Family Over Everything (21 page)

In the next abandoned building, there were a handful of hustlers having either oral sex or serving the addicts their daily doses.

Walking out of that apartment, she saw there was one more abandoned apartment left on the street. Taking a deep breath, a cold shiver ran down her back as she slowly walked through the tarnished blue door. The smell of urine, stale sex, and death assaulted her nose as soon as she walked in.

Oddly, there was not one living soul walking through any of the rooms. When she reached the back room, her heart slammed into her chest. She raised a hand to her chest and looked down at the small, light-skinned girl staring at her through lifeless eyes.

Kneeling, Mercedes pulled Tessa's body into her arms, tears trickling down her face.

“Oh, my God, who did this to you?” she cried, rocking her sister.

Getting to her feet, she struggled to lift Tessa's petite frame. Taking small steps, she made it to the front door and opened it.

Brainiac, who happened to be walking past, saw Mercedes carrying Tessa and ran over.

“What happened to her?” she asked, raising her hand to her mouth.

“I don't know, but I got to call the cops! I can't believe somebody did this shit to her!”

Mercedes cried, moving to step off the porch.

Grabbing Mercedes by her wrist, Brainiac shook her head forcefully
and hopped in front of her, preventing her from taking another step. “You can't do that; you got to leave her here.”

“What the fuck you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean. Sugar doesn't want any of that attention on her business. She told all three of y'all when y'all stepped into this business that y'all were playing a risky game. It's sad to say, but something was bound to happen to her. Shit, something is bound to happen to all of us! You got to take her back in there, Mercedes. Calling the cops ain't too smart, girl,” she warned.

“But I can't leave her in there like this! She's my sister!”

“Girl, if you're going to be in this game, you got to learn how to move the fuck on! I had a lot of friends die before my very eyes in these streets and I learned to move on and say fuck it.”

“I want my sister back,” Mercedes cried, her knees buckling.

Brainiac sighed. After glancing around to see if the coast was clear, she pulled her cell phone out of her bra and dialed 9-1-1, and reported a dead body.

“Okay, they'll be here in a few, so hurry up and put her back in there and be out. I'll meet you back at Sugar's,” Brainiac said, walking away.

Mercedes nodded, hot tears burning her cheek. She ran her fingers through Tessa's dead hair as she laid her limp body back onto the mattress.

“I love you, Tessa. We'll always be sisters,” she whispered before standing to her feet to leave.

She glanced back one last time, blowing her a kiss, knowing she'd just made one of the hardest decisions in her life.

When she arrived back at Sugar's with her mind, heart, and soul heavy, she dragged her feet into her room, and threw herself onto the bed, her chest heaving and eyes watering. She placed her pillow over her head and screamed into it angrily. Remembering
the image of Tessa's lifeless eyes, she released a low, heart-wrenching scream.

After blowing off steam, she threw the pillow to the other side of the bedroom and exhaled. Knowing she had to get up and prepare to get on the corner, she dragged herself to the closet and collapsed to the floor. With red eyes, she reached into the closet and pulled out her duffle bag and removed a mini dress she'd be rocking that night. As she unfolded the dress, a small card fell to the floor. Picking the card up, she saw the name “Officer Raynisha Williams” with a number printed on it.

“Officer Raynisha Williams? Who's that?” she asked no one in particular.

Snapping her fingers, she remembered Officer Williams as the woman whom she'd met at the police station when she and Corrine had stolen from Giant Eagle.

She did say I could call her whenever I needed her,
she thought, holding the card to her mouth, contemplating her next move.

Knowing she didn't have anywhere or anyone to turn to and feeling at her lowest point, her best bet was to give the policewoman a call. If anything, deep down, she hoped it was a sign from God. Picking up the home phone from off of her dresser, she slowly dialed the number that was printed on the card.

“Hello?” a soft, angelic voice answered after the second ringer.

“Hey, I'm looking for Officer Williams.”

“This is she; may I ask who's speaking?”

“Mercedes.”

“Mercedes who? How did you get my number?”

“Mercedes Owens. Several months ago me and my sister got caught stealing at the Giant Eagle, remember? The foster kids?”

The phone went silent and Mercedes fidgeted, biting her nails, hoping the officer remembered her.

“Oh, yeah! I've been waiting for your call. What took you so long to contact me, Mercedes? And where is Corrine?”

“I don't know, she's—”

“Look, I'm kind of busy right now, but can I come and get you from somewhere in an hour or so? I'd like to catch up and see how you been doing,” Officer Williams said sincerely.

“Um . . .”

“You can trust me, girl; I'm not going to hurt you. Where are you?”

“Up Northview.”

“What part? Can I meet you in an hour?”

“On the top of Penfort Street, and I guess so,” Mercedes said hesitantly.

“I'll be there.” Officer Williams ended the call.

An hour later, Mercedes stood on the corner of Penfort Street, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and dressed in a jogging suit. A midnight-blue car pulled up in front of her and honked. Looking in, she saw a dark-skinned woman who wore a short, cropped hairstyle, in the driver's seat.

“C'mon, girl!” Officer Williams said, waving at Mercedes.

Mercedes hesitantly opened the door and got in.

“Put your seat belt on, girl. And sorry I took so long. I was just getting off work when you called. Is everything okay?” she asked, driving off.

Mercedes nodded and looked out of the window. She remained quiet, noticing a couple and three young children cooking on a grill, laughing, and having a good time. She sighed, wishing she'd had a chance to experience that type of feeling with Tessa and Corrine.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I have some lasagna cooking at my place. You don't mind if we go there, do you?”

Mercedes shook her head, still staring out of the window. She remained quiet the rest of the ride to Officer Williams' small brownstone home. Going in, the aroma of the tasty food filled their noses. Mercedes took a seat on the couch and fidgeted, watching Officer Williams take off her jacket and then walk over to her.

Looking into the young girl's sorrowful eyes, she couldn't help but wonder what she'd been through. “What's going on, baby girl? Is everything okay?” she asked, taking a seat next to her.

Mercedes nodded quickly as she looked at the floor. Gently grabbing Mercedes' chin, she lifted it until her eyes met hers. “Young lady, you're too beautiful to be holding your head down. When you're around me and anyone else, I want you to hold that up. You'll mess around and miss a blessing holding your head that low.”

Mercedes nodded again and tried to hold her head high.

“Now, I know you wanted something or you wouldn't have called me. What's going on?”

A tear escaped from her eye as Mercedes shook her head, lowering it into her hands. Catching Officer Williams off-guard, she let out a low scream. Officer Williams rubbed her back, allowing her to get any emotion she had held within her out. When she finally stopped crying and caught her breath, Officer Williams reached into her purse, pulled out a tissue, and handed it to her.

“Thank you, Officer,” Mercedes said, blowing her nose.

“Please, call me Raynisha. What's going on? Please talk to me.”

“This is weird, but I needed someone to talk to and had no one to turn to,” Mercedes said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Sweetie, this doesn't have to be weird.” Raynisha smiled kindly.
“I told you before at the police station that I wanted to help you and your sister. I could tell by looking at the both of you that y'all have been through some things.”

“I know, I want the pain to go away. I want to be happy.”

“And you can be, baby girl. There are always things you can do in life to be happy. It's up to you. You have to take steps and watch everything come in slow; it doesn't happen overnight. Now, tell me what's on your mind?”

Taking a deep breath, Mercedes turned to face Raynisha. She mustered up all the strength and courage she had left and told her everything. She told her about the situation with Rachael abusing her, Corrine, and Tessa. Then, she told her about her prostituting, Corrine's and Tessa's drug addiction, and Tessa's recent death.

Raynisha raised a hand to her chest, looking at the broken young woman before her. She wrapped her arms around Mercedes, giving her a warm hug, silently assuring her everything would be fine.

“I knew there was something about you that had me drawn to you when I first met you, but I couldn't put my finger on it,” Raynisha finally said.

“What do you mean?”

“When I was younger, I was also in a foster care and ran away after being abused by my foster father. He'd molested and raped me for over ten years.”

“Are you serious? What did you do about it?”

“I ran away, girl. I got into drugs, partying, and everything.”

“Really? I would never have thought that,” Mercedes said, appalled.

“Me either. But, after almost dying in them streets, I got myself together. I got my GED, went into law, and became a police officer. That's what I mean, because you've been through a lot of
things in life doesn't mean you can't or won't ever be happy. You have to fight for it, baby girl. Life is too short. You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything. Everything worth having is worth fighting for; remember that.”

“You're right, Raynisha. I never thought I'd ever sink this low, though. I can't believe my sister is gone. I tried to save her from sinking in these streets. But no matter what I did, it never worked.”

“You can't beat yourself up about it, Mercedes. You're still young and you have the whole world ahead of you. You have to learn how to let go and let God, girl. And the first step of this is to stop prostituting,” Raynisha said.

“I can't, Raynisha, I can't. I don't have anywhere to go, and that's my only income.”

“Listen, you have me now. Matter of fact, I want you and Corrine to stay with me. Maybe this was meant to happen. Maybe God sent you to me for a given reason. You see what happened to your sister; you don't want you or Corrine to be next.”

Tears filled Mercedes' eyes. Overwhelmed with emotion, she didn't know what her next move would be. She knew from the sincerity in Raynisha's voice that she was a woman of her word, but she didn't want to depend on someone else.

“Okay, I have an idea,” she said.

“I'm listening.”

“I'm going to continue to prostitute for two more weeks. I have seventeen thousand dollars saved up and my goal was twenty. In two weeks, I should reach my goal. When that happens, I'll take my and Corrine's things, pack them up, and head over here.”

“You have seventeen thousand, why be greedy, girl? You are under-aged and prostituting, at that. Who are you working for? I'm sorry, Mercedes, but I can't allow you to continue to do this.”

“Please, Raynisha? I been doing this for months and twenty
was a goal I wanted to reach. Plus, I don't ever like depending on anyone. If I touch twenty, I'll be good to take care of me and Corrine until we finally get back on our feet. I promise, two more weeks and I'm done,” Mercedes pleaded.

Throwing her arms up in surrender, Raynisha said, “I'm serious, Mercedes, I want to see both of you off of those streets in two weeks. If I don't, I will have to turn the both of you in, do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Y
ou get any info on that bitch yet?” Respect asked Jewels.

They were both in Jewels' condominium, counting their week's profit. It'd been over a month since they'd been back on the streets, and things were slowly but surely coming back into place for all of them.

He looked at the tall piles of money stacked on the living room table and took another pull from his sweet cigar. “Yep, she lives with that bitch, Sugar. Sugar be having her posted on the corner of Hazlet and shit. If we're lucky, we could probably catch her tonight.”

“Do you want me or that nigga Brooke to go with you? I got some business to tend to tonight.”

“I'll call Brooke; handle your business,” Jewels said, putting his cigar out in his ashtray.

He sat down and leaned back in his chair, looking at the stacked money.
Yeah, this is what the fuck I'm talking about. Life is good,
he thought.

“Hey, Daddy,” Yazmin yelled, running into the room.

“Hey, baby girl; I didn't even know you were awake. You hungry?” he asked.

“Yes, but where's Mommy, Daddy? When is she coming home from her vacation?”

Staring into her eyes, he couldn't help but think of how much
of Relisha's features his daughter had inherited from her. Even though he'd killed Relisha, he couldn't help but think about her every day since she was the mother of his only child. Deep down, he regretted murdering her, but, on the flip side, she had the same blood running through her body as his archenemy, and that he could no longer accept.

“She'll be home soon, baby. Now go back into the living room while Daddy cooks for you, okay?”

Yazmin nodded and ran back into the living room. It pained him that he would have to lie to his daughter for the rest of her life about her mother, but if that's what he had to do to prevent her from knowing the truth, that's exactly what he'd do.