Black Eyes Don't Cry

By VS Nesby

I have fought through what seems like the depths of hell, just to only scratch the surface. I have felt more pain than the average woman should ever have the misfortune in coming into contact with. I have been devalued, tortured, beaten, raped and left for dead. But all I hear is the media calling me a cold hearted monster. I hear them say that I am unfit to walk with today’s society as if they knew the issue that had lead up to this. The public always listened to the media’s twists of ideas and lies. So much so that the public became brainwashed and began their so-called trial of prejudices. And the public bandwagons are always a strong deciding factor in a murder trial. They don’t know my struggles or pain. They don’t know about the fear that I had to deal with but yet they judge.
I sit here in my prison cell with no fancy carpeting, just cold walls and damp floors. No exquisite dining, just a quickly put together tray. I have no friends...just parents. The inmates aren’t so bad, most of them have in-house bets going with the guards. The wager is on my verdict, whether im guilty or not guilty. Inmates ask me all the time if I could, would I take it all back? I just reply with a dense smile and a warm look but nothing more. I know that I would never take what I did to him back...ever. He deserved everything that I did to him and more.
He had me fooled. He had everyone fooled except for Nikki. Deep in my heart I knew she was right. So many issues I felt uncomfortable with, but yet I continued. I chose not to listen, not to take a stand and I paid the price. I have been quiet, drowning for so long, but now...NOW it’s my turn. It’s time for me to tell the story and for everyone else to listen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796051117

VS Nesby

VS Nesby has dedicated herself to her social economic platform. She has accomplished skills and expanded herself as a stable Entertainment platform executive. She is the founder, inventor and creator of 13eastentertainment and its many branches. "The challenges that I face are few compares to the long road that I must walk. VS Nesby"

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by VS Nesby.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2019911341

ISBN:       Hardcover                     978-1-7960-5113-1

                 Softcover                       978-1-7960-5112-4

                 eBook                             978-1-7960-5111-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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.

Rev. date: 11/18/2019

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

I have fought through what seems like the depths of hell, just to only scratch the surface. I have felt more pain than the average woman should ever have the misfortune in coming into contact with. I have been devalued, tortured, beaten, raped and left for dead. But all I hear is the media calling me a cold hearted monster. I hear them say that I am unfit to walk with today’s society as if they knew the issues that lead up to this. The public always listened to the media’s twists of ideas and lies. So much so, that the public became brainwashed and began their so-called trial of prejudices. Public bandwagons are always a strong deciding factor in a murder trial. They don’t know my struggles or pain. They don’t know about the fear that I had to deal with but yet they judge.

I sit here in my prison cell with no fancy carpeting, just cold walls and damp floors. No exquisite dining, just a quickly put together tray. I have no friends…just parents. The inmates aren’t so bad. We all come from a wide range of life that lead us here. Most of the inmates have in-house bets going with the guards. The wager is whether I’m guilty or not guilty. Inmates ask me all the time if I could, would I take it all back? I just reply with a dense smile and a warm look but nothing more. I know that I would never take what I did to him back…ever. He deserved everything that I did to him and more. He had me fooled. He had everyone fooled except for Nikki. Deep in my heart I knew she was right. So many issues I felt uncomfortable with but yet I continued with my comfortability in being blind. I chose not to listen, not to take a stand and I paid the price. I have been quiet, drowning for so long, but now…NOW it’s my turn. It’s time for me to tell the story and for everyone else to listen.

CHAPTER 1

I WAS 23 AND eager to experience life out on my own. I grew up in a helpful and friendly neighborhood in Springfield, MI., and later attended college at Eastern University. My college choice wasn’t exactly the favorite considering my mom and dad are huge Michigan fans. They huffed and puffed but they still loved me anyway, just not around football season. My name is Hannah Rose Norton, but everyone calls me Rosie. I owe that pleasure to my hair color. My mother always said that I have been blessed with my great-grandmother’s genes. My parents showed me a picture of her once, and beautiful was the only word that I could use to describe her. She was stunning. ½ Italian and ½ Irish. Her face displayed flawlessness and a rarity of beauty that even shown through some of her black and white photographs . She had red wavy hair and tanned skin and sparkling green eyes. My family had always said that I was a spitting image of her and I felt proud to represent her

My path to destruction all started when I decided to take a job offer of what I felt could jump start my career. I was offered the position of assistant to the Vice President of a prestige marketing firm. I would get a personalized phone so the VP can contact me whenever it would be necessary. I would earn a hefty salary of 110,000 dollars a year. The interviewer said that the job was going to be demanding but I didn’t care. It was my first and only job offer, there was no way I was going to say no. The firm offered to pay for the move and fix me up in my very own apartment, but there was one catch. The job was offered in New York City. I lived in Michigan for the majority of my life, so moving out of state is going to be a big transition for me. I remember weighing my options but New York had won about 110,000 times. I was so excited and without hesitating I agreed to everything. The hardest part about the offer was going to be for me to inform my parents of the move. I was their only child. I knew that they were going to be worried but they usually go for the more sensible equations. I figured I had it all planned out. During dinner I was going to bravely explain to them that either I was getting a job and learn to grow up or I was going to have them support me while living at home. I was sure they were going to choose wisely.

During dinner my palms were covered in sweat and I was above and beyond nervous. I tried to pull myself together and just let loose. Mom, Dad, I have a job assisting the Vice President at Jelu. They both looked up at me with surprised faces. That is great honey, Dad blurted out with a grin on his face from ear to ear. What’s the catch, Mom asked with the ‘no bullshit excepted’ look on her face. I should have known. My dad was always the cheerleader, the ‘that’s good for you’ type. While my mom was always the ‘spare me the antics, I’m allergic to bullshit’ type. Dammit! I screamed loudly in my head. The catch is Mom, that it’s in New York City, I said nervously. Mom and Dad’s eyes seem to have gotten bigger. They looked at each other from across the table and… blurted out laughing. I was shocked at their goofy antics. I know I held a confused look on my face as I started talking. Mom, Dad, stop it, I said as my eyes began to water. Why are you laughing at me? This is not a joke! I mumbled while trying not to burst into tears thinking they were going to tell me hell no. I was being serious and they just laughed at me. Mom face was turning red as if I told the funniest joke as a comedian. Mom, Dad stop. Why are you laughing? What’s so funny? I asked them before the first tear could fall from my watery eyes. We already knew about the job offer, Mom said with a cheerful grin. I felt the tears fall from me quickly shifting my view from my plate to my mom. My mouth fell open with surprise. We were hoping that you were going to take it, I heard my Dad say. The company called a few days ago when you were out one afternoon, Mom said smiling as she continued, We had a short conversation and I told her when you would be home and exactly what time she could call you back. I let out a huff and fell back into my chair. I felt overwhelmed with relief and joy but before I started cheering, I had to ask again. So you guys don’t mind, I asked them. I started to think they were taking drugs or had some cranial damage from the way they were passing jokes between each other. I even had a quick thought of aliens from another galaxy had stolen the bodies of my loving and over-protective parents. Hell no we don’t mind, Dad shouted. You are too old to be living at home, he stated with gusto. Hell honey if you stay here your lady parts are gonna shrivel up, mom added. My mouth fell open before my dad intervened. Besides your ma and me needs some alone time, dad finished with a wink. I heard mom giggle at the other end of the table. Without thought my face shriveled up like a prune in disfavor. I was so happy until they began to rag on me and definitely until I heard that! UGH! I ignored the extra gross chatter from them and tried to refocus my excitement on the new job. I jumped up from the table and leaped to hug my parents before running off to my bedroom. My first thoughts were to rummage through my clothes and start packing for the city of dreams. I began to walk tall in my room before saying, Yup, I knew they were going to go for the wiser choice," I said to myself cockily. I grinned the entire time I was packing. I wondered over and over what it was going to be like. What does my future hold for me? So many questions came to mind. So many dreams began to fill my eyes. I guess no matter how much I wondered or what I wonder, I still have a long trip called life awaiting me. I bounced and pranced all night until I fell asleep. Even in my dreams I could still feel a smile on my face.

That morning I awakened with the same grin I fell asleep with. I made sure to start making calls at 9 a.m. to everybody that I knew. Of course I had to call my friends first to tell them the great news. They were just as stunned about my parents reaction as I was. Believe me those conversations took half of the day. Lastly I called up family and told them the good news. Some of them were excited that I had taken the offer, the bonus to the laughter was the reactions to my parents approval. While others in the family were definitely worried. The worry warts immediately started focusing on the crime shows and the killers that lived there. I took heed to their concerns and giggled a bit before calming them down. You guys, there are killers and rapists everywhere. Imagine what they say about Detroit! I will be fine. Even though I gave them reasoning and a sound mind, I still made sure not to seem too bold or naive and made notes to keep up with the news in the main city area. I also made sure to call up my best-friend Symone. I met her in college and we kept in touch over the last year after we graduated. We called Symone, Simi for short due to her overall appearance. She was short in height but she was a head-strong girl who enjoyed her life but refused to do what others were involved in just to seem cool. She definitely marched to the beat of her own drum. Simi didn’t pass judgement or kept her nose in the air, she just enlightened others thinking from time to time and was one hell of a cheerleader. I told her everything and she was so happy for me. She squealed loudly through the phone and spoke at the highest tone in her voice. I laughed as I grinned from ear to ear at her reaction. She always said that I would adventure out of state, I guess she was right. After calling everyone, I made sure to call and quit my little ‘get by’ job. I would have worked all the way until the big move but I wanted to spend as much time with my family and friends as possible. After informing everyone and hearing everyone’s wishes, I had lunch with my parents as they helped me construct a game plan before calling the firm back to make final arrangements.

CHAPTER 2

I T TOOK ABOUT a week and a half for the plans to finalize but it only took a couple of days to pack, rent a trailer and travel to the Big Apple. Man oh man the big change happened so fast and seemed so exhausting. Dad and I picked up the rented trailer and hitched it to his massive manly truck. I didn’t have much of anything considering that I did live with my parents after all. Dad and I alternated driving all the way to the New York. My palms sweated profusely as I gripped the wheel around the huge mountains and narrow street ways leading us into the state. I was sweating bullets when we finally came around to the final thirty miles. The traffic was like none I have ever witnessed. The culture was so different that I couldn’t help but stare as we drove past the things New Yorkers considered normal living. I couldn’t believe after all of the planning and stressing that I was finally here! We followed the directions and the map all the way here and now we are looking for the apartment the company claimed they had held for me. According to the company’s human resources, I am supposed to view the space and I guess move right in. The apartment is supposed to be what they call a hop house. You live in it for maybe 3-6 months and then you move on to something bigger and better. It had taken us a few forever’s but we finally reached the place. The key was located right where the interviewer said it was going to be. The neighborhood seemed like a typical new York lifestyle but the apartment I took for a joke. There was no need to walk around because you can see everything from one spot. Talk about small. I heard of the apartment sizes in the city but it still didn’t buffer the shock I shown on my face. You could tell they tried to make it appear less rag-tag by the new white paint on the walls but nothing could have prepared me for the change in culture right at that moment. We entered the apartment from what appeared to be a kitchen. There was a hot plate, small sink, an old college fridge and space big enough for half of a card table. The bathroom was to the left. The door was open and the visuals displayed a toilet and a slim shower. No sink and no tub. Directly in front of us was a door. I walked up to open it and a small room appeared. I guess that’s the bedroom? said my father. The room was big enough for a futon and maybe a clothes rack…..because there was no closet. The place was very small and quaint. The small square space that we stood in might have been called the living room. Mighty fine livin’, my father choked. I was without words until that last comment. I looked at my father with a blank look and not a word could come out of my mouth before we burst into laughter. We walked back to the truck and proceeded to the gas station for a newspaper. With the money I saved from my ‘get by’ job, the money from Jelu and my parents helping, I should be fine. If we don’t find anything then I still have the hop house as an option but for now I hope I can do better.

After a quick bite and some light shopping, we scouted the paper. My eyes bulged and I choked as I voiced over to my dad the sticker shock of the rental units. Are these purchase prices!? I asked with big eyes. My dad giggled and shook his head. Oh no…my savings needs a savior just to move in, I whispered while still staring at the paper in dismay. My dad let out a huff of laughter before shaking his head again. He voiced out that he is aware of the price tag and gave me an amount to budget around. The amount to me was rather staggering but I listened and began circling what sound reasonable by the ad. I narrowed down my search according to Jelu’s GPS location. The place was only 10-15