Growing Pains (Book I)

Chapter Fourteen

Thursday, November 23rd, 2018.
11:47am...

Aaliyah

I was struggling as approached the front door and to no surprise, the front door was already unlocked.

I entered and the usual sweet smell hit my nose.

My heart fluttered.

As usually, my mother had the house smelling of food.

I smiled to myself as I quietly laid my bags down.

"Knock Knock." I called out, waiting for my mother's reaction.

"Li!" She came out the kitchen with her apron on.

I was waiting for this hug because honestly all I need is her love to make everything alright.

She embrace me and I never wanted to let her go.

We stood there, holding each other.

"I missed you." I mumbled.

"I'm always right here." She patted my back. "We'll talk about this later." She winked at me.

"Yes ma'am." I laughed a little.

"Go drop those bags in your room and come help me in here." She shooed me up the stairs.

I grabbed all my bags and headed up the stairs to my old room.

I opened the door and everything was the way my teenage self left it.

I put the bags down and fell back onto the bed.

My thoughts rushed to my head at once, all I wanted right now was to be dancing. That's the only thing that seems to bring me peace anymore.

I heard my mom downstairs and I knew Jas had arrived.

Jas was really my adopted sister and has been since we were younger in community ballet practice, it was free to any young girl that wanted to learn.

One night we were pulling off and Jas was pulling on the door handle to enter her mom's car but for some reason her mom wouldn't open the door.

It caught my mom's attention and we waited for about three minutes then my mom got out of the car and proceeded over to Jasmine's mom's car.

I quietly got out too, leaving Arianna in the car alone.

I walked behind my mom as we approached the vehicle she let her presence be known and Jasmine turned around with tears running down her face.

Needless to say, her mother had passed away from a drug overdose.

Jasmine was ran through the system, from relative to relative until she was thirteen years old when my mom finally found and adopted her.

I pulled myself together and headed downstairs.

4:53pm...

I sat on top of the table and talked in a small group with my cousins.

I was only talking to Jas and Arianna at the moment.

"Well, ima see about that shit when we get back in town." Jas paced back and forth as I finished up telling her what happened.

"No Jas!" I protested. "Let it be, if that's what he wants then who are we to try and change his mind?" I shrugged as I took a bite of my slice of pie.

"But Li, he fought soooo fucking hard to get you just to what? Shit on you when you finally start paying his ass some attention?" Arianna threw her hands in the air.