“How you been, though? How your family been doing?” he asked me once I set the gifts to the side, and he and I just sat down on the bed together.
“I been alright. My family is alright, but I’ll admit that things between my mom and I haven’t been the best. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to take living under her roof. I swear I’d rather be in boot camp or some shit. I’m not trying to rush my life, but I can’t wait until I turn eighteen, so I could move out. I’m eve
n considering moving in with my daddy, that’s how bad I hate living with her,” I said and rolled my eyes.
The latest thing that had me pissed with my mom was that this past weekend, there was a big party that some of the girls from my old school had put together, and she wouldn’t let me go. She would allow me to use the house phone, so I could talk to my best friend, Nandi, so that’s how I found out about the party in the first place. My little brother and sister were invited to parties just about every other weekend and there wasn’t one that she didn’t let them attend.
Homecoming at my old school was coming up in a few months, and because that was the school that I’d gone to since I was in the first grade, I felt like she had to let me go. I could take her not allowing me to go to the party, but it’s no telling what the hell I’d do if she said that I couldn’t go to the homecoming.
“You know your ole girl fuckin’ Bully, right? I heard about that shit through word of mouth in the projects, but I didn’t think anything of it. I honestly thought that motha fuckas didn’t have anything to talk about, so they just started making up shit. I saw that shit with my own two eyes, though. You know I like to be outside late night, so I saw when Bully was standing in the parking lot that night. I didn’t know what the fuck the nigga was doing, but that’s when I saw her whip pull up.
“Nigga might as well have fucked your ole girl right there in the middle of the parking lot by the way the two of them were carrying on. Although it was dark, just know that I had the perfect view of her. She went inside his grandma’s apartment with her hair all nice and neat, clothes all neat, and she walked out that bitch limping. Hair in a bun, clothes wrinkled, so we both know what the fuck went down between the two of them,” Raheem said.
I wanted to cover my ears while he talked because no one wanted to hear about their mom getting fucked, but on the other hand, I was interested. I mean, I had my feelings that she was messing around with someone, but I thought that he would be someone who was similar to my dad. Not someone named fuckin’ Bully! Why does that name sound so familiar anyway?
“I heard that name somewhere before,” I said and looked at Raheem.
He ran his hand down his face and shook his head.
“Not to bring old shit up, but that’s the man who had stopped me from hitting you that night you met me outside. That’s Bully. A real hood ass nigga that I’m surprised your ole girl is fuckin’,” he said, and I rolled my eyes.
“Could you please stop saying that? Damn!” I snapped and jumped up from the bed.
“What? It’s the truth, shorty! I know the truth hurts, but damn,” he said.
“What all do you know about him?” I asked, standing over him with my arms crossed.
“I used to look up to that nigga, but since the night he put his hands on me, I don’t too much fuck with him. He’s respected in the streets because of who his parents are. They used to be like the Bonnie & Clyde of the hood and the biggest dope dealers to ever come out of Miami until the two of them got locked up. I’m much younger than that nigga, so anything I say about him is just shit that I heard from around the way. I know he used to push a little dope here and there, rob people and stores, but that’s about it. He legit now, though. Everybody knows that he’s the nigga to see when you want to get your hair cut. They say he supposed to be opening up his own shop pretty soon. Ummm, what else? He has two children, a boy and a girl. That’s pretty much all I know about that man,” Raheem let me know as he went into his pocket and pulled out a small zip lock bag with weed in it.
I was definitely still stuck on this whole my mom and Bully situation because any other time, I would have told his ass not to smoke that around me.
“I just don’t get it. She’s been with dad for so many years, yet she decides that she wants to move on all of a sudden,” I said aloud.
“You already know that I don’t get into people’s business, but your mama got to have a life too, shorty. You the one that was venting to me, telling me how your ole boy be treating your ole girl. You were saying that it was nights when he didn’t even come home, they were sleeping in separate rooms, and a whole bunch of other shit. Fuck was she supposed to do? Sit around and wait for his ass to change?” he asked as he rolled the blunt.
I felt like Raheem wasn’t making the situation any better, so I just dropped the entire subject. Finding out about my mom and her new fling had kind of put a damper on my mood, so for the majority of the day, Raheem and I didn’t do anything but lie in bed together and watch old episodes of Martin. When it was about an hour and a half left until school was set to let out, we left the motel. I made sure to put all the gifts in my backpack that he’d gotten for me, and the car ride home was a quiet one.
“Journey, get up,” I heard Raheem say, followed by him gently shaking my shoulder.
My eyes popped open, and I realized that we were parked across the street from my school and that we had five more minutes until school let out.
“Here, take this again. I’m going to text you tonight. Text a nigga back, alright?” he asked, and I nodded as he handed me the phone. Because I would be in the car with my mom in a few, I quickly turned the phone off, although I knew that Raheem was more than likely the only one with the number, and he wouldn’t text me until tonight, like he’d said.
Before I got out of the car, I leaned across the middle console to kiss him and thank him for the gifts one last time, and then I was out the door. My heart beat fast as hell as I crossed the street, praying to God that I didn’t get caught. As soon as I made it on the grass of the school, the bell rang, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Like I’d been in school all day, I stood in the car pick up area, along with the rest of the students, waiting for my mom to come.
I waited for about ten minutes or so, and then her car finally came into view. Once she was close enough, I walked to the car, put my backpack in the back, and then I got up front with her. She had her blazer lying in the front seat, which she had probably taken off after a long day of work. I quickly laid it on the head rest of my seat and got inside.
“Hey, baby,” she said the moment I sat down and put the seat belt on.
“Hi, Mommy,” I said like I was annoyed.
Looking at her, all I could do was picture her with the guy that we’d seen at the movies who’d she’s gotten into it with, and the same guy that I had watched beat down Raheem for hitting me. God, he wasn’t even her type.
“What are you wearing tonight for your grandmother’s birthday party?” she asked me once we pulled out of the school.
I sucked my teeth, completely forgetting that today was my dad’s mother’s birthday. Every year, she did the same thing. She would have her birthday dinner at these expensive ass restaurants where you couldn’t even pronounce half the shit that was on the damn menu. She needed to sit her old ass down, order some take-out, and call it a damn day.
“Do we have to go to that? You and Daddy aren’t even on good terms, so why do we have to go? I’m cramping anyway,” I said and folded my arms across my chest, probably looking like a spoiled brat.