Under the Radar (COMPLETED)

Busted

"My bad. I definitely didn't mean to fall asleep. I had shit to do." Dre says, into the phone. Thankfully my mom wants to be able to contact me at all times. Otherwise I wouldn't have my phone right now. "I know. Ugh. I just got used to my car and ain't no telling how long she gone keep it. She definitely knows who you are." I say. "Everybody think they know me." "You know what I mean. She only has what we all know in the streets about you." "Yea, well soon they won't know me at all." Dre says. "What you mean by that?" I ask. "Nun, don't worry about it. Ima hit you later." He says and hangs up. I can't even believe today.

I spend the next three hours scrolling through social media, before finally falling asleep. By the time I wake up, it's about 10AM. Even when I go to sleep late, I still can't sleep in. I take a few minutes to gather my thoughts and get out of my bed. I walk out of my room and I'm surprised at who I see. "Mason?" I say, confused. Why is he here this early or at all, for that matter? "Good morning, Maya. Your mom invited me over." He looks over to my mom, standing in the kitchen. "Um...okay. Well since you're here, I guess I should tell you I accepted your gift." "I'm not worried about that, Maya Mae. I'm worried about you riding around with Dre." He says shocking me. I know damn well she didn't go telling this man my business.

"Don't look at me like that! You kept talking about how that's not him and all that. Your dad knows all about Dre and who he is." My mom says, like she knows something. "You telling him my business, mama?? This what we doing now? He left for 13 years and you think he can come in here and try to tell me what to do?" I'm angry at this point. "Listen here, little girl. I'm still your daddy." Mason stands up. "You're my mom's sperm donor! You don't get to call yourself a dad!" I yell angrily. I turn around and head back into my room. The nerve of them tryna team up on me. How dare my mama bring this man in this house and try to tell me what to do?

I stay angry for about an hour, until I hear Mason leave. If my bathroom wasn't out in the hall, I'd stay in my room all day. I don't want to see or talk to either of them. "Maya." My mom calls, from outside my door. I don't say anything. She opens the door anyway. "I know you heard me calling you." She says. "I don't have anything to say." I say simply. "Well I do. You don't know anything about Dre but you out here hanging with him late at night. He's a drug dealer, Maya." "That doesn't mean he doesn't deserve friends. Okay? He's a person too. He's nice and funny." "Oh he done brainwashed you already. When did you even start hanging with him?? This has to stop." "I'm not brainwashed. If anyone actually got to know the real him, they'd be surprised." "Baby there's nothing else to him. All he's good for is drugs and jail time. You need to stay away from him." She says and walks away. I know the Dre I spent time with is different from who we all knew him to be. But what if she's right and it's all an act?

My mom didn't say what all my punishment included but ima assume I can't go outside. It's Saturday and I know everybody gone be out today. I plop down in front the tv and click through it. I occasionally text my friends. They're already having a good time outside even though it's only like 1PM. From Instagram, I see Dre's even out on the block. I'm so conflicted now. For all these years I looked at him like he was the scariest scum of the earth. Now, I'm wondering if this side he's been showing me is the real Dre. D'Andre.

It just hits me that I know his whole name now. I memorized it from seeing his high school diploma and college degree. I pull up the private search engine on my phone and search his full name. "Friendly Daycare?" I read as it says he owns a daycare. There's no way he owns a daycare. I highly doubt he'd even want to be around kids. He's not as old as I thought and all the young niggas don't want kids.

I end up going down a rabbit hole of information. There's so much speculation about his drug ring. Nothing that stick. I even see Mason's name pop up next to someone I assume is Dre's dad. This is wild. How could they let someone like him open a daycare though, if they have all the assumptions out there? And then for him to make enough money for all of his cars and his house. I'd never let my kid near him. I'm so freaked out I just close it all out and lay back on my bed. "This too much." I say to myself.

***
My mom and I barely talk for two weeks. Mason doesn't try to contact me. Dre and I end up talking almost every day. He keeps apologizing for the incident. I'm not even stressed about it though, because in less than three weeks, I'll be off to school. This weekend is our overnight orientation, for freshman. I'm nervous as hell. It's going to be a small taste of what it's going to be like living away from home. I'm just happy to get out of the house though.

I pull my bag out into the living room. My mom's in the kitchen, making lunch. "Hey." She says, simply. "Hey." I reply with the same energy. I'm not necessarily mad anymore, I just didn't see that coming and I want this shit to be over . "You got everything you need?" She asks. "I think so. If not, it's okay. It's only one night. As long as I got stuff to bathe with." She smiles a little. "Here." She pulls my keys out the top drawer, near the fridge. "I can have it back now?" I ask. "Yea but Maya I don't want you hanging with that boy. You have school to worry about. You're smarter than that." She says, ruining the mood. "Mama. He's never hurt me and he won't. Maybe one day the whole hood will see who he really is." I say. She just shakes her head. At the end of the day, she knows she can't stop me. School isn't too far for him to drive to me or for me to drive to him. If we wanna chill, we will. She comes over and kisses my forehead. "Y'all be safe okay?" She says and takes her lunch into her room.

I grab my things and throw them in the car. Trevor and Daisy are being dropped off by me and Keisha's since my mom is now letting me drive. "You're finally free!" Keisha says, as she makes her way down the stairs. "Girl finally. Shit was terrible." I say and throw my bag in the trunk. "The block missed you. I'm sure Dre missed you too." She smirks. "Shut up. We talked enough. I'm sure he's fine." "Y'all a thing now, you know that right?" "Girl what? We're just friends, Keisha." "For now." She winks.
Daisy and Trevor's families drop them off and we make our way to Georgia State.