CHAPTER 7
It was almost two weeks after Summer Jam, and Apple was reliving that brief encounter with Cross in her mind on the daily. It was a Thursday morning, and once again, she was penniless. She got out of bed to look outside the window, but there was no Cross or any of his goons lingering outside. The block had been quiet for a few days, and Apple missed looking at her eye-candy that would post up outside her bedroom window. She’d heard that police had done a sweep a few days earlier and was praying that Cross didn’t get caught up in the raid. Sighing, she started to get ready for her day.
*****
Mesha and Ayesha had told Apple about their encounter with Dink and Trey. She listened half-heartedly about how well-endowed Trey was, while Dink really didn’t have anything to work with. Apple laughed, thinking about how much shit-talking Dink did that evening. The girls admitted that they had major regrets sleeping with Trey and Dink, and they both blamed it on the alcohol. However, Mesha carried her regret more, knowing she had a boyfriend.
*****
Apple walked to the bathroom, but it was already occupied. She banged on the door and shouted, “Hurry up! I gotta go!”
“Wait!” Kola shouted from the other side.
Apple sucked her teeth. She knew Kola was going to be in there for a while. Her sister had no consideration for anybody but herself, and it was getting on Apple’s last nerve.
Apple walked into the kitchen, where Nichols was preparing breakfast. She smiled. Her little sister was a sweetheart.
“Kola’s still in the bathroom?” Nichols asked.
“Yeah, that bitch is.”
“That’s why I got up early and went before her. You know how she is, Apple.”
“Where’s Ma?”
“Still ’sleep. I ain’t tryin’ to wake her up,” Nichols replied.
Apple began doing the pee-pee dance, trying to hold her urine. “Shit. I’m ’bout to kick down that door if she don’t hurry up.”
“Go next door and use Ms. Terri’s bathroom.”
“Her fuckin’ son’s a pervert.”
“He probably ain’t home. But what you gonna do? Stand there and pee on yourself?”
Apple knew her sister was right, so she rushed out the door to Ms. Terri’s, a kind Caribbean woman in her late fifties. She was from St. Lucia and had migrated to America thirty years ago. She was like a second mother to the girls. When they were young, Ms. Terri didn’t mind watching them while their mother was in the streets. She would feed them, clothe them, and talk to them sometimes, when needed.
Ms. Terri had four kids, two adult sons who lived on their own, a daughter just starting college, and a young son who was the twins’ age. She had raised a respectable family and wanted to help bring up Denise’s children, but there was always some conflict with the two women. So Ms. Terri thought it was best to mind her own business and stick to raising her own kids.
Apple anxiously knocked on Ms. Terri’s door, still trying to hold her urine. “Ms. Terri, it’s me, Apple. Please open the door. I have to use your bathroom,” she cried out. She continued to bang until the five-four, medium-build woman with long locks and wrinkling brown skin answered the door.
She smiled at Apple. “Kola again?”
Apple nodded.
Ms. Terri moved to the side and invited Apple into her home, and Apple rushed past the woman and ran into her bathroom, where she quickly relieved herself. She spent a few minutes in the cherry-scented bathroom, which was clean and stocked with toiletries, unlike their own, which was always out of toilet paper, soap, and other items to keep a young woman fresh.
Sometimes Apple wondered how she kept her hygiene up to par, with her mother too lazy to shop, clean, cook, and do other things. Apple felt like she was living with Peg Bundy from Married with Children. She hated her home but loved Ms. Terri’s place, and if it wasn’t for her perverted son trying to f-uck her every chance he got, then Apple would’ve spent more time there.
“Better?” Ms. Terri asked as Apple exited the bathroom.
“You’re the best, Ms. Terri. Thank you.”
“Anytime, chile. You can always come if you need somethin’,” she said in a motherly way.
Apple was happy that Ms. Terri’s son, Jerome, wasn’t around. He was the worst. She remembered one time she was at the apartment talking to Ms. Terri, and behind his mother’s back, Jerome flashed himself and grabbed his dick. It was only one of many incidents that she went through with him. Other times he would grab her ass, and Apple would quickly check him on it. Out of respect for Ms. Terri, she never really hurt the boy, though she had slapped and punched him a few times when he’d disrespected her.
“You hungry, Apple?” Ms. Terri asked.
“No, I’m OK, Ms. Terri. Nichols is cooking breakfast.”
“How’s your mother and the family?”
“They good,” Apple lied.
Ms. Terri smiled. She missed having the girls over, but times had changed, and Apple and her sisters were growing older. They didn’t have time anymore to sit around to sip tea, talk, and pretend to be what the girls seemed to long for—family. Apple wanted to see more of Ms. Terri too, but with Jerome constantly trying to get between her legs, she just stayed away altogether.
Apple hugged Ms. Terri and promised to visit her more often, but it was a promise she didn’t intend to keep. She walked out of the apartment and went back into hers. Nichols had finished fixing breakfast, and Kola was still in the bathroom.
Apple stormed to the bathroom and started kicking and banging on the door wildly. “Kola, you a selfish fuckin’ bitch! You got other people living here too!” she yelled.
Kola screamed back, “Just fuckin’ wait! Damn!” Not caring about Apple’s tantrum, she remained in the bathroom, taking her sweet time with her hair.
“Fuck you, bitch! Fo’ real, f-uck you!” Apple screamed out.
“Fuck you too, Apple. Broke bitch!”
“What?”
The commotion had awakened their mother, who came walking out of her bedroom. Tying her robe, she said, “Would both y’all bitches just shut the f-uck up! Damn it, I’m tryin’ to sleep.”
“Tell Kola to get her triflin’ ass out the bathroom then.”
Denise looked at Apple as if she didn’t care. She didn’t have to use it, so it didn’t bother her none that Kola was taking her time in the bathroom. She looked at Apple and said, “Just go next door.”
“I already did,” Apple snapped back.
“So what you bitchin’ for?”
“’Cause she gets on my fuckin’ nerves!”
“Apple, kill that fuckin’ noise, or else I’ma start makin’ some noise of my own. You understand?”
Apple sucked her teeth, rolled her eyes, and sharply replied, “Whateva!” Then she stormed back into the kitchen, where Nichols had breakfast ready and on the table.
“At least you get to eat first,” Nichols said to Apple with a smile.
Apple sat at the table and returned the smile. Nichols was her favorite. She cared for her baby sister more than anyone else in the house.
While pouring Apple what was left of the orange juice, Nichols said, “You snooze, you lose, right?”
Apple downed the juice and ate her breakfast. She and Nichols had their sisterly moment together, and Apple liked that. When breakfast was done, Apple made sure that whatever was leftover got thrown in the trash. She didn’t want Kola to have anything Nichols had made. It was her way of revenge.
As Apple was exiting the kitchen, Kola entered the room wearing her usual tight shorts and shirt. Paying Apple no mind, she asked, “What y’all eating?”
“You mean, what were we eating?” Apple smirked then kept it moving.
Kola looked around the kitchen. The table was clear, and the dishes were piled up in the sink. Then she noticed her breakfast in the trash. Her face lit up with anger.
“Apple, why the f-uck you throw my food out like that? You a straight-up bitch! Sometimes, I swear . . . ”
“You ain’t the one that cooked it,” Apple replied with a look of satisfaction.
Nichols just stood on the sidelines and watched her twin sisters argue like they were strangers on the street. After about ten minutes of listening to one call the other a bitch one too many times, she left the apartment. Nichols always left out to find a friend when her sisters or her mother became too much for her to handle.
She escaped downstairs to the lower floor and went to chill with her friend from school, Benny, who lived with his grandmother and didn’t mind having Nichols around for company. The fifteen-year-old let Nichols into his home with a welcoming smile.
“Who’s actin’ up now?” he asked, knowing the routine with her.
“Apple and Kola.”
“Those two are like cats and dogs sometimes.”
“Tell me about it,” Nichols replied.
She went into his bedroom, and the two began playing the game Halo on his Xbox 360. They both were huge fans of the game, and it was Nichols’ way of escaping the bullshit she had to endure in her dysfunctional home.
*****
It was late afternoon when Apple exited her apartment. She moved down the pissy-smelling stairway in a rush and out into the lobby. However, before she could leave out her building, Supreme and one of his henchmen quickly confronted her. The two startled Apple, who was shocked to see them as they approached her from behind.
“Hey, Apple, where’s my fuckin’ money?” Supreme asked, a threatening chill in his voice.
“You told me three weeks. It’s only been two so far.”
“It’s been two? Nah, not on my fuckin’ calendar. Call it a leap week or somethin’, but I need my fuckin’ payment.”
“What? Get the f-uck outta here, Supreme! You told me three weeks. Don’t think I’m some dumb bitch.”
Supreme marched up to her and grabbed her by the arm. “Bitch, don’t fuckin’ play me! You fuckin’ hear me? You borrowed five hundred from me, and with the interest added to that, you now owe me an extra one hundred and fifty dollars. So I want my fuckin’ six hundred and fifty soon. You understand? You either pay me in cash or pu-ssy, but either way, I’ma get mine back.”
Apple returned his hard gaze and responded, “So that’s your fuckin’ tactic? Put a bitch in debt so you can get some ass? You fuckin’ pathetic nigga!”
Supreme smiled. “Nah, not as pathetic as you’re gonna be if I don’t get either in return. I’m warning you, Apple. Don’t fuckin’ try me. I ain’t a nigga to f-uck wit’.”
Supreme released his tight grip on Apple and took a step back. His henchman was behind him, ready for anything. It wasn’t Guy Tony, but an older-looking man that Apple had never seen before.
“Tomorrow, Apple, you come up wit’ my bread or else. By the way, you lookin’ good in that dress.” Supreme grinned as he and his goon started to exit the building.
Apple overheard him say, “That bitch ain’t comin’ up wit’ my money no time soon. After I’m done wit’ her, I might let you f-uck her.”
Supreme laughed while walking out the building, leaving Apple furious. She’d be damned if she let Supreme touch her in any type of way. She felt duped. Supreme was trying to strong-arm her, and she wanted to spit in his face.
Apple collected herself and exited the lobby, knowing if Supreme even tried to penetrate her with his dirty dick, she would go “Lorena Bobbitt” on his ass.