A Secret To Treasure

Mon'Keese Brooks

I knew that car belonged to her! Disappointment must've washed all over my face because Marc quickly stopped what he was saying and tried to lift my spirits.

"Joy let her know you came by the house. She knows you're here. Just let it happen. Y'all got too much history and chemistry to not come back together. I've kept my nose out of y'all business, but it's been 10 years. It's time y'all hash the shit out. We all family, blood or not, and nobody wins when the family feuds. You and Treasure just got shit to talk about. It's going to be good." He ended just as the phone rang. "It's about to get busy up in here. Gimme about 15 more minutes and your food will be up! I'm trying to get you out of here before people start swarming in and flocking to you! I'll be right back."

As Marc busied himself with the phone taking an order, I thought about Treasure.

My Treasure.

From the moment I laid my eyes on her, before I even knew her name, I knew that the girl with the pigtails and smile bigger than her face following Joy around was something special. Joy had just started going to our middle school that week and Marc had already claimed her as his girl. Joy introduced us to her little sister, Treasure. Joy and Marc were both in 7th grade, I was in 6th grade, and Treasure was in 5th. From that day forth, we were inseparable.

Treasure was my first everything.
My first kiss.
My first date.
My first love.
My first time.
And the first person I ever let down.

From day one, every game I played, Treasure made sure she was there. I played football, basketball, and ran track. So, Treasure joined the cheerleading squad and track team to be sure she always had transportation to every game. In high school, I never competed in anything before kissing Treasure. Through every win and the few losses, she made sure to be waiting for me at the end of each game with a Powerade and a pickle. So, since my baby looked out for me, when it was time to go to college, I looked out for her.

After leading my school to back to back state championships in football and basketball, I was one of the most sought after high school athletes in the country. When colleges approached me, I let it be known that Treasure and I were a package deal. Most schools weren't trying to hear that until Texas A&M gave me whatever I wanted to stay in state. So, while I secured a full ride Football scholarship for myself, Treasure got a full ride scholarship for Cheer and Academics. She even took accelerated classes to graduate early with me. Our future was set. I would go to the NFL and Treasure would be a pediatric nurse. Everything was going according to plan, until I fucked everything up!

From the day I took Treasure's virginity, she always ensured that we used condoms. She didn't want to have kids until after we graduated. One drunken slip up after a big win resulted in a positive pregnancy test. While I was ecstatic that my baby was having my baby, Treasure was devastated. To her, our dreams would be on hold, she was going to lose her scholarship, and would have to move back home. I disagreed. We argued about her pregnancy for 2 weeks. Treasure became distant, even depressed. I tried to talk to her for weeks to convince her that a baby wouldn't uproot our world. In our final heated argument, Treasure cried because she wasn't feeling right, but we'd said so many hateful things up to that point that I didn't want to hear shit else from her and I dipped. I went to a party with some of my teammates and decided to be a normal college student for one night. I got so drunk that I slept with another cheerleader.

The following afternoon I woke up with a bitch that wasn't my Treasure nor the cheerleader from the previous night. I knew I'd fucked up. Not to mention, my baby called me 28 times that night. I also had numerous calls from Marc, Joy, Treasure's roommate, Renee, and my mother. But it was a text message from Marc that sent my world crashing down:

BIGBRUH:
Where you at?
Pick up your phone!
We in College Station.
Lil Sis in the hospital, GET HERE!

I rushed to the hospital only to find out Treasure had already been discharged. I called her phone over and over again as I raced to her dorm. After pounding on the door for what felt like an eternity, Marc answered and stepped out into the hall. He let me know that Treasure had an ectopic pregnancy. One of her tubes ruptured and she lost a lot of blood before her roommate came home and found her passed out on the floor. She didn't want to see me because as she fought for her life due to the baby I wanted so badly, I was partying with hoes who didn't want anything from me, but a free ride. They made sure to post pictures of them all over me on Facebook. Someone had even sent them to Treasure's phone. Joy was inside packing up Treasure's belongings, so that she could return home with them.
Before that day, Marc and I had never had a disagreement a day in our lives. But in that moment, I had to fight my brother to get in that door. After tussling for a few minutes, when Joy opened the door to see what was going on in the hallway, I knocked that nigga the fuck out and rushed through Joy to get to Treasure.

My heart sunk into my stomach the moment I laid eyes on her. She looked so broken as she sat on the bed in her now empty room. I had broken her. I got on my knees and apologized to her over and over again. I cried and begged for her to stay. We could work it out, I would quit football and go home with her, anything she wanted. Saying nothing, Treasure rose from the bed, kissed me on my forehead, got on her knees, looked me dead in the eyes, and smiled.
She said, "I was going to give my life up for you."
Getting back on her feet, she cocked back and knocked me smooth the fuck out. I don't know how long I was out for, but when I came to... she was gone.

The next time I would see her was at Marc and Joy's wedding about 4 years ago. A bittersweet reunion. We walked down the aisle together, drank and danced, and fell into bed together that night and I made love to her all night long. . I thought from that point on, it would be just like old times. I got my Treasure back. But when I woke up the next morning, she was gone without a trace.

I was pulled from my thoughts as Marc placed my food in front of me.

"What you got up tonight?" He asked.
"Nothing much. I'm a single man; I can do whatever. You tryna play while the cat away?" I joked.
"HELLL NAW! Nigga, I got them damn kids. I'm going to be here for a few more hours, then I'm sure my mama gone be calling to get my bad ass kids and niece. Besides, Joy gone FaceTime me to make sure that I'm in the house three random times throughout the night. You know her crazy ass ain't playing that. The last time she went out of town, she locked all my good shoes in a safe to make sure I wasn't on the scene without her." He laughed. "But maybe this weekend, you can come by the house?"

"Definitely bro, hit me up! I love you, nigga!"

As I walked out the door, I took one final look at the Benz and my mission became clear.

I'm here in Houston to claim two things:
A trophy and my Treasure.