Daddy's House

by Azarel

  I sat on the hood of the car, waiting for that lying-ass mufucka to pull up. He said he’d be here in twenty minutes. The nigga didn’t even tell me what he’d be ridin’ up in, so my ass was scopin’ every damn car that cruised by. Car after car I watched anxiously. All of a sudden a dark green Navigator drove by real slow. Here this slow ass nigga is now, I thought. I waited till the tip of the car got closer, then jumped down ready for bizness. The windows were dark as shit, so I placed my hand on my heat. One could never be too sure ‘bout niggas these days.

  As the window slowly came down, I was shocked. This little dark-ass nigga not even eighteen years old, asked my ass what the fuck was I doin’ on his mufuckin’ strip. Rich hopped out the car, ‘cause his ass sensed it was some shit gettin’ ready to pop off. I watched his little spook lookin’ ass real close. I nodded to Rich.

  “Your strip?” I asked.

  “Yeah, my strip ol’ head.”

  “Listen you little shi….” Before I could get the word out, Rich bust the driver’s side window wide open with his Glock. When the lil’ fuck went to shield his face, I ran up to the truck and shoved my piece down his throat.

  “When I blow yo’ shit off, yo’ mama gon’ feel it!”

  He cried like the baby he was. “Uh…uh,” he tried to speak.

  “Shut the fuck up! School’s in session. You just failed the first test! Don’t you ever ask the teacher what the fuck she’s doin’! You just follow instructions you lil’ asshole.”

  Rich shot two rounds in his sideview mirror. We had to teach that lil’ new school wanna-be dealer a serious lesson. Don’t fuck wit yo’ ancestors…yo’ predecessors. I snatched my gun from his mouth and commenced to slappin’ him across his face, like an abusive man beating the shit out of his wife. He clinched his left cheek like his skin was peeling off, which it was. Blood fell all over his cream Sean John hoody.

  “Move the fuck on, son.”

  His lil’ bitch ass took off like five-o was on his ass. Rich laughed and eased back in the driver’s seat. There was no need for words, our motto spoke for itself- kick ass first and take names later. Wasn’t no need for communication. That unnecessary shit pissed me off. It fucked my whole groove up.

  I sat back on the hood wild’n out, ‘cause the person I needed to meet still hadn’t rolled up. I didn’t realize for once in my life, how nervous I was until Rich blew the horn. I jumped up.

  “You stupid ass, nigga. What the fuck do you want?” I shouted, tryin’ to hold my composure.

  Rich slipped his head out the window and flipped me his middle finger. I thought about walking over to him and yanking his fine ass out the car. Then beat his head in with my gun-split it down to the white meat just like I’d done to lil’ Similac.

  Luckily for him, a nice-ass Benz slowly turned the corner, and made me redirect my attention. I hated when niggas tried to be slick, but I was ready for whatever drama was comin’ my way.

  I repositioned myself further behind the car just in case I had to duck, or bust a few caps in somebody’s ass. The slower the car drove, I started feeling like it may have been that lil’ nigga comin’ back to retaliate. I pulled out my gun, this time exposin’ it for all to see, and let it dangle by my side. The car stopped about ten feet away. I figured whoever it was, saw my shit, and knew I meant serious bizness. I didn’t give a shit. I was prepared to let off some steel on somebody’s ass. I motioned to Rich to stay put.

  What had me more on edge was the fact that whoever it was had their arm hanging out the window in this cold ass weather. Fuck it, I thought. No pain, no gain. I took my chances. Strolling towards the Benz, I stretched my arms up in the air, as if to ask what the fuck you want. I locked my eyes on the car’s every move until it pulled right up on me.

  “Perfect timing,” the fat mufucka said.

  “Perfect? Check this Daddy, or whatever the fuck they call you. You call havin’ me waitin’ for thirty minutes perfect?”

  I moved around to the driver’s side, tucking my 9mm away in my spanxs. The spandex material was tighter than a mufucka, but it made my shape look good.

  “So, where she at?” I asked, reaching into my back pocket.

  He nodded, just studying me. Strangely this nigga looked familiar. I tracked my mental rolodex. I ain’t want no shit. Did I do deals with this nigga in the past? What the fuck! Maybe I fucked him? Was his ass a recovered crackhead? Damn! I searched and searched. His smile…there was something about his smile. I let his ass talk a little more to see if anything he said would jog my memory.

  “So, your next move?” he asked.

  I tried to get him off task and used my ass as bait. He bit. I puckered my lips, and dropped my pen on the ground behind me. I shook my ass as seductively as I could. I turned back to see if he was watchin’, and he was. He couldn’t resist.

  “I hope you like what you see.” I smiled, showing him every tooth in my mouth. He needed to be mesmerized like all the others. I handed his ass the cash that was already bundled up in a fat rubber band. But he shot me a hand movement, like he was whisking the money away.

  He undressed me with his stare. “Yo, you look real good. There’s something real familiar about you. You sure we ain’t been out before?”

  Damn, that was it. I fucked this nigga! This nigga used to say this shit to me long before I ever gave his ass some, which was only once. “James!”

  “What?” he said, lookin’ baffled as hell. “You called me James.”

  I started snapping my fingers, like the snaps would help me remember. “James Woodruff. Yeah, nigga, that’s it.” He stuck his head out the window to get a closer peek. “James, it’s me, Velma.”

  “Who would’a thought I’d ever see you again.”

  He stepped out the car, leaving the door wide open.

  “Been a long time.” With my arms outstretched, I gave him a big hug. I glanced over at Rich to see a dumb ass look on his face. I shrugged my shoulders. Oh well, I mouthed.

  “You never called me after you gave me the good stuff. Damn, you still pretty as shit, but a lil’ rougher now, huh?” He took a step back and searched me up and down. “Didn’t tote a gun back then, wasn’t takin’out muthfuckas either.”

  “Shit, that was over twenty years ago. Things don’ changed. Now, it’s all about survival in these streets.”

  “I see…I see. So, who is your friend,” he asked.

  “Oh, that’s my sidekick. He cool,” I reassured him.

  “So back to business, sexy. You didn’t say too much on the phone other than she told a lie on you that landed you in the penitentiary. So, you really wanna handle this little bitch, huh?”

  I nodded with the meanest scowl possible.

  “I’m ready, ‘cause she been lying to my ass too,” he said, like his feelings were hurt.

  “Lying, huh?” I laughed. That’s her, I thought.

  “Yeah…and my house lady just told me she got the Feds comin’ to my spot. Now they hot on my ass. You doin’ me a favor by taking care of her ass. So, where you know her from?”

  This shit was becoming all too much for my ass. Shut the fuck up, I thought to myself. It was no time for getting emotional and shit. Nor was I gonna tell him she was my daughter.

  “Uh…let’s talk ‘bout that later. I’m ready.”

  “Tell your little sidekick you ridin’ with Big Daddy.”

  I sashayed over to the car, gettin’ my switch on, and let Rich know that he could jet. He gave me the strangest look. I knew what it meant though. Rich was lettin’ me know that he was comin’ whether I liked it or not. Sometimes his ass thought he was my man and shit.

  “Look, trust me on this one, it’s cool. You go ‘head and take the night off. I’m real familiar wit’ this one.” He stared at me as if he didn’t trust me.

  “A’ight. But hit me up if you need me,” Rich responded.

  “Cool,” I said, headed back to James. I slid in his car all lady-like and shit as he looked over at me and smiled. Daddy pu
lled off like he’d just picked my ass up for a date. He reached for the radio, turning up the sounds of the Whispers.

  “Cause you’re my everything, all my hopes and dreams come true,” he sang, as he winked at me. Little did he know, I felt like a piece of shit.

  How in the fuck am I gonna tell him that the reason why I ain’t never call his ass back is because he’s Candice’s father? I still ain’t gonna tell his ass. How would that shit look anyway, both parents tryna kill their young? This shit is gettin’ too deep.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  After having my fifty second breakdown, I realized Ms. Dottie must’ve been having a breakdown too. Her eyes watered the more she glared into my face. “You remind me so much of her,” she said, clutching the thick pair of iron shackles.

  “Of who!” I shouted, in my most petrified voice. She was scaring the living shit outta me, and I wanted out. This was way too much.

  The closer she moved toward me, I backed away even more. When I took my next step, all I could think about was how the both of us would die in this room.

  “You think you special?” Ms. Dottie asked, with a crazy look on her face.

  “Look, I know you don’t like me! Sushi told me what you did! It wasn’t Cat who fucked up my room. It was you!”

  Her calmness had disappeared. She screamed right back at me. “I did it to protect you, stupid! I wanted you to leave! I’ve done everything I could to make you leave! But you just don’t get it!”

  I wanted her to stop talking in circles, ‘cause none of what she said made any sense. Finally, my frustration ended with a possessed wild’n out session. Between the knocking sounds inside my head, and the shortness of breaths, I flung my arms high in the air, like I was fighting an imaginary person. I know Ms. Dottie thought there was no way to calm me down, by the way my body shook. For seconds, I moved around the room like a crack addict needing a hit.

  “What do you want from me? Why are you doing this!” I shouted. I asked question after question, but Ms. Dottie had no answers.

  Tears strolled down her face. The chains fell to the floor. “You think I want to do this to you?” she cried softly “I grabbed this chain to show you what Daddy will do to you when he gets here.”

  My mind was so boggled, my face could only tighten. What in the hell was she talking about?

  “You look so much like my daughter…Lisa. Spitting image,” she added.

  I froze. Her voice echoed around the room. Lisa…Lisa…Lisa was all I could think.

  Her head nodded. “That’s right,” she confirmed. “That’s the Lisa we’ve all been talking about. My Lisa.” She held her palm to her chest, then began to sway fearfully back and forth. “That’s why I can’t do this anymore. I see it all happening again.” Her eyes filled with regret.

  “She was my only daughter, sixteen when she first came here. We had no where else to go.”

  Instantly, Ms. Dottie fell to the floor on her knees. She sobbed uncontrollably, but my body wouldn’t allow me to reach out and help her. She cried like a baby. I paced the floor for a few seconds, and then rushed over to the bed. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.

  “Why would you bring your daughter here?” I asked.

  She shook her head back and forth a few minutes, before struggling to her feet. “It wasn’t a part of the plan. We were doing real bad when I met Daddy; living in a shelter actually. When he took us in, Lisa was only sixteen. She never did anything. I swear. Never even seen anyone have sex. But suddenly when she turned eighteen, she started dating Daddy right under my nose. There was nothing I could do. Lisa wanted to be with him,” she said, with resentment in her voice. “Then, when Senator Marion met her, that was it. He fell for her too. She was beautiful, just like you.”

  My face frowned. “You keep saying was. What happened to her?”

  “Daddy let her go with Marion in exchange for him not shutting down the house, and bringing criminal charges against us. I was so afraid of going to jail. Plus, Marion claimed he wanted to be with her. I just assumed she was gonna be put up by him somewhere like a mistress, instead she never came back. The Senator says she ran away from him.” Ms Dottie covered her mouth with her hands, and breathed a heavy sigh. “She’s dead,” she added, in the most horrified tone I’d heard in a while.

  A lump formed in my throat. I didn’t have a child, but heard there was nothing worse than losing someone you’d given birth to. Her next set of words, for some reason, made me think of slime, maggots, and dead corpses.

  “Her body was identified a year ago somewhere outside of Philly,” she informed me.

  My heart skipped a beat. “Why didn’t y’all turn the Senator in, if you think he had something to do with it?”

  “I don’t know, I don’t know,” she continued, as she shook her head. “I think they do this to make money. The Senator has all kinds of connections and crooked friends in the world. I can’t prove it, but I think they’re selling girls overseas to the highest bidder, if they can trick the girls into going. Lisa probably fought it. Another girl went missing my first month here,” she said softly.

  “What?” I panicked. “Why did you stay this long?”

  “I could never prove anything. Just knew it in my gut. Plus, Daddy has provided for me since he took me from my homeless state. I get one third of the profits from running the house…and he promised if he ever sold, half the house would be mine.” Her head lowered. “But I feel like

  I’ve sold my soul to the devil.”

  “You have,” I replied, in a whisper. “Me too, I guess.”

  “But no more…I won’t stand by and see another young woman go down the drain. I’m tired of his lies!”

  I sat on the bed with my hands cupped over my face, just listening, trying to understand why. I looked up at Ms. Dottie, then around the entire room.

  “Daddy told me I was his woman,” I finally said.

  “Oh, yeah?” she responded, like it was all bullshit.

  “You’re like a car to Daddy. He trades you all in for a new model every now in then.” Her words hit me like a freight train going 100 mph. But I knew she was telling the truth. “Look at School Teacher. He messed with her mind too. He just lost interest in her once she went crazy.

  That’s what he does,” she pleaded. “Please understand that!”

  I lifted my head a little to look into her face. Her tears had dried, and she now spoke with more confidence. More conviction.

  “There’s something magnetic about his ass that keeps people wanting to be near him, no matter what he does. I just don’t understand it, but it’s true.”

  She paced the floor, like she needed me to focus on her lecture. I paid close attention, ‘cause I was starting to believe every word.

  “Look at me. We made an agreement after Lisa disappeared that he’d never sleep with anymore women in the house, or allow anyone to be with Senator Marion outside the house. I believed in that agreement strongly. He broke it! Prayerfully he didn’t send Cat with the Senator too. She may be dead, or in another country by now. Leave now while you got a chance,” she ended.

  I felt lost, but I knew I had to run like hell. I thought about the money I sent out to a financial investment guy a few years ago when I was making money from my Columbian man. I couldn’t get it until I turned twenty-four, but hell being homeless for six months would have to do for now. I hopped up thinking about what I was gonna take with me. I didn’t have time to grab it all.

  Swiftly, I ran into the bathroom, then back out and into the closet. I grabbed what I could, then threw the covers back to grab my money that I’d stashed under the mattress. A few minutes passed. I was so caught up in my escape, I hadn’t noticed that Ms. Dottie had disappeared. I ran to the top of the staircase to check my surroundings, ‘cause I wasn’t sure who was in the house. It was a free day for some of the girls, but it seemed extremely quiet overall.

  I jetted back into my room to grab some more stuff. I wanted this escape to be different
from my last. I needed shoes on my feet, money in my pocket, and a ready-made wardrobe.

  Ms. Dottie suddenly appeared at my door, wearing a black peacoat and a green knitted scarf. She held a small nylon bag in her hand, clutching it tightly as she spoke. “I’m leaving,” she said. “You need to go now.”

  My eyes opened wide. She was finally giving it all up, I thought. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly. “Be safe,” I said.

  She touched my shoulder gently. “You too. Now hurry!”

  Ms. Dottie turned and walked away. I went back to my last bit of packing. At that moment, I thought about something that needed to be done. Ms. Dottie was half-way down the staircase by the time I ran out with the necklace.

  “Here,” I said. “Take it with you. It’s a memory of your daughter.”

  She smiled, grabbed the necklace, and continued down the stairs. When the front door slammed, I knew this was it. It was time for me to be on the run again.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Fifteen minutes later, with my bags in hand, I took off down the stairs. The house was fairly dark, even spooky now that I heard about the scary shit going on in the house. Still in all, I kept my feet moving forward, ready to make my move. The door- my future was visible right in front of me. When I hit the bottom step, only three yards from my escape, I stopped like a confused fool, unable to make up my mind. Sushi’s voice echoed from the showroom. It was a cheery voice, bad English at its best. A part of me just felt like I owed her a quick talk, to let her know what Daddy was really all about.

  My change in plans was only temporary. Sushi, just needed to know. She’d been missing in action all day, but I couldn’t leave without letting her know Candy was finished. Done with Daddy’s House. Truthfully, she needed to be out too; before it was too late. I wasn’t sure how much she knew about Daddy, or his involvement with the Senator, but there wasn’t enough time to compare stories. I took off in her direction leaving the front door behind me. The sound of the door opening stopped me in my tracks. Sushi would have to be put on hold for a moment ‘cause I figured Ms. Dottie had forgotten something. Surely she would fuss me out for taking so long to get out the house.