Family Over Everything (4 page)

“I can understand that, but I'd never hurt her. Why do you think I pop my head up here every day? Just like you, I want the best for her, too,” Melissa assured her.

Ms. Puchiarelli smiled. “I know that now. Give me some time and I'll have the paperwork ready. You're on your way to becoming her legal guardian.”

For the next couple of days, Melissa took her time signing papers. On the day the baby was scheduled to be released, she arrived at the hospital with a huge smile on her face and carrying a new outfit she'd bought for the little girl to wear home.

“Congratulations, Ms. Johnson; take care of this beautiful child,” Dr. Harrison said as Melissa dressed her.

“What are you going to name her?” Mrs. Puchiarelli asked.

“Corrine. Corrine Johnson.”

That night, when Melissa arrived home, she took the baby upstairs to her bedroom. When she'd found out that Corrine would be a member of her family, she'd quickly gotten rid of her king-sized bed for a twin size, so that she'd be able to fit a baby crib in her room.

“Whose baby is that?” Day'onne asked in a low, icy tone, startling Melissa.

“Boy, what are you doing up?”

“I heard you come in. I asked, whose baby is that?”

“Mine. She's your new baby sister. Her name is Corrine,” Melissa said, flashing a bright smile before placing her into the crib.

“Sister? That bitch ain't my sister!” Day'onne spat harshly.

Without warning, Melissa charged off of her bed, grabbed him by his arm, and slapped him continuously on his behind with her hands. Day'onne laughed hysterically with every hit she delivered to him. When she noticed the whupping wasn't doing anything to him, as always, she stopped hitting him.

“Look at me, Day'onne!”

He flared his nose and clenched his jaw as she forcefully grabbed him by his chin, forcing him to meet her eyes.

“If I ever hear you call your sister or any female another name, that's your behind!” she stated firmly. “Understand?”

He nodded as he turned to leave. Before he walked out of the room, he cut his eyes at Melissa. “Melissa, I will never respect a female. My own damn momma didn't respect me, so why should I respect them?”

Melissa was at a loss for words as she watched him walk away. Something in the pit of her soul told her Day'onne would forever mean what he said.

S
even-year-old Corrine lay in her bed, tightly wrapped up in her sheets. Her body jittered when she felt a cold pair of hands tugging at her covers and legs.

“Please don't do this!” she cried as she tried her best to pull away from him.

Fifteen-year-old Day'onne ignored her as he grabbed the sheets with both hands and pulled them completely off of her body.

Shuddering, Corrine closed her eyes as he grabbed a hold of her wrists, pinned them behind her head, and pulled her pajama pants down. Parting her legs with his, he pulled down his shorts and vigorously entered her.

Arching her back, she wailed out a loud, heart-wrenching scream, causing him to quickly place his hands over her mouth. With tears blurring her vision, her body shook with agony as Day'onne continued to pound her youthful body, shattering her young soul and stripping her from her innocence.

After five minutes passed, and Day'onne still was torturing her with each stroke, Corrine finally stopped fighting back. Her body went limp.

He wickedly laughed. “Good girl, there you go. Take it.”

Two minutes later, he pulled his penis out of her and ejaculated on her stomach. She cringed as she watched him climb off of her, pick the sheet off the floor, and begin to wipe his penis
off with it. He then pulled up his shorts and made his way toward her bedroom door before he turned around. “You better not tell Melissa.”

It was a bright summer morning in Northview Heights. The hustlers were out hugging the street corners, selling drugs in order to feed their families, while the young children ran around, cracking fire hydrants open and getting wet in the middle of the streets.

Day'onne stepped off of his front porch, taking in the atmosphere as he made his way through the neighborhood. Dressed in a pair of red basketball shorts, a red T-shirt, and a pair of all-white Air Force Ones, he looked like a normal, rough-looking teenage boy. His unbraided hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and his eyes glistened in the sun.

As he made his way toward his best friend, Menace's house, with a scowl on his face, he watched as bystanders eyed the ground, refusing to glance in his direction. He ignored them all, chuckling as he finally made it to Menace's front porch. Menace, who was a black-blue, fifteen-year-old boy, sat on his porch with a glowering look on his face.

“What's up with you?” Day'onne asked, giving him a hand dap.

“Nothing; where's the weed at?”

“I don't know; I'm broke,” Day'onne replied as he patted his hands against his shorts. “Do you have some money?”

Digging his hands into his pockets, Menace shook his head before he snapped his fingers. “Nope, but you already know what time it is, don't you?”

Nodding, Day'onne glanced across the street before he turned
to Menace. “Yeah, there go little Rich and Guns over there now. Let's go get them.”

Standing to his feet, Menace followed after him, crossing the street and making their way toward Rich and Guns, two of many of Northview's drug dealers.

Rich and Guns, who were too busy serving a drug addict, didn't noticed Day'onne and Menace approaching them as they grabbed them from behind, wrapping their arms around their necks.

“Give it up,” Day'onne said as he tightened the already stronghold he hand on Guns.

In a panic, Rich and Guns reached into their pockets and pulled out wads of cash and held them up to Day'onne and Menace as they gasped for air.

Grabbing the money out of their hands, Day'onne stuffed it into his pocket. He gripped Guns' neck even tighter and smiled as he watched a weak Guns squirm in his arms like a fish out of water. Clawing at Day'onne's arms, Guns' esophagus started to close in as he took slow, deep breaths and his vision became blurry.

Menace did the same to Rich as they watched both of them lose consciousness. They unwrapped their arms from around their necks, watched as they collapsed to the ground, and then walked away.

Crossing the street again, they walked into Menace's apartment and closed the door behind them. They took a seat and Day'onne pulled the money out of his pocket. Just as Day'onne proceeded to count, the stench emitting from Menace's living room and kitchen briefly broke his concentration.

Menace's living room was nearly empty and dirty, consisting of a couch and wooden table, and needed a good mopping. His kitchen only had a few pieces of silverware, a table, and a refrigerator that had rotten food spoiling in it.

Placing his hand over his nose, Day'onne said, “Damn, man. When you gonna get this place cleaned?”

“I don't know and honestly, I don't care. I'm trying to save up enough money, so I can get out of here,” Menace replied.

Nodding, Day'onne turned his attention back to his money as he started to count it. When he was done, he stared at Menace. “Four hundred dollars? I'm tired of this, man. This is chump change. When are we gonna get some real money?”

“We can if we stop robbing for money and actually start making it.”

“How, though?”

“Dealing. Stick-ups ain't gonna get us far. We need to start serving these fiends.”

“But with four hundred dollars? That wouldn't even get us a brick of cocaine, yo. I don't know, man,” Day'onne said, throwing his hands up in surrender.

“What we need to do is stop robbing these nickel-and-dime hustlers and start getting the ones with the real dough.”

Rubbing the peach fuzz on his chin, Day'onne smiled and nodded his head. “You right. What about that dude, Crazy-Kay?”

Menace threw his head back in laughter before he stared at Deion. “Are you serious? He ain't making no money!”

“Well, you try, then!”

Menace balled his up his hand and tapped it against the other one before he snapped his finger a moment later, and said, “What about that dude, Jewels? How could we forget about him?”

A devious grin spread across Day'onne's face. “Yeah, Menace! I have a plan!”

M
elissa was in her station wagon as she rode through Pittsburgh, fighting to keep her eyes open. That day, she had worked another twelve-hour shift at Pitt University as a security guard and as she tapped her fingers against the steering wheel, waiting for the light to change, she wondered about how much more her body could take.

Staring into the mirror, she glanced at the bags forming under her eyes before she turned her attention back to the road. When she finally made it up to Northview, she parked her car in front of her house and slowly stepped out of it.

“Hey, Ms. Melissa!”

“How are you, Ms. Melissa?”

“Hey, Momma Melissa!” a couple of people yelled at her as she made her way toward her home.

Flashing a smile, she waved at them and placed her key into the doorknob, unlocking the door, and walking in.

“Hey, Mom!” Corrine yelled as she ran up to Melissa and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“Hey, baby girl,” Melissa said in a low tone as she took a seat on the couch.

Deion walked into the living room, took her purse out of her hands, and placed it on the living room table. Noticing Melissa's hunched shoulders, tensed arms, and weary eyes, Deion walked up
behind the couch and gently rubbed her shoulders. “Are you okay, Mom?”

“I'm fine, baby,” she replied as Deion continued to massage her shoulders.

“Mom, did you get the food stamps, yet? Corrine and I are hungry. We've been eating bread and drinking water for the past week.”

“They're coming soon, baby. I have some goodies in my purse for all of you.”

Deion nodded his head and walked back in front of her, bent down for her purse, and handed it to her. He watched as she reached into it, pulled out a couple of bags of chips, and handed one to each of them.

Melissa fought back her tears as she watched them devour the chips like wild animals. Taking a deep breath, she dropped her head in silent prayer, asking God to give her strength. She got to her feet and walked toward her bedroom. Around that time, everything seemed to be falling apart for her. The government was threatening to cut off her food stamps, claiming she made too much money since she not only worked, but was receiving checks for adopting the twins and Corrine. She tried her best to keep food in all three of her children's mouths and clothes on their backs, but her eighty-year-old mother had recently been diagnosed with liver cancer and all of her money went to the nursing home and her medicine.

“Mommy, what's wrong?” Corrine asked, peeking through Melissa's bedroom door about an hour later.

Smiling, she nodded her head as she looked at the child she'd saved seven years prior. She loved the flourishing little girl. Taking a seat on the edge of her bed, Melissa waved for Corrine to enter. Corrine smiled as she ran into Melissa's arms.

Melissa then gazed down at her. “Corrine, you know you look exactly like your mother, right?”

“But, you're my mommy,” she replied as she held her head down.

Placing her hand under her chin, Melissa lifted it up so that Corrine's eyes met hers. “I'm your mother, baby. But, I'm talking about your other mother. Do you remember her name?”

“Relaysha?”

Chuckling, Melissa said, “You're close, baby. Her name is Relisha. You know that she loves you as much as I do, right?”

“Why did she leave us then?”

“She wasn't in the right state of mind to take care of y'all, baby girl. But she does love all of you. You, Deion, and Day'onne,” she said, briefly pausing. “Speaking of Day'onne, where is he?”

Melissa felt Corrine's arms tense up and caught a glimpse of fear in her eyes. “What's wrong, Corrine?”

“N-n-nothing, Momma,” she replied and then gazed away.

“Are you lying to me, young lady?”

“No! I swear I'm not lying, Momma! I don't know where he is!” she yelled as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

“Okay, calm down, Corrine. Stop all of that crying.” She watched as Corrine wiped the tears. “Now, go into the living room with Deion while I get some sleep, okay?”

“Okay; love you, Momma!”

“I love you, too, baby.”