Married to a Balla (7 page)

Skye was totally caught off guard, but turned around in a circle.

“Oh you got both the b’s, beauty and body, but can your ass dance is the question?” When he reached over and cut on some music,
Pop That Coochie
by 2 Live Crew blasted in his office. “Get your ass over there and let me see what you can do.”

It’s for your kids…it’s for your kids
, Skye thought as she hesitantly walked over to the stripper pole in the corner of his office.

She cringed at the thought of what nasty bitch had just touched the eight foot pole, but managed to block it out of her mind. She hoped all the pole dancing classes she took and the tricks she’d learned such as the butterfly and the twister would help her get the job.

As soon as Skye hit the pole and did her thing; the owner sat on the edge of his chair with excitement the entire time. About ten minutes into her routine, he turned the music off.

“You’re hired pretty lady. You can go on at midnight. Damn, you dance sexy as shit. What’s your name anyway?”

Suddenly the nick name Skye’s father used to call her when she was a little girl popped in her head. “Precious!”

*******

At exactly 11:35 p.m., Skye sat on the edge of the bench in the dressing room oiling up her body thinking,
why do men love this greasy shit?

She quickly slid on a pair of high-cut red lace thongs along with a matching bra and some platform heels that she’d borrowed from Ivy. Along with the shoes being a size too small, Skye prayed she didn’t catch a disease from wearing the panties. Ivy didn’t seemed like a trifling person, but you could never underestimate anyone’s cleanliness.

She sprayed some Victoria’s Secret shimmering body mist that she found in a locker all over her then turned and looked in the mirror. She was glad that Ivy had applied even more makeup to cover her bruises.

As Skye continued to stare into the mirror, tears rolled down her face as thoughts about what she was about to do danced around her head. She’d gone from a lifestyle of popping designer tags on a regular basis and never having to worry about money to stripping to keep a roof over their head and food in their mouths. It hurt knowing what result she’d come to, but what other choice did she have?

After taking a large sip from a Hennessey bottle inside Ivy’s locker, she headed to the stage. As she peeped her head out and watched Ivy shaking her small ass to the thick crowd, Skye’s nervousness went into overdrive.

“You can do this Skye, you can do this Skye,” she chanted to herself.

As soon as Ivy’s song ended and a new one came on, Skye heard the DJ saying, “We got a new booty in the house tonight y’all, so make her feel welcome. Please welcome to the stage, Miss Precious.”

That was her cue.

Skye closed her eyes then took a deep breath before running out on stage to all the loud handclaps. She did every move and trick she could think of, while scooping up piles of money at the same time. Skye smiled thinking,
this should last us a few more nights
.

Chapter 7

The sound of Kareem and Jordan yelling woke Skye up the next morning. She hadn’t had much sleep with all the loud noises and heavy traffic coming from the Interstate, so she felt exhausted. She reached over in the bed that felt like she was sleeping on concrete and felt for Payton. Realizing that she was laying right beside her, sound asleep, Skye kissed her forehead and placed a pillow on both sides to make sure she didn’t fall off the bed.

Once she heard the sound of broken glass and the boys scuffling, she quickly jumped off of the bed, wondering what the hell was going on. “What are you doing Kareem? Get off your brother, you know better than to hit him,” Skye said pulling the two boys apart.

The rage in Kareem’s face instantly reminded her of Sandino. However, Jordan obviously wasn’t going out like a punk because as soon as Skye released her grip, he dove right for his brother. They started fighting again.

“Stop that shit right now!” Skye yelled at the top of her lungs. She pulled Jordan away and slung him on the other side of the room then grabbed Kareem by his shirt.

All the yelling instantly woke up Payton, who was now screaming.

“Sit down…both of you. I can’t even get a minutes rest without y’all acting like thugs on the damn street,” Skye said, before grabbing the baby. The boys were still sitting with their arms crossed ready for war as she eyed them both. “Okay, who’s going to tell me what all this fighting is about?”

“Kareem was on the phone. When I asked him who he was talking to, he got mad and started hitting me. He always trying to push me around and when I don’t listen he will start punching on me and I’m tired of it,” Jordan stated.

Skye looked over at Kareem. “Who were you talking to Kareem? And how long has this been going on? You two are supposed to take care of each other. I don’t like the way you’ve been acting lately.”

“I wasn’t even on the phone. Jordan always running his mouth, so I had to take care of the situation like dad. He doesn’t listen so he got hit,” Kareem blurted out with a slight smirk.

Skye passed the baby to Jordan and walked over to her oldest son. “So, you think getting hit is funny?” When Kareem turned his head, her voice escalated. “Do you?”

“No,” he answered.

“I didn’t think so. Your father abusing me wasn’t right, that’s why I left him. I just want what’s best for you guys. You might not realize that now, but you will later.”

“I doubt it, your monkey-ass don’t even know where we’re going to live. This place is awful. I can’t believe you got us up in here,” Kareem mumbled.

When Skye heard her son call her the cruel name Sandino used sometimes, she walked over and grabbed him by the collar then pushed his body against the wall. “Son, don’t get it twisted. I don’t like to fight, but I will fuck your ass up right now if you ever disrespect me like that again!” Kareem just stared at his mother. It was a side of her that he’d never seen before. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Kareem said, lowering his head.

After letting him go, Skye took a deep breath to try and get herself together. Kareem was definitely pushing it and she didn’t know how much longer she could hold it together.

“I wanna go home. Can’t you and dad get some type of therapy or something?” Kareem asked. “He was supposed to take me to get my license. Now how am I supposed to get my car?”

When Skye felt herself getting ready to lose it again, she ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. Almost instantly she started hyperventilating and broke down into a silent sob.

“How am I going to raise three kids on my own? I know single mothers do it every day, but I don’t think I’m strong enough to do this.” Skye put her head in her lap as she sat on the bathroom floor crying her eyes out. She was an emotional wreck. She sat in a daze for what seemed like forever until she heard a slight tap at the door.

“Come in,” Skye said.

Jordan peeked his head inside the door. “Ma, are you alright? You been in here a long time.” A few seconds later, he made his way inside and sat down beside her.

“Is the baby okay?” Skye asked with concern.

“Yeah. I fed her a bottle and burped her then she went back to sleep. I took care of things,” Jordan stated proudly.

Along with his height, Skye realized just how much her son was growing up. Moments later, Skye looked up and saw Kareem peeking his head in the door, too.

“You can come in,” she stated.

He came in and stood against the wall looking sad and confused. Skye was concerned about Kareem. After watching his behavior and the look in his eyes earlier, she knew he would probably need some type of therapy. He had a violent streak just like Sandino, and that’s the last thing she wanted.

“Sorry for calling you out your name, Ma,” Kareem said.

“I’ll accept your apology, but don’t let it happen again,” Skye advised.

“It won’t,” Kareem quickly replied.

“Are you all hungry?” she asked. Both Jordan and Kareem shook their heads at the same time. “Well, let’s go get something to eat. I saw a McDonald’s down the street. I think getting out will do us all some good. We haven’t even been in this room long and it’s already driving us crazy.”

“Ma, I don’t want McDonalds. Can we go to Joe’s Stone Crab? Do they have one here?”

Skye couldn’t help but laugh. Her kids were definitely spoiled when it came to food most of the time. “No son. I’m afraid we’re gonna have to hit up the dollar menu until I talk to Asia. Gotta spend our money wisely.” She planned to make the stripper money last.

Before leaving, Skye put on the wig that she used at the strip club along with the fake contacts. She didn’t want anybody to necessarily recognize, Precious, but she also didn’t want anybody to see her real features either.

“Why are you even wearing that thing?” Kareem questioned.

“Because it makes me feel a little more comfortable with it on. I’m hoping we won’t get recognized like this,” Skye advised.

“But we don’t have on disguises,” Jordan butted in.

“I know, but I’m planning on buying you and Kareem wigs today.”

Jordan put his hands in the air. “Oh noooooo. Nope, I’m not wearing no wig.”

Skye chuckled then pulled out a twenty dollar bill and left the rest of the money so she wouldn’t be tempted to spend it. Skye scanned the room making sure all the bags were packed and ready just in case they had to leave in a hurry. After changing Payton’s diaper they headed out the door and down the stairs.

They hadn’t even made it to the car before Skye caught a glimpse of a weird looking black dude going up the stairs that gave her an eerie feeling. Even though he was yet another crazy looking junkie, she brushed it off as being paranoid and headed toward the car.

Thirty minutes later, she and the boys were all enjoying a hot batch of fries when Skye noticed a man in a nice suit watching them closely. A few minutes later the man approached them, which instantly made Kareem stop eating. He eyeballed the stranger closely.

“Hello. I hate to bother you all, but my name is Deacon Jones,” he greeted. “You look like you need help my sister, I have connections to a woman’s battered shelter if you need it,” he said handing Skye a card. It was at that time when she noticed a thick Bible in his hand.

“Oh, thank you, but I’ll be okay,” Skye replied in an embarrassed tone. She realized she’d left her sunglasses in the room, exposing her black eye for all to see.

The Deacon stood shaking his head. “I don’t understand why any man would do that to such a pretty face, please make that call if you ever change your mind.”

Just before leaving the table, he winked at Skye then turned around.
A Deacon winking… What the hell is up with this neighborhood,
she thought
. I really need to get in touch with Asia
.

As soon as the Deacon walked away, Kareem started breathing heavy and complaining. “Why can’t we just go back home? I’m not going to any shelter. What kind of mother would take her kids to a shelter? Dad promised he wouldn’t hit you anymore if we came back home.”

Skye’s eyes increased as she looked over at Kareem. “Have you talked to your father? Did you tell him where we were?”

“Yeah, I talked to him, but I didn’t tell him where we were,” Kareem lied.

“He said he was sorry and had a big surprise for you.”

Realizing that Sandino was probably half-way to Georgia by now, Skye jumped up, and told the boys to come on. Despite them telling her that they weren’t finished eating, Skye quickly made her way to the car and jumped inside. Making a mental note to call Asia again, she was prepared to leave Atlanta and drive somewhere else to keep from being found.

Skye yelled at Kareem all the way back to the hotel so he had a clear understanding that he’d put all their lives in jeopardy. She even demanded that he hand over his phone and instantly threw it out the window. Realizing that he’d made a major mistake, Kareem remained mute and showed no expression until his mother opened the door to their room. They all stood in total shock at the damage.

You would’ve thought Hurricane Katrina had just touched down the way the room had been ransacked. It also didn’t take much to realize that they’d been robbed. All their possessions that were worth something were gone. Kareem’s G-Shock watch, Jordan’s DS game system, her diamond earrings along with the six hundred dollars Skye earned stripping that she’d hid inside the nightstand was now gone. Although their clothes had been pulled out of the suitcases and thrown all over the room, luckily they were still there.

“I can’t believe this!” Kareem yelled.

“Come on, let’s go,” Skye said.

“Ma, aren’t we gonna call the police?” Jordan questioned.

Even though it wasn’t Sandino’s style, Skye knew it was a possibility that he was behind this. She then thought about the suspicious looking man walking up the steps as they left. As questions bounced around her head, she had no idea who was responsible for the robbery, but didn’t plan to stick around and find out.

“No, let’s go!” she demanded.

They quickly grabbed their things throwing what they could back into the suitcases and ran down the stairs. Suddenly, Ivy came out of her room, and ran to the railing. “Precious, where are you going? What’s wrong?” she yelled.

Not knowing if Ivy had anything to do with the robbery, Skye ignored her before they jumped into the Honda and skidded out the parking lot. With her adrenaline at another all time high, Skye looked in her rear view mirror to see if anyone was following them. That’s when she noticed a gold Tahoe with tinted windows hot on her trail. Her heart raced as she turned the corner going well over the speed limit. Skye clutched the wheel tightly never taking an eye off the Tahoe while switching lanes and swerving in and out of traffic.

“See what you did Kareem? Dad is trying to kill all of us, he’ll never change. When will you ever get that into your messed up brain?” Jordan yelled.