Heaven's Hell

by Takerra, Allen

  “I do,” Heaven responded happily, but then her smile faded as if she had come to some realization. Madeline noticed.

  “What’s wrong Heaven?”

  Heaven hesitated.

  “Nothing really. It’s just.” She paused and then leaned in so the tour guide couldn’t eavesdrop. “It’s just, what about my relationship with G? Should I live on campus, should I even come here? I’m all the way in Massachusetts. Do you think he’ll relocate?”

  Heaven spit these questions out like rapid fire, hoping that Madeline would give her the answers that she really wanted.

  “Yes, G will relocate, yes he loves you. Yes, he will give up the game and his businesses and take all of the money he has and marry you, give you babies, and stay home and watch them while you pursue your dream career. Yes, you can have G, and Harvard too, Heaven. Yes, you can have it all. Yes, yes, yes.”

  “Heaven,” Madeline said, more firmly. “Are you listening to me?”

  Heaven had zoned out, and those hadn’t been the answers of Madeline, those had been her own.

  Madeline’s were more realistic, and believable.

  “Like I said Heaven, I love my son. He’s a good guy and he cares about you, I can tell.” That made Heaven smile. Madeline continued, picking her words carefully. “But in the end, he is a man. A young man at that. I don’t think it’s wise to base your decisions around him right now. You’re young Heaven and you need to make decisions on what’s best for you. The choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life, believe me. I know.” She added the last part with a sadness that made Heaven wonder if Madeline held some regrets about some of her own decisions. She added one final statement that rang to Heaven’s core.

  “If it’s meant to be, you and Gavin. It will be.”

  Heaven had heard what she said but didn’t want to hear it at the same time. As far as she was concerned, G was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she couldn’t lose that.

  I’ll just talk to G about it. It has to work out. And if worse comes to worse, I can just attend another school. Yeah, Harvard is my dream school, but G is my dream man. In the meantime, I’ll take the scholarship here and hopefully we can move to Massachusetts.

  “You’re right Madeline. Thank you for bringing me here and for doing all of this for me, I’m so excited.” Heaven then turned to the tour guide.

  “I’ll take the first quad room we looked at.”

  “Great!” He responded and went inside to grab the paperwork.

  Heaven took a long look around Harvard, the scenery, the people, the buildings, and took it all in, knowing that it may be possible that she would never see it again depending on G’s answer. Then she looked at Madeline and feigned a big smile.

  “I can’t wait to move in.”

  Madeline smiled back but knew from the uncertainty in Heaven’s eyes that Heaven was too young to understand what she was saying to her. Heaven’s future would depend solely on her son. And Madeline knew that was a dangerous situation for both of them. Heaven was a girl in love.

  …Little Red Riding In the Hood…

  Over the next month, life was like a whirlwind to Heaven. School was passing, and everyday teenage life was happening all around her, but she was a new woman. She was G’s woman.

  G had made Heaven’s living arrangement permanent with him, and whenever Heaven was introduced, it was as his girl. Her life had been upgraded in every sense of the word, from the clothes she wore and the food she ate, to the company she kept and the daily activities that kept her occupied.

  Her old life and essentially the old Heaven seemed to be slipping far away from her, and the sad, lonely girl she had once known seemed to be slipping farther and farther into the past.

  Heaven stared into the mirror and wondered if she even recognized the person looking back at her.

  “So, they’re having this party for Loc on Friday. I was thinking we’d shoot out there.”

  G’s baritone shook Heaven out of her thoughts as she sat at the vanity-mirrored desk that he had purchased her, brushing her long hair. G was sitting at a separate desk, safe open, counting money.

  She thought again of how it had happened so fast, her life had totally changed, and she couldn’t help but smirk.

  “What? What’s amusing?” G asked playfully.

  Heaven looked into his eyes through the mirror and was so ecstatic that he was hers. The day she had first seen him in Khalil’s living room played in her mind.

  “Nothing,” she answered. “I was just thinking of how crazy my life turned out.”

  Heaven laughed but G paused for a minute from his task and looked up at her.

  “Turned out? Your life is just beginning baby. You got all of that ahead of you. School, career, goals, you lucky, ma.”

  G went back to his count and Heaven turned around to face him with a serious look. She figured maybe this was the time to talk about school and her plans, how she had come to the realization that she didn’t want to leave his side, ever.

  “Yeah, but you know what G? All of that stuff doesn’t even matter.” She paused and then looked at the floor and added in almost a whisper. “As long as I have you, you are my life.”

  G could feel the intensity of the moment, her emotion, her voice, her words; it all scared him and melted him at the same time.

  He wanted to say so much to her, how much he appreciated what she had said and what she had felt and how much she did mean to him. Heaven had grown on G in a way that he had least expected, and even Loc was convinced that she was the one, however he also wanted to tell her that in all honesty, he was not prepared to be her life.

  One of the main attractions to Heaven was her determination to start her own life and her dreams, her aspirations, no matter what odds she seemed to face. For her to say that none of it mattered at that moment bothered him, but he couldn’t say that right now. He figured that was a conversation best for another time.

  G got up and walked over to her with a smile. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around her soft body and caressed her through her silk robe.

  “Come ‘ere girl.” He looked into her hypnotic eyes. “You know what we need to do?”

  He kissed her neck.

  “What?’ She asked, cheesing a big grin.

  “We need to get you a dress.”

  “A dress?” She responded, as he kissed her in another spot on her neck.

  “Yup, a dress, for the party…and some shoes.” Another kiss. “And a little salon trip.” Another kiss. “And maybe even something like this.”

  “Something like what?” Heaven asked, confused.

  “Something like this,” G answered, with a long black box now in hand.

  Heaven had no idea where it had come from, nor did she care.

  G opened the box and before Heaven could figure out what it even was, the first thought that went through her head was Cascade.

  Only in Cascade commercials had she seen sparkle like what lay before her.

  “Oh my god, G,” she sighed, in a trance.

  In clearer view, once her eyes focused, she could see that it was a five row platinum bracelet, completely flooded in diamonds.

  “You like it?” He asked nonchalantly.

  “Are you kidding me? I adore it,” she cooed. She could get use to this.

  “Good. Well look, like I told you, I gotta head out of town for a few days. Shay’s going to stay here with you, and when I get back, we’ll head to the party. That over there,” G said, as he pointed to the bed and Heaven’s eyes traveled over the neatly stacked bills. “That’s your paper for you to do whatever you have to do. Call me if you need anything else.”

  Heaven pouted.

  “But why do you have to go, I’m gonna be lonely. You know Shay can’t keep me warm like you do,” Heaven flirted.

  “Yeah?” G asked.

  “Yeah,” she answered.

  “Well,” G responded. “Maybe this will help.” He walked over to the clo
set, came back to her, and wrapped a Chinchilla throw around Heaven.

  Heaven laughed hysterically. It was the middle of April and G brings out a Chinchilla throw, Heaven thought it was hilarious.

  “Wow, so you’re just full of surprises today, huh?”

  G smirked in response.

  “Well, I think I may have a few of my own.” Heaven licked her lips seductively.

  “Really?” G inquired, as Heaven dropped to her knees. Lately, she had been getting a little freakier by the day.

  “Uh-huh,” she moaned, as she unbuckled his jeans.

  G figured he could get used to this.

  “I think it looks nice,” Shay stated staring at Heaven, trying to convince her to get the elegant black cocktail dress. “You look classy.”

  “I think it looks boring,” the saleslady bluntly added, putting in her two cents.

  Shay shot her a challenging look knowing that she was just trying to get a bigger sale; the black dress was on clearance.

  “Yeah, I think it does too,” Heaven agreed.

  Lately, Heaven had been a little different and Shay just couldn’t put her finger on it. It seemed like she was a little more fiery, a little more, something else. Shay second guessed her notions and thought maybe she was exaggerating.

  “Well, what do you want to wear Heaven?” Shay posed, getting a little more aggravated.

  They had been searching for a dress for three hours and Shay was tired. She had found her dress an hour and a half ago.

  Heaven felt like Shay was being rude and she was starting to feel like Shay was always trying to push her around, something she had decided no one would do to her anymore.

  “I don’t know, but if you don’t want to help me anymore you can go back to the house,” Heaven responded, shocking Shay and the saleslady into a brief silence. Brief it was though.

  “I didn’t say THAT Heaven!” Shay snapped, but Heaven had walked away.

  The saleslady saw Heaven eyeing a new red number that had just come in. It was sexy and hot, but left very little to the imagination.

  “You would look amazing in that,” the saleslady boasted.

  “It’s a little, I don’t know, outrageous,” Heaven replied, still secretly admiring the dress on the perfectly sculpted mannequin.

  The dress was skintight bondage type, which looked as if someone had taken a roll of red tape, of course made of a beautiful fabric, and only covered the areas of the body that legally needed to be covered. Everything else was left out for all to see.

  The dress reminded Heaven of something one of Angie’s friends had worn. Something Heaven always wished, but never knew if she would ever be able to wear.

  “It’s a little too much Hev,” Shay said, appearing behind her. “I mean it’s sexy, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not you Heaven. You’re a sweet, classy girl.”

  Shay added this, hoping to remind Heaven of who she really was. She was getting nervous that what she had dreaded was coming to life. A young girl like Heaven wrapped up in G’s lifestyle could do a complete transformation, and she wasn’t so sure if it would be a good one.

  Shay’s words gnawed at something inside of Heaven. The past month G had taken Heaven out to eat and to events with friends and business associates, and she was always the sweet, classy girl while the other girlfriends or female companions were sexy and appealing. On one occasion, she had even seen G quickly glance at the ass of one of the vixens, and she was sure that it was time to step her game up. She wanted to hold on to what she had.

  “I want to try it on,” Heaven blurted out, while the saleslady grinned and Shay looked on in contempt. Heaven turned to Shay while the saleslady retrieved the dress.

  “C’mon Shay, you only live once right? And I mean, this is Loc’s party, I have to make sure I look good on G’s arm.”

  Shay smiled a phony smile and nodded her head at her young friend. She felt as if she was losing a battle, and not just the battle of the little red dress.

  “Oh my god, we’re gonna be so late Shay! Can’t you drive a little faster?” Heaven was in the passenger seat of Shay’s car, putting the finishing touches on her makeup and finger combing her waves.

  She had spent $400 on the curl set and reddish highlights that had her hair looking like it would put Beyonce’s and Tyra’s weaves to shame, and those girls’ weaves were the top of the top.

  “Heaven, I’m doing eighty! If you didn’t take so long getting ready, then maybe we would’ve been on time.”

  Heaven was getting on Shay’s last nerve. She wasn’t sure if it was the days they had to spend together at G’s, or the fact that Heaven seemed to be so self consumed in herself, and in G, that it was all that they seemed to talk about. But whatever it was, it had to go.

  “Well, forgive me for wanting to look my best. You know, you could’ve used a little more time Shay,” Heaven threw in there.

  Shay shot her a look and Heaven realizing that she was out of line, giggled.

  “I’m just joking, mama bear.”

  Heaven had given Shay the nickname because she felt as if Shay was like a mama to her, in a good and in a bad way.

  “Oh my god, I can’t wait until G sees me!” Heaven exclaimed suddenly, grabbing Shay and kissing her hard on the cheek, leaving a big red lipstick mark on her face. G was late coming back into town, so he was just going to meet Heaven at the party.

  “Heaven, calm down! You gonna make me crash bitch,” Shay laughed. She still loved her and chalked up her recent behaviors as a young girl living her dream life, on a natural high.

  They pulled up to the mansion style venue, which Heaven could tell had to be rented for the finest of weddings, and showed their identification to the white man in the tuxedo holding the guest list.

  “Proceed to the right ladies,” was his only response.

  A shot of nerves went through Heaven’s body as they exited the car and she tugged at her dress. She was going all out tonight, sure to be the focus of attention.

  As they walked, every guy, and even some women, drooled over Heaven’s tight body, wrapped up in the dress as if on display. Her ass poking out the back like two volleyballs. She had more attention on her than she could handle.

  “Who is that?” A girl whispered.

  “I don’t know, but she look like a hoe,” another shot back, wanting to be heard.

  “Damn, she bad as hell,” a guy exclaimed.

  Heaven looked around at the faces and began to feel a little self-conscious.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have worn this,” she thought out loud. Shay just looked over at her and didn’t want to say she told her so, so she didn’t say anything. Shay just looked down at herself in her own black pencil skirt and lace top, and thought of how she knew she paled in comparison to Heaven.

  She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy, knowing that this was her secret lover Loc’s party, but Heaven would be the focus girl tonight.

  Ah well, Shay thought.

  They entered the party, and just as expected, all eyes were on them.

  On the other side of the room, G was conversing with another rising hustler turned businessman who hailed from Newark, NJ. Chauncey Mills, who was there with his new girlfriend, Sasha, who even G had to admit, was a drop dead gorgeous woman. Chauncey was a man of the same demeanor as G, both tall, dark, deadly, and handsome. With Chauncey being on the more flamboyant side and G maintaining a more composed manner.

  “Yeah Chaunc, definitely put me through to him, I hear he’s making major moves, man,” G stated, taking another quick, respectful glance at Sasha. She was naturally beautiful, like his Heaven.

  Chauncey noticed the attention Sasha received and was glad that she was his. He leaned into G’s ear.

  “Yo man, Respect is moving something so potent, and that shit comes back lovely, we gonna make a lot of money playboy. Naw’mean?” Chauncey chuckled and slapped hands with G, slipping his cigar back into his mouth.

  Just then, Chauncey’s man E came over a
nd joined them.

  “Fuck you disappeared to?” Chauncey asked him playfully.

  E was a stocky tall guy, a real bodyguard-looking cat.

  “Man, I was over there trying to holla at this bitch. Shorty bad as fuck man. Had a body like a fucking coke bottle.”

  E’s deep husky voice was heavy as he grabbed a glass of champagne from the waitress that had doubled back to them.

  “Where she at?” Chauncey asked, as Sasha nudged him hard in the side.

  ‘C’mon babygirl, I don’t mean it like that. I’m just saying.”

  Chauncey shot a look to G and Loc and they shared a quiet laugh.

  As if on cue, the sea of people parted, and the lady in red appeared in the center, surrounded by a group of fellas who seemed determined to not let the conversation with her go.

  “That’s her right there,” E said lustfully, as Chauncey’s, G’s, and his own eyes traveled briefly along her backside. As they reached her face Chauncey looked away, noting that the bitch was indeed bad, but Sasha was just as so, and a little classier. E noted that her face was gorgeous, but her ass had his attention. And G noted that she, this bad bitch, which E was speaking of, was his gorgeous little girlfriend that he had just got done bragging on.

  He walked away without saying a word and walked directly up to Heaven, and lightly wrapped his arms around her from behind.