Shot For Me

Someone To Count On

Zari's POV

"I can see it in your eyes, you're angry. Regret got shit on what you feeling now. Mad cause' he ain't like me. Oh, you mad cause' nobody ever did it like me...All the care I would take, all the love that we made...Now you tryna find somebody to replace what I gave to you....It's a shame you didn't keep it...Alicia, Katia, I know that you gone hear this...."

I quickly turned off my alarm.

I slowly woke up all the way and sat on the edge of my bed. I rubbed my eyes and stretched out. I got up off of my bed and yawned, walking to my door, quickly and quietly. I opened my door as fast as I could so it wouldn't make any noise. I slowly crept to my sister, Bria's, room and slowly turned the knob, opening the door. I went over to her side of the bed and shook her.

"Bri Bri....Wake up...", I whispered. She turned over, putting the covers over her head. I pulled them from the bed and said, "Bri, get up. You know how mama is in the morning."

She sighed and sat up, getting out of bed. "We need to hurry up and get to school.", I told her. She nodded and began to pull things out of her dresser. After I saw she was starting to get ready, I left out of her room and walked to my own. I got in and closed then locked my door. Once I got out my red, oversized 'You Mad, Bro?' hoodie and some black leggings, I took them into my bathroom and started to run my shower. After I got out of the shower and took care of my hygiene, I got dressed and put my hair into a messy bun. 

I looked in the mirror, dark brown bruises covering my light brown face from the night before. Atleast the ones on my body were covered up. I got out my make up bag and covered my bruises with foundation. "There....good as new", I told myself, looking at my face in the mirror. I opened my bathroom door and walked into my room, grabbing my black Uggs from under my bed and putting them on. I grabbed my phone and my oversized bag that said, 'Don't Touch' on the front and opened my room door. My sister was just coming out of her room in her black skinnies, a black cami with a white cardigan and some white & black Toms. 

"You ready?", I asked her, quietly. She nodded. "Okay, be quiet. Remember, ma got home late last night and she's tired. You know how she is when she's tired.", I reminded her. We quietly walked down the stairs, two by two, finally getting downstairs without any problems. 

"Wait, I'm hungry...", Bria told me, walking to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and stood there, waiting. Soon, she came back out. "No food.", she said. "None at all?", I asked. "None. Everything's gone. Our pantry, cabinets, fridge and freezer are deserted.", she told me. I sighed. "Maybe ma will go grocery shopping today...", I reassured her. "Ari, get real. Ma ain't gone go grocery shopping. She'll let us die of starvation before she does that. She doesn't care about us. We could die today and she wouldn't even care. She's inconsiderate of us. I hate her! I wish Dad would've stayed....", I yelled. 

"Bri, don't say that. Ma does care. She's just going through some things...Alright? And it was Dad's choice to leave. Nobody forced him too.", I told her. "Oh, cut the bullshit, Ri! You know Ma doesn't care! She doesn't give one fuck about us! She only cares about herself and it's been like that eversince Dad left her ass! She's a fucking crack head and she's a hoe! She's a fucking prostitute, Ri! And you know it! She does nothing but abuse us and make us her slaves! I hate her! That's probably why Dad left! Cause' she's such a hoe and a junkie!", she yelled, even louder than before. I was scared my mom heard her. Even though everything she was saying was true, our mom didn't need to hear it and she didn't need to say it. 

"Bri...Shh...keep your voice down..", I whispered to her, unlocking the front door. "No! I don't care if she hears me! If she really cared about us, she wouldn't let us live in this ghetto ass neighborhood and she DEFINATELY wouldn't let us live in this run down ass house!", she yelled. I heard a door slam open and I knew my mom was coming. I tried to hurry up and get out of the house. "Okay, Bri! Damn! Let's just go!", I yelled, opening the front door and stepping outside. I saw our mom walking up behind Bri with rage in her eyes and I hollered, "Bri, let's go!" She wasn't listening, she just kept on yelling out how much of a junkie our mom was. "So, that's how you feel about me, huh? Well, I'll teach you, you little wanch!", she yelled as Bri turned around in horror. Our mom grabbed Bri and slammed the front door in my face. I heard the door's lock click and then after that, all I heard was screaming, yelling, and things being broken and shattered. 

I beat and banged on the door, trying to get back in. I knew she would beat Bri until she was dead. I was in tears when everything went silent. The front door opened and Bri's body was thrown out in front of me, all jacked up. Then the door slammed and locked once again. Bri was in tears, her hair was all over her head and her clothes were falling off of her and covered in blood. Her lip was busted and her nose was bloody. Her eye was red and swollen and she had a long cut down the side of her neck. "Are you okay?", I asked, kneeling down to her. She slowly nodded and I stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling her up with me. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. We were both used to it. We were just waiting for the day she's beat us until our last breath.

"Come on...Let's go to Trey's house and get you cleaned up....", I said. All she did was nod. I started walking and she limped beside me. I couldn't wait to get to his house. I just wanted to cry and be pulled into his warm embrace. Trey Young was our bestfriend. He was one of the two of our friends we had told about our personal life. Everything about us, he knows. From our mother being a drug addict to us being abused. He told us he would never tell anyone. He was always the one we'd count on. He was my shoulder to cry on. The house that we'd run to whenever we would get a beating. The house I'd sneak us to when my mom had different men in the house. We were always welcome. He was....what kept me for these whole four years. Without him, I wouldn't be as strong as I am. He's responsible for the strength that I have. We both are lucky as hell to have him. 

At Trey's House

I knocked on the door, looking at Bri next to me, shivering from the cold draft that had passed. After a few more knocks, the door opened, revealing Trey in his grey & white 'UCLA' hoodie, his greyish, black skinny jeans, and his black and grey Jordans. He gave me a warm, comforting smile and then his eyes filled with shock when he noticed Bri. "Again?", he asked, pulling us into his house. We both nodded as he sighed, shaking his head. "You remember where the towels are?", he asked. Bri nodded and walked to the back.

When we heard the bathroom door close, he looked at me. He already knew what had happened. He was used to it.  He gave me a relaxing smile and opened his arms, knowing what I needed. I walked into his embrace, putting my head into the nape of his neck, silently crying.  He slowly stroked my back and whispered in my ear, "It's okay, Ari. Everything's gonna be okay. It's okay to cry."  I kept crying and it made me feel 1,000 times better. We stood there in each others' embrace until I stopped crying. That's when I pulled away. "Thanks...", I told him. He just smiled. "That's what friends are for...", he told me, putting his arm around my shoulders. Imagine being 16 years old and going through what I do. Watching out for your 15 year old sister. Keeping yourself and her alive. You'd be as thankful for him as I am now.

We both sat on the couch. He put his arms around me and I closed my eyes, laying on him. We both waited in silence for Bri to come out of the bathroom.