A Trillion to One

by Chenell Parker

  “Where do you live sweetheart? Do you need a ride home?” the lady asked her. Amore flinched when she reached out and touched her arm, making the woman withdraw her hand. Amore wasn’t shy but she didn’t trust anybody besides her cousins. Her own mother was trying to trade her virginity for crack, so she had a good reason.

  “No, I don’t have a home,” Amore said as a fresh stream of tears fell from her eyes.

  “My name is Ms. Ruby. What’s yours?” the older lady asked.

  “Amore,” she sniffled.

  “That’s a pretty name.” Ms. Ruby smiled.

  “Thank you,” Amore replied

  “This is my great-grandson, Vaughn, but we all call him Viper,” Ms. Ruby said as she motioned to the boy who was with her.

  “Hi,” Amore waved awkwardly. He just looked at her, not bothering to return her greeting.

  “Now that we all know each other, tell me what’s really going on,” Ms. Ruby ordered.

  “I’m going get the car,” Viper said as he pushed the basket with their groceries in it and walked away.

  “What’s going on baby?” Ms. Ruby asked while looking at Amore.

  “I can’t go back home,” Amore cried softly. Ms. Ruby listened as Amore told her a little about her life leading up to when she left her house. Amore didn’t want to be pitied but she saw it all over the older woman’s face. She was strong and that was proven by how she learned to fend for herself at such a young age. But, at sixteen years old, there was only so much that she could do. She was tired of fighting a losing battle.

  “I know all about drug addiction sweetheart. My daughter died of a drug overdose and two of my granddaughters are still caught up in the streets with that mess. That’s how I ended up with Viper. Kids don’t ask to be born and they shouldn’t have to suffer for the sins of their parents. Ten years ago, my great-grandson was in the same position that you’re in now. Come on baby, get up,” Ms. Ruby said as she reached her hand out to Amore.

  “Why?” Amore asked as she stood to her feet and grabbed her bag.

  “I don’t have much but one more mouth to feed won’t kill me. I’m taking you home with me. Maybe I can get some of my church members to donate some money to get you some clothes and whatever else you might need. I only have two bedrooms but you can sleep in the bed with me or on the sofa. I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if I leave you out here like this,” Ms. Ruby replied.

  Her heart went out to the chocolate beauty because she could relate to what she was going through. Her daughter died with a needle in her arm and she had to watch her two granddaughters going down the same path that killed their mother. She couldn’t let Viper get caught up in all that mess though. She was too old to still be raising kids but she had to do what she had to do.

  It was crazy and Amore knew better than to go anywhere with a stranger. But still, the fear of being homeless propelled her to follow the woman to the car that her grandson was driving. Amore didn’t know anything about Ms. Ruby but she seemed kind and genuine. When they got into the car, Amore held her backpack close as they drove away to an unknown destination. About ten minutes later, they pulled up to a decent looking apartment complex. It was much better than where she lived, so she wasn’t complaining. Amore got out of the car and followed Ms. Ruby up to the apartment door. Her grandson stayed behind to grab the bags.

  “Come on sweetheart. Let’s get you settled in,” Ms. Ruby said as they walked into the house.

  Amore looked around the outdated apartment and smiled. It was nothing fancy but it was clean, furnished and air conditioned. To her, that was better than a five-star hotel. Ms. Ruby showed her where everything was and gave her a spare toothbrush. She had a brand new pair of pajamas that someone gave her as a gift but she handed them over to Amore. Although she had taken a bath at the gas station earlier, Amore felt dirty again. She had sat on the ground in front of the store and she wanted to freshen up. She opted to sleep on the sofa and it was very comfortable once she laid on it. When Ms. Ruby and her grandson turned in for the night, Amore took her book out and read until she fell asleep. She couldn’t remember a time that she ever felt so comfortable and content. Ms. Ruby was sent from heaven and Amore thanked God for her. Before she drifted off into a peaceful sleep, she sent up a special prayer just for the older woman with the kind eyes. She never woke up once and noticed Viper as he stood there and watched her sleeping for most of the night.

  A more bit her bottom lip hard and grabbed the back of Viper’s head as he devoured her. His tongue did circles around her clit before he sucked it up into his mouth. When he inserted two fingers inside of her, Amore almost bucked off the bed.

  “Shit,” she hissed as his tongue did tricks that had her moaning and shaking. She worked her hips against his tongue until she came again. Viper still didn’t stop though. He flicked his tongue over her swollen clit until she tried to crawl away from him. He grabbed her legs and flipped her over before sliding inside of her.

  “Fuck,” he cursed as he started pumping in and out of her.

  Amore buried her face in the pillow and moaned as he stroked her middle. As much as she hated Viper, sex with him was always amazing. She hated how her body responded to him but he was all that she knew. He was her first and only, so she didn’t have anyone else to compare him to. Four years had passed since he and his grandmother found her outside of the grocery store and so many things had changed since then. They no longer lived in the apartment that Ms. Ruby first took her to. They now lived in a modernly decorated three-bedroom condo that Viper had moved them into. The spare bedroom was used for their shoes and clothes only and they both had lots of that now.

  Viper was the man to see now and he supplied a lot of dealers in New Orleans with drugs and guns that he got from his connect. Amore remembered thinking that he was somewhere around her age when they first met, but he was twenty years old at the time. That didn’t stop him from wanting to be with her though. He started out being a listening ear whenever she needed someone to talk to. Since his mother and auntie were both on drugs and his grandmother died from an overdose, he understood her better than most people did. Amore dropped out of school because she didn’t want her mother to catch her there. She usually stayed inside with Viper all day and they would talk for hours. He pretended to care but he had a motive all along. He was a manipulator and she was a vulnerable young girl. He knew that she didn’t have anyone in her corner besides her cousins but they weren’t in a position to help her.

  When he asked her to be his girl, Amore was excited. Even when he took her virginity, she thought that they were really in love. Viper started buying all of her clothes and whatever else she needed. He would give her cousins money for food and they had chilled out with all the stealing. Amore really thought that he was the one. It didn’t take very long for his true colors to surface though. When he started making more money, Viper became a person that she and Ms. Ruby no longer knew. He talked to both of them like they were nothing and he had no problem letting them know that he was the sole provider. He made it a point to remind Amore that he was all that she had, and he was right. Black eyes, busted lips and a long list of other injuries had Amore hating him more than she ever hated anyone else. Fighting back only made it worse but she always did it anyway.

  “It’s coming baby,” Viper said as he pulled out of her.

  Amore already knew what that meant. She turned around and took him into her mouth until his babies were sliding down her throat. Once Viper collapsed on the bed, she went to the bathroom and got a warm, soapy towel to clean him up. Afterwards, she took a quick shower and fixed him something to eat and rolled him a blunt. When Amore walked back into the room, Viper sat up in bed as she sat the tray of food on his lap. She was trained to do everything exactly how he wanted it done. And, after four years, he never even had to ask.

  “Thank you, baby. Come sit down and talk to me,” Viper requested. Amore discreetly rolled her eyes but she took a seat on the bed right next to him. />
  “I need to go to the store. I have to send Chanell and Dallas a money order,” Amore said as he ate his food.

  Both her cousins were locked up in different federal prisons for credit card and check fraud. Amore made it her business to keep up with them, even though she couldn’t visit. They were both locked up out of town but she wrote and sent pictures every week. Their mothers were still doing the same thing but that was nothing new. Amore sent them money twice a month and she made sure to stay in Viper’s good graces so that they could get it. He could be petty like a bitch sometimes and he often took his anger out on her cousins.

  “We have a few stops to make, so we can get it then,” Viper replied.

  Amore listened as he told her all what they had to do for the day. She hated going on his runs with him, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Viper played hard around his friends but he was insecure. He was always telling Amore how beautiful she was but he expected other people not to notice. He hated when other men looked at her and he took it out on her whenever they did. The only time she was out of his sight was when he was doing something wrong. Logan, the man who lived across the hall from them, was one of his runners. Amore didn’t have any friends but she hung out with his girlfriend sometimes. The only time Viper was cool with it was when he wanted to entertain other bitches. Any other time, he wanted Amore right up under him. He would always tell her that she was his until death, and she believed him.

  Once he was done eating, Amore lit his blunt and took a puff before handing it to him. Just like always, he had to have something to smoke after every meal. She took the tray from his lap and headed to the kitchen.

  “Hey baby.” Ms. Ruby smiled when she saw Amore.

  “Hey Ms. Ruby. Are you hungry? I can fix you something to eat,” Amore offered.

  “No baby, I’m fine. How are you? Has everything been okay?” Ms. Ruby whispered.

  Her grandson had turned into a monster and she knew that Amore had it hard sometimes. She hated when he put his hands on Amore but she was too old to stop him. After suffering a mild stroke two years ago, she didn’t move around as well as she used to. Physical therapy was helping her get back on track but she still had a long ways to go. She raised Viper better than the way he was behaving and she was disappointed in him.

  “I’m good Ms. Ruby. You know how Vaughn is.” Amore shrugged, calling Viper by his real name.

  “It’s like I don’t even know that boy no more. I can’t believe that he’s out there selling the same drugs that got his mama and yours losing their minds. The bible sure told the truth. The love of money is a dangerous thing,” Ms. Ruby said while shaking her head.

  “As if he cares. He sells the shit to them.” Amore frowned.

  “His own mama,” Ms. Ruby replied while shaking her head.

  “What are you all dressed up for? Where are you going?” Amore asked her.

  “To bible study. One of the ladies from church is picking me up. You wanna come?” Ms. Ruby asked her.

  “Nope. We got moves to make,” Viper said, answering for her when he entered the kitchen.

  “Bible study is only for an hour Vaughn,” Ms. Ruby noted.

  “It don’t matter grandma. She’s not going,” Viper said with finality. Ms. Ruby didn’t even bother replying. She got up and headed outside to go wait for her ride.

  “See you later Ms. Ruby!” Amore yelled to her departing back.

  “Grab the scale and some bags. We got shit to do,” Viper said as he walked into the living room.

  Amore did as she was told and joined him on the sofa. It took about three hours for them to finish bagging up everything and they got dressed soon after. Their first stop was to the store to get her cousins a money order. She had already written them both a letter, so she mailed everything off before they started making their rounds. When they pulled up to a corner store near the projects, Amore cringed when she saw her mother and auntie standing out front. As soon as they saw Viper’s yellow Camaro pull up, they almost tripped over their own feet trying to get to him.

  “I got forty dollars today Viper,” Gianna said excitedly as she did a little happy dance.

  She had one long tooth sitting in her mouth but all the others had abandoned ship. Her stringy hair was standing straight up and her clothes were two sizes too big. Elise was no better looking than her sister. The few teeth that she did have left were rotten and about to make their exit just like Gianna’s did.

  “Me too. We worked hard for this money baby,” Elise said as she held her money up for him to see.

  “Is that my baby? Hey Amore. My baby is so pretty,” Gianna said as she walked over to her side of the car.

  “Get your musty ass the fuck away from my girl,” Viper snapped when Gianna opened the passenger door. Gianna smelled like trash, making Amore scrunch up her nose in disgust. Amore tried but she had never forgiven her mother for trying to sell her body to buy crack.

  “Move Gianna!” Amore yelled as she pulled the door close and locked it.

  “My bad son-in-law. I know you gon’ hook me up, huh? Come on Viper, we’re family,” Gianna said as she started up with her begging.

  “Yeah nephew, let us get some extras for later,” Elise pleaded.

  “Fuck no. Y’all getting exactly what y’all pay for. Don’t come at me on that family bullshit. Besides me, Amore don’t have no family,” Viper noted, making her mad. She hated when he said that because he was not her family. He was always jealous of the relationship that she had with her cousins, but Amore didn’t care. That was a relationship that he could never come in between.

  “You can at least make sure that our shit is a nice size,” Gianna said as she handed him the money. Elise handed him her money too and watched as he counted it.

  “Grab four for me baby,” Viper requested as he looked over at Amore. She felt like crying but it wouldn’t have done any good. She grabbed one of the five dollar bills that he was holding and opened the car door.

  “I’m going get me something to drink,” she replied as she got of the car and walked away.

  Viper was heated when he saw the men who were standing out front staring at her as she passed by them. He gave Gianna and Elise what they wanted and waited for Amore to get back into the car. As soon as she did, she was met with a hard slap across her face.

  “Bitch, you better not ever disrespect me like that again,” Viper sneered as she held her stinging face. Her first mind told her to hit him back but she wasn’t in the mood to be nursing wounds all night. When Viper started, he didn’t know how to stop.

  “Why would you ask me to get drugs for my mother? It’s bad enough that you sell the shit to her,” Amore cried.

  “I don’t give a fuck how you feel about what I do. You damn sure don’t have a problem spending the money that I make from selling the shit though. Your mama is a crackhead, just like the rest of these muthafuckers out here. I sell to my own family, so that bitch ain’t special. If they don’t get it from me, they’ll get it from somebody else. I’m not turning down no money just to spare your feelings,” Viper snapped, right as his phone rang. He looked at the screen and silenced the ringer before turning the phone off.

  “You can answer for the bitch. It ain’t like I give a fuck,” Amore sneered.

  “Stop playing with me, Amore. You in your feelings right now and I’m trying to give you a pass,” Viper replied.

  Amore wanted to have a snappy reply but she wasn’t stupid. That slap in the face was nothing compared to what she usually got. She knew how to leave the situation alone and that’s exactly what she did. When they pulled up to their apartment, Amore got out of the car and stomped all the way to the building. She was sorry that the elevator took so long getting to her because Viper caught up with her before she could get away from him.

  “You better act like you got some muthafucking sense Amore. Stop testing my patience,” he warned sternly.

  Once again, Amore chose to remain quiet. When they got off the eleva
tor on their floor, she saw their neighbors, Ciara and Logan, standing outside talking to two men. Viper and Amore spoke to their friends but they didn’t know who the other men were.

  “Y’all, this is my brother, Carl, and our cousin, Matt,” Ciara said, introducing her family members. Amore knew that Ciara had a brother but he was locked up as far as she knew.

  “We were just talking about you, bruh,” Logan said while looking at Viper.

  “What’s up?” Viper asked as he discreetly gripped the small gun that was in his pocket.

  Logan had been cool for the two years that they lived there, but he still didn’t trust him. They were neighbors and did business together but he wouldn’t consider him a friend. The only reason why he even let Amore hang with his girl was so that he could go creep with other females. Amore was his heart, but he never let her out of his sight for too long. After being with her for four years, he was sometimes in the mood for something new. He didn’t love her any less but he was a man.

  “My people were just saying how good your shit was. I just knocked on your door a minute ago but your grandmother said you weren’t there,” Logan replied.

  “Yeah man, nigga just did a five-year bid and came home without being on papers. I’m trying to smoke until my lungs give out. Your shit had me dizzy and feeling right,” Carl said as his eyes roamed Amore’s body lustfully.

  “What you looking to spend?” Viper asked as he tried to control his anger. He felt disrespected by how the other man was staring at his girl. Amore was engrossed in a conversation with Ciara and she wasn’t paying him any attention.

  “I got two hundred to spend. I’m going out of town for a few days and I’m trying to get right,” Carl said as he pulled some money from his pocket.

  “I’ll be right back,” Viper replied once he counted the money that was handed to him.