URBAN

EIGHT

Ashanti

Light snores woke me up.

I opened my eyes slowly and saw Keem asleep in a chair opposite my bed. Oh God. He slept over. For me.

I sighed and sat up, not wanting to wake him up. My muscles felt sore and I felt scratches all over my body. I felt sick. I slowly got out of the bed not wanting him to wake up.

Just thinking about what could've happened yesterday made me hate myself. I fought back the tears, not wanting to cry this early in the morning.

Keem awoke to the sound of my sniffing, clearly he hadn't fallen asleep too long ago. "Ti," he got up and came over to me.

"Keem, you didn't need to stay..." I tried to smile. "I'm fine, I just need a second,"

He didn't say anything he just hugged me. It was like he was saying all the right things with that one hug which made me burst into tears again.

"Keem," I said in a quiet voice, once I'd stopped crying.

"Mm," he hummed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you-"

"Don't worry-" he tried to stop me.

"No, I shouldn't have ignored your phone calls. I should've just spoken to you... and maybe this wouldn't have happened," I could feel myself getting emotional again but I told myself I was done with the tears.

"Shh, it's alright, baby," Keem let go of me and looked at me.

I looked down, not wanting him to see how shitty I looked. All I could think about was about the two boys that ran away.

"Wallahi, imma find them," he promised, raising my head.

I shook my head and covered my face as I felt the tears coming back. You man don't understand how disgusting and ill I felt, knowing I was touched up like that a few hours ago.

"No one will ever hurt you again." Keem's voice softened. "Cos I'm not leaving you alone again,"

I pressed my lips together as he hugged me again, comforting me as if I hadn't been airing him and lying to him for two weeks.

—————————

"Did you man sort out all that shit?" Eli asked. I haven't told her what happened to me and I made Keem promise not to tell her either. I don't wanna be treated like a baby who can't even go out to Tesco by herself.

I answered in a tired and sore voice. "Yeah. A girl sent him nudes. His ex. And he went mad at her. We're fine," I ate from the bowl of indomie as I spoke.

"Ew, you fucking tramp, stop speaking with food in your mouth," Eli joked.

I smiled and opened my mouth chewing with my mouth open.

"Eww!" she dramatised and laughed. "No but seriously, you okay, Ti? Cos I know you've been crying. And your voice is all croaky and shit."

"I'm fine," I nodded. Keem and I talked a bit after I stopped crying and he showed me the messages. Chantae sent him nudes out of no where to make him look like he was cheating on me... though we weren't properly together yet.

I mean, now I think about it, I didn't need to walk out on him, that's was such a ghetto move. I could've just been a bad bitch and shouted at him there and then and he would've shown me the messages and we would've been good.

But it is what it is. For some reason, I didn't react half as bad when all that shit happened at the party but I guess it's because I was fully intoxicated in alcohol and can't remember a thing from that night.