Page 100 of The Ninth

“First, I want to say that my mother and father has never spoken negatively about you, your parents, or Grandmother. My mama came to the city and went to the University of Chicago. That’s how she met my deddy. She also met Kelisha around that time. She and her got pregnant with Tati and I at the same time.

“I don’t know why y’all saw us as privileged or that we thought we were better than y’all. We lived in poverty for majority of our lives. Our house was right next to Tati’s. Sometimes there was only enough to pay for the lights at their place, so we used a generator to connect to ours and vice versa. My dad and Tati’s had to rob grocery stores to feed both houses. We had to hold Kelisha up when he passed. Boosting clothes. Cars getting repo’d. Not paying to stop an eviction until the moment the sheriff came to put us out. And what was hard was not being able to call our family. I never understood why we couldn’t. My dad didn’t either. But my mama always said that there was nothing to receive but noses in the air.

“My deddy had to start selling drugs. That did a little but still not the best. He got the Groot job. I remember him coming home and telling us. We just cried, knowing the hard times were over. He started, moved my mother and I out from Englewood and to Arlington Heights. Looked after Kelisha. He had more money to push more pills, so shit really was looking up. There was finally a time where I would ask for something and wasn’t told no. I stopped dreading the first of the month. I never worried about making a call, just to realize my phone was off. Everything was okay.”

I let out a long sigh.

“I stayed here instead of coming with y’all because all I know is Chicago. Even in the darkest moments, I was having so much fun. I remember hiding from the furniture people in the dark and when they left, we threw a big ass BBQ with stolen meat!” I cackled. “Even on the most stressful days, my life was filled with so much love, community, and support. It wasn’t us versus each other. It was us versus the world. I could never leave my city. My mother chose to come here. My parents loved me, Devyn. I’m sorry to hear how yours treated you but they loved me. I didn’t set alarms for school; they woke me up together every morning. Kissed me good night every night. Celebrated my failures because the wins were on the way. Spoke life into me. Told me I was beautiful and they loved my beautiful dark skin. We can’t have a relationship if you cannot understand that my parents raised me the best they could, and no decision I’ve made after their death reflects that.”

She nodded her head quickly, “I understand.”

“Once my parents died in that storm on the way home, I was left with all the Groot money. The stashed money too. Kelisha never asked for any. Never told me what to do. She made sure I went to court and fought to have what was mine. I sold the house. Gave the car to Kelisha. Moved us somewhere better out west. Put up money to go to college and cosmetology school because I wanted to keep the promise to my peoples. But that shit started to run out. As much as I was handling shit, I was blowing that shit as well. Me and Tati were the flyest bitches out west, on my granny!” I giggled.

“But that shit was dwindling after a year and quickly. I did what I did to graduate early not to be a showoff, but to get out of school and start hustling. Start doing make-up full time. I was already known but wanted to push myself. I went to college at sixteen, graduated at twenty. As soon as I graduated, I went straight to cosmetology school.

“During this time, I made the most money during prom season. Those few months in the year always had me up racks, but it wasn’t lasting until the next year. I still had a small amount from my deddy left over. Maybe I am spoiled, because I couldn’t fathom clocking into a regular job. I liked having fun and doing make-up, but we needed money to live how we wanted to. My bitch Tati looked me dead in my eyes and said, “pay for my BBL.”

“WHAT?!” Devyn yelled. I started cackling. K4 jumped out of her arms, coming to me instead. “What are you talking about?! TATI GOT HER BODY DONE?!”

“Baby, our whole lives Tati was as flat as a board. Like G, no ass, no titties, no waist. Just a pretty ass face. My bitch still had niggas, but yeah! She promised if I paid for her body, she had us. Swore on her dead deddy that body would get us out the hood. I love Tati and trusted her. She gained weight, got the BBL, and I swear me and my hoe ain’t evaaaa been broke again, on baby!”

I clapped my hands while laughing.

“They SMOKED my bitch body, you hear me?! I put every last dime into her. The day of her surgery, we had two hundred dollars left between us. Her shit is the most natural skinny BBL you’ll eva see! When she hit the streets, niggas was slobbbbbbbing. She started doing club hosting and promotions. I was laying my bitch face crazy! That got other famous bitches asking me to do their make-up. Nothing major, just rapper’s BMs and shit. They asked me to do a few hostings, but I’m not a public ass bitch. Tati fell on that sword and put herself out there for me. I had no social media at that time. Girlies had to book by calling me only.

“I met Kenzo during prom season at twenty. He was locked up by twenty-two. I had already finished college, paid for Tati’s body, started doing make-up around prom, doing Tati’s and the other hoes shit for club hosting’s. I was just wrapping up cosmetology school. We were straight. All of that was done by me before I even met him. But straight wasn’t good enough for my man.

“He took care of me. I refused to move in with him, so he paid the bills at Kelisha’s. Paid everyone’s cars off. Helped with Doodas and TayTay. He always supported my make-up dreams, buying all of my products, chairs, everything.”

“You can tell he really appreciates how well you do make-up. He’s constantly giving you things to help out....” Devyn nodded.

We sat in silence for a bit.

“It was so special with K3. I didn’t have sex with Kenzo for four months after we met. Mostly because he wanted to take it slow. But partly because...I was a virgin.”

“WHAT?! AT TWENTY?! Wait...K3 was really your first?”

“Mhm. My dad always told me to value myself more than these niggas. To only give myself fully to a man who was deserving. Niggas disgusted me but not Kenzo. I didn’t tell him I was a virgin until the moment we began having sex. He still treated me like I was priceless before then...”

I smiled, wiping the tears from my face. My fucking MAN! I love Kenzo.

“AND HIS DICK BIG AS FUCK!”

“CASSANDRA!”

“With Kenzo, we would have to go slow every single time. His size...I just couldn’t hop on and take it. Every time he broke me off, I had to get used to it all over again....

“BUT my baby did eventually get buckled two years later. I was with him when they took him away... His rich ass made bail. Before he was officially charged, he got me a reliable car, put me into an apartment with good ass security, and bought me tons of make-up. We rarely bonded before he was taken. K3 was always out, putting things into place for when he was gone.

“Once he was gone...people were in my ear bad. Even Kelisha gave me a heads up. They convinced me Kenzo was going to dip on me when he got out. Not too long after he got buckled, they opened The Ninth and did castings. Tati made one hundred thousand in three months. I walked in and was hired immediately. Then we met Kenzie. The rest was history.... I met Juan four years after Kenzo was arrested. I did my best holding him down for four years before I went weak for Juan. It’s year five now, so my time with Juan wasn’t his entire sentence. You saying I was fucking around cracked me and the girls up. I’m twenty-seven with two bodies: K3 and Juan.”

“You’re a completely different person than I thought you were...” Devyn mumbled.

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not. I apologize. And I also understand why you started at The Ninth. There’s money everywhere in there, and you were just protecting yourself. I don’t know K3 and I’ve had the same fears for you. You blindly let him handle everything, and that makes me afraid for if he does switch. Just always stay alert. Always have yourself.”

“I will. Thank you for caring.”