Page 38 of My Brother's Keeper
I laughed. “Corny ass.”
“I will be that as long as I have you. Symphony, when I told you this shit between me and you is a dream come true, I wasn’t lying. I’ve been in love with you since high school. How many years ago was that?” he laughed. “Shit, that’s a long time.”
I giggled. “You didn’t know what love was back then.”
“I do now.”
I glanced up at him, and he was serious as hell. “You love me?” I asked him.
“Is the sky fucking blue? I know I’m not all rich and shit like you're used—”
I placed my finger to his lips, then kissed him. I kissed him for every year that went by, because our hearts wanted the same thing and never got it. I was going to stick beside him as long as he stood by his word.
SCOOTER
I paced the floor as I waited for someone to come and tell me if Porsha was good. When I woke up this morning and saw her car smashed up on the news, that shit broke me. Porsha and I's relationship was toxic; the threats made between us were empty. I knew Porsha and I would never be together like that, but she was a nigga’s friend. She had held me down when needed, and the fucked-up part is I knew she had no one.
I ran my hand through my hair when the nurse came walking out. I didn’t let her fully step into the lobby before I met her where she was. She looked up at me, then down at the paper in her hand. “Sir, I cannot disclose anything to you. I would need to speak to a, ah,” she paused as she looked down again.
I snapped. I popped the paper and knocked it out of her hand. “Fuck the paper lady. That girl back there doesn’t have a family. Those people don’t give a shit about her, so why do you think you can’t get a hold of them? I am her only family. So please. A nigga is begging, tell me she is ok.”
The nurse swallowed hard as she reached down to pick the paper up. This time, when she looked at me, she still hadn’t said anything, but her head shake told me all I needed to know.“Fuucck!”I shouted.
I couldn’t believe this shit. Porsha was dead. How was this happening when I’d just talked to her? My head was fucked up. I had called to give her some exciting news, and now she was gone. Shit, a nigga didn’t have anybody for real now. Keith was off to college, parents don’t know where they are, and now a nigga’s only friend.
My phone vibrated, and I pulled it out to check, and it was from Beans. Mison somehow came through like he said, and now I couldn’t even enjoy the fucking moment. Beans was giving me an hour to get to the studio and I couldn’t even function. Hell, I didn’t know if I had it in me even to spit bars.
What I did know was this was my only way out of the Cove.
ALYSE
I checked my phone every hour on my way to my parents’ house to see if Jalen would text or call, but he hadn’t. His leaving was too sudden; I didn’t know if I had done something wrong. I was trying my best not to think the worst, but it was nearly impossible. I had given my body to him, and now he wasn’t talking to me. Many thoughts went through my head as I drove. Did I not move my hips well enough? Was my pussy not good enough? Was he mad because I didn’t give him a blow job? The thoughts were non-stop, and for every reason I came up with, I tried replaying the night in my head, going down the checklist of things we did to make sure I had filled all the boxes.
I pulled into my parents' driveway and noticed a car I had seen multiple times, but didn’t know why it was there. This was supposed to be our family dinner, something we did more than often. After parking, I got out, fixed my pink dress, and headed inside. “I’m home,” I called out.
“Lyse!” Brice and Alice screamed as they came running into the foyer, hugging me tightly.
“Hey! Where is Brennon?”
“Ah, Brennon is being a baby,” Brice hissed.
I began walking through the house, looking for him. Their idea of him being a baby was that he did not want to play whatever game they had come up with. Brennon was very much to himself. He wasn’t wild like the other two. While trying to find him, my mother called out to me. “Alyse, we’re in here.”
I moved toward the dining room and was surprised to see the Hansen’s sitting at the table. It wasn’t Mr. or Mrs. Hansen who shocked me; it was that they had brought their son, Colby. Colbyand I went to private school together. I remember at one point we had a crush on each other, but over the years things changed. Once he got accepted into an Ivy League, which I’m sure his parents had some dealings in, he became a complete asshole and far from what I wanted to deal with.
A weak smile eased on my face. “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Hansen,” I paused. “Colby,” I said dryly.
“You’re sure looking good, Alyse. It’s been a while.”
I pulled the chair out to sit, “Apparently not long enough.”
“Alyse!” my mother gasped.
My eyes rolled her way. “Relax, Mom, Colby knows I’m just joking,” I said as my eyes rolled toward him.
As my mom placed the food on the table, I felt uneasy because of Colby's watchful gaze. I shifted in my seat as my mother sat down to join us. I glanced at her curiously, “Wait, what about the trio?”
She patted my hand, “They’ve eaten, this is about you tonight.” She grinned.
