As Aunt Shay stepped inside, she smiled as all of us jumped out of our seats, gazing at her in amazement. Isaiah ran up to her and picked her up, spinning her around.
"Mommaaaaaaa!" Isaiah shouted in an excited tone.
"Ow ow ow ow ow, Isaiah." Aunt Shay strained as she tightened her coat, getting down. "Don't forget that I've been shot plenty of times..."
"Sorry ma I'm just......I'm happy!" Isaiah smiled. "I ain't think you was gone pull through!"
Aunt Shay's voice was really raspy. The bullet came inches away from her voice box, so her throat was really sore. I got up, taking Aunt Shay's hand.
"Well I'll......I'll let you guys continue having fun." Aunt Shay smiled. "I just wanted to say hi..."
"Ma, you ain't goin' back there." Isaiah said. "You gone stay at my house and relax. Ion' want you going there until I know that it's safe."
"Thanks but....." Aunt Shay stumbled. "I don't need any help.."
"Look at you, ma." Isaiah said as he rushed by her side. "You stumblin'..."
"Aye 'Saiah, don't you wanna get outta here?" I asked as I helped Aunt Shay. "Especially since she need to relax."
"Yeah. You right, Josh." Isaiah said as he smothered his blunt into Carlos's coffee table. "Aye y'all, i'ma be back later, aight?"
"Aye Isaiah, let me speak to you for a sec fo' you leave." Q nodded as he looked at him.
"Go ahead, Isaiah. I'll help her to the car." I said as we walked out of the door. "You can talk to Q."
Isaiah turned to Q, grabbing his money.
"What's up, man?" Isaiah asked.
Q blew out some of his smoke, glancing up at Isaiah. As Carlos and Stacey went into the kitchen to cook up some more cocaine, he smothered his blunt into the coffee table and smiled at him.
"On some real shit, you know I ain't corny or nothin', but you got a strong ass mama." Q smiled.
Q glanced down for a while, watching Isaiah smile a little.
"I mean yo' mama done been shot at, beat from yo' daddy, and she gave birth to y'all naturally and took care of you and Noah by herself. Not only that but she know that you done murdered a few cats and she still stick by y'all side." Q said. "I ain't corny but that shit amazin'. I wish I had that, man."
"Have you.......have you ever found yo' real parents yet?" Isaiah asked as he sat beside Q.
Q looked down, shaking his head.
"No. My real parents don't give a shit about me." Q growled. "You know that."
"Sorry..."
"I mean I'm white, but I can't stand my own race. That sounds stupid, but I'm being real. White folks think that they so superior and shit when in reality they dumb hillbilly racist fucking cunts who say racist shit but say it ain't about race. Aight." Q said, shaking his head. "They got all this money but don't wanna help nobody but then act so shocked when black and poor folks rob and steal from they asses. If y'all would help us then we wouldn't have to rob y'all asses of what y'all got."
Isaiah didn't think about that, but Q had a point. Soon after, Isaiah brought up a good point.
"So why don't you get a real job instead of sellin'?" Isaiah asked. "You white so you know they gone accept you anywhere."
Q gave Isaiah a funny look, grilling him a little.
"Isaiah, why you don't sell no more?" Q asked.
Isaiah didn't want to tell him why because he felt that he would be looked at as "soft" for stopping his drug selling. Isaiah stood up, heading out of the house.
"I'm 'bout to head out." Isaiah groaned, walking out of the house. "Peace."
Isaiah stood on the porch, thinking to himself.
"I need to get my street edge back..." Isaiah thought. "My crew ain't likin' the new me........"
Everyday, Kayson couldn't wait to go to school to see Madilyn. Madilyn also couldn't wait to get to school to see Kayson. For him, this was his first official friend. Kayson enjoyed her company as much as she enjoyed his. As always for the while day, the two talked and helped each other with lessons. Even though there were 20 other students in the classroom, the two only spent time together and together only. After the long class time was over, since it was raining outside, the kids spent free time inside of the school. Kayson and Madelyn spent time on the carpet, building blocks together.
"Maddy!" Kayson said out loud. "You no dat ur pregant, wite?"
"Y?" Madilyn asked.
"Becus I'm a boy and ur a girl and we kissed yesturday." Kayson said as he played with the small house set by the carpet. "Dat mean dat ur gonna hab my baby."
Madilyn glanced at Kayson, then grabbed one of the small inflatable balls. She placed it into her shirt and walked around with the ball in her stomach, acting pregnant.
"Ooohhhhhhoohhh..." Madilyn slurred, wobbling around and acting dizzy. "My tomach..."
As Madilyn sat down, Kayson grabbed the Babydoll and put it behind her.
"K now you hab to push et out!" Kayson smiled.
Madilyn laid down against the wall and pulled the ball out, watching Kayson pull the baby doll behind her back.
"Yay! Da baby is here!" Madilyn clapped. "Yaaaaayyy!"
"Wat u wana name et?" Kayson smiled. "Da mommy always pick da name."
"Mmm Kaylyn!" Madilyn smiled. "For Kaysin and Madilyn."
"K now we gotta bwing her home!" Kayson smiled as he grabbed the toy car seat. "I'm da boy so I gotta cawwy da car seat and da baby and I gotta dwive while you sit down in da seat next to da dwivers seat."
"K."
MadIlyn sat down and watched Kayson put the baby behind him. He sat down next to her and pretended that he was driving home. He made driving and moving noises as he made an invisible wheel, then pretended to park the car.
"K!" Kayson smiled as he took the baby out. "Time to go into da home!"
Madilyn jogged into the corner of the room as Kayson placed the baby next to her. As Mrs. Winslet watched the two, Kayson brought a blanket over to them and placed it over their legs.
"Wat u doin?" Madilyn asked.
"We da husband and wife." Kayson smiled. "We gotta sweep togeder!"
Madilyn and Kayson laid under the covers, placing their covers over their bodies. Mrs. Winslet jumped up and took the covers off of them, smiling at them.
"What are you guys doing?" Mrs. Winslet asked.
"Playin' husbind and wife!" Madilyn smiled.
"Kayson." Isaiah smiled as he walked inside of the room.
"Daddy!" Kayson smiled as he ran up to him and hugged him on his legs. "Das my wife ober dere!"
Kayson pointed to Madilyn, watching her lift up in the covers.
"How you know?" Isaiah grinned.
"Hi!" Madilyn waved. "Dis is our baby!"
"We named her Kaylyn fo' Kayson n Madilyn." Kayson smiled.
Isaiah smiled at him, roughing Kayson's hair up a little.
"Let's go lil man." Isaiah sighed.
"Are you the father of Kayson?" Mrs. Allen smiled.
"Yeah?" Isaiah asked. "Why, was he acting up?"
Mrs. Winslet didn't think that Kayson was getting too out of line, so she blew it off.
"Nah." Mrs. Winslet smiled. "Have fun."
As Isaiah left the room, he looked back at the room, then down at Kayson.
"You really like her, Kays?" Isaiah asked.
"Yeh. She pwetty." Kayson smiled. "She gonna hab my kids....."
Isaiah laughed, rubbing Kayson's head again. Why? Because he said the same thing about Taylor when he was messing around with her in high school.
Meanwhile, Isaiah had to drop Kayson back off at the house so that he could attend his job at the kitchen. Aunt Shay agreed to watch Kayson so that Tyler didn't have to do anything since she was still suffering from morning sickness. For 3 hours, Isaiah helped feed homeless people that were walking in and out. After he and the others were about to start closing up, someone familiar walked in with a blanket hovered over her shoulder.
Brenda.
"Hi, would you like a plate?" Debra asked.
"Wait wait wait Debra I know her." Isaiah said as he stepped out, giving her a funny look. "You homeless?"
"Didn't you see me sitting on the fucking corner?" Brenda growled as she sat down. "I begged you for a home."
As Debra placed the bowl full of clam chowder in front of him, Isaiah sat beside her and glanced down.
"Why you ain't tell me that we was related? I'm your brother." Isaiah sighed. "Don't you think that that would've been good to know?"
"I didn't want you in my business...." Brenda growled as she started eating her soup.
As Isaiah wiped his face with the towel, Brenda glanced at him and slumped her shoulders.
"I really need a home to stay in, Isaiah." Brenda sighed. "I've been moving from home to home."
"Why Damon ain't keeping you?" Isaiah asked.
Brenda paused, then spoke again.
"He kicked me to the curb once he found out that I was prostituting." Brenda groaned. "That bastard. I can do whatever the hell I want."
Isaiah shook his head, giving her a blank look.
"No Brenda. You can't stay with me." Isaiah sighed. "I'm sorry."
"And why not?" Brenda whined, giving him a stunned look. "I'm your sister!"
"Brenda, I got a child. I can't have you around him with that shit." Isaiah said, shaking his head. "Plus I don't have the money to support nobody else."
Brenda was enraged. She shoved the bowl of clam chowder off of the lunch table, storming up in her seat.
"You have the fucking nerve saying that you don't want me around your son when you sell drugs and bring that prostitute bitch Asha in front of him all the time!" Brenda growled as he walked out of the place. "Family my ass! None of you bitches care about me at all!"
Debra glanced out of the window, then looked at Isaiah.
"You told me that you didn't sell drugs, Isaiah." Debra said in a serious tone.
"I don't sell drugs.....not anymore..." Isaiah said, shaking his head. "I stopped, which is exactly why I came he-"
"Isaiah, just go home." Debra sighed. "I'll let you know when you can come into work."
Isaiah was furious. As he stormed out of the building, it was these type of things that drove him to get back to selling drugs. Every place looked at him as this vicious drug dealer when he was trying to make a different living lifestyle. As the night came about, me and Kathy were packing our bags to go home along with my parents. Now that Aunt Shay was fine, I figured that everything was fine with my family.
But a knock on our hotel room proved me wrong.
"I'll get the door, babe." Kathy said as she turned the knob. "I'm gonna go check us out at the front desk."
"Okay."
When Kathy opened the door, it was an unexpected guest. Noah.
"Noah?" I said, scrunching my eyebrows at him.
As Kathy stepped out of the room and headed down the long hall, Noah stepped inside and shut the door.
"Listen Josh, can I talk to you real quick?" Noah asked. "It's about something extremely serious."
"Sure." I shrugged, sitting beside him on the bed. "Go ahead."
Noah clenched his jaw, glancing down at the carpet.
"I have Cancer, Josh." Noah whispered.
The news hit me so sudden that I didn't think he was serious. But when he handed me his papers, I knew that it was real. My eyes widened at him as he started tearing up again, running his fingers through his head. I wasn't sure if I should stay here to help him or go back to Washington.
Still, I couldn't keep trying to stay in Cali for somebody else's life.