Pink Lips (2 page)

She smiled as memories played over in her head like a broken record. She grabbed her powder-pink lipstick, the only color she would wear, and colored her lips. She stood there, in front of the wall mirror that complemented the walk-in bathroom, four years later with no reservations. She knew that she had done the right thing by following Rock. She was just as in love with him today as she was the day she had met him. And she was determined to make sure the feeling was mutual.

R
ock sped through the busy streets of Philly as his jaw clenched. His grip on the steering wheel tightened as the smooth breeze from the highway massaged the pores of his face. He was late for the birth of his second daughter and the thought of him missing it enraged him.

“Fuck,” he yelled out in frustration.

“Calm down.” Tony lit a blunt and passed it to the left. “Hit this Mary to get your mind right.”

“Good looking out, fam.” Rock quickly placed the purp to his lips and inhaled.

The tires of the black-on-black Mercedes screeched, halting in front of the massive hospital that overlooked the city. With the car running, the keys in the ignition, Rock hopped out leaving his door wide open, daring any onlooker to steal it.

His mind raced, almost patronizing him in a sense as he approached the elevator. He felt like scum for what he had been doing. What was done was done; he couldn't do shit about it but to man up and accept it.

The unpleasant beeps of the elevator lit up with a different number each time, making his stomach flip.

“The fuck am I so nervous about?” he spoke aloud. “I run this fucking city.”

Rock checked his demeanor, letting his mind relax as he stepped off of the elevator. His almond-colored skin and perfect smile stole the hearts of every nurse he passed. The power he possessed could be felt from a mile away, and every woman he came in contact with wanted to fuck his brains out because of it.

“Yo', you good?” Tony asked as he trailed behind him.

“As good as I can be,” Rock responded as he stopped in front of a room that read “504” that was guarded by two buff Italian men dressed in black. “Can y'all niggas move?” he asked, trying to push through.

“We got to check you,” one of the men advised as they blocked the entrance. “You know the rules!”

“Listen, you got two options,” Rock lifted up his button-up shirt, exposing his sprayer lining his waist, “y'all can get the fuck out of my face or I can blast on y'all niggas; you choose.” The two men moved aware of Rock's hot-temper. They knew his reputation in the streets and they didn't want to become an example.

“That's what the fuck I thought,” he said as he slowly pushed the door.

The door crept open as the smell of Davidoff cigars rushed out. The room was dark with the light from the television casting shadows along the eggshell-colored walls. Rock and Tony entered deeper inside of the VIP room and closed the heavy wooden door behind them.

“Yous late,” a voice snapped from the depths of the corner.

“My daughter was born.” Rock eased his hands into his pockets.

“So was
my
granddaughter!” An Italian man huffed as he continued to puff on his expensive cigar. “I don't give a fuck if Mary was giving birth to baby Jesus. When I call your black ass, get here!” he screamed as a vein pulsated out of his neck.

“My apologies, Vinny,” Rock said as he nodded his head.

Vincent “Vinny” Mancini stood stretching his round frame. His dark-black hair that had hints of gray hair was cut so low that effects of him being bald were emulated. Each finger held a certain ring and his silk Versace shirt hung open and free, exposing his hairy chest. His face had the same expression, no matter the topic. His name was legendary up East and his murder record was too many to count. He ran every drug cartel in the Eastern region.

“You and yous fat-ass friend,” Vinny hissed as he pointed his cigar at Tony, “would be swimming in the sea with cemented feet if it wasn't for Evelyn.”

“This nigga here,” Rock said under his breath. “Look, I'm here now so where the fuck is my daughter and her mother?”

“They're at the nursery with all of the other babies.”

“Thank you.” Rock headed for the door.

“I don't appreciate that fat comment.” Tony followed backward behind Rock with his eyes looking at Vinny. “I been working hard on my fitness.”

“Well, keep trying, you fat-ass porch monkey,” Vinny yelled out before the door closed.

•  •  •

Evelyn Mancini leaned against the nursery window as she looked inside at her beautiful baby girl. Her Italian descent shunned as her strong facial features shouted her heritage. Her long straight hair rested on her backside as her toned, tanned legs crossed one another underneath the gown she wore.

Rock eyed his first love from head to toe as he approached her. The small of her back was always his favorite part about her. As he eyed it from behind, his dick grew in his slacks. The smell of
her perfume held his nose prisoner with no chance of parole the closer he got. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the back of her head.

It had been seven long years since he'd met Evelyn. They were each other's first everything. She was everything he ever wanted in a woman. She was smart, beautiful, and with a father as the leader of the mafia, she had street smarts that surpassed his own. She was the perfect match for a thug.

Rock had met her when he first started pushing weight. Her father Vinny trafficked ninety-five percent of all drugs throughout Philly; it was inevitable that he would be his boss. With good loyal work, his name reached Vinny and before he knew it, he had gained lieutenant status in the biggest drug operation the dirty east had ever seen.

With the constant conversing he did with Vinny at his home, Rock ran in to Evelyn all of the time. Ignoring the warnings from Vinny, he pursued the innocent beauty and wooed her. He didn't care about his dick being cut off and put in a jar like Vinny did so many other guys who tried his daughter; he just had to have her.

Rock knew she was the one for him. He never meant for a meeting with Hawaii's drug connection to make him fall in love all over again with a new woman. He blamed Vinny for making him go to Hawaii for him being in love with two women. Without that trip, his heart would have belonged to Evelyn, but when Anoki came into the picture, he had to split it into two.

Rock was indecisive. If Evelyn would have married him like he had asked when they were younger, he would have been with her wholeheartedly. Her repetitive “no” from the fear of being disowned by her father made him find a “yes” with Anoki. He didn't want to look anywhere else, but his hidden desire for a family caused him to.

Rock never wanted Evelyn to find out about Anoki. She wasn't going to as far as he was concerned, but the birth of his firstborn brought the skeleton out of its closet. He couldn't make a child and not take care of it. That was what his father had done to him, and he always told himself he would be better than that.

He told Evelyn about Anoki. He didn't want her to find out any other way. To his surprise, Evelyn understood. She blamed herself for being afraid to be with him. She knew that she would have to share him from that moment on, but a small piece of him was enough to fill her appetite.

Deep down, Evelyn didn't want to share him. No woman wanted to share their man let alone their dick. She sucked up her pride knowing that voicing optimism would put a bullet through Rock's head. Her father would have a bounty on him the moment she admitted she didn't like the situation. She played the sideline to keep Rock safe.

“Congratulations,” Evelyn moaned as the scruff from Rock's beard rubbed against the side of her face.

“Thank you.” Rock replied as he kissed her soft velvet skin that always tasted like honey to him. “She is beautiful just like her mother.”

“Not for her.” Evelyn shoved him away. “Congratulations on the birth of your daughter that was just born that meant more to you since you missed ours being born.”

“Don't start that shit, Eve.” Rock turned to a nurse coming out of the nursery. “Can you bring me my daughter?”

“Yes, sir,” the pale nurse replied, moving quickly back inside of the nursery.

“I thought I could do this,” Evelyn cried out as her mascara began to run down her face. “I can't be this sideline bitch for too much
longer. Not when I had you first. I can't keep giving you all of me and I get a microscopic piece of you.”

“Calm down, baby.” Rock grabbed her.

“No, fuck that!” Evelyn screamed while pulling her arm away. “It was fine when it was just me, but now we have a daughter. Am I supposed to be a single parent and raise her by myself because you're at another house playing daddy? Am I supposed to tuck her in at night and be the only one to clean her boo-boos?”

“You know I'm going to take care of my daughter,” Rock promised.

“That's not the point; it's not about money. I have money, Rock. I need somebody that's going to be there for her physically and emotionally. I need someone to teach her not to fall for a man like you.”

Rock could see the hurt in her brown sugar-colored eyes. He had never seen Evelyn break down over the love triangle they had woven until now. She was at her breaking point and soon an ultimatum would be coming.

“Here you go, sir.” The nurse returned as she handed Rock his baby girl.

Her eyes sprang open the moment she felt her father's touch. Rock loved her the minute he looked at her. It felt the exact same way it did when he held his other children. He knew that she would be a daddy's girl and anything she asked for, he would get.

Rock kissed her softly as her little fingers gripped his. He removed the cap on her head, revealing her small curly fro with the same texture and color of her mother's. He kissed her again as he walked up and down the hall, mesmerized by his little girl's presence. The feeling he felt made him smile unconditionally.

“Her name is Melee.” Evelyn stood next to Rock. “She really is beautiful, isn't she?”

“Yes, she is,” Rock answered, never taking his eyes off of his little bundle of joy.

“She deserves all of you. If you can't give me all of you, at least give it to your baby girl. The love that you get from your poppa is one of a kind.” Evelyn reached for Melee. “You have to choose. Us or them,” she said as she stood up and walked away.

Rock watched as pieces of his heart disappeared into the darkness of the hospital hallways. He knew this day would come. Choosing was something he couldn't do. He loved both of his families. He sat deep in thought in the connected hospital seats with a heavy heart. He knew that if he couldn't choose, then Vinny would choose for him.

R
ock's normally calm demeanor slowly changed as his face contorted in an all-consuming anger; his nostrils flaring, his eyes flashing and closing into slits. His mouth started to quiver and drool. Slurring words that were unrecognizable came spewing into space like a volcano releasing its pent-up emotion into the darkness.

Cold silence filled the room. The exotic fish and baby shark swam freely in the aquarium that was built into the wall. Etches of the sun peeked through the floor windows of the office, and the soft trickles of rain thudded softly against the bulletproof glass.

Rock looked at Vinny with so much hatred in his eyes. He couldn't believe what he had just said to him. Killing Anoki and their two children was something he wasn't going for. He couldn't believe Vinny had just put a hit out on his family.

“I let you take over the mafia. There's millions and millions of dollars to be made in this lucrative business.” Vinny opened a drawer in his desk. “I let you be the head man in charge to provide for my daughter and granddaughter. Not to take care of another bitch and her kids that doesn't have my fucking blood.”

Vinny pulled out a glass egg full of pure Italian cocaine; the same product that had made him filthy rich. He poured a pile onto his large desk. Grabbing a straight blade razor, he formed lines before he enjoyed the product through the depths of his nose.

“I'm not letting my family die,” Rock said as he stood up.

“I'll reason with you.” Vinny snorted another line while immediately feeling the high. “I'm a family man. As a man I always wanted a firstborn son, someone to leave my business to. So with that being said, I'll let your firstborn son live. Evelyn will act as his mother effective immediately.”

“There's no reasoning behind my fucking family,” Rock said as he punched the desk.

“You don't have a fucking choice. This is my last request as the leader of this organization. Once Anoki and her daughter is worm food, I'll give you full control. Until then, follow what the fuck I say.”

“What if I say no?”

“You don't want to do that.” Vinny smiled as an AK-47 pressed the back of Rock's head. “I'm warming up to you, but I'll have your brains cooked into my next meal in a heartbeat. If you say no, then they will die anyway. The only thing that will change will be you, Tony, and whoever else you care about will join them.”

“Evelyn would hate you. You wouldn't have anyone to take over.” Rock spat as the pressure from the gun on his head increased. He knew Vinny desired to retire from the mafia and him fully taking over was a part of that reason.

“Rock, let me explain something to you.” Vinny stood up and walked around the desk. He placed his mouth directly in Rock's ear and whispered, “You're replaceable.” He kissed Rock on the cheek and waved him off to leave.

“So that's it?” Rock asked as his frustration grew.

Vinny sat back at his desk with deaf ears. When he was done talking about it, he was done. There was nothing that Rock could say that could have changed his mind. The hit was called and Vinny would die before he called it off.