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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to my family, I will love you all until the end of time. You are the air that I breathe. To my friends, thanks for keeping me afloat when I thought I would sink. To my fans and many followers, I love you all more and more each day. Thank you for the love and support you deliver each day! To my cover model, Jeanette Tools, thanks for doing your thing on the photos and being patient with me throughout the entire design process. You rock everyday, all day!

To book Jeanette Tools for cover modeling, contact: jeanettebyrd.1@gmail.com
DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this book to my family and my friends who supported my dream of becoming a published writer. They believed in me when I didn't believe in myself years ago. I'm making you proud now! Also to my readers for without you there would be no me. I love you all!

To some very special readers who have been rocking with me and supporting me from day one, I love you all. This book goes out to Latosha Scruggs, Jackie Figueroa, Yung-Lit, Tiffany Haynes, Camille Lamb, Nefertaria Ayo, Fallon Willis Blaqk, Keyanna Savage, Shemika Jones, Sharon Blount, Courtney Bryant, Keona Day, LaShaun Cadney, Rosalyn Reed, Shanta Shaw, Me'Tova Hollingsworth, LaSonya Steger, Lakenya Ross, Candice Preyer, Tiffany Williams, Nae Martinez, Shikira Hoy, Tona McCoy, Shamella Skipper, Linda Jiggets, Marissa Palmer, Tonia "First" Maurice, Sistar Tea, Sandy Sims, Carla Towns, Brandie Davis, Joy Hammond Nelson and Tanisha-PhatPhat. I'd also like to dedicate this book to the Facebook Book Clubs that support me, BFSB, RRU, We Read Urban, Just Read, SRS, Slyce, Tajana Sutton's Club, MUB, KR, Bayou Diva Readers and last but certainly not least The Nicety Readers!!! Love you all! Special Shout outs to #TEAMNICETY, the bullets to my nine!

To my besties...you all know who you are as I will only use first names but your love and support knows no bounds. Mario, Guillermo, Ashley H., Ashley P., and Ashley P. (Yes I meant to do that), Jeanne, Yvette, Bob, Manny "You're so silly", Arndell, Leslie, Princess, Walt, Will, Karen, Theresa, Tiffany K., Irine, Meron, Earline and Jermika. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for always supporting me and making sure that I remained focused on the task at hand, which was getting your books to you on time. Laughing but dead serious. To my children Daresha, Destinii, and Dakayla, mommy loves you more than she can say! To my husband, the perfect verse over a tight beat. Thanks for being nothing more than you!

**If I have forgotten anyone, know that I love you still**
LEARN TO SPOT FAKE GOLD. EVERYTHING THAT GLITTERS ISN'T IT. **

NICETY
Chapter 1

May 13, 2005- Friday the 13th

"Damn, baby. You know them titties looking mighty good bouncing up and down in that tight ass shirt." Spliff spat out of breath with his heavy Trinidadian accent and reaching out his hand to her.

"Nigga, stay focused." Goddess retorted as she grabbed his hand struggling to hold on to the black duffle bag strapped to her back.

Danger lurked around every corner as Spliff and Goddess fled across the street to the trap house on King Street. They ran straight in the door and locked it tight, lucky that the crack heads didn't give a shit about locking their doors for safety. The hot Atlanta climate was so dry that it felt like a sauna in there as the prominent stench of foul ass and blown coke filled the night air. They headed for a back room and could hear the sirens in the distance as they ducked on the side of the window carefully peeking out to gain sight of the peoples. The crack heads loitering in the dark crevices of the room began moaning uncontrollably and yelling obscenities while fidgeting with their tattered garments as if they itched badly. Spliff tried to calm them by waving his hands wildly, whispering angrily hoping that would quiet them.

"Shut the fuck up!"

But it was no use. They just grew louder and angrier. They didn't want the fugitives in their domain crowding their space and bringing trouble. Goddess shook her head at Spliff snickering silently covering her smile with her hands. She waved for his attention urging him to leave them alone before tried to retaliate. She then looked slightly out the window checking for any signs of the cops.

"I think they're gone." She whispered as her back pressed against the wall.

Spliff became fed up with this one crack head that increasingly became louder defying his requests to be quiet. He knew that he would alert the cops to their presence for sure. So he walked over to him, kicking and stomping the shit out him with his big heavy black combat boots.

"Shut the fuck up nigga, damn!" He bellowed.

"Spliff get the fuck over here and leave that nigga alone, damn! If anything you ain't doing nothing but making it worse." Goddess demanded.

Just as she was shaking her head at the pitiful ordeal the room flooded with a swarm of plain clothed cops. They came bursting through the window crashing glass everywhere and breaking the hinges off of the door pointing guns directly in their faces and chanting.

"Put your fucking hands in the air! Don't Move!"

Her eyelids felt like they weighed a million pounds as Goddess slowly closed her eyes and reluctantly put her hands on her head. Her heart sank as well as she realized they were undoubtedly caught. The cops brought her to her knees to wrap her hands around her back and throw some zip ties on her wrists. She watched as they did the same to Spliff. They made eye contact for a brief second; tossing each other a silent 'I love you' as Goddess was brought to her feet to be forcefully escorted out the house. The cops searched the room thoroughly with huge flashlights for evidence and found the bag of credit cards sitting next to the window that Goddess had dropped when they came in. She shamefully lowered her head in disbelief as they scooped up the bag and three other cops began interrogating Spliff on how they had acquired the contents of the bag.

"Yo, I ain't telling you shit." Spliff repeated over and over to everything they spat at him.

He was cocky and confident that way. They brought him to his feet where one of the police officers with captain's badges looked him square in the eye. He was overweight and seemingly out of breath from simply talking and chewing the tasteless gum in his mouth. He chewed the gum like it was his last meal releasing spittle every time he turned his head.

"You going to jail for an awfully long time boy." The fat white haired cop sneered.

Spliff hated that word, boy. It made him feel like he wasn't respected as a man especially coming from an old white pig like the one standing in front of him. He gave a look like he was going to fuck the cop up curling his eyebrows over evilly but the cop didn't appreciate it not one bit.

"Look away, son of bitch!" The cop demanded adamantly "I said look away Got damn it!"

He wouldn't. Spliff hawked him down something evil like for a few seconds more never blinking an eye. He wanted to let him know that no matter what how badly he tried to punk him he was a man first and would hold his own, period.

"You done fucked up now, boy. And ain't no one gonna look for ya cause we know yous an orphan." The cop said as he delivered a strong blow to Spliff's stomach sending him curling over in pain.

Spliff refused to raise his head and show the tears spewing from his eyelids. The cop signaled for the others to take Spliff out of the house and shoved him into the back seat of his squad car. They hauled Goddess out of there too but cut her zip ties then shoved her down into the grass.

"Hey what about my husband?" She yelled as they all loaded up to depart. They ignored her no matter how loud she became.

"Hey! HEY!" She yelled louder and louder but to no avail.

She ran towards the car holding Spliff and tried to bang on the window with her fist with strength enough to shatter the glass but it drove off too fast. As the car sped off she could see the faint image of his chocolate bushy bearded face in the back window. It was then that she knew she would never see him again. The love of her life of 5 years was gone forever.

The next morning, at their $325,000 luxury 4-bedroom home in Gwinnett County, Goddess rose from her king sized bed to the erratic ringing of her doorbell. She slipped on her pink satin robe and headed down to the door quickly hoping to see Spliff. She raced so fast to the door that she stumbled hard down the last few steps injuring her ankle momentarily. As she approached the door rubbing her leg, she looked out of the peephole and saw nothing. She grabbed the Desert Eagle out from the umbrella holder next to the door and placed it fiercely behind her back. Gritting her teeth, she opened the door to an empty porch. She looked down and was greeted by a tiny black jewelry box wrapped in perfectly tied red ribbon sitting on the welcome mat in front of the door. Goddess looked left then right trying to see if anyone was still around waiting to jump out at her. Once the coast was clear she grabbed the box then stepped back in the house securely locking the door behind her.

Spliff loved to surprise her with gifts so it wasn't beyond her to believe that this could be another one of his romantic displays of affection. The excitement to open the box's contents exploded inside of her. She sat the gun down on the floor and as she ripped through the shiny red ribbon and pried open the tiny black box her excitement quickly turned to pure unadulterated horror.

"AAAGGGHHH!!!"

Goddess's scream was as high as the sound of nails on a chalkboard. The blood-curdling scream awoke the neighbors as people shuffled outside to see what the commotion was about. Goddess covered her mouth with one hand while tears formed in the corners of her eyes. She leaned against the door and slid down to the floor crying hysterically as she gazed into the box's contents. Despite how horrific the display was she couldn't bring herself to look away. Her worst fears had been confirmed that she would never see her beloved husband of four years again. Although he was gone forever, she could still look into one of his eyes for the very last time. 
Chapter 2

November 2008

"Who is it?" A man's voice yelled from behind the door.

"Its G. I need two, B." Goddess responded back urgently.

The man opened the door just wide enough to slip his hand out snatching $20 out of Goddess' hand and discreetly replacing it with 2 bags of dro. She clenched the bags in her hand then stuffed them in her pocket heading back down the street to her one bedroom low-income palace at the Brandywine Apartments. Her friend, Quetta, was able to pull some strings to help her get past the long waiting list of people. Rather than wait on some never ending list, Quetta asked one of her buddies if Goddess could rent out her apartment since the girl was moving in with her new beau. The girl agreed and Goddess had been there ever since.

After Spliff's disappearance, Goddess wasn't able to collect fully on his death from the insurance company. There simply was no body to determine the cause of death. She only gained a couple thousand dollars, which wasn't even enough to save her house. Spliff had money stored away in case of emergencies since he didn't trust banks but he never revealed to her the private storage place where he kept all of their savings. She packed up all of the clothes and shoes she could carry and left the house for the bank to take over with only the leftover chump change she had in her pocket.

"Hey G. You smokin'?" Quetta hollered from her stoop.

"Fo' Sho'"

Goddess flicked her curly shoulder length black hair up into a tight ponytail and rubbed the light sweat that had formed on her cocoa brown skinned forehead. She opened the door and slammed it removing her Atlanta A and M sweater from her thickness then tossed it on the floor. After being there three years, she thought she would be used to coming home to the mediocrity she now called her home, but she wasn't. She sighed heavily never believing that at the tender age of 25 she would be living as pitiful as she was. Her sole purpose for marrying Spliff so young was so she would be set for the rest of her life, but those plans were quickly foiled. As she flicked on the lights and gazed around at the abomination she was forced to live in, the depression that had consumed her for the past few years set in even deeper.

The ugly tan colored walls painted throughout the entire apartment was depressing enough without having to deal with the rats and roaches that came along with it. Her apartment wasn't nasty though. The bugs and rodents came from the apartments of the tenants who were. She despised the entire complex but had no choice since she had nowhere else to go. The only family she had left was her uppity grandmother and mother who lived in Chicago. Everyone else had died off for one reason or another and the others just didn't want to be apart of the family anymore.

Goddess placed her back against the wall then slid down to the floor next to the remote and turned on the TV to the news. Her apartment did not have any furniture but she was lucky to have the 42" screen that Quetta was nice enough to get her one Christmas. It didn't hurt her pockets since she got it from a Black Friday sale.

Goddess barely had dishes but she so very rarely cooked and since she didn't have any kids she didn't get shit but a hundred and ninety three dollars in food stamps from the government. She never slept in the bedroom; it only housed the bags of clothes she was able to salvage from her house. The blunt was pearled and ready to be fired up as her patience wore thin waiting for Quetta to show up.

"Yeah." Goddess said in a raspy voice waking up to answer her cheap prepaid government flip phone.

"My bad, bitch. I can't come over." Quetta whispered from the other end.

"Let me guess. Sully won't let you come out again huh?"

"What? Girl naw. I can do what I want, ya know? It's just that..."

"Mmhmm."

"Naw girl, it's just he wanna kick it tonight and shit G, I just got a baby sitter and shit."

"Girl, who you get to babysit them three bad ass kids, Quetta?" Goddess dug in her pocket for her clear lighter and sparked up the el.

"Shit, Peaches from upstairs."

"Peaches? Don't she got three bad ass kids of her own and she ain't never got no food?"

"Dang, yeah Goddess. But I sent them some raviolis and she gon' watch them for me and shit. I mean it ain't like you gon' watch a bitch kids for me." Quetta rolled her eyes, sick of her inquisition.

"What about they're daddies?"

That was a low blow. Goddess knew that Quetta had two baby daddies and only one of them dealt with her long enough to take care of his one son by her. Quetta was as ghetto as they came standing 5'9" and 210 pounds of fun. She got her clothes from either the swap meat or some of her neighbor friends who couldn't fit their clothes anymore and gave them to her since she was getting bigger and bigger. She lived off of the social security checks she got for all of her kids because they got lead from the paint in the hallways of their old apartment complex some years back.

Her twin girls were almost fourteen years old and her son was eight but they were so bad ass. They were always destroying anything in their path that it was amazing anyone would watch them. Quetta never disciplined them and always took their side when people confronted her about things they had done. She was too focused on keeping her hair in different shades of color and her nails cluttered with designs so she could keep her niggas guessing. Niggas that always found a need to put their hands on her.

"Whatever girl it's your life. I'm just saying, no man would be able to fuck me and they don't like my kids." Goddess shook her head in disbelief at how her friend was acting.

"Whatever, G. I'll call you tomorrow." Quetta hung up on her angry at her words.

Goddess never gave a fuck what came out of her mouth. She felt like Quetta needed that tough love sometimes because she was so hard headed, putting her kids in front of some ratchet ass niggas. Just because Sully was a manager at Family Dollar and was making a little dough didn't mean he cared to spend it all on her. But he was far from the hood dope dealing niggas that only hit it and quit it, which Quetta was used to. But in Goddess' eyes, no one would ever compare to the type of man Spliff was. He was like the Will to her Jada, the Hov to her Bey and even after three years losing him still pained her soul as if it were just yesterday.

She puffed on the el like it was her last, sucking hard enough to go into a coma. The fire at the end lit up her brown skin with every long drag she took. Her eyes focused in catching a glimpse of what was dancing across the TV screen. The news displayed the same thing it did everyday, killings and shootings that happened all around the Atlanta metro area. It did nothing but depress her even more. _Somebody should murder the sons of bitches that murdered my baby._ She thought, pinching the duct of the blunt sucking the last little bit out of it before putting it out in her window seal. Goddess grew weary from watching the bullshit sliding her head down to the awfully gray colored carpet and drifting off to sleep.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"G! G, open up!" Quetta banged on the door like she was the police with a warrant.

"Hold up. Hold up. Geez." Goddess wiped the drool from her mouth then collected herself to get up and open the door.

She peeled her 5'3" 180 pound thickness up off the floor fixing her 38DD bra from the twisted position it had maneuvered itself into. As soon as she opened the door, Quetta came flying in like her pants were on fire. Goddess was still rubbing her eyes trying to focus wondering just how long she was actually asleep. She copped a squat back on the floor not amused by her friend's overdramatic show as she had seen and heard it all before. In the three months Quetta had been dating Scully she has had more manic episodes than Goddess cared to count.

"He's gone to far G. He's gone too far!"

"What's happened now Quetta?" Goddess yawned actually uninterested in the conversation.

"He hit me G! The son of a bitch hit me in my fucking face!" Quetta pointed to her purple and black badly bruised cheek.

"Damn it's only been an hour." Goddess checked her phone for the actual time then threw it on the floor in disgust.

Quetta paced the floor then fell to her knees covering her face and balling into her hands like a baby. Her soul was completely mortified by the chain of events that had taken place in such a short period of time. It never failed with Scully, though. He would get drunk and think she was being smart at whatever he said and attempt to teach her lesson. He never scared her face though, for fear of his abuse being noticeable. She was extremely tired of his drunken beatings and just wanted to be done with him but she didn't know what to do or how to think. Goddess had never experienced anything like that before but she knew a real man would not have disrespected her like that.

"So...what you gonna do?" Goddess asked in a low tone.

"I don't know. But he's still over there." The terrified look on her face almost sent chills down her own spine.

"What? Why the hell is he still at your place? Are you crazy? Call the police and get his ass up out of there...NOW!" Goddess dropped her mouth open.

"I can't. He said if I called the police on him that he would make sure my kids didn't live to see their next birthdays. Goddess, what am I gon' do? I can't go back there. I ca—"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Who is it?" Goddess yelled angry that nobody knew how to knock normally anymore.

"Scully. Is Q here?"

She looked over at Quetta who was frantically shaking her head begging her in the praying stance to lie for her. Goddess lowered her head amazed at how quickly she became wrapped up into her friend's bullshit. She knew one day her wild ways would come back to bite her in the ass and the only ones who would pay for it would be her kids. It was an outlandish move but she figured it was the only way she could help her friend save herself.

"Yeah. Hang on Scully." Goddess yelled back at the door.

"What? Oh my God, Goddess! What the fuck are you doing?"

"Listen to me," Goddess whispered grabbing her shoulders "you can't run from this man. You need to face him and deal with him. That's the only way you're gonna get rid of him and if you hide now you'll be hiding for the rest of your life. Is that what you want to teach your kids? Go with him girl and stand strong. Be a woman about yours and quit his ass."

Quetta shook her head in agreement. Deep down she knew her friend was right. She especially didn't want to send the message to her kids that this was the life to live with a man. She slowly walked towards the door, grabbing the knob and turning it gradually. When she opened it all she could see was Scully's shoes, keeping her eyes lowered to the ground. Goddess' words rang over and over in her head, 'be a woman'. She lifted her head all the way up to his six foot, two hundred pound stature staring him in his eyes.

"What do you want, Scully?"

"I want you to come on home baby. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was trippin' for. You ain't gotta have no threesome if you don't want to." He smiled tugging at his shoulder length dreads.

"I told you I don't get down with that kind of shit."

"And I said I'm not gon' make you do it. You gon' keep holding it over my head and shit?" Scully recognized he was beginning to lose his cool then calmed down going back into his fake smile.

"Well, I don't think we need to be together anymore Scully." Quetta said looking back at Goddess.

"What? Man, can we go home and talk about this shit please?" His attitude was everything but pleasant.

Quetta felt like if she went to her house with him he would only beat her some more for trying to leave him. She wasn't prepared to take another ass whooping. She looked back at Goddess for reassurance that she was doing the right thing by leaving him. Goddess nodded her head at her shooing her with her hands. Quetta gave her the concerned eye not wanting to leave but Goddess was persistent, more so because she didn't want to witness the drama.

"Alright...alright." Quetta walked out the door closing it behind her.

Goddess heard loud talking as they headed back across the street but it could have very well been anyone out there acting a fool. She didn't bother to get up to check on her. Quetta was going to do what she wanted to do regardless of anything she said to her but the fact of the matter still stood. She had to get him out of her life on her own without any help from anyone or else her beatings would never end. 
Chapter 3

Thanks for Nothing

Goddess wrote on the paper as elegantly as she could, wanting her penmanship to make a great first impression. She looked around at the busy office loving the fact that everyone looked so in tuned with his or her work. It was something she wasn't used to but she knew it had to be done. There was only a few hundred dollars left in her bank account and by the way she was self medicating it wasn't going to last very long. She flipped her long curly dark hair and straightened her black Theory power suit as she wiggled her unpolished toes in her red peep toe two strap Prada pumps, many seasons old of course. Her good clothes were usually only for special occasions, but there was none more special than this one.

"Hi, uh, Goddess Young is it?" The middle aged freshly pressed white shirted Caucasian man asked as he sat down at the table staring into her application.

"Yes, sir."

"That's an interesting name."

"I was named after my grandmother. Her name is actually Venus. You know the goddess of love."

"Yeah I got it." The man was curt. "So what makes you want to work here with us at JP and Associates?"

As Goddess poured out her spiel that she had used at every interview, she began to get a bad vibe from this guy. She was only applying for a secretarial position but the way he frowned at her made her feel like he didn't think she deserved it. Her voice was strong and assertive so he would know that she was serious about working. She needed this job. She needed any job or she would be beyond broke and even more depressed.

"And you've never held down a job before?" He questioned.

"Well...uh...no but I can tell you that I'm a very hard worker and I'm determined to succeed at all cost. I don't have kids so I can work long shifts and I don't need any off days. I really need this job."

The man leaned back in his chair staring at the paper before him. He didn't bother to look up at her face and kept his finger over his mouth as if he wanted to say something but didn't. The light shined off of his semi balding head almost putting her in a trance before he finally raised his head locking eyes with her. He sat the application on the table then fixed the bifocal glasses on his face, crossed his legs and folded his hands over them.

"Goddess, we here at JP are looking for someone with at least a few years of experience. We need to make sure that our legal aids are capable of handling every single need that our lawyers demand."

"But I have a Bachelors in Psychology and I know that I am more than capable of handling myself here, sir." Goddess sounded assertive.

"Yes, but all of your schooling didn't give you any real world experience." The man said as he grinned sinisterly cleaning his teeth with his fingernail.

"Sir, I can assure you that I can do this job. What I lack in experience, I more than make up for in learning. I'm very quick on my feet when it comes to that—"

"I'm sorry. We cannot offer you a position at this time." The man rose from the table, snatching the papers up coddling them under his arms.

He thought about extending his hand to shake hers but the look in her eyes told him she was not in the mood to be cordial right then. Instead he held his head high as if he were proud of the deed he had done and walked off disappearing out of sight. Goddess' heart dropped, falling like a boulder from thirty stories high. She stood grabbing her multicolored Dooney and Burke and headed out of the building feeling shittier than when she had arrived. Deep down inside she just knew she would be able to sway the hiring manager with her wit and charm but his coldness was a strong blow to her ego. It was then that she realized he had no intentions on offering her the job in the first place.

Getting yet another rejection did nothing but make her rekindle the bottled up feeling of resentment for her past. From the first day they met, Goddess knew that Spliff would be toxic for her but his charm and finesse reeled her in nonetheless. She took on his lifestyle without hesitation and chose a life of crime rather than pursuing her dream career in Psychology. But he was dead now and looking back only ripped more holes in her heart.

The vibrations in her purse felt good against her body as she opened it looking inside for her cell. When she found it and looked down at the number her disgust level increased tremendously. She wasn't in the mood for bullshit but it seemed that this day was getting better by the minute.

"Okay, what do you want? 'Cause I ain't in the mood to listen to dumb shit about you and Scully." She snapped as she made her way to the bus stop.

"What? Girl I just called to ask you about your job interview. How'd it go?" Quetta yelled over the booming bass and Usher rambling on about his Confessions in the background.

"Ugh, same ol' shit yet again."

"Girl, don't trip over that. You gon' get something soon. But since you ain't doing nothing, you should come kick it with me and my friends."

"Quetta, I don't feel like ridin' around in the hood smokin' and drinkin' with y'all. It looks like it's about to start pouring down and you know it starts getting dark earlier now."

"Damn, G. You don't never have any fun. Would you just come hang with us? It's just me and one of my boo thangs and his friend that's it. We 'bout to go get some pizza and chill at his crib. Com' on, please." Quetta could hear the hesitation in Goddess' voice and knew she needed to go for the home stretch, placing her chapped lips close whispering into the phone. "Girl they got money."

Goddess was not amused by her poor excuse to wheel her in. She was no stranger to having money and had had a ton of it before so she wasn't easily swayed when people threw it in her face. Quite frankly, she found it tacky and belittling that Quetta would even throw that up at her knowing how she felt about gold digging. She despised it. There was nothing a man could do for her that she couldn't do for herself. The one thing she did learn from her mother.

"You ain't even got to say all that. That shit don't wet my pussy like it do yours. Alright, I'll go." Goddess hesitated. "Where are you?"

"Pulling right up in front of you."

An older model gold box Chevy Caprice pulled up in front of her blasting Whatever You Like from T.I. and excreting a foul cloud of green from the windows. Goddess reluctantly hopped in the back seat next to a dark skinned dread headed dude who if it weren't for the daylight, she wouldn't have been able to see anything past the shiny golden teeth in his mouth. It seemed his grin wouldn't fade no matter how disgusted her facial expression was. She wasn't feeling this date and she most certainly wasn't feeling him.

"We 'bout to get it in." Quetta danced in her seat provocatively enough that her date almost lost his train of thought.

All Goddess could think about was the left over whole wheat spaghetti she had waiting for her at home. She put her elbow on the arm rest under the window then put her head in her hand. She sighed heavily and stared blankly out the window until it was her turn to hit the blunt.

****

The storm brewing outside of the window was one set for the records. Maj couldn't take his eyes off of the thunder and lightning. It seemed to calm the savage beast within him. He held onto his Optimus Prime action figure tightly scared but fighting it not wanting to move an inch. He could hear his sisters, Tara and Clara in the hallway giggling hard with the boys in the neighboring apartment. His mother had always told them if they were ever caught kissing on those boys like the rumors said, that their tongues would be cut out and thrown away. Maj couldn't wait to test that theory as he waited for his mother to come home from her date so he could trick.

He danced Optimus Prime around the window ledge singing a catchy little diddy playing happily as he waited. The front door knob turned and opened slowly. Maj hadn't even noticed, too busy playing with his toys. His hand slowed down as a hand rested on his shoulder squeezing rather hard as if to massage him. Quetta liked to massage him as if he were the man of her house. Maj was her baby boy and she liked to treat him like a king so that he would desire a woman that would do so as well. Inside, he was distraught because he had missed his mother walking up but he knew that even if she didn't catch his sisters in the act, she would still believe anything he said.

"Momma?" Maj turned looking up at the dark shadowy figure covered with a hood.

"Naw, lil' man it's me, Scully. Where yo mama at?"

"I dunno." Maj turned around trying to ignore him.

Scully released his grip on the boy then turned headed for Quetta's bedroom. He hated being around her kids especially her sassy talking girls so he mostly just remained in her room until she got home. It pissed him off that she wasn't there whenever he arrived since she didn't have a job and shouldn't have shit else better to do then sit in the house.

"Maj!" Scully yelled lying back on the bed with the remote in his hand.

Maj rolled his eyes around in his head then checked the Comcast cable box on top of their 32" screen TV, 7:46pm. She was late. She was almost never late when she made a promise to him designating a specific time she would be home. It made him sad as he looked out the window once more to see if she was walking up the street.

"Maj!" Scully yelled again with an evil inflection in his voice.

"Yeah." Maj answered unwillingly as he made his way back to his mom's room.

"Didn't you hear me call you boy? Get me some damn Kool-aid...with ice." Scully flicked through the channels quickly without batting an eye at the boy hanging on the door.

Maj hated doing anything for Scully because it was never done right or good enough. He always complained and yelled, two things Maj wasn't accustomed to. Usually his sisters would rip and run for him but since they were busy Maj was always the next in line to be the slave.

"Here you go." Maj returned to the bedroom and handed him a dented reused red Solo cup.

"Bout time you did something without me having to show you."

On the 19" screen TV gleaming in front of him, played College Fuck Dolls, a porn flick Scully had just paid for on On Demand for $4.99. He and Quetta often argued about his orders all the time because he never contributed to the bill when it got too high. Obscenities screamed from the TV as he turned the volume louder and louder. Two women were on the screen ripping each other's clothes off getting ready for action, arousing Scully tremendously.

"Get in here boy. Lemme show you what pussy looks like." Scully waved his hand for Maj to enter the room.

"Uh, naw. I'm good."

"What you gay or something boy?"

"Naw, I just don't want to see all that nasty stuff you and momma be doing." Maj scratched his forehead trying to ease out of the door.

"Ay, bring your ass back in here and sit your young ass down lil' nigga. What you scared of? It's only pussy." Scully laughed as he chucked back his cup of juice and slammed the cup on the wooden TV dinner stand in front of the bed.

Maj sat down on the floor pissed off that he couldn't leave. He closed his eyes hoping the movie would be over soon. It was the grossiest thing he had ever seen. He hadn't even come to the stage of liking girls yet but Scully was determined to force him to watch it.

"Hey, I bet by the time you start fucking you gon' know what to do with that thang. Huh, boy?" Scully laughed spewing an awful sweet smell of juice and bourbon from his breath.

"I bet you still don't know what to do with it." Maj mumbled sarcastically under his breath.

The little boy's sarcasm ruffled the wrong feathers on Scully's collar. Maj had not intended on Scully hearing him but he heard him nonetheless. He saw the creases on his face begin to turn and his eyebrows curled over forming a look more devilish then the creature himself. It scared the shit out of Maj so badly that he nearly peed his jeans right there on the floor. He began to try to ease his way towards the door realizing he may have gone too far.

"Naw playboy. I wouldn't do that just yet." Scully said reaching his long arm over to the door from the bed and turning the lock. "You got jokes, huh? I'mma show you just how funny you really are."
Chapter 4

Time's Up

Tara turned her head slightly with her lips gently poked out, waiting on the scrawny looking dark skinned boy in front of her to kiss her. She was not one to move in for the kill, always feeling like the boys should come to her. Clara was three steps down already busting slobs with the boy's friend from down the street. She was not even the least bit afraid of the fact that his braces could have split her lip or cut her tongue wide open. Tara pinned her shoulder length weave to the side, using two fingers to fiddle with the split ends as the boy neared her full shiny glossed lips.

"Boy! What you out here doing? You gonna get your ass beat yet, here!" The lady screeched as she burst out the adjacent hall door, scratching in between the rollers set under her netted scarf and angry as ever.

"Dang ma. You be trippin'."

The chocolate colored boy rose with an attitude and headed for his mother dressed in yellow leggings and a matching tank top that hugged every inch of her 280 pound body snuggly. She slapped him upside the back of his head as he passed into the house angry that she had messed up his game with Tara. Clara and her lover looked up and saw the robust woman looking down on them and immediately separated.

"Yo mommas know y'all out here trying to fuck on each other. Ooo wee y'all need a whoopin'!" The lady said answering her ringing cell phone.

Clara's guy departed so quickly that his dust couldn't even be seen in the darkness. She looked around pissed that he jetted without so much as a goodbye and stomped up the stairs next to Tara. The lady laughed as she rolled her eyes at the girls then walked into her house slamming the door behind her. Clara wanted to burst through her door and slap the hell out of her hating ass but she knew that just wouldn't end well with it getting back to Quetta.

"Damn girl. You was all up in dude's mouth and shit. I thought he was going to swallow you whole or something." Tara laughed as she opened the apartment door.

"Girl, and he was all down my shirt too. If that hatin' ass bitch hadn't came out I would have been his baby momma." Clara said bending over to twerk her ass like she was in a music video.

The twin girls laughed as they entered the living room. Tara turned on the TV then looked around at the array of toys scattered across the ugly beige living room rug. Her laughter quickly turned somber as she rose to clean up the mess yet again. She was always the one doing all of the cooking and cleaning and it was beginning to get to her. Her mother was lazy and Clara would only clean if her mother was throwing money at her. Maj was so young that his messiness was overlooked as if he were still a baby. She turned to the Lifetime channel eager to watch her favorite movie, Taken: Abducted at 17.

"Where's that damn Maj? I'm sick of cleaning up after his bad ass." Tara snapped as she threw his action figures down in the toy chest in front of the metal old-fashioned radiator heater.

"I dunno." Clara shrugged as she plopped down on the couch and zoned out to the movie.

"Ugh!" Tara rolled her eyes in disgust at her lazy ass and headed back towards the kitchen to put the plastic cups in the sink.

She tossed them in the sink and headed back for the living room but as she passed her mother's door she could hear the lewd sex acts eroding from the TV inside. She carefully and quietly placed her ear to the door trying to get a closer listen. It was more than she had ever done or heard of with a boy and found the sensual screams intriguing. She pressed her fingertips along with the side of her face to the door and then her body followed as tingles traveled throughout her veins. The sounds enriched her spirit and her vagina as she leaned in feeling the need to thrust her pelvis against the door. A faint whimpering moan could be heard from behind the door throwing Tara's thought process off a little. It went away for a brief second and then it returned whiny yet faint.

Tara knew it from anywhere. She could have closed her eyes and been a million miles away and she still would have recognized the cries inside. She backed up from the door giving it the short look as she balled her fist engulfed in rage. Her eyebrows curled over and sweat droplets formed on her forehead taking all of her strength and forcing it into one lone part of her body. She reached up and with one shove pushed the bedroom door in completely breaking the flimsy doorknob area as variations of wood flew in many different directions. Her eyes widened standing there as Maj backed down from Scully and crawled over next to the bed covering himself.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" Tara snapped shoving Scully hard almost knocking him out of the small room's window.

"Nothing. Eh, we were just having a nice manly chat." Scully responded with a wicked smile as he struggled to pull his pants up.

"It didn't look like talking to me, you son of a bitch." Tara looked as if she was about to blow a gasket.

Clara had joined the scene just in time to catch a glimpse of Scully finishing up his pants. The bewildered look on her face was nothing compared to the scared tormented on Maj's. She pushed a frozen in place Tara out of the way and ran to his side. She touched the side of his face gently trying to soothe his tears.

"It's alright now, lil' bro. No one's gonna hurt you ever again. Do you understand?" Clara whispered into his ear as she hugged him tightly. "Now what happened?"

Maj didn't respond. He felt Scully's stank breath breathing down his back threatening him not to say anything even though he was standing far behind him. Clara felt his frail body begin to tremble from the very thought of it and squeezed him tighter for reassurance.

"Tell me what happened, Maj." She said in a calm soothing voice.

"He...he made me put his wee man in my mouth. I didn't want to but he beat me until I did." Maj replied fighting back tears and pointing to his right eye, which was swollen and about close.

"Ay yo, that little motherfucka is lying. Shit he asked me could he watch these movies then he started unbuttoning my pants. Hell what was I gonna do? Stop him?" Scully laughed.

Something inside of Tara boiled over as she lunged for him jumping up and locking her body around his torso. She bit down unto his shoulder hard causing him to release an ungodly bellow while Clara snatched Maj up and carried him out of the room. She placed him down on the couch then ran back to the room to help her sister jump on the pedophilic asshole. Tara hung from his neck as Clara kicked him in his junk trying to bring him down to her size from his tall stature.

"Get the fuck off of me!" Scully yelled prying through Tara's grip and tossing her onto the bed like an old sack of potatoes.

"You piece of shit! You'll never touch my baby brother again! I'll fucking kill you!" Clara retorted swinging her arms wildly at his face.

Scully reached up and with one swipe of his hand knocked Clara clean on her ass and to the room door. It was silent for a moment as the three of them sat there staring at each other. Scully didn't know if he should leave or strangle them both for being witnesses to his heinous crime. He looked at the house phone knocked over on the floor then back up at the girls.

"You get the fuck on the bed with your sister. Now!" He pointed to Clara.

Even after a hefty blow to the face, Clara couldn't listen to him. If she didn't hate him with a passion before she did now and couldn't relish the thought of her ever submitting to his demands. She stood up headed towards the bed with her head down slowly then rushed him knocking him down hitting his head on the floor. Once Tara saw that she had him she rushed to aid her in kicking and stomping him in his face. Scully, done playing Mr. Nice Guy, brought his legs up as high as they would go kicking both of the girls in their stomachs. They curled over clutching their bodies and coughing hysterically.

"Y'all wanna be bad, huh?" Scully hawked up something ugly in his mouth, delivering it to the back of both of their heads as they cried. "I'mma teach you about bread and butter."

Scully began undoing his pants again preparing himself for another round of stolen pleasure. He reached down grabbing Clara by her weave yanking it up not realizing that she was wearing a wig. It came right off into his hand but it didn't distract him as he tossed it to the side reaching for the short hair sticking up from the tussle. She grabbed his arm scratching for dear life hoping to injure him enough to make him release her but it was no use.

"Now suck this dick bitch!" He demanded pushing her head up to his piece as he stroked it.

"NO!" Clara screamed punching at his waist.

Tara gained enough composure and headed toward him biting his exposed ass cheek as hard as she could. It didn't phase him one bit, in fact it turned him on more. With one hand, he pressed her head against his ass almost suffocating her. Clara broke free and pulled her sister's arm, scooting back towards the door to get away. They were done fighting. Clara had to get them away and find the police fast before he got away. The smile on Scully's face was so sinister as he charged at the girls loving the thrill of the chase between them.

"Stop right there, motherfucka!" Goddess said pushing the door open as she dug in her purse then reached up pointing her trusty old stunner right for his head.

"What's going on here, Scully?" Quetta asked kneeling down to her whimpering girls.

"Awe, nothing baby. We just were playing a friendly game. That's all." Scully laughed quickly pulling up his pants.

Goddess and Quetta didn't even get their coats off before finding the horrific scene in Quetta's bedroom. The war noises coming from the apartment were impossible to miss as they crept up the stairwell before they found out it was coming from her apartment. Now standing in the heart of the scene, Quetta's heart raced a mile a minute.

"Ma, he made Maj suck his dick and he tried to rape us too!" Tara spat angrily.

Quetta covered her mouth in disbelief. It was hurtful to hear that he had gone beyond hurting her and was now hurting the people she loved the most. She never imagined it would go that far, feeling her blood pressure rise with every waiting minute.

"How could you do this to me... to my kids?" Quetta stood walking towards him.

"Girl, I know you don't believe that shit! Your kids are fucking liars, man. Fuck this I'm out!" Scully snapped.

"You son of a bitch!" Quetta charged at Scully but met with his fist instead, dropping her down to her knees.

Goddess tightened her grip on the trigger and pulled it slowly. Before she knew it the prongs were digging into Scully's neck sending fifty thousand volts of electricity through his Adam's Apple and right on through to the rest of his body. His body hit the floor harder than a MACK truck against a wall. He began convulsing as his body went into shock and shook uncontrollably. He foamed a bit at the mouth and then...he stopped. The room was quiet and everyone was still. Goddess released the gun letting it fall to the floor making a hallow sound as it fell.

"Oh my God, G. Is he dead?" Quetta crawled over to get a cautious but closer look at the bag of bones in front of her.

Goddess ran her hands across her mouth and let out a long sigh. She looked down at the girls who were pulling themselves together trying not to freak out. They helped one another get up still clutching each other's arms.

"He looks dead, G." Quetta's diagnosis was apparent.

"Oh shit, dead? What the fuck we gon' do?" Tara panicked, picking up the stun gun curious as to how it worked.

"Girl what the fuck you doing? Put that shit down!" Clara yelled slapping it out of her hands.

"I just wanted to see it, damn." Tara sucked her lips and rolled her eyes, shaking her head at her.

"Hey both of you stop it! Now what we gon' do, Goddess? We gon' bury the body or some shit?" Quetta asked biting her nails.

"No. Nothing. We ain't gon' do nothing. Look just call the police and send them to my apartment. I'm gonna go smoke some loud before they get here." Goddess waved them off dreary eyed and dragged her tired feet to the door.

"Naw, girl I can't let you go down like that. He was my fucked up problem and I pulled you into this shit." Quetta cried.

"Quetta, I don't give a fuck about that. My life is over anyway. My husband was my life and now I have nothing. So what's the point? I killed him, I will pay the price." Goddess responded.

She walked away from the scene just as calm as could be headed for her apartment. Apart of her knew that if this went to court she might get off with self defense since the kids could be her witness but another part of her wanted to think more realistically. It was the deep down dirty south and there was little reason for the police to listen to her story. She knew before she would be vindicated from anything she would have to sit in jail for a while. Jail wasn't the scary part; it was the thought of the cold dark echoic cell that ate away at her more than anything.

As the door slammed behind her, she tossed her keys and bag on the floor then plopped down right in front of the window waiting on the sound of sirens to ring in front of the building. She lay back on the floor staring up at the ceiling figuring she had about an hour since they very rarely liked to respond quickly to the project's calls. Her cell phone began ringing but she had no strength to answer it. She felt it was only Quetta trying to talk her out of surrendering, so she ignored it. The phone rang again and again back to back relentlessly. Frustrated, she finally looked at the number on the screen and was completely shocked by what it read.

"Hello?"

"Goddess Young. Why should I have to call your phone like crazy for you to answer? Who you screening for?"

"Ugh, hi Grams."

"Don't ugh me. I called for a reason."

"Listen Grams, now is not a good time to be arguing with you. Oh and I'll be going away for a while so—"

"Goddess, your mother is dead!"

She paused for a moment trying to collect her thoughts. It had been more than seven years since she had spoken to her mother so learning of her death was a bit unnerving but nothing she wanted to cry over. Besides it was her mother who chose to disown her after marrying Spliff. The only way she knew how she was doing was through the monthly phone calls she received from Venus. But this was a call she could have done without.

"I'm sorry to hear that Grams." Goddess paused in recognition of a moment of silence. "Alright then, talk to you soon."

"Goddess! If you hang up this phone, I swear I will—"

"Well what do you want me to say Venus? How did she die? Do you want me to cry? What the fuck do you want from me?"

"I want you to take the thumb out of your ass and act like you give a damn." Venus retorted seemingly out of breath.

Venus very rarely jumped outside of her high squeaky voice and her sophisticated poise. It took a lot for her to be brought outside of her body like that but Goddess' carefree attitude about the situation put her over the top. She calmed her breathing before she said something she really would not have meant.

"Goddess, your mother's funeral is this Sunday. Now I've paid for your plane ticket and it's at the gate waiting for you. It's an open ticket so you've got plenty of time to pack and get your behind here but you've only got 4 days to do so."

"But Grams—"

"If you're not here by Sunday, you can forget ever calling me again."

And with that Venus hung up the phone. She was not about to let Goddess ruin her mood anymore than it already was. Goddess looked at the phone then launched it across the room pissed at her grandmother's arrogance. She was always overbearing that way, forcing people to do what she wanted them to do. Still, it was her choice and if she were locked up that would be more than enough of an excuse not to attend. Her eyes fastened in on the visible speckles in the ceiling daydreaming of what she should do. If she left without telling anyone she would for sure be a fugitive, a fugitive on the run.

****

The banging on the door riddled a sonic boom through the apartment. The rain had subsided, more than an hour after Scully's rotting corpse lay cold on Quetta's shabby bedroom floor. He was still there virtually untouched as the room filled with detectives and medical examiners. Everyone had given his or her statements. Everyone had given his or her own accounts of what happened, everyone accept for Goddess.

"Alright ma'am. We know you're in there. Now we can do this the hard way or the easy way." The tall dark and mysterious cop yelled through the front door.

He looked back at Quetta and her kids huddled up on the stoop of their apartment building wondering if they were lying about their story. He put his hand on his cop issued Smith and Wesson as a precaution just in case someone or thing jumped out at him when he tried the door. The doorknob turned easily with little effort as he peeked his head in slightly to get a look inside. It was dark but the lights of the TV illuminated the room enough to get a visual of its surroundings.

"Police! Is anyone here? I'm coming in." The officer made his presence known speaking loud enough to be heard but not to cause a commotion.

Slowly creeping inside, he walked into the empty living room watching the news on the TV screen. He turned it off, then headed towards the back rooms in search of life. But once the coast was clear he let his guard down then moved about the house wondering how long the inhabitants had been gone. It looked as if no one had lived there in months with the kitchen only holding a few dishes, enough for one, which was collecting dust. The refrigerator held minimal food as well and most of what was in there were a few lives past their prime.

"There's no one in there ma'am." He said returning back to Quetta.

"What do you mean she's not in there?" Quetta snapped.

"Just what I said. She's not in there and it doesn't appear anyone has been there for months even."

Quetta stared blankly into his eyes. She had a feeling something was up with Goddess but she didn't expect her to run off on her like that. The cop shook his head at her as he grabbed her wrists and began reading her her Miranda rights. Tara and Clara fought him off trying to free their mother from his grip. Everyone was confused as to what was going on. They had told the truth but it obviously wasn't good enough.

"What the fuck are you doing? I'm not lying. Damn y'all not even gonna look for her ass? I'm telling the truth! I'm telling the fucking truth!" Quetta cried out.

"Get off me before I arrest y'all little asses too!" The cop shouted.

"But my mama is innocent. You got the wrong one! She didn't do it." Tears flowed from Tara's eyes not wanting her mother to be hauled away for no reason.

"Tara get back! Get your brother and sister and go in the house okay! Call my momma!" Quetta demanded as the cop pulled her away pulling her towards the car.

"No mama! No! Wait!" The words flew out of Tara's mouth like a flock of birds. "Officer, it was me! I did it! I killed the song of a bitch!"

The crowd of people now gathering in the streets behind the yellow tape shuttered and stopped. The cops surrounding the building doors leading up to Quetta's apartment all halted in their tracks tuning into the girl's words more clearly. Quetta paused thinking in her head that Tara was beyond crazy to say something like that out loud but her next set of words would prove to be even more shocking than the last.

"Let my momma go. I did it. I killed the son of a bitch and I'm not sorry for it." Tara dried her tears and held her head up high figuring that she had done a great deed in her heart.

"Tara what are you doing?" Quetta screamed in agony.

Tara ran up to her hugging her neck tightly. "Ma, they'll let me go. I'm a kid. But you have to take care of the kids. I can't do it." She whispered.

"Baby, no. Call your grandmother, she can help. I need you here not in jail. Go on now. Go on!" Quetta nudged her but she wouldn't move.

"No! She won't help and you know it. I wanna do this. Let me do this! What's done in the dark will come to the light momma. They gon' find out the truth and I'll be free momma. Trust me." Tara grabbed her cheeks staring at her mother square in the face.

"What's going on here?" The officer interrupted.

Quetta locked eyes with her daughter knowing that she was serious about what she wanted to do. Out the corner of her eye she could see the jump suited men haul Scully's dead body out and load it into the white van where a cluster of other bodies waited to be transported. The mother in her could not allow her child to go and do this to her future but another part of her wanted to be relieved to be free. Either way she knew she knew all of their lives would be even more fucked from then on out. She lowered her head then looked up into the cop's eyes.

"She's lying. Take me."

Quetta couldn't look up into her daughter's face at her screaming and attempts to pry her way through the unit of officer's arms. She fought, scratched, kicked and punched her way through them but it was no use. They were hauling Quetta off to jail and there was nothing she could do about it. Her heart broke as they loaded her in to the squad car and turned to look out the back window at the scene. The detectives escorted her kids back inside the hallway so they didn't have to watch as the car drove away with their mother inside.

****

"Can I see your ID please ma'am?"

"Sure, here you go."

The representative typed her fingers away at the keyboard of the computer looking to see if she could pull up her ticket. She found it and printed it out on the spot then handed her back her ID quickly. She ripped the ticket from the printer and handed it to her as well.

"Here you go, Ms. Young. Have a nice flight."

"Thanks." Goddess took the ticket then headed for her gate.

At Hartsfield-Jackson, it was a long walk to Gate C but she made it loading her three backpacks worth of clothes onto the conveyor belt and watched as they disappeared into the wall. The airport was unusually empty for it to be so close to the holiday season and just weeks away from Thanksgiving, but it was all the same to her. She hadn't been on a plane in years. Her flight wasn't due to take off for another thirty minutes but they were loading the plane with the first class passengers already. The flight attendants were standing at the front of the gate greeting passengers with wide friendly smiles and scanning their tickets.

Goddess looked out the window realizing that there were barely any planes outside. It was scary for her to fly at night because she had never done it before but she wasn't about to let that stop her from getting the hell out of Atlanta. Inside, she felt it was wrong for her to leave her friend like that but she offered to take the rap for it anyway. Goddess looked at it as her get out of jail free card.

_Grams, 8pm arrivals._ She texted before taking one last look at her phone and dropping it in the trashcan behind a wall where no one could see. It was like a large weight was being lifted off of her shoulders.

"This is the last call for passengers on AirTran flight 749 Hartsfield to Midway." The flight attendant announced over the intercom.

Goddess closed her eyes and took a deep breath before heading for the gate opening. Once through, she headed down the attachable jetway to the plane's door and boarded the plane to find her seat. She hated the middle seats of coach because of the lack of space and she couldn't look out of the window when she wanted. She needed more room for her voluptuous curves but she was not in the mood to fight for a window seat. She accepted the seat that was given to her determined to sit back, close her eyes and enjoy the flight to freedom. 
Chapter 5

The Land of Lincoln

The two-hour flight seemed to take ten minutes as Goddess awoke feeling groggy and unrested. She exited the plane bypassing all of the overly excited flight attendants handing out bags of single serving pretzels and headed for the luggage claim. When she arrived, no one was there but her and her bags looked as if they went in rotation twelve times before she got there, tagged, bagged and dusty. She lugged them over her shoulder and headed for the arrival exit doors of Midway, dreading the sight of her grandmother's face.

"Well for once in your life you did something right by coming right out here for your mother's funeral. She would be devastated that she missed this moment." Venus grinned as she fake hugged Goddess.

Venus was tall and slender like a runway model. Her salt and pepper short Halle cut naturally fit her face along with the oversized sunglasses she wore even when there was no sun out. She smoked Paul Malls and wore thick red lipstick on the bubble lips that she paid for. In some twisted little world she figured red lipsticks accentuated her caramel complexion skin and double d implants that she had purchased as well. She reached out one hand taking one of the backpacks from Goddess' hands and loaded them into the trunk of her apple red BMW. Goddess followed her placing the rest of the bags inside. She then shut the trunk a bit annoyed that Venus had decided to pick her up from the airport in thigh high boots and tight fitting jeans as if it weren't the dead ass of winter. She huffed and rolled her eyes not wanting to dignify her sarcasm with a response and hopped into the passenger seat slamming the door behind her.

"Hey! Just because you don't have nice things don't mean you don't know what to do with them. Don't slam my door no more!"

"Sorry."

"Well looks like you got an army of bags there for a few days. You ain't stayin' is you?" Venus side eyed her before she took off.

"What if I did?" Goddess raised her eyebrow.

"I don't know where you gonna stay 'cause grandma got a life and now that your mother's gone I got my house back."

If it was not for Venus repeating the reason why she was in Chicago in the first place, Goddess could have easily have mistaken her arrival as a vacation. It was the inevitable it seemed, not to talk about it. No matter how she looked at it, she counted her mother's death as a blessing for her to escape the misery she was in. Venus was no walk in the park to live with but anywhere was better than the rodent infestation she just came from.

"So...how'd she die?" The answer was one Goddess did not want to hear. "Did she get caught with dope on her or something? You know you told her those drugs would get her in trouble one—"

"There was a bank robbery downtown. She was a victim. Shot twice, one in the head. She never saw it coming." Venus replied coldly.

The car was silent the rest of the way home. Goddess felt bad to learn that she was murdered instead of her death being by her own hand. Her mother did drugs heavily and was what she called a functioning crack head. She worked hard at an accounting firm by day and by night she was like a dog in heat looking for her next fix. She had been like that for as long as she could remember and the addiction was the reason why her father fell off the face of the earth. So to hear that her mother died unwillingly by the hand of some neurotic asshole pained her a tad bit inside.

Venus' house was no mansion in the well to do suburbs but instead a very nice two car garage two story brick in the very well known middle class of OakLawn. It was a nice quiet close suburb of Chicago that was only about five minutes outside of it. The area was very nice and quiet with shopping and restaurants only about a few blocks away on 95th and Pulaski.

When she walked inside, there were mahogany hardwood floors spread throughout the place and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. As she made her way through to the living room, she noticed that every light in the house resembled either an Ikea type fixture or had a ceiling fan attached to it. It was chic modern and nice, especially with the all white plush sofas adorning the large screen TV in the living room.

"So where will I be sleeping?" Goddess dropped the heavy bags on the living room floor.

"Ugh. Not in here."

Venus trotted towards the hallway making her way to the stairs hoping that she would take the hint. Goddess struggled to gather her bags then annoyingly followed her up the stairs and into a room at the end of the hall, down from a huge gorgeous blue bathroom. Venus unlocked the door, opening it up and walked in looking around with a faint smile on her face.

"This was your mother's room. She would have liked for you to stay in here." Venus said as she headed back out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a minute, now. I gotta live in a dead woman's room?" Goddess had a shitty look on her face.

"Not just any dead woman, your mother. And who said anything about living? Cause come Monday, your ass is back on the next plane smoking to Atlanta. That's where you wanted to be, right?" Venus snarled then walked out of the room shaking her head at her granddaughter.

Even though they had not seen each other in years, one thing was very clear to her. Goddess had not changed at all and was still out for herself. She went downstairs to her dining room and grabbed a bottle of Grey Goose vodka and small shot glass from the small corner bar. She then sat down at her large true antique wooden dining table. Her daughter was everything to her, no matter how she lived her life and when she was stripped away from her so suddenly it became more than she could bear. Venus had always been a drinker but it had been kicked into high gear for the last three days. Even if she wanted to she could not stop.

Goddess looked around the room realizing her mother had good taste as well. The clothes in her double door closet were all name brand though she was much smaller than she was, so she couldn't fit any of them. But her shoes luckily were precisely her size. There was a whole fleet of them spread throughout the bottom of the closet in all colors and styles. She was in heaven. The queen-sized bed in the middle of the room was adorned with a huge lavish purple spread and matching silk pillows. She melted into the bed lying back with enjoyment then looked up finding her eyes staring back at her wondering what kind of freak her mother must have been with a mirror placed over the bed.

"Oh my God."

Goddess gasped as she walked over to the white wooden vanity table. It held some of her mother's favorite scents, most she was notorious for even though they were old fashioned. It held her make up, which she so flawlessly placed on her face everyday like clockwork. But most importantly it held her picture. The mirror was covered in pictures of her from when she was a baby on up to her wedding day. Goddess remembered sending her the picture but since she had never written her back she had just assumed her mother threw it away. It was the warmest feeling she had ever felt about her mother, making her feel like she did care but was too honoree to show it.

She plopped down in the large bed staring up at herself and feeling right at home. She breathed a long sigh of relief and thought about her grandmother's words. There was no way she was going back to Atlanta without a fight. It was palpable what she needed to do. It was the only thing that would gain her trust so she would allow her to stay. Goddess kicked off her black Chucks and snuggled deep within the comfortable bed not even concerned with taking a shower or unpacking. She would put her plan to action first thing in the morning but tonight she would rest.

The next day she rolled over staring off into the sunlight shining through the window. Her eyes squinted as she rubbed them looking around at the well-lit room remembering just where she was. She rose from the bed to check out the beauty of the neighborhood in the daylight, noticing a light cover of snow on the ground. A terrible feeling of being locked in an icebox overcame her as she began to shiver wondering where the hell the heat was in that huge house.

"Grams? Grams?" She yelled waiting for a response. "Grams?"

There was silence. She headed downstairs to get a more thorough look around to find out what Venus was up to. When she reached the spotless kitchen it was empty as was the rest of the house. She shrugged her shoulders then headed to the oversized refrigerator in search of something to eat. She found a bagel and some cream cheese and poured her a glass of orange juice. There was a yellow sticky note on the refrigerator door that read like a list:

Appointment

Shoes

Clothes

Dinner

She didn't understand what it meant shrugging off her grandmother's logic. Once she was done eating, she headed upstairs to dress for success in order to go job hunting. There was only a short amount of time for her to find a job but no matter how cold it was outside, she was determined not to come back in the house without good news.

****

"You don't have much time. I would say a few months. I'm sorry dear. I'll give you some time."

The doctor walked out of the room with his head down feeling sorry that he did not have good news for her. Venus sat on the table clenching her hospital robe together fighting back her ever-flowing tears. This was her second round of Chemo and she just could not understand why the treatment was not working. In fact it was actually spreading heading for the bone. The doctor's words in the beginning of her treatments resonated through her brain from the first session. _If it makes it to the bone, that's it._

After she dressed, she slipped out of the door without a trace. She could not bear going through one more drug induced hospital procedure. If she would do this, it would be on her own terms. Not lying helpless in some cold white-sheeted hospice bed praying for death. Her pride and dignity was worth much more than that.

"Hey baby. I'm going shopping. You taking me or what?" Venus asked putting her cell on speakerphone while she sparked up her cigarette.

"What did they say, V?"

"Does it matter? You know same old thing, my uterus is infested you know and there's nothing they can do."

"Awe babe. Well what happened to Chemo?" Truth asked angrily.

"Nigga fuck that shit. I'm just finna live my life while I still have one left. Now is you coming out or not?"

"You know I'm coming babe. But I'm just worried about you. You keep blowin' off the fact that you need to continue treatment." Truth's voice grew heated. "But yeah I'm on my way."

With that being said, Venus hung up the phone. She was done talking about her condition and she was done trying to fix it. It was over and she was ready to face it head on and deal with whatever came her way. She figured Truth would just have to get over it as she had plans to get rid of him anyway. He was becoming too clingy and wasn't spending money like he did when they first met two years ago. She understood that he had just quit his long-term factory job to get his barbershop off the ground and needed to spend money wisely, but she was used to being pampered by every man she got with. He was a youngster compared to her coming in at just barely 30 years old but he was a chocolate cutie. He had a face like Lance Gross, facial hair and all with a body like he worked out twelve times a day. It was his looks that kept her hanging on so long and the fact that his stroke was as long as the Mississippi River.

Truth pulled up on her in his 2009 silver Cadillac CTS Coupe looking like money. Venus loved to be seen in it because it made her feel like a celebrity and it was better than riding in his 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid, which is the car he truly loved because it was fuel efficient. He rolled his window down as she walked up to it leaning in as sticky icky seeped out.

"What's good baby momma?" He greeted her with a Kodak smile.

"Yeah right nigga. You know ain't no more kids poppin' up outta here and you'd lose your mind if you popped up with some kids anyway." Venus sent out a raspy chuckle.

"So. That's not gon' stop you from being my baby momma."

"Whatever, just follow me home so I can park my car."

Venus hopped in her car turning the heat on blast then headed for home with Truth tagging along behind her. Once they were there, she parked her car in front then jumped out and into his, then pulled away. She would take her anger and frustration out on not only her credit card but his as well. Her little social security from her illness usually paid her mortgage but this month it would pay for her small measure of happiness.
Chapter 6

Fool's Gold

Quetta sat at the beige-folding table waiting for her lawyer to say something to the two self-serving detectives sitting before them. It was nerve wrecking that she was sitting in this predicament in the first place when she wasn't the one who committed the crime. They had interrogated the shit out of her until they were blue in the face prompting her to invoke her right to remain silent. Her patience was wearing thin and the lawyer her mother hired didn't really seem to care or know what the hell he was doing. Quetta took one of her lawyer's cigs out of the pack and lit it with his lighter.

"So does your client want to give a statement?" One of the detectives said breaking the silence and sliding the ashtray across the table towards her.

"Uh, she does." He said nudging her to speak.

"Like I told y'all before, I didn't do it. Her name is Goddess Young and she was in that apartment where she had lived for the last two and a half years. I got her the apartment. The damn leasing office ain't got no record of her being there because she was subletting it from one of my boys. I'm telling the truth." Quetta said taking a puff of her cigarette and flicking the ashes on the floor.

"So, can you just tell us why you did it?" The other detective asked scribbling something on his notepad.

"I didn't do it!" She exclaimed slamming her fist on the table violently.

"Okay, you can talk without screaming. Calm down." Her lawyer suggested, fiddling with his thick bifocal glasses and running his fingers through his dirty blond hair.

"She hit him with the stun gun because we caught him abusing my son. Ask my son, he'll tell you what happened." She said taking a long drag of her cigarette.

"Uh, we did. The girls said something to that nature but they didn't really see the abuse with their own eyes. The boy isn't speaking at all an what we did get out of him was nothing pertaining to abuse." The first detective explained.

"Oh my God! I didn't kill him for no reason. You have to find her. Her name is Goddess Young, dammit! Look the bitch up." She snapped looking into the mirror on the adjacent wall.

"My client is proclaiming her innocence and has told you everything she knows on the matter. I suggest you all start looking for the right killer." Her lawyer stood up stating.

"Well we have enough reasonable doubt to charge your client and she can just fight this out in court." The first detective snickered.

"We'll see you there, gentlemen." Her lawyer nodded proudly as he escorted Quetta out of the interrogation room and into the neighboring conference room.

Once they were securely inside he slammed his briefcase down on the table and stood squaring her off angrily. "Dammit, you can't expect me to win this case without the real information, Quetta. Now tell me what really happened."

"If you are going to be my lawyer then you are going to have to start believing me around here. I ain't got nothing else left to say today. Do your fucking investigation." She said throwing her cigarette on the floor and stomping it out.

The lawyer banged on the double glass paned window on the door for the guard to let him out. He left her standing there angry with her arms folded. She began to wonder if she would ever get out of there seeing as though nobody believed her. The guard came in to escort her back to her dreary county cell.

"Hey, can I go to the phone room? I made no calls today." She asked hoping he would oblige.

"Make it quick." He replied escorting her to the room down the hall.

She hurried over to the phone on the corner wall in the room trying to drown out the loud noise of talking echoing throughout the huge room. It was a large squared room with six phones on each wall and they were all occupied except the really nasty looking one in the corner that she would call her own.

"Hey ma. I ain't got much time on here but thanks for accepting this collect call." Quetta said fiddling with the phone cord.

"Yeah well don't make it a habit cause between taking care of your bratty kids, paying my shit and your lawyer, I ain't trying to run up my got damn phone bill without being able to pay for it." Her mother responded.

"Ugh, let me speak to my kids."

"Hey ma. How are you?" Tara said snatching the phone and taking a muff in the head from her grandmother.

"Never you mind about me. I need your help baby and I'm asking you cause I know your sister ain't gonna be able to handle this like you can. You're all I got baby and I need you right now." Quetta explained to her daughter.

"Anything momma. What you need?" Tara asked.

"I need you to find that bitch, Goddess!" She said through her teeth angrily thinking of her. "I don't know if I'm getting out of here baby. You hold it down for your sister and brother. I'm counting on you. Find that bitch!"

"I gotchu momma. Love you." Tara replied remaining strong refusing to let any tears fall from her eyes.

****

Goddess stepped into the Chase Bank eager and as happy as could be. She wore her raisin colored Ralph Lauren ruched jersey sheath dress accompanied with her black Nicole Miller double-breasted coat and matching Michael Kors mae boot and satchel. She decided to wear her hair down to accentuate her dark eye makeup. She looked like she had just stepped out of a Ebony magazine but she knew that if she looked like money in a city like this she would definitely get money. She walked right up to the service desk seeking out the manager.

"Hello, I'm Goddess Young here to see Cole Loving." She said flipping her hair in the direction of all the men standing around in their well fitting business suits.

"Ah, yes. He's been expecting you. Have a seat and I will get him for you." The receptionist rose and walked to the middle of the bank to one of the gentlemen.

She pointed over to Goddess who refused to sit down. She would rather stand as to seem strong and show that she was far from lazy. It was difficult to see which one he actually was as she discreetly kept one eye out for him. Goddess blotted her lips to freshen her MAC lip-gloss making sure it was nice and shiny as her heart nearly dropped at the fine piece of genitals walking her way. She stuck her hands in her pocket to wipe the nervous sweat off of them before returning them to completely dry off in the air.

"Hello, Ms. Young. I'm Mr. Cole Loving. How are you today?" He spoke reaching out his hand to her.

"I'm blessed, sir. Thank you for asking." She responded trying to sound confident yet humble.

"I hear that. Uh, follow me to my office, please."

He began to walk away with her following right behind checking out his nice firm backside. She loved a man with a great physique and who worked out regularly but she felt a bit guilty for even looking at him. Spliff was dead yet her love for him lived on, which made her feel like a cheater. Still she couldn't get past the butterflies she was already feeling for her hopefully soon to be boss. They walked to a door where he punched in a code then walked down a long well lit narrow hallway to the third door on their left. His office was a decent size but he only had the standard computer, L-shaped desk, and chair with no windows.

"Have a seat there and we can get started." He instructed as he sat at his desk. "Now I've got to admit when you called me this morning griping about a job, I was very impressed. I normally don't like phone calls about application statuses but there was something about your professional demeanor that captivated me."

Cole went through the resume she handed to him and was beyond impressed. He wondered why a woman of her poise and expertise was without a job, but given the way the economy was it wasn't unlikely. She had everything to offer a great employer but she just wasn't applying herself and had not been since the death of her husband. He provided everything she needed which made her lazy and emotionally incompetent. But Cole didn't know that side of her. All he saw was a well educated beautiful woman with great legs in and a perfect smile.

His smile was just as entrancing. She wanted to leap her thick waist across the desk and push his face right in between her warm opening. As she went on with her usual professional spiel, her sweet scent engulfed his nose leaving him to fall asleep in her eyes and desire her lips. He had not heard a word she said.

"So, here I am." Goddess finished. "Listen. I could really use this job and if you hire me I swear I will work so hard you wouldn't even need to hire anyone else. I'm a one woman team and can multitask my butt off."

"Oh yeah?" Cole smirked leaning back in his oversized office chair. "Funny thing is I've been all over the career site and I gotta tell ya, I can't find your application anywhere."

"No? I'm sure it's in there somewhere. I would gladly fill out another if you want." Goddess replied with nervousness in her voice.

Well I don't think that will be necessary. I've already made my decision." He spat shooting her a sly smirk.

"You have? So...what's the verdict?" She asked trying not to lower her eyes in shame.

"Hmmm...alright."

"Alright?"

"Yes. Alright, you're hired. Training begins Monday promptly at 9am sharp. Don't be late." He stood reaching out his hand to her. "But no more lies. Okay?"

"Oh my God! You don't know how much this means to me! I promise you won't regret this! I promise!" She said standing to return the handshake.

"You're more than welcome." Cole replied as he watched her ass cheeks dance on out of his office.

As Goddess headed down the hallway, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride within. She had finally accomplished the impossible and found a well paying job. Even though she had to scheme to get it, it wasn't just any job to her. It was her first step to securing her freedom.

She checked her bus pass realizing she had just enough time to get home and tell Venus the good news. It was a long shot but she had hoped that it would be enough for her to let her stay. Even though she hated taking the bus she was no stranger to it at all and it was much more livelier in the city. Besides her new job wasn't as far away from her grandmother's house, which made it all the more wild with short bus rides.

"Hello, I'm home!" Goddess yelled removing her boots and coat at the door.

She peeked her head into the empty living room as she hung her coat up then walked around through the dining room and into the kitchen realizing she was still alone. She popped open the fridge grabbing a fruit punch flavored Juicy Juice box out then headed up the stairs to her room. At the stairs, she couldn't help but hear the loud noises bumping against the wall. The noise was undoubtedly coming from her grandmother's room as she curiously put her ear to the door to listen to the passion eroding from within.

She chuckled as she crept to her room tipping on every toe she had. Her grandmother's door suddenly flew open and out came Truth. There was only the silhouette of him at first as he stood in the doorway's darkness, leering out at her. He looked like a giant standing there motionless with only little movement happening behind him. The sound of her grandmother out of breath and seemingly satisfied from her faint moans grossed her out as she turned back around continuing to her room.

As she closed the door her curiosity wouldn't allow her not to look out at him once more. Truth walked out headed to the bathroom as naked as the day he was born, revealing a very tight muscular ass and long lean dick that seemed to beat each of his legs as he swayed.

"Ugh!" Goddess shrieked as she slammed the door, leaning back against it. "But, damn." She licked her lips.

****

"So when do you start work?" Venus asked tossing the eggs roughly with the spatula.

"I start training Monday morning." Goddess replied with a smirk on her face.

"Well it's gonna be mighty hard for you to commute all the way from Atlanta to up here to go to work everyday. Don't you think?"

"Huh?"

"Goddess, I know what you trying to do and it ain't gon' work. I got my own thing going on here and I'm not up for taking in nobody and their problems."

"Damn, Grams. I finally got a job and you gonna force me to give it up? I wasn't doing anything in the south and I came up here and scooped a job like that." Goddess snapped her fingers. "I'm trying to do better for myself."

"If you hadn't have gotten involved with that hoodlum you wouldn't even be in this predict—"

"You can't keep punishing me for marrying Spliff. I loved him and he treated me like a queen. He didn't put a gun to my head to do what I did with him. I did that shit on my own." Goddess rolled her eyes focusing in on the wooden breakfast nook.

"Ugh...Goddess, me and your mother had such high expectations for you and when you disappointed us you only showed us that you didn't want to do anything with your life."

"I'm trying to redeem myself, Grams. Ever heard of second chances?" Goddess took the plate of eggs Venus handed her.

"Mmmm. Babe that shit smells good. Thank you baby." Truth walked in the kitchen kissing Venus softly on the lips.

He was fully clothed this time but Goddess couldn't bring herself to look up from her plate. She wanted to give them as much privacy as she could even though they were standing right in front of her. Besides it was hard for her to face him when all she could see was his dick swinging from left to right.

Venus looked over at her noticing her grimacing demeanor. She wasn't used to having people around and really didn't know if it was wise to have her granddaughter around her young dip. Truth walked around the island in the middle of the room and headed for the nook, taking a seat.

"Good morning." He said staring Goddess in her face pleasantly.

"Truth this is my granddaughter, Goddess, that I had been telling you about. Goddess, this is my man, Truth." Venus introduced the two with a side eye.

"Good morning." Goddess responded never taking her eyes off of her plate.

"Well anyway, I guess you can stay, Goddess. I'll leave a key on the front table for you. But the first time you lose your mind, you're out of here on the first thing smoking. You got me?" Venus said as she made her way to the nook with her breakfast in tow.

"Yes ma'am."

"Alright now. Secondly, don't be all up in my business and I won't be all up in yours. We are both grown women and we will act as such."

Inside, Goddess wanted to laugh at her attempt to bust her out in front of her little so-called man. She knew she was trying to throw her the subtle hint to keep her mitts off of her man. That was not the problem for her. It had been hours ago but she couldn't shake the vivid silhouette of his piece out her head. It was the only thing keeping her from looking him in his face.

She quickly scarfed down her eggs then rose from the table to rinse her plate off in the sink. Venus kept her eye on Truth the whole time peeping to see if he would cut his eye to get a look at Goddess' backside. He never flinched an inch. He wasn't as stupid as she had led him out to be even though her intuition told her he was already sleeping with other women.

"Is the funeral in the morning or the afternoon tomorrow?" Goddess asked turning the faucet off.

"Morning. 10am." Venus mumbled between bites.

"I'm going with you, babe." Truth said reaching over to caress Venus' hand.

She snatched away throwing it under the table in hiding. Goddess chuckled a bit inside at the display, as she made her way back upstairs to hop in the shower. Truth was distraught by Venus' total disregard for his affection. He was tired of her treating him like he didn't matter and like she didn't love him.

She knew he was always down for her regardless of anything. Though she continued to act like they were strictly friends, unwilling to open her heart up to be crushed again. Venus had been married twice before and if it weren't for her last husband dying of a heart attack she would have divorced his ass just like her first one. None of her husbands knew how to keep their Johnsons to themselves. Her heart was a cold empty shell of emotionless turmoil. It was almost impossible to warm.

"Babe, why you keep pulling away from me? Is it cause I'm young? I mean damn I fuck you like crazy. I'm always here. What the fuck do you want from me?" Truth snapped. "Most females would kill for a nigga like me."

"I just don't like to get to close alright. Men really know how to hurt you." Venus replied.

"You making it seem like I don't pamper you. Don't I treat you like a queen?"

"The best in the world." She answered raising her head looking up into his big brown eyes.

"Then trust me when I say I'm not gone hurt you woman. Okay?" Truth winked his eye.

"I can't make no promises...but I'll try." Venus returned her hand close to his on the table allowing him to gently rub her soft skin.
Chapter 7

Never can say Goodbye

Venus could smell the fresh pine of the coffin as she sat in the front beau of the church with Truth by her side consoling her. She had always been very close to her daughter and now that she was gone all she could think about was when it would be her day to join her. Venus knew that one day her fascination with the street life of abusing drugs would ultimately lead to her demise. But when she was murdered she felt it wasn't fair. She felt that God didn't give her enough time to change her life or her ways and for that she despised him.

The preacher spoke on but Venus' ears were deaf. She couldn't focus on the dozens of mourners at the funeral or the grotesque flowers posted on the side of her daughter's casket that the church so eloquently insisted they provide. Her eyes were fixated on the coffin of her beautiful brutally murdered child. Out of her peripheral vision, she waited to see if Goddess would break down and burst into tears. It annoyed her a bit that she didn't.

"Grams. Grams." Goddess nudged. "We about to get ready and go to the burial. Didn't you hear him announce it?"

"No...no."

"Well, come on. Truth went to make sure the limo was out front." Goddess helped Venus to her feet as she felt like she was too weak to even walk.

"I'm just tired, Goddess. So very tired." Venus said shedding a few tears from her heavily painted eyes.

"I know Grams. We gon' be alright...we gon' be alright." Goddess felt tears building in her eyes as well but she worked overtime to fight them.

The ride to Evergreen Cemetery was a short one as Goddess and Truth pulled Venus out of the car with her face drenched in sadness. The Chicago air was warm with a hint of winter breeze yet peaceful. At the burial plot, the pastor continued to speak attempting to uplift the grieving mourners' spirits. Goddess could feel herself becoming virtually inconsolable. Her guilt is what ate her up the most. She started to cry so loudly that people began to whisper. Venus paid it no mind. She sat there as quiet as a mouse feeling her granddaughter had the right to be upset. The woman who gave her the very life she had was now gone. Who was she to stop her grieving? Goddess became hysterical dropping to her knees in front of the casket.

"Momma please don't go, please!" She cried.

The pastor continued preaching as some distant cousins that hadn't seen Goddess in years picked her up off of the ground returning her to her seat.

"Take your hands off me. Y'all didn't care about my momma. None of you!"

Goddess straightened her tight black pinstriped pants suit scraping the wet snow off her knees. She dabbed her tears away with the same Kleenex she had been holding onto since the beginning of the ceremony. Venus took a cigarette out of her clutch and lit it despite the moans from the crowd behind her. The snow was now slush but the coldness in the wind was picking up. It was beginning to become brick ass outside as the wind slapped everyone in the face hard.

Solemn sobs and wind were prevalent as the men lowered the body into the ground. Venus and Goddess each picked up a red rose from the full cart next to the hole and tossed them down in the hole as the casket went down. Everyone else followed and began to dissipate returning to his or her respective cars and headed home. They were a little furious that Venus had refused to have a repast. She refused to mingle with a bunch of stuff shirt assholes that never gave a shit about them in the first place.

"Ugh, I'm so glad that's over." Venus exhaled as she turned the key to front door.

"You said it." Truth said plopping down on the couch signaling for her company.

"I'm just gonna go take a shower and calm down for tomorrow." Goddess said as she bolted upstairs without a trace.

"I'm exhausted from crying and I just wanna get out of these shoes and get blasted for the rest of the night." Venus said walking from her bar to the large brown microfiber sofa Truth adorned.

"Vodka? It's just barely making 2pm and you already starting on this?"

"Boy, don't start acting like my daddy, now. I'm gon' drink to my baby's life and you either gon sit here and join me or you can get the fuck out."

"Shit, I'm out, then. I'll check on you later, you trippin' man. And FYI the shit ain't gon' make her magically appear at the bottom of that damn bottle." Truth blurted as he grabbed his jacket and slammed the door rather roughly behind him.

"Stupid motherfucka! I don't need ya. I don't need anybody!" Venus bellowed as she poured her warm shot into the glass then downed it like it was water.

Venus killed the entire bottle in under an hour then passed out into a drooling stupor. She was knocked out on the sofa with the bottle still in her hand with some of the vodka spilled on the floor. Goddess walked down the stairs rubbing her wet hair and rocking her tight plush Pynk shorts with matching tank.

She stared at her drunken grandmother shaking her head at her grief then turned to the wall with the thermostat, turning the heat on blast. She headed for the kitchen to fix her a sandwich and a glass of juice and think about how she was going to score a bag of weed in this town. She wasn't too familiar with the hood having been gone for so long and knew she wasn't about to roam the streets looking for it.

At that point, Goddess realized there was only one person who could possibly help her out with her problem. But she didn't have his number or even knew if he would do it or not. She put her sandwich down and tiptoed back into the living room noticing that Venus hadn't moved an inch. She carefully made her way to her coat pocket pulling out her T-Mobile Sidekick, toggling through the it then pressing the send button as she tipped back out of sight trying hard not to wake her grandmother.

"I knew you'd come around eventually. Sup baby momma?" Truth answered.

"Hey, um, Truth this is Goddess." She whispered.

"Goddess? What you doing calling me?"

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to know if you knew where to get some green from out here."

"You smoke, girl? Damn, I thought you was a good girl." Truth laughed.

"I am a good girl...just in a bad sort of way." Goddess retorted.

"Yeah, well what you tryin' to get?"

"A dub."

"Aight. I'll grab that for you. You just pay me back when I get there. I'll be there in fifteen." Truth said as he hung up the phone.

Goddess scurried quietly back into the living room to return the phone to Venus' coat pocket without a sound. She looked at her still passed out and walked up to her staring down at her hard. Venus' mouth was open with a hint of drool sliding down the side of her chin. Goddess moved in close to her, breathing in the funk of vodka eroding from her breath. She clapped her hands loudly close to her face then snapped her fingers a few times but she never budged an inch.

"Damn shame." Goddess chuckled as she headed back to the kitchen to finish her meal.

Truth pulled up in front of the house and made his way to the door taking out his key to open it. As he walked in, his focus went right on the sofa and disappointment quickly set in. Deep down inside he knew she would be there sprawled out on the sofa but he didn't know in what condition. He quickly shut the door and looked away from the ghastly display unable to see her sprawled out that way. Goddess heard the door and rushed in.

"Hey. Thanks for showing up." She said snatching the contents of his hand quickly sniffing it to check for its potency.

"Yeah, ay I'm hittin' that too." He said hanging his coat up and following her to the kitchen.

"Excuse me?"

"The green. I'm hittin' the green." He backpedaled realizing his comment was misconstrued.

"Ah. Okay, com' on." Goddess sat at the island on the bar stool and began breaking down the green.

"So what you doing smokin' that icky, girl?"

"I got problems. You got a problem with that?" Goddess snarled, side eyeing him.

"Naw. I'm just saying a pretty young woman like yourself shouldn't be polluting your body with that mess you know." Truth responded staring firmly into her eyes.

"Hmm. Really? Then why do you smoke?" She asked.

"Women don't do what men do. You all are supposed to be dainty and sophisticated. Beautiful and articulate. Not drugged up and whored out." He said pulling his cell out checking his text messages.

"Seems like your woman on the couch up there didn't get that memo." Goddess laughed but quickly cut it short when she saw that he was serious.

She flamed up the blunt taking a few short pulls and then one long one before handing it to him. He snatched it up taking a couple of pulls hisself observing her demeanor the whole time. He put his head down shaking it in disappointment feeling like she was going to turn out just like her grandmother, addicted to self medication.

"So has your grandmother talked to you yet?" He asked handing her the blunt.

"About what?"

"Nothing. I guess when she's ready, she'll tell you." He said taking a seat on a stool next to her.

"Ugh. You brought it up. Why can't you tell me? And why are you even with my grandmother? She's like forty years older than you. Are you using her for her money?" Goddess' voice ran rampant with accusation.

"First of all, what's going on between me and your grandmother is none of your damn business. I don't remember her questioning your reasons for wanting to stay not once. Secondly, you don't know anything about me or your grandmother for that matter. I'm out!" Truth snapped as he rose tossing the blunt in the ashtray still lit.

Goddess was taken by the passion in his words. She hadn't experienced anything like that since Spliff used to check her for getting smart with him.

"Wait. Please. Don't go. I...I didn't mean to say that. I'm sorry." Goddess apologized with puppy dog eyes crossing her smooth thick thighs.

She flicked her half dried hair then pushed the ashtray over to him. Truth looked up to see if she had an ounce of sincerity on her face before he gave into her. He reached down picking up the blunt hitting it a few times then handed it to her. He sat back down rubbing the top of his head attempting to get over the past few minutes. Neither of them could find the right words to say after that. The kitchen remained silent until the blunt went out.

"Do you wanna smoke the other one?" Goddess asked sweetly.

"It don't matter." Truth responded nonchalantly.

Truth watched as she pearled the blunt licking all around it with her wet pink tongue. It was seductively erotic the way it circled the blunt while his eyes could fixate on nothing else. The spark from the lighter as she blazed it up was the one thing that broke his trance. The smoke in the kitchen grew thick as the light coming from outside grew dark. They were high as kites laughing at how weird the shadows of knick-knacks on the counter looked to them.

"Well, I guess I'm about to be out. I got some things I need to do before I hit the crib." Truth said rising to stretch.

"Okay. Thanks for bringing this for me. Oh, wait. I forgot to pay you." She said rising with him.

"Don't worry about that. I'm good." He said batting her hand away playfully. "Let's just say you owe me one."

"Awe, thanks. Maybe I'll cook you dinner or something one day."

"That's wassup."

The two stood there gazing into each other's twinkling eyes wondering what if anything was there. Goddess could hear the faint sounds of stirring in the distance but was compelled to ignore it unable to blink away from his breathtaking appearance. He licked his full brown lips so gently as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his slightly baggy jeans.

"Aight well I'm gon' get up out of here. Tell Venus I..." He paused. "Better yet, let's not tell her anything."

"Tell her what? All you did was bring me some green. Right?" Her words melted in his ears.

"Fo' sho'." Truth replied reluctantly breaking his trance and walking towards the door. 
Chapter 8

A good day?

"Alright guys. I think I've crammed enough information into your brains for today. I'll see you back here tomorrow at the same time and remember training is only a week so you'd better study for your final test." Cole recited as if he had said it a hundred times before.

"Hey, I wanna thank you again for getting me this job. You don't know how much it means to me." Goddess sauntered over to him displaying her best cheesy smile.

"Well don't thank me yet. You still have to pass the test." Cole chuckled as he gathered the group of manila folders on the table.

"Here let me help you with that." Goddess leaned over to reveal just enough cleavage to give him a peek down her fitted black sweater.

She headed out of the training room and down the hall to his office leading the way in order to give him a bird's eye view of her plumped cheeks in her snug pencil skirt. The door was locked when she reached it prompting her to lean, pressing her back firmly against it accentuating her lovely thick curves. Cole walked up to her standing closely allowing her to catch a bewitching whiff of his cologne, Givenchy. He popped the key in the door turning it with a solemn look on his face, pushing the door slightly open for her.

"I guess I should be going." Goddess said as she bent over putting the heavy folders on his desk, feeling as though her little act wasn't winning Cole over.

"Yeah, uh, maybe you should." He responded taking a seat at his desk ignoring her display.

"See you tomorrow."

But her words seemed to fall on deaf ears as she left the room shutting the door rather strongly behind her. She felt like a fool throwing herself at him like that but she hadn't had sex in a long time and thought he felt the same way about her. It was clear to her that she needed to keep their relationship strictly professional before she risked the job she needed so badly. It was a shame since his body made her panties wet every time she laid her eyes on his bulky arms in those fitted long sleeve shirts he always wore.

****

"Today's not a good day, Truth. I'm not feeling good and I don't want you to see me like this." Venus said curling up into a ball on her bed and coughing profusely.

"Babe, that shit don't matter to me man. You know I barely get to see you during the days the shop is open. Com' on now." He snapped.

"You don't have to be all up under me all the time, damn! I know you fucking other bitches so don't sit here and try to make it seem like I'm your one and only." Venus retorted becoming sick of the conversation.

"Woman. UGH! Why do you have to drive me crazy like this?" Truth shook his head as he pearled a blunt then stuck it in the ashtray of his Hybrid.

"Cause you like it. Now call me in a few days. I gotta get over this shit without you."

"I'm coming to check on you later and I don't wanna here shit about it." He yelled.

"I don't know how you getting' in cause the doors will be locked. Goddess won't be here." Venus lied hoping he would back down.

"We'll see about that." He responded hanging up the phone on her.

Venus rolled over and snuggled up with the older salt and pepper bearded man lying next to her. He showed up early that morning just as Goddess was leaving out of the door and that was the only way he got in the house. He was her little moneybags so she couldn't blow him off the way she did Truth.

After all, he made sure the bills were paid in the house so Venus could keep her money to herself. Truth was becoming to loving towards her, which was something she wasn't used to. When they first got together they had the understanding that they wouldn't allow feelings to become involved. It seemed he was breaking his half of the deal, making her uncomfortable.

"What little nigga was that on your phone?" The man mumbled half drunk and half sleep.

"What? Why are you questioning me? Go back to sleep old man." She replied blowing him off.

"Yeah, okay. If I find out you got some little raggedy ass nigga in my bed your ass is cut off. Ya hear?"

"Oh please. You are in no position to send threats until you tell your wife of thirty years who's bed your in right now motherfucka." Venus smacked her lips together turning over digging in her nightstand drawer for a cigarette.

"You need to quit smokin' them damn things. That's what's wrong with you now." The man snickered as he rolled his protruding belly over turning his back towards her.

"No it's not and I'd thank you to stay out of my damn business." Venus replied as she sparked up her cigarette, taking a long hard drag and blew it right in his direction. "And pull ya boxers out ya ass. It looks nasty."

****

"Hey! You look cold out there. Want a ride?"

Truth yelled as he rolled the passenger side window down while pulling over. He peeked his head down a bit to get a good glimpse out of the window. He turned the volume down on the stereo in order to get a good listen to the response to his question.

"You think that's cool?"

"Do you want a ride or not?" Truth yelled knowing he wouldn't ask again.

"Yeah, shit. Fuck that, it's cold as hell." Goddess replied as she slid in on the passenger side.

"So...how was work?"

"It was okay, enough to keep me going back for a pay check. Did you just come from being with my grandmother?" Goddess replied taking a stick of WinterFresh Gum from her clutch and popping it in her mouth.

"Naw." Truth responded as vague as possible keeping his eyes on the road. "I know you're glad I pulled up though, huh?"

"Hell yeah. It's brick ass out here. As soon as I save enough money I'm gonna buy me a car."

"Yeah, gotta have that. Ay, you wanna go get something to eat?" Before he knew it the words were flying out of his mouth.

Goddess was stunned by the question. She didn't know if it was appropriate for her to be going out to eat with someone who was dating someone who was blood. She thought about it for a few seconds figuring that as long as she wasn't sleeping with him or touching him in any way that it wasn't cheating. Eating wasn't cheating in her book.

"Sure. You wanna stop at that Wendy's up there on 55th and State?" Goddess asked.

"Huh? That was cute. No, we're going somewhere I'm sure you will enjoy. The food is fantastic and they don't have white paper bags." Truth laughed.

"I just don't think we should be going anywhere that feels like a date, Truth." Goddess spat with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Why are you worried about that? Did I say anything about that?"

"No...but besides I'm not dressed for anything fancy." She looked down at her calf high black boots.

"Goddess, just relax. We're both adults. It's just eating, alright. Nothing more." Truth assured her as they drove down the road.

After a silent thirty-minute drive on the expressway, Truth finally brought the car to a halt in front of the valet attendant standing in the doorway of the parking garage. He hopped out of the car and tossed the guy the keys as Goddess exited the car. Truth grabbed her hand and escorted her to the front door of the restaurant. The lights and ambiance of the place mesmerized her. There were dozens of arcade games sitting all in a row along the back wall and in front of them were another set of games.

It was weird that he had brought her to this place that seemed as though it was fit for a kid. It was like Chuck E. Cheese on steroids in her eyes but it didn't end there as he escorted her up an escalator to the second floor. At the top was a larger room with bowling, billiards, and shuffleboard games in a room a few feet away with the lighting dimmed a little creating a subtler environment. They headed toward the bar in the middle of the room and took a seat. It was then that she paid attention the signs around her displaying the name of the establishment, Dave and Busters.

"Order whatever you like. It's on me." Truth said grabbing a menu then handing her one.

"I've never been here before but I hear it's great." Goddess said grinning from ear to ear.

"This is my favorite spot to unwind and clear my head."

"Unwind? What has you buggin' so hard that you need ways to unwind?" Goddess asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Shit, your grandmother for one and then work. Hell, I'm human I got problems."

When the bartender finally greeted them he ordered a top shelf blue motherfucka for the both of them and the Mountain O' Nachos for an appetizer. He didn't even ask her what she wanted, taking the initiative, assuming she would automatically love what he loved. Goddess didn't mind. Everything he did and his whole persona in general reminded him of her one true love. It ripped her apart inside feeling like he was nothing but a reincarnate.

"What do you see in her?" Goddess mumbled secretly hoping he didn't hear her.

"You know, most people would say I'm using her for money or she's playing me for sex. But the truth of the matter is, I have real strong feelings for her. She's more woman than I've ever dealt with and I respect her for that."

"But you have to be about my age. Can't you see why people might get the wrong idea?"

"Goddess, your grandmother doesn't look like your average grandmother. I'm sure you know that. Besides, I don't need her money cause I got my own."

"Really? Well, what do you do Mr. Truth? If that is your real name." Goddess chuckled taking a sip of the drink the bartender sat in front of her, savoring the tangy taste of it.

"I own my own barbershop and Truth is my real name. Truth Bailey. My mother named me that since my dad denied me when I was born. It wasn't until I was five years old that he decided to claim me once a DNA test proved I was his."

"I bet he felt really shitty afterwards, huh?"

"I'll never know. He was murdered in the hood that same year by some gangstas who wanted his tricked out ride."

"Oh my God, Truth! I'm so sorry to hear that."

"It's cool. He sold drugs. You live by the sword, you'll die by it too. So tell me more about you. Venus told me your husband was murdered."

"Yeah...but I would rather not talk about me."

"Shit, I opened up to you. Don't worry I won't blast you on Facebook or nothing. What's good?"

Goddess laughed as she gazed into his adoring eyes and halfheartedly told him her story. She fought back tears, choking them up so as not to ruin the good time they were having and quickly changed the subject the moment she was done. They laughed at their childhood upbringings as they munched on the nachos the bartender finally brought and ordered a second round of blue motherfuckas. Feeling tipsy, the two decided to have some fun. Truth taught her how to bowl making sure to keep a safe distance behind her. After that, they used the arcade games to have tournaments against each other, laughing and joking the whole evening through. Exhausted from a night of gaming, they stumbled to the lobby waiting for the valet to bring the car around. Truth grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in for a nice tight hug. It was the first time that Goddess didn't feel awkward being around him. Instead she felt safe, secured.

"I haven't had this much fun in...well, I haven't had this much fun. Thanks for bringing me here, Truth."

"No doubt. Listen, why don't you plug my number in ya phone. Ya know, just in case you need a ride home out of the cold or something." Truth responded nonchalantly.

"Do you think that's smart? What if my grandmother checks your phone and finds out?" Goddess lowered her head wondering what she was even doing there with him.

Truth waved her off having already contemplated that issue an hour ago.

"We'll just tell her it was in case of an emergency. She'll shut right up." He smirked as he tucked his hands in his pockets, pretending to look around her for the valet attendant.
Chapter 9

He's Mine

It was finally the last day of training at the bank and Goddess couldn't have been happier. It was a long week of studying and cramming but she made it through everything. She was now sitting at the table fiddling with her pencil and hoping for the answer to the last few questions to come to her. She was a little distracted by the long sleeve green button down that Cole was wearing on this day. It seemed he loved to tease her with those tight fitting shirts but ever since he blew her off they have both kept their relationship as professional as could be. He barely even talked to her unless it was work related leaving her feeling alone and rejected.

"Goddess, can you stop tapping your pencil while everyone is working please?" Cole snarled as he looked up at her from his newspaper. "Thanks."

He was really acting like a royal bitch and it was rubbing her the wrong way. The facial expression she exhibited made her want to punch him dead in the nose and shove that test down his throat. If it weren't for the fact that she needed the money she would have done it too. She stared down at the test hard refocusing her eyes rereading the questions over and over again. She knew the answers in the back of her mind but for some reason they wouldn't come to her. The clock showed only five minutes left before time was up. Cole didn't even warn them about how much time they had left and it seemed he wasn't planning it either. She knew he was on bullshit. Pulling herself together, she threw some random words on under the questions then headed towards him handing the test over.

"I'm so nervous. I hope I passed." Goddess smiled.

"Mmhmm. You all this is the two minute warning." Cole said looking past her unto the two rows of hopeful bank tellers.

Goddess' mouth dropped at his announcement slowly shrugging it off as she returned to her seat waiting as Cole graded her test. He finished in a heartbeat and tossed the paper to the side in a pile with the rest of the finished tests then continued to read his paper, emotionless. A few short minutes later his IPhone went off ringing a loud buzzing sound startling everyone in the room.

"Pencils down! Time is up. If you have not finished then I'm sorry for you but you must turn the tests in now." Cole recited sternly.

The remaining testers reluctantly submitted their tests and returned to their seats. He skimmed through them rapidly not even looking at his cheat sheet to aid him in the grading. Once he was done he separated them into two different piles on the table then picked up one of them and stood in front of the table with a disappointed look on his face.

"If I call your name please stand. Jermika, Latosha, Darien F., Jasper, Kayla, and...Goddess." Cole paused slamming the papers on the table then crossing his arms. "Congratulations you all made it. Everyone else good luck to you."

His voice was solemn and unenthusiastic. A sense of relief overwhelmed her as she hugged her celebratory coworkers then collected her things. The four people who hadn't made the cut stormed out of the training room swearing and cursing the whole way out but it didn't phase Cole one bit. He walked around the room handing out nametags and preregistered swipe cards to everyone else and gave them their schedules to work the following week.

"Good Job, Goddess!" He finally spoke trough the silence.

"Huh?"

"Yeah. You actually got the highest score of the entire class. I gotta admit, I thought you would fail." Cole said collecting his papers on the table.

"Excuse me?"

"After the other day, well, I figured you were just another girl looking for her average handout. You know, looking to glide through the process without any hard work." Cole answered with a sly smirk on his face.

"Hmm. That's funny." Goddess said returning the smirk.

"Oh yeah. How so?"

"Because maybe if you had asked me what my intentions were, you would've found out that I thought you were hot and hadn't had sex in three years. Thought you might have been the one to pop my cherry." Goddess sucked her teeth tossing her purse on her arm. "But now, I'm just like whatever. See ya Monday."

Goddess trotted out of the office leaving Cole there pulling his foot out of his mouth and his ass off his shoulders. He wasn't prepared for her words but shrugged them off letting her believe she had the upper hand. When he wanted her he would get her without any problem. No chick could resist his dark brown eyes and sexy alluring lips.

"I passed Truth! I'm a working woman now!" Goddess yelled as she danced to the bus stop.

"That's wassup girl! Good shit. So you wanna celebrate?" Truth asked licking his lips.

"Truth, we need to talk."

"Don't move I'm coming to get you. Where you at?"

"On the bus stop by my job."

****

Venus paced around the room pissed that Truth hadn't been answering her calls the past few days. She knew she told him to give her some breathing room but she didn't say ignore her completely. The old man had been long gone and she had regained her strength a little enough to get out of bed and get presentable to see him. She popped the already cracked top on her twenty-dollar bottle of white wine and poured a glass studying it carefully before downing it in one huge gulp. She poured another and devoured it as well. The more she poured the angrier she became as she blew his cell phone up ringing it off the hook.

Hours later Venus found herself peeling her body off of her polished bedroom floor. She found tears crawling from under her eyelids as she reached for her cell phone and reluctantly dialed Truth's number for what she believed to be the last time in her mind. Her fingers punched each number slowly as her soul hoped and prayed for him to at least just answer the phone. She didn't even bother to wipe the tears from her face or the snot running from under her nose. Her short bobbed blonde wig was in disarray on her head and mascara ran all along her cheeks. Her eyes widened as the sound of ringing flowed through her ear.

"What?"

"What the fuck do you mean what? I've been calling you for days now and you can't even have the decency to pick up the phone?" Venus snapped.

"You said you needed your space so I'm giving you your space." Truth said leaning back in his seat looking out unto the sparkling lake water.

"That didn't mean stop answering your phone nigga!" Venus had become enraged with every waning second. "You fucking around with that little bitch from before aren't you?"

"Who? Man, you swear up and down that I'm fucking somebody else but what you fail to realize is how I got time to fuck around. I'm always under you and when you call I'm there. You just dumb as hell!"

"Don't talk to me like that!" Venus snapped.

"What you want me to do, huh? I'm not just some toy you can turn on and off when you want to. Two years I've been going through this shit with you man and I'm fucking tired of it!" Truth's voice was beyond loud as he yelled into the phone.

"So what are you trying to say, baby? Huh? What are you trying to say, Truth?"

"I'm saying, it's over! I'm done with you."

"You're done with me? No motherfucka! I'm done with you! You were nothing but a little young fuck to me anyway. I had a real man all this time who was paying my bills and being the man in my life." Sweat droplets slowly formed on her skin as she shook the phone wildly. "You're nothing, you understand me little boy! Nothing!"

Click. Truth hung up the phone and tossed it on the dash as he looked over at Goddess' silky smooth brown skin. He was officially a free man and not only that but one who was out for a bit of revenge and he knew just where to get it. He had respected the fact that she was her granddaughter and never pursued her like he wanted to even though her thick curves drove him crazy every time he looked at them. It was clear to him now after that phone call that nothing was off limits as he reached over smirking and gently stroking her curly long dark hair.

"So back to what you were saying." Truth said attempting to continue their conversation.

"Was that my grandmother on the phone? Were you just arguing with her?" Goddess asked watching the water refusing to look over at him.

"Yeah. I'm done with her, yo. You ain't even gotta worry about that no more."

"Truth don't you get it? Even though we haven't had sex or even so much as kissed, what we have been doing is still wrong." Goddess began to freak out from his touches.

"What have we been doing that's so wrong, G? All we've been doing is hangin' out, ya know. Just getting to know each other. What's so wrong about that?" Truth yelled slamming his fists on the steering wheel.

"Because it's all been emotional and you know it. It's wrong. Damn wrong. The way you pick me up from work and take me out, the way you caress my hair like you're doing now and feed me exotic foods, it's all wrong, Truth! I only came here to tell you that we can't see each other anymore."

Truth rubbed his head roughly the way he did when he was stressed out. "No. I ain't letting you go that easily. What we got can't be broken baby. Not for anything in the world."

"I'm breaking it now."

"Even if you wanted to, you couldn't. It's solid and you fighting it is only going to make you more miserable."

"Truth, it's wrong—"

"And what she did to me for two years was wrong. What about us? We've been unhappy for too long, G. It's out time now."

Goddess stared at the time on his dash hard, 7:22pm, then looked over at him staring into his beautiful entrancing eyes. He returned his fingers back to her hair loving the way it laid around her face. Her beauty captivated him making his heart beat like crazy. In the short time that they spent together he had learned so much about her that he felt as if he needed her around him always. He needed her to be by his side breathing the same air he breathed.

"I'm not letting you go babe. We belong together." Truth said leaning in towards her shiny full lips, pulling her head in towards his.

"What are we going to tell my grandmother, Truth?" Goddess exhaled allowing her soul to give in to his warm loving embrace.

"We ain't gon' tell her nothing. She don't owe her any explanations."

As their mouths locked onto each other, the only thoughts rolling through Goddess' head was finally being able to get her rocks off by a real man rather than the multiple vibrators she kept stored away for hard times. His touch was so sensual and his tongue felt like silk. She stroked his long powerful arms loving every muscle she rolled over. Her clit became more soaked than it had ever been before as he made his way down to her full double d breasts, grabbing and rubbing as if he had been waiting to touch her for years.

Truth let the driver's side seat all the way back and ripped his coat off then turned the car on blasting the heat all the way on high. Goddess unraveled herself out of her coat then looked around to see if any eyes were around. The Lake in the wintertime didn't have many guests aside from the occasional jogger or dog walker. The downtown lights set the ambiance as she unbuttoned her tight purple button down shirt unveiling a beautiful set of rounds that were perked up in a black lace Victoria Secrets bra.

"Come sit on daddy's lap, baby." Truth demanded salivating like Homer Simpson at her voluptuous delights.

She mounted and straddled him allowing her thickness to swallow his legs whole. Truth leaned forward to get a mouthful of her lovelies pulling her bra down to get a taste of the large brown nipples engulfing her tits. She moaned softly desiring him to suck harder, caressing his bald fade. With his face still engulfed in her bosom, Truth reached down unbuckling his pants slowly then pulled out his twelve-inch long piece, which was already standing at attention. Goddess looked down with bulging eyes never seeing a schlong so long before. She had to admit it intimidated her and it read on her face.

"Don't worry baby. I'm gon' be real gentle."

"Shit, I bet you are." Goddess laughed as she worked with him to maneuver her pencil skirt up to her waist.

Truth wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her thong to the side then used his waist to work his hard dick inside of her pulsating hot snatch. He slid his fat head in loving the way she fit tightly around him as she let out a shrieking moan. Goddess took it like the grown woman that she was, sliding all the way down surrounding his entire shaft feeling him tap her uterus. She bounced up and down on it like she was on a pogo stick ready to get off and he as well. Truth grabbed hold of her waist to help hold her steady but it was just like riding a bike to her, she held it down like a pro. Her humungous tits slapped him in his face as she road the shit out of him with his arms squeezing her waist to arch a back, pumping back into her. Goddess' howled like a wolf feeling his junk pummel her pussy and enjoying every minute of it.

"How many times did you cum?" Truth asked nearly out of breath.

"Three!" Goddess answered never breaking stride.

"Awe shit. That ain't enough! I ain't cumming til this pussy is worn out! Ya heard me?"

"Yes, daddy! Yes!"

"What am I?"

"Huh?" Goddess didn't like to be aroused and confused at the same time.

"I'm the Truth baby! Say it!" Truth said as he pulled her hair firmly yet gently.

"You the Truth baby! You the motherfuckin' Truth!"

"Yeah! I like that!" Truth said as he began pumping back into her harder and faster.

Goddess could barely catch her breath but she sure wasn't going to complain. He had knocked the dust and Cobb webs off of her pussy not to mention it was the best dick she had ever had, even better than Spliff. One thing was for sure though; it felt damn good to feel love again. Truth was happy inside to have secretly sought his revenge on his ex love and to have found a better and new one. The one thing that was clear between the both of them that was never officially spoken was that he was hers and she was his and no one would stand in the way of that.
Chapter 10

Looking Stupid

11:09pm read on the clock posted on the nightstand next to Venus' waterbed. Though pissy drunk she lie awake waiting for Goddess to walk through the door. She wondered what the hell was taking her so long since she had some action for her. She listened out for the clicking of the front door like a dog waiting on its master to come home. When she heard the clicking of the door closing, she grabbed her cell and jumped up regurgitating vomit then allowing it to slide back down her throat. She hauled ass down the stairs meeting her at the door.

"What the hell took you so long to get your ass home today?" She bellowed drunkenly as she flicked the switch to the bright hallway light.

"I was minding my business. Why does it matter anyway?" Goddess snapped rolling her eyes attempting to storm past her.

"You get back here. I need to talk to you about some shit and your little attitude is not needed." Venus said grabbing her by the arm.

"What is it?" Goddess felt like she knew what was coming and she was prepared to serve her a good dish of the truth.

"I think Truth is cheating on me again. I need you to help me scope out his house and catch that bitch so we can stomp her ass into the ground." Venus said tapping her repeatedly on the shoulder.

"Are you serious? What are you like 10 years old or something? Why would you want to do that, Grams?"

"Don't worry about why I want to do it just get your ass out that door and help me." Venus demanded snatching her arm up again.

"No!" Goddess snatched away. "I'm not going out there on that high school shit with you. You're too old for that shit first of all and second of all what makes you think he's cheating on you? Have you ever heard of trust?"

"Awe, fuck you and your trust." Venus waved her off cutting off the light and dragging herself over to the sofa.

Goddess walked over to her grandmother gradually shaking her head at her near comatose state. "You know, if you weren't such a booze hound you just might be able to have what it takes to keep your man. Think about that as you pass out in your own juices."

"What you just say to me bitch?"

"You heard me."

"You know, you ain't too old to get your little ass whooped either, Goddess."

"Ugh! I remember when I was a little girl you used to tell me that good girls minded their knickers. Well I've been a very good girl tonight, Grams. Very good." Goddess emphasized as she trotted up the stairs laughing the whole way.

Venus leaned her head back on the sofa gazing up at the ceiling wanting tears to fall from her eyes that would never come. She thought about the two years she spent with Truth remembering his sultry abs and his alluring smile. It was something she never realized she could miss but she was determined not to let it get to her. She needed someone to comfort her and console her in her time of need knowing the old man wasn't going to do since he was playing the prize husband for the rest of the week. She pulled her cell out of her pocket and dialed a number but before she could realize whom she dialed a voice was heard on the other end.

"Stop calling my phone or I'm changing my number."

"Wait, Truth, wait. I just want to talk to you no bullshit."

"I'm listening."

"I...I was wrong. I'll admit that. I just don't like to be ignored baby you know that." Venus whispered into the phone.

"Yeah. I know a lot of things about you V. I'm done man. We ain't got shit else to talk about." Truth snapped growing weary of the conversation.

"I can't believe you just gonna throw away two years for some stupid little young bitch. I thought we were better than that."

"No, you fucked us up and she's not a bitch. She's more woman than you'll ever be. Now run and go play with that nigga that pays your bills." Truth chuckled as he hung up the phone.

As crossed as Venus felt, she couldn't bring herself to call him back to curse him out. She sat there shaking her leg profusely pissed at how he was treating her. He had never acted like this before not even when she played him to the left for a week to go on a cruise with the old man. It wasn't like him and it only let her further know that he was fucking somebody else.

"This shit ain't over. Naw, it ain't over." Venus snarled flaming up her cigarette.

The next morning Goddess found Venus sprawled out on the sofa snoring like nobody's business. She was already dressed and ready to go since Truth had told her last night that he had something special planned for her. Goddess shook her head laughing silently as she dipped past her and out the door. She began walking down the street trying to get around the corner before Truth pulled up. Just as she hit the corner, Chris Brown singing Take You Down blasted out of the windows of Truth's Cadillac. She flagged him down signaling for him to come to her and cut the music down as the bass rattled windows for miles.

"Hey girl. What you doing down here?" Truth asked as she slid in the passenger seat giving him a sweet peck on the cheek.

"Boy don't blast that music like that in front of the house. You tryin' to get caught or something? I came down here cause I didn't want her to wake up and see me get in the car with you"

"G, I ain't hidin' from your grandma man. Its over with us and she ain't nobody, so we ain't about to sneaking around." Truth spat as he pulled off dipping around the corner. "We together then we together. That's it."

"Babe—"

"Naw. That's it."

Goddess loved the way he took charge. It made her panties wet every time he laid down the law. She was still skeptical about showing their relationship out in the open in front of Venus but she wasn't about to risk defying Truth's word. If that's what he wanted she would give it to him tenfold. She sat back in the leather seats and relaxed as sheer happiness overcame her. Every time she was around him she felt like she was walking on air. It was a feeling she knew only few were blessed with and she was determined to do anything to keep it.

****

Venus peeled herself off the sofa looking around inspecting the damage from the night before. The door closing had awakened her wondering where Goddess was dipping off to. The words her granddaughter spat to her last night, resonated profoundly. Thoughts streamed through her brain as she dialed numbers on her phone.

"Hello, yes, I seemed to have misplaced my phone but I always have my GPS on so I was wondering if you could help me out." Venus said grabbing her pen and a piece of paper from off of the antique wooden coffee table.

The Sprint Customer Service representative typed away at her keyboard then asked Venus to verify some identification information that she zoomed through with flying colors. Truth didn't know that she had obtained his information from his wallet one night while he was sleeping. She had used it so much to spy on him that she had memorized it perfectly. The rep didn't hesitate to give her all of the information she needed.

"Alright ma'am it appears that your phone is not moving. The location that we have for it is 14455 S. Lagrange Road. It appears that you left it in Orland Park, Illinois. Do you know where that is?" She asked curiously.

"Yes. In fact I do believe I know exactly where I left it." Venus replied sucking her teeth.

"No problem ma'am. Is there anything el—"

Venus hung up the phone cutting the representative's speech short. She was livid with jealousy knowing that Truth had planned a romantic date with some young tramp and not her. She knew that address all too well seeing as though they had had many dates there themselves. She didn't even bother to jump in the shower, comb her hair, or change clothes. Instead she grabbed her phone, keys and coat and headed straight for her car.

Her head pounded like the police at a felon's front door. She regretted drinking all of that alcohol last night without eating anything and was even more pissed that she wasn't used to the pain by now. She drove on the expressway weaving in and out of traffic like a bat out of hell not caring about any car or pedestrian that stood in her way. It was only a matter of time before he was on the move again and she wasn't about to let him get away without busting his game first. If she was going to be miserable so was he and she'd be damned if she allowed some young chick to come in on her territory. Venus pulled into the Essence Suites parking lot erratically and parked. She slammed the door still feeling the effects of her drunken night and headed towards the office door.

"Hi. May I help you?" The seated desk attendant asked.

"Yes. I would like to catch my cheating husband in the act and I need his room number please. His name is—"

"Ah, ma'am, even if I wanted to help you out, I couldn't. We have a strict policy on the privacy of our customers. So unless you're the police, I'm afraid I can't help you." The Caucasian woman responded standing, hawking Venus down.

"Okay, I'm gonna level with you. If it was your husband wouldn't you want someone to help you catch him in the act?" Venus put on her best sad face and ponied up the crocodile tears long enough to side eye the woman to see if she was buying any of it. "Please, from one sister to another."

"Ma'am, been there and done that. I ain't got no sympathy for you because if you think he's cheating honey, he's cheating. My advice is you need to go home and wait on his ass to get there and just make sure his shit is sitting on the curb. Now if you'll excuse me." The woman said scratching her bob cut lightly and checking the reflection of her two-dollar bright red lipstick in the computer screen.

Infuriated, Venus headed back to her truck to wait him out. He was going to eventually have to leave and she wanted to make sure she saw him before he took off. After stirring in the car and listening to the same songs rotate the stations over and over again for four hours, Venus became impatient. She exited the car drunk on anger and began knocking on the suite doors one by one silently so as not to alert the office personnel.

"Who is it?" A voice rang out from one of the doors.

"Housekeeping. I came to make sure there were new towels in the room." Venus disguised her voice sounding similar to an Asian woman.

"Go away!" A Caucasian man yelled in anger.

With that she headed sneaking to the next suite and to the next with no luck. She was on the verge of giving up thinking that everyone was right, she was too old to be acting like a jealous young eighteen-year-old girl. Tears began to build in her eyes and her knees became weak realizing she was making herself look stupid as she slowly to make her way back down to her car. But while she was walking, a familiar sound stopped her completely in her tracks, forcing her mouth to drop.

"You da Truth, baby! You da Truth!"

That cry of passion was all too memorable for Venus. She raced to the door with the sounds eroding from it and raised her fist ready to bang on it like nobody's business. She lowered her head and then her arm then leaned her ear against the door. Tears shed like a waterfall as she pressed harder, distraught and unfathomably broken hearted. There was no reason for her to go out of this relationship without dignity.

Truth was the one who pursued her in the first place so for him to just drop her so easily wouldn't happen in her eyes. He desired her company in every shape, form and fashion and couldn't get enough of it. She knew he'd be back; all she needed to do was play hard to get and he'd be begging her to take him back like that. Those young bitches didn't have shit on her in her mind but just as she was about to walk away with her head held high, she heard him speak through his insatiable moaning .

"Goddess, you gon' make me fall in love girl!" Truth's outpour of desire rang throughout the suite walls.

Venus turned her head in pure disbelief not only at what she had just heard but also at the fact that someone so close to home could do something so vile to her. Her heart broke in three places as she stood there speechless and paralyzed but she couldn't bring herself to form anymore tears. They were all dried up from the pain of rage filling up inside of her. She could have acted a fool right there but she decided that this was no time for hysterics. It was time for class. She walked calmly away hopping back in her car then pulled off and never turned back. 
Chapter 11

One up on you

Goddess looked at the brand new Iphone Truth had brought for her in his name and noticed the time, 11:15pm. She was glad she didn't have work the next day or she would have really been out of it, dragging and trying to make it through the day. As he pulled up in front of the house, she hoped that Venus was passed out in one of her drunken binges as usual and didn't see them sitting there. Her palms grew sweaty as her thoughts went into paranoia, wondering if she was looking out the window that very moment. Her thoughts were cut short when Truth gently grabbed the bottom of her chin forcing her to turn in his direction.

"I had so much fun today babe. And thank you for the phone." Goddess said gazing dreamingly into his eyes.

"You ain't gotta thank me for that. You're my baby now. You don't deserve anything but the best. My next move is getting you off that bus and outta that house." Truth replied stroking her hair pushing it back behind her left ear.

"Eh. Truth, you don't think we're moving a bit too fast with all of that?"

"Look, I'm not getting any older and I'm trying to do big things with my life. It would be nice to have a beautiful wife on my arm when I get there." Truth responded licking his lips rather sexy like. "Maybe even some kids. I've always wanted a son."

"You want me to be your wife?" Goddess asked, watching his tongue moisten his beautiful juicy lips.

"Well, you could be. And when you are, know that you ain't gotta worry about nothing. Cause I takes care of mine. Daddy got this." Truth said as he leaned in softly massaging his tongue with hers.

Goddess' mind, body, and soul melted as she stepped out into the freezing cold night air and walked up to the house door. She turned the key slightly pushing it open then turned back to wave, giving Truth the signal that she was in safely. He honked the horn twice before turning his sounds back on blast and peeling off. Goddess shrieked a bit at his departure wishing he hadn't done that as she continued inside creeping the whole way in. It was mad dark inside showing nothing but the street lights shining through the windows. She closed the door softly then tiptoed to the staircase leaning to remove her shoes before continuing on.

"So, where have you been all day?" Venus spoke breaking the silence as she took a nice long drag of her cigarette.

"Shit! Oh my God, Grams, you scared the crap out of me. Why are you sitting in the dark?" Goddess asked holding her chest from the shock.

"You first."

"I was...out with my friends from work. What does it matter? I'm grown, Grams. Remember your don't get in my business clause." Goddess replied stumbling over words.

"Yeah a little too grown I reckon. But you obviously missed the rest of that memo."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Goddess side eyed her as she flicked the hall light switch.

"It means I know your little nasty ass is fucking my man." Venus rose to her feet crossing her arms. "And if you think I'm going down without a fight you've got another thing coming."

"Okay. Here's how it's gonna go down. I'm not about to fight with you about this and you are going to take your old ass up to your room and forget about him. Got it? It's over between you two and he's half your old age anyway. Get it together." Goddess snapped her fingers sternly and headed for the stairs.

"Or you can get the fuck out of my house. How about that? Meanwhile does your new man know that you have a secret looming over your head?" Venus taunted.

"Secret? What secret? You've really got some issues, you old bat." Goddess laughed her off.

"Well, with all of the extra time on my hands I had enough time to do some research on the Internet. Yeah and what I found may haunt you." Venus smiled as she picked up a piece of paper from the coffee table and handed it to her.

Goddess skimmed over the printed article reading about the death of Scully and the arrest they had made. She didn't know how or why she had decided to fish this out from nowhere but it pissed her off. Her lips smacked together releasing a small sucking sound then curled up in displeasure. This piece of paper meant nothing to her. It didn't prove anything nor did it link Goddess to anything. She wasn't about to give her the benefit of the doubt of having the upper hand on her, tossing the paper to the floor in disgust and turning back towards the stairs.

"Call me when you got something worth talking about." Goddess said brushing her poor excuse to blackmail her off.

"Oh sure, will do. But uh, you might want to know that I've spoken with the apartment complex down there. I called them because I wanted to know if they could give you your apartment back so you'd have a place to go once I kicked you out on your ass. I mean, even though you sicken me, you're still my granddaughter. But they gave me a wonderful story, including the fact that you have no lease with them and in turn gave me the number to a young lady who ultimately confessed to this story right before her mother did. Uh, do you know a Tara?"

Goddess turned and smacked her lips at her. "Who?"

"Oh, I think you heard me you little bitch. Tara told me to give you a message, though. She said if her mother is convicted of that murder, she's coming for you." Venus said walking right up to her standing so close to give her a whiff of every bit of the alcohol spewing from her breath.

"Ugh, whatever." Goddess walked off storming upstairs to her room.

"I know your secret, and I want you out of my house in the morning you tramp bitch!" Venus bellowed. "Whether you have a place to go or not!"

She headed to the kitchen and grabbed a glass then headed to the liquor cabinet and grabbed a nice big bottle of cognac. She was in that kind of mood that night not choosing her usual light vodka and stormed over to her usual spot, the sofa. At first, she was unwilling to open the bottle feeling she had had enough of attempting to drown out her problems. None of the solutions were ever at the bottom of her glass.

But the more her hands trembled the more she yearned to get that liquid courage inside of her. After about two gulps on the sweet drink, she was beyond sick and tired of drinking. It never cured her problems only pacifying them allowing her not to think about them for the short while. Self medication was like second nature to her and even though she was beginning to loath the thought of another drink, she continued to do so.

Goddess paced the floor biting her nails and pulling her hair distraught from Venus' findings. She never believed that that situation would ever come back to haunt her. It wasn't Tara's threat that scared her but the fact that the cops could indeed be looking for her if they figured out she had anything to do with Scully's murder. Packing her shit and running was one answer to her problems but she knew that if she started running like that, she'd be running forever never able to pull her life back together. She sat down on the bed for a minute wondering if Venus had the balls to dime her out to the police.

She walked cautiously to the bathroom and shut the door quietly. The medicine cabinet seemed as if it was calling her as she headed over to it opening it up and gazing at all of its contents. All of the prescription labeled bottles began whispering her name, "Goddess, Pick me! Pick me!" as if they all knew what she wanted with them.

She took down a few reading the label for their contents but none caught her eye quite like the bottle of Oxycontin. In college, a friend met his demise while playing a game of Russian roulette with it. He and four of his friends wanted to see who would fall asleep first after taking it and downing a few beers. They did it because they were bored in their dorm room and were mostly boneheads who were dateless. All of them fell asleep and never woke up.

The pill bottle rattled as she popped the top and poured three pills into her hand then sealed it back tight. The floor crept lightly as she grabbed a few sheets of tissue and exited the bathroom headed back to her room. She wrapped the pills carefully in the tissue then used a heavy glass perfume bottle to grind the them up into a fine dust.

Once they were crushed to her liking, she slowly made her way downstairs. Venus was passed out in her spot snoring heavily, indicating to her that she was down for the count. Goddess stood on the last stair staring and contemplating her next move. She watched as Venus yawned a bit then stirred and stretched as she opened her eyes partially awoke staring her right in the face.

"Can I help you?" Venus snarled groggily.

"I just came to say that I'm sorry, Grams. I never meant to hurt you or disrespect your house. I was wrong." Goddess spat solemnly.

"You should be sorry." It was all Venus could muster up after peeling herself up to a sitting position.

"Here, let me help you." Goddess moved over to the sofa quickly grabbing the bottle of cognac and placing it on the floor before helping her up.

"Just get the fuck away from me! I don't want you touching me."

"I just thought we would talk for a while. I don't want to leave. How can I convince you to let me stay?"

"Can you erase the print of your pussy out of Truth's mouth?" Venus retorted irately drunk.

Her attitude was not changing at all and Goddess could see it. She was raunchy and rude to her at every chance she got. Venus had no intentions on letting her stay especially since she knew she could be a murder suspect. Goddess reached down grabbing the bottle and placing it close to her foot. The top was missing which made it easier for her to release the contents of the tissue into it. Once it was all in she slid the tissue into her pocket and gently shook the bottle mixing the concoction together well.

"Well, can I at least count on you not to speak to that girl about me again?"

"Wha? Bitch, I gave her my address. Told her come and get your ho ass!" Venus laughed.

"Ugh. You know, I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this. I love you, Grams. But you leave me no choice. I can't trust you now." Goddess recited calmly.

"Trust me? What the fuck you talkin' 'bout, trust me? Trust you, keep yo got damn legs closed...bitch." Venus slurred.

"I love you, Grams, and I want you to know I loved momma too."

"Eh, shut the fuck up. Where's my damn liquor? I didn't ask you to touch me, shit." Venus snapped searching the sofa with her hands wildly.

"Oh sorry. Here you go." Goddess replied quickly handing the bottle to her hoping she didn't notice a funny taste.

"Yeah. Thanks. Now get the fuck outta here. I want your shit out in the morning bitch. Out in the morning." Venus' words were sluggish but her point was made.

Goddess rose from the sofa and made her way back to the staircase. She stood on the last stair watching as Venus took big gulps of the cognac like a champion in a chugging contest. She waited for her to slow down, take a breather, or pause but after every swallow she just kept chugging more.

_It was only a matter of time before her lifestyle destroyed her anyway_ , Goddess thought. She felt like she was giving her an easy way out. She felt like she was giving her the extra push she needed to get gone. And gone she went as she slammed the bottle down on the coffee table and fell back on the sofa hitting her head on the top. Venus let out a faint sigh of relief and relaxation as her head nodded effortlessly to the left falling immediately back to sleep.

"Night Grams."
Chapter 12

The Act

The next morning Goddess awoke feeling refreshed and relieved. The 300 thread count sheets felt as good as a warm summer's breeze against her skin as she swam across them. Staring up at herself she realized that Venus was still downstairs lying on the sofa. She grabbed her jeans from off the floor and danced into them, buttoning them up with her lace Camisole dangling on the outside. She fixed her clothes as she headed out to the hall and down the stairs to see if Venus was awake or not. As she neared the bottom of the stairs, her eyes widened as broad as a football field. She began hyperventilating at the sight before her, panicking as to her next move. Her feet headed towards the sofa but her mind remained on the staircase, unable to fathom the scene.

She was gone. Her body had left the sofa and it was nowhere to be found. Panic set in to the tenth power by now as she decided to search the house for her hoping she had no memory of what happened last night. Goddess slithered her way towards the kitchen watchfully. In the distance, the dim sound of Neyo humming about Independent Women began. She knew it was Truth but she could not bring herself to abandon the mission at hand.

"Grams?" Goddess called out rather loudly. "Grams, are you here?"

Her calls went unanswered. The kitchen was empty and when she circled around to the dining room it was too. It was then that she remembered she had bypassed her bedroom all together and raced up the stairs to see if she had made it there. She pushed open the door and found the room empty as well. It began to annoy her that Venus was nowhere in the house and figured she had ventured outside and was alive and well. It pained her to think that she had woken up earlier while she was sound asleep to rush to the police station and turn her into the cops.

Just as Goddess was about to head towards her room to pack her bags, she heard some strange noises behind her. She turned quickly but there was nothing there. Her toes tipped as she moved towards the sound that was quickly becoming more prevalent the closer she became to it. Her fingertips reached out and shoved open the already slightly cracked wooden bathroom door. Water spewed down from the shower as the tub overflowed dripping excessively onto the floor. The fishy blue carpets were drenched and the entire bathroom floor was flooded while the toilet brush and garbage can floated around the room.

Water seeped out of the door onto her feet when she stepped into the room to get a look at the floating object in the tub. She stood there staring down on the lifeless body of her grandmother wondering if it was indeed the concoction that ended her life or was it in fact the fault of her own hand. There was no knife or gun nearby or even any blood splatter anywhere. But Venus' eyes were open, glossed over and bulging out of her head. Her skin was pale almost as white as the snow outside. She still had her clothes on as her purple shirt flailed underneath the water. It was over, she was dead. The slightest bit of remorse revealed itself in her heart as she prepared herself for the moments to come.

"911 Emergency. How may I help you?"

"Yes...um...my grandmother is in the tub and the water was just running and her eyes! Oh my God, her eyes! They're just open. She's not moving!" Goddess cried real panic-stricken tears shooting for a Golden Globe award.

"Okay, ma'am I'm going to need you to calm down and tell me if she's breathing."

"She's dead do you understand! Somebody help me please, Jesus! She's dead!"

"Okay ma'am where are you?"

Goddess spat the address quickly and threw some water on her face to add to her already drenched face.

"Grams! GRAMS!" She screamed.

Her blood-curdling scream scared the shit out of the 911 agent and the person sitting next to her. She tucked her cell phone deeply in her jeans pocket then headed downstairs taking a seat on the very sofa Venus frequented everyday. Her jeans were soaked all the way to the knees and her body shivered from the weird breeze in the house. The cell rang through her jeans.

"Truth...Truth baby there's something I gotta tell you."

"Baby, why are you crying? What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong!" Truth had begun to lose it not knowing what had happened to her.

"Baby, my grandmother...she's...she's dead!" Goddess busted into full out tears.

"What? What the fuck happened, Goddess?" Truth snapped.

"I don't know, baby, I don't know! I just woke up this morning and she was in the tub dead and there's water everywhere baby. I don't know."

"Okay, did you call the ambulance? Are you sure she's dead?"

"Yes, Truth! Her eyes are bulging. She's fucking dead okay!" Goddess not only became irate but also a little jealous that he was all into her death.

"I'm on my way." Truth hung up on her cold.

As soon as she tossed her cell back in her pocket, the ambulance, fire department, and police showed up banging on the door like someone was chasing after them. Goddess opened the door with sorrow written all over her face as a swarm of professionals flooded the house. The detectives searched the house for various clues starting with the alcohol bottles scattered around the living room, bagging them for evidence. She decided to play it cool. There was nothing written with her name specifically linking her to the down south murder so she was going to play it as smoothly as possible.

"What's your name?"

"Avery Young." Goddess lied giving the detectives her middle name instead.

"Ma'am, my name is Detective Fox and I'm gravely sorry for your loss. But we need to hit you while the story is still fresh in your mind. So can you run through the morning's events for us really quickly? So ya woke and then what?" He asked sternly.

"Yes, sir. I woke up and put on my jeans then I heard the water running on my way downstairs. So when I pushed the door open there she was." Tears ran down Goddess' face as she turned up the waterworks.

"And uh, you didn't see anything else or hear anything last night? Was she by herself?" Detective Fox asked scribbling on his small notepad.

"No, no sir. When I came in last night around eleven, she was right here on this sofa sleeping. She's an alcoholic so she drinks herself to sleep every night. I didn't know she would do anything like this though." She began crying uncontrollably.

"Alright. Well was she depressed at all or spoke frequently about killing herself?"

"No, sir." She replied as she looked up seeing Truth walk in the door.

"Hey babe you alright?" Truth asked rubbing her back.

"Who are you?" Detective Fox asked putting his hand out so Truth could go no further into the house.

"Oh he's my fiancé." Goddess stood interrupting.

The detective side eyed both of them as he reached into his inside jacket pocket fishing around for one of his business cards. He found one but was so focused on the two kids in front of him cuddling that he couldn't think straight. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but something about them two just didn't sit well with him at all.

"Here's my card. If you can think of anything else to tell me please don't hesitate to call."

"Will do sir. Thank you." Goddess said humbly taking the card out of his hand then turning to bury her head in Truth's chest.

The medical team was still upstairs and the cops were still walking around the house digging in any and everything they could find. Goddess remained in Truth's tight warm embrace as they continued to violate their belongings. The crew finally made their way to the stairs and began bringing Venus down in a large black body bag. Goddess watched as they made their way to the bottom of the stairs and headed for the door.

"GRAMS! Grams!" Goddess hollered as Truth restrained her so she wouldn't interrupt their stride.

"It's okay baby. I'm here, I got you." Truth said in her ear squeezing her tightly.

"You don't understand, that's my fucking grandmother and now she's dead!" Goddess knew she was really laying it on thick but she was only doing what she felt anyone would do in that situation.

"Goddess. What happened?" Truth asked as all of the professionals filed out of the house quietly.

"I don't know. Last night when I came in she was rambling on about me and you—"

"What about me and you?"

"She knew about us. I guess she saw me get out of your car. I don't know. But she knew and then she said she wanted me out in the morning. I went to bed and I swear I don't know anything after that."

"Damn." Truth said taking a seat and putting his head down as he folded his hands.

"What babe? You don't think she would've killed herself over us do you?" Goddess said sitting close beside him wrapping her arm around his broad beefy back rubbing gently.

"I really don't G, but I do know she was going through a whole bunch of shit, though."

"What kind of shit?"

"She really didn't tell you, huh?"

"Tell me what? You wouldn't tell before. What the hell is going on?" Goddess asked annoyed that he was holding back from her.

"G, your grandmother was dying of cervical cancer. She was stage four and it had gotten so bad that there wasn't much they could do. She refused to go through any more treatments or surgeries. I can't believe she never told you this."

"No...she never told me that." Goddess replied biting on her fingernail.

For a split second she felt a bit guilty about what she had done. For a split second she felt like she had done a horrible thing to a woman who was already decaying away from the inside out. But the more she thought about the kind of wretched woman her grandmother was the easier it was for those feelings to go away. In an instance she was right back to her old self and as her remorse deteriorated so did her thoughts about the old bat.

"Well she was killing herself anyway right? I mean one way or the other she was gonna go." Goddess said as she stood wiping her tears away from her chubby cheeks.

"Huh? What did you just say?" Truth asked bewildered at how nonchalant she sounded.

"Babe, I just meant that one way or the other something was bound to end her life. I mean, let's face it, Venus wasn't exactly taking care of herself." Goddess spat tossing her hair over her shoulders with a smirk.

Truth sat there trying to wrap his head around her comments. In his head, she sounded crazy as hell no matter how true it was. People who were in mourning never talked badly about someone who had just died, especially when they died in the same house as them. He looked into her face and figured she must have been in shock and was trying to rationalize what had just happened. It was the only sane thing he could think of that would make her say something as evil and vile as what she had said.

"Well, uh, I guess when the coroner releases the body we can start making funeral plans." He said rising to clean up the debris of papers and alcohol bottles all scattered all over the living room.

"Funeral plans? I ain't got no money for a funeral and I really don't want to be bothered with the rest of my bogus ass family who couldn't give two shits about us anyway." Goddess responded as she attempted to aid him in the cleaning effort kicking around some paper that was on the floor.

"Don't worry about the money, girl. I got this. And you gon' have to get on the phone and make it happen with your people. It ain't right for you to leave them out." Truth walked off to the kitchen to through the garbage away.

He wasn't about to let her jack up the funeral for Venus. She deserved much more than that. Besides, he felt badly about the whole situation. He didn't want to mention it but he did believe that she killed herself because she found out about the two of them. It was unbelievably romantic yet tragic and his only way of coping with it was for him to give her a beautiful homegoing. He walked back into the living room to find Goddess sitting down in Venus' Lazy Boy recliner staring up at the ceiling. He figured she needed some time and worked around her without a peep. Goddess watched as he cleaned without question around her noticing that he looked up every few seconds to see if she would cry.

"You need some tissue, babe? It's okay to let it out you know." Truth spat as he walked over cuddling balled up papers in his hands.

"No, I'm good. I have some right here in my pocket." Goddess replied as she pulled out the perfectly folded up tissue holding it up in the air.

Truth shot her a short smile then headed for the kitchen. She looked at the tissue opening it up realizing it was the same one from last night. She raced up to the eerie bathroom sloshing through the settled water and headed towards the toilet tossing the tissue inside. She quickly flushed the tissue down feeling a sense of relief knowing that her only obstacle now was waiting on the coroner to release the body. The sooner Venus was in the ground the better.

"What are you doing?" Truth said peeking around the corner to see what was going on.

"Ah! You startled me babe. Sheesh! You should really make some noise next time you come into a room." Goddess shrieked placing her hand on her rapidly breathing chest.

"Uh huh. What were you doing?"

"I was...just...throwing some tissue away. I felt like I had to throw up so I came up here. It is the only bathroom you know."

"Ah...okay."

"Listen babe, we shouldn't be afraid to come in here just because of that. It can't control our lives." Goddess explained rubbing his arm reassuring him that everything was okay.

"Let's just clean it up first before we do anything in it." Truth side eyed her as he left the room headed back to cleaning the ransacked first floor.

Goddess sent one right back as she turned around gazing at the flooded room. In her mind it had to be done. It was better her than she. Her time to shine was now and with Quetta in jail for the murder of Scully she was feeling herself tenfold, ready to take on the world. She pranced up out of the bathroom, trotting back down stairs to see if she could guilt Truth into some consoling sex. 
Chapter 13

Watch It

"Alright guys its Monday morning and for all you newbies I want you to remember that you must be accurate in all of your counting. Short drawers are not tolerated here at Chase. Don't forget your buttons under the counters in case of emergency and if you have any questions never hesitate to ask. Anyone here can help you. We are more than coworkers, we're family." Cole recited to the opening tellers at the morning meeting.

He walked out the door leaving them to their coffee and conversation, heading over to the bankers for their quick private meeting before opening. Goddess didn't even pay him any attention happy that she had had the upper hand on him during their last encounter. She wasn't used to rejection but she didn't care anymore about him because she had Truth and no one compared to him.

"Hey babe. I just wanted to let you know that I'm at work and I'll see you tonight." She said stirring her coffee with a short skinny red and white straw.

"Alright baby. You have a good day and remember, no stress. Okay?" He replied in the most soothing tone.

"Yes darling. I don't know what I'd do without you. Later." She said as she hung up the phone.

It was five to nine and Cole was about to open the doors for the few customers waiting in line in the cold outside the door. Goddess was nervous but she knew she had this job in the bag. She manned her station having already counted down her drawer and logged into her computer. She took a deep breath and turned to the girl next to her who was wearing a fierce pair of this season's silver Manolo Blahnik's with a sparkling flower jewel embellishment. Goddess knew labels like the back of her hand and missed wearing the new ones so much. She was grateful that Truth had bought her an updated phone so she could Google fashion and dream of it's loveliness.

"Hi, um, Desire is it?" She asked leaning over bringing her voice down in respect.

"Yes and before you ask yes it's my real name." Desire responded cockily.

"Um, no. I was just going to ask you where you got your Manolos from."

"Oh! Ha! Girl excuse me. I'm not usually this bitchy early in the morning. But I got into it with my husband and my son is driving me insane with his early morning wake up calls. Girl I ordered these, or should I say my dip ordered these from Barney's for me." Desire replied modeling them out of her seat for her.

"They are so beautiful. I wish I had a nigga trickin' off for me like that." Goddess laughed with Desire.

"Shit you can. You just gotta find the right kind of simple ass nigga that will do anything you want so long as he can smell your dirty panties." Desire flicked her booty length auburn weave around to her backside and took a seat.

"Hmm. I bet." Goddess mumbled under her breath as she turned in her seat.

Desire's makeup looked like she had gotten it done at a Carson's make up counter everyday. She wore dark long fake eyelashes and her French manicured gel nails were fresh like she had just came from getting them done. Her uniform of the blue Chase polo and dark navy slacks was freshly pressed and clean as if it were fresh out of a cleaner's bag. Her dark chocolate smooth skin complimented her blue contact lenses making her look exotic but she was American all the way and if it weren't for her having this job, Goddess might have mistaken her for a dumb hood rat.

The day breezed by without any problems or concerns on Goddess' end. She worked her window like she was a pro at it, like she had been a teller for years. She was excited to finally be putting her life to good use. It was only a stepping stone until she found a salary job in her field that would hire her without any experience but until then she was happy right behind the thick paned glass helping people with their bank accounts. Quitting time couldn't have come soon enough as she took care of her last customer and logged out of her computer. She unlocked her drawer and took it out noticing she was the first one to count down as she headed to the back banking room.

"Ah, Goddess Young. How was your first day?" Cole asked as he ended his conversation with the assistant manager who turned taking a sip of her coffee.

"It was actually great! I think I'm going to love it here." Goddess replied sitting her drawer down on the nearby table. The assistant manager pulled her cash out ticket up on the computer then wheeled her chair over to begin counting down her drawer.

"Hey, I got it, Mary. It's cool. Go on home." Cole said walking over, taking over the project.

Mary waved them both off anxious to get the hell out of there. The door clicked behind her as she exited and Cole dug his hand in the drawer beginning to count the money. An awkward silence between them filled the room as he continued to count. Goddess folded her hands standing there rocking back and forth casually like she was waiting on an elevator. Cole smiled inside knowing that she was trying to figure out what to do with herself while she waited and decided to put her out of her misery.

"So, you think you will be here for the long term? He asked throwing the drawer in a big silver lock cabinet and sliding the slip across the table for her to sign.

"Maybe. We'll see how life pans out." Goddess smiled as she signed and slid the slip back over to him and headed for the door.

"Uh, hey Goddess. I'd really like to talk to you about the other day." Cole stopped her dead in her tracks.

"You know what, Cole. Don't worry about it. I mean you were under the impression that I was lazy and I get that. No harm, no foul. I'm over it." She replied placing her hand on the door handle.

"But I'm not." Cole spat walking over to her. "Let me apologize."

"Okay...I'm listening."

"I didn't mean to blow up at you like that. I just really like strong independent women and when you came on to me...forget that. I misjudged you. You are obviously very beautiful and very well educated and I'm sorry." Cole said giving her right arm a slow sensual rub.

"Thanks. Apology accepted." Goddess retorted sternly as she attempted to walk out but was halted by his hand.

"Very...beautiful." Cole recited again before leaning in to kiss her gently on lips.

"Wait. What the hell are you doing?" She asked arching her back and leaning away from him.

"I'm giving you what you wanted. And don't worry I can give you way much more."

"Who said I wanted that anymore?"

"What? You know you want me girl, quit playing."

"I see your ego is a lot bigger than I originally thought. It's a shame but you're too late. I have a man sweetie." She smiled bringing a reasonable amount of space in between them.

"Damn you got a man that fast?"

"Well when a real man sees something he wants he goes after it and those that study long, study wrong."

"Come here baby. I'll show you a real man." Cole spat as he grabbed the small of her back pulling her aggressively close to him.

"Cole stop. This is unprofessional." She fought.

"Um, excuse me. I'm trying to get in here!" Desire came barging in with a stank attitude pushing the door and whoever was behind it. "Dang, what's going on in here?"

"Oh, nothing sugar dip. I was just congratulating Goddess, here, on a fine job today. We'll see you tomorrow sweetie." Cole said snatching the drawer out of Desire's hand rather harshly.

Goddess rolled her eyes and shook her head at his poor display of cover up and lies. Interpersonal relationships were strictly forbidden at Chase Bank as it stated on page nine of the employee handbook but obviously that meant nothing to him. It would have been a nonfactor to her as well had he not rejected her from jump.

It was neither here nor there because she was with Truth and that's where her heart lied. He was too good of a man to disrespect like that and she wasn't about to risk ruining a good thing. Desire walked up to Cole pecking her lips with his a few times then turned looking sinisterly into Goddess' eyes. Goddess smiled knowing that she had no idea what her so-called man was up to.

"Oh, uh, by the way Cole. My grandmother died yesterday and eventually I'm going to be needing a few days off for the funeral." Goddess spat crossing her arms.

"A few days? But you just started." He replied side eyeing her.

"Yes but I'm sure that won't be a problem, right?" Goddess gritted her teeth. "One of the girls was even telling me that I could get up to three paid days."

Cole looked up distraught by her comment. He knew she was lying but feared it was the wrong time to call her on it. He stood eyeing her down before giving her an okay nod.

"We'll discuss this in my office in the morning." Cole spat as he hoped to catch a glimpse of her round backside as she left.

She walked out of the office knowing that her man had to have been waiting on her leaving Cole to his regretful thoughts.

"Babe, what the fuck was she doing in here alone with you?" Desire asked poking her lips out with puppy dog eyes like a sad little baby.

"Girl calm that shit down, alright. I was just doing my damn job." Cole replied sternly and upset.

"All I'm saying is if you plan on fucking around on me you could at least do it with a bitch that doesn't work here. Damn! These bitches ain't badder than me no way." Desire said gyrating her expanded hips and oversized ass in front of his face while he sat counting her drawer.

"You're short again Desire. Three hundred dollars this time, really?"

"And? Nigga you got that shit."

"Ugh! I'm tired of carrying your ass. These past few years you've been slacking just because you throwing ass in my face. If I quit your ass then what are you going to do?" Cole said slamming the slip on the table.

"Nigga you ain't gon' quit me. You love this shit." Desire made her way over to his lap plopping down gently while he ran his hands across her backside. "You want this shit."

Cole began caressing and squeezing her nice firm ass loving the way it felt and the way she kept it tight for him. Despite her looks, it was beyond frustrating for him to keep dealing with someone so ignorant and lazy and it was mostly the reason why he was looking to move on to someone more suitable to his aspirations. Desire used to be that person but she got too comfortable with him spoiling her. She no longer even tried to impress him anymore and he began to feel as if she was always only in it for the cash. The only thing still tying them together was the long hours of steamy hot sex they had almost every night. He was thirty-five and she was twenty-six and wearing his ass clean out.

"Alright you gotta get up before the rest of the girls come in here to cash out." Cole gave her ass a few little taps as she rose and signed her slip.

"Meanwhile, if you ever think about leaving me, I'll make your life a living hell." She said as she headed for the door.

"That's funny you should mention hell when you forgot a major detail." Cole responded.

"What's that?"

"You're fucking married!"

"So. What my husband doesn't know and hasn't known for the last three years won't hurt him. As long as I'm bringing home that bacon, he has no complaints."

"I'm sure he would be interested to know what you're doing all of those late nights you are supposedly hanging with your girls."

"My husband is only concerned with what I tell him. So you can threaten all you want but you won't get very far."

"What's done in the dark always comes to the light, Desire. I don't have no ties to anyone, so I'm good."

"Nigga shut up all that cheating talk and worry about meeting me at the Holiday Inn at Midway. Don't be late this time. You know how I hate waiting, especially when I'm horny." Desire winked her right eye and shot him a smirk as she walked out the door.

Cole shook his head as she walked out of the door and the other tellers filed in. He knew that getting rid of Desire was going to take the work of God because doing it himself seemed to be difficult. He had tried many times before but he was always weak for her flesh. His pockets were long from stacking his money right the whole nine years he had been working at the bank so it was never about the money. It was about the yearning for the touch, the feel, the essence of a beautiful intelligent woman and Goddess fit the form. 
Chapter 14

The Truth

"Hey babe. How was your first day of actual work?" Truth asked as Goddess slid her voluptuous backside into the passenger seat of his Hybrid.

"It was good. I thought it would be hard but it was actually easy as hell. How was things at the shop?" Goddess replied giving him a small peck on the cheek.

"Shop's closed on Mondays, baby." Truth spat vaguely.

"Oh. Well, what did you do all day?" Goddess asked curiously wondering why he didn't mention that before.

"Ah, shit baby. I just chilled. I was gonna go sit up with my dudes for a second but they were playing video games and shit. I can't stand that shit." Truth retorted tossing her a sack and a grape Swisher.

"So you just chilled, what, at home?" Goddess interrogated in no mood to smoke an L right then.

"G. What's wrong with you? You had a stressful day or something?"

"Ugh. I'm sorry babe. I just have a lot on my mind." She wasn't lying.

Her mind had been racing a mile a minute trying to stay on her toes and patiently awaiting the call from the coroner. It looked bad for her to be involved with a murder in one state and then be the relative of a death in another. Once Venus was sleeping with the worms her skies would be blue again. It was then that she figured out the ultimate cover up. Her heart skipped a beat from excitement just thinking about her plan.

"Have you put any thoughts into funeral plans yet?" Truth asked as he drove on.

"No and I gotta tell ya I really don't feel like talking about that right now." Goddess felt the nastiness in her voice but she was dog tired and couldn't bring herself to be nice and apologize.

"Well the coroner should be calling soon so you might wanna put some thought into it." Truth fired back as he pulled up in front of Venus' house feeling all of his old feelings coming back for her.

Goddess looked over at the house, dreading entering it. "Truth, maybe I should be alone tonight."

"Oh now you wanna be alone?"

"I just don't want to fight over this shit."

"You are the one still bringing it up, Goddess. I'm done with the conversation. Man, I don't think it's good for either of us to be alone tonight, babe."

Goddess felt badly that she wanted some space but they had been up under each other for the past few weeks. She hadn't had much time to breathe and take their relationship all in yet. Spliff's death was still fresh in her mind and she was still in mourning. She hadn't sorted out yet if it was even right for her to be dating someone else since she wasn't over her one true love. But Truth's skin was so velvety smooth, his lips released all the right words, his body made all the right moves, and his taste was beyond measure.

"Com' on babe." She winked as they exited the car and went into the house.

"You know I got my key so I can be here when you aren't. That way you'll know where I'm at and what I'm doing." Truth spat as he grabbed her hand leading her up the stairs.

"Your key? Oh yeah I almost forgot about that. Yeah...yeah." Goddess replied unenthusiastically.

"Get on the bed and don't move." Truth demanded removing his coat and shirt as quickly as possible.

Goddess took her black wool Pea coat off letting it fall to the floor then got in the bed heeled boots and all. She wasn't in the mood to have sex but Truth's voice was just so damn seductive that when he spoke her body could do nothing but submit. Truth walked over to her looking down on her beauty, silently wondering where she had been all of his life. There was not a doubt that he was head over heels for her but he didn't want to reveal that just yet. He reached down unzipping and sliding off her boots one by one. Then he ran his long arms up the sides of her legs rubbing them gently as he moved up her navy blue pencil skirt and to her waist pulling on her pantyhose.

"Baby that tickles." Goddess giggled laughing hysterically.

"Shhh." He replied attempting to calm her down.

It was then that she knew he was about his business on this night. He dropped the pantyhose to the floor then began kissing his way up to her slit. The tingle drove her crazy from his tongue on her inner thighs but she was not going to mess up the mood with laughter. Her chest rose up and down erratically as he continued to tease her body with the rolls of his tongue, which was now licking the outside of her pink panties very gently. Her clitoris began to pulsate with his every touch while he reached to pull those off as well.

"Take your clothes off." He said backing away from the bed, taking a lean on the vanity.

Goddess began racing to remove her blouse and skirt like a horny toad now fully in the mood to get her freak on.

"No. Slowly." He demanded licking his lips seductively.

Goddess did as she was told. The room was dark only having the lights from the street to help them move around the room. She tossed the rest of the clothes on the floor and was down to her bra, which she reached one hand around and with one swoop of her nail unhooked it. The release allowed her lovelies to fall perfectly perky in front of her. Truth began stroking his long schlong feeling its mass as it grew, becoming harder.

"Bring that thang over here baby." Goddess leaned back on the bed gyrating her waist around yearning for his touch.

"You want me baby? You ready for me?" Truth asked in a very deep voice.

"Yes daddy. Come get your pussy." She retorted now rubbing her hand back and forth across her twat becoming wetter by the minute.

Truth walked over to the side of the bed still stroking himself and never breaking stride. Goddess was not about to let him tease her any longer. She wanted that dick and she wanted it now even if she had to take it to get it. As he lied back on the bed, she crawled on the bed over to him like a temptress in heat and cocked her ass in the air arching and spreading it just the way he liked it. She grabbed his elongated piece and popped it in her mouth swallowing it fast and whole. Her throat relaxed but gaged only a little as she fought in determination to get all of him in her mouth.

"Ohhh! Shit!" Truth bellowed loving every bit of the feeling shooting through his body.

He placed his hand on his forehead then looked down at her honey brown backside reaching to grab but being sure not to interfere with her work. Her tongue swiveled as she bobbed her head back and forth slobbering and slurping his goodness. Truth moaned uncontrollably and his legs trembled a bit. He tried to hold the back of them so they would be still but he was failing miserably.

"Girl you trying to make me bust." Truth spat as he bit his bottom lip pulling her up from her job.

"Baby, I wanted you too." Goddess replied disappointedly.

"Naw, this shit ain't about me. It's about you. Now lay down." Truth retorted knowing her pussy was on fire for him right then.

Goddess did as she was instructed while he grabbed her feet one by one giving them a near deep tissue massage. He grasped them tightly in his hands stroking his fingers along the bottoms of her feet. She moaned deeply breathing heavily and loving the way his strong hands caressed her aching ends. She wanted him so badly that she licked her lips profusely savoring the taste of him in her mouth. Truth raised her feet to his mouth kissing and sucking from one toe to the next making sure not to miss one as Goddess cringed trying not to lose her mind from the ticklish feeling.

"Damn, baby. What are you doing to me?" Goddess didn't expect an answer nor was she going to get one as she rubbed her fingers in the wet gushiness of her snatch.

Truth leaned down on all fours on the bed spreading her legs apart forcefully looking up into her face as he breathed heavily on her opening. She patiently waited for him to dive in, for him to munch on her cleanly shaved lips and give her clitoris a well-deserved tongue-lashing. He knew how to do that very well and she would leave him down there for the rest of his life if she could. He pulverized her pussy slurping and swallowing all that she spewed out at him. He stroked his cement like piece feeling his temperature rise along with hers. She busted once, twice, and then a third time and each time she scooted back even further on the bed hitting the headboard hard.

"Get yo ass back here. Stop running dammit and be big girl." Truth scolded as he wrapped his arms around her legs locking her into his mouth.

"Baby, I can't breath! Shit!" Goddess screamed in ecstasy.

"Shut up!"

Those were the only words Truth uttered as he planted his face back down into her loveliness moving his head all about. He sat up pushing her legs above her head allowing her toes to touch the headboard presenting both of her holes to the air as he stuck his lengthened tongue down into her pussy and then her asshole. He rotated back and forth between holes sending chills through Goddess like lightning bolts. Her clit poked out as tall as a tree while his tongue flickered rapidly on it. Tears of joy formed in her eyes and the room fell silent.

"Ooooooo! Ah, baby shit! Baby, baby!" Goddess' pleasure was beyond elevated. "Lick this fucking pussy, nigga, shit!"

She grabbed the back of his head pushing him further into her sloshed essence. Truth loved it controlling his breathing so he would be able to do as she instructed. Once he felt her explode into his mouth for the seventh time, he tightened his lips and began sucking hard on her clit to ensure he had completely drained all of her goodness. He let go placing his fingers in her opening to feel the warm gooey wetness then released some of the wetness from his mouth back onto her pussy making it even wetter than before. He then rose up keeping her legs posted in their upright position as he mounted her pushing her thighs down and sliding his Johnson down inside of her.

"Yeah, that pussy is nice and hot, baby." Truth moaned adoring the feel of her tight muscles around his hardened one.

"Fuck me, daddy!" Goddess released passionately.

"We beyond fucking baby. I'm about to show this pussy how to love." And with that Truth came up from her opening leaving only a small bit of his tip inside of her.

He leaned forward lying down on her with her legs still above her head releasing her tits in between them. His broad shoulders pressed down against her skin firmly as he kissed her neck and thrust his waist downward slowly, forcing her toes to tap the headboard.

"Ahh!" Goddess gasped as she took all of him inside of her.

"It feels good baby?" Truth asked thrusting harder plunging into her snaking her drain.

"Uh huh..." She muttered softly squinting her eyes and lips together.

"You know what I wanna hear."

It took everything Truth had in him not to bust inside of her. Her heavy panting in his ear had him bugging hard as he tried to concentrate and hold back. He waited for her to give him the words he so desperately desired but all she could get out were wails of lust with a smidgen of agony. He tapped her uterus seductively punching down in her letting her know who was he was. He was the man that made her heart bleed without piercing it. He was the man who knew how to take care of her just the way she needed. Goddess reached up grabbing his head, stroking it to let him know that she felt it. She felt the love that he was trying to drill inside of her. She felt the pain he had been through in the past and made the silent solemn vow never to hurt him in that way and betray his trust.

As his pumps became more and more frequent she knew it was his time. She wiggled down just enough to pump her waist up to counter his. Truth groaned deeply vibrating her chest with the sound of a grizzly bear. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard as she strived to pump back harder and faster.

"Ah...damn girl." He said feeling his legs tighten up. "Tell me, baby. Say it."

"You like this pussy, daddy?" Goddess asked leaning over to lick his ear.

"Ah! Say it!" Truth knew he could hold it no longer. "Say that shit!"

Truth pumped harder and faster so rapid that he caught a cramp in the back of his leg that didn't even faze him. He wanted to jerk back but he was feeling so good he felt there wasn't enough time. Goddess reached around grabbing his ass cheeks securely putting all of her might into her hands.

"Oh...baby...OH!" His legs trembled vigorously.

"You da Truth, daddy." Goddess whispered delicately in his ear as his body collapsed over her breathing heavily and sucking sweet nectar from her neck. 
Chapter 15

Space

It was a dark and stormy Wednesday morning. This winter was odd having melted all of the snow and begun raining. Lightning filled the skies with thunder following after it as Truth pulled up carefully to the back alley entrance of the bank. Goddess leaned across the seat to wrestle her tongue with his. The taste of her clit was still on his breath.

"Aight, shawty. Have a good day at work." Truth spat as he wiped the slob from her lips.

"You too baby. Be here at five and don't be late."

"Never." Truth winked his eye and shot her a sly smirk.

Goddess exited the car arching her ass in his direction allowing him to gaze at how tight fitting her dark navy slacks were hugging her. He watched as she ran to the open door Cole was holding open for her then disappeared behind the glass before pulling off. She walked to the break room to put up her belongings and looked in the mirror checking to see if any drops of rain destroyed her hair and makeup.

"Well, you're here bright and early this morning, Ms. Young." Cole said as he entered into the room gazing at her voluptuous beauty.

"Um, is no one else here?" She asked using her fingers to comb her hair back into a pony.

"Well I only have two tellers and one banker today due to the rain. I don't expect much business so I called the others off. Even Magda at the front desk is off today." Cole replied shoving his hands in his pockets and squinting his eyes.

"Eh. Thanks for calling me and giving me the day off."

"I thought you really needed this job. I figured I was doing you a favor."

"You know what Cole. You're right. So are we still having the early morning pow wow or are we ditching that since it'll be slow today?" Goddess tried to flip the subject on him.

"I think we will scratch that just for today." Cole moved in closer to her unable to resist putting his arms underneath hers, grabbing hold of her frontal beauties as she fiddled with her hair.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing? Did you just grab my damn tits?" She snapped turning to push him away.

"You look very beautiful today." He responded staring at the bulges popping out of her Chase polo. "I gotta have you, Goddess."

"Are you serious right now? Have me? What about Desire and then you know I have a man. You just saw him drop me off and you gon' pull something like this." She snapped feeling disrespected.

"Desire ain't what she used to be. She used to be sexy and smart but lately she's just been acting like some hood rat gold digging ho. She ain't even all that cute and besides she's married. You got it all and with a man like me on your side you can have the best."

Cole's words resonated through her mental for a cold brief second before snapping back into the reality that was her Truth. She couldn't in good conscience allow her feelings to stray from the most perfect man on earth. Even if he wasn't perfect he came mighty damn close. Cole was more beautiful on the outside than he was on the inside. It was the only thing she knew about him since she really hadn't taken the time to get to know him. He was superficial and egotistical but his persona gave off the impression that he was a good catch for any good woman.

"I already have the best, Cole. Maybe if you got someone of your own instead of sharing, you would have the best too."

"We ain't talking about me, we talking about you. And you could have better." Cole laughed as he walked up to her forcefully pulling and pressing her body against his.

"Cole, let me go. I don't want you. Don't you get it?"

He reached his hands down grasping a huge chunk of her round backside and leaned in to give her some lip service. Goddess resisted his advances pushing with all of her might to get him off of her. His grip was so strong making it nearly impossible to pry away from him. Cole sucked a nice chunk of her neck in his mouth making it harder and harder the more she struggled. He looked up as the door clicked, into the eyes of Mary. Her pale skin turned red and her thick bifocal glasses jumped, startled from what she was seeing. Goddess turned around just in time to see her wave her hands in the air apologetically and shake her head as she backed out of the door.

"Ugh, that was awkward." Cole exhaled releasing her.

"Ya think? Damn now everybody is gonna think I'm the bank ho and I know they know you fucking Desire." She said shoving his shoulder roughly.

"Mary ain't gon' say nothing though. She's cool." He replied wiping some spittle from his lips.

"Yeah well, snitch or not, do me a favor and stay the fuck away from me. Please!" Goddess stormed out completely disheveled.

She wasn't sure what would get back to Desire but she played the scene over and over again in her mind of what she would do if she found out and it did not end well. She wondered if she should tell her herself and that way the story could get told correctly. Her stomach churned getting a fucked up feeling coming on. Her attitude kicked in knowing that she was not going to have a good rest of the day.

Burying herself in work related chores was all she could do to keep busy and keep him off of her mind. By the time she clocked out she had come to the conclusion that she wouldn't tell Desire or Truth about the events that had transpired between her and Cole. She had a tendency to fuck those kinds of things up so she sought it best to just keep her mouth closed.

"Hey babe. How was work?" Truth asked pecking her lips as she entered the car.

"Dreadful. I'm looking forward to the damn weekend. How was your day?"

"Ah, it was hectic but that's the life of a business owner. You know what I'm saying?"

Truth was proud of himself and his business and it read on his face every time he talked about it. While he rambled on and on, Goddess struggled to listen seeing as though all she could think about was Cole's wet tongue on her neck. The flashbacks sauntered through her brain awakening any lost feeling she may have had for him. They were wrong. It was wrong to feel what she was feeling almost drawing her into a full on migraine. Her heart thumped as loud as her head while she placed both of her hands over her temples begging God for salvation.

"Babe? Babe?" Truth called out.

"Yeah!"

"Where were you? You just tuned me out and shit."

"Oh, I'm sorry Truth. I'm just not feeling myself today."

"You were fine this morning. Something happen at work?"

"Naw...naw I'm good, baby."

"Well, I asked if you wanted to take the car just in case you wanted to go and do something. Hell, I was thinking since we both practically start at the same time, but you get off before me, shit you can take the car and pick me up from work. How's that?" Truth smiled reaching over to curl her hair behind her ear.

"I think that's great honey." She replied somewhat uninterested.

"You don't sound happy about it. If nothing else I thought it would be sweet for me to show off my beautiful lady to the guys at the shop."

"Well if I really wanted to drive, sweetheart, I could just drive Venus' car. You know that right?" She replied in a shady manner.

"Wow. I just thought it would be nice. Venus never wanted to come to the shop so it would have been nice for you to come up in there." He spat.

"Ugh! If I never hear her name again it will be too soon!" She blurted out.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? A woman, your damn grandmother at that has died. You would think you of all people would be the most compassionate."

"You obviously don't know me." Goddess used her index and her thumb to squeeze the shaft of her nose relieving a bit of stress from the day's drama.

"Alright. I'm not gonna fight with you anymore about this shit. I can understand shock after a close death but you really need to snap back and get it together. You should show some motherfuckin' respect."

"Respect? For what? That bitch didn't give a fuck about me. The only person she cared about was my mother. She put me out because of you and it seems like you just can't let the bitch—"

"Hey! Goddamn it, that bitch gave you a place to stay when she didn't have to and raised you when your mom's was out there dope sick. Yeah she talked to me. I had mad love for her, about as much as I got for you. But your attitude is starting to make me regret that."

"I just feel like she's put me through so much—"

"And we together now. Don't you feel the least bit guilty that her death might have been caused by our relationship?" Truth said stroking his head stressfully.

"No. She had to be really sick in the head to kill herself over a nigga. I'm just being real."

Truth shook his head in disbelief from her words. He was taught that no matter how much dirt a person did in life you should always respect them in death. He didn't want any bad karma and it seemed like that's what Goddess was attracting to their newfound relationship. He pulled up in front of the house without even shutting the car off. Goddess looked over at the ignition waiting for him to turn the key but he never did. He just leaned back staring out of the front windshield.

"Ugh. I think we may need to break for a few days." Truth sighed rubbing his hand over his face.

"What? You trying to break up with me? I don't believe this shit."

"No, I didn't say break up, I just said take a break from each other. We've been all up under each other nonstop and I'm just feeling like we need some space before it comes to that." There was clearly exhaustion in his voice.

The IPhone wedged inside of Goddess' black and white fabric satchel was ringing off the hook with the oldies cut, As We Lay. The number was unrecognizable as she stared at it trying to figure out who it was. She dreaded answering it since she was in the middle of a heated conversation with Truth then turned to him throwing him a quick side eye as she hit the answer button.

"Hello."

"Yes may I speak with Goddess Young please."

"Who is this?"

"This is Jerome Fedlope of the Cook County Coroners Office. I was calling in regards to the body of Venus Young."

"Uh...yes." She turned her head towards the passenger window watching as her breath made foggy spots upon it.

"I have concluded that your grandmother's death was a suicide. In this case, she took a lethal dose of painkillers coupled with the alcohol, which made a vicious cocktail that was indeed deadly. The detectives indicated that she had a prescription for these on the scene, so I don't suspect any foul play."

"Uh huh." Goddess listened.

"Seeing as though the medicine was prescribed to her, I'm going to assume she was informed about the affects of the drug when it's mixed with alcohol. That's why I'm ruling it a suicide. Do you have any other questions for me?"

"Nope...nope." She remained as vague as possible hoping Truth couldn't hear what the man was saying.

"Well, I'll just need the name of the funeral home you'll be using and I'll have the body transported there along with the necessary paperwork."

"Um...can I get back to you on that? I haven't exactly figured that out yet." She replied nervously.

"Oh. May I ask why not?"

"Well, I'm not actually sitting on money, sir."

"Oh...of course. Forgive me. Well I tell you this. You may want to start going through some old papers of hers to see if she had a policy that may help you. But we will only hold the body for five days before we give it a nice Christian city burial. Especially since next week is Thanksgiving."

"Thank you, sir, for all your help. Goodbye." Goddess quickly hung up the phone and tossed it back inside of her purse.

"So who was that?" Truth asked giving her the short look.

"Oh, it was just my boss, Cole. He needed to brief me on some procedures that I forgot. Anyway, so you need a break, huh?"

Truth shook his head and licked his lips wondering if he was doing the right thing. "Yeah. So what kind of procedures did he need to talk to you about that couldn't wait til tomorrow?"

"Don't get off the subject nigga. You wanna break, right? Then break on." Goddess responded smiling a little inside at his jealousy cuteness.

She exited the car slamming the door behind her and running into the house. There was much work for her to do and so little time to do it. Truth's little game of separation had to be last on her list of shit to worry about. He sat in the car thinking he had made a bad mistake. The last thing he wanted to do was break up with her but it was clear to him that she needed to get her priorities in order. He figured he was her distraction and wanted to give her all of the space she needed to get it together before they moved on with their lives. It was better now than if they were together for years and she suffered the same hiccups Venus did while making him pay for them. He'd be damned if he went through that again.

Goddess ran upstairs bursting through Venus' room door looking around to see where she would start looking first. Ding Dong. The doorbell rang angering her as she headed toward the wooden bureau in the corner. She turned running down the stairs and to the door in frustration already knowing who it was and what he wanted.

"Truth, you were right we need a break so let's jus—" She stopped in her tracks as the door swung wide open.

"Hi, is Venus home?" The large man standing before her asked while puffing on his long brown cigar.

"Uh, no. Who are you anyway?"

"I'm your momma's money train baby. I pay the bills in this house so you gots to be nice to me. Ya understand?" He replied slithering in, smiling from ear to ear.

"Uh, hold on big boy. Okay couple of things. One, she's not my mother she's my grandmother. Two, I never invited you in so you may want to back it up back out the door and three she's dead. She died a few days ago."

"Dead? What? Is this some bullshit?"

"No it isn't. Okay. She's dead and there probably won't be a funeral cause I'm thinking of having her cremated. So I don't know what kind of arrangement you two had going on, but it's over now. Okay, buddy?" Goddess shut him down sternly, showing him out the door.

"Damn...dead huh? Shit, I wish I had smacked that ass before she kicked the bucket. That was some damn good pussy there." The man said lowering his head in respect. "I don't suppose you wanna..."

"Ew! Get the fuck outta here!"

"Shit. Can't blame an old pimp for trying." The man laughed as he pimped on down the walkway.

"Oh, hey! You wouldn't happen to have heard her say anything about having a policy, would ya?" Goddess said biting her lips for a small seductive affect.

"Eh. Yeah right." The man laughed getting into his Range Rover and speeding off. 
Chapter 16

Luck Would Have It

"Cole. I'm not feeling well and won't be in today. Besides I need this time to get my grandmother's funeral arrangements in order." Goddess said faking a cough.

"Is that right?"

"Yes. I have to go to the doctor and get some medicine and then meet with the funeral home director."

"Alright Goddess, but I expect to see you in the morning."

"Yep, thanks." She said anxiously hanging up the phone.

Goddess was unable to sleep last night after tearing up Venus' room looking for insurance papers and finding nothing. She was beyond pissed. Her hair was in disarray and her breath kicked like forty-year-old cow dung. She didn't know if she simply didn't have a policy or if she had hidden it extremely well. But after ransacking everything in sight, she could not for the life of her find any papers on a policy. She had given up, flipping through the yellow pages then picking up the phone.

"Blake Lamb. How may I help you today?"

"Yes, hi. I recently had a death, my grandmother, and I was wondering if you had an opening as soon as possible." Goddess said grabbing her pen and a nearby piece of paper.

"Ah. I'm sorry for you loss. We usually like for our customers to stop in and view our extensive packages. Uh, but do you know what you're looking for?"

"Yes. I need cremation. Immediately. How much would that be?"

"Okay well now that's different. Cremation services are cheaper than regular services and prices vary depending on your needs. Why don't you come in so we can discuss further?" The man continued to push to convince her to come in.

"Ugh. Is this not something that can be handled over the phone? I hate funeral homes." Goddess replied.

"I totally understand that ma'am. But I'm afraid we'll need you to fill out some paperwork and choose your packages in person. May we have the name of the person so we can request to have their remains?"

"Venus Young and fine. I'll be there sometime today."

"Stay blessed. We'll see you when you get here."

Goddess tossed her cell on the table, annoyed that the process had to be done in person. She felt the guy was just trying to wheel her in so he could upsell her but what he didn't know was not only did she have thick skin but also she was broke. In reality she had no idea how she was even going to pay for all of this without Truth's help. He would never allow for her to cremate Venus without being able to see her again. In an effort to calm her brain for a while, she dragged herself into the kitchen to make some coffee. Standing at the counter watching the coffee brew, she could hear the faint sounds of a phone ringing, but it wasn't hers.

She raced back to the living room to find the noise sliding on her socks and almost busting her ass. The ringing appeared to be coming from the chair where Venus was last sitting. She stuffed her hand down on the side of the cushion seat digging around for the phone but came up short. The sound stopped but immediately started again as she peeked her head around to the back of chair finding it right behind the chair's leg. She picked it up checking out the caller id, which read, I-Man.

"Hello?" Goddess answered questioning.

"Ms. V! Where the hell you been? I've been calling and been by the house and you haven't returned my phone calls chick. What's up you dodging me this month or what?" The female's voice rang out from the other end.

"Um...no. You don't understand..."

"No. What I don't understand is if you shopped off all your damn money then you need to ask them niggas for it cause I ain't going for that shit this month girl. Com' on now. Com' on!" The lady kept rambling on not allowing Goddess to get a word in edgewise. "I bet you gon' be calling me to find out when that damn check is ready. I bet that."

"Hey! Please just be quiet for a second. I don't know who this is but I need to tell you something. My name is Goddess and Venus was my grandmother. She's dead."

"Oh...oh my. I'm so so sorry honey. What happened? I just talked to her not to long ago. How did this happen? Did her cancer run its course already?"

"Who are you?" Goddess asked annoyed by her excessive talking.

"Oh! My gosh, where are my manners? I'm Imani, your grandmother's insurance girl. I work for Globe."

"Oh okay. Boy, am I sure glad you called. I could really use some help moola wise. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be paying for the funeral." Goddess choked up some sympathy in her voice.

"Well child you ain't gotta worry about that no more. Just tell the funeral home to call me and they will wait on your insurance money to get paid. So you are the last living next of kin then. Is that correct?" Imani asked.

"Yes. Her daughter was my mother."

"I know this is a difficult time for you, but don't you fret. Girlfriend, you about to get paid. So don't worry about paying for the funeral arrangements at all. Now I'm sure the coroner released the body, so what's the cause of death?"

"Suicide." Goddess retorted happily hearing Imani fumble through papers in the background.

"What? Oh my gosh. Okay, well don't panic sweetie but that does change a few things." Imani shrieked.

The phone went silent for a bit as Imani fiddled and rambled searching through her documents for a solution to the problem before reporting it to her. Goddess bit her nails, praying that she didn't have a reason to panic. While she waited for her response she realized that she hadn't gotten her early morning wake up call from Truth. On days that he didn't spend the night, he would usually called to make sure she was awake for work but today he didn't. She began to realize that he was serious about what he said yesterday so much so that he didn't even want to talk to her. It pained her a bit but she knew she could use her charm to get him back into her. She wasn't worried at all.

"Okay, here's the deal. You won't be able to get the full policy for your grandmother because she wasn't covered for suicide. It only covered her for her cancer or other accidental death." Imani sighed, sucking her lips.

Those words made her relive Spliff's funeral all over again. She really wasn't expecting anything major but she would have liked to have a decent amount of money so she wouldn't have to struggle with her mediocre eleven dollars an hour at the bank.

"But the good news is you will get something and then all of your mother's check. How does that sound?" Imani continued.

"That sounds great! So when will I be able to get these checks?" Goddess asked frantically.

"Um, well I could try to get both checks to you by the beginning of next month providing everything pans out with the coroner. I will be contacting you with amounts shortly. Is this a good number to reach you?"

Goddess gave Imani her number then ran to the sofa to plug Imani's into her phone. She labeled the number "money" in order to remember who she was and to answer the phone quickly. The two ladies hung up the phone and Goddess ran back to the kitchen to retrieve her coffee with a little more pep in her step than before. She was happy that she had answered the phone having heard it days before but was uninterested in finding it actually hoping that the phone would soon die, never to ring again. She finished her coffee, called the funeral home to verify the insurance company's payment method then headed to get dressed so she could head to the funeral home. The sooner she got Venus' body burned the sooner she would be able to let her feelings of worry and concern burn as well.

****

The next day at work, Goddess decided not to let anything get to her. She popped out of Venus' truck already feeling like a million bucks as she sauntered inside of the bank past Cole like he wasn't even holding the door for her. He locked the door back then followed closely behind her trying to catch up with her before she made her way towards the break room.

"Hey. Why are you walking so fast?" Cole asked grabbing her arm to stop her.

"No reason. I'm just ready to get the day started. I really hope you don't plan on taking any cheap feels or kisses today. Fighting was not on my agenda for today." Goddess replied as she flicked her dark hair around her shoulder letting it fall effortlessly to her back.

"She knows." Cole said staring blankly into her eyes.

"Who knows what, Cole?"

"Desire. She knows about us." Cole said taking her hand in his.

"What!" She yelled angrily as Cole shushed her. "What the fuck do you mean she knows about us?"

"It's okay baby. It's fine." He said attempting to kiss her hand.

Goddess yanked away before he was able to. "Don't you get it fool? There is no us. Ugh!" She snapped as she made her way into the break room.

The break room seemed to be particularly filled this morning like everyone had carpooled in order to make it on time. All eyes were on her as she made her way across the room to the storage area and set her purse inside of her locker. She was on display and in the far right corner just under the TV bolted to the ceiling was a clearly highly pissed Desire. She hadn't even known the girl long enough to have her as an enemy but it was apparent she had become just that. She placed her things inside the locker and hung her coat up on the rack then turned to the gawking crowd.

"Desire, can I talk to you for a second?" She finally muscled up the strength to ask.

Desire moseyed on over to her standing toe-to-toe and mean mugging seriously. "What?" She annunciated angrily.

"Look, I just want to explain what happened. You ain't gotta get all nasty and shit." Goddess rolled her neck, placing her hand on her hip.

The ladies were the same height but Goddess attempted to stand straighter so she could appear to be looking down on her. Her poor excuse to intimidate Desire didn't work, as she didn't budge an inch. She placed both of her hands on her hips then licked her lips not even wanting to blink away from Goddess.

"I don't give a shit what you have to say. You're new here and already you're digging your dirty kitty nails into my scratch post." Desire snarled.

"Listen, Mary didn't see what she thought she saw. I was pushing him away and he kept trying to kiss me. I don't want his ass." Goddess snapped.

"Yeah. I bet you don't. You better watch your ass, bitch." Desire snapped back as she bumped hard into Goddess' shoulder and walked off.

"Eh. Am I supposed to be fucking shaking? Wait a minute, aren't you married?" Goddess asked, laughing.

"Excuse me? Don't be all up in my business worried about me ho. I handles mine. Just make sure you keep your hands to yourself and out of my moneybag. Okay, bitch?"

Desire batted her silk eyelashes and left the room. The other girls were all standing around pretending to be talking amongst themselves when in actuality they were all up in the conversation. Mary was sitting at one of the tables eating a sausage egg McMuffin courtesy of McDonald's. She took a sip of her orange juice while she looked up into Goddess' accusing eyes then looked away faking as if to mind her own business.

"Too late for that, don't you think?" Goddess said slamming her hand on the table in front of Mary.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mary replied nonchalantly getting up from the table.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You didn't see what you thought you saw that day, alright. I was trying to push him away. So when you spread the fucking story you need to spread the truth." Goddess snapped.

"Hey! It's not my fault you got caught. Learn to keep it in your pants and you wouldn't have this problem. Meanwhile, I am still your superior and you will address me as such. Understand?" Mary said pulling the authority card.

Goddess just crossed her arms, curled her lips and hawked her down until Mary's blue eyes grew tired of the staring battle and walked off. The other ladies followed close behind as she stood there with her back turned towards all of them. They snickered happily as they left out the door but the only thing she could think about was killing them all so they could all be out of her life. The taste of blood was too fresh in her mouth, little did they know, and not one part of her wanted to rethink her thoughts.

She walked out onto the main floor in the middle of the early morning pow wow. Cole couldn't take his eyes off of her as if he were possessed by her presence. He was slick making sure that every time Desire looked up his eyes were on her or elsewhere but for the most part he watched Goddess' every move. She rolled her eyes in disgust praying for five o'clock to come soon. She looked down at her IPhone realizing that Truth still hadn't called and it was pissing her off as well but she wasn't about to call him. In her mind, whoever called first lost the battle. She was determined to win the battle and the war.

The whole day Desire mean mugged and side eyed her flipping her thousand-dollar weave and clicking her black Giuseppe heels taunting her. She wanted Goddess to know that she thought she was better than her no matter how pretty she thought she was. Goddess knew she was a young minded chick and didn't let that get to her but when the whispering and snickering in her face began to happen she felt alone, shut out, and shunned from the group. Even though she was angry with them she was more upset with Cole, who was beginning to act like a damn stalker. At the end of the day she handed her drawer to Cole with the office door open and signed the slip on the outside of the door. She handed it to Mary and walked out without speaking to either one of them. She grabbed her things from the break room and headed to the car in a haste ready to get the hell out of there and get on with her weekend. It was time she got her support system back and put all bullshit out of her mind.
Chapter 17

Cheating?

Her sleepless nights continued, especially knowing she didn't have her love in her life. That afternoon she had decided that it was going to be the day that she got him back. She was tired of the games and being alone realizing how much he really meant to her. But that would mean she needed to quit being a bitch towards him about the Venus issue, which was something she tried to prepare herself to do. Even if she had to lie to do it. She checked the window for the scene outside and was amazed at the amount of snow that had filled the ground overnight. The wind was howling like the banshees, which got her thinking in a holiday mood. She definitely didn't want to be alone for the holidays.

She showered then slipped on her tight fitting Dereon jeans and a low cut red cashmere sweater over her Victoria Secret Angels lingerie. She had planned to sport it for Truth in the bathroom of his shop. She slipped on a fresh pair of black Timberland boots deciding not to go cute with all of the snow outside then sat down at the vanity when her IPhone sounded throughout the eerily quiet house.

"Yes."

"Yes, Goddess Young. This is Joey at Blake Lamb Funeral Home. How are you this early afternoon?"

"Oh, yes, I'm blessed Joey. How are you?" Goddess responded sounding as generic as he did and rolling her eyes.

"I'm Good, good. So I called to let you know that the process has been completed and your grandmother has been placed in the special urn you picked out the other day. What time should we be expecting you?"

"Oh...uh...that was fast."

"Yes. We don't get many cremations this time of year and as I stated before the process takes no more than 24 to 48 hours, depending on the workload."

"I'll be through today I guess. Within the hour." Goddess hesitated.

"Very good, Ms. Young."

She tossed the phone on the vanity and continued to apply her makeup heavily. She checked to see if her flat irons were nice and hot before she proceeded to straighten her hair. Once she was done she blew a kiss to herself in the mirror loving the person staring back at her. She knew she was too sexy to resist and Truth would be a fool if he didn't come crawling back to her.

The funeral home was up the street basically and Saturday traffic was a breeze so she got there in no time. She sat in the truck for a few minutes wishing she had some green to blow before she stepped foot in the final resting place for a lot of souls. Hospitals and funeral homes crept her out but she was willing to brave the elements so she could get this over with. She popped a piece of WinterFresh in her mouth then headed inside.

"Welcome to Blake Lamb. May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm Goddess Young."

"Ah, yes. Ms. Young. Yes right this way please." Joey said extending his arm for her to follow.

She followed the man down a back hall. The inside of the building screamed death with pictures of past lives spread all around and the dreary monochromatic color scheme. Everything held a solid foundation of sadness as she moved about the facility hoping to be out of there soon. Joey walked into a room holding the door open for her as she walked in.

"Please take a seat. Here inside of this beautiful jewel encrusted urn lies Venus Elizabeth Young." He recited as if it were his one-billionth-time sounding like Lurch from the Addams Family.

The urn was already sitting on top of the desk in front of her staring at her like it should have been her in there instead of her grandmother. Her heart rate sped up as she struggled to remain calm without passing out. She couldn't even bring herself to reach out and touch it then she looked up noticing that Joey was looking at her rather strangely. It was a solemn yet creepy smile.

"Would you like to hold your grandmother? It's best if you build a bond with the urn. You know some sort of relationship with it. So you can learn to live with it everyday on your mantle or table, wherever you decide to put it." He said as he sat down gathering papers for her and sliding them inside of a thick blue and white folder.

"So is this it?"

"Well we've done all of the necessary paperwork for you to file with the city. You will be mailed a copy of the death certificate. So if you could just sign these papers on top of this folder, you can be on your way."

She signed the stack of papers in front her one by one, still dreading the moment she had to pick up the urn.

"Thank you." It was all she could pull herself to say.

She hesitantly wrapped her arm around the urn then took the folder she was being handed and walked out of the office then out of the building. Back in the truck, she set the urn on the seat next to her unaware as to what she should do with it. She stared blankly at it before realizing she couldn't live with this thing in her house. It had to be gotten rid of, just as soon as she could figure out how. She reached over strapping it tightly in the passenger side seatbelt then started the truck unable to take her eyes off of it.

Time had gotten away from her as it was becoming dark out even though it was only half past 3pm. The snow had begun to fall again but it was only pouring slow soft white flakes. It looked magical but it wasn't shit to drive in. Truth's shop was all the way on the other side of town on 79th and Cottage Grove, so it would be quite a trip driving carefully in that weather. She wasn't used to it but she was going to make it work feeling it would all be worth it to see the look of surprise on his face. At a stoplight she looked over into the shiny crystals of the urn, realizing that she couldn't show up with this thing in the car.

Goddess turned the corner heading for her house and once she was there she knew exactly where she would put it. It wouldn't be comfortable anywhere else in the house until she got rid of it. She opened the door and ran up the stairs without closing it, racing for the room that once belonged to Venus. She walked in setting her right on the bed tucking the urn underneath the blanket a little bit almost tempted to kiss it goodnight.

"There. You're back at home, Grams. Just until I can find you a good home. Now I'm off to get my man." She said heading to the door. "What? What was that? Your man? Nope, he's mine." Goddess laughed as she headed back out the door.

****

"So how you want his hair cut this week?" Truth said covering the young boy with a black smock.

"You know just the usual. I like the way you cut his hair." Desire said rubbing up against him making sure her son wasn't looking.

"Hey, hey. You might want to calm that down. Ya feel me? Your husband comes to get his hair cut here and I don't want anybody jumping to any conclusions. Besides, You're one of my best customers and ya know how I feel about mixing business and pleasure." He responded, scolding her playfully.

"A little pleasure in your business is always good Mr. Owner of this business." Desire whispered in his ear seductively then winked as she turned to take a seat.

She crossed her legs slowly making sure to give Truth a little peek of her thicky thick thigh afterwards. His dick jumped a bit looking at her sexy thighs and peekaboo tits dangling from her V-neck pink shirt. He was aroused every time he saw her but she was a taken woman and he didn't get down like that, period. He laughed her advances off but the rests of the barbers were all too happy to oblige her. She wasn't interested in either of them; she only had her paws out for Truth.

"So what does your husband do? I mean to ask him but I always forget." Truth said trying to change the subject.

"Oh he's self employed. He works from home." She responded as she texted away on her Iphone.

"Yeah, it seems like everybody is self employed nowadays." He said checking out the young man's scalp.

"Yeah but there's a difference between being gainfully self employed and hustling for no damn reason." She replied smacking her lips.

"Word. You got a point. How's that workin' out for you?" He joked laughing as he put the finishing touches on the young man's head.

"Shit, it's not. That's why I got a dip with cash and a good ass job." Desire snickered while her fingers went forty miles per hour.

"Oh yeah. Well at least one of those sounded about right. Where you workin' at, ma?" He asked removing the smock from the kid's neck and slapping it in the air. "All done buddy."

"Mmm. My job isn't as important as your job." She walked up behind him whispering.

Truth snickered a bit as she proceeded to turn her son around in the swivel chair so he couldn't see his mother grazing Truth's back with her perky 32C tits. Desire reached her hand around, digging her gel nails into his chest slowly making her way down to his pants.

"Thank you for doing such a good...job." She whispered in his ear sticking her tongue out just an inch and very discreetly as he chuckles deeply and softly.

"TRUTH!" Goddess yelled as the door closed behind her.

"Mmm." Desire huffed as she curled her lips and rolled her eyes helping her son out of the barber's chair.

"G, what the hell are you doing here?" Truth asked calmly.

"Naw, what the fuck are you doing here? All hugged up with the next bitch I see." Goddess turned towards Desire gawking angrily at her very presence. "HO!"

"Awe naw bitch you ain't about to come up in here and disrespect me like that in front of my motherfuckin' son!" Desire roared back at her.

"Ho! Ho! HO!" Goddess snapped back pointing her figure all in her face as Truth pushed her back out of the door forcefully.

"Goddess, what the fuck are you doing here? You bringing bullshit to my place of business and shit man." Truth snarled.

"You up here fucking with this bitch all out in the open and shit. That's some ol' disrespectful shit T." Goddess yelled pushing her finger into his forehead.

"Man, don't put your hands in my face first of all and second I thought we were taking a break."

"Yeah a break. Not break up."

"Yeah well, you bringing me to that right about now. Anyway, I wasn't even checking for that damn girl, man. She was rubbing her tits all up on me and shit. I ain't even touch her. She married anyway." Truth said looking back into the shop shooing the rest of the barbers away from the window.

"No shit she's married with that crusty ass cubic zirconia on her bony ass finger. I didn't know that being on a break meant that the world was a free for all." Goddess countered crossing her arms.

Desire watched as they motioned back and forth to each other fussing in anger. She grew tired of their little show and snatched up her son getting ready to leave. It was stupid for her to argue over a man who wasn't hers but it was damn sure fun fucking with Goddess' emotions since she didn't know how to keep her hands to herself at work. She opened the door hawking her down yet escorting her son to the Camry parked in front of the building. Once he was securely strapped in she turned shaking her head to see that they were still cussing each other.

"Get your shit together next time bitch!" Desire taunted headed around to the driver's side of her truck.

"Arrrrggghh!" Goddess felt her boiling point was reached.

It was almost as if she had an out of body experience as she lunged towards Desire without even thinking about it. Her fist barely touched Desire's face since she saw it coming and quickly stepped out of harm's way. Truth grabbed her before she could follow her and swing again while Desire stood laughing and pointing at how stupid she was making herself look.

"Look at you boo. All dressed up and nowhere to go. Out here trying to fight like a damn fool. Stupid bitch. Pretty girls don't fight...we get even." Desire laughed as she trotted to the driver's side of her car.

"This ain't over bitch! You lucky as hell, know that!" Goddess yelled as exhaust fumes filled the air when the car pulled off.

"Goddess, I don't appreciate this scene you bringing up here to my business. Would you do this at your shit? Show some fucking respect, man, damn." Truth snapped releasing her.

"You mean the same respect you was showing me when she was all up on you?"

"Man, take your stupid ass home. Beat it! Losing your motherfucking mind out here." Truth said ending the conversation and heading back into the shop.

"Truth! Truth, wait!" Goddess cried but it fell on deaf ears.

He continued on in the shop and locked the door behind him. She stood there watching as he conversed with his workers. It was crazy that he was treating her that way after everything they had shared. She had begun to think that she had lost him and had done so forever. Any chances she had of mending their relationship back to what it used to be seem to be slim to none as she picked her face up off the ground and headed back to the car. She beat her fists against the car steering wheel and shook her head screaming throwing a grown temper tantrum.

"You wanna fucking play? Then let's play." She said turning the key in the ignition then screeching the tires as she pulled off. 
Chapter 18

Worship

She slammed her keys on the table and stripped her coat off tossing it on the sofa when her phone began to ring. She didn't have to look at the caller id to know who it was. It was apparent by the ring and the excessive calling whom it could be and she wasn't in the mood to argue or be annoyed. The phone would chime off then immediately back on again, back-to-back showing no signs of letting up. Ray J blasted through her phone screaming "Sexy Can I" when Goddess finally went over to check how many missed calls and voicemails were on it. Then it rang again.

"WHAT?" Goddess snapped furiously.

"Goddess, what the fuck happened between you and Desire tonight?" Cole asked relieved that she finally answered the phone.

"Ugh, I really don't feel like going through this shit right now. Can we talk about this, um, Monday morning when I've calmed down?" She asked removing her heels and rolling her eyes.

"No we need to settle this right now. In person."

"Huh? Oh hell naw! You ain't bringing that bitch up in my house! She gon' get her ass beat down."

"Goddess, calm down. It's just talking to resolve this, so there are no more misunderstandings and fights don't happen at work. It is a place of business and we don't need that." Cole replied seriously.

"Sheesh, if I never hear that again it will be too soon." Goddess replied heading upstairs to plop down in her bed. "Whatever but if that bitch starts poppin' off at the mouth I swear I'm gonna lay her ass out."

"Aight. I'll be there in ten minutes." He said without hesitation before he hung up.

He didn't even give her a chance to refuse the visit. Goddess decided that when she saw Desire again, she wouldn't be caught slipping. She rumbled through her dresser drawer finding an old pair of sweats with a sports bra and tank top sliding into them quickly. She put on a thick pair of tube socks and laced up her Timbs. Suited and booted she went downstairs to wait for them to arrive. She searched hard for a good enough roach in the ashtray and pinched it tight before lighting it, siphoning a few pulls before it burned her fingers. It dropped back in the ashtray as the doorbell startled her.

"Who is it?" She yelled out repositioning her ponytail making sure it was nice and tight before opening the door.

"It's Cole, Goddess open up."

He walked in as she opened the door. Goddess stepped back to ensure there was enough room for everyone to come in since the sofa was behind the door and didn't leave much space for opening it. But when he walked in he wasn't followed by anyone, he was alone. Goddess looked around trying to see if maybe Desire would jump out from around the corner or something but there was no one out there.

"Uh, where's Desire?"

"She couldn't come. You know she's married so she couldn't really get away for this reason without explaining what happened. So it's just me." Cole made it seem like he was on trial.

Goddess didn't like the sound of his explanation. It was annoying that he was even in her personal space, a place where she sought sanctuary away from craziness and now craziness had invaded that. She closed the door sighing heavily then made her way to the sofa. She looked at him standing in the foyer then rolled her eyes wishing she could turn back the hands of time to the phone call and never answered. Cole finally decided not to wait any longer to be invited to a seat and just took one right next to her removing his coat.

"So, this is where you live huh?" Cole said smiling attempting to change the mood in the room.

"Man, let's just kill the elephant in the room dude. What the fuck are you doing here? Desire ain't here so you can leave. Show yourself the door." Goddess spat pissed.

"Damn, Goddess. What you hate me for? I didn't do anything to you."

"You done fucked up my workplace. I'm new and ain't even got the chance to make friends yet and now everybody hate me because of what one bitch thought she saw. Com' on now. And did you try to diffuse the situation? Hell no."

"I did tell her baby. She didn't listen."

"Naw Cole. You ain't getting' it. I just need you to leave...now!" Goddess scratched her head slumped back on the sofa irritated by his presence.

Cole paused for a second distraught by her dislike for him. "I could love you better than any man ever has. You just need to give me a chance babe. I'm willing to do anything. I promise I can make you happy if you just believe in me."

There seemed to be an ounce of sincerity in his voice, which made her look up into his face to check it. His head was down feeling like it was his last chance before he reluctantly gave up on his pursuit of her. She placed her hand on her forehead rubbing profusely in confusion trying to figure out how her life got so complicated in such a short period of time.

"Cole. You killin' me with this shit and blowing the little high I do have." Goddess said as she sat up.

"How you like to get high?" He asked subtlety.

"Green. Why? You got some?"

"I got some Kush."

"Well smoke that shit then nigga. Damn, you should've led with that." Goddess salivated desperately needing to get high. "Light that shit."

Cole took the blunt out of his coat pocket and snatched the lighter off the coffee table then sparked it up as requested. He took a few pulls then passed it over to her allowing her to hit it as much as she wanted without question. Goddess hit three times quickly then on her last hit she took a long drag just as her phone lit up ringing off the hook. She dreaded moving towards it to see who it was but once she did she became stuck.

"Who is that?" Cole asked taking the blunt from her hand.

"Nobody that concerns you."

"If it's your so-called man you might as well answer it and tell him that you got another man."

"Cole. Don't start that shit."

From then on Cole was done talking. He took a few puffs of the blunt then handed it back to her and got down on bended knee in front of her. She looked at him but was hesitant to relinquish the blunt she had yearned for to find out what he was on. He yanked on her sweatpants pulling them hard enough that her ass was out and her panties were hanging half off of it. She tried to distract him by handing him back the blunt but it was no use. Cole had locked onto his prey and wasn't about to deviate from his plan. As he removed her pants from her legs he realized he hadn't removed her shoes at all.

"Cole...Cole wait." Goddess said as she struggled to sit up from being pulled down, her ass hitting the edge of the sofa and her legs being tossed up by her head.

He didn't hear a word she said sticking his finger right inside of her pussy licking it to moisten it from its dryness. She wiggled not really wanting him to touch her, feeling grossed out. He placed his entire mouth over her pussy moving his tongue from top to bottom and sucking at the same time. It kind of made her feel like she was being ate out by a fish of some sort. She couldn't quite make out what the hell he was doing but she had the feeling neither could he.

Goddess reached around pushing his head up trying to seek relief from his underwater technique as he popped up off her clit like a suction cup. He returned back to her opening with more care than eagerness this time kissing her lips gently then letting his tongue ride her pearl elegantly. She leaned her head back in pure ecstasy amazed that he had gotten it right this time. He sucked and flicked his tongue around her clit like a pro using his hands to firmly spread her lips apart.

"Ahh, shit. Do that shit nigga. Damn!" Goddess exhaled loving the way his moist tongue felt against her throbbing button.

"You like that shit baby?" Cole asked coming up for a breath of air.

"Shut the fuck up and don't stop!" She demanded pushing his head back down on her clit.

She wanted him to focus on the task at hand and concentrate, fearing if he lost his stride he would never get it right again. But Cole jumped right back on the horse with no problem, sucking and licking harder than he ever had before. Goddess grabbed her tits rubbing her erect nipples through the shirt as she bounced her body attempting to fuck his face. The tingling feeling going through her body was one like an outer body experience, like she was walking on the moon with no space suit.

"Oh my gosh! I'm going to fucking cum baby. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Goddess released outcries of lust, grabbing the back of his head forcing him deeper and deeper into her wetness.

"Mmmhmm." Cole mumbled loving every bit of her gooey goodness never wanting it to end.

"Ahhhh!" Goddess exclaimed as she busted her juices all in his mouth.

Cole was enamored by the way she squirted all in his mouth. It was as if he was licking on an old school Super Soaker. She sat there motionless allowing him to suck up what was left of her mess seemingly satisfied, looking over realizing that the blunt had burned out in her hand. He rose wiping the wetness around his mouth and laying out on the sofa next to her. As she sat there thinking what she had just done she began to feel dirty, filthy and just down right nasty.

"That shit was awesome baby." Cole said snatching the blunt from her hand along with the lighter off the table, blazing it up.

"This was a mistake. We should've never done this." Goddess replied unable to move.

"Yeah but it did and it was great. So as long as you keep your mouth closed, nobody has to know." Cole retorted passing her the blunt.

"You don't understand Cole. This can never happen again."

"Why not? You liked it too much?" He said leaning over to whisper his deep voice in her ear.

She had to admit it sent chills down her spine and made her nipples salute. He kissed her gently on the neck moving down licking her breasts from the outside of her shirt. It felt so good and she was so high that she didn't have the energy to fight him anymore. The blunt was dwindling down and all she could think about was checking out Cole's package to see if he was worthy of sticking her pussy that night. Her pussy throbbed hard and there was a mind-blowing tingle in her tits that wouldn't go away. She needed some meat pounding inside of her as soon as possible.

"Take your fucking pants off." She commanded.

"Shit you ain't gotta tell me twice." Cole replied as he stood to remove his shoes, dropping his pants to the floor.

Goddess leaned in to get a closer look at what he was hiding behind his shirt. Cole yanked her by the arm turning her over then pushing her back down leaving her ass tooted up in the air. She tried to stand on all fours but it was no use. He pushed her head to the cushion and placed his hands on the small of her back prompting her to arch. With her ass tossed up, he took his shaft and began rubbing it up against her pussy squeezing the head to keep it hard before shoving it inside of her.

"What the fuck is that?" Goddess laughed as he continued to pump inside of her wildly. "What the hell do you call yourself doing?"

"Shut up!" Cole snapped pumping into her insanely.

"Ah ha ha ha." She laughed uncontrollably burying her face in the cushion only to conceal her amusement.

"I said shut the fuck up!"

"Ooo. I'm so scared. What the fuck you gon' do? Fuck me with your pencil dick?" Goddess was laughing so hard that tears formed, dropping from her eyes.

"Argh!" Cole became enraged with fury, slapping her ass cheeks and gripping firmly.

He returned his hands to the small of her back and pushed down harder mounting her closely like a horny dog. A long line of saliva streamed from his mouth falling into her butt hole creating a small puddle on top of it. He took his thumb and placed it there gradually applying pressure. The more pressure he applied to her hole the further his thumb went inside of her resting casually inside.

"Stop! Don't do that!" Goddess begged as he rammed inside of her fast and hard.

"Rub that pussy for me baby."

"Huh?"

"You heard me bitch. Rub that fucking pussy!" Cole's voice reeked with authority.

She felt compelled to listen. She moved her fingers down to her pussy flicking her clit as he moved in closer and closer to ram into her as hard as he could. He began moving his thumb fucking her in the ass and watching as she squirmed with excitement. Her legs started to tremble as she felt her cum about to explode out of her. It only took a few more strokes of his piece and flicking of her clit to get her right where she wanted to be. Then Cole exited her pussy in a haste ejaculating his would be kids all over her backside. He jerked and moaned bearlike, as he finished himself off making sure every drop was out of him and on her. He looked down at his masterpiece happy with the scene before him.

"Yeah, you like that rough shit don't you babe?" He asked slapping her on the ass.

"It wasn't all bad." Goddess couldn't bring herself to let him know that even though his shit was freakishly little he put it down even though she didn't cum yet.

"Awe, you loved this shit girl. It was enough to get you shaking." Cole laughed in an arrogant manner.

"Ugh just get your clothes on so you can get out." Goddess shook her head slipping her sweats back on.

"Damn girl. I don't get breakfast in bed, a sandwich or nothing?" Cole joked.

"Nigga you lucky as hell that you got this pussy and I swear if I hear anything about this shit from your whore of an adulterer, its gon' be on and I'm not playin'." Goddess warned waving her pussy smelling finger in his face.

"I won't tell if you won't." Cole said deeply as he leaned in to kiss her.

She hesitated but she kissed him back nonetheless since it felt good to have someone all into her again. It was clear to her then that she might have been missing out on her next true love. They kissed passionately with her grabbing the back of his head caressing it like he was the man of her dreams but once they separated reality set in. She wasn't in love with him and he was only infatuated with the part of her she wasn't familiar with anymore.

"Check it out, I don't want this to end. I'm not the kind of brother to just leave the money on the nightstand and holla at you the next time I get a hard on. You know what I'm saying? If it's alright, I was wondering if you were up to some spooning." Cole smiled playfully pinching her chin.

"Sometimes you are just too cute for words." Goddess replied tossing him a smile back and rolling her eyes at the same time. "Ugh, com' on nigga."

She grabbed his hand leading him up the stairs and to her bed. He looked around loving how the house was set up and pictured himself being there everyday with her after work. He pictured them having two point five kids and two cars with a dog living happily ever after. As they lay down in the bed snuggling and wrapping their arms around each other, Goddess felt secure. Cole worshipped the very ground she walked on and she began to think who was she to deny him to do so. Her love for Truth was real, but if he cheated on Venus he'd cheat on her. At least that's how she decided to rationalize it. 
Chapter 19

Been Done

His breath could only be felt on the top of his lip, fuming like an angry bull ready to charge. He looked down at the scene wondering what the hell was going on unable to open his mouth to say anything. The fidgeting his hand did in his pocket only made him want to grab his keys and head back to the car to hit the trunk. It was all he could do to keep his cool and remain a free man.

"Goddess." He whispered silently then took a deep breath. "GODDESS!"

She turned over looking around the room trying to figure out who the hell was yelling at her like they had lost their everlasting minds. Her eyes were squinted from the sunshine through the windows and the cold boogers in the crevices of her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and focused realizing there was a figure standing before the bed staring down on her.

"Truth?" She asked groggily.

"Who the fuck were you expecting? The nigga laying next to you?" Truth remained calm jiggling his keys in his pocket.

"Oh my God. Baby, what are you doing here?" She covered her mouth in total shock.

"Hey baby, I'm gonna go and let you sort this bullshit out. Call me later." Cole said kissing her on her temple then exiting the bed.

Goddess just lowered her eyes unable to answer or look at either of them. She forgot all about the fact that Truth had keys and could come and go as he pleased. She felt her body making sure her clothes were still intact before getting out of bed not wanting to add fuel to Truth's fire. He burned a hole in Cole's face looking like he was getting ready to hunt him down watching him walk out of the room and down the stairs.

"Truth, baby, let me explain."

"Explain what? That I just caught you in bed with another man? How you gonna explain that, G?" He asked serenely.

"Babe, you were acting like a jackass last night and for the past few days talking about you needed a break and shit. You really hurt me Truth." Goddess bit her lip wondering if her sob story was getting through to him.

"It amazes me that you can sit there and play the victim like you've done nothing wrong. I'm starting to believe fucking with you was a big mistake."

"Truth, you don't mean that."

"No, I do. If I didn't start fucking with you Venus would still be alive and we would still be together. I'd rather be with her dealing with her bullshit then to be here dealing with yours."

"Baby, Cole meant nothing to me. He can't even make me scream like you can. It was nothing, honest." Goddess explained.

"OH! So you did fuck him?" Truth's dark skin looked as if it would boil over red.

Goddess stuck her foot in her mouth. It was too early in the morning for her to be thinking on her toes especially after a night of smoking some sticky like Kush. She walked around grabbing his chest trying to caress his body and gain his sympathy but his shell seemed as cold as ice. She looked up into his big dreamy eyes and he looked down into hers wondering how deep his love really ran for her. He was pissed but he couldn't bring himself to lose his mind about it because he knew he had put them on a break.

"I'm just wondering if I should be done with you, Goddess. It seems like you play too many games."

"No baby. I don't play any games at all. I only want you. I don't want to lose what we have."

I thought you were a real woman, Goddess. But it seems like you still stuck in your high schoolish ways." Truth looked down on her accusingly with his hands folded in front of him.

"Truth, I promise you I am the woman you thought I was. Just give me another chance. Baby, please." Goddess begged as real tears began to form in the ducts of her eyes.

"I don't know if I can trust you."

"Just give me a chance to gain your trust back. I know I can, baby." Goddess realized she hadn't begged like this since Spliff was alive. It made her really think of how much she actually loved Truth.

"Well, you can start by not getting mad every time I ask you about the funeral services for Venus." He said walking away from her towards the window.

"Ugh, okay. I can definitely do that. But baby I only get mad cause it seems like you can't let her go. Like you still in love with her or some shit." Goddess curled her lip catching an attitude at the very thought of her.

"We were together for two years. Of course I had love for that woman. What makes you think I didn't? Plus she was your grandmother you could at least have the decency to respect the dead." Truth turned responding.

"Yeah...yeah." She couldn't even bring herself to reply in a decent manner.

"So...have you started getting the services together?"

"Uh...yeah about that. I gotta tell you something."

"I'm listening."

"Um...I don't know...know how to say this." Goddess bit her bottom lip with her eyes pressed against the floor.

"What is it? Just tell me what it is." Truth grew impatient.

"Truth, I kind of got the okay from the coroner a few days ago and actually had the services yesterday."

"You what? How could you do something like that without consulting me about it?" The veins in Truth's neck began to pop out as he sat down on the bed in pure shock.

"Something needed to be done and you said you needed space remember?"

"Yeah but if you had left me a fucking message about funeral services I would've called back then." Truth argued.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I didn't invite anybody. It was just me and the funeral home." Goddess walked over standing in front of him poking her tits in his face. "It's just me and you now baby. Don't worry about that."

The look of shock still resonated on his face and it was something she couldn't bare to see. She knew she had wronged him and that it would come back to bite her in the ass but she didn't think he would take it that hard. His love for Venus had begun to irk her in a way that she couldn't comprehend. She didn't want him to feel anything for her, wanting him to be able to just throw his memories of her in a basket and bury them. She kneeled down in front of him pushing him ever so gently back on the bed.

"Just relax, baby." She said taking a hint from him as she unbuckled his pants hoping to meet with a rock hard serpent.

"What are you doing, Goddess?"

"What does it look like I'm doing baby? I'm about to give you a trouser friendly kiss."

"Man nobody has ever made me cum this way. You wastin' your time."

"Am I? Well we'll just see about that."

She pulled his pants and boxers down to his knees and was met with a limp lamb knowing he was definitely going to make her work for it indeed. Goddess opened her mouth wide and slowly arranged herself over his shaft going down with ease. She sped up her movements going right to work taking her hands and locking them around his enormous piece rubbing up and down it rapidly. The feeling of his balls slapping against her chin, her powerlessness as he grabbed the sides of her head and thrusts in and out of her mouth excited her every being. Her pussy became as moist as morning dew as the feeling of his cock throbbing bewitched her. It became a temporary obsession to feel his load shooting down her throat filling her.

Truth loved the way her warm wet mouth felt around his manhood fucking her mouth back with every one of her bobs. He gave her a little slap on her cheek to emphasize who was boss, showing her he liked it rough. He began to laugh unnervingly looking down at the pleasant display before him. Goddess opened her eyes looking up at him to see if he had gone mad or was that his way of letting her know he was enjoying the show.

"You might as well quit. You're not going to get it." Truth said sternly grabbing the back of her head and pumping as hard as he could into it.

She gagged uncontrollably trying to relax her throat and continue on but it was as if he was purposely trying to abuse her. He was trying to teach her a lesson she would never forget. She closed her eyes back allowing him to do whatever it was he wanted as she tried to focus on the task at hand, getting that cum. She locked her lips at the base of his cock and suctioned it up and down the bottom half of his shaft at a quick, steady pace, while pressing her flattened tongue against the underside of his dick. She made sure to apply pressure with both her lips and tongue, putting her all into making him reach his climax.

Truth's muscle began to tighten and spasm in a way he knew all too well. It was highly unlikely that this was about to happen to him so much so that he was in denial about it. He smirked and crossed his arms remaining stiff trying to see if the feeling that flowed through him was real. Goddess worked her mouth rapidly relaxing her jaws and locking her fingers and keeping her thoughts on the task to ensure she wouldn't get tired. He looked down loving the warm feeling she was sending but realized it wasn't her making him feel warm. It was right there ready to explode inside of her awaiting mouth. He could see the sweat droplets forming on her forehead knowing she was striving hard to get it out of him.

"Goddess, what are you doing?" He moaned wanting to cum so badly. "You ain't gon' make it happen girl."

Truth considered that his motivation to keep her going. But Goddess was getting a headache and wanted to stop. It was never this hard to get Spliff to bust so she was stumped at why it was taking Truth so long. She had researched techniques back then that had Spliff exploding in no time but they didn't seem to do anything to truth but make him moan heavily. He began laughing wildly again, even louder this time sending Goddess' blood boiling over.

"Ugh! Would you just fucking cum already?" She snapped drooling at the mouth as saliva flew all over the floor.

"Man, I told you this shit wasn't going to work. I never cum off this shit." Truth snapped back. "But you came damn close, though. Damn close. Should've never stopped." He exhaled deeply.

"Damn. My fucking jaws are killing me."

"Other motherfuckas never complained about that shit." Truth mumbled as he pulled his pants back up.

"I'm not other motheruckas" Goddess spat angrily. "And what you getting dressed for? I didn't say I was done yet."

"Man, you trippin'."

Silence filled the room with Goddess on the floor pouting like a five year old. She wanted to be the first chick to ever make him cum by way of fellatio but it didn't look like it would be that day. He stared down at her wondering if the storm had passed or not before he opened his mouth. She felt his eyes on him and looked up hoping for him to say something worth her wild.

"So how was the funeral?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Nonexistent."

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"What the fuck do you mean nonexistent? You lied again then?"

"No, Truth, I didn't lie." She accentuated her words as she rolled her head.

"Sheesh, it never fails with you. I'm gone, Goddess. Call me when you've got your shit together."

"Oh now you wanna leave and shit. Gone and run away, Truth! That seems to be all you've been doing when shit get rough with us, you just run like a lil' ol' bitch!" Goddess yelled as he hit the stairs.

"See, that shit right there is exactly why we ain't together now."

"Why? Cause I ain't your precious Venus, right? Well you wanna know what I did to your beloved?" She said racing to the banister to catch him.

He turned looking up into her eyes waiting for her to speak. She headed into Venus' room staring at the urn lying in the bed nice and comfortably. Her eyes blinked rapidly a few times before she snatched it up and headed back to the hallway leaning over the railing making sure he was still there before she unveiled the surprise she had for him.

"You want your precious bitch so badly. Well here you can see her for the last time right here!" Goddess screamed as she dumped out Venus' remains over Truth's head.

"What the fuck?" Truth yelled trying to step out of the way of the falling ash but was still caught by much of it.

It was doused in his head so horribly that it had begun to fall down over his eyebrows and lashes. She threw the urn down forcefully feeling relieved as it cracked shattering into many pieces on the wooden floor below. Truth became mortified at her total disregard for the dead and disrespect of him. He was so startled by her actions that he didn't know whether to dust the remains off of him or scream in horror. Instead his emotions took over forcing him to run up the stairs and right into her face snatching her by the neck tightly.

"Do it big daddy. Gone and do it already! That's right keep this bitch in check!" She yelled as he squeezed tighter and tighter shortening her air passages.

"You stupid bitch. You ain't even worth it. But since you can't seem to get your shit together, know that me and you, we done." Truth said shaking as much of the ashes off of him as possible and heading back down the stairs.

He slipped on a portion of Venus' remains looking at it as if it were a ghost. It tortured him to walk over it and continue on to the door. Goddess released a blood-curdling scream much like the one she did when she first realized Spliff was dead. It stopped Truth dead in his tracks feeling the hurt in her voice, something he was always a sucker for. It wasn't enough, however, to send him back in to comfort her.

"You stupid motherfucka! We been done!" She screeched heading down to locate a sturdy broom and dustpan. 
Chapter 20

Like Nothing Happened

That night Goddess lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling wishing that Truth was still in her life. She was mad at herself for letting her anger get the best of her but didn't know how else to deal with his rejection. Her life was complete when she was with him like she had a reason to go on again. She had a decent job and was making a life for herself now with her new home but it just didn't seem like enough for him. He wanted her to be perfect in every way and that was something she couldn't promise, especially not with him repeatedly tossing her grandmother in her face.

"You did the right thing babe. You ain't need that loser ass nigga." Cole said passing her the blunt.

She hated the fact that she had gotten this close to him but he was the only man showing her attention and affection with no problems. He had returned just an hour ago to make sure that everything was okay with her toting a two four piece wings with extra mild sauce and four blunts in hand. The only reason why she let him in was because she couldn't bare the thought of being alone another night.

"He's not a loser, okay. He actually owns his own barbershop over east." She said disgusted by his remark.

"Oh yeah. I know all about your boy. Trust me."

"Well if you did then you'd know he's actually got a good head on his shoulders. Anyway, while you're concerned with me being single for you, what about Miss or should I say Mrs. Desire?"

"Me and Desire were over the minute I tasted that sweet little pussy of yours. Now all of my money goes to you." Cole said kissing her lips softly.

"That's nice but I don't need your money. Pretty soon mama's gonna have her own." She smirked thinking about the insurance money she couldn't wait to sink her paws into.

"Is that right? Shit, that's music to my ears, baby." He said playfully tickling her belly.

Just as they were beginning to have fun, her Iphone sounded off. She scrambled to snatch it from the nightstand and see who it was. She was all too anxious to answer it, surprised by the number.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, G. I think my wallet is there. I can't find it anywhere. It should be in your room next to the bed." Truth alleged.

"Um, I'm looking around and I don't see it." She lied as she picked it right up off the floor.

"Shit, man. Can you please look again? I know it's there." He pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Truth, but I don't see anything. I'm in the bed sleeping now so if I find it in the morning then I will let you know." She responded in the most pleasant voice she possibly could.

"Yeah, alright." Truth said hanging up the phone.

It was obvious in his voice that he didn't believe her. She hung up the phone giggling placing her fist over her smile very childlike. The wallet was the perfect item she needed in order to get another shot at winning Truth back. Now she was going to make him sweat it out at least long enough for her to get rid of Cole.

"Who was that?" Cole asked taking a hit of the blunt and blowing a thick cloud of smoke in her face.

"Oh no nigga, you not about to be jockin' my phone calls."

"It was that nigga wasn't it?" He snapped.

"Okay this shit is not gon' work if this is how you're gonna act." Goddess snapped rising from the bed.

"Ah naw baby. I'm never gonna trip on you like that. I trust you." Cole lied giving her a tender forehead kiss. "Here you keep all the rest of the blunts. I'm gonna go get us some nice bubbly to celebrate our new relationship."

"How long do you think you will be gone?" She asked eagerly.

"Not long." He smiled. "I should be back within the hour."

"Oh. Well do you think you can go to Walmart in Crestwood and get some? My grandmother used to say they had the best Pinot Noir ever." She batted her eyes with a sly smile.

"Anything for you babe." He smiled realizing she was eager to get rid of him for one reason or another.

He left the house pretending he would play her little game if that's what she wanted feeling as though at the end of the day she would be his and no one else's. He jumped in his Mazda 6 and pulled off with his eyes fixated on the road in a jealous rage. Secrets were the devil in his eyes at least when they were being kept from him. The stubble on his chin seemed to itch his skin crazy as he drove on focused only on his destination. He needed to get there as quickly as possible in order to make it back to her before she outgrew his presence.

****

"Truth."

"Hey baby. Um, I found your wallet." Goddess said in her sweet seductive voice.

"Oh word. That's wassup. Ay, I'm about to come and get it right now."

"Okay baby. I'll be here in a few minutes. I'm just about to close up the shop now."

Truth wasn't in the mood for her games but he went with the flow just until he got his possessions back. He hung up the phone stuffing it in his pocket then checked the clock on the wall above his hair chair. He waited until the other three barbers got their things to leave. They all walked out together bidding each other adieu and parted ways. He double locked the door then secured the night gate over it and the windows, pad locking it tight. Truth was anxious as hell to get to his car knowing the sooner he got to Goddess to get his wallet the sooner she could be out of his life for good.

"Ay, playa. Can I holla at you for a second?" A masked man yelled walking up to Truth from the driver's side of his car, pointing a black Glock in his face.

"Ay nigga. I don't want no trouble and I ain't got no money on me man I ain't even got my wallet dude. If you want my car take the car I don't even give a fuck—"

"Shut up! Now where were you just on your way to?"

"Man, look, you can take my shit. Just take whatever you need but don't kill me dude." Truth pleaded for his life as the black skull capped man pressed the barrel of the gun firmly up against his nostrils.

"No, you fucking hear me and hear me good. You gon' leave that girl of yours alone."

"Girl? What girl?" He asked.

"Goddess. Leave her alone or that ass is got. You understand me?" The man bellowed from the top of his lungs.

Truth was confused. He didn't understand the need for this spectacle that this person was putting on for her. He obviously didn't know that he had already axed her ass and was only going to get his wallet. But the fact that this man went to great lengths to keep him out of her life, only stimulated an anger already brewing from being held up against his will. In the distance, Truth could hear voices and knew that eventually the man would have to flee.

"Nigga, ain't nobody checkin' for that crazy ass bitch no more man. You can have her dude." Truth spat angrily as something clicked in his head of who the masked gunman could be.

"She's not a crazy bitch! Don't disrespect her." The gunman seemed agitated.

"Ay, whatever dude. You can have her ass and if you that nigga that I caught her in bed with then fool she ain't never that serious. Straight up." Truth laughed pulling on the bottom of his jacket straightening it from the gunman's grasp.

"Shut the fuck up!" The man demanded gritting his teeth close to Truth's face.

Truth could smell Kush on the man's clothes and knew he was higher than that thang waving a gun in his face. He didn't understand what the man still wanted with him. The man realized the awkward silence was becoming weird between them. He began to back away still pointing the gun to Truth's face.

"Damn," Truth exhaled breathing a sigh of relief. "Crazy ass nigga."

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

The man ran away into the darkness without a trace. Truth lay on the ground bleeding profusely from the wholes driven into his frail body. It burned like hot grease in his chest as he gurgled blood in his mouth praying for someone to find him before he died on the cold dirty concrete. He scooted on his back trying to reach the phone in his pocket but he couldn't move his arm. He gave up laying there looking up into the dark sky realizing that he hadn't seen everything that life had to offer yet, being so young.

"Oh my God! Please come quick someone is shot! Hurry!" The voice rang out in the distance as he loss all feeling in his body, closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

****

Forty-five minutes later, Goddess found herself pacing the floor impatiently waiting for Truth to show. She had hoped he would show before Cole came back that way if they made up then Truth could stay and she could send Cole on his merry way. The doorbell rang and Goddess lit up brighter than a star as she ran down the stairs and to the door. She paused for a second plumping up her tits then tussling her hair and checking her breath in her hand.

"Hey babe." Cole greeted her when she opened the door.

"Oh...hey."

"What's wrong with you?" He asked.

"Um, nothing. I just...So what'd you get?" She asked perking up as not to alert him to her disappointment.

"Baby wanted Pinot Noir and that's just what baby got." Cole said playfully pulling the bottle out of the plastic bag.

"Oh goody." Goddess said half-heartedly.

She trotted back up the stairs and laid out spread over the bed. She watched as Cole walked in the room throwing a duffle bag down on the floor next to the vanity. Goddess sat up noticing that this fool had went and got a change of clothes to stay what looked like the entire rest of the weekend. She sunk back down on the bed pissed at the fact that Truth had stood her up and was now no longer answering the phone. She thought about him being with Desire having a grand old time and living the good life with her. It was only a minor set back in her plan though because she knew that he would eventually come for what was his.

"Hey babe, do you have any bleach in here?" Cole yelled from the bathroom over the loud raining shower.

"Uh, yeah under the sink. But what do you need bleach for?" Goddess asked puzzled.

"I just like to feel extra clean." Cole yelled back trying not to seem awkward.

He took the bleach out pouring a nice puddle of it in his hand then rubbing it all on his arms and chest. To his surprise it didn't burn with him using a great quantity of it. The smell was beginning to nauseate him as he scrubbed for dear life then grabbed some soap from the dish below to counter it. He scrubbed like he had never scrubbed before making sure to cover every inch of him that could be searched for gunpowder residue or blood.

"Hey babe. Could you throw these clothes in the wash for me so they will be clean when I take them home?"

"Ugh." She sighed silently. "Sure."

She went and grabbed the clothes from the bathroom then headed downstairs to put them in the wash. Her phone still hadn't rang with Truth's call and she couldn't figure out why he had abandoned his wallet. She set the timer on the washing machine and headed back up stairs to find Cole lying in her bed with water droplets adorning his milk chocolate skin and a towel his waist.

"You don't think you need to put on some clothes or something?" She asked walking around to the opposite side of the bed that he was on.

"Well I thought we could get it in once again." Cole replied winking one eye at her and throwing her a nod.

"Really Cole? I'm not really feeling fucking with your little dick ass tonight okay." She said holding up her hand with a smirk.

"What the fuck does that mean? You didn't have a problem with my little dick last time."

"Yeah but I was high and horny and right now I'm just irritated. Can't we just lay and go to sleep. Life ain't all about fucking." She replied lying through her teeth.

"I mean yeah but I really had my heart set on eating that thang til you cried. Let me roll this blunt up you might feel differently."

"Naw nigga I ain't tryin' to smoke either. Right now, I just want to go to bed and get some sleep. Is that alright with you?"

"Okay well let me just stick it in really quickly and then I'll give you a massage until you fall asleep." Cole suggested.

A nice massage sounded damn good to her then. It was a good way to relieve some stress she knew she wasn't going to get from concentrating while he pretended to know what he was doing with her pussy. She agreed to give it a shot and let him stick his miniature dick inside of her to get off. He stroked it while she removed her pants and lied back on the bed waiting for him to ready hisself. He finally mounted her squeezing his head routinely and sticking it inside of her. She looked up at his facial expression as he moaned wildly. It took everything inside of her not to laugh in his face as his expressions resembled a monkey in heat.

"Are you in?" She asked holding back laughter.

"Yeah baby. You can't feel it?"

"NO!" Goddess couldn't help it and busted out into complete laughter.

"Put your legs on my shoulders."

Goddess did as she was instructed lifting her legs into the air and placing them right on his shoulders. Cole was convinced that this would do the trick so he started to pump harder and harder into her slapping her skin with his. He was banging her so hard that she was beginning to become sore much like she would if she was working out.

"Okay, stop. Just stop." Goddess ordered sternly.

"Naw I'm bout to cum baby. You ain't feeling it?" Cole asked sweating profusely allowing every drop to drip unto her skin.

"Hell naw, I ain't feeling shit. Com' on dude let's just call it a night here." She said shaking her head releasing a laugh in between.

Cole gazed down at her distraught that she wasn't feeling him. He didn't like the fact that she needed to smoke a ton of Kush in order to get with him. Goddess pushed his waist to relieve herself of his baby penis, which wasn't even hard, then got up to head to the bathroom to take a shower.

"Meanwhile, you smell like bleach and if you didn't know that's a huge turn off." She said removing her t-shirt and tossing it on the floor.

Cole couldn't stop staring at her voluptuous body drooling wishing he could have more. "Goddess, why do you have to be so mean? Sex is more mental than it is physical. You could really enjoy me if you tried."

"Nigga, I ain't got time to try. You either are or you aren't and since you're a grown ass man you shouldn't need to be taught. You feel me?"

"Goddess, I really think you're fucking overreacting here."

"No, I think we should have remained what we were before. Nothing."

"But Goddess, we are meant to be together."

"Ha! Is that what you think?" She laughed sidesplittingly heading off to the bathroom and starting the shower. "You really need a clue, Cole."

Cole sat up on the bed looking down at his penis with his feelings hurting like hell inside. He was too much of a man to cry and he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of seeing him all bent out of shape. Sighing deeply, he rose from the bed then reached into his bag and slipped on a fresh pair of jeans and a black and white striped button down. After sliding into his all black Air Force Ones he went to the basement to retrieve his wet clothes from the wash and stuffed them into his bag without care. He headed to the front door taking one last look up the stairs listening to the splash of the shower water before leaving the house slamming the door hard enough to rattle the windows. Out of all the females he had ever fucked in his lifetime, none of them talked to him that way, none of them.
Chapter 21

Seeing Ghosts

The rest of the weekend seemed like a blur to Goddess as Monday morning rolled right on in slapping her in the face. She was heated at how Cole had left her the other night and he wasn't answering his phone for her either. Truth was still playing missing in action, which was already pissing her off, so Cole's disappearing act only added insult to injury. She walked inside of the bank with her Starbuck's in tow and a pair of dark shades on to shield her eyes from being seen. It was impossible to hide the hurt in them otherwise and she wasn't ready for the questions. Mary locked the door behind her, which was usually Cole's job.

"Where's Cole?" Goddess asked taking a small sip of her coffee.

"Goddess, can I see you in my office please?" Mary said escorting her to the office that she and Cole shared.

When she walked in she saw Cole resting easy in his chair typing away at something on his computer. He didn't even bother to look up at her as she took a seat in front of his desk, that Mary had offered extending her hand as the gesture. She slapped her satchel in her lap and crossed her legs waiting on the gang up on her to kick off. There was no other reason for her to be in that office other than bullshit and she knew it.

"So, what's this about cause I need to finish my coffee before I count down this drawer." Goddess said curling her lip.

"Uh, please remove your shades for us please and show a little respect." Cole countered firmly folding his hands over his desk.

She removed them revealing the depression in her eyes. He saw her truly for the first time feeling that she did have a soul underneath all of that hard exterior but in his mind it was too little too late. His feelings needed to matter first and she was inconsiderate of that from the very beginning in his mind. Goddess knew her eyes wouldn't lie but she was more distraught about Truth's absence than his.

"First of all let me say that you have been doing a phenomenal job of delivering customer service to our Chase customers." Cole began as he smiled devilishly at her.

"Phenomenal." Mary smiled co-signing on what he had just said.

"But we have a zero tolerance policy, as discussed in training and in your handbook, for stealing." He continued.

"What? You're joking right?" Goddess snapped.

"I wish it were a joke actually. I really like your work here Goddess, but it seems with your drawer coming up short three times last week, we're going to have to let you go." Cole said leaning back in his chair crossing his legs.

"Let me go? I just got this fucking job are you serious? How did my drawer come up short when you guys count it down and make me sign everyday before I leave?" Goddess questioned heatedly.

"Hey, I can only go by what was entered in the system because that money has all been stored away. There's nothing else for us to rely on but the system. I'm sorry Goddess. Please collect all of your things and leave the premises quietly." Cole ordered rising from his seat and placing his hands in his pockets, looking rather smug.

Mary didn't say another word after that. She waited for her to make a move unable to think about anything but her black belt training and waited for her to pull it. Goddess side eyed Cole hard as hell knowing exactly what the root of all this was. The devastation of losing her job in only a matter of weeks hadn't set in yet as she figured out the perfect revenge for his ass that quickly. She decided that she would leave quietly because she didn't need any police heat on her but that nigga would definitely get his.

Goddess didn't have anything anywhere in the bank so after delivering a sinister look to Cole one last time she left the office and headed back to the back door. Mary unlocked the door and held it open for her to walk out of it. Her feet felt heavy, as she stood there almost hesitant to leave. The thing that pained her most was that she had only had the job a short time and was really looking forward to gaining some long-term benefits from it. Mary looked at her concerned that she might try to pull something vindictive and prepared herself for a battle. Goddess closed her eyes and let her body guide her to the outside. Mary slammed the door quickly locking it then stood smiling at her through the glass.

"You should've kept your legs closed!" Mary tapped the glass yelling.

Goddess turned around confusingly looking back at her but unable to understand what she was saying. She figured it a good thing because in the mood she was in Mary would've died that day. Instead she walked a few feet waiting to see if she had left the door. Once she did she ducked behind one of the big vans parked in the small parking lot just a few feet away from the bank. She spotted his bright shiny black Mazda 6 parked a few spaces down next to the gate. He was so self-righteous that he only parked it down there to keep anyone from wanting to park next to him.

She searched around in her purse for something shark and found her trusty old ice pick that she had since her old days of being a thief. It took her all of a few seconds to deflate all of the tires on his car. The tires made a small popping sound each time she stuck them. She stepped back from it checking it out but it seemed to be missing something. Her eyes focused on the snow-ridden ground looking for a brick that she could use to break his windows. She crept all along the other parked cars and along the gate but couldn't seem to find anything. It was brick ass cold outside as her fingertips began to freeze while holding the pick.

At that moment, she smiled at the pick thinking of another plan. She walked to the car and circled it leaving her hand out beside her placing the sharp edge of the pick to the car tearing the paint clean off of it. As she made her way back to the beginning of the scratch, a white Cadillac CTS pulled slowly into the parking lot parking in the space closets to the door. She ducked back in between the cars peeking her head up as she headed to hers hoping not to be seen.

"Aiight baby. I'm definitely gon' be on time for you today. I promise." A man's voice said.

"Yeah right nigga. You say that shit every damn day and everyday you late as hell. I don't like waiting Jemarcus." Desire snapped placing her lambskin leather Prada gloved hands on her hips.

"Naw, naw, naw baby. I got you today. You know I can't wait to see that fat ass at the end of your day." The man responded.

"Yeah...my day. Nigga are you ever gon' find a real job?"

"Com' on now baby. Don't stunt me like that you know I put in work. I don't see you hurtin' right? Our son is straight. Don't do me like that girl." He said wrapping his lips around hers to shut her up.

Goddess became disgusted at the fact that this bitch had her game sowed so tight. She knew it was hating but she didn't care, that bitch had everything and all she had to do was lay on her back to get it. It was the wrong day for her to see Desire with her husband because she was on a vengeful streak and she was now caught in her crossfire.

"Desire! Which one of your niggas do you got dropping you off today bitch?" Goddess yelled strolling out from behind the van, smiling happily.

"Huh? Who the fuck...Goddess?" She said.

"Goddess?" Her man questioned in a panic.

"Yeah bitch. It's me and you're a H—" Goddess stopped dead in her tracks.

Her eyes seem to be playing tricks on her as she gazed simultaneously back and forth between the two of them. It was like being in a wild dream and waking up in a cold dark hell. Beating sounded from behind them. Goddess looked past them long enough to catch a glimpse of a young boy happily looking out from the back window and trying to get his parent's attention. Her heart damn near dropped when she saw his little face. She couldn't deny that his face scared the living shit out of her as she squinted her eyes trying to see if he resembled a ghost who was never seen or heard from again.

"Spliff?" Goddess exhaled softly feeling light headed.

The man was silent. He couldn't respond, turning away from her and towards his wife. Desire looked just as confused as she did wondering what the hell was going on. Goddess moved in closer to get a better look and as she did Desire became more and more protective and angry.

"Bitch. You are mistaken. This is my husband and his name is Jemarcus not Spliff. Anyway, I should slap the taste out your mouth." Desire snarled.

"Spliff?" It was all Goddess could bring herself to say.

"That's...not...my name. You must have me mistaken for somebody else." He said brushing her off and sticking with Desire's story.

"What? Don't fucking play with me! It's you! It's you!" Goddess began to scream.

"Bitch you better back up before I slam your ass on this concrete!" Desire retorted.

"Well bring it on then ho!" Goddess yelled back pissed and charging right for her.

"Hey! Hey! Nobody's fighting right now man. Not in front of my damn son! D., take your ass to work man and let me handle this." He demanded shoving her towards the building.

"Excuse me? You gon' do me like that so you can talk to this bitch? She don't even know you, Jemarcus. She's just trying to spread some rumor bullshit about me because she's a jealous ho!" Desire rambled, reaching to grab her hair.

"Dammit Desire! Go to fucking work!" He bellowed pulling them apart yet again. "You think I don't know you fucking other niggas for money? Man I've known the whole time. Just like you know why I'm late all the fucking time. Man, take your ass in the building."

Spliff was always a no nonsense type of guy. Goddess couldn't bring herself to be impressed by his take-charge attitude and still hate him at the same time so she just stuck with the hate. Desire cut her eyes at her before giving her son a window kiss and heading to the door. Mary opened the door without even noticing Cole's car on flats and quickly shut it behind her, shaking her head as she disappeared from the window.

"I can't believe this is happening to me, right now. I have to get out of here." Goddess said as she ran away fighting back tears.

"Goddess!" Spliff called out. "Now you know that shit ain't kicking off like that."

She stopped dead in her tracks knowing she wouldn't be able to live with herself without an explanation. "I won't talk to you out here and in front of him."

She nodded to his son bouncing up and down in the back seat. He gazed at her remembering how beautiful she was and wanted to slap hisself for ever doing her wrong. He walked towards her standing so close his lips almost touched her forehead. His breath smelled just like she remembered it, peppermint chocolate. He had baby dreads now instead of the low bald fade he usually wore. He was a completely different person.

"So where?" He asked licking his bottom lip.

"At my house in an hour." She responded giving him the address and walking away never looking back.

She got in the car and drove off in total shock that she had just seen his face alive and well. It was almost as if he had risen from the dead and nothing had changed. If it weren't for the fact that Desire was in the picture with him it would have felt just like old times. The whole way home she could barely focus on the road only thinking of what she would say when he came over. She parked the car wildly slushing through the snow and up to the door busting it open.

Her eyes scanned the area looking to make sure that everything was nice and clean before he came over. She kicked off her shoes and tossed her coat on the rack before heading up the stairs to fix her hair. She had one blunt left from the stash that Cole had left with her as she grabbed it off of the vanity and headed back downstairs patiently awaiting his arrival. Her throat felt itchy and her palms were all sweaty wondering if he would actually show. She sparked the blunt needing the green to calm her nerves. His hour was up, in fact, it was going on two and she had begun to become restless. It was too good to be true in the first place to believe that he would show knowing he was notorious for leaving her lone. 
Chapter 22

Fool Me Once

Ding, Ding.

Goddess awoke to the sound of the doorbell ringing erratically in her ear. The box was right above the sofa and whoever was on the other side of the door was obviously in dire need to reach her. Part of her hoped it was Truth ready to apologize for not coming the other night and another part of her hoped and prayed like hell it was Spliff.

"You're late." Goddess said tussling her sleep hair.

"My bad, I know I'm late. I had to find somebody to watch my son." Spliff said entering the house looking around at how big it was. "Well you've sure been doing good."

"It was my grandmother's. She's dead now."

"What? Damn, what happened?"

"She killed herself from grief of my mom's murder. Have a seat." She said casually.

"Damn!" He said putting his hand over his mouth. "That's why you came up here. I'm sorry boo."

"Don't boo me. How the fuck you just gon' bail out on me for three fucking years Spliff or Jemarcus or whoever you calling yourself these days?" She snapped poking her finger in his face. "Shit you even dressing different."

Spliff used to remain straight hood with his gear rocking only t-shirts, jeans and Timbs wherever he went. Now he was dressed rather flashy looking like he had stepped out of a Kenneth Cole magazine, from his black Pea Coat to his Moc Toe Loafers. She inspected him realizing that even though he talked and sounded the same, he wasn't the same man who left her all those years ago. He took a deep breath and released it slowly preparing his thoughts in his head.

"I didn't want to leave you Goddess, but I felt that I had to." He explained.

"Oh, you felt you had to."

"Yes. She was threatening to find out who you were and tell you and I couldn't bare the thought of you finding out that way. Her father is an ex- FBI agent and does background checks on everyone. She would've found you in a heartbeat and outted me like a motherfucka."

"Really? So, where you find this bitch at, Spliff?" She said crossing her arms and curling her lips.

"That time I took the trip up here to hit a lick with my boy Serg, I met her and we hooked up. Three months later she talking bout she pregnant and she don't wanna be no single moms. I told her about you and she said she didn't care, that she would blow this up to you in an instant if I didn't come up here and marry her." Spliff rubbed the sweat droplets forming on his face.

"So you decided to fake your death and live happily ever after up here with this bitch? And say fuck me right?" Goddess turned tapping her feet trying to remain calm. "Nigga I gave you six years of my motherfucking life! And another three mourning you! Do you have any idea what it was like for me? ARGH!"

"If I had told you do you think we could have worked it out? I mean honestly. First thing you would've said was you leaving me, especially after you found out she had my son." He grabbed her hand as she pulled it away. "Baby, I'm sorry."

"Oh yeah, you sorry alright nigga. Sorry as hell."

"I didn't want my son without a father and since we didn't have any kids—" He was cut short by the abrupt cut of her eyes. "I just didn't want my son to be denied a family."

"What the fuck about our family, huh? What about us? I wanted a family but for six years you said _no babe we have plenty of time for that_. Now you pop up out the box with a son. You killing me."

Spliff lowered his head placing both of his large hands over his face. He was disgusted with hisself but what was done was done and he couldn't change it. All he could do was figure out how to move forward in their relationship.

"Babe all that I ask is can we try to make this work...again?"

"Are you shitting me, Spliff? I...I don't even know who you are anymore. I mean you've got a new life now and a kid. Now you don't care about leaving your kid, huh?"

"I never said I was leaving him. I'm just leaving her. She wasn't nothing but a gold digging skank anyway man. She cheating on me just like I'm steppin' out on her, man."

"Oh just like you stepped out on me?" She shook her head and bit her lip. "Naw Spliff. We're so over we need a new word for over."

"Goddess, baby, I'm sorry."

"What about the whole police taking you away thing? Was that all a hoax too?" She asked staring deeply into his eyes awaiting the truth.

"Shit, hell naw. They took me to jail and beat the breaks off my ass. But they crooked asses let me go because of it. So when they got tired and released me, I called Serg to come bail me out. I felt that was the right time to leave. He had a situation he needed me to take care of and I asked him for a favor. That's how he delivered the package to the door that morning. He told me he heard you scream. It nearly tore me to shreds." Spliff replied feeling the lowest of his low.

"I was beyond hurt...for a long time, Spliff. I couldn't eat or sleep or even wash my ass. I was broke with no money and if it weren't for my friend who is probably sitting in a jail cell right now hating the shit out of me, I would've been homeless too. All of this bullshit started because you couldn't leave your precious son!" Goddess bellowed from the top of her lungs standing and pacing struggling to take it all in.

"Man, I know you've been through hell. Okay. So have I. We need each other right now baby. That's the only way we both gon' make it boo. Com' on!" He wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't fall from his eyes.

Ding, Ding, Ding!

Goddess walked over to the door looking out of the peephole. A Caucasian woman with long luscious luxurious blond hair and a grey trench waited outside for someone to answer. She hesitated not knowing if she was a cop but then she turned around revealing the heavy thick makeup and fake eyelashes that adorned her face and immediately knew she wasn't. Cops never looked that cheap while on the job.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she opened the door.

"Yes, I'm Imani. Are you Goddess?" She asked stepping in the screen door unwelcomed.

"Yes. Do come in." She final invited. "Do you have good news for me?"

"I sure do girl. Bam!" Imani responded slapping a white envelope in the air towards her.

"Oh my God! This couldn't have come at a better time. I just lost my job today."

"Well it looks like I'm right on time then." Imani laughed. "Okay so that's only your mom's money, it was simple switching that over but it looks like your grandmother's check will take some time. You should probably have it before Christmas so don't worry."

"So good! Thanks a lot, Imani." Goddess said giving her a hug.

"Okay, you're welcome girl. Now if you ever need anything or want to start a policy of your own let me know. Okay?"

"Yes, I definitely will."

"Inside this other envelope is some information for you for a new policy, just in case." Imani said handing it to her and opening the door.

"Thanks again." Goddess responded as Imani headed out of the door and into the blowing mist of snow falling outside.

Spliff couldn't help but over hear the words check and money and no longer allowed the conversation to fall on deaf ears. He tried not to let his greed consume him but he had the need to be nosey and find out how much money it was. Goddess pretended like it was just another notch under her belt but inside she was doing her happy dance around the room. She tossed the check and the other envelope on the table with the millions of other envelopes scattered there without even bothering to open it.

"So...you were saying?" She said checking out her unpolished un-manicured nails.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Spliff asked letting drool fly from his mouth a bit.

"No. I know what it is and it doesn't matter how much it is so long as I have something to help me out until I find another job."

"Oh. Okay then." Spliff responded sounding disappointed that she wouldn't let him in on her secret. "Well I just need you to know that I'm sorry to my core and if there's anything, I mean anything, that I can do to fix this baby I will. I will do it because I love you and I never meant to hurt you."

Spliff studied the envelope on the table being careful not to let her peep him doing so. He remembered exactly the way she placed the envelope and was able to distinguish it from the others. Goddess looked over at him commanding his full-undivided attention and knew she could never take him back after everything that has went on. They were now from two completely different worlds and even if she wanted to take him back she would never be able to love him the same. She had to admit to herself that she blamed him for everything that went wrong in her life after he left.

"I don't know, Spliff. I mean, how could I ever trust you again?"

"Give me a chance baby. Just give me a chance."

"And Desire?"

"Desire who? Man she's nothing to me. I'm just gon' take care of my baby and that's it."

"But y'all married, though."

"Girl, how the fuck am I married to her and you know I'm married to you. My name is Spliff Dumas from Trinidad baby. Not no motherfuckin' Jemarcus. She's the one married to a lie not you boo. You got my heart, she's got my son, that shit ain't never the same."

Goddess side eyed him hard feeling like he was full of it especially after saying that dumb ass shit. "Are you even sure he's your son?"

"Yeah...yeah I think so. I mean, I think he looks like me."

"Mmhmm." She said rocking her eyes to the other side of the room.

"Come here baby." Spliff said pulling her by the shirt to his lips.

It was the feeling she missed most about him. His firm demeanor made her melt whenever he spoke. He kissed her passionately like he always kissed her and never let her go. She grabbed his short locks pulling on them making him blistering hot as he leaned her gently back on the sofa. The rush of emotion and sensuality that she had longed for was finally returned to her as he touched and caressed her much like he did when they were first married.

"Make love to me baby." She requested as he looked deeply into her eyes.

He couldn't refuse. He kneeled down sticking his tongue out licking her neck softly and gently as he mad his way underneath her shirt to get a mouth full of her big brown nipples.

"Ooo shit baby just like that." She moaned smiling at the chills he sent with every touch.

"I missed you baby. I missed this shit." He said coming up for air from her voluptuousness.

"I missed you too boo. Don't ever leave me again." She replied whispering down into his ear.

Goddess reached over to the table then returned her hand back to his head never skipping a beat. He looked up but was easily distracted by her thick waist, which had been calling him since he walked in the door. He knew she wasn't so mad at him that she wouldn't take him back, he felt he was just that dam n good and what they shared would supersede any and all anger she felt in order to reunite them. He knew her love for him ran deeper than any bullshit he had put her through.

Spliff grabbed her hand and pulled her leading her up the stairs and towards Venus' old room. She turned guiding him instead into her room knowing he didn't know which way to go. Once there he pushed her down on the bed reaching down to immediately remove her work slacks and socks. He then worked to remove her shirt then wrapped his arms around her torso removing her bra and flinging it playfully across the room. She worked on getting his jeans off as he slipped out of his socks and shoes then removed his shirt button by button and set it neatly over on the vanity. It was weird to her that he cared that much about wrinkling his shirt but she looked passed it not wanting to ruin the sensual sex she had been yearning for years.

Goddess licked his chiseled stomach loving the way her tongue rippled over his smooth skin. She curled her fingers tickling him gently with her nails from his shoulders all the way down to his penis cuffing his balls in her hand. His body trembled as he breathed heavily while she rounded his head with her tongue allowing dribbles of saliva to fall in between them on the floor. She moved all the way down on his shaft slowly slobbering as she came back up. Spliff was always a sucker the tease and she knew it.

"Get on the bed." He demanded pushing her off of him.

"You know I like it rough." She laughed as she scooted back on the bed for him lying back.

"Naw, girl. Come sit on my face." He said lying down next to her.

"Awe shit! I ain't had that shit in so long, I think I might fuck around and explode." Goddess giggled positioning her pussy right over his mouth making sure not to smother him.

"Shit, that don't matter. I know how to swallow." He responded as she went to work on his piece.

She sat on his face with his big strong hands cuffing her ass cheeks and giving them the occasional slap when he felt her temperature rise. He licked her like a dog licking water from his bowl. Goddess looked back wondering what the hell he was doing. She thought Desire had fucked his head up and somehow made him forget how to lick pussy.

"Huuh!" Spliff moaned loudly through the juices of her clit. "I'm gonna cum baby! I'm gonna cum!"

_Already?_ Goddess thought with a look of confusion on her face. She felt his gooey goodness enter her mouth gently coating it as he trembled with pleasure. She didn't even bother to suck it out of him feeling a bit cheated that he had stopped licking her clit and focused solely on getting his. Her dismount was an angry one as she sat there swallowing his creamy mess waiting for him to mount her and give her his seven-inch piece of gratification.

"Ah! Thanks babe. I needed that." Spliff said as he raised form the bed searching for his clothes like an officer searching for clues.

"Huh? Why are you leaving so fast? We didn't even get to...make love." Goddess replied gazing at him bewildered at how fast he was moving.

"I know baby. But I got to pick my son up from my boy before he loses his mind. He's not that good with young kids. But I promise I will be back tomorrow." He said pinching her cheek playfully.

"Ugh. I'm starting to feel like the other woman and not your wife. Your ass scurrying around like a thief in the night. It's crazy." She shook her head. "Are you even going to tell her?"

"Now you know me. Of course I'm going to tell her and then me and you will be back together like glue ma. I promise."

"For some reason, I don't believe you."

"You just have to trust me, G. We will be back together and all you have to do is forgive me for my son."

"No, all I have to do is get a blood test for that little sucker." Goddess joked but was very serious.

"Yeah...right." He pecked her on the lips and headed towards the door. " See you later, babe."

He jetted out the door faster than a roadrunner. Goddess lowered her head in disbelief of his actions after three years of being virtually dead to her. It seemed that he would continue to do so hearing the front door slam behind him. Spliff walked out the door to his car hoping in with ease. He was extremely happy that his old tricks never really grew that old as he opened the envelope marked Globe Life Insurance policy. As he opened it his palms began to sweat knowing he was about to be paid and Desire would have to respect him then. He unfolded the paper, taking it out to read the contents of it then slammed his fist against the steering wheel profusely.

Goddess watched through the living room window as he sat in his car having a man-trum. He looked like a big baby who had just lost its binky and had no way of getting it back. It was funny to her because that's exactly what was happening. He had lost her and would never get her back. She laughed as she sat back on the sofa then dug underneath the cushions pulling out the check, smelling it as if it were a fine Cuban cigar. She listened as Spliff screeched his tires knowing he was pissed off at the fact that he had stolen a useless envelope. That was the day she realized that even though he was alive he would forever remain dead to her.
Chapter 23

Freedom

Truth blinked a few times before focusing his eyes on the white-coated doctor standing before him. The Hindu fair skinned woman looked down into his eyes smiling like an angel from heaven. He could hear her angelic voice but it was all very muffled sounding more like the parents from all of the Charlie Brown cartoons. He struggled to respond shaking his head in bewilderment unable to move his hands and feet much. There were tubes going down his throat and up his nose that he soon discovered and panicked wanting them out of him in a hurry. The nurse looked him in his face realizing his frustration and pain and held her hand up to his face commanding him to halt his squirming.

"Wait! I will remove them for you but you have to be still and patient!" The nurse yelled knowing he was disoriented from the drugs being pumped into his veins.

"Mmmmmm." Truth muttered, calming hisself and closing his eyes feeling in more pain than he had ever felt before.

"Okay done. But I have to leave the ones in your nose for oxygen. So breathe normally and it won't bother you so much." The nurse bellowed again but she ensured that her voice was much more soothing this time.

Truth tried to mumble something but his voice was choppy and raspy from the tube being lodged in there so long. The nurse walked over to gather her instructions from the doctor as he struggled to turn his head in their direction to catch a peep. His throat was soar as ever and coupled with his glossy eyes and dry crusted mouth, it began to set in what happened to him. Minute tears formed in the cervices of his eyes while his heart gave a sinking feeling. He sniffed the snot running from his nose as he stared up at the ceiling trying to figure out how his life came to him laying in a hospital bed fighting for his life.

"Oh don't cry, sugar. The doctors took extra special care of you and they say you are gonna pull through just fine." The African accented woman said kissing Truth on the head feeling sorry for his pain.

"Can...you...help me?" Truth was able to mutter silently.

"Oh, what you need sugar?"

"The police. I know who shot me."

"Are you sure?" She leaned back looking down at him as he shook his head answering her. "Okay, I'll get the doctor."

The nurse rushed out of the room searching the halls for his doctor. Truth lay in waiting listening to the beeping machines he was hooked up to in his room then was distracted by the ruckus of shuffling between doctors and nurses in the hall. His room was not only freezing cold but also depressing in manner. The linen sheets were wrapped tight around his body and his view out of the window revealed nothing but the evening sky. His room was shared with an empty bed on the other side of the polka dot dividing sliding sheet. The TV mounted above in the centered of the room was turned off so there was nothing left for him to stare at but the huge dry erase board under it that revealed Nurse Abdula's name and the hours of her shift.

"Sugar, are you still awake?" Nurse Abdula asked returning to his bedside.

Truth shook his head feeling like she had been gone forever. The Hindu doctor returned along with two detectives who were informed an hour ago that he was out of his second surgery to remove the last two bullets in his abdomen and thigh.

"I don't know how much he'll be able to say because we just recently removed the tube from his throat but he can talk." Dr. Malhotra said leaning in to check his vitals on the machines.

"Thank you doctor we just need a few minutes with the victim. We shouldn't be long." One of the detectives responded.

As the doctor and nurse headed out of the room to give them their privacy, Truth began testing his vocal out trying to talk through the pain. "I know who shot me."

"Yes we were told you remembered what happened. Can you start at the beginning? Take your time." The other detective asked sympathetically.

Truth shook his head telling them no. The detectives looked at each other confusingly. Truth signaled for one of them to hand him a pen and piece of paper. One of them pulled out his notepad and favorite black ballpoint pen from his inside jacket pocket and handed it to him. Truth took it with the quickness, struggling to write since his arms and hands were massively swollen. One of the detectives walked over to hold the pad for him while he wrote.

G.O.D.D.E.S.S. he wrote on the paper as the detective read it. "Goddess? Is that a name?" He asked watching as Truth shook his head.

Y.O.U.N.G. he continued while the other detective jotted down what was going on in the room. Truth felt tired just from writing that bit information alone. He proceeded to talk trying to tell them exactly what happened but the more he pushed through the pain the worse it got.

"So she came up behind you and when you turned around she had a face mask on. Is that correct?" One of the detectives asked.

"Yes." Truth assured.

"And do you know why she might have wanted to kill you?" The detective continued.

Truth shrugged his shoulders slightly before his head nodded uncontrollably, nearly falling asleep.

The detectives looked suspiciously at each other before the one closest to Truth folded up the notepad and snatched up his pen. He then patted Truth on the shoulder trying to keep him awake. A loud slow beeping sound filled the room that was very annoying.

"On more thing buddy. This girl, were you all ever romantically involved?"

"Yes." Truth shook his head allowing the codeine to put him right back to sleep.

"Oh sorry sugars, but my patient just got his time released pain medicine so he's gonna be down for the count for a few hours. You're welcome to come back in the morning." Nurse Abdula said bursting in the room as upbeat as she could be checking his vitals and machines.

As disappointed as the detectives were they were happy that had gotten any information at all since they had no leads and no witnesses. They left the hospital room with the notion that they would return tomorrow hoping to get some more and clear information on the case from their star witness. Truth, on the other hand, was out like a light from being doped up on schedule. He was more than relieved to be alive but wished he had never met a female by the name of Goddess Young, feeling that that name would haunt him for years to come.

****

Goddess dressed slowly, fixing her hair perfectly into a nice high bun. She affixed her makeup on her face so flawlessly that she modeled in the mirror thinking that she needed to put her beauty on the cover of a high fashion magazine. Instead of spreading her usual Mac lip-gloss on her lips, she picked up her mother's bright read Mac lipstick and smeared it on her lips. She went around a few times being sure to cover them well before patting her them together and blotting away any excess. She stood grabbing the check off of the vanity, clicking her heels all the way to the front sofa stuffing it inside of her satchel. One last look in the four small mirrors hanging on the wall in the corridor before she put on her grandmother's brown Sean Jean knit bomber with the fur hood then snatched up her purse and headed out.

She drove to the Jewels/Osco on 79th and Cicero and walked in heading straight to the TCF Bank with nothing but business on her mind. The money in her purse was going to indeed provide for her a life that she would never take for granted. A new life that she would love to start in Miami away from bullshit and drama. She was done with everything and everybody she had ever known, wanting to drop off the face of the earth from anyone who knew her. Just as she got to the window, her cell sounded off inside of her satchel.

"Oh I can't even believe this shit. Why the hell are you calling my phone?" Goddess asked as she handed the lady her old TCF bank account number and the deposit slip for the check.

"Babe. I had to fire you. It was the only way we could be together without Desire getting in our business. I did it to protect you." Cole said sounding like he was hyped up off ten cups of coffee.

"Are you crazy or something? Goodbye Cole."

"No...Goddess don't hang up!"

The teller looked at the amount on the check and nearly had a heart attack as she placed her hand on her chest. She had never seen such a large amount before in all of her twelve-year career at the bank. She immediately flagged the manager down who quickly scurried to the window.

"Uh, yes ma'am. I see you are trying to make a deposit today. Follow me into my office." He said pointing his finger guiding her into the right direction.

"May I ask what kind of check this is?" He said showing her a seat and offering her a beverage from the small personal refrigerator behind his desk.

"My mother's life insurance policy." Goddess retorted lowering her head for show.

"Oh. Well I'm very sorry to hear that. My condolences. Well all I need to do is verify this and I would be more than happy to deposit this for you today." He said as he typed away at his keyboard.

"So, how much of the money would be available today sir?" She asked raising her head with a single tear strolling down the side of her right cheek.

"Um, well nothing. The check is going to take at least three days to clear. You should have it by the end of the week though." He said rising from the desk with the check. "Please sign and put your social security number on the back and I will head to the teller for you."

Goddess signed and handed the check to the manager, watching as he disappeared out of the door and into the small area of the bank. She looked down at her phone as it stopped ringing to check and see that she had already missed five other calls prior to that one. They were all from Cole. Her eyebrows curved as she realized she was going to need to change her phone number. She stuffed it back down inside of her satchel as it began to ring again. Frustrated she turned the phone on vibrate, then sat back in the chair wondering what was taking the manager so long. Her palms grew sweaty while her knees grew weak hoping that everything was fine. That money was her ticket to financial freedom and the lavish life she used to live.

"Okay, Ms. Young, we have deposited your check and you're all set. Should you need anything, anything at all, please don't hesitate to call me." The manager said taking one of his business cards off the desk and handing it to her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Uh, sure. Thanks." She said rising up from the chair and heading out the door.

All eyes were on her as she left the grocery store. The tellers were in shock that she had walked in there with a $425,000 check and it was legit. Goddess walked with confidence to her car wanting to go have dinner in a fancy place alone with a glass of exquisite room temperature merlot. She was feeling that damn good wondering how Truth would feel about himself if he knew she had more money than he could spend.

"Goddess!" Cole jumped out from behind her car, walking up to her.

"What the fuck are you doing here? Did you follow me?" She yelled angrily.

"I always follow you Goddess. You need someone to protect you. I can protect you." Cole said grabbing her arm gently.

"Cole, we are over and you need to get that through your fucking head."

"No. I can't accept that. You're just mad and that's okay. But I can make you love me again. I can —"

"Whoa, whoa. I never loved you. What gave you the idea that I loved you?"

"We shared that special night together. You let me spoon you. Why are you acting like this?" Cole said moving in closer to kiss her.

"Ew, Cole! Stop it! You need to get a grip. I don't love you and I never will! Stop following me! Stop texting and calling! Just leave me the fuck alone!" She bellowed, snatching her arm from his grasp. "Got it? Just leave me the fuck alone!"

She got in the car, pulling off wildly, anxious to be rid of his presence. Cole simply stood there watching her flee from the scene. He was a very well educated brother for the life of him he couldn't figure out why the one woman he desired most of all didn't want him. He had never been turned down so harshly from any woman and the more she did the more he wanted to wrap his lips around her pussy and lick until she screamed. He knew that was the key to every woman's heart. His soul yearned for one more chance to make her, his. 
Chapter 24

Undeniable

Her coat itched unable to wait to throw it on the floor next to the sofa along with her heeled boots, which ached her feet so. She lied back on the sofa dreaming of how awesome Miami would be and hot she would look in a string bikini. Since working a regular nine to five wasn't working out well for her, she allowed her dreams to extend as far as working on a fit beach body and becoming some sort of model to showcase her infinite beauty. Her cell had rung off the hook nonstop since her run-in with Cole and it showed no sign of stopping. Beyond livid, she snatched up her purse pulling it out and checking the number on the face. It was unrecognizable, which made her leery of answering but her curiosity killed.

"Who the fuck is this?" She screamed.

"May I speak to Goddess Young?"

"Who is this?"

"Is this her?"

"Who wants to know?"

"You're a fucking coward. Can't even tell people who you are. Who are you running from Goddess?" The female on the other end shrieked.

"I ain't got time to dick around with yo chump change havin' ass. When you get enough money to buy a clue bitch hit me back." Goddess snapped ready to hang up the phone.

"That's mighty fine talk for someone with blood on her hands." The girl laughed cynically.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me bitch. Someone obviously forgot what project complex they used to stay in."

"Tara?" Goddess asked sitting up slightly.

"You won't get away with what you done bitch. One way or the other, you will pay."

"Oh, I'm shaking in my boots bitch. What are you like five years old trying to get revenge for your whack ass momma? Please, spare me the bullshit." Goddess laughed.

"Don't talk about my momma! You don't deserve to talk about her!" Tara snapped boiling over with heat and trembling with excitement. "You'll pay, Goddess."

"Yeah, well, kiss my ass too!" Goddess hung up the phone tired of playing Tara's little game.

She figured Tara was sadly mistaken if she thought finding her cell number to harass her was going to scare her one bit. However, it did concern her as to why she chose then to call her when she had been talked to Venus weeks ago. Nevertheless, she wasn't about to concern herself with foolishness when in a few days she would be shaking her ass in paradise.

Ding, Ding, Ding!

"Who is it?" She yelled as she looked through the peephole only seeing darkness. "Take your hand off the peephole or I'm not opening the door."

"It's me, G. Open up." Spliff spat calmly.

Goddess opened the door grudgingly allowing him to enter then dove right back on the sofa burying her head in the cushion. Spliff walked over taking a seat right in front of her legs scooting them back so he wouldn't hurt her then leaned forward playing with her ass cheeks.

"What do you want Spliff?"

"I told you I was coming back."

"Did you only come back because you stole the wrong check?" She said turning over.

"Awe, baby. Com' on now you know I wasn't gonna do nothing with it. I just wanted to see how much it was, girl." He responded friskily slapping her thighs.

"Yeah right. I bet you were. Where's Desire?"

"I don't know. We got into a fight. I left her ass where she was. Now how about we finish what we started earlier?"

"You trippin' nigga. I'm done with you." Goddess said batting his hands away from unbuckling her pants.

"Girl, you can't quit me. We married and that shit is til death do you part. Remember?" Spliff began to kiss her hand making his way up her arm.

Goddess snatched her hand away and pushed him up off of her. "Dude, listen. You got me fucked up if you think I'm gonna be stupid enough to fall for your bullshit anymore. I've had plenty of time to get over you and that shit the other day...we're beyond over Spliff."

"But I love you, G. Don't you love me?"

"I will always love you. But how much could you possibly have loved me three year ago when you fell off the face of the earth?" She asked trying not to become choked up by the thought.

Ding, Ding!

"Ugh, who is it?" She asked walking over to the door.

"Cole. Please I need to say something really quickly, Goddess and then I promise I will leave you alone for good." He yelled.

Part of her wanted to call the police but she felt it would truly do no good. Besides, she wasn't in the mood to deal with them right then especially since she wasn't entirely sure if they were looking for her or not. She opened the door once again, reluctantly but knew if anything popped off with him that at least Spliff would make him leave.

"I'm listening, Cole. I'm kinda in the middle of something here." She said extending her hand out towards Spliff.

"Hey guy, I'm Spliff." He said rising to shake Cole's hand.

Cole hawked Spliff down looking at his hand as if it were a diseased parasite coming for him. He turned back towards Goddess as Spliff returned to his seat disheveled by his rejection. She shook her head at the both of them acting like childish boys in a schoolyard.

"Anyway, can we talk somewhere in private?" Cole asked pinching her elbow gently.

"I don't think so, Cole. Just say what you need to say right here."

"Goddess, I don't wanna lose you. Just tell me what I need to do to make this right and I will do it. Absolutely anything." Cole begged waving his hands and talking through his teeth.

"Ugh, God! What is it going to take for you to understand?"

"You don't have to get loud, Goddess. I'm right here." Cole said side eyeing Spliff who was pretending to mind his business.

"Cole, I don't want you. Your dick is little and you can't fuck. You can barely eat pussy and that's basically the reason why you got a chance to hit it in the first place. Stop playing yourself and go home. Just go home." Goddess replied patting him on the shoulder feeling sorry that she whipped her pussy on the shmuck.

Cole felt rage build up inside of him. He couldn't control it as his arm had a mind of its own reaching behind then bringing it back around slapping the dog shit out of Goddess' mouth. She spun round, landing on the floor at his feet clutching her cheek and looking up into his crazed eyes. Spliff rushed over pushing him into the dining room table and helping her to her feet.

"Nigga what the fuck is wrong with you? That's a female!" Spliff snapped rushing over to push him again.

"Naw nigga ain't shit wrong with me. Fucks wrong with you!" Cole yelled back as he pulled a black Glock from behind his back and pointed right for Spliff's head.

"Ay, man. I don't want no motherfuckin' trouble." Spliff lifted his hands in the air and backed back coolly.

"Cole, what the fuck are you doing with that? Put that shit down are you crazy!" Goddess spat waving her hand at him so he would put the gun down.

"Goddess, I don't know why I keep letting you hurt me like this but you need to understand that I am the only one who will ever love you this way. You have to love me!" Cole shook violently. "Get y'all asses to the couch. Move!"

"Where'd you get this one from?" Spliff leaned over whispering into Goddess' hear jokingly.

He stood there pointing the gun back and forth between both of their heads wondering whom he should shoot first. It was silent in the room. He waved the gun pointing over to the sofa for them to make their way there and have a seat. Goddess knew she would regret opening that door but didn't know it would be life threatening. They sat on the sofa picking their fingernails and nudging each other while he sat on the staircase figuring out his next move.

Hours went past while the day turned into night and Goddess still found herself a hostage in her own house. She wasn't the least bit concerned about Cole shooting her feeling as though he didn't have the balls to shoot a fly. Nothing was said or mumbled, but looks were tossed around very much so.

"Cole, I gotta pee." Goddess looked up at him growing tired of sitting on her ass.

"Nice try. But I don't think so. Now we are all gonna sit here until I figure out if I want to bury you or drown you...alive." Cole responded as the doorbell rang. "You, be cool and answer the door. Don't pull shit."

Goddess didn't even bother this time to ask who it was at the door. She wanted to startle Cole into hiding the gun so it would be easier for them to get away. The door flung open and in barged Desire looking around the house at how huge and nicely decked out it was but her sight caught Spliff on the sofa and immediately broke free of that.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Desire said charging over to him slapping him continuously upside of his head.

"Ay baby. Stop! Stop!" Spliff yelled shielding himself from the beating.

"Hold up trick! You can't just run up in my house like you live here and shit." Goddess screamed pulling her off of Spliff. "Uh un, bitch you gotta ride!"

"Let go of me." Desire snapped snatching away from Goddess. "This my motherfuckin' husband bitch you don't run shit. I don't give a fuck who you used to be to him."

"Well, I see you finally told her who I was to you." Goddess said nodding towards Spliff and crossing her arms.

"Ah, so this is your husband." Cole laughed walking down the stairs with the gun to his side. "I've been waiting a long time to meet the scum behind her demise."

"What dude? You lucky you got that gun in your hand. I bet you don't talk that shit without it." Spliff snarled.

"Demise? Nigga ain't shit wrong with me. Don't be mad cause your lil' dick ass wanna fuck on every bitch that smiles at your weak ass." Desire snapped putting her hands on her hips. "What the fuck you doing here anyway?"

Goddess smirked a bit placing her hand over her mouth to hide it. Everyone looked at her as she stopped pulling herself together.

"Wait, what the fuck is he talking about, Desire?" Spliff turned to her questioning.

"I'll answer that. I've been fucking the shit out of your wife for the past two years and she loved every minute of it. Even took it in the ass more times than I can count." Cole replied smiling happily.

Spliff began laughing and Goddess followed close behind, bending over getting a kick out of what Cole had just blurted. He didn't understand what the big joke was about at first but soon realized it had to be that his dick had become the laughing stock of the room. Desire shook her head at his pathetic attempt to out their relationship and turned her attention back towards her husband.

"Jemarcus or Spliff or whatever your name is, I don't care. You need to come home now so we can work this out. I don't give a fuck about her and what y'all had in the past but we have a son so you need to let this bitch go." Desire rolled her eyes at Goddess then cut back to Spliff turning on her sympathy face. "We're a family, baby, and I love you."

"Ugh, please." Goddess hated.

"Yeah, please." Cole smacked his lips cosigning.

"Dude you really need to shut the fuck up right now, okay. Cause you have no idea." Spliff retorted.

"Nigga you done lost your mind telling me to shut the fuck up when I'm the nigga with the gun." Cole smirked pointing it directly at his forehead. "Go on and finish talking to your bitch. I'm done hittin' that anyway."

Desire sucked her teeth in disgust as Spliff lowered his head releasing a faint smile. Desire already knew what was coming and put her hand on his chest to calm him down. She put her hands on his cheeks forcing his eyes on hers and shaking her head from side to side.

"No baby. Don't do it." Desire quietly pleaded.

"What you worried about?" Spliff asked curling his lips.

Desire released him knowing that his temperature had shot up past the boiling point. He wasn't about to let this nigga get away with talking shit to him any longer. Spliff cracked his knuckles by crossing his fingers on each hand before moving in close to Cole. He wasn't the least bit worried about him shooting him since he figured he would've done it already if he really wanted to.

"You think you shitting on me by reminding me that you fucked my girl? Huh?" Spliff asked moving in closer.

"I don't give a fuck if you feel shitty or not but the facts are undeniable." Cole replied trying to sound much more educated than he.

Spliff crossed his arms and curled his lips as he began to retort. "Did you have fun banging her pussy? Did you lick her pearl 'til she bled? How hard did you fuck her not so tight little asshole? I hope you loved every waking minute of it but next time leave the lights on dipshit. My girl used to be a fucking man." 
Chapter 25

Killin' Me...

The room filled with the most unrecognizable awkward silence known to them all. No one moved Spliff who turned to stare at the shocked and appalled facial expression adorning Goddess' face. He walked over to her lacing his hand on her shoulder as tears flowed down her face. She couldn't believe it, feeling like everything he had ever told her and everything she knew about him was a lie.

"Spliff. What is this? I thought you said she was pregnant. I thought—" Goddess cried.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't know how to tell you. I did meet her, but no she wasn't pregnant. I found out she was a man after I had already fallen in love with her and I couldn't let her go. I'm sorry G." Spliff explained.

"Yeah, I knew you were a sorry motherfucka alright." Goddess exhaled shaking her head and brushing his hand of her. "And the kid?"

"He's her foster son. She gets paid to take care of him but his real mother is clean and is fighting for him back." Spliff responded.

"You don't owe this bitch any explanation, baby. You're mine and that's all she needs to fucking know." Desire spat pulling Spliff back over towards her. "Get on trick. Get on."

"Man, fuck that! You a damn MAN?" Cole snapped. "A damn man?"

"No, technically I'm a woman. I've got the plumping to prove it. I paid for it and it's who I am now and you were none the wiser. You thought I was a woman fucking my doctor designed pussy nicely, so that's all that mattered booboo." Desire expressed snapping her fingers in his face.

"What the fuck?" Cole sat down on the last stair dry heaving feeling like he would barf at any given moment.

His pulse raced and his mind wandered to a land where women were real. He placed his hands over his eyes rubbing them profusely with the gun still pressed firmly in his hand. They watched closely as he freaked out over the whole ordeal. Though Spliff knew he had devastated Goddess from the news he was extremely happy that he had vexed Cole in such a way.

"You ain't no fucking woman. You're a damn man!" Cole snapped standing to break the silence.

"Look, you deal with that boo. He loves me and I love him." Desire rubbed on Spliff's chest lovingly. "You need to get over this bitch baby. You belong to me now."

Spliff looked down into her glistening eyes giving her a sweet peck on the lips.

"We gone. Com' on babe." Desire said taking Spliff's hand in hers.

"Spliff." Goddess said halting him as he headed for the door.

He gazed into her eyes feeling apologetic for the way he treated her, the six years he spent with her, and for hurting her so badly. He only wanted to love her the way she loved him but his fetish for Desire's exotic ways threw him for a loop. He thought he would have been able to keep it strictly sex and not fall in love but he was sadly mistaken putting Goddess' feelings on the line. Lie after lie had hurt her and as he stood there looking into her big brown eyes, soft sultry skin, and thick lips he realized that if he didn't let her go now, he would only continue to hurt her.

"I'm sorry baby. I can't do this to you anymore. She's right...I do love her. I mean, I love you too, but I'm with her now." Spliff explained caressing her soft cheek.

SLAP!

Goddess reached over slapping the taste out of Desire's mouth. Desire charged at her grabbing her hair and flinging her around to the dining room floor. She wanted to hit her but the fact that she was born a man plagued her mind. She didn't know if she could still go to jail for hitting her in the law's eyes. Goddess rose grabbing her hair punching her in the face like she was a big burley man, delivering blow after blow as Desire struggled to control her.

"Get this bitch off me! Get her ass!" Desire yelled bringing her deep voice to light.

Spliff grabbed Goddess hemming her up, squeezing the life out of her and pulling her back towards the dining table. POP! POP! They ducked looking at each other wondering whom, if anyone was hit. Spliff felt himself then looked over at Goddess realizing she was good. Each of them turned the corner of the wall looking towards the staircase, peering at Cole with drywall on his forehead and shoulders. He was still pointing the smoking gun as Desire fell to the floor harder than a wrecking ball against a building.

"Oh my God!" Goddess gasped covering her mouth with both of her hands.

"BABE! What the fuck did you do?" Spliff squealed running to her aid. "Someone call the fucking ambulance!" He cried.

"Naw, don't call shit! Let that nigga bleed." Cole spat cold-heartedly.

Desire's body began to go into convulsions as blood rose in her mouth. She reached out for Spliff squeezing tightly struggling to hold on to the little life she had left. Goddess looked over at her dying face and into Spliff's horrid expression knowing that his love for her had to be stronger than any she's ever known, including theirs. She rushed over to the coffee table stomping her finger on the emergency button and quickly bringing it up to her ear.

"Goddess, what are you doing?" Cole asked pointing the gun over to her.

"I hate this bitch but I'm not about to let her die on my fucking dining room floor!" She retorted, now speaking to the emergency operator.

"What...you can't! I won't go to jail for some faggot!" Cole yelled running past the scene, into the kitchen and out the back door.

Goddess shook her head pissed that Cole had brought this heat to her domain in this way. She hung up from the emergency operator and rushed over to Desire with her coat propping her head up and accessing her damage. She kneeled down watching tears fall from Spliff's eyes as she removed her V-neck cashmere sweater then used it to apply pressure against the wound in her abdomen.

"Okay, they're on their way. She should be fine." Goddess said putting his hand on the sweater to hold it. "Stupid motherfucka put one in the ceiling and only one in her."

"Thanks Goddess." Spliff cried. "For everything."

She looked at him with a fake smile hating to admit to herself that she didn't do it for Desire, she did it because a part of her just couldn't get over her love for Spliff. There was something inside of her that felt that even though he had lied to her and did her wrong, at one point they were happy and it was hard to throw that away.

Ding, Ding!

"Damn, they got here fast." Goddess said opening the door without hesitation. "Come on in she's right in here."

Goddess raised her hand directing the guest into the dining room area. She turned around checking to see how many EMT's were entering her house when she found that none were out there. It was so quiet outside that you could hear a pin drop on the ground as she stared down the dark barrel of a 9mm pointed directly in between her eyes.

"So we meet again bitch." Tara said calmly using both hands to hold the heavy gun.

"What is your young ass doing here..." Goddess said gritting her teeth. "And how the fuck did you get a damn gun?"

"Oh. I can't come see you? I mean, you were a close friend of momma's. You remember your friend Quetta, right?" Tara said pushing the door wide open. "Well she sent you a message bitch!"

"Whoa! You need to calm down now little girl!" Spliff shouted forcefully.

"Don't call me a little girl!" Tara screamed.

Tara wanted to say so much more but she was on the verge of losing her mind. The very presence of Goddess sent her into a livid frenzy as she struggled to maintain and not pull the trigger so quickly. The frail girl stood toe to toe with Goddess making sure she kept a safe distance and wasn't able to snatch the gun from her hand.

"HEY! Drop the fucking weapon!" A detective yelled from behind her.

"Do what he says ma'am! There's no need for this to end ugly!" The other detective yelled as his partner radioed in for backup.

An ambulance sped up parking erratically in front of the house running out with their medical bags up to the house. They were halted by the police and the fire department who wanted to make sure the coast was clear before they rushed in. Tara looked around nervously feeling like she was in too deep at this point and should probably surrender. She didn't want to suffer the same fate as her mother.

"Put the damn gun down!" The police yelled in their defensive stance.

"What are you going to do Tara? You're surrounded and out numbered." Goddess smiled raising her hands in the air slowly so the police could see that she was unarmed.

"She's dying! Please help!" Spliff yelled looking into Desire's glazed over eyes.

"Fuck you, Goddess!" Tara yelled.

"Put the gun down! That's your final warning!" An officer yelled through a bullhorn.

"It doesn't matter what you do to me, Tara. You and your momma will eventually go to hell." Goddess said giving her a nod towards the cops swarming outside of the door, moving in on her.

Tara cut her eyes from side to side without moving an inch feeling the sweat forming on her forehead and under her armpits. "Oh yeah. Hell huh? Well, see you there...bitch!"

POP, POP!

POP! POP! POP!

Tara busted two shots off aiming for Goddess' head as the cops planted three slugs into her. One of the slugs entered her buttocks, another into her arm, and another into her right thigh. She fell back hitting the pavement hard injuring her back in the process. Her body went numb as emergency aids and officers surrounded her kicking the gun away from her reach and securing it as evidence. The firefighters worked on her keeping her stable until the second set of EMT's arrived to manage her bleeding. They loaded her up and rushed her to the ambulance in total shock that she was only a minor.

"Momma!" Tara screamed crying in pain and agony. "Momma!"

The EMTs rushed in to begin working on Desire immediately starting and inserting an IV and pumping fluids into her. Miraculously she was still alive but incoherent with Spliff remaining by her side refusing to leave despite the pressure to give her space. He couldn't focus on anything else as they loaded her onto a gurney and shipped her out the door into one of the awaiting ambulances. The sirens could be heard buzzing louder than ever as they rushed to get her to the trauma center of Oak Lawn.

Goddess lied on the floor seemingly dead from bullet wounds with blood spewing out of the side of her. She stared up at the ceiling unaware of everything that was going on around her but a conversation could be heard in the background. The voices were recognizable realizing that it was the detectives that came to her house when Venus died. She could here them discussing something but their words were really muffled. EMT's and firefighters blocked her view of the ceiling, finally getting to work on her wounds attempting to save her life. She didn't know if they would succeed but she did feel her body going numb and her eyes feeling heavy.

"Stromin' my pain with his fingers, singin' my life with his words, killin' me softly with his song. Killin'...me softly...with...his..." She sang herself right to sleep as everything faded to pitch black. 
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