Choosing Peace

Chapter 7

Everyone eventually came over and a few of the guys invited some girls over. Leah didn't cook but she was sitting at the island, keeping me company. She watched me and keep me entertained as she scrolled through her Facebook feed.

"Imma be right back." she had left. This made me more focused on the food since I had nobody to talk to. I had started a lot of the things that took longer time but I was cutting up things for the stuff that went in the oven, cheese and potatoes.

"What you doing." Ja asked me. "Arts and crafts" i straight faced him. He walked around the kitchen and started peaking into pots and inside the oven. "Are you gonna help or just look?" I asked him. "Stop being a ass" he thumped the back of my neck.

"Touch me again and imma let all dis burn." I turned, pointing the knife at him. "ight chill." I continued. He stood over me watching what I did, then he started to bother me again, poking my side. "Why must you play so much?" I asked him. "I just like watching you get mad." He said still poking at me. I turned to wash some dishes and he keep messing with me.

I wet my hand some and flick water onto him. "Ight I'm done." He said. "Pour me a glass of water." I did hoping that he would leave. After handing him the cup he threw water on me. "Now I'm wet." I said tending to the food. "Oh for real?" I looked at him and he was smirking. "Don't play with me right now." I told him checking the oven. "I'll play wit you later then." He then walked out. "Watch dis. Imma be back." I left him quickly to change and put on a different shirt. I walked back down to him running his hand under water.

"What did you do?" I asked him. "Mane I burned myself. Fuck this." With day he walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Leaving home be, I started cutting up the collard greens and cabbage.  After about 2 hours everybody pretty much left and the dinner was mostly done, the oven was warm keeping the food from getting cold ND the collard greens and cabbage was almost done. I was tired from being in my feet all morning and I decided to take a shower and a much needed nap.

After my shower I sent Ri a text letting her know that the food was pretty much done and to watch the food on the stove. I put some music on and laid down for my nap.

[3 hours later...]

"Get up." I felt somebody shake me, I groaned and turned over. "5 minutes" I mumbled, hoping they'd just leave. "Fuck no, get up" I peeked my eyes open to the dimly lit room due to the door being open. I could now hear that there was music blasting through speakers downstairs.

I sucked my teeth, "move man," I pulled the over further up on me. "Amira, I'm not playing with you." Ja said, irritated. "Me neither, leave." I told him. I was soon pulled out of bed with only my smaller blanket in my hand. He set me down in the hallway and pushed me towards the stairs, I stopped at the stairs wrapping my blanket around my body and letting him go down first. As soon as he made it down the 3rd step I turned back around and walked back to my room, closing the door behind me.

"What are you doing?" Ja asked me opening my just closed bedroom door. "Getting my phone" I said making a quick, reasonable lie, still making my way to my bed. "I have it" he said, "come on". He grabbed and taking me down the stairs, into the living room where everyone was. "Good morning" Ri said with a big grin and I looked at her tiredly. I found somewhere to sit, in a bean bag facing everyone.

"Why were you carrying her?" A girl that Ja sat next to asked. "To get her down her."  He said giving her a flat answer. "You should've left her up there then" she mumbled to him. "I'm saying." I said agreeing with her but getting a stank face in return. I was confused but chose to ignore her. "Hey, how y'all doing, y'all eat?" I said trying to make conversation in the odd silence.

After a while we decided to eat and we all sat on the back in the living room, chopping it up for a while. I got on my phone and watched YouTube videos as wverbineybrike off into their own little conversations. "What are you doing?" I looked up to see everybody now looking at me. "watching YouTube" I said going back into my own business. "Y'all wanna have a movie night?" I asked "We can watch some scary movies or sum" I said.

"Yeah. Leah, Sunni, Ivory and I finna go get some snacks, y'all pick out the movie ND make sure it's good." Ri said. "Scary too" Ivory told them and we all got up and went to the store. We went to the store and got popcorn, chips, candy and some other snacks to get. On the way back to the house we chopped it up in the car, talking about new shows.

We came back to them still in the living room but they were jus in their own worlds. "What she say Bunni" Ri asked. "You said you was gon slap me so what the fuck is you gon do" I asked quoting Jela off of Baddies Caribbean and we laughed about it. "What you tryna start something for?" The girl next to Ja said. "Kim what are you talking about" He asked her. "She over here tryna be messy or sum" she told him. I mixed my business and handed out the snacks.

"I know you hear me talking to you girl" she said out loud. I looked up to see who she was talking to and see was looking at me. "Who? Me?" I asked her pointing to myself. "Yes" she bucked her neck, I scrunched my face up in return. "What the fuck are your talking about?"  Ja said, opening his eyes and looking at her. "Man, Issa shut the fuck up yo?"

"No because she tryna start something with me." I ignored her and realized she was on bullshit. "She want my man." I looked up. "What man?" I asked her. "Ja, duhh" She said motioning to him and I laughed. "If I wanted him, he would know." She mumbled something incoherent before shutting up.

We watched the movie with lots of commentary and ate like dogs. Eventually, we got to the second movie but I was too tired to even get through half of it. I slowly allows my eyes to close until I was fully asleep.