I KNOW IT DOESNT MAKE SENSE
BUT WE HAVE NOW REACHED A TIME WHERE IPHONES EXIST. MMKAY BYE
-::-
The whole process of opening dreadlocks is not as easy as it sounded.
On paper, the idea was great. Fantastic. Amazing, until I actually sat in that chair and let them do their worst.
The curls on my head were lighter, bouncier, and the feeling was foreign, but it was great altogether.
It had been 27 months since Erik was supposed to come back, and I heard from some people that he was dead. Others simply said he had ghosted on my clingy ass. I didn't know what to believe anymore.
"T, baby, turn to face the mirror." The Jamaican lady that was working on my hair says. I turn and face the mirror, smiling at my big ass hair.
"I owe you my life, Marie." I breathe out, still smiling.
"Oh hush." She grins and walks off, to probably get hairspray. When she leaves, I turn my attention to the TV. They were on some news announcement about the military.
"A marine that goes by the name Killmonger has been deemed missing. Not much info is known about him, but he was in the J-Arc unit and his last whereabouts were unknown." They then show a photo of the escaped marine and I almost faint.
There, with an angry scowl on his face, with dreadlocks covering one eye, and a beard and mustache that must have grown over time, was my E, and the military's Killmonger.
Marie comes back, holding multiple cans of spray, and frowns at the tv.
"He was right to escape. Damn government makes these poor kids their puppets." She sighs, before continuing to work on my hair.
-::-
"I swear to God I saw Erik on the news today." I say to mama on the phone. She sighs.
"He'll come back to you in due time, okay?" I nod, then realize she can't see me, so I agree. I then hang up the call, focusing on the person in front of me.
"Don't tell me you still like him after all these years." Latifah says, sipping on her coffee. I don't know why she invited me here in the first place, but I didn't like it.
"I didn't say shit about liking him in the first place." She laughs.
"Are you slow or something? You don't need to say a word to me, sweetheart. Your actions say it all."
"Why did you invite me here?" She groans.
"I guess we all gotta let the cat out of the bag sometimes, don't we, Tazi?" She pulls out a gun from her bag, and points it directly at me.
"What the hell?-" I'm silenced by her pressing on the trigger.
"All these years you've had what I wanted. The looks, the mysterious vibe, the friends, the guy, and now I'm about to take everything away from you." I gulp, grabbing the cup of coffee and pouring it on her, flinching when I hear her scream. I run out of the doors, nearly dying when I hear her psychotic screams behind me. I run into a dark alley, deciding that I'd rather be mugged than killed.
"Come out come out wherever you are Tazi..." a hand is clamped over my mouth, and it muffled my screams. The person quickly gets a handkerchief and forced me to breathe in.
"I thought I told you her name was T." And that's the thing I hear before my world goes black.
-::-
When I wake up, I'm in a dark room that smells strongly of Erik's cologne. I sit up, looking for a door, and am surprised when I see that the room looks exactly like Erik's room at Home, but I'm wise enough to know that it isn't.
"Anyone there?" I call out, waiting for a response. I hear nothing and sigh.
"Erik?" I say, hearing something coming from one corner of the room. I hold on to the sheets tighter.
"T." He responds, and from where I'm at it's hard for me to pinpoint where his voice is coming from. All the lights come on, and suddenly I'm brought in with the calming sight of Erik. I cover my mouth as he walks towards me, bouncing a bit with every step he took. He looked very emotionally cut off, but when he reached the bed he slipped me a small smile.
"I must be dreaming, cause like, I saw your face on the TV, and they were calling you Killmonger, and then I almost got shot. That obviously isn't real life." I laugh, trying to get off the bed and feeling annoyed when my legs give up on me. He catches me instantaneously, as if he knew it was going to happen.
"The drugs haven't worn off." He mutters and gets out of the room, coming back with a glass of water.
"Why're you acting like I'm not talking to you?" He turns away from me, running a hand through his dreads.
"You inspired me to get these locks, you know? But you know how much I love your curls." He turns and faces me, still with that blank expression on his face.
"What happened to you, E?" I ask, caressing his cheeks. He automatically responds by closing his eyes and swallowing.
"I did graduate, that shit's true, but afterwards when I was planning to go back, some college scouts recommended I go for some military program, which made me end up going to the ACTUAL military..." I trail off at the military part. I never could pay attention.
"Where'd the name Killmonger come from though?" He swallows.
"Doesn't matter." I frown at him.
"I think I'm good now, can I leave?" I ask turning away from him. From my peripheral vision, I see him open and close his mouth, probably looking for a response.
"Where're you going?" He asks.
"Home."
"I'm right here." He says, and I widen my eyes at him.
"Listen up, boy. You can't leave me for damn near a lifetime and think you're gonna just walk back into my life. You don't get to do that shit."
That shut him up.
"Every fucking day for four years, I waited for you to come back. Every fucking day for four years, I had hope that you would come back, 'cause as you said 'you don't break any of the promises you make.' So for you to think you're gonna just come back and have me jump into your arms is a damn lie." I say, satisfied at the look on his face.
"After all these years, I'm here! And I still haven't broken no fucking promise!" He says, and I turn away from him. He stands up and comes right in front of me. I laugh bitterly.
"You might have not broken no promise, but you sure as hell broke my heart." I grin as I say it, standing up to look at him, surprised at how tall he is. He should be at least 6 feet tall.
"Happy, 'Killmonger'? I fucking love you. And four years without you made me realize that. So get the fuck away from me so I can just fall hopelessly in love with you even more." The scar on my lip burns with a feeling I can't trace, and I can't stop myself from crashing my lips on his. He immediately wraps his arms around me, and tears spill out of my eyes.
My legs give up on me, and I fall backwards with Erik on top of me. His hands move lower, lower, and intertwine with mine. I feel an explosion at the marking on my lip, and Erik groans in my mouth, pulling away abruptly. I breathe rapidly, staring at Erik.
"You felt that?" Erik asks, running a hand through his hair. All I can do is nod.
"That..." Erik begins.
"That can't happen again." I finish, touching my lips. They still feel like Erik's are on mine, and I'm hella scared.
"After today." Erik finishes, and I can't help the smile that appears on my face.
"That sounds doable." And I grin as he kisses me again.
-::-
They. Finally. Kissed.
Praise Bast🤦🏽♀️
Luh y'all stay sweggy
