Journey Hayes
I exit the bathroom and I look far ahead and seen Denise standing there with the guys and although De wasn't turned around, I recognized him from behind and that caused butterflies to swarm in my stomach. I felt myself becoming more and more nervous as I walked closer and closer to them.
God, give me the strength.
"Oh, shit!" Dalvin says loudly, causing everyone to turn around, causing me to laugh. "Hey, Dal!" I pulled him into a hug. I seriously missed Dalvin so much and it was good to see him again. He had definitely grown up and he was quite handsome but not as handsome as the other DeGrate, who looked magnificent by the way. He had grown his hair out a bit and he had the tips of his hair dyed blonde and his luminous skin had gotten a nice tan and I was internally drooling at his ass.
Mmm-mmm-mmm
"When you get here?" Cedric asks. "I just got here this morning. I only told Denise because I wanted to surprise y'all, so...surprise!" I laugh while pushing my hair behind my ear. I felt a pair of eyes boring into me so I turned around and I saw De staring at me, causing my palms to sweat and I felt myself becoming even more nervous. I wave at him and he responds with a head nod.
Yeah, he most definitely wasn't fucking with me.
"Y'all ready to play or what?" JoJo asks. "Hell yeah!" Cedric's overly loud ass says.
Denise hands me my shoes and I sit a few seats down from Donald and I kick off my sneakers and put my bowling shoes on. "Journey, you're up first," Denise says and I stand up, grabbing the proper ball that my fingers would inside of before walking closer to the lane. I extended my arm back and brought it forward, released it, watching as it rolled down the lane. It knocked down seven of the ten pins and I turned around and walked back over to the ball return to retrieve my ball. "Y'all ready to get y'all asses kicked?"
"Girl, shut up and roll the damn ball," JoJo says and I roll my eyes playfully before rolling the ball down the lane again, only for it to merge into the gutter. "Aha! Talking all that shit and look at you! Straight gutter balls! You are garbage." Cedric says as I walk back to my seat, pouting.
"Forget you, Renard!" He chuckles and grabs his ball, rolling it down the lane and making it hit all ten pins. "What y'all got to say now?" De smacks his lips. "Nigga, you still ass! Now, watch out." He stands up and goes over to the ball return and he grabs his ball before rolling it down the lane, only for it to merge right into the gutter.
"You bout as bad as ya' girl over there." Dalvin points to me and I flipped him off and De's face went straight. "Don't compare me to- you know what..." He says and I purse my lips, furrowing my eyebrows.
This is exactly what I didn't want to happen but I should've known I had it coming but it's alright, I guess.
He grabs his ball again and he rolls it down the lane and it knocks down six pins and he turns around and walks back to his seat without saying another word.
Eventually, our game comes to an end and Cedric and Denise end up winning, since they were tied, Dalvin came in second place, Donald in third (Surprisingly), and both me and Joel in last since we were tied up as well. "Welp, I had fun guys but it is time for me to return home and get some rest. I've had a long day." I say as we all walk outside towards our cars. "Aww! But we were all about to go out and grab something to eat." Denise pouts and I poke my bottom lip out.
"That sounds cool and all but I've been up since five this morning and It's-" I grab her wrist and look at the time on her watch, "-It's eleven o'clock. Ya girl needs her rest." I say, crossing my arms over my arms to keep myself warm since a chilly draft had come through.
"Aw, alright girly. I love you and page me once you get home."
"I will." I give Cedric, Dalvin, Denise, and Joel hugs before getting into my car and making my way home. When I arrived, Wesley was dead asleep on the couch with old reruns of Ren & Stimpy playing on the TV. I walked over to him and I tapped him a few times. He finally awakens and he looks at me with furrowed eyebrows. "Go get in your bed," I tell him and he sighs heavily before standing up and stretching out his limbs while I turned the TV off.
"Can I sleep with you?" Wesley asks.
For Wesley to be as much of an asshole that he is, he actually is super clingy when it comes to me and it actually intensified since I'd been away, but if I had an older sibling then I'd be the same way, to be honest. "Lead the way." He starts his journey to my room and I follow suit. Once we arrived, he climbs right into my bed and I go to my drawer to grab some pajamas and I quickly slip into them before removing my accessories and climbing into bed beside Wesley.
The next morning, I woke up in bed alone and the smell of bacon invaded my nostrils and I climbed out of bed, trudging into the kitchen. "Good grief! What have you done with my daughter? That look doesn't do well for you, doll. Especially that snail trail." Dad says sarcastically and I smack my lips, making him laugh. "Well, you woke up just in time because Breakfast is now ready." He sets a plate in front of me and I thank him before praying and digging in. "Where's Wesley?"
"He's still asleep. I caught him leaving out of your room when I was coming in here to cook and he said that he had to go because you kept farting and hogging all of the covers." I laughed and shook my head. "Man, look, it's better out than in," I said and he nods in agreement. "How was bowling last night?" He asks while walking over to the sink to wash the dishes. "It was alright," I say quickly, hoping that he would change the subject.
"Why just alright?" He asks and I sigh heavily. I honestly didn't even wanna talk about it but I knew for a fact he wasn't gonna let me get away with not telling him. "It was just super awkward with Donald around. Like, I feel like if he had driven to the bowling alley then he would've left as soon as he saw me." I say, taking a bite of waffles. "Just give him some time, JJ. I mean, how would you act towards him if he did what you did to him?"
That's the thing. If the roles were reversed then yeah I would've felt some type of way but at the same time, I would've at least tried to understand his reasoning before just reacting off of raw emotion. But, that's just me.
I shrug and continue to eat my breakfast. "What are your plans for today?" Dad asks and I hump my shoulders. "Uh, I'm not sure. What about you? Are you working today? I ask and he nods his head while drying off his hands. "Yeah, I was actually about to get ready in a few so you do know that if you decide to go out you have to take Wesley, right?"
Oh yeah because I definitely was gonna leave an eleven-year-old at home by himself. That's perfectly logical, Maurice.
"I know, I know." I finish my breakfast and I get up to wash my dishes before going to the bathroom to get myself together. "JJ!" Dad knocks on the bathroom door. "Yes?" "Denise is on the phone for you."
I open the door and grab the phone from him. "Hey, Niecey."
"Don't 'hey' me, heifer! You were supposed to page me to let me know you made it home last night."
"Man, my bad. I came home last night and crashed. But, wassup?" I ask, hanging my wash rag on my towel rack. "Are you busy? If not, come to JoJo's. We're all chilling over here and we're gonna go to the lake a little later on."
"Alright, cool but I have to bring Wesley with me,"
"No problem! See you guys in a minute!" With that our call is ended and I set the phone on the counter before turning on the shower and allowing the water to warm up.
After showering, getting ready, and waiting for Wesley to get ready, the both of us headed to the Hailey residence and when we arrived, we saw everyone in the garage, sitting around while Cedric and Joel worked on his car. "Aye, Wesley! Wassup?" Dalvin greets him as we walk further inside the garage. I take a seat next to Denise and she smiles at me while eating her popsicle.
"Hey, girlie. You look tired." She says and I sigh. "Beyond tired. Sleeping with Wesley was a pain in the ass then I end up waking up super early because Dad was making breakfast." She shakes her head. "Don't talk about my sleeping when you're the one that kept farting extra loud," Wesley says, causing me to snap my neck over in his direction. "Hey, shut it!"
Cedric chuckles and shakes his head. He starts to speak, but he cuts himself off by laughing. He was hunched over with his hands on his knees dying laughing for whatever reason. "Man.. forget that. Remember the Ferris wheel incident? This nigga couldn't hold her bowels for shit." Everyone, including De, started to laugh and I smacked my lips. "Cedric, don't make it seem like I shitted on myself, okay? Those funnel cakes and chili cheese fries just caught up to me sooner than expected." I shrugged.
"Hell nah. I'm pretty sure you had to check your drawers once we got off."
If we couldn't already tell, Cedric will take any situation, run with it, and put a dub on it. "Shut up fool," I say, diverting my attention back over to Denise, whose face was red from laughing. "Are you okay?" She nods. She's quiet for a few moments before she starts laughing again. "You're such a fucking goof." I chuckle lightly, crossing my leg over the other.
"Aye, Don, hand me those pliers," Joel says, looking over at him from behind the hood of the car. "The liars are over in that direction." Donald points over at me and at this moment, everyone is quiet and looking back and forth between us to see what's gonna happen. I couldn't believe he would really go the extra mile and be that petty. We were around each other damn near all night last night and he didn't have a word to say and now he wants to diss me.
"He said pliers and the tools are over there in your direction, asshole." I stand up and I start walking out of the garage. "Don, really?" I hear Denise say as I walk out down the driveway, towards my car.
I'm not looking forward to this summer.
**
Author's Note-
I know I haven't updated in damn near a month and I apologize for that. I've just been trying to get things sorted out in my personal life and writing has lowkey been on the back burner. I'm not gonna say I'm officially back but I will try and make an effort to update more. Bare with me, guys.
Cheers!