Raunchy (The Cartel Publications Presents)

by Styles, T

  “My sex? I’m not having none.”

  “I know. But…She has on your records that you are a…Well…Boy.”

  “I am,” he laughed looking at his brother who hadn’t cracked a smile.

  “Have you ever seen the anatomy of a woman? In school?”

  “The anatomy of a woman?” Jayden interjected. “What that mean?”

  The doctor looked at the nurse in the room who put her head down. It was unbearable for her because she already knew what had happened. For whatever reason, someone had told these children that they were something that they weren’t. She could tell with one look at Madjesty’s low-cut hairstyle and her baggy clothing that the child believed in all her heart that she was a boy, when she was far from it.

  “Anatomy means the bodily structure. In other words, a man’s body is different from a woman’s.”

  “Okay.”

  The doctor knew it was best to just come out with it. “Son…I mean, Madjesty, you are a not a boy. In fact, you are a girl.”

  “What?! No I’m not a girl!” she sat up straight on the bed. “Don’t tell me that because it’s not true! I want my mother! Where is my mother?!”

  “Madjesty, you had your menstruation cycle today. That is why you had so much blood on your clothing. You are a girl.”

  “That can’t be true! Because that would mean, I am too,” Jayden said.

  Unlike her sister she was secretly happy to hear the news. She always felt like something was off about her. Despite the short haircuts her mother made her get when she was young and the boy clothes she made them wear.

  “I’ll have my doctors examine you as well, but if you have the same anatomy as your sister, than you probably are also a girl.”

  Upon hearing the news Madjesty felt dizzy. Unlike Jayden she liked who she was or thought she was. She could never see being a girl and having to face people at the school. She hated the idea of her life changing in this way and wondered why their mother would have lied to them so viciously. Madjesty vowed then that no matter what, if it was in her power, that she’d make her mother pay.

  Good News & Bad News

  Harmony

  There were hundreds of people walking around in the courtroom and I wondered which one of them had bailed me out. I didn’t have any friends with money and even if I did, not one of them would waste it on me.

  I had been in jail for two days and hated every minute of it. Bitches were on their periods and smelled like old fish and every time I woke up I had to smell someone else’s shit. I didn’t know how long I would have to be in there and couldn’t get in contact with anyone to warn the kids to stay in the house.

  I hoped my kids didn’t get to begging for food and bringing attention to themselves. If that happened they could jeopardize my welfare checks if someone knew they were in the house alone.

  I was outside of the jailhouse for five minutes, when I saw my aunt Angela sitting in a red Honda Civic at the curb staring at me. I was going to walk right past her, like I didn’t see her until she said, “Harmony, I know you see me over here.” I kept walking. “Can you please stop, I have something to tell you.”

  I stopped briefly and said, “Me and you don’t have shit to talk about.”

  “I doubt that very seriously. Now do you wanna come over here or miss out on something good?”

  “Something good, huh?”

  I kept walking until she said, “I was the one who bailed you out, and the least you could do is give me five minutes of your time.” She continued. “I’ll even drive you to wherever you’re going.”

  “I don’t trust you, Angela.” I said looking at her. “I can’t help but wonder if you were the reason Monkey got killed. And how I know you not here to set me up? I know you the one who told Kali where I was.”

  “I’m not here to set you up.” She leaned over and opened the car door. “Now come on and get in, Harmony. You are going to love what I have to tell you.”

  Against my better judgment, I got in her car. She kept looking at me and I could tell she was judging me already. My once long thick black hair was now scraggly, brittle and brown. I had lost so much weight that I knew she thought I was a crack head. And a slash in the form of a criss-cross rested on my face. Not only that, my skin was now cracked and dry and not flawless and youthful like it was when she last saw me. The streets were hard on me and life had taken its toll.

  “I can’t believe what he did to your face.” She said examining me. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s over and done with,” I said not wanting to remember that day. “I’m fine so save your sorry-ness for yourself.”

  She cleared her throat and said, “So, how are the twins?”

  “They’re fine.”

  “I bet they’re so pretty.” She smiled pulling into traffic. “Just as pretty as you were when you were a little girl.”

  “Were?”

  “You know what I mean?”

  “Naw, I don’t,” I lied. “Anyway, I have boys.”

  “Boys?” She said. “But the papers said you had two little girls.”

  I told my lie for so long that I forgot who knew the truth. My lie lasted a while until Renee came over the house threatening to out me. When my kids were over her house that day, she walked into the bathroom while Madjesty was using it. When she saw her sitting down and her split tail showing, she tried to blackmail me. I don’t even know why I really lied about their sex. It started as a way to escape from Kali if he was trying to find me. I knew he’d be looking for me with two little girls, when I had two little boys.

  “Oh, I meant, little girls.” I said angrily. “But stop beating around the bush and get to the point, Angela. What in the fuck do you want?”

  “Okay, Harmony, there’s no reason to get upset about it. I’m just asking because I haven’t seen you in forever. And you are my niece.” She paused. “So, where do you want to go?”

  “I live in Plum Creek Apartments.” I looked her over and then back out in front of me. “You can take me there.”

  “I didn’t know you lived that close to me.”

  “Well how would you?” I paused. I was tired of the games and wanted her to get down to it. “Now, what’s going on, Angela? I’m tired of being fake. Talk to me.”

  She sighed and said, “People have been looking for you for a while, Harmony.” I looked at her. “But nobody has been able to locate you until now.”

  “What people?” I asked with raised brows. “Kali?”

  “No! I haven’t even spoken to Kali. And I didn’t know he was our connect or that you even knew him until he murdered Monkey.” She clarified. “I’m talking about your mother.”

  I laughed. “Bitch, my mother’s dead. And I know you know that.”

  “I’m talking about your real mother. She got in contact with me about six months ago because she’s dying and she wants to see you.”

  “What are you talking about?” I laughed.

  “Your real mother lives in L.A and she’s dying of AIDS. Her name is Irma Cruz.”

  “Irma Cruz?” Immediately I had a throbbing pain in my head. “You talking about my father’s lover? The one who killed, mama?”

  “No, the one who killed Estelle. Not your mama. Irma is your mama.”

  “You know what the fuck I mean!” I shot back. “I need you to explain to me what you talking about.”

  “There was a high stakes Poker game many years ago. A lot of money was at stake and people placed bets they couldn’t honor. At that game was Rick Sherrod, Massive, your father and a few other people.” She started. “Massive was in to your father and Rick for a lot of money that night. And in order to settle the bill, Massive offered to your father what he didn’t even bid. His beautiful girlfriend, Irma Cruz.”

  “What does this have to do with me?”

  “Listen, Harmony. You’re finally hearing the truth.” She paused. “Anyway, Rick saw how he looked at her whenever they were around each other, and he saw how she looked at hi
m. I guess he figured it was easier to give her up in a card game when he needed her, then to have Rick take her from him for free.

  “Now your father couldn’t be with Irma publically though, because he had a life with Estelle. And although he didn’t love Estelle anymore, he knew she could be vengeful if crossed. So they had to keep their love affair a secret for a while.” I was so shocked I couldn’t blink. “Are you okay?” She asked me.

  “Uh…Yeah…Please go ‘head.”

  “Okay, well, Rick didn’t want a female, he wanted his money, and ended up killing Massive’s daughter to settle the debt even after Massive paid him. I think to this day Massive has been trying to get back at Rick, by trying to kill his son Jace.”

  Now that was something I knew all too much about. “Go ahead.”

  “Well, your father and Irma fell in love after that game. But Estelle eventually found out and threatened to tell the police about his drug operation if he didn’t leave her alone. But he had bad news for Estelle and that was that Irma was pregnant with his only child.

  “Estelle had always wanted a child but couldn’t bore one herself. And against Irma’s judgment, Cornell convinced her to let them raise her baby as their own. Irma was devastated. She cried every day after he asked her to part with you. It wasn’t until he convinced her that you would still be in her life, that she agreed.”

  “But why not just dump Estelle?”

  “Because Cornell’s drug operation was on the line and he needed to keep Estelle happy until he could find another way to deal with her. But his heart always belonged to Irma.”

  “But…I use to go with my father to see Irma all the time. I mean, why wouldn’t she tell me that she was my mother.”

  “She was keeping your father’s secret, and trying to spare you from any pain. It was for your own good.”

  “My own good?” I said in an evil tone. “Do you realize how much shit that bitch Estelle put me through?” I said gritting on her. “Do you know that Shirley made me lick her pussy everyday for the first five years I lived with her? And that her son raped me repeatedly? And you tell me it was for my own good?”

  “I didn’t…Know…”

  “How could you? You never bothered to check on me. You were my flesh and blood yet you never cared. When daddy died along with is money, you died to me, too.”

  “I had my own kids, Harmony. Don’t put this blame on me.”

  “Look at me. I had a fucked up life! I’m an alcoholic, I have two kids I hate and more than anything I hate myself. My family was supposed to be there to protect me and they didn’t. Just like Irma, you tried to act like I wasn’t there.”

  “That’s not true!”

  “When did you ever call to check on me?!” I yelled. “When, Angela?!”

  “All I can say is I’m sorry now.”

  “Why did she kill Estelle?” I said irritated with it all.

  “Because she loved Cornell and when she heard about what she’d done to him, by calling the cops, she vowed to get revenge. You have to understand that when Estelle called the police, she went against their arrangement. She broke the deal. She gave her only child up on the strength of a promise and that promise was broken.” She paused. “When she killed her, she called me a few months later. She knew I was one of the only people she could talk to about it because I always hated Estelle. I asked her then why she left you, she said she saw in your eyes, for a brief moment, that you hated her that day. And she decided to never reach out to you again.”

  “I remember that. I wasn’t looking at her like that, Estelle had just made me mad and I…I was…Everything happened so fast.”

  “She thought you hated her.”

  I laughed in disgust and said, “Fuck all that! Now what?”

  “She wants to meet you before she dies.”

  “Well I don’t want to meet her.” I said waving my hand. “Anyway, I thought you said you had good news for me. Where is it?”

  “I do have good news.” She smiled. “Before Irma was diagnosed with AIDS, she was living in Concord with her two daughters.”

  “In Concord? The police didn’t seize that property?”

  “No…Cornell was smart enough to put it in Irma’s name. He said he was renting it from her and the police couldn’t legally hold the property. But now that she moved back to L.A, to be with her family, she wanted me to tell you that Concord Manor is all yours. If you want it.”

  “I have sisters?”

  “Yes. And you also have a huge family in L.A.”

  The anger I was feeling was at its boiling point. I lived in a shelter, in places nobody wanted me and I didn’t have to.

  “Go ahead, Angela.” I paused thinking about what she said. “I’m still not convinced I’m her child.”

  “Look at yourself…Clearly,” Angela said. “Do you remember her face?”

  Of course I did. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world when my father use to take me to go visit her.

  “I remember.”

  “Well if you do, then I know you can see the resemblance. You are Irma’s daughter. Her first born. And outside of having light skin like Estelle’s, you two look nothing alike.”

  “But…Why…Why did she allow me to go through life alone?”

  “When she killed Estelle, she was sure she’d get caught. But as time went on, it became apparent that no one was saying anything, especially you. And Shirley didn’t see the murder to testify. So Irma realized she didn’t have to be on the run anymore and came out of hiding.”

  I was pissed and I didn’t give a fuck about Irma, Shirley or Estelle! All three of them bitches could kiss my ass. All I cared about now was that mansion.

  “Do you have the person I can call, to get the property?”

  “Yes. I have the number of the person you need to contact, Harmony.”

  “And it’s really all mine?”

  “The property was always yours, and was supposed to be given to you when you turned eighteen, but you got lost in the system. Since then Irma has signed over everything to you. And now that I found you, I can let you know that you can finally go home.”

  “What’s in it for you?” I asked her. “Because I’ve found that through life, everybody wants something. So what’s your thing?”

  “I did my brother’s only daughter wrong and I’m trying to make good. People do change, Harmony.”

  People don’t change. Over time they become clearer on their stances in life. And my stance was that I hated the world, and everybody in it.

  Harmony

  Home Sweet Home

  It had been a month since I found out I inherited Concord Manor. And the days leading up to this day were crazy. When I went to my apartment, someone from the office of Child Protective Services was questioning me about the girls. Telling me that it was wrong to convince my children that they were something that they weren’t. By the end of the day, I had managed to convince everyone that both of them were lying and that Madjesty was exhibiting lesbian behaviors. They never bothered me again.

  When the cab driver pulled up to the mansion many good memories flooded back to mind. I had everything when I was here and for the first time in a long time, it seemed that I was finally getting some of the things I lost back.

  Angela ended up not being too bad after all. She bought me and my sons…I mean…Daughters, flight tickets and gave us cab fare to Concord Manor. Although good memories were waiting for me here, I also had a lot of bad enemies in DC who didn’t want to see my face at all. And I didn’t want to see theirs.

  “That will be thirty five dollars, mam.” The cab driver said.

  I handed him forty, waited for my change and left the cab. I guess he wanted me to give him a tip but that wasn’t happening. I needed all my money until I could find a way to get some more.

  Me and my kids, with three suitcases between us, entered the manor’s doors and it was as beautiful as I remembered. The same crystal chandelier hung about the foyer and the spi
ral staircase was as pretty as ever. Irma purchased new furniture and it was more lavish than I remembered.

  “Alright, boys, this is the place I grew up in,” I said to them. We put our suitcases down and walked deeper into the foyer. “And as you can see, I didn’t come up in the ghetto like you think. I came up in royalty.”

  “Girls,” Madjesty corrected me. This bitch got on my fucking nerves.

  “You know what I mean.”

  She took her hat off her head and put it on sideways. Bruises covered her face and body and she looked older than her age.

  “Naw, I don’t. You had us thinking we was boys and then we find out we girls. Maybe you should do a little better job at keepin’ up with your lies.” Madjesty said, loving to challenge me.

  “If you believed you were boys all that time then that’s your dumbness not mine.” I laughed. “I mean, didn’t you bother looking at other boys when you were in the locker room at school? You don’t know what a pussy versus a dick look like?” I paused. “I knew what a dick looked like at six years old.”

  “You didn’t allow us to go to the gym remember?” Madjesty continued.

  “What about the bathroom?”

  “I knew something was different.” Jayden said in a low voice with her head hung low. “I always knew. Something just didn’t feel right to me.” She said as if she wanted to cry.

  “Well it is what it is! I had to lie to you to protect you from Kali. He was trying to kill you remember?” I said lifting up my shirt exposing my stomach that was ripped to shreds by Nut and Cherry’s handiwork.