Get It How You Live

12

A journey called long distance.....

One year later............

"Ja'Nesha Neshae' Colyn."

I walked across the stage and recieved my diploma.

It felt so good to say that I made it out of the hood. I graduated as the valedictorian of my senior class and I got accepted into every college that I applied to. I chose to go to NYU School of Law because I didn't want to get to homesick. It was closer to home and I could come home whenever I needed to. Thanks to Ty, I was hooked on staying in Albany with him, but I knew that I would soon be able to leave.

"Congratulations." my dad greeted me.

"Thank you." I hugged them.

Ty kissed my forehead. "Congratulations, Ja."

"Thank you."

We took a few pictures then we went out eat.

Today had to be one of the best days of my life. I was with my family, my boyfriend and my bestfriend. Kiara really gave me the best graduation present. She told me that she got accepted into Syracuse University and that really made my day. At first she said that she wasn't sure if she was going to go to college, but she had finally decided that she would. We had both fulfilled one of our biggest dreams.

"It feels good to be eighteen and out on my own." I say.

"Make sure you facetime me and call." Jaya says.

"I'm not gon' yet, Jay."

"I don't care if you attached to the side of my body. You got to think ahead of time."

We laughed.

"That sounds just like something you would say." Ty says.

"It runs through the family."

After we finished eating, we all headed back home to make plans for the summer. Ty and I started making checklists of what we needed to get to go in my dorm room.

"What did you have in your dorm?" I asked Ty as we sat on the bed discussing things.

"I had everything that the average teenage male would have in his room." he responded.

"So you had a gaming system, TV, the mini basketball goal, and the stereo."

"Pretty much."

I put my hands together. "I need the exact opposite of those things."

"Like what?"

"I already have a laptop, so I need a mini refrigerator, toiletries, stuff like that. Nothing that will take my mind off of my school work."

"You need to get out and have fun."

I sighed. "I'm going to be doing work for two different colleges, but I'm sure I can make time."

"You're finishing your major this year so you'll have plenty of time to party."

"I'm not making any promises."

Things fell silent between us.

"I really don't want to leave." I say.

"No, you should go. It's your dream." Ty says. "You've been running after this for a long time and the race has finally ended. You've won the prize."

I smiled a little. "It's just that I don't want to leave you, Jaya, or my little brother."

"We want you to go."

There was silence.

"Ja, promise me something." Ty says breaking the silence.

"What is that?"

"Promise that you won't take interest in anyone else. I don't want to take the risk of leaving you."

"Oh, Ty. I promise. I'm too loyal for that."

I kissed him.

I found it wierd that I had been dating and living with Ty for a little over a year and I was still a virgin. It was actually a good thing because it says that he didn't try to push me to do anything that I didn't want to do. We wanted to take things slow, not rush into anything.

"I'm not going to do anything either, Ja."

"Please stay out of trouble." I begged.

Ty knew what kind of trouble that I was talking about. Eversince I had been living and dating him, I've warned him to stay away from gun violence and the police. I'm pretty sure that he would at least try to stay away from it.

"I am. I don't roll out on the streets anymore. I got people selling for me."

"That's still bad, Ty. There are snitches in the streets."

"True."

I sighed heavily. "Just be careful."

"I will." He kissed my forehead.

For the rest of the day, Ty and I were cooped up in the house making plans for college and cherishing the time that we had together. I was really worried about Ty being here by himself. I usually kept him out of trouble. I just hoped and prayed that God would protect him from all hurt, harm, and danger.