A Ghetto Chicago Love Story: Inspired by a True Story

By Aloe Franklin

James Walker, who goes by the name J-Money, was born on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. He later moved to Chicago’s west suburb, Maywood, Illinois, as a juvenile. Maywood is where he began his string of robberies. He and his gang committed robberies from Maywood to the West Side of Chicago for years. J-Money was arrested for robbery several times as a juvenile and as an adult. After doing time in the penitentiary, he came home a young man. He needed his own money, which led him to getting it the only way he knew how—robbing with his gang. The war also was still on with their rival street.

A few of J-Money’s gang members find themselves locked up also. Though J-Money is street, he, too, is a ladies magnet. J-Money is having more sex than a little, which is why at nineteen, he got Lala pregnant a month after he came home from prison. This was also the same age he met a woman whom he fell in love with at first sight.

Yvette is twenty-seven and married with five children. Yvette is a neighbor-turned-friend of J-Money’s auntie, Leana. Yvette and her husband, Dub, are on the verge of divorce after repeatedly trying to make it work for, at least, their kids’ sake.

J-Money has never been in or believed in love nor has he ever been in a serious relationship.

Yvette’s marriage is on the rocks. She has to make a decision not only for her, but her kids too.

These are people who are a product of their environment, which is the ghetto. Police brutality, gang violence, poverty, struggle, and risk.

J-Money has a flock of girls and is addicted to the street life. Will he leave all the girls alone for his first love or is it just puppy love? Which will he choose, the streets or love?

Yvette is married with children and has just inherited a big lump sum of money. Will she leave her husband and find new love? Or will she settle because she wants her kids to have a normal household with mom and dad?

Read the book, and you’ll find out because I’m not telling you!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796015911

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

J-Money’s Resume

2006 Summer

D IRTY D AND J-Money walked the streets of Maywood better known as Murderwood due to the high unsolved murder rate. J-Money is a 16-year-old, meaning he’s still a juvenile. He’ll be 17 years old come August 5 th , making him an adult. His original skin complexion is light brown skinned. Being in the sun made his skin a shade darker making him caramel skinned. He wore French braids in the rawest designs by the hands of his big sister Alexis. She was only one year older than him. He stood 5'9" weighing 144 pounds. his swagger stayed on point as he wore an all-white with red Girbaud t-shirt and Girbaud blue jean shorts with the red straps. His Girbaud outfit was accompanied by a pair of size 9 all white Nike mid-top Air Force Ones.

Dirty D just made 15 years old, he too was a juvenile. His complexion was Crayola brown. He rocked a low hair cut with a lining. He stood 5'7 and was naturally born masculine. He wore a pair of black jogging pants, a black t-shirt and a pair of All Star Converse. People thought Dirty D was older then what he really was. He was in them streets young, fending for himself. He had natural monkey strength beating up older boys. J-Money’s sister Alexis had been dating Dirty D’s big brother O for a couple years now. Though J-Money didn’t care for O", on the other hand him and Dirty D were thick as thieves. They are blood homies, blood couldn’t make them any closer. Every since Dirty D’s grandmother had pasted earlier this year, J-Money’s house had become his second home.

If it isn’t O’Dawg and Kane from Menace II Society, Detective Diaz stated.

Hey, J-Money… you have a birthday coming up…you’ll be 17, you know what that means…no more juvenile…straight to the big house from now on…you better be ready for Cook County because its way worse than the Audy home, you gone be doing time wit the big boys…that’s where you’re headed. The detective drove along side of them as they approached 5th and Quincy Ave.

Dirty D…you’ve got a couple more years until you turn 17, but I’m waiting on you…if you don’t get juvenile life before you even make it to 17…you think your O’Dawg for real. Detective Diaz said laughing in their faces through the window of his tan Crown Victoria car before speeding away.

I can’t stand his ass! J-Money said angry.

Fuck’em, Dirty D said unmoved by the detective’s threats.

Once they made it to 5th and Quincy, they entered the #1 restaurant in Maywood, Illinois Pumpkins place had the best special honey bar-b-q sauce in the world. They were known for everything, but mainly their honey bar-b-q chicken strips.

By September of 2006 Detective Diaz had kept his word. Dirty D was not yet an adult but was arrested for Attempted Murder on an opposing gang member twice his age named Stay High. Stay High was a gangster disciple who had tried to sell Dirty D big brother O a .38 special but ended up robbing him for his bank roll. So Dirty D sought out revenge for his big brother. Being that O was a basketball shooter not a gun shooter.

Three days after Dirty D was arrested and placed under 72-hour investigation in the Maywood Police Department. J-Money was Now 17 years old And was arrested for a string of strong armed robberies and simple robberies. Detective Diaz placed J-Money, Dirty D and three other males in the lineup for attempted murder.

Man, Bro I can’t believe we in this police station together, they on our ass, J-Money stated.

Man Bro, I’m just ready to get charged and get this shit over wit, Dirty D said unmoved by the situation he was in.

Stand up and hold your number high, look into the mirror in front of you Detective Diaz instructed.

I ain’t shot nobody…why I’m in this line up? One boy asked.

What if he points me out by mistake? another guy asked scared.

Man, they already know who the fuck did dis shit, yall scary asses just extra’s damn! Dirty D said spazzing irritatedly at the two complaining about the work he had put in never caring about the consequences.

Dirty D was charged with Attempted Murder and was sent to 1100 S. Hamilton, the Juvenile Detention Center, on west side of Chicago. J-Money was charged with 1 count simple robbery that carried 3-7 years adult time, plus 1 count simple robbery and 1 count strong armed robbery, juvenile time.

In the Spring of 2007 Dirty D was offered 6 years in the juvenile detention center as a copout, but he madly declined. After 6 months in Cook County Jail on 26th and California J-Money was offered 2 years’ probation being that this was his first adult case. He gladly accepted the probation. The juvenile cases he had would still go to court from the outside. He was no longer a juvenile. J-Money exited the county jail with a brown paper bag full of 6 months of letters and pictures. He looked up at the sky and stared at nothing. This was the longest he had ever been locked up. That 6 months felt like 6 years. He vowed to never come back to jail no time soon.

A yellow cab slowly drove by as he flagged the cab down. The cab driver saw his hand waving in the air J-Money ran and entered the yellow cab smiling just by entering a car.

Where to my friend, the Arabic cabby asked in his heavy accent.

The 2900 block of Jackson…Ridgeland and Jackson, J-Money informed the cabby as he stared out the window.

10-15 minutes later the cabby approached the street slightly parking on the side street Ridgeland.

Hold on, I have to get the money from my grandma…I just got out of the county. J-Money informed him as he exited the cab before the cab driver could even protest.

"-Money watched the yellow cab sit there for 5 minutes still not pulling off. He was peaking out of his grandmother’s kitchen window through the alley. He placed his bag down and ran back out of the crib. As he approached the cab drivers window the cabby raised the window down. He pulled on the yellow cabs door handle opening the driver’s door. He grabbed the cab driver by the shoulders pulling him out of the car forcefully.

AUGH! the cabby screamed out loud HELP!

J-Money then ran his pockets searching for money. AUGH……HELP! the cabby constantly screamed out.

SHUT UP! J-Money said aggressively as he punched the cabby in his mouth.

He retrieved the money from the cabby’s socks & the sun visor above the driver seat along with a cup full of change that sat in the cup holder. He had been doing the robbery thing for a minute now. He knew all the pizza man, Chinese man and cab driver hiding spots.

AUGH! the cabby yelled out in pain as J-Money kicked him violently. Follow me if you want to and I’mma pull this .22 out my pocket and shoot yo ass J-Money threaten as he kicked him before running off.

Once he made it back to his grandma’s crib he looked out of the window through the alley. The cabby laid on the ground for a minute before standing. He looked around then got in his car and drove away. He watched the yellow cab drive to the end of the street, then turned. He smiled knowing that he had just hit a lick and got away scott clean. Soon as he was about to close the curtain he seen a yellow car come through his alley.

Shit! J-Money said.

He then watched the yellow cab drive around the premises multiple times.

What if he saw me run in here? J-Money thought to himself paranoid. Minutes later several blue and white police cars circled the blocks around his grandmothers’ crib. J-Money’s heart beated rapidly as he sat in the living room quiet and impatiently waiting on the police to kick his grandmother back door in.

James what’s wrong wit you? Why you looking like that? Ain’t you glad to be home? Gma questioned.

Nothing Gma, just glad to be home, that’s all J-Money answered.

I have to use the bathroom, excuse me, Gma. J-Money stood, and power walked to the bathroom.

Once inside he closed the bathroom door, pulled the toilet seat down, took out all the bills he obtained from the strong-arm robbery he had just committed.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7….14,23,24,37,55,100,155, J-Money counted low.

After counting his total amount was $455.00 cash with some Arabic money. He had told himself he’d count the change later. He exited the bathroom and retrieved a pair of long Hanes socks and poured all the change inside the socks. He tied the top of both socks in a knot before placing them inside of his brown paper bag.

Woooooo! The police all out here…somebody done did something, they steady circling the alley way, you bet not go out there James, they might arrest you for no reason, Gma warned her grandson.

J-Money took heed even though he already had no intentions of going outside no time soon. He’d waited on his mother or big brother to pick him up and take him to Maywood where he lived.

Uhh…uhh…uhh…uhh LaLa moaned out as J-Money stroked her pussy for the first time since he had met her in 2006 at his cousin’s MJ, EJ and hustle man crib on 6th and Wilcox. Ughm…. Ughm LaLa moaned as J-Money finally got a chance to show her what he’s working with. He sexed her special because she had a pot of gold between her legs. His privates fitted her love hole like a key. The sensation inside was unexplainable. LaLa had the best pussy J-Money had ever had In his life.

Hmmm…. Hmmm LaLa laid there as he did his thing stroke by stroke, in then out, in then out. She had that Good Good. Though her downfall was she was the type to just lay there, she didn’t fuck back, she just laid there receiving.

Fast forward a few weeks later, J-Money and his next-door neighbor/ best friend Quez were riding the El train from Forest Park to the west side of Chicago. They were on their way to go hustle packs on Loral and Westend in between Loral and Fulton On The Westside Of Chicago. The block was rolling on the crack and heroine. They received fourteen $10 rocks and fourteen $10 blows packs. They keep $40 off each pack and turn in $100 and redo it all over again until them $40’s turn into $400 or more.

Check dude out, J-Money said alerting his homie as he seen a white man tying a rubber band around a big bank roll of money.

Yeah I see him, Quez stated as he peeked at the chubby white man. You wanna get him? J-Money asked.

How we gone do that on the El? Quez questioned.

Soon as they about to pull up to our stop we gone rip his muhfuckin’ pocket off, that’s how. J-Money said laughing but serious.

Aight, Quez replied. Next stop was Cicero Ave which was coming up in a few minutes.

Come on, J-Money said. The two teenaged boys walked towards the white man with a straight look in their faces as if they were only walking pass.

The chubby mid-forties white man sat in his seat not knowing what was about to occur. As the El approached Cicero Ave the two boys were at the man’s side.

Hey! The chubby white man hollered out as he tried to resist.

Shut up! J-Money said aggressively as he attacked the man’s pockets snatching them off.

Quez quickly hemmed the dude up to give J-Money an easier snatch and run. The El cart stopped at Cicero Ave and the double doors opened. The two boys flew off the El as fast as they could leaving the man helpless on the floor. They ran up the ramp exiting the El platform entering the streets. Once they were in them city streets they were in the clear as they blended in with the rest of the hoodlums.

They walked laughing at their mission complete as they counted their money. The man had a look-a-like bank roll. It was a cheap wallet with credit cards that probably had 0 credit on them, the cards had money folded around them. The bulge made you perceive it as a large sum of money, when the amount was only $89 total. J-Money gave Quez $44 and kept $45. They walked to L-Town from the El station on Cicero Ave. Quez got at least 3 girls’ numbers along the way. He was 16 the same color as the St. Louis rapper Nelly and he looked just like him. All he was missing was the band aid under his eye. Quez had waves that you only saw on them hair product commercials. Him and J-Money were the same height 5'9" and around the same size.

A month in a half later, J-Money drove his 1999 Buick century on the 290 expressway. His big brother Scarface, his other best friend Juan and his cousin K4 rode along with him. Today was his big cousin K4 birthday. K4 worked on a boat for like 21 days, then was off the rest of the month every month. It was a job he had landed once he completed boot camp. K4 was tall 6'3, skinny and bright skinned. He wore braids to the back like J-Money and was 3 years older then him. Juan was 17 years old, short standing 5'5 weighing 140 pounds. He was light brown skinned rocking a low hair cut with waves in his hair. Scarface was the same age as K4. He stood 6'0, 230 pounds, light brown skinned with a low haircut. He had a scar on his face the shape of the letter Z" on his right cheek bone. It had come from a car crash he was in when he was a kid. J-Money pulled up the ramp exiting the e-way on Harlem Ave. in Forest Park, Illinois. They were headed to the west side of Chicago from the west suburb Maywood. J-Money had forgot to fill his tank up before leaving the suburbs. The gas was way cheaper in the suburbs than in the city. J-Money pulled in the gas station parking at the gas pump. Everybody in the car put up $10 towards the petro.

Once J-Money parked everybody exited the car to do something. K4 and Scarface stepped out the car to smoke a cigarette in the fresh spring time air. Juan went to the cut to take a leak on the side of the gas station. J-Money walked with swagger into the gas station. $40 on pump 6, J-Money told the man behind the register before walking back out. As J-Money exited the gas station he noticed a Dan off the tv show Roseanne looking man at his car talking.

Look brother…. I’m telling you, I ain’t the police…I’m working on that there building, I just need some crack rock, you know? the white construction worker stated.

Man get the fuck on, I told you already K4 said irritated.

J-Money approached the car as his big brother Scarface was pumping the gas laughing. What’s going on?, J-Money asked.

This muhfucka won’t beat it like Michael Jackson, that’s what’s going on, K4 said irritated as Juan laughed.

Look…. I have money brother, I ain’t on no bullshit I’m just trying to get high that’s all, the white construction worker stated as he upped a real live hand full of money.

It sent a trigger off in J-Moneys body, but he blew it off. Though his pockets were on swole, he still needed more money. Especially being today was his big cousin K4 birthday. Nah we cool fam, K4 said. The white man began walking away.

We should’ve robbed his white ass, K4 mentioned.

That was like music to J-Money’s ears.

Ay big bro drive the car around to the alley, I’m finna take his ass down easy, meet me back there, J-Money instructed as he plotted his plan instantly.

Ay…Ay buddy…meet me in yo van, J-Money said referring to his all white cargo van which was parked right off the alley.

J-Money walked to the alley as if he was retrieving his drugs from his pockets off the gas stations camera. Instead he retrieved several crumb size rocks off the alleys ground. He walked up to the white construction van and climbed inside.

Hey brother…. I tried to tell your buddies I’m not 5-0 but they— the white construction worker was cut off.

"Just hurry up…the police hot around here. A black man in a white man’s van don’t look normal around here.

Where the money? J-Money rushed him.

No problem, the white construction without hesitation pulled out a hand full of money.

What you got? the white construction worker asked.

I got dubs, J-Money replied meaning $20 rocks.

The white construction driver began thinking of how many he wanted based off what he was trying to spend.

Let me see how big they are, the white construction worker requested. Man, they big, do you want them or not?, J-Money said becoming irritated.

Well I’m okay if I can’t see what I’m buying, you see my money, I need to see your product, the white construction worker stated as he lifted a hand into the air as he talked.

J-Money pump faked as if he was handing him just the rocks.

Aight man, here, J-Money dropped the rocks in the palm of his hand and snatched the money quickly.

Once J-Money had the money in his hand he reached for the door handle to jump out of the van. The white construction worker reflexes were on point. He grabbed J-Money by the collar of his shirt ripping it J-Money swung on the big man, but it did nothing, the white construction man reached in the back of his van for a tool as J-Money was now falling out of the passenger door. He still had a grip on J-Moneys shirt as it ripped completely. J-Money broke loose right on time as the while the construction man got ahold of an axe and slung it at him as he ran. J-Money hopped in the back seat of his car as his big brother flew away like a bat out of hell.

They drove back towards Maywood instead of continuing their journey out west, because they would have to drive pass the white construction man. As they drove, multiple Forest Park police cars drove pass. J-Money threw his t-shirt out the window since it was ripped completely. He sat in the back seat scratched up and shirtless. They sat in traffic on the streets only a few blocks away from the gas station, multiple police cars flew pass except the last police car which drove pass very slow looking inside all the cars observing everything and everyone inside. They all looked straight ahead as if they didn’t even notice the cop. He continued to drive pass then made a U-turn cutting his lights and sirens on. Scarface pressed the gas taking off only making a few more blocks down before they were boxed in.

Freeze…everybody out with your hands up, one police officer yelled as multiple guns were pointed at them.

The police had all four of them on the ground.

Muhfuckas better take they own weight, K4 said loud enough for the police to hear.

Fuck this bitch ass nigga on? He dry snitching, J-Money thought to himself.

Minutes later another police car pulled up with the construction worker in the back seat. The white construction worker pointed out J-Money as the one who strong arm robbed him on the scene. The police took the four suspects to the police station one block over, one block over meaning the whole time Scarface was driving towards the police station the whole time. None of them knew that though. They were all from the west side of Chicago. They knew nothing about the Chicago’s west suburb Forest Park.

Once they reached the police station they were all placed in separate holding cell.

Muhfuckas better take they own weight, K4 repeated as if nobody heard him the first time.

This pussy ass nigga, he acts like he ready to tell or sumn, J-Money began thinking.

Scarface and K4 first. Then they brought J-Money out for questioning last. They told him the whole story from top to bottom as if they were there themselves. J-Money right then and there knew his big cousin had snitched. He knew without a doubt in his mind that his everyday homie wouldn’t rat him out either. But he figured his Muhfuckas better take their own weight ass big cousin would. He went to boot camp in like 2003-2004 and been working a job ever since.

Look, James you already on felony probation for a simple robbery. You’re getting charged one way or another…. all I’m saying is if you sign this statement against yourself, we’ll let the other three go…we won’t impound the car and we’ll charge you with only a simple robbery instead of a strong-armed robbery which comes with more time. the detective offered.

So, what’s it going to be? there’s no sense in all of you going down, right?

As the words rolled off the detective’s tongue. It made sense but what if it was a trick? You never make deals with the devil or the police. J-Money had just turned 17 years old and did 6 months in Cook County