Moving Forward

Sixteen

Prince

I sat in my bedroom in the penthouse that Aaliyah and Roc inherited from their mother. Luckily, they allowed me to move in with them, but I had hardly seen the two since I had been here. Roc was out running around with some of his hoes while Aaliyah spent her days crying in her room. Honestly, I felt bad for her. She had just lost a son, and now, she lost her mother.

 My phone rang loudly, distracting me from my thoughts, and I snatched it off my nightstand, not even bothering to look at the Caller I.D.

 "Hello," I mumbled, my fingers toying with the loose strings on my shirt.

 "Aye, what up?" Ray's voice sounded unnaturally quiet compared to how loud it usually was. "I need you to meet me somewhere."

 ____

Frowning, I eyed the weapon in Ray's hands unsure on whether or not I heard him correctly. My heart pounded loudly, and I shook my head. I had promised myself that I was done dealing with niggas and all their illegal shit.

 "I don't know why you called me," I said distastefully. "I ain't doing this for you."

 Ray sucked his teeth. "Man, stop being such a little bitch and just get rid of the shit for me. Throw it in the river or something; just don't be a pussy."

 "Ray," I frowned, "why you even got to get rid of this shit?"

 "Don't ask me fucking questions?" he shoved the gun into my hands.

 I pursed my lips ready to retort, but he was already walking away from me. When he made it halfway out of the back alley we were meeting in, he turned around to face me.

 "Oh, and don't forget to tell Aaliyah I said hi!"

 Aaliyah

 I walked down the street with my hood up. The rain pounded mercilessly on the city, forcing the usually fast paced people to move even faster. A few kids pushed me to the side as they scrambled into a small store on the corner, and I felt my chest constrict. I wondered if  Joshua would've looked like any of those kids.

 As I forced my feet to move forward, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around, sighing when I saw Ray.

 "Hey, Liyah," he smiled at me, wrapping an arm around my waist. "How are you holding up?"

 I allowed myself to lean into Ray's embrace despite a part me warning me for falling for him again. "It's rough," I admitted. "I miss him."

 "Yeah," he took a shaky breath, tightening his hold on me. "I heard about your mom? How's the rest of the family?"

 "We're good. It's just..."

 "Hard?" he supplied. He looked at me, offering a smile. "Well, tomorrow, we can go out for dinner. Where are you staying?"

 "I'm at my mom's penthouse," I said.

 Ray dug around in his pockets before pulling out a small pen. He scribbled his number on my arm, pausing to kiss my fingertips.

 "Call me, OK?" he whispered. "I'll pick you up at seven."

 Aaliyah

 "Thanks," I blushed nodding to Ray, who had pulled out my chair. "This was really nice of you.

 "I want only the best for you," He smiled, gesturing to the fancy restaurant around us.

 Ray had rented out the most expensive restaurant in town. I sat in awe as the waiter waited hand and foot on the two of us. He said I could order anything I want, and when the meal was over I had eaten better than I had ever eaten in my life.

 "How can you afford all this?" I asked as we headed out the restaurant.

 "I've been saving up," He replied, and I found myself staring at him in awe. He has changed soo much since that night in the ice room. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and instead of brushing him off like I would've a few weeks ago I rested my head on his shoulder, as we went to get the car.

As we got closer to the valet, I couldn't help but recognize that unforgettable afro. "Prince," I smiled, tapping the guy on his shoulder. "So this is why I never see you anymore?"

 "Yeah," He muttered, but he wasn't looked at me. He was looking at Ray.