Page 35 of My Brother's Keeper
“That nigga is grown, next.”
My head flew back. “Isn’t he your friend? Don’t y’all ride bikes and shit together?”
He shrugged. “Can’t save a nigga that don’t want to be saved. Him being my friend has nothing to do with that.”
Braylon had never been this heartless, and I was starting to wonder how that happened. He and I used to live in the same neighborhood until his parents moved to another part of Lake Hill, where only the elite stayed. “What happened to you?”
He turned his back on me as he picked up his blunt and placed it to his lips. I shot up from the couch.“Braylon!”I shouted.
His head snapped my way. “Beans, Symphony, it’s Beans.”
“Beans, Braylon, bitch nigga I don’t—”
He shot up, towering over me. “Watch the shit you say. I know Mison, and he hasn’t learned. The nigga has been offered help. If you think the shit is so easy, why don’t you save him? We’re talking about a nigga that blesses the bottle more than he does his brothers. A nigga who would sacrifice his crew for thirty minutes of liquid courage, a nigga that has secrets beyond what you can believe, that is eating away at him. So, Symphony, if you want the nigga to have fucking help, you fucking do it.”
I stood there as my eyes became teary. My brows went inward because I became sad. Did he not care? I watched as he turned the music up unbothered. I stepped back and shook my head. He turned to me as the smoke lingered from his mouth. I knew I needed to find Mison. It was clear it would be me who had to help him. I rushed out of the room and back to the front door when a girl entered. She stared at me as I stared at her. She glanced over my shoulder, and I knew Braylon was behind me. “What, wait, I’m confused,” she muttered.
I turned to look at him one last time before I wiped my tears and left the building. She came out behind me, and I could tellher little heart was broken. However, so was mine because the man I chose to fall for was an alcoholic who needed help.
MALI
I made a quick stop before I reached my destination. I didn’t even bother to take my helmet off; I just flipped the visor up as I walked into the night. I unscrewed the top off the bottle as I took a swig and made my way around the headstones in the grass. When I reached my mother's headstone, it only held her name, birthdate, and date of death. My father couldn’t afford anything more, so he did what he could. I stood there, took another swig, and dropped to my knees.
Tears spilled from my eyes as I stared at her headstone. “Joyce Angie Keyton. Wife, daughter, moth—,” I choked up. “Mother. My angel, my peace, and I’m so sorry. I’m sorry,” I cried.
The guilt that had been weighing on me was heavier than I imagined. It was suffocating. I wiped my face with the back of my hand as I sat next to her. “Ma, I don’t know where I went wrong. Ever since that day, I haven’t been right. I’ve been trying to find my way, but I can’t. This,” I said as I held the fifth of whiskey in the air. “It has been my only friend, but it’s killing me. My brothers don’t fuck with me. My friends don’t take me seriously and I-I finally got her Ma.”
I began to rip off the weeds from her headstone as I continued to talk to her. I laughed. “Remember when I first told you about her. You said,boy, she likes you, but what she doesn’t want is a boy with no heart. When it’s time, you two will meet again; you need to grow up first.I thought you were playing, trying to shut me up, but it looks like you were right. Symphony Harrington, the girl everyone wanted, and I finally had. I guess you were right.”
I lay my head on her headstone as I finished off my drink. The comfort of my mother gave me a little peace, but I knew it would never be the same. I tossed the bottle as I staggered to get up. “I’m going to fix it. I promise that Xavier and Jalen will be cool. I fucking promise.”
I knew change needed to happen. I was accepting that I did have a problem, that my liquid lover had been deceiving me, and that I did have a heart; I just needed to give it life. Nobody had faith in me, but I had it in myself. I know going through this fight alone would be tough, but I was strong, and the bounce back is what matters.
I took one last look at the cemetery before I flipped my visor back down and sped off. I knew there was no chance of Symphony forgiving me, so I decided I was going to give her that necklace tomorrow after a nigga sobered up some. I merged onto the highway to beat the liquor that had started revving up in me again. I’d normally ride in the fast lane, but tonight I decided to stay in the slower one.
As I tried merging into the lane for my exit, a car coming onto the highway was going so fast that I barely had time to move out of the way. “Fuck!”
Screech! Boom!
FLEX
I dropped Morgan off after the long drive back from Covana. It wasn’t what I thought it would be, and I was thankful for that. I considered stopping by to see my uncle, but changed my mind at the thought of his wife trying to control the narrative. As I drove through the affluent neighborhood to get to the highway, I came up on the street Harvey and Foe lived on. I knew going straight home would have been the right thing to do, but something in me had to try one last time.
Even if Harvey rejected me, we could still be friends, right? I made a quick right as I slowly drove down the quiet street. When I pulled up in front of their house, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and got out. I made my way up the driveway to the door and knocked.
When the door opened, I swallowed deeply. His lip curled and nose flared. “Why the fuck are you at my house?” Foe gritted.
I stood there as my brain tried to process the right words to say before he went off the handle. “I came to see Harvey.”
I tried to glance over his shoulder, but his head moved along with mine.
Snap! Snap!
“Aht, aht. You’d better give me a reason not to shoot you. Hurry the fuck up because my patience is as thin as your edges.”
“Foe, relax. I’m not here to cause trouble. I want to—”
He shook his head. “Want to what? Play pussy wars with Harvey? You want to know what she tastes like? Huh? You want to fucking cuddle with my Shorty? What is it!” he shouted.
