Page 3 of Not A Homie, Lover Or Friend
My mother and father are married but separated when I was sixteen. My father wanted to take me back to Samoa, but my mother refused until I started to get into all kinds of trouble in Lexington Heights. When she moved to the Cove, she sent me to live with my father. However, when I got there, I was just as bad, if not worse. The island is not always sunshine, tropical living, and peace.
They have their version of the slums, with gangs, rivals, and crime. I found myself getting lost in it all, thinking I was something special because I was Afatasi. My father hated that I referred to myself as that because, although I was in fact half Samoan, Half Black, he wanted me to embrace it all, not separate my nationalities. He also felt like my life was going downhill. He wanted something to be proud of.
I had become so deeply involved in doing all the wrong shit that he sent me back home to my mother. They hadn’t been together in years, so to see them on some co-parenting type shit shocked me. The Cove was different for me, but not too different that I couldn’t make friends. When I met Mali, he was already riding. I saw that the ladies loved that shit, and I fell in line. I was a ladies’ man, and why the fuck not? Riding became my escape. There was no choice between the black and the Samoan side. There was no one to try to make proud. When I rode my bike, it allowed me to be free in a way that I’d never imagined. It was like going from zero to one hundred in a matter of minutes because I felt like that’s how my life had been growing up, and Lakia and I were a prime example of how fast my life moved.
One drunken night of us breaking all the dating rules led us to where we are; married. It was the simple fact that Foe thought he could control my relationship with his sister. He thought he could bully a nigga like me, and I would run off scared. So instead of just fucking her, which was my intention, I married her.
Lakia’s whispers of how she needed a place to stay were still stuck in my head from that night. Now, maybe she was too drunk to realize she said it, but I heard it. Us getting married might not have been a good idea, but we were a month and a half in, why not make it work? Whether a mistake or not, I wasn’t going to get an annulment. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her because I did, but the word married had a stigma on it. To me, it was what youmade it to be. I felt that the amount of time knowing someone didn’t matter; it was all about the chemistry, and Lakia and I had that, or at least I thought so.
When the reception started, before we found ourselves lost in the moment, I wanted to talk to Lakia alone. I didn’t want anyone around because I wanted to see where her head was. I gently grabbed her hand as everyone had gone into the reception hall and led her to a different part of the building. “Why are we going over here?” she giggled.
Once I knew we were out of reach of anyone, I turned to her. “I like you. I know that we’ve done some random shit, but you are my wife, so why not make it work?”
She blew out a sharp breath. “We don’t even know each other. Monfua, you’re sweet, and I like you too, but we fucked up. I had one too many drinks and made a mistake. We moved off impulse. You and I both know that.”
My lips disappeared between my teeth as I nodded. “Where have you been staying?”
Her eyes bounced all over. “Sukalati, look at me,” I muttered.
Eyes on me. She then rolled them. “Where else would I be, with my brother.”
I tried searching her eyes to see if she was lying, but I couldn’t tell. “Ok,” I told her.
If she wanted to pretend that what happened didn’t, so could I. I wasn’t going to pressure her to accept that she and I were married because what’s done is done. However, I hope she didn’t expect me to move like I was. She wouldn’t even allow a nigga to show her what it could be like with us being together for real. If she wanted to move like she was single, then so was I.
I didn’t even bother to grab her hand; instead, I walked off with her behind me. When we entered the reception area, although the music was playing, it felt like it was dead ass silentas all eyes were on us. I glanced over at Peanut, who signed.They know y’all got married.Your phone, check your phone.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see a notification from Peanut. It was a picture of Lakia and me at the twenty-four-hour chapel. We looked drunk as hell. I didn’t even know she posted the fucking picture.Shit!
My eyes landed on Foe, who nodded his head slowly as he gritted his teeth.
You a dead nigga.He mouthed.
Fuck you. I mouthed back.
Lakia tossed her hands in the air, swaying her body to the music. It was as if she were oblivious to it all. A big part of me believed there was some bullshit with her, and when it all hit the fan, Lakia would soon learn that I wasn’t her homie, lover, or muhfuckin’ friend.
HARVEY
Zaria moved quickly, trying to catch up with Chevy, while I was right behind her. I knew Myles had been searching for his sister after seeing that she had married Monfua. For the last month, I had been trying to keep whatever she was doing a secret, but I had no explanation for this. I felt somewhat bad because today was a special day for Chevy and Zaria, but my gut told me this situation was going to turn a good day into a bad one.
When we exited the hall, I saw Chevy standing in front of Myles as Monfua and Lakia came into the reception hall from the other end. Myles’s hand gripped his gun tightly. The guys hurried over to him and Chevy as Zaria turned to look at me, “What the hell happened?”
“His sister and Monfua eloped.”
Zaria burst out laughing. “Why is he mad? She’s fucking grown,” she paused as she held the bottom of her dress, lifting it so it wouldn’t hit the floor. “Not today. I have one day that I don’t want to be ruined. They’d better take that shit somewhere else,June!” she shouted as she hurried over toward Myles.
“Nigga, chill. She’s grown. You moving like you her nigga,” Diamond said to Myles.
Zaria pushed her way between them.“Foe!”she shouted. “Look, I don’t normally jump in between y’all’s bullshit, but if you think you’re about to mess up my wedding day, nigga I’m going to show you what shooting somebody looks like. Why do you care what the hell she’s doing?”
Chevy wrapped his arms around Zaria’s waist, nuzzled his face in her neck, and slowly lifted his head and smiled. “You heard her. Chill out nigga, put that shit up.”
Myles nodded slowly. “Bet,” he gritted.
Everyone began backing away, leaving Myles standing there, eyeing Monfua and Lakia. I moved closer toward him and took his hand into mine. “Come on, baby, leave them alone,” I said, staring into his eyes. “Myles, please.”
Eyes on me.“I’m going to leave it alone, for now. That nigga better treat my sister right. What, he thinks that he’s supposed to get himself an exclusive spot in the Zoo?”
