by T. Styles
When I get there, I try to see through all of the blood but its everywhere and coat’s the white bathtub like paint. I rub it out of my eyes and turn the hot water faucet. I have the same set up for my safe as my dad. I decided to have it installed after my mother let me down with the banking account. I thought this shit was safe. I thought it was fail proof. “Bitch, what the fuck are you doing?”
I look back at them. “Getting your money.”
“Well you better not try no other slick shit. After what you just did, I don’t have no problem killing you.”
“Fuck ya’ll!” I turn the hot water to the right and then the left and the safe opens. “See, it’s all in there.”
They push me out of the way and climb on top of each other going for the stacks I saved up. Everything I earned from Thirteen Flavors is all inside. “Oh, my fucking God!” My date says. “There has to be at least two hundred thousand dollars in there.” There’s more. Three hundred thousand to be exact. “We gonna be set behind this shit.”
“What we gonna do about her?” Mr. Smiles asks.
He raises his gun and I say, “Wait.”
I cough out blood. “Don’t kill me yet…I want to say something. It’s important.”
“Make it quick!” Mr. Smiles says.
“I just want to say that I gave both of you a little case of HIV. Courtesy of my mother. Enjoy what’s left of your life, bitches!” I laugh hysterically.
Boom!
SUGAR
MAD STATE OF MIND
Gucci walks through the hallway on the way to the bus stop. These days are tough since she decided to go back to school, thanks to Jayden who left her totally disfigured. She scares everything from dogs to birds when they see that face. She’s almost to the bus stop when Sugar stops her. “Hey, aren’t you that girl I waved at in front of Jayden’s house? At Concord Manor.” She looks over her mutilated face. “What happened to you?”
Gucci wants to use the toilet right where she stands after the mentioning of Jayden’s name. Every night in her dreams, Jayden cuts up her face again. “A lot happened to my face and yes it’s me. What do you want?”
“Have you seen Madjesty?” Sugar asks like she always does to anybody who ever laid eyes on Madjesty in life.
“No.” She shrugs. “But if you find her, tell her that her mother was killed. Some niggas ran up in the house and robbed them.” Gucci is smiling, especially since her plan to tell the cops she was having a whore party failed. “Her funeral is tomorrow at New World Church in Lanham.”
Sugar doesn’t think Madjesty would care but if she’s lucky enough to run into her, she would definitely tell her the news. “Wow, I’m sorry to hear that.” She lies. Madjesty was so fucked up in the head, that she knew her mother was to blame and figured her death was the best thing for her friend. “Is Jayden still going to school here?” Sugar persists.
She frowns. “No, she’s in some high saddity private school out Virginia. Where her classes can be used toward college credits or some shit like that.” Gucci still has plans for Jayden but for now things would have to wait. “I hear the night her mother died, somebody shot Jayden in the arm. I wish they caught her face, like she did mine.”
“Wow.” Sugar shakes her head.
“I just hate that Denise was involved in any of the shit, even though I tried to warn her about her in advance.”
“Denise is Passion’s real name right?” She remembers Madjesty talking about her all the time.
“Yes.” She shakes her head. “They found her naked body in some bushes behind a strip club. They said some john followed her outside and raped and killed her. She had teeth marks all over her body and her head was hanging off. I don’t believe it was the john though.”
“Why not?”
“Because she also had a spider bite mark on her leg. And I remember Passion making a comment about Jayden saying that some people who handle spiders are immune to their venom after awhile. It’s mighty funny how she went out. Seems familiar.”
“Jayden doesn’t strike me as somebody who would kill.”
“I’m not surprised, you don’t know her. Some of my friends are missing too and we can’t find them either. I’m not worried though, sooner or later Jayden will get what she deserves. And I’ll be there to see when it happens.” Gucci walks off leaving Sugar alone.
****
As she always does every Friday night, Sugar cruises downtown D.C. to find her friend, although she always comes up empty-handed. This time she almost shits her pants when she saw Madjesty with some gay boy, a black kid who was very dark, a mixed kid who looked Asian and a very pretty girl. They were all grungy but had character about them and she could see why Madjesty chose to roll with them. They are walking out of a McDonalds and they seem to be deep in conversation when Sugar approaches.
When Sugar gets closer, she can’t get over how good Mad looks even at her worst. She stands out. It appears that she’s been in the streets and with the exception of the red hair hanging from up under her cap and her clean sneaks, she would’ve walked right past her. Sugar throws the car in park and walks over to her.
Madjesty is just about to run thinking that the police was on to her, until she sees Sugar’s face. “Mad,” Sugar says looking her over. “What’s going on with you?”
“Who is this?” Gage asks Madjesty. She’s ready to kill if need be. “Is she cool?”
Madjesty doesn’t respond right away. She hates that Sugar sees her like this until she remembers that they are her new family and this is her new life. “She’s cool, give me a second though.” Madjesty steps over to her, out of earshot from her friends. “What’s up, Sugar?”
“What are you doing, Mad? And what are you doing with them?” She looks at the group of misfits and back at her. “You look so dirty.”
“Are you looking for me for a particular reason?” Sugar nods yes. “Then get to what you want.”
“Mad, your mother has died.”
Madjesty’s lower body can no longer stand and she falls down. The new Mad Max thinking she was struck by Sugar, begin to whip her ass. They didn’t come up for air until Madjesty demands that they stop. Finally catching wind, Mad stands up and walks over to Sugar where she’s balled up and in pain. She helps her up. “I’m sorry about that shit. They thought you hurt me.”
“Why would I do that?” She says. “I love you.”
Mad’s heart flutters. “I know but they’re my family and they’re just worried that’s all.”
“What about us? We’re your family too.”
Silence.
Sugar looks at them and contemplates fighting back but she knows she’s outnumbered and as brainwashed as Madjesty appears, she’s liable to help them. “Mad, like I said, your mother died and her funeral is tomorrow at New World Church in Lanham.” She walks to the car and writes down her number. “Me and Krazy got a place together, he left the foster home. If you want to stay with us, you can.”
Madjesty takes the card and stuffs it in her back pocket. She has no intentions on staying with her or anyone else for that matter. She took to the streets well. Besides, she has a commitment to her new family and she can’t be around Krazy and her all day, while they play out their love. Her new family chose her and she decided to choose them too. “Naw, I’m good.”
Sugar seems despondent. She hoped things would turn out differently if she found her. Now she knows that she’s wrong. One things for sure, since she sees how bad she’s doing, she thinks the baby is fine right where he is and decides not to tell her about her son. Or that Jayden was shot and Passion was killed.
Sugar walks away until Madjesty says, “Thank you.” She swallows. “I wish you and my nigga Krazy the best too. I love ya’ll both.”
Sugar looks at Madjesty’s new family. They are an odd bunch but she can tell they care about her. And she does too. Sugar doesn’t want to tell Madjesty that although she’s grungy, she has more swag in her little finger than Krazy did in his entire body. And t
hat they spend most of their time arguing about if she loves him or Madjesty. She definitely won’t tell her that she’s prepared to leave him if Madjesty gives the word. Instead she let’s it go, hoping that one day Madjesty would come back to her on her own terms.
As Sugar pulls off, Madjesty thinks about her mother dying. She was sure all the love she had for her was gone, but she was surprised to learn that it didn’t. Losing her stung because it marked the end of one part of her life and the arrival of a new era. She remembered when Harmony said one day she would realize how much she loved her, she guessed Harmony was right after all. She would have to make a decision to go to funeral or not. With her being wanted she figured the best thing may be to stay away, but for now she wasn’t sure.
JAYDEN
DEAD WEIGHT
Jayden was burying her mother tomorrow, yet she had to sit across from her aunts Ramona and Laura and look at their smug faces. When they learned that Harmony was dead, they actually did a dance in the lawyer’s office. Just thinking about their disrespect enraged her.
Olive was holding Jayden’s hand because she knew today was tough. After all the time knowing her, she finally got full details of what went on in her life as a child and she was surprised she was even breathing. To her, Jayden was the strongest person she knew and she would always be in her corner. Although she was dead broke, Jayden still had her girls and she sunk her teeth into her rich boyfriend. Sebastian went to visit his grandfather in Saudi Arabia, but couldn’t wait to come back to make sure she was okay. He hated that she was shot on his watch. It wouldn’t happen again.
“Since it’s obvious that your mother’s passing has altered the agreement, we are going to ask the courts to turn over the house.” Her aunts’ lawyer says. “A.S.A.P.”
“Why is the agreement altered?” Jayden asks.
He smirks at the foolish child. “Because you don’t have the money to buy them out and your mother died without a will in place.”
“Says who?” Jayden responds nodding to her attorney.
On queue he says, “Here is Harmony Phillips’ will.” He slides it over to them. “That copy is yours to keep. As you can see from the highlighted areas, she left Jayden everything.”
When Jayden spoon-fed her mother liquor the day they went to the bank, at some point she exchanged the blank sheets of paper for a will. Olive was the witness and when Harmony was done signing, she gave Jayden full power of the estate once she came of age.
The aunts are still smiling. “So what she left the will.” Ramona shrugs. “She still doesn’t have the money.”
“Here’s a cashiers check for two hundred fifty thousand dollars.” He continues. They aren’t smiling anymore. “That takes care of their portion of the house.” He slides it to their attorney.
Laura snatches it from him and eyes it like it’ll turn to water. “But...how…”
“It doesn’t matter how. You wanted your money and now you have it.” He points to Olive. “This is Jayden’s legal guardian, that is Harmony’s will and there is your money. Even in death Harmony fulfilled her obligation. Anything else?”
Ramona shoots up. “This isn’t fair! Mama, left that house for us before she died! We want the house not the money!”
“Wrong, your mother and my grandmother, left it to her first child, Harmony Phillips. If she would’ve wanted it any other way, we wouldn’t be here.”
“I want you out of that house!” She looks at Jayden. “I don’t understand how you raised the money!”
“So that’s what this was always about.” Jayden says. “You never thought we were going to raise the money. Sadly you are mistaken.” Jayden and Olive rise. “Since we have nothing else to discuss I’m out of here. I have more important things to tend to, like the burial of my mother.”
****
When Jayden walks outside her grandfather is there waiting. She runs into his arms and he hugs her tightly, sniffing her hair in the process. Pushing her back softly he asks, “Are you okay now?”
“Yes. Thank you, grand daddy.” Although he loves to hear her acknowledge him, he prefers to be called by his name. “Please, call me Rick.”
Jayden feels it a bit strange but continues. “I just want to say how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I feel bad for how I talked to you at my aunt’s house. It’s because of you, I can say I officially have a home.”
“Don’t worry about that, I just want us to work on our relationship. Okay? The money I gave you is lightweight.”
They say their goodbyes and he watches them get into her Benz and drive off. Jayden doesn’t know that he orchestrated the hit on her house. She isn’t aware that he gave the order to kill Harmony but to shoot his granddaughter in the arm, to spare her life. She also isn’t aware that the money he spent on the house and the attorney, all came out of the duckets she earned from Thirteen Flavors. There’s a reason why Jace didn’t fuck with his father and Jayden would be late in finding out. He had a lot of shit with him. He had motives and they were many. He was the worst man money could buy.
Epilogue
It was sunny but breezy the day Harmony Phillips was laid to rest. It was said that she couldn’t have looked prettier if she tried. Her funeral was small and only the people who cared about her, showed their faces. Which means there were very few. Still, no one grieved but her daughter.
Large black Michael Kors shades covered most of Jayden’s face, as she walked slowly out of the funeral home, holding Cassius in her arms. Kreshon moved slowly at her side, his smoke gray suit hanging effortlessly off of his toned body.
When they reached the curb, Luh Rod opened the passenger door. He paused when he saw a group of teenagers in the distance. His hand touched his weapon and his senses were heightened because something felt off. They were standing in the middle of the street and seemed to be focused on them. He put his hand over his eyes to shade them. “You know them mothafuckas up there?” He pointed in their direction. “They look like they scoping us out.” He was always extra cautious whenever his brother was not around. He was still in Saudi Arabia.
Jayden looked up the street and through her tinted lenses, saw a strange group. They looked like derelicts. Vagabonds. They were dressed in dark colors and the looks on their faces were blank. But it was the one in the middle, with the black New York Yankees cap pulled over her eyes, and the red curly hair flying in the wind, that made her uneasy.
Madjesty stepped out of the bunch and toward Jayden. The clean white sneakers seemed to light up her steps like Michael Jackson’s Beat It video. When there was no more than ten feet between them, she stopped. Her eyes were locked on Jayden’s, until she saw the beautiful little boy who she seemed to protect and caudle. His hair was curly, just like Mad’s. And the smile on his face was contagious enough to force a grin onto hers. Bliss lasted all of a few seconds, until it was replaced with confusion.
“Whose son is that?” Madjesty pointed at him but looked at her sister. “Whose kid, Jayden?” He looked like her baby but she’d drank so much Hennessy that she couldn’t be sure. Was she just like her grandmother? Unable to identify her own child?
Jayden stepped back a little and Kreshon placed a hand on her shoulder for support. “You didn’t come to the funeral, but you have the nerve to question me? Why the fuck would you disgrace this day like this?”
“I didn’t give a fuck about that bitch in there!” She pointed at the funeral home. “I told you that shit! So me not showing up don’t mean shit. My only problem was that she didn’t die sooner.”
A tear crawled from under Jayden’s shades and she wiped it away. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“I’m not gonna listen to you talk to her like that!” Kreshon spit.
“Then close your fucking ears, nigga! I ain’t hardly talking about you.” Madjesty yelled. When Mad Max heard the noise, they inched closer until she raised her hand, forcing them to stop. “I need to talk to my sister for a minute, alone.” She looked at Kreshon and th
e dude with dreads who had his gun trained on her. “I know ya’ll want her to be safe, but I’m not gonna ask you again. A minute with my sister please.” When they didn’t move she said, “Either shoot me or get the fuck out of my face.”
“Well you speaking to your sister is going to be a problem,” Jayden said, “because I stopped being related to you the day you raped me.”
Madjesty looked at the little boy. Her stomach swelled with guilt. She knew he couldn’t understand what was just said, but what if he did? This wasn’t how she wanted to be remembered.
“Just a few minutes. Please.”
Jayden looked at Kreshon and said, “Get in the truck. I’m coming.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” She looked at Luh Rod. “You too.”
They disappeared into the truck leaving them alone.
“I told you I’m sorry about what I did to you and I think about it everyday, Jayden. But you made it clear you don’t fuck with me and I’m not gonna kiss your ass anymore.” Jayden was hurt, something in her was now ready to make amends. Maybe it was the plea Harmony made to her on her dying day. “What I’m asking you now don’t have nothing to do with us. I haven’t been whole since I lost my kid. I been doing some fucked up shit, just to make it go away in my mind and it’s not working. So I’m asking you, whose kid is that?”
“This is my son.” She pulled him closer. The little boy wrapped his arms around Jayden’s neck. “I haven’t seen you in a while so you didn’t know about it.” She opened the door of the truck and was preparing to strap him into his car seat.
“You know how long I’ve been looking for my kid? I know you heard how hard I’ve been trying to find him, Jayden.” Tears flowed slowly from her eyes. She looked at him again. “If I find out you have my son in your arms and you not telling me, I’m gonna hurt you. I don’t want to take him from you and I’m not even gonna act like I can take care of him right now. I just want to know he’s safe. And be a part of his life.” She looked at him again, and slowly walked away. “So I’ma ask you again, is that my son?”