Dirtiest Revenge (8 page)

“
Mommy! Mommy! Wake up!” Kendra yelled.

She immediately started doing CPR. Still, her mother didn’t budge. Kendra grabbed the cordless phone and dialed 911.

“
Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

“
My name is Kendra LaSalle. I’m at 10112 7
^th
Avenue. My mother is not breathing. I need an ambulance right now.”

Kendra was talking so fast that she stumbled over her words. The operator had to ask her to slow down and start over. Kendra became irate and yelled, “Bitch, my mother is not breathing! I need a fucking ambulance now!”

Kendra slammed the phone on the ground and returned her attention to her mother. “Come on, Mommy. Wake up please. I love you,” she cried, rocking her mother in her arms.

The paramedics and fire department arrived in less than five minutes. Kendra stood by and watched one paramedic hook her mom up to a breathing machine while another one asked Kendra some questions.

“
Does your mother have a history of medical problems?”

Kendra, still in a state of shock, nodded her head slowly and said, “Yes. She has type two diabetes.” Kendra watched as they strapped her mother to a gurney.

“
Ma’am, we are going to take your mother to UCLA Medical Center. You can ride in the back if you don’t have anyone to take you,” the paramedic informed as they exited the house.

“
I’ll drive myself up there,” Kendra insisted.

Kendra called her sister as soon as they left. Marcos answered the phone. He could hear Kendra’s sniffles.

“
What’s wrong, baby girl?” he asked.

Kendra gave him a rundown of what had just happened.

“
Okay, baby girl, we will meet you up there.” Marcos disconnected the call.

*****

Fifteen minutes later, all three of them were standing in the ER, waiting for the doctors to come out and talk to them. Kendra and Nia were hugging each other. Trent walked in right when the doctor and the priest arrived. Kendra sucked her teeth at Trent.

“
Are you the family of Bernice LaSalle?” the doctor asked.

The girls nodded their heads.

“
Can you please tell us what’s going on?” Nia asked, still holding on to Kendra and rocking back and forth.

“
It looks like your mother hasn’t been taking her medication. When she collapsed, she slipped into a diabetic coma,” the doctor announced. “Shortly after she slipped into a coma, she suffered a stroke, and I’m sorry to inform you that your mother didn’t make it.”

Kendra cried hysterically and screamed, “No! Not my momma! Why?”

The priest immediately started praying over them. Nia had a bewildered look upon her face. She couldn’t believe that her mother was gone. She sought to be the stronger one for her sister. The only thing Kendra remembered was being admitted to the hospital for having an asthma attack. When she came to, Trent was right by her side.

“
I thought I told you that I’m good on you for now. Why the fuck am I lying in this hospital bed?” Kendra hissed.

Trent’s eyes were still red. He answered, ”Because, ma, you had a bad asthma attack. Let me go get the doctor and tell him you’re awake.”

Trent went to the nurses’ station to let them know that she had woken up and to ask if they could page Kendra’s doctor. Then, Trent stepped back into the room.

“
The doctor will be here in a minute, ma. You need anything?” he asked.

“
I need for you to leave me the hell alone. Thank you,” Kendra answered rudely.

Just then, the doctor entered the room.

“
All right, Miss LaSalle. We are releasing you. Just make sure you stop at the nurses’ station on your way out to pick up your prescription. Here are your discharge papers. Okay. You’re set.” The doctor handed the papers to Kendra. She smiled and thanked him and then, she went to the restroom, washed up, ran her fingers through her hair and rinsed her mouth. Kendra grabbed her things and stopped at the nurses’ station. Then, she made a beeline out the door. Kendra drove back to the house she grew up in, reminiscing about the good times she had spent with her mother. Their life hadn’t been grand, but she still appreciated every moment she had spent with her mom— the good times and the bad times. Nina and Marcos were already at the house when Kendra pulled up, followed by Trent. The house had an eerie presence that made Kendra feel uneasy, and, immediately, her stomach felt queasy. She ran to the restroom and vomited. Trent rushed to her aide.

“
Baby, you aight?” Trent asked.

Instead of pushing him away, Kendra collapsed in his arms.

Chapter 5

Kendra slowly but surely started to put her life back on track. It had been two weeks since her mother’s funeral and her break up with Trent. She had fallen behind in her schooling, so she decided to take a year off. She was going through too much turmoil, so she needed some time to refocus. She still hadn’t moved back in with Trent, but he came by her mom’s house every day. Trent wasn’t pressing the issue. He wanted to leave the decision up to her. In the meantime, he took full advantage of being a bachelor. Trent even had Nicole spend the night at his and Kendra’s home a couple of times. Nicole didn’t complain once about the time he came in. When she was there, she just enjoyed it for what it was. She always made sure that she had a blunt rolled for him. While he smoked, she wasted no time in giving him head.

One particular time, while they were having sex, he slipped up and called Nicole Kendra, but that still didn’t stop her. She was happy that she was now in the wife position, but that position would soon fade away.

Trent told Nicole he was going out hustling and that he would be back later. To his surprise, Nicole flipped on him and said, “Baby, we’re not spending any quality time together.”

Trent looked at her like “Shit! Here we go again!”

“
Nicole, you’re here with me. Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted?” Trent questioned. Trent was starting to get agitated, and this was getting played.

“
Yes, baby. I’m happy to be here with you, but I think you just been on the block too much.”

Nicole tried to reason with him, but it only made him angry.

“
I swear y’all bitches complain about stupid shit when a nigga ain’t making money. Then, what?” Trent snapped.

Shit! Everything Nicole did made him miss Kendra more and more. He needed to get his shawty back.

*****

After leaving Nicole, Trent was back on the block, grinding hard at full throttle. It was a lovely day in downtown LA, and Trent was having the best day he’d had in months. The dope fiends were coming back to back. Nothing could stop his grind.

Marcos walked up and said, “Aye, bro. It’s getting hot out here, man. We need to bounce. Shifts just changed, and now the Jump Out Crew is on the block.”

The Jump Out Crew was the name given to the detectives who worked the narcotics division. When they were on the block, hell always broke loose. One detective named Officer Brody showed out every chance he got. When he came out, he would announce himself like he was the king of an empire.

“
This here is my block. I run the Nickel,” he would say.

Even though he knew he should be closing up shop, Trent just couldn’t stop. The money was coming in too fast. He knew he was playing with his freedom like it was a game of Russian roulette.

“
Look, my nigga. Go ahead and be a hard headed-ass nigga, but that’s yo ass. I’m out,” Marcos said, frustrated.

He wasn’t trying to get caught up on some bullshit that could have been prevented. Besides, he had a couple of warrants.

As soon as Trent dumped his last pack, he got hemmed up by the Jump Out Crew.

“
Ain’t this ‘bout some bullshit,” Trent spat.

Officer Brody walked up and called Trent by his government name, “Trenton Moore, what are you doing on my block? Boy, don’t you know this is my shit? How many times do I have to tell you that the Nickel is mine?”

Trent was vexed. He knew Brody was putting on a show for the cracker-ass cops behind him. To Trent, Brody was the black version of Mr. Burns from
The Simpsons.
He had been on the force for thirty years and was now head of the narcotics division.

“
I’ll tell you what, Mr. Moore. I’ll let you go if you give me everything in your pockets,” Brody said with a devious grin.

“
Brody, I don’t have shit, man,” Trent answered.

Trent wasn’t worried because all the cash was with Marcos. The only thing he had on him was that quick fifty he had made just before the cops hemmed him up. Marcos had already hit the block and parked in a nearby parking garage. At that point, he was walking back to the block. That was their routine, so that the cops couldn’t search the vehicle.

“
I’m trying to give you a chance at freedom. Now, we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way, Mr. Moore. I just want to warn you, if we do it your way, it’s not gonna be very nice.”

Knowing that the cards were stacked against him, Trent gave in and let the cops search him. Trent even went a step further. He took off his Nike Blazers to show that he didn’t have nothing on him but that fifty dollar bill.

“
Mr. Moore, this must be your lucky day. I usually don’t give anyone a pass, but I’m a man of my word. Now, go on and get out my face before I change my mind,” Brody threatened.

Trent put back on his shoes and walked around the corner to the parking garage, where he met up with Marcos.

“
My nigga, you alright? I thought you was a goner, my nigga,” Marcos laughed.

“
Ain’t shit funny, nigga. Yo ass took off like a bitch,” Trent snapped.

“
Yeah, nigga, I have warrants, not tryna get caught off some bullshit,” Marcos said, continuing to laugh.

Without warning, Trent became serious when he confessed, “On some serious shit, man, I miss my fucking girl so bad. It’s been two weeks since I last seen her. She’s not answering a nigga’s phone calls or texts. I keep showing up, and she doesn’t even come to the door.”

“
Give her some more time, Trent. She’s hurting right now with all that y’all are going through and her mom passing. It’s really taken a toll on her, but don’t stop showing affection just ‘cuz she’s telling you not to bother her. In reality, nigga, she needs you,” Marcos said, reclining in his seat.

“
Aw, nigga, you getting sentimental on a nigga now,” Trent laughed.

“
Nah, young grasshopper, I’ve been down that road before,” Marcos said, turning his face to gaze out the window. Trent heard and understood every word that Marcos spoke. He just had to bring his thoughts together before he chanced going over to Kendra’s mother’s house.

Trent dropped Marcos off at home. Once alone, Trent was able to think things through. He drove to a flower shop and picked up some tulips. Then, he picked up some fresh fruit and chocolate— her favorites.

*****

Kendra tried to keep herself busy at her mother’s house, so she didn’t think of her too much, but, as she went through her mother’s belongings and separated them, Kendra’s heartbreak overwhelmed her. She kept those items that had sentimental value and spent most of her day reminiscing. After boxing them up, she gave the remaining items to the Goodwill. As she was going through her mother’s items, Kendra ran across a picture of her father and mother. In the picture, they were all lovey dovey. This was before he was sent to prison on a twenty-five year bid for killing his best friend after his best friend had tried to molest his children and rape his wife.

*****

Chuck didn’t have a family of his own, so he spent all of his time at Amir and Bernice’s house. One Sunday, Amir and Chuck were drinking and shooting dice with a neighbor. They did this every weekend. When there was a lull in the game, Chuck excused himself and went inside. He let Bernice know that he was going to give the girls some money for school.

After what seemed like forever, Mrs. LaSalle realized that he was taking longer than usual, so she went to see what was holding him up. When she stepped in the room, she found Chuck with his pants down. He was trying to force his penis into Nia’s mouth.