Family Over Everything (24 page)

“Where the fuck is Corrine?” he asked, continuing to shoot.

Jewels ducked and dodged every bullet as he also started to let off rounds.

“That bitch dead, nigga!” Jewels laughed as he continued to shoot, which only infuriated Deion.

Blinded by rage, he ran out of the abandoned building in a blur. Before Jewels could grasp the whole situation, Deion charged at him, knocking him to the ground while his gun skidded several inches away from them. Now on top of Jewels, he drew his hand back and delivered a hard blow to his face. He continued to hit him in his face until Jewels grabbed hold of his wrists and bent them backward. Wincing, he then started to get off of Jewels, to retrieve his gun, but Jewels stopped him. The two men began to tussle for the gun, kicking and punching at each other. Struggling to get the upper hand, Deion tried his best to use his body weight on the oversized Jewels, but it was to no avail.

“Yeah, nigga!” Jewels growled when we finally got hold of the gun.

Like the man he was, Deion looked Jewels in the eyes, willing to accept his fate. But before Jewels even had the chance to pull the trigger, Mercedes walked up behind him, placed her .357 to his head, and pulled the trigger.

Deion watched as Jewels stared him in the eyes as he lifelessly
fell to the ground. Breathing heavily, they rushed to the apartment where they'd seen Brooke and Jewels leave from.

They crashed through the front door and the stench of death overpowered them. In the dark living room, Deion saw the silhouette of a girl sitting in a chair.

He exhaled, mentally preparing himself for the worst. Seeing a flashlight on the floor, he picked it up and turned it on.

“Oh, God, what did they do to you?” he cried, dropping to the floor.

The sight of his younger sister, bound, naked, beaten, and with a bullet lodged in her chest, was too much for him to take. Crying, Mercedes untied the ropes from around Corrine's chest, and her limp body fell into her arms. Deion got to his feet, looking at the young girl he hadn't seen in eight years.

Gently picking her up, he carried her out and placed her in the back of his car. Still crying, Mercedes climbed in with her, running her fingers through her hair. Pulling off, Deion headed to the nearest hospital.

D
eion and Mercedes sat next to Corrine's hospital bed. She'd been in a coma for a month and they were patiently waiting for her to wake up.

Mercedes was dressed in a pair of straight-leg blue jean pants, a hot-pink blouse, and a pair of hot-pink leather boots. Her wavy hair hung down her back and gold eye shadow accentuated her dark, flawless skin. Dressed in his usual jogging suit, Deion was asleep, snoring softly. Crossing her legs, Mercedes slowly folded her arms under her breasts and looked at Corrine. After going through many major surgeries for over a month, Mercedes and the rest of them were praying for her health to increase.

“Hey, girl!” Raynisha walked into the hospital room smiling, dressed in her police uniform and carrying a bouquet of flowers.

“Hey, Ray. You bought these for her? These are beautiful!” Mercedes smiled before giving her a welcoming hug.

“Yeah, girl. Wow, he's knocked clean out.” Raynisha laughed, nodding at Deion.

Mercedes took the bouquet out of her hands before putting it on a nearby table where the rest of the “Get Well Soon” balloons and other flowers were located. Staring down at Corrine, Mercedes smiled. Turning back to face Raynisha, Mercedes took a seat next to her.

“I'm sorry I haven't really been home lately. I've been in the
library studying to pass my GED classes and visiting her, so things have been a little hectic lately,” Mercedes said.

“Girl, it's fine. Don't stress it. I'm glad that you're out of those streets, living with me, and back in school. Look at you, Mercedes. You're glowing! What did I tell you?”

“Let go and let God,” they said in unison, bursting into a soft laughter.

“Raynisha. I can't believe it, either. I wish Tessa was here to see me now. But I know she's looking down at me and smiling right about now. And once Corrine gets out of here, I swear I'll do everything in my power to keep her off the streets and off of those drugs.”

“Oh, yeah, I'll make sure she stays off those streets, too. Even if it takes all the strength in my body, this little girl will make it. I've already taken action and been appointed her legal guardian, so don't worry about her. You need to worry about yourself now, Mercedes. Have you thought about what you want to do with your life whenever you get your GED?”

“Yes, I want to go to school to be a sonogram technician.”

“Good, and like I tell you all the time, anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”

Mercedes nodded in agreement and turned when Corrine's doctor, Dr. Kennedy, walked into the room.

His bifocal glasses rested on the bridge of his nose as he tilted his head and looked at a chart that he held in his hands. He stared at Corrine, then back at the chart.

“Hello, is there a problem, doctor?” Raynisha asked, frowning.

“Yes, Ms. Williams, we have received the urine test back for Corrine Johnson, and it appears . . .”

“What? Appears what?”

“Ms. Johnson is four weeks' pregnant.”

C
orrine weakly stepped out of the black BMW with a cane in her hand. She took baby steps, hesitantly walking toward the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Center. Feeling hands on her, she stopped.

“Go ahead, baby girl. We're right by your side,” Deion assured her with a warm smile.

He stood beside her, gently holding on to her frail arm and guiding her toward her future. Mercedes, who stood on the side of her, and Raynisha, who stood behind her, nodded their heads in agreement.

Corrine, who was dressed in a blue jean outfit that hung loosely on her body, flashed a fragile smile before taking a deep breath, clutched her small, pregnant stomach and continued to walk, but this time with much more confidence. When she finally reached the inside of the rehabilitation center and all three of them let go of her, she turned around, shielded her slanted eyes that now held hope in them, and waved goodbye to the only family she had left in this world.

Deion, now teary-eyed, ran and wrapped his strong, masculine arms around her petite frame, rocking her back and forth. She melted in his arms as he stroked her hair, telling her how much he loved her. Stepping back, he looked his little sister in the eyes. “I love you, baby girl. And I'm sorry for everything.”

Remaining silent and giving him a reassuring smile, Corrine nodded before turning around and walking away.

Deion, Mercedes, and Raynisha waved her goodbye for the time being, hoping she'd walked into the center a girl and finally walk out a young woman.

An hour later, Deion and Mercedes parted ways with Raynisha and they pulled up in front of an apartment in Northview. The sun was still shining and everyone in the neighborhood was out, enjoying the hot day. Dressed in an all-black cocktail dress and black stiletto pumps, Mercedes sat and stared at the house.

“So, this is where he stays at now?”

“Yeah, do you want me to handle this?”

Shaking her head, she reached into her leather pocketbook and pulled out her small .357. Turning around to face him, she said, “No, I want to do this by myself. I have to.”

Getting out of the car, she walked toward the apartment with confidence, her head held high with each step.

Walking onto the porch, to her surprise, she found the front door unlocked. Turning the doorknob, she clutched her gun in her hand and looked around the living room with caution.

She shook her head in disgust and continued to stare around the usual smelly apartment. When she walked upstairs and found a man slumped over on a dirty mattress, she flipped him over.

Day'onne, who was in his usual drunken state of mind and looked like he was in good need of a wash, mumbled to himself and looked confused.

Mercedes turned her nose up and pointed her gun at him. “Big, bad-ass Day'onne, look at you now.”

Day'onne, who was too much under the influence, continued to mumble under his breath and tried to stand, but quickly stumbled.

Cocking her gun and pointing it at his head, Mercedes took a deep breath, placing her hand on the trigger. Squinting her eyes, she said, “This is for Corrine.”

Pulling the trigger, she watched as Day'onne's lifeless body limply fell to the dirty floor.

Exhaling, she walked out of the dirty room and house. Refusing to look back, she was finally happy to know she had closed that chapter of her life.

Shay sat in her red Beemer, clutching her bulging stomach and looking through the windshield. She watched in envy as a beautiful, dark-skinned girl walked out of Day'onne's apartment, hopped into Deion's BMW and pulled off.

Getting out of the car, she walked on the porch and opened the door. A foul stench smacked her against her puffy cheeks, causing her to place her hand over her nose. She made her way up the stairs and into the first bedroom, not prepared for what she was about to see.

She held her swollen stomach as she made it out of the room as fast as she could. Walking into the living room, she doubled over and vomited. When she regained her composure, she walked back into the room and stared down at a lifeless Day'onne.

Turning, she walked out of the apartment and got back in her car. Always devious, she smiled mischievously, already plotting.

I
F YOU ENJOYED
“F
AMILY
O
VER
E
VERYTHING
,”
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L
ITTLE
W
HITE
L
IES

BY
C
OLE
R
ILEY

C
OMING
S
OON FROM
S
TREBOR
B
OOKS

FALL 2006

The word around the neighborhood was that I was the good one, the levelheaded, ambitious boy who would make good one day. And never shame the family. I tried to be normal, the quiet nerd, the potential breadwinner. However, that was not to be the case.

My father said I reminded him of Doctor J, Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, and even Michael Jordan when I found the proper stroke, the proper dribble, the proper pass. We used to shoot hoops in the backyard, and later on a tattered basketball court with tufts of grass peeking through the buckled asphalt. School was something I hated. I was never any good with numbers, grammar, or science. But put a basketball in my hands and I was an artist.

A rowdy crowd of supporters turned out to see us topple Cardozo by 12 points, allowing our team to capture a share of the division title. The Cardozo squad was playing without their top sophomore forward, Akim Lawrence, who was nursing a head cold. Still, the red-hot guards almost snatched the victory away in the third quarter with four three-pointers.

“Melvin, this win would mean a lot for our franchise and our school,” Ron Faulk, our coach, said to me. “You've shown leadership throughout our entire season and you cannot let us down now. Not now. They're underestimating you and what you bring to our team. Kick some butt, son.”

I thought back about how we beat Bishop Ford, Jefferson and even Nazareth. These dudes were a snap for us. I started rebounding and blocking shots, going out and putting my hand in the faces of the slick guards. Coach Faulk called our opposition Heckle and Jeckle, after the TV cartoon crows. Were they magpies?

Our 6-11 center, Houston Crown, stood in our huddle, grabbing me by the arm and speaking in his deep baritone voice. “They're talking a lot of smack out there. They say we're punks, we're chumps. Everybody thinks they can beat us. I take this personal and I know you guys do too.”

“Shit, we cannot let them come to our house and talk a lot of shit,” Emory Lewis, our point guard said. “We can't let them disrespect us and take the win. We've got to turn it up. We got to put them in their place. Smash-mouth ball, guys, smash-mouth ball.”