Page 18 of Makai

Within a few minutes, I was back upstairs with the fabric of my briefs brushing against my dick. I spat the remainder of the toothpaste into the sink and cleared my mouth of its residue. The minty mouthwash made my tastebuds burn as I swooshed it from one inflated cheek to the other, finally releasing it after a few seconds. Thirty felt too much like torture.

I layered my body with lotion and cologne. Black jeans and a black Balmain shirt followed. I lowered my jewelry onto my skin one piece at a time while in the full-sized mirror inside my closet. Last, I snapped my newest, diamond-encrusted gold plate onto my bottom teeth.

“Let’s get it, my nigga.” Gazing in the mirror, I demanded of myself.

The alarm blaring in the distance captured my attention. I made my way to the bed where my phone was lit and too fucking loud for my liking. Snatching it up, I was plagued with confusion, trying to figure out when I’d set an alarm and the reason.

To my surprise, my mother’s name appeared on the screen with Born Day just beside it. The wind was knocked from my chest, forcing me onto the bed where I rested my frame. My head fell into my hands as a groan fell from my lips. In less than two hours, it would be my mother’s birthday, and frankly, one of the worst days of the year.

There was a time that I waited up at night with my brothers just to crowd her with kisses and hugs when the clock struck twelve. But since her death, since her mental break, I hadn’t found the strength to celebrate her, celebrate them. Acknowledging her day at all was a fucking struggle.

Deep in my feelings, I jolted from the bed and headed downstairs with my necessities in hand. My feet didn’t stop moving until I was in the whip, waiting for the gates to close behind me. The volume of my stereo was nearly maxed out, forcing me to stay afloat and not get carried away by the wave of emotions that were threatening my well-being.

The miles required to enter the highway were full of dread. But the second I climbed the ramp and hit the newly paved lines, I stretched my shit out. I pressured my pedal until it was flush with the floor, not giving a fuck about the speed restrictions posted every few miles.

Young nigga move dat dope.

Young nigga–

Young nigga move dat dope.

Though the words didn’t come through my lips, I rapped along to the song internally, bobbing my head as I cleared the route to the airstrip where I was meeting my people. Knocking a few minutes off the trip, I managed to arrive just before eleven—the scheduled takeoff.

My wheels stopped rolling when I reached the staircase. I hopped out and removed the LV duffel from the backseat. When I made it up the stairs and into the aircraft where my family was waiting, it was then that I realized the mistake I’d made.

Malachi sat beside Aeir, who was as beautiful as the day I’d met her. The love I had for her came so easily, watching her love my brother with every piece of her while simultaneously loving herself more and more each day. Her spirit was the most angelic I’d ever encountered. Her ability to calm a room, and calm a heart with little to no effort, was commendable.

Milo sat beside Forrest, who was busy with her phone. Though she was head down, handling business, the smile on her face revealed so much. She was relieved to spend time away with the man of her dreams. A break from the children and birthing babies was exactly what she needed.

Ledge sat beside Halo, who was wrapped in a blanket with her head buried in his chest. Without a doubt, I knew that it was a struggle for her to make the trip happen, but her presence was appreciated. Just like Aeir, she had an angelic nature. It was soothing. Although she was battling her thoughts nearly every second of her day, they didn’t dim her subtle, yet notable glow.

Lawe sat beside Kleu, neither of them paying anyone around them any attention as he examined her nose for boogers. With upturned lips, I cleared my throat, demanding they cut that shit out. If that nigga could live in her skin, he would, and vice versa. They were pathetic, but they were solid. That shit was hard to come by.

“You wish you were one of them boogers, huh?”

“Fuck you!” Lawe spat, paying me little attention as he continued messing with Kleu’s nose. “Hmm. Do this.” He instructed her to blow slightly.

“Why are you still standing, Makai?” Malachi asked.

“Because I’m not about to sit down yet. I forgot something. I just wanted to come tell y’all niggas face to face not to leave. I’ll be right back.”

“You’re here. What do you mean, you’ll be back?” Ledge inquired.

“I got some shit to do. It’ll be quick.”

“Wheels up at eleven. Either you’re on or you’re not, nigga,” Lawe scoffed, finally giving Kleu a break.

“Nigga, do it look like I give a fuck what you talking about?”

“Here he go with this shit,” Milo sighed.

“Leave me alone and tell Precipitation to put her phone down. We’re on vacation.”

In the blink of an eye, Milo was up, down the aisle, and in my face. Ledge was the first between us.

“Let’s not do this. Aight?”

“Nah. Let Milo at least pinch this bitch. He always on that bullshit.”

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