Read The Face That Launched A Thousand Bullets (The Cartel Publications Presents) Online
Authors: T. Styles
The Face That Launched A Thousand Bullets (The Cartel Publications Presents) (22 page)
He nodded yes.
He’d only been in her presence for only five minutes and already he had Great respect for her. When she felt he knew how serious she was, she said, “Let me introduce you to the rest of the familee.” The older one walked back inside. He made mental notes to check him for his piece before he left. “This here is your cousin Dyzell, he’s my oldest son.”
“But everybody calls me Cooks.”
Cooks was so tall he had to stoop down just to walk through most doorways. With medium length dreads, you could see the streets written all over his face.
“Everybody but your motha!”
“I know ma.” He said under his breath. “Ever since they been callin’ you that you been in and out of trouble!”
Silence.
“Now this one right here is my second to the oldest son Simon.” She pointed.
“And they calls me Simon.” He responded laughing at his own joke. Simon was a little shorter than Cooks, with a ball head and chubby waist.
“Shut up fool!” she gave him a serious look. “Lastly this is Monesha, the only girl of the family. She’s like a daughter to me.”
“Stop playin’ ma! I am your daughter.” She giggled.
Hold up.
He thought.
Her daughter equals my cousin. Fuck
!
Jackie gripped her while Monesha and Nyzon’s eyes locked. If they were really family, that would be the worst part about it.
“She lives in D.C. with her father and my ex-husband Rob. Have you two met?”
There was no way he could tell her yes when just last month, Monesha had his dick in her mouth.
“Naw…they don’t know each other.” Cooks interrupted. “He knows one of my friends, and I was bout to give him a ride home when I noticed he looked familiar.”
Nyzon breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh. I see.” Her face softened as she looked at Nyzon again. “I still can’t believe you’re here. My baby sister’s only son.” She wiped her sweaty face with a napkin from the table. “I miss her so much.”
She became dejected as she thought about her sister.
Cooks consoled his mother by rubbing her back softly.
“If what you sayin’ is true, and your sister is my mother, she’s still alive.” He said although his gut told him something was up with his mother’s story. He’d always believed that the woman he knew all his life, was not his mother. “We live in Southeast.”
They looked at each other like he’d lost his mind.
“Son what are you talkin’ about?” She walked up to him. “I buried my sister many years ago.”
“I guess we’re not related then.” He stood up. “Can somebody take me to the city please? Cuz I gotta get my ride.”
“Get the photo album Monesha.” Her eyes were planted on Nyzon. “And sit down, son.”
Nyzon obeyed.
Monesha returned a few seconds later with a huge yellow photo album and placed it on the table.
“Open it, Shelton.” She was speaking to Nyzon.
“Shelton?” he repeated raising his brow. He’d heard that name before, but where? “I mean…open it, son.”
His expression told her he was unaware of his birth name.
When he opened the album, the pages made the crackling sound most photo albums due when it hasn’t been opened in awhile.
“Keep flippin’ son.”
He continued to turn the pages until she stopped him by placing her hand over his.
“There. We took this on the day you were born.”
A sparkle entered her eyes as she stared at the photo. “The doctor told your mama she couldn’t have kids. They were wrong.” She touched his face again with the back of her hand.
Nyzon slowly pulled the plastic back, removed the photo and stared at the picture closely. The baby in the photo looked like him, but it looked like it could’ve been any one of them.
“And this is your mother.”
The woman in the photo had auburn colored hair. He examined it closely. A sporadic smile spread across his face. She was exquisite. Her large eyes matched his perfectly. Suddenly the room began to spin as he realized, she was also the one from his nightmares.
“She died in a car accident.” Jackie continued. “I was the last person to see her alive. Alls I really remember, is that she was upset about somethin’. She never told me what. I shoulda forced her to stay, but I didn’t. Hours after she left my house, her car was demolished in a car accident. We found her body, but couldn’t find you anywhere. They formed a search party for months and when they stopped, our family kept looking. Somethin’ in my spirit knew you were still alive.” Suddenly she gave him a look as if she remembered something extremely important. “Where have you been, Shelton? Where were you all this time?”
Her mouth was moving but he could no longer make out the words. Too much was revealed at one time. He went to stand up, wobbled, and fell to the floor.
Crayland Bailor
Fucked Up Life
C
ray couldn’t believe his father had the nerve to peel back the plastic off of one of Melody’s keys. To say he was angry was an understatement. Right before he was about to click, pop on his ass, he felt his mother come behind him.
“Don’t do it, baby.” Her arms wrapped around his. “It’s not worth it.”
On his knees, his father cowardly remained with his arms in the air. His once muscular body now frail and thin from drug abuse. His fright pleased Cray. He was sick of telling his ass over and over to stay out of his space. His lack of respect for him got the fuck on his nerves. And as far as he was concerned the world would be better off with one less junkie roaming around, especially one who wasn’t paying him.
“Don’t do it, son.” he pleaded shaking. Cray smelled a faint stench of shit in the air from his father’s bows releasing. “Please don’t kill me.”
He was angry that a part of him, the part that wanted a father, still cared. The gun shook in his hands. He wanted to do it. But was he really worth it? The bottom line was, from the moment he could walk he’d been doing it alone ever since.
As he decided his father’s fate, his phone rang. It brought him back to reality. Cray’s arms dropped as he watched his father fall up against his nightstand in relief. It was Melody.
“Get off me, bitch!” he said to his mother after placing the gun in the back of his pants, covering it with his shirt. “Don’t ever put your fuckin’ hands on me. I wasn’t bout to waste a bullet on his ass anyway.”
With a closed fist, he walked up to his father who smelled worse than the New York City sewer system and knocked him out. With his father stretched out at his feet, Cray reassembled Melody’s product, put it back in the bag, and answered the phone.
“Melody, where you want to meet?” he asked seeing his mother kneeling down, trying to help his father off of the wooden floor. She almost toppled over when all of his weight rested on her thin body. “Hey, yo! Hurry up and get that nigga out of here!” Cray interrupted Melody before he could answer.
After all the shit he did to her, you’d think she’d be happy I stole his ass
. He thought.
“Where you at?” Melody asked.
“Home.”
“I’ll be at my crib lada. But knock on the door and give my shit to J-Swizz.””
“You sure?”
He wasn’t feeling handing product to a third party before Melody could inspect it.
“Positive. Did everything go okay wit Nyzon?”
“Oh that’s that nigga’s name?”
Melody laughed.
“You know I don’t fuck wit’ DC cats! But it went a’ight if that’s what you want to call it.”
“Well get over it.” Melody responded singing the rest of the words. “Because if I continue to use you, that’s who you’ll be dealin’ wit for now on.”
I’m sick of this nigga’s shit!
Cray thought.
“It is what it is.” Cray responded.
“Lada.”
When he hung up, he rushed out his bedroom door with the bag in hand. He was moving out of the house and leaving everything behind. He’d buy all new shit once he got situated.
“I’m movin’ out.” He told his mom walking past her in the living room.
No details were necessary. With him gone, he was sure they’d lose the house. He financed everything, their drug habit included. But he was tired of having to hide his possessions every time he left the front door. The cash he wasn’t worried about because he never kept more around than he could stand to lose. And he wasn’t blind to it missing money despite tucking it under his mattress. Besides, if they took it, he wouldn’t have to give it to them if they asked.
“I know you’re leaving, baby. It’s time.” He stopped and turned around. And the moment he did, he noticed something different about her eyes. He couldn’t place his finger on it.
Was she clean?
He thought.
Fuck naw!
“And I know you’re disgusted with everything we did to you over the years.”
“You don’t know nothin’ bout me.” He was angry and hurt.
“Cray, please. I might never see you again and I want you to hear me out.”
He stopped, his breaths heavy.
“I know you’re disgusted with me. But I swear to you…on what’s left of my life, that I’m gonna get better. And if it’s not too late, maybe I can learn to be a mother to you again. If nothing else a friend. I haven’t gotten high in over a month.” She
was
clean.
Still, her body was beyond thin and the scars from the many years of drug abuse shown all over. He hated her! He hated them! He decided to put her to the test. And if she passed, who knew what life had in store for their relationship.
“You really clean?” A maniacal grin took over his face.
“Yes, son. I am.” She smiled proudly.
“So you don’t want dis new shit I got in my pocket?”
Her eyes widened a little, still she shook her head no.
“You passin’ up on some good shit. I got this from New York and everybody hittin’ me up. You ain’t heard? These feens goin’ crazy ‘round here. You sure you don’t want it?” Silence.
He witnessed her body shake as the desires of her mind battled with those of her heart.
“I…can’t…I’m…tryin’, Cray. Don’t do this to me because I’m tryin’ so hard, baby.” She cried. “Please don’t make me choose when I’m not strong enough. Let me fight this thing some more.”
“You want it or not?!” He screamed. “I ain’t got time for this shit!”
She dropped to her knees and sobbed heavily. “Cray, please stop. Don’t do this.”
“Fuck it I’m out of here!”
He was halfway to the door until she said, “Don’t leave, Cray. P…Please don’t go.”
His heart raced.
He wondered if she wanted
him
or the dope.
“I need the drugs.”
She lost the battle and she lost him.
He laughed although his heart broke inside.
“That’s what I thought. I neva had a mother, bitch! So don’t waste your time.”
He said as he went down the steps and out the front door. Leaving her empty handed.
Kavon Cartier
Washington, D.C.
Daddy’s Little Girl
K
avon hadn’t planned on seeing Tara. And most of all, he hadn’t planned on her looking as badly as she did. But it was time…time for him to deal with what he’d been running from for so many years. His failure as a husband, father and man.