836 Franklin Ave

Flights

Saturday, June 30th

Angela and I hopped out of the taxi parked in front of the airport. The driver helped us unload our bags from the trunk. Angela tipped him before he drove off. I pulled my large light gray suitcase behind me as we walked towards the entrance.

We got inside the airport and began looking around for Jacob and his mom. Angela quickly spotted them by the baggage claim area. We began rolling our bags towards them. They began to notice us as smiles appeared on their faces. Angela grinned jogging a little to hug Jacob's mom. I stood there awkwardly next to Jacob. I felt him staring at me the entire time. I decided to finally look up and say something.

"Hi." I said softly.

"What kind of greeting is that." He scoffed. I lightly shook my head giving him a hug. He hugged me back before I pulled away. I saw Jacob's mom begin cheesing at me.

"Hello Sevyn! I'm Jacob's mom, Theresa. I've heard so much about you. Eres tan hermosa cariño!" (You're so beautiful sweetie) She said grabbing both of my arms. The way the Spanish rolled off her tongue made it sound like I was back home. It sounded so familiar. It made me smile.

"Thank you." I said. She let go of me and turned to Jacob raising her eyebrows at him, then looking back at me. I watched as his cheeks turned a bright pink color.

"Ma." He said in a deep husky voice. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

"Fine." She said to him. She smiled at me before looking away.

After about two hours of being in the airport, we were finally in the waiting area. We waited on an endlessly long line just to get our passports and bags checked. My feet were exhausted. Angela and Theresa were in the corner on their iPads conversing with each other. I silently sat in my chair as Jacob sat next to me on his.

"Sevyn." He said sternly. I jumped a little looking at him. He must've been calling me all this time.

"Hm." I said nonchalantly.

"You okay?" He asked referring to my silence. I nodded. "Okay." He said turning back to his phone. I peeked from the corner of my eyes to look at him. I watched his screen darken as the nudes of a chocolate skinned girl appeared on his screen. He bit his lip and smiled. I quickly turned my attention ahead of me. I wanted to punch myself in the face. I'm so stupid.

After Jacob left my house after helping me pack, I realized that I left one of my most important belongings at my house. I let Angela know that I was going to retrieve it. She offered to drive me but I preferred the walk. So I walked all the way to my house on the other side of Brooklyn. I was a block away and decided to take the shortcut through McCarren park. My mom always told me never take that route at night because you never know who's waiting to stab you, snatch you or even worse. But as I was walking past the swing set, I heard a familiar laugh. My head bolted to the left as I watched Jacob swing back and forth with another girl. They slowly brought their swings to a stop and engulfed themselves in a kiss. My body went numb as I just stood there and watched. It got a little heated and her clothes began to come off. I could barely see what she looked like due to her position and the absence of light but I did see her clothes start flying. She got up basically naked and straddled Jacob a little. That's when I decided to leave. Before I could see anything else that might hurt my feelings. I hurriedly walked from where I was to the opposite exit of the park.

When I got to my house, I stood in front of the apartment building. The rustic olive green and chipped bronze door smelled of cigarettes. I looked up and stared at the old gold numbers that read 836. I stood on the steps ready to push open the door. My hands began to clam up.