STAR. EMPIRE

THREE

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

IT WAS THE NEXT DAY, And Ciara had promised Hakeem that they would talk. He refused to tell her about what over the phone, so she was completely clueless. Ciara's slicked back ponytail bounced with each step she took as she walked to Hakeem's door, putting her phone away as she raised a perfectly manicured hand to knock on the door. When there was no response, she rung the doorbell, growing annoyed as she waited when he was the one who called her to talk.

"Hakeem, open up!" She hollered, not giving a damn if his neighbors could hear her. She pressed her ear against the door and could hear loud music and she rolled her eyes, figuring that he was partying. She dug into her bag searching for the key he had given her in case of emergencies. "How you gonna invite somebody over and not even answer the damn door?"

Opening the door she walked inside and closed it behind her, setting her bag down by the door. She froze when she heard Hakeem crying out in pain upstairs. She quickly ran up the stairs, seeing Cookie beating him with a broom. "Ma, what the hell are you doing?!"

Cookie stopped and turned to her, resembling a deer in the headlights. "Ciara."

Ignoring the woman, she ran over to Hakeem and kneeled down next to him, resting his head in her lap as he was coughing, trying to get himself together. "What is wrong with you, why were you beating him with a broom?" Ciara snapped at her, shaking her head as she realized it didn't even matter. "I think you should just go."

"Fine." Cookie threw the broken broom down. "Next time, tell your big brother to watch who he talking to." She said before walking down the steps and out of the apartment.

Ciara sighed before looking back down at her brother, her eyes full of worry. "You okay?" She helped him back to his feet, he stumbled a bit but she managed to get him to the couch, noticing his eye. "Damn! She messed that eye up."

"That lady crazy." Hakeem snapped, he slapped her hand away when she tried to touch his eye. "Stop it, I'm fine."

"What happened in here? And she isn't just some lady Keem, that's our mother." Ciara said as she headed in the kitchen to find something to put on his eye.

Hakeem rubbed his sore back as he got up and followed her, scoffing. "No. That's your crazy ass mother that just walked up outta here."

Ciara just took a frozen bag of vegetables out and placed it on the side of his face, hopping on the counter. "What happened?"

"She walked in here looking for me to be all open with her like we cool, but we not because she ain't never care about me and you. It was always her and Jamal and I'm telling you that's how it's gonna be now that she back." Hakeem said as Ciara just shook her head. "You know I'm right. She kept saying everything she did was for us, her getting locked up and everything and I asked her ass if she wanted a medal."