Raising Isaiah (No future updates)

Chapter 49

Life's just been walking me into some new things lately so I've been putting off updating this story.  

Here's two chapters. 

Love God, Love Yourself, Love Your Neighbor.

ZEKE's POV

It wasn't the stares that had me feeling unnerved, I was used to it.

Being on Hamilton's basketball team meant that girls were always staring at me, approaching me or smiling at me. Guys usually dapped me up, gave the universal Black head nod or stopped to talk about the last game or some party. None of it was too heavy for me to carry. In fact, since I'd been playing ball I'd gained what was virtually celebrity status at school and arguably the city, I'd come to take it in stride after a while.

But today was different.

As I hobbled through the halls of Hamilton my face warmed in embarrassment. Dark skin made it easier to hide the humiliation that burned my cheeks. Somewhat settling things with Symone last night had put me in a good mood. But just because I had settled things with her didn't mean things were settled with everybody else. The energy of the hallway was buzzing with last night's drama. I kept my shoulders back and my eyes ahead, but I was fully aware of the conversations going on around me.

My locker, which was located near a few of my teammates lockers, had garnered some attention from a group of students. A few of them stared from across the hall as they stood idly nearby. Once I neared it the dark strokes of a black marker screamed out at me.

ZTDs.

BABY MAMA #2

CHEATER.

RAPIST.

#METOO

MAN SLUT.

I turned to the team. "Did ya'll see who did this?"

Their responses were subtle shrugs before they walked off, all except one named Dante who lingered. "They're saying you raped Raquel. That true?"

"What?" I squinted in disbelief. "Whose saying?"

Dante shrugged. "Everybody."

I watched as Dante walked off down the hallway following the rest of the team. Somehow, I'd kept the emotional whirlwind roaring inside of me at bay. But now I felt the eyes on me like accusatory arrows. My stomach hurt with indignant rage. Didn't anyone see the video? Raquel was on top of me, not the other way around. How had I raped her? Besides, we were both drunk—

"Zeke."

I swiveled around on my crutches to find my father walking down the hall towards me from the school entrance. I hadn't seen him in days. Today he wore casual slacks and a button down tucked into his pants. However, upon closer inspection, I was aware of the stubble that had grown around his usually clean-shaven face. His once bright and healthy eyes were darkened by the circles around them and the stubble around his jaw had thickened. To someone who wasn't familiar with him, he probably didn't appear as if he'd been binge drinking since the police came looking for my mother a few days ago.

But I knew better.

I shifted between my crutches. "What are you doing here?"

My father stopped a few feet away. "Your principal called."

I glanced over at the vandalized locker. "I didn't hurt her."

"She hadn't told me what the issue was over the phone. Only that there was a school investigation." Mr. Morgan frowned. "Hurt who son?"