by Jahquel J.
A Staten Island Love Letter
The Forgotten Borough
Jahquel J.
Copyright © 2019
Published by Urban Chapters Publications
www.urbanchapterspublications.com
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Any unauthorized reprint or use of the material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage without express permission by the publisher. This is an original work of fiction. Name, characters, places and incident are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Contains explicit languages and adult themes
suitable for ages 16+
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SYNOPSIS:
Imagine at nineteen loving a man so deep that you would risk your entire life for him? Loving him so hard that despite his small pockets, you love him for love. Freedom McGurry loved Ghost like no other. Even though she was nineteen and he was a bit older, broke and trying to trap, she loved him. One night in 2009 causes her to rethink things and she disappears off the face of the earth. She leaves Ghost wondering what ever happened to his love?
Liberty, Freedom’s twin loved her man Pook. After he caught a drug case, she loved him so much that she would have held him down to the end of time. That is until she sees another woman pregnant with his baby and wearing the same exact ring he had gifted to her. Leaving the courtroom, pregnant and confused, she has no clue what to do.
Priest has been raised by his older sister, who is dying from lung disease. She’s all he has known. When she passes, she leaves behind three daughters, who Priest must raise. A college student himself, how is he supposed to put money on the table for three little girls? Putting down his books, he goes to see Ghost to provide for his family. On the back of the bus in 2009, he comes across Justice McGurry, Freedom and Liberty’s younger sister. A quick smile and a few words are exchange before they both exit the bus and go their own ways.
Ten years later, Ghost is the head nigga in charge in Staten Island. All the hard work and broke days sculpted him into the trap king that he is today. With his baby brother, Staten, and Priest by his side, nothing moves in Staten Island unless they know about it. Find out how ten years changed all these people’s lives and how life forces them to come back together.
A Note From The Author:
Whew, the first book of 2019. The pressure I feel on this book is crazy. I worked so hard, pushed back release dates to deliver a quality book. Book one may start off slow, which is fine. You’re meeting the characters, and learning their history. The book takes a ten-year jump, so yes, you need to become acquainted with them again. They’re not the same people from the prologue and have changed. I wrote this book how I wrote it on purpose. You may ask, why don’t we hear from such and such? It’s because I wanted the book to be that way. This book is over 80k, so there’s no way that it was rushed. This book is going to take you on a roller coaster ride and that was my plan (Inserts evil laugh).
This book is about a special place for me. Born and raised in Staten Island, this is home. I was born and raised in Stapleton projects. (Been a project baby all my life) Then moved to South Beach. I mention some streets and places so you can get familiar with Staten Island.
However, after this book I can bet that ya’ll stop sleeping on the Forgotten Borough. With that, I appreciate you all for checking out this book. I’m praying you guys love it as much as I do.
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Staten Island,
You raised me, molded me and made me into the woman that I am today. Thank you. I’ll see you when I touch down soon! This is my love letter to you.
Prologue
Freedom
I exited the pissy elevator of 45 Warren street in Stapleton projects, and headed down the corridor to the apartment I was looking for. My shoulder ached from the black duffle bag that swung from it. It was ten at night, cold, and all I wanted to do was get this over with so I could make it home in time. Balling my fist up tightly, I knocked on the door four times and then kicked it once. There was movement on the other side of the door and the peephole was flipped open before the locks were unlatched and it was opened. Pat’s big black ass stood at the door like he didn’t know why the fuck I was here.
“Nigga, you gonna stand there and grill me, or are you going to let me in?” I barked as I pulled the heavy duffle off my shoulder and held it in my hand.
He cut his eyes at me and opened the door wider so I could enter the apartment. Upon entering, I could smell the weed that had become this apartment’s signature air freshener. In the living room, Ghost was leaned back smoking a blunt and watching TV. He had a phone to his ear and the conversation seemed to be one-sided, with Ghost listening and the other person going off. His eyes landed on me and he motioned for me to sit beside him. Dropping the duffle bag at his feet, I plopped down and kicked my feet up on the old coffee table.
“Aye, aye… I told you we’ll talk when I get over there. Give me an hour,” he barked and then quickly ended the call.
“Who was that?”
“Nobody important,” he turned his attention to me and licked his lips. “You looking good tonight,” he kissed me on the neck. Ghost noticed how tense I was and leaned up. “What’s good with you?”
“Who was that on the phone, Gyson?” I rolled my neck and stared at him. His phone buzzed and he held his hand up, then went to the other room.
I sat on the couch with my arms folded like a damn fool. My heart was in deep for Gyson Davis. At nineteen, I can say that he made my body do things that I didn’t think it was capable of. I wanted him, no I needed him in my life. Gyson was twenty-five and too old for me. I mean, his thought process was way too mature for twenty-five. His family didn’t have much growing up, so he grinded hard to try and provide. We had been dating since I was seventeen years old. When my eyes landed on him, I knew he was mine. He wouldn’t touch me or take it there with me when I was seventeen, but I still considered it dating. Soon as I turned eighteen, we were together, and everyone knew it. I would be a fool if I thought Ghost was faithful to me. He could have any woman that Staten Island had to offer, but he wanted me, a college student at CSI, who still lived with her mother.
“Mirror, tell me what was so important that you needed to call me right now?” Ghost came out the back with the phone on speaker.
It was his twelve-year-old sister, who he spoiled. “I need some money for school tomorrow. Sorry to call you when you’re working,” she apologized.
“Nah, you good. Free thought you were some other chick,” he winked at me and I rolled my eyes.
“Hey Free!” Mirror greeted through the phone.
“Hey Mir, how are you?”
“Good. Mama wants to know wh
en you’re coming over for dinner?”
“Soon,” I replied.
“Look, I’ll drop it off to you when I come through that way,” Ghost continued his conversation as he went into the kitchen.
I was paranoid when it came to Ghost. Everyone said he was next to come up. Women wanted him and probably had more to offer than I did. I was so in love with Ghost that I did any and everything he told me to do. When I was seventeen, I started making drops for Ghost. I would drop off the product wherever he needed me to bring it, and he would hand me some cash. Even when we made it official, I continued to make the drops because he trusted me more than anyone else. Like now, I was bringing him a duffle bag filled with cash. Ghost didn’t trust anyone to touch his cash, except me or himself.
“You done tripping out on me?” he smirked and swaggered back into the living room. He plopped back down on the couch and pulled me into his arms.
“You just make me so crazy. There’s a million bitches out there and you want me. I find it hard to believe.”
“Stop finding it hard to believe, Free. I want you and only you. All this that I’m doing is to secure our future. I promise we won’t live in the projects forever, Ma.” He kissed me on the forehead.
“I’m just scared. I want this forever, but don’t know if you feel the same way I do.”
“Stop questioning it, Freedom McGurry. I love you and want a future with you. I have tunnel vision into the future. When I wake up in that big ass mansion in Todt Hill with you right beside me. I’ll go out onto our balcony that overlooks our property while you’re laid on the bed checking emails for your company.” I smiled because we spoke about our future so much that we could see it when we closed our eyes. I could smell the French vanilla scented candles that I would light every night before we fell asleep in our master bedroom. Everything we spoke about, I prayed it came into fruition for us.
“I’m sorry for being crazy.” I reached up and kissed him on the lips. “I’ll try and stop.”
“Nah, don’t stop. It’s what I like about you the most.” He winked. “I wish we could stay here all day, but you got another drop to make before heading home, and I gotta pick some more money up and drop some off to Mirror.”
“I can pick it up for you.”
“Nah babe. You did two drops already. And I need you to drop this work off to Staten anyway,” he referred to his younger brother.
My phone buzzed and I looked at the message my twin sister, Liberty had sent me. She was rushing me home because my mother was questioning her about where I was this late.
“Fine. I’ll drop that off to him and then head home. I have class in the morning anyway.” I kissed him on the lips and stood up.
Pat loaded up the bricks of cocaine into the duffle bag and zipped it up. Ghost always had Pat walk me downstairs when I carried work on me. The only reason he didn’t greet me when I first came was because I didn’t feel like waiting for his big ass to come down and get me from the car. Truth is, I wanted to see if I caught Ghost messing with another female or something.
“I love you, Ma.”
“Love you too.”
“For.”
“Ever,” I finished the cheesy saying we said anytime we left each other. Pat held the door open for me and walked me down to my 2004 Nissan Maxima. Ghost had bought it for me soon as I passed my driver’s test. I appreciated everything he did for me because he didn’t have to do any of it. It was the reason I stuck it out with him and knew his time was coming.
“Drive safe,” Pat gently hit the top of my hood and watched as I pulled out of the parking spot. I offered him a weak smile as I headed down the block.
My phone buzzed and I saw Liberty’s name come across the screen. I hit the call button on my sidekick XL and put the phone on speaker. “What’s up, Sissy?”
“Sissy my ass! Where the fuck are you, Freedom?” my mother’s voice boomed through the phone.
“I… I had to meet with some friends after class to study, Ma,” I lied. “I’m heading home now.”
“Fuck all that lying shit, Free. I know you’re not studying and probably running behind that damn Gyson. If he got you missing school, you don’t need a nigga like that,” she tried to convince me, like she did when she found out he bought my car.
“Mom, I’m not even with him.”
“Bring your ass home now, Free!” she yelled before she handed the phone back to Liberty.
“I tried, sis. She made me call.”
“I know. I’ll be home soon.”
“Okay.” We ended the call. Soon as I put the phone back into the cupholder, I saw the flashing lights from a patrol cop behind me.
My heart shot to the souls of my ACG Nike boots. I wanted to take off speeding down the street, but that would have been an act of guilt. I slowed down, signaled and pulled over to the side of the street. My hands were clammy, my breathing was labored, and I was sure my heart was about to beat right out of my chest. Out the rearview mirror, I watched as he got out the car, gently knocked on the taillight of my car and proceeded to the driver’s side. I rolled the window down and looked up at him.
“Ma’am, you know you ran a stop sign back there?” he asked me. No, I didn’t know I ran a stop sign. I was too consumed with trying to convince my mother that I was studying and not with my drug dealer boyfriend. I shouldn’t have been concerned with my mother, but instead, I should have been concerned about the bag of bricks that were in the trunk.
“No, officer, I didn’t. My mom called and I was distracted.”
He shined his light on me and stared at me for a second before he spoke. “Wait a minute, you’re Carl McGurry’s daughter,” he mentioned my father’s name and my heart hurt.
“Y…yes I am.”
“I’m so sorry about your loss. Everybody down at the station still misses him to this day,” he admitted.
“Yeah. We all do,” I replied.
He shook off his moment of sadness and then returned his attention back to me. “Your father was a good man and officer. You, your sisters and mother are always protected around this city. Get home safe and please don’t run anymore stop signs, alright?”
I had tears in my eyes as I nodded my head up and down with gratitude. “Thank you so, so, so much!”
“Don’t worry about it. Tell your mom Ricci says hi,” he smiled.
“Will do.” I smiled through the tears and pulled off.
From Stapleton to New Brighton, I drove slowly, obeyed all traffic laws and pulled up to the white house on Beechwood avenue. I beeped the horn and watched as Staten jogged down the stairs. He tapped on the window and I rolled it down.
“Yo, what’s good?” He saw I was in tears and concern was etched on his face. “Free, you good?”
“No, I’m not! Get these fucking drugs out of my fucking car!” I screamed.
“Chill,” he told me and got into the car, ignoring my demand. “What the fuck is wrong?”
“Staten, get this out of my car and let me leave.”
“Bet. Pop the fucking trunk, dramatic ass,” he barked and went to the trunk, slammed it and headed back into the house.
By the time he slammed my trunk, I was already speeding down the street to head home. The thought of me possibly almost losing my freedom and the cop pulling me over knowing my dad was all too much for me to handle tonight. My father was my world and I missed him every day. He was killed in the line of duty. That morning we were in a fight over a skirt I wanted to wear. At sixteen, we argued about any and everything. I was rebellious and wanted to fight him on everything. When he told me he loved me before leaving out, I never said anything back. I never got to tell him how much I loved him. That night, his partner came to the door and told my mother the news.
My father was my mother’s first everything. Our lives were changed forever. My father took pride in his job as an officer. It was what he’d wanted to be since he was a child. We moved from Stapleton to Silver Lake. My dad bought a three-bedroom house there an
d life was grand. After he died, bills rushed in and his life insurance only covered so much. My mother’s job at the hospital’s cafeteria wasn’t paying the bills and our home went into foreclosure. Sure, a fallen officer made good news once it was fresh. Yeah, people donated and cared, but after the TV time, no one cared or checked on us. My mother was trying to raise three girls, keep the bills afloat and deal with her own mental health.
We had to downsize to a small apartment in the Mariners Harbor, inside an apartment complex called Arlington. Things were rough and we knew we needed to help our mother out. Shit was hard for us, but we made it work. When I finished with high school, I enrolled right into college because I had a future. My future didn’t include living in the hood forever. I had goals to accomplish and if that meant running some drugs to get their faster, then it was what I was going to do. While running drugs, the thought of being caught and ruining my life never crossed my mind. The money I made was all I thought about it. After tonight, I was moments away from getting my life ripped apart and it scared the shit out of me.
I opened the front door to our apartment and walked in like a zombie. My mother was sitting at the kitchen table going over bills, Liberty was sitting on the couch channel surfing and I’m sure our younger sister, Justice was either asleep or studying. My twin noticed my face and how zoned out I appeared to be, before my mother. Plopping down on the couch, I fought hard to blink back the tears.
“What is the matter with you, Free?” Liberty asked.
I remained silent.
“She busy running behind that nigga and probably got her feelings hurt. Free, you’re too smart and beautiful to stick around Staten Island. You’re going to CSI when you had offers for other schools. For what?”