Chapter 22
Diamond walked from the store with her mind clouded, her bag swung at her side while replaying the incident that happened the night before.
The sight of Kayla standing in the crowd with Farrah confirmed the thoughts her head had been fighting, her little sister was against them.
Kayla fucked with anyone who made her feel seen even if it hurt the people closest to her.
Kayla turned and looked away when she noticed Diamond, but she didn’t have to, Diamond was done talking to her ass.
Diamond kept it moving, she didn’t feel like fighting and giving the hood a show, they had seen enough from their family.
Before she could reach her house, cars started pulling up, tires screeching, and females hopping out with bats, poles, and anything else that could be used to beat the shit out of someone.
They jumped out aggressively, boxing the block in like it belonged to them.
“WHERE DIAMOND AT?”
Diamond froze. Her heart fell straight to her ass. Fearless? Yes. Stupid? No. She knew she couldn’t beat all of those girls; she didn’t even know who they were and why they were looking for her.
She looked around, confused as hell, “Me?”
“You Diamond?” one girl asked as they moved in closer to her.
No matter what had happened she looked for Kayla to be ready to ride, but she just stood there. That was it, Kayla was nobody to her anymore and she stood on that.
Girls surrounded Diamond from every angle, eyes scanned her face like she was a piece to a puzzle they were trying to solve.
“This her? She doesn’t look like the girl in the picture.”
“I don’t know what y’all talking about. I don’t know none of y’all,” she said carefully.
One girl stepped closer with her phone in one hand and a bat in the other. Diamond dropped her bag and got ready to get jumped.
“You Diamond, right? You talk to Harlem, right?”
Diamond gave her a stale look because she didn’t know what or who the girl was talking about.
“I don’t know anyone named Harlem.”
“Lying only gon’ make me beat the fuck outta you!”
Kayla moved closer, Farrah didn’t.
“Watch out!” Duke pushed through the crowd.
He made his way to Diamond, quickly scanning her to make sure she hadn’t been touched. Then his gaze hardened when his eyes landed on the girl leading the pack.
“Shika, what’s up?”
She looked at him, recognition flashing immediately, “What up, Duke? You know her?” She pointed at Diamond.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“She fuckin’ with Harlem.”
Shika pushed the phone in his face to show him the screen.
“I have all the messages, naked ass pictures and everything! I’m about to beat her ass!”
“No the fuck you not, that’s not even her. That’s her,” he pointed to Farrah.
Shika frowned, slightly confused like everyone else as the story unfolded.
“My bad, girl,” Shika apologized before moving the crowd to Farrah and her friends, who tried to spread out like they weren’t with her.
Farrah looked like she was about to cry as Shika got in her face.
“What’s your name?”
“Um…Farrah.”
“You fuckin’ with Harlem? Matter of fact, don’t answer, I want you to see what this nigga thinks of you!”
She facetimed Harlem and turned the camera on Farrah, “This your lil bitch, right?”
“Ion know that bitch,” he laughed in Farrah’s face.
Farrah was really on the verge of tears, but she held it together.
“See that, this nigga doesn’t give a fuck about you, lil girl. I’m gon’ spare you because you already got tears in your eyes. Stay the fuck away from what’s mine. Diamond, Farrah, whatever yo name is!” Shika pushed Farrah in the forehead with her index finger before walking off.
She punked Farrah in front of the entire hood, just like Rich had punked her father.
Diamond waited until Shika and her people left to approach Farrah about using her name and putting her in harm’s way.
By that time, Ace had made his way over to Farrah but seeing Kayla standing next to him triggered Diamond.
Diamond walked right up with Duke right behind her, she wasn’t scared of Ace, not even a little bit.
“Next time you want to be a hoe and fuck with somebody else’s man, give them your name!” Diamond spat as Farrah rolled her eyes.
“Diamond, please, where was this energy when those girls were just in your face?” Farrah shot back.
“Bitch please, I stay ready, win, lose, or draw. Yo scary, bird brain ass was on the verge of tears.”
“Diamond, gone somewhere,” Kayla finally spoke.
“You shut your dumb ass up, too, overly obsessed with this grown ass pedophile.”
Everybody’s mouths dropped to the ground. Diamond was on ten and anybody could get it.
“Bitch…” Ace stepped up, but Duke did, too.
“Ain’t gon’ be none of that,” Duke stamped, ready for whatever behind Diamond.
“You a mad bitch!” Kayla yelled.
“Kayla, you’re sixteen, you barely have hair on your pussy. You don’t even know how to properly clean the muthafucka and want to let his old ass play with it! Be fuckin’ for real, and mad for what?”
And just like that, Diamond brought Kayla to tears from embarrassment and she didn’t give a single fuck! Kayla needed to be broken, Diamond would usually feel bad, but she felt nothing. She could feel herself turning into a cold bitch.
After walking with Duke to calm herself down, she headed home because her and her father had to move their product and money. He didn’t trust Ace and neither did she.
Rich waited until three in the morning when the streets were clear and the hood was quiet.
Diamond rode shotgun with tired eyes, window cracked so that the cool air could wake her up.
She and Rich small talked and even laughed a little, it felt just like a father-daughter riding through the city, not like partners in something that could end everything.
“Big Senior, huh? You ready for prom and all that good stuff?”
“Not really, I’m ready to graduate,” she replied as they laughed.
They pulled up to the storage and did what needed to be done.
Once Rich hid the product in the trunk, they were on their way to the next storage unit.
He followed all rules of the road, used every signal, and made complete stops at every stop sign.
It was all good until blue lights appeared in the rearview.
The world tilted, Rich’s smile disappeared instantly, and his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.
“Fuck. Listen, relax,” he said calmly.
Diamond’s heart was pounding, if she wasn’t scared before, she was in that moment. She never thought about getting caught. She quickly pushed her fear aside and pulled it together.
“They ain’t got nothing unless they search, and if they do, it’s mine. You take the money and get a lawyer.”
“No,” she said immediately, “I’m a minor, it’s mine!”
Rich glanced at her… “Diamond, no.”
She ignored her father as he slowly pulled the car over to the right.
“I’m seventeen, they ain’t gon’ bury me, but they will bury you alive.”
The officer approached and shined his light inside the car. Diamond didn’t flinch, she looked straight ahead.
“License and registration.”
“What am I being pulled over for?” Rich asked while giving the officer what he asked for.
“Routine traffic stop, hold tight.”
Diamond exhaled, knowing that it was just a quick stop and they didn’t have to search the vehicle.
“It’s all good,” Rich assured her one minute too soon.
“I need you both to step out of the vehicle.”
“What? For what?” Rich asked as the officer pulled the door open.
“Because I said so.”
Diamond wasn’t the smartest person in the world, but she knew that wasn’t proper protocol.
The officer put the cuffs on Rich while his female partner cuffed Diamond and sat her on the curb.
Her heart stopped when they popped that truck, there it was, a few kilos unspoken for.
It was time, it was either her or her father.
Rich started to speak, but she cut him off, “It’s mine. I had my dad to pick me up, he didn’t know it was there. I’m sorry, Daddy,” she spoke, looking the officers in the eyes.
“How old are you?” The officer’s eyes narrowed on her.
“Seventeen.”
The male officer chuckled, “Young and dumb. Let me guess, you think you’re going to be charged as a minor so you’re taking the wrap.”
“It’s mine,” Diamond shot back with no emotion.
“Diamond, no!” Rich said.
“Noooo, it’s too late. Let’s go, Little Miss Griselda Blanco.”
The cuffs were tight and cold around her wrists. Diamond looked back at her father before they put her in the back of the car. No prom, no senior year, no graduation, just the county jail.
Diamond wasn’t scared as they walked her inside the station, it smelled like bleach and distress.
A steel door slammed after they processed her.
She curled up in the corner, trying to keep warm; thoughts heavy, eyes dry as she watched everything that moved.
It wasn’t petrifying, it wasn’t a lesson, it was her new reality if they kept her.