Beyond All Rules ✔️

Chapter Twelve

ISAIAH

Riding the subway with a troublemaker like Cairo requires a lot of patience. Lucky for me I have it in bucket loads. I am the captain of a highschool basketball team full of boys who are act like children half the time. My best friend is the biggest baby of them all so I know how to handle Cairo when he's being too much.

He's not spoiled, he's just a little bit more sheltered than I was at his age. It's completely understandable seeing as we've had completely different childhoods. He has two doting parents and an overprotective big brother while I had an overworked mother and an abusive father.

"Oak stop messing with that." I scold him when I see him trying to play with gum stuck to the seat next to us.

I pull him in between my legs and trap him in place handing him a packet of gum from my pocket.

"What did I tell you about subway rides?" I ask pushing his overgrown curls away from his face.

"Don't touch anything, talk to anyone or wander off." He answers.

"So you were listening!" I mutter playfully tugging at his ears.

He swats my hand away and proceeds to busy himself stuffing as many gum pieces as he can into his mouth.

I know I should limit his sugar intake but at least he's occupied so I leave him be. He keeps blowing his hair out of his face but it is always falls back. It's a good thing we're headed to the barber shop. Poor kid is suffering.

He gives up after four pieces and hands the pack back to me. I pop one into my mouth and put it back in my pocket.

"So how's school? Anyone giving you trouble?" I ask him.

Being bullied in middle school and beginning of highschool was not a fun experience. It's not something I wish on anyone especially those I love.

"No, Miss Faustine says that bullying is bad and we shouldn't do it." He replies.

Miss Faustine is his elementary school teacher.

"And she's completely right but if anyone ever gives you any trouble come straight to me and I'll handle it."

"Okay."

I kiss the top of his messy curls and pull him in for a hug. We might have a thirteen-year age gap but I love this kid with all my heart and would do anything for him. I'd even stoop as low as beating up anyone who bullies him despite of their age.

I was a lonely kid growing up being an only child and having a hard time making friends. Life is much better now because I have friends but nothing compares to having a sibling. For as long as I am alive, nothing will ever hurt him and he will never have to go through anything alone. I have suffered enough for the both of us so he never has to go through the pain I did. Loving, caring and protecting him is only the bare minimum as his big brother and it's a role I take very seriously.

The subway stops at the station we're supposed to get off in The Bronx and we quickly alight. There's a lot of people walking about so I pick Cairo up for a piggy back ride. He knows the drill so he wraps his arms around my neck and holds on tight.

It might seem weird travelling all the way from Manhattan to The Bronx to get our hair cut but there is only one man I trust with my hair and his barber shop is here in The Bronx. Sure there might be better barbers in Manhattan but I'm loyal and the man has never once failed me. Mr. Johnson has been cutting my hair since before I could talk and no one else is allowed near my head.

As I walk through the streets of my old hood with Cairo on my back headed for the barber shop a feeling of nostalgia washes over me. In as much as my childhood was fucked up, I have some sweet memories here too. Like the basketball court I used to play in every day after school, the skating park where I learnt to skate broke a couple of bones accompanied by lots of skimmed knees and elbows, the mini mart where I got my first job and the church where my mom and I used to go that I loved partially because of the after service barbecue parties.