Ms. Carter

Chapter 1

{5:00AM, Saturday Morning.}

Swoosh!

The loud sound of the door being kicked open as people came in stripping my apartment of its possessions, the couch, bed, table, they even tried to take Jaiden’s crib, but I didn’t let them. I fought them off demanding to ask why they were in my home taking my stuff then I realized it’d been thirty days already. The hefty man in all black pulled out a small wrinkled piece of paper stating my name, birthdate, and residency information. “This you?”, he grumbled showing me the paper, I read over it with ease. “Yea,” I gulped and sighed in defeat, “that’s me…” He looked at me then back at Jaiden; a hint of sympathy in his eyes, but he soon masked it with a stale face that read there was no getting out of this situation this time. “Well, sorry to inform you but ma’am your thirty days are up, time to get a move on.” Within a few moments the small flat was completely stripped, besides Jaiden’s things and the raggedy chair my mother gave me as a house warming gift. All I had left was the twenty dollars in my pocket, a pack of blacks, and a blank city. I was dirt poor, and now homeless, I didn’t know what to do, but I damn sure knew I wasn’t gonna sit and mope around about it, I had to get out, maybe find me a friend to stay with for a little while, at least ‘til I get on my feet. Problem with that is, I hated asking people for help, let alone a place to stay but I would do it, solely for Jaiden, just to make sure she’s safe.

Driving around in the small junky Honda I looked for the five digit number that would indicate my baby sister’s address. I smirked as I pulled through the pearly white gates of the gated community, the man at the toll booth snapped his head towards me as soon as he seen the kind of car I drove, I admit it was a bucket but I hated having to do this every time I came to this part of town. “Uh ma’am, you lost or something? This is private property?” he looked over my car a bit nervously as if I band of thieves were gonna pop out and jack him for that lame ass bowtie around his neck, I jumped at him, “boo!” He flinched back fumbling for the security button but failing to find where he’d misplaced it. I laughed to myself, “Yo chill man, I just came up here to see my little sister, Paris Carter?” He stared at me for a while his face relaxed, seeing the resemblance between both of us; me and my sister may not have much in common but we sure did love to try a rainbow of colors on our hair. He opened the gate and allowed me to pass through, taking down my name and license plate number just to show he was doing his job. Pretty sure I would’ve drove through that gate and he wouldn’t have done shit about it, I smirked, speaking to myself, “pussy ass…”

“Jaiden! Hi babygirl! Come to Auntie!” Paris took her in her arms as she looked me up and down with a slight smirk on her face, “oh…hey Aaliyah…” I rolled my eyes, she swore she was better than me or something man, I mean sure she had the clothes, cars, house, money but I could never tell if she was genuinely happy, she always walked around with her nose in the air and looked down on everyone, even her own family. I couldn’t stand her but at the same time she was still my little sister and though she seemed to shun everyone else in our family, she always welcomed me in her home, well as long as I didn’t lay my filthy hands on anything. “What brings you here today?” She questioned me playing with Jaiden’s hands and glanced over at my work clothes. “Still working at Footlocker, huh? Pity you couldn’t be as successful as me,” she sneered in my face, mocking me right in front of my own daughter. “Look Paris, I came to see if you could watch Jaiden for me tonight, I’m working full shift and I don’t want to leave her with mom ‘cause I don’t wanna hear momma’s mouth about me never having time for my child.” She nodded in agreement examining my facial expression carefully, yeah my sister could be a complete bitch but she knew when something was up. “You’re not telling me something…,” she stared at me with her piercing brown eyed gaze, I glanced up at her with tears welling in my eyes, “I got evicted today.” Never breaking her detached expression she gently placed Jaiden on the floor and hugged me tight, we embraced each other in silence, my sobs bouncing off the slick white walls. After a nice hot meal, some coffee and a long talk, I left Jaiden and walked out with a wad of hundreds, I counted the money she had given me it added up to about a thousand, I knew exactly what I’d do with this, I’d put it up, it could start my fund for a new place but for now I’d be staying from house to house knowing that me and Paris don’t get along much, she’d probably put me out within a month or so, that is if I didn’t leave first.

Next stop, Jay’s place.