"Yeah, his dog ass!" Veronica said from the back seat, her chin resting on the top of the front seat between Momma and Pamela.
"Oh, my Lord," Momma sighed, nearly under her breath, as she reached across and pulled Pamela into her warm, motherly arms. As strong as Momma was, she couldn't hold back the tears. Pamela was like an adopted daughter and when Pamela was sad and hurting, Momma was sad and hurting. She knew Pamela was facing a big decision, and so she asked, "So, what are you going to do?"
"Momma, I can't have this child... I just can't do it," she cried, her face lowering into her hands in misery.
After a long sigh, Momma gently pulled her hand away from her face. Pamela looked across at her, her eyes wet and watery with tears. They stared deeply into each other's eyes and Momma said, "God makes no mistakes, girl. If he ain't want you to have this baby, then He wouldn't have let you get pregnant. A child is not a puppy. You can't just get rid of it whenever you want. It's a gift from God, and you're the woman God chose to deliver the gift."
"But Momma, it wasn't by design. I was beaten and raped!" she yelled, her eyes overflowing with tears again.
Momma reached out and took both of Pamela's hands. She could feel them trembling inside hers. "Pamela, what that man did to you that night was wrong. And rest assured that God will punish him one day for his actions. What I learned from all my years on this earth is that no wrong goes unpunished. Still, I want you to understand that has nothing to do with this child growing inside your womb right now. Don't deny life, because life didn't deny you."
"Momma... Momma ... I ... I..." Pamela stuttered.
Pamela, do me a favor and just think about it for a little while. Can you at least do that for me?"
Seeing the serious look on Momma's face, Pamela said, "Okay Momma, I'll think about it."
Momma turned and started the car engine, then tearfully drove down the street in a car filled with total silence.
At the same time, inside the 'Death Crib'...
“Mothafucker! Whatcha think this is…a game?! What, you didn't think I would find your stupid ass? Nigga, where's my damn money?" Hood screamed and kicked Mick to the hard concrete floor.
"Please Hood, I'll get your money, man! Please don't kill me!" Mick begged; crying and pleading for his life.
"Mothafucker, I said where's my damn money?! And where is that bitch-ass cousin of yours hiding?" Hood yelled, kicking Mick in the head, stomach and kidneys.
"I don't know, man!" Mick cried between savage kicks to his body. "I swear I don't know, Hood! I swear!"
Hood looked down at the withering coward on the floor at his feet. The naked, drug wasted male body sickened him. The smell of his fear and the sight of his weak, polluted blood draining from his body caused his anger to boil. He shook his head in disgust.
Detective Ron Perry and four of Hood's street enforcers all stood around Mick's frail, defeated body.
Ron Perry had found Mick coming from a woman's house on 38th street. He arrested Mick on the spot. But, instead of taking him to the local police station, he brought him to an empty house on 60th and Lansdowne Avenue known as the 'Death Crib'. Once a person was brought there, they would never leave alive.
"I'm gonna ask you one more time, Mick," Hood said slowly. "Where is my sixty-five grand, and where the hell is your cousin?"
"Please Hood," Mick begged tearfully. "Please, I told you I don't know."
Hood aimed his .357 Magnum at Mick's forehead and without hesitation pulled the trigger.
BOOMM! ! !
Pieces of Mick's brain, mixed with blood, flesh and bone fragments, exploded into the air. He was slammed to the floor by the force of the slug entering and exiting his head faster than the speed of sound. He was lucky. His death was instant.
"Get rid of the body," Hood ordered, looking over at his men. "Leave parts by the Schuylkill River and the rest somewhere over in Jersey. And make sure ya'll clean up this basement! It stinks!" He and Ron then turned and walked up the stairs and out of the house.
Standing outside by his black Mercedes Benz, Hood looked at Ron and said, "Find Jay. He's next."
Ron watched as Hood got into his car. An attractive white woman sat in the passenger seat. When Ron saw her face and realized who she was, he could only shake his head and smile. "Lucky bastard," he muttered under his breath as the driver's door closed and the car rolled silently into the night.
Reese and his five year old brother, D.J., stood outside in the front yard watching as their cousin Tasha sat on the steps playing with Face's dark curly hair. Everyone knew that Face had a deep childhood crush on Tasha. Tasha was a pretty, brown skinned girl with black, shoulder-length hair. She was very smart; one of the top students in her 7th grade class. Face had no problem submitting to her. He was in Heaven.
"Come on Face!" Reese pleaded, standing in place dribbling his new basketball. "Let's go down to the playground and shoot some ball."
"No," Tasha said instantly. "He's busy!" she added, running her long slim fingers through his hair.
"Girl, be quiet!" Reese demanded. "Let him talk!"
"Tell ‘um you're not going, Norman!" She demanded.
Face stood up from the front porch steps and looked Tasha in the eyes and said, "Tasha, I'll be back." He turned and joined Reese and D.J.
"So why don't you want to stay with me, Norman?" she asked, worried why he would choose the two boys over her. "It's not that I don't want to stay with you, Tasha," he explained, "it's just that I promised Reese and D.J. that I would play basketball with them. And I will never break a promise to a friend. I'm sorry."
"Okay, Norman," she replied, somehow understanding him. "I'll see you when you get back." She frowned, folding her arms across her chest.
Before he turned and walked away, Face said, "Tasha could you do me a big favor?"
"What?" she asked.
"Can you start calling me by my new nickname? Everybody else do
it."
Tasha saw the seriousness in Face's expression and said, "I'll think about it." Then she stood up from the steps and went into the house, her 12- year-old heart breaking with disappointment.
As soon as she entered the house, she ran to the front window and watched as Norman and her cousins walked down the street.
Momma watched her stare out the window from the couch. She knew her granddaughter was just as much infatuated with Face as he was with her. Momma thought the childish crush they held for each other was cute. "Tasha, come over here and sit next to your Momma," Momma said, smiling with love for her granddaughter.
Tasha walked over and sat beside her grandmother, then snuggled into the comfort of her arms."What's wrong?" Momma asked, seeing the sad expression on Tasha's face.
“Nothing," she replied.
"Girl, don't you nothing me," Momma said, her smile growing. "Now, tell Momma what's on your mind."
Tasha looked up at her grandmother, "Momma, sometimes boys just get on my nerves!"
Momma nearly laughed at the seriousness in Tasha's voice. Instead, she reached out and gathered the girl into her loving arms. "I know what you mean," she laughed with relief. "Is it Face?" "Huh?" Tasha replied, slightly embarrassed.
"Is it Face that gets on your nerves?"
"Yes, Momma. It's Face," she muttered softly.
"So, you really like him, huh?" Momma teased gently.
"He's only eight years old, Momma." Tasha replied, as if liking a younger boy was far beneath her status. "I'm twelve!" "So." Momma smiled. "Then why do you like him so much?"
“I don't know, Momma," she answered thoughtfully, "maybe because he's so cute. But, I would never tell him that!" she added before they both burst out laughing.
Chapter Ten
West Philadelphia... Hood drove his car behind an old abandoned warehouse and parked.
"No hotel this time?" the attractive white woman asked, reaching outand starting to unbuckle his belt.
"Next time," he promised. "I have a few things to do today," he
added, sliding his pants and underwear down.
The woman looked at Hood's long, fat, black dick and smiled. Then,without hesitation, she swallowed as much as her mouth and throat would allow; which was quite a large amount.
Thirty minutes later Hood dropped the woman off back at her job with the local police station. Her name was Britney Conners. She was a sergeant on the Philadelphia Police Force, and Britney had a thing forbad boys; especially black ones who were well endowed.
After Hood dropped Britney off at work, he sped down the street smiling from ear to ear.
"Give me back my basketball, Chub!" Reese yelled out.
"Take it," the fat, heavyset kid challenged.
Reese stood staring at Chub, the neighborhood bully, with evil eyes. Eventhought he was only 12 years old, he already stood 5'9" tall and weighed nearly 200 pounds. Everyone was scared of Chub and he enjoyed using his large size to terrorize all the smaller boys around the neighborhood.
"Man, just give me back my ball!" Reese repeated, his anger rising.
"The only way you can ever get this basketball back is if you get theheart to take it from me. Other than that, it's staying with me," Chub grinned, as if he knew he had nothing to fear from the smaller boy.
In a sudden burst of insane rage, Reese ran straight at Chub swinging and throwing punches everywhere. But, despite his fury, and flurry of punches, Chub was just too big for him to handle.
Chub grabbed him by his t-shirt and slung him hard to the ground. He sprang back to his feet and squared off again. "Give me my ball back!" he fumed, his anger still racing.
"Take it you little chump!" Chub challenged, hiding the ball under his armpit.
Reese stood there shaking his head in frustration. A small crowd of kids had gathered around to see the action; their eyes were large with a combination of fear and excitement. Their curiosity held them transfixed waiting to see which of them had the courage to challenge Chub.
Most of them had been his victim at one time or another.
Reese looked across the playground and saw his little brother and Face walking toward the crowd. Even they had been attracted by the gathering excitement. He also noticed an empty 40 ounce glass bottle clutched in Face's hand. A knowing smirk came to his face as he said, "Chub, I'm going to ask you one more time to give me back my ball, orelse."
"Or else what?” Chub laughed, leaning slightly back on his heels and holding his belly.
"Or else you gonna get a real bad beatdown," he said tightening his fists into balls.
"By who," Chub howled, his laughter overwhelming him. "By all of us," a voice said from behind him.
As soon as he turned to see who the voice belonged to, Face jumped up and swung the bottle. It shattered on impact and Chub fell to the ground holding his bloody face. He began to scream with terror from the sight of his own blood, histemporary blindness, pain, and the beat-down that was in full motion.
Face, Reese and D.J. all started beating and kicking on Chub. Every time he blocked one punch, another punch or kick caught him in the facefrom another direction. Soon he was crying like a baby.
The crowd of kids stood around, stunned to silence. They couldn't believe Chub, the neighborhood bully, was in the midst of getting the beat-down of his life.
When it was finally over, Face, Reese and D.J. looked down at theirvictim, then at each other. Chub’s blood was all over their clothes. Theystepped back and watched as Chub got off the ground and slowly staggered toward his home, beaten and embarrassed. Reese walkedover and reclaimed his basketball, dropped and forgotten by Chub. He turned to Face and D.J., tossed the ball up and caught it on the way down, then smiled. Face and D.J. smiled back and together the three turned and walked back toward their own homes.
Pamela, Momma, and Tasha were all standing outside the house talking when they saw the three boys coming toward them, laughing andjoking, their clothing covered in blood. All three rushed to the boys.
"What the hell happened this time?" Momma shouted, her voice tense with worry.
"Nothin' Momma," Reese answered quickly. "This ain't our blood." "Then who's is it?" Momma asked, as they all walked back to the front yard.
"Its Chub’s blood," Reese said, "the one I told you about before." “The one who took your baseball glove?" Momma asked surprised. "Yup, he's the one," Face replied.
"Well, what happened?" Pamela asked, her eyes big with worry.
"He tried to take Reese's basketball, so we all jumped him," Face answered proudly, seeing his mother's pride and surprise. Pridefully, D.J. added, “Face hit'em with a bottle."
Face saw a smile cross his mother's lips and move up into her eyes.
"Momma, you told us the next time somebody tried to take something from us, for us to pick up a stick or a bottle and beat them like they stole something," Reese reminded her in a serious voice. "We did." he added, grinning broadly.
Momma stood with her hands on her hips shaking her head. She didn't know whether to punish the boys for fighting or to congratulate them for standing up to the neighborhood bully and putting him firmly in his place.
They all stood around waiting on Momma's response. She knew boys would be boys and that they were going to fight from time to time - it was just part of being a boy and turning into a man. Momma had no intentions of raising a couple of little punks; she knew that little punks often grew into big cowards.
"Okay, ya'll get in the house and out of them dirty clothes. I want all of you cleaned up and dressed by dinnertime. Tasha make sure you get all of their clothes and put' em in the washin' machine.”
"Okay, Momma," Tasha replied, following the boys into the house. When all the children had gone inside the house Momma and Pamelastood in the front yard. They shook their heads at each other. "Girl, those three boys are gonna be somethin' else."
"I already know." Pamela agreed.
"So, what time is Veronica coming to get you?" Momma asked, changing the subject.
"Late tonight." Pamela answered. "I'll be back home tomorrow morning," she added grinning.
"Another hot date?" Momma asked curiously.
"Not tonight," Pamela answered. "Tonight is strictly business." Shestepped over and gave Momma a tight, warm hug.
"Girl, what is you up to?"
"Nothing Momma," she said quickly. "I'll see you early tomorrow morning," she added, turning and walking away.
Momma watched as Pamela walked over to her own house and wentinside. She knew Pamela was up to something. Trouble was written all over her pretty face.
Later that night...
Momma was inside her bedroom sleeping peacefully under the sheets. Her loud, hard snoring could be heard all the way down the hallway. After a long tiresome day, her old body was in great need of rest. Her TV was still on and her door was slightly cracked open. Reese and D.J. were in their bedroom sleeping peacefully beside each other. Both boys were tired and lost somewhere in the dream world. While everyone else in the house was fast asleep, Face and Tasha were downstairs in the living room sitting on the sofa beside each other.
"Why did you wake me up Tasha?" Face asked, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands.
"Because I needed to talk to you," she answered.
"About what?"
"About me and you," she whispered.
"What about me and you? Couldn't you wait until morning?" he yawned.
"No, I need my answers tonight," she stated in a serious tone. "Answers to what, Tasha? What are you talking about?"
Tasha looked straight into his eyes and whispered seriously. "Norman, do you like me?"
Face sat there surprised and speechless by the question. He liked Tasha more than any girl he had ever known before. It was just something about her that made his young heart smile every time he was around her. After a long silence he said, "Yeah Tasha, I like you. Do you like me?"
"Yeah boy, why do you think I woke you up?"
Face smiled but did not answer her.
"Norman, do you want to
be my boyfriend?" she asked, reaching out and taking his hand in hers.
"I thought I was too young to be your boyfriend. That's what you told me before," he said with a confused expression on his face.
"That was two years ago when you were six years old. You're eight now, so you can be my boyfriend now if you want." "So I'm old enough now?" he smiled.
"Yup." she smiled back. "So, are you gonna be my boyfriend or
not?"
"Yeah, I'll be your boyfriend on one condition," he smiled. "What's the condition?" she snapped.
"That you stop calling me Norman, and start calling me by my nickname like everyone else," he said seriously.
Tasha looked into his eyes seriously and whispered, "Okay Face, I'll stop calling you Norman."
"So, how long will you stay my girlfriend?"
"I don't know, you tell me?"
"How about forever?" he said hopefully.
"What if you don't like me when I'm older?"
"Tasha, I'm always going to like you," he said confidently.
Tasha smiled from ear to ear. Even though Face was four years younger than she was, there was just something about him she couldn't resist. His handsome face and dark curly hair didn't hurt either.
"So, are you gonna kiss me?" she asked shyly. "I'm your girl now." She scooted over closer to him. Instant nervousness filled them both.
He watched as she closed her eyes and puckered up her small lips. A big smile lit his face. The girl of his dreams was all his now. He puckered up and leaned forward. Their lips met, and they both experienced their very first kiss. It would be a kiss that neither of them would ever forget, and the beginning of a very special relationship.
Chapter Eleven
North Philadelphia, A few blocksfrom Broad and Diamond St...
A small crowd was gathered outside Sam's Bar. They stood around conversing while they smoked cigarettes and marijuana. Everyone seemed to enjoy the loud rap music that could be heard coming from inside the bar.
Sam's Bar was one of the most popular hangouts in North Philly, especially for drug dealers, players, pimps, hustlers, and the beautiful women who yearned for their attention. Expensive foreign cars occupied most of the available parking places. Mercedes Benz’s, BMW’s, Jaguars, Porches and even a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud were present.
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