ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ [ ᴀᴛʟᴀɴᴛᴀ, ɢᴀ]
ᴘᴏᴠ [ 1ꜱᴛ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ]
𝙺𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝙰𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐
↳ 𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚔
"you celebratin your birthday this year bubby?" i asked lijah who shook his head no.
"why not?" mama asked him as she placed her hand to her hip.
"cause ion want too, i done did everything and i ain't really feelin it this year." he mumbled.
"you said that last year, you bout ta be twenty man." daddy told him and he shrugged.
"just another day ta me." he said and mama creased her eyebrows while looking at him.
"another day? you was born that day and you should celebrate because you got ta see another one. you know how many black boys ain't even live ta see sixteen? boy, you blessed." she said and i looked to see elijah lowering his head.
daddy went over to him and picked up his head before mumbling something to him which made him nod and mumble something back.
"leave it be troy." daddy said and mama sucked her teeth.
"leave it be? he ain't celebrate his birthday since he was what? ten? all because of that trifling ass mama a yours, all i'm sayin is he should be happy that he's alive ta see another year of livin that's all. but shit, what do i know." she cut the stove off and left the kitchen.
if i wasn't confused before, i most definitely confused now chile. all i knew was that our "grandma" recked lijah's fourth birthday party and then after he turned ten he just never celebrated his birthday after that.
i found it weird but never questioned it because i didn't think it was my place, and i didn't wanna upset lijah because he didn't like when people asked his personal questions a lot. i ain't people, but still.
"how mad you think she is?" lijah asked daddy who shook his head.
"ion even wanna know." they had a quiet conversation before lijah got up and came over to me.
he kissed my forehead and left the house, wait a damn minute! we was supposed to go get ice cream. sigh, sad face.
"can you tell me what's goin on?" i asked daddy.
"ain't nothin serious, ya'll mama just take stuff like that seriously especially because a what been happenin lately wit all them black boys dyin and shit." he "explained".
"so what about the whole "trifling mama" part?" i asked.
"lijah don't like celebratin his birthday partially because a whatchu already know, but ya'll granny wasn't some sweet. she was bitter as hell and basically everything that went down happened around the time of lijah's birthday, so as he got older he just ain't like it no mo."
"i respected his choice and ya'll mama did too, but she wasn't happy about it. around that time was when lijah went mute and didn't wanna do nothin but write. she just don't want him ta dwell on the past and she wants him to open up more that's all." he said and sighed heavily.
"well they gone be okay?" i questioned.
"yeah they gone be good." he said as if he was trying to convince himself so.
"okay then." i tapped the countertop before going upstairs.
i walked to my room and shut the door before calling rayne.
"hey!" she greeted me.
"heyyy!" i waved and propped my phone up.
"everything okay? you look.. off," she said and tilted her head.
"i think so." i said and shrugged.
"imma let ya'll handle that because that "i think so" sound real iffy miss girl." she said.
"anyways." i muttered.
"rayne i done told you stop leavin these ugly ass slippers everywhere and clean this damn room up," her mama, ms. kylie fussed walking in.
"my room is clean, i just gotta put my clothes up. you literally find a problem with everything." rayne mumbled.
"watch it na, and hey mook." ms. kylie said grabbing the phone.
i smiled, "hey ms. kylie,"
"okay imma leave ya'll alone and get this damn room straight," she gave rayne her phone back and left the room.
"she work my nerves." rayne muttered and rolled her eyes.
"then just keep yo room clean," i shrugged.
"it is! i just gotta fold my clothes, i think her and my daddy arguin again cause she always pick with me when they do." she explained.
"you know you can always come stay over here, you basically my sister." i told her.
"you tell me all the time, but i'm not finna overstep my place and i don't wanna put that on mama t and mr. k," she said.
"now you know they look at you as their own, it's nothin but just know you always welcomed here." i said and she nodded.
she was gonna say something but went on mute, i could see her talking and then she came back to the phone.
"can i take up the offer?"
"i'll meet you by the oak tree." we exchanged our see you later's and i ran downstairs.
i slipped on my shoes and made sure to grab my lanyard on my way out.
rayne's parents had a weird relationship and it wasn't healthy i'll tell you that much, they argued a lot and then rayne would get the backlash or result of it.
me and her had been best friends since i was in kindergarten and she was in first grade at the time, but mama and daddy always allowed her to sleep over and stuff when stuff like that went down at her house.
we'd always meet at the oak tree in our neighborhood and walk back to my house. she never stay no longer than a week because ms. kylie or mr. ashton would come and pick her up because they didn't like having people in their business.
my mama would find it stupid because rayne would find herself back over here so there was no use in them coming to get her.
"hey bestie!" rayne grinned and we shared a big hug.
"hey best, you alright?" i asked her as we headed back to my house.
"yeah it's just the same ole stuff." she said shrugging it off.
"you know we can talk ta my mama and daddy about somethin because someday it's gone get worse." i told her.
"we can't cause you know how they get." she said.
"how bad this time?" i asked and we stopped walking, she held out her arms to me and i saw the bruises.
"i'm tellin my mama." i said crossing my arms.
"no you not." she said and looked at me wide eyed.
"then i'll tell my daddy cause yours need his ass beat the fuck up." i said and shrugged.
"mr. k would go fool if he knew and mama t, promise me you won't tell them this time. if it gets worse than this then we can tell them." she said and i bit the inside of my cheek.
"promise me, kieve." she said and held up her pinky.
"we tellin them next time and i mean it." we locked pinky's and kissed our thumbs before crossing them twice.
when we got back to my house, we went up to my room and she sat her bag on her bed. when i was in sixth grade i got my room upgraded so it could fit the both of us, we couldn't share a bed forever and rayne was always scared to sleep in a guest room by herself so i asked if i could make my room both of ours.
she had a bed and everything on the left side while everything of mines was on the right, she was the big sister i never had. it was weird at first because she's a year older than me, but we made it work because she never left me behind.
the opposite of sisters by chance, friends by choice but blood couldn't make us any closer. it was me and her till the end.
"i really appreciate you and your family, ya'll always been so nice ta me. i don't remember ever feelin left out or anything when i'm here." rayne said while picking at her covers.
"because you apart of our family, you matter just as much as i do or lijah." i said.
"i wish they'd see that." she muttered referring to her parents.
"they will one day because you gone show them, but until then we gotchu."
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𝙾𝚖𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝
↳ 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝚅𝚒𝚎𝚠
"king!" santana called out for elijah as she pushed the front door open, as usual he left it unlocked for her and she walked in.
she got no answer and furrowed her eyebrows at the silence, she locked the door and placed her book bag and keys on the island before walking to his room.
music was heard coming from the other side of his room door.
"watch him be sleep." she muttered and opened the the door, to her avail she was correct.
elijah was in his bed asleep with a book in hand, she shook her head at him and grabbed the book. she placed the small ribbon between the pages and sat the book on his side table.
she shook him lightly and he woke up well enough to be aware of his surroundings.
"i ain't hear you come in, my fault." he mumbled.
"it's okay, i just wanted ta make sure you was alright." she told him.
"i'm good, you good?" he asked her and she nodded.
"yeah i'm okay." she said.
"we not goin out again ain't it?" santana asked him.
he shook his head still tired, "not right na but we can go lata."
"guess we both takin a nap then." santana shrugged her shoulders, "move over cause i don't like sleepin by the window."
"me neither." elijah told her.
"welp we gone share the middle of this bed today." santana climbed onto his bed and laid next to him.
elijah had already started to fall asleep and santana basically allowed her body to shut down which was something to two had in common, they could fall asleep literally anywhere the only difference was elijah was a light sleeper and santana was a deep sleeper.
slowly santana drifted away and her body curled up beside elijah who had his left arm around her loosely.
the two fit together perfectly and it was a beautiful sight to see, simply because they contrasted one another in a complimentary way.
by now this part of their friendship was like a caterpillar forming into a butterfly, something pure to eye just like the relationship they shared.
it was slow to form and was to have a lovely outcome. their bond was slowly coming together in a way neither of them suspected, it was scary at first until they grew accustomed to each other's presence. this was their ordinary, they were each other's new look on reality.