Chapter Eight
Sonya
I couldn’t wait to see the expression on my auntie’s face when I pulled up in my new car. Sure, it wasn’t a brand-new vehicle off the lot like those I was pushing the previous night. But it was still brand-new to me and better than anything Auntie was driving.
“Fam, this your car?” Cuzzo smiled.
“Oh, yeah . . .” I shrugged, playing it like it was nothing.
Cuzzo went to check the vehicle out while I finished frontin’ on my new phone. And, of course, waiting on Auntie to show up to bug out. Under a minute, I saw a solar eclipse appear at the front door. I turned all the way around, and there she stood, arms folded, her expression stank. I plastered a wide grin across my face, knowing it was about to be on. “How you doin’, Auntie?” I taunted.
By that time, my whole family was out there riding my jock except for her. The kids wanted me to take them for a ride. “None of you is getting in that car,” she warned. “I’d bet my life that car is stolen.”
I reached in the glove box and produced the bill of sale. Even when I waved it in her face, she was having no part of it. “Please, anyone can forge one of those,” she said.
To make her even more heated, I dug in my pocket and pulled out all of my remaining money. I licked my thumb and peeled off three hundred-dollar bills. Playing the big-shot role, I tried to hand it to Auntie.
“I don’t want no drug money from the likes of you. You keep that shit from around my address and away from my kids.”
“Are you serious right now? You, of all people, turning down money? Imagine that. You funny as hell right about now.”
“Am I?” She posted her hands on her hips.
“Yeah, Auntie, you live for money, no matter what. You think everyone in the family don’t know how you cut?”
“And just how am I cut? You tell me what my no-good family has to say.”
“Whatever. I’m not gonna rat nobody out.”
“Look, girl, why don’t you take that money and find yourself an apartment? Maybe one with that girl you been running around with the last few weeks or so. It’ll be best for all of us because Lord knows that you’re not going to change.”
“What’s that supposed the mean?”
“Look, I done put up with enough of the crazy hours you insist on keeping, skipping school, and all. And to top it off, you running around here don’t know if you wanna be a boy or a girl.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, wow. So just go,” Auntie repeated, not backing down one bit.
“Okay, that’s fine. But I’ma take Devin with me.” I bossed up, prepared to do battle.
“Oh, hell naw. I’m not about to let you destroy that kid’s life like you done did yours.”
“And I’m not going to leave him in this dump to be mistreated.”
“You watch your fucking mouth.” Auntie took a step closer. “For close to seventeen damn years, your rotten ass done lived under my roof, ate my food, drank my water, and whatever else. So, for you to stand up here in my face and call my house a dump takes a lot of nerve. Devin is mine. I got paperwork that says so. Your sorry-ass mammy ain’t want him or your ungrateful ass, remember? So, I took y’all instead of letting the State take you.”
“And you ain’t never let me or my brother forget it,” I fired back, elated I no longer had to hold my tongue. The money I’d made the night before in my pocket had made me brave. I was standing there close to punching ole auntie dead in her shit. How dare she! Making it seem like we were eating crab legs and steak and wearing the latest fashions at her expense. That woman knew like I did that was the furthest thing from the truth. In fact, my brother and I were sleeping on the floor, eating Focus Hope and mayonnaise sandwiches. So, I wasn’t going to stand there and allow her to pat herself on the back too much, because we had earned our keep with the checks she was receiving monthly.
“It’s my house, and I don’t have to explain any of my damn actions.”
“Look, Auntie, if it’s about them checks, you can keep all of them. All I want is my brother and—”
Auntie laughed, walking toward the house. “Sonya, you must didn’t hear me when I said Devin is mine. And if a check comes along with him, so be it,” she hissed, climbing the steps going onto the porch.
“Fat bitch, I’ma get my li’l brother sooner or later, you’ll see. Trust and believe, I don’t give a fuck what you think.” I jumped in my car and roared off. I didn’t give a shit about any of the measly belongings I had at Auntie’s. I’d deal with them and her later. In the meantime, I got a room. Within hours I was kicked back in the motel room lying in bed watching television.
I can’t lie, today was the best day of my life, and I didn’t want it to end. I had a feeling that if we kept doing jobs for Mr. Brooks that there would be plenty more good days to follow. I spread my money out across the bed and counted it. I had somehow run through $10,000, just like that. I knew I had to make more moves to come back up. And Mr. Brooks was the solution to doing so. Maybe he could even help me find an apartment. It wouldn’t hurt to ask. After all, we were kinda in business together.