I'm back. Had a major writer's block experience and let me tell you, it is not pretty. I almost threw this book away. But, it finally came together. This is a short chapter, but hang in for a plot twist. I'm glad y'all have been patient.
I was starting to realize this book wasn't as impactful as Soft, but I got it back on track. Also, Nia in the mm.
Excuse any mistakes.
LA
10:33 pm
"People start to see you when you start to see You."
Unknown
—
With her feet up on the wall and her body lying on the bed, Mara is on the phone with CJ, laughing and smiling majority of the time. They'd been on the phone for hours, losing track of time.
"What you doin'?" He asks in his now sleepy voice.
"Nothing, laying down now. I've finished my homework, ate and everything."
"Damn." He chuckles lowly. "We been on the phone for a minute."
"Yea." She suddenly thinks about Malachi, wondering what he was doing and why he hadn't called her.
"I ain't complainin' tho cause you probably kept a nigga outta trouble today."
She furrows her eyebrows, and briefly looks at the time. "Why you say that? You get in trouble often?"
"Yeah my moms be trippin'. I be hangin' with Truth and Trav all day, sometimes I stay out way past my curfew." He says.
"Sometimes huh?" She smirks.
CJ laughs. "Ok, most times."
A knock on Mara's door causes her to look in that direction. "Hold on, CJ." She says as Makayla walks into her room. Makayla looks at her weirdly, wondering who is CJ. Mara knew what that meant. "Well, let me call you back."
"Bet."
She hangs up and swings her legs over, sitting up. "Wassup?" She asks Makayla.
"Who is CJ?"
Mara sits her phone beside and sighs softly. "Um, a guy I met not too long ago."
Figuring that she's about to get some tea, Makayla takes the chair at Mara's desk and pulls it up to the bed. "What happened with Malachi?"
"We're still together." Mara quickly says, but frowns a little bit. "I guess."
"Uh oh. That doesn't sound good." Makayla shakes her head. "What's going on?"
Mara fingers the curls in her hair, getting ready to take advantage of the vent session with her mom. "Well, I think he's cheating on me but I don't have actual proof. Today, I wanted to find out for myself and ask the girl, who I assume he's cheating on me with, is anything going on with them."
"Hm, I don't recommend that you do that in the future but continue." Makayla adds.
"Why not?" Mara looks at Makayla.
"Because your issue is with him. Never let the other girl see you sweat." Makayla explains. "The move was kind of desperate."
"Geez, thanks mom." Mara says sarcastically.
"You're welcome." Makayla gives her a light smile. "Anywho, what happened after that?"
Mara thinks about where she left off and continues. "The girl said that they were stressing over a group project but I smell a lie. After that, I just told Malachi that I couldn't be with him anymore because it was hard to trust him. He totally flipped the script on me and now I feel bad."
Makayla sits back in her chair and hums. "Two things."
Mara pulls her knees up to her chest, keeping her eyes on Makayla. "What is it?"
"He could very well not be cheating and you could be wrong. But, that's like a zero percent chance. We're never wrong." Mara laughs slightly. "Ok, now that I've gotten that out the way. The other part is that he is cheating on you. Flipping the script is to make you feel bad and he succeeded. The whole purpose is to get the heat off of him. Basically, he manipulated you. Love can be blinding so I can see how you didn't see that coming. I love Malachi like a son, hell I changed his diapers. But, he's a guy and I don't put shit past him. I think your feelings are valid and that's not me being biased."
Mara frowns again. "I don't wanna be right. I really hope I'm wrong."
"Sweetheart, it's the end of the world. You're sixteen years old and obviously having plethora of other options." Makayla refers to her phone call with CJ. "Do you think CJ is cute?"
"Cute ain't the word, ma." Mara shakes her head.
"Oop, excuse me then." Makayla gets up. "That's all that matters. You're fine as hell. You will bounce back in no time."
Chewing on her bottom lip, Mara suddenly felt a little better about the situation. "Thanks ma. Wise woman."
"Chile." Makayla shook her head. "Should have went to your Aunt Malia."
Mara laughs and puts her feet on the floor. "Leave Uncle Khari alone. That was years ago."
"You right." Makayla begins to walk out and pauses before turning back around. "How are you liking the ballet class?"
Mara gives her a fake smile. "I love it." She lies.
She doesn't attend the class even though Makayla is paying for it. Mara still goes to her hip hop dance class.
She's still practicing for the VH1 awards which was next week. She just prays that her mom doesn't catch onto her before then. Mara's been dreaming moments like this and she refuses to allow anyone to mess it up.
Even her mother.
"See, I told you." Makayla shrugs. "I made pound cake if you want some. I'm going to bed. Love you."
"Love you too." Mara says as Makayla walks out of her room. She feels a headache coming on, but she is occupied by the thoughts of Malachi.
Picking up her phone, she sees that she still hasn't received a call from him. She calls him and his phone immediately goes to voicemail.
Thinking about what her mom said, she opens her messages and sends a message to CJ to see if he's still awake. Seems like he's the one who really wants to talk to her.
Not her boyfriend.
Her phone lights up and she thinks it's from CJ. However, it's from an unsaved number. She tries to see if she recognizes it, but she is unable to. Opening the message, she reads it and her body begins to tense up.
It's from Giselle and she has given what Mara wants. An answer.
Decided to tell you. I'm pregnant with Malachi's baby
..
Having received a message from her teammate about Adrian, Nia is on her way to the house party to get him before he gets himself in trouble. Her teammate told her that he was wildly drunk, making a fool of himself.
Nia is already upset with him for ignoring her calls. She likes to talk things out instead of allowing things to linger and Adrian knows that. Nia is starting to believe that it was something deeper with Adrian.
She couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Pulling up to the large home, Nia parks and shuts off her engine. She's annoyed and isn't in a party spirit, but Adrian is her best friend. She just felt that this was the right thing to do.
Nia gets out of her car, locking the doors and walks up to the house. The door is wide open and she shakes her head at the fact that literally anyone could walk inside.
Nonetheless, she looks around for Adrian as she is met by loud rich, drunk kids and loud music. She instantly rolls her eyes, maneuvering through the big crowd.
It's hard to find Adrian, but Nia can hear him clearly. She follows his voice and notices that he's on top of the counter with a large bottle of alcohol in his hands.
"You have to be kidding me." She mumbles to herself.
Walking in his direction, she yells his name. Adrian is slightly tilting over and can fall at anytime.
"Adrian!" She yells over the music.
Adrian looks down at her, squinting before rolling his eyes. He ignores her and when the DJ changes the song, he begins dancing.
Nia watches and looks around to see Malachi tonguing down some girl in the corner. Delaying her encounter with Adrian, she pulls out her phone and snaps a picture of him to send to Mara.
Hopefully it was enough to get Mara to leave him.
Nia turns back to Adrian, who now has a girl up on the counter with him. "Adrian! Let's go." She yells again, getting his attention.
"Leave me alone! I didn't ask you to come here." He looks at Nia.
He takes one too many steps and trips. Nia moves up to catch him, and she does right before he hits the floor. "Thank God for weight lifting." She says to herself.
Adrian is heavy when he is sober. Drunk weight on him was physical labor. She tries to help him up and he attempts to push her away. Figuring that she has had enough of his antics, she aggressively pushes him towards the door.
He's forgotten just how strong she was and in seconds, they're outside. "Stop acting like you damn 12." She pushes him down the steps.
Adrian barely keeps his footing, staying on his feet as he lands on the grass. Everyone around is laughing to themselves at how Nia is manhandling him.
"Why you here?" He mugs her.
"Because you act like you don't know how to act." She says simply, grabbing the bottle from his hands and throwing it into the bushes.
"It's a party!" He says in a duh tone. "And why you care?!" He's slurring his words. "You ditched me for Shian."
Nia rolls her eyes. "It's Shiloh and you're acting like you don't ditch me for every girl you have sex with." She pushes him towards the car.
"Hey Nia." She heard someone say. She glances in the direction of the voice and sees Leon walking up to them. "Is everything ok?"
"Hey, everything is fine. Thanks." She dismisses him and turns back to Adrian.
Adrian notices that Leon doesn't walk away. "Nigga, you heard her. We good." He moves in front of Nia.
"Dri, just get in the car." Nia pleads.
"Nah, not until homeboy find him some business." Adrian keeps his eyes on Leon, who stares right back at him.
"Leon, just go. I said everything is fine." Nia looks at him.
Leon tears his eyes away from Adrian before glancing at Nia. He then walks away and Adrian glares at her. "You fuckin' him?"
Nia jolts her head back in disbelief. "Excuse me?!"
"Answer the question."
Nia pulls out her key from her pocket and unlocks the car doors. "I'm going to pretend like you didn't ask me that. Get in."
She doesn't wait for him as she snatches her driver's door open and slides in before slamming it shut. Adrian looks at the time to see that it is midnight and he needs to be getting home.
He sighs heavily before slowly walking over to the passenger's side and getting in. Looking over at Nia, he can tell that she's pissed off.
"Ni—"
"Don't say shit to me, Adrian." She says without even looking at him. Cranking the engine, she puts her car in drive and drives away from the house.
The rest of the drive to Adrian's house is silent. He wants to say something, but is afraid that she'll shoot him down again. Adrian sits back and looks out of the window.
Looking in the mirror, he notices a car following them and squints his eyes. Before he can warn Nia, red and blue lights begin to flash.
"Hell naw, do not stop right here." He looks at Nia, who is already having flashbacks to when she was five years old.
"I have to stop." Nia looks at him.
Adrian looks around and points at the gas station. "Pull over at the gas station."
Nia does as he says and glances at him. "Are you sober?"
"As fuck." Adrian sits up and puts on his seatbelt.
She quickly calls Naomi and puts her on speaker. Naomi answers on the second ring. "Nia, why are you—"
"Mommy, I promise I'll explain everything to you later. Right now, I just got pulled over and I'll feel so much better if you stay on the phone. Adrian is with me, too."
Naomi is quiet for a minute and Nia hears her sigh softly. "Okay. Are you in a dark area?"
"No, I'm at a gas station." Nia responds.
Naomi sighs in relief. "Okay, good. I'll record everything from Zeke's phone."
"Okay." Nia mumbles and looks in her mirror, noticing the cop walking to her side of the door. "He's coming."
"Is he white or black?" Naomi asks.
"White."
"Tell me you took your insurance and license info out." Naomi says and Nia cringes.
"No, I didn't." Nia shakes her head at herself.
"Put your hands on the steering wheel. Don't question me, just do it." Nia hears the seriousness in her tone and does as her mom says, not before letting the window down.
The cop approaches her door with a flashlight, and immediately shines it into the faces of Nia and Adrian. "License and registration, please."
Nia slowly removes her hands from the steering wheel and gets all of the information that he needs. When she hands it to him, she places her hands back on the steering wheel.
"Why you bothering us?" Adrian blurts out.
Nia shoots a glare in his direction. The cop places the flashlight on him. "Shut up, boy."
"What?!" Adrian sits up.
"Shut up." Nia grits through her teeth.
"Ma'am, you were doing 55 in a 35. Do you know that?" The cop asks Nia. Nia nods her head. "Where are you headed?"
"To a place." Nia answers.
"I'm curious, ma'am. How are you able to afford a car like this?" He places the flashlight back on Adrian. "Or is this yours? Dopeboy?"
"Either give my daughter a ticket or let her go so she can come home." Naomi blurts out, catching the officer off guard.
"Who is that?" The officer begins to check the backseat to see if he missed anyone.
"My mother, Officer Boykins." Nia says as she reads his nametag.
He looks at Nia with a smudge look on his face and gives her back her information. "I'll let you go with a warning."
"Thank you." Nia lets her window up and drives off. She lets out the breath she didn't know that she was holding.
"Are you gone?" Naomi asks.
"Yeah, I'm dropping Adrian off and I'll be on my way."
"No, come straight here. Adrian just need to tell Don or Aria that he's staying the night over here." Naomi says.
Adrian shakes his head. "Nah, Auntie they gon kill me if they find out I'm not there."
"I don't care, Adrian." Nia glances at him. "You should think before you act next time. And Nia we need to talk when you get here."
"Okay." Nia mumbles.
Naomi hangs up and silence fills the car. "You was scared huh?" Adrian jokes while looking at Nia.
Rolling her eyes, Nia kept her eyes on the road. "When I was five years old, my mom was beaten by a white male cop. I was traumatized. I remember it like it was yesterday." She glances at him. "So, what do you think?"
"He wasn't gon do nothin'." Adrian shrugs. "We're rich kids."
Nia lets out a bitter chuckle. "You're so obtuse."
"What that mean?"
"My point exactly." She mumbles to herself. "My mom was rich when that happened to her and you think it won't happen to you? Or to me?" She looks between him and the road.
Adrian shakes his head. "Damn Nia, I was just joking."
"That's your problem, Dri. You play all day, everyday. You don't take things seriously."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He looks at her with a look.
"Nothing." Nia lets it go. "Nothing."
"Nah, say how you feel. Seem like you got a lot on your mind."
Nia bites on her bottom lip, and sighs. "You slept with that girl, Adrian."
Adrian looks confused. "What girl?"
"That girl that accused you of raping her." Nia glances at him. "I was there and I seen you go into the room with her. You were drunk, like really drunk. And when you two came out.." Nia pauses momentarily. "I don't know."
"What you mean you don't know? You believe her?!" Adrian raises his voice.
"I'm not accusing you of rape. I'm accusing her." Nia clarifies herself. "I think you know it, too. That's why you're acting out."
"Men can't get raped." Adrian waves her off, and looks ahead. "Plus, she was younger."
"No, she wasn't."
"Just shut up." Adrian glares at her. "You don't know shit. You just talkin'. I wanted it."
"You were too drunk to say yes or no. She was sober. She took advantage of you, Dri. She took advantage of you and tried to flip the script."
Adrian doesn't say anything, and looks out of the window. Nia glances over at him, seeing that he was now in deep thought. Adrian doesn't remember much about that night.
All he knows is that he didn't do what he was accused of. He doesn't even remember engaging with the girl.
The thought of him being raped never came to his mind.
Nia pulls into her driveway and the lights in the house are now on. That meant that Naomi was up waiting for them. She shuts off her engine and gets out of the car.
Adrian matches her movements and follows behind her to the door. She unlocks it and the two walk inside, closing the door behind them.
Nia finds Naomi in the living room and Naomi immediately pulls her in for a hug. Naomi sighs in relief once their fleshes meet, and kisses Nia on the cheek.
"I'm sorry for leaving this late." Nia mumbles against her. Naomi pulls away and waits for an explanation. "I'd gotten a call from one of my teammates about Adrian acting wild at a party. I didn't want him to get in trouble again."
"I'm okay with that. But, let me know before you just up and leave. Communication, Nia. Come on, you know better."
Nia sighs, and runs her hand through her hair. "I know, I'm sorry."
Naomi looks at Adrian who's just standing there, unsure of what to do. She walks over to him and hugs him tightly. He returns it, then she pulls away.
"I've already called Don to let him know where you are."
Adrian sighs lowly. "Aight."
Naomi looks at him. "You know where you usually sleep. I'll see you two in the morning."
Nia watches as Naomi disappears down the hallway, and looks at Adrian. They linger on him before she turns to go upstairs.
"Nia." Adrian calls out. She stops and turns around. "Thank you."
Nia shrugs her shoulders lightly. "It's nothing, Adrian. I'd do it again if I have to."
She doesn't wait for him to say anything else before she continues her walk upstairs. Adrian realizes that he may have feelings for Nia. He's been feeling that way for a while now.
The uncertainty of her feeling the same keeps him from making it known. And with her instantly finding interest in Shiloh, for once in his life, he feels inadequate.