"Would you look at that, she comes back empty handed"
"I went to the store, then I met up with Indi" I reply defensively
"And a simple text couldn't have sufficed?", She asks whilst feeding Aidan a banana
"My bad"
"I ask for one thing guys"
"I know I know you like to know where we are, I'll text next time" I promise as I head upstairs
"Mhm"
The first place I went was to Neveah's room, she was in her bed with Trinity and they were watching something on dad's laptop.
"Hi"
"Hi"
"How was it?", Veah asks
"It was good, but slight problem"
"What"
"Do I need to leave?", Trinity asks
Shit, now she low-key has me feeling bad
I sigh as I shut the door, "No it's fine"
"What's the problem", Our sister asks
"Xavier asked me about the ring and I told him I'd start wearing it again but I threw it away and I can't tell him cause then he'll be upset"
Trinity frowns, "Xavier?"
"Yeah"
"Why would Xavier get you a-....oh. Is he the one who gave you the hickey?"
Neveah frowns, "She got a hickey?"
"Yeah I saw it earlier"
"Yes it's from him, we got something going on and I'd love to explain but I'll let Neveah do that later-
I'm cut off by the sound of Veah opening her draw and taking out a familiar box, she hands it to me before lying back down and I raise my eyebrows. "What the-...
"I know you told me to throw it away but I just couldn't, its been in my drawer the whole time" She shrugs
I breathe with relief before hugging her, "Thank you for not listening to me" I murmur
"It's what I do best"
I laugh, "Shut up"
Then I pull Trin into the hug because I'm feeling extra nice tonight, "I love you guys"
"Ew"
"I can't believe you have a thing for Xavier"
"Why?"
"I mean it's not really hard to believe but I expected you to end up with a white boy"
"Not sure why everyone thinks that", I reply amused
"Hug me back please", I then say
"Yeah yeah"
â¢XAVIERâ¢
Ree Ree: all good
Me: Ight, Imma call u in about an hour
Ree Ree: I'll be waiting
I shut the front door behind me as I enter the house, King comes running over to me excitedly as always so I give him a snack.
I'm in a good mood today, I'm happy to have my girl back. I didn't think Amariah would change her mind but I'm so fucking happy that she did because I missed her so much and I definitely regret what I did.
There's conversation coming from the living room, I walk in and see that the tvs on. Ma's on the couch with Indiah and pops.
"Hey", Mom smiles
"Hi"
"Where've you been?", Pops asks me
"Out with Kaian"
If anything I don't give a shit if my parents find out about me and Ree, I actually wouldn't mind them knowing. But I just got her back so I'll wait a bit before I even say anything or hint at anything.
"You almost missed the game"
"Oh for real?"
"Yeah I'll turn it on, go get the beers"
Mom tuts, "Darnel"
"Baby he's almost eighteen", He reasons
"Not just yet"
I roll my eyes playfully before going to the kitchen, Malik's in there warming up some food. "You look stupid in that robe" I let him know as I open the fridge
It's Indiah's and she's small compared to him
"I left mine at home"
"You been here a lot", I notice
"Ma wants to keep an eye on me"
"Right"
He takes his plate out of the microwave, "There's a pickup tonight-
"No"
"Relax I wasn't asking you to do it. Treyvon'll ask you to handle the next problem", My brother replies
"I'm not doing that shit no more"
"Didn't you say that last time?"
People don't get that it's not easy to just stop
"Yeah well I'm being for real this time"
"What changed?", He looks at me expectantly
I take pops' beer out the fridge, "I got her back"
"So that's where you went..."
I never had to tell him about what was going on between me and Amariah because hes seen the signs many times before, the way we always used to be so touchy with each other, and also the way she used to flirt with me. There was always a lot of flirting which I very much reciprocated and sometimes started, I always liked her confidence. But the fact that my sister never picked up on the signs before she was told confuses the hell out of me because it was right in front of her face.
"Yes"
"And you're gonna stop all of this for Amariah? Do you want Treyvon to kill you?"
"I'll talk to him"
"Don't be stupid. The second he finds out you're stopping all of this for a girl is the second he threatens you and her-
"Well he ain't gonna find out. And she's not just a girl" I say annoyed
"Look I'm tryna help you, I get that you two got something going on but if you tell Treyvon that you quitting then you're only causing trouble"
"I said I'll handle it"
"You're doing a pick-up?", Indiah interrupts
We both look back as she walks in
"Nah", Malik replies
"Liar. I heard you"
"Mind your business"
"Stop lying to me, I'm not a kid anymore-
"Fine, I am. Happy?" He returns
"Malik don't go", She pleads
"I'll be fine"
"No, you have a whole damn stab wound-
"It's healed"
I roll my eyes
"What if it happens again", She genuinely looks scared
"It won't. I'm strapped-
"The fuck, you bought a gun to the house?" I say annoyed
"Relax-
Our sister's eyes water, "You're gonna end up dead"
"Come on man, she's crying"
He sighs as he pulls her in for a hug, "Dee Dee I'm fine"
"No you're not", She cries
"I'll come right back"
"No you won't. I'm gonna tell mama"
He looks at me and I return the look, "Just don't go. You're scaring her"
"I'm gonna come straight back, I promise" He assures her
"Why the fuck did you bring the gun-
"It's not gonna stay here alright?"
I kiss my teeth
"What's wrong? Dee you ok?" Ma frowns as she walks in
Indiah nods and she narrows her eyes suspiciously, "What'd they do"
"He won't share his food"
That one was believable cause she whines about food all the time like a baby. "Malik just give her a little bit"
"I will"
"Where you going" I ask her
She picks up her keys, "They called me in at the hospital so I'll see you guys tomorrow morning"
"Bye"
Once she leaves and the door shuts, Indiah wipes her face with her sleeve, turning to look at me "You have to stop or I'll tell Amariah"
"Don't be like that. I said I'd handle it-
"You better"
She doesn't even bother spearing Malik another glance, we all know he's going whether we tell him to stay or not. The difference between me and our brother is I'm not interested in selling anymore but he hasn't showed any signs that he wants to stop, he's not even trying to cut himself a deal at all.
"Xavier where's the beer at!", Pops calls out
"I got it!"
~*~
â¢AMARIAHâ¢
"Don't worry you got it"
"No no no I don't got it", Laney panics which causes the girls to drop her
Indi facepalms, "Ya'll I cannot"
"Laney", They all complain
"Sorry", She says guiltily
"Ok, sweetie I'm gonna have Amariah demonstrate it for you first and then you can try again"
"Alright"
"It's uneven", I remind her
"Yeah you're right, can we get a boy over here!" She calls back to the basketballers
"Jones, Kennedy" Their coach says without looking up from his clipboard
Archie and Weston both make their way over
"He coulda picked somebody else"
"Don't be mean" I say amused
She stops Archie from walking any further, "Do you even know how to be a base"
"Damn you're really underestimating me babe"
"We've spoken about that"
"Oh so ya'll are speaking now", I say impressed
Archie grins as he puts his arm around her, "Course we are"
"I'll take him if you won't", Keisha volunteers
"Hilarious. Take it from the top"
I swear I caught West laugh, that's literally the first time I've ever seen him do that. The girls get back into their positions, I notice how my best friend hasn't removed Archie's arm from around her as she talks to the girls.
progress
"Know how to spot?", I ask West
"Of course"
"Wow no sarcastic remark, well done"
"Apparently I'm too rude"
He remembers that?
"Hmm, that you are"
Archie kisses Indiah on the cheek before letting her go, I go back to my position and Laney starts to watch.
"Ok I need you to stand here", She puts Archie where she wants him
"You can keep touching me all day if you want, I don't mind"
"Behave", Indiah says amused
"No promises"
They're so cute
"West you good back there"
"Yup", He replies
"Alright Laney she's gonna show you one of the lifts you'll do alright"
Laney nods as I stand on two of our bases, Tia and Raven. Archie and Keisha were waiting for me to tic toc so that they could also be there for support, I switch positions quickly and raise my arms.
"Girl your hairs in my face", I hear from below me
That was Tia
"Well I can't exactly move it now can I", Raven says annoyed
"Ladies ladies, can we focus" Archie interrupts
"Ravens literally-
"Guys you're making me shake", I scoff
"Tia worry about her hair later", Indiah says
"I can't, it's tickling me"
And of course, the bickering causes them to lose focus and drop me. I fall backwards, but I'm instantly caught by Weston.
"You good?"
Fuck sake I've never been dropped before
"I think so"
He just stays holding me for a second, effortlessly may I add. "Um, you can put me down you know"
"Shit, my bad" He puts me down and I fix my skirt
"It's ok" I walk back over to the front
"You ok?", Indiah asks me
"Yeah I'm good, don't worry"
"Sorry", Raven and Tia say to me with apologetic looks
"Yeah you should be", She scoffs at them
"Indi, I'm fine"
"Fine, fine. Let's just take five"
I sit on the bench, taking a sip of her water. Honestly I don't know how I balance my cheerleading life and my ice skating life, I used to go to competitions for figure skating quite a lot and have actually won quite a few awards. But that was when I was like fourteen and fifteen, now I just attend practise regularly.
"Where's Blair?"
"She went out with CJ remember"
"Oh yeah, she still on outs with D?"
"Most likely"
"When you gon tell them about you and Xavier?", She asks
"Ummm I was thinking tomorrow"
"D is not gonna be impressed", Indiah says amused
Her crush started like seven months ago, she only realised then how beautiful Xavier is. I've known it for a long time now.
"She can have Malik"
She laughs, "No he's too grown for her. And I think she's scared of him anyway"
"Yeah you're probably right"
After practise I drove to my dad's firm, I'm such a great daughter that I'm picking him up today. He just doesn't know it yet. I even bought us chipotle.
My aunt Larisa used to be the secretary but she's a paralegal now so she's on a different floor with her own office too. A woman called Rosa works at the desk now, she's really sweet. I think she's in her late twenties.
"Hey sweetie"
I lean on the desk, "Hi Rosa. How are you"
"Not too bad, you?"
"I'm great"
She smiles, "Nice. Your dads in the conference room but the meeting should be over by now so you can go up"
"Sweet", I then set down a chai latte and she makes an awe face
"For me?"
"Mhm"
"You're the best, thanks"
"You're welcome"
I've been here a few times and I've noticed how she practically always has a coffee, so now I've started bringing her a chai latte from the coffee shop down the street.
Anyway I went straight to the elevator and headed up, just as I exited I saw that the meeting was in fact over. People were piling out of the conference room, "Hi uncle Darnel"
"Hey you ok", He kisses my head and I nod
"Your dads inside"
"Thanks", I knock on the door and he looks up
"Hey", He says surprised
"Hi, I've come to pick you up"
"Is that so?", He says amused
"Yup. And I bought chipotle cause I know you're hungry"
He chuckles and I sit with him at the table
"How was cheer"
"It was going good, but then Laney was too scared to do this lift so I had to show her. During the lift Tia and Raven were arguing over hair which caused them to drop me"
He frowns, "They dropped you?"
"Yeah but it's all good cause one of the spotters caught me", I give him his order and then take mine out
"I'll never understand cheer"
"It's fun, kinda like skating. Would you have taken a career in ice hockey?"
"Mmm I doubt it, for me it was just a hobby"
"What about civil law?"
"I actually could've since I studied both civil and criminal law. But I liked criminal law more"
"All I'm hearing is degree degree degree"
"You gotta work hard Keilyn" He says amused
"Or maybe I should find a rich husband"
He points his fork at me, "Don't do that. I don't want you guys to rely on a man"
"But don't you always tell mom she doesn't have to work?"
"Yeah it's true she doesn't. She's in a position where she can rely on the managers shes put in place to keep an eye on Style Savvy"
"Hmmm"
"Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with a husband that spoils you, but if you two divorce you'll have nothing"
"Fair enough"
He turns his phone to me as it starts to ring, "Speaking of"
I laugh
"Watch, we're gonna get sent to the store" He says before answering
"Hello?"
"Babe, are you still at work?" Mom asks
"Yeah I haven't left yet"
"Can you go to target on the way back? I have a list"
"Yeah send it to me"
"Thanks"
"You're welcome", He then turns to me
"Looks like we're grocery shopping"
"Ugh"