When Love Turns to Hate Read online

  They parked in front of the house and got out. DMX was blaring out the speakers in the living room. Renee opened the door, walked right to the stereo system, and turned the music down. She could smell weed in the air underneath the air freshener Darnell sprayed. She went upstairs to Darnell’s room. The door was closed and she turned the knob and pushed the door open. Renee’s mouth dropped open. Darnell jumped in surprise.

  “What the fuck!” he screamed. He quickly pulled up his pants. “Why didn’t you knock on my fucking door!” he yelled looking at Renee with bloodshot eyes.

  “Get out!” Renee said to the girl who had Darnell’s dick in her mouth. “Right now, get out!”

  “Why didn’t you knock on my fucking door?” Darnell yelled.

  “I don’t have to knock! This is my goddamn house. Who the fuck do you think you talking to?” she barked. The girl reached for her pocketbook and got up off the bed.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” she said.

  Renee felt embarrassed for the girl. She was not mad at her, only Darnell. He was so much like Petie that it made her stomach turn. Donte stood in the doorway and watched the heated exchange between his mother and his brother. He felt like hitting Darnell.

  “Get out my room!” Darnell ordered his mother.

  “Get out of your room?” Renee repeated incredulously. This boy must be smoking crack, she thought. “Your room is in my house!”

  “This ain’t your house. My dad bought this house!” he yelled back at her.

  “Stop talking to mommy like that, Darnell. What is wrong with you?” Donte asked as if he was talking to a stranger.

  “Mind your fucking business schoolboy. Your name should be Shonte and not Donte. You fucking wuss!” Darnell shouted at his brother.

  “Darnell that’s enough you better watch your mouth or you can find somewhere else to live,” Renee said and walked out the room.

  “Good, ‘cause I wanna go live with my dad anyway!” Darnell shouted and slammed his door in their faces.

  Donte walked down the stairs and went into the kitchen. Renee was leaning against the counter crying. He put his arm around her.

  “It’s alright mom. Don’t cry. Darnell will change. He’s just going through something,” Donte said, trying to comfort his mother.

  The truth was he did not believe that Darnell would ever change.

  Renee turned toward her son and said, “Donte, he’s been going through something for five years. I’m tired of it. I think he should go down south with, Petie.”

  She went to the living room, got the telephone off the coffee table, and called Petie. Enough was enough. Renee couldn’t take it anymore. Darnell was only getting worse.

  “Donte, you season the chicken while I talk to your father,” she said.

  Donte did as he was told and had the chicken in the pan frying by the time she was off the telephone. Darnell came down the stairs and sat on the sofa. He reached for the remote control and turned the big screen television on. He flipped through the channels, stopped at BET’s 106th and Park. Then he turned the volume way up.

  “Darnell turn that television down,” Renee shouted from inside the kitchen.

  Darnell only ignored her.

  “Turn off the damn television…now!” she ordered.

  He kept watching the video. Renee stomped from the kitchen, took the remote off the coffee table, turned the television off, and went back into the kitchen. Darnell turned the TV back on. She stomped out there again and turned it off. Darnell threw the remote against the wall. It cracked into pieces. Renee stared in disbelief at the fallen cracked pieces on the floor.

  “Now nobody can watch the fucking TV!” he yelled, stomping out the house, and slamming the door.

  “That’s it!” Renee declared. “I want him out of here. Your father is going to call back, because he was busy but I want Darnell out of here this week. He’s not doing anything with his life since he got out of school, he hangs out all fucking day doing nothing and I want him out of here!” she yelled.

  Donte looked at his mother and noticed that she was shaking. He got scared because she was sick and she could not afford to lose any T-cells because of stress.

  “Mom, calm down. Let daddy take care of it. You know he will, just please calm down, mom.”

  Renee sat down at the dining room table and put her head in her hands. Donte was right; she had to calm down. If Renee let Darnell stress her out anymore, she would end up in a hospital. Petie would take care of this situation.

  Darnell always did whatever Petie said, and that made Renee feel like she was doing something wrong. She felt she was a damn good mother. Petie told her that all the time. When she called Petie he had said, “Ma, I can’t talk now, but I’ll definitely take care of it when I’m done. Let me call you back.”

  She knew he would. Petie always kept his word.

  CHAPTER THREE

  BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

  Traveling in separate rides, Petie and Chaos pulled up on Josephine’s block. Chaos parked on the side of the house and Petie parked in the back. They met at the front. Chaos had the dogs on thick chain leashes. Petie took the masks off the dogs. He hit them on the nose and hissed at them. Two of the dogs growled deeply, they were ready.

  Petie knocked on the door and put his hand over the peephole. He could hear footsteps coming from inside the house and then Josephine’s voice called out, “Who is it?”

  Petie did not answer. He knocked again, this time harder.

  Boom! Boom!

  “Who the fuck is it…?”

  Chaos kicked the door open and pushed Josephine on the floor. Petie stepped into the house with four angry, mean pitbulls.

  “Don’t bother getting up, bitch. Next time somebody knocks on your fucking door, open it”, Chaos said and kicked Josephine in the mouth.

  She grabbed her quickly bleeding face and whimpered, “Petie, I didn’t know it was y’all at the door or else I’d have opened it the first time you knocked. I swear I would have. I know not to play with y’all”.

  Three people sat in the living room holding crack pipes and lighters in their hands. They remained frozen like statues when the door flew open and Josephine hit the floor. Petie looked around the room.

  “What room is Dave in?” he asked.

  One of the guys sitting on the stained sofa pointed and replied, “Second room on the right hand side.”

  Petie slipped his hand into his favorite pair of brass knuckles and put his hand in his pocket. Chaos pulled Josephine into the living room by her hair and told her, “Get on the fucking couch with the rest of these crackheads.”

  “I don’t know what she did, but I ain’t have nothin’ to do wit’ it,” one of the guys said.

  “Shut the fuck up!” Chaos ordered him. “Don’t none of y’all muthafuckaz say nothin’ to me, ya heard?” Everybody shook their heads like first graders. They saw the menacing look Chaos wore. He was not to be played with. He had a cold heart. He did not care about kids, grandmothers, aunts; anyone could get it. Chaos knew no boundaries.

  Petie walked down the hall and stopped at the second bedroom door. He listened, turned the knob and found Dave asleep in the bed. Petie let the dogs loose, walked to the bed, and slapped Dave. He jumped up. The dogs started barking. Petie saw the surprise on Dave’s face.

  “Where’s my money at dick?”

  “I -I- I- got it, Petie,” Dave said, stuttering and reaching into his pocket.

  He pulled out eighty-five dollars. With trembling hand, he passed it to Petie.

  “I’ll get the rest. I swear I will. My girl gets paid on Friday and I’ll have it then.”

  Petie punched him in the face with the brass knuckles, splitting Dave’s eye. He screamed, clutching his badly bleeding eye. Petie hit him again. His dogs barked and growled louder waiting to jump on Dave.

  “Petie man please, I’ll get your money. I swear I will,” Dave begged, trying to stop the blood leaking but at this point it was futile.

  “I don’t want the money. You took my material, bounced, didn’t answer your cellphone and then you hid out for four fucking days and now you wanna give me cheddar? You already know what it is, Dave. I told you when I put you on in the beginning ‘don’t ever steal from my family.’ When a nigga take off with my shit it’s like they stealing from my son and my girl and I don’t play that,” Petie calmly explained.

  “Petie please man… I’ll get your money. Let me tell you what happened…” Dave cried.

  Petie hit him again. “Stop trying to play me dick. I already know what happened. You smoked up my shit”!

  “No, no I didn’t man. Honest to God I didn’t,” Dave said.

  Petie looked at him as if he was stupid. He knew that Dave was smoking.

  “Why niggas always try to act as if they don’t be hitting the pipe, when they got all the signs? I see your dark hands, sucked in jaw, mouth always moving, clothes dirty, and that makes it evident. Empty out your pockets,” Petie ordered, figuring Dave would have a pipe in it.

  “I gave you all the money,” Dave said.

  “Empty out your fucking pockets, dick!” Petie barked at him.

  Dave sat up slowly in the bed knowing that if he moved to quickly one of the dogs would jump on him. He emptied his pockets and there it was. A crack pipe loaded with residue. Petie took the pipe and threw it against the wall.

  “That’s where my material went?”

  Dave didn’t have a chance to answer. Petie let the dogs loose and they jumped on him, tearing at his flesh. Dave screamed and hollered in tormenting pain as four pit bulls locked their jaws and pulled his flesh apart. Dave fell on the floor trying to get away. The dogs tore at his throat and stomach. Dave screamed, all the while trying to get the dogs off. There was no gettin
g their jaws off his flesh. Blood splattered on the floor as the dogs attacked Dave. Finally, his body shook with convulsions until he stopped moving. Petie called the dogs off Dave’s chewed and torn up body.

  His dogs followed him back into the living room. Their paws left bloody prints down the hall. Josephine was on the sofa crying, holding her head and rocking back and forth. The others sat wide eyed and scared to death. They didn’t know what was going to happen next.

  “Go by the door,” Petie ordered the dogs.

  Obediently, they went and sat down licking blood off each other’s faces.

  “Josephine, come here,” Petie said.

  She got up slowly, and walked over to him on shaky legs.

  “Yes Petie. Please don’t hurt me. I swear I did not know that nigga had taken off with your shit.”

  “You lying before I even ask you the question? Shut up!” he said, looking her up and down.

  Petie was grilling Josephine, contemplating what to do with her. She let Dave hide out in her crib, she should get it too. Josephine had to know that he was ducking them. His thoughts were stirred by the memory of Patrice. She was a crackhead when they first met, but she was not grimey. She only did what she had to do to get by. Petie felt a soft spot for Josephine.

  “Forget I was here. You heard?” he said in a warning tone.

  “I will Petie. I swear I will, I don’t know nothing,” she said, nodding her head quickly and wiping her tears.

  “What’s my name?” Petie asked staring at her like he was seeing through her.

  “I don’t know. I never seen you before in my life,” she responded.

  “Good answer.”

  Petie nodded at Chaos and opened the door to let his blood stained dogs out. They left as smooth as they came. Outside Petie told Chaos to spray the dogs down and get the clean up boys to get rid of Dave’s body. He got in his black Hummer and headed home. He had to take Patrice to the doctor for her sonogram. Petie went to all of her appointments with her the same way he did for Renee. The main thing on his mind was the telephone call from Renee. He had to call back not to speak with her, but to Darnell, his oldest son.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  NEW YORK CITY

  Ladelle closed out the books and went back upstairs. Lydia was waiting for him so they could close up their restaurant and go pick up Ladir, their 5-year-old son.

  Five years ago Petie had given Ladelle fifty-thousand dollars before he fled down south. Ladelle had flipped the money a few times, and opened a restaurant. He named it after his first son, Ladir. He and Lydia had gotten married and were doing well. Their restaurant had a dining area, lounge and bar. The club featured ladies’ night on Tuesdays, couples’ night on Wednesdays, and live jazz for Saturday night enterainment. Lydia felt they should discontinue the Hip-Hop set on Friday nights, because of a younger, rowdy crowd it attracted. She saw trouble coming and would always say, “One of these nights these niggas is gonna act up and tear our club up.” Ladelle would tell her not to worry about that because they had extra on those nights.

  They drove to his mother’s house to pick up Ladir. Ladelle double parked while Lydia went upstairs to get him. Ladelle rubbed his temples and reclined in his seat. Running a restaurant was harder than Ladelle had ever imagined, but it was all worth it. Every time he looked at his son, the long hours at work made it all worthwhile. Ladelle was determined to create a better life for Ladir, one that was easier than he had. Lydia was very business minded. She took care of the books and kept up with the inventory. She was the memory in the team.

  Their relationship had become strained in the past year because of running the restaurant and being parents. They were going to Ladir’s PTA meeting at school and didn’t miss any of his soccer games. There was no private time together, intimate time or even time to make love. Sexually Ladelle had lost interest in Lydia, but he never told her. She had become more of a business partner to him. He didn’t know when or why it happened but it did. She was still attractive, just not appealing. Ladelle did not know why but he remembered when Darnell and Donte were born, and Petie had told him that he really did not want to fuck Renee anymore. Now Ladelle understood what Petie was trying to tell him.

  Lydia and Ladir came out the building, and got in the car. Ladelle buckled his son’s seatbelt, got back into the car and then turned onto 8th Avenue headed to the expressway so they could go home to their posh Central Park West apartment.

  “How was school today?” Ladelle asked.

  “It was good dad. I got an ‘A’ on my spelling test, and my teacher wrote ‘excellent’ on it,” Ladir answered, while looking at his father’s reflection in the rearview mirror.

  “That’s because you are excellent,” Ladelle said.

  “I know dad,” Ladir said smiling.

  Ladelle winked at his pride and joy and drove carefully on the crowded freeway. He was always more cautious when Ladir was in the car. Now he could appreciate the joy that Petie felt when his sons were born. It was an unexplainable feeling of joy, and love deeper than any ocean. Ladelle felt this way every time he looked at Ladir. Nothing would matter to Ladelle without Ladir.

  They pulled up in front of their apartment building. Lydia and Ladir got out. The doorman hurriedly opened the door for them.

  “Good evening,” he greeted.

  “Thank you, Howard,” Lydia smiled, stepping into the carpeted lobby.

  Ladelle parked the car and went into his building. They rode the elevator upstairs to their beautifully furnished apartment. Ladelle checked the mail that the cleaning lady left on the foyer. Lydia went to their bedroom and started undressing. Her cellphone rang. She retrieved it from of her Coach handbag. Lydia recognized the number on the blue screen and she answered immediately.

  “I can’t talk now. I’m at home.”

  “When will I see you?” the caller asked. Lydia looked behind her nervously hoping that Ladelle was not in earshot before continuing. “Tomorrow night after I close up… I gotta go,” she said hanging up abruptly.

  She could hear Ladelle telling Ladir to get ready for bed.

  “Okay dad,” Ladir said and went to his room.

  Lydia turned the water on in the bathroom and let the heat steam up the bathroom. She could not wait to get underneath the water. Ladelle sat at his desk and sorted the mail, opening bills and more bills. The more money you make, the quicker the bills accumulate, he scratched his head thinking. He pulled out all the ones that had to be addressed immediately. He put the others away and went to the bedroom. Lydia was still in the shower singing. He undressed and propped up the pillows before getting in the bed. Thank God for another successful day, Ladelle whispered when his head hit the pillow.

  Lydia came out the shower and sat in front of her vanity mirror. She rubbed White Diamonds lotion on her legs while seductively looking at Ladelle. He reached into the drawer next to the bed and took out a magazine. Lydia stood up in front of him and rubbed the nipples of her 34C’s between her fingers. They were taut and so ready. Ladelle glanced up at her.

  “Honey, put something on before you catch a cold,” he said.

  The disappointment was evident on her face. Ladelle just

  was not interested in making love to her anymore. Lydia got in the bed and rolled on her side. She had tears in her eyes as she watched Ladelle getting out of bed a short while later.

  He left to check on his son who was already in the bed, reading. Ladelle took the book from him and started reading it to him. This is what mattered to him, being there for his son. Before long, he could see Ladir’s eyes getting heavy. He knew that any minute he would be fast asleep. Ladelle read a few more lines and looked over at Ladir, only to find him asleep. He read until the book was finished and quietly crept out of the bed exiting the room. Ladelle closed the door behind him and went into the bedroom. Lydia moved away from him when he got in the bed.

  “Good night, baby,” Ladelle said.

  “Yeah, good night,” she responded curtly.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  NEW YORK

  Venus parked the car and rushed inside of her first floor apartment she rented in the Bronx. The apartment was located in the house Share owned. She was running late again. Venus and Andre had been together for almost two years, and he had turned out to be a nightmare. Andre was perfect in the beginning of their relationship, but when he moved in with her, he showed his true colors. He was very possessive, strict, and he did not have a problem enforcing his rules. He would deliver a punch here and a smack there. Venus had tried to end the relationship several times, but Andre would have none of that.