The Degree of Mixed Emotions

Chapter 3: Trust Me

He did have a really nice room for a guy, very different than my brother's growing up and hers. So it was amazing seeing a room so dandy and clean. He even had stuff up on the walls. Different candles placed perfectly on his window seal. Two very stylish lamps that fit the overall decor of the room. I was just impressed by how everything was so nice, including the color scheme and all, down to his bed.

That's why we asked why his apartment looked better than ours. We knew he had a one bed room, on day one. But his he made it look bigger, it stood out, he made it look very vibrant. He had plants in his living room that was placed in a way where it wouldn't make his living look like a forest or cluttered or anything. Elijah's entire apartment looked like it was done by an interior decorator. I was highly impressed, by everything.

"Why ask that?" He chuckled.

"Because I have two brothers and neither of their rooms ever looked like this. Neither did my cousin her brother. Shoot, it don't even look like that now for him. This room is so freaking clean, my dude and neat." Rayona said in awe as she checked out of all his bedroom.

"Well, my mom is an interior decorator. So she helped with a lot of this stuff and she instilled in me to keep my room like this. I done got too many ass whoopings growing up, messing up her house to know I'm gonna stick to keeping this clean." He said taking a seat in a chair in his room.

"How that bathroom look though?" Rayona asked in disbelief. I wasn't buying it either but she acting like she knew the man for years with the way she's drilling him.

"I like you, you funny for sure. But gone head and look if you in that much disbelief." He said to her and she immediately walked pass him into the bathroom at the end of the room.

"Your cousin is something else. She a whole hand full and you got to live with her every single day." He laughed as he placed his arm on my shoulder, looking at me.

"Well she's your next door neighbor now and you got to deal with her too."

"You right, I guess but I ain't got to basically wake up to her. I mean I did today, but that just happened, accidentally." He said shrugging.

"Hey, but is that the wall you were telling me about?" I said walking up to the planner and plat that was on his night stand.

"Yeah, its my journal. You know when I mediate and just pray and talk to God everyday I sit down and write down verses to really let it sink in it better. I've been really just getting into it though. It takes a lot of discipline to keep up with it though but it's worthwhile you know." He said as he showed me his different Bibles and devotional and notes he had laid out.

"I see lots of affirmations too." I said smiling looking down at his notes as he showed me.

"I like the way we just comfortable so soon, it's cool. Because anyone else I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing this with not out of embarrassment or anything. Just this is apart of my me time with God it's just personal, so like...."

"I looked through that bathroom and that closet for like 10 minutes and I started to think a woman built him in a lab." Rayona said breaking our moment.

"Nah, I'm all real Rayona. Like I said my mom is an interior designer and my dad is in the military so keeping things like this together was a must growing up. That's really the only reason I'm like this. Down to even why I'm eager to help ya'll and be so nice. Also because I just vibe with ya'll for real for real. Like ya'll seriously already my peoples like real talk." He said pointing his fist out to her so she could bump it.

"Okay." She said as she slowly bumped fist with him as though she wasn't sure.

"Alright, you too." He said holding his fist up to me now to bump it and I laughed proceeding to do so.