Poems For Daniel

Twenty-Seven

I cried... I cried until my eyes were hurting. The doorbell rang, and I knew it was Jeremiah because I could hear my mother conversing with him. I knew that if I tried to conceal the fact that I had been crying, he'd know I had been. So, I stayed in bed, cacooned in my bed covers, and waited to hear his footsteps approaching my closed bedroom door. I stared at the door, anticipating its opening... It eventually did so, and there he stood, prepared to shake me awake. He had this giddy grin on his face until his eyes met mine. "Oh, you're awake," he said, somewhat disappointedly. I simply stared at him as he sat next to me. "What's wrong, Baby?" he inquired, his hand resting on my side. I shook my head, not wanting to tell him. I didn't want to bring up Daniel and have Jeremiah getting all in his feelings again. "Tell me. Please," he pleaded, taking my hand into his. I sighed before speaking softly, this being the first time I've talked this whole morning. "You know that guy that I met at that Christmas party?" I asked. He looked around for a bit, trying to remember, but he eventually shook his head. "No." "Yes, you do. The guy in all white clothing, and I was dancing with him. And, we were talking at the buffet table. And, we went upstairs," I said while sitting up. "You went upstairs with this guy? Whoever this guy is," his eyebrows furrowed. "No, Jeremiah. I mean, yes, I did go upstairs with him, but you're missing what I'm saying," I spoke. "What are you saying?" he inquired. "I'm asking you if you remember this guy," I replied. "No. I didn't see you with any guy," he shook his head.

Anger began to fizzle within me as my frustration level began rising. "Yes, you did! Oh, my gosh, Jeremiah. Please. Come on. Caramel skin, dark hair, long eyelashes, relatively tall. Come on," I told him. "Nah, I don't recall... I mean, I wasn't staring at you the whole night so I don't know," he shrugged. "What do you mean you weren't staring at me the whole night? What were you doing then?" I inquired, sitting up in bed. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled a nervous smile while releasing a nervous chuckle. "Look, that doesn't matter. We're trying to figure out who this dude is," he eventually spoke. "No, you tell me what happened," I demanded. "Promise me you won't get mad," he took my hand into his. "I can't promise something like that, Jeremiah... Tell me," I replied. He sighed before speaking. "Well, I was trying to work up the nerve to talk to you, and this girl that goes to our school stepped to me. I was a bit drunk and a bit high from the weed in the air, and--." "You didn't fuck her, did you?" I raised an eyebrow. "No! No, I wouldn't do that," he shook his head. "What happened then?" I asked. "I got head, but that was it. I promise," he said... There was a moment of silence... "Was it good?" I inquired. He chuckled. "What? I'm just asking," I spoke seriously. "It was aight. It wasn't as good as yours, Baby," he smiled. "I mean, if you're going to get head while we're supposed to be on a break, it has to be worth it, and from what I'm hearing, it wasn't worth it," I replied while leaning against my pillows. "You know I'm yours anyway, Safaree. No head but yours is going to be worth it, and I've realized that," he leaned against me, his head in my lap.

"Now, back to the topic at hand..." he spoke as I ran my fingers through his curly hair. "What about this guy?" I sighed. "I think he was Daniel," I replied. Jeremiah paused and looked up at me. "What?" he asked after a long pause. "I had a dream last night, and I think everything's beginning to make sense," I spoke. "Safaree, that was a dream," he sighed. "Jeremiah, just please try to have an open mind right now," I groaned in frustration. "Fine. Fine," he took my hand and kissed it. "Now, at the party, I saw him when I was drunk so my vision was hazy. And, I could not, for the life of me, remember where I'd seen him before. He took me home and laid me in bed, and he left me a note. He called me "baby" and signed it "D." Now, Daniel called me "baby" in the letters. And, D stands for Daniel. The note he left me is right here," I handed Jeremy the paper that had Daniel's writing on it. "Safaree, this is blank," he said. "Exactly! That's where everything stopped making sense. I mean, I know Serene saw him, and I know he freaking wrote on this paper!" I sighed.