Nobody's Business (BOOK ONE)

Chapter 31

"The phone is for you." Corey's father enters his room holding the house phone outwards. Corey closes his laptop and sits up, taking the phone from his father. He looks at the number on the screen and almost drops the phone.

 "Nope, I'm not here. Take a message." He says, thrusting the phone back into his fathers hands.

 "Corey I'm not playing this game again." His father shakes his head.

 "Aint nobody playin, I dont wanna talk to that b---"

 "Cordell you better think real hard about the next words that leave your mouth. Take the damn phone and talk to your mother before I slap you with it." His father threatens. Sighing, Corey snatches the phone and glares at his fathers back as he leaves the room, slamming the door hard behind him. Corey glances at the small black phone in his hand, wondering if he should just hang up and pretend the call got disconnected. But of course She we could back over and over until she spoke to him.

 He pulls the phone to his ear and takes a deep breath, "Hello?"

 "Corey!" His mother squeals. "I'm so happy to hear from you."

 "I wish the feeling was mutual." He grumbles.

 His mother sighs, "Corey when are you going to let this go? I'm sorry for leaving you, I really am. I feel awful. But I love you baby." Corey cringes at the sound of her voice. It doesn't sound like the same voice that used to sing him to sleep when he was baby. It's not the same voice that would tell him that no matter what happens she'll always be there for him. It's a weary voice, a voice that's been on too many drugs for too long. Corey stays silent and his mother starts speaking again. "Even though you're mad at me I miss you so much Cor. That's why I want you to come live with me."

 Corey rolls his eyes, dropping his head in his hands. "You stay tryin to convince me to move down there with you man."

 "Yeah because I think it would be great for both of us. We can catch up on everything we missed and start over new." She says, sounding like an overly excited lady from a commercial.

 "You have got to be fucking crazy if you think I want to come live with you." Corey growls into the phone. His mother tries to speak but he cuts her off, "You lie to me, abandom me, abandon dad, get married to a damn drug lord and then expect me to come live with you? Hell no! You here talkin about rebuilding our relationship but you're eight years too late."

 His mother sighs, "I knew I should have taken you with me." She says under her breah. "Maybe things would be different."

 Pacing back and forth across the floor, Corey grips the phone tightly. "That's where you're wrong though. You shouldn't have left in the first place. Then maybe you wouldnt be a crack head that's married to drug dealer!"

 "I have been clean for three years Cordell!" She screams into the phone.

 "Yet you're still living with him." He replies, disbelief clear in his voice. A heavy silence follows afterwards and Corey can hear his mother breathing hard, most likely crying on the other end. He clenches his fist and lowers the phone from his ear and stares up at the ceiling. Everytime he speaks with his mother it results in him reflecting on the past. His parents used to be so happy together, then things started to fall apart. All they did was argue, she would come home late at night and wouldnt say a word to Corey or his dad. The bedtime songs stopped. The home cooked meals stopped. She lost her job. Then Corey's father found pills and needles stashed in one her drawers. At the time, Corey didn't know what they were but he knew his father was upset.

 The more they argued, the more his mother changed. She would disappear for weeks and come back dressed in the finest clothing...still without a job. His father wouldn't speak to her and she simply ignored him too. She would say hi to Corey, give him new toys, clothes, shoes, games. Then she would disappear again. One day she left and didn't come home for a month. A letter came in and Corey's father opened it to reveal divorce papers. Corey was eight at the time, he knew what a divorce meant. His father held on to the papers for a long time, refusing to sign them. Until one day, he finally did.

 Corey's father wasn't the same after that. He became depressed and neglectful towards Corey. So naturally, Corey had to learn to fend for his self. He cooked for his self, took care of the neighborhood yards for extra cash and bought his self necessary items. He never understood why his mother never came back, he figured she just didn't care about them any more. When he turned ten, his mother sent him a lettter, asking him to be in her wedding when she marries Alonzo. She even sent him a plane ticket to fly down to Georgia. Corey was heartbroken and his father could see the pain in his eyes. They shredded the letter and pretended it never came.

 The tension in the house grew and soon, Corey's father could barely look at him without shuddering. Corey soon realized  that it was because of he looked just like his mother, from his yellow bone skin color and dark amber eyes, to his curly black hair. He was the spitting image of her. Something that he's grown to hate about him self.

 His mother speaks again. "We have a little girl Corey. Her name is Ariana and she's five."

 Corey's heart stops. His mother had another child? All the times she's called here and she's never mentioned a child. A child to take his place. A child to make up for the one she left behind. Something inside of him breaks and he feels pain pulsing through his body. Corey stares in the mirror, watching as his ears turn a faint pink from the anger and betrayl filling up inside of him. He feels like his throat is closing, keeping him from speaking.

 "You're her big brother, I want you to meet her. I want you down here so we can start this family over again." His mother says in a soft and hopeful voice.

 "That's not my family, Alonzo aint shit to me." Corey chokes out. "I don't want anything to do with yall."

 "Corey please," His mother cries, her voice slightly hoarse. "I love you and---."

 He laughs humorlessly, "You left me." He states before hanging up the phone.

** Short but important...comment :)

(not proof read sorry)