Family Lies

Treasure

"Why we can't help Auntie cook?!" Jam whined while pinching her face up. "Cuz Ion't wanna be around her. Ion't even wanna be here." She looked up at me with the straightest face I'd ever seen her make. "You don't wanna see me?" I had to tell myself not to roll my eyes. "You know I do Jam."

"You ain't miss me?!" She stood to her feet trying to punch on me and I held her arms length away so she couldn't do no real damage. If I didn't know I'd pissed Jam off something serious I would have been laughing hard and ignorant. "Relax Jam, damn," I told her but she just shook her head hard making her beads hit each other and make that annoying ass sound. "No! You always said I was your baby Tré! And now you don't even care about me no more!"

"That ain't true, Jam. You is my baby. I love you. You know that," I tried to convince her but she just stood there, with her arms crossed refusing to look at me. "You just say that!"

"No, I love you Jam. With all my heart. I been takin' care of you since day one. I yell at Kashmir for you. And I make sure you always got money. Ain't nothing that you need. Why I gotta prove that I love you?" She smacked her teeth before stomping over to the dresser and opening her drawer. She pulled out a balled up pair of blue socks and threw it at me. That muthafucka was heavy too, it almost hurt. I picked it up and unraveled them to find all the money I'd given Jam over the last few months folded up inside it. "What the hell? Why'd you put this here? Who told you to do this?"

"I told you I ain't want your money... I wanted you to stay! Summer showed me how to hide it. You was my best friend. Then you just left. And I ain't have nobody again. I hate you!" She cried so hard and it was like I watched my heartbreak.

"Come here Jam," I whispered, pulling her onto my lap and she started trying to wipe her tears. "I'm sorry."

"No you ain't," she snapped and I almost laughed. "I am though. I'm sorry. I didn't wanna hurt you. I had been lookin' out for you, Summer, and Kash my whole life... since I was six years old. I just wanted to look out for myself for a lil while too. But I never meant to hurt you," I found myself telling her the same things True had been trying to tell me for months now. "Can you forgive me?" I asked and Jam finally looked up at me. "You gone come home?" I sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, Jam. I'll come home if Aunt Donna lets me."

She turned and threw her arms around my neck. "I forgive you. Can we go help Auntie cook now? And you can ask her to stay?"

"You just wanna steal food as it gets done," I laughed and Jam nodded. "Man, come on." Jam held my hand all the way downstairs and to the kitchen like she thought I was gonna run away or something. When we got there she let me go and went to stand beside Aunt Donna who was slaving over the stove, checking on a pot of greens. I just stood at the doorway though. "Auntie, can I help you?" Jam asked.

"Sure baby. I'm almost done, but you can help me make my biscuits. Come on, let's wash those hands," Aunt Donna said before turning to pick up Jam and she slowed down when she noticed me standing in the doorway.

"Hey Tré. Can I do somethin' for you?"

I stood there with my arms crossed, wired with anxiety. I'd put on a real good front. Like I ain't need nothing or nobody. But the truth was I did. I needed everybody I left behind because without them I was stuck feeling busted and broken and putting band-aids over wounds that required time and attention to heal. But they were all the ones who'd hurt me. So it made it so hard to trust them to be who I needed them to be. "Yeah. I was wonderin' if... I could come home?" Aunt Donna wore a soft smile before practically flying over to wrap her arms around me. "Yeah baby. You can come home... you know we gone have to have a long talk right?" I nodded, not speaking, fighting tears with my head in the crook of her neck as I finally breathed.