The Black Diamond Trilogy

by Brittani Williams

Genres: Anthologies

Synopsis

Diamond and Mica have been best friends since grade school, and have always watched each other’s backs. After Mica moves out of their drug-infested neighborhood, they have a scandalous falling out and lose touch. It isn’t until Diamond hooks up with one of North Philly’s most notorious drug dealers that she’s able to leave the place that she’s always called home.

Under extreme circumstances, Mica and Diamond meet up and are back on the map as the Laverne and Shirley of the ghetto, but unfortunately, both friends have ulterior motives for rekindling their friendship. The two plot to get rid of the dealer and hit the road with his fortune, but one of them has her own sinister plan that could leave the other staring death in the eye.

Jealousy and greed create plenty of drama for Diamond. Even when she thinks she’s on her way to a happily-ever-after ending, she finds herself fighting against foes she never saw coming. Will her “I rule the world” disposition keep her on top, or will Diamond lose the things she cares about the most?

Release date: December 26, 2017

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 400

Sample

I heard the moaning loudly through the halls and had I not been standing here myself I would have never believed it. Two people that I trusted, the two people that I would have taken a bullet for, were right there in my home betraying me. Sorry would never be enough to ease my pain, and at that point there was no turning back. My footsteps couldn’t be heard over their loud lovemaking, and not even the door opening interrupted them. I stood there in the dark hallway watching. Hell, I figured I might as well let them finish before I let my presence be known. At least then it would all be worth it. As Kemp laid flat on his back, his arms tightly gripped Mica’s waist. She grinded into him and let out moans each time the strokes hit her spot. The flickering of the candlelight bounced off of her body, making it radiant. Even the beads of sweat that formed on her back were evident. Though I was furious, I can admit that watching the two of them in action was slightly turning me on. Under different circumstances I would have gladly joined in, but I had to focus on the action at hand. She continued to ride him jockey style and soon he was yelling her name and palming her ass until he had expelled every drop of his love inside of her.

She slowed her pace and after stopping I knew that it was my cue. I raised my gun and aimed in their direction. I released the safety, which quickly gained their attention. Mica jumped off of him and began backing up to the top of the bed, covering her naked body with the sheets. Kemp sat up in shock and spoke immediately, trying to calm me down.

“Baby, it’s not what you think,” he spat, the same bullshit line that every man speaks when they get caught. What the fuck did he think—I was blind? I clearly walked into this room and saw him fucking my best friend and all his stupid ass could say was that it’s not what I think.

“What kind of asshole do you think that I am?” I screamed, trying not to lose my cool. “Did you actually think you could get away with this?”

“I’m so sorry you had to see this. I never wanted you to find out this way!” Mica cried, as tears began pouring out of her eyes. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“You didn’t want to hurt me? That’s bullshit! Fucking my man is definitely not the way to avoid it. I trusted you and this is what I get?” I pointed the gun again.

“Please, Diamond. Don’t do this. This is not the way to handle this,” Kemp continued to try his hand.

“Fuck you! You don’t have the right to tell me what to do and what not to do. I’m running this shit! Do you see this gun—remember this sight cause this is the last thing that you are going to see. I hope the pussy was worth it!” I cocked the gun and began shooting, releasing five shots. The blood spraying all of the room was something that I would never forget, somewhat like a bad dream that seemed too real not to believe. I would take this to the grave.

I never wanted to resort to murder. Hell, I wasn’t a criminal. Well, not a convicted one anyway. I worked hard to get to the point where I was today and I didn’t plan on letting anyone take me down. You never really know the things that lie ahead for you but all of the choices you make ultimately have an effect on the way things turn out. Looking back on the way I grew up, most would say that they wouldn’t have expected anything different from me. I, on the other hand, expected much more.

I was adopted at the age of two and it wasn’t until I was ten that my mother decided to reveal the truth. I knew I didn’t fit the mold of the family from the beginning but I never had any concrete proof. After my mother and father divorced we moved in with my grandmother to a small row house in North Philly. In total, there were about five houses on the block occupied by humans. The rest were boarded up and infested with rodents, most of which the crackheads used as shelter to get high. My mother always said that eventually we would move on to bigger and better things, but eventually never happened.

My grandmom had lived there all of her life and refused to move. Shit, she still had the old sofas with the plastic on them, so you know she wasn’t going anywhere. We weren’t the only ones in the family that had run to Grandmom’s for shelter. There was my aunt Cicely who swore her shit didn’t stink. She was on welfare and worked under the table at the hair salon as a shampoo girl. She was the reason the working class hated paying taxes, since she was more than capable of getting a full-time job but she’d rather collect money from the government to go clubbing every weekend. She barely saw her children since they were stuck in the house with my grandmom most of the time. Her idea of quality time was stopping in and giving them a few new toys. It was bullshit to me; I figured that anyone who wasn’t capable of being a good parent should never have kids.

It was rough in the neighborhood. Resisting temptation was the hardest. With all of the drugs and things around, how could I not get involved? I know that sounds like bull, but try living in the world of sin and see if you’ll come out of it a saint. I didn’t have a lot of friends in the neighborhood because girls weren’t my choice of companionship. I was into boys early, which only got me into trouble.

I met Mica through her brother Johnny. Johnny and I met after we both were caught stealing from the supermarket. There was a room in the back of the store where they would hold you until your parents arrived. I sat there quietly waiting for my mom to come and watched as Johnny cried buckets of tears. He must have been scared of an ass whooping or something because he was definitely a little extra with his reaction.

“Are you okay?” I asked, trying to get him to stop crying, because he was annoying the hell out of me.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” he replied, turning his face in the opposite direction.

“What’s got you so upset? I mean, damn, is the beating going to be that bad?” I asked, still not done probing him for information.

“Why do you care? You don’t even know me,” he replied.

“I know that, but I’m tired of hearing you cry like a little girl, so I’m trying to make small talk to get you to shut up!”

“What?” he replied, turning to look at me.

“You heard me! Stop crying like a little girl!” I yelled.

He jumped up out of his chair and ran over to where I was sitting. Soon, we were rolling around on the floor fighting like two cartoon characters. It was probably comical seeing us trying to hold the other one’s hands down.

He wasn’t really that much stronger than me, but I didn’t really feel like fighting. I simply wanted him to shut up.

“Get your hands off of me,” I yelled, struggling to get my hands loose. “I knew you were a little girl, boys don’t fight girls!”

“They do when girls don’t know how to keep quiet,” he yelled, not releasing his grip on my wrists.

“You know you like it, you like a girl that’s slick with the tongue,” I said, trying to make him lose his concentration.

“What?” He loosed his grip for a second, and that was all that I needed to get the upper hand. I flipped him over and was now sitting on top of him holding his hands down.

“Now, why don’t you just give up? I got you now,” I said, looking him in the eyes as he tried to get loose.

Just then the door opened and his father and sister came in with the security guard from the store.

“What is going on here? Get off of him!” his father yelled.

I quickly got up and moved over to the chair that I had been sitting in before our fight started.

“Nothing, Dad. We were just playing,” he lied.

“Just playing my ass, you know how much trouble you’re in right now?”

“Yes Dad,” he answered after getting up from the floor. “Let’s go, don’t worry, he’ll never steal anything from your store again,” his dad said to the security guard as they headed out of the room.

I felt sorry for him because I could tell that he was afraid of his father. It was a few weeks before I ran into his sister. I was walking to the corner store to buy a loaf of bread for my grandmom when I saw Mica. She looked at me strangely before coming over to talk to me. I thought for sure that she was going to want to fight since she walked in on me and her brother, but I was surprised by what she had to say.

“You’re the girl that was in that security room with my brother, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me. Why?” I asked, preparing for a throwdown.

“Girl, what’s your name? My brother hasn’t stopped talking about you since that day. I think he’s in love,” she said, laughing.

I stood there for a second in shock. In love? After the way I talked to him, he must be crazy, I thought. Then I replied, “My name is Diamond. What did he say about me?”

“He just said that he liked your style and you were sly with your mouth but he could deal with that.”

“That’s crazy, he really said that?” I asked. Now I was blushing because though I thought he was a little punk, he was cute. He wouldn’t be able to protect me but he was good to look at, as long as he wasn’t crying.

“Yeah, he did. My name is Mica and his name is Johnny. We live right over there on Dover Street. Why don’t you come hang out with us sometime? We’re always outside.”

“I might just do that. Thanks, Mica, I’ll be seeing you around soon,” I said before turning to head into the store. Soon Mica and I were best friends and Johnny was my first love. I found out that their father was really abusive and Johnny got it the worst. He was afraid of his father and that was why he cried that day in the supermarket. Johnny was really calm, not like all of the other boys I had dealt with. Most of them already had a sample of sex so they didn’t really care about quality time and conversation. Johnny, on the other hand, did. We would talk on the phone for hours every night about anything you could think of.

During this time Mica and I hung out a lot too. We got really close but grew closer before Johnny got locked up for murder. After years of abuse he was finally fed up and in a rage he shot and killed their father. I was shocked when Mica called and told me the news. I was even more shocked that she blamed part of it on me. She said that it was me that pushed him to do it. I knew I had nothing to do with it. Johnny was fed up; all I did was encourage him. I never wanted him to be afraid of anyone. I hated that he was being abused. Shit, if anything she should have thanked me. It saved her from being beaten too.

A few months later Mica and her mother moved out of the neighborhood to somewhere in Delaware County. It would be years before I would see Mica again, and now that I think of it, it may have been better if I’d never seen her at all. Then I wouldn’t be in my home covered with her blood. Damn, what happened to the good old days?

I hated the long ride up to the Camp Hill Prison, but I had to show my brother love. Besides the fact that we didn’t have much family, most of the family we had didn’t want to see him. I knew my brother too well and had it not been for him falling too deep in love he would have never been in prison in the first place. Though it had been five years since the day he murdered my father it still felt like yesterday.

I was only fifteen the day they hauled him off to prison. At the time I didn’t get a true sense of what was happening, but it didn’t take long for me to figure it out. As time passed I realized that both my father and brother were gone. Johnny wasn’t dead but he was gone from the life that I’d been used to. That gunshot, to me, killed two birds with one stone. Most of my family completely erased him from their life. I loved him too much to treat him the way that they had. Where others couldn’t forgive him, I did. The person I couldn’t forgive was the bitch who pushed him to do it. I mean, I’ve been in love—don’t get me wrong—but if there is a love that can make you kill your own parent, then I don’t want it.

After I arrived and checked in to see my brother I had to sit and wait until they brought him down to the visiting area. I was anxious to get this visit over with because I had a date with a fine-ass hustler that I couldn’t miss. I know that sounds inconsiderate, but shit, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. He might be the key that would finally get me out of the fucked-up neighborhood we called home.

As my brother entered the room, I smiled. I missed my Johnny so much and even the letters weren’t enough to make me feel the closeness that we once had. He had gotten so big in prison and had turned into a man. It saddened me that he had to grow up this way.

“Hey, baby sis!” he said, smiling and looking me up and down as if he hadn’t just seen me last week. I made it my business to get up there every week no matter what else I had to do. In my book, family came first. Everything else was secondary.

“What’s up?” I said, reaching out to give him a quick hug. Hugging wasn’t really allowed but the guards were cool and would allow it for a second. “Did you get the money I sent last week after I left?”

“Yeah, I got it. I told you not to do that. You are supposed to be saving that money for school,” he replied, sitting down on the opposite side of the table.

“Johnny, when are you going to give up? I’m not going to school. I told you that I’m going to be all right without that. Shit, Mom can barely make ends meet so the little bit of money I make working at the mall I give to her. I can’t see you in here without, so I do what I have to do. You know me, always looking out for the family.”

“Yeah, I know, but sometimes you got to look out for yourself.”

“I will soon, trust me; I have something in the works.”

“Like what? I hope it’s not illegal. I don’t want to see you behind bars too. One of us is enough.”

“No, it’s not illegal. You know I’m not into shit like that,” I responded, twisting my lip because I wasn’t hardly trying to do anything that would land me in jail. I wasn’t that damn crazy.

“Just checking but hey, have you seen or heard from Diamond yet? Or checked on her old address? I still haven’t gotten a response from her. I must have sent her hundreds of letters since I been here.”

“Hell no, I haven’t seen her and that’s the way I want to keep it. You know how I feel about her,” I replied, annoyed that he would even say her name to me. Just the mention of her made my skin crawl.

“I wish you would stop blaming her for what I did. I made my own decision, Mica; she didn’t have anything to do with what I did. I don’t have any family that keeps in contact with me but you. I asked you to find out where she was so that I can have some contact with the outside world. That’s all I’ve ever asked you to do for me.”

“You can say what you want, but the bottom line is that you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her and you know that I’m telling the truth.”

“Neither of us knows if that’s true. Who knows what I would have done if I was pushed hard enough?”

“Look, Johnny, I came a long way and I damn sure don’t want to waste our visiting time talking about her.”

“Well, I’ll drop it for now but you’re still going to have to find a way to let the past go and move on. You can’t be bitter all your life. Shit, I’m the one in jail.”

I wasn’t bitter but I didn’t want to keep the debate going. I could care less about Diamond and if I saw her on the street it would probably be as if I never knew her. I know you are supposed to forgive, but I couldn’t find it in me. How could I forgive the person that ruined my family? It was definitely easier said than done and yes, he was the one in jail but for years I felt like I was there with him. Things weren’t all peachy on the outside either. My mother struggled with depression and had been on medication for it since my father died. Some people thought that Johnny did all of us a favor, but neither she nor I saw it that way. Yes, he was abusive and yes he was an undercover drug addict, but he kept us afloat. Now, if it weren’t for my little part-time job we probably wouldn’t even have food to eat. I hated that he was gone. I didn’t miss getting my ass whooped but I missed being a kid. I had to grow up quickly in order to make it. I had to learn how to take care of myself when my mother was too depressed to get out of bed. She hadn’t been there to talk about sex or anything for that matter. She was like a shell with no life, and nothing I did was bringing her back.

I finished chatting with my brother for the remainder of his visiting time and headed back out to the bus that drove back to Philly. Since moving from North Philly we lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Germantown. I mean, if there was a hood in Philly worse than North Philly it was Germantown. The craziest part about the chicks up there was that you couldn’t tell them they weren’t hot shit even when their doors on their houses were practically hanging off the hinge. I got into more fights the two years I went to Germantown High than I had in my whole life. I had never been afraid to speak my mind so whenever they had something to say I came back with the truth. Obviously, the truth hurt and they would wait for me after school each time. I always came out prepared for a fight since most days I got into some sort of altercation during school hours.

I hated the school just as much as I hated my life, and there had been plenty of times when I thought about swallowing a bottle of pills to end it all. But then I thought about my mother and how devastating that would have been to her, especially since my brother was locked up. I realized that keeping her as sane as I could was more important and that thinking of taking my own life was just me being selfish.

On the ride home all I could think about was the date that I was about to go on. I felt that I was finally going to get a slice of the pie. Living the fabulous life was something that I dreamed of. The difference with me was that I wanted the man with money but the money wasn’t the most important. I wanted a man to be happy, which was something that I hadn’t had in a long time.

Soon, we were pulling up in the bus station and I was smiling from ear to ear. I couldn’t wait to get home to get dressed and head out for my date. It took me another hour on buses to get home and once I made it I hurried to my room to rummage through my clothes. I hadn’t bought anything new in a while, so I had to mix and match to try and make the perfect outfit. Finally, I settled on a black pencil skirt that was fitted and reached my knee with a black-and-white shirt that showed just the right amount of cleavage. You know, enough to make his mouth water but not too much that he’d think I was a slut. My mother must have heard all of the commotion going on in my room. You would have thought I had company the way I was dancing around and giggling like a kid.

“What the hell is all the noise in here about?” she asked, opening my door and looking in to see that I was alone.

“I’m just happy, Mom. That’s all.”

“Happy? What the hell are you so happy about?”

“I have a date tonight and this guy might make a difference in both of our lives.”

“Don’t you go letting some nigga sell you a dream. Most times they are lying anyway.”

“Mom, stop being so negative all the time. Can’t you at least be happy for me?”

Without saying a word she turned and walked away. I knew that she didn’t want me to get hurt. Hell, that definitely wasn’t my intention, but shit happens and if it wasn’t meant to be I’m sure that I would find out soon enough. Tonight, I wasn’t going to focus on her negative energy but on seeing the man that I knew in my heart was going to make all of my dreams come true. I know that sounds corny but it was true. Tyson was supposed to pick me up at nine and I made sure that I was ready. I had borrowed some of my mom’s Miracle perfume and put on just enough accessories to accentuate the outfit that I had put together. On my way out my mom told me to be careful, but she still didn’t crack a smile. Damn, I hated depression!

Nine-oh-five, Tyson was beeping the horn and I couldn’t have gotten out to his car fast enough. I’d had so many disappointments so I prayed that today wouldn’t be one of those times. Tyson sat in the driver’s seat, speaking on the phone and unlocked the doors once I got close. I thought he could have at least opened the door for me, but maybe being a gentleman wasn’t in his character. That didn’t mean he was a bad guy, though, because all of the other nuts I dated opened the door but once they got some, all of that shit was gone. At least he wasn’t trying to impress me by being extra, and that was definitely a plus in my book. Who the hell opens the door for you nowadays anyway?

He turned briefly and looked at my ass as I sat down—a typical guy, but I loved it. He continued his conversation as I buckled my seat belt and he drove off. I didn’t even know where the hell he was taking me, but at that point it didn’t even matter. I was just happy to be around him.

“I don’t give a fuck what he said, I know he better have that man money right!” he yelled, frowning. “Well, where is he?” He continued his ranting as I sat quietly, trying not to look in his direction though I was trying to hear what the person was saying on the opposite end. “Well hit me up, I got some shit to take care of right now. Make sure you get all the money! One!” He hung up and immediately turned his attention to me. “What’s up, sexy? Sorry about that; niggas always call me at the worst time with dumb shit.”

“I know the feeling,” I lied. I didn’t know anything about what he was talking about, but I thought it would sound cute if I said I did.

“I see you got all dressed up, I’m feeling the outfit,” he said, smiling, showing his softer side. You wouldn’t have known he had one by the conversation he just had on the phone, but I guess business was business.

“Yeah, I tried to look sexy for you tonight.”

“Well, you did a damn good job, sweetie.”

“So where are we going?”

“Over to my spot. I had a caterer hook up a crazy spread. I got some Moët and all that shit over there too.”

I smiled but inside I was a little uneasy. Over to his spot? I could see where this was going to lead. I wasn’t trying to have sex with him tonight; I wanted to get to know him. Most times when you have sex with someone so fast you never learn anything about them because the relationship stays sexual. Well, I guess I had to hope for the best because I wasn’t going to turn back now.

“Cool,” I said, after a few seconds of thinking.

He bobbed his head to the sounds of his Jay-Z CD. I loved his swagger. I felt like he could protect me, and that was also something that I yearned for. He had on a baseball cap tilted to the side with jeans and black button-up shirt. His diamond Cartier watch continued to sparkle even in the night. His chain had diamonds bigger that any I had ever seen and his earring was just as big as those in his chain. The jewelry that he donned probably cost more that my entire wardrobe. His mustache and beard were jet-black and shaped up perfectly, not a hair out of place. His skin was golden brown like a glazed doughnut and his cologne filled the air with an irresistible scent. He kept peeking over at me from time to time during the drive. He even reached over and grabbed my hand when he wasn’t on the phone cussing someone out about money. Witnessing that showed me that money didn’t erase all of your problems. It only brought new ones.

Tyson was a drug dealer who did pretty well. I didn’t know who he worked for, but whoever he was Tyson made sure he stayed loyal and everyone that worked under him did as well. I didn’t know firsthand how hard that must be, feeling the weight of all of your men. Since, if one of them messed up Tyson would be the one to pay for their mistakes.

I met Tyson while hanging out in the area where he did most of his business. One of his workers was actually going to rob me, but Tyson stopped them and told me how dangerous it was to hang in that part of town. I didn’t really take heed to that. Shit, I figured that since Tyson stopped them once they wouldn’t try me again. I was wrong, and it took me almost getting raped before I did. Tyson stepped in again and drove me home. We talked that night and he took my number before I got out of the car. It took him a few days to call but once he did we set up the date that we were on now. I guess I was in the right place at the right time because I probably would have never met him otherwise.

Once we pulled up in front of his house my stomach started doing flips. I was nervous about going in because I wanted to keep him around. I didn’t want to go in and have sex with him and he’d forget me by tomorrow. I mean, I had been told I was good in bed, but a man like him probably had women coming from left and right. There were probably some much more experienced than me who could get his attention at any given moment.

We got out and entered his house, which was so clean it looked like no one even lived there. I knew he must have had a maid or never stayed there because it was too perfect. Out of nowhere a huge black pit bull ran into the living room and jumped into his arms. I stood still, stiff as a board. I was so afraid of dogs, especially pit bulls, and it didn’t matter how many times someone told me their dog didn’t bite. Hell, they had teeth, which to me meant that they could bite whenever they wanted to.

“What, you scared? He ain’t gonna hurt you,” he laughed, noticing how petrified I was of the huge dog that weighed probably just as much as me.

“Yes, I’m afraid of dogs.”

“Cool, I’ll put him out back.”

“Thanks,” I said, still not budging and watching his every move.

I relaxed once I heard the back door open and close. He reappeared, still laughing. He walked into the dining room and gestured for me to follow behind him. I took a seat at the table that had plates laid out as if it were a restaurant. There was a bucket for champagne sitting in the center. He grabbed it off the table and returned it with ice and a bottle of Moët inside. He took the plates off of the table and brought them back a few minutes later filled with soul food—chicken, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens. I laughed at how I thought it would be something different. He had everything set up so classy I would have thought he would have a spread of food that I didn’t even eat. I was cool with the food, though, and his money wouldn’t go to waste.

We ate the food and drank so much Moët that I could barely stand. I was laughing at everything he said even when it wasn’t funny. I was so relaxed. I had kicked off my shoes and got comfortable on the sofa as he put in a movie, South Central, a classic hood movie that I hadn’t seen in a while. We sat and watched the movie as he massaged my feet. Soon, we were both asleep on the sofa. It was about one-thirty AM when he woke me up to take me up to the bedroom. I stumbled most of the way but made it and plopped down on his bed like a load of bricks. He helped me get undressed and put one of his T-shirts on me. I thought for sure he would make a move. Surprisingly, he didn’t; he crawled into bed with me and fell asleep.

As women, why do we settle for less? I had asked myself this question a million times and could never seem to come up with an acceptable answer. I had been through a lot in the five years after losing Johnny, my first love. After the day he went to jail I had never been able to find a man to treat me the way that he did. I know that we were just teenagers at the time, but shit, love is love no matter how you slice it.

Now, there I was, twenty-one, drop-dead gorgeous with a college degree but still I settled for a man who didn’t even care enough about me to protect himself when he went out and cheated. As I sat in the waiting area of CVS Pharmacy, waiting on my prescription, I was about to explode. I was so angry that I could barely contain myself. I had just left my GYN for my recent test results and found out that I had chlamydia. I knew that I was faithful to Davey, my boyfriend of four years, so there was no other way that I could have contracted the disease. I had never been so embarrassed and once I left I planned on going straight to his house to give him a piece of my mind.

After I left the pharmacy I was on my way to his apartment. I called his cell phone a few times and when I didn’t get an answer my instincts told me that he was up to no good. I couldn’t hear anything else but the words that the doctor spoke before I left the office. It was like a broken record playing over and over again. Once I got to the door of Davey’s apartment I began knocking. I waited a few minutes before knocking again. I knew he was home because his car was parked outside. I continued to knock and yell his name.

“I know you’re in there. Open this fucking door!” I continued to scream, waiting for him to acknowledge the fact that I was standing outside acting like a damn fool. Soon I heard him unlocking the door and I already had my fists balled up, ready to swing.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Diamond?” he asked, still trying to fix his clothing.

I pushed him out of the way and entered the apartment. I didn’t make it very far b