They Don't Know (BOOK TWO)

Chapter 25

"Corey you have guests!" His father shouts down the hallway.

Guest? Corey never has guest, so who's here to see him? He looks into the mirror and finishes applying the cheap drug store concealer on his face to cover up his slightly swollen eye and the black and blue bruise on his face. He doesn't want to leave the house looking like this but he has to work today so the makeup he bought at the corner store yesterday should do the trick at hiding his battered face.

He leaves the foundation in the back of the medicine cabinet and makes his way to the door as quickly as possible. The pain in his body isn't as bad as it was the morning after he woke up from Raymond's assault, but it's still hard to move and sometimes breath properly.

"What are y'all doing here?" He asks when he reaches the living room. Malcolm and Ty are sitting on the couch while his father sits in the kitchen eating a sandwich.

 "Nice to see you too," Ty mean mugs him.

"You went MIA on us, we had to come by and make sure you're still alive." Malcolm says, "What happened?"

 Corey walks over to them, trying not to limp or show pain, and sits down on the couch beside them. "I got sick, one of those virus things or something. Had a fever and everything." He lies easily. There was no way he could get out of bed after Raymond beat him up Wednesday night. It was a haste just to use the bathroom and all he had to eat was a bad sandwich he threw together before lying down in his room again. Even the lights made his head pound with a strong migraine. It took all his strength just to drive to the corner store this morning and buy some foundation, he's surprised he didn't crash from the flashes of pain that would explode throughout his body.

"How you feelin now?" Malcolm asks.

Corey shrugs, "Better than yesterday," he admits truthfully. "So what I miss when I was gone?"

Malcolm looks at Ty who rolls his eyes and leans back on the couch, draping his arm along the top of it. Malcolm looks at Corey, "Ty gave Shaun a bloody nose."

"Aw shit, for what?" Corey looks at Ty.

He sucks his teeth, "He basically said I'm too sprung over Talia and he called her a bitch. So I popped him in the nose to shut him up."

"Damn, you are sprung." Corey says earning an evil look from Ty. He quickly fixes his mistake, "But Shaun's wrong too. He didnt have to go that far."

"Well Ty did accuse him of being gay." Malcolm points out.

Corey busts out laughing, his ribs hurting with each rush of breath. "What!? You called him gay?" He laughs even harder and Ty can't help but smile.

"I was pissed off and that's the first thing that popped into my mind." He says.

Corey shakes his head, "Y'all wildin for real."

"I mean I feel bad for saying that to him and punching him cuz he's been my boy from day one. But even after I warned him to stop talking he kept at it." Ty explains.

"Thats Shaun for you." Corey comments.

Ty nods, "Yeah, and now we've gotta talk to my sorry ass father tomorrow. It's like shit just keeps piling up on my shoulders."

Corey's eyebrows raise in interest. "Y'all gonna talk to your dad? How does Sevyn feel about that?"

"She's reluctant but she started therapy this week and I guess this is just phase one in curing herself." Malcolm answers.

"Therapy?"

"Yeah for her PTSD," Malcolm responds. "Long story short Keenan and my dad fvcked her up."