Street Love (An Interracial Love Story)

Chapter 5

Evie's POV

I step out of the storage room to find my little brother looking up at me with wide-eyes.

"Who were you talking to Evie?" He asks softly.

"No one. Er." I decide to tell the truth. "One of my friends. His name is Tony. He's just gonna hang out in there until it's time for us to go home."

"But that's the supply room Evie." Donny insists. "No one is allowed in there except the volunteers."

"I know Donny." I smooth my hand over his hair and notice it's a little matted. Probably because my mom hasn't been taking the time to properly get him ready for school. "But he's an exception?"

"What's an exception?"

I bend down so I'm eye to eye with Donny. "It means he's special."

"Am I special too?" Donny asks, smiling.

"Yes," I say, pulling up his pants. "And aren't these a little too big for you?"

"This is what all the bigger kids are wearing. And mama said I can wear them for awhile before she has to buy new ones."

"Hmm." I can't say I appreciate what Donny us wearing. He looks like some of the guys who gang bang in our neighborhood with these pants on. "I'm gonna look at the money I have and maybe tomorrow we can go get you a belt after school."

Donny's eyes light up. "Are we going to the mall?"

My heart aches. I know how much Donny loves the mall. Every few months when my mom has saved up enough money, we all take the bus to the West Side and visit the mall. My mom splurges on some new clothes for us and buys us ColdStone. As much as I love the mall, I know that we can't afford to go there more than a couple times a year, usually around back to school and after christmas when everything is on sale.

"No Donny. We'll have to see if they have anything in your size at the Goodwill. We'll check Salvation Army too."

"Okay," Donny says sadly.

"I promise we'll go to the mall soon. I'll talk to mom."

Donny's smile is back. "Okay!"

I kiss him on the cheek and he wipes his face. "Go finish your homework and we'll leave in an hour."

"Okay Evie."

I watch him walk back into the KidsZone and go to the staff lounge to grab two bottles of water and 2 Advil tablets. When I return to the storage room, Tony is out cold and I have to shake him a few times to get him up.

"¿Qué pasó?" He asks when he finally wakes up.

"You got drunk and crashed here. That's what happened."

Tony looks around and frowns. "Am I at the Boys and Girls Club?"

"Yes sir." I bend down and hand him the two water bottles and Advil. "Take this." He pops the Advil into his mouth and downs one water bottle in a few seconds.

"Don't tell me that's how fast you drink too."

Tony smiles. "Only sometimes mamacita."

"I'm gonna walk you home in an hour. Just hang out here for awhile okay?" When I look at Tony for a response, he's already drifting off.

My shift is finally over at six o'clock and I get Donovan ready to go before returning to the storage room to wake up Tony for the last time.

Before I open the door, I turn and kneel down to Donny's level.

"Okay Donny," I say as I straighten his shirt. "My friend isn't feeling too well, so make sure to be extra nice to him, okay?"