Anthology 2

Vers Boyz 1

SOVEREIGN

When people hear Ohio, they think of nothing but corn and Buckeyes... but in my hometown of Middleview that couldn't be further from the truth. Now, we weren't huge cities like The Three C's (Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland) but we were growing and we had the largest black population in the state. It was a nice town, mostly everyone got along, there wasn't too much drama, and scandals were at a minimum.... My name is Sovereign Jacobs, and I tried to keep myself out of trouble because my dad... well he ran the largest church in the city and everyone loved him, or rather the housewives loved his single ass... but that wasn't my business and right now I was just trying to make it through this sermon without falling asleep because it would be a bad look if the pastor's son fell asleep while he was spreading the word. I couldn't help it though, last night I was up with my friend Blue.... we were still in the talking stage... he was a good guy, cocky as fuck but decent.... and while we hadn't done anything other than kiss... I could tell he was getting restless and wanted to progress to the next stage... and I kinda wanted to as well but there was something... someone who still had a hold on me.... He's ALWAYS had a hold on me.... As I sat there pinching myself so that I didn't doze off, suddenly the church started buzzing and the whispers became too loud to ignore. I turned to see what all the commotion was about and it took me less than a second to see what had the church mothers clutching their pearls.... Walking into the church was HIM Ali Hanley.... and it was no surprise why everyone was so shocked... Now I said Middleview didn't have any scandals... well that's not entirely true... there was ONE that had everyone talking, literally, it was all anyone could talk about was Ali and what he had done.....

"Now I KNOW you saw your friend walk in.... got the whole congregation in shambles." My best friend Eros said and I fixed my eyes to the front of the church where my dad was still trying to come to terms with the audacity of Ali.

"Hmm... I didn't even notice." I said shrugging.

"Mm-hmm.. sure Sov, I know your hole felt his presence before you even set eyes on him, and for damn good reason. I revisit THAT car scene at least once a week... hang it in the Louvre, preserve it in The Library of Congress, bury it in a time capsule because BAY-BEE.... I can't believe you were taking that thing on a regular." Eros said.

"Eros, we're in a church." I whispered quietly, though I should've known something was off when Ali invaded my dreams last night.

"Well considering what y'all did in this church... but that's none of my business... I gotta get back to my seat...." Eros said getting up and walking back to his family. I sat there listening and the first thing I noticed was my dad had changed his sermon. I helped him prepare and he was supposed to talk about being a good neighbor and amongst other things but now he was talking about allowing evil to disrupt the soul, the evils of money, and 'slutting yourself out for internet fame' all clear shots at Ali.

"Damn, it's been almost two years... you'd think he'd move on." Someone whispered in my ear... now why am I acting like I didn't know who it was? I smelled his signature cologne before he even spoke and it brought back memories of when we...

"Are you surprised Ali? I mean he did catch us... doing unthinkable things in this very church...." I said with a smirk.

"He's been hatin on me way before then... remember when he told you not to play with me because I had 'evil blood'? I was four Sov, and he had already condemned me to Hell." Ali said and I almost laughed, but nothing was funny about it. Imagine being in love with a woman, and that woman falls in love with a dude that, by all accounts beat your ass several times, and has his son... Then that same son of the man you hated is fuckin your only child... so yeah there was some resentment there.

"Is everyone looking at us?" I asked and Ali let out a low chuckle.

"Nah, I think they're looking at me.. but as far as I'm concerned we're the only two people here... We gotta talk, do you think you can make time for me after church?" Ali whispered and with the slightest of nods I agreed, and even though I couldn't see his face I could feel him smiling. My dad had started giving the benediction and all I wanted to do was rush out of the church... I knew I was going to hear from him later but after not seeing Ali for almost two years... I needed to talk to him and get some answers that had been burning in the back of my mind, the choir started singing and I knew it was time to go, so I slipped into the crowd and made my way out of the church so that me and Ali could finally talk face to face.............................