Rags to Riches: My Thug Angel Read online

  Slick’s phone rang. "Slick," he answered.

  "Your name is Kendrick and I would appreciate if you start answering to the name I gave you at birth." I started laughing listening to his aggravating mother scold him.

  I drifted off into my thoughts wondering what my mother was like. I found myself doing this a lot lately. I didn't remember anything about her. I guess I was too young so the only memories I had of her were from pictures. I thought about my dad a lot often as well. It was wrong that I was supplying people with the same thing that led my parents away but shit, a nigga gotta survive out here. We ain't always live large and I promise, I would never give my children anything but the best.

  "BRUHHHH," Slick said, dragging his hand down his face.

  "What mama overreacting about now?" I said, slightly chuckling.

  "Kendrick, we haven't seen your face all weekend. You need to finish your college applications instead of trying to be a thug." He looked aggravated.

  "Bruh, just chill. She just wants what's best for you," I told him.

  "Nigga, she still think imma be a damn doctor or something. Yea, I make good grades to shut them up but imma street nigga. I ain't bout all that slow money shit."

  All I could do was laugh because this nigga used to be so proper when I first met him; now he a thug ass nigga. I chuckled to myself because if he woulda never met me, he probably would have become a doctor, but everybody chooses their own path in life. Because I knew what kind of family he came from, I’d tried to shield him from this life so much but he wanted in so bad that I just couldn't fight him about it anymore. I loved how we always rolled in twos, never worried ‘bout a nigga bussin cause we never got caught slipping. I got his back and he got my front. Always two steps ahead, we got this shit locked.

  We got to the block and shit was outta place so Slick started bussin heads. That boy was such a hot head. I was the calmer one until I really got pissed off. I was slow to anger but when I got angry, nobody wanted to see me.

  See, I preferred to beat a nigga ass rather than just shooting them. I wasn't bout that fuck nigga shit. I ain't need a gun to fight my battles; unless I caught a nigga stealing from me, then it was lights out.

  "Man, these niggas love being outta place," Slick said as he walked back over to me while wiping his face with a rag.

  I chuckled. "Yea, you handled that. Thank you, bruh," I said.

  "Ace, man, you know it ain't a problem. I know I ain't gone neva be completely in charge but this is gonna be a piece of mine, too. I got yo back and you know that."

  I shook my head. "Thank you, bruh. I was thinking. We gone be making so much money when we take over that we might as well figure out now how we gone split everything up."

  He raised his eyebrow. "Speak on it," he said.

  "Well, since my brother started all this, I'm not gone be able to split it down the middle with you, so I was thinking we split this shit 60/40," I said, using my Bernie Mac off Soul Brothers voice. "Now if you have a problem with that, let me know because I need you behind me. You will have equal say in everything that goes down, we talk to each other before making any decisions but we always have equal say."

  He looked at me and dapped me up smiling. "Everything good, my boy. Let’s go get this paper."

  I smiled and dapped my nigga up. It was time to make big moves.

  *LATER THAT DAY*

  I had been thinking about that Rayna girl so I decided to shoot her a text.

  Me: Wassup ma? It's Ace!

  Rayna: What's up Mr. Ace? How are you?

  Me: I'm doing good, I was just wondering if you were free tonight?

  Rayna: Sure what you got in mind?

  Me: We can go get something to eat at a fancy restaurant like cheesy old people

  Rayna: I don't have anything really fancy to wear, we can go somewhere more laid back like red lobster or Applebee’s

  Me: :) pick you up at 8 send me your address

  Rayna: Will do.

  It was only four so I decided to get a nap before I got ready. Hopefully tonight would be fun.

  Rayna

  "Gena!!" I yelled from her kitchen.

  "What girl?" she said, walking around the corner.

  "Ace just asked me on a date tonight!" I said.

  "Ooooo, girly! Well, it's time to go get something special to wear!" she said, full of excitement.

  "Gena, I'm trying to save. I already went 100.00 over my budget yesterday," I stressed.

  "Girl, it's on me," she said, snatching me up and pushing me towards the door. When I got in the passenger’s side, I got another text from Ace.

  Ace: Let’s make this a double date, bring your girl

  "Gena, he told me to bring you, too. I guess his friend is coming," I told her.

  "Okay, that's fine by me,” she said, smiling all big.

  Me: Okay that's fine

  Ace: Okay, I'm about to catch some Zzz's we'll be there at 8.

  I was so excited. We went shopping and got some classy but simple outfits and went back to Gena's house. It was only 5:30 so we decided to take an hour nap. I set my alarm for 6:30 so we could wake up and start getting ready.

  My alarm buzzed and I shook Gena, signaling her that it was time to wake up. We got up and got in the shower. After we finished with our hygiene, we turned on some music and flat ironed each other’s hair, both of our layered wraps hung to our collarbones and they had so much body. I was glad that we’d decided to let the salon cut it because the cuts looked great.

  We decided to just wear light eyeshadow and some shimmer nude lip gloss. It was 7:30, so it was time to get dressed. I put on my all-black, fitted, high-low dress with some red Aldo sandals that had gold accents and my gold jewelry. Gena put on a black fitted skirt with a white dressy shirt and the same color shoes, just a different design with gold jewelry as well.

  My phone started buzzing and I answered. "Hello."

  "I'm outside, ma," he said in a voice that brought chills down my spine.

  "Let’s go, Gena!" I said, grabbing my clutch and walking outside. The boys were in two different cars. Ace was in an all-black 2015 BMW sedan with peanut butter seats. Slick was in the same but his car was red. They were holding our doors open. It was so freaking cute. We got in the cars and went on our way.

  They took us to Longhorn Steakhouse and we seated were at separate tables. I looked at Ace and he was so sexy, he had dimples and his hair was curly and low on the sides. He had on a Polo shirt with Polo cargos and some J’s, I'm not sure which number. He was in really good shape with tattoos that covered half of his arm. he had earrings in that looked like real diamonds. He looked up at me and flashed the cutest smile. I almost fell under the table.

  I gathered myself. "So Ace, what is your real name?"

  "My name is Anthony Jermaine Rowland. What about you? What's your whole name?"

  "Rayna Ciara Kingston." We ate our food and talked about our birthdays and our favorite colors and everything. Then I spoke again. "What about your parents? What kind of people are they?"

  He looked a bit uncomfortable. "I was raised by my brother but I'm not going to discuss why at the moment. When we get to know each other better, I will let you in on my life story. Deal?" he asked

  "Deal," I said. He started asking about my parents and I put my hand up, shushing him. "Same story." So I guess we would both wait on that aspect of getting to know each other, which was fine by me.

  We started talking and joking. This night was going great.

  Chapter 4

  Gena

  I was looking across the table at this nigga and he was so fine. He had an almond complexion with smooth skin, perfect teeth, and his features were all placed just right. He had on a True Religion shirt that showed off his perfectly placed tattoos, True Religion pants and some J’s. It was simple but cute and I liked the way he and his friend didn't sag. Sagging was such a turn off for me.

  "So you think I'm cute, huh?" Slick said.

  I snapped out of m
y trance and started laughing. "Boy, ain't nobody thinking ‘bout you," I said, grinning. "Why do they call you Slick?"

  He started to chuckle, "Cause I've always been the kinda person to move before people realized it. I move in silence."

  I shook my head. "And what is your real name, lil homie?" I asked.

  He busted out laughing. "Lil homie? You are truly a character. I like you. My name is Kendrick Amir McNeil," he said

  "Awwwww, that's so cuuuuteee," I said, grabbing his cheek. He starting smiling and started eating some more of his food.

  "Gena, this is only our first date but I feel like I'm gonna really be able to vibe with you," he said

  "Aww, well, it's good to know that you feelin’ ya girl. I guess you cool, too," I said, giving a cocky smirk.

  "Let’s go," he said, getting up and putting a hundred dollar bill on the table.

  We saw that Ace and Rayna were getting up to leave as well. We all got to the parking lot, said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

  I didn't have a curfew and Rayna was staying with me tonight. She had a key so who knows how this night would go.

  Slick

  Man, this girl cool was hell. I really liked her. She wasn’t like these dumb broads I just fucked and did away with. She was different, at least that's what I thought. Only time would tell. We got in my car and headed to a spot that I would go to chill and think sometimes.

  I parked the car and we just started talking about more stuff and having a good time. She told me about how bad her last boyfriend had hurt her emotionally and physically. As a tear escaped her eyes, I grabbed her hand. We were listening to the radio and it was late so the slow jams started rolling in.

  “Her Heart” by Anthony Hamilton came on and I turned it up to the maximum volume and asked her to get out of the car and dance with me. She laid her head on my chest and we slowly moved to the rhythm of the song.

  I lifted her chin up and looked into her eyes and whispered, "I'm not perfect but I'll never purposely hurt you and I damn sure ain't hoe enough to put my hands on you."

  She smiled and laid her head back on my chest. I never had a girl make me feel this way before but it was a good feeling. I just hoped I didn't get bored and that this feeling lasted.

  *3 MONTHS LATER*

  Rayna

  I wish I would have found Ace sooner. He made me so happy. It had been 3 months and he hadn't changed at all except for the fact that he was starting to let me know more and more about his life. I was just afraid to let him know about mine.

  I still hadn't let him see where I lived nor meet my mother. I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted him to meet my mother. My phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was my mother.

  "Hello?"

  "Rayna, come home."

  "Why?"

  "GET HOME!"

  I got up off Gena's bed. "Hey, can you take me home? My mama just called me on some BS talking bout I need to get home.”

  "That's unusual," she said, getting up and grabbing her keys. She drove me home, but before I got out, she asked, "Rayna you need me to come in with you?"

  "Nah, I'm good. I'll see you in the morning,” I said, getting out of the car.

  I walked into the house and my heart dropped to my feet.

  "Hey, Rayna. You’re all grown up now," he said, licking his lips in a way that made my stomach turn. I couldn't believe he was back here.

  My mother’s boyfriend Kennith was always abusive to my mother and me. I had the worst memory of the last few months he was here when I was 10 years old.

  I was sitting in my room playing with my toys. It was storming really bad so my mother left me home while she went to the store. My door opened and I looked up and it was Kennith.

  "Wassup, Rayna?" he said.

  "Hey, Mr. Kennith," I said, continuing to play with my toys.

  He walked up close to me and rubbed my butt. "I thought I told you to call me daddy."

  "Uhmmm, Mr. Kennith, can you please stop it?"

  That’s when he threw me down on the bed and ripped my pants off. I started screaming and he slapped me in my face. He took his pants off and started to rape me. It hurt so bad that I passed out and when I woke up my mother, had me in the bathtub cleaning blood from between my legs. She didn't kick him out and he continued to rape me until he left a few weeks later. The day he walked out was the day I hoped and prayed that I would never see him again.

  Now here I was, looking this man in his face. I’d never told anybody but Gena about what happened that night. I looked down at my phone and texted Gena.

  "Code Kennith." It's something we made up cause I always feared that he would come back. She knew that if I texted her that to come with back up.

  *SLAP*

  I looked up and realized that my mother had slapped me.

  "This good man is speaking to you and you're texting on you stupid ass phone?" she said in my face.

  "Good man??? GOOD MAN? You're calling this pervert a good man?!! You let him take my innocence away from me at the age of TEN!!!" I yelled.

  Kennith got up and punched me in the jaw which made me fall to the ground. He got on top of me and ripped my clothes off and kept hitting and kicking me. There was blood everywhere. He started dragging me to the room until the front door busted open. Three people ran in and I realized it was Gena, Slick and Ace. I guess she called them.

  Gena and the boys ran to me. Gena started crying. "Oh my God, Rayna!!" She went and wet a rag and put it on my face.

  I saw Slick draw his gun and aim it at Kennith who was trying to slide out the door. "Don’t move, you perverted fuck," he said. Ace walked up to Kennith. "So I hear you like little girls," he said, shaking his head as if Kennith had answered yes. Ace punched Kennith in the mouth with so much force that his jaw cracked. I sat and watched Ace beat Kennith's ass for 5 minutes. I looked over at my mother and something was off about her. I looked at her arms and saw track marks.

  “What the fuck” I thought to myself, but I was not in any condition to deal with that right now.

  I looked up and saw Slick and Ace whispering something in Gena's ear. She shook her head up and down.

  "Well, since you like to take shit that ain't yours from little girls, we gone take you to see some niggas we know who gone show you what that shit feels like," Slick said.

  "Get yo pussy ass up, nigga," Ace said. They tied Kennith's hands and feet together and took him to the car.

  Gena got me up and put me in her car. We drove to her house and her parents greeted us at the door and told us we needed to go to the ER. They took me to the ER and I went back to Gena's house afterward and laid down. After about five minutes, the doorbell rang and in walked Ant and Slick. I hung my head low and Ant picked my chin up softly and kissed my lips.

  "It’s okay. None of this is your fault. Let’s go."

  "Huh?" I said

  "Let’s go," he said again, tugging at my arm.

  I got up and followed him out to his car. He started to drive and I fell asleep. When I woke up, we were entering the gate to this beautiful mini-mansion. I scooted up in my seat. "Where are we?" I asked

  "My house. I just bought it three days ago and it just got furnished yesterday so I got the movers to move all of my stuff in today."

  I knew that his brother had multimillion dollar businesses. Something told me that there was more to the story but I was just going to wait and see.

  Ace

  We walked into my house and the look on her face was priceless. I saw how she was living back at her mom’s house and I planned on bringing her up outta that and showing her the better side of life. She had such a good heart that a nigga couldn't just watch her suffer like that.

  I saw how smart her and Gena were and little did they know, they were gonna be my accountants and keep my books. They would be getting paid so much money just to chill and make decisions that would put us in a better financial position. They were about to be the brains of thi
s operation. The Queens.

  Fuck Rayna's mom. She sat there and let that nigga do anything to her and I just couldn't respect that. She ain't never gotta go back there if she doesn't want to.

  "You can follow me and I'll get you a T-shirt and some boxers to sleep in."

  "Okay. Do you have soap and an extra toothbrush, a rag and a towel?" she asked.

  I gave her everything she asked for and she went into my bathroom. I got undressed and went into the guest bathroom and took a shower and brushed my teeth. When I came out, she was still in the shower and I put on lotion and laid under the covers. She walked out of the bathroom with her hair in a bun and just the T-shirt on.

  "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be sexual, I just don't like to sleep in bottoms," she said.

  "It's all good," I said. She stood there for a minute and I tapped the spot next to me on my bed. She laid down and got under the covers. I pulled her close to me and wrapped my arms around her. I whispered in her ear, "You're safe with me, ma."

  I felt her relax and drift off to sleep. I was gonna make sure I always protected her…

  Chapter 5

  Rayna

  I woke up and looked around. The clock said one o'clock pm. I looked over and Ace was gone. I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I walked downstairs and went to the fridge.

  I guess Ace went shopping this morning because the fridge was loaded with everything. I didn't feel like cooking today so I decided to eat some sausage and a bagel. After I warmed my sausage and put my bagel in the toaster and put cream cheese on it, I poured some cranberry juice and went in the living room and turned on the huge TV.

  I sat and watched Maury, laughing at these overly dramatic women rolling all over the floor. I heard the door open and Ace walked in looking all good in his usual sweats and stuff.

  "My brother is with me," he said, looking at me still with no bottoms on.

  I quickly grabbed a blanket and covered myself up. "Better?" I asked.