URBAN: Chosen By A Kingpin (48 page)

“Mommy, put this on me,” he told me. This boy continued to amaze me. Although his father had never been in his life, he acted exactly like him. Like I raised an exact replica of his father. I tied the bowtie around his neck and he posed for a few more picture. “Hey mom, do you think my teachers going to make me go outside. I don’t want to get this outfit dirty.”

I laughed but the look on his face was so serious. What had I created? “Well there’s two options D, you can either be really careful and make sure you don’t ruin your clothes, or you can bring some play clothes for you to change into.”

“Play clothes!” he exclaimed.

“Ok play clothes it is little man. Now your breakfast is on the table, go ahead and start eating.” I told him. He took off into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I went to his room and put some play clothes in his backpack, along with some tennis shoes. When I walked into the kitchen, Darnell was already finished eating and was putting his dishes in the sink. He had food all over his face, but he was extremely careful not to get any on his clothes. I took him to the bathroom, washed his face off, and rubbed some coconut milk in his hair to make his curls look neater. I then squatted down in front of him and made sure everything was in order. When I looked at him he was staring at me. The stare was so familiar to me, but it wasn’t a stare I had gotten from my son before. The oh-so familiar stare was the stare I received from Orlando so many years ago. I had to admit. Even though I haven’t heard from him in four years, I still missed him. I still haven’t found a man that could compare to him, even though I haven’t done much looking. Despite his occupation, Orlando was a sweetheart who actually cared about me, but I pushed him away.

“Mommy, you are beautiful.” Darnell said. I smiled.

“Thank you mommy’s baby, now let’s get your backpack and let’s go before we’re late.” I told him.

“Mom, do you think my teacher’s going to be nice, “he asks as he put his backpack on his back and began to walk to the door.

“I’m sure she is son.” I told him

“I hope so. Oh mommy hold on,” he said and ran back to his room. He returned a piece of paper he had drawn on. “I made this for my teacher.”

He stuck it in his backpack and I opened the door to leave. I looked up to see Orlando standing on my front porch pacing back and forth. When he noticed we were standing in the doorway he looked at me. Orlando looked off for some reason, like life hit him really hard. He looked behind me at Darnell who was now holding on to my leg tightly. I placed my hand on his head to comfort him. Once Orlando saw him, his face lit up. He looked like the happiest man on earth in that split second.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him breaking the silence. He looked at me like that was the dumbest question he had ever heard in his life.

“I came to see my son.”

>> CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS <<

Sweet Revenge

Shantel Johnson

© 2015 Sensual Ink Publishing

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

“Good catch son.”

My father and I were outside playing catch in the front yard while my little brother was inside taking a nap. Having a father in a neighborhood like mine is uncommon. Many of them never take the time to watch their little ones grow up and sometimes if they do try, there’s always some problem between them and the baby’s mama that causes them to just give up.

It was Saturday, the sun was shining and the neighborhood was booming with activity. One thing about the hood is that there is hardly ever a dull moment. The air smelled of barbecue, which probably meant that the Smith’s fired up the grill again. Romello and I would probably stop by later to get us a plate. Across the street, Ms. Betty had set up a pool for a grandchildren and they were running around in their bathing suits waiting for it to fill up. Next door, Uncle D and his partners were all gathered around on the porch smoking, drinking, and what not. Occasionally, some kid on a four wheeler would come zooming down the street, followed by some of his friends who were either on dirt bikes, or on skate boards. I told my dad I wanted a four wheeler and told me he would try to find one for me.

My dad and I look just alike. We share the same curly hair, bronze colored skin, and hazel eyes. We have dimples so deep you could probably fit a quarter inside of them, and a smile that makes all the ladies melt. We have the same body shape, except his muscles are more profound than mine, and he stood six feet, four inches. At ten, I was only five foot, six inches which is still tall considering my age. My dad was my role model. Unlike everyone else, he didn’t let where he lived define who he was and he wanted to raise his kids the same way.

My mom came outside to tell us that lunch was ready and then returned to the kitchen. I was starving, so we ended our game of catch and got ready to go inside to eat.. Just as we were walking inside, a black suburban with tinted windows pulled up in front of the house. The guy in the truck rolled down the windows and yelled my dad’s name.

“Go inside Terrell,” my dad told me as he walked towards the truck. I was hesitant but by the look on my dad’s face, I knew I better follow his orders. I went inside of the house and stood in front of the door to keep watch. The guy looked dark-skinned, kind of heavy set and wore sunglasses. He looked as if he had a long black beard but it blended in with the darkness on the inside of the car, so I couldn’t tell. He and my dad talked for a while, but I was too far away to hear their conversation. It had to be a heated one because my dad looked as if he was yelling. Then all of a sudden, my dad stepped back and put his hands up. That’s when I saw it. I ran onto the porch causing the door to slam. My dad looked in my direction, the look on his face showed his fear.

“Please don’t do this. Not in front of my son,” My dad begged. Unfazed by my appearance, the man in the truck took six shots. I screamed and ran to his side, calling for my mama. I watched as my dad fell to the ground, his blood was splattered all over the grass. I sat down beside him. He was hit three times. Once on the left side of his chest, once in his right side, and once on his right arm. Blood was steady flowing out of his body and I didn’t know what to do to stop it. I kneeled next to him as my mother came next to me. I heard her let out a cry.

“Dad you’re going to be alright, just don’t die,” I cried. He placed his left hand on my cheek and wiped the tears that was running down my face uncontrollably. “Somebody please call 911!”

“Son,” He breathed heavily. “Take care of your mom and your little brother. I’ve taught you well, now it’s your turn to protect them.” I shook my head. He wasn’t going to die. He couldn’t leave me, not like this. I needed him. We needed him.

“No, dad just hold on. The ambulance will be here soon. Don’t give up,” I begged. I picked his head up into my hands and laid my hand on his bloody chest.

“Son, I love you. Take care of your mama for me and don’t let anything happen to your brother,” he demanded. “Protect your family at all costs. Do whatever it takes to keep them safe.”

“Dad,” I whispered.

“Son, promise me you’ll keep them safe. Promise me!”

“I promise,” I said quietly. And with that he was gone. The tears on my face had stopped falling. It was time for me to be a man now. I whispered to him that I loved him too. My mother had left my side, the sight was too much on her. She now sat on the porch, crying hysterically. The neighbors surrounded her, desperately trying to console her. The ambulance finally arrived but it was too late. My mom followed as they took my dad to the ambulance. I looked across the street and caught the eye of Romello, my best friend, who had been crying also. His dad left before Romello was born, so my father took him in. My dad was the only father he knew. We stared at each other for a while, both hurt, but we knew what we had to do. My dad had raised the both of us as protectors and providers and we would protect our families at all cost. I watched as Romello leaned into his mother and wrapped his hand around her waist, and then buried his head on her stomach.

I returned into the house and walked into the room I shared with my younger brother. He was still sound asleep in his bed. He looked so peaceful and happy, unaware of the tragedy that just took place. Tears began to fall down my face again. My brother was a split image of my dad as well. Same curly hair, bronze skin, and dimples, but he had my mother’s honey-brown eyes. I rubbed his face, it was so smooth and so warm. I love my brother and no matter what I would never let anyone hurt him. There was a part of me that wanted so desperately to run away and to never look back. It just wouldn’t be the same without my dad. He was my best friend. I knew he wanted to me to be here for them, though, and if I was to do so, I had to remain strong. My little brother needed me, and so did my mother. Montrell began to wake up and I had to regain my composure. I didn’t want him to see I was crying. Crying was a sign of weakness. He stretched, rubbed his eyes, and looked at me. A smile spread across his face.

“Hi Rell,” he said in his cute four year old voice, which made me crack a slight smile. It didn’t last long though because I had to prepare myself to tell him the bad news. I sighed and rubbed my hand through my brother’s hair.

“Come here Trell,” I told him and helped him climb up into my lap. I held him firmly against my chest.

“What’s wrong?” He asked and stared at me with those honey-brown eyes of his. He looked so innocent and happy. I didn’t want to break his happiness but he needed to know that we had a job to do. I held him in front of me and looked into his eyes,

“Something horrible happened today while you were sleeping,” I told him and sighed. He stared at me waiting for me, listening intently. “Daddy was shot and he died.”

I watched as the words sunk in, and his smile faded.

“Where’s mommy?” he asked.

“Mommy’s fine, she was inside with you. I want you to know something though. We are all she has now. So we have to protect her. Since I’m the oldest, dad left me in charge and told me that I have to be the man, but I can’t do this alone. I need you to help me,” I explained and he nodded. “It’s not going to be easy without daddy around but we need to stay strong for mommy and make sure she knows that we love her. I made a promise to protect you guys, and I will stick to that promise. I won’t let anything happen to you or our mother. You hear me? I won’t let nothing happen to you. Nothing. I promise.”

A tear rolled down his face and I wiped it with my hand. I assured him that everything was okay, but he wasn’t the one who needed it because there were more tears running down my face then there were his. He leaned in to hug me and I held him tightly against my chest. I kissed the top of his head and told him it was going to be okay and that I loved him. I swore on my life that I would never let anything happen to him. I made a promise and nothing was going to stop me from keeping it.

Montrell, Romello, and I sat on moms porch reminiscing about growing up. We were celebrating Montrell’s acceptance letter to Townsend University in Alabama. He got a full ride to play basketball in the fall. I was so proud of my dude and the man he had grown up to be.

Moms was inside cooking up a nice meal to celebrate, while Romello was rolling a nice blunt for our smoke session.

“Aye, you remember that one time Sydney tried to say she was pregnant with your baby?” Trell asked. Of course I remembered. How could I forget? She was one of the craziest females I ever met. The girl was so obsessed with me that she went around spreading this pregnancy rumor, when I never even touched the girl. In fact, until the rumors started getting around, I didn’t even know who the girl was.

“Bitch, was crazy,” I chuckled.

“You know, she really did have a baby though?” He asked. “And guess who the father was.”

“Who is the man insane enough to get that broad pregnant?” Romello asked as he was sealing the blunt.

“Ronald’s ugly ass,” Montrell said.

“Ronald an old flock ass nigga for real,” I said. “He would get that hoe pregnant. I bet she ain’t the only one neither.”

We continued to chat about old times. Like the first time Montrell took a girl on a date. I took him shopping the day before and he bought a whole outfit for the occasion. He bought a black Ralph Lauren button up with a white horse, he had the black 501s Levi’s, and the all-white forces on his feet. He wore the gold chain I bought him for his birthday around his neck and the gold watch I got him for Christmas on his wrist.

“Ya boy was too fresh,” Montrell said remembering the occasion. His girl was too. He had a beautiful girl for his first date. A bad redbone with grey eyes and long curly hair. She was skinny but she was thick too. She played ball like he did, so at school she usually just wore jeans or sweats. She almost never dressed up and her hair was almost always in a ponytail. Imagine how surprised he was when she came in a dress and her hair was down. “She had on a tight ass dress and a push up bra. Her chest and that booty was looking right.”

“She was looking right huh?” Romello asked then looked at me. “Aye Rell you got a light?”

I reached in my pocket and handed him a lighter. He looked over the blunt one last time to make sure everything was right. He then stuck the blunt up to his lips and lit it. He must’ve hit it too hard or the weed was too good because he couldn’t even hold it. He went to choking like he was dying. Montrell and I started laughing.

“You good bruh?” I asked. He nodded, took another hit and then passed it to Montrell. “Montrell was nervous as hell to take that girl out. As soon as she came down the stairs that nigga just froze.”

“I was stunned. Baby girl looked like she should be on the cover of a magazine she was so fine. Fucking beautiful,” Montrell admitted.

“You get the booty?” Romello asked.

“Fuckin’ right I got the booty, “ Montrell bragged. He passed that blunt to me and I watched as some dude I ain’t ever seen before started walking up to the house.