The One She Loved

Chapter fifteen,

"So, keep that in mind when you think you want to have a relationship with a guy who's mom doesn't even like us—you. And doesn't see any faults in her son's doings,"

"And like I said, you need to stay the hell away from him," Nazim warned her, fishing for his keys in his pocket. "I don't want to hear shit else about what he's done for you or how he makes you feel. Fuck him, his family and his bitch ass brother. Got a problem wit' it? Go write in your journal,"

Luvie could her eyes burning with tears as she stared at her brother with a hardened expression. "...fuck you," Luvie finally uttered out, her family's eyes going wide in response.

"Sioni!" Both Candice and Marc called after her, she ignored them and stormed away towards her room. Majin, Naheim and Sameer peeked over at Nazim, his face stricken with surprise, yet hurt.

Despite the many times that she's been in disagreements with her brothers, or how badly they pissed her off, Luvie always remained respectful towards them and vice versa.

Luvie never talked out of term with them for that matter. However, after the loss of Richie, Luvie was put into therapy shortly afterwards. A part of her therapy was to journal the anger she held inside of her.

When she was younger, she had trouble expressing her emotions to those closest to her. Whether it was anger that turned into her lashing out or sadness that turned into full blown meltdowns, Luvie needed a better way to express herself.

Of course as she grew older, Luvie learned how to better articulate her emotions, no longer needing to journal like in her earlier years.

To hear her brother throw something that became a coping mechanism for her back into her face, was like a slap in the face to her.

Especially when Nazim was the one who encouraged her in the first place to try it when she didn't want to.

❦❦❦

"Thanks for letting me crash here," Asanté thanked Mali, stretching his legs out in front of him as he sat on the couch.

Mali inhaled the smoke from the blunt he took a hit of, passing it over to his friend. "You don't gotta thank me, we brothers—you helped me while I was down," he said, exhaling the smoke. "What happened man? You a'ight?"

Asanté took a hit of the blunt, sinking deeper into the couch. Easton walked into the living room, holding a bag of doritos. Mali sucked his teeth, narrowing his eyes at Easton.

"Nigga, who told you to open my chips?" Mali started to mug him, as he plopped down between Asanté and Mali.

"I'll buy you some more," Easton waved him off, stuffing a chip into his mouth. "What happened, Tay?"

"Sioni went over to my house to retwist my locs for me. Everything was cool, even when my parents got there, everything was still going good—wit' the exception of my moms acting like Sioni ain't exist. It's one thing to not speak to me, I'm used to that shit, but don't be rude to her, especially when she spoke to you," Asanté started to recall to his friends, passing the blunt back over to Mali.

"She ain't say absolutely anything to her?" Easton raised an eyebrow, looking over at him. Asanté hummed and nodded in response. "Yo' moms be moving weird bro,"

"So, after Sioni done wit' my locs, I go take the chair back to the dining room—next thing you know, someone at the door, knocking like they the fuckin' police and shit," Asanté lowered his eyebrows, making vague hand gestures. "I look out the window and it's her folks bruh,"

"Her whole family?" Mali's eyebrows peeled up in surprise, Easton sporting the same expression.

"Her brothers and her dad. I open the door and they asking where Sioni is. She comes to the front door wit' her stuff and they get to grabbing her all rough, which was pissing me off cause that shit wasn't necessary,"