This November

Chapter 27

"Why are you in my business again, little sister?"

Noelle came over to bother her for no reason, uninvited and all. It was Friday night and she had no plans with Malik, so it was cool. The first thing she asked about after she made herself a drink was Malik.

"Cuz, our significant others happen to be related and Davina tells me everything about what big brother does."

"Everything?" She liked having her little sister over, but gossiping about their relationships felt weird. Especially because they were related. She'd rather they talk about the weather, or their favorite series on TV, or about their jobs. It was hard being the big sister because she was a pushover when it came to her siblings.

"Yeah." Noelle sipped her drink a little too loud to annoy her. "So is everything good?" She sat on the couch with her, grabbed the remote immediately clicked on the Netflix app.

She raised an eyebrow at her. "Why? Shouldn't it be?"

"I'm asking, is it?" Her sister barely looked at her, too busy scrolling through the list of things to watch.

She gave her sister an evil eye which she did not catch. "You know something you should be telling me?"

Noelle threw up her hands. "I know nothing!"

"You know something."

"You know she kicked him out of her place, right?"

She nodded. He mentioned that and Malik said it was fine, they were cramping each other's style. He was grown and she was grown, space or something like that.

"He didn't say why?"

"Not really, you know why?"

She stared her sister down, and her sister returned the stare. She let out a breath and rolled her eyes at her.

"If you know something, just spill it!"

Noelle laughed at her and sipped her drink. "I'm just fucking with you, I don't know what's up with that. Maybe so we can have some privacy but he doesn't cramp my style. You know I'm happy to just be in Davy's world."

"Oooo, Davy, is that what we're calling your boo?" She laughed at her sister, who was much too mushy for her.

"Really? And calling Leek not all cutesy and shit?"

She shrugged. "I've called him that since forever." She stood up from the couch, stretched, and yawned. "Hungry? I'll make us something to eat."

"If you're cooking, I'm in."

She went into the kitchen and started making grilled cheese sandwiches because she really needed to go shopping but always had cheese and bread.

"Yo, I texted Myles and Nap, they said they were on their way."

Her two little brothers. She wasn't that close with them because the boys were wild. They did not want to do anything after high school except be bums, stay with their father, and do nothing with their lives. Myles was twenty-two, probably smoked weed all day, and drank. Napoleon was twenty, and though he smoked and drank, he tried to hold on to a job every now and then.

Every time she was around them she ended up preaching to them about something. And giving them money.

"I better make them something to eat."

She looked in her pantry and found two cans of tomato soup. Just like their mother used to make for them. She added a bit of milk, seasoned it, topped it with cheese, and made plenty of grilled cheese sandwiches. She finished up as soon as Noelle let them in.

"Zup, bro!" Noelle dapped them up when they walked in.

Myles was tall and gangly, a cute boy if he didn't look high all the time. Eyes squinted or bloodshot red. His paper bag brown skin was a lot darker now with scraggly hair on his face. He needed to shave. He wore shoulder-length locs that were neat and groomed, thanks to Noelle doing his hair for free.

"Hey, sis. Big sis. Damn, this place is nice! Err'time I come here I want to move in," Myles stated as he looked around.

"That would be a no."

"Whatchu cooking?" Napoleon asked. They called him Nap, he hated his full name like she hated hers. "I'm starving like a mother fucker, sis, you got me?"

She set a plate on the table for him. Nap was shorter, a stockier build than Myles, but other than that they looked identical, and they were very close growing up and still always together. She did like that no matter what, they had each other.

Nap's locs were longer and he had them braided down. His clothes were too big for him, making him look sloppy and haggard, but at least he shaved his face.

"Help yourself," she said to them

Her brothers did not hesitate to devour the grilled cheese and tomato soup. They left her no soup and one grilled cheese. She grabbed some chips and ate them with her sandwich. Both her brothers ate two, and her sister as well. She needed to go shopping again.

"You got some dranky drank?" Nap asked.

"Boy, you're not even twenty-one yet! Not at my house."

"Stop playing, I have been drinking since I was fifteen."

"And you don't see that as a problem?"

"No. I ain't an alcoholic."

"I am!" Myles said with a chuckle. "The liquor keeps me right."

"You stupid," Noelle said with a laugh.

Noelle did not see their drinking as a problem. In fact, she started drinking young as well, she just never got carried away with it. Unlike herself, she waited to have her first drink when she was twenty-one and was never that impressed with it. A drink here or there with friends, she was not a daily drinker.

She checked her phone as it buzzed, saw it was Malik, and smiled. She texted him back.

"Who dat?" Myles asked.

"Malik Leek!" Noelle blurted out and laughed.

"Malik from next door?" Nap asked.

"Same one," Noelle stated.

"Aw shit, that was my boy, tell him I said what's up. Oh shit, I heard he went Hollywood," Myles said. "Tell him I need about five hundred dollars...no hell, he's rich five thousand dollars."

She rolled her eyes at her brother. No way were they going to milk Malik dry. And Malik was nice enough he would probably give her begging brothers something.

She texted him she was with her brothers and sister and they would hang out tomorrow. He wanted to come over and hang with them, but she did not want that disaster.

"You know I'm smashing his sister," Noelle boasted with a big grin.

"I don't remember his sister...I mean, I remember he had one, but she didn't live with his pops."

"Yeah, y'all was too young and not into girls yet," Noelle stated. "She fly as hell. Look."

Noelle was proud to show off pictures of Davina. Both her brothers agreed she was gorgeous.

They found a movie they all agreed on and talked the whole way through it, just like old times.