* * *
When I pulled up to the address, I saw Tasha sitting on the porch steps, her face in her hands, her whole body shaking. I jumped out the car and ran over to her.
"Sis, what's wrong? What happened?"
She looked up at me, her eyes red and swollen, mascara running down her face.
"I killed him, Trigg. I killed him." My blood ran cold.
"What? Killed who?"
"The nigga I was on the date with," she sobbed. "He tried to... he tried to rape me, Trigg. We came back here and he…. He wouldn't stop. I told him no and he kept going and I…. I grabbed his gun and I shot him."
"Where he at?" I asked, keeping my voice steady even though my heart was pounding.
"Inside," she whispered. "On the living room floor."
I looked at the house, then back at her.
"A'ight. Stay right here. Don't move."
I went inside and saw exactly what she said. Dude was laid out on the floor, blood pooling around him, two shots to the chest. His eyes were still open but he was gone.
I went back outside and grabbed Tasha by her shoulders.
"Look at me. Look at me, Tash." She looked up, tears streaming down her face.
"I got you, a'ight? I got you. But we gotta move right now. We can't stay here."
"I can't go back to prison, Trigg," she cried. "I can't. They'll lock me up forever. I can't leave my baby."
"You ain't going to prison," I said firmly. "I promise you, you ain't going back. But we gotta go. Now. Get in the car."
She nodded, stumbling to her feet. I grabbed her purse and her phone from inside, wiped down anything she might've touched, and got her in the passenger seat.
As I drove away, my mind was going a hundred miles an hour. I knew she couldn't call the police. Tasha had a record; they would never believe that nigga tried to rape her and it was self-defense.
I had to get her out of the city. Out of the state. Fuck that I needed to get her outta the country.
Canada. That was the move. We could get to Detroit and cross the border from there.
* * *
We been driving for hours, headed north toward Detroit. My phone kept buzzing. Mya was calling me over and over again. I ignored every call. I couldn't explain this shit to her right now
"Trigg, your phone keep going off," Tasha said quietly, her voice hoarse from crying.
"I know."
"Is that Mya?"
"Yeah."
"You should answer. She probably worried."
"I'll call her later," I said, gripping the steering wheel tight. "Right now, my only focus is getting you out the city."
Tasha looked out the window, tears still rolling down her cheeks.