A Little Bit Of Joy | ✔

Chapter Seventy Four : The Family Of The Dead Girl

Third Person's POV :

Jamal slipped into Joy's signed Katy Perry sweater, wore bunny flip flops and ignoring his stepmother's incessant pestering to eat his lunch, he headed to his mother's dingy apartment. There he found her sprawled haphazardly outside the door in the empty corridor, wasted. It was one in the afternoon and he wasn't surprised to find her knocked out. He fished for the duplicate keys from his pocket and opened the door. He picked her squirming body up with difficulty and carried her inside.

"Antonne you asshole . . . Fucking that white ass girl would get you nowhere . . . I curse you and that-that bitch---"

"Mamma, I'm your son, Jamal," he said in a clear voice, placing her on the unmade bed. "And it's over now. He's married to her, you can't do anything."

"Fuck you! I can! You know nothing about what lies underneath this . . . " she slurred and Jamal tiredly averted his eyes at the ceiling when she unabashedly pulled her dress up. "Look here Antonne, look what your babe got here."

"I'm Jamal mamma, your son. Not your fucking ex husband."

"Hey! Watch your filthy mouth! Antonne's my husband, don't you dare . . . " She stopped talking and Jamal's gaze flickered to her, to find her eyes shut.

Sighing, he proceeded to pull her dress down and suddenly, she pushed him hard- hard enough to make his head collide against the wall.

"Don't touch me you dickhead!" she screamed as pain shot through his head and he saw black dots dancing in front of him.

Tears welled up in his eyes and he said through gritted teeth, "I'm your son mamma, when the hell will you start caring about me?"

"Antonne darling, don't cry . . . Come here babe---"

"Stop it!" Jamal yelled angrily and clutching his throbbing head, he dashed outside.

At times like these, he always went to Joy's house and hid behind the bushes until he saw her to scare her. She usually would say something sarcastic then they both would end up laughing. Where would he go now?

"Jamal!" He whirled around to find Gemma shouting his name. She stood on the promenade with her long, shiny, black hair whipping her face. As he met her eyes, her face turned bright scarlet and her eyes lowered to the ground.

"Hey Gemmie baby," he tried to not let his voice waver, blinking back his tears. "What are you doing here looking pretty like an angel?"

She blushed furiously now, her eyes still downcast and Jamal felt himself smirk. She said timidly, "I was talking to JJ. Shaun said that she would hear me from here."

He looked wistfully at the shimmering waters of the ocean of which Joy had become a part of. "Sure Blondie would. I bet she's yelling at me to stay away from her beautiful sister." 

"She told me to take care of you," Gemma blurted out. "She told me you aren't as happy as you look and that I should take care of you."

"That's a big responsibility, taking care of me. Are you sure you can do that? I'm not an easy man you know, I make a huge ass mess after I eat, I leave the toilet seat up and I---" he lowered his voice as if he was revealing a secret "---slurp milkshakes and soups. Loudly."

Gemma visibly cringed, she hated when anyone made noises while eating. 

"I will still take care of you, I promise," she declared bravely and he laughed which seemed to offend her. Jamal noticed for the thousandth time that the members of the Jones' family loved fiercely. Gemma slapped his arm. "That was not a joke."