No More Mr. Nice Guy Read Online Free Page B

have to take matters into our own hands. You don’t want that.”
    â€œNo, I don’t,” I told him.
    I entered the house to see a room full of very intense-looking cops. All of them had their guns out pointed in the direction of a panic-stricken man, who had his hands raised in submission beside a deranged, knife-wielding woman. The man was my uncle, Willie, my mother’s younger brother and caregiver. The woman was my bipolar mother.
    â€œSir,” an officer shouted at Willie, “I’m going to need you to step out the way and let us handle this.”
    â€œI’m not going to let you shoot my sister,” Willie answered.
    â€œGet out! Get out of my fucking house, you demons!” my mother screamed, stabbing at the air behind Willie, daring them to come closer.
    â€œLorna, please! Please! You’re not making this any better,” Willie pleaded, but she was too far into another realm to be able to comply.
    Seeing me, Willie’s face flooded with relief. “Niles, man, please help her! Please, man, if she don’t calm down they’re gonna kill her.”
    â€œThey aren’t going to kill anyone,” I declared, stepping into the line of fire. Like Willie, I held my hands up so that the officers understood my passivity as I moved further into the room. Last thing I needed was a trigger-happy cop to make me another casualty in the ongoing war between the cops and people of color.
    I turned and stared at my mother as she stabbed at the air with the knife. Unfortunately, seeing her in this state wasn’t a rare occurrence. It was actually the reason why I had joined the Army and gone overseas. I loved my mother more than anyone in the world, but eighteen years living with a bipolar parent had almost sent me to the nut house along with her.
    â€œMa. Ma,” I called out to her, my voice calm and coaxing.
    She turned to me, her eyes glassy in that way that let me know she hadn’t really seen me yet. “Willie! Get these devils out of my house! They’re trying to poison me!” she shouted, flailing her hands and waving the knife around.
    â€œMa!” I raised my voice a little, hoping to jar her out of her current state. She froze for a split second. I took that moment to move toward her, waiting for her to recognize her only son. “Ma, it’s me, Niles.”
    â€œNiles?” A spark of recognition glinted in her eyes. She glared at me hard, but then her face began to soften. “Oh my God. Niles? Willie, it’s Niles.”
    â€œI can see that.” Willie’s voice was flooded with relief, but I noticed that he still kept his hands raised. He wasn’t taking any chances with those officers. “Now give him the knife.”
    â€œNiles.” Ma smiled and reached out her free hand to touch my face. “My Niles is home.”
    â€œYes, Mama, your Niles. I’m home now. Home for good.”
    She kept grinning at me like I was a little boy, until one of the cops moved behind me. That set her off again, and she leaped in front of me, gesturing toward the cops.
    â€œStay behind me, baby. These are the devil’s demons. They must’ve found out you were coming home, and they’re going to try to take you to their master.” She looked like she might attack them at any moment.
    I tried to place myself between her and the cops, who looked even more confused than before, but she wasn’t having it. She was like a mama bear protecting her cub.
    â€œDon’t fucking move!” I shouted at the cops then turned to my mother. “Ma, take a good look at them. Those aren’t devils. Those are angels in disguise. Can’t you see it?” My tone sounded light and sing-songy—nothing like how I felt.
    She shook her head. “No, baby, those look like devils.”
    â€œLook closely and you’ll see it.” I began to massage her shoulders, hoping to loosen her up and also make sure