Too Far Gone (Urban)

14| Big Poppa

Chenelle shifted into park and shut off her ignition. She pulled down her window visor and used the mirror to check herself out. Satisfied with her look, she exited the car and cautiously crossed the street to what became known as Stilwater's pimp convention. It's called this because multiple pimps come to this same bar daily, sit around, converse, and settle disputes in a civilized way. There's rarely any fights between the pimps of Stilwater. Surprising right? The pimps in Stilwater act more like businessmen than anything.

Her dad was one of those people.

Seated in the far corner of the bar was her father, who was chatting with a man in a pastel blue suit. When he noticed her arrival, he dismissed the man along with his prostitutes. The man gave Chenelle a lustful look-over as he passed by, while his girls tilted their noses up in a snobbish manner.

"Hey sugar bee!" Her father greeted her, standing up with his arms wide open.

"Hey daddy." Chenelle welcomed, accepting his hug. Even though he was a bad man in the past, he did change, so she never held prior events against him.

His hugs were snug and heartfelt, and always filled her with temporary euphoria. She didn't get to see him often, so every hug they shared felt this way. They sat down across from each other, and her father looked her over slowly.

"You been eatin' lately?" He asked, his joyful mood switching to a solemn one. "You look awfully thin."

"I was always petite daddy, you should know that already." She grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. However, he was right. Since she's been working with this gang, she hadn't had the time to eat as often as she should. As soon as she receives her free time, an event occurs before she has time to relax. She wouldn't admit it to her father though, and instead said, "That's not what you called me for, so what is it?"

"I'll get to that later." He half-smiled, flashing his one gold tooth.

"Well," Chenelle raised her eyebrows at him and sighed. "In that case, why do you look so thin daddy? Age finally catching up to you?"

He chuckled at this.

"Yeah, your dad's finally gettin' old."

She could visibly see the effects of age on him. Grey wisps of hair grew in his thin goatee, and he had large tumid bags under both eyes with fine lines all over his droopy face. The color of his skin was less than radiant, more washed out to be precise, and overall he looked extremely tired. Even his voice sounded like he was about to fall asleep any second, and this worried her. She was used to seeing him up and about with his usual ways, jolly as ever doing what he did best: pimping. Therefore, to see him in the opposite state slightly concerned her about how he was doing.

"But that's not the main concern here," he spoke, bringing her back to focus, "my main concern is how you're doing. I haven't seen you since you went to college baby g."

"Yeah..." Chenelle's face fell. "About that, my teacher flunked me. I only needed like, two credits left, and that exam was all I needed to pass, but she flunked me."

"Fo' what?"

"Petty shit. Don't worry about it." Chenelle spat. "When I raised enough money, I was going to pay off my student loan so I can start a short term to get those two credits."

"Let me pay it off then. I have more than enough money." Her dad offered.

"Dad..." Chenelle groaned.

"Don't 'dad' me. I have enough to keep you in college for the rest of your life!" He snarled. Leaning back in the pleather seat, he stared at her. "Why are you always afraid to ask for help? You can't do everything by yourself!"