Secrets Kept - Saints & Sinners Edition (Book 1)

Chapter 5: Birthday Vibes

JAKOBY's POV

"Girl, is Maddie still mad at you?" Kiki asked with a cocked eyebrow. "To be honest, I have no clue. She got herself into a fight today" I chuckled. "Did she really?" Kiki asked in surprise. "You know Maddie was sort of a wild child back in the day with a hot temper. Why are you acting so surprised?" I asked with a smirk. "Yeah, but she calmed down over the years. Girl, who was she fighting?" she asked intrigued. "Raquel" I replied awaiting her reaction. "UGH! I hope she cleaned the floor with that skank!" she exclaimed in disgust. "She definitely knocked some sense into her from what I saw" I laughed. "So, Maddie flipped on you because she assumed you ran off to hump her brother?" she asked. "Yes, girl! I don't even know where that came from all of a sudden. She's been different since she came back from summer vacation though. I've been trying to keep it cool, but if she catches me off campus I'm going to have choke her ass. I worked way too hard to defy the odds than to throw it all away over some PMS'ing teenager" I replied. "Do you need me to intervene? You know I'm here for it 24/7" Kiki said speaking facts. "Oh trust me I know" I laughed. "Remember when we jumped ol' girl from Crestview last summer?" she asked reminiscing. "YES! She should've known we weren't going to stand there and let her handle Ramona, especially after she snuck her" I said clenching my jaw. "Do you remember the time you were scared to fight that twin with the braids and your brothers took me and you around the corner to fight them?" I laughed. "GIRL! Yes! If we wouldn't have beat their ass I'm sure my brothers would've made us fight again," Kiki said laughing louder this time. "I hate to cut you off, but it looks like Maddie is calling me now," I said redirecting my attention. "Oh no, you didn't dismiss me for Molly the Maid! She can wait!" Kiki exclaimed jokingly. "I'm sorry, you're right" I chuckled. "Tell me more about Raquel getting her ass handed to her," she said intrigued just before Ramona walked into my room.

She wasted no time in joining the conversation. Sometimes I forget Kiki and Ramona have listened to my complaints about my current school. It's almost like they know my enemies just as well as I do. These two have gone to parties with Maddie and me in the past so they now have faces to names. Kiki immediately disliked Raquel too. She said, "Her head was too far up her ass to see the light of day." I laugh inwardly every time I thought about it.

"Anyway! Are you ready for your birthday weekend?" Ramona asked changing the subject. "How did you get in?" I finally asked. "I have my ways. Just kidding! The front door was open like old times" Ramona replied. "Y'all know the window is going to be open so you two can sneak out just in case my drunk uncle roll-up. Y'all know neither of you is supposed to be here" I laughed. "We know the drill Mamacita" Ramona said rolling her eyes. "I love both of you so much. You two are the reason I haven't run away from this hell hole yet" I laughed jokingly, but not really. "We know" they replied in unison engulfing me in a hug. "To answer your question, I am very ready to turn 17" I smiled. "We about to turn up!" Kiki shouted. "Right! Before we do that, can you make us some ramen and add cheese and sausage-like you used to?" Ramona asked throwing me her signature puppy dog stare. "I got you! Y'all heifers are lucky I'm hungry too" I laughed smacking Mona on the thigh. "Don't forget my coke then since you feeling generous!" Kiki shouted.

Truthfully, these two have been my rock as I have been theirs. Ramona lives in a house with her mom, step-father, and two sisters. I don't ever go over to her house anymore because her mother is super jealous hearted. She swears anyone with a vagina wants her cheating man. That's a hard pass. As stated earlier, Kiki actually lives with both her parents, two brothers, three nephews, and an estranged cousin. They have a house full of folks. I loved them all though. They were super cool to be around and very protective of both Kiki and me. I appreciated the love that's for sure.

"Are you still going to Maddie's house this weekend? I ask because we saw Noah's truck slide through here the other night after he had already dropped you off. Are y'all official yet?" Ramona asked. "What do you mean you saw his truck after he dropped off? That's creepy as hell" I admitted. "We said the same thing," Kiki said. "So, are you and Noah a thing?" Ramona asked again. "Doesn't look like it", I said right as my phone started buzzing revealing text messages from Maddie's mother.