August's Empathy

City 2 City

AUGUST'S EMPATHY

The morning came soon. August woke up with a bad headache. He could hear an excited Debarge packing his things up in the guest room. He sat at the edge of his bed for a few minutes, staring at the flat screen. He couldn't believe he had avoided the painful place for three years. He knew he could no longer avoid his real home.

Camry snaked her arms around his bate torso as he brushed his teeth. "Baby, I'm going to miss you."

"I'ma miss you too, baby. I really don't want to leave you here all by yourself," August replied, after washing his mouth of the toothpaste. He turned around to face her then pulled her back to him. Camry looked up at him with a frown on her face. He could tell she was truly upset, and she would have flew with them if she didn't have to work.

"It's OK, baby. I know you're coming back. Just promise me that you'll call me every night so I can know you're good, and stay away from any old flames." She smiled, jokingly, but he knew she was dead serious.

He made her the promise before giving her a kiss. They exited the bathroom to get dressed. Camry was driving them to the airport. Debarge was ready to go, seated in the living room while sipping on his orange juice.

He was anxious to get his hands on Bianca, who had no idea he was coming home. She thought he was just staying with a friend until he got up enough money to come back home, which was true. He was laying low and moving lightweight for August, who was still helping him out. He couldn't thank God for a better person in his life.

They arrived at the airport. Debarge hopped out as Camry and August had another mushy gushy moment. He couldn't stand it no longer. They were always hugged up and kissing. He couldn't wait to do that in front of August to make him feel his pain.

They waved to her while walking towards the entrance, prepared to return home. They just weren't prepared to deal with the pain.

Monique arose from the messy hotel bed, staring at the time on the alarm clock. She rushed out of the bed then began to slip into her sandals and her shorts. She grabbed her duffle bag full of money then raced out of the place. The plane was set to leave in no less than a hour. She couldn't miss her flight to her guaranteed safe place.

As she exited the hotel, August and Debarge were coming in. If only she would have not been so paranoid, she could've seen him one, last time. She took the back exit, not even bothering to check out while meeting her scheduled taxi cab out back. Sighing heavily, she settled into the backseat. A tear tried to wiggle its way down her face, but she sucked it up. She couldn't believe she was leaving her comfort zone.

"Right here. Here, thanks." He took the cash, proudly. She hopped out and then raced up towards the entrance.

As she stared at her ticket, she took a deep breath. Atlanta. She never even visited the place once. All she knew was that her oldest sister, Monet, lived there. Her sister had moved there with their aunt after she confessed to their mother what she had done. Monique decided to stay behind, in hopes that August would finally come around to her. Her mother and her sister called her a sucker.

Monet and her had not spoken in over three years. They were so close before the Melvin situation. Monet was actually a good person. She was just obsessed with the thought of being loved by Jorven. That obsession caused her to do some crazy things, like kill a person who was really in love with her. She always went for the wrong ones.

Monique didn't know what to expect from her sister. She had the slightest clue as to where her sister lived. The last she heard was that Monet was working at Magic City. She always expected for her sister to work a promiscuous job, plus she used to hint at being a stripper all the time.

It was an hour and some change once the plane landed in Atlanta. Monique woke from her slumber, staring at the face of the flight attendant. She was smiling extra wide while looking into Monique's face. Yawning, she sat up then stood to retrieve her bags.

The city was cold. It was around the end of September. It wasn't a bad looking place. She was expecting the slums or just a busted up city. The place looked professional, but she knew it was parts that were also dangerous. After retrieving her bag, she used a stranger's phone to call her mother.

"Hello?" she answered in a groggy tone.

"Could you give me Monet's number? I need to speak to her about something important."

Her mother chuckled. "I guess when all goes bad, you call on the people that you gave up on. I'll give you her number but I doubt she'll feel any type of sorry for you. After all, you did let her make the decision years ago that made me send her away."

"OK." She thanked her mother after she wrote the number down.

The stranger allowed her to call Monet. The phone rang on and on. She began to get nervous, thinking her mother had set her up. She felt like a jackass once it was on its last ring. Then, her harsh tone came through the receiver. "What?!"

"Monet? This is Monique... I need a favor. I'm in Atlanta and I don't have a place to go. Can I kick it at your place for a bit?"

Monet replied. "...Wow, I guess you can. You goin' to chill on the couch because there ain't no guest rooms here. Is that fine?"

"Y-"

"Never mind, that is fine because you're the guest. I call the shots."

Monet gave her the address before they ended their call. The stranger became impatient once Monique called herself a taxi.

She paced the airport for thirty minutes until her taxi cab arrived. She climbed into the back and told him her destination. And that was when her stomach began to ache from her nervousness.

August's mother hugged him tightly and kissed his cheeks, while smiling wide. She said, "Boy, why you didn't tell nobody you was coming?! I could've fixed you a plate and all!"

August replied, "It was short notice. Debarge came home-"

"Where is he at?" Debarge walked in right on cue and Deirdre attacked him, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheeks as well. She was happy to see both of the young men that she had raised.

Debarge's mother had a heart attack when he was just thirteen. Her and August's mother was very close. While she was in the hospital battling for her life, Deidre took him under her wing. He would often go see his mother as much as he could. She died two years later on his birthday to make it worse. He always spent that day sitting on her grave.

His father was barely active in his life until Debarge just pushed him away. He only came when he felt like it. Debarge had a pretty rough childhood. He was a cool person and he spoke on anything he knew from experience. He and August were so close because they were the last of a dying breed. They were real.

"The girls are at school but come back here and see them. They miss you more than me, August, baby. I love you and be careful if you two decide to get wild."

"Always.. I miss being close to you, mama."

"I miss you, too, baby. I'll come down there soon and we can spend more time with each other. My love for you hasn't changed despite the distance. You know that." She smiled. His mother gave him another hug. He and Debarge exited their old home, then went to get into their waiting taxi.

The sun was settling. "Man, I miss home."

Debarge was only feeling so good because about an hour ago, he was inside of Bianca. August stayed at the hotel while Debarge went to handle business. He spent most of time holding a conversation with Camry. He took some of his private time to write a few lyrics in his notebook. It calmed him down a little.

"She said she's meeting us at the club tonight," Debarge informed him, bringing him back to reality.

"Cool, we can get out of that hotel." August joked lightly before turning back towards the window, looking at all of the people standing on the corners or on their porches. He was still unsure why his mother wanted to stay here. He offered to buy her a whole new home wherever she wanted, but she claimed this was her home. He was just glad she let him move her into a better neighborhood in NOLA.