Page 30 of 4 Corinthians

The sound of someone coming back downstairs made me look up, but not move. Logan came down, whistling some random song. When he rounded the corner and noticed me, he chuckled and shook his head. In his hand was a Lunchables, more than likely the only meal I would get for the day. He lifted his shirt to show me his gun, then unlocked the gate and dropped my Lunchables on the floor.

“Eat up so I can go,” he said, closing the gate. I looked at the Lunchables and debated if I wanted to move. Last time I did, when I got to the food, he tased me. I ran my tongue over my teeth, then stood. “That’s a good puppy.”

“I hate you,” I said, looking at him. Logan shrugged and leaned against the wall. “I hope you die.”

“Better niggas have wished for my downfall,” he replied with a smile. “You'd better hope that you survive this shit.”

“You'd better hope I don’t,” I told him. Instead of picking up the Lunchables, I kicked it against the gate and went back to my corner. The smile Logan wore dropped, and he kissed his teeth. “If I survive this, I will kill you.”

Logan came to my cage, unlocked the door, took the Lunchables out, slammed the door closed, and went back to the steps. The upstairs door opened, and Ruben came down. He barely glanced in our direction.

“Robert called; he has a new girl he wants to pick up,” Ruben said. I watched him, not trusting him, just like I didn’t trust Robert and Logan. “We need to go.”

“Which girl?” Logan asked with a chuckle.

“I don’t know; he said she is a collection,” Ruben answered. “I didn’t ask questions.”

“You mean you were scared to.” Logan roughly patted Ruben's chest and laughed. “My brother has you spooked, and that shit is obvious. You're still his bitch Ruben. Even after all these years.”

“I’m not his bitch,” Ruben denied. “I’m a grown-ass man.”

“A grown what?” Logan chuckled, then wiped his hand over his mouth. He didn’t respect Ruben, more than likely didn’t really like him, and only tolerated him because of Robert. Ruben had nothing to bring to the table that could impress Logan. “Nigga you are a bitch. A big one at that, and you wanna know how I know?” He grabbed the front of Ruben’s shirt and pulled him towards him. “You’re a bitch in every way possible. You never made a name for yourself. I mean, look at you; you took your wife’s last name when you got married. Your daughters don’t even have your name. That should tell you something.”

“I took it because-“

“My fuckin’ brother told you to!” Logan yelled. Spit flew from his mouth and landed on Ruben’s face. “You took Angel’s name because yours doesn’t mean shit. You were a nobody then, and you are one now. You think because he owns your daughter that you matter?” Logan pushed him away and shook his head. “You aren’t shit. Just a nigga on the team for the time being. All it takes is for Robert to get bored, and you’ll be dead. Remember that shit.” He roughly patted Ruben’s cheek, then went up the stairs. “Now bring your ass on so we can pick up his next trophy.” The door slammed shut, and Ruben stood there. I could see how angry he was from where I was sitting. His hands shook, and he was breathing hard.

Thunder cracked through the sky, and then a loud boom followed. Ruben took a deep breath, then went up the stairs. I could hear people above my head, voices too, but I couldn’t tell who they were.

The lights went off, and I closed my eyes. I wasn’t tired, but I would use the time I knew that no one else was here to rest. I don’t know how much time passed before the sound of someone walking down the stairs made me open my eyes. My cage door was open, and so was Kenbral’s.

Not wasting any time, I jumped up and ran out of my cage. Even though it was dark, I could see enough to know that someone else was down here with us. I got to the steps when I heard my collar start to hum. The door at the top of the steps was cracked open. Even though I could hear people talking, I didn’t stop running. I rounded the corner to enter the kitchen and stopped. Corinthians sat in a small cage in the corner, her eyes barely open and in blood-stained clothes.

“Cori!” I whispered as I got closer to her cage. She blinked but said nothing. “Cori, I’m going to get you out of here.” I pulled at the cage door. “Cori, wake up!” I pulled at the door, and it didn’t budge. I got up and started looking around. I went through the drawers and cabinets looking for something to use to open the cage. There was nothing here. No pots, pans, or silverware. Nothing. It was like no one lived here.

“You were so close,” Logan said from behind me. I stopped moving and waited. “You had the perfect opportunity to get away. But you didn’t take it.” I turned around to see him standing in the doorframe. “I knew you would stop and try to get her free.” I took a step towards him, and he lifted his shirt to show me his gun. “I will kill you.” His face twisted for a moment, then he smiled and shook his head. “Or better yet, I’ll kill her.” He pointed the gun at Corinthians.

“I hate you.”

“I don’t give a damn,” he said, then laughed and approached me. “Now get your dumb ass back downstairs.” He pushed me towards the steps. I looked over my shoulder to see Corinthians close her eyes. “Hurry the fuck up.”

Corinthians

“My daddy said if I keep doin’ good, I can get on a team like yours,” Cross said, lying across the bed. We were at Madea's and Granddaddy’s for our last sleepover before school started. We’d been here all weekend, and tomorrow we had to go back.

I stopped looking out the window to look at her. “Your daddy said what?” I’d been ignoring what Cross and Mercy had been talking about. Psalms sat in the corner of the room, her ladybug in her lap, watching us. She hadn’t said too much of anything since Mama brought her from Jonathan’s house before she dropped us off over here. I’d noticed a bruise around her whole wrist and wanted to know how she got it.

“I've been boxing,” she excitedly told me. She looked around the room to make sure no one was listening, then turned back to me. “I know he told Madea that we stopped, but we didn’t. My daddy is still letting me fight. He said the owner saw one of my fights and offered him private lessons.”

“You’re still fighting?” I asked. Nobody had mentioned that they were still fighting.

“Yeah,” she nodded and smiled. “I’m good at it, too. I keep winning the sparring matches against the boys. Daddy said I will start private lessons soon.”

“Private lessons with who?” I asked slowly. My heart slammed against my chest. I didn’t want any of them to deal with Robert.

“Somebody named Logan,” she answered with a shrug, then rolled onto her back and put her hands over her head. “I’m supposed to start in a few weeks. I can’t wait!”

“Tell your daddy you changed your mind.” I got up from my bed, shaking my head. “Tell him that you don’t want to fight, please, Cross.”