Affinity

Chapter 21: Receipts

" Wake up baby."

" No, I'm tired." I whined as Raheem rubbed my back, urging me to get up. It was a full three seconds before I realized I was still at Jaelyn's house and Raheem was somehow sitting in the bed next to me. I shot up and looked around disoriented, " Calm down babe, Jay let me in. Come here." Rah opened his arms and you know I crawled into his lap without hesitation, last night's fight would stay in last night, this would always be my baby.

" I'm sorry for how I reacted last night Ab, I know it's not your fault. That shit just had me so mad, I was hurt, I wanted to punch something and I took out my feelings by yelling at you and misplacing the blame. I love you baby, I will never come at you like that again."

" You came at me all kinds of sideways Rah, but I admit running was not the best option."

" And you ran to Pap, knowing damn well he was gon call me soon as you left." He smiled in my face with his smug self, but he was fine and he was my baby, so it was acceptable.

" And Jay beat him to the punch, I thought he was supposed to protect me. Lo and behold he's out here telling all my business."

" First off, you have no business, your business is my business, and mines is yours. All this", he motioned between the two of us, " is shared, therefore it's our business. Second I'm ya man, and Jay know what it is between us, everybody does."

He was right I knew that in hindsight, but in the moment I was hell bent on proving I was my own person. I ran from the one person who never ran from me, even in the wake of his brother's death he never let his grief cloud his love for me, and here I was giving him my ass to kiss.

" I'm sorry Raheem." I looked into his eyes before kissing him.

" Whole names now, Abla?" He pulled away from me smirking and I swung myself off of his lap and bent down to his level, " Yup, we on whole government status now." I kissed him laughing as I stood up and went into the adjoining bathroom to pee.

I was sitting on the toilet seat peeing, door wide open mind you, before I realized the copious amounts of mens products on the sink. Was I in Jaelyn's room? Did we sleep in the same bed last night?!

" Raheem!"

" Yes baby?" He came to the doorway and looked at me with a lazy gaze.

" Where is Jay?"

" In the kitchen, he making breakfast." By now I was off the toilet and washing my hands.

I didn't drink last night, I wasn't drugged. I remembered that shocking conversation with Jaelyn reaching far into the early morning hours, but I didn't remember getting into this bed. We had had majority of the conversation at the kitchen counter before moving into the living room, but I didn't remember coming upstairs at all. I had on a big t shirt and some ball shorts, I remembered changing into these clothes after my fit of tears, but again this room, when the fuck did I get in here?

" You cool?" Rah followed behind me as I exited the bathroom and launched the question over my shoulder.

" Yeah, just hungry." I wasn't completely lying but I really wanted to ask Jaelyn how I got in this room, and more importantly had he told Rah the truth he'd told me last night?

" Hold up, I got something to give you." I was halfway to the door, intent on booking it down the stairs when Rah caught my arm and sat me on the bed.

" Wassup?"

"Look, I know Travis meant a lot to you, as he did to me. His death has taken a toll on you also and I haven't always been sensitive to this fact. He loved you Abbie, really you were the sister he never had and that's why he came to you with the same things he came to me about, and sometimes with things he never told me at all. He loved you more than me at times. I need you to know and remember that his death is not your fault. I wanna give you something to remind you of his love." He pulled a box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a chain with Travis' name spelled out at the end and put it on me. Obviously, I bust out crying.