Free Black Friday: Exposed by Ashley;JaQuavis Page B

ready.”
    “I’ll be waiting in the car.”
    Alija slipped her daughter into a knit sweater, tiny jeans, and winter booties. It was freezing outside and she wanted to make sure that Nahla was warmly dressed. She put her in the car seat, threw a blanket over top of it, and headed out to the detective’s car. After securing Nahla in the back she hopped up front.
    Detective Nielson took her to a nice Italian restaurant on the Lower East Side. Dinner was awkward and silence filled the air as the two ate together.
    “How do you feel about testifying?” he asked her.
    “Like a snitch,” she replied bluntly.
    “You are not doing anything wrong,” Nielson replied. “People like Kasheef Williams deserve to be locked up.”
    Alija shook her head. “You just don’t get it. Where I come from you don’t snitch. You learn that from the very beginning. When you’re little, nobody likes a tattle tale, when you’re older nobody tolerates a snitch. I’m putting everything on the line to testify in this case, but right now I feel like I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”
    “This no snitching rule is what is keeping the inner cities from prospering. It is something that has been drilled into your heads, but it is a bunch of bullshit. It stops the good guys from winning,” Nielson stated angrily.
    “I guess it’s just a difference of opinion,” Alija said stubbornly. She did not expect the detective to understand. She did not doubt that the hood had trained her and programmed her a certain way, but she was sure that the state had trained the detective as well. They were from two different worlds; like oil and water the two did not mix.
    “The prosecution will want to work with you before the trial. The DA needs to prepare you for the defense’s rebuttal,” Nielson said.
    “That’s fine,” she said in a low tone. She looked up at the television that hung in the corner of the restaurant. Ironically, the exact same case that she and the detective were discussing was being reported on the screen. Alija stared at a picture of Kasheef on the screen. She stared into the eyes of the man she was expected to help put away. She picked up her baby who had begun to cry and she looked at the detective.
    “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”
     
     
    Kasheef was growing tired of sitting in prison. Another day had passed with no word from Norelle. He knew that Carmen had handled everything on her end because he had called her to make sure. I’m trying to give this bitch the benefit of the doubt, he thought to himself as he looked around the empty cell. He recalled his last conversation with Norelle. She hadn’t showed him any shade. The words that she had spoken to him had seemed sincere, but he couldn’t get rid of the nagging feeling in his stomach that something was wrong. During the entire two years that he had been with Norelle he had trusted her wholeheartedly. She had never betrayed his trust. He even tested her on numerous occasions, by leaving money around, or by simply leaving his cell phone sitting out in plain view. Her honest heart never allowed her to lift a dime that didn’t belong to her and her confidence always made her bypass his cell without checking it to see who was calling her man. Kasheef almost felt guilty for assuming the worst in his girl, but her actions were causing his guilt to fade and his suspicions to grow. What he didn’t know was that Norelle was only with him because of what he did for her. Now that he was locked up he didn’t serve his purpose. She was a money hungry bitch who had slipped through his gold-digger radar and now she had her claws in his back.
    His thoughts were driving him to his breaking point; he couldn’t contain himself any longer. He had to find out why he was still sitting behind the thick brick wall. He walked out of his cell and stood in line for the phone. His mind was playing games with him, causing him to become enraged. He tried to control his temper;