The Face That Launched A Thousand Bullets (The Cartel Publications Presents) (26 page)

Introducing…Tiara Cartier

Reisterstown, MD

Crash

K
avon sat at the kitchen table with his real estate books and papers spread out. For the second he put his work aside and focused on his daughter’s. Tiara stood over him as he looked at the homework from high school in his hand.

Six months had passed since they moved in a small two-bedroom home in Baltimore county. He moved from DC hoping to get her away from the lures of the street. What he forgot was that ever city has a corner.

“Well, daddy? Is it okay?” Tiara asked standing over him, her beautiful golden hair in a long ponytail.

Silence.

“Its okay, Tiara, but I still feel you’re rushing. Now I know you wanna roll wit them skanks you got for friends, and that’s all well and good, but I want your focus to remain on school.”

She sighed.

Yolanda and Felecia were the only friends she had and he hated them both.

“I’m serious! You’re going to college so you don’t have to worry about these niggas out here takin’ care of you. And I’ma see to it.”

Tiara was hesitant. He’d just finished expressing how he felt about Yolanda and Felecia so how could she ask him to go out with them?

Two Hours Later

Tiara sat in her room with Felecia and Yolanda. Her wooden canopy bed sat in the middle of the floor and the white chiffon curtains were drooped along the sides. The dresser matched the light colored wood and had a mirror large enough for her to see her body if she stepped a few feet away.

“So we goin’ out tonight?” Felecia asked as she strutted in front of the mirror with her tight jean shorts and her red halter top.

Felecia had a beautiful dark chocolate complexion and a shapely body but her poor taste in clothes made her look cheap. “Cause I ain’t had no dick in days!”

“Bitch you was just fuckin’ Kenny’s ass last night.” Yolanda reminded her.

She was more conservative in her blue jeans and her white Armani Exchange t-shirt. Yolanda had a vanilla milk complexion and a body that still expressed her adolescence. She didn’t feel out as well as Felecia and Tiara. She was just a cute girl.

“I meant good dick!” Felecia looked at her and rolled her eyes. “Everybody not like you Yolanda…some of us need a good man up under us.”

Her need for a man was probably why her snatch was always funky. It seemed like Felecia had a new man every other day. And with her mother being the church’s jezebel it’s easy to see how the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

“I can’t mess wit it tonight.” Tiara said walking to the mirror. Although they’d known her for months, every time she moved, they had to look at her. They figured if they stared at her hard enough, they’d could find one flaw on her beautiful body. But from the top of her beautiful golden hair to the bottom of her tiny little feet she was perfect. “I got an exam tomorrow.”

“What is up wit you and school?” Felecia was the troublemaker out the group but she didn’t see it that way.

“You know how my father is about school.”

“Come on, Tiara…Kavon is fine and everything, and he maybe your dad, but tonight Hammerjacks is gonna be jumpin! You gotta roll wit us. You need a man. If your father had it his way you’d be fuckin’ him.”

“Don’t say that!” Yolanda defended.

“It’s true! I wonder if you look like your mother because he be obessesing over you hard!”

“Please don’t say those things about my father.”

“Please don’t say those things about my father,
” she teased.

“I can’t go. He told me no and I can’t lie to him. Maybe we can go to the movies or somethin’ tomorrow.”

“Movies?” Felecia laughed in her face. “Bitch you is soooooo green!”

“Don’t ask her to do nothin’ you wouldn’t do.” Yolanda sat down on the soft bed. “On second thought, don’t ask her to do nothin’ at all.”

They all laughed because they knew full well Felecia was without limits.

“I’m tryin’ to get her out the house for a change. That’s why people think you a joke cause you never go nowhere!” Felecia was trying her hardest to play on her emotions.

Although Kavon instilled virtues in Tiara, she didn’t have a backbone. There were plenty of times Felecia threatened not to be her friend if she didn’t do what she wanted. Because after all of the years of having no security, all she wanted was acceptance.

“I hope yall have fun, because I can’t go.” She was trying to talk calmly to Felecia because she knew she could say things to instantly cause her to cry. “Just tell me how it is.”

Tiara knew Yolanda knew Felecia longer so by default, always took her side.

“Call me later Tiara.” She said walking behind her.

When they left she through herself on the bed and cried.

Even Later That Night

After Tiara kissed her father good night, she sat on the edge of her bed looking at her phone. Now what was she going to do? Be bored all night?

“I’ll just call them and see what they’re doin.” She said as she picked up her phone and called Yolanda.

“Who that? Tiara?!” Felecia’s voice came bellowing through the phone line. “Cause tell her we ain’t got time for no green ass females.”

“Tiara, we ‘bout to roll.” Yolanda’s voice was sympathetic and low. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Uh…well…how you gettin’ there?” Tiara was doing her best to maintain hold of her friends. “Cause I was gonna meet ya’ll up there.”

“For real! Don’t play if you not comin!” Yolanda’s voice was heavy with excitement.

“Yeah…I’m not worried bout my father. He gon be a’ight.”

“Tiara, said she meetin’ us down there.” Yolanda informed Felecia muffling the receiver so Tiara couldn’t hear if she said something bad.

There was some slight commotion before Felecia got on the phone. Tiara’s heart sped up as she wondered if Felecia would be okay with it.

“But….my suga daddy was gonna get on my nerves anyway. So if you want to roll, we’ll be over there in fifteen. We’ll let you take us instead.”

Tiara quickly got off the phone and rummaged through her closet. She had to look fly if she wanted to be seen with Felecia. Because although Tiara was beautiful, she didn’t have any taste in clothing. Kavon did a good job of buying her things that were cute, but not sexy.

She settled on the black skirt she wore for church, which covered her knees, and a button down white blouse, which she also wore on Sunday morning. The moment she came outside, Felecia ate her up.

“Yo…what the fuck do you have on?” she laughed so loud Tiara was sure her neighbors heard her. And sense it was 11:00 at night, she worried her father would too.

“Come on, Felecia…my neighbors might hear you.” She whispered as she unlocked the car doors of her blue Nissan Sentra and let them in. “This all I got.”

“Girl…they gonna laugh your ass out the club! Why you ain’t tell me you ain’t have shit? I coulda bought somethin’ out for you to wear.”

“She can’t fit none of your stuff.” Yolanda reminded her. Tiara turned on the ignition and pulled out the driveway, trying to focus on the road instead of her friends. But being a rookie driver, this was not an easy feat. Kavon knew it that’s why he forbade her to drive alone at night.

“I was just gonna play the sidelines anyway. I’m not lookin’ for nobody.” Tiara responded.

“Are you gonna turn out to be a lesbian or somethin’? Cause I never met a bitch who didn’t want a man.” Felecia adjusted her hair in the mirror.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I’ma get a job this summer anyway and buy my own stuff.”

“I be glad when you do…I can’t stand going nowhere wit no body lookin’ like a bum bitch. And why you drivin’ so slow? We gon miss half the fun.”

Felecia’s complaints were making Tiara uncomfortable and she was starting to sweat. It was bad enough she was lying to her father, something she never did, but then Felecia’s hoe ass was fucking with her. Her stomach felt queasy and she wished she wasn’t so far away from her house because for real, she would’ve turned around.

Tiara did her best to drive until she slammed in the back of a brand new black Lexus with paper tags, tearing the entire back bumper off.

“Oh shit!” Felecia gripped her mouth after seeing the car.

“Oh no!!!” Yolanda screamed.

The driver of the car got out fuming mad! He examined the damage and placed his hands on the side of his head before dropping them.

“I can’t…I can’t.” Tiara was in tears.

She saw her whole life flash before her eyes and her relationship with her father out the window. He was the only person consistent in her life and now she ruined it. What if he sent her away for being disobedient like her mother promised to over and over again when she was little. She was an emotional wreck.

I’ll just flirt with this nigga and all debts will be paid.
She thought.

“We are so sorry about your car.” She said approaching him running her hands down her body. “My friend’s a new driver and she…”

“Bitch, I don’t want to hear that bullshit! Ya assess betta pitch in and come up with enough cash to get my shit fixed!”

He was so angry the lines in his forehead looked like roads on a map. Felecia was terrified after seeing the look in his eyes. Offering him some pussy wasn’t going to cut it…he wanted to be paid in cash, not licks or pumps or fucks.

“I see…let me get the person driving cause it wasn’t me.” Felecia hurried back to the car trying to get out of his path. “Tiara you gonna have to talk to him.” She said once she was inside safe. “Cause if that nigga not tryin’ to fuck me, he don’t want shit but his money! Believe dat!”