Big Girls Don't Cry

Teaser 1

Harlem, 1998

"Hey baby." Alex walked into the room, it was half past ten in the evening and he had only just got home after being out for the entire day. Alex grabbed Leslie by her waist and kissed his wife. He brushed his wife's face as he admired how her hair was styled. She had cornrowed her hair in long braids and slicked her baby hairs. Langston stood up from his seat with excitement. Alex's deep dimple in his left cheek stood out as he smiled at his son.

"My man Langston." Langston grinned and did the crip walk towards his father. Alex laughed and touched fists with him.

"Come here big boy." Alex hugged his son and kissed him on the head.

"Wanna roll out with your pops tonight?" He asked Langston.

Langston grinned, "For sure, I can go out with you on the street pops?" Alex gave Leslie quick eye contact, Leslie looked down with no words to say. "Actually, I'll let you come with me tomorrow aight?" Langston nodded.

"Take my jacket to my room and get yourself in bed. I love you b." Alex kissed Langston's head.

Langston walked to his parents' room with his father's black leather jacket. He stood in front of the mirror and wore it to see if he looked as cool as his father with it on. "Man I look dope." Langston grinned doing several poses in front of the mirror. He placed his hands into the pockets trying different poses, but in the process he found several things in the pockets. He took out of bands of money that looked like 5g's. He licked his lips counting the money. Langston didn't have a real clue about how his father made money. He knew his father worked late hours and when he came home, he always returned with gold watches, money, new cars and fancy clothes. In his other pocket, he took out an object familiar to the eyes for a child who lived in the urban neighbourhood of Harlem.

He held the handgun in his hands with fear and gulped out loud. He panicked and dropped it back into his father's pockets. He quickly hung his jacket and walked to his room. On his way to his room, he heard his father shouting in the other room. He walked towards the room but the door was closed and it was locked. He could just about hear his mother begging for mercy. This wasn't the first time, the second or third time he had encountered moments like this. He peeped through the hole on the door to see his father pulling his mother by her hair. He moved away from the hole and leaned against the walls. He covered his ears trying to block it all out. His eyes were shut and nothing could block his mother's cry, it was all he could hear in his head.

The image of her light face covered in purple bruises made his heart ache.

"Alex please, I'm sorry." Leslie begged as he pulled her hair.

"I told you to stop looking at me like that when I tell my son he can run the streets with me."

Alex yelled and dashed Leslie towards the floor lamp. Her head smacked the corner of the lamp and caused her to fall flat on her back. Alex charged towards her with threats.

"If you ever think about calling the cops on me, I'll take him away from you and you'll never see him again." Leslie shook her head, "No, no you can't. He's my son, he's my son." She cried under his height.

"I can, he needs to be raised by a strong man, not a weak bitch like you. That's why he acts like a bitch half of the time when I bring him out on the streets." Alex spat kicking her.

"He's always too scared to do man shit, talking bout' saving lives and giving like he a preacher or something. The boy will end up a bitch. Richards men aren't bitches like the Dixons." He cursed and insulted Leslie's family name.

Leslie backed away in pain, she held onto the table for strength and she stood up straight even though her bones and her muscles were aching. She hadn't done this before and she knew she probably would end up dead or in hospital but enough was enough. For so long he had made it seem like he was the victim. He had manipulated her innocence and made it out like she was the problem from the moment her foster parents had kicked out after finding out she was pregnant at fourteen, he took her in and supported her. She had tried to see him for something he wasn't and she had been lying to herself for all these years because no one would ever believe her. She had tried to love him for her son and she had put her son and herself in a dangerous situation with a dangerous man for years. Leslie frowned and held onto her throbbing back.

She took a deep breath and pointed at Alex who towered her height.

"I'm not weak you are, if anyone is a bitch in this household, it's you. Do you think I'm afraid of you? Do you think I'll sit here forever under your control and do nothing? You may have taken everything away from me, but that doesn't matter because I have all I need, my son, Langston. You can rape me, beat me up until I'm blue and hit me with emotions but no matter what you do to me, I'm still his mother and he's still my son. You are the one who raped me on the night of September on my way home from the subway, you are the one who told me to keep my mouth shut or I'd be dead. You are the one who took away my childhood and memories of being a child. You are the one who left me without a family because they believed everything you said. You are the one who promised your father Langston you'd look after me and his grandson before he died. You are the one who tried to kill me and my son after I refused to get an abortion. You are the same coward who can't get a job and has to make a living stealing and dealing off the streets. You are same bitch that walks around like he's a man yet you ain't shit. You are the same man who claims to be a good father but aren't you the same man beating the mother of his child until she's blue every night?" Langston was going through a phase of emotions as he heard every word that came out of his mother's mouth. His body was shaking and a stream of tears covered his face. The sound of Leslie's body slamming into the walls and the anger from Alex was distant to Langston as he stormed back into their bedroom. He snatched his father's gun out of his pockets and charged back. He stood outside of the door and held the gun, it was aimed at the door knob. Langston didn't think twice, he pulled the trigger and watched the smoke depart. The door handle popped to the floor and the door was left open.

Alex stood still in shock as he saw his young son at the door with his gun in his hands. The gun was aimed at him. Alex couldn't say a word, he watched the stream of tears on Langston's face. Langston bit his quivering lips and moved his aim to his father's head with his gun. "Langston, no!" Leslie cried still under Alex's hold. "Langston have you lost your mind?" Alex released Leslie from his hold looking at his son with anger. Langston didn't listen to him.

"Langston put the motherfucking gun down." Alex said aggressively, Langston shook his head. Alex slowly began walking closer to him, Langston shook his head, "I'll shoot you." Langston threatened him.

"Shoot me, shoot me if you're a real man." Alex waved his hands showing no fear as he continued to walk towards Langston. Langston's finger held the hook but his hands were shaking, he couldn't hold the gun straight and Alex slapped it out of his hands. Alex quickly picked up the gun away from Langston's reach or height. Langston ran towards his mother but Alex pulled him back by his tag. Alex lifted him off the ground by his collar and held him in the air as if he was a little boy.

"You call yourself a man, you couldn't shoot your own father. Bitch ass boy." Alex released an evil laugh within.

Langston retaliated with the same violence and kneed his father in the neck. Alex leaned back and dropped Langston, Langston aimed hard punches Alex hadn't seen him pull of before and hard kicks. Alex allowed him to give him a few shots, but it wasn't enough to strike him down. Langston charged towards his father but this time Alex slapped his face with full power. A brink of tears were visible in Langston's eyes, Alex chuckled.

"Take it like a man, don't give me bitch ass tears."

Langston frowned with disgust and went to punch Alex, but Alex punched his son in the face, Langston's body fell back and the side of his face met the corner of the broken glass table. A piece of glass pierced its way into his skin just below his eye. Numb to the pain, Langston looked at his father with his other eye. In front of him stood a 6'6 black man who he no longer recognised as his father.