CARNELL "NELLY" "PA/PA"
DAMIEN " DAMI" "DA"
"HERMELIO" "MELI" "BA'BOY"
DIASMA "DIA"
BELLA "BELL"
BENJY "JYJY"
JAYSHAWN "SHAWNY"
MANISSA "NISSA" "MANMAN"
DANIA "NIA"
MR. SHA "POPS"
AYA "BOSS"
_____
"ɪ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴏ 'ʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴏɴᴇ'ᴀ ᴍʏ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴅᴀᴍɪᴇɴ. ɢᴜᴀʀᴅ ʜɪᴍ 'ɴᴅ ꜱʜɪᴛ"
Damien looked at Aya, like she had actually been smoking her own product.
His lip turned up, "Am I a guard or dealer?"
She shrugged at him, "You want to keep ya job, or not? I don't give a fuck, honestly Damien."
Damien shook his head to himself. If he ain't running his own shit this what he got to deal with. He knows that.
Aya spoke again, "He out front. It's only fa like a month or two."
"A month?! Aya I'm not watching no grown ass nigga fa' a month."
She turned around, "He out front. Get out my office fa I lose my shit."
Damien walked out angrily. He wasn't trying to watch no random ass nigga and especially not have him all in his shit for over a month around him.
Damien walked out of the office and he saw a darkskin boy leaning on his car. He was rolling up. He must've recently got a retwist and a shape up because his hair looked neat.
When Damien got to the car he spoke, "Where you staying? I'ma take you there. I got plans ta'day."
The nigga looked at Damien with low eyes, finishing up the blunt. His voice was extremely deep, "Ma foster dad."
Damien walked around and the two got in the car.
Damien rolled down the boys window to let the smoke out.
Nelly doesn't smoke so he didn't want too much of the smell in the car.
The boy spoke randomly, "Hermelio."
Damien looked over for a split second before saying something, "Huh?"
"Ma name. I know Aya said you 'finna spend time guarding me. It's fa ha' pops. Y'een gotta do it fa real."
Damien replied, "I'ma do it-"
He cut him off mugging him, "I'an stupid. I know youn wan' ta and I'on wan' no one who don't want ta help, helping."
Damien mugged him back, "Don't cut me off. I said I'a fucking do it so I'ma do it."
The ride was silent for the rest of the ride. Damien knew he was just mad about having to share with random people he wasn't mad at Hermelio for real.
Hermelio was upset that his foster dad asked for him to be babysat. All over something he found stupid.
Hermelio spat out a thank you and got out the car immediately when they got to the house.
Damien stepped out the car and put his arm on top of his car. He didn't want to take his anger out on Hermelio, and he didn't want to have any issues with Aya's people, "Aye!"
Hermelio turned around, mugging him, "What."
"My fault. I'on wanna be a dick, where you gon' be tomorrow cause I got school I need'a know."
He mumbled back but Damien was closely listening to him, "You coo'. I got school too. I already got someone taking me."
Damien nodded, "You hav'a ride after too?"
He shook his head slightly, his long dreads moving as well, "Nah, I'm heading to her sister at ha' job. 'Finna take the bus."
"Text me when you get out. I'ma drive you there."
Hermelio looked ta him like he was stupid, "I don't got yur number."
Damien laughed when he heard Hermelio's country accent, "My bad folks. C'mere I'ma give you it."
Damien reached in his car door and picked up his first phone, this only had his close peoples on it. Pinned at the top of his messages was his mom and Carnell.
They exchanged numbers and went on there way.
Hermelio walked into his fosters dad home and his sister was on the couch watching T.V
Hermelio walked over to her, she smiled widely at him. Opening her arms that he leaned down into.
He's always gonna be his big sisters baby.
"You spoke ta Aya? Who gon' be watching you?"
"I'an catch his name. I spoke ta ha. I'on trust ha but she love ha dad."
Malissa frowned, "Yur his son too. He love you, swea'."
Hermelio shrugged, "I'm tired, 'finna head up. Luh you man man."
She frowned, "Stop calling me thattt. I'an fought in years."
Hermelio laughed softly and walked to his room upstairs.
Carnell had just woken up from his nap and he saw it was 11pm. He yawned and picked up his phone. Benjy was laying on top of his stomach. Carnell brushed his lil head and picked him up, heading towards the twins room.
Carnell went to go back to his room and walked into his moms room seeing that her lamp was on. She had her reading glasses on and a book in her hand.
"Momma?"
She looked above her glasses, "Hm? Come in Nellson."
Carnell dragged his slippers and laid down next to her in her bed.
She sighed sorrily feeling the energy, "What happen momma's baby?"
Carnell felt tears run down his eyes, "I seen Hermelio the other day."
"Oh Nell.. Are you okay? Did you talk ta him?"
Carnell shook his head, "I can't momma. We said we was gon' leave each other alone. Afta' everything I put ya' through. I can't- Momma- I miss him so much. But I can't do that ta us."
Momma Daisy pulled him and he cried in her shoulder. She put pressure on the back of his neck and let him calm down.
She wouldn't and couldn't tell Carnell what to do. She hated seeing him like this but the two were too bad for each other.
She almost lost all her kids cause them. She would never hold that to her son but she knew he knew why the two ended, and how she felt about it..
That type of love is dangerous.
Carnell slept in his moms bedroom that night and they spoke about the good times and the bad. Momma Daisy still cared for Hermelio so she wished him the best.
Just far from her oldest.
Damien woke up around 3 am hungry as fuck. He was back at his moms place and she was home for a week.
She was downstairs speaking to someone on the phone. When she saw him at the op of the stairs coming down she hung up the phone.
"What'chu doing up Damien?"
"I got hungry. Who you was on'a phone wit'?"
"Ya dad.. He wan' fa'-"
"Nuh."
She sighed, "You na even wanna 'er him out?"
"Fa' why? I'an 'een hungry no more ma."
Damien went back up to his room and completed homework, Dania called him and they talked about some shipments and other stuff.
The next day and Carnell and Damien rode into school together. It was a comfortable silence and Damien's hand rested on Carnell's lap the whole ride.
"What class you got first papa?"
Nelly hummed, "I got AP Stat first Da."
Damien's cheeks heated up and he quickly parked in the senior Parking lot. "You know what you doing calling me that pa."
Damien gripped Carnell's neck and pulled him close pecking his lips and then deepening the kiss. Carnell crawled into Damien's lap and straddled him.
He might've fucked him in this parking lot if Mr. Sha ain't pop out of no where and knock heavily on the tinted windows.
Carnell crawled back in his seat as Damien rolled down his window.
Damien's patoi fell out his mouth, "Yes suh?"
Mr. Sha smiled, "Come show Hermelio 'round fa' me. I gave him the same schedule as you."
Carnells eyes looked up and he spoke first, "Hermelio go hur?"
Damien frowned, wondering how an ole country boy and his plugs peoples knew each other. He wanted to keep those two lives separate.
Damien decided he just going to talk to Carnell about that later, "Yeah, I'a be out in a second."
Damien leaned into Carnell who snapped out his thoughts and gave Damien a kiss, "I see you lata' Da?"
Damien pecked his lips three times, "I'ma come get'chu after school papa. Lock the car when you leave."
Carnell nodded and started grabbing his stuff while Damien started walking towards Mr. Sha and Hermelio.
Hermelio had a mug on his face but Damien figured that was just his face.
Mr. Sha tapped Hermelio and said, "Come ta the office fa' you leave Meli."
Hermelio just looked at him, "I'm coo'-"
"Fuck you say ta me?"
Damien could see Hermelio and Mr. Sha ain't have a good relationship so he just cut in.
"Morning Morning. I'a take him 'round wimme."
Hermelio started walking to the school not speaking to neither of them. He was having a good morning 'till he had to ride with Mr. Sha and was given a long speech. Mostly about his anger and no more fighting.
Damien caught up to Hermelio and they walked inside the school. Hermelio already had his schedule and locker.
Damien said, "We gotta go to my locker first then yours."
Hermelio was silent but listening. Damien was a few inches taller than Hermelio so he looked down to meet his eyes.
They stayed like that kinda awkwardly for a few seconds before Hermelio looked away and mumbled something.
Damien realized that the deep voiced shorter spoke so lowly you had to just look at his lips to understand.
He had muttered a "aight ga'head."
They walked around and Damien was getting interested in him and Carnells relationship. Damien really liked his nigga so anything and everything he made his business.
"You know'a Carnell?"
Hermelio tensed, "Why?"
"Do ya?"
"Yea.."
"How ya know eachother?"
"Don't wur' 'bout it."
Damien could tell that was gonna be the end of the conversation by the heavy country accent. They walked to his locker and saw that Carnell had come and left a snack in his locker for him. He smiled and pulled out his phone sending his a thank you pa text.
Hermelio put in a air pod and played some Tay-K.
He hated being asked about Carnell. Once they decided to leave on another alone he cried for days, still cried. He would fight whoever, whenever, for no reason at all. Mr. Sha, his foster father, didn't know about Carnell so that ruined their relationship.
Carnell was the only reason he had paused from being in the streets. At one point Carnell and Hermelios younger brother were the only reason that he was still alive. Now he was just living to live.
No hopes.
No dreams.
Just making it to 18 so he can be at peace, with his brother and the skies.
Hermelio tiredly followed Damien to his classes, listening to the calming tallers voice. I wasn't as deep as his own but it was soft enough to help him not think anything.
By the middle of the day Hermelio wasn't even aware of his surroundings. Damien noticed and led him unknowingly out for their lunch.
Damien opened the car door worriedly and Hermelio got in. Damien got in the other side and shook him. Hermelio felt his chin gripped and he looked to mug who it was.
Damien was frowning deeply at him, "Hermelio. You here wimme now?"
Damien removed his hand from Hermelio's chin. "Huh?"
"You want something to eat? Never mind. You gotta eat. Take a nap ba'boy."
Hermelio and Damien both didn't notice the nickname. For 4 periods Hermelio had disassociated and mentally gone off somewhere. Damien decided to take him out somewhere for lunch because him and Carnell didn't have the same lunch so he could just order him something later and eat with him.
Carnell was in his 5th period and he had two more until lunch. He's been in and out of it since he heard that Hermelio goes to his school. Carnell already knew himself.
If they were in grabbable reach of each other they were never gonna be able to hold up their promise.
Never.
Then hearing that Damien, the older who his feelings had already started becoming deep for, was killing him.
He didn't want to choose.