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Evan fell back onto his bed in laughter. “Good for you,” he said and continued to laugh.
Dante sat there and watched the whole scene unfold. He’d always told Trey that his little brothers and sisters were bad as hell, just like in the cartoon Bébé’s Kids.
“Evan, can you go up front, so me and your brother can kick it?” Dante asked him.
“Hell, no!” Evan yelled, rolling off his bed and onto the floor. “This is my room too!” he said, hiding on the other side of the bed.
“Ma!” Trey yelled. “Ma!”
The bedroom door opened, and Trey’s mother stood there in the doorway. “What the hell you want, boy?”
Her pair of tight low-rise jeans were about three sizes too small. The fabric barely covered her behind. You could see the crack of her ass when her shirt rose. The crotch of the jeans choked her coochie, and her huge belly hung over the waistband. Her breasts were so large, they looked to be the same size as her stomach.
“Ma, tell Evan to get outta here while I got company,” Trey said through clenched teeth, his shoulder now throbbing.
She put her hand on her hip, and the meat on her arms sagged like a balloon filled with water. “What the fuck y’all doing in here that he can’t stay in here with y’all?”
“Ma, he in here clowning, and me and Dante tryna talk and shit.”
“Watch your mouth, boy! If your ass was home helping me take care of these kids, then you wouldn’t be in the predicament you’re in now.” She turned and left. “Evan, come on outta there, boy!” she yelled from the hallway.
“Maaa, I wanna stay! It’s my room too,” he whined, still hiding behind the bed.
“Bring your ass outta that room, boy!”
Evan climbed over the bed and stomped his way to the door. Grabbing the door handle, he pulled the door behind him as he walked out. Before he stepped completely out of the room, he stuck out his tongue at Trey. “You bitch!” he yelled and slammed the door.
“I hate that little muthafucka!”
“Come on, man, that’s your little brother.”
“Man, you have no idea what it’s like living here. That’s why I need to get me some paper up quick and move up outta here.”
Dante couldn’t argue, because he could only imagine what Trey had to go through living there. Dante thought, At least Trey don’t have to worry about his mother laying hands on him. Dante sat there saddened as he thought about one of the times when Diamond had done just that.
Diamond had left a nine-year-old Dante home alone while she went out on a date, as she often did. She told him to stay in his room and not to make a sound so as not to alert any of the neighbors that he was home alone.
Late that night, while Dante slept, she busted into his room, turned on the light, and stood there snarling at him.
Dante lay in his bed awake as the light she’d just turned on shone on his innocent face. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes, trying to adjust them to the brightness of the light. “Hi, Mommy,” he said.
Diamond didn’t answer; she kept glaring at him.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?”
“What’s wrong? You’re what’s wrong! I was offered a trip to the islands tonight that I had to refuse because of you!”
Dante knew what was to come next, so he lay down and pulled the covers over his head.
Diamond proceeded to pull him out of the bed until he hit the floor. She beat him so badly that night, he couldn’t attend school for a week because of the visible bruises on his body.
FIVE
Planting the Bait
One Week Later
Dante had just left to go to work, and Diamond sat on the front stoop of the apartment building and watched the young dealers make sales. They were running a serious operation, and her mouth watered at the thought of the paper they were stacking. She hadn’t found a man in a long time to take care of her like she was used to. She was tired of struggling and wanted the finer things in life.
