Chapter 2

When Ace pulls into the driveway of our house I'm just as pissed off as he is, if not more. I can't believe I let him pull me away from all my money. I could only imagine the way them hoes fought over my hard-earned dollar bills. Bitches are about to have a field day with my earnings.

I hop out of the car and storm off to the house. Ace catches me by the arm, and even though he's still avoiding looking at me, I can see his face has softened a little. I guess the silent ride home made him reflect on how much of an asshole he had been to me. Hopefully he was feeling guilty about letting all that money go to waste.

"Come here. I think Caesar keep some clothes in his trunk," Ace says.

He sticks the key inside the little lock and it clicks open. He was right too. There's a duffel bag full of plastic unopened white and black t-shirts, a basketball, gym shorts and a pair of Jordans in his trunk. Everything is way too neat to be a boy's car. He even has the T-shirts stacked on top of each other. I grab one and a pair of gym shorts, hoping they're not too funky as I slide them over my too-short shorts.

When we walk into the house I try to head straight up the stairs to my room but Ace doesn't give me a chance.

"Don't try to fucking run now. I let yo ass slide in the car when I shoulda rammed yo head into the window," Ace says.

He's no longer yelling which scares me more than anything. I'd rather him ram my head into the window like he said than to get quiet on me. I hated when Daddy used to talk to me all calm like that. I never knew whether to cry or run.

"Ace, look. I'm sorry I embarrassed you in front your friends. I should have told you what I was doing--"

"Shut up before I wind up sliding yo shit for real Candyce. How the hell you gon look me in my face and tell me you should have told me you was a stripper," Ace says.

"See this what I'm talking about. This exactly why I didn't tell you! I knew you was gon' judge and belittle me--"

"Judge you? You just took your bra off in the middle of a fucking strip club and you worried about me judging you? Shouldn't you care how you feel about yourself?"

His words sting at the soft spot around my heart I don't let too many people into. He knows it too but he keeps going.

"My potnas saw you naked Candy--I mean Candyce. I can't even call you by your fucking nickname no more cause you done slapped that stupid ass red wig on and made it something trifling."

"Why all of a sudden it's trifling when I'm up there but not when it was some random bitch? Huh?" I yell. I'm on the verge of crying and I only hope my tears don't fall in front of him.

Ace scoffs, "Candyce all them hoes up there is trifling. You see me pulling one of them hoes off stage and wifing them? No. Cause once a girl reveals to the world what she has to offer, she's done for. Washed up. Trifling and ran-through. You know what them hoes do for money?"

"Just cause they do it don't mean I do it, Ace!"

"Says who? Says you? Your word don't mean shit to me no more Candyce. I thought yo ass was laid in the bed sleep when I left out here. But all along you lying and sneaking yo way out. Matter fact, how long you been doing this shit?" He asks.

The tears fall now and my heart stops beating for a second. If I tell Ace I been a stripper for a year and a half he's gonna lose it. I wouldn't be able to get away from him fast enough. Especially not in these heels.

"A few months," I say instead.

"You lying but I don't even blame you. You better pray they say the same thing when I go back to that club 'cause if I find out you been doing this longer than a few months, I'ma really do you something Candyce."

With that he heads back out the door, just to get away from me. I'm crying on the steps, fumbling to untie my heels. It's not until I hear the kitchen light flicker on that I back away. I limp up the stairs with one shoe on. In the hallway, Paryis, my little sister, is standing outside of her room.

"Why are you up?" I ask her.

"Why you worried? And where you coming from dressed like that?" Her little neck rolls and her lips smack.

"I don't have time for this. Go to bed Paryis," I say.

I open the door to my room but the sheets are ruffled and pulled back like someone was laying in the bed. There's a stuffed rabbit on the floor near the bed.

I turn around to shout at Paryis for sneaking into my room but she's staring at her tiny feet.

"I'm sorry. I had nightmares about my mama and I didn't want to wake Ms. Rochelle up. You weren't home so I just thought if I laid in your bed, they would go away," She says.

I smile down at her. Her hair is all over her head and her little pajamas are fixed to the side like she's had a rough night. I've slept with her before and I know she thrashes around in her sleep unless someone is there to keep her steady in the night.

"C'mon. Don't think about snoring though. I've had a long night and Ace already pissed me off. Don't be next," I say.

She happily walks into the room and I close the door behind us. My queen-sized bed is big enough for the both of us but Paryis lays right in the middle. I pull the wig off and lay it on the styrofoam head on my dresser. I finally take the other shoe off and climb in next to her, in Caesar's clothes. She sleeps on the other side of the bed and sure enough, she starts thrashing around in the bed, moaning her mom's name. I pull her close to my body and picks up her stuffed rabbit from the floor and place it next to her. She calms down next to me but grips the hell out of the rabbit's ears. I wait until I hear her snoring to finally close my eyes and sleep.

...

When I wake up, the spot next to me is empty. I smell Mama's chocolate pancakes through the crack in the door Paryis left. The liquor in my stomach craves to be soaked up so my hunger carries me down the stairs. I don't bother brushing my teeth cause I'm already knowing the minty smell would send the bile in my stomach up and out of my mouth. Food first, morning routine later.

Downstairs, Paryis sits at the table pouring too much syrup on her pancakes. Simon, my twin brother, sits at one end of the table with our little brother Jonah, in the chair next to him. Ace's big headed ass is seated at the head of the table where Daddy used to sit like he runs shit. I roll my eyes.

"Good morning baby. I heard you get in late last night so I thought you'd be sleep for awhile. I went ahead and made your plate already. It's in the microwave," Mama says from the stove.

I shoot my head towards Ace. Mama wasn't supposed to know that I was out last night which means only one person told her. But Ace shrugs his shoulders like he didn't have nothing to do with it. I push his head as I walk by him to get my plate.

"Don't worry. He didn't tell me. But he should have," Mama says, "Y'all were loud enough last night."

The guilty look that crosses Ace's face when Mama checks him is the only thing that makes me believe he didn't tell her after all.

"Ms. Rochelle, can I have more eggs?" Paryis asks my mama.

Paryis isn't my full sister like Jonah, Simon or Ace was. Paryis came into our lives six years ago, when her mother overdosed on herione when she was only two years old. Paryis was too yoing to understand the concept of gateway drugs or to know that Daddy introduced her mother to drugs. So, she ain't have no resentment against him, yet. Nobody but Daddy knew of his illegitimate daughter. When Mama found out, she cried a lot and Daddy spent a lot time in a hotel. But after my mama found out that Paryis sat next to her mama's body for three days before someone found them, she welcomed Paryis with open arms.

Daddy wasn't perfect, but Mama was. She eventually let him come home and two years after Paryis came to stay with us, they had Jonah. The pregnancy was tough on Mama. She was on bedrest for a good portion of her pregnancy so when Jonah came out deaf, no one was truly surprised. We figured it was either Mama that was gonna be messed up or the baby. But Jonah wasn't messed up either. He was deaf but he was my baby brother and he was perfect too.

I give him a kiss as I sit down next to him. I reach for the bottle of syrup but Ace grabs it first. I almost remind him that he's twenty-one and shouldn't be playing these childish games. I would say that he shouldn't be staying here either but he pays the bills so I keep my mouth shut.

There's two knocks at the door and Ace gets up to answer it.

"Who is it?" Ace asks through the door.

I know the answer before his deep voice responds. Ace only trusted one person to know where he laid his head. Caesar walks through the door in another crisp white tee. A gold medallion hangs around his neck. Growing up, he was never the flashy type. I'm glad to see not much has changed since he went away.

"I know that ain't Caesar!" Mama hollers.

Caesar's hardcore exterior breaks into a big grin when he sees my mother.

"Ms. Rochelle," Caesar wraps his arms around her.

Mama slaps him arm playfully, "Boy hush with that Ms. Rochelle stuff. I practically raised you."

Caesar nods his head.

"You right, Ma. I don't know what I was trippin' off."

"Mhm. Let me find out you done forget about us while you were gone," Mama says.

"Never. A man always knows where home is," Caesar says.

Mama takes a step back to take him in, "You sure is a man. You bout six feet tall now. You went and messed up your teeth. You look good though, son."

She ain't never lying. Caesar ran his tongue across the bottom of his golds and laughed. Hearing his deep voice bubble up in laughter does something to my chest.

"Aight that's enough of allat," Ace says.

They dap each other up.

"You remember the fam right?" Ace points to the table.

"Sit down boy, let me fix you some to eat," Mama sits a plate down next to me.

Caesar pulls the chair out and sits beside me. He's too careful not to have his arm touch mine. I roll my eyes again.

"Yeah I remember everybody. How you doing pretty?" He winks at Paryis.

Her fast ass got the nerve to blush. I deadpan her until she sticks her tongue out at me.

"Wassup, Twin," Caesar reaches across me to dap Simon up.

"Wassam," Simon says dryly. He was never one to entertain company. He didn't like anybody but Jonah and me. Sometimes I think he only tolerate me cause we shared a womb together cause we were nothing alike.

"Whose that?" Jonah signs to Simon.

"Ace's best friend. You're too young to remember him," Simon signs back.

"Tell lil' man I said wassup," Caesar nudges me.

"What? I don't know how to sign. I only know a few words," I tell him.

A confused look takes over his features. Then, he looks disappointed, "What you mean you can't sign? Your lil' brother's deaf."

"And your point is? I can understand some of what he says but only if he slows down," I say.

Caesar shakes his head.

"What about you? You know how to sign?" He asks Paryis.

"Of course," She signs back, doing too much to impress him.

Mama stacks pancakes onto Caesar's plate. He only takes a few bites out of it before Ace drags him to the living room to talk about whatever they were supposed to discuss last night. By the time they leave the living room, I'm finished my breakfast. I'm headed up the stairs to get ready to start my day. I'm in the middle of texting Chantal, my best bitch, to ask her what's the wave for tonight when Ace stops me.

"Where you going?" He asks.

I stop on the step landing. "To get ready," I say with all the attitude I can muster.

"Uh-uh. Cancel all ya' plans. You with me today."

The fuck?

"No I'm not."

"Either you with me or I tell Mama bout ya' part-time job," He says the "part-time job" too loud.

"Alright! Damn, nigga! Always tryna boss people around," I say, "That's what Caesar's for. Boss him around, cause I'm not the one."

Caesar chuckled lowly. Ace points up the stairs.

"You plan on wearing my clothes all day? Cause we got shit to do," Caesar says.

I point the finger at both of them and stomp up the stairs. I change out of Caesar's clothes and pull on shorts and a crop top. Then I think better of it, remembering Ace's threat to shove my head through the car window. I switch out the shorts for a pair of blue jeans. After I brush my teeth and finally twist my honey blonde curls into a decent enough bun, I smooth lotion onto my light brown skin. Simon and I had Daddy's looks through and through. If you replaced Simon's braids for a short curly bush, Simon was the spitting image of Daddy. Ace got his dark skin and nice smile from Mama. Jonah was somewhere in between and Paryis had Daddy's brown skin but that was about it.

After ignoring Ace's shouts from down the stairs, I finally emerge with Caesar's clothes in hand.

"Girl, you better wash my shit first," He says, brushing past me.

In the car, I sit in the backseat as Ace and Caesar discuss business. They're not saying enough to allow me to keep up with what their talking about but I don't care either. I understand a little of what they're saying but when they start dropping names, I lose interest. I stick my headphones in to tune them out. I only take them out when the car rolls to a stop twenty minutes later.

Ace turns around in his seat, "We got some business to handle and I don't want you around. So stay ya ass in the car, keep the doors locked and pay attention. If some shit seem sketchy to you, just pull off. Don't worry about us. We good."

He lifts his shirt to show the sleek black gun pressed into his torso. I swallow.

"Aight, I hear you," I say.

"Candy, I'm serious. Stay ya ass in the car and pay a-fucking-ttention. Don't open the door for nobody but me or Caese, aight?"

"I hear you Ace, damn."

He stares at me for a second to make sure he drilled it in. When he gets the confirmation he searching for, they both climb out the car. I climb into the front seat and watch them walk away from the car.

Looking around, I see that we still in the Eastside but further back, where all the mansions are. Palm trees cover the street. I watch Ace and Caesar walk down the sidewalk until large shrubs block my view. At first, I'm as vigilant as I promised I would be. But as thirty minutes go by, I'm bored of checking my surroundings for danger that's not there. After an hour, I'm considering leaving them just for ditching me out here alone. When another half hour ticks by, I start playing music on the aux. For the first couple songs I keep the volume low, but then Hold Up by Beyoncé comes on and I have to turn the music as high as it would go. I wouldn't be the self-proclaimed leader of the BeyHive if I didn't.

I'm so caught up into the music that I don't notice someone creeping up in my review mirror until their standing right outside of the window. My breath gets stuck in my throat for a moment. Instead of pressing on the gas like I told Ace I would do, I try to hurry and click the locks but I'm too late. The man yanks the car door open and grabs a handful of my hair. I'm screaming and kicking at him but my small body ain't doing nothing to his cocky, burly build.

He drags me out the car, and reaches back in to grab the keys. He tosses them over to someone else standing on the other side of the car that I didn't notice until now.

"Let me fucking go! I don't know nothing I swear. Who the fuck are y'all?!" I scream.

Neither one of them answers me. I try to plant my feet onto the ground and make myself heavier like I learned Civil Rights activists used to do. But, all that does is make him grip my hair tighter until I'm crying out. I have no choice but to follow him up the street. I never stop yelling, hoping someone will come out one of the many houses we pass to save me. No one comes out though. I guess it was rule of law to mind your business in these rich neighborhoods.

I kick and scream until they pull me up the stairs of an orange and white mansion. At that point, I stop the protesting and try to plead for my life.

"Please, please let me go. I promise I ain't gon say nothing to nobody. I just wanna go home! Please. I'm only a kid!" I say.

Nothing I say stops them from pulling me into the house. Once in the house, the bald-headed man lets go of my hair and drags me by the front of my shirt instead.

"Oh God, Daddy please don't let them hurt me," I pray.

Tears are inked down my mascara-ruined face by now. I cry louder once he tosses me across the floor, where I can hear people talking. My eyes are closed but I recognize Ace's voice. I immediately begin to feel safer. That is until I open my eyes and see that the odds are stacked against us.

Ace and Caesar both rise from their seats. They're standing in front of a large mahogany desk with a Hispanic man behind it. There are two more men in all black-suits behind him, and five more behind Ace and Caesar.

"Now you know I love you Ace. Caesar we just met but I find myself already appreciating you. Caesar you're new here so I give you a pass but Ace... Ace, my man, you know better. I don't like anyone knowing where the fuck I stay. Didn't I tell you that?" The man says. He's in a black shirt with white pants. By the way he's dressed and the heavy Spanish accent, I know he isn't from here.

"Jefe," Ace tries but Jefe cuts him off.

"Answer the fucking question Ace. Did I tell you this or no?" Jefe scratches his thick eyebrow.

"Yes but--"

"Didn't I fucking tell you no one knows where I stay?! No one! And you bring this bitch into my home!" Jefe explodes out of nowhere.

The breath hitches in my throat but Ace just shakes his head. He was the best at remaining calm in tough situations.

"I do business with you and this is how you repay me, eh? Tell me who she is," Jefe says.

"Boss, she's nobody. She's some stripper bitch I met who just wanted a good time," Ace says.

"Stripper? You think I'm fucking stupid? Tell me who she is right now," Jefe says.

"He just told you," Caesar says.

"Was I fucking talking to you?" Jefe says and the room gets silent. I never knew Caesar to take anyone's shit so I know this dude must be something serious.

Jefe looks around at everyone. He mumbles something to himself that I can't hear. He moves around the table and walks up on me.

"Please, please," I beg him.

"Jefe," Ace calls.

"I tell you to tell me who she fucking is and you lie to my face. After all I've done for you, you lie to my fucking face. Okay," Jefe says.

I watch in horror as he pulls a silver and black gun from the back of his pants. He stands over me and points it to my head. I start crying harder than I did when I found Daddy in the dining room with his brains on the wall.