Page 44 of My Brother's Keeper
He caught up to me and grabbed my arm. “Relax, I’m sorry. I was trying to make you laugh. Look, the school isn’t bad, but Hillsdale is much more fitting for you,” he said as he stroked my cheek.
I knocked his hand out of the way, “Don’t touch me.”
He placed his hand to the bridge of his nose. “What happened to you. You have never been like this before. Maybe your dad was right, this place is a bad influence on you.”
“Fuck you!” I spat. “It’s time to leave.”
I went to walk off, but he pulled me back and put his lips on mine. I thought I felt him trying to stick his tongue in my mouth.
“The fuck is going on over here!” I heard someone shout.
My head spun to see Xavier staring. “It is not what you think?” I blurted out.
Colby pointed. “Who’s he, Alyse? You’re dating guys with dreadlocks?”
Xavier pointed back at him. “White boy, who are you talking to?”
Colby snarled. “You.”
Xavier rushed him. They began tussling in the aisleway.
“Stop!” I shouted.
Xavier was beating Colby up so badly that once Colby got a chance, he shoved Xavier so hard that he tripped and fell back. I begin shoving Colby. “Why the fuck did you do that! Huh?”
He pushed me out of the way, walked over, and did the unthinkable. He stomped on Xavier’s ankle. The scream he let off was terrifying. I tried to check on him, but he cursed me out. The team started to come from the back to help. When I turned around to look, Colby was gone.
“Don’t say shit to my brother,” he gritted.
“But—”
“Ah shit!” he screamed as he held his ankle. His eyes snapped my way. “Look, you got it all; we don’t. You don’t know what it’s like, rich girl. My brothers need me. If you say any fucking thing, I swear I will tell Jalen I saw you kissing that corny ass white boy.”
I wasn’t sure how he was going to pull off an injury. I knew I had to call Jalen to tell him what happened, but I didn’t know how to explain it all. I know Xavier thought he saw something between Colby and me, but it was nothing. I leaned down to try to help, and he swiped my hand away. “That white boy is going to get his.”
“Wha-what are you saying?”
Xavier began sweating profusely. “You heard what I said,” he grumbled.
The coach and some of the other players had reached us as they helped him up. “What happened?” the coach asked me.
“There was—”
“I fucked around and tripped,” Xavier jumped in.
“Let’s get you iced up and have you checked out.” The coach said as they helped him to the back.
Colby’s actions crossed the line. The sad part is, even if I told his family, that they had enough money and power, the entire thing would be nonexistent. This isn’t what I needed before the fucking holidays.
SYMPHONY
“Look, daddy, you see this right here? This means you’re going to be a grandpa,” I said as I showed him my pregnancy test.
I knew something had been off for the last few days. At first, I thought it was that my body was exhausted from all that I was doing to help Mison, but my period didn’t come on time. I started to count the days since Mison and I started having sex, and it’s obvious the nigga knew how to shoot the bullseye because fourteen days later, a baby was forming inside me.
With Mison being on this journey, his vice had switched from drinking to sex. I didn’t know if I was excited or scared. The thought of an abortion crossed my mind because Mison hadn’t been sober that long, and I didn’t want to trigger him, but then I thought about what I wanted, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
The fear of telling Mison we were going to have a baby settled in me, but I knew I had to do it. I stared at my father as he stared at the test like he was trying to figure out what was going on. I knew somewhere in there he understood, or at least I hoped. I stood from the chair and kissed his forehead as I always did before leaving the room.
