Love I Thought You Had My Back

Chapter 6: I Want Out

4 years earlier....

Valerie sat in the cabana in the backyard of  her and Kingston's estate wondering if and when Kingston would return. Last night she had witnessed a mother's worse nightmare. Kingston had violated her child in more ways than one and she wanted blood. She was no longer scared or intimidated. Leila was her baby and she would do anything to protect her. Leila was now at her mother's home while  her plan was to off Kingston , take her things ,grab Leila and never look back. Her mother had her back which is where Valerie learned to protect her child just as her mother had done with her. After kicking and screaming and hitting him last night he did what he knew best and knocked her clean unconscious , Leila would check on her that morning and help her get herself cleaned up. Valerie could hear a truck pull up in the driveway and she knew this was  her moment. She would play it cool when he walked out back to her until he was by the pool and she would then make her shot in hopes that he would fall into the pool and simply suffer. Valerie knew that with Kingston's hands being dirty in the streets, this would be an easy homicide that would not directly point in her direction as the killer.  As she expected Kingston slid the glass door open of their home and walked out to the cabana not closing the door behind him. "Valerie I know you're smarter than that, I know you saw your daughter coming on to me last night , I always tried to warn you of her behavior but you would always take up for the little whore..." Valerie was now enraged she knew damn well what was going on because she witnessed it all. Out of anger Valerie charged towards Kingston not thinking but her world completely paused at that moment , she was numb, she couldn't breathe and the last image she remembered seeing instantly triggered a tear to fall down her cheek.

Magic

Magic opened the doors to his club to prepare for business later that night. It was now around 4:30, his plan was to count money and host interviews for potential employees for this upcoming season. These were the busiest months and business would be booming within the next couple of weeks.  Before he could reach his office, he was stopped by one of his well known dancers Babydoll who looked as if she were upset and had been crying. "Magic I can't do this anymore I want out" confused Magic stood there with no emotion plastered on his face. "Babydoll what are you talking about come sit down" A now frustrated babydoll began to grow aggravated, "I want out of this club, this business. I have a daughter to live for and to provide for and this isn't the only way. I can not keep paying for Valerie's mistakes" " SMACK" was the only sound that echoed the hallway as Magic backhanded Babydoll and she stood holding the side of her face. "Listen to me and you listen to me carefully, You owe me and quite frankly there ain't no out for you. I pretty much own you and without me you would be nothing. That damn boy wants nothing to do with you and if he finds out that baby isn't his, you really won't be sh*t so pick your damn poison,you tell me where you going" Magic continued past Babydoll and entered his office. He was officially aggravated and now had a headache. He was furious that Babydoll would even bring up Valerie, and let alone try to leave the very business that feeds her and her child. He needed a back up plan and he needed one fast. Magic knew just who to call and he was on it. He was not letting Babydoll slow down business with her antics. He just needed to get through a few interviews and then he would dirty his hands up just a little bit more.

Leila

Fall semester arrived quicker than Leila expected, but unfortunately for her if she did not get her balance paid off she could not finish this last semester at UCLA. All she wanted was to finish school and become a forensics officer. Her favorite show was Forensic Files and she loved following along with the show to help solve the crimes. Since the death of her mom she was her own families officer, and unfortunately she could understand why this man was not behind bars for what he had done and it was no secret it was Magic but he would soon pay even if she had to do it with her own bare hands. Leila was now in the parking lot at the Galleria Mall on hold with financial aid which she had been on hold for 30 minutes and she was now growing tired of waiting. Time was only passing by , she was invited out via text by her homegirl Harmony who she had been avoiding for a few weeks now. Harmony was a great friend but unfortunately she did not know how to be Leila's friend in the way that she needed her to be. Harmony was raised in a perfect world and it was hard for her to understand her most of the time. Tonight she would would let her hair down and have some fun and looking for the perfect outfit would start now. Leila was a pretty girl and when she actually kept herself up she turned heads wherever she went. With her airpod now in her ear in case she reached someone,She walked into the mall entrance where she was hit by the smell of Cinnabon and made a mental note to grab a classic roll on the way out. The mall was packed , only assuming this was due to NBA allstar weekend. Lei rarely shopped so finding an outfit would be a task being that she had no clue what to wear. She walked into Guess and was instantly overwhelmed by the neatly organized clothes everywhere, she truly just wanted a personal shopper to just grab whatever they felt was nice and leave. The Guess employee greeted her upon arrival and she instantly took acceptance of the help that was offered. Within 10 minutes she was in the fitting room trying on numerous outfits. Nothing really stood out to her, part of the reason was that everything she tried on was too revealing. All though she danced she would never choose to be half naked by choice. The last dress was a nude off the shoulder body con dress that fit her so well. She stared in the mirror at herself. She actually felt pretty, and this was the one. Placing her own clothes back in a bit of a hurry, she heard a beeping noise and then there was silence. Her call was dropped and she had waited over 45 minutes for nothing,She would just have to call later when she stopped running around. Leila brought her dress and a pair of diamond studded earrings to match, she figured she would find a nice heel to match in her shoe closet at home that was rarely touched. Leaving Guess she headed in the direction of Cinnabon and got in line. "Leila Amara Wright is that you" "Omar oh my gosh I haven't seen you in years how are you wow you look good" Leila couldn't believe it, she was face to face with her childhood friend and she felt so relieved and at peace at that moment. Omar was her confidant growing up and when things got bad at home he was always one call away. "Im great I can't complain, you look just as beautiful as you did in middle school, whats going on with you where have you been?" Leila knew her life had been a wreck and didn't want to ruin a good moment so she saved the sob story for a later date. "I've been well , take my number down maybe we can get lunch or dinner one of these days and catch up" Omar agreed and they exchanged numbers. Omar treated Lei to a cinnabon and they were gone their seperate ways.

Damien
Damien waited outside in his truck for Omar to come out the mall. He said it would be a quick in and out which sure wasn't. Omar entered the truck after 45 minutes and was hit with a death stare from Damien "Yeah in and out my a**, let's go man I need to go by mom's and take Milani some food. Can't have my baby hungry while I'm chasing behind you tonight" . Omar apologized for how long he took and informed him that he had ran into an old friend. He didn't really care though, more than likely he would never mention them again or it would just be another quick nut for him. Dame and Omar were attending a mansion party in Houston that night and everyone and they're mamas were about to be out tonight. He needed this break, he ate slept and breathed basketball and needed a more relaxing night given the night he had at Queen of Diamonds the other night. He thought of Lei at random times of the day and wondered if she was okay. He was a mystery to her and she was one to him.

Simone

Simone sat in her car crying and holding her face, this wasn't fair, all she wanted was to be out of this dance life, she was tired of being pimped out and tired of being treated poorly. She was still a mother and still a woman. She had so much to lose by leaving the business but if she could somehow get help then it would not turn out so bad. With not many options to choose, she stared at her phone and sat quietly debating if she should call her sister but she knew by doing that many demons would surface and she was not ready to face the heat just yet. She decided now was not the time and she would just talk to Lei another time.