King of Hearts (gxg)

17. Lazy Sunday ♔︎

"Ain't nobody taking advantage of me. Everything I've done is cause I wanted to. Not cause nobody forced me."

"I thought the same thing. I started having sex at thirteen with a seventeen year old, and to this day I regret it. Because even if I wasn't technically forced into it, I wasn't in a space to be having sex. I was taken advantage of and didn't even realize it until years later. And I don't want you to make those same mistakes I did."

"No, Monie, I'm not having sex," he finally answered her question, but barely above a whisper.

"Is that the truth?"

"Yes, that's the truth. Girls have tried with me, but... I just ain't ready yet. I wanna wait for a girl I really like. And I just ain't met her yet."

"Okay," Monie nodded her head. "That's good. But sex also isn't a bad thing. I don't want you to think that either. It's a very natural-"

"Monique, can we please stop talking about this?" He groaned because discussing sex with his sister was the last thing he wanted to be doing.

"Just listen to me. You're growing up and that means sex is something you're gonna eventually want to experiment with, which is perfectly natural and normal. So whenever you do decide that you're ready, I want you to make sure that you're being safe and smart about it. That's all I ask."

"Okay. Now can we please change the subject?" He begged her.

"Fine, we can talk about school instead. You nervous about having to start over and make new friends?"

"Not really. I can make friends anywhere, I'm just sad I had to leave my old friends back in Chicago. But... I think I know why we moved here out the blue like that. So I ain't as upset as I was."

"Why you think we moved here?" Monie asked because she genuinely wanted to hear his answer.

"It's cause of Aiden, ain't it?" He asked about Ava's father.

"Why you think that?"

"Cause I heard y'all on the phone the other night arguing. Then his lil cousin told me he been talking shit about you to the whole neighborhood back home since we been gone."

"I won't lie to you. He is part of the reason we're here, but it's also more to it than that."

"Like what?"

"Stuff you don't needa be worrying about. You have a habit of making my problems your own, and I just need you to focus on being a normal teenager. I don't need you worrying about nothing else."

"My life ain't normal though. Normal fifteen years olds aren't raised by their twenty-two year old sister who has a five year old kid. I know you worry bout me, Monie, but I worry bout you just as much. And I notice you been sleeping and eating less. I notice you been more stressed. I'm not dumb. I know what all that leads to, and I don't want you to reach that breaking point."

"I won't reach that point," Monie assured him.

"You sure? Cause you been real close before."

"Marco, I'm fi-"

"Don't say you're fine Monique, cause it's very obvious you're not."

"So what I'm supposed to say then?"

"How bout the truth?" Marco argued. "Stop lying to yourself all the time. Just like you be lying about liking Kiara. Cause you know she likes you, right?"

"What exactly does Kiara have to do with anything? Why you pointing that out?"

"Because she's making a real effort to get to know you. The real you. Don't mess this up for yourself because you have this 'I can do it all by myself' attitude. She wants to help you, and you need to let her. You deserve to have somebody take care of you for once."