The Devil's Gift

sixteen .

Asami Walker

"Come on downstairs we finna be late!" my dad called. "Y'all tryna make me miss my blessings."

I rolled my eyes and sprayed some perfume over my neck before looking my face over in the mirror. I couldn't wait to purchase a new apartment because getting treated like a seventeen year old by my parents was not it.

"Y'all could go ahead and take your Toyota Corolla or whatever the hell you drive. I have a license for a reason." I called back.

I heard the front door shut after I released my statement, so I sighed in satisfaction. Before leaving, I made sure to grab a snack because black churches be going on forever.

After sitting through a service, it was time to listen to the preacher. I loved going to church because I loved to sing. Those songs just couldn't be beat in my book.

"How is everyone doin this morning?" Pastor Jones asked. "Good in the name of Jesus I hope."

"Amen." the congregation replied.

He paused and took a sip of his water.

"Have any of you ever asked yourself: "Why am I the way I am?" He began.

Yes.

"Why do I do what I do?," he continued. "Why do I say the things that I say? Why do I work the job that I work at? Why do I date the kind of people that I date?"

I swallowed hard and tuned all the way in.

"There are things that we do, that we don't completely understand. Especially our bad behavior." he said with a chuckle. "We perfer to blame our actions on other people or on Satan, when the real enemy is within you."

"Amen pastor!"

"Preach!"

People were shouting from around the church encouraging him to keep going while I wanted to leave. Why did I feel like this sermon was directed towards me? There was no way he could've known what I was going through.

"I used to know a young man who's father used to whoop his lil behind every chance he got. Didn't wash the dishes? Beatin'. Didn't put away his laundry? Beatin'. Got bad grades? Beatin'. It then got to a point where the father would take his anger out on his son for things that had nothin to do with him!"

I cocked my head and listened.

"Lost his job? Beatin'. Wife left him? Beatin'. As soon as that young man graduated high school, he left home, got married, and started beatin on his wife. He blamed it on the devil. Said it was Satan who made him do it!"

I followed intently, understanding where he was going with this.

"It wasn't Satan, it was the enemy within him. He had demons from his past that shaped him into who he was. That young man was me."

"Mm." I heard from across the church.

"Open your bibles to Jeremiah 30 verse 17. It reads "But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the Lord." He paused. "What does this mean? This means through prayer the lord will deliver you from whatever inner demons are working to destroy your future by using your past against you."

At this point I knew the sermon was for me. I stood and left the church, taking a seat in my car before driving home.

*

"Could you pass the yams please?" Dailee asked.

I nodded and passed her the plate of yams. We were having our usual Sunday dinner after church and the table consisted of myself, my parents, my sister, DeAngelo and Kenya. The fact that she was there had everyone annoyed. We saw right through her shit and it was tiring to be around her all because Dailee wanted to see the good in her.

"Why is she here again?" I asked, pointing a fork at Kenya.

"Oh god, don't start." Dailee stated.

I bit my lip, remembering that she was pregnant and stressed out as it was. I decided to chill. For now.

"Never mind." I mumbled, poking around at my plate.

After dinner was over and Dailee and I were washing dishes like we always do together, Kenya sat on the kitchen counter swinging her legs back and forth trying to make conversation. And by trying to make conversation, I meant grilling me with questions about Asher.

"Asami I thought you didn't like Ash?" she questioned, cocking her head.

Rolling my eyes, I sighed and set the sponge down.

"Kenya, If you ask me one more question about Asher imma pop your lil head like a grape. Go brush that synthetic ass wig and leave me alone."

She gasped and stroked her hair.

"This is real, but okay."

I rolled my eyes once again and turned around, going upstairs. Why did it feel like somebody was always tryna bring up Asher's name every two seconds. I didn't want to hear about him.

As I dug around my room looking for my laptop, I found something in there that made my blood run cold. It was a little tube labeled "CYANIDE".

"Cyanide?" I mumbled, cocking my head.

Cyanide is an extremely deadly poison. Ingest it once and you're dead. I shook my head before running my fingers and hands over my now cold arms. I grabbed the tube and went straight into the bathroom, dumping the blue liquid into the toilet and flushing it. I couldn't think of a reason why a deadly poison would be chilling in my room like that or who would put it there. Washing my hands raw, I applied hand sanitizer before finally finding my laptop and browsing apartments.

I wanted to find one close enough to my family to be able to drive there, but far enough that they wouldn't visit me too often. I loved my sister, mom, and dad to death but they irked the shit out of me. My mother and sister with their naiveness, my father with his over authoritative ass.

After making an appointment to visit a place, I took a long nap before finishing some school work and heading to Pink Pony.

*
-prettygurlval ❤️

short little filler.

the story been too calm for me so I'm gonna bring on the drama haha *insert evenly laugh here*

stay tuned .