Snatched (August Alsina)

Chapter 8: Faded Relationships, New Friends

Danielle's POV

After August had left I weakily got up from my bed and made my way to the living room, where Aunt Henna slouched miserably on the couch with a bottle of hennessey in one limp hand, the TV remote in the other. She looked like a zombie the way her hair was unkept and the way not one tiny bit of expression showed on her face. This was a sad site to see because just like Carmen, Aunt Henna used to always have a positive look on her face and seemed to always have kept a good mood.

"Um, heyyy Auntie" I greeted rather nervously and shyly, sitting down next to her on the couch. This was the first time I've talked to her in days, actually.

"Please, don't look at me... you look too much like your sister." was what she had to say, which immediatly ripped the pieces of my already-broken heart into even tinier bits.

That was what made the death even harder; I looked identical to my sister. I tried to avoid mirrors at all costs because I couldn't stand looking in at my reflection and seeing a face that matched my sister's.

"Aunt Henna, we need each other" I told her, trying to keep her attention.

"Just leave me alone and let me get drunk, will you?" She hissed. Without another word, I got up from the couch and decided to go outside, wanting to leave her to herself now and wanting to escape the house for a bit. I haven't been out in so long and the fresh air and warm sunlight enveloped my skin comfortably as I stepped out. I went over the short brick wall that framed my porch and sat on it's ledge.

I watched the busy street of which I lived on, and so much was going on that it gave off a rather positive, happy vibe. You'd expect that living in a neighborhood that was so poor and "ghetto" to be empty with people hiding in their homes to keep from danger, and for people to constantly get mugged and jumped on a regular basis. But that wasn't always the case. Everyone in this neighborhood knew each other or about each other. People were mostly friends with people and would usually hang out on the porches of their houses or at the park, where they'd usually play football in the grass or basketball in the court next to it while the little kids they brought would spend energy on the playground. We had our crime, and living here was dangerous, but it was nice and outgoing at the same time. I couldn't really explain it.

On my street currently, neighbors were chatting with neighbors, little girls were playing either hopscotch or double dutch on the sidewalks, and little groups of friends hung out around the fronts of their houses. Everyone was happy, and it's seeing other people happy that always lightens my mood.

After a few minutes of looking around outside and soaking in the warm, summer sun, a boy around my age came to a stop in front of my house on the sidewalk. He had the cutest little girl holding his hand and tagging along and they both looked up at me, which grabbed my attention.

"Aye, aren't you the girl who lost they sister?" The boy asked. I didn't know him, but the death had gone all around the neighborhood, so even strangers knew about the loss of my sister.

"Yea" I said simply. I didn't like having it be brought up by somebody I didn't know, but I didn't show my dismay.

"Oh, I'm really sorry for your loss" He apologized in a half-frown.

"Uhh it's fine, I guess" I said. "What's your name?"

"Cliff" he said. 

"That's an interesting name" I said, not really complimenting his name or insulting it either. It's just not really common.

"Yea well my real name's Clifford, and I don't need nobody calling me Clifford the big red dog so I shortened it."

I sniggered. "Ok then. What's your name cutie?" I asked, referring to the little girl.

"Holly" She answered shyly. I smiled and said, "that's a very pretty name."

"Thank you" She said, flashing me a sweet little smile.

"Hey, if you're not doin' anything, wanna hang out at the park wit' us?" Cliff invited. I didn't see why not, so I accepted with a "sure" and hopped off the brick wall, landing steadily on the ground and walking towards him.

When we got to the park, he let the little girl free to go play on the playground while we sat on one of the benches watching her.

"Is that your little sister? 'Cause she's a cutie" I told him, watching as she excitedly ran for the slides.

"Yea, and don't let her looks fool you" He said in a tone that sounded annoyed towards his sister. "She turns into Lucifer at times." I let out a slight before a brief silence came over us.

"So where do you live? I've never seen you in this neighborhood before" I asked, cutting the awkward quiet and turning to look at him. He was a dark-skinned boy with an earring on one ear and tattoos encasing his right arm, and I had to admit he was pretty cute,

"I live on the street to the right of yours" He replied. "I know Ebony. She's the one who told me about your sister."

"Of course" I said, bobbing my eyebrows. "She's probably the main reason why everyone knows about the death. That girl has a mouth on her."

"I know right" he agreed with a chuckle. "She loud, too. You can hear that girl talkin' from down the street."

"Tell me about it" I said with a little laugh. "Gotta love that girl though. We've been good friends for a while now."

"Yea, same. Anyway, I know you might not be in the mood to make a friend lately..."

"I always am" I shrugged. "I like company."

"Then you and I should talk more" He insisted. I grinned politely and said, "Sure, I'd like that."

We exchanged numbers and got to know each other. I learned some stuff about him; he told me that he works as a waiter but had always wanted to be a proffesional football player. He lives with both of his parents and talked about how they're constantly fighting and how his family was happier and closer before his mom had a miscarriage. He told me that his sister was the only sane family member he had left and that he was really close to her, even though she had her "moments" (she was only five, so that's basically an ordinary thing).

I quickly grew to like Cliff and expected to become really good friends with him. He told me we should hang out sometime and I gladly accepted, though he never really gave me a specific date.

Instead of staying in the house all day drowning in my sorrows, I wanted to attempt to go out and do stuff to take my mind off things and distract myself. I wanted to try to move on a little just for Carmen, because I knew she'd want me to. And making new friends was a good way to start. Now I just had to get Aunt Henna to interact with me again.