The Complex: A Project Story

By Alphia W. Stevenson

This book is an inside look at the real deal of project housing. For those who pass by and wonder, who lives there? What kind a people are they? Why do they stay, and what happened to them? this book will answer the questions that are burning on your tongue. The book paints a positive picture on negative circumstances. With each turn of the page the characters become more real as the residents face life changing events. Violence, love, hope, courage and compassion all live here. The main character Candace decides her future, Felicia and Shantell may finally have a future and What does Michelles future look like? Between the laughter and the outrage, you will find the answers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781524698386

Alphia W. Stevenson

Alphia Stevenson is an overcomer to say the least, and through the grace of God, she has found her niche and her own identity. Born in West Palm Beach, Florida she earned her undergraduate degree in social work with honors from Florida Atlantic University. She earned her Master of Science degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University. Now as a grandmother of six and a mother of three, she is breaking out and moving full speed ahead. Alphia is the middle child of three, and yes, she has the Middle Child Syndrome. She has loved books since she first learned how to read and becoming a published author is a dream come true.

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© 2017 Alphia W. Stevenson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/10/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9837-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-9838-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018906708

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Damage Control

Chapter 2 The Outing

Chapter 3 Back at the Brooks

Chapter 4 Hard Core

Chapter 5 Hollywood to the Rescue

Chapter 6 Confrontations

Chapter 7 Bad News

Chapter 8 Decisions

Chapter 9 Something Different

Chapter 10 It Is What It Is

Chapter 11 Making Plans

Chapter 12 Do the Right Thing

Chapter 13 It Could Have Been Worse

CHAPTER 1

Damage Control

Where do you think they’re going? Tia asked Candace, watching the speeding ambulance approach them and overtake them from behind. They were just up the street from the Brooks heading back to work. It was Friday and they just got paid.

Betcha they going to the Brooks. What you say? Candace replied, asking a question of her own with a sigh and a frown.

An overwhelming fear came across Candace as she eyed the ambulance turning into the apartment complex. If it is not one thing, it’s another in this dysfunctional place, Bay County’s infamous Brookside Bay Apartments.

As they approached the Complex they saw the crowd gathered in the front. Tia covered her face with her hands and shook it in disbelief. Candace was having a hard time believing what she was seeing as well. There was a man lying on the ground in a charred heap. He had been electrocuted.

Who is that, and what happened to him? she screamed, rushing out of the car. It really was a whisper since it wasn’t very loud. She lost her breath because even though she asked the question, she knew the answer. It was Carlos, he was recognizable because of his frame and the belt she had given him for Christmas. He was a coworker.

Ms. White, he was trying to keep from falling, flinging his arms, and he touched the live wire. I couldn’t help him without hurting myself, Lewis said to Candace in his island accent, looking pitiful. He doubled over, holding his stomach.

Candace walked to the rental office in a daze. This just couldn’t be happening, but she knew it was. Things like this happen every day, if it’s not one thing, it’s another thing. You can be one hundred percent sure it’s going to be something.

Around the Brooks the abnormal is normal from drug deals gone bad, gambling, babies having babies, crack heads trying to sell you your own stuff, welfare, food stamps being used for everything but food, high-speed chases, killings, child neglect, cable theft, and almost anything else you can name. Candace was at a loss as to why still lived there.

Well I work here and maybe because I get a discount on rent. I am still in school which is only about five minutes away. Growing up here may also have something to do with it. She reasoned within herself

Her boss, Ms. Mona looked like she was about to have a stroke. She was standing in the corner behind the door. If Candace did not know any better, she would say she was hiding.

Sit down, honey, or ya gonna fall down, Ms. Mona, Candace said with concern in her voice. "I know it’s terrible what happened, but you can’t come undone, not right now. You must deal with this situation, I can handle the Brooks. You have to say something to the authorities."

I can’t do this anymore, Candace.

Yes, you can. You’ve done it before.

After this, I quit, she said and walked out the door with a determined look on her face.

Quit? Candace thought. What in the hell is she talking about? Then she thought again. People can only take so much. There is a limit to how much your senses can stand. If she wants to quit, then let her quit. I hope this doesn’t mean I have to do her job. I’m already a basket case.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fee Fee, you betta go get my cigarettes, and I best not miss the time you gone, Loretta hollered at her daughter out the kitchen window, never mind the fact that Felicia was right in front of it. Loretta just liked to make a lot of noise.

The little girl stuck her hand to the screen and took the money her mother gave her through the hole in it. She immediately dropped her head and started walking toward the neighborhood store. Walking with her head down so that she wouldn’t have to view her surroundings helped her deal with this jungle. Sometimes people know from childhood that they don’t fit in, and Felicia knew for certain she did not fit in. On her way to the store, she thought of her little sister from her mother’s current live-in and her big sister who also had a different father. He left when Felicia was three years old. Her sister was twelve and she left with him. Felicia could not decide who had it better, the one who was treated like she was a precious jewel or the one who got away. One thing she did know for sure was that it wasn’t her.

By the time she reached the store, which was about one block from the Brooks, she had been gone for two and a half minutes, which seems like a long time when you’re young and in a hurry. She thought about Loretta and the harsh words she would have for her if she took too long, so she ran all the way back. As she approached the screen, Loretta was waiting for her. Surprisingly, she was not angry, Felicia handed her the cigarettes.

Come in. I gotta talk to you, me and Cepheus, Loretta said kinda like she was plotting something. We going outta town so Cepheus’ family can see the baby, but we don’t have enough room for you in the car because his friend Tony is going. She said this like she was about to give me a real punch line.

Then Cepheus said to Felicia, Tony’s ole lady said she would watch you while we are gone, Fee. So why don’t you go get some clothes together, because we need to hurry up. I want to be there before it gets dark.

Even though she was only eight years old, she knew she was being given the shaft. They were rejecting her. To her, she was not good enough. It would be a long time before Felicia understood what was really going on. And it would be an even longer time before she could do anything about it. An eight-year-old female growing up in the ghetto with no father and a mother who is not equipped to raise her properly does not spell success.

Loretta helped her get her things together for the two-day stay with Tony’s girlfriend, Shantell, all the while totally oblivious to her daughter’s hurt feelings and growing bitterness. She was only concerned with pleasing Cepheus right now. I guess if your aspirations are only to have something to smoke, drink, and eat and a man in your bed, then you would be on cloud nine too. Loretta hurriedly packed the last of the things Felicia would take, gave her a five-dollar bill, and told her to spend it wisely. Then she was instructed to sit down on the couch and wait. That’s what she did. She learned a long time ago to do what she was told because the extension cord was no picnic. Getting cussed out was just as bad, but at least there were no whip marks that could be seen.

Felicia sat on the couch for about ten minutes. Then the commotion outside started. What’s happening now? her eight-year-old mind wondered. The apartment complex consisted of 282 units broken down into fifteen buildings—some with sixteen and some with fourteen units with upstairs and downstairs. Felicia was in the N building on the west side of the complex in a downstairs unit facing the east side. She was able to see the whole scenario because it took place in the parking lot about twenty feet from the couch she was sitting on. First, she heard the sound, and then she saw Mr. Tony with about four police cars behind him. He was running through the parking lot, screaming for somebody to call his mama and for somebody to get them off him. Loretta and Cepheus must have heard at the same time because they came rushing to the front of the apartment from different locations.

What’s going down, Fee? Cepheus asked her, not giving her a chance to answer before he hit the door, Loretta following close behind with Fallon on her hip.

So much for getting there before dark, Cepheus said with a kind of thoughtfulness like he was trying to figure out the best thing to do.

Should he become a participant in the current events or not? If so, that would certainly mean jail and no trip, no job, no nothing. But Tony was his best buddy. He had to do something, even if it meant delaying the trip. There would certainly be no jail for Cepheus not today, anyway.

Hey, what’s the problem, officers? Why are you roughing this man up? Is it that bad? Cepheus asked them, looking very much like he wanted to help.

C-man, call my peeps. I messed up, Tony said. I got caught driving again, and you know I don’t have my permits.

Tell him about the crack you bought, the arresting officer said while cuffing Tony.

Man, I told you to just leave that stuff alone and I’d help you, Cepheus said, sounding wounded and disgusted at the same time.

I was buying it for somebody else, man. You gotta believe me. It’s only a couple of lays; you know if I was smoking, I gotta have more than that.

Now he sounded like he was about to start babbling. Then Shantell came on the scene, not looking like she cared one bit that her man was in handcuffs and being put in the back of a police cruiser.

I told the idiot not to do it, but you know he don’t listen to me, trying to help his base-head brother get his smoke on because he is too bugged to go get it himself, Shantell said, at the same time nodding to Loretta to let her inside her apartment.

She went in and closed the door. As soon as she did, she noticed Felicia sitting on the couch.

Hello, little girl. Let me tell you something: don’t get involved with these no-good men when you grow up. Get yourself a white man.

Felicia just looked at her and wondered if being miserable was just the way it was supposed to be. Well, maybe not. After all, the people on TV looked happy.

Are you ready to go? I am gonna need somebody to keep me company anyway. Shantell thought to herself that it was a good idea to agree to keep Fee Fee for a few days. She liked the girl. Shantell she didn’t have any daughters, but she did have a set of twin boys who lived with their father part of the time. Shantell seemed to have just a little bit more sense than a lot of the residents in the Brooks.

Yes, ma’am, I’m ready. Do you have any books at your house? she asked, getting a little excited. As long as Mr. Tony was not around, Ms. Shantell was nice and funny too.

Yeah, I got something for you to read. Let’s go, she said, suddenly more irritated than she’d been when she came in.

Felicia picked her bag up off the floor where it rested by her feet and joined Shantell at the window. The police were still there telling Cepheus he could come down and bail his friend out of jail. Loretta was standing by him, holding the baby. For some reason, this seemed to irritate Shantell more than Tony going to jail. She stared at them for another thirty seconds and then remembered where she was and caught herself.

They need to let him stay in there. He needs it. Maybe he’ll slow his road when he gets out, she said to no one in particular. Fee, let’s hit it. I’m tired of all this mess. You wanna go to the gym with me later? I need to work this off, I am mad as hell.

She knew she would be denying collect phone calls from the county jail until they turned them off. Shantell hated walking through a crowd of people, especially this crowd of people. She figured they’d be asking her all kinds of questions and that by nightfall there would be 89 different stories about what had happened. She and Fee walked out the door and headed for the back of the complex.

Wait. I want to say bye to my momma and Cepheus.

She walked over by them, and her mother turned around with a scowl on her face. Felicia recoiled like somebody had hit her. Shantell had given her a little hope, so she dared to approach her mother. But she was sorry soon enough.

I just wanted to say bye, she said, feeling very much disliked.

See ya, girl and don’t give Shantell a hard time, Loretta spat out.

She won’t. She’s a good girl. Shantell said in her defense.

Loretta, maybe we can take her with us now since Tony won’t be going, Cepheus said.

Naw, I could use a break from her. Besides, it’s not her family, Loretta