Last Bitch Standing (20 page)

Teresa felt like she had died and gone to suburban
heaven, when she first arrived at the handsome
two-story brick house on the tree-lined street. She
had grown accustomed to living in drug infested
project buildings with hallways smelling like piss,
and where trash replaced grass as landscaping.
Inhaling the fresh, clean air in the south seemed
like a life she would only daydream about, not
actually live.

But Teresa's daydreaming quickly turned into a never-ending nightmare after marrying Kevon. He
was no longer her saving grace, but instead the
cause of her demise.

"What the fuck is you doing here? I thought you
wasn't gonna be home for another hour," Kevon
spit, after finally busting a nutt and pulling himself
out of the stiffened woman.

Teresa's mind was so far gone with reflecting
on the horrors of the past, that at first she didn't
hear her husband.

"Bitch, don't you hear me talking to you?" Kevon
continued.

"Nigga, fuck you!" Teresa barked, coming out
her daze. "You so damn trifling, you gon' bring
another woman in my house and fuck her in my
bed? I'm so sick of your disrespectful bullshit, I
don't know what to do!"

"I swear I had no idea he was married, or that
this was your home!" the fear stricken girl who
looked no more than eighteen said, pleading her
case to Teresa. She jumped out of bed, scrambling
to get her clothes on, in an attempt to escape
without the ass whooping she assumed his wife
was about to put on her.

But unbeknownst to the teeny hopper, Teresa
was beginning to grow so immune to her husband's
revolting behavior, that she refused to waste her
energy on beating any of his women down. Plus,
she believed the girl when she said she was clueless to Kevon's marital status. This here situation needed
to be handled with one person-her husband.

"You ain't got to explain shit to her! This any
house. It ain't my fault she brought her ass back
home early."

Teresa stood with her eyes twitching. This
nigga is determined to have a throw-down up in this
mutherfucka, andl'magive it to him! "Little girl, I think
it's best you go. I need to deal with my husband."

The girl nodded her head in agreement with
Teresa's request, and leaped up to make an exit.

"I'll call you later on," Kevon said, casually,
making it clear he wasn't pressed about how pissed
Teresa was.

"Ma, who was that woman that just ran up out
of here?"

Teresa looked down at her seven-year-old
daughter. With all the anger consuming her, she
had forgotten she was there. "Genevieve, baby,
she was nobody. You go to your bedroom and
close the door. I got some things to handle with
your father."

Genevieve looked over at her father as he stood
in only his boxer shorts, before asking, "Daddy, is
everything okay?"

"I'm good," he answered, pulling out a box of
cigarettes from his pants pocket and grabbing a
pack of matches off the dresser to light up.

"Genevieve, g'on to your room and color or something. I'll be there in a minute."

"But I'm hungry."

Teresa slit her eyes at her daughter, not in the
mood for no whining. "I'ma tell you one more time
to go to your room," Teresa said, in a threatening
tone that Genevieve knew all too well. "I'ma make
you something to eat when I'm done in here. Now
g'on!"

Genevieve looked back at her daddy, then her
mom, before walking out their room. But instead
of going to her bedroom like she was told, she sat
down in the hallway corner, determined to find out
what had her mother so angry.

"Teresa, I don't feel like hearing whateva bullshit
`bout to come out yo' mouth," Kevon said, slipping
on his jeans.

"You should'a thought about that before you
brought some young ass girl up in this house!"

"Oh, would it make you feel better if I would'a
brought some old ass woman up in here to fuck? I
mean, I'm just saying..."

"You know what, Kevon? Why don't you pack
up your shit and get the fuck out. Clearly this ain't
where you wanna be no more, so I think it's best
you leave."

Kevon gave a low chuckle before taking a pull
off the cigarette and laying it down in the ashtray. "I
hope you ain't been dabbling in my stash, because
only some powerful yang can have you speaking out the side of your neck like that. `Cause I ain't
going no motherfuckin' where."

"Well, you won't be staying up in here with me
with this disrespectful bullshit. I'm tired, Kevon.
From you getting other bitches pregnant, having
ho's stashed up in apartments, to them blowing up
my phone looking for you. Now, you so sloppy
wit' yo' shit, you bringing broads to the place I lay
my head. I can't live like this! I won't live like this!"

"Bitch, have you forgotten where I found your
busted ass at? You was a broke-down ho, with not
even one dollar to your name. You didn't even
have enough money to buy milk or pampers for
your baby. If it wasn't for me, you and Genevieve
would still be in Philly, struggling just to get by. So
save all that `you can't live like this'. You better be
happy you gotta place to live."

"Oh really? You don't want to leave? Then I'll
leave, `cause anything is better than this." Teresa
turned to walk away, facing the fact that she was
fighting a useless cause.

"Where the fuck you think you going?" Kevon
yanked Teresa's arm, stopping her from walking
away.

"Get the fuck off of me! I told you I'm done wit'
this shit."

"Nah, we ain't done until I say we done. I been
taking care of you and a child that ain't even mine,
and you think you gon' just leave me? You fuckin' crazy! That's not how this shit work. I pulled you
out of those projects and made an honest woman
outta you, so you owe me your life just for that."

"I don't owe you shit! And if I did, I've paid my
debt in full having to deal wit' all your drama over
the years. Now, get the fuck off of me! I'm taking
my daughter and getting the fuck outta here."

The next thing Teresa knew, she was hitting the
floor from the impact of the punch Kevon landed
on her face. This nigga been cheating on me for all
these years, now he wanna put his hands on me too!
Aahh, hell no! Teresa thought as she lay on the floor
staring up at the man she once believed was the
best thing that ever happened to her.

"You see what you made me do? I've been
nothing but a provider for you and Genevieve,
and this is the respect I get. That's why you gotta
treat women like hos and tricks, `cause ya' don't
`predate nothing. But you my wife, and you will
respect me."

"Kevon, get away from me! I promised myself
I would neva let another man put their hands on
me, and I meant that shit!"

Kevon grabbed Teresa by her hair and dragged
her over near the dresser. Teresa was swinging her
arms and kicking her legs, irate and scared, not
knowing what Kevon was going to do next. But
Kevon was undeterred.

"You think you gon' talk shit to me in my house where I pay the bills? I don't give a fuck if you
caught me up in this crib everyday wit' a different
bitch, you show me respect. But just like you gotta
beat obedience in your children, I'ma put the fear of
God in you," he said, grabbing the still lit cigarette
from the ashtray.

"Kevon, no-o-o-o-o-o!" Teresa screamed out
as little pieces of ashes were falling down, barely
missing her exposed skin.

"Ain't no use in screaming now. You should'a
thought about that shit before running off at the
mouth." Kevon lifted Teresa up off the floor like
a rag doll. Her petite frame dangled in the air as
Kevon pointed the cigarette towards her face.
"Now, where shall I leave my mark? Some place
where you can constantly look at, as a reminder
that you'll always be my bitch."

All anyone could hear were the gut wrenching
cries of pain as Kevon mashed the cigarette into
the upper right side of Teresa's left breast.

Before he released her hair and Teresa dropped to
the floor, she caught a glimpse of the devilish smirk
on Kevon's face. The pain was overwhelmingly
excruciating, but seeing the gratified look on her
husband's mug as he was leaving her there to
suffer gave Teresa the strength to fight back. With
his back turned, believing she was in no condition
to defend herself, Teresa grabbed the marble lamp
off the nightstand, and with all her might, slammed it over Kevon's head, not once, not twice, but three
times.

Exhausted from using all her strength, Teresa
let the lamp drop out of her hands, and when
she looked up, she saw her daughter, Genevieve
standing only feet away with a blank stare on her
face. Teresa then looked down at Kevon, and blood
was pouring from the open gash on his head.

"Oh shit, he's dead!" Teresa mumbled, as she
shook his rigid body, looking for any sign of life.

"Ma, is Daddy dead? Did you kill Daddy?"

"This man here, ain't none of your Daddy,"
Teresa said, firmly latching onto her daughter's
arm.

Genevieve's eyes filled with tears. She heard
the harsh words exchanged between her parents,
but didn't want to believe they were true. Kevon
was the only father she'd known, and although he
didn't treat her mother well all the time, for the
most part, he had been decent towards her. But
now her mother was affirming the worst; Kevon
wasn't her father, and now he was dead.

"I can't believe you killed my Daddy!" Genevieve
said, under sniffles, still unable to call him anything
else.

"Didn't you hear what I said? That man ain't
none of your Daddy!" Teresa screamed, pointing
to the dead body. "Now hush up with that crying!
I need to think." Teresa's hands were shaking and her head throbbing. She wanted to get away from
Kevon and leave him with some of the pain he
had caused her, but murder was never part of the
equation.

"Ma, what you gon' do?"

"You mean what we gon' do? We getting the
hell outta here. Go to your room and pack up as
much stuff you can fit in here," Teresa ordered,
opening the closet door and handing her daughter
a suitcase.

"But I don't wanna leave Daddy like this!" The
tears were now flowing down Genevieve's face.

"Look at me. I said, look at me!" Teresa yelled,
holding her daughter tightly. She knelt down on the
floor so she could be eye level with Genevieve. "I
know you scared, baby, so am I. But mommy had
to defend herself. I didn't mean to kill Kevon, it
was an accident, but the police probably wouldn't
believe me. I would go to jail and they would send
you away to some foster home. I don't want to lose
you, baby, so we have to leave."

"And go where, Ma?"

"I'm not sure, but somewhere far away, where
nobody knows us or can find us. All we have is each
other now, so please, baby, don't fight me. Do what
Mommy says. Go to your room and pack up your
things. I'll come get you when it's time to go."

Genevieve looked over at Kevon and back into
the eyes of her mother. She grabbed the suitcase and left the room.

Teresa wanted to break down and cry, not to
mourn the death of her husband, but because she
knew her life would never be the same again. She
spent the next hour packing up her belongings
and trashing the place. When Kevon's body was
discovered, she hoped that it would appear as if
someone had broken in looking for either money
or drugs. It was known in the streets of Charlotte
that Kevon was heavily involved with the drug
game, and other illegal activities.

Before Teresa left, she grabbed the murder
weapon and wrapped it up in a towel before
putting it in one of her bags. She then went to
Kevon's closet and took the money he always kept
in a pair of Timberland boots. She knew Kevon
had another spot where he stashed his drugs and
real paper, but had no idea exactly where it was,
nor did she have the time to try and figure it out.
The money Teresa took wasn't enough to ball, but
it would hold them over until they found a new
home.

"Genevieve, it's time to go, baby," Teresa said,
calmly. She held her daughter's hand and looked
around the place she'd called home for years. Not
only would their lives change, but so would their
names. Teresa and Genevieve no longer existed,
she decided, closing the door and escaping the
madness.

Chantal was standing in the building that represented
her new future. Everything that happened in the past
was of no consequence. Today was the beginning of the
rest of her life. Growing up in the projects of Southside
Chicago, where she stood right now was said to be
the impossible. There always seemed to be limits put
upon her dreams. While most of her homegirls' biggest
ambitions were to date the local drug dealer, Chantal
had always wanted more. She came into the world
believing she was special and deserved the best in life.
When her friends would brag about a new pair of shoes
some guy bought them, Chantal felt a guy should buy her the whole store. It wasn't just because she was the
prettiest girl in her neighborhood and school, but she
was more beautiful than any star on television and she
didn't have their money to buy the illusion. Her beauty
was God-given and her mother always told her how
blessed she was. She stressed the importance of not
using her looks for evil, which she considered to be for
selfish material gain. That never sat right with Chantal;
she often said to her mother, "What was the sense of
God blessing me with such a gorgeous face and body if
I can't use it to my advantage?"