Raunchy (The Cartel Publications Presents)

by Styles, T

  Jayden hugged Olive and rushed to the door to open it for Shaggy.

  “Alright, homie. I’ma get up with you later.” Shaggy said to Olive, wondering why Jayden rushed to open the door for him. It seemed like she was trying harder to be a boy, since she had the dress on. Unconsciously wearing the beautiful outfit heightened what her mother told her about not appearing feminine.

  “Okay. I’ll see you in a little while.” Olive said to them.

  When they walked to the car, Jayden unknowingly opened his car door and then ran around to the passenger side to open her door.

  “Hold up…Why you keep openin’ doors for me?”

  “Huh?”

  “I said why do you keep doin’ that?”

  Jayden was programmed so long to be a boy, that she didn’t know how to be anything else. It was easier for her to walk like a girl, because she never fully grasped the concept of walking like a boy like Madjesty. So she over compensated by getting doors and things of that nature.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not about bein’ sorry,” he said in a soft voice. “I just want you to let me take care of you when you’re with me. Got it?”

  “Yes,” she smiled.

  “My boys don’t even open no doors for me. And they niggas.”

  When they arrived at the party it was jammed pack. There were so many people inside their large house in Adelphi, Maryland that Jayden felt uncomfortable. But, what was unanimous was the nod Shaggy got of acceptance as he walked through the doors with Jayden on his arm. Beautiful couldn’t even be used to describe her. She was breathtaking.

  “Let me introduce you to my pops,” he said loving the attention Jayden was getting.

  “Your mother and father are still together?”

  “Yeah…But he still steps out on her.” He advised. “She cool with it now though. I think she know she’s about to die so she wants to worry about what matters most. Me, our family and friends.”

  “What is she dying from?”

  “Syphilis. She got it back in the day and didn’t know it.”

  “You can die from Syphilis?”

  “Yeah…When you get the late stages, you don’t have any symptoms and then all of a sudden you have brain issues and you can barely move around. You can also go blind.” He paused. “The doctors tried all they could do but nothin’ worked to help her. Shit progressed and now she might not make it.”

  Jayden thought about Syphilis, and remembered what she was taught in school. If her mother was making her have sex for money, how did she know she wouldn’t get something like that, too?

  “Pops, I want you to meet somebody,” Shaggy said tapping Paco on the shoulders. Paco was engaged in a conversation with a few other people before he turned around and saw his son. “This is Jayden. Jayden this is my pops.”

  Paco stared her down like she was the last chicken on the plate and he hadn’t eaten a thing in weeks.

  “Wow, son! You scored big with this one right here,” he said looking at her seductively. “You’re very beautiful, young lady.”

  “Thanks, pops.” Shaggy smiled. It was evident that he was still trying hard to get his father’s attention.

  “No thank you,” Paco continued, licking his lips.

  “Dad, ease up.” Shaggy said, slightly embarrassed.

  “You know I’m just fuckin’ with you,” Paco joked. “But why do you look so familiar to me?” Paco continued. “What’s your mother’s name?”

  Jayden did not want to risk somebody knowing her whorish mother so she said, “Cybil.”

  “Cybil, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well Cybil and your father did a beautiful job makin’ you. They should be commended.”

  “You are corny as shit, pops.”

  He laughed. “She knows I’m just playin’ with her. Don’t you, honey?”

  “Aight, it’s time to roll before my pops tries to steal you.” Shaggy interrupted. Paco gave his son some dap and Shaggy stepped off.

  “Let me introduce you to my moms.” He continued. “And I’m sorry about that shit with my pops. I told you he can be over the top, but we use to it now.” Right before he reached Trip, Jace walked in front of them. “Oh, this is my uncle,” Shaggy said to Jayden. “Unc, this is my new friend, Jayden.”

  Jace’s mouth hung open. He couldn’t move, and he couldn’t speak.

  “You okay, unc?”

  “Uh…Yes.”

  “Did you hear what I said? This is my friend Jayden.”

  “Shaggy, where did you meet her from?” He said seriously without even addressing Jayden.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Son, where did you meet this girl?”

  Jayden felt like she wanted to run and hide somewhere. Jace seemed hostile and it scared her. “At the McDonalds out Fort Washington…Why? Is everything cool?”

  “Who’s your mother?” Jace asked not getting the information he wanted.

  It was the second time someone asked her that question tonight and she was starting to believe that they did know her mother. Did she look that much like her? Even if she did she had told a lie, and would now have to stick to it.

  “Cybil. My mother’s name is Cybil.”

  Jace’s tensed body seemed to deflate. She didn’t know if he was happy or upset with her response, although he did look at ease. “Oh…You look like somebody I use to know. A woman name Harmony.” And then he paused. “But…But you also look like…”

  “You,” Shaggy said seeing the resemblance. “That’s crazy as shit! It’s in your eyes, Jayden. I knew you looked like somebody I knew when I met you at the McDonalds.”

  “I’m sure it’s a case of mistaken identity.” Jayden assured him. “Where’s your mother, Shaggy? I want to meet her.” She wanted to get as far away from the man as possible.

  “Aight, unc,” Shaggy said sensing Jayden’s nervousness. “Let me introduce her to moms. I’ma get up with you later.”

  “Alright, Shaggy. We’ll talk about that other business then, too.”

  Shaggy worked for Jace which is why he stayed with money in his pocket.

  Jace didn’t trust the girl’s response when he questioned her about her mother, and he needed Paco to find out where she lived and who she really was.

  “Ma, I want you to meet somebody,” Shaggy said walking up to her. “This is my friend Jayden.”

  Trip’s eyes were wet from having to apply constant medicine drops to prevent them from drying out. She looked real frail and was sitting in her wheelchair when they approached. Trip could barely see anybody out in front of her, but when she heard Shaggy’s voice she reached for his hand.

  “Do you know I’ve never met one of my son’s friends before,” she smiled. “This is a first.”

  “Ma, she just a friend. It’s not even like that.”

  “I know, Evan,” she said calling him by his birth name. “But it’s still a pleasure to meet one of your girl friends. Is she pretty?” she asked because she could barely see her.

  “She sure is,” Paco said from nowhere. “She’s a sight for sore eyes.”

  “Dad,” Shaggy said mad at his comment.

  “Oh…Uh…I didn’t mean it like that, son.”

  “It’s okay,” Trip said. “You know how your father is. But I do know one thing, if he says she’s beautiful, than she must be beautiful. So, Evan, what do you have planned for tonight?”

  “Shaggy, ma. I go by Shaggy not Evan.”

  “Boy, you know I call you by your birth name,” she corrected him. “I leave all that nickname shit to you kids.”

  Shaggy laughed.

  “Aight, ma. We can’t stay long. I just wanted you to meet my friend before I left,” he said kissing her on her cheek. “I’ma come by tomorrow. Call me if you need anything before then.”

  “Okay, I love you son,” she told him. “And it was nice meeting you Jayden. I hope to talk to you again.”

  “Me too,” Jayden replied, still feeling un
comfortable about meeting Jace.

  Shaggy and Jayden were making their way out of the party when Olive, Toni, Courtenay and Cheryl walked inside the house.

  “Ya’ll leaving already?” Olive said. “I was trying to rush over before ya’ll left.”

  “Bitch, if you woulda had your clothes out we would have been here on time.” Toni said. “Instead of dressing one of Shaggy’s bitches.”

  It was seconds before Toni and Jayden recognized each other. Toni, Courtenay and Cheryl were the girls who were in the McDonald’s the other night.

  “Hold up, bitch! Ain’t you the one with all the mouth in McDonald’s?” Toni asked. “Talk that shit now.” She stepped up to her but Shaggy got between them.

  “Bitch, I will crack your jaw if you start some shit at my mom’s house.” Shaggy said. “Olive, get ‘em out of here before I hurt ‘em.”

  “What is wrong with you, Toni? Why you always wildin’ out?” Olive said.

  “I’m gone anyway,” Toni said. She rolled her eyes at Jayden and it was apparent that when they saw each other again, it wouldn’t be nice. Then she and the girls walked out.

  “I’m sorry, Jayden,” Olive said. “And I’ll call you later, Shaggy.”

  The girls left and Shaggy said, “Let’s go.”

  Right before he walked out the door, Jace pulled him to the side and asked to speak to him in private. They stepped a few feet away from her so that she couldn’t overhear their conversation. Jayden tried to appear uninterested, but she had to know what they were saying. She saw their mouths moving and judging by the way Shaggy would look in her direction between pauses, she figured they were talking about her.

  When they were done, Jace gave Jayden one last look before walking away. She couldn’t read his facial expressions but she had a feeling he didn’t like her.

  “Let’s go,” Shaggy said.

  When they got back in the truck, she could tell something was on his mind. He wasn’t treating her the same anymore. “Is everything okay?” Jayden asked.

  “Yeah.” He said short.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  He paused, looked over at her and then back at the road, “I want you to be honest with me. ‘Cause if we gonna kick it, I need to know you on the up and up about shit. One thing I can’t stand is a fuckin’ liar.”

  She swallowed hard. “Okay.”

  “If you tell me you’re being truthful, I won’t ever ask you about it again, but if I find out you lying to me, you ain’t got shit to say to me no more. Ever.”

  “Okay.”

  “Is your mother’s name Harmony?”

  Jayden felt perspiration form on her forehead. Although this was their first date, she liked him already and didn’t want to lose his friendship. Not to mention by giving her some money, she was able to save her sister from the hellhole she was living in. So she thought clearly, weighed her options and decided to answer his question.

  “No, my mother’s name is Cybil. I think your uncle has me confused with somebody else.”

  “It’s cool,” he said. “I told him that but he wanted to make sure.”

  “What…What did Harmony do so bad?”

  “He said he was looking for her and that they have some unfinished business. I think she stole some money from him. But whenever I hear her name I never hear anything good about her.”

  “You know her, too?”

  “You know, when he said the name it sounded familiar to me. Like I heard it before, but naw, I don’t know her personally.”

  “Oh…Well I hope he finds her.”

  “My uncle sounds like he has every intention on finding her.” He said looking at her expression. “So I know it won’t be long.”

  “Oh.”

  Shaggy paused for a while, smiled and said, “I’ma drop you off at home, I have to meet my uncle later tonight.” She figured he was lying and he sensed it. “I’m serious. That was the other thing we talked about. I work with my uncle and something came up he needs my help with.”

  “Okay. I believe you.”

  “Call me tomorrow though, unless I call you first.”

  “No…I’ll call you!” She yelled realizing that if she was going to keep her lie alive, she had to keep him separated from her mother at all times. That included by phone.

  “Alright,” he said pulling up at her house. She still hadn’t gotten the money he said he might give her but after the accusations of Harmony being her mother, she didn’t want to ask him again. “Call me tomorrow.”

  Jayden tried to procrastinate, hoping he would remember to give her the money, or even tell her he’d give it to her later, but he didn’t.

  “Okay, I’ll call you later.” She closed the car door, and walked toward the house and he waited for her to open the door before he pulled off. Now how was she going to deal with her mother? The moment she opened the door, she saw Harmony standing before her drunk out of her mind.

  “You got my money?” Harmony said. She was swaying and looked like she would fall at any minute. “’Cause I know you didn’t bring your ass in here without my money!”

  She figured it would be best to stall her until she could think of another plan. Telling her she didn’t have the money was not an option. Glancing at the crawlspace where her sister was, she felt faint. She hated her twin sister having to go through so much pain.

  “I got your money, but I gotta give it to you tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” She repeated laughing. “I knew your young ass couldn’t do no real woman’s work.” She paused. “You don’t give your body to nobody and then wait for the money later. You get your money up front, little girl.”

  “I didn’t have sex with him, mama.”

  Harmony paused for a minute and busted out laughing in her face. “Bitch, you must think I’m stupid! Don’t nobody get rolled around in no nice ass Navigator and not give the pussy up.” She said. “You fucked and sucked him for free! Tell the truth.”

  “I didn’t. Just drop it!” Jayden said pressing buttons. If Harmony wasn’t drunk she wouldn’t be so bold. “He didn’t want anything from me when he gave me the two hundred dollars either.”

  “Two hundred dollars? I thought you said he gave you one hundred?”

  “I…I mean…I meant, one hundred.”

  “Are you lying to me, little bitch?” She said angrily. “And where did you get that dress?”

  Suddenly, Jayden was tired of being the victim. “He gave it to me, mother monster! Somebody felt sorry for my life and decided to help me out!”

  “Are you that fucking stupid? That you would believe that you can get something in this world for nothing?”

  “I met someone nice. So who’s stupid now?”

  “Oh so what, you think you better than me? You think you’re prettier than me? Well I was much prettier than you before I had this scar on my face.” She pushed Jayden into the pillar by the door and she hit her shoulder. Her back was in severe pain and she realized now that she’d gone too far.

  “I’m sorry, ma,” she cried. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

  “It’s too late for that shit!” She screamed. “Take that dress off! Now!”

  “Okay,” she said walking toward her room.

  “No! Take it off right here.” Harmony was swaying so much now, she almost fell. “Since you wanna think you grown. Be grown now.”

  “But I don’t think I’m grown, mama.”

  “Take it off!”

  Jayden looked at her mother and knew there was no talking to her. So she removed the dress and it fell to her feet. Harmony picked it up and read the label. It was a BCBG dress.

  “Who gave you this?” She screamed clutching the dress in her hands. “And don’t tell me it was your friend!”

  Jayden wiped the tears from her eyes and covered her vagina with her other hand. “I told you, mama. My new friend.”

  Just when she said that someone knocked at the door. “Who the fuck is at my door?”

  H
armony walked to the door and opened it, leaving Jayden in the middle of the floor naked. It was Shaggy standing on the other side. Jayden tried to hide herself but Harmony said, “Don’t move, bitch! Do you know this nigga?”

  Shaggy didn’t see Jayden at first and was confused at Harmony’s drunken condition. He said, “Excuse me, mam, but is Jayden available?”

  Trying to embarrass her, she opened the door wide. “Yeah…There she go right there.” She pointed.

  Shaggy stepped fully inside the house and he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Jayden naked. He spotted the red dress Olive had given to her in Harmony’s hands and wondered why she had it. Accessing what was going on, he immediately leveled a dark glare at Harmony.

  “Are you hurt?” He asked.

  “Sh…Shaggy.” She said crying. “I’m…I’m okay.”

  “How come I don’t believe you?” He said still looking at Harmony.

  “I…I am,” she sobbed. “Did…Did I forget something in your truck?”

  He could tell she was trying to keep the peace and for Jayden’s sake, he would respect that. “Yeah…I forgot to give you that thing you asked me for earlier,” he said.

  Harmony swallowed some more liquor and said, “You fucked her didn’t you?” She thought it was funny for him to see Jayden humiliated but he ignored her.

  Shaggy walked over to Jayden and handed her the money. She didn’t know which hand to remove from her naked body so she used the one that was covering her breasts to accept it. With the money in her hands, he walked back to the door.

  “Are you sure you okay?” He asked.

  “Y…Yes.”

  “Aight,” he said looking at Harmony again. “Call me first thing in the morning.”

  “Okay,” she sobbed.

  “I’m serious.”

  “I will,” she said wishing he’d just leave. She was embarrassed enough as it was.

  He took one more look at her and was about to leave until he said, “Fuck that shit, yo, Jayden, let’s go.”

  “Excuse me?!” Harmony said. “My daughter isn’t going anywhere with you.”

  “Jayden, go get in my fuckin’ truck! Now!”

  “If my daughter leaves out of here I’m calling the cops.”

  Shaggy snatched the money out of Jayden’s hand and said, “Here, bitch! Take it!” Then he turned back to Jayden and said, “Go get in my truck, Jayden!”