+Phoenix+
I tossed and turned as familiar images swirled around in my head.
Screaming, shattered glass, hard collisions of skin and flesh... My heart beat raced in terror.
My tormentors, many in number, all held the same rage, the same unforgiving, merciless intent. Blow upon blow, word after word, they winded me... until I began to suffocate.
Begging between gasps of air that my life be spared, my pleading fell on deaf ears.
My vision disfigured into bright, white spots and then finally....
darkness.
I opened my eyes, sighing as I realized it was all just a dream. I blinked, forcing a hot stream of unshed tears to glide down my round cheeks. I'd been having the same dream for as long as I could remember. It was always the exact same, and it always ended the same way... with my death.
I wiped the tear tracks from my face as I sat up, removing my comforter and placing the bottoms of my feet on the carpet. I stretched, arching my back and rolling my neck to relieve the pain of sleeping on an air mattress. After wiping the sleep from my eyes, I stood to my feet, slipping on some house shoes and walking towards the bathroom.
As I stared into the mirror, brushing my teeth and evaluating my appearance, I thought about what happened before I clocked out of my shift last night.
"This is the last time I'm going to put up with your tardiness, Phoenix! Show up late again and you're fired! This is your final warning!"
Those were Catherine's last words to me before she sent me on my way to the bus stop. I'll admit, I had a bit of a habit of being late. My time management skills could definitely use some work. But it wasn't something I did on purpose. My sleep schedule is super fucked up. Some nights I can't even get to sleep on account of how bad my anxiety is. It's like when I lay down to go to sleep, suddenly every thought I'd been avoiding throughout the day comes flooding into my mind all at once. All the negative shit that I'd spent all day talking myself out of comes back with a vengeance and it's nothing short of impossible to get any sleep when it happens. By the time the thoughts subside, the sun is out and the day is starting. No time to recharge or rejuvenate, just right back into responsibilities and hustling. It gets exhausting, most of the time I'm severely fatigued, but I push through. I don't really have a choice.
I spit out the tooth paste and rinsed my mouth, wiping my face with a warm towel. I had showered the night before in anticipation of all the shit I had to do today. I needed to go pay some bills mostly, as well as look for another job even though I had two already. In addition to being a banquet server, I work third shift in housekeeping. Luckily, we didn't have an event tonight so the catering kitchen staff had the day off. It was my first one in a while, and I had half a mind to stay in bed all day until my housekeeping shift to catch up on the sleep I severely needed, but as I said, there was just too much shit that needed to be done.
After rifling through my menial selection of clothing, I settled for a brown sundress with orange and gold accents and paired it with gold sandals. I pulled my braids up into a big donut shaped bun on top of my head and covered myself in lotion and body spray before getting dressed and adding a denim jacket to complete my look. Grabbing the last yellow and brown banana from my ever empty fruit bowl, I sighed. I couldn't even remember the last time I went grocery shopping. Adding it to my list of shit to do today, I grabbed my purse, my keys, and my phone before heading out the door. As I was locking up, I could already hear my next door neighbor's bad ass kids raising hell. It's 8am on a Saturday. What human child is awake before 12 on the weekends?!
Shaking my head, I walked past her door and down the two flights of stairs in our apartment building before I stepped outside. I counted out my bus fare as I made the all too familiar trek to the bus stop. Once the bus came, I rode it all the way downtown to go to the bank so I could make a deposit to pay my rent. While I was there, I figured I would go ahead and pay my phone bill as well. After that, I caught a bus to the public library so that I could put in some online applications to a few different places. I was there for about 3 hours filling out applications for everything from sanitation to administrative assistant. I barely had the qualifications for most of them but what I always prided myself on was how persuasive I could be in an interview. I'd talked my way into countless jobs before. I figured when it came down to it, people want to hire someone they like and I had become a professional ass kisser, especially after working at the hotel for so long. And although I didn't like it and did everything I could not to do it when it wasn't absolutely necessary, it was something I deemed as a survival skill at the point.
Around 4 o'clock I finally realized I hadn't eaten anything but an overripe banana and pulled out my wallet to see how much I had left after paying all my bills and riding the bus back and forth all day. Just like that, the paycheck I received just two days before was dwindled down to only a couple dollars. My plan to go grocery shopping was looking like a no-go as I realized I had only $12 to my name. I sighed, leaving the library and pulling out my phone to see if I could figure out a way to make a few extra dollars today.
As I said before, I was a born hustler. When push came to shove, I did whatever I had to do to make ends meet. One of my many hustles was doing hair. Whenever I needed a couple extra dollars, I'd hit up a few different women who enjoyed my discounted prices. I would do a quick-weave for $30, a blow-out for $20, and box braids or Senagalese twists for just $60. Hell, some of the women who came to me had refused to go back to their salon, not only because of my prices, but also because while I didn't charge as much, my quality was just as good.
In all honestly, doing hair was sort of my passion. I liked it and did it as often as I could because it was good money, but I just had a hard time fitting it into my schedule. Working two jobs took up most of my time, and lately I'd be working double shifts like nobody's business. And now that I was looking for a third, it would be even more of a rarity. At one point I considered maybe working in a shop and eventually getting a shop of my own, but once I factored in the cost of having to go to cosmetology school and then the crazy amounts some of these salons charged for booth rent, that dream died as quick as it came. I needed to make money, not spend it. Still, doing it on the side and in the comfort of someone's home worked when
I needed it to, and right now, I needed it to.
"Hello?"
"Hey girl, its Phee. It's my off day and I don't really have plans today. You tryna get your hair done?" I spoke to Alicia, my most loyal client.
She wasn't my usual type of clientele seeing as she was what I considered "privileged". She obviously came from money, with her townhouse in the boondocks and her very expensive taste in clothes and cars, but she was cool as hell and down to earth. Meeting her was honestly a stroke of chance. I was standing in front of her while we waited in line at the beauty supply and she asked me who had done my crochet twists. When I told her I'd done them myself, she offered to pay me $100 to do hers on the spot and the rest was history.
"Hell yes! Girl, if I have to walk around with my head wrapped like Harriet Tubman for one more day, I'm gonna scream! I was just about to call you." she replied, making us both chuckle.
Truthfully, Alicia was one of the only people I considered a friend. She probably knew the most about me from us just talking and swapping stories as I did her hair, and at times she would give me advice. I honestly looked up to her. She was so well put together and had experienced a side of life I couldn't even fathom. And although we were from completely different tax brackets, we shared many similarities. What made us most similar though was our matched desire to hustle. Sure, her hustling looked more like closing million-dollar deals as a luxury realtor, and owning a few different day spas around the city, and mine was just doing any kind of odd job that came my way outside of working two full-time minimum wage jobs, but the desire to win by any means necessary was present for us both. It was her who suggested I open my own shop, and she had even offered to help me with the start up money, but one thing I wasn't was stupid. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of these people who refuses help because of pride, I just believed that mixing business and friendship wasn't a good idea. I didn't need a simple loan to turn into some unneeded drama. I'm much more at ease knowing that I don't owe anyone anything.
"What you want done?" I asked, counting my quarters to make sure I had enough for the two buses it took to get to her side of town.
"I was hoping for some box braids. I'm going on a singles' cruise in a few weeks and I'm trying to slayyyyyy, honey!" she spoke, making me snort. Singles' cruise? Definitely some boujee shit that only chicks with hot asses and disposable income did. In my opinion, those cruises were just an excuse to get away from home and fuck as many strangers as possible without getting caught up. But I didn't judge her though. Hell, if I had the time and the money I might have considered it myself seeing as it's been 2 long years since I'd had any lovin'. I was due for a night of inhibition but I'd be damned if I put forth the effort to get it. Dick unfortunately came with stress that at the moment, I did not have the tolerance for.
"Alright, girl. I'm on my way right now. I'll see you in a bit." I said as I watched my first bus approaching the stop from down the street.
"Perfect! I'll see you then." she replied. We hung up and I dropped my phone into my purse as the bus came to a stop in front of me. After I paid my fare, I rode it all the way to where I could connect with my second bus and then rode that one all the way to her house. Because she lived in a gated community, I had to have her buzz me in at the gate and then I walked a piece until I arrived at her townhouse. I knocked on her door and after a moment, she swung it open smiling wide at me as she reached for a hug.
"Hey, girlie. I just finished washing my hair." she said as we pulled apart. I looked at her hair, running my fingers through her damp tresses. Her hair had grown significantly since I had started doing it. I had convinced her to stop using relaxers and go natural, and ever since, it was growing like a weed. She now only ever let me touch her head which was why I called her my most loyal client.
"Good, cuts down on the time. I hope you got the right hair." I said as I placed my purse on her couch and took off my jacket.
"Yup, same hair as last time." she said, handing me the various packs of braiding hair. I looked over them and nodded as she chose the chair she wanted to use before I handed the packs back to her and began to blow dry and grease her scalp before sectioning off small pieces and beginning the whole process.
"So what's new with you? You have a man yet?" she started, making conversation. I chuckled.
"Alicia, you know damn well I don't have a man. We already discussed this. I don't have the time or the patience." I replied as I began the first braid. She smacked her teeth before responding.
"Phee, when are you gonna let some fine specimen knock the cobwebs off that coochie? It's been long enough." she blurted, making me chuckle at her.
"First of all, since when do you use the word 'coochie'? And second of all, when a fine specimen that's worth the stress and is guaranteed to supply me with some good, mind-blowing, back-breaking strokes makes an appearance, then and only then will I consider it. However, let the record show that I have yet to encounter a man who, even with good dick, has been worth the stress." I answered.
"Girl, please. You must not have been riding the right dicks then. The right dick will cancel out any and all stress." she chuckled. I smirked and rolled my eyes before responding.
"That's a nice thought but I can assure you it's not that simple."
"Okay so what man was giving you these mind-blowing, back-breaking strokes but wasn't worth keeping around?" she asked, curiosity dripping from her voice. I hated the fact that my mind instantly showed an image of his face before I could even take the time to think about it.
Alonzo Lazarus Prince...
but I just called him Zo.
He was just as interesting as his name made him sound, and meeting him was simultaneously the best and worst thing to ever happen to me. He was beautiful with his dark chocolate skin, dual-toned lips, and eyes so dark they looked black. His body was hard and defined like he was carved from stone. Almost reminded me of one of those sculptures you see in an art museum. Except instead of pale and chalky, he was blessed with copious amounts of melanin and littered in chest and arm tattoos. And although he was beautiful to look at, what I was most attracted to was his mind.
We could talk for hours about anything and everything. He wasn't one of these typical, closed-minded niggas who only had the mental capacity for discussing sports and sex. We'd had countless discussions on politics, religion, social injustice... and he'd taught me a number of things as well. He was to blame for why I'd become more aware of my inner strength. He met me when I was still broken, still just a woman who'd been used and abused so much that I couldn't even fathom how many pieces of myself I'd lost. He was the one who took the time to help me find myself again. To show me that no matter what I'd been through, I was still here for a reason.
And I loved him... immensely.
But the one flaw Zo possessed was what had put an end to our love affair. He just couldn't seem to keep his dick in his pants, and before he came along, I'd dealt with many a cheater. It was almost normal for me, and I usually stayed. But after having found myself, along with some self-worth and a self-love, it was no longer acceptable and I broke things off immediately. According to him it was only the one time, and he'd apologized so much that it became normal to receive daily texts of paragraphed declarations of love and regret for "messing up our forever". But I was finally in a place where I would no longer accept disrespect nor violation of trust from anyone ever again. So I ignored all the texts for months until one day, he just stopped.
I hadn't heard from him since.
"His name was Zo... and let's just say his stroke game was solid but his loyalty was not." I finally replied, parting off a new row of braids. Alicia sighed, thinking before she spoke a few moments later.
"Well I hope you get some dick in your life soon, girl. I can tell you need it. You're gripping my hair so tight, I can almost guess how long it's been since you gripped a dick. Sexual frustration has made you heavy-handed as hell." she said making me burst into laughter. She chuckled as well and I shook my head at her nonsensical explanation.
"Alicia, please shut up."
***
+Tyson+
I reviewed my reflection in the mirror, evaluating my appearance like it was one of the hundreds, maybe thousands of business proposals that had crossed my desk in the last several years. A mental checklist ran through my mind like movie credits. Nights like this were all about perfection. I had the perfect tux, the perfect shoes, the perfect haircut, and most important of all, the perfect date. Sonya Daniels was a rare breed. She had everything I desired in a woman. Outside of her immaculate looks, she was smart, wealthy---both on her own, and with her family pedigree---and what I most desired... she was obedient. I like a woman who plays her role and lets me take the lead. After all, it was how I was raised. My father was the king of his castle and he instilled in me the teachings of what would eventually make me a king as well.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think women are inferior. As a matter of fact, I think very highly of most women. My mother, for example, was one of the strongest women I'd ever met. She had overcome a life of poverty, gotten her Masters in Law, and made a name for herself as one of the most powerful criminal attorneys in the country. She was a titan amongst men. But she also knew how to let my father be a man. She knew when to argue and when to be quiet and let him make the important decisions, she never allowed her success to overshadow his own, and she never ever denied him full reign of his household. I planned to mimic that in my own life someday, and so far, Sonya was definitely a promising prospect. Still, the idea of relationships was something I tried very hard not to entertain. I was far too busy building my empire.
"Master Tyson, your car has arrived," spoke my butler, Joseph. He was an older black man, around his 50's, from London, England. He was extremely punctual and had a personal vendetta against all things improper. He'd been with my family for years, taking care of us and eventually becoming my personal butler. He was more like family than staff, though. He'd witnessed all my firsts; First steps, first words, first multi-million dollar acquisition. Joseph was almost like a second father to me.
"Thank you, Joseph. I'll be downstairs shortly."
He nodded in response before leaving me alone again. I reviewed my appearance one last time before leaving my bedroom and making my way down the glass staircase that connected the first and second floors. Joseph stood by the door, waiting to open it for me on my way out.
"Have a good evening, Master Tyson," he spoke. I passed him without a word, climbing into the limo as the driver held open the door and then closed it once I was in. I gave him the directions to Sonya's place and we were there within minutes. The driver opened the door for me again as I got out to retrieve her. I prided myself on being a gentlemen, so instead of calling her to come outside, I walked to her door and rang the bell. Moments later, I heard her door unlock and waited as she pulled it open. To my dismay, she looked an utter mess. Her hair was all over her head, her eyes and nose were swollen and red, and she wore sweats covered with various stains. She was a train wreck.
"Sonya, what the hell happened to you?!" I inquired, taken aback at her appearance.
"Oh, Tyson, I'm so sorry. I can't go to the party tonight, I have a fever of 102!" she spoke, her voice nasal like she couldn't breathe through her nose. All of a sudden, she made a peculiar face, scrunching her nose before bringing her forearm up and sneezing into her elbow aggressively. I took a cautious step backwards, trying not to pick up any of her germs, and sighed. To say I was annoyed was an understatement. This was unacceptable. How could she allow herself to become sick when she knew how important this night was for me?
"Do you have any clue how vital your attendance was tonight?" I spoke, angrily. I could feel my temper rising with every second. I had the ability to control a lot of things. My employees, my money, my career trajectory. My temper however, was notoriously uncooperative.
"I know but I can't help that I'm sick, Tyson. It's just one of those unexpected things that happen in life." I stared at her in disgust.
"This could have very well been avoided. You allowed yourself to become ill when you knew I was counting on you. This level of incompetence is very surprising coming from you, Sonya, and I must say, I'm very disappointed in you," I spoke, conveying my utter disapproval. She looked at me as if she wanted to cry before reaching a hand out in my direction. I stepped further out of her reach as she replied.
"I'm sorry, Tyson. I just can't go with you tonight, but I promise not to miss the next event."
"Next? I'm afraid there won't be a next time. I don't have time for inconsistency. You've been so reliable up to this point... it's a shame this has to end."
Before she could protest, I made a swift departure back to the limo. I was annoyed beyond measure, more so due to the fact that I had bothered to confirm I'd be bringing a plus one. If it weren't for my parents' insistence, I would have been perfectly fine attending alone. However, they'd been riding me rather hard lately on the subject of settling down and it was becoming more and more irritating by the second. Although I respected their opinions, I didn't think it made much sense to link myself to one woman for the rest of my life so soon. The way I saw it, I had a number of years before I would be ready to go through with such commitment to another person. But I knew my parents well enough to know that if they'd had it their way, I'd be married with children by now. And that's where Sonya was supposed to come in to play. She was supposed to be proof that I had been looking for someone, although in reality, she was more a decoy than anything. She was supposed to stifle my parents' prodding and over involvement in my love life, even if only for one night. Now, because of her sudden---although avoidable---ailment, I would have to endure a whole night of my mother practically thrusting me on any appropriately aged single woman in the room. To say I was dreading the rest of this night was an understatement.
After the 20 minute drive across town, the limo arrived at my childhood home. The benefit gala for my parents' charity was to be held here tonight. They had taken interest in philanthropy after my sister Tahiry passed a few years back from ovarian cancer. Their foundation, Tahiry's Angels, was dedicated to cancer research and finding it's cure. They'd done well, raking in millions in donations and I attributed that to the weight the Day name carried. Our legacy was one to be rivaled.
As I stepped out of the limo, I reviewed the property as if I hadn't seen it a million times before. I noticed the small changes they'd made since I last visited. They'd redone the walkway and switched out my mother's coveted bush of carnations with simple red roses. I also took notice of how all the outdoor light fixtures looked to have been replaced. It added a much more modern feel to the mansion overall. I momentarily questioned why these changes had been made, but then I figured maybe my mother just felt the need to redecorate. That sort of thing wasn't uncommon for her.
Abandoning my thoughts on the matter, I made my way to the front door and knocked, instantly being greeted by one of the house staff. After greeting some familiar faces, I decided to find my parents and get to the inevitable prodding into my personal life earlier than usual. I was hoping that maybe if I got it over with now, I could leave unscathed while the night was still young. Spotting the two of them standing in a corner and speaking with the Governor—coercing him into a donation no doubt—I made my way over to them. My mother was the first to spot me.
"Tyson, darling. You made it." she spoke, leaning in to press a faint kiss to my cheek. My mother wasn't the affectionate type. As a child she'd barely ever hugged or kissed me and Tahiry, and I could count on one hand how many times I'd actually seen her kiss my father. It didn't bother me, it was just something I'd learned to disregard.
"Yes, I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm sure Tahiry would be proud if she could see what you've created in her namesake." She nodded in response.
"Hi, son. How's business?" spoke my father. I shook his outstretched hand before I replied.
"Flourishing. My recent acquisition is expected to triple our profits. It's been a good year for Lush Enterprises," I boasted. But as only he could, my father found it an opportunity to downplay my achievement.
"Yes, but the year is not over just yet... Let's see how things look after the fourth quarter." he advised. I forced a smile and nodded, watching as he and the Governor further continued whatever discussion they'd been having.
This was nothing new. My father's approval was something I'd spent my entire childhood attempting to obtain. It started with little league where I managed to be quickly recognized as one of the best on the team, and followed me all through high school, where I not only excelled in sports, but in academics as well. I graduated with a 4.7 GPA and honors in Math with my choice of attending 3 different Ivy league schools, all of whom made it crystal clear that having a Day legacy grace their campus would be much appreciated. I chose Columbia University and there is where I developed my love of business. That love eventually morphed into my immense desire to become the most successful CEO of the family business within the last 20 years. I'd also made up my mind once I reached college to stop seeking his approval. I wasn't a child anymore and I didn't need it... but as they say, old habits die hard.
"Cynthia! Darling, how are you? I haven't seen you since the Women's Luncheon back in April." spoke my mother, enthusiastically greeting her first tool of torture for tonight. Cynthia trotted over to us, air kissing my mother and greeting the rest of us gentlemen with a polite smile and a nod. I took a deep breath, inwardly preparing myself for the pointless conversation my mother was sure to inflict on me, and then conveniently disappear from in an effort to give us "alone time".
Don't get me wrong, Cynthia was a decent woman. I'd only met her once before at some other charity event where we shared a brief conversation about stocks and bonds. She was conventionally attractive, vaguely resembling Tika Sumpter, came from a good family, and she had a reputation as one of the most powerful corporate attorneys in the country. She more or less checked all of my boxes, but I knew after that initial meeting I wasn't interested. She just didn't have that special something I liked in my women. She lacked the ability to intrigue me.
"I've been well, Martha. Trying desperately to break into the boys' club at Parker, Deckland & Associates but you know how that goes." she replied, speaking of the firm where she had just made partner. Of course I had only acquired this information via my mother. She often pointed out random facts about the women she saw fit to push me off on, as if my interest in them would grow at hearing about their mundane lives.
"Tyson, isn't Lush represented by Parker, Deckland?" asked my mother, shifting the conversation to me. She'd known the answer before she even asked seeing as she hand-picked them as counsel herself whilst my father was still acting CEO. I fought a smirk and responded.
"Yes... as a matter of fact, we are..." I trailed, staring at the two of them blankly. I had no intention to make this easy. I had enough respect for my mother to endure her meddling, but I also had enough respect for Cynthia not to falsely pursue her. I didn't find deceiving women for my own personal gain the least bit entertaining or necessary.
"Oh okay... well, any advice on dealing with my fellow counselors?" asked Cynthia, oblivious to the fact that my mother had no real intention to help her, but only to pawn off her notoriously single son. Still, I decided to take pity on her.
"I'll give you a tip: Learn to play poker. And not just play it but master it, and then manage to get yourself invited to the Thursday night poker game. It may seem an impossible task but if you can manage to do that, you're in." I advised. Cynthia smiled wide and nodded in agreement.
"That's actually a great idea, Tyson. Thanks for that."
"Anytime." I returned her smile with a polite one of my own before purposefully avoiding further eye contact.
"Well Tyson is the best poker player I know---don't tell his father---and I'm sure he'd be happy to teach you." my mother suddenly suggested. This caused me to quickly look over at her, putting me on the receiving end of a facial expression that read 'I dare you to decline'. Lost for words, I shifted my gaze to Cynthia who appeared more taken aback at the notion than I did.
"Oh no, that's quite alright. I believe my boyfriend is quite the poker player himself. I'm sure he'd make a suitable enough tutor." she responded with smile.
"Boyfriend?" my mother and I both questioned. Although mine was said with a smirk, and my mother's with a tone of disapproval.
"Yes, Justin. Here's around here somewhere." she answered, taking a glance around the room. She met eyes with a slim but tall man who's entire face lit up as she waved him over and he met us to join the conversation. I stuck my hand out for him to shake as Cynthia introduced him.
"Justin, this is Martha Baptiste-Day, best Criminal Law attorney in the country and my personal hero. And this is her son and CEO of Lush Enterprises, Tyson Day. Martha and Tyson, this is my boyfriend Justin Hughes. He's an app developer, and was actually partially responsible for the success of Uber."
"Nice to meet you both. Your reputations precede you." he spoke, shaking my hand with a firm grip.
"Good ones, I hope." my mother responded shortly. Her expression was that of contentment, but I could almost see the steam blowing from her ears at the undeniable fact that Cynthia was no longer on the market for her to thrust me upon. I, however, couldn't be happier. Who was I to be upset that these two had found love? They honestly gave me hope.
I hope that my sarcasm hasn't been missed.
"Absolutely. A little birdy also told me that you were looking into making an investment in app development, Tyson. I think I may have just the app you're looking for." he spoke, activating my business mind. He was indeed correct. I'd been in the market to invest a sum of money into app development as I'd witnessed first hand how it was making average Joes into billionaires practically overnight. I wanted in.
"I can confirm that information is correct. However let's discuss this over drinks. Join me at the bar?" I suggested, realizing this was the perfect opportunity to escape any other attempts at match-making to be made by my mother. She was determined enough to continually interfere with my love life, but she wouldn't dare interfere with my business.
"Absolutely. Lead the way." he responded. I smirked, grateful for his willingness to be my personal scape goat, although unbeknownst to him, and we left the ladies to further discuss his proposal over drinks. That was how I survived the rest of the gala until it was time to return home.
But first, I needed to stop and grab a few things from the grocery. Once we reached my side of town, I had my driver stop and let me out. I grabbed a stray cart and pushed it into the store, perusing the aisles and grabbing the things I needed.
And that's when I saw her.
***
To be continued! lol
In the meantime, tell me what you guys think so far! I'd love to hear your thoughts. This story is REALLY different for me but I honestly love how much more mature it feels. I'm really having to think about how I want to convey things when writing and it makes me happy as a writer and aspiring author to realize my own growth.
So yeah, anywaysss COMMENT, VOTE, BECOME A FAN AND CHECK OUT MY OTHER STORIES!!!
Laters, loves