In the gritty underbelly of New York City, Cartier Bennett, a hardened drug dealer's path intersects with that of Xyah Payne, a young, naive nurse. As their worlds collide, a dangerous love story unfolds, where manipulation becomes a twisted form of...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
★
CARTIER WATCHED XYAH AS SHE WALKED INTO THE BUILDING, his eyes instinctively falling to her lower backside. Filled with excitement, he bit his bottom lip to contain the smile that was threatening to appear. While driving, his mind couldn't help but wander. Thinking about how he spent his night, trying to remember each and every detail of it— trying to remember each and every curve of Xyah's features and how they looked even more perfect beneath him.
His mind was pulled out of the gutter once he arrived at the trap, a crummy, practically dilapidated house. He walked in to see TJ in the living room, a blunt in his mouth as he was already rolling another one.
"And where the fuck did you go last night, nigga?" TJ questioned Cartier, blowing smoke from between his lips, "Yo ass needed to help clean up, Boogie's house was fucked up."
"He'll be aight. I had some business to attend." Cartier remarked, taking a seat next to his friend.
The living room was bare, apart from the two sofas, a flat screen, and coffee table. On the coffee table lay an array of guns and drugs, which ideally, they would eventually sell.
"Business as in that Xyah girl?" His friend retorted.
"What about it?" Cartier snapped, "Ya'll can fuck whoever the hell ya'll want, but when I do it's a problem."
"So y'all fucked?" Only receiving a nonchalant shrug from Cartier to which TJ shook his head with a small laugh.
From the kitchen, Amaaj walks in with a slice of pizza in his hand. Once he laid eyes on Cartier he immediately goes to dap him up, taking his hand and doing their signature handshake.
"Nigga finally decides to pop up. We were looking for you last night." Amaaj remarked, taking a bite out of his pizza.
"I heard."
"This nigga was with that one girl." TJ blurted out, causing Cartier to roll his eyes.
"Playing boyfriend?" Amaaj asked.
"Hell nah. Just wanted to get my dick wet." Cartier's words had the two men laughing.
Sparking up his second blunt, TJ debated, "So what was that whole scene in the kitchen?"
"Yo boog, get this nigga outta here!" Amaaj mocked the boy which caused him and TJ to begin laughing once more.
"Y'all niggas are getting on my nerves." Cartier mumbled, "Just leave that shit alone."
And they left it alone. Only for that moment, of course. They were all interrupted by their phones going off, people texting them, asking for drugs, weapons, and any other illegal paraphernalia. They all got into their cars and started their day's work.
—— —— —— —— —— ——
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
★
Throughout her whole shift, Xyah found herself constantly daydreaming about the man in her life. Mainly about the events that took place that previous night, she couldn't get over how easily Cartier pleasured her. The man acted as if he knew her body from the outside in, taking control completely.
Another part of Xyah felt extremely vulnerable, making the girl feel like anything bad could happen at any moment. What took place at the carnival was just one thing that she constantly thought about. What if something like that were to happen again?
Xyah had been taken advantage of by men multiple times. Her caring and naive nature were something that men seemed to be extremely fond of. She just hoped this relationship wasn't like her others.
Time seemed to go by quickly while Xyah worked. Running up and down the floor tending to patients with different sicknesses and injuries. Xyah had become a nurse right out of highschool. Dedicating herself to her schoolwork, she found herself grasping new concepts with ease. Which later helped her in the actual nursing field. Xyah was doing way better than half the people her age. She was an RN, had her own place, and a car. She couldn't complain about much.
Coming to the end of her shift, Xyah clocked out and left the building. She stood in the front for what seemed like hours. Kind of pissed off that Cartier didn't follow through with his word, she picked up her phone and called him. The phone rang for only a few seconds before he picked up.
"Hello?" Carti's voice spoke through the phone, while his face appeared on the screen.
"Yeah, hello. Where are you at?" Her voice rang with agitation.
"Shit. It's already four?" The man cursed, "Look, something came up. Imma send you money for an uber. I apologize, Xy."
"What do you mean something came up—" She was cut off by those three beeps, indicating that Cartier hung up.
Xyah beat herself up for not taking her own car. She honestly knew better, but was too blinded by her feelings for the man to care. Moments later she received a notification. Cartier cashapped her one hundred dollars with a note, "I'm soo sorry."
