Safe Haven ( August Alsina x Janet Jackson )

1

Aliye and Robyn in MM.

Aliye (Ah-Lee)

"What are you gonna do Aliye? Just not go to college? Gonna work hard your whole life?" My mother lectured while I sat in the backseat of her car.

"College isn't for everybody. It ain't for me." I countered in the most respectful tone I could say those words in.

I looked out the window watching the rain pour from the gloomy skies leaving deep puddles on the ground below. Resulting in the traffic we were stuck in, giving my mother more time to lecture and nag me.

"You know I don't agree with that saying. "College isn't for everybody." There's enough fields out there to accommodate everyone Aliye. I don't have a education and I'm just trying to push you the best way I know how. My mother didn't do it for me."

"I don't need to be pushed ma. I got this."

"Oh, really? Lay it out on the table for me. What's the master plan?"

"Ain't no table. We in a car." I mumbled rolling my eyes. In reality, I didn't have anything figured out. I didn't have the slightest idea of what I want to do, I didn't know anything. The one thing I did know is, I didn't want to hear my mother nag me about it. It only made me feel more discouraged if anything.

"I'm waiting!" She exclaimed looking through the rear view mirror back at me.

"I plan to just work until I make it somewhere."

"Sounds promising." She scoffed. "I ain't even graduate high school and you see how I'm struggling. You know I break my damn back doing 13 and 14 hour shifts to feed you and Dahlia."

"Dahlia should be feeding herself." I scoffed.

"That's your sister Aliye!"

"My twenty six year old sister who has nothing going for herself. Still living at home. Not even a highschool diploma, yet you stay on my back. How is that even fair?!"

"I want better for you!" She yelled with pure sadness in her voice. "You don't think I feel like I failed Dahlia? Huh? I don't want this life for you Aliye. I wanna see you be successful before I die. I'm getting older, more and more things are wrong with me. My mind slowly slipping away from me. I just wanna see you be something before it's gone for good. That's all. I don't want you struggling all your life saying "I wish I would've listened to mama." Shouldve, could've, would've. It's too late then Aliye."

Her words were true and only made my worst fears scare me even more. I feared that I would never get my life together and I would struggle and be unhappy my entire life.

There was nothing else I could say so I just plugged in my headphones and stared out the window. The sad reality was, I didn't want to hear the truth.

I listened to Beyonce's Dangerously in Love album. I listened and got lost in my thoughts not realizing we were home until my mother opened her door.

I got grabbing as much of the groceries as I could on my two arms before dashing into the apartment trying to avoid being drenched in the rain.

I let out a sigh of relief once I made it inside. I dropped the bags on the kitchen floor and then went into the bathroom to relieve my bladder.

"Dahlia!" My mother yelled once she finally entered the house.

"Yes?!" She yelled back from my room. I rolled my eyes because I was honestly tired of sharing my room with a grown woman. Sister or not. I was 18, I wanted some privacy. The fact that we argued like cats and dogs wasn't making it any better.