Ghost City

23

The car stopped in front of a building in an area I was unfamiliar with. The neighborhood itself was very strange to me, and I started to question why Damien had made the stop here.

"Before my dad started running the gang known as the Castle Kingdom, or CK for short, he, my mom, and I used to live in this neighborhood," he informed. He pointed to the building we stopped in front of and said, "We used to live in a small apartment in this building. Its was just a one bedroom with one bed. The three of us used to be scrounged up together- me sleeping next to my mom, and my dad on the opposite side of her. Most of my childhood was spent here until he joined the gang. About a year after, we moved to the suburbs, where we lived in this much bigger place. At the time, it was honestly the biggest house I had ever been into. I remember being so happy when we moved. I had even gotten my own room. We both know that didn't last though." I remained quiet as I stared outside the window and fully examined the neighborhood.

I then asked out of curiosity, "Is this considered the Projects?"

He shook his head, "Not quite. This area just has a lot of hood." I didn't really understand, but I figured it was more of an experience type of thing.

"What was it like living here?" I asked. "Were you involved in your community a lot?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Everyone knew me, actually. I was the neighborhood boy. We also had block parties every year, and everyone would come out for that. Even the gang members came out for a good time during those parties."

"Block parties?" I frowned, not understanding what he was talking about. It was actually really interesting to learn more about this side of Damien. He always talked about his harder moments in life but never really elaborated in those moments much. I was finally getting to know that side of him, and I wanted to know as much as possible.

"It's just a friendly neighborhood party for the block you live on," he informed. "It was really fun, actually. I used to feen for the summer to come because that's when it was hosted. I'd see people that I didn't even remember lived on the block too. I remember there was this girl named Mercedes..." He whistled before saying, "She was fine as hell! I had the biggest crush on her. The last summer I had here we actually kissed. Wasn't my first but still memorable cause I really liked her at the time."

"That's cute," I replied a bit dryly, and he burst into laughter at my jealous behavior. He then took my hand in his and smooched it before assuring, "Nothing can compare to the moments I've had with you, though. I've honestly never been this deep in love with anyone." I blushed from his words because I didn't think that he was still deeply in love with me, especially with all the arguments we got into. "You had me whipped way before you even knew it, Cit. Nothing comes remotely close to how I feel about you."

I blushed while nodding, and he smooched my hand again. He then began driving off once more. It was too bad that Aurora was knocked out. I knew she'd have questions of her own for Damien, and I thought it would be a great experience for her to learn about this side of her father as well. Nevertheless, I decided on not waking her, but I'd still tell her about it.

"Do you think your dad moved you out of here because he knew someone was after members of the CK?" I asked, trying to connect the dots.

"Yeah," he nodded. "It's a shame they still got him. My mother and I were lucky to be out at a school game that night."

Going off on a tangent, I smiled, "You played a sport?"

"Basketball," he nodded. "My dad and I loved it. We'd always joke that I'd be in the NBA and that I'd be giving him a shoutout when I'd win my first ring. When he died, I stopped playing. It just didn't feel right, especially because he had never missed a game before. The one game he missed just so happened to be the day I last saw him. I just couldn't play after that. Every time I'd play, I'd think of him, and I just couldn't take that level of grief. When I stopped playing ball, I shut the part of my life where my dad was mainly involved out. I'd picture all the moments of practice before a game that we'd play and shit."

"Damn, I'm so sorry to hear that," I sympathized. It really broke me knowing that one of the things he loved doing was linked to one of the saddest moments in his life. He gave a gentle nod but kept his eyes focused on the road.

He shrugged, "Everything happens for a reason though. I wouldn't have met the Gang nor you if all that happened didn't occur. I wouldn't have had Aurora either. Rico still wouldn't know of my existence either, since he and my mother had a falling out years before my birth. A few good came out of it, it just sucks that those pros resulted from the loss of someone I really loved and looked up to."

I nodded sadly as I sympathized to his pain. "I hate that you had to go through so much too," I admitted, "but I'm glad you're finally talking to me about it. I like these moments with you, and I wanna get to know more about your past- when you're ready to share, of course."

"Really?" he asked while stealing a glance at me before focusing on the road again.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"I thought I'd scare you away a bit. I know you're not used to seeing this type of neighborhood and shit like that," he expressed.

I admitted, "That's true. I've never seen this side of the world before, but I like that I am seeing it now. It's important to see and learn about different lifestyles. I'm especially glad that I'm learning about it through you and your experiences. Besides, I like the hood you in bed, so I ought to know where that gangsta side come from, right?"

Damien chuckled while nodding. He then teased, "You like that hood me in bed?"

I giggled while fixing my gaze to the window so that I could watch the community as we strolled by. I then grinned, "It's the aggressiveness for me."