Strength |✔️

five

Neil

"Hello?" My voice squeaks. I need to stop letting my voice squeak so easily.

"Yes, Neil? Have you decided what you are going to do?" My dads voice rings against the receiver. I have made my choice and I am proud of it, and I couldn't thank Alisha more.

"Yes, I have, dad." I take a deep breath. "I have decided to do football 8am-11am, 'cause that's when my practice is, and I can do math tutoring 12 to however long you want me to do." I gulp. "Is that fine by you?"

A pause. Finally, my dad speaks up. "Of course. Just make sure you make it to tutoring on time and that you set your priorities out, okay?"

I feel as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulder. I sigh. "Thank you, thank you dad!"

He chuckles. "Anytime. Now bye, Neil. I have to get going for work. Make sure to concentrate on your studies and focus."

"Yes, Dad bye." I hang up. I feel a sigh of relief and whoop. Yes! Football and math! I plop on my bed and stare at my ceiling, smiling. I text Alisha.

Me: hey Alisha! Sorry I left you hanging last night. I called my dad and I let him know that I'm going to be doing football in the mornings and math in the afternoon. I got the idea when you talked about compromising LOL!!

She answers almost immediately.

Alisha: omg, that's amazing Neil!! I'm proud of ya :)

My cheeks turn redder than an ambulance.

Neil: thank you ❤️

Oh my God? Did I just send the red heart? No way. What if she thinks I'm going too far? What if she leaves me on open? Oh no!

Alisha: ❤️

Phew. Ok. I'm just overreacting. I sigh and continue staring at the ceiling.

********

"Come on, Neil! Work faster! We're definitely not going to win if you keep moving at that pace!"

I breathe rapidly when I'm running. The receiver throws the ball at me and I catch it effortlessly. But then suddenly, Nick tackled me and snatched the ball from my hand. I groan. Nick looks at me with triumph and spats at me. "Were you too busy thinking about your girlfriend? Doubt she thinks the same about you."

I fuel at him. Coach comes and says, "c'mon Nick, away from Neil." Coach looks at me worriedly. "Neil, I know you can do better than that."

I quickly brush myself off and speak confidently, "sorry, sir. I'll try better next time."

Coach smiles. "I know you will." He blows the whistle. "Break time! Get water and then come back on the field in five minutes!"

As the rest of the team scurries away, Nick comes up to me right when Coach is out of sight. "You think you're such a hero, Neil?" I look at him with rage. He's 6 feet, yes, I know that, but height doesn't matter; he stands pretty short for me.

"Look, nick," I say calmly. "I am not trying to start trouble, okay? I just want to go on with my life, alright?"

For a second it seems as if he was gonna walk away. He comes to my face and points at me. "I am not going to listen to you, dude. You think you're all that but really you're a piece of shit. Just like Alisha." He sneers.

I clench my jaw. I literally have to stop myself from punching him. "Don't call her that. She's not a piece of shit."

Nick laughs. "Alright Neil." Then he walks off, laughing like a dumbass.

I scowl at him. Who even puts up with him? Why the hell is his girlfriend even putting up with him?

Math tutoring wasn't so bad. That night, I decide to meet up with Alisha in her dorm room.

I knock on the door. No answer. Huh, that's weird.

The door was left open a crack. I peer inside and see two beds: one whose is turquoise with silver bedding and another with just plain black and white bedding. I'm guessing the silver and turquoise one could be Alisha's, but I don't want to jump to conclusions just yet.

I hear noises coming from the bathroom. Could that be Alisha?

I open the bathroom and almost yell with surprise. I see Alisha sitting on the bathroom floor, crying against the cabinets. She is also only wearing a sweater, which is see through and short, showing her bra and underwear.

Really? Right now Neil? She is CRYING and you think about that right now?

I bend down and shake Alisha's shoulder. "God, Alisha? What happened?"

She looks at me very sadly. Her grey eyes that I always thought were pretty are red now, her grey eyes barely showing. Her face is drowning in tears, and she dabs her face with her sweater. She stands up. "Neil, what are you doing here?"

I shrug. " I thought you'd might want to hang out, or something." I look at her. "What happened Alisha?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing."

"Something has happened, Alisha." I put my hand on her shoulder. "You can tell me."

She wipes her tears. "I just-I-" her voice cracks. "Sorry,this is really hard."

"It's okay," I say. "Take your time."

She sniffles. "I just keep having nightmares of my parents, especially my dad. You've probably heard of what happened in my past right?" I nod.

"Okay," she says. "Well, I cant stop thinking about that night ever since I went for adoption." She leans against the bathroom pole. I stand a couple of feet away from her, putting my hands in my sweatshirt's pockets.

"My mom was the sweetest person I have ever known. I have only know for five years, but I can't ask for more now. It's too late. She's gone. And he-" her voice stops. "He killed her. And now, I can't do anything about it cause I'm scared."

"Alisha," I say. "You are brave. I know you can be brave. You just have to believe in yourself."

She smiles. "Thank you Neil." A tear falls down from her eyes. "No problem, Alisha," I catch the tear before it falls.

Then, she leans in and hugs me. I feel surprised at first, but then I wrap my arms around her. Her grip tightens on me as both of her arms are around my neck and mine are on her waist. She smells like perfume and soap. I love it.

I've never had a girl really hug me before. I mean, I've had girl best friends, but I've never had a girlfriend. All my friends always teased me about it, but if I'm going to be in a relationship with someone, I don't want to break their heart. I want to love them and not be able to feel uncomfortable around them.

Alisha continues to hug me. And we just stand there, hugging each other.

Not letting go.

********************************************

A/N:

Wow.

Things are actually getting intense for Neil, now. He really starts to develop feelings for Alisha, and helps her with her problems, since she helps him with his.

I have a feeling that you guys are going to enjoy the rest of Strength, like, ALOT! I love writing it!! Writing is my passion and I'm so glad I get to share my thoughts and feelings while writing. Let me know what your passions are!!

Thank you guys for reading, and hope you all had an amazing day!!

-ru <3