Upscale In The Hood

20

^ Jshaun ^

"Aj!!! Pack up! We moving!" I yelled, throwing unmade boxes and a roll of tape on her floor. She sat up rubbing her eyes and I shut her door before she could ask any questions. I went to Jshaun's room and got to packing his stuff up.

I have a habit of checking if he's alive now. Every hour I run to his room and check. When I see those big gorgeous eyes and that smile I just melt. It's been a whole year since everything went down. It was time to leave. Nothing had happened to put us in danger but the dirty laundry that just couldn't get clean, laying in my backyard in that fire pit.. it took over me.

I picked him up once I finished packing all his clothes and took him up to my room. I put him on the floor to let him crawl and walk around while I packed my own clothes. It's been great seeing him grow up here but it's definitely time to go.

I had already bought a house in Houston with a lot of the money I had stashed away. Movers would be here soon to follow us on the drive to the house. It took 2 hours to pack all my clothes. I left the rest of my memories in a trash bag.

I picked Jshaun up and went back to check on AJ. She was still sleep. I hooked my phone up to her speakers and turned on Rake It Up by Yo Gotti, turning the volume all the way up.

I danced with Jshaun in the mirror until she finally got outta bed.

"Bro what the fuck...?" She looked at me tiredly after turning the music off.

"We're moving in less than 2 hours. You were supposed to be packed a while ago but yo ass wasn't tryna get up. Come on bruh." I sat Jshaun down and started making the boxes. She sighed and walked into the closet without any questions.

We finished up with her clothes as soon as the moving truck got here. Our clothes filled up half the truck alone. The other half was filled with my paintings. I didn't have a job so I started painting.

AJ got in her car and I got in my own with Jshaun in his carseat. I set my gps and turned my music on before starting the drive to Miami.

* * * *

I pulled up in the 3 car garage of the new house and AJ pulled in next to me. The movers parked in the driveway. The house was way better looking in person.

Jshaun was asleep so I took him to his new room and laid him down before going to direct the movers.

"Bro there's so many rooms in this house. Which one mine?" AJ asked.

"You told me you wanted a room on the first floor. Your door is at the end of the hall next to the kitchen." I said.

"Ight. But why did you buy a house without telling nobody?" She asked, looking around.

"I needed a change. We all did. Don't question me man." I went into my own room, which was right next to Jshaun's, and sat on my bed. The movers finished so I paid them all and they left.

My room was so sophisticated. I wasn't used to it. One whole wall was glass and had long black curtains from the ceiling to the floor. The floor was dark wood with black furry rugs all over. I had a flat screen on the wall above an electric fireplace. My bed was a king size with a black velvet headboard and base. My closet had a sliding mirror door but it was still a walk in. My bathroom was a different story.

I wanted to hop right in the shower but I had to go grocery shopping. I put baby monitors around the house and left one of the keys on AJ's dresser before I left. I drove to the nearest grocery store and filled two carts with food.

"Do you need help?" This fine ass employee asked.

"Uh sure I guess." I said. She got behind one of the carts and I followed her to check out. She helped me make the whole process faster and easier and then helped take them all out to my car afterwards.

"Thanks for the help." I said as I closed the trunk.

"No problem. Big family?" She asked.

"Actually nah just me, my son, and my sister." I replied.

"Awww you have a son? How old is he?" She asked.

"He'll be 2 in a few months." I said.

"That's so cute. Did you just move here or something?" She asked, looking at my cali plates.

"Yeah I just moved today." I said.

"Well if you ever want to hang out I can show you around." She offered.

"Really? Yeah that'd be dope." She put her number in my phone and handed it back. Her name was Amari.

"Before you go, can I get your name?" She asked.

"It's J." She smiled at me and walked away with the carts. I closed my trunk and got in the car. I drove back home and got to putting everything away. It was quiet in the house so I turned on some music and started cooking dinner. It was like 11 at night now so I knew AJ was starving too.

AJ just happened to walk into the kitchen with Jshaun when I was halfway done cooking. She sat him on the table and leaned against it.

"What you making?" She asked.

"Just some quick spaghetti. I'm tired as fuck." I said. I walked over to Jshaun while the noodles boiled. He stood up and walked into my arms.

"Wassup babyboy you hungry?" I asked him. He smiled and nodded at me. He was getting tall already. I knew he would grow up to be real tall.

"I'm about to go out after I eat." AJ said.

"Ight you got your key right?" I asked. She nodded.

I picked Jshaun up and went to finish the spaghetti.