Hotel Key

Chapter 11

7 Years Ago

RickJo was sitting on her bed next to Isaiah with her legs criss-crossed. They were each holding a spiral bound notebook and open books were scattered all over the bed. She had her laptop open next to her as well. He had to write a research paper for the Environmental Science class he was taking and she was helping him. Isaiah knew he could have gotten one of the other girls he knew to write it for him, but if RickyJo helped him, he would get a better grade. And it was a good excuse to spend time with her. His sister was on her own bed, listening to Spanish radio on her headphones. The three of them decided to take Spanish classes together and while he was only fair, the girls were getting good at speaking and understanding the language. Imani and RickyJo wanted to backpack through South America and Mexico this summer. Immersion was the best way to practice the language. And it would be an exciting way to spend the summer.

Imani snuck a look over at her brother. She could tell he was really trying to stay focused on his paper, but he was mostly staring at the girl beside him. Imani smiled, the blush rising in her cheeks when she thought about what she and RickyJo were doing on that same bed only an hour before her brother showed up for help with his research paper. A few months into the first semester of last year, the girls become lovers. Earlier that morning, they put a note on the whiteboard on their door that said they were at the library. Then Imani locked the door. They stayed in their dorm room all morning and part of the afternoon, kissing and caressing each other.

Imani had always been attracted to women, but she never acted on it before. In her old neighborhood, she would have been a pariah. Her sexual preferences worked to her benefit. Since she wasn't interested in boys, she didn't get pregnant and have to drop out like most of her friends. She focused on sports and her studies and got a scholarship to college instead.

Both the girls were virgins, with little to no sexual experience. They started innocently, kissing and holding each other. Or just cuddling together in the same bed. Neither of them ever even had an orgasm before. It was RickyJo's bright idea to look up how two women have sex with each other on the internet. Soon after that, they were missing class to stay in their room and make love, bringing each other to climax over and over again. Imani loved everything about RickyJo. Her long tan legs. The way even the hair between her legs was silky soft against her face when she pushed in to get a salty sweet taste of her. Every part of her was perfect. Imani knew RickyJo had a boyfriend. She went to visit him almost every weekend. But she also knew RickyJo hadn't done more with him than kiss and fondle, which gave her hope that RickyJo wasn't really attracted to him.

Merle got a page early that morning. When he called the number back it was Jessica's grandmother. Augustus had a heart attack. He was in the hospital on life support and no one could get ahold of RickyJo. Her phone was off the hook all day. Merle was in Atlanta. So he was the closest person to her school. Nana needed him to go get RickyJo and bring her to the hospital. And it needed to be soon, since the man had a living will that stated he was not to be kept on life support.

Merle parked his bike next to RickyJo's jeep. At least he knew where she lived since he was there a few times before with Daryl. Hopefully, she would be in her room. Or else he was never going to find her. He went in behind one of the kids who had buzzed the door open with his ID. The kid gave him a suspicious look but didn't say anything. Merle went up the stairs to the second floor and walked down to her room. He was relieved to see RickyJo was there, sitting on the bed. Merle stopped for a minute and looked at her. If he had just passed her on the street, he wasn't sure he would have recognized her.

Her hair was blonder and much shorter than he ever saw it before. It was pulled into two low braids that hung in front of her shoulders and she had large silver hoop earrings in. Last time he saw her, she didn't even have her ears pierced. There was makeup on her face. Not a heavy Jessica whore mask, but lipgloss and a little mascara. She was wearing a tank top with the name of her university on it, and low rise jeans that showed a little bit of her belly. That looked like a tattoo on her shoulder too. And another one on the inside of her other arm. She looked so grown up, with none of the little girl shyness anymore. Merle had a strange feeling that she had sex since the last time he saw her, and not with his brother either. He would have heard about that. She and Daryl and all their waiting for marriage bullshit. It had been going on for years now. Fucking marry her then, was Merle's opinion on that subject.

Merle recognized the boy sitting on the bed next to RickyJo. She brought those kids home with her for spring break last year, since they couldn't afford to fly home. Merle was pretty sure that little asshole had fucked Jessica while they were there too. Sneaky little fucker deserved an ass beating double time, and if Merle found out the kid was putting his fucking hands on RickyJo, he was going to get one.

RickyJo had a funny feeling like someone was watching her. She looked up to the doorway and was surprised to see Merle standing there in the hallway. He just looked so out of place. After her initial shock, her face lit up with a big smile. She quickly moved the books out of her way and got up to embrace the man.

"This is such a nice surprise!," she gushed, "what are ya doin' here?" Merle had a look on his face like something was wrong.

"Your phone is off the hook," he told her.

"Oh shit," Imani said, leaning over to plug it back into the wall. They unplugged it so they wouldn't be disturbed while they were having sex earlier. And she must have forgot to plug it back in.

"What's wrong?," RickyJo asked him. If someone needed to get ahold of her so bad they sent Merle here to fetch her, it must be serious.

"I think I betta talk to ya alone," Merle said, giving the other two people in the room a pointed look.

"Oh," Isaiah said. Then to his sister he added, "...maybe we should go down and get a drink or something from the commons." Imani didn't care much for being kicked out of her own room. And she wanted to know what was wrong. She and RickyJo didn't have any secrets. At least not from each other. But she got up reluctantly and headed for the door. Isaiah asked RickyJo if she wanted anything.

"Some juice from the raw juice bar," she told him, "orange and carrot please." She went to get some money from her purse but he waved her off.

"I got it," he said. She thanked him and waited until they walked away, then motioned Merle inside and closed the door, locking it so no one else would come barging in.

"Is it Daryl?," she asked, her heart already beating hard in her chest. She was always afraid of Daryl getting in a motorcycle accident. And he never wore a helmet. Merle led RickyJo over to the bed and sat her down. He didn't really know a gentle way to tell her the news. Maybe it would be best to just do it quick, like ripping off a bandaid.

"It's Poppa," he said, "He had a heart attack. He's not gonna make it. He's in the hospital on life support. They're waitin' on you to get there before they turn it off." RickyJo sat there for a few minutes in stunned silence. Then she got up and started packing. Merle figured she was grabbing what she needed for the night, but soon he realized she was packing up everything.

"What in the hell are ya doin'?," he asked. She ignored his question and just kept throwing things into a jumble in a large suitcase she pulled out from under the bed.

"Hey!," Merle said, grabbing a hold of her shoulders, "what the hell are ya doin'." RickyJo shoved him away from her. Hard.

"Leavin' school," she said, "I never shoulda come here. Now look what happened! If I was home to keep an eye on him this never woulda happened! This is all my fault." RickyJo turned and started again with the packing, not even stopping to wipe the tears off her face. Merle watched her. He knew her whole family was proud of her for going to school. Her grandfather most of all. Merle grabbed hold of her again.

"Stop RickyJo!," he wouldn't want you to leave school like this." She shoved Merle again, but he held onto her this time.

"Fuck you!," RickyJo screamed into Merle's face, "...what does it matter what he wants, he's fuckin' dead!" She shoved at the man again, trying to make him let go of her. But he pulled her in and held her tight to his chest. RickyJo pushed against Merle's chest hard. When he still didn't let go, she cocked her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. She thought that would make him let go of her. But instead, he grabbed her hands and pinned her down on Imani's bed.

"Stop RickyJo!," he told her, "...just calm yer fuckin' ass down." After getting slapped, Merle was on the brink of losing his own self control. He could feel RickyJo shifting underneath him to try and get a better angle to kick at him, so he sat on her legs. "Don't ya dare fuckin' try and kick my fucking balls, girl," he warned her.

"Let go of me!," she raged at him. She was thrashing around like a damn animal, trying to throw him off. He didn't want to hurt her, but this was getting out of hand.

"Stop RickyJo!," he told her, "I don't wanna hurt ya. Take a breath. Calm down. It wasn't your fault." His last statement seemed to take the anger out of her. She took a deep breath and then her face crumpled up as the tears started flowing.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, "I'm so sorry I hit ya I dunno what I was thinkin'." Her tears were coming hard now, and Merle let go of her arms and pulled RickyJo up into his lap, holding her close. She was holding on tight to him, crying into his shoulder. Before he knew what was happening, they were kissing. Merle pulled her down onto the bed on top of him, her braids flicking forward and bumping into the sides of his face, tickling him. Her mouth was on his, and she tasted like salt from her tears. The same thought he had earlier came to his mind again. This was no shy kissing session from an inexperienced girl. RickyJo knew what she was doing when she rolled over, pulling him on top of her and letting her hands slide up his back under his shirt.

Merle slipped his fingers under the thin straps of her bra and tank top, pulling them down so he could push her shirt down and bare her breasts. Kissing down her neck, he buried his face in her cleavage, fondling her breasts with his hands. He rolled one of her nipples between his thumb and finger while he took the other one into his mouth, sucking hard. RickyJo arched her back, moaning softly. It felt good not to think right now. She kept her eyes closed, and when he let her nipple slide out of his mouth she guided him to the other one, sighing with satisfaction when he flicked his tongue over it and took it into his mouth.

There was a soft knock on the door, which brought Merle out of the trance he was in. He looked down at RickyJo, her eyes shut and her hair mussed. What the hell am I doing? Not only was this Daryl's girlfriend. Merle came here to take her to the hospital, not to fuck her. She was upset and confused. But goddamn if it didn't take every ounce of self control he had to pull away from her. He had never been kissed like that in his life. Kisses that made his entire body tingle.

"RickyJo," Imani called through the door, "are you alright? Sammy said she heard yelling." This seemed to jolt RickyJo back into reality. And she sat up with a start, bumping her head into Merle. She looked down at her naked breasts and moved quickly to cover up and smooth her hair down.

"I'm fine," she said, moving to open the door. Imani came in, eyeing the mess. RickyJo's things were thrown all over the room and there was an open suitcase on her bed.

"Ohmygod," she said, "Ricky, you're not leaving school, are you?"

"No," RickyJo told her, "I just got upset. My poppa died this morning." Imani rushed in to hug her friend.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "I can clean all this up. And I'll email your professors and let them know you'll be gone for the rest of the week. Just go. And call me tonight so I know you're okay?"

"I will," RickyJo told her, "...thank you so much." She held onto the girl a minute more, then much to Merle's displeasure, she turned and hugged the girl's brother as well. He patted RickyJo's back and told her how sorry he was. Isaiah was still holding onto the drink he brought her and handed it to her lamely.

"Thanks," she told him, "I'm actually really thirsty." She grabbed a backpack and stuffed the few things she needed into it before hugging Imani again. "I'll call ya tonight," she promised the girl. Merle smiled a little. He wasn't crazy about black people, but at least RickyJo seemed to have a good friend to look out for her at school.

"Ready to go?," he asked her. She nodded and they headed out to the parking garage. They ended up leaving his bike there with her parking pass on it and Merle drove them both in her jeep. RickyJo was still upset and didn't trust herself to drive. It was a two hour drive, and they rode a while in silence, passing her juice back and forth between them.

"If ya don't mind, I really need a smoke before we get there," she admitted, "...and I don't mean a cigarette." Merle smiled at her and nodded his approval. He could use a little something to take the edge off as well. RickyJo grabbed a cigarette pack out of the glove compartment and pulled a joint out of it from behind the foil. Using the lighter from the car she pressed it to the end of the joint and took a long drag, then handed it over.

"Could ya do me a favor?," she asked, "...talk to me about anythin' besides Poppa?" Merle puffed the joint and tried to think of something.

"Nice tats," he told her.

"You like?," she asked him. He nodded. Usually, he didn't care much for tattoos on girls, but hers were sexy. She held out her arm so he could see the one on the inside of her bicep better. It was a row of arrows, done up to look like the custom ones she used in her bow. "Daryl went with me ta get it," she said, "...he got a different tattoo, but in the same spot."

"Oh yeah," Merle anwsered, "Does your boyfriend Daryl know that nigger back there is puttin' the wood to ya?" RickyJo was startled for a minute. The first thing that came to her mind was that Merle knew about her and Imani. And there was no way he could know about that. Nobody knew about that. Not even Jessica. Then RickyJo realized he was accusing her of sleeping with Isaiah.

"That's a disgustin' thing to say," she said, "...and it is not true." Merle didn't know who she thought she was fooling, but he saw the look on her face when he brought that shit up.

"Then how come yer lookin' so guilty?," he asked her. RickyJo thought about this for a minute.

"Can ya keep a secret?," she asked him. Merle had no intention of keeping her secret, but he nodded vigoruosuly anyway. Really he was going to Daryl everything as soon as he had the chance.

Sure," he said. RickyJo thought this over. She knew Merle had a big mouth. He was going to tell Daryl a bunch of horrible shit no matter what. She guessed he might as well be telling him something true.

"Isaiah hasn't been puttin' anything to me," she said, "...but his sister has." RickyJo gave Merle a big smile and took another hit of the joint.

"What the fuck ya mean?," Merle asked her. She smiled again and put her fingers up by her mouth, making a very obscene gesture. Then RickyJo sat back, looking very satisfied with herself.

"And if ya even think about telling anyone," she added, "...I'll tell Daryl what just happened between you and me in my dorm room." She handed Merle the joint and watched him to gauge his reaction. He thought about her threat for a few minutes. And about the fact that she was dyking it up with her roommate It was hard to take Merle by surprise and this was frankly a little shocking. He would never have guessed RickyJo was batting for the other team. She wore dresses. It did make some sense though, now that he was letting it sink in. No wonder she never let Daryl fuck her.

"So you never fucked that nigger that was sittin' on yer bed today?," he asked.

"No, I went to a couple parties with him, that's all," she admitted. Then she added, "...but I'm pretty sure Jessica fucked him." Merle thought about commenting on her cousin's whore status, but realized RickyJo was trying to change the subject.

"But you have been fuckin' your roommate?," he asked.

"Yup," she said with a shrug.

"What kind of shit do the two of ya do together?," Merle asked her with a wicked grin. If he had to keep her secret, he might as well get some enjoyment out of it. RickyJo shook her head. Merle was really unbelievable sometimes.

"That's none of yer business," she said firmly. He laughed. It was worth a try. RickyJo took one last puff on the joint and put the roach in the ashtray for later. Then she reached over and took Merle's hand in hers.

"Thank you fer comin' to get me," she told him, "I'm sorry I was acting so crazy." Merle smiled. He was warmed by her apology. There was really no need for it. He knew she just took the news about her Poppa badly. He was upset about it himself. The old man was always good to him. Merle was pretty sure Augugstus was hoping he would marry Jessica. He thought about it too, when he believed she was pregnant with his baby. Jessica would have made him a horrible wife, no pun intended, but he thought about it anyway. Now RickyJo would make someone a good wife. Look how nice she was to him, and he didn't even deserve it. Daryl was stupid to let her go away to college with a ring on. But then, Daryl was stupid about a lot of things.

When they got to the hospital, everyone was waiting for her. Nana was in the room, sitting with her husband and Jessica was outside, sitting with Daryl. They each had one of the girls in their laps. RickyJo had a quiet word with one of the nurses. Then she approached Jessica and hugged her tight. Her nana came out of the room and held them.

"I'm here now," RickyJo told the woman, "I'll take care of everythin'." RickyJo went into the room alone and had a few minutes with the man that was the only father she ever knew. Then everyone gathered inside and the machines were turned off. Once he was pronounced dead, RickyJo turned to Merle.

"Will ya take everyone home?," she asked, "I can take care of the rest of things here." He nodded. She asked Daryl to stay there with her and he quickly agreed. Her grandmother started crying.

"I don't even know what he wanted done for him," she sobbed, "...he would never talk to me about it." RickyJo held the woman.

"I'll take care of everythin'," she promised, "...just go home and rest." The woman nodded gratefully. RickyJo and her grandfather were always close. He would be happy with anything she decided for him. Then RickyJo turned and spoke to Jessica. "Get Poppa's rolladeck off his desk and start callin' everyone. We don't want them to find out on the news." Jessica nodded. She hadn't even thought about that. "Call Aunt Marie and have her come over and help you." Jessica nodded again. That was a good idea too. Aunt Marie was the family gossip. She knew everyone's phone number.

Merle left with the girls, and Daryl stayed. He watched RickyJo give smooth orders to the nurses and doctors. She used the phone and called a family friend that owned a funeral home. He had one of his people there within the hour to take care of everything while Daryl drove RickyJo over to the funeral home to talk with the owner and make arrangements. Then she had to go to the office of the law firm that handled the family's money. There were some papers there for her to sign. Augustus had a trust set up for Jessica and her girls, and another one for his wife. But all his property and the rest of the family money was going to RickyJo. The lawyers would need to meet with her again another day. Through the day she held tight to Daryl's arm and handled everyone with grace and consideration. She accepted their many condolences on her loss, even though Daryl was ready to punch someone after the third time he had to hear the same meaningless words.

Daryl stayed quiet and wished he could do more to help her. RickyJo was the strongest woman he had ever seen. She never lost her cool and never cried. Not even when she had to pick out the casket. He had no idea of the outburst she had with Merle earlier in the day in her dorm room. As Daryl was finally driving her home, he looked over to see that RickyJo's head was leaning against the window of the truck. She was fast asleep, her slow even breaths leaving a tiny round circle of fog on the glass.