Aaron Turner
-
"I feel like when I was younger, I just had to be with you. I couldn't see nothing else but just always being with you and I think moving to Cali was good for me. I need to grow beyond you, I don't wanna be so wrapped up in you and what you doing that I lose myself. Part of me will always love you - but this not working and we both realize that" I said while sitting across from Moses in a Chinese restaurant.
He was quiet for a moment as went to town on some fried rice. My gaze shifted down to my nephews Nintendo switch I had borrowed and returned back to my game of Mario kart.
"I feel like you not in love with me anymore and I'm still in love with you" He said bringing the dramatics like always.
"I'm not saying that Moses. If we meant to be, we not gonna have to force it in the end. But we both need to live without each other for awhile to see if this is what we even still want. I'm learning to stand on my own two feet and you gotta do the same. We men now, not boys" I said while turning the game off.
Moses went to speak when the jingle from the restaurant door caused us both to look up. Dylan who was sporting a white fur coat entered and I found myself laughing .
"You told me, you were with Kaine" He said as he pulled up a chair next to Moses like he was trying to stake claim.
"You stalking me now?" Moses asked as he clenched his jaw a bit in annoyance but kept his hands folded politely on the table.
I sat back and observed the both of them. They bickered like an old married couple - wasn't sure if it bothered me or I felt bad for him.
Moses caught my gaze and tapped my foot with his under the table to get my attention.
"If this is what you want, I understand. We gotta stand alone and be our own person. I'm sorry for the things that I put you through and how I didn't take care of your heart. Your feelings are valid and I want to be better if not for you then the man that may come after you" Moses said and Dylan forcefully grabbed his face so he'd look at him.
I honestly felt like I was third wheeling at that point. Seeing them together made me physically sick, wanted to walk into traffic a little bit.
"Why are you apologizing to him? You're going through shit too and he wasn't there for you. He didn't take care of your heart" Dylan said involving himself in something that he shouldn't.
Moses said something quietly to him to diffuse the conversation as I titled my head to the side. I could feel the inner toxic start to seep out.
"You gonna let him talk to me like that?" I questioned Moses and he did a double take.
"It's not like that Ron" Moses said quietly and I sat back and looked down at my lap.
I grew silent realizing he'd replaced me in his life with a knockoff version. Made me low key upset I didn't fuck Juan and was trying to better myself.
Dylan had never bothered me before but the fact that he'd gotten close to Moses bothered me. He was telling him things he hadn't told me and it made me wanna choose violence.
Moses said something lowly to Dylan who got up with an attitude and left as more food arrived at the table.
"All this is just a front, you know I'm not good for you, but you don't wanna see me love somebody else. Now who's using who?" Moses questioned sensing my jealously.
He was calm as he used his fork to stab his orange chicken.
I sat back and rubbed at my eyes that had started to water and he chewed slowly as he sat his fork down.
"You don't want me anymore and you don't want me to be with anybody else. What you want from me" Moses said as his eyes shifted down to his plate and he stared at the food.
"You weren't there and you swore last time would be different. Now I gotta settle for somebody that's not you and you don't get it because you don't care!" I yelled at him.
"You just ranted to me about how I'm holding you back and you so happy in California. I didn't beg you to come back, you came back because you wanted to see me. You can lie and say it was for Peyton, but I know you and I know that's not true" He said angrily as he clenched his jaw.
I rubbed my eyes going to speak again but he threw his hands up and slid out of his seat.
"I'm not about to do this with you. You wanted space right?" He questioned as he reached into his wallet and tossed money onto the table without counting it before slipping out the door.
I watched his car speed away as a waiter asked if I was okay. I swallowed hard and nodded my head before getting up from the table.
I continued wiping my face as I left out of the restaurant and used one of my hands to pat my pockets in search of my phone.
I walked for a little bit before I saw Moses sitting down at a bus stop a few feet away. He was looking straight ahead and when he heard my footsteps he looked up.
"I thought you left" I said quietly and he looked straight ahead.
"You thought I left you?" He asked before glancing at me again and I nodded my head.
"I saw your car pull off" I said as he sighed and stood up tucking his hands into the front of his jeans.
"That was Dylan. I live close and got another car, I can take you back" Moses said as he walked ahead.
I remained in my spot for a moment still angry, but eventually followed him. He didn't turn around, he just continued to walk like I was holding him at gunpoint.
I noticed he was walking with his hand gripping the gun in his waistband. He watched his surroundings closely and when he saw a man walking behind us, his pace slowed down.
"Walk in front of me" he instructed without glancing at me and I did as told. The man eventually crossed the street and headed in a different direction.
A few minutes later we arrived at Moses' brownstone and I saw the other car he was talking about parked out front.
"You can come in, or wait outside. Gotta find the spare keys" he said as he patted at his pockets again like keys would magically appear.
"I'll come in" I muttered and he left the door open as he walked inside. I followed and shut the door behind me as he began looking through a closet in the hallway.
"It looks lived in here. You use to move around a lot" I said and he glanced over his shoulder.
"Yeah, been here for about a year now. I made it a home and it probably helps that not a lot of people know where I live" He replied.
I stepped out of my shoes and walked down the hallway as I looked around before taking a seat on his leather sofa in the living room.
I could still hear him rummaging around in the closet. When my phone rung I pulled it from my pocket and looked at Selena's number.
I didn't need her feeling some type of way or worse telling Amaru about this because I knew he'd tell Saint and they'd both judge me for my life choices.
Moses had kissed me in the car but I broke the kiss immediately and told him that I could only talk to him and do nothing more.
"I just texted Gucci, he said he'd drop off the keys in a little while. He's taking care of business" Moses said as he walked in and took a seat on the couch across from me.
We both sat in silence and Moses placed his arm on the back of his couch and watched me as he opened and closed his legs.
"You fucking on somebody?" He asked and I looked him over.
"Nah, I'm a Virgin" I replied dryly and he smiled showing his teeth.
"You think I'm a joke, yeah?" He asked and I scratched the back of my head.
"Yeah" I mocked causing him to chuckle as he sighed and grabbed a computer from his coffee table.
He grew silent as he logged on and relaxed back on the couch and became engrossed in what he was doing.
I glanced at a picture of Moses and his mom that sat on an end table. He was no older than six months, and when he was a baby it was obvious he took most of his looks from his mom. As he got older though he looked more like his father and I knew he hated it.
"You remember when we were kids and you first moved in with your grandparents? I used to watch you walk to school with a purse all the time and I always wondered why" Moses said without looking up.
"It was my moms purse and at the time I was missing her. I had never been away from home before and when I lived with my family I would go to school carrying purses and Kaine would have to defend me from bullies" I said quietly.
"And you remember that white boy that lived in the neighborhood use to make fun of you and then one day he just stopped?" Moses asked.
"Yeah, he wouldn't even make eye contact with me anymore. I always figured it was because I ignored him" I said and Moses chuckle.
"Nah, it was because I held him down with a box cutter after school one day and told him if he didn't leave you alone - I'd cut his tonsils out" Moses said humorously.
"Ah, so you were always crazy?" I asked as he continued to stare at the computer screen.
"About you? Always" he said and I looked down at my lap.
"You were nicer and more carefree back then. I'm sorry you had to grow up very fast and I'm sorry that your father and the people closest to you didn't take care of your heart. You needed that" I said quietly.
Moses immediately closed the laptop and began tearing up a little as he tried to hold back his tears and he nodded.
"This is the only way I know how to be" he admitted as he sucked it up and sighed before sitting back.
"You right about us needing to be whole before trying this again" He said.
"I would like to be friends though, real friends. I think we need to rebuild that, we had a good friendship before everything and I genuinely miss that" I said and he nodded.
I pulled out my phone and unblocked his number before re adding it to my contacts simply under Moses.
We heard a car door and Moses looked at his security camera on his phone before standing up.
"That's Gucci" He said and I stood up and stared at him for awhile.
"Can I hug you?" I questioned and he reached out grabbing my wrist as I walked around the table and hugged him tightly.
"You going to be okay?" I asked him as he hugged back even tighter.
"Yeah. What about you?" Moses questioned as I rested my head on his shoulder.
"If you have to move on, anybody but Dylan" I said quietly as Gucci began knocking on the front door.
"Why not?" he said as we both let go. Moses took a step back and we made eye contact.
"I love you and as much as I'm trying to force it, I'm not over you. Maybe it's toxic to not want you to find happiness with him, but I don't want you to look at him the way you looking at me now " I said as I took a deep breath and looked down to avoid his gaze.
"You think that's fair to me, to see you talking to other people and wondering if you telling them you love them too? You can't give me rules Aaron if you not gonna be doing the same thing. You not testing the waters with anybody else? If I wait for you am I gonna look stupid?" Moses asked me.
"You right. We're both single, no expectations should be had. I can't force you to wait or not follow your heart, just like you can't stop me from following mine. If it's meant to be, I'd like to think that it'll happen when we're both ready. If not, I'd still like to have you around somewhat as a friend" I replied.
Moses was quiet for a moment before he shifted a bit growing a bit vulnerable.
"Why I feel like, we done for good?" He asked growing a bit teary eyed.
I reached out to touch his arm seeing he was about to cry but he sucked up his tears.
"Don't, I gotta learn to stand on my own" he said sounding like it was hard to breathe for him.
I always thought that I loved him more because he was never vulnerable or transparent like this. I was beginning to see that maybe he loved me more.
I was hurting but it wasn't stopping me from walking away and he was struggling to breathe at the thought of living without being with me in a romantic way.
I stood silently as Moses rubbed his chest and walked away from me.
-
I sat on Kaine's front porch the next morning eating a bowl of cereal with him and our brother Malik who was rocking his son to sleep.
I slurped the milk off my spoon casually to get under Kaine's skin and he shoved me over some to get me away from him.
"You need to go home" he said under his breath and Malik looked at the both of us.
"You say that now but, I know you be missing him. Every time I come over you asking me what I think Ron is doing" Malik said throwing him under the bus.
I slurped more milk as I glanced at Kaine who eyes me with disgust.
"I know you care about me Carlito. It's okay to be in touch with your feelings" I said and he rolled his eyes.
"If you hadn't of been doing dumb shit, you coulda still been with us" Kaine said as he scratched that back of his head.
"I feel like the last few years have been a blur for me. I put men before my family and my mental health and I don't wanna go through that again" I said.
"What you mean by that?" Malik questioned and I shrugged my shoulders feeling numb on the inside.
It was the type of pain that made you feel sick, how can your emotions make you feel so sick on the inside as if you have a real illness?
"If I can't continue to stand on my own and make better choices for myself I'm going to die. What happened before was a warning and I'm trying to take heed it just hurts really bad, because I want to be with him and he looked so sad and he told me he feels like dying and I missed the signs" I admitted as I began to cry.
Kaine wrapped his arm around my shoulder as I wiped at my tears.
"You gotta feel that shit and let things happen, the biggest thing is you laid how you feel out on the table and he did the same. Let it be and continue to work on yourself while he works on himself, that doesn't mean it's over forever - but you were both grown enough to realize that now isn't the right time for the both of you" Kaine tried to reassure me.
"What if something happens to him and I never get to talk to him again and it is over for good or-or-" I rushed out and Kaine slapped me before I could finish my sentence.
"I got him. Moses has people that care for him - it's not just you. He's okay" Kaine said growing serious as I swallowed hard and nodded my head.
"Now that you're not angry anymore, I think you can work out how you truly feel. Wether or not you're actually in love with him or you're in love with the idea of him. Sometimes what we want isn't what the reality is - Moses isn't perfect and he never will be and trying to force that on him is what's going to cause you to hurt more" Malik said poking me in the chest gently.
I wiped my tears and stood up to take the bowl in the house. I couldn't deal with my brothers speaking facts at the moment.
I had so much anger and animosity towards Moses when I came to New York and it ended with me crying over him like always.
He wasn't the only reason our relationship didn't work out. He was struggling with his own issues and pushed that to the side to love me through mine.
I never knew he was still hurting over his moms death and I never knew he was suicidal or would ever think of being that close to taking his own life.
Made me realize my own faults and how emotionally draining being with me was for him. I needed to heal so that I didn't take this into whatever situation I go into next.
"Uncle Ron?" Kieran said quietly as I put my bowl in the sink. He was sitting at the table with his iPad and headphones over his ears next to a brown skin little girl named Marley.
"What's up?" I questioned turning my back to him so I could wipe the tears from my face.
"Do you need a hug?" He asked as he continued to stare at me.
"Yeah" I said and he jumped out of his seat and ran over wrapping his arms around me.
"I'm a miss you when you leave" he said as I rubbed on his back.
"I'm a ask can you and Knox come visit and stay with me soon but you gotta be good" I said and he looked up and nodded.
He remained hugging onto me as I went into the living room to grab my bags from the couch.
Knox was walking around carrying Korri on his hip and when he saw Kieran hugging me he tried to put his sister down to join us but she clung to his shirt and cried.
I gestured for him to still come over and when he did I hugged all three of them.
"Anari's taking a nap" Knox said as I let go and I nodded my head.
"You're getting ready to leave?" Ajani asked as she came down the stairs in a bathrobe.
The kids dispersed before she could ask them to clean up like she still wouldn't do it anyway.
"Yeah, I think Kaine's taking me to the airport in a little bit" I said as she stopped walking once she was in front of me.
She placed her hand on the side of my face and I smiled small to hide the fact that I was crying earlier.
"If you're not happy there, you can come back at any time. You can stay with us until you feel ready to try being on your own again" she said quietly.
"But what about Saint and Amaru?" I asked and she smiled and moved her hand.
"You gotta let them go and live their own life eventually. They both love you to death, but they can't walk you through every part of their life. At some point you'll have to tell them it's okay for them to go. Not saying right now, but eventually because that's what standing on your own as a man looks like" She said lowly in case anyone was eavesdropping.
"Why do I feel like you've had this conversation before? You're so good at it" I said.
"Because I had to tell Johan the same thing. My brother is my best friend and he would follow me around the world if I needed him to, but what type of life was he living being in my shadow all of the time? He has dreams of his own. What are Saint's dreams? You think he wants to work on cars or is he doing it because he thinks you can't be alone?" She asked me.
I swallowed hard before hugging her tightly for a few minutes before letting go.
"You're right. I feel like I need to apologize to them both, but Saint especially" I said before grabbing my bags from the couch.
We exchanged I love you's and as I walked out the front door I noticed Kaine talking to Moses outside.
Malik glanced up at me and he was no longer holding his son. He stood up and pulled me into a tight hug.
"I'm proud of you my boy. Keep going and choosing happiness" He said as he let go and I nodded.
"You ready to go?" I asked Kaine as I walked down the steps.
"I actually wanna drop you off. I didn't like the way things ended last night" Moses said.
I glanced at the gray checked pants he wore and the black T-shirt and jewelry around his neck that complimented his skin.
"Wow you rent running away from me. Changing already" I said knowing that he would've disappeared before.
Moses popped his trunk and took my bags from me as Kaine and I stared at each other before eventually slapping hands and then he patted my back.
"See you soon" he said before walking back towards his house. I glanced towards Moses' car and he was already inside waiting.
After taking a deep breath I climbed inside his car and once I put on my seatbelt he backed out of the driveway.
We rode towards the airport in silence as he played some throwback usher with the aux cord.
"Reach in my pocket and grab the paper out" Moses said keeping one hand on the steering wheel.
I glanced at him awkwardly as he stared straight ahead watching the road. Eventually I moved my hand towards his pocket and fetched the paper out.
It was wrinkled and had writing all over it. I started to open it and he did a double take.
"Uh-Uh do it on the plane. Not in the car" he demanded and I laughed and placed the folded up paper into my pocket.
"What is it?" I asked as he stopped at a red light and continued to watch the road.
"Everything I wanna tell you that I have trouble voicing out loud" he said with a shrug.
"You sure you're going to be okay? I want you to leave the game but you have to want it for yourself" I said and he nodded.
"I know and I'll be okay" he said finally glancing over at me.
We rode in silence the rest of the way to the airport and I had to fight the urge to not read the letter he'd given me.
When we arrived at LGA airport I felt my stomach drop a bit and Moses was out of the car before I was.
He grabbed my bags out of his car for me and sat them down as I pulled him into a hug taking in his scent.
"It's not a goodbye Ron, it's a see you later" he assured.
"I know. I just want you to be okay" I cried and his gripped tightened.
"I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. I promise" he said as we finally let go.
I picked my bags up as he leaned against his car watching me.
"You're not coming in?" I asked and he smiled and shook his head.
"You don't need me, you got it. Plus I'm enjoying the view" he winked.
I laughed at him as I entered the airport, ready to get home.
Selena Scott
-
"Ain't shit to do. Missing lil Ron Ron like crazy" Saint whined as he sat on the hood of his car and stared into the distance. I frowned, it'd only been a day and he was acting like his world was over.
They both had major codependency issues , I swear I've came over to their house before and Aaron was taking a shit and Saint was sitting in the hallway watching anime and waiting.
"He'll be back tomorrow and then you can go back to being up his ass" I said rolling my eyes and Saint narrowed his eyes at me.
"Fuck you. I am never up his ass, just can't believe he left without me. Like I'm not shit or whatever" Saint said.
"If Moses was his best friend, what did that make you? Second place?" I teased and Saint continued to stare at me.
"They aren't friends anymore and Aaron and I have a deeper relationship than that shit. That's really my twin brother, just different blood. Only person in this world I'll kill for" Saint said.
"Sounds a bit gay to me" Taylor teased him and he flicked her off before he eyed her body for awhile.
"You didn't say that a couple nights ago when you were choking on my dick. You even let me titty fuck" He said exposing her and I gasped.
"You fucked Saint? Don't ever drink off me again nasty" I said and he blew a kiss and winked at me as I bumped passed him and headed into his house.
"Whatever it meant nothing. Worst two minutes of my life" Taylor taunted and Saint flicked her off.
"You mean the best" Saint said not denying he only lasted 2 minutes.
I didn't see what some women saw in him. I wanted to push him down most of the time. I knew Taylor was desperate but not desperate enough to fuck Saint.
I watched my phone screen light up displaying my little brother O'shea's number. I watched it ring and ring before it stopped.
Just as I was about to go on with my life he started calling again.
"Somebody died?" I questioned as I looked at my fresh manicure and he smacked his teeth.
"No. I been trying to call you for the last hour. I need a favor" he said simply and I sighed.
"What? I don't do favors" I said and I could feel him grinning through the phone and felt the urge to smack him.
"I need fifty dollars for school" he said and I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it like I didn't hear him correctly.
"Our daddy is a former drug dealer and you live with him in a 11 bedroom house. That's chump change - ask him" I said growing irritated he'd even hit my line with that bullshit.
"I used his black card to buy a lot of stuff without his permission. Now he won't buy me anything, he only lets me eat and watch tv and use the iPad once my homework is done. It's child abuse" O'Shea said and I laughed out loud.
"He should've beat you up" I replied before hanging up. They use to say I was spoiled but my siblings were worse than me.
"Y'all do my dog so wrong" Saint said shaking his head and I rolled my eyes.
A nice lambo truck pulled up beside us and Saint shifted like he had ptsd.
The window rolled down and I took in the find dark skin man with braids. He smiled showing the bottom grill in his mouth and Taylor tried to step in front of me but I pushed her.
"Hi Akim" We both said at the same time as he put his car in park and stepped out.
"How you find out where I live?" Saint asked being a cock block and we both shushed him.
Akim ignored Saint and focused his attention on me. I noticed he reached into his car and grabbed a bouquet of flowers before he shut the door and walked over.
"These are for you" he said smoothly and Saint rolled his eyes while Taylor smacked her teeth in disappointment.
I hesitated briefly before taking the flowers from his him not being able to hold in my smile.
My father tried his hardest to keep the drug dealers away from me, I for the most part stayed away. Akim was different though, everyone was always talking about him and how fine and well mannered he was.
"Thank you" I said and he continued to eye me as his big brown eyes sparkled with wonder a little bit.
"Come take a ride with me" He said and Saint caught my arm before I could walk towards him.
"How did he find out where I live? Aaron didn't tell him" Saint said again.
"It's not a hard place to find" Akim said as he winked at him to get under his skin and Saint looked him over in anger.
Taylor gestured for me to leave with Akim on the low probably ready to question me when I came back about what happened.
Akim opened the passenger door for me and I climbed inside before he entered on the other side.
"I know you a good girl and I respect the hustle, you got something going for yourself. I been watching you for awhile" He said as he stroked his beard.
"Watching me? Sounds like a stalker if I'm keeping it real" I joked.
"Nah not on no stalker shit, I was just curious about you" He said as he cruised though the neighborhood.
"How did you find this place anyway?" I asked and Akim shrugged like he didn't know.
When he saw how uncertain I'd become of his gesture once I began to look down at the flowers in my lap he cleared his throat.
"Some of the guys from Darius' shop put me on. They said they saw you with Saint and the white girl earlier and that you might be headed back to his place. I figured I'd be able to catch you alone without your pops around" he said.
"And you came all the way over to see me and bring flowers? What's the catch?" I questioned.
Akim could have any women he wanted and maybe I was a bit insecure but, why me?
"I wanna take you out. I got business so I gotta go overseas tomorrow, but the Friday I get back I wanna take you out. Get to know you" he said.
I didn't know if I should play hard to get or accept so I remained silent and continued to look at the flowers.
"You asked my dad if you could take me out?" I questioned and Akim began laughing nervously.
They always did that, any guy whether he was in the game or not seemed to freeze up whenever I brought up my father.
The old man had grown soft anyway, if they saw him walking around the house in his crocs and apron they'd look at him funny.
"I got a question for you?" Akim said changing the subject swiftly.
"Okay?" I said glancing over at him. He scratched at his beard as he continued to circle the neighborhood.
"Where Aaron at? I wanted him to clean my car for me me before I got it detailed but I noticed he ain't been in the shop for the past couple days" Akim said.
"He's visiting his family in New York, guess some girl he knew got killed out there" I said with a shrug.
Akim froze up for a moment as he came to a stop at a stop sign.
He adjusted his hand on the steering wheel before he glanced at me and smiled small showing he was fine.
"Yeah, I heard about that. That was tragic" he commented and I nodded in agreement.
"Do you know his ex? I know a lot of drug dealers run in the same circle" I questioned as he finally started driving again.
Akim drove me back to the house and Saint was still outside waiting with his arms crossed like he was my daddy.
"I gotta go beautiful, but next Friday. I won't have to do another pop up if I had your number" Akim said with another smile.
It made me forget that he had dodged my question and I ended up giving him my number.
Once I shut the door he looked Saint over before he pulled off. I watched his car drive off feeling all hot and bothered and Saint cleared his throat.
"I don't care what y'all say. That nigga is weird and maybe y'all haven't been in enough life or death situations but I don't get good vibes" Saint said and I rolled my eyes.
"Shut up. You're not only a bad vibe but a germ as well" I said placing my hand in his face and he licked it.
I swung on him and he side stepped me causing me to almost fall onto the ground.
"I'm telling my daddy you assaulted me" I said storming passed him towards the house.
"I'm telling Kaine who's gonna tell Moriah if you touch me" and I paused and glanced over my shoulder.
"You do know Moriah's my cousin right?" I asked and Saint shrugged.
"Doesn't mean he'll side with you over Kaine and I know for a fact Ajani won't let anyone touch me in anyway" he shrugged.
He was so annoying trying to use my family against me. New York was really a different breed and annoying.
-
Aaron got back home later that night and everyone fought over hugging him first but he just looked out of it and drained to me.
"You fucked him didn't you?" I whispered in Aaron's ear once it was my turn to hug him.
"I didn't fuck anybody" he said as he let go of me and walked towards the stairs in a daze.
He didn't even take his shoes off as he walked up the stairs and disappeared down their hallway.
I glanced at Amaru and Saint who seemed just as confused as I was.
"Maybe he just sick from the flight" Saint said and Amaru shook his head.
"Only one person can get this man down like that and we both know" He responded.
Moses was a beautiful man but I didn't understand the hold he had on Aaron. I didn't understand their relationship at all as a matter of fact.
When relationships got hard for me I had no problem leaving, no matter how much I loved them. Maybe it was because my love was conditional and I had grown up seeing some of the men in my family treat their wives and girlfriends like trash.
I decided a long time ago that would never be me and so far, I had lived by that.
"Can we eat?" Saint questioned out loud and I elbowed him.
"Go check on him, you were just crying over him this morning" I said but he shrugged me off.
"I can't. When he's like that it's best to leave him alone or he'll take his anger out on you. I'm a go eat though" Saint said as he walked off towards the kitchen.
I ignored him and glanced down at my phone after still never receiving a text from Akim. It'd been hours and he still hadn't hit me back.
"You really trying to get involved with that drug dealer?" Amaru questioned as he draped his arm over my shoulder and led me to the kitchen.
"He seems nice and he's on good terms with most of my family. My dad is fond of him" I point out.
"Until he finds out he's trying to fuck with you. Things like that are only good in the beginning and then the drama starts. Your family worked hard to get out of the game and we came here to escape it. That's really what you wanna bring into your life?" Amaru asked.
I carefully pushed his arm off of me as I grabbed a glass plate that was sitting on the table and added some of the salad I'd made to it.
"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. I don't need you or my father to approve of anyone I'm seeing and for the record - he didn't even text me so I'm not sure anything will come of it" I said with a shrug.
Amaru shook his head at me as he leaned into the counter while I sat down to eat.
Aaron eventually joined us about a half an hour later but still remained quiet for the most part while he ate as if he was in deep thought.
"You gonna chill with Juan now that you back?" Saint asked but Aaron only shrugged.
"He just wants to fuck me, can't let that sidetrack me from my self improvement. I'm not chasing anyone anymore - I wanna be chased" he said and I nodded in agreement.
Almost as if I had been thinking hard enough about it, I got a text from a random number and when I opened it - it was a picture message of Akim and he was smiling.
I couldn't help but laugh, it reminded me of those old men on Instagram who comment cringe shit on your Instagram like "Hey Sexy lady" that made you wanna block them.
I took a quick selfie of myself smiling to match his energy and sent it to him. He responded with a bunch of laughing emojis.
When I looked up everyone was staring at me with disgust.
"Go home" Saint demanded but I ignored him as Aaron glanced down at my phone.
"Be careful with that. Okay? You're a good person and I don't wanna see you get hurt" He said and I rolled my eyes.
"I can take care of myself. I don't need you or anybody looking out for me" I snapped and he chuckled to himself.
Akim was harmless and it was starting to feel like jealousy to me. The man just sent a selfie to me and everyone was acting like I just signed my soul over to the devil of something.
Authors Note
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Y'all think Akim and his siblings are harmless? Do you think Moses and Aaron's closure was for good or nah?