Working Girls

by Treasure Hernandez

  Joe looked Halleigh up and down, admiring her curves for the first time. “Yeah, you gon’ heat things up quite a bit with your rays, Sunshine.” Joe smiled at Halleigh, caressing her chin with his index finger. “My boy gon’ love you, ma.” He licked his lips and turned to Mimi. “You, princess, come with me.” Looking over at Halleigh, he said, “And you can wait in here for my boy. Just chill out and relax. My man should be here any minute. Get yourself a drink or something in the meantime. But take care of my young boy for me, all right?”

  Halleigh nodded her head in agreement and then watched as Mimi and Joe left the room.

  Tariq and Malek pulled up to Jamaica Joe’s house and noticed the group of people headed inside. Everyone who was invited to the party was a close friend or associate of Joe’s. They were people he trusted, so Malek wasn’t worried about any drama popping off inside. He knew that he couldn’t take his gun inside of Joe’s house—house rule—so he took it out of his waistline and stored it under Tariq’s passenger’s seat.

  Malek got out of the car and followed Tariq up the driveway, limping slightly, making him seem a bit more gangster than he actually was. Malek had been anything but gangster up until a year ago when circumstances changed his situation.

  Before getting into the drug game, the only game Malek had ever concerned himself with was the game of basketball. And although new to the game, the bullet he had taken for Jamaica Joe was getting him much respect from the entire North Side of Flint.

  Tariq and Malek walked up to the back door, where they were greeted by a member of their crew. They walked inside and greeted Jamaica Joe, who had just returned from the back bedroom. Mimi was on his arm.

  Joe released Mimi and then slapped hands with Malek and embraced him tightly. “I got a surprise for you, baby,” he stated. He slapped hands with Tariq and said, “Get on the door. You know who gets in and out.”

  Tariq sniffed loudly as he scratched his nose and nodded his head. He was tired of being treated like a flunky. It was like Malek had become Joe’s favorite soldier. Tariq kept his feelings inside and stood by the back door as he was instructed, while he watched Malek join the party inside.

  Joe threw his arm around Malek and led him through the house, toward the back bedroom. “How that leg feeling?”

  “It’s all right,” Malek responded, tapping his leg. “It keeps me standing. And I guess that’s all that matters, that I’m still standing. Some ain’t so lucky.” Malek put his head down.

  It was obvious to Joe that he was referencing his mother and stepfather. “I heard that,” Joe said. “And, yo, you know we gon’ handle that shit with your moms and pops and shit. I’m sorry your family got pulled into all this.”

  Malek simply nodded, not wanting to think anymore about the great loss he’d suffered. He had already lost a part of his heart when Halleigh disappeared. The other part had been stripped from him the day his mother and stepfather were taken from this earth. And as far as Malek was concerned, his stepfather, in his heart, was his real father. After all, he was the man who had raised him ever since he married Malek’s mother when Malek was only eight years old. Malek’s biological father had gotten himself killed in a drug deal gone bad; not that his sorry ass had ever played a part in Malek’s life before his death anyway.

  “I got something to cheer you up, though,” Joe stated with a mischievous smile. “It’s right in this room.” He pointed to one of the bedroom doors then patted Malek on the shoulder. “Don’t hurt yourself, li’l man,” he added as he walked away, knowing that the young girl was about to put it on Malek.

  Malek opened the door and saw a girl sitting on the bed. She was bent over, her face buried in her hands. He could see her body trembling, and she seemed to be in deep thought.

  Feeling a presence in the room, the girl looked up and straight into Malek’s eyes. Malek couldn’t believe the sight before him. He stood there in complete disbelief. This isn’t real. Then finally he spoke. “Halleigh?” Malek called out in astonishment.

  The sound of his voice let her know that her eyes hadn’t deceived her. Tears flooded her line of sight as she ran to him. He hugged her tightly, picking her up off her feet.

  Halleigh pulled back and touched his face, allowing her rich persimmon-complected fingers to run the course of his dark sienna-brown skin. She ran her hands down the ripples of waves in his hair. She just wanted to make sure that he was real. Once she was completely convinced, she pressed herself back up against him.

  For all this time, Halleigh had felt so much anger toward Malek. She wanted to be mad at him forever. But as he stood in front of her in the flesh, that deep-seated love she had for him outweighed every other emotion.

  As Malek held her, she felt relief swarm over her body. Just being in his arms again made everything okay. He was the answer to all of her prayers. For a minute, Halleigh forgot all about the past year. She forgot all about the life she was living, and that she was at that house on an assignment. She felt like the smart high school girl that she had once been; untainted by the streets.

  “Baby,” was all Malek said as he kissed her on top of her head, which was buried in his chest. Halleigh began to sob hysterically as he held onto her and tears came to his own eyes. Malek squeezed her even tighter against him, as if she might disappear any second.

  “I thought you left me,” she cried hysterically. “You left me.”

  “Shhh. I would never leave you, Hal. I thought you left me,” he told her. “Do you know that? I looked for you every day for weeks.” He rubbed her hair softly, trying to soothe her soul. He had no idea of the things she had experienced since he’d last seen her, but he could feel that there was something different about her.

  He put her back down to her feet and looked her in the eyes. She was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, but she looked tired and worn down, the small bags underneath her eyes revealing nothing but sadness and despair.

  “What happened to you? Where have you been?” he asked. “I thought I saw you one day, but . . .” Malek’s words just trailed off. He was still in disbelief.

  Halleigh stared at him blankly. She knew it was about to start: him asking her twenty-one questions. But Halleigh didn’t know if she should lie or tell the truth. She couldn’t help but wonder if she told him about the person she was now, would he still love her?

  “You just up and dipped on me,” Malek stated when Halleigh never responded.

  “I dipped on you?” Halleigh couldn’t believe he had just fixed his lips to say that. “You’re the one who left me stuck here while you ran off out of town without me.” That old anger began to rear its ugly head in Halleigh’s tone. She poked Malek in the chest as she spoke her next words. “You promised me you would take me away from here. You promised you would be there for me. You lied and it’s been hell. I’ve been out here all alone trying to survive. You have no idea what I’ve been through since you left me. No idea.” Tears flooded Halleigh’s eyes.

  Malek tried to reach out to her, but she pulled from his reach. “You hurt me, Malek.” She flopped down on the bed hopelessly as hot tears flowed uncontrollably. Her spirit felt so broken and confused that she couldn’t think straight. She had imagined the moment that she would be reunited with Malek so many times, but now that he was in her presence, she didn’t know what to say or do.

  Malek let out an “are you kidding me?” chuckle.

  “What are you talking about, Hal? I never left town.” Malek kneeled down in front of her.

  “Then why didn’t you come for me? I came to your house and your mother told me everything.”

  A perplexed look covered Malek’s face. “What do you mean, everything?”

  “That you were gone. She said that you didn’t want to see me. That you blamed me for losing your shot at going pro. Malek, you don’t know half the things I’ve had to go through this past year.” Halleigh stood up and walked away in shame. She didn’t even want Malek to be able to look into her eyes and see who sh
e was now. “You have no idea.” Halleigh just shook her head and continued to cry.

  Malek took a deep breath and swallowed the disappointment that was stirring up in him. The last thing he wanted to do was to feel anger toward his deceased mother, but he could only imagine the conversation that took place between her and Halleigh. He could only imagine the lies his mother had fed her just to keep the two of them apart. But he loved his mother dearly. He couldn’t get upset with her, especially now that she was dead. All the good his mother had done for him in his life could never outweigh the bad. All his mother ever wanted was what was best for Malek, and she had worked hard to make sure that he got it.

  When Malek was just a baby, his mother would put in long hours, working two and three jobs at a time if she had to, just so she wouldn’t become a statistic. She did not want to be a young, single mother raising her child on welfare, which was the life her own mother had lived. She didn’t want her child to experience the embarrassment and humiliation that she did as a child on welfare.

  One day when Malek’s mother was in first grade, she experienced what she thought was the most embarrassing moment in her life. She was in the grocery store line with her mother when one of her classmates got in line behind them with her mother. When it was their turn to get checked out, Malek’s mother wanted to disappear when her mother pulled out all of those books of food stamps to pay for the grocery bill. By the time Malek’s mother arrived at school the next morning, the entire class knew that she was on food stamps. The jokes followed her all the way through elementary. It was a childhood scar she carried with her all through her life, right up to the birth of Malek.

  She swore that she would do whatever it took to stay off of welfare. So, not once in her life did she ever receive government assistance. And on top of working so hard, she still managed to be there to support Malek in everything he did. Some days she didn’t even get a moment’s rest. It was something that wore her body out physically, but more than anything, it was something she was proud of. And not one time did she ever fuss, holler or complain about the sacrifices she had made. She knew that Malek making it into the NBA and making enough money to take care of her for the rest of her life was her reward. That’s when she would rest. But now, she was resting in peace, and Malek would respect that rest by instantly forgiving his mother for keeping him away from Halleigh.

  Malek put his hands on both sides of Halleigh’s face and made her look him in the eyes. “Look, Hal, a lot of shit has happened in my life since the last time I saw you.” He paused for a moment. “I met Jamaica Joe while I was in the county jail that day of the robbery. He hooked me up with a lawyer that took care of the case for me. It was thrown out. Me and Joe been tight ever since. I mean, if it hadn’t been for him, I could still be rotting in jail somewhere. But because I’m associated with him, I’ve made some enemies.” Malek paused for a moment and then continued. “I got popped last year during the Berston game in a shoot-out between Joe and this nigga named Sweets from the North Side.”

  Halleigh interrupted. “I was there that day. Oh my God. I was there,” she exclaimed. She couldn’t believe she had been in the same vicinity as Malek and didn’t even know it. She had always felt as though they were soul mates, and that she would just be able to sense that he was around. But after all, her mind was cloudy that day. That would be the first time Halleigh worked as a Manolo Mami. She was set to turn her first trick that day. If only she had found Malek that day, so much in her life could have been different. She would never have turned that first trick; a trick that led to another and then another, getting her to the point where she was today . . . a bonafide whore.

  “You were there at the park that day?” Malek said as a gleam shot across his face. “I knew it. I thought I saw you there. I though that was you. I knew it.”

  “Then why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Because when I saw you, that’s when all that shit start jumpin’ off, you know. One of Sweets’ li’l niggas got hit.” Malek paused again, fighting back tears. “Well, I got hit in my calf and the hip. But they didn’t hit no major arteries or nothing, so I was good. But after hearing about my injuries, my basketball career wasn’t good, if you know what I’m saying. My agent dropped me; not a single school was interested in me any longer. It was a trip.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Malek,” Halleigh said sincerely. “I know making it to the pros was everything for you.”

  “Yeah, well, at least I still have my life.” Malek sighed. “I can’t say the same for moms and pops.”

  “What–what happened?” Halleigh stammered.

  “To top off everything that was going on, someone sprayed my house, and my moms and pops got hit. They, uh, they, uh, they dead.”

  Halleigh’s mouth dropped in shock. She couldn’t help but allow her mind to go back to the root of the chain reaction of bad stuff that had taken place in Malek’s life. She shook her head, knowing that Malek’s life had turned out badly because of her. That one night she went to Malek for help turned out to be what catapulted a life of destruction for both of them. All of this stemmed from her running to Malek for help that night after those two men raped her. Why didn’t I just run to the police? Halleigh blamed herself.

  “I’m sorry, Malek. I’m so sorry.”

  Halleigh walked back over to Malek, who was now sitting on the bed with his hands buried in his face. “I should have never even told you about me being raped that night. I should have just gone to the police and let them handle it. I mean, what was I thinking? You were just a high school kid. If you didn’t try to help me, you wouldn’t be where you are right now. You would be off somewhere playing hoop, and Mr. and Mrs. Johnson would still be alive. Maybe your mother was right—I was bad for you . . . I am bad for you.”

  Malek quickly uncovered his face. “That’s the one thing that my moms was wrong about,” he stated. “You’re nothing but good for me.” He finally got a smile from Halleigh, and a sexy smirk appeared on his lips as he pulled her wet face toward his and kissed her lips gently.

  Halleigh escaped into good thoughts of her and Malek again as Malek made love to her with his mouth. His kiss felt like pure ecstasy to her. It had been a long time since a man kissed her the way Malek kissed her . . . and didn’t have to pay for it.

  Malek’s kisses now felt different to Halleigh. He was more mature and had developed a thug demeanor. But Halleigh liked it. She loved it. She loved her some Malek, and that was just something that would never go away.

  After their kiss ended, Halleigh turned her back to him. “Things are different now, Malek. You don’t know how much has happened to me,” she mumbled, knowing that Malek wouldn’t want her if he knew the truth; if he knew how many men she had let conquer her body, something he had never done. Not once had she and Malek ever been intimate together, and she just knew he wouldn’t be able to deal with hearing how many men had touched her in a way that he had never touched her.

  “Then tell me.” Malek turned Halleigh back around to face him. “Make me understand.”

  Halleigh opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She just shook her head. “I can’t. You won’t want me,” she whispered painfully as shameful tears continued to flow freely.

  “I’ll always want you. I’ve always wanted you,” he assured her. “You don’t know how long I looked for you after I got out of jail and the hospital. I love you, Halleigh. I’ll always want you in my life. Don’t be afraid to share who you are with me. I mean, I’m not the same Malek you knew either. You may not agree with some of the stuff I’ve been into, but if we are going to make this thing work, we have to share with each other who we are. Now tell me. What’s going on with you, Halleigh?” He looked deep into her eyes. “Tell me who you are.”

  Halleigh’s body shook as she thought about all the different men, all the abuse, and all the manipulation she went through because of Manolo. She opened her mouth, and this time, she proceeded to tell Malek everything about the life she was now
living.

  “After Mrs. Johnson told me that you left town, I didn’t have anywhere to go. The day before, I had met this girl named Mimi at the police station, where I had been waiting for you to get released. She told me that her daddy might be able to help me out with a place to stay and coming up with some money toward your bail. I went home with her and met him. I didn’t know that when she called him Daddy, she was referring to her pimp.”

  “Pimp?” Malek exclaimed.

  Halleigh didn’t respond.

  “Some nigga out here putting you up for sale?” he asked angrily.

  “I didn’t know, Malek. It was too late. I got trapped in the life. And after I thought you had abandoned me, I just felt so lost and alone that I didn’t even care anymore. I didn’t care about myself.” Halleigh swallowed and continued. “He promised to take care of everything for me, and he put a roof over my head. But I swear to you, Malek, I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into until it was too late. Now I can’t get out. He’ll kill me.”

  Her story brought tears of anger to Malek’s eyes. For him, all of this was like dèj vu. Once again, someone had taken advantage of Halleigh’s innocence, the innocence that had rightfully belonged to him. The innocence he waited for until she was ready. The thought of her being manipulated into selling her body to other men, any man, sickened and angered Malek. He balled his hands into fists and leaned over the bed as he rested, hitting himself in the head out of frustration.

  Finally, through gritted teeth, he asked Halleigh, “How many niggas?”

  Halleigh was stunned by Malek’s question. She couldn’t understand why he would want to know the intimate details. It would only hurt him the same way it hurt her just thinking about it. Although Halleigh felt that her mother held a big part of the blame for her being on the streets, she somehow felt like she was worse than her mother. She had watched her mother do a lot of things to get high. She lied, cheated and stole. She was such a good booster that she could steal the Pope’s hat off of his head on national television without anyone noticing. But not once . . . not once had Sharina sold her own body to get high. No, she just sold mine, Halleigh reasoned, and now I’m keeping it going.