Trife Life To Lavish (A King Production Presents...) (29 page)

"Genevieve? Who is that?" Akil stared at
Nichelle in bewilderment.

"Oh, don't mind me. I was thinking of a
little girl I knew from a long time ago. But, umm,
although I do believe we're going places, right
now, the only place I want to go to is back to my
hotel room."

"I understand. You worked your ass off
today. Go get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow.
The driver will be out front waiting for you when
you're ready."

"Thanks."

Nichelle closed her eyes and sat back as the chaufferdriven Town Car headed to her hotel in midtown
Manhattan. She was so tired that she barely heard
her cell phone ringing. She didn't recognize the
718 number and ignored it. But whoever it was, kept calling back. "Hello!"

"Yes, is this Nichelle Martin?"

"Who wants to know?" Nichelle couldn't
identify the female voice on the other end and was
tempted to hang up.

"This is Rita, calling from Elmhurst Hospital."

"Oh my God! What happened? Is it Renny?"
Nichelle cried, becoming panic-stricken.

"I don't know a Renny. It's your mother. You
need to get here right away."

Nichelle dropped her phone. "Go to Elmhurst
Hospital, no)))!"

By the time Nichelle got to the hospital, she was
beyond distraught. Luckily, once she got inside, a
few nurses could see how visibly shaken she was,
and were kind enough to take her to the right
location.

When she got to her mother's room, her
head was wrapped in bandages and she had tubes
coming from every direction. She literally seemed
to be on her deathbed.

Nichelle bent down next to her mother's
bed and the tears flowed. She was tired of crying.
It seemed her life was full of one never-ending
tragedy after another.

"Oh, Ma! What happened? Who did this to you?"

"My baby, I been holding on, hoping you would make it in time."

Nichelle could see a single tear falling down
her mother's face. It was evident how much pain
she was in. "I'm here now. Who did this?"

"I don't have much time, but I have to tell you
this before it's too late and please forgive me, baby."

"Tell me what?"

"You have a brother, and his name is Genesis...
Genesis Taylor. Last time I saw him, he was in a
juvenile detention in Pemberton, New Jersey. You
were just a baby then."

"I have a brother?"

"Yes, and I want you to find him. He's the
only person that's gonna be able to protect you.
Your life is in danger. The people who shot me are
coming after you next."

"Who shot you, Ma? Tell me!"

Her mother began shaking, and her breathing
was becoming erratic. "Nurse! Nurse, get in here!
My mother needs a doctor!" Nichelle screamed out.
She was holding on to her mother's hand, but she
could feel the life in her slipping away.

"Miss, we need you to leave!" one of the
nurses ordered.

"Please, save my mother!" Nichelle screamed
out again.

"We're going to do all that we can, but you
have to exit the room now."

Nichelle leaned against the wall, falling to her knees. "Dear God, no-o-o-o! Not my mother!" She
wrapped her arms around her shoulders, trying to
numb the pain, but it didn't work. When the doctor
and the nurses came out, they didn't have to tell
her anything. Her mother was gone. It seemed that
death was following her.

When Nichelle left the hospital, she took a taxi
to her mother's place. She needed answers, and
believed the only place she would find them was
there. She unlocked the door, and everything
seemed to be intact. Whoever harmed her mother
didn't do so in her home.

She ran to the back to where her mother's
room was and started going through the drawers
and the closet, wanting to find a picture, a letter...
anything that would lead her to her brother. I can't
believe it! I have a brother! An older brother, and his name is
Genesis, and I'm Genevieve. I will find him. I've lost so much, it's
time Igain something, Nichelle thought as she continued
going through her mother's things, searching for a
clue.

As she continued rummaging through things,
she heard a knock at the door that soon turned into
pounding. She went into the kitchen and grabbed a
knife, remembering the warning her mother gave her.
When she looked in the peephole, she saw the familiar
face, and at first wasn't going to answer the door.

"Nichelle, if you're in there open up!" Tierra
yelled. "Please, Nichelle. Renny sent me." Nichelle
reluctantly opened the door. "Thank goodness you're
here!" Tierra sighed when she saw Nichelle.

"What do you want, Tierra?"

"I'll tell you when we get in the car. It's too
much, and I don't have time to stand here and
explain. Get your stuff and come on."

"But I'm looking for something."

"Yeah, whatever it is, I'm sure it has to do
with your brother, Genesis."

"How did you know?"

"There's a lot I know, but come on, we have
to go!"

Nichelle grabbed her purse and followed
Tierra. "Where's Renny? Why didn't he come?"

"He wanted to, but some serious shit is goin'
down, so he sent me. He gave me clear instructions
for me to bring you directly to him. And I'm not
fuckin' this up, `cause you already know my ass is
grass if I do."

"Since you know about Genesis, I take it you
know about my mother too."

"Yeah, I'm so sorry, Nichelle. I know how
much you loved your mother and how much she
loved you."

"Everything is bananas. I feel like I'm walking
in somebody else's world right now, like this ain't
even my life. And yo, how far away did you park?"

"We're almost there," Tierra said, picking up
her pace as they made their way to her car.

"Are they with you?" Nichelle was the first to
notice they had company.

"Who?" Tierra questioned before seeing who
it was.

"Nichelle, Tierra, I'm glad I caught you."

"Arnez, what are you doing here?" Tierra
asked with uneasiness in her voice.

"Renny sent me. He wanted you ladies to
come with me." Then Chanel stepped from behind
the truck, looking icy as ever.

"Oh, and he wanted you to bring Chanel too?"
she asked sarcastically. Tierra grabbed Nichelle's wrist,
keeping her by her side. "We're fine. Renny asked me
to bring Nichelle to him, and that's what I'm gonna
do. But I'll let him know you offered to help."

"Tierra, I'm only going to tell you this once. I
want you and Nichelle to get in the car, no))V" Arnez
demanded.

"Nichelle, run... now!" Tierra kicked Arnez in
his groin area as hard as she could, trying to give
Nichelle an opportunity to get away.

Chanel swung into motion to catch up with
Nichelle, but Tierra was too quick and put her foot
out, tripping Chanel, who fell to the concrete.

"Tierra, come on! I don't want to leave you!"
Nichelle screamed out, looking back as she sprinted
down the dark street

"I'm right behind you!" Tierra shouted.

When Nichelle turned back around, to
her relief, Tierra was hauling ass, coming in her
direction. Nichelle kept pounding the pavement,
moving full speed ahead while searching for safety,
until she heard a gunshot. She slowed her pace
down, turned around, and from the distance she
could see Tierra's body hitting the ground.

"No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!" Nichelle's voice echoed
throughout the entire Queens project.

It took everything inside of Nichelle not to
go back for her best friend, but the very sacrifice
Tierra made was so that Nichelle could go free. So
Nichelle ran, and she wouldn't stop running until
she ran right into her brother's arms.

Philly, 1993

"Please, Daquan, don't hit me again!" the young mother
screamed, covering her face in defense mode. She hurriedly
pushed herself away from her predator, sliding her body on
the cold hardwood floor.

"Bitch, get yo' ass back over here!" he barked, grabbing
her matted black hair and dragging her into the kitchen. He
reached for the hot skillet from the top of the oven, and you
could hear the oil popping underneath the fried chicken his
wife had been cooking right before he came home. "Didn't
I tell you to have my food ready on the table when I came
home?"

"I... I... I was almost finished, but you came home early,"
Teresa stuttered, "Ouch!" she yelled as her neck damn near
snapped when Daquan gripped her hair even tighter.

"I don't want to hear your fuckin' excuses. That's what
yo' problem is. You so damn hard headed and neva want
to listen. But like they say, a hard head make fo' a soft ass.
You gon' learn to listen to me."

"Please, please, Daquan, don't do this! Let me finish frying
your chicken and I'll never do this again. Your food will be
ready and on the table everyday on time. I promise!"

"I'm tired of hearing your damn excuses."

"Bang!" was all you heard as the hot skillet came
crashing down on Teresa's head. The hot oil splashed up in
the air, and if Daquan hadn't moved forward and turned his
head, his face would've been saturated with the grease.

But Teresa wasn't so lucky, as the burning oil grazed
her hands, as they were protecting her face and part of her
thigh.

After belting out in pain from the grease, she then noticed
blood trickling down from the open gash on the side of
her forehead. But it didn't stop there. Daquan then put the
skillet down and began kicking Teresa in her ribs and back
like she was a diseased infected dog that had just bitten
him.

"Yo', Pops, leave moms alone! Why you always got to
do this? It ain't never no peace when you come in this
house." Genesis stood in the kitchen entrance with his fists
clenched and panting like a bull. He had grown sick and
tired of watching his father beat his mother down almost
every single day. At the age of eleven he had seen his mother
receive more ass whippings than hugs or any indication of
love.

"Boy, who the fuck you talkin' to? You betta get yo' ass
back in your room and stay the hell outta of grown people's business."

"Genesis, listen to your father. I'll be alright. Now go
back to your room," his mother pleaded.

Genesis just stood there unable to move, watching his
mother and feeling helpless. The blood was now covering
her white nightgown and she was covering her midsection,
obviously in pain trying to protect the baby that was growing
inside of her. He was in a trance, not knowing what to do to
make the madness stop. But he was quickly brought back
to reality when he felt his jaw almost crack from the punch
his father landed on the side of his face.

"I ain't gon' tell you again. Get yo' ass back in your room!
And don't come out until I tell you to! Now go!" Daquan
didn't even wait to let his only son go back to his room.
He immediately went over to Teresa and picked up where
he left off, punishing her body with punches and kicks. He
seemed oblivious to the fact that not only was he killing
her, but also he was killing his unborn child right before his
son's eyes.

A tear streamed down Genesis's face as he tried to reflect
on one happy time he had with his dad, but he went blank.
There were no happy times. From the first moment he could
remember, his dad was a monster.

All Genesis remembered starting from the age of three was
the constant beat downs his mother endured for no reason.
If his dad's clothes weren't ironed just right, then a blow
to the face. If the volume of the television was too loud,
then a jab here. And, God forbid, if the small, two-bedroom
apartment in the drug-infested building they lived in wasn't
spotless, a nuclear bomb would explode in the form of
Daquan. But the crazy part was, no matter how clean their apartment was or how good the food was cooked and his
clothes being ironed just right, it was never good enough.
Daquan would bust in the door, drunk or high, full of anger,
ready to take out all his frustration out on his wife. The
dead end jobs, being broke, living in the drug infested and
violent prone city of Philadelphia had turned the already
troubled man into poison to his whole family.