Sky and Kadeem : A Hood Love Story

Rewind

Gripping my stomach, I entered the group home accompanied by my caseworker. I ached inside, thinking of Rayne and Classyc who were scared of being split up from me. Cynsere had already run off, and although I was worried for him, I was sure he'd be alright. My room in the home was painted an odd purple—at least it was a space all to myself which I greatly appreciated. Life had changed incredibly quickly; only a week ago I would wake up with both of my parents there. The hospital had banned me from seeing her body when she died, and at the funeral they had closed the casket for no apparent reason. Recalling the day I found her brought back much sadness. I thought about the day the social worker came to take us away from our family home.They visited the house several times that week but i made sure the blinds were drawn and the kids were quiet while i tried to figure out a plan. Classyc was out of his medicine so i had to take a risk of going to the pharmacy with the kids. When we got back to the house the social worker was sitting outside in her car...Then i ended up here. The case managers provided me with clothes for when Tyhir gets here. Even though i didn't want to be here they are good to me.

The next day all the girls went to the auditorium and we were able to hang out with the boys. I sat in a corner crocheting a blanket for my son not interested in anything that was going on. He walked over to me , fine as can be with chestnut brown skin, long black hair and brown eyes with specks of gold in them. He was wearing a long white tee with jeans and carrying a sketch book. I looked up at him as he sat down briefly. What does this fool want?

"What's your name?" He said, smiling.

"Sky Cheung."

"You half chinese?"

"Japanese, Puerto Rican, and Black."

"Nice...I'm Kadeem...I'm black." He laughed.

I chuckled softly, my throat going dry as I realized why he was talking to me - a pregnant girl.

"Where you from?"

"Chicago originally. I'm sixteen—how old are you?"

"I'll be fourteen next week."

"Is the father involved in your life?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"My fault..."

"He's somewhat involved."

"I get it...well, it was nice to meet you; hopefully we'll see each other more." He turned and walked away.

We did get to see one another more and everytime we chilled with one another i felt most of my worries fade away. Kadeem was different than alot of boys i knew. He was crazy, funny, cute and had a way with words. He was at the group home for robbing a liquor store with his best friend Alain. He played the guitar and knew how to draw. His mother was crackhead that used to sing for a living until she met Kadeem's father. Kadeems father was the biggest king pin in Chicago until him and his crew was ambushed by some Ny Niggas . After Kadeems' father died his mother put Kadeem in foster care. Kadeem was 14 at the time and angry at the world . We talked about any and everything . He makes me feel beautiful and forget about everything when we are together. After having Tyhir i waited a couple weeks before doing anything with him. We had our first kiss in the bathroom stall. We made love for the first time in his room . I snuck over to the boys unit at night and we made love until 4 in the morning then i returned to my room with Tyhir. I was sitting in class when my friend slipped me a note. I opened it and my world shattered again. Tyhir was arrested for strong arm robbery and they sent him to the detention center. He was supposed to stay there until he turns 18. I cried for days on and felt incomplete without my best friend. After Kadeem i didn't deal with anyone else. I didn't want to because he was my first true love. After Tyhir and I moved in our first place , Kani tried to be a family but i didn't want that. I wanted Kadeem. I wanted to be with the person i had when my world was shattering . I wanted to be with the man who let me sleep while he watched Tyhir and treated me like a queen. Kani didn't start being active in Tyhir's life until he was two years old. I carried most of the responsibility because although we were both still children he hadn't matured yet. I couldn't emotionally connect with Kani and part of it was because i had so much going on at the time that i didn't try to. As i was unpacking my stuff i came across a picture made by Kadeem. He drew a picture of me , him and Tyhir. I smiled and slipped it into my pocket. I prayed for the day we reunite to come soon. I wanted nothing more but to be in his arms once again. To be loved and feel safe. Kani started picking up Tyhir more and i applied for jobs but working for certain jobs was slow. My friend Tina that i met at the grouphome started working for the strip club and suggested i apply. I applied and started bringing in bank! I never reported it to housing because i had so much i wanted to do for Tyhir. I wanted him to be set for life so i had to make shit happen by any means necessary. Things were going good but i often thought about my mother and my siblings. And Kadeem.