by Prenisha Aja
Knocking first, I waited outside of Ted and my mother’s bedroom door. After knocking and getting no answer, I walked in.
“Oh my god!” I screamed so loudly that the windows rattled.
Dropping my phone and the bottle of water I had, I ran over to my mother. She was lying on the floor as blood drained from her head. Her poor face was pale, and her body was lifeless.
“Mommy. Mommy. No.” I cried hard as fuck as I dropped down to my knees and pulled her body into my arms.
“Lord no. It’s too soon. I need her. Please don’t take her. Please.” I rocked as I screamed and cried. I needed God himself to come down here and give me my mother back.
She was all I had. There was nobody out here that could love me like her. Care for me like her and be there for me.
My body felt numb and my heart felt like it was no longer beating. The air in the room seemed to have been getting sucked out, and it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Kaizlyn,” Jaxsyn called my name and even though I heard him, I was afraid to open my eyes.
I had completely zoned out and the pain that I felt that day was still harvesting inside of me. I knew the moment I opened my eyes and blinked the tears would come crashing down.
“Baby,” Jaxsyn said, and I looked up into his eyes and his body softened.
He leaned forward and wiped the tears that had escaped. He leaned over and kissed me on the lips.
“I know that shit hurt. I don’t even know the right words to make it better for you because I’ve never experienced no shit like this. I mean, I know how I felt when it came to Keisha so I can only imagine what you feel right now, but my job is to make you feel better and to help you heal from that,” he spoke, and his words only caused more tears to flow.
I was so emotional right now and I just wanted Jaxsyn to hold me and let me cry myself to sleep, but I needed to get home. I hated leaving my grandma home alone, especially after what had happened. Also, we still hadn’t found Samuel and to know that, frightened me.
“Thank you,” I said, giving him a half smile. Jaxsyn then reached over and grabbed my hand and brought it up to his lips.
“For what? It’s my job as your man to protect you and make sure that you’re happy. Ya feel me?” He smirked, and his sexy ass smile caused my heart to warm up.
“I feel you.” I laughed.
“Oh my god, can I get out the car with y’all mushy asses already?” Keisha complained, and we all burst out laughing.
“Girl, hush.” I waved her off.
“Oh, don’t exit. I’m going home,” I told Jaxsyn, and he looked over at me crazily.
“What, you know I need to go home to where my grandma is,” I explained and huffed.
“Man, nah. I still got to finish what we started earlier,” he said as he looked at me with a serious expression, and Keisha sat in the back, making noises as if she was throwing up.
“Jaxsyn, I’m going home. Don’t even try to convince me not to,” I told him.
“Aite, I’m coming with you. Let me drop Keisha off and have my nigga Ace come and watch her and shit, then we can head to your house,” he informed me, and I agreed.
Keisha, on the other hand, was fussing. She felt like she didn’t need a baby sitter and she was good enough to stay at home by herself. But of course, Jaxsyn wasn’t trying to hear none of that. His mind was already made up.
When we pulled up to his house, I sat in the car as he got out.
“Bye Kaizlyn. I don’t know what you did to the brother I knew, but you got this person in front of me pussy wiped,” she joked.
I burst out laughing and shook my head as Jaxsyn came and opened her door.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, and we both continued to laugh.
“Nothing, just help me out of here so I can get in the house, so you two love birds can go.” Keisha laughed as Jaxsyn helped her out of the car and into the house.
While I waited for him to come back, Ace pulled up. Before he went inside, he walked over to me and spoke.
“What’s good?
“Nothing, just coasting.” I smiled.
“Bet, the other two inside?” he asked as he pointed over his shoulders towards the house.
“Yeah,” I answered as Jaxsyn was making his way out of the house.
The two of them talked before Jaxsyn dapped Ace up and then made his way to the car. When he got in, he leaned over, kissed me on the lips and backed out of the driveway.
I didn’t know what the kiss was for, but I loved it. I loved when he randomly showed me love and affection, because that was when I needed it the most.
We were now pulling up to my grandma’s house and I got a sense of peace seeing that Jaxsyn had two of his crew members posted up outside of my grandma’s house just to make sure no funny shit happened again.
To know that he was that thoughtful, made my stomach flutter and my heart to swell. Jaxsyn had seriously grown on me and was showing me more and more what it was like to date someone of his stature.
Before walking up to the front door, I met Jaxsyn in the front of his car and grabbed his hand. I looked up at him and couldn’t help but smile as he stared down at me with low eyes. His smooth, chocolate skin glistened underneath the moonlight and I swear he was the finest nigga that I had ever dated.
“Thank you,” I told him as I rocked from side to side.
“For what?” He scrunched up his face in confusion.
“For having them watch after my grandma. That was really considerate.”
“I already told you what it is. You thought it was a game. That I was just talking?” He stroked his beard as he looked to the left of me and then gave a head nod.
The two men that were standing outside then got in their cars and left, leaving just the two of us standing outside.
“No, it’s not that. Just thank you.” I shook my head and began to walk off, but he quickly snatched me back to him.
“Don’t be walking away from me like that. Is my word not good enough?” He towered over me, causing me to melt underneath his gaze.
“Your word is good enough Jaxsyn. It’s just weird to have people actually in my corner. That’s all,” I explained.
I wish Jaxsyn understood that I felt alone in this world. That if I lost my grandma, that it would be just me. No one else. I damn sure wasn’t claiming the man that shared the same DNA as me. So right now, to see him standing on his word and being there for me was making me fall ten times harder for him. The way he moved, cared, and went to war for the ones he cared about was so sexy.
“Kaizlyn, ma, this shit is not no damn game. I fucks with you tough. I can’t be your nigga and not protect you, care for you and the people you love,” he spoke with so much confidence. His words brought me peace and turned me on at the same damn time.
“Now let’s go in here so I can finish what we started at my house.” He gripped me on the ass which made me giggle and fall into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me the tightest hug as I listened to the beating of his heart.
Jaxsyn and I were now walking hand in hand up to the front door. I used my free hand to unlock the door and he let me enter first as he followed behind me.
The house was just how I had left it. I had cleaned it up before I left to be with Jaxsyn for the day. I had quit my job because there was no way I could work. The only thing I was thinking about was caring for my grandma.
Ever since everything went down, my grandma hadn’t been in the best of spirits. She wasn’t moving around how she used to and that lowkey scared me. I just wanted her to get back to her normal self, but I knew that would take time, especially due to her age.
Walking over to the TV that had illuminated the living room area, I cut the light off before I tip-toed down the hallway, up to her room door. I peeked inside her room so that I could check on her.
In her bed, she laid on her side, sleeping peacefully. The lamp that was on the side of her bed was still on. Which I noticed, ever since S
amuel did what he did, she had been sleeping with the light on. A part of me wished that she would have just listened to me and moved, but she refused. She went on about how this was the house her husband bought her, and she would be a fool to let someone bully her out of her own place.
Which I totally understood, but I always had an unsettling feeling knowing that Samuel knew where we laid our heads, and that he could back at any given moment wanting to finish what he had started.
“Is she ok?” Jaxsyn had crept up behind me and whispered as he rested his hands around my waist.
“Yes,” I whispered as I backed slowly back and headed to my room.
I needed to get in bed and go to sleep because Lord knows, morning came fast.
I had school in the morning, and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t tough balancing all of this; a relationship, watching after my grandma and trying to maintain my grades so I could graduate.
“Ugh,” I exhaled as I ran my hands through my hair and plopped down on the bed.
Tonight had mentally drained me just by looking in the face of my mother’s killer, yet again.
“You ok?” Jaxsyn sat beside me and grabbed my hand.
“Yes, just a lot on my mind,” I told him, which caused him to tilt his head to the side.
“Talk to me Kaizlyn.”
“I don’t know.” I paused as I looked around, trying to get my thoughts and my words together.
“I just feel revengeful. This is all a new feeling for me, but I want to kill or cause harm to everyone who has hurt me or my family in any way,” I confessed as the thought of it all caused me to ball my fist up tightly and bite the inside of my jaw.
“I just need you to sit pretty, finish school, take care of your grandma, and leave the killing to me.” Jaxsyn chuckled as he trailed his fingers alongside of my face
He cupped my chin and brought me in for a kiss. As we shared a deep kiss, he slowly eased my shirt over my head and swiftly undid my bra without even having to look behind me.
As soon as my bra and shirt hit the floor beside me, he laid me back and showed my body so much attention, that I felt like I was floating. Jaxsyn had me forgetting about the anger that I felt for those that had harmed me because he was now showing me so much love and affection. If this was what it felt like to be loved, I never wanted to lose this feeling that I had.
9
Keisha
You know behind the smile and the jokes, I was still battling with what had happened to me. I still wished I knew who hit me. Like, who was so heartless to hit me and to leave me there to die?
I literally felt like I was going crazy because believe it or not, I had been racking my brain every day trying to remember. Anything. I would literally sit in bed sometimes and pin point everything that had happened. From when I left the party to the very moment that I stabbed Sims in the throat only for me to come up with nothing. I hated this shit.
It fucking sucked not knowing and I swear I wished that I could get my memory back when it came to that. Hell, who knows, one day I could be staring the person who hit me right in the face and wouldn’t even know. That type of shit frightened me.
“You good? You need anything?” Ace asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I peered up at him and reluctantly traveled my eyes up his slender frame. When my eyes met his, I gazed into them a little too long. They were a deep brown and he had these long, girly eyelashes.
“Keisha,” he called my name again, and I looked up at him stuck.
I had just eyed my brother’s best friend the fuck down. Yes, he had always been good looking, but I never really thought about crossing that line. I mean, for one, I was so hooked on Whoodie’s ass that I would pass by a million dollars if it was stopping me from chasing behind a nigga that I thought loved me.
Cringing at the thought of Whoodie, I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. Every now and again I had to calm myself down just so I wouldn’t go into a spell like I had when I was at the hospital.
“No, I’m good,” I replied, not wanting to make eye contact with his ass this time. I knew he had peeped me checking him out and my ass was lowkey embarrassed.
Lord knows I should have been in bed resting, but sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. For one, sleep caused me to have these same dreams over and over again, and I hated it. I would wake up drenched in sweat. It was like a never-ending nightmare, reminding me of what I couldn’t remember.
“You sure?” he asked me again as he bust down the cigar and slowly began to walk towards the kitchen.
“I’m sure,” I answered him as I followed him with my eyes.
When he returned to the living room, he had a beer in his hand and the cigar. He placed the beer down on the table and then stood in front of me. He licked the outer part of the cigar and I couldn’t help but to watch him. The thoughts that were going through my mind were ones that I knew I shouldn’t be having.
Somehow my eyes ended up staring right at his dick print that was very much so visible in the grey joggers that he had on.
Fuck, what is you doing? I asked myself when Ace cleared his throat.
“Alright, well let me know. Since I have to be over here babysitting your overgrown ass.” He smirked and I playfully rolled my eyes at him while secretly loving his nice ass smile.
Ace then sat right next to me and the scent of his cologne snaked up my nose and instantly made me close my eyes. It had been a long ass time since I smelled a guy that actually smelled good.
Yeah, my brother was really big on that but Whoodie, the nigga that I wanted to be laid up under, only smelled like weed and laundry detergent. It wasn’t nothing special about his scent at all.
“Let me know when you ready to go to bed so I can help yo’ ass up the stairs!” He looked at me as he opened his beer and placed it to his lips.
After he took a swig of beer, he placed it back down and began digging in his pocket. Ace pulled a black Bic lighter out of his pocket and lit the blunt.
“I’m not sleepy. We can watch movies and smoke,” I told him, and he glanced up at me with wide eyes before he let out a loud chuckle.
“So I can be beefed up with my nigga? Hell nah!” he expressed as he placed the blunt in between his full, slightly pink lips.
“Come on Ace, he will not know. I need to relax my mind. You know I be dealing with a lot,” I told him.
I was using what happened to me as leverage. I knew that he would most likely feel bad and give in.
Sighing, he looked over at me and shook his head. At that moment, he had given in and I was about to get my way. I knew that bringing up the accident would break his ass.
“I hate that shit happened to you. You do know me and your brother are going to handle that?” He hit the blunt real hard then leaned his head back as he held the smoke inside his lungs. Seconds later, he released then passed it to me.
“If your brother finds out, I ain’t in this shit!” He gave me a lazy smile.
“Thank you and he won’t.” I flashed him a smile back. “And Ace, if there’s one thing I’m for sure of, it’s that you and my brother will handle this!” I spoke proudly because it was facts.
They might have gotten caught off guard, but they never backed down or lost. They always came out on top which was why most people respected them. It wasn’t until Whoodie came and wanted to test the waters, not knowing he was bound to drown.
“Oh, and thank you for the bear and stuff!” I said, right before I hit the blunt.
The burning sensation from the smoke filled my lungs and caused me to cough so hard that I began to have tears coming down. My chest felt tight and my vision was a little blurry.
Out the corner of my eye, I could see Ace staring at me. He began patting me on my back as if I was a baby as he filled the room with his laughter. The more he patted me on the back, the harder he laughed, which caused me to laugh too.
“Give me this shit. Should have known yo’ ass wasn’t ready.” He chuckled, snatching
the blunt back and placing it back to his lips.
As he smoked, I tried to get myself back together. I couldn’t even argue with him because it was obvious I wasn’t ready for the type of shit he was smoking on. I thought that because I had smoked with Whoodie before that I could hang but from the looks of it, the shit that Whoodie was smoking had to have been garbage.
Shit. I hummed as I closed my eyes tight. I had only hit the blunt once and I could feel a slight buzz already. I couldn’t even contain the giggles that randomly escaped my lips. I didn’t even know what I was laughing at.
“Aye, you high as fuck that quick?” Ace raised his eyebrow at me as he checked me out.
All I could do was laugh loudly which caused him to shake his head. He had a smirk on his face which caused my ass to smile back at him. I was definitely high. My checks felt numb a little and I felt free. I felt happy as fuck.
“Ace, like have you ever thought about why this world is the way that it is?” I asked him as I leaned my head against his shoulder in a carefree manner.
“All the time but sometimes, shit just be fucked up Kee. You just have to take the good with the bad and get over that shit,” he answered.
“You also have to remember that you have people in your corner that care about you and you don’t have to fight this shit alone. Ok,” he stated, and then I felt his warm lips touch my forehead.
I didn’t know if it was just a friendly kiss on the forehead, but I took it as something much more as I leaned up and locked eyes with him.
Not even waiting to see if he was on the same shit I was on, I leaned in closer and our lips touched. When he didn’t move but instead deepened our kiss, I did the same. It was like his kiss had washed away all of my worries, all of my fears and made me feel good about myself.
“Shit.” Ace pulled away from me, wiped his lips off then grabbed the beer off the table.
“What? Did I do something wrong?” I began to panic because just as fast as I felt good, I was now feeling low. I lowkey felt rejected but I was trying not to show that.