Altered Destiny: A Hustler's Choice

by Sherylynne L Rochester

  “For you.”

  “Thank you, you didn’t have to. They are so beautiful,” she said as she grabbed them from him, giving him a big kiss.

  “So what you got to eat?”

  She sucked her teeth and repeated, “So, what you got to eat?” she laughed. “T you haven’t seen me in awhile and that’s all you ask.”

  “Yup! I’m hungry.”

  “So go in the kitchen and cook you something. This is my day. You’re suppose to do something for me.”

  “Yeah, ok, that’s what you think. I smell something good in that kitchen. What is it?”

  “Your favorite, but it’s still cooking.”

  “Oh, ok.” He flopped on the coach and turned on the TV. She became very annoyed.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing.” She stormed out of the room into the kitchen.

  He got up and walked towards her. “What?”

  “Nothing. So how was work this week? I haven’t spoken to you in a while.”

  “Good.” He rolled his eyes and said kind of annoyed himself, “it’s only been a week?”

  “A week? Please! Try two. I haven’t heard from you in two weeks. When I called you never returned it back so—”

  He interrupted her. “So...what?”

  “Well, I thought—”

  He cut her off again. “Look, I had to take care of business. When I have time I will hit you up.”

  Sasha gave a puzzled look. He seemed very domineering and demanding nowadays.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Just fine.”

  “I mean you seem—”

  Again he cut her off. “I’m fine!” He raised his voice and it scared her. She did not say a word. She just looked at him. There he was in that trance-like state again. Sasha had seen the look before. It had scared her a little that morning at the hotel and it had scared her even more now.

  Ring. Ring.

  He answered the phone. Once again she became annoyed. Why was it that business was more important and that phone calls always happened when they were together? She just wanted some time with him. For once couldn’t he just put her first?

  Finally after a few minutes he got off the phone and she looked at him. She folded her arms. She was very upset. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you. What happened to the T that I use to date?”

  “I’m still here. I just got a lot to do and a lot on my mind.”

  “Oh, so I am last on your list?”

  “Yeah...for now?”

  “What?” She was steaming mad now. She could not take it anymore. “You know S.D. would have never treated me like this.”

  She knew she should not have gone there, but she did just to get his attention.

  “What?”

  “I said S.D. would have never treated me like this. He was so attentive and you ain’t. Not anymore. And another thing...I’m pregnant.” It was not the right time for her to give him that news, but she was furious with him and wanted to get under his skin.

  “Pregnant...by who?”

  She kept silent.

  “S.D. You got pregnant by S.D.?

  He lunged forward and slapped her. She screamed out.

  “I never told you to get pregnant. That wasn’t the plan. Did you enjoy it? Huh?” He slapped her again.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “How could you? You said you loved me.”

  “I did, but you said to do whatever possible to get him to trust me.”

  “I never said get pregnant.”

  He was really upset and his anger turned to rage. He hit her. She could not believe what was happening. He punched her in the face. She tried to move, but he held her tightly as he continued to hit her. Punch after punch after punch. All the anger he now had was being taken out on her face.

  She dropped to the floor and covered her face with her arms, but he continued to hit her.

  “Please...stop...T...stop.”

  He kept hitting her. After a few more kicks to her stomach he finally stopped. He looked at her with anger in his eyes. He had no compassion or even remorse for what he had done. She was hunched over and crying in pain wondering how it had come to this.

  “I hope you learned your lesson.” Then he began to leave the condo, but before he did he threw some money at her and yelled, “Get an abortion!”

  She cried even harder as T stormed out.

  * * *

  Who would have thought that something like that would have happened to me? Looking at that scene in my life brought me to my knees. Never had anyone put their hands on me and I allowed this man, this crazy man, who I did love at one point, to do that to me. What was even sadder was that I allowed him back into my life after he apologized and sent me diamonds, flowers, and whatever he thought would make me happy. I stayed with him. How stupid I was.

  It started to get cloudy in the room we were at. Angels were moving around, in and out, delivering messages to Him. Even while they came to speak to Him, His mind and concentration was still focused on the screen and me. After one angel, who was dressed in purple garments with a gold sash left, He started to talk to me.

  “It hurt me so much when he hit you. I am sorry that happened to you. I wish that would have been a wake up call for you. No man should put a hand on any women. I never intended that to be. You were precious in my sight. I cared for you. I did,” He said.

  I still wept because seeing my life in that way was too much. How could I have allowed myself to end up that way?

  “I wanted to comfort you. I even sent my angels to be by your side. You called out to me after all that happened. I did answer you, but you said you did not feel my presence. Why didn’t you turn to me? I would have taken all the pain away. I would have consoled you and given you what you needed.”

  I couldn’t answer him. I didn’t know why I didn’t turn to him. I guess I was too ashamed.

  Chapter 20

  I had decided to get an abortion. I had made an appointment at

  the clinic the next day after T had told me too. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. I didn’t want to kill this baby, but I had to. T wouldn’t care for me if I kept the baby. I would be out on the streets alone and with no money. I couldn’t raise a child like that at least not right now, especially not now. I wanted to keep T. I had called T to accompany me to the clinic, but he refused. He said that he would not come since it wasn’t his. That hurt so deeply. I was alone and by myself.

  I saw a tear drop on His face as he watched the screen. The screen actually showed me getting an abortion. He hid his face when they killed the baby. I cried. The angels in the room cried too.

  “I need to show you something. Turn around,” He said to me.

  As I turned around an angel with a baby stood in front of me and I knew right then that that was the baby that I had aborted.

  “If you would have kept him his life would have been rough, but he would have gotten through it, and became something magnificent. Something you would have been proud of. But he never had that opportunity because you took that away. Did you even realize that the life you were taking was something special? All you saw was keeping that man and making him happy. All you saw were your needs and your desires. You put your life first instead of that child’s life. This baby would have grown up, experienced life, and would have had a chance at life. He would have made a difference in his community and in the world. You didn’t give him that chance to live. You took it away.”

  While He was talking I tried to reach out and touch the baby, but I couldn’t. They wouldn’t allow me to. Since I had aborted him I didn’t have the privilege of holding my child or touching him. All I could do was look at him, at his beautiful face. The baby just looked at me and then they left. I started to cry and I faced him. Once again he faced the screen and it resumed.

  * * *

  “Sasha, get out of bed. You’ve been there for days. Come out now.”

  She was too ashamed to come out. She
was angry and hurt as well. He had asked her to do something that took her joy away. He had asked her to kill her baby. He explained that he did not want S.D.’s baby around and did not want to take care of it. It was not his, so why should he take care of it, as he reminded her time and time again.

  He came into the room and went to lie down next to her. “We can make our own together.” His moods were changing again. Sasha could not understand it. One minute he was nice, then angry, then dazed, and then so happy. But, today she was not in the mood for whoever he was.

  “Ok. So, what do you want to do?” he asked.

  She did not answer.

  “Look you complain when I’m not giving you attention and now I am giving you some and you acting like that.”

  Again she did not answer.

  “Fine. I’m out.” He headed out the door. She did not call out to him. She had had enough.

  * * *

  “Oh, T, baby, that’s what I am talking about.”

  “You liked that didn’t you?”

  T had had enough of Sasha and her moods. He wanted to have fun. So he hooked up with fun. He looked through his phone and contacted one of the girls who hustled for him. She had wanted to get with him for a while now. Finally, he gave her that chance. She showed him a good time. He forgot his problems.

  Chapter 21

  Once again, I couldn’t believe how much he had changed before my eyes. He was very loving and caring before, but when he set his mind to being on top, it changed him. It changed me too.

  I had heard that Ice got killed. I suspected who did it, but seeing it right in front of me on the screen was so unbelievable. He turned into a monster. I spent my time with the devil himself. I even helped him. My God, I was even more sorrier than before. Being apart of this get rich scheme was crazy. I shouldn’t have had my hands in it. I should have changed while I had the chance.

  * * *

  Back in Brooklyn, the streets were definitely getting crazy. There were many changes and many new faces. There were shake-ups in the streets. Many liked it many hated it. T was still on the move to getting to where he wanted to be. He would not let anyone get in his way. If they had to die then they had to die, even if they were kids.

  “What do you mean? I’ve been here with you guys for years and you just want to me to be shoulder to shoulder with these guys. Nah! I ain’t having it.”

  For the last couple of weeks T was calling meetings trying to get everyone on the same page. He also wanted to inform everyone of the new changes and the chain of command that was being put into place. Every meeting was at the Barber Shop and this meeting wasn’t any different.

  He had brought in some guys from the South who was his new muscle men. He had met them when he had made trips back and fourth to the South for drops and other business S.D. at one time had asked him to handle. They were more ruthless than S.D.’s crew. They did not care about the police or the neighborhood. All they cared about was money and making a name for themselves. T liked that. He needed to be around people like that.

  T knew that these guys were what he needed to get to where he wanted to go and to set the neighborhood to the way he wanted it. This new crew would set things into motion. They would kill whoever got in the way. S.D.’s crew was soft, chumps, and had no clue whatsoever.

  “Look, if you want to step, then step. But, there are consequences if you do?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Look here if you leave, you won’t live to see another day. When you joined this crew you became this crew. No one can leave without going through me.” He was putting fear in the guys. As he saw it, fear would keep them working and doing their job and fear would make sure that no one would cross him or mess with his money.

  “I joined up with S.D—”

  He interrupted him. “S.D. is D.E.A.D., and if anyone mentions his name again they’re dead.”

  The Barber Shop had a huge glass window. Some parts of it were covered up and others were not. While the meeting was going on someone looked into the window and stood there. He happened to look up and noticed him. The guy looked familiar, but he could not put a finger on where he knew him.

  The guy just stared at T through the window with a glare that wanted to kill. Before he could tell one of them to shoo the guy off he moved right along.

  “Ok, so everyone got the order of how things will go from now on.”

  “Yeah,” everyone said.

  “Good, meeting dismissed.”

  Everyone got up and waited until they left the Barber Shop before they said anything. He had made a quick exit out the Barber Shop while a few of his crew stayed behind. Some of the guys who attended the meeting stood outside the Barber Shop talking, wondering about the events that had just transpired. The changes that were being made were unsettling to them. They were use to being at the top, right along side S.D. Now they were pushed aside having to take care of the business that the younger ones or the newer ones took care of.

  “Man, I only did this to get money and then invest it. I don’t expect to stay in it long, especially now,” J said.

  “But, you have no choice, T will kill. I don’t know what has gotten into him lately,” P.B. said.

  “What? What do you mean I have no choice? It’s my life and my decision. I do what I please, when I please, and how I please. This isn’t a gang.”

  “Come on don’t act stupid. You can still invest and make some good money. Yes, it is strange and the change is new, but what else do we have?”

  “Nah, I’m out of this. T has lost his mind. I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually killed S.D.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard some things man.”

  “What did you hear?” Delance asked.

  “I said I heard that T killed S.D.” J said.

  “Oh, from who? You believe those rumors.”

  “Someone reliable told me and actually I do believe it.”

  Delance got up in his face. “Be careful about what you say.”

  “Be careful? Please man, what you gonna do?”

  It took all his strength not to sock this guy in the mouth. This change and new crew was not something he was going to get use to. He balled his fist tightly and kept it at his side ready and willing to land the first punch.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said Toni, the man who killed Ice and who was now pointing a gun at the back of his head.

  He released his hands and stood still. “So you going to shoot me dead here in the streets.”

  “Yup!”

  Bang.

  The shooter turned and faced P.B. and said, “there are smart drug dealers and then there are dumb drug dealers. Do you want to be the dumb one? They end up dead just like him for just mentioning T’s name in that way and doing something that would jeopardize all this we are trying to establish. So what are you?” he said, pointing his gun at his face. “So you want to go with him?”

  “Nah, I’m good!”

  The two men walked away quietly while P.B. stood stunned. His friend of many years was now on the ground—dead. Blood was splattered all over P.B. Shock was written all over his face. He was speechless and so were the people on the streets around them.

  The men did not run nor did they cover their faces. They walked off carefree and calmly heading to their cars. With them around the streets would be much more dangerous. They were loyal to T. They would kill at the drop of a hat whenever and wherever necessary.

  One by one by one S.D.’s crew were catching bullets and dwindling in sight. Now each member of old had to watch their backs if they ever talked about T in the wrong way or did something that he did not like. It would not be the same or like the days of old. The old game was outdated and now a new game was rising.

  * * *

  “I don’t know man, but word is getting around that you killed S.D.” Delance said to T.

  “Who is spreading this around?”

  “I don’t know.”


  He smiled shaking his head. “I know. It’s King. Have you found him yet?”

  “Nope, no one has seen or heard from him. Seems like he disappeared after that night he came to the meeting.”

  “I don’t care if people know I killed S.D. or not. It doesn’t matter any more. But King will do anything to get me out of the way. I know he wants me dead so I want him out of the way. I want him dead before he tries to mess everything up. Find him. I’ll pay the highest price to have him killed.”

  Chapter 22

  Sasha was in deep pain. Pain she had never experienced before in

  her life. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would kill her baby. It hurt her very much. She had tried to explain to T what it was like, but he really did not care. He did not want to help raise S.D.’s child, as he said. He did not want another one of S.D.’s kids on this earth.

  Sasha had time to think as she lay in bed for those couple of weeks. She had suffered and was distraught after aborting her first baby, being beaten by T, abused, and treated so badly by him. She could not take it any longer. She had had enough. These experiences woke her up. She wanted a change. She never wanted to go through it again. No more did she want to be just T’s toy whenever he wanted to play. No more was she going to be the old Sasha. No more would she be pushed aside. That was over.

  She wished T understood what she was going through at times, but he did not seem to care. He only dismissed it all. The hustling and trying to play the game had changed him forever. He used to be a sweet man and wanted their lives to change for the better. He had come up with a plan that would make that happen, but as of late she was no longer in that plan. What had happened?

  When they first met she was impressed by his goals, how strong and attentive he was, and how he took care of business. It may have been illegal, but he took care of business well. He was all about getting money. He was not thinking about being on top. They use to share things. She would listen to how his past was. She enjoyed those times. She remembered how it was, how T use to explain to her what made him get into the game.

  He would say that he wanted to change his life around, because he was in a situation when things were getting worse by the minute. He went to school to try to make things better, do something different. He got a job too, but even through all that good, the streets kept calling him. He kept hearing in the back of his mind ‘see how much money you can make?’ Then when S.D. approached him with the idea to get back into the game, he said yes. No hesitation. S.D. wanted to take over the game and wanted to be the only person on the streets that people feared, respected, and the only one getting the money.