Hood Life and Love: It Is What It Is (Sample)

Chapter 17 (E and P)

  The big guy grabbed Christian and the gun at the same time. He picked him up and walked down the street. My mom was yelling like a crazy woman. She was pissed. She looked like she wanted to hit me as she rounded on me.

"What the hell Anna, that boy was about to shoot him in my house," she pointed to herself fingering her chest. "Do you think you could handle that? Do you think you could live with that? Don't be stupid. That boy loves you and Reese, don't give a fuck about you. Fix this." She shouted and then she walked away. Most likely to kick Reese out of the house.

I didn't miss that he had been M.I.A. through the whole thing. I stood there and had to admit that she was right. I blinked and realized I was crying. Everything she said was true. I had all eyes on me again. This time with pity. How could I have been so stupid? I almost got Reese shot, and I had really, really hurt Christian. I didn't even know where he went. Revenge now, a sour taste in my mouth. For the second time in three days, I fell asleep crying.

*****

I woke up to find Christian in my room, sitting on the floor, playing the game. It was such a normal thing to wake up to, that I almost forgot all the crap from earlier that night. I wished I could erase the last few hours of my life. Scratch that. I wished I could erase the last few days. Unfortunately, time didn't work like that. I had to face the music at some point.

For now, though, I remained still. He didn't know I was woke he was all in the grand theft auto. I just laid there, so unsure. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know where to start. How could I fix this?

I thought, it was better to keep it real. "I don't really like Reese." I said.

He looked back at me and didn't move for a moment. Eventually, he stood up, and I sat beside me on the bed. He grabbed my hand and touched each finger, one at a time. He didn't seem to be in a rush, I figured he was thinking, or maybe he didn't know what to say either. This whole situation was such a mess. It's funny how love can have you doing weird shit. It would have you doing things you normally wouldn't think of.

Christian finally spoke. "I know. I'm sorry for tripping out like I did. I just don't like dude anyway and I can't stand nobody touching you. It makes me crazy just thinking about it. I would have killed that fool and I would have felt nothing but relieve."

I gulped past the lump forming in my throat. He was so serious. I felt I needed to apologize as well. None of this was Reese's fault. The blame was on me. As much as I wished, everything wasn't my fault. It was. Things would never be the same.

"I'm sorry for playing games." I said. "I was hurt by what my brother told me. I just wanted you to feel like I did."

"Well, if that was your aim. It worked." He said, giving me a ghost of a smile.

"Let's just forget it ever happened." I said, like that would ever happen.

"I want to. But it's going to be kind of hard seeing how I got to see that nigga Reese again." Christian said, giving my fingers a squeeze.

"Christian," I said and waited for him to look at me. "None of this was his fault. I used him."

"But he knows better." He said, his jaw becoming tight.

"So do I," I said, sitting up. "So if you want beef with someone, it should probably be me."

His hand touched my face. It was a gentle touch compared to his callused hand. "I would never hurt you, Ann, no matter how much you piss me off." He said.

"I know," I said, smiling softly. I felt some of the weight coming from my shoulders and my chest. I felt like everything would be okay. As long as I can keep Christian from killing Reese.

"I'll try to not kill him. Even though you pissing me off again defending him. Only thing I know is I'm not leaving you. No matter what. You got my heart shorty."

"Good, cause I ain't leaving either." I said, smiling.

He pushed me on the bed and laid down next to me. Wrapped me up and squeezed me tight.

"What are you doing, Christian?" I asked, confused.

"I'm going to sleep. I been up all night. And you going to sleep with me because I don't want to sleep alone." He said into my neck.

I said nothing. I just closed my eyes and went to sleep too.

*****

I started off second semester at Mehlville Senior High, home of the panthers. It was way bigger than Oakville and way more chill here. There were the typical cliché cliques, but it was more diverse. Black, white, Bosnian, Asian and every nationality you could think of. People steered clear of me, though. I'll give you one guess why.

They all knew who I was. Word had spread of what happened at Oakville and even though I was usually nice to everybody, it's like I had danger on my forehead. My first stop was counselor. Who explained that I had been given a second chance that didn't need to go to waste. I wasn't interested. As long as no one bothered me, I wouldn't bother anyone.

My first class was Physical Science, which I loved. I wanted to go to college for forensic science, so I wanted to take as many science classes as I could. Next, I had aerobics, and it was obvious the teacher didn't care what we did as long as we dressed out. Government sucked and then I had lunch.

I did not know where to sit. There were no empty tables, and I really didn't wasn't to sit with anyone, so I left. Across the street, there were a few fast-food restaurants and a bakery. I walked into the bakery and ordered a sandwich, noticing many people from school were here. A few people tried to talk to me but I would nod and didn't reply to them. I take my food and find a shaded tree and eat in peace. If every day was like this, it would be great. My last classes were zoology, algebra, and myth and legends. All of which were nice. I could see the next few years going by like a breeze.