Started From the Top Now I'm Here 2, Page 2

  “About three weeks ago... I wanted to wait till I got my first check with the raise to surprise you.”

  “Aww boo I’m so proud of you.”

  “That’s not the only surprise.”

  Lexi was beyond excited. She couldn’t possibly imagine what could be any better than the news she just received.

  “What else?” she asked gleefully as she pranced around the room counting her money.

  “Baby, stand still for a minute and just listen to me.”

  The tone in Darius’ voice had changed. Lexi hadn’t seen him look this serious about anything in a while and it piqued her interest. She stopped in her tracks and listened intently as he began to speak.

  “I just wanna let you know that I appreciate you giving me another chance Lexi. I know a nigga ain’t always done right by you.”

  At the sound of those words Lexi’s mood once again changed, this time from joy to somber as she reflected on how Darius use to talk down to her and spend every free moment running the streets. If he wasn’t bending a corner tryna’ make a dollar, he could be found at the strip club making it rain on some random trick. She turned her face away from him hoping that he wouldn’t notice that she was beginning to get choked up.

  “Hey, look at me,” Darius responded softly as he turned her face towards him.

  “I never meant to hurt you baby girl. I was just young, dumb and feeling myself. When a nigga got locked up, I had plenty of time to reflect on what’s important. I ain’t gon’ lie, I was tryna’ run from all that responsibility shit. Nigga like me wasn’t ready to be taking care of no kid. Hell I was still a kid my damn self.”

  The tears fell as Lexi realized that Darius was finally opening up to her, something she always wanted him to do in the past, but never seemed to accomplish. She knew in her heart that she was taking a risk letting him back into her and Quantez’s life but the fact of the matter was she never stopped loving him. No matter how bad he treated her, no matter how many times he let her down in the past, it was something about him that tugged at her heart. She never spoke a word, instead she remained quiet and let him finish.

  “I know I made some mistakes in my past. One of them was leaving you to raise our son by yourself. Despite all the bullshit that I put you through, you held your own. You held this shit down and doing a damn good job of raising him, Lexi.”

  “What else was I supposed to do?” she asked resentfully. His newly found epiphany dredged up painful memories that she chose not to reminisce on.

  “I’m not the same man I use to be. I done had time to grow up and realize what’s important. My punk ass daddy walked out on me and my brother. I wanna be here for my son. I wanna be here for you. That leads me to my other surprise.”

  Lexi’s eyes lit up as Darius slip his hand in his pocket and pull out a set of keys and handed them to her.

  “What are these for?”

  “Our new place?”

  “Our, new place? What are you talking about Darius?”

  “Just what I said, you must have forgotten that I made you two promises. One was that I wasn’t gon’ be yo’ part time man. I’m here for the long haul. I wanna be here full time for you and my son. No more spending the night, it’s time to take this to the next level baby girl. The other thing I promised was that I was gon’ get y’all out the hood one way or another. These are the keys to our new apartment. We moving to them bad ass cribs they just built downtown.”

  Darius stood back and waited for Lexi’s reaction.

  “Damn Darius I don’t know what to say?”

  As excited as she was about the idea of moving in together she couldn’t help being a bit nervous. It was all so sudden. True enough he had been coming around for months now, playing daddy but how could she be sure he was serious this time? In spite of all of her crazy antics, the one thing that Lexi did provide for her son was stability.

  She might not have made the best salary working at the DMV and true enough the neighborhood they lived in was run down but the fact of the matter was she was able to afford her rent and despite the location Quantez was in a good head start program. She was even fortunate enough to have good neighbors that she could trust in case of emergency if she needed someone to pick him up from school. Was she supposed to give that all up because the dick was good? Because she was still in love with her child’s father, knowing that he had walked out on them in the past?

  “What you mean you don’t know what to say? I thought you would be happy,” Darius responded with disappointment in his voice.

  “I am happy baby. It’s just that this is a big step. I need some time to think about it. You can’t just spring something on me like this and want an answer right away.”

  “Alright, I can dig dat. How long is it gon’ take you to make up your mind? I don’t plan on moving by myself,” he replied placing his hands around her waist.

  “At least gimme a couple of days.”

  Why does shit always have to be so complicated? Lexi thought as she stared into the eyes of the man that she was possibly about to spent her future with.

  Chapter 4 – Time For A Come Up

  “If I done told that boy once I done told him a million times to call me when he’s gon’ be late.”

  Aintee Maven paced the floor nervously awaiting Aviare’s return home from school. From her understanding, he only had three classes on Tuesday and his normal time to get home would be around 3pm. It was going on 7pm, and she had yet to hear from him and he wasn’t answering his cell.

  “Lawd I hope that child is alright.”

  She was trying her best not to worry herself into a frenzy, but she couldn’t help it. Aviare was a smart young man with a bright future ahead of him, but she also knew that the streets called out to him. No matter how much she tried to convince him that they would make it no matter how hard times got, she could see in his eyes that he wanted more. Not to mention the fact that since he turned 17 he was smelling himself. It seemed like everything she said to him lately warranted a smart remark. She was convinced that he was hanging with that Ace character, and he was becoming a bad influence on him.

  She was correct about him hanging with Ace but as far as him being a bad influence, that actually was the furthest thing from the truth. As a matter of fact Ace had taken Aviare under his wing and made sure he had everything he needed for school. Whenever his money fell short for books, supplies, tuition, etc... Ace came through.

  In his mind, Aviare was one of many young brothas in the hood that just needed a little push, a little extra help to help them on their journey. Plus it helped him sleep a little better at night knowing he was helping somebody out. It helped to balance out all the dirt he did on a daily basis.

  Aintee Maven would die if she knew that not only was Aviare taking handouts from Ace for his school needs, he was also dressing to the nines every day. When the semester started, Ace hooked him up with a new wardrobe, from his shoes down to his backpack he stepped on the scene clean as hell every day. The only problem was he couldn’t wear any of the stuff around Aintee Maven. He either had to stash clothes in a locker at school or at a friend’s house. The few items that he did have hidden in his room he snuck in and out in his backpack.

  “So you gon’ put me on or what man?”

  Aviare asked Ace as they pulled on to their street. He always had Ace pull up a few doors down so Aintee Maven couldn’t see who he was getting a ride from.

  “Nigga quit asking me about dumb shit. Don’t I give you everything you need?”

  The anger built in Aviare’s voice as he spoke,

  “That’s just it, I’m tired of you doing everything for me.”

  “Yo’ little as need to start being more grateful,” Ace replied. He shook his head as he twirled the toothpick in his mouth. “Ain’t nothing in these streets...”

  “I know, ain’t nothing in these streets that means me any good. I’m tired of hearing that song Ace. And I am grateful for everything you do for me but it’s abou
t time I start doing for myself. Come on man, you know I’m hungry... I’ll work hard,”

  “Why you so pressed to get put on? You think that shit is all it’s cracked up to be? Do you wanna end up like me, a twice convicted felon with a bullet in yo’ damn back?”

  Aviare’s eyes grew large. He didn’t realize Ace had done time but he wasn’t surprised.

  “You got a bullet in your back? Is that why you limp?”

  “Yea.... that why I limp. It barely missed my spine.” Ace looked like he was deep in thought. The pain in his eyes and the scars on his face painted the picture of his painful past.

  “Look lil’ man, I just don’t want you to end up like me, or even worse, in a body bag. I’m trying to help give you a way out. You just gotta do your part.”

  By now Aviare was starting to become more agitated with Ace. He appreciated everything he done for him but the last thing he needed was somebody else preaching to him. He had sense enough to stay out of trouble.

  “I got a way out, I’m going to school. But that don’t change the fact that I gotta sneak in the house when I wear the shit you bought me or change at school. I already feel like I’m in prison. I need to be on my own.”

  “You talking like a damn fool!”

  Aviare jumped as Ace slammed his fist into the dashboard.

  “I done said what I had to say. Don’t bring this shit up to me again,” Ace fumed.

  “Yea’ alright... I’m out.” With that, Aviare jumped out the car and headed up the walkway.

  “Boy where have you been? I’ve been worried sick! I almost called the police” Aintee Maven ranted as Aviare walked through the door.

  “I’m fine, I’m here now.” He rolled his eyes and continued on to his room.

  “Boy don’t sass me! I asked you where you been. You got out of school hours ago.” Before she could go on she happened to look down at his feet. Her mouth fell open when she saw him wearing a brand new pair of Jordan’s. “And where the hell did you get them shoes? You ain’t selling that stuff is you? Did that Ace man put you up to this?”

  “I told you I ain’t doing anything Aintee! They were a gift dang!” Aviare went in his room and slammed the door behind him.

  “Boy you ain’t too old for an ass whoopin! I’m the only one slammin’ doors up in here!”

  Aviare kicked his shoes off and flopped across the bed. He couldn’t believe that he slipped up and forgot to change them before he got home. Aintee Maven was on the warpath outside his bedroom door, and she wasn’t letting up any time soon.

  “I gotta get the hell out this house, with Ace’s help or without.”

  Chapter 5 – I’m Good For It

  “I can’t take this shit anymore,” Sonnet grumbled as she gazed at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

  She barely recognized the person that stared back at her. Her brows resembled baby caterpillars, her tracks had over an inch of new growth, and the weave itself was becoming stringy and matted. This was the longest she had gone without a pamper session at the salon.

  Sadly, the fact that she couldn’t even hit up any of her past boos for any money or help was a sharp reminder that her looks were the only thing she had going for her. Every part of her so called perfect life was all smoke and mirrors. When the nice car, fancy apartment, fly outfits, and pristine good looks went by the wayside so did her cash flow.

  Sure she was educated but she never had to work for a dime of the money she earned in the past, well not outside of the bedroom at least. And she wasn’t about to start now. Cheron was pressing her more each day about looking for work, and she wasn’t trying to hear it.

  She picked at the gel that still hung on to a few of her nails before deciding to take action. She needed to be back on top of her game, and the only way that was going to happen was if she got her shit together. In the past, she would have niggas falling all over her to put her up in a new apartment. Hell she would even have some wheels by now at the expense of some sucka, but the fact remained, she couldn’t hit up any of her old contacts with the way she looked. They expected perfection, and that’s what she was used to giving them. There was no way she could let any of her men see her looking broke and busted. Especially the type of men she dealt with. The competition was stiff. There was no way they would give her a second look when they had dimes at their beckon call.

  At the end of the day, she needed a new do, some new clothes, and not any of that bullshit Cheron was trying to pass down. This was the only way she would be able to get back on the cash train. Tyler or whatever his name was had fucked over her royally, and she had to do whatever it took to claw her way back on top. Desperate times called for desperate measures. She would have to make a visit to the salon and figure out how she was going to pay for it later on. As far as the clothes were concerned, she would ask Cheron for a loan and tell her it was the security deposit on an apartment.

  Now how the hell am I going to pull this shit off? Sonnet thought as she pulled into a parking space down the street from the salon.

  Normally she would pull up in front and use the valet service. There was no way she was going to let anyone see she pulling up in a damn Ford Festiva. It was bad enough she had to piece together an outfit to look decent enough to roll up in there.

  They were used to seeing her dressed to the nines, Cartier frames and Chanel bags. Unfortunately she had to sell most of her expensive clothing on EBay just to survive. Whatever she had left ended up getting swiped when she was evicted. She did manage to save an old pair of Manolo Blahnik’s with a semi run down heel and paired them with slacks and a button up. Topped off with her Chanel shades and a coat of lip gloss, hopefully she could slip in unnoticed.

  Hopefully The Duchess has an opening, Sonnet thought as she swallowed the lump in her throat made her way to the entrance of The Duchess Designing Image Hair Studio & Day Spa.

  Sonnet’s hairstylist, The Duchess, owned one of the most prestige salons on the west coast, quite a feat for a once flamboyant little black boy from the hood.

  “Here goes nothing,” Sonnet said to herself as she entered the lobby.

  “Hello may I help you?” the receptionist asked.

  “Uhmm yes, I wanted to see The Duchess.”

  “Do you have an appointment? I just need you to sign in.”

  Sonnet fumbled with the tightly wound bun she had made to avoid any tracks from slipping out. She cleared her throat and pretended to look in her purse in an attempt to avoid eye contact.

  “No, I don’t have an appointment, I was hoping she could squeeze me in today.”

  “Sonnet? Girl I almost didn’t recognize you,” The receptionist, Tandy replied giving her a quick once over. I’m sure she can fit you in between a few clients. I’ll have to check with her to confirm though. How have you been? We haven’t seen you around these parts in a while?”

  Sonnet cringed at the fact that her cover had been blown. But what could she do? It came with the territory. She had no choice but to suck it up. Besides she had bigger fish to fry. She needed to get the works while she was here and figure out how she was going to make her escape without paying.

  “Hey Tandy I’m good, could you please ask her for me? I would really appreciate it.”

  After speaking with The Duchess Tandy confirmed the good news, she could see her today.

  “She has someone in the chair now, but she says to come on back.”

  “Thanks so much!” Sonnet squealed as she made her way to The Duchess’ private work area.

  She had a huge station located in the center of the salon so that she could have her eyes on everything. Not only was it up on a pedestal, it also was enclosed in glass for privacy.

  As Sonnet looked around the salon, she noticed that despite her falling off, the world kept revolving without her. Even though she knew it wasn’t the case, she felt like everybody had their shit together except her. That included The Duchess. Her shit stayed on point. This nigga dressed liked the man she was, most of the time,
even then she still kept the baddest water Remy sew in money could buy. Her brows were snatched and her face was beat to the gods. The Duchess was a man but made damn sure anyone addressing her referred to her as a she. Sonnet could feel herself shrinking from embarrassment when she stepped outside the glass enclosure to speak to her.

  As Sonnet gazed at her 5’9, impeccably dressed frame she couldn’t help but notice the look she had on her face as she approached her.

  “Daaammmn girl, where you been? Look like you done been through some thangs,” The Duchess announced as she took in Sonnet’s appearance. She wasn’t used to seeing her looking this dusty, she had seriously fallen off.

  “Hey, Duchess.... yeah, I been kinda going through it since my grandmother died.”

  That was partially true, Sonnet was going through some changes, but it had nothing to do with her grieving her granny. But if it would help muster up some sympathy for the favor she was about to ask so be it. She had been a long time client of the Duchess and dropped loads of cash in her salon every chance she got. Surely she wouldn’t mind doing her a favor just this once.

  The Duchess immediately gave Sonnet a hug. “Aww baby I’m sorry about yo’ granny. You taking it kinda hard huh? Well just know that The Duchess is here day or night if you need to talk.”

  She decided it would be tasteless to show her initial reaction which would have consisted of her clowning Sonnet about how long she done had that weave in without getting it freshened up. Not to mention she really planned on going in on them busted ass shoes she was wearing, but since she heard she had a death in the family she reserved her remarks for a later date. She could tease her after the fact once she was feeling better. For now her job was to make a loyal customer happy and show her a bit of sympathy.

  “Thanks Duchess, I can’t lie it’s been pretty rough for me, I just miss her so much.”

  “Well like I said, you know I’m here for you, so what you need girl?”