I woke up to Kim lying on my chest. We were both naked and sweaty. I stared at the ceiling fan wishing it would give a better breeze. I rubbed my eyes to see the time clearer. It was 4 am. I planned to go home in a few hours and get all my things. Vanessa made it clear to me that she chose Fred, so I didn't feel guilty about having sex with Kim again. It was great like it always was and she let me back in her life like I never left. This time I made sure she and I were on the same page. We were just friends and that's all it was ever going to be.

I tried my best to get up and pee without waking her up, but it was unsuccessful. She opened her eyes and smiled at me.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her as I lifted the toilet seat.

"I'm alright. Happy to be out of the stupid hospital."

"You sure you shouldn't have stayed longer?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Did it look like I had any problems tonight?" she smirked.

That was enough proof for me. The way I felt toward her had changed. I realized that I did have genuine feelings for her; I just didn't know the extent of them yet.

"Do you want to take a quick shower before you leave?" she asked.

"Of course."

She came into the bathroom and turned on the water. Within seconds steam began to fill the air. I opened the shower door and stepped inside. Standing under the shower head, I let the hot water trickle down my body. She took the bar of soap and rubbed it across my abs. She had that look in her eyes. I don't know what it was about her, but she was like a drug to me. No matter how bad it was, I couldn't help but do her. She got on her tip toes and began kissing on my neck. Goosebumps covered my skin. I picked her up and pinned her against the wall, kissing her passionately. Images of Vanessa kept creeping into my mind.

"Put me down so that I can go get a condom," she said.

I watched her leave the bathroom. She came back after a few minutes, looking like she had just seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?" 

"You have to hide Chris!"

"Hide? Why?"

Without an explanation she pulled me out of the shower and told me to wrap my towel around me. I did as I was told and went into her closet. My body was shaking from my skin being damp. I watched through the thin slots as Kim ran around frantically, straightening up her room. She sprayed the room with perfume before walking out. I began to regret coming to her house.

As I was about to get out of the closet and get my things, I heard a man's voice getting closer. He was about 6'2, with a basketball cap and tattoo's that seemed to cover every inch of his body. His light skin made it easy for me to read one that immediately concerned me.

"Why you got this room smelling all sweet and shit?" he asked.

She changed the subject, "I could have you arrested for showing up at my house Pete."

He laughed. I could tell that it was upsetting her.

"Just go home Pete," she pleaded.

"Why? You got another dude in here?"

He stormed into the bathroom. I could hear him pulling back the shower curtain, opening and closing the cabinets. He checked under the bed, and that's when he caught a glimpse of my shoes. I looked at Kim, she glanced at the closet. She looked like a little girl who was about to get a whooping.

"Where is he?" he yelled.

"Who?" she asked, her voice trembling.

He grabbed her by the throat and threw her up against her dresser. I fought every urge to burst out of the closet and save her. The tattoo of a bold capital "X" that he had on his forearm made me hesitate. No one really knew what the "X" stood for, but whoever had it was part of a small gang from Miami that's frequently on the news for murders and robberies.

I was in danger. This made me think about Vanessa and my could be unborn child. Made me think of my parents, I missed them, but I wasn't planning on seeing them any time soon. My dad raised me to never put my hands on a woman; I could hear his voice in my head. I closed my eyes, hoping I would open them and be home in my bed but no, I was still in this damn closet.

She cried out, "please help!"

His grip was getting tighter and tighter by the seconds. Her eyes began to roll to the back of her head. I couldn't watch this any longer. I scanned the closet looking for something that could do some damage. I found an iron bat and ran out of the closet without thinking. With everything I had, I swung at the back of his head, sending the baseball cap he had flying across the room. Instantly his grip loosened, and he fell to the floor. Kim's lifeless body began to slide down the dresser. I picked her up and laid her down on the bed. She was still breathing. I shook her for awhile and her eyes slowly began to open.

With a raspy voice she asked, "what happened?"

"You blacked out, who is this clown?" 

I pointed towards the floor and she quickly sat up to check on him.

"Oh my God Chris, he isn't breathing!" she screamed.
"Not breathing? I just hit him once!"

She rolled him over and a pool of blood was oozing from his head.

"See what you made me do?" I yelled.

"Me?"

"Yeah! You're messing with a gang member that was about to kill your dumb ass and I killed the dude!"

"Chris..."

"No! I should have never come over here! You're not worth this shit!"

I paced around the room not knowing what to do.

"Chris!" she shouted.
"I don't want to hear your fucking voice right now! My wife is pregnant! I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison!"

"No, you won't!"

"Unless you can bring this dude back to life, it's over for me!"

"Just calm down!"

"I watch enough CSI to know that evidence will come back to haunt us!"

"OK, I'll handle the body and everything."

"I can't let you do that."

"Why?"

"I have to make sure that all the evidence is gone."

"OK, I know what to do."

She got on her cell phone and stepped out of the room. I massaged my temples, praying to God that this night wouldn't get any worse. I studied the guy who bled out on the floor. He was probably no older than thirty-five. The blood had begun to soak into the Miami Heat jersey and blue jeans he had on. I started feeling nauseous and ran into the bathroom to lean over the toilet. I gagged a few times, but nothing came up. Washing my face with cold water, I wished I could wash away the night. Start over. Go home instead of coming here.

In the middle of my thoughts, Kim returned with two sets of gloves. She threw a pair at me.

"Put these on," she said.

I watched as she snatched off her clothes and threw on a blank tank top, with black slacks.

"Are you just gonna stand there? I need help getting him in the truck?"

"Who's truck?"

"His. It's outside."

"Are you serious?"

"Does it look like I'm playing?"

We wrapped his body in a comforter. I picked him up by the shoulders. She grabbed his feet. Once we got to the truck, we swung his body on the bed and threw another sheet on top of him. I was glad that he was a slim guy, it made everything easier.

"Where are we gonna take him?" I asked.

"I got this Chris."

Her demeanor had changed. I got into the truck with her and as soon as she started it up a local rap song came blasting through the speakers. She quickly turned it off. She began to sniffle.

"Who was he to you?" I asked.

"My ex-husband."

"Wow, you were married to that dude?"

"He wasn't always like that."

I eased up on being judgmental.

"How long were you two married?"

"Well, legally we're still married."

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"It's not like you cared about me being married Chris, all you wanted was the sex!"

I didn't know if her anger was because of me or from having her husband on the back of his truck.

"If that was the case Kim, I wouldn't have saved your life!"

She wiped her tears as we turned down what I thought was a deserted road. After going down for about a mile, we reached a small house. There were no neighbors. No street lights. Nothing.

She turned off the engine and flashed her lights twice. Out of the shadows, a guy appeared. He was about ten years older than us in the face but was built like a twenty-year-old. He was also decorated with tattoos. Kim opened the door. I grabbed her wrist before she got out.

I whispered, "Who is this guy?"

"My brother."

I let her wrist go and got out of the truck also. She signaled me to stay by the truck as she went to speak with him. I could hear a dog barking in the distance. The humid night caused sweat to drip down my face. I wiped it off with my t-shirt, and that's when I noticed I had a couple of drops of blood on it. I took off the shirt and threw it on the bed of the truck. The undershirt I wore underneath clung to my skin. I couldn't wait to take a shower.

Kim motioned me to her. I swallowed hard, not knowing what to expect. The closer I got to them, the more I got to look at her brother. They favored each other, but it seemed like they lived two different lives. He had a full beard with black beady eyes. Eyes that gave off negative energy. He only had on gym shorts, his bare chest exposed. A large "X" covered his torso. What was I getting myself into?

She introduced me to her brother as "Henry."

I reached out my arm and shook his hand.

"I'm Big Will, I hear that you're the one who killed my best friend."

I looked at Kim who was staring off into the distance. I cleared my throat.

He began to laugh and tried to speak between chuckles, "I'm...just...fucking...with you man."

I forced an uneasy smile.

As fast as he laughed, he stopped and was suddenly serious.

"He was my best friend, but he owed me some money."

Instead of responding, I was busy staring at the house behind him. There were a couple of people standing guard in front. What were they trying to protect?

He walked away and went into the house, saying that he would be right back.

I whispered, "Really Kim? Your brother is in the same gang your husband is in?"

"Yes."

She held her head down.

"So why are we here?"

"Because he's going to take care of it, this is what they do."

"They?"

"I'll explain the rest later."

The sound of the garage door startled me. Inside was an all black 2012 dodge charger. Will tossed Kim the keys. As we walked to the car I could hear Will's voice in the distance.

"We'll be in touch Henry," his voice was haunting.

When we were finally inside I let out a sigh of relief.

"What did your brother mean about us being in touch? And why did you lie to him about my name?"

"If you couldn't tell Chris, he's a dangerous man."

"But he's your brother; you don't trust him to keep his mouth shut?"

"I'm not worried about that."

"So, what is it then?"

"My brother can be very unpredictable."

"So why would you bring him the body and just drop it off?!"

"Because he's the only person who can do the job!"

A million thoughts occupied my mind as she sped to her house.

"How do I know that the job will be done?" I asked.

"I'll let you know."

"What about the cops? What if they start asking questions? You know they always look at the relationships."

"I know how to lie to the cops, do you?"

I began to question if I ever knew who Kim was. First finding out that Fred hired her, and now she's a widow because of me. When we got back to her house I was ready to go home to Vanessa and forget about the affair. Killing a man changed my prospective on life. I had a woman who loved me and cheated because I wasn't giving her the love she deserved. I make no excuses for her, but right now I needed her. In my mind, I was rationalizing the thought of putting everything behind us. Starting over. No matter if she was carrying my child or not.

We pulled into the driveway. I got out of the car, prepared to help Kim clean up and make sure the room was evidence free. She stopped me before I could reach her front door.

"You've done enough for me Chris. I'll take it from here. If you wanna stop by to make sure everything is to your liking, feel free."

She turned around and began walking toward the house.

"Look, I'm sorry for killing him but..."

"No need to apologize Chris. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be alive right now."

"I just have one question."

"What is it?"

"Why were you involved with a guy in a gang?"

"Because of the life I use to live."

"Which was?"

She lifted her shirt and pointed at a tattoo that was right above her naval.

"You see this?" she asked.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Look closer."

I knelt to see a cluster of tattoos, "I don't understand what you want me to see...wait."

I stood up, "you were in the same gang?"

"Were is the keyword. I tried to cover the tattoo with other things but as you can see if you look closely it's still there. Part of it at least."

"When was this?"

"About five years back. Things got too out of hand. I've seen a lot of things and I just had to get away from it."

"But how did you get out? I thought these gangs were forever."

"I didn't say I was out of it. I said I had to get away from it. My brother is the founder of the gang. In a way I didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean?"

"Chris, how about we talk about this another day? It's been a long night and if I don't start cleaning this stuff soon, it's going to be harder to deal with later."

With that said she went inside. I stared at the closed door for a few seconds. The old sassy and sexy Kim I use to know will only be a memory now. My plan was to stay away from her. This time for good.

I deserved all of this. I had the opportunity to do right and I didn't. The impulsive Chris was gone. I was going to wake up a new man.

When I walked into the house all the lights were off. Vanessa was probably sleeping at this time, so I made the least amount of noise possible. I crept into the bedroom to see her sleeping peacefully. She was wearing one of my shirts. One of her legs were hanging out of the comforter. I placed it back inside, tucking her in. Moving a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear, I kissed her on her forehead. She squirmed and rolled over.

I went into the den room to clear my head. All the events replayed in my mind. I could feel the little bit of food I ate all day trying to rise to the surface. I barely made it to the kitchen sink before I let out all my stomach contents. I kept repeating the same statement to myself, trying to comprehend it. I didn't want it to be true, but it was. I killed a man tonight.