Page 46 of My Brother's Keeper
Her smile was weak. “I know. Here,” she said as she handed me the box that was on her lap.
I glanced down at the box, scared to open it. I slowly pulled at the bow, then lifted the lid from the box. I stared long and hard. I didn’t know how to feel. I didn’t know if I would even be good at being a father. Hell, I didn’t feel worthy at all. My eyes slowly rose to her.
She fumbled with her hands. “I know you're on this new journey, and I don’t want to mess that up, so whateverwedecide here and now is whatwewill do.”
“This is a forever thing, Symph.”
“I know.”
I laughed. “A fucking baby?”
A nigga with a heart. I thought. “I’m cool with it,” I told her. “Yeah, a nigga is cool with it.”
I stopped by Flex’s apartment and stood in front of the door. The shit hurt to know Shorty was gone forever and that her people still hadn’t come to claim her body. I felt bad for all the fucked up things I said to her, and I never said thank you for the things she had done for me. “I’m going to the studio, Flex. You hear me. I’m going to make this shit worth all that a nigga been through, I swear. Rest up shorty, you can now rest those ballerina slippers.”
I put a kiss up to the sky before turning around to see a girl standing behind me. “My bad, Mama.”
She pointed at Flex’s apartment. “You knew her, too?”
I nodded. “Yeah, she was a friend.”
The girl smiled, and I was taken aback. Her slim, thick frame, perfect chestnut brown skin, and deep brown eyes were chef’s kiss. “She was my ballet instructor. I’m Morgan,” she said.
She sounded so articulate, so smart, that I was afraid to even speak. “I’m Scooter,” I mumbled.
She scooped a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Nice to meet you. Happy Thanksgiving.” She smiled.
I nodded before I walked off. “Yeah, you too.”
I had caught the bus to the other side of town so I could link up with my brother. He told me Bishop had decided to chill with them Zoo niggas, so he wanted to spend the day with me. It was fucked up because we didn’t have any family or anywhere to go, but shit, it was my brother, and I was willing to do whatever to make some shit shake. When I made it across town, I walked a couple of blocks until I reached the street Bishop lived on.Sixteen fucking blocks.Damn, was Clark, right?
As I approached Bishop’s crib, everything that Flex had told me started to make sense. It was I who was taking the bus while my brother had the luxury of having a car. It was I living in a halfway house while my brother was sleeping comfortably. Keith was living the life, so who was I to fuck that up for him? I knew rapping wasn’t going to be overnight, but I also knew that Keith’s status and living arrangements could be tarnished. Clark, Naheem, and Fiona had me by the balls, so I knew that to make sure my brother was good, I needed to do what I needed to do.
Bishop was coming out of his home as I was walking up. “Fresh nigga like always,” I told him.
Bishop was in a full black suit, even his dog was dressed the fuck up. “Got to stay clean. Ayo, Reem, let me holla at you for a second,” he said as he looked behind him to see if Keith was coming out.
“I know you're out, and I know what you did to go in. Symphony knows too, and because I made that decision to help you, I lost one of my best fucking friends. The time is now to change, don’t fuck it up. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for Keith. He needs someone other than me and Bleek to look up to. Your brother loves you; be the example. Last thing, if you fuckthis up. If you shit on the blessing you were so graciously given, I will kill you myself, and that’s my word.”
My tongue slid across my grills. “I got you. Ayo, thanks for taking care of him for me. I appreciate it.”
Bishop didn’t even acknowledge what I said as he hopped in the car and took off. Keith had come outside. “Bruh, Bruh, what’s up?”
“Sup, man. It’s you and me. What are you trying to get into?”
He shrugged. “Shit, we can go to that little diner, they're having Thanksgiving meals and shit. I’ll drive,” He said as he hit the alarm on his car.
When we hopped in, Keith turned to me. “Aye Kareem. I know what you did, and the shit is fucked up. I’m happy here and I want you to be happy too, but you need to make things right.”
I sat back and thought about what he said. I knew all of my decisions had been fucked up over the years. In my mind, I thought I was doing what I felt was best for him. I had become a menace by default. The rap shit was the only way I knew I would have an out. I turned to Keith, “Aye, let’s make a stop real quick.”
There was something I needed to do. If a nigga was going to move on, at least for the sake of Keith, I needed to get this off my chest. I was going to do right or at least try.
ALYSE
We all sat at the table, getting ready to eat dinner, when the thought of what my father was trying to do and what Colby had done played in my mind. I dropped my fork and crossed my arms over my chest. “How long have you been planning this?” I blurted out.
Both my parents looked at me curiously. “What are you talking about?” My father asked as he ate a piece of turkey.
