Child Support (Urban Books)

by Amour

  “Um, you kn-n-now where Cliff is?” I stuttered. I wasn’t expecting to come across anybody that looked this good.

  “He went to gamble,” he said, not really paying me any attention. I didn’t know if it was the way he looked or the fact that he wasn’t paying attention to me that made me want him.

  “Know when he’ll be back?” I asked as I took a seat on the same couch he sat on.

  He shook his head no and continued watching the movie Life. I sat there a little while longer, fantasizing about all the things I would do to him if I got the chance. I would suck the skin off of his dick and make his toes curl. He was just that sexy. I watched him as he sipped his Gatorade and licked his lips. He knew exactly what he was doing, teasing me.

  “So you Angel?” he asked, still never looking my way.

  “Yeah. And you are?” I was anxious to know.

  “Tristan. I’m Cliff’s little brother.” He finally looked my way, and I must say, that scar made him look so thuggish.

  “Oh, really? How old are you?” I asked, trying to make it seem as if I wanted to know their age difference.

  “I’m twenty-four. We four years apart,” he said with a Southern accent. He was right up my alley. He was two years younger than me, but I had discovered that the younger niggas were better lovers. I wondered how loyal he was to Cliff and if he would consider fucking me.

  We heard somebody coming into the room, and we both looked back. It was Cliff and his bodyguard.

  “I’m glad you two met,” Cliff said as he grabbed my arm for me to stand up. I stood up, and he wrapped his arm around me. “This is my little brother, Trist, and this my ole lady, Angel.”

  I smiled. I did not want to be known as his woman.

  Tristan cracked a small smile and nodded his head, as if to say “What up?” and then directed his attention to the movie.

  Cliff grabbed my arm and escorted me out of the room and up the stairs to the master bedroom. He closed the door behind us and gave me this look that told me he was upset.

  “Don’t let me catch you back in there,” he said firmly.

  “Why?” I questioned. I didn’t see what the problem was. He walked up on me and backhanded the spit out of my mouth. I flipped onto the bed and held my face. I looked up at him with my eyes filled with tears.

  He pointed his finger at me and yelled, “Don’t ever question me! Ever!”

  My face was stinging badly. The pain was sharp, and I knew he hadn’t changed, because no one changed overnight. I had just never expected to get this treatment so soon. As I lay on the bed, I cried and cried. I needed to escape from Cliff.

  An hour passed, and in walked a thick, light-skinned girl. She had on the tightest leggings, which complemented her nice frame. She was very pretty and had a long black weave that hung down her back. I sat up, still holding my cheek with my hand.

  “You okay?” she asked. She shut the door behind her. She sat down on the bed with me. I still had my hand over my left cheek. She slowly pulled my hand from it. Her expression let me know that the wound, which I hadn’t seen yet, didn’t look too good. “Yeah, he left a mark. You need to put something on it.”

  She went to the bathroom and came back with a cold rag. She placed it on my cheek. I held it there, and she sat there watching me, shaking her head. “You gotta be careful with Cliff. He got some serious anger problems,” she said. “I’m Chelsea, his little sister. You must be Angel.”

  She stared at me as I nodded my head.

  She put her hand on my head and laughed. “We got to get rid of these jail braids, Mama.” She chuckled. I had forgotten that I even had them in my hair.

  “You’re right,” I confessed. No wonder Trist had barely looked my way. I looked like a Hebrew slave fresh off the slave ship.

  She left the room and came back with a comb. “Sit on the floor,” she said.

  I slid off the bed and onto the floor. Chelsea started taking my braids down. After that, she washed my hair for me.

  “You wear a weave?” she asked.

  I told her that I had never had any in my hair. She brought a bag full of hair equipment and started doing my hair. When she was done, I had an invisible part with a long sew-in. I ran to look in the mirror that was attached to the dresser. I loved the way it hung on my back. I ran my fingers through the long black weave and smiled.

  “I like it,” I said as I turned around and gave her a hug.

  “Good. Now, let me arch your eyebrows and put you on some lashes.” She was smiling from ear to ear, and I was eager to see how they would turn out.

  After the lashes and eyebrows were done, I went back to look in the mirror. I loved the way I looked. For the first time in a long time, I actually thought that I looked beautiful.

  Chelsea sat on the bed. “Do you want to ride with me to my doctor’s appointment?”

  “Sure,” I responded while she looked over at the heels that were on the floor and picked up the red ones.

  “Hun, put these on,” she suggested, handing them to me. She gave me some gold accessories, and I put those on too. She looked me over and smiled. She was having fun dressing me up, obviously. “You look like a model.”

  “Do I?” I asked.

  She grabbed my hand and looked at my nails. “Well you did until I noticed your nails weren’t done. We have to do something about this after my appointment,” she insisted. She let go of my hand, and I looked at my nails. They didn’t look that bad.

  We both headed downstairs and out the door. Chelsea was driving an all-black Bentley coupe. It was evident that she had money. I just wondered if it was from her brother or if she had made it on her own.

  “What you do for a living?” I asked.

  “Well, I’m a stripper, I do music videos, and I host events,” she said, starting her car up and driving off.

  “Really? You make good money doing that?” I was curious. I had thought about stripping when I lost my job at the law firm. I never knew strippers lived like this.

  “Yeah, real good money,” she said. She began telling me that she worked at various strip clubs in different states. She was loved mostly at Magic City in Atlanta and King of Diamonds, otherwise known as KOD, in Miami.

  The doctor’s office that we pulled up to was called Swan Center.

  “I come here to get my butt injections. I’m also going to come here to get my breast implants done,” Chelsea revealed. She also slid in there that if I wanted anything done, she knew her brother wouldn’t mind paying for it.

  When we got out of her Bentley, I walked behind her and admired her ass. It did sit nice, and it also looked very real. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to find out more about the procedure.

  I could tell that Chelsea was well known in this office, because everyone was talking to her about everything except her appointment. We patiently sat in the waiting room. My phone began to vibrate. It was Cliff.

  When I answered, he was very apologetic about the situation that had happened earlier. I accepted his apology, although I knew he was capable of doing it again. I told him that I was with Chelsea at her doctor’s appointment. He volunteered that if I wanted anything done, I knew where to get the money from. It was something to consider.

  While Chelsea kept Angel occupied and out of Tristan’s view, Cliff decided this was a great opportunity to call Porsha. Porsha was shocked to learn that Angel was in Atlanta. They had been together just the day before. She told Cliff that she thought that Angel was wanted for murder. Cliff was thrown by this news because Angel looked harmless and never tried anything whenever he put his hands on her.

  “Albert does not want the police to get her. Is there any way you can change her identity or anything?” Porsha asked desperately.

  Cliff thought for a little while and then said, “I mean, maybe some plastic surgery.”

  Porsha was relieved. Albert had warned her that if he couldn’t get his hands on Angel because of her stupidity, then she was as good as gone too. Porsha could not let h
er chance of being married and having a man slip through her fingers because of Angel’s selfish ass.

  Although Cliff was filthy rich, he wanted that money. He already had plans for it. He would love to see Angel in a new way. He was tired of that little-ass wrap and those plain-ass clothes.

  “When is he getting out?” Cliff wondered aloud. The last time he had spoken to Porsha, she’d told him Albert would be released in a month or so. That was three months ago.

  “He told me a few months. He won’t tell me the exact date,” she said.

  Cliff shook his head. Porsha was a dumb broad. “Okay, I’ll call you to let you know if Angel agrees to the procedure.”

  Porsha promised him that Albert would pay him for the little bit of nothing that he was doing. They said their good-byes and ended the call.

  Cliff decided to send Angel a text telling her that he would love her to get a little more junk in her trunk. He also suggested some face surgery, maybe on her nose or lips. He thought she’d be upset, but to his surprise, she agreed.

  He put his phone on the bed and lay down on his back. He lay there pondering whether he should even allow Angel to hang around Chelsea’s slutty ass or Trist. He knew she was good for introducing his girlfriends to the fast life, and Tristan was simply good for turning them out.

  Chapter 13

  I had just gotten my plastic surgery the day before, and now I was lying in the bed, unable to move. Cliff and Chelsea had insisted on butt injections. Even though I had really wanted only a lip and a nose job, I’d decided to get the butt injections too. I loved the way I looked but was tired of having to watch my back. I needed some type of disguise that would allow me to walk the streets of Atlanta freely. Plus, Cliff was the one paying for everything.

  Chelsea and I had become close over the few weeks that she was here. She told me that she didn’t care about who or what I did, because her brother was an abusive male ho. I totally agreed. I couldn’t wait until the swelling went down, because I was ready to see who the new me could attract.

  Cliff was in and out of town, and I was so grateful for every departure. He was really smothering me. Ever since Chelsea had given me a makeover, he wanted me to be in his sight at all times. It was very annoying, and I just knew that after I bounced back from the surgery, he would be even further down my throat.

  Chelsea came into my room with some girl that looked like a stripper. I sat up so that I could face them as they took a seat on the bed.

  “Angel, this my girl Beautyful,” Chelsea said, introducing the Asian and black mixed girl. She had long black hair and a body that I assumed was made. She was shaped like an hourglass.

  I said, “Hi.”

  Then Chelsea started up. “What you think about going to Miami with us in a few weeks?” she asked.

  I didn’t know why she’d asked me that. I was appalled. I didn’t know what to say. “Why?” I asked. I had never traveled before. All I knew was Chicago, and now Atlanta. I really didn’t mind going to Miami, but I figured they were going there only to strip.

  “Well, we’re working, but we’re also hosting a few parties,” Beautyful answered. She was very pretty. She appeared to be flawless, well, at least to me.

  “Yeah, and that week Cliff is gon’ be in Las Vegas, so you’ll be bored and home alone here,” Chelsea added.

  I wasn’t sure if Cliff would even allow me to go. He was controlling, and I wasn’t down for a beat down over a Miami trip.

  “Don’t worry about Cliff. I’ll just tell him we’re going to Charlotte to visit my granny,” Chelsea assured me. She told me that he never questioned her. “Trust me,” she said.

  I agreed to go, and they both got up and headed out the door.

  “Oh yeah, we’ll be picking out your gear,” Chelsea added before closing the door behind her.

  I put my head back down on the pillow. Why is everybody targeting the way I dress? I stared at the ceiling and imagined what Miami would be like. They said it was Urban Beach Week, so there would be hella niggas. I was ready.

  The swelling from my surgery had gone down, and I was feeling beautiful. I barely recognized myself. I stood in the full-body mirror and admired the new me. I was a flawless beauty.

  Cliff walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “You look good, baby,” he said while kissing the back of my neck.

  I continued admiring myself, and then I headed downstairs to show Trist. When I almost reached the bottom of the staircase, he came through the door. He hadn’t seen me since the day I had come back from the procedure. He was staring hard, not paying attention to what he was doing. He watched me like a hawk, licked his lips, and bumped right into Cliff.

  “You wanna pay attention to what you doing?” Cliff said sarcastically.

  I stood at the bottom of the steps, looking dumbfounded. I had been too busy watching Trist my damn self that I hadn’t noticed that Cliff was present. Cliff started to go up the stairs, and then he stopped when he reached me.

  “Keep trying me, Angel,” he warned. I stood there speechless. He continued up the steps, and I continued going down them.

  I walked into the living room to find Trist sitting on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table. I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like I wasn’t supposed to be around him. That was the vibe Cliff was giving me, besides the fact that Trist was his brother and I shouldn’t be all up in his face, anyway.

  He looked in my direction. “What’s up?” he said.

  I shook my head and headed into the kitchen. I knew that I had gone downstairs to get his attention. After that little warning from Cliff, I had changed my mind.

  I sat at the gray-and-black decorated glass table and stared out the curtainless window. I wondered what Crystal was doing, because I hadn’t talked to her in a few weeks. I had tried calling her, but Tiffany’s phone was off. I hoped she didn’t think I had forgotten about her, because that definitely was not an option.

  “What you thinking about?” I turned around and saw Trist rummaging in the refrigerator.

  I turned back around and said, “Just daydreaming.” I wanted to get up and go in another room, but I didn’t want to appear to be running from him.

  “I know you scared of my brother and all,” he said as he walked closer. “I also know you want me.” He was confident.

  I smiled, because he was absolutely right. I was glad my back was facing him so that he couldn’t see me blushing.

  “If that’s the case, it’s cool, because I want you too. And if you know anything about me, then you’ll know I get what I want,” he told me. I heard him shut the refrigerator door. As he started walking toward the kitchen door, he added, “In due time, baby. In due time.”

  I was happy we were on the same page. I hadn’t had sex since Omar, and I was fiending. I was happy that Cliff wasn’t trying to fuck me, being that I was sore. I knew that he would try to get some soon, and I just prayed it wouldn’t be today.

  Cliff came into the kitchen shortly after Trist left. I was scared straight. I thought he had heard everything that Trist had just said to me. It was obvious that I kept getting in trouble for all the things Trist was doing.

  “Baby, there’s a ceremony tonight, and you’re coming with me. Chelsea gon’ help you find something to wear, so get up and get ready,” he instructed.

  I got up from the table and did as I was told. Finally, I had my own closet. It was a huge walk-in closet that was nowhere near filled. I had only about twenty outfits, but being that I had a whole new shape and size, I figured I couldn’t fit into any of it, anyway. I pulled out a pair of jeggings, the new leggings that looked like blue jeans, from my drawer and threw on a white wife beater. I grabbed my red Christian Louboutin heels and my red Louis Vuitton handbag from my accessory section. I wore a long gold necklace, three gold bangles, and some big golden hoops. I sprayed my Gucci Guilty perfume and headed out.

  Cliff, bombarded me, preventing me from leaving. “You think that’s appropriate?” h
e questioned, looking me up and down.

  I looked down at the floor and shrugged my shoulders.

  “Baby, listen,” he said as he grabbed my face gently, “I don’t want no nigga hounding you. You mine, and I want the world to know that.”

  “I know you don’t mean no harm,” I said, lying through my teeth. All he meant was harm when it came tome.

  He kissed me on my forehead, and it reminded me of Omar. Then he released my face. “You need a new name, too,” he stated. “So what’s it gon’ be?”

  “Crystal,” I said without thinking twice. I headed out of the room with a whole new attitude. I would be Crystal from now on, and I was, in fact, a bad bitch. Soon Atlanta would know that.

  Chelsea and Beautyful stood at the bottom of the stairs with big smiles on their faces.

  “Look at that goddess!” Beautyful said.

  Chelsea nodded her head in agreement.

  They just didn’t know how much all of this was blowing my head up. “Yes, look at me now.” I giggled.

  “Angel, you gon’ kill ’em,” Chelsea joked.

  I laughed because she was right. “By the way, the name is Crystal,” I told them.

  “Oh my, the girl is brand new!” Chelsea said as she slapped Beautyful’s hand.

  We went out the door. None of us saw Cliff at the top of the steps, angry as ever. Nor did we see Trist at the living room door, admiring me. I guess we were caught up in the moment.

  We rode to Lennox Mall in Beautyful’s BMW. These girls were crafted at what they did, because they were riding and living well. I was in the backseat, sightseeing. I had never been anywhere without Cliff, except to Chelsea’s doctor’s appointment.

  When we got to the mall, men and women had their eyes on us. In my opinion, the females were staring harder than the men. A group of guys who looked like they had long money approached us.