A Trillion to One

by Chenell Parker

  “The fuck!” Ciara yelled as she looked up at her one time best friend. Her eyes bulged when she saw Chanell and Dallas enter her apartment because she knew that their visit was anything but friendly.

  “It was one thing for you to steal all of my shit but you were dumb as fuck for trying to sell it online,” Amore sneered as she looked down at her.

  “What the hell are you talking about? Besides Viper, I didn’t steal anything from you,” Ciara smirked like Amore wouldn’t beat her down.

  “You didn’t have to steal him boo. All you had to do was ask and I would have given him to you. I should have known that something was up. Your cheap ass would have never paid for some of the labels that you’ve been rocking lately. You wanted my life so bad that you had to steal it,” Amore said while shaking her head.

  “Fuck you! I wasn’t the one getting my ass beat by a nigga every other week,” Ciara spat angrily.

  “Yet, that’s the same nigga that you went behind my back to fuck with. I didn’t come here to talk. Come on bitch. We’re here to collect,” Amore said as she grabbed Ciara by her hair and dragged her down the hall.

  “Ahh!” Ciara screamed as her tracks were being ripped from her scalp. She was kicking her legs wildly but she wasn’t dumb enough to swing on Amore. She’d seen her keep up with Viper like she was a nigga and she knew that she didn’t stand a chance.

  “Where is my shit?” Amore asked when she stopped in front of a closed door.

  “Over there,” Ciara winced as she pointed to one of the bedrooms.

  Dallas took her knife out of her pocket before she opened the door to take a look inside. Chanell opened the other door just to make sure they didn’t have any surprises waiting on them.

  “Damn cousin. This bitch even stole your drawers,” Dallas said as she held up some Versace underwear. Viper had just gotten him and Amore some of the expensive underwear a week before they got locked up and they never got a chance to wear them.

  “Go find some garbage bags and let’s pack all this shit up,” Amore replied.

  Chanell ran into the kitchen and searched until she found a box of garbage bags. Amore kept an eye on Ciara as her cousins worked quickly to pack everything up. Once they were done, they had five bags worth of clothes and shoes and Ciara was pissed. She hadn’t even gotten a chance to sell any of it but people were inquiring about a few items.

  She remembered when Viper and Amore first got locked up. Logan left home soon after and she called her brother to come give her a hand with everything. He couldn’t fit any of Viper’s clothes but he did take his shoes and some of the electronics. Ciara rented a storage at first because she didn’t want Logan to see anything. Once they broke up, she used the spare bedroom at her new apartment to store it all. She didn’t think that anyone would suspect her, especially since all the neighbors were outside when they got arrested. It could have been anybody.

  Ciara saw that Amore was all over social media now with her new white boyfriend and that’s probably how she saw what she was selling. Still, she would have never imagined that she’d show up at her house to get it back. She couldn’t even call the police because she stole the items from Amore first.

  Ciara saw Amore at the park for Abe’s party but she stayed away. She also saw how Logan was flirting with her and that had her heated. Logan was that nigga and she was sorry that she had fucked over him the way she did. His money was long now but he never even gave her a second glance.

  “Let’s go,” Amore said as she picked up two of the bags.

  “Hold up cousin. Let me get them earrings out you my girl,” Dallas said as she looked at Ciara. The diamond hoops that were in her ears would go great with a few of her outfits.

  “I didn’t take these from Amore. These are mine,” Ciara replied.

  “Correction, they were yours. Now, you can give them up on your own or I can take them. Just know that your ears are coming with them if you make me work,” Dallas said as she flipped open her knife. She didn’t have to tell Ciara twice. She pulled the earrings out of her ears and handed them over to her. Ciara swore that after that day, she was going to get her a gun and use if she needed to. Bitches were getting bold and she needed to get bolder.

  “And next time, steal out of a store. It’s easier and safer,” Chanell said as she grabbed a bag and followed her sister and cousin out to the car.

  “Stupid ass bitch. I don’t even want none of that shit but I wasn’t letting that hoe keep it. Y’all can take whatever y’all want and I’ll give the rest to Stacy for the residents at the halfway house,” Amore said as she drove away.

  “That’s some nice stuff in there cousin. Are you sure about that?” Chanell asked.

  “I’m very sure. I don’t want nothing that Viper paid for. It’ll be replaced,” Amore replied.

  “Eminem will make sure of that,” Dallas replied.

  “Trillion bitch. His name is Trillion,” Amore laughed.

  She dropped her cousins off home and headed to Trillion’s house. Tristyn had already called her twice to see what time she was coming back. She had gotten attached to Amore and the feelings were mutual. She loved her just as much as she loved her father, if not more.

  “Can I have a pony daddy?” Tristyn asked her father as he drove her home.

  “We don’t have nowhere to keep a pony,” Trillion replied as he tried not to laugh.

  Tristyn’s party was the week before and he hired someone to come there and give the kids pony rides. One of the ponies had the tail dyed pink and Tristyn fell in love. She didn’t want to ride the other ponies and she didn’t want anybody else to ride that one.

  “Amore said that I could,” Tristyn said as she looked out of the window.

  “Did she?” Trillion asked.

  “Yep. I love Amore,” Tristyn said, making her father smile.

  “Me too baby,” Trillion replied as he pulled up to the house.

  “Look daddy,” Tristyn said as she pointed to the house.

  “The fuck,” Trillion mumbled under his breath.

  Two of the huge front windows on the house were boarded up but it wasn’t like that when Trillion passed up the street two days before. He didn’t stop because his daughter was with him and he didn’t have a reason to. He got out of the car and took Tristyn out of her booster seat. As soon as they got up on the porch, Leah opened the door wearing a scowl on her face.

  “Why would you give my daughter that big ass party and not tell me about it?” Leah fumed, right after their daughter ran into her bedroom.

  She was livid when she saw all the pictures on his Instagram page. They had ponies, clowns, magicians and a bunch of other activities to entertain the kids. Trillion never even told her that he was giving their daughter a party and she already knew why. His bitch was in just about every picture like she was Tristyn’s mother. They looked like one big happy family but Leah was nowhere in the picture frame.

  “What happened to the window?” Trillion asked, ignoring her question. Maybe if she didn’t cause a scene all the time, he would have told her about the party. Since she didn’t know how to act, he didn’t even bother.

  “You tell me. Ever since you showed your bitch where I live, all kinds of crazy shit has been happening to me,” Leah replied.

  “The fuck outta here with that dumb shit. My girl didn’t have nothing to do with that. But, just like always, I’ll have to pay to get the shit fixed,” Trillion argued.

  “Maybe she didn’t do it but she probably got somebody to do it for her,” Leah replied.

  “Just like that dead cat that somebody sat on the hood of your car,” Trillion laughed.

  Leah was really losing it. Amore had her bothered to the point of insanity. She sent Trillion a picture of a dead black cat on the hood of her car and she swore that Amore had something to do with it. She claimed that she was getting random phone calls threatening her life and Amore was being blamed for that too.

  “That was her too!” Leah yelled.

&nb
sp; “Yeah, just like it was her who beat you up that day,” Trillion smirked.

  “I damn sure didn’t do it to myself. I don’t find nothing funny. Your girlfriend is a lunatic,” Leah said.

  “And so is my baby mama,” Trillion countered.

  “It’s mighty funny how nothing ever happens when Tristyn is home. She waits until my baby is with you to start terrorizing me and you think it’s a joke. Thank God my neighbor had some boards in his garage to put at the windows,” Leah said as she forced some tears from her eyes.

  “Call and get somebody out here to fix the windows Leah. Let me know how much,” Trillion said as he turned to walk away.

  “Is that all that you have to say Trillion?” Leah asked.

  “No, it’s not. Since we’re talking, it’s time for you to get a job. Your sense of entitlement is starting to piss me off. Calling me at two in the morning because you don’t have soap and tissue in the house is disrespectful to my girl and downright ridiculous,” Trillion said.

  “That bitch don’t even live with you, so how is it disrespectful? You never cared about me having a job before she came along,” Leah noted.

  “Tristyn is starting school this year Leah. You can’t use her for an excuse anymore. You got too comfortable with having her to fall back on. I guess it’s a wrap on nursing school,” Trillion said.

  “Does she live with you now Trillion? Hell, I’ve never even seen the damn house before,” Leah replied.

  “The fuck. Did you hear anything that I just said Leah?” Trillion questioned.

  “Answer the question,” Leah said.

  “I’m gone,” Trillion replied as he shook his head and headed for the door.

  “I just don’t understand how you can let somebody be around our daughter when she clearly hates me,” Leah argued.

  “Don’t even flatter yourself sweetheart. Trust me, she don’t give a fuck about you one way or the other. Oh, and I got the real story behind that scar on your forehead. You need to do better at picking your men,” Trillion smirked.

  “Tell that bitch to keep my name out of her mouth,” Leah snapped.

  “Bye Leah,” Trillion replied.

  “Wait daddy, I’m coming,” Tristyn replied as she ran out of her room behind him.

  “No you’re not,” Leah fussed.

  “I thought you told me that you wanted to come home,” Trillion reminded her.

  “I just wanted my tablet,” Tristyn said as she held it up for him to see.

  “Let’s go,” he replied while grabbing her hand.

  “She’s not going anywhere,” Leah said while grabbing her daughter’s other hand.

  “But, Amore is taking me by my bestie,” Tristyn whined.

  “Fuck Amore! I’m your bestie!” Leah yelled, making their daughter cry.

  Trillion was heated after that. He never wanted to argue in front of his daughter, but Leah was going too far and doing too much. As they argued back and forth, Abby wheeled herself into the room to comfort Tristyn. Leah was too unstable and she was only getting worse. Abby’s guilt for not being the best mother to her daughter was the only thing stopping her from making her life a living hell. Now, she was starting to feel a new kind of guilt and it was keeping her up at night.

  “Come on baby,” Trillion said as he reached his hand out for his daughter as Leah rushed out of the room.

  “Trillion, wait. You dropped your paper,” Abby said as she pretended to pick up a paper from the floor.

  “That’s not my…” Trillion started to say until he saw the look on Abby’s face.

  “What’s that?” Leah asked, startling her mother. She was light on her feet and she moved fast.

  “Something I dropped,” Trillion said as he took the paper from Abby and watched her visibly relax.

  “Tomorrow Trillion. I want her home tomorrow,” Leah said, right before they walked out of the house. Once Trillion strapped his daughter into her car seat, he drove away while opening the folded piece of paper that Abby had given him.

  “The fuck,” Trillion said louder than he meant to.

  “Bad word daddy,” Tristyn admonished.

  “I’m sorry baby. Put your headphones on and watch a movie,” Trillion instructed her.

  “Okay,” Tristyn replied.

  Trillion waited until she did what he asked her to do before he grabbed his phone to call Amore. His heart was pounding erratically in his chest and he needed to get her input on things. He looked in his rearview mirror at his daughter and a pain that he’d never felt before consumed him. He didn’t want anything to change but he had a feeling that things would never be the same again.

  “T his is some bullshit!” Amore snapped angrily as Trillion drove them to their destination.

  “Bad word Amore,” Tristyn said from the back seat.

  “I’m sorry baby but I’m mad,” Amore replied.

  “At me?” Tristyn asked innocently.

  “No baby. I’ll never be mad at you,” Amore assured her with a smile.

  “Are you mad at daddy?” Tristyn asked, but Amore didn’t answer that time. Trillion looked over at her and she rolled her eyes at him.

  “Put your headphones on baby. Me and Amore need to have grown up talk,” Trillion told his daughter.

  “Okay,” Tristyn replied as she did what he told her to.

  “I don’t care what you say Trillion. I don’t agree with this,” Amore said.

  “I just need to know Amore. I love my baby and nothing will ever change that,” Trillion replied.

  “Men say shit like that all the time until the test comes back. That’s not fair to her though. She’s a baby, Trillion. She’s not gonna understand that. And, after four years, I don’t even know why her grandmother felt the need to bring the shit up,” Amore argued.

  Trillion was both shocked and confused when he read what was on the piece of paper that Abby dropped for him to pick up. The only thing it said was for him to get a DNA test on Tristyn but it didn’t go into any details. Amore was heartbroken and she cried when he showed it to her. She didn’t want him to get the test done and, at first, he agreed not to. The urge to know the truth was what propelled him to move forward and have it done. It took over a week for him to make up his mind, but they were on their way to the testing center to get it done.

  “I don’t know why either. This shit is crazy. Me and Leah always did deal with other people when we broke up, but Tristyn looks just like me,” Trillion pointed out.

  “Which is exactly why you need to turn this car around and forget about it,” Amore replied.

  “I want to baby, I swear I do, but I just can’t. Not knowing for sure is gonna drive me crazy. I mean, I was in the military so it’s possible,” Trillion noted.

  “Besides her mixed skin color, Tristyn is your twin. I can’t believe that you’re even going through with this,” Amore sniffled as she wiped a few tears that had fallen from her eyes.

  She had gotten attached to Tristyn from the first day they met and so did her cousins. Being with Trillion and not having her around was something that she couldn’t even imagine. Being a mother was something that Amore never thought about but Tristyn made her think again. Amore loved when she helped her cook and do the laundry. Tristyn went with her to the mall and the nail salon and she loved their bonding time. Since she didn’t work anymore, they were often home alone when Trillion had business to handle. She couldn’t imagine not cuddling in bed with her at night or watching Disney movies and singing along with the characters. Trillion was being unreasonable and nothing that she said was changing his mind.

  “Come on Love. You’re making this shit harder than it already is,” Trillion sighed as he reached over and grabbed her hand.

  He knew that Amore loved his daughter, but she was doing too much. He meant what he said and she needed to know that. No matter what the test said, he was going to be in Tristyn’s life until he took his last breath. He hated that he wasn’t there when she was born and his name wasn’t on her b
irth certificate. He kept telling Leah that he wanted to rectify that and give his daughter his last name but they hadn’t done it yet.

  “I’m staying in the car,” Amore pouted when they pulled up to the facility. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked straight ahead.

  “Don’t do this to me right now Amore. Damn, you’re acting like I’m the bad guy. You got attached to her after only a few months. Imagine how I feel after four years. This shit is tearing me the fuck up. I need you right now Love, more than ever,” Trillion said, melting Amore’s heart.

  “I’m so sorry baby. I was being selfish and thinking about myself. I never once stopped to think about how everything was affecting you. You’ve had my back from day one and I got yours too,” Amore assured him with a kiss.

  “I appreciate that Love.” Trillion smiled.

  Once they got out of the car, Amore and Tristyn sat down while he signed them in. Amore’s leg bounced nervously until Trillion put his hand on it to calm her down. Amore was never big on religion but she said a silent prayer as they sat there and waited to be called. Amore smiled when Tristyn got up from her seat and came to sit on her lap. She loved playing in Amore’s hair and she always let her.

  “Yates,” the receptionist called after a few minutes. Trillion got up and grabbed Tristyn’s hand, but Amore didn’t move.

  “Come on baby,” he said as he pulled her up and made her go with them.

  The test didn’t take long but Trillion had a lot of questions. The accuracy rating was amazing and that’s why he chose them. The tech even commented on how much Tristyn looked like him and that gave him a little boost of confidence. Once they left, Trillion decided to take his two favorite girls out for a bite to eat.