21

21/Ch. 26

I woke up the next morning and Hakeem was nowhere in sight. He could've at least told me he was leaving.

All last night, I've been thinking of getting my own place. It'll only be me, but I can have my siblings sleeping over and I can walk around with anything I want.

With some of the insurance money still in my possession in the bank, I can use it for things I want.

************

It's an early Saturday morning and I'm determined to move in exactly 1 week.

The apartment people said that I should be approved by Wednesday if everything goes correctly.

I drove to my parents' house. I hate coming here because of my mother, but I love to visit everyone else.
.......

"Hey, Elle!"

My brother came up to hug me and I handed him a $20 dollar bill.

"Hey, D."

"You'll take me to the store?"

"Don't you have your permit?"

"You gonna let me drive?"

"Yeah."

I walked into the house and saw Daddy watching tv like always.

"Hey, De."

I feel awkward calling him Daddy or Dad...De has always been natural to me.

"Hey, Elle."

We kissed each other on the cheek while embracing.

"You been alright? Where's Rakim?"

"Hahaha. I've been good. What about you?"

"You didn't answer my other question."

"What question?"

"Y'all didn't broke up."

"Yeah. Is it alright if D drive my car?"

"I don't care, but that monster might overreact."

I laughed at the nickname that my daddy gave my momma a few years ago.

I walked to Samone's room. We're a year and 2 days apart, so yes, she's 20. She's in college, too. She goes for mechanical engineering. That's been her dream since 7th grade.

"Whaddup?"

"Nothing. I'm about to leave, though."

"Where you going?"

"Marcus house then work."

"Ok. D! YOU READY?!"

"Yeah."

"Hey, Elle."

I ran into my momma in the hallway.

"Hey, Ma."

"Where y'all going?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to spend some time with him."

"You got a car now?"

"Yeah.."

"How you paying for it?"

"Cash? Ma, I gotta go."

"Bye."

If you haven't noticed, I have one of the worst attitudes. I can change my emotions in less than 2.7 seconds.
.......

I took D everywhere he wanted to go and bought everything that he wanted/needed. We just left Stamp's. If you don't know about it, that place is ridiculously high, but so damn delicious. They have big burgers...I can eat one now and have leftovers for later.

"Got a girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Who?"

"Raven."

"Let me see a picture."

He showed me a beautiful girl. She looked like Sevyn Streeter, but with longer hair and all of it was obviously real.

"She's really pretty. How long y'all been together?"

"About 3 months."

He's a freshman in highschool. That's different for my story. I never had a boyfriend until sophomore year at 16 years old.

"You beat me. I don't have a boyfriend."

"What happened to Rakim?"

"I don't know. We just broke up."

"When can I stay at your place?"

"I'm supposed to be getting an apartment next week. I'll let you come then."

*Ring, Ring, Ring*

"Hello?"

"Where did you go?"

"No! The question is,'Where did YOU go?'!"

See what I mean about changing up in less than a second?

"Calm yo ass. I had some business I had to finish."

"What business?"

"I gotta spell this shit out for you?"

"Watch how you fucking speak to a damn woman."

"Where you at?"

"Is that any info that you should know?"

"Forreal, girl. Where you at?"

"I'm about to bring some company to the apartment."

"Who?"

"Baby, you'll see."

"That ain't a good idea right now."

"Why not?"

"Some people watching me. I gotta flee for a couple days."

"What you do?"

"Just know that I'm gonna try to get out that shit."

"Tell me what happened!"

"Not your place to know."

"I wanna leave with you. D, start the car and drive home."

"Who's D?"

"That's not your place to know."

"Don't fuck with me. Who's D?"

I didn't say anything, so he hung up and called back.

"Who is he?!"

"Who is Kilani to you?"

"Yo ass better not be messing around and that's on Bodee!"

"You think I'd cheat on you?" My voice changed to sympathetic.

"What? You about to cry?"

"Yeah. Sniffles. You don't trust me. Now, you're leaving. I told you before to get out that stuff."

"I'm going out to Little Rock, Arkansas. Meet me up at Highway 18 at the WalMart parking lot. Don't speak or even act like you know me. Just follow me out."

"Okay."
..........

"Who was that?"

"My boyfriend."

"You said you didn't have one. Who's he?"

"Hakeem."

"Where he going? Why he leaving?"

"He's going out of town with his friends."

"He leaving because he think you cheated?"

My family is stupid nosey if you didn't point that out already.

"No. I already told you why he's leaving. He wants to go out to have some fun."

"How long you been with him?"

"1 month. Since December 30."
******

After D was dropped off at his friend's house, I grabbed some clothes from Nikki's house (where I'm currently staying), and I met Hakeem. We drove a couple of hours to AR. I was going to fall asleep the drive there, but I had to stay up.
*********

I grabbed my bags and followed Hakeem into a hotel. I'm so fucking sleepy. While he was at the counter trying to get a room, I was leaning on him, resting my eyes.

"I'm so sleepy, Hakeem. Carry my bags and give me the key." My words were so damn slurred.

He kissed my forehead and told me to go ahead and start walking towards the elevator.

By the time I made it to the elevator, he got on with me. I had to be walking SUPER slow.

All I remember is yanking my clothes off, stripping into strictly underwear . No bra, no socks, no hair tie, no makeup. The ONLY thing I had on was a high cut black lace underwear.

"Gahhhhdamn, girl. Where yo clothes at?"

He kept hitting my ass and grabbing it.

"Quit playing so much, boy. It's about 4 in the morning."

"I'm not playing yet...unless you want me to."

"Stop."

"You want to fight? Want me to beat it up?"

"Leave me alone.."

He started kissing on my neck.

"Turn over on your back."

"No! I'm fucking TIRED."

"Give me a kiss and lay down on me. I'll leave you alone, then."

"Shut up."

He wrapped my hair up in his fist. Like how those boys on porn do when they getting head.

I give up. I gave him a kiss, but he pulled me back in to deepen it. He pulled my legs over so that I was straddling him. He laid back and I positioned myself so that I was laying on his chest.

That was the end of my night.