Free Street Divas by De'nesha Diamond

She might even offer my captors another go at me as a reward.
    Fear slithers down my spine while a sob lodges inside my throat and chokes the shit out of me.
    Don’t be stupid. LeShelle is your sister. She would never do something like that to you. She loves you.
    In answer to that bullshit, the image of Profit’s murder is replaced with the image of Dreadlocks pulling at my legs as if they were a wishbone and then pumping and grinding his stank-ass on top of me.
    Your mind is playing tricks on you. That never happened. LeShelle would never allow something like that to happen to you. She has always been your protector.
    Then the image of Dreadlocks is replaced with Dusty Afro, and then another nigga and then another. Now my vision is completely fucked because tears are pouring down my face like a waterfall.
    LeShelle wouldn’t—
    PROFIT IS DEAD, the other voice screamed.
    I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the voices in my head. I know what’s happening. One part of my brain wants to submerge into denial while the other wants me to face reality. Right now, denial is so fuckin’ attractive to me. Why wouldn’t it be? Denial would mean that Profit is still alive, our limo was never jacked, and LeShelle . . .
    I stop in the middle of the sidewalk and waver on my feet for a few seconds. Profit is dead. NO! And it’s all your fault.
    â€œT!”
    My eyes pop open and my heart stops. She found me! Suddenly, I’m surrounded in a bright light and there’s a loud BANG ! I jump and take off running. I don’t know where the energy comes from, but I’m eating up the ground in my bare feet.
    Run! Run!
    â€œT, wait up!” a voice yells out.
    I hear the loud roar of an engine and then the stench of burning oil. I’m in full panic mode because I know what LeShelle and her rapist goons will do to me if they catch me. I release my hold on the robe so I can use my hands to swing and give myself more momentum. When I get a good stride, I clip something in the middle of the sidewalk, and the next thing I know I’m airborne. I don’t have time to shift my hands forward to try and help break my fall, so I hit the concrete hard and slide for quite a ways. I’m aware of parts of my legs, arms, and even breasts scraping off, but I’m still physically numb and am able to jump back up and continue running.
    â€œGoddamn it, Ta’Shara! It’s me! Essence!”
    It’s a trick. Keep running! Hearing the car come up onto the sidewalk, I make a sharp right and hoof it toward a fenced backyard. It shouldn’t be any problem jumping this muthafucka, but when I place my hand on the fence, this huge German Shepherd appears out of nowhere and jumps up.
    â€œAhhhhh!” I jump back in time to avoid the dog’s vicious-looking teeth as they snap away at where my hands were.
    Feet race up behind me.
    â€œTa’Shara!”
    They are going to catch you! I take off toward the front of the house, with the dog running and barking from the other side of the fence.
    â€œDrey, get her!”
    No! No! No! An arm wraps around my waist and lifts me clear off the ground.
    â€œGotcha!”
    Another scream rips from my throat as I twist around and rake my fingers down this nigga’s mug shot.
    â€œAaaaaagh!”
    His scream is like music to my ears as he drops me. However, my knees hit the backs of his legs, and we both tumble to the ground.
    I land on something hard poking out of the ground, and the wind is knocked out of me. I can’t even get my thoughts together.
    â€œYou crazy fucking bitch! What the hell is wrong with you?”
    He grabs me by the shoulder, flips me over onto my back, and then pins my arms out like a crucifixion. The sight of another man straddling and pinning me down is all too much. I can’t take it. I can’t. Drawing a deep breath, I scream from my very soul while mentally curling into a fetal position and checking out