La Familia 2 (17 page)

I could hear Power cursing and ranting in the next room. He was furious about something. Something bad had happened. He had been on the phone for an hour talking to various people while I was in the bedroom doing my nails and watching cable. We had just finished fucking when his cell phone rang. He saw the name on the caller ID and immediately picked up. It was one of his trusted lieutenants on the other end.

“What?” I had heard Power shout out. “When the fuck this happened? Dodo!”

He had sprung up from my side and gone into the other room. I minded my business, but by the tone of his voice, I knew he was upset and angry. I heard the name Dodo. I had no idea who the fuck he was. My assumption was he was killed last night. I put on my panties and bra and was about to get dressed when Power burst into the room with this sullen look about him.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“No, everything is not fuckin' okay,” he snapped at me.

“I was just asking. I'm sorry to even ask.”

“You getting smart with me?” he barked.

“No, I wasn't.”

He glared at me. He looked like a changed man suddenly. Whatever happened last night he took it to heart and was trying to take it out on me. I didn't want to argue with him. The past few days had been good with him. I had quit dancing at Crazy Legs and he was taking care of me. But I was also looking for other means of employment /income. I was trying to get back into the studio and record my demo. Power promised he was going to manage me and take me to the top. I heard it all before and I wasn't about to get caught up in the hype. I wanted to believe him, but when niggas get in their foul moods they start acting funny and promises start to vanish.

Power was in this nasty funk. His attitude became ugly. He started tossing things around, breaking shit, and cursing loudly. He was extremely angry. I figured it was best to stay out of his way. I was leaving. He saw me getting dressed and barked, “Where the fuck you going?”

“I'm leaving,” I spat back.

“Leaving where?”

“It's obvious you are in a foul mood, but you ain't gotta take it out on me. Look, I'm sorry whatever happened to ya friend, but don't blame me,” I said to him.

“You were listening in on my conversation?” he exclaimed.

“No, but you was speaking loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.”

He scowled. He charged my way. I braced myself, but he didn't attack me. He came in my face. “You know what, bitch, get the fuck out then! Leave, bitch!” he shouted heatedly.

“Gladly,” I screamed back.

I started to grab my things in the bedroom and rushed to get dressed. Power started tossing my clothing at me. I swear, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a case of bipolar at its worst. My shit was scattered all over his bedroom. I snatched up my jacket and shoes, and rushed toward the door with an armful of clothing. I was heated. I was done with him. But the minute I got to the door, Power came running behind me. He was now apologizing.

“Baby, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you,” he said with a look of regret aimed at me. “I got some bad news.”

I didn't want to hear it. He cursed at me. He disrespected me. He called me out of my name and I was supposed to take his bullshit? No!

“Baby,” Power cried out. He grabbed me by my arm trying to stop me from leaving. I jerked myself free from his feeble grip. “Sammy, I need you right now!”

I stopped my exit. I sighed and slowly spun around to face him. This man was over six feet tall and weighed a ton, but the look in his eyes was sincere like a little puppy. He was a notorious figure in the underworld, but yet, he could be as warm and cozy like a teddy bear and funny and intelligent, and he had me opened. I was falling in love with him. When he shouted “I need you,” something came over me. I needed him too.

He stepped forward with his body action looking apologetic. He reached for me; I hesitated in walking toward him. He continued with, “I'm sorry; it's just some serious shit went down last night and I overreacted toward you. My nigga Dodo was murdered brutally, shot five times in the back of his head.”

“Oh my God,” I uttered.

“Shit is hectic right now. They found him dead with some bitch in the car,” he informed me. “Niggas is ready to retaliate.”

My man needed me. I accepted his apology. It was me now reaching for him and pulling him into my arms to console him. It was no doubt Power was a gangster and a coldhearted killer himself, but the murder of a man named Dodo had him teary-eyed and distraught. I didn't get it. I was sure Power had seen death before, probably many times over, it came with the game, so why was he so upset about this one?

Power was on his knees in front of me. I was standing over him. He had his arms wrapped around my legs and he let the tears flow. He was crying like a baby.

“Who was Dodo?” I asked.

“He was my cousin and we were close,” he explained tome.

Now I was really saddened.

Power grieved briefly while he kneeled down in front of me. It was a thing to see. I knew he didn't cry much, and if so, it was definitely not in front of people. It would be considered being weak in front of the wolves. But he let himself go in front of me. I respected him for that. He proved to me that he wasn't just a coldhearted and emotionless man; he had feelings too, feelings that he displayed in front of me.

I was pleased. And I was going to be there for him.

I spent the morning with Power, but when noon came around he left to handle his business in the streets. I was left alone in his Manhattan apartment, but I needed to get back home to my son. I was worried about Power, but Danny needed me too. Power was on top of the food chain and his clique, the Young Gangster Crew, was at war with the Bronx Mafia Boys. It was bloodshed on the streets and shootings were occurring every day. The police had their hands full; the neighborhood was besieged with violence and terror and they were calling Edenwald “Eden War.”

I couldn't wait around Power's place worrying about him. He was a grown man doing grown-man business and he was able to take care of himself. I left and took the train back to the Bronx. If Power needed me, he had my cell phone number. I had other priorities to take care of.

When I got home, the streets were talking heavily about the murders. Dodo was well known and respected and YGC was out in full effect ready to avenge their fallen homeboy. The police were out too, trying to maintain order in a place that felt lawless.

The minute I walked into my building lobby, I was greeted by Kawanda and her friend, Brandy, stepping out of the elevator. The minute Kawanda saw me she hit me with the news.

“Sammy, you heard?” she said.

“Yeah, some nigga named Dodo got killed,” I replied nonchalantly.

“Crystal too,” she said.

I thought I heard her wrong. “What?”

“She was shot in the car wit' Dodo,” Kawanda told me.

It felt like I got hit by a Mack Truck. The news came so sudden that it almost knocked me off of my feet. Crystal was my friend, my bitch, EBV. We grew up together and now she was dead. My nonchalant attitude suddenly altered into tears of pain and disbelief. I couldn't believe Crystal was dead. I couldn't believe someone murdered her. But then again, I could believe it. She wasn't the first friend murdered and, it was sad to say, I knew she wasn't going to be the last.

I cried. It was a coincidence that she was murdered with Power's first cousin. But by who? Whoever killed them both, they had a world of trouble coming their way.

Tango was so good with her, my daughter, Eliza. He played with her and treated my daughter like she was his own. I smiled. I could tell my daughter liked him too. She laughed, he laughed, and I smiled broadly. I loved every minute of it. It was a great thing to see, my daughter looking like she had a father in her life. Tango was also coming through with his promise. He had money coming in, and with it he took me and my daughter out to eat at Olive Garden. He told me to order whatever I wanted, and I did. I ordered the shrimp Alfredo and their well-known bread. We had wine. We talked. We were celebrating his new job. He was making me feel like a whole new woman. I haven't eaten dinner this good in so long that when it went into my mouth, I almost came from the cuisine.

Like promised, Tango moved me out of Erica's place and we stayed at his mother's home for a week until we got our own place. Erica was upset; she tried to persuade me to stay, telling me that we made a good team together, but we didn't. It was all bullshit. She was the one making money, not me. I was being paid peanuts, and it was my legs spreading and my lips sucking. Cream had nothing to say. He was too pussy to intervene and I didn't know what Erica saw in that bastard. It was clear as day that he was using her, and it was even clearer to see that she was using me.

I met Tango's mother and she was sick. She reminded me of Erica's grandmother. We stayed in his small bedroom, but it was comfortable. Tango made sure of that. If we were hungry, Tango fed us. He bought a bunch of DVDs for us to watch, and some kiddy movies to entertain my daughter. He was doing a lot for us. He was showing me that he really cared and wanted to be with me. I fell in love with him. And when my daughter would fall asleep, we fucked on the floor while Eliza had the bed to herself.

The first three nights we used condoms, but after that, I let him inside of me raw. The feel of his flesh penetrating me had me ready to explode. He loved every minute being bareback in the pussy and we fucked in every position. I cooed in his ear as he would grind between my legs. I did everything I could to please my new man. I promised I was his only. My life on the track was over with. The few months that I did it, it made me feel ugly, but Tango loved me for who I was and he wasn't concerned with my past but only our future together. I was ready to believe in him. He was trying and it actually felt like it would work out. He even had an apartment ready for us to move into soon. It was a two-bedroom in the West Bronx, away from Edenwald.

For once in my life, I was happy.

Yes, I was genuinly happy. But with that happiness there's always some bad news lurking, some tragedy ready to ruin your day.

 

I was out with my daughter in the park. The weather was finally breaking and spring was coming. It needed to come faster. I felt it in the air and in my mood. The leaves was trying to sprout in the trees and the flowers were starting to blossom. It was a fifty-five-degree day and I wanted to cherish every minute of daylight and warmth we had. It had been a brutal winter for everyone: snow, freezing rain, cold wind, and trials and tribulations. I did the unthinkable this winter, prostituting myself to survive. But I survived; we survived, Eliza and I. After abruptly leaving the shelter for whooping some bitch-ass and freezing in the streets with my daughter, begging for shelter, and hungry like an Ethiopian, I felt it in my bones that I was going to make it. I had a good man in my life with a good job doing construction and we were about to move into our new place soon. Tango talked with the rental office and the landlord and through grace, favor, and my man having the gift of gab, we were finally approved to move in.

I was ecstatic.

It was going to be great getting away from Edenwald. With all the violence happening around there, it was becoming a dangerous place to live and I didn't want my daughter around it. Ironic though, I remembered a time when Sammy and I were a terror in the projects, not giving a fuck. Shit, we helped the crime rate go up back in the days. EBV, we did it all, we been through it all. But now, I felt like a changed woman.

I was seated on the bench at the Stars and Stripes playground in Seton Park. I watched Eliza try to run around with the other children, but she was just too little to keep up. My baby was trying though. She was only one year old and could run her little behind off, falling every so often. I would help her move through the playground, picking her up and guiding her through the slide and monkey bars making sure she didn't hurt herself. We played on the swings and ran around awkwardly. I was laughing and she was laughing, having a great time. Afterward, I wanted to take her to McDonald's for a Happy Meal. It was becoming the perfect day.

There were other mothers in the park with their children, but I didn't know any of them and they didn't hurry over to befriend me. In fact, they were older and looked my way with some disdain in their eyes. I didn't know what they had against me, not knowing me at all, but I could tell they were stuck-up bitches who probably thought I was some young ghetto mother getting pregnant every year.

I ignored their foul looks and enjoyed being with my daughter. Only she mattered, no one else.

We spent over an hour playing in the park and I soon became exhausted and hungry. Eliza was also beat. I picked her up in my arms and carried her. Our next stop was to get something to eat. It was still somewhat warm and the sun was still in the sky shining down on me. I loved the sun. I loved the spring and summer and couldn't wait 'til we started having days like these continuously. Jack Frost and Frosty the Snowman could keep the winter; it was a desolate season.

I crossed Baychester Avenue with Eliza falling asleep in my arms. I didn't have a baby carriage to push her in, couldn't afford one. However, Tango promised to buy one for me since he knew how much of a burden it could be carrying my daughter everywhere. He wanted to do so much for Eliza and I couldn't wait.

I headed into the projects. My first mission: back to Tango's mother's place to change my daughter's diapers, freshen up a bit, and then head to nearest McDonald's. I was craving a Big Mac meal and some large fries. I just wanted to sit somewhere quiet and eat my meal in peace and not be bothered.

When I got to the building, there was Dandy exiting the lobby. She was only sixteen years old but had an ugly scar across her face that stood out. It was put there by Denise and her bitches last year; twenty-five stitches she received. They hated on my girl because she was too pretty, looking like Lauren London and down with us. Sammy and the crew retaliated heavily, and put Denise in the hospital. I was glad they did it and I wished I had gone along for the ride and added my slice of violence. But I had been too caught up in Rico at the time. Dandy was a sweetheart and she didn't deserve that kind of brutality toward her.

Despite the nasty scar that showed, she was always upbeat and positive. She was still in school and doing her thing. She wanted to become a fashion model, but she felt it was impossible because of her scar. But she was still very pretty and these niggas were still sweating her.

When she saw me, she didn't smile. Dandy always smiled when I came around, and she was always buoyant with conversation, but this time her expression was sullen. Her eyes showed great sadness and she gazed at me with this catastrophe showing on her face. Something was wrong.

Dandy walked my way like she had concrete shoes on, slow and heavy, and when we got face to face, she broke down in tears.

“Dandy, what's wrong?” I quickly asked. I couldn't console her because Eliza was in my arms and sleeping.

Dandy looked at me with her eyes flooded with tears. She was crying heavily. It was hard for her to speak at first. I thought some muthafucka put his hands on her, did something wrong to my friend. I was ready to fight for her, but she finally voiced to me what was wrong.

“Crystal is dead,” she exclaimed.

“What?” I screamed out. I didn't want to believe it.

Dandy, still crying, said to me, “She was shot to death in the car with Dodo last night.”

I felt myself about to break down with Eliza in my arms. Shock wasn't even the word on what I felt. I uttered out, “I just seen her the other day and she was good.”

Dandy was in full-blown tears and heartbroken; so was I. It felt like I wanted to fall out. I had to leave. I had to get away. I just walked away clutching Eliza tightly and hurried into the building. The tears started to fall like raindrops and the pain overcame me like a thousand stab wounds penetrating my skin.

I couldn't get inside the apartment fast enough. No one was home and I was thankful for that. I figured the home aide took Ms. Davis for a stroll around the block since it was a nice day out. I went into the bedroom and placed Eliza on the bed and then I went into the bathroom, dropped to my knees, and sobbed like a baby. Another friend of mines was gone, murdered. We were dropping like flies. So many memories of Crystal were spiraling through my head. We had good times and bad times. Who was next? Who was left? It was me, Dandy, Winter, she doing a bullet in Riker's Island, Chyna, she skipped town for a while because she had warrants for her arrest, and Sammy.

Sammy. I thought about Sammy a great deal. Even though we were still at odds with each other, I missed her. She was my best friend, my sister, and I thought no one or nothing could ever separate us. I guessed we were wrong. With Crystal dead, time wasn't on our side anymore. It never was.

I sobbed in the bathroom for a long time. I had the door locked and the lights off. I wanted to be alone. I didn't want to be in Edenwald anymore. I didn't want to be around it anymore: the drama, the violence, the murders, and mayhem. I wanted a very different life now. I wanted to escape somewhere far. I wanted to rewind time and bring us all back together again, when we was solid, happy, and strong together like a brick wall.

Crystal's death hurt me a lot. It could have been me so many times, gunned down in the streets. Growing up, Sammy and I, all of us, we always toyed with death. We always thought we were invincible. We risked our lives doing what we thought was fun for our gang and down for our crew. Now when you find yourself surrounded by death, the bulletproof vest comes off, and so does that giant S on your chest and you find yourself vulnerable to the world around you.

Tango came home to find me lying in bed with my sleeping daughter. It was early evening and the house was quiet and my pain was still throbbing through every inch of my body. He looked at me and already knew something was wrong. I didn't hesitate to let him know what it was.

“My friend Crystal is dead,” I cried out.

He walked over and pulled me into his arms to console me. “What happened?” he asked.

“She was shot dead in the car with her man last night.”

“That's crazy,” he replied.

I cried in his arms and he didn't leave my side all night. He stayed with me. He was my rock. He was becoming the man I dreamed to be with. I loved him.