A Teenage Love: A Coming of Age Story

Chapter 19 - Childish

Ryan. I tried to apologize to Meagan every time I saw her. She usually ignored me to the point where I felt like I was talking to myself.

"Get your shit out of the greenhouse," she said suddenly.

And she didn't have to say another word. I moved fast and without question. That was the end of our operation, but I'd made something out of nothing before and I could do it again. I stood outside Terrell's house knocking for twenty minutes before he came to the door. "The hell you in there doing? Jacking off? I been out here for..."

He tried to put a cork on his emotion by gulping it down, but his face curled into a heinous frown. That's how I knew.

I held him up when his knees buckled then managed to get him into the house and into the chair next to his mother's bed. You think you know maturity until you're pacing the room with shaky hands, trying to get your mom on the phone. I never felt so helpless in my life. After twenty minutes of redirected and disconnected calls, she gave me calm, clear directions while Terrell held his mother's cold hand.

I never saw another display of emotion from Terrell. He buried her with a composure I hadn't seen in his whole sixteen years. And when it was over he didn't look back once. I expected withdrawal, depression, even awkwardness. Instead, I got composure, maturity and grace. If he was hurting, I never saw it.

While Terrell found his way to his next phase in life, I watched Juan trudge through it with heavy feet. Carlos awarded his hard work with a weekend trip to Lake City with me and Rich for a college tour. He made it clear that this was just a vacation—a short trip out of town for a weekend of partying, not an option for the future.

By the time Terrell got in contact with his father in Lake City, his mother had been buried for over a week. He told him if he could find a way up here, he could sleep on the couch.

His dad could barely care for himself so it was clear that our carefree teenage years were over for him, while I was awarded a smooth transition.

Rich's arrival signified our split in the road. I talked to Michelle before we got on the road. Rich was in my face the whole time waiting for me to say something sweet so he could roast me about it. I turned toward the window. "Me too. I'll call you as soon as I..."

"Get your bitch ass off the phone," Juan said reaching up from the back seat and snatching the phone out of my hand.

"Hold on to it," Rich said. "Let's see how long he can go before he start going through withdrawals," he said scratching like a drug addict.

I gotta admit I was a little sick, but I didn't feel like getting clowned for the next two hours so I sat back and shut up.

Our first stop was Davenport to pick up the white boy. My face was pressed up to the window like a little kid when we entered his upscale neighborhood

Rich said, "Nice huh?"

I picked my jaw up off the ground and played it cool. "It's aight."

We stopped in front of a house five times the size of mine. Kevin's Escalade, a new Camaro, and a black on black Mercedes sat in the driveway like trophies. I gravitated toward the sparkling blue Camaro, running my fingers along the side. The pitch black windows kept me blocked out.

"Everybody seems to love that one." The petite woman pulled the door open so I could look inside. I didn't want this lady to think I was sweating her shit so I took a quick look and stepped to the side.