Through The Eyes of A Hoodrat Read online

  I bought a bottle of Moet and walked back over to hang out with Tyree. After an hour of listening to him and Juk talk extra loud and laugh about shit I knew nothing about, I grew bored. The party itself was jumping and would have been a ton of fun if I had my road dawg.

  I got up to go to the ladies room. I intended to leave right after. As I made my way through the crowded lounge towards the bathroom, the sound of semi-automatic gunfire penetrating the air stopped me in my tracks. I already knew what time it was.

  ***

  The corny ass security they had in charge of the front door didn’t stop the two identically dressed ski-masked men holding semi-automatic guns from crashing the party. The blood running from one guards head confirmed that he had been hit with something and ultimately overpowered at the door.

  Powdery debris from the ceiling fell onto the crowded floor as people scrambled to seek cover or stood frozen in place.

  “You motherfuckers already know what it is! This is a robbery! Empty ya pockets, and take off ya jewels. I’m only going to say the shit one time. Bitches too! We want everything! If you try to hide it, you’ll lose something more precious!”

  The masked gunman didn’t have to elaborate any further since everyone already knew what he was referring to. I quickly unfastened my Gucci watch and threw it to the floor as instructed. I had gotten it on sale for $700 and hated to even take it off, let alone give it away. One of the guys began scooping up the jewelry that was hitting the floor, while the other remained on point with his gun waving amongst the crowd of people in the small lounge.

  He quickly made his way around the pool hall collecting jewelry and money in a laundry like bag. Those who weren’t moving fast enough had their jewelry snatched off their body and their pockets aggressively searched and invaded. Once they got all that was there, they snatched up a few random bottles of liquor and cautiously backed out of the lounge. It all happened so quickly, with the gunmen being in and out in minutes.

  Once the men were gone I breathed a sigh of relief and began searching for Tyree. I located him in the same spot I left him in; near the pool table. The scowl on his face and sweat on his forehead indicated that he was none too pleased with what had just occurred. Tyree and Juk both had been stripped of their jewelry. From the diamond encrusted Jesus piece on Tyree’s neck, to the oversized solid gold pinky ring on Juk’s finger, there was nothing.

  “I swear I’m gon kill whoever the fuck came up in here. The streets talk and I’m gon find out exactly who it was… and when I do, best believe they are going to lose their life,” Juk threatened.

  I thought of the possibility of potential bloodshed and cringed. They should just charge it to the game. Besides, the people that had just robbed Rack Em Up was long gone. Additionally, they were just as cold blooded as Juk’s threats. They knew how to hold their own and wouldn’t hesitate to lay down anyone if necessary.

  FOUR

  “Here’s ya cut Sierra,” Tato said, handing me a measly $10,000. He was getting on my nerves with the short money.

  Tato was as grimey as they came. He was my mom’s sister son, and my first cousin. I couldn’t stand dealing with him since I knew he was a rattlesnake. The short money he was handing me from the Rack Em Up robbery surely confirmed what I already knew. As much jewelry as they left with, along with money, there had to have been at least $100,000 in there.

  “Tato this is short. I expected at least $25,000 for the drop on them fools,” I said, looking at him like he’s lost his mind.

  “There’s nothing short about that. There wasn’t as much money in there as you thought. Half of those niggas was wearing fake shit, and don’t get me started with the bitches,” he said.

  “Ugh!” I exclaimed, expressing my frustration. “You mean to tell me that more than fifty niggas in one building only produced me 10G’s. You could’ve kicked in one nigga door and we would’ve had more money than that. And why did you bring that nigga Tim with you?” I asked. I would’ve had more money in my pocket, if we didn’t have to give him a cut.

  Tim was Tato’s friend that I just so happened to fuck a few times. He too was a slime-ball and usually accompanied Tato when he needed a little more manpower. That is, when he wasn’t himself robbing people around the City of Brotherly Love.

  “What are you trying to do, get me killed?” Tato asked. “How was I supposed to go up in there and rob a whole lounge by myself? That’s not the typical home invasion baby, that’s a fucking pool hall.”

  He was right but I still knew he had gotten more money than that. Tyree probably had $5,000 in his pocket by himself. We had been doing this for quite some time now and I was no dummy. This was supposed to be our biggest score but it turned out to be a flop. Tato typically orchestrated the robberies, even picking the victims.

  Once I was able to form a relationship of some sort with the men he had chosen, Tato would catch them off guard and relieve them of their riches. I would never usually be at the scene of the robbery since I could usually talk the niggas right into revealing their location. They would never expect me. Most of them were low-level or mid-level drug dealers, but we really had no picks. We’ve robbed business owners as well. After the robbery I would wait a week, pick an argument and end the relationship, moving on to the next.

  Tyree happened to be another victim that Tato had handpicked as well. Now that the job was done I would make an exception and continue to see Tyree on the side. He was just too generous to cut off.

  “Did you hear me?” Tato asked.

  “Na, what were you saying?” I asked. I hadn’t heard a word he was saying. I was too busy in thought.

  “We gon slide down to Wilmington, DE in like a week. It’s a nigga down there named Dock that I heard is getting some major paper. I hear he has Delaware and Maryland on lock. If we play our cards right, this could be big,” he said, with his eyes widening.

  “Ok, well I’ll get my shit together and arrange for my mama to watch the kids.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Ladaya is gonna keep an eye out on them. I already talked to her about it,” he said

  “Okay cool. I’m out,” I said preparing myself to leave. “I have some things to handle. Oh—and where the fuck is my damn Gucci watch I gave you in the pool hall?” I asked. I was dead serious and I wanted my shit.

  “Man that joint gone. You have more than enough money to buy another one,” he huffed. I knew he was lying but it didn’t matter if I stated that fact since I knew he wasn’t going to give it up.

  “Whatever nigga. I better not see Ladaya with my damn watch,” I said jokingly; however, I wasn’t joking. I was petty. I would curse his ass out and take my watch off of her little ass.

  Ladaya was my best girlfriend, and only friend. We grew up in the same hood and used to run the streets together. When my cousin Tato came home after doing several years in jail, he quickly scooped her up, and eventually impregnated her with their first child.

  Ladaya was a cute, petite, chocolate chick that was always in someone’s busy. Being as though she was now pregnant and couldn’t run the streets, she seemed extremely restless. Every time I turned around she was calling my phone with gossip. If it wasn’t who was fucking who, it was the grief Tato was giving her with his scandalous ways.

  I honestly don’t know how she dealt with Tato’s cheating, controlling ass. He liked to control everything and had somewhat of a chokehold on my movement too. I can say that he really cared for Ladaya though and had been genuinely excited about the baby. He even put her in a cute little apartment in a quaint little section of the city.

  I left Tato and headed out to pick up my kids from my mama. She had been calling me non-stop since I was supposed to be there by ten to get them. She was going to have a whole lot to say.

  ***

  “Sierra Mercedes, where the fuck have you been? I told you Sheila’s church was having a revival this afternoon. Now I’m gon be late,” my mama huffed. I don’t why the hell she was driving way to Jersey for
a revival with my mean ass Aunt Shelia. My mama loved her sister, but I sure as hell couldn’t stand her. It’s odd that me and her son Tato got along so well. I was glad when she moved her ass out of Philly to Jersey.

  “Well hey to you too mom, and you don’t need to be cursing talking about going to a revival,” I joked. My mother’s face immediately changed to a scowl. I guess she didn’t like the joke.

  “Alright alright, I’m sorry mama. I’ll make sure I’m on time from now on. And I appreciate you keeping them for me.”

  “Um hmm,” she said, before walking off, with a frown.

  I told the kids to get ready and walked into the living room to see if I could find Todd before my mama walked back in.

  “Hey Todd,” I said, once I saw him sitting in the recliner texting on his phone. Probably one of his young side pieces. Todd was a trick and kept some young ass in the tuck.

  “Are you still gonna help me get RJ the new bed?” I asked. He had promised to go half on a new bed for RJ with me, but me being me, I jacked the price up so I wouldn’t have to spend anything.

  RJ had pissed up the bed that was currently in his room and the smell was becoming overbearing. I couldn’t have a nigga up in the house with piss marinating in the air.

  “Didn’t I say I would? I’ll bring it by there later today. And don’t say nothing to your mama. You know how she is about me giving you money.”

  “I know already. That’s why I waited till she walked off. But ok, I’ll be home, just swing by.”

  My mama always talked about how I needed to get a job and that the checks I was getting wouldn’t last forever. I wasn’t trying to hear that shit so I let it go in one ear and out the other. Besides, I didn’t need a job when I could get money from men, hers included.

  As soon as I pulled away from my mama’s house to leave I called Rahdee, RJ’s dad. Rahdee was a simple ass nigga I had met through Ladaya. He used to hang out at her house with her cousin Quay.

  Rahdee and I weren’t on the greatest of terms. We had sort of a love hate relationship. We had only been fucking around for a few months before I got pregnant with RJ. It’s funny how love worked. I usually only went after niggas with money but Rahdee didn’t have too much of that. Nevertheless my heart still beat a little faster when I was with him. I couldn’t help it and for some reason I still couldn’t completely shake him, no matter how cold my heart was.

  At first I thought he and Ladaya were messing around but she ended up messing around with another nigga Quay rolled with and eventually wound up with my cousin Tato. Ultimately I didn’t care one way or another. Once I had my sights set on something I was going to get it.

  As usual Rahdee didn’t answer the phone. He preferred to communicate via text but I didn’t care; I needed to speak with him. After calling his phone several times repeatedly, I decided to leave a voicemail.

  “You already know who it is. You need to call and check on ya muthafucking son. He needs a new bed and I’m hoping you can help me with it, since you don’t do shit else. Call me.”

  I didn’t cut any corners when it came to dealing with Rahdee. He acted like dealing with me was so hard and he would go as far to avoid me, even sending his mother to pick up RJ.

  We used to not be like this but after several explosive arguments he said he didn’t want to fuck with me any longer or be around me period. I couldn’t help the fact that I didn’t take no shit. A few times I had to show him I wasn’t the bitch to be played with. He quickly learned that fact after he got a brick through his window, a few flat tires and cops called on him resulting in minor charges for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

  I didn’t even care anymore if he came around or not. I had a few niggas I could call, plus I knew if I really wanted Rahdee I could have him.

  I put the kids to bed early around seven, since I was about to have company. I didn’t want the kids fucking with me about anything. Tyree was going to swing through and I needed a new hair weave and a new outfit. I had to work that nigga extra good so the tab would be at his expense. I didn’t mind sucking a little dick to get what I wanted. I preferred to pay for as little as possible. Plus I had to look good for my next victim: Dock.

  FIVE

  I walked into the corner store on 5th and Van Buren in Wilmington feeling extremely out of place. This is where Tato said I would have to meet Dock. According to him, even though I was cute I wouldn’t be able to garner Dock’s undivided attention in a regular club. So I had to step out my comfort zone and walk up into the bodega-like store that had several drug addicts trespassing outside.

  After pretending my truck was broken down and constant begging, my mama finally agreed to let me borrow her new model red Corvette. I told her RJ had an appointment with a speech specialist in Harrisburg so I could keep the car a few days. I had to pull up in something that would catch Dock’s attention, and I knew that the Corvette would do it. We had been following him all day and he always seemed overly occupied and busy on the phone. Surprisingly he seemed to limit his associates and traveled alone most of the day.

  Here goes nothing, I thought, as I walked in, praying that Dock would notice me so I could give him a reason to pursue me.

  “Excuse me can anyone tell me how to get from here to the stadium?” I asked, trying to sound as sweet as possible while standing next to a giant glass freezer full of cheap, juice.

  Dock glanced up and I knew I had him. I had spent a pretty penny getting the wavy Brazilian hair installed in my hair. The blue Gucci pantsuit I wore came straight from the store, courtesy of my booster friend Jackie. She even threw in a signature purse for a reasonable price. The ensemble looked good against my caramel skin. I wanted to look like money since that’s what I was hoping to attract.

  “Let me call you back,” he eagerly told the person on the other end of the phone. He kept his eyes focused on me the whole time.

  “I can’t tell you how to get there but I can definitely show you the way,” Dock said with a flirty grin. I noticed the bottom of his teeth were gold.

  “Show me huh…Does anyone else know how to get to the stadium from here?” I asked, rolling my eyes and pretending to be uninterested.

  “Na, I got you ma. I’ll give you the directions. What’s ya name?” Dock asked, moving close up in my personal space.

  “Sierra,” I responded nonchalantly.

  “Well Sierra,...I’m Dock,” he stated with pride. He went on to give me the directions and then attempted to spit some game, which was exactly what I was hoping for.

  “Where you from anyway? I’ve never seen you around here. And I ain’t gon lie, you’re cute as shit and I would like to holla at you sometime,” he confessed.

  Dock was actually cute himself. I had expected him to be a mess like most of the niggas we robbed. It was actually refreshing that I would be attracted to my “vic.” I may actually enjoy him a little, I thought. He was medium height and slim with a beautiful smile, despite the gold teeth. He was dressed in blue jeans, with a gray hoodie, and the latest gray and blue Lebron sneakers. He was Wesley Snipes black, and I ain’t gon front, he had a whole lot of swag.

  “I’m from Northeast DC,” I lied.

  “Well what you doing out here?”

  “I’m hanging out with my family for a little while. “

  “Well can I take you out sometime?” he asked.

  “Well you are kinda cute,” I laughed, biting my lip a little before pushing my hair out of my face.

  “Give me ya number then…please,” he asked.

  “How about you give me yours. I’ll call you later tonight. Maybe we can hang out sometime this week,” I suggested.

  “How about you call me later, and we hang out tonight?” he asked, before taking my phone and calling himself.

  “Now you pushing it,” I laughed. I knew exactly how to play the game with niggas like Dock. He was eager for fresh meat, and I was just what he was looking for. I hope he could handle what I was about to give him.

&nbs
p; ***

  Later that evening I walked into a small Italian eatery located in downtown Wilmington. I wanted to meet somewhere quiet so we could talk and make a connection.

  We ended up conversing for hours about everything from our families, to our dreams. I found out that Dock had played football in high school and had hopes of playing in college, until a devastating shoulder injury set him back. Feeling defeated and cheated he turned to the streets for comfort.

  Once he discovered he was good at selling drugs, he focused all of his energy on getting rich in the drug game. He had determined that it was more profitable to stay in the streets rather than stay in school. I was amazed at how honest he was about his lifestyle.

  I actually enjoyed Dock’s company as well as his conversation. By the end of the night I actually felt a little guilty that I was eventually going to jack him. However, as quickly as that feeling of guilt came, it left. Dock was a big dog; one that I wanted to lie down with. But instead of waking up with fleas, I was going to wake up with cash.

  SIX

  “So what’s the game plan?” Tato asked me for the hundredth time.

  “Tatoooo, chill. I know already. Don’t drink too much, stay on point, and stay focused on the money.”

  Tato always drilled this in my head before every outing. He didn’t want me getting caught up in my feelings over a nigga, and he wanted to make sure niggas didn’t become suspicious of me either. For that reason, we always kept shit short. Once a nigga caught a little feelings and I had enough pull to find out where the money was, we made our move.

  “Good girl. Now show em how we spread that love from Philly cuzzo.”