Money Over Everything

Money Up

Damaris

Whoever said jail was a scary place to be obviously shouldn't be up to illegal shit in the first place. You gotta have a hard heart to survive behind there walls and not lose your mind. I was nobody's bitch, so it was nothing for me to enter Riker's Island and find a clique willing to take me on sight. I was placed with the Spanish bitches even though I didn't claim my roots, I guess it could've been worse; they could've taken my eyes and fair skin at face value and stuck me with the white girls. At first I wasn't feeling it, but the girls welcomed me with open arms and for that I pledged my unwavering loyalty. It wasn't hard to do being that loyalty was the reason why I was rotting away in this fucking jail by myself while everyone else was free. Shit, I had myself to blame for getting myself involved with that nigga—

"Slim?" I said, spotting the familiar face at my arraignment.

"What?" my public defender, Rebecca, said, tucking a piece of her limp brunette hair behind her ear to hear me better. "Are one of your accomplices here?"

"No," I hissed back, rolling my eyes at her stupidity; I had already explained to her that I wasn't ratting anyone out. "I thought I saw somebody that I used to know."

"Did you see your family? They're sitting right over there," she replied back.

I turned around and saw Moe, Roni, Darion, Poochie, and Juju sitting in different rows, each showing me support in the best way that they could. My heart started pumping so loud I could barely think straight. Seeing them on the other side reminded me how real this entire situation was.

"How does the defense plead to the charges read?"

"We plead not guilty your honor," Rebecca said confidently. "Yes, my client was seen fleeing the scene of the crime, but when she was apprehended by the police she wasn't in possession of any of the items that customers of First Continental were robbed of. The prosecution cannot even prove that she had in fact stolen anything."

This was true; I gave Slim the bag of cash and valuables I had before the guard shot at him. We took off running through the glass window I had shot and I tripped and fell, the police cuffing me with no preamble. They ran after Slim but he ghosted on them and I watched as Poochie drove by me without stopping. I thought I had fucked myself until the lawyer mentioned that my lack of stolen goods could possibly work in my favor.

"Actually we can prove that the defendant was responsible for stealing $300,000 in cash deposits to be made by customers, along with jewelry and other personal effects," the prosecutor replied smugly.

"How is that possible when the security cameras inside of First Continental malfunctioned and the robbery wasn't caught on camera?" Rebecca shot back. "Yes, my client was at First Continental at the time of the robbery, but the fact of the matter is that it's impossible to pinpoint how large of a role she had in the facilitation of the robbery..."

The lawyers went on to argue for what seemed like forever and then I heard "plea" and my ears perked up. The judge stared at me as if waiting for me to respond.

"What?" I said, turning to Rebecca. "What happened?"

"You can plead guilty to robbery in the second degree. The minimum sentence is three-and-a-half years. If they take this to trial then we run the risk of incurring more charges and them sticking to robbery in the first degree. You could be in here a long time, Damaris."

"Fine, I'll take the plea," I hissed, knowing that I could handle that type of time blindfolded with my hands behind my back.

Rebecca agreed to the plea and the rest of the words were drowned out by the shift of my attention. I turned around and wasn't the least bit surprised to find that Slim had disappeared. I bet that nigga only came to see whether or not I had flipped on him, I thought, shaking my head at my stupidity. I had once been the pretty face that these niggas trusted and now that the same had been done to me I didn't know how to take it.in a matter of seconds I had lost it all and in minutes my future was made up for me. The scene from the courtroom replayed for the rest of the day and followed me until I was being ushered into the state prison I would be calling home for the next three-and-a-half years.

I was numb to the intake process, already having dealt with it during my admission into Rikers. It was over before I knew it and next thing I knew, I was being shut into my cell. An older woman sat at a table watching me, her arms crossed.

"The top is yours," she said, inclining her head at the bare mattress on the top bunk. "You also got a drawer over here."

I stepped deeper into the cell and got a better look at the woman. She was gorgeous: her dark skin was smooth and pore-less, laid over a face of sharp cheekbones, small eyes, and full lips. Her curly hair framed her delicate face, which was warm and inviting despite the cold cell. I started making up my bed, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I had met this woman somewhere before.

"What you in for?" she asked in a heavy Brooklyn accent.

"Robbery," I replied, steadily working on my bed.

"Oh, so you gonna be in here a while," she said, with a hint of surprise. "What's your name, Fish?"

"Damaris Santeras," I said, climbing onto my bed when I was done. "You?"

"Deborah," she said slowly, "Deborah Henderson."

I stilled, instantly recognizing her by her name alone. "You're—"

"Moe's mother? Yeah, I ain't dead after all."

To be continued...

A very special thank you to iamMsGood for all of the wonderful comments. They definitely gave me the courage to continue this story even when I felt like giving up and no one liked it. Lol. Hope to see you for part 2.

Also, thank you to everyone who took the time out to read my very first novel since coming back to wattpad. I lost so many wonderful readers, but I hope to gain new ones along the way.

Please don't delete this story from your library because my next update will be with the link and info for when Part 2 drops. Also, I plan on giving out copies of the published version of this book so please stay tuned for that as well.

Stay Blessed,

SecciChic