RedBone by T. Styles Page B

in the man’s eyes as he raised his .45 in his direction. The sound of three shots rang out as he executed the family in broad daylight, before speeding away from the scene of the crime.

Chapter 9
     
“I don’t wanna see them ... They tried to jump me.”
—Farah
     
     
     
    The pillow underneath Farah’s head was wet with tears from hours of crying. Her mother did the unthinkable and she would never, ever forgive her. All she wanted to do was make her happy and it seemed as if nothing she did worked.
    Earlier that day, when Brownie snatched Farah out of the event and walked her toward the rec’s restroom, she had no idea what she had in store. Alone with her horrible mother, Farah watched her turn the water on before smacking her multiple times in the face. Brownie’s blows were so heavy that her hand burned, but instead of stopping she alternated from right to left. Farah was stunned at the rage she expressed, and for a while, she didn’t feel anything but extreme pressure on her cheeks.
    After about thirty blows, Brownie sat on the pissy public toilet, no tissue, and pushed down as hard as she could using her stomach muscles. Fifteen minutes later, she was able to make a bowel movement, but instead of flushing, she put her hands in the vile bowl and picked up a chunk of her shit. She walked toward Farah and she backed up into the door. “You still wanna be black like me?” Brownie laughed and cried at the same time. “Then here you go.” She smeared the soft feces all over her face. Farah moved her head swiftly back and forth, but eventually Brownie was able to hold her head in place. She didn’t care where she put it and that included her daughter’s eyes, lips, and nose. She snapped a long time ago. “How you like that, bitch? Huh?”
    Farah’s body temperature rose, and she could feel herself breaking out into hives. The humiliation she endured in the restroom was nothing compared to what Brownie put her through when she made her walk back into the party. Her younger cousins, older aunts, and grandmother looked upon her with pity and she wanted to die. No matter how many years passed, this would be the moment they’d all remember. People covered their mouths and noses as the smell of shit rose from Farah’s face and Brownie’s hands. Irma, unable to control her bodily functions, ran toward the door so she could throw up outside ... She couldn’t make it. Two feet from the door she lost everything she ate an hour earlier, as it splashed to the floor.
    “Now ... how does she look, everyone?” Brownie grinned, showing her crazed maniac side. “Isn’t she still the cutest Cotton of us all?”
    Farah’s chest rose and fell as she sobbed and looked upon the adults for help. Someone ... anyone ... do something, please.
    “Brownie, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Elise said, rushing toward her with a murderous look in her eyes.
    “Don’t worry, Mamma. She’s all yours.” Brownie ran away, leaving Farah alone in the middle of the floor.
    “I’m sorry, child. I really am.” She watched her daughter scamper away, and hugged Farah tightly before ushering her out of the party. Elise couldn’t hate her daughter more at that moment if she tried. Rage, confusion, and sadness filled her heart, and their relationship would never be the same. Brownie would pay for this in life, but Elise didn’t know how.
    At a phone booth outside the rec, Elise called Cosmo, Farah’s cousin on her father’s side, to pick her up. She figured the change of location for a few hours would do her good, plus she wanted a few moments alone with Brownie that she doubted would be nice. When Cosmo saw what Brownie did to his kid cousin he flipped. Since Elise didn’t give him the heavy on the phone before he came, he had to leave her outside the rec until he could go to the grocery store to buy some trash bags. Laying them all over his seats, he scooped her up, and took her to his mother Angie’s house. It took them two