Reality Check ✔️

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Devin

It had been three months since I lost best friend. Charisma didn't even bother talking to me anymore, so I decided to see what was up with her. When I got to her house, it was unusually quiet. I knocked on the door, and her mother answered. I didn't like her mom; she was so damn stuck up.

"Ms. Benjamin, can I please speak to Charisma?" I asked politely as she looked me up and down.

"You got fifteen minutes," she answered.

"Yes, ma'am." I ran upstairs to her room. When I opened the door, I saw her laying on her bed on her laptop.

"Charisma," I said laying down beside her.

"Oh, hey, Devin," she said nudging me.

"Wassup, stranger?" I said closing her laptop. It looked like she had been crying.

"Stranger? You the one who stopped talk..."

I put my finger under eye and traced the tear line with my finger. She took her hand and put it over mine.

"You've been crying? What's going on?"

"My mom been on her damn vibe today. I came home with Jarell, so I could introduce him to my grandma and her for a change, trying not to be sneaky. The bitch went haywire and took my phone," she explained taking some lotion and putting it on her face trying to hide the tear marks.

"Don't you pay for your phone?"

"Um, yeah, but I still live in this lady house."

"Man, you want to hold my phone for the rest of the week?" I took out my phone and put it right in front of her. She looked at me but gave it back to me.

"No, I'm good."

Pretty girls, ask em them do they smoke. Ask them what they know. Ask them can we go. Someone was calling Charisma on Oovoo, and she started fixing her hair and everything like it was a damn interview.

"Hey, boo," she said smiling from ear to ear.

"So your mom took your phone away?" Jarell asked. 

Damn, that's the first thing you say to your girl? Typical, I thought.

"Yeah, how you know?"

"I called you, and she answered."

Charisma rolled her eyes and then looked at me and smiled. I smiled right back and got up and sat behind her laptop, so Jarell couldn't see me.

 I turned on the TV and hooked up her Wii. I looked back, and she was still sitting there caking around with him while I played the game swinging the remote around.

"I love you," I overheard her say. I swung the controller real hard and hit my hand on the table. Charisma burst out laughing like a damn hyena and got up to help me up.

"You okay, baby boy?"

"Man, shut up that shit hurt," I said rubbing my hand.

"Well, nobody told you to sit there and swing the controller like you was actually in the damn game."

"Man, whatever, go back to your dude," I said with an attitude. She kissed me on the forehead; it helped just a little bit.

She walked back to her bed and started talking to Jarell. Tired of fighting for her attention, I got up and laid right by her with my head on her lap facing away from the laptop.

"So who is that?" he asked.

"That's my best friend. You forgot already, babe?"

"Man, yeah I guess so? Why dude sleeping in my bed?"

I turned around and looked at him, and all I could do was shake my head.

"Jarell, whatever, he's my best friend."

"I don't care if that was your teddy bear. He need to hop off."

"Charisma, get your nigga before he get tore the fuck up," I finally said turning my body on the other side of the bed.

"Tell partner to hop off." Now he was getting me mad.

I turned around and sat by Charisma, so this nigga could see me in clear view.

"Dude, what's good? You lucky I'm not fucking the girl, nigga," I snapped.

"Fuck that, I'll fuck your ass up," he said. I lifted up my shirt showing the gun I had tucked inside my waistband.

"Wassup, come do it because best believe I ain't scared."

I yelled at Charisma to shut her laptop.

"What the fuck was that, Devin?" she questioned

"What you mean what was that? Your dude starting to talk shit. I'm not going to sit there and take that."

"Well, he's my boyfriend."

"So? I'm your best friend. You really going to let this nigga talk shit about your best friend?" She stayed silent. She was really going to pick this dude over me. We had been friends for over four years. I didn't want to believe that she would just throw it all away.

"It's like that, Charisma?" I asked getting up from the bed and looking her straight in the eye. "Cool, you ain't got to worry about me anymore, alright?"

She stared at the floor and still said nothing. All I could do was walk out the door with my heart in my hand.