Family Over Everything

by Paige Green

  When a small crowd of men saw what was happening, they jumped to their feet and ran over to Day’onne, grabbing and pulling at his clothes, begging him to stop.

  His chest heaving, he let her go. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and trembling, tears rushing down her cheek.

  “Bitch, you better watch what the fuck you say to me. I will never be broke!” he spat.

  Walking out of the bar, he got into his Lexus and drove off. Making his way toward Northview, he was still gripped with anger over Ly’Mia calling him broke.

  I need something to take my anger out on, he thought.

  When he arrived up Northview, he searched the streets looking for something to get himself into. When he saw a small, light-skinned girl posted on the corner, he drove his car up next to her and honked the horn.

  Tessa folded her arms under her small breasts and wiped her runny nose. “You looking for a good time, baby?” she asked, going into a coughing fit.

  Day’onne nodded as he unlocked the door, signaling for her to get into the car. When her fragile body sank into the leather seat, he pulled off. Five minutes later, he pulled in front of an abandoned apartment building and stepped out of the car. Tessa got out and followed him into a cold, empty room in the back.

  Day’onne wasted no time pulling down his pants and Calvin Klein boxers and lying down on the single, dirty mattress that addicts and prostitutes used for their clients.

  “Suck this dick, bitch!” he spat, gripping her hair.

  She winced as he aggressively thrust his penis into her mouth, turning it dry with every forceful pound. At that moment, she regretted even turning this client, but she was desperate for the twenty dollars that she could use to get her next fix.

  Judging by the way he gripped her hair and forced his penis down her throat, she had no choice to do what she was told or else.

  Grabbing the base of his penis, she teased his penis with the flat and tip of her long, slim tongue. When he eased the tight grip he had on her hair, she had him where she wanted him, so she went to work.

  Day’onne stiffened and balled up his fists, trying not to moan out loud.

  Before Tessa knew it, he was already ejaculating. She cringed as the salty flavor seeped down her dry throat.

  “Come here,” he barked, grabbing her by her throat and violently slamming her on the mattress.

  Tears blinded her vision as she let out a loud, guttural scream as he forcefully parted her legs and vigorously entered her, pounding her tight, dry walls mercilessly. His grip around her neck became tighter and she gasped for air, clawing her nails into his hands, trying to get him to release her.

  When Day’onne saw her eyes rolling to the back of her head and her body shaking violently, it aroused him even more, causing him to ejaculate again. He collapsed on top of her, his chest heaving. When he caught his breath, he got out of bed and got up. Seeing that her body was limp and her eyes aimlessly stared into space, he realized he’d killed her.

  “Damn, what a waste of some fire pussy!” He laughed wickedly, tossing a twenty at her corpse and walking out.

  “Have you seen Tessa lately, Corrine?” Mercedes asked.

  It was nine in the morning and the two of them lay in their dark room alone after enduring a long day and night of turning clients the previous day. Corrine lay in her bed yearning for a hit, her scary-thin frame shaking under the thin sheets. She shook her head slightly and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. It had been over a week since anyone had seen Tessa, and Mercedes was finally getting worried.

  At first, she thought Tessa was ripping and running the streets, disappearing for days like she usually did. But this time, Mercedes’ instincts were telling her something wasn’t right. She decided to go out and find Tessa herself.

  Even though she was exhausted, she got out of bed. After taking a bird bath and throwing on a pair of sweat pants and tank top, she walked downstairs and out of the door.

  Walking up Penfort Street, her restless eyes took in the gloomy neighborhood. She watched hustlers hugging the corners and drug addicts yearning for their morning doses. Walking through the row houses, she looked high and low for Tessa, circling the whole neighborhood. After searching for what seemed like hours, she came up empty.

  “Hey, have you seen my younger sister, Tessa?” Mercedes asked a local drug dealer. “She’s light-skinned and very small?”

  “Oh, you talking about that crackheaded hoe? No, I haven’t seen her, but when you see her, tell her I got a free nickel bag for some free pussy.” The hustler laughed.

  Mercedes clenched her fists in anger and gritted her teeth. “What the fuck you just say?”

  “Chill, ma, I’m fucking with you. But if I was you, I would check the abandoned houses. She usually be over there on Chicago Street.”

  Mercedes nodded and made her way to Chicago Street. She kept her head down, fighting tears, as she passed bystanders throwing vicious words at her, calling her a “nasty hoe.”

  Exhaling heavily, she looked at the dull-colored apartment buildings that had either been burned or completely abandoned. Walking into one of them, she cringed at the sight of multiple addicts in corners in head nods, or having raw sex.

  In the next abandoned building, there were a handful of hustlers having either oral sex or serving the addicts their daily doses.

  Walking out of that apartment, she saw there was one more abandoned apartment left on the street. Taking a deep breath, a cold shiver ran down her back as she slowly walked through the tarnished blue door. The smell of urine, stale sex, and death assaulted her nose as soon as she walked in.

  Oddly, there was not one living soul walking through any of the rooms. When she reached the back room, her heart slammed into her chest. She raised a hand to her chest and looked down at the small, light-skinned girl staring at her through lifeless eyes.

  Kneeling, Mercedes pulled Tessa’s body into her arms, tears trickling down her face.

  “Oh, my God, who did this to you?” she cried, rocking her sister.

  Getting to her feet, she struggled to lift Tessa’s petite frame. Taking small steps, she made it to the front door and opened it.

  Brainiac, who happened to be walking past, saw Mercedes carrying Tessa and ran over.

  “What happened to her?” she asked, raising her hand to her mouth.

  “I don’t know, but I got to call the cops! I can’t believe somebody did this shit to her!”

  Mercedes cried, moving to step off the porch.

  Grabbing Mercedes by her wrist, Brainiac shook her head forcefully and hopped in front of her, preventing her from taking another step. “You can’t do that; you got to leave her here.”

  “What the fuck you mean?”

  “You know exactly what I mean. Sugar doesn’t want any of that attention on her business. She told all three of y’all when y’all stepped into this business that y’all were playing a risky game. It’s sad to say, but something was bound to happen to her. Shit, something is bound to happen to all of us! You got to take her back in there, Mercedes. Calling the cops ain’t too smart, girl,” she warned.

  “But I can’t leave her in there like this! She’s my sister!”

  “Girl, if you’re going to be in this game, you got to learn how to move the fuck on! I had a lot of friends die before my very eyes in these streets and I learned to move on and say fuck it.”

  “I want my sister back,” Mercedes cried, her knees buckling.

  Brainiac sighed. After glancing around to see if the coast was clear, she pulled her cell phone out of her bra and dialed 9-1-1, and reported a dead body.

  “Okay, they’ll be here in a few, so hurry up and put her back in there and be out. I’ll meet you back at Sugar’s,” Brainiac said, walking away.

  Mercedes nodded, hot tears burning her cheek. She ran her fingers through Tessa’s dead hair as she laid her limp body back onto the mattress.

  “I love you, Tessa. We’ll always be sisters,” she whispered
before standing to her feet to leave.

  She glanced back one last time, blowing her a kiss, knowing she’d just made one of the hardest decisions in her life.

  When she arrived back at Sugar’s with her mind, heart, and soul heavy, she dragged her feet into her room, and threw herself onto the bed, her chest heaving and eyes watering. She placed her pillow over her head and screamed into it angrily. Remembering the image of Tessa’s lifeless eyes, she released a low, heart-wrenching scream.

  After blowing off steam, she threw the pillow to the other side of the bedroom and exhaled. Knowing she had to get up and prepare to get on the corner, she dragged herself to the closet and collapsed to the floor. With red eyes, she reached into the closet and pulled out her duffle bag and removed a mini dress she’d be rocking that night. As she unfolded the dress, a small card fell to the floor. Picking the card up, she saw the name “Officer Raynisha Williams” with a number printed on it.

  “Officer Raynisha Williams? Who’s that?” she asked no one in particular.

  Snapping her fingers, she remembered Officer Williams as the woman whom she’d met at the police station when she and Corrine had stolen from Giant Eagle.

  She did say I could call her whenever I needed her, she thought, holding the card to her mouth, contemplating her next move.

  Knowing she didn’t have anywhere or anyone to turn to and feeling at her lowest point, her best bet was to give the policewoman a call. If anything, deep down, she hoped it was a sign from God. Picking up the home phone from off of her dresser, she slowly dialed the number that was printed on the card.

  “Hello?” a soft, angelic voice answered after the second ringer.

  “Hey, I’m looking for Officer Williams.”

  “This is she; may I ask who’s speaking?”

  “Mercedes.”

  “Mercedes who? How did you get my number?”

  “Mercedes Owens. Several months ago me and my sister got caught stealing at the Giant Eagle, remember? The foster kids?”

  The phone went silent and Mercedes fidgeted, biting her nails, hoping the officer remembered her.

  “Oh, yeah! I’ve been waiting for your call. What took you so long to contact me, Mercedes? And where is Corrine?”

  “I don’t know, she’s—”

  “Look, I’m kind of busy right now, but can I come and get you from somewhere in an hour or so? I’d like to catch up and see how you been doing,” Officer Williams said sincerely.

  “Um . . .”

  “You can trust me, girl; I’m not going to hurt you. Where are you?”

  “Up Northview.”

  “What part? Can I meet you in an hour?”

  “On the top of Penfort Street, and I guess so,” Mercedes said hesitantly.

  “I’ll be there.” Officer Williams ended the call.

  An hour later, Mercedes stood on the corner of Penfort Street, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and dressed in a jogging suit. A midnight-blue car pulled up in front of her and honked. Looking in, she saw a dark-skinned woman who wore a short, cropped hairstyle, in the driver’s seat.

  “C’mon, girl!” Officer Williams said, waving at Mercedes.

  Mercedes hesitantly opened the door and got in.

  “Put your seat belt on, girl. And sorry I took so long. I was just getting off work when you called. Is everything okay?” she asked, driving off.

  Mercedes nodded and looked out of the window. She remained quiet, noticing a couple and three young children cooking on a grill, laughing, and having a good time. She sighed, wishing she’d had a chance to experience that type of feeling with Tessa and Corrine.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I have some lasagna cooking at my place. You don’t mind if we go there, do you?”

  Mercedes shook her head, still staring out of the window. She remained quiet the rest of the ride to Officer Williams’ small brownstone home. Going in, the aroma of the tasty food filled their noses. Mercedes took a seat on the couch and fidgeted, watching Officer Williams take off her jacket and then walk over to her.

  Looking into the young girl’s sorrowful eyes, she couldn’t help but wonder what she’d been through. “What’s going on, baby girl? Is everything okay?” she asked, taking a seat next to her.

  Mercedes nodded quickly as she looked at the floor. Gently grabbing Mercedes’ chin, she lifted it until her eyes met hers. “Young lady, you’re too beautiful to be holding your head down. When you’re around me and anyone else, I want you to hold that up. You’ll mess around and miss a blessing holding your head that low.”

  Mercedes nodded again and tried to hold her head high.

  “Now, I know you wanted something or you wouldn’t have called me. What’s going on?”

  A tear escaped from her eye as Mercedes shook her head, lowering it into her hands. Catching Officer Williams off-guard, she let out a low scream. Officer Williams rubbed her back, allowing her to get any emotion she had held within her out. When she finally stopped crying and caught her breath, Officer Williams reached into her purse, pulled out a tissue, and handed it to her.

  “Thank you, Officer,” Mercedes said, blowing her nose.

  “Please, call me Raynisha. What’s going on? Please talk to me.”

  “This is weird, but I needed someone to talk to and had no one to turn to,” Mercedes said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Sweetie, this doesn’t have to be weird.” Raynisha smiled kindly. “I told you before at the police station that I wanted to help you and your sister. I could tell by looking at the both of you that y’all have been through some things.”

  “I know, I want the pain to go away. I want to be happy.”

  “And you can be, baby girl. There are always things you can do in life to be happy. It’s up to you. You have to take steps and watch everything come in slow; it doesn’t happen overnight. Now, tell me what’s on your mind?”

  Taking a deep breath, Mercedes turned to face Raynisha. She mustered up all the strength and courage she had left and told her everything. She told her about the situation with Rachael abusing her, Corrine, and Tessa. Then, she told her about her prostituting, Corrine’s and Tessa’s drug addiction, and Tessa’s recent death.

  Raynisha raised a hand to her chest, looking at the broken young woman before her. She wrapped her arms around Mercedes, giving her a warm hug, silently assuring her everything would be fine.

  “I knew there was something about you that had me drawn to you when I first met you, but I couldn’t put my finger on it,” Raynisha finally said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “When I was younger, I was also in a foster care and ran away after being abused by my foster father. He’d molested and raped me for over ten years.”

  “Are you serious? What did you do about it?”

  “I ran away, girl. I got into drugs, partying, and everything.”

  “Really? I would never have thought that,” Mercedes said, appalled.

  “Me either. But, after almost dying in them streets, I got myself together. I got my GED, went into law, and became a police officer. That’s what I mean, because you’ve been through a lot of things in life doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t ever be happy. You have to fight for it, baby girl. Life is too short. You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything. Everything worth having is worth fighting for; remember that.”

  “You’re right, Raynisha. I never thought I’d ever sink this low, though. I can’t believe my sister is gone. I tried to save her from sinking in these streets. But no matter what I did, it never worked.”

  “You can’t beat yourself up about it, Mercedes. You’re still young and you have the whole world ahead of you. You have to learn how to let go and let God, girl. And the first step of this is to stop prostituting,” Raynisha said.

  “I can’t, Raynisha, I can’t. I don’t have anywhere to go, and that’s my only income.”

  “Listen, you have me now. M
atter of fact, I want you and Corrine to stay with me. Maybe this was meant to happen. Maybe God sent you to me for a given reason. You see what happened to your sister; you don’t want you or Corrine to be next.”

  Tears filled Mercedes’ eyes. Overwhelmed with emotion, she didn’t know what her next move would be. She knew from the sincerity in Raynisha’s voice that she was a woman of her word, but she didn’t want to depend on someone else.

  “Okay, I have an idea,” she said.

  “I’m listening.”

  “I’m going to continue to prostitute for two more weeks. I have seventeen thousand dollars saved up and my goal was twenty. In two weeks, I should reach my goal. When that happens, I’ll take my and Corrine’s things, pack them up, and head over here.”

  “You have seventeen thousand, why be greedy, girl? You are under-aged and prostituting, at that. Who are you working for? I’m sorry, Mercedes, but I can’t allow you to continue to do this.”

  “Please, Raynisha? I been doing this for months and twenty was a goal I wanted to reach. Plus, I don’t ever like depending on anyone. If I touch twenty, I’ll be good to take care of me and Corrine until we finally get back on our feet. I promise, two more weeks and I’m done,” Mercedes pleaded.

  Throwing her arms up in surrender, Raynisha said, “I’m serious, Mercedes, I want to see both of you off of those streets in two weeks. If I don’t, I will have to turn the both of you in, do you understand?”

  “Yes, I understand.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  “You get any info on that bitch yet?” Respect asked Jewels.

  They were both in Jewels’ condominium, counting their week’s profit. It’d been over a month since they’d been back on the streets, and things were slowly but surely coming back into place for all of them.

  He looked at the tall piles of money stacked on the living room table and took another pull from his sweet cigar. “Yep, she lives with that bitch, Sugar. Sugar be having her posted on the corner of Hazlet and shit. If we’re lucky, we could probably catch her tonight.”

  “Do you want me or that nigga Brooke to go with you? I got some business to tend to tonight.”