gone. - DISCONTINUED.

{8}

"What do you mean by he apologized?" Laylani asked, sitting in front of her large vanity mirror as she removed her jewelry. I plopped down on what used to be Cheyenne's bed, crossing my legs. I waited practically all night for her to get back from her date with Ferg, specifically to explain to her everything that happened. "Well..." I began, messing with my hands. "He had yelled at me because Cheyenne stopped by-" I started and she cut me off by whirling around in her chair, raising a brow. "What did she come by for?" She asked and I shrugged. "She asked for him and when I told her nobody was there she gave me a piece of paper with some numbers on it." I responded and she laughed. "Damn, I never knew she would be that desperate for him." She stood up, going inside her closet to change out of her evening wear and into something more comfortable.

"And what did you do when he yelled?" She spoke from inside the closet and I sighed, chewing my lip. "What I always do. Get quiet and apologize." I answered and she came out fully dress, pouting. "So how did he apologize again? You lost me there." She sat down on her own bed, tying up her hair. "Well, he calmed down and said he can't boss me without hurting my feelings. Then he, uh, hugged me. And called me soft." I said awkwardly and she widened her eyes. "He touched you?" She mock gasped and I rolled my eyes. "I'm being serious!"

"So he touched you, in a non-sexual way? Wow, surprising." She snickered, kicking some shoes around. "I mean, I guess..." I shrugged and she gave me a look. "You like him, don't you?" She asked with a smirk on her face. I widened my eyes at that. "What? He's way older than-" "He's only 19. And you're turning 18 soon, am I right?" She retorted and I sighed. "Either way, he doesn't seem to like me very much." I made a face. "And he's kinda intimidating. I barely know anything about him." I said honestly. I didn't know anything about him. He sells drugs, has a short, mean temper, and people either want, fear, or respect him. That's about all I knew. She shrugged. "Well he doesn't just hug females unless he's looking for a bust. Maybe he has a soft spot for little old Hazel, hmm?" She wiggled her eyebrows and I cringed in disgust. "Really, Laylani?" She laughed again, waiting a while before sighing and getting serious. "Anyways. When is your birthday? Soon, right?" She asked and I laid flat on my back, nodding and holding up 3 fingers

"Well, it must be a coincidence that the party is this Saturday, in 3 days." She mumbled and I rose an eyebrow. "What party?" I sat up. "Right, newbie. Well, once every few months or so, the boys throw a huge party, when a huge shipment comes or something and we have all the left over drugs. Not only is that why they throw one, but they also try picking comfort girls." She made a face at that and I furrowed my brows. "How do they do that?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. "They get you high, then whoever you choose to throw yourself at, they pick you. Also they have like...specific drugs. Yams is laced dope and thats how he got Yazmin. Ferg's was Xanax, that's how he got me. Nast is cocaine, that's how he got Brittney." She explained, leaning on her arm. I gulped, knowing what question she was anticipating. "His is Acid." She said simply. "I don't do drugs." I dully replied. "I know you don't, but you've been here about a month and they're expecting you to already be using." She sighed, getting up and grabbing my arm.

"You wanna ask Yazmin about her experience?" She asked, leading me into the hallway towards the kitchen. "Uh, no, Yazmin doesn't like me very much." I frowned and she chuckled. "Yazmin doesn't hang around much, neither does Yams. So if she comes off sharp tongued, it means nothing." She went towards the fridge, grabbing a case of beers. "The game's on, so you may as well help me comfort these fools." I sighed, grabbing the tin can that contained their favorite kind of weed and rolling up a few skinny ones and a few fat ones. I knew they all liked theirs differently, and I made sure of that. She placed all the bottles on a tray, leading the way into the main room where they were all perched in front of the TV, whooping and hollering. She handed a beer to Ferg as I placed the can on the table, kneeling down in front of it to roll out more. I glanced and saw him make a face at her. "So you just gon' hand this shit to me thinkin' I'mma open it?" He snapped and she rolled her eyes. "Excuse me, I didn't think you were planning on being lazy tonight." She shot back and he nearly stood up until Yams held him back. "Come on, breh, it's not that serious." He spoke as Laylani flared her nostrils.

I continued rolling, licking the papers and going on to the next one, trying to seem like I was minding my business as I stayed on my knees, watching. "Nah, since she wanna act brand fuckin' new!" He yelled and she stepped back. "It was one damn beer bottle, chill the hell out!" She hollered, causing Rakim to mute the TV. He stood up anyway, despite the protests. I saw Twelvy get ready to jump up, and I tensed, ceasing the rolling. "You wanna say that again, bitch?" He pointed, getting in her face and she actually laughed. I usually never saw her fight back from Ferg, as for the rest of the comfort girls, but I also never saw her go out on dates with him, and she did come back in a kind of ticked off mood. I hoped nothing bad would come out of this as I stayed in place. "You can open one fucking bottle by your own goddamn self, Ferg." She spat and he pushed her. Wait, no. He shoved her hard enough for her to slam into the wall behind her, dropping the tray of beers she had, before he wrapped his hand around her neck. I widened my eyes, gripping the edge of the table. The panic came back and it was only worse, coming in waves, growing stronger and stronger.

"You better fuckin' watch yourself, Laylani. Keep being a little unappreciative bitch." He squeezed tighter as she clawed at him, speechless. "Ferg." Rakim said in a cold tone, and Ferg looked between him and a gasping Laylani, before hissing and dropping her, shoving her aside on the floor as he grabbed his coat, walking out the door and slamming it. The room was quiet except for her short breaths, slowly getting up and rubbing her neck. I felt Rakim grab me up by my arm, and I kept my eyes on Laylani as he grabbed her too. "Clean her ass up." He mumbled softly, pushing me lightly towards Lani as I got a look at her face. I looked at him, a terrified look in my eyes as I tried to say something, before shutting it and nodding. He gave my arm a squeeze before leaving, and I lead her to the bathroom, sitting her on the toilet as I wet a towel. "He's never...did that..." She breathed, and I bit my lip, nodding as I dabbed at the small cut on her eyebrow and her lip. "It'll be okay." I said shakily as she nodded her head. "I'm sorry you saw it..." She muttered sleepily. "I'll apologize to him if he comes back." I nodded again, leading her into her room. "I think he wants me to stay here with you for the night..." I whispered, running a hand through her dark hair. "Okay." She said, falling asleep as soon as she hit the pillow.

I stayed up for about an hour, watching her as the apartment remained quiet. I decided to go in the kitchen, grabbing a rag as I went into the now empty main room, bending and cleaning up the mess made from the spilled beers. I hissed, cutting my finger on a shard of broken glass as I sucked in a breath, trying to keep quiet. I picked all of the pieces up, wincing as shards pricked the palm of my hand before dumping it in the trash. I looked at the small dots of blood on my palm, and the ooze coming from my finger. I continued wiping up the spilled mess, hearing footsteps behind me and smelling smoke. "Fuck are you doing awake?" I knew who asked and I sighed, stopping what I was doing. "Cleaning..." I whispered, picking up the rag with the hand that wasn't bleeding and going back towards the kitchen and ringing it out. "You ain't have to do all that." He spoke, tapping out the last of the blunt before going in the fridge. I bumped my hand, whining lightly as I held it, still bleeding. He leaned forward, furrowing his brows. "Glass." I tried to leave and go back into her room, figuring it'd be fine, but he stopped me, grabbing the rung out rag and running warm water over it. He wiped my hand off, biting down on my lip to ignore the stings. I stayed in the corner, watching him bend over to get a box of band aids, shaking out a few and placing them on all the cuts. "Thank you." I kept my head down, staying silent as he nodded, going back to whatever he was doing.

"Rakim?" I called out quietly and he rose a brow. "Goodnight." I bent to quickly peck his cheek, scurrying back down the hall and back into Laylani's room for the rest of the night.