Psalms 42 || Tori Kelly

Back to Black

Saturday Night

The women were back to their normal lives, leaving Tori to take care of the house, Irie to work on Sunday school things with Kya, and Abiah back on her bs.

The fifteen year old rummaged through her closet looking for her shoes when her bedroom door opened. "Whatever you're looking for Jai, I don't have it!" She assumed. The door shut, but her bed creaked. Fight or flight kicked in as Abiah's memory bank took her back to the classroom. Instinctively, she turned around and slowly moved out of the walk in to see her father on her bed. "Oh," she breathed. "Hey, daddy. I thought you were Jairus," she said, before going back to looking for her shoes.

André folded his arms and quiet looked around his daughters messy room. Polaroids of Abiah and her friends covered the majority of the baby pink walls with family photos far and wide. Clothes on piles took over the floor as well as on her hamper.
From what he could see on the bed, the bathroom and closet were no better. But he was getting distracted. "Uhh, babygirl, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked. Abiah has never heard her father so meek. It was jarring.

Finding what she needed, Abiah grabbed the tennis shoes and sat on her couch as she put them on. "What's up, daddy? You good?" She replied. André, able to pick up on social cues took notice with his fully dressed child.

"W-where are you going?" He stuttered. With a shrug, Abiah slipped her shoes on and sat back.

"Just our for a little bit and I'm running late. What's up?" She rushed. André shook his head and got off the bed, too weak to argue.

"We can talk about it later," he mumbled, kissing her head. "Stay safe. And please, use the front door," he requested, before leaving out of the room. Abiah watched her father slowly leave the room before taking a hit of her vape and grabbing her bag and the condom her mom accidentally left in her room almost two months ago.

—

Upstairs, Tori stood in the kitchen cooking dinner, as André laid held Sampson in his lap. "How did she take it?" Tori asked, looking back to see tears welling in her husband's eyes.

"I didn't get to tell her. She'll be up here any moment to leave. Just..." he sighed. "Don't say anything. Just let her go. This may be the last night she enjoys for a while," he asked. Tori agreed as their only blonde child came up the stairs in a hoodie and jeans. Tori suspected a crop top under the hoodie but was honestly too drained to do anything about it.

"Bye! I'm spending the night at Briana's," Abiah called. Tori lightly waved.

"Have a good night," Tori weakly smiled. It pained her to watch her daughter walk out the house, when she wanted nothing more to drag her back and put her on house arrest. But, she knew her husband was going through worse pain and didn't need the headache. So she compromised her motherly instincts for her wifey ones.

"Come here," André said, outstretching an arm. Tori turned her food down and did as she was asked. André sat their one year old down knowing he was safe since the baby gate to the stairs was closed and allowed his wife to lean against his lap. With two hands caressing his last child's home for the next 4 months, and his wife's beautiful scent floating through his nostrils, André felt at peace.

"It's going to be okay," Tori mumbled, placing her hands on his. As if the spirt was listening their Google shuffled to Speak The Name, a song that the couple found themselves listening to when they were in need of reassurance. And in the current climate of their home reassurance wants the only thing they needed.

8:38 PM

Abiah and Briana walked past the boardwalk to see a grey sedan. "There she is," Briana pointed. Abiah got an uneasy feeling, not recognizing the car.