Affinity

Chapter 27:Christmas Delivery

Twenty minutes later we pulled up in front of Pap's store.

" Scared of ya siblings?" Hakim knew good and well he was scared to death of what Jaz and Jay would do if they saw him, he was forgetting to add Rah into the mix, but I'd let him find out just how serious that man was about me at a later date.

" Never that. Just don't have time for that tonight, got more business to attend to." He started to lean over the center console and kiss me again, " are you fucking serious, move!" I reached over his lap and hit the child lock before hopping out the car.

" Yeah, I love you too Ab. See you soon."

" No, the fuck you won't motherfucker." I mumbled under my breath as I walked up the steps to the row home next to Pap's store and knocked on the door, cursing that I didn't have my phone. By this time it was close to two in the morning, meaning Pap had closed the store around an hour ago. I was banking on him being up still because I really didn't have the energy to walk home, I was both mentally and physically exhausted nearing the point of incapacitation.

It was as my hand lifted from the third knock on the door that I heard shuffling feet and a string of words in Espanol before the door was flung open and Pap appeared in a t shirt and sweats.

" Abla, thank God, we've been looking for you little girl. Where the fuck have you been! Matter fact hold that thought I need to call Rah so they can call off the search and get here." He lifted the phone to his ear as he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the house, only closing and locking the screen door behind me.

" Yeah bro she here, that crazy brother of hers just dropped her off I guess. Hol up lemme ask her, where ya phone?"

" He broke it."

" Said ole boy broke that shit. Yeah, ard I got her. You already know bro, shit on my hip." Could he be any more rah-rah? I mean who did he really think was scared of his pretty boy ass?

I sat on the couch in the living room and stretched out fully as I listened to Pap continue to work towards then end of the conversation with Rah.

" Take ya shoes off." He dropped his phone on the dining room table and walked fully into the living room. I rolled my eyes and sucked my teeth as I used my feet to kick off the sneakers.

"Fine." I let them drop to the floor as I returned my legs to their previous position on the couch, crossed at the ankle, extended over the edge of the arm, feet dangling.

" You ok?" My eyes were now closed, but I could hear the armchair adjacent to me deepen with his depression as he sat into it. He was doing the whole big brother like check-in from across the room, how personal.

" I know you hear me little girl." He threw a pillow at my head as if he didn't already have my attention.

" I should fuck you up for that, but you let me in the house and all so ima be calm..that's ya only warning tho." I still had my eyes closed as I spoke, I heard him suck his teeth.

" And you can dead all that childish shit." I peeked at him through slit eyes as I smiled, knowing my response was the same line he loved to use on me.

" I'm being serious Ab, this fucked up shit keeps happening to you and you just act like shit is all good and gravy, when I know that's not the case. Aye, and what's that stuff you brought in with you, the folders and shit?"

" Can we not right now Pap? Seriously I'm too drained to talk about this forreal right now." I grabbed my braids with my hands and pulled at them from either side of my head, I didn't feel like the whole explanation thing right now.