a word to Jalen or Micah. I pulled up to Grand Heights and went up the elevator and into my condo. I locked the door, set my keys on the counter, and went to my room.

I laid my head back and I struggled to fall asleep. I then had the flashback of the day my life came to a turning point.

Flashback

It was a sunny day in Sacramento, California. I was 14 or 15 at the time. My dad was still not home from work. He worked as a dentist at a run down dentist. When he'd close, he'd have a couple drinks. Just enough to be hella drunk. He came home that night and saw something he didn't wanna see, and that was dishes in the sink.

"How many times I gotta tell you to stop leaving dishes in the sink!" He yelled.

"It's only one spoon, dad." I said trying to refrain from yelling back.

"One spoon I know you coulda washed." He said pushing me into the wall.

My head hit the wall causing a major headache.

"I was busy with homework." I cried out.

"Hit me with another one of them damn excuses again! Gay ass faggot. You gotta a lotta nerve damn murderer." He said grabbing a beer bottle from the kitchen counter.

I slowly backed away from him. "I should've had yo' momma abort yo ass." He said with tears falling from his eyes.

"Dad please." I cried out.

He threw the bottle at me from where he was at. He threw it hard at my face. There was scratches all over one side of my face along with blood spewing from all over. I cried in pain.

"Shut that shit up!" He yelled walking into his room.

I managed to get up from the floor, feeling light headed. I wiped my face with a towel wetted with hydrogen peroxide. I bared the pain. After wiping my face, there was cuts all over. I put scar cream over the cuts. It ended up clearing a lot of them - although some ended up being permanent.

I stood in front of my bathroom mirror. I cut myself on my arms with a razor. Anger overflowed my body. I noticed my eyes get dark. I walk slowly to the kitchen. I grabbed a kitchen knife, sharpened it, and made my way to my father's room. The noise of me getting on top of his king sized bed woke him.

"Hell you doing?" He slurred.

He noticed I had a knife in my hand and jumped.

"Put that shit down Quante." He said.

I shook my head as tears fell my eyes. My hand shook as I hovered the knife over my father's stomach. I raised my hand with the knife in it up and tried to stab him. He stopped me by grabbing my wrist. I fought him as he pleaded for me to drop the knife.

"Quan, drop it and I'll promise not to hurt you no more. Son please!" He yelled.

I overpowered him as tears fell from my eyes, my lip was shivering as blood spewed from his stomach. I continuously stabbed him until I couldn't hear a heartbeat.

I ran out of his room in fear. I placed the knife in my neighbors trash and went back inside to call the cops. I told them I seen my dad dead after I woke up from a nap. They investigated and soon the case was closed. They contacted my family members in search of someone to take custody of me. Apparently they all think I killed him, which I did, but for all the wrong reasons. I was sent into the system and was never adopted. I then found out I had Bipolar Stress Disorder. Once I turned 18 I had the ability to care for myself so I was out. I then moved to Chicago and started a new life with new friends I met when I went to college in Chicago - they were Jalen, De'Andre, and Micah.

Ever since that day, I'd been having dreams and flashbacks, but then I had illusions that my father's spirit was still alive.

It was almost as if I'd made a deal with the devil...