Page 15 of Beyond The Stars

“You got a kid?” Qamar blurted. “Ain’t no issue if you do,” he hurried to add.

Siasia smiled coyly. “Might as well be mine but no… a little sister. I gotta go. Thank you for…” Her eyes veered to the bed before a wide smile split her face. “Thank you for last night.”

“Last night was just the beginning. Let me get your number.” Qamar tried to hand the phone back to her but she declined with a shake of her head.

“Ain’t no need for me to give you my number. It’ll be off in the morning because sometimes I have money to pay it and sometimes I don’t.” Siasia’s shoulders flinched an unashamed shrug. Saying her phone would be off felt better than admitting it was already off.

Going to his nightstand, he was ready to pay for her life. “How much is it?”

“I can’t take your money, Qamar. Plus, I’m not a charity case.”

“No, you’re a woman I’m fuckin’ on,” he shot back without care. He’d been taught by the men in his life to provide and although he was only a young adult still in college, he had funds. His people had set up properties and he even had writing credits on a few of his sister’s songs. Qamar was well off, and he hadn’t even made it to the pros. Then he would really be rolling in the dough.

Shifting her weight from one leg to the other she looked him upside his head. “Are you, though? Again, thank you for last night but I gotta go. Noodle ain’t never slept without me. Good luck at practice.” She rushed to walk out of the room, hoping he didn’t try to stop her.

“Siasia!” Qamar called after her while he stood in his room’s door and she dashed down the hall. “Next time, bring Noodle.”

“Ain’t no next time, baby.” She blew him one last kiss and jetted out the door like Cinderella leaving the ball.

That was what her night with Qamar felt like. Like a Black fairytale written by Shonda Rhimes herself. Her heart fluttered with visions of him between her legs and holding her all night. She couldn’t pinpoint if it was his bed or his arms that granted her the best sleep of her life. There was once a time when she thought sleeping in her mama’s bed was the best place to fall asleep. Now, she knew it was wherever Qamar was. Too bad she would never experience it again. He had a lot going on and so did she. Their worlds wouldn’t mesh well, and she would rather walk away now than to have to fight tooth and nail for a place in his life later.

The beautiful world she slept in last night disappeared the closer she got to her trailer park home. The entrance was run down with weeds covering the makeshift sign that needed to be replaced two decades ago. Cats ran through the streets rummaging through people’s trash that sat bare on the curbs or by their front doors. It was a mess, and the people were no better. They often allowed their yards to be overgrown and walked over the trash daily instead of picking it up. Maybe they didn’t care or maybe it was because they were tired from the twelve to sixteen hours shift they slaved over just to pay their bills. The residents were so overworked that the community they could’ve built didn’t exist. No one looked out for anyone and everyone pretty much minded their business. Sometimes the school-aged kids would form friendships and play with one another outside.

Every day she pulled up, she hated it more and more but it was home and what she could afford. At least that was what she told herself. With the money she made at the club and occasional doing something strange for some change, she probably could afford something better for her and Noodle if she put going to school completely out of her head.

Siasia wasn’t ready do give up on school just yet. She knew she could be a self-taught photographer but school would teach her more and create connections she could use in the future.

“Your phone cut off?” Cynthia asked as soon as Siasia pushed the rickety door open.

Kissing her teeth, she side eyed her mama. “When you called it what it say?”

“That I carried a smart mouth ass daughter for ten months just for her to treat me any kind of way.”

“Stop with the drama. Why you didn’t get Noodle up for school?” Siasia asked, grabbing a cup. She turned the faucet on, allowing it to run for a while before she dipped the cup under the stream to drink.

Cynthia’s strip lashes fluttered. “Um, ‘cause I’m used to you doing it. How was I supposed to know you wasn’t in the room? You ain’t never stayed out all night. What was that about?” Suspiciously, she eyed her pride and joy. “Got a little glow and shit to your skin too.”

Smacking her hand away, Siasia laughed. “Cynthia, please.”

“Cynthia? Oh, yea you smelling your funky self.” Cynthia pulled a cigarette and lighter from her bra.

“Sisi, I was worried about you.” Noodle came from the room with wild hair and her night clothes still clinging to her body. “I don’t like sleeping without you.” She buried her face into Siasia’s stomach. “Is that cologne?” She sniffed hard.

“Oh my God! Why are y’all like this and why you up but couldn’t get her ready for school?” Siasia cut her slanted eyes at her mother, who was equally as pretty. At least some of it lingered. With the way Stacy kept his fists on her body and in her face, some of it had faded. However, the foundation was still there telling a story about her being one of the prettiest girls from her small town in Alabama; a place Siasia hadn’t been to in over fifteen years.

She had no connection to her mother’s side of her family and even if she did, they couldn’t save her. Cynthia had instilled keeping their business in their home along ago. And no matter how much her mother pissed her off, she loved her with every fiber of her being.

Noodle fanned the cigarette smoke from her face. “Where you was anyway?” Her hands rested on her boney hips with squinted eyes.

“I’m grown, Noodle.” Siasia waved her off. “You, on the other hand, need to go take a shower because I know you didn’t do it last night and get ready for school.”

“Can we stop and get breakfast this morning?”

“Uh.” Siasia knew she needed to spend her money wisely since she wanted to purchase a new lens for her upcoming photoshoot but she was willing to make something shake for her baby sister. “Yea but we on a budget.”

“Okay!” Noodle jumped up and down before racing off to the one bathroom they all shared.

Slowly, Siasia turned to her mother. “Where Stacy at?”

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