PS3619.A574A79 2011
813’.6—dc22 2011011883
ISBN 978-0-7432-7762-4
ISBN 978-1-4165-7952-6 (ebook)
This book is dedicated to the newest edition to my family,
Madison Carter Cofield.
And to
Charlotte’s finest James “Bro Waheed” Hood—RIP—you are
truly and forever missed.
We all hustlers, in love with the same thang.
—Sean “Jay-Z” Carter, “Allure”
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24 One Year Later
Chapter 25 Epilogue
Chapter 26 Acknowledgments
At 6:00 AM Arnessa slowly rolled out of bed, not completely rested. The thought of the monthly bills was enough motivation to get her rolling. The old wooden floor creaked under her feet as she walked toward the bathroom, still half asleep. Through the door, Arnessa could hear the shower. The sound of the running water only made her bladder throb. She burst into the bathroom even though she knew her little sister, Cenise, hated it when her privacy was invaded. Immediately, Cenise yelled over the shower curtain, “Can’t you wait till I’m finished? Damn!”
Arnessa was too excessively focused on using the toilet to respond. It felt so good to let the urine out; she could feel her bladder contracting as it emptied. “No, I cannot wait my turn,” she snapped as she flushed the toilet, which caused the shower water to turn cold.
Cenise shrieked from the instant chill on her skin, “Nessa, I’ma fuck you up when I get outta here.”
“Yeah, whateva. Watch your mouth, little girl.”
Back in her bedroom, Arnessa pressed play on the CD player that sat on her dresser. Jay-Z’s In My Lifetime Vol. 1 pumped through the speakers. She bopped her head and rapped along with the lyrics as she went through the pockets of the beige Woolrich parker she’d worn the night before. She pulled out a wad of cash that totaled a little over $4,000. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Arnessa counted and separated the bills. She put $1,300 to the side and divided the remaining three Gs into $1,000 stacks. Arnessa folded each one and wrapped them in baby blue rubber bands.
Reaching into the back of her closet, Arnessa pulled out a Timberland box filled to the brim with one-thousand-dollar stacks all fastened with the same baby blue rubber bands. She closed the box, placed it back in the closet, and pulled out another Timberland box that was half full with stacks of money also fastened with rubber bands. She tossed the three new stacks into that box and put it back in its place.
Scanning the closet, Arnessa tried to figure out which of her many sweatsuits she would put on. Some that she’d never worn still had tags hanging from the sleeves, and others were in plastic bags fresh from the cleaner’s. She grabbed a big black plastic shopping bag with MONY’S emblazoned in gold across the front. From the floor, she pulled out a beige Lady Enyce suit and threw it across the bed. Arnessa opened the top dresser drawer, took out a cream thermal set and a lace bra-and-panty set from Victoria’s Secret. One would never guess that under Arnessa’s boyish attire were the softest and frilliest underwear. She loved girly things, but she always felt the need to hide them, given her line of work.