1995

III

6:25pm
Ava Janae Pearson. ^

We laughed and celebrated at II Cielo in Beverly Hills. I paid for me and Hazel's check because I didn't want her spending her new money when I had tons. "You didn't have to do that Ava." Hazel said reaching into her purse.

"No." I swatted her hand away. "It's fine enjoy your money." She smiled at me. "Well we gotta get going. It's 7:00 and I gotta get ready for my man he should be home soon." She rolled her eyes.

"I thought you said you were going to leave Drew alone." I took another sip of my Chardonnay before scooting out my chair.

"Drew ain't got nowhere to go and I had decided to let him stay in my condo until we started sleeping together again so we're not really dating were just fucking." She shook her head.

"Why can Drew just get a job? Besides don't they hire down at Jacksons Seafood place? Imagine how much he could make by selling crab plates which is $75 a piece. And that place is always packed."

I shrugged. "I don't know Hazel but I don't wanna talk about this anymore." We walked to the car. "I'm just trying to look out Ava, What if he's just using you like last time?" I sighed heavily as she knew I was getting aggravated.

Hazel.
When Ava dropped me off I changed in my white tube maxi dress. I wasn't going to go out with Macdaddy only because I wanted to keep the relationship as strictly business but I did want to see my sister August.

August and I don't see eye to eye at all. She was always the princess of the family and I was treated as one of the bad ones. Me and August didn't have the same father. My father, Hassan, was a 'dead beat' because he didn't want to be wit my mother anymore. So for three years she kept me away from him until I started living with him when I was twelve and my family has been upset every since. I guess they needed someone to constantly talk down on.

Now that I'm back to my home town my family refused to have me stay with August or with them so I had to get an apartment which I could barely pay for before today. And on top of that I still have to pay off my tuition.

I went to college for business. One day I want to own my own salon.

I grabbed my keys and got into my Toyota and drove back to Beverly Hills, where my sister stayed. I knocked on the door three times before her husband Sandino answered the door with little Jeremiah in his hands.

He greeted me with a hug and kissed my cheek. "August is upstairs putting Theo to bed your welcome to go up there." I was lucky that he was always nice to me. I don't know why him and my sister connected when his situation was so relatable to mines.

My family hated him too.

I walked up the stairs trying to be quiet as possible. Once Theo was awake it was hard to get him to go back to sleep.

I managed to run directly into August as she almost fell I caught her. Couldn't let everyone's little princess hurt herself.

"Oh, hey Hazel." She whispered hugging me tight. I felt her baby bump press against me. "We missed you at the barbecue last Friday." We both walked downstairs together.

"I had to work. The apartment I bought is expensive." She swatted her hand. "Me and Sandino have the money Haze, we can help." I chucked. "Last thing I need is for the princess to help the peasant." I mumbled underneath my breath but she heard me.

"Hazel! I don't know why you think your a peasant and why I get treated like a princess but I never ever hated you or treated you as mean as you treat me!" She folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm going to say this then I'm going to be out of all of y'all lives." I sighed. "If you didn't get treated like a princess, why are you living in a house that you or Sandino don't pay for which your parents pay for. You had a full ride to college with them and why am I staying at an apartment that I can't even pay for and still in debt from my tuition?" I stormed downstairs and got back into my car.

When I got home I received a text message from August. "You can't keep blaming me for what they did to you... I'm sorry." I removed my dress and walked to the bathroom.

The shower was going to be the best thing all day other than that $16,000 I made off one song.