I Am Harlem (urban)

Chapter 7

"Ricky!!"

My eyes shot up from my phone when I heard Kaden yell out for him. I stopped walking, and rolled my eyes. "Ain't this bout a bitch!"

"NaeNae what bitch?"

"KADEN!! no! Don't say that anymore you hear me!"

Damn! I forgot I was holding him. I wasn't mad more surprised at anything. It was funny I have to admit, but that didn't make it okay. I put him down and gave him a light bag to carry. He walked in front of me wobbling back and fourth trying not to let it touch the ground.

"Ayo Harlem!"

I just kept walking. I knew who's voice it was, did I care was the question. Why should I acknowledge someone who talked to me like that on the phone, like he did? 'But y'all are best friends Harlem' yeah yeah yeah.

"C'mon Kaden." I picked him up, while opening up the door to our apartment complex. You would think it was a hotel but sadly it wasn't, not in Harlem. That's a disaster waiting to just happen.

"HARLEM!" Ricky yelled out my name again but I just kept walking.

"NaeNae Ricky!" Kaden told me. I shook my head "yeah I know kid, NaeNae doesn't want to talk to him though."

I could hear Ricky's frustration all the way down the hallway. Still didn't really care that much. Once I let myself in to our apartment I put the bags in the kitchen, and grabbed a blanket, a pillow, and Kadens teddy bear for his name. As I got his stuff ready he had already finished his snack, and was yawning.

"Let's go bubba." He nodded his head as I picked him up and laid him down on the couch. Kissing his forehead I told him that i would be back.

"HARLEM!!!"

'I'm getting sick of this shit' thinking to myself at this point, I walked outside in the hallway. "What Ricky damn!? What now?! Huh? What do you want?"

"I'm sorry!"

Gasping as if I was so surprised at what he was going to say. "Aw Ricky you're so sorry I forgive you" my voice was high and I wanted him to know just how ridiculous he sounded

"Harlem, don't act like that, you know I didn't mean what I said."

"What?!" He made his way down the hall till I stopped him. "Stop." My voice was starting to crack, it wasn't that I was sad I was more pissed off then anything. I was frustrated, more at the fact that I have to go and act like this shit didn't happen to me. I can't be depressed. I can't stay in my room and cry. Why? Because I have to be strong for Kaden.

"Harlem I" Ricky walked closer to me, and I stepped back trying to gather my thoughts.

"Ricky..." I cleared my throat, only to have tears slide down my cheeks. This wasn't who I was. I never cried in front of people.

"You think that saying 'I'm sorry' is going to fix what you said?" I looked up at him, shaking my head.

"I jus"

"It doesn't!! Ricky my life was taken from me that night! My dignity was taken from me! Everything! Was taken from me that night. And the one person. The one person that I thought was gone be there wasn't!! All you had to say was I needed to 'suck it up' You try having everything taken from you in one night and try to suck it up and tell me where it gets you."

With my outburst I never realized how loud I was being. I didn't notice the people on the hall had opened up their doors to listen. My head was hurting, my eyes were blurry, nothing was going well right now.

"Harlem.. Is everything okay baby?"

Mrs. Pearl an elderly black woman stepped outside her apartment looking at both Ricky and I with concern. Wiping my tears off my face, trying to calm a racing heart beat hoping I not have an anxiety attack I spoke.