The Bitch is Back

by Deja King

  "Good morning, baby," I said, giving Supreme a kiss on the lips. "Good morning to you. Last night was incredible. I fell in love with you all over again." "Damn, I need to pull out the whipped cream more often." "Yeah, you should." "Don't be cute," I teased, tossing a pillow over his face. "Oh, so now you want to play. I hear a pillow fight." "No, no, no. I don't have the time for that. I'ma have to take a rain check," I said, jumping out of bed. "Where are you off to?" "First the shower, then after that it's a surprise." "A surprise for who?" "A surprise for my husband." A gigantic smile lit up Supreme's face. "You have a surprise for me? What is it?" "Supreme, if I told you what it was, then it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" "So you have to leave the house to get it?" "Ye-e-e-e-s-s-s-s!" "Okay, okay. You got me all excited like I'm a little kid at Christmas. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself until you get back." "I'm sure you'll think of something." "Already have. I'll take Aaliyah in the back and play roll-the-ball. Don't ask me why, but she gets the biggest kick outta that." "Great. And by the way, Anna has agreed to come back and work for us again." "That's what's up!" "I thought for sure I was going to have to send you in to beg her to return, but she didn't make me grovel." "Anna's good people, but stop talking to me. Go get ready so you can hurry up and come back with my surprise." "You really are acting like a big kid, but I love you so it doesn't matter. I'm off," I said, disappearing to the shower. As the hot water splashed against my body, I decided that I would plan a family trip for me, Supreme and Aaliyah. The three of us would go to some exotic island and have quality time together away from LA and the hectic schedule that Supreme was susceptible to on a regular basis. So, the jewelry I was picking up for Supreme would only be the first part of the surprise, and our family trip would be part two. By the time I got out of the shower, Supreme had already left the room and I assumed he was somewhere tickling Aaliyah, since that's what he loved to do first thing every morning. After getting dressed, I stopped by Maya's room to see if she wanted to take a ride with me to the jewelry store. I knocked on her door but got no answer, so I opened the door to see if she was still asleep. "Maya," I called out, thinking maybe she was in her bathroom, but I got no answer. "Maybe she's downstairs," I said and closed the door back. When I got downstairs the house was already lively. Supreme and Aaliyah were sitting on the living room sofa, and I could smell the aroma of scrumptious food coming from the kitchen, and knew it had to be Anna in there whipping up one of her to-die-for meals. Then Aaliyah saw me and rolled off the sofa and ran towards me with her arms out. "Hi, my baby. Mommy missed you," I said, picking her up and swinging her around. Aaliyah put her head back and laughed her little heart out. "Listen, Mommy has to go now because I have to go get a special surprise for your Daddy. But I'll be back soon, so keep Big Papa entertained until I return." I nuzzled my nose against her neck and she laughed even harder. "Come here, little girl. Come play with Daddy until your Mommy gets back," Supreme said, taking Aaliyah out my arms and lifting her in the air. "Now you hurry back." "I will. Oh, by the way, have you seen Maya?" "No, I assumed she was in her room still sleep." "No, I checked but she was gone. Maybe she had something to do early this morning. I'll call her when I get in the car." "Do you want me to have someone drive you?" "That's okay, I'm good. Plus, I want to take your new Lamborghini for a spin." "Oh really now?" "Yes, really. I know it's parked right outside. That's why I was looking for Maya. Two hot chicks in that whip, can you imagine all the men we could pick up? I'm only joking, so get that frown off your face." "Your mother trying to make Daddy lose it up in here," Supreme said to Aaliyah as if she understood exactly what he was saying. "Bye, you guys. I'll see you in a little bit." Supreme and Aaliyah walked me to the door and waved goodbye as I got in the car. I put the key in the ignition and clutched my hand on the stick shift, speeding off with the morning sun shining brightly. I had Nas blazing through the speakers, and I was caught up in my own groove, oblivious to world around me. It was like that the entire time until I pulled up to the Cartier store on Rodeo Drive. Arriving first thing in the morning before the streets turned into the who's who of Hollywood, I stepped out of my car high off the notion of how fucking incredible my life was. As I was about to exit Supreme's custom shockingpink Genaddi Lamborghini Murcielgo Roadster, I heard my cell. I didn't recognize the number but opted to answer anyway. "Hello?" "Hi, Precious, I'm happy for you and your family. I wanted to call sooner, but I knew you and Supreme would want some time alone after bringing your daughter home." "Nico, thank you so much. I'm glad that you called," I said, stepping out of the car. "I was wondering if I would hear from you again. I..." "Precious, are you there?" I heard Nico's voice but my response lingered in the air. Out of nowhere, the black tinted SUV seemed to appear like a dark cloud before the storm. I had no preparation as my body was lifted off the ground, causing me to drop my phone. I could still hear Nico screaming out my name as it hit the pavement. I was thrown into the truck, and before I could utter a word or fight back, the wet cloth with chloroform knocked me out, lickety-split.

  "So we meet again. I knew we would. I've been waiting for this day for a very long time." My eyes couldn't focus on the figure standing in front of me. I could hear a voice, but I was struggling to get out of the chloroform-induced daze. "Wake up," the voice demanded as a hand gripped my chin. But I was finding it impossible to center my attention until a punch landed on my jaw, causing my head to rock to the side. "Who the fuck are you and what do you want from me?" I mumbled, feeling as if my head was about to fall off my neck. "Oh, you don't know who the fuck I am? Look real closely." My central vision was coming back, but as soon as it did I wanted it to vanish. The image in front of me was too devastating to believe. "Mike, you had to come back." His head was completely bald but the eyes never lie, and it was him, Pretty Boy Mike in the flesh. "Hmm, that's the thing. I never left. I was waiting for the right time for you to put your guard down. Take a look around, because this will be your new home for a very long time," he said, spreading out his arms. He was wearing a three-piece suit and looking like a hood version of Creflo Dollar. I scanned the room and it looked like I was in a dreary basement of a house. It was cold and had no windows. I was on the floor, with both my hands and legs tied up to a pipe. "You just don't know when to stop. I thought after Clip got killed helping out your sick ass you would've crawled under a rock and choked to death. But look at where I am now. Obviously I'm not that lucky," I spewed. "Now, Precious, you know Clip didn't have enough balls to kidnap a puppy, let alone the baby of the great Supreme. You couldn't really believe that incompetent idiot had the brains to pull that off," another voice said from the shadows. "Whoever said that, show your face right now!" I commanded. "Your ears aren't playing tricks on you," the voice stated, stepping into the light. "You! I presume you truly are your brother's keeper." "Yes, I am," Maya boasted. "This was all a setup." Maya and Mike started clapping. "But wait, we can't forget about the hard work Devon put in," Maya said as Devon then stepped into the light. "I never did like your motherfuckin' ass," I growled at Devon. "Then we have something in common. Before I put that bullet in Vernika, it took every ounce of me not to aim at you. But I was following orders so I had to let you live." "So you three clowns orchestrated this whole thing. Unfuckin' believable." "Dear brother, I think I should get most of the credit. It was me who hired that dumb Destiny to make it look as if she was cheating with my man." "What do you mean, look as if he was cheating? I caught them in..." There was no need to complete my thought, as all the pieces popped in my head and came together at once. "You conniving bitch, you set it up for me to find Clip and Destiny together. That's why he seemed so out of it when he woke up. You scandalous hoes' drugged his ass." "Without a doubt. It started the day you came over and I put that bug in your ear about the crank phone calls I was getting at the house and the missing money that Clip couldn't account for. Then I made sure when we went to the video shoot that you caught Destiny coming out of Clip's room, you know, just to start raising doubt. Then that day I
conveniently had you pick me up from the car dealership, I had already drugged Clip, and Destiny was at my place waiting for my phone call so she could put our plan in action. From the moment you caught him and Destiny in bed together, nothing could dissuade your belief that Clip was not only a cheat, but Mike's accomplice." "Clip had absolutely nothing to do with any of this, and after using him as your fall guy you killed him?" "Pretty much. But unfortunately I can't take credit for killing Clip. Destiny did that dirty deed for me. After you and Supreme managed to get the address to where Donnell and Vernika were staying, I knew we had to act fast. It was only a matter of time before you would find the apartment that I had Destiny staying at with Aaliyah. But of course I had to leave just enough evidence to implicate Clip without jumping overboard." "You're feeling real proud of yourself, aren't you, Maya? You're even crazier than your fuckin' deranged brother." "Why thank you. But let me finish." Maya smiled, showing how swollen with pride she was of her accomplishments. "It was time to cut off all loose ends. So Devon went back after his shift and finished off Chris and Donnell. Then dumbass Destiny believed she was meeting me at the warehouse to give me Aaliyah, kill clueless Clip and collect a shit-load of money. Up until I put that bullet in her, she had no idea that her services were no longer needed and her time was up. And poor Clip, he thought he was coming to the warehouse to save me. He was devastated when I laughed in his face and told him he was nothing but a pawn in my deadly game." "I'm impressed, Maya. If it wasn't for your diligence, none of this would be possible," Mike said, patting his younger sister on the back of her shoulder. "So, Maya, you never loved Clip. It was always your plan to use him as a cover-up to get your brother out of jail, and then what? What is your ultimate goal, to kill me? Then go ahead and do it." "We can always count on you to be tough as nails to the bitter end, can't we, Precious?" Mike scolded. "Let me handle this, Mike," Maya said, hushing her brother and making it clear that she was the one running the show. "I had been secretly talking to my brother for a very long time. I hated you for sending him to prison. He was the only real family I had. Nobody gave a fuck about me, including my mother. Mike was the only person who took care of me." "How soon we forget. I took care of you, Maya. I treated you like my very own sister and this is how you repay me?" "Get the fuck off your pedestal. You really think your shit don't stink. You took my brother away from me." "He raped me and tried to kill Supreme. Putting him in a jail cell was a gift. He deserved to be buried alive." "Whatever my brother did to you, you deserved it, and you were never good enough for a man like Supreme. I'm the type of woman that can hold it down for him. I've decided I want Supreme for myself. I mean, why should I have to play second fiddle to you? Why should I have to be stuck with a wannabe like Clip? I deserve the king." "Oh shit, here we go!" Mike growled. "Dear brother, you know the deal. You get your freedom and I get my life with Supreme." "You really are crazy. You will never have Supreme. He will see right through you." "You didn't," Maya said mockingly. "Trust me, Supreme will be so heartbroken when you never come home that he'll seek the comfort from a dear friend like myself." "Oh please! When Supreme realizes I'm dead he'll start putting the pieces together and point the finger right to your manipulating ass." "By the time your dead, it'll be too late and it won't matter. See, I want you to be alive and have a front row seat as I take over your life. You'll watch as I make your husband fall in love with me, and your beautiful daughter, Aaliyah will be calling me Mommy." "You'll never pull it off." "You better hope I do, because if not, that little precious daughter of yours is going to end up dead." "Maya, that might be my flesh and blood you're threatening to kill, and your niece," Mike reminded her, seeming genuinely stunned that Maya would make such a threat on Aaliyah. "Mike, shut up. You're taking this Maury Povich, I-might-be-the-father thing way too far. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have thought for a second that Aaliyah might be your daughter, so save it." "Now it makes sense. Your trifling ass was the one that made Mike feel so confident he was Aaliyah's father. I guess she was the perfect bait to wave in front of your brother's face so he would be a willing participant with this bullshit plan you're trying to pull off." "I ain't trying to do shit! My eyes see very well, and from where I'm standing, your ass is on lock and I'm the one who is free, about to go to the crib you used to share with Supreme and comfort him. So the bullshit plan you're speaking of has been pulled off as far as I'm concerned." "Maya, you better kill me now, because if I ever get free..." my voice faded off. "I so admire your fire. It's contagious. Here, I brought this for you to keep your heart warm at night." Maya pulled out something from her pocket and handed it to me. "I thought it was only fair you have it, since it's the last picture you will ever take with your family." It was the photo of me, Supreme, and Aaliyah that Maya took yesterday at her birthday party. I fought back the tear that wanted to escape my eye. This couldn't be it for me. The happiest moment of my life, ripped from me just like that. "I swear you're gonna pay for this, Maya. I put that on everything I love." "Precious, save your threats. It's lights out for you. Bow down, I'm the new queen bitch." IN STORES NOW

  Killer Is horn Philly, 1993 "Please, Daquan, don't hit me again!" the young mother screamed, covering her face in defense mode. She hurriedly pushed herself away from her predator, sliding her body on the cold hardwood floor. "Bitch, get yo' ass back over here!" he barked, grabbing her matted black hair and dragging her into the kitchen. He reached for the hot skillet from the top of the oven, and you could hear the oil popping underneath the fried chicken his wife had been cooking right before he came home. "Didn't I tell you to have my food ready on the table when I came home?" "I... I... I was almost finished, but you came home early," Teresa stuttered, "Ouch!" she yelled as her neck damn near snapped when Daquan gripped her hair even tighter. "I don't want to hear your fuckin' excuses. That's what yo' problem is. You so damn hard headed and neva want to listen. But like they say, a hard head make fo' a soft ass. You gon' learn to listen to me." "Please, please, Daquan, don't do this! Let me finish frying your chicken and I'll never do this again. Your food will be ready and on the table everyday on time. I promise!" "I'm tired of hearing your damn excuses." "Bang!" was all you heard as the hot skillet came crashing down on Teresa's head. The hot oil splashed up in the air, and if Daquan hadn't moved forward and turned his head, his face would've been saturated with the grease. But Teresa wasn't so lucky, as the burning oil grazed her hands, as they were protecting her face and part of her thigh. After belting out in pain from the grease, she then noticed blood trickling down from the open gash on the side of her forehead. But it didn't stop there. Daquan then put the skillet down and began kicking Teresa in her ribs and back like she was a diseased infected dog that had just bitten him. "Yo', Pops, leave moms alone! Why you always got to do this? It ain't never no peace when you come in this house." Genesis stood in the kitchen entrance with his fists clenched and panting like a bull. He had grown sick and tired of watching his father beat his mother down almost every single day. At the age of eleven he had seen his mother receive more ass whippings than hugs or any indication of love. "Boy, who the fuck you talkin' to? You betta get yo' ass back in your room and stay the hell outta of grown people's business." "Genesis, listen to your father. I'll be alright. Now go back to your room," his mother pleaded. Genesis just stood there unable to move, watching his mother and feeling helpless. The blood was now covering her white nightgown and she was covering her midsection, obviously in pain trying to protect the baby that was growing inside of her. He was in a trance, not knowing what to do to make the madness stop. But he was quickly brought back to reality when he felt his jaw almost crack from the punch his father landed on the side of his face. "I ain't gon' tell you again. Get yo' ass back in your room! And don't come out until I tell you to! Now go!" Daquan didn't even wait to let his only son go back to his room. He immediately went over to Teresa and picked up where he left off, punishing her body with punches and kicks. He seemed oblivious to the fact that not only was he killing her, but also
he was killing his unborn child right before his son's eyes. A tear streamed down Genesis's face as he tried to reflect on one happy time he had with his dad, but he went blank. There were no happy times. From the first moment he could remember, his dad was a monster. All Genesis remembered starting from the age of three was the constant beat downs his mother endured for no reason. If his dad's clothes weren't ironed just right, then a blow to the face. If the volume of the television was too loud, then a jab here. And, God forbid, if the small, two-bedroom apartment in the drug-infested building they lived in wasn't spotless, a nuclear bomb would explode in the form of Daquan. But the crazy part was, no matter how clean their apartment was or how good the food was cooked and his clothes being ironed just right, it was never good enough. Daquan would bust in the door, drunk or high, full of anger, ready to take out all his frustration out on his wife. The dead end jobs, being broke, living in the drug infested and violent prone city of Philadelphia had turned the already troubled man into poison to his whole family. "Daddy, leave my mom alone," Genesis said in a calm, unemotional tone. Daquan kept striking Teresa as if he didn't hear his son. "I'm not gonna to tell you again. Leave my mom alone." This time Daquan heard his son's warning but seemed unfazed. "I guess that swollen jaw wasn't enough for you. You dying to get that ass beat." Daquan looked down at a now black and blue Teresa who seemed to be about to take her last breath. "You keep yo' ass right here, while I teach our son a lesson." Teresa reached her hand out with the little strength she had left trying to save her son. But she quickly realized it was too late. The sins of the parents had now falling upon their child. "Get away from my mother. I want you to leave and don't ever come back." Daquan was so caught up in the lashing he had been putting on his wife that he didn't even notice Genesis retrieving the gun he left on the kitchen counter until he had it raised and pointed in his direction. "Lil' fuck, you un lost yo' damn mind! You gon' make me beat you with the tip of my gun." Daquan reached his hand out to grab the gun out of Genesis's hand, and when he moved his leg forward, it would be the last step he'd ever take in his life. The single shot fired ripped through Daquan's heart and he collapsed on the kitchen floor, dying instantly. Genesis was frozen and his mother began crying hysterically. "Oh dear God!" Teresa moaned, trying to gasp for air. "Oh, Genesis baby, what have you done?" She stared at Daquan, who laid face up with his eyes wide open in shock. He died not believing until it was too late that his own son would be the one to take him out this world. It wasn't until they heard the pounding on the front door that Genesis snapped back to the severity of the situation at hand. "Is everything alright in there?" they heard the older lady from across the hall ask. Genesis walked to the door still gripping the .380-caliber semi-automatic. He opened the door and said in a serene voice, "No, Ms. Johnson, everything is not alright. I just killed my father."