Haywood Millionaire Series: Box Set Books 1-5

by Zi'ere

  Backing out of the driveway I saw three men jump out of a huge truck and head for the front door. I recognized one of the men Angel often did things for payment in whatever drug she was using at the time. She’d made the mistake of thinking just because the man was young that she could get over on him. He’d roughed her up more than once but they still continued to do business to each other. The entire situation made me sick to my stomach. I pretended not to see them trying to get a glimpse of who was behind the dark tint on my car.

  When the kids and I made it back to the house the truck was still parked out front in the same spot it had been when I’d left. There were also other cars in the driveway. I drove to the back of the house and got the kids in the house through the back door so they didn’t have to see anything a child shouldn’t see going on in the home they slept in. Angel let people in and often times they roamed the house admiring her beautiful fixtures. Our side of the house was kept strictly off limits. There was always at least one person in her group that remembered the time I stabbed a man in the chest for stumbling his drunk and high ass into my bedroom.

  Completely exhausted I ensured each of the kids got their baths and brushed their teeth before turning in for the night. I’d finally sat on the side of my bed when my cell phone began to vibrate. I stared at my father’s mother’s picture on the screen. Grandma D always called at the oddest times. This being the third time she’d called me that day and I hadn’t returned her call, if I missed this one I could bet my life she would be on her way to the house. What I didn’t need in my life was another fight between her and Angel. Grandma D would chase everyone inside back outside. I had to answer this time.

  “Hello.”

  “Gurl why have I been calling you all day like you are my man or something?”

  “I’m sorry Grandma. I just had a busy day with the kids all day.”

  Grandma D wouldn’t give a damn for real but it was the complete truth.

  “Where is your trifling ass mammy and why wasn’t she helping you? Nawl, don’t answer that. Why don’t you let her take care of her own kids? They aren’t your kids they are her kids. What the fuck is her washed up ass going to do when you go to college?”

  I took the phone away from my ear. What I didn’t need is someone else reprimanding me for the things I did to give my little brothers and sister as normal of a life as possible. Wherever I went to college my kids were coming with me and I didn’t give a damn who had a problem with it. Grandma knew just as well as I did that Angel wasn’t fit to take care of a damn goldfish. Even though she hadn’t heard me respond to one word she’d said, she was still yapping. And she was loud as hell.

  “Grandma, she’s here now so I am going to go ahead and get myself situated for school in the morning. I love you and I will talk to you later.” I didn’t want to hear anything else from anyone for the rest of the day so I said my words in double talk to rush her off the phone.

  I’d hung up before she’d had a chance to respond. I needed to take something to stop my head from vibrating and I wanted an ice cold Coke so I headed to the kitchen. I was cursing myself because I had long ago decided to put a mini fridge in my room but I’d never got around to getting it done. When Angel was entertaining, I had no desire to be seen. I prayed that as few people as possible knew that we were even related. Staying out of her world was the safest move I could possibly make. I crept down the hall but stopped short when I heard her having a heated conversation.

  16

  “Look, I’m telling you…I have something better than the money I owe you D!”

  “Angel ain’t shit better than the money you owe me but the money you owe me! I do have a heart which is why I haven’t deaded yo ass a long time ago!”

  “You gon kill me D?”

  “Wait a minute, who are these kids in these pictures?” Darius pointed to the refrigerator.

  Angel scratched her head and looked at the floor as she mumbled, “those are my kids. You see the biggest one…that is the one I was talking about.”

  “What the fuck?” Darius was obviously pissed. “Damn, I feel sorry for these kids…”

  “That is just it, my oldest is a beautiful virgin. How many of them are you running into these days?”

  “I have never seen a beautiful girl in this trap before today! And she is beautiful which is why you need to get your shit together! You know its fucking sharks out there who will eat her alive! Hell, look at you!”

  I stood in the hallway holding my breath eavesdropping on the conversation between Angel and just one of her many drug suppliers. Darius might not have seen me but I had most certainly seen him before. I made it my business to know who all the bad souls were that Angel dealt with. There was no way for me to know when one of them would take their anger, disrespect, or debts out on one of us. Their faces were forever etched into my memory.

  I wanted to cry, scream, and whip Angel’s ass. She was offering me up to settle her debt, she wasn’t shit, and never was going to be shit. This was the second time she’d presented this situation. When she was here she was causing trouble, when she was gone it was a struggle but we always made it through. Our lives were definitely better without her in it. But, Darius could bring his ass down this hall if he wanted too, I had something for both of their asses. Insurance money from Angel’s death would really help us out.

  “I just need a bump and I can get my shit together. I thought if I did a favor for you, you’d do one for me. I don’t even want to know how much money you’ve made in here all day!” Angel was trying to make a deal with the devil.

  “Money?”

  “And sex…” Angel replied.

  “See you got me fucked up! I don’t do no dirty shit like that! Them old muthafuckas you deal with might jump at the chance to fuck a teenager young enough to be their granddaughter. I’m a real man. I’m sure if she has you for a fuckin poor excuse of a mother, she has enough shit going on in her life than to be offered up to pay off your scandalous ass debts!”

  “Well I don’t have the money! You won’t let me work it off…what the fuck else am I supposed to do?”

  “Ain’t nobody tryna smash your broke down ass pussy- gone on with that shit!” Darius waved her off like she was a persistent mosquito.

  “With time comes skills and I know I got better skills than any female you’ve ever been with. Shit, you look like you need to relax to me right now…let me or Maya or me and Maya do something to make you feel real good?” She walked back up to him again and tried to rub his chest.

  He pushed her hand away before she made contact.

  “You know what would make me feel good? Stay your ass off my blocks tryna score on credit. You are officially cut off. If I find out somebody in my set gave your ass a crumb of my shit, both of ya’ll gonna be sleep for the long haul!” He stepped back again.

  “What the fuck am I supposed to do D? I can’t go to no program right now…I got kids I gotta take care of. I can’t kick that monkey off my back cold turkey! What the fuck am I supposed to do after all the money I’ve made for you….”

  “You are supposed to not dial my number ever again! If I see you on my block fuckin wit my workers, hear me damn good when I say that I promise you those kids are going to get a new fuckin mother for Christmas! That is what they need any damn way!” Darius was pissed.

  All of a sudden I heard “EVERYBODY GET YOUR SHIT AND GET THE FUCK OUT! IF I CATCH YOUR ASSES BACK HERE YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH ME! HURRY UP AND GET THE FUCK OUT NOW!”

  “D WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? THIS IS MY HOUSE, WHY ARE YOU KICKING OUT MY FRIENDS?” Angel pleaded with him.

  “GIRL GET YOUR FUCKIN HANDS OFF ME! THIS IS A HOUSE FOR YOUR KIDS, NOT ALL THIS SHIT YOU GOT GOING ON IN HERE! I’M NOT TRYNA GET KNOCKED WHILE YOU IN HERE RUNNING A HOE HOUSE, TRAP HOUSE, OR A FUCKIN HIDEOUT! DAMN YOU SIMPLE ASS BITCHES THESE DAYS…PUT EVERYTHING BEFORE YOUR OWN FUCKIN KIDS! THAT SHIT FUCKS WITH MY DAMN SOUL!”

  “DAMN! YOU ACTING LIKE I’M YOUR D
AMN MAMA!” Angel shouted back.

  “You ain’t gotta be my mama! Mine was just like you so I can only imagine what your kids are going thru. Had I known you had kids in this house like this I woulda been put a stop to this shit!”

  “What in the entire fuck are you talking about? This is my fuckin house and I make the rules in this muthafucka!”

  “Since you talking big shit, you just became number one on my shit list. Let me find out some shit has popped off in here with those kids! I swear on everything I love you won’t have to wait long to see what is going to happen to your ass!”

  18

  I watched as he side stepped past her and walked out the front door. She tried to run after him but he’d slammed the door in her face. Angel collapsed to the floor and started to cry. I almost felt sorry for her for a minute. A few seconds later I heard the sounds of D’s tricked out truck move on down the road. My breathing returned to normal. This wasn’t the first time Angel had offered my virginity for her personal gain.

  In the past she’s had some takers but I am proud to say that they won’t even think of sticking a dick inside anyone else who didn’t ask for it ever again. Some had physical scars and cried out when they saw the blood leaking from their bodies. Others were being blackmailed into sending me money into a private account until I said I would forget the whole incident. Men went through great lengths to keep their wives from finding out about their sins. And now I was dealing with the fact that she’d tried it with Zina. My head was pounding. Forgetting the Coke and my pain, I softly padded off to my room. On my cell phone I texted my best friend.

  Me: She did it again.

  Johan: Damn! What now?

  Me: My virginity to pay her debt

  Johan: WHAT! WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL ME?

  Me: Calm down. Dude wasn’t having it. I handled it.

  Johan: It don’t’ matter! I told you that you can’t overpower a man!

  Me: I so not the one needing a speech right now.

  Me: Angel is still up, talk to her ass if you want to lecture somebody!

  I turned off the phone and got in bed. I knew that Johan was burning up his fingers trying to get me back on the line. Good for me there was no house phone for him to blow up as well. I sat up in my bed and allowed the tv to watch me. My mind was a million miles away. Before I knew it the sun was coming up. I watched the magic through the blinds of the double windows on the other side of the room. I took the pony tail holder out of my hair. It was giving me a headache because my hair was so long and thick.

  I wanted to release my tension and enjoy God’s artwork. The anxiety I had the week before was now gone. We’d gotten another week of school under our belts while living without a responsible parent in sight. During the week I realized that I had an important calling on my life to take care of my brothers and sister. I was determined not to neglect them like Angel does. I am responsible, reliable, and raising three children all by myself. My needs, wants, and desires came after Angel’s kids had what they needed. I heard a door in the house close and a few minutes later the garage door went up.

  It was daybreak on a Saturday morning, I had no idea where in the world she could be going. I knew where she should have been going- to the grocery store. After a while her children were going to wake up hungry and it would be my responsibility to feed them which was a problem. There was no food in the house. Yet, just like everything else, Amaya would take care of it and the kids wouldn’t even notice. I laid back on the many pillows on my bed. I had forgotten the kids had activities today, I needed a nap to recharge.

  19

  I heard the broken doorbell sound off as if it was the dryer just finishing its load. The bell had been broken for over a year. I looked at the clock, it was only a little after eleven but I’d been tired hours ago. One thing was for sure and another was for certain: no one was ringing the doorbell for me and Angel was on one of her ‘trips’. My mother was the infamous Angel Stevens of Chandler, Arizona. Certified whore, cheat, and trouble maker wherever she went.

  At one time in my life I lived a great life of a kid without a care in the world. When Angel was still best friends with our God-Mother Stephanie Haywood whatever I was missing in Angel, I got in Steph. Yet, just like a hurricane in the rest of her life- she’d destroyed her relationship with Stephanie as well. I couldn’t fault Steph from cutting all ties with Angel from her life and family. There was a huge scandal in the city that even my classmates knew about. Only problem was that in the circles of the wealthy and fly society scandals were frowned upon.

  I missed Steph so much I couldn’t stand it sometimes. I hadn’t attempted but I didn’t even know if my Nana Steph would even answer my phone calls. She’d probably think it was Angel playing with her on my phone and would send the call straight to voice mail. I didn’t need the heartache and disappointment, so I didn’t risk it. Hell she was an adult just like Angel. I was the kid. If she wanted to be bothered with us, she knew where to find us.

  The knocks and irregular sounds of the doorbell brought me back to the present. There was no reason for me to be out of bed, it was late and I had school in a few hours. A few seconds later I had to have dozed off because I was awakened out of my sleep by the front door being kicked in. Screams of Angel’s full name went through the house. The kids ran passed the men and women in SWAT gear to get to me. My heart was about to jump out of my chest.

  20

  “You kids here alone?” A huge black guy asked me in the roughest tone I’d ever heard.

  “Did you find anyone else in here?” I replied in my roughest tone.

  I was pissed at him for scaring the kids in the middle of the night. He plus his crew of G. I. Joe’s needed to know that I could whip all their asses if I could.

  “Why didn’t you answer the door?” He asked as if he were my father.

  “It is late. No one is coming here to see me. Angel is not here. Me and my brothers and sister have to go to school in a few hours…why should I answer the door in the middle of the night for a total stranger?” My neck roll had plenty of attitude associated with it.

  Zina clinched on to me tighter.

  “How old are you?”

  He lost his tough demeanor.

  He had just stepped out of professionalism and into personal land. It was too bad for him that I didn’t do personal questioning or answers with anyone I didn’t know for real. I had too much to lose for someone to be all up in my business.

  “I’m old enough to know that your warrant says Angel Danielle Stevens and I’m old enough to know that Angel Danielle Stevens is not here. As you have just verified. I am also old enough to remember that I told you that the last time you came here. I am also old enough to know that it is hitting midnight and I have no front door to protect us while we attempt to get some rest for a little while for the rest of the night so that we can function in school tomorrow. So please know that I’m old enough to know that you need to get someone on the horn to come take care of that ASAP!”

  I cut my eyes at the man as I pointed to the front door hanging on by one set of hinges.

  “Look a here, you need to understand that when we come to serve a warrant we don’t have to…” Another officer stopped him.

  “Steve, she said she told you the last time that Angel doesn’t live here. Why aren’t we at another address for her right now? Besides, you know protocol and it’s real easy to follow. Go ahead and call someone to handle this door situation. Even if we have to take them in to protective custody we can’t leave the front door like that.” Lil G. I. Joe walked off after he sucked his teeth at me and got a ‘I wish the fuck you would’ look in return from me.

  I had mase in my pajama pants pockets. I would light his ass up.

  “I’m sorry about that. Some of us follow protocol to the T and we get so wrapped up in upholding the law we lose the people skills it takes to keep bad situations from becoming worse. You don’t need this in your file and I know you don’t want me to put it in there.
Come on, let’s get to it so we can leave.” A kinder and cuter officer said.

  I grabbed a robe from the back of my bedroom door and escorted the kids back to their bedrooms while the house full of agents made calls to have a repairman come out while eyeing me closely. Zina was handling the situation the worst. It seems she wasn’t ever going to stop crying. I couldn’t understand it. This was not the first time agents had come to the house looking for Angel. The twins just wanted to make sure I was okay. After that, they were okay to get back to their pillows.

  “I want to apologize for that scene earlier. If I had known what happened the last time, we wouldn’t be here tonight.” The nice guy was back in my face.

  “Yea ok.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “I understand how you feel. But at the same time I know you aren’t old enough to have custody of your brothers and sisters alone. I am going to need someone to verify that they have parental possession and will be here shortly to watch all of you kidss or I’m going to have to call children’s services.” He held his head down while he talked this time.

  I looked up as a tear dropped from my eye.

  “Please don’t do that! I only have a few more months before I turn eighteen!”

  He was being an ass for making me cry and beg his punk ass. I couldn’t even be mad though. Even though these half assed trained police were harassing me, I knew he was telling the truth. My truth was that children services would surely split us up. I had to plead with him even though I didn’t have it in my heart too. There was no way he or anyone else in the state was going to separate me from my babies.

  “Amaya call one of your Grandmother’s…I personally would suggest Deloris. You know she’s up this time of night and she knows why we are here and I haven’t talked to her in a while.” He offered me his cell phone.

  I read the name plate over one of his shirt pockets. According to the brass he was a high ranking officer with the last name Ward.