Wednesday
31st May 2017
3:06 p.m
Jaliyah Campbell POV
We caught up on a lot of shit. A few years worth. It was nice having my siblings around me and seeing them. Queen was taking me to a little cookout that the younger kids were having in the neighbourhood park. I was hoping to bump into a few people.
"I remember here!" I pointed at the sweet shop.
"Remember going there all the time after school?" I grinned.
"I used to hate going into that shop." Queen frowned.
"My one and only sweet shop." I smiled.
"Okay, here it is." She pointed at the park entrance.
Loud music could already be heard. Queen took my hand and we walked through the park, trying to find people.
"Hey, bitch!" One girl gave her a hug.
"Hey, Vera." Queen smiled.
"This is my sister, Jaliyah." She introduced me to her friend.
"Hey, I'm Vera." She stuck her hand out.
"Nice to meet you, Vera.".
"This little cookout is actually better than I had expected." Vera commented.
"I know right." Queen nodded her head.
"Oh. My. Gosh!" Queen's eyes widened.
"Wassup?" I asked.
"Remember Christian?" She turned around and looked at me.
"Who?" I scrunched my face knowing that I knew the name from somewhere.
"Why? Is he here?" I asked getting a little nervous.
"He's right there." Queen pointed.
"Don't point, Queen." I smacked her hand down.
"Who's Christian to you?" Vera asked.
"My ex-boyfriend." I bit down on my lip.
I spotted a tall guy with a huge beard. He still looked like the old Christian. I looked away but my eyes still managed to travel to where he was with a girl and a few guys.
"Can we go? Like home...?" I asked Queen.
"Uh, yeah. Whatever you want." She nodded her head.
I turned around to walk away but was greeted by an old school friend of mine.
"Jaliyah Campbell!" She exclaimed.
"Hey, Erika." I smiled.
"You looking cute and whatever!" She gave me a hug.
"You too." I smiled.
"How've you been, though? Since you left you haven't been back." We walked off and talked.
"I've been good. I seriously do not miss New York." I folded my arms looking around.
"So much things happened to the both of us, huh?" She smirked.
"So much." I laughed.
"You seen Christian yet?" She asked.
"No. I'm gonna try and avoid him." I pulled my phone out and noticed Cameron had texted me.
Cameron💏: FaceTime me, boo?
Received 3:20 p.m
Me: I'll FaceTime you when I get back to my hotel❤️
Sent 3:21 p.m
"Ain't no running no mo'. Here he comes." She causally sipped her drink.
I looked up and Christian was walking over to the both of us. I instantly got nervous as all the memories were now beginning to get to my head.
"Jah." He called me.
"Hey, Chris." I gave him an uneasy smile.
"Damn, it's been nearly 5 years now." He stroked his beard.
"Yep, it sure has." I slowly nodded my head.
"Whatchu' doing back in New York?" He folded his arms.
"I came to visit my siblings." I looked away.
"Can't even look me in my eye, huh?" He mumbled.
I didn't even want to respond to what he had just said, "Hows Seb?" I asked.
"Seb? Seb ain't here no more." Erika sighed and shook her head.
"Did he move states?".
"Nah. He's up there now with the big guy looking over us." Christian looked up.
I suddenly felt cold and uncomfortable.
"He got knifed three times. He died two years ago.".
"Oh my..." My eyes felt a little teary.
I saw Queen signalling that she wanted to leave. I could see a guy was bothering her.
"It was nice seeing y'all. I've gotta go." I smiled at them both.
"How long you staying for?" He asked.
"I'm going back today." I looked down.
"Where you staying? Maybe we could catch up on a few things?".
"Look, I know where this is gonna go and I think we should keep our distance after what happened, okay?" I finally looked him straight into the eye.
With that, I walked off to Queen, "One more day and I'm heading back home. I can't be here anymore." I closed my eyes then they opened.
-
Earlier on, I had told them to pack their things so that we could leave seeing as our flight was at 10. Yoshi didn't have a problem with leaving Tanya as she hated it here. Queen was upset about leaving her boyfriend, Khamil. They planned on him running away and meeting her in Houston when he gets enough money to buy a ticket.
"Like I said, I told Bruce to come here if he wanted to fuck because I had another guy, Brandon, that needed to come over too." We heard a voice.
A voice that I hadn't have heard in over a few years and I'm glad that I haven't. The nerves were kicking in. Yoshi got up from laying down on her back. She quickly made her way over to me and clutched on to me.
"Exactly! Men don't l-." She paused.
Her phone dropped from her hand and her mouth was wide open. It soon closed. She slowly walked towards me as I stood up.
"Jaliyah...?" She put her hand out.
"Tanya.".
"Why are you in my house?" She asked.
"And you." Pointing at Darren as she raised her voice.
"Because...I've come to collect my siblings." I gulped.
"To go where? Houston?" She cackled.
There was silence, "You're taking them away from me? Their mother?" Her eyes widened.
At this point, there was pure anger in her eyes. She stood there for a while balling up her fists and just staring at me. We both stood there, reminiscing on all the times that she hurt me, it wasn't the other way around but she always seemed to play victim. I raised a brow and she tried to attack me. I jumped back making Yoshi move out of the way.
"YOU ARE NOT TAKING MY KIDS AWAY FROM ME! YOU MUST BE CRAZY!" She screamed.
"Jaliyah..!" Darren called my name out.
"You're a crackhead! Get it through your thick skull, Tanya! You scare your own children! I may be older now but I'm still scared of you because of what you've done in the fucking past!" I said getting emotional.
"You don't deserve to be mother at all!" I said sternly.
"How are you having sex on this nasty ass couch while your kids are in the house with you?! The couch stinks!" I yelled.
"Shut the fuck up, bitch! How about you ask ya' sister what she's been doing up in that room with that boyfriend of hers!?" Tanya retaliated.
"Don't listen to her, Jaliyah..." Queen rubbed her arm.
Tanya back handed Queen and she clutched on to the side of her face. Tanya then looked at Yoshi and she immediately knew that she was next. Tears began streaming from Yoshi's eyes and she sobbed really loud.
"Touch her, I dare you." I lowly said.
"Come here, you spoilt brat!" Tanya leaned towards Yoshi but I pushed the bitch to the ground.
Yoshi began crying and ran towards Darren who gave Yoshi a hug.
"Darren, call a taxi." I ordered.
"I haven't done nothing to you but love your ungrateful ass! Why do you hate me so much?!" She screamed.
"You? Love me?" I stared breathing a little fast.
"Yes!".
"You liar..." I mumbled.
"Go and get your things. All of you." I picked up my purse.
Once all of our things were downstairs, we watched her as she just laid there on the floor.l acting like a baby, saying that I tried to kill her.
"Jah, what about the rest of my clothes?" Yoshi wiped her tears.
"You can buy new ones once we get to Houston, okay?" I pulled her closer to me.
"The taxi is outside." Darren got up.
"Okay, let's go." I stood up and we walked out not even looking back at her.
"No, I can't leave." We heard Queen say.
"I can't leave looking like this but most importantly, I can't leave mama on the floor like this. She needs help." Queen cried.
"She's always needed help and she knows it, Queen. If she wants help, then she'll get up on her own two fucking feet and find help. Let's go. I've got some makeup in my purse, I'll fix you up in the taxi." I said touching her face and looking at the mark that Tanya had left on her face.
"Okay." She grabbed her suitcase and left the house.
"I hope you rot in hell bitch..." I spat on her face.
Houston, Texas
12:26 p.m
Cameron Brooks POV
"I want you to come back now." I slipped my hands into my joggers.
"I'm on the plane." She smiled.
"I can't wait to give you kiss, mane." I licked my lips.
"We still on for tomorrow?" She questioned.
"Yeah, definitely." I nodded my head.
"Well, I'll call you later, boo. I'll let you know when we've landed.".
"Alright. I'll be there to pick y'all up.".
"Okay. Bye." She waved.
After hanging up the phone, I put it to the side and slept for a little bit. Tomorrow, I was planning on taking Jaliyah out to a really special lunch. We've only been dating for two months but I feel like this shit is real. I really wanna make her my girlfriend, you know? After my sleep, I got ready to leave for the airport. Angel wanted to tag along because she heard that Jaliyah's got a sister too.
"So, hows her sister like?" She asked.
"I don't know. I've never met her before." I shrugged.
"I really hope she nice because I need me a best friend." She videoed herself on Snapchat.
After driving for a long time, we finally made it to the airport. We walked inside and tried spotting Jaliyah.
"There she is." Angel pointed out.
She was standing there with her sunglasses in her hand. She looked so beautiful, no joke.
"Li." I called her name out.
"Hey." She grinned really hard and threw her arms around me.
She just kissed my cheek multiple times as I just chuckled and Angel videoed us.
"How was your flight?" I asked.
"It was tiring." She smiled.
"Okay. Cam, you've already met Darren and Jess. These are my younger siblings, Queen and Yashira who we call Yoshi." She introduced me to her sisters.
"Wassup, y'all. I'm Cameron and this is my sister, Angel.".
We all greeted each other and we soon left the airport and headed to Jaliyah's house. I could already tell that Angel and Queen were getting along.
"Where we going to eat tomorrow?" Jaliyah asked.
"The thing is, I can't really tell.." I said looking at her.
"I wanna go too." Yoshi commented.
"It's a night for only Cameron and I." Jaliyah said.
"That ain't fair." She folded her arms.
"Is your house big, Jah?" Queen asked.
"You just wait and see." She smirked.
Queen Gray POV
Jaliyah's house is pretty big. It isn't big like a mansion but just know that it was bigger than the apartment homes that I used to live in. Angel is a sweet person. We get along so much and I really like it. She's already told me that school is going to be crazy and I absolutely can't wait. As for Khamil, he's planned on coming out here to live with me. I told him not to rush but that he could come out here during the summer. He's really sweet.
"So, are there parties here all the time?" I asked.
"Yeah, I guess. I don't really go to them, though." Angel shrugged.
"Really? When there's a party, we've always gotta go." I smiled as I kicked my legs in the water.
"Sure." She smiled and put a strand of hair behind her ear.
"So, you got a boyfriend back in New York?" She questioned.
"Yeah. I've got a boyfriend back in New York. His name's Khamil. He's the sweetest thing ever. Imma miss him so much." I frowned a little thinking about him and what we could possibly be doing if I was with him.
We'd probably be fucking or some shit like that, I don't know.
"You have a boyfriend?" I looked at Angel.
She smiled and blushed.
"No. There's this guy that I like though and I'm pretty sure that he likes me back. I'm just shy when it comes to guys." She shrugged.
"Where he live?" I questioned.
"Not too far from here. You could even walk too." She said.
"Okay, up we go." I stood up and dried my feet.
"What? Where we going?" Her eyes widened.
"To see the guy that you like." I slid my slides on and put my shades on.
"Alright..." She said unsure of what I was really up to.
"We'll just tell Jaliyah and Cameron that you're gonna show me around the neighbourhood." I suggested.
"Okay." She nodded her head.
We walked back inside the house finding Jaliyah and Cameron all up on each other. I shielded my eyes and cleared my throat, making them jump.
"What's wrong?" She asked getting off of Cameron's lap.
"Nothing. I'm taking Queen out so she can get to know Houston a little bit better. We won't be out for too long." Angel lied.
"Okay. Be home before 9." Jaliyah said strictly.
"We will." I said and smirked before walking towards the front door with Angel behind me.
"Alright, let's go." We linked arms.
Jaliyah Campbell POV
"Can you stop?" I raised a brow.
"Why should I?" Cameron licked his lips.
"It's weird." I laughed.
"Come here." He laughed too.
"What? I'm trying to cook, nigga.".
"I really can't wait for tomorrow." He came over and stood behind me.
"What's so special about tomorrow because you keep on talking about it." She giggled.
"Just wait and see.".
"Jah, is the food ready yet?" Yoshi walked into the room.
"Yeah. Could you help Cameron and set up the table?" She asked.
"Sure." She skipped to the cabinet.
"Why do you got them shiny things on your teeth?" She asked as she laid the knives and forks out.
"They're called grills." I explained.
"They look cool. Whatever they are, I want them too." She shrugged.
"What you like doing?" I asked out of curiosity.
"I like dancing. I was in a dance group before I left for Houston. We've won many competitions and one day, I hope I dance for Chris Brown.".
"That's cool." I nodded my head.
"And, I wanna collect all the Jordan's too. I've never had a pair before." She folded her arms.
"How about we go shopping tomorrow?" Jaliyah said.
"Okay." She shrugged.
"Go and tell Darren and Jess that dinners ready." I told her.
"I still haven't told my parents about them." Jaliyah closed the door.
"Even when Darren first came." She added.
"Why? Are your parents gonna react in a bad way?".
"I don't know. I don't think they will." She shook her head.
"I just want my siblings to do good in life and not have a deadbeat mom.".
"They will do good in life. You got little Yashira. She's really smart.".
"Yeah." She smiled.
"So, what we having for dinner?" Darren came through the doors.
Angel Brooks POV
"Okay, that's where he lives." I said to Queen.
"He told me to come and hang out with him earlier on but I told him that I was coming to pick you up from the airport." I explained as we walked to the other side of the road.
"A'ight." Queen nodded her head.
As we got closer to Kanan and his boys, I got nervous. They finally noticed us but were all staring at Queen.
"Wassup, Angel?" Kanan smiled.
"Hey, Kanan." I returned the smile.
"Who's your friend?" Jacob asked.
"I'm Queen, Angel's best friend." Queen introduced herself and linked arms with me.
I couldn't help but smile when she said 'best friend', "You new around here?" Jacob asked.
"Yeah. Just came from New York." She took a seat beside him.
"Come and take a seat, Angel." Kanan stood up.
"Thank you." I sat on his chair and he got another and sat beside me.
"You 17?" Quincy questioned.
"Yeah." Queen nodded her head.
"You drink?" Jacob asked.
"Is that even a question?" She raised a brow and took the plastic cup from his hand, waiting for someone to pour her a drink.
"What about you?" They looked at me.
"Uh, got drunk last night. Trying to recover." I lied.
Queen made a face then looked away. I was only trying to impress them. I ain't like the other girls at school that drink, smoke and have sex all the damn time. I keep my head in my books but I've been trying to attend parties lately so that I can make new friends, you know?
"You got drunk? What party did you go to last night?" Andreas made a face too.
"We had a girls night in last night. We drunk a few too many." Queen said smiling.
"Cool." Jacob slowly nodded his head.
"Let me holla' at you real quick." Kanan said.
I got up and he brought me into his house. I started feeling nervous again.
"How you been?" He asked.
"I'm good." I shrugged.
"Hows school been treating you?" He questioned.
He really sounds like my older brothers right now. It kinda made the atmosphere a little awkward.
"It's good. I'm happy we've finished. I really wanna go on holiday with a couple of friends." I crossed my legs and watched him pour some kook-aid for the both of us.
"Damn, wherever you wanna go, hit me up. I wanna travel too." He chuckled.
After talking for a while, I seemed to enjoy the conversation. There were a few times where he made me smile and laugh. He even called me cute and asked me out on a date.
"What were y'all doing in there?" Queen asked.
"Nothing. We were just talking." I shrugged as we walked back home.
"See, he asked you out. You proud of yourself?" She raised a brow.
"I guess." I couldn't help but smile.
"Good.".
"Let's get home. Jaliyah just texted me and said that dinners ready." I looked down at my phone.
"Oh and when we go shopping tomorrow, you've got to get a phone." I showed her my 7.
She just smiled.
-
Jaliyah finally got her siblings out of the big apple.
The argument with her mom wasn't too big and you won't be hearing from Tanya's ass for a long long time!
We've got Angel who's like a good girl but when Queen comes around, that sort of changes. So that's Angel and I even gave you her point of view too🤗
~Ró💗