The Hustler's Daughter {DC Bookdiva Publications} (18 page)

Mercedes
looked up to the ceiling and placed her hand over her heart. She stood there
with tears filling her eyes and blurring her vision.

“Chino
I know you’re up there staring down on me, your mother, your family and
everyone else. I love you Chino and no one will ever take your place. Your
place is locked in my heart.” A tear crept down the side of her face and she
wiped it away with her glove and laughed.

“I’m
sorry ya’ll, I’m breaking down- but its tears of joy and pain. I’m just so
blessed to be alive today; tomorrow isn’t promised for anyone. In closing, my
message to you all is to stay strong and live your life as if it is your last
day.”

Mercedes
smiled as she walked back to her seat. Cassandra greeted her with a hug and kiss
and thanked her for her kind words.

After
the ceremony, Mercedes was walking down the corridor of the funeral home with
her head down. She accidently bumped into India.

   “I’m
sorry,” Mercedes apologized. She didn’t know who she bumped into.

   “You
better watch where you going next time bitch.” India barked.

   “Or
else what?” Mercedes nose flared up as India tried to get in her face. She
tried to keep her cool, but with India it was impossible.

   “India,
this is not the place or time for this-definitely not at my son’s funeral.”
Cassandra stood in between them as they exchanged cold glares of anger.

   “I’ll
see you around puta.” India looked Mercedes up and down and walked away with
her group of friends. Mercedes turned to Chino’s mother and apologized, “I’m sorry…”
Cassandra cut her off.

   “No,
it isn’t your fault. India just doesn’t know how to act, bringing that damn
nonsense up in here.” She shook her head from side to side.

   “Alright
Mercedes, take care.”

    They
hugged each other and Cassandra stared Mercedes in her eyes. Mercedes felt like
she wanted to say something, but the words never left her mouth. Cassandra
wanted to tell Mercedes the truth badly, but she couldn’t.

    “Goodbye
Mercedes.”

   Cassandra
turned on her heels and rushed out of the funeral home. Mercedes didn’t know
Cassandra that well, but she knew something was up. Mercedes walked back inside
for one last talk with her love. She approached the casket and wished she could
see him one last time. She figured his casket was closed because his body was
charred in the explosion. She hovered over the casket. She placed both hands on
the edge and started crying.

   “I
love you Chino and so does your baby that I’m carrying. Mercedes rubbed her
belly as she cried. She had not told anyone yet that she was pregnant with
Chino’s child. She wished that Chino would be able to see his daughter or son
grow up. Mercedes didn’t want to bring her child into this world without a
father, but she was happy she had a life to remind her of Chino. Mercedes said
one last thing before turning and walking away.

   “Love
you forever Chino.”

Moving Forward

Weeks
after laying Chino to rest, Mercedes walked down the cold Harlem streets. Her
parents gave her time alone since she was so distraught. The cold whipped
through her body, but she pulled her jacket closer to her trying to keep warm.
She spent an hour at Chino’s gravesite and placed flowers on his tombstone. A
tear crept down her cheek and onto her jacket. She was tired of wiping her
tears away. The tears were a mixture of sadness for losing him and excitement
for the new life growing inside of her. 

The
cold air coupled with the grief caused her stomach to ache. She dipped into a
store to get some water and an Advil. She rubbed her belly as the water coated
her throat. She remembered how she felt when she went to the doctor and found
out that she was nine weeks pregnant. So much had happened in a short period of
time.

The
one thing that she pondered was how she would tell her parents. She knew this
was exactly what they didn’t want for their daughter.  Nevertheless, it was
happening and she knew they would be very upset. She was keeping her baby, but
no one-not even her friends would know.

   As
she walked and thought about her life without Chino, she looked up and noticed
a group of girls approaching her. She rolled her eyes as she recognized them to
be India and her clique, the Queen Bee’s. Mercedes knew for a fact that they
were going to fuck with her just because she was alone and without her friends.
Mercedes stopped in her tracks when she saw India with a mischievous smirk on
her face. 

“Excuse
me?” Mercedes said with an attitude.

   “Where
do you think you’re going?”

   “You’re
in my way, so I advise that you move.” Mercedes retorted.

   “No
I’m not going nowhere!” India yelled. “If it wasn’t for you, Chino would still
be alive.” Mercedes looked at India and didn’t know what the hell she was
talking about. She waved her hand in her face and said,

“Bitch
please you’re just jealous because he didn’t want to be with your no class
having ass any way.” Mercedes rolled her eyes.

   “India,
don’t let that bitch talk to you like that.” One of girls from India’s crew
said as she sucked on a lollipop.

   India
pushed Mercedes. It was enough to move her off of her feet, but not enough to
do any harm. She wanted Mercedes to make the first move.

Mercedes
looked back and laughed, “Don’t fucking do it to yourself bitch, I’m preg…”
India pushed her again, it was harder this time. Pregnant or not, Mercedes knew
if she walked away or decided to hit India back they were going to jump her.

   Mercedes
put her guard up her and started throwing blows at India. India began slapping
Mercedes and Mercedes grabbed her by her hair as they fell to the ground. She
hopped on top of her and started punching her in the face. India was
desperately trying to block the blows. Despite the size difference, Mercedes
still had the upper hand.

   Mercedes
was putting in work and inflicting serious damage. One of the girls had to pull
Mercedes by the hair to get her off India. That act allowed India to gain an
advantage and like wolves, they all surrounded Mercedes. They were kicking her
in her face and stomach. Mercedes was only concerned about her baby and was
trying to block the stomach blows.

   “My
baby…my baby…” She screamed to anyone that could help her from the painful
torture they were inflicting.

   “Hey!
Stop that!” An older woman yelled; she had become a witness to the drama.

   India
and her girls scattered down the street and disappeared around the block.  The
damage had already been done. The woman helped Mercedes to her feet. She
doubled over in pain and began to cry.  Her cries increased when she looked
down and saw a trail of crimson dripping down her legs onto the concrete. She
was bleeding and possibly losing her only memento of Chino. She began to get
dizzy and immediately fainted.         

“Somebody
please call an ambulance!” The lady shouted as she held Mercedes in her arms.

xxxxxxxxxx

   Mercedes
sat on the hospital bed waiting for Emilio to pick her up. She felt that he was
the only one she could trust at this time. Her parents could never know what
was going on. She would have to tell them eventually, but not now.

    Mercedes
hopped down from the hospital bed and limped into the bathroom. She stood in front
of the mirror and slowly brought her hands up to her face and touched it. She
was still gorgeous, but the bruises made her look like she was a hood rat. She
lifted her dress and observed the bruises from her waist down. India and her
girls would pay for the pain they caused, inside and out.

   Several
minutes later she heard a knock at the door. Mercedes was already back in bed
and watching TV. She looked up and saw Emilio at the door holding a bouquet of
red roses and a get well card. A smile crept across her face and she motioned
for him to come in. Emilio slowly walked in and handed her the flowers and the
card.

   Mercedes
smelled the roses and placed them on the bed. She opened the card and it read
‘I hope you feel better’-Love Emilio.

   “Thank
you Emilio.”

   She
got down from the bed and stood in front of him. Emilio caressed her face and
smiled. Mercedes felt chills from his fingertips and blushed. 

   “You’re
welcome, anything for you princess.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Despite
some bruises, you still look gorgeous.”

   Mercedes
pulled back and smiled. She was happy that he asked no questions. She was
anxious to leave the hospital and they walked out to the car. Emilio opened her
door like a gentleman should. ‘He is such a nice gentleman.’

Mercedes
thought to herself as she got into the car. She clutched her red roses and
card. They rode in silence until Emilio turned up the radio. A smile appeared
across her face as she thought about Chino.

   “I
see you invested in a radio.” Mercedes let out a light chuckle.

   “Yeah,”
Emilio smiled. “The other one was broken, so I just bought a new one.” Mercedes
nodded and turned her head to look out the window.

   As
she sat in the car, the song “In Love with a Thug” by Jim Jones came on. Tears
fell silently from her eyes.  It brought back the painful memories of when they
she used to be in Chino’s car listening to this song with him. They pulled up
in front of her house and she took a deep breath. She noticed her father wasn’t
home, but her mother’s car was parked in their garage.

   “Thanks
for the ride Emilio, I really appreciate it.”

   “No
problem,” he said. Mercedes opened the car door and got out.  She slid her key
into the door and her mother was sitting on the couch. She tried to avoid her
mother and prevent her from seeing her face, but it was too late.

   “Oh
my God Mercedes!” Maria screamed. She jumped up and rushed over to her. “What
happened to your face?” Her mother caressed her face, noticing the bruising and
scratches that were present. Mercedes burst into tears. She had lost Chino and
the baby in a matter of weeks and had no one to talk about it with. Her
emotions were overwhelming and she finally had a release. Maria wrapped her
arms around her daughter as she cried into her arms.

   “My
baby…they killed my baby…” That’s all that Mercedes could say as she cried in
her mother’s arms. ‘Baby?...Your baby?’ Maria said to herself with a perplexed
expression on her face.

   “You
were pregnant, Mercedes?” Maria astonishingly asked. She had no idea and felt
that she should have paid more attention to her daughter.

   “Yes
Ma…I’m so sorry.” Mercedes pulled her mother closer to her and hugged her. She
buried her face in her chest. “I’m so sorry Ma…I know…I’m sorry…I should…”

   “Mercedes,
what happened?” Maria whispered in her ear and pulled back from the embrace.
She grabbed both of her shoulders and stared into her eyes.

   “Chino’s
ex-girlfriend India...Her and her girls jumped me when they saw me. I was a
little over two months pregnant. I’m sorry, Ma …”

   “Damn,
Mercedes.” Maria shook her head. “That’s exactly why your father didn’t want
you to go to a public school.” She continued shaking her head as she spoke.

   “Are
you okay Honey?” Maria asked in a worried tone. “How do you feel?”          Mercedes
shrugged her shoulders, “I’m hurt…I mean I know I’m only sixteen but, after
Chino died Ma I was excited at the opportunity to have his baby. I would have
had a piece of him with me; it would still feel as if he’s alive you know?”
Mercedes looked up at her mother and stared her in the eyes.

   “Are
you mad Ma?”

“I
can’t judge you. What mother wants a pregnant sixteen year-old? It’s definitely
not ideal, but it happened and we just need to get through it together. I had
you at eighteen and that’s still young, you know. I don’t want you to make the
same mistakes that I did. I just want you to be happy. As you get older, you’ll
find the man to make you happy. You will fall in love with him. You will know
him when you see him. ”

Mercedes
was happy that she was able to share this with her mother. She felt like a
weight had been lifted from her shoulders. 

“Your
secret is safe with me.” Maria reached over to embrace her closely.

“You
promise you won’t tell Daddy?” Mercedes asked. Don walked through the door at
that moment.

“Tell
me what?” He asked. 

He
surprised them by interrupting their bonding session. They pulled back from
their embrace as if they had seen a ghost.

“What
the hell happened to your face?” Maria forgot about her daughter’s face, she
ran over to Don to explain.

   “Some
girls jumped her. She’s fine though.” Don rushed over to Mercedes and caressed
her face. He began examining her bruises.

   “What
girls jumped you?” Don asked. He clutched his gun that he wore in his
waistband.

   “Some
girls from school, they’re jealous of me.”      

   “See,
that’s why I didn’t want you going to a public school.”

His
teeth gritted, he spoke in an angry and regretful tone. “You’re gorgeous and
bitches are always gon’ hate.”

   “I
know Daddy, but I didn’t know it would happen.” Mercedes began to regret
convincing her father to allow her to attend a public school.

   “You
don’t need to apologize. If they were niggas, they would be six feet deep
before you blinked. Nobody fucks around with the Carters, NOBODY!” Don barked.

Maria
flinched at his angry and vengeful tone.

    “You’re
going to a private school, no questions asked. Your cousin Sean goes there and
my sister Brenda said that school is good and there’s no drama there. So that’s
where you’re going on Monday.”

Mercedes
looked at her mother with pleading eyes. Her mother’s eyes responded with an
‘it’s out of my hands look.’ Mercedes got the message and simply said,

“Okay
Daddy.”

   “Give
your Daddy a hug.” Don smiled and pulled his daughter into his warm embrace.
“You’re still gorgeous Mercedes.”

   “Thanks
Daddy.” Mercedes smiled.

   “Alright
ladies, let’s go.” Don said retrieving his car keys from his pocket.

   “Where
are we going?” They both said in unison.

   “It’s
a surprise for your mother; a present for my appreciation to the most beautiful
wife in the world, for our sixteenth anniversary.” ‘He never forgets.’ Maria
said to herself, she smiled while looking at Don behind her oversized Chanel
shades. Mercedes and Maria were still anxious to know what it was.

   “Close
your eyes.” Don said before arriving at the destination. He parked the car and
walked over to the passenger side. He opened the door for his wife and helped
her get to her feet.

   Don
slipped a key into his wife’s hand and whispered in her ear, “Open your eyes.”
When she did, she screamed “Oh my God! Oh my God!” Maria jumped up and down in
elation; her eyes were watering with tears of joy. They were standing in front
of a pink building that read Carter’s Beauty Salon. Although Maria was a little
skeptical about the name of the salon, she was ecstatic. She could always
change the name if she wanted. She turned around and kissed her husband
passionately. Mercedes playfully rolled her eyes at her parents as they kissed.

   “Thank
you Baby, I love you.” Maria cooed.

“You
deserve the world, and I know you always wanted your own salon. Go ahead and
open it.” With her hands quivering, she finally got the key into the hole and
turned the knob. Once they were inside, Maria and Mercedes both wore wide
grins. It was decorated lavishly just like their home. She knew that no other
shop would have shit on her salon, for the taste was exquisite and so upscale.
The Carters were expanding their empire and they felt invincible. The only
question was how long would it last.