**** Can I just say as this book comes to a close. I think I'm going to do two more chapters, I am literarly crying writing these pages. I am so overwhelmed by the support my reader's have shown me on my first book. You guys have been patient through my mistakes. You challenged me to get better. You made me laugh with your comments - oh my God those comments had me in stitches. Y'all had my back when things went down. Oh my God, why do I feel like I'm leaving and never coming back lol. I'll say more towards the end, but I feel it coming near and I just had to get that out.
The names in this chapter of Aug's family are real. In the m/m is a pic of Aug and his siblings when they were young. The oldest is Mel in the back with the white tee. Jamal next in line with the red. Aug in the middle. Then Travis in the gray and his sister Netia in the blue.
Mook is his hilarious friend that's a girl too, but I didn't include a picture. I also included a video of Aug singing to his mother.
Enjoy my loves. ( le sigh)
AUGUST P.O.V. –
“It look like a gotdamn homeless shelter in here.” I laughed walking into my apartment. These niggas was too cheap to get hotels so everybody was cramped up in my apartment.
My brothers Jamal aka Smoke, his wife and son, Travis and one of my bestfriend’s Mook, was staying with me.
“Where Netia at?” I asked carrying my mama and grandma’s luggage in the house. I had just picked them up from the airport.
“Her and her husband flying in Friday night. They gon meet us at the graduation.” Cha told me.
“And who taking a shit in my bathroom?” I smelled the foul smell.
“August.” My mother looked at me.
“My bad Mama.”
The toilet flushed and a couple of seconds later Travis big head ass came out.
“Babyboy! What it do?” He came up to me trying to dap me up.
“Nigga did you wash your hands?” I looked at him.
“You gon really ask me that? What I look like?” He paused for a minute. “Nah let me go do that.” He went back into the bathroom.
The girls and little Mally (my brother Jamal’s son) were running around screaming and playing.
“Y’all cut that out.” Cha pointed to the floor for them to sit down.
“Y’all can have the bed.” I told my mother and grandmother.
“Mook what is you doing?” I looked over to see her in the kitchen.
“Making a sandwich. Y’all need to go grocery shopping ain’t nothing in here.” She said in her thick New Orleans accent.
“That’s cause it’s enough food for us, not all you niggas.” I closed the refrigerator.
“Ain’t even graduated and you changing.” She shook her head with her hands on her hips. “I tell you bout wanna be burgeois niggas.”
I smirked and hugged her.
“Unh-unh. Get up offa me.”
“You know you missed me.” I kissed the top of her head.
“Where Smoke at?” I asked his wife Shandrica, who was sitting on the floor braiding Chay’s hair.
“You know where he at.” She eyed me.
“That nigga always smoking a blunt man.” I laughed and shook my head.
“So when we gon meet this boo you been keeping under wraps?” Travis got a beer off the counter and popped the top.
“Wait a second, you ain’t tell me you had a girl?” Mook said loudly and hit me real hard.
“It’s cause you got a big ass mouth.” I messily shook the top of her head, messing up her hair.
“August you ain’t tell me either?” My mother said, coming from the bedroom sitting on the couch.
“Her name is Amber grandma.” Kay sat on her lap.
“Amber? Sound like a white stripper name to me.” Travis took a big gulp of his beer.
“Oh so you den went to the other side?” Mook gave me an evil eye.
“Mind your business.” I grabbed a beer and sat on the counter.
“She’s a supposedly a lawyer.” Travis did the little parenthesis hand motion with his two fingers to indicate he didn’t believe me.
“A lawyer?” My grandmother came out the bedroom.
“Now Nana, you think a lawyer gon date his skinny ass?” Travis asked her.
“Travis watch your mouth.” My mother gave him the eye.
“My bad mama. I’m just saying. “Now me, I can see. But him. Ha!” He sat on the floor.
“You jealous?” I eyed Travis and took a sip of my beer.
“Of what? I’m the best looking brother. I’m the smartest brother. And I sing better.”
I gave my famous hyena laugh.
“What? I can sing.” Travis insisted.
“Let me hear you.”
He stood up and cleared his throat. “Let me do some vocal warmups first. Mememememe. Aight, y’all ready?”
Everybody said yeah.
He started moving his head like Stevie Wonder and snapping his fingers.
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
He sounded a hot ass mess. We all bursted into laughter. Mook threw a piece a bread at his head.
“Y’all some haters man.” He fanned us and went back to drinking his beer.
“You meant she’s going to law school right Aug?”
I didn’t know how my mother would take me dating a woman ten years older than me, but I had to be honest. She was, after all going to meet her tomorrow.
“Nah ma, she a real lawyer.”
“How old is she?”
My door opened and Stacy and Smoke came in. Smoke had some bags full of groceries.
“Stacyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” Mook screamed and ran over to her and hugged her.
They jumped up and down excited.
“Mama Shelia!” Stacy hugged her and the rest of the family except Travis.
She stood in front of him. “Travis.” She said dryly.
“Why we gotta always go through this. You know you want me.”
“Absolutely not.” She muffed his forehead.
“I didn’t tell you tho. I came out as a lesbian so we can date.” Travis told her.
She hit him and hugged him. He laughed.
“Aight y’all I gotta go. Amb waiting for me in the car.”
Everybody got up and looked out the window.
“Damn would y’all stop being thirsty.” I looked at them all trying to see Amb.
“That’s rude to not come up here and talk to nobody.” My grandmother said.
“Move I can’t see.” Mook tried to squeeze in.
“I can’t see shit.” Travis said. My Mama hit him upside his head.
“She wanted to wait until tomorrow y’all. We been shopping all day, and she feel she don’t look right.” Stacy defended Amber.
“It’s still rude.” My grandmother pouted and sat on the couch.
“Mama leave her alone. We gon see her tomorrow. I understand. Meeting the family the first time. It makes you a bit insecure.” My mother left the window and sat down.
“Aug those are groceries Amb bought y’all that Smoke got. See y’all tomorrow.” Stacy left out in a hurry.
Everybody watched as the car pulled off, except Smoke, who was mugging mean as hell.
“What up bro?” I hugged my brother, he didn’t really hug me back.
“That woman in the car, that’s your girl?”
“Yeah.” I smiled.
“Where you meet her at?” He looked me up and down.
Me and Smoke didn’t always get along. He was one of those people that always felt I thought I was better ever since I came up here to school.
“She’s a lawyer in the building I work at.”
“I knew it!” He said as though he remembered something he had been trying to figure out.
“Knew what?” Travis furrowed his eyebrows, walking away from the window. Everybody else followed.
“She from New Orleans ain’t she?” Smoke asked me.
“Nah, but she went to law school down there and worked there for a minute.”
“I knew it. What the hell you doing dating that bitch?”
“Hey, what the hell is your problem man? Don’t disrespect my girl like that.” I put my arm to his chest.
“Smoke what is wrong with you?” My mother asked.
“That’s the bitch that defended Mel killer.”
“Man get outta here with that fuck shit.” I flicked him off.
“I know what the fuck I’m talking about.”
“You don’t know shit.”
“I know one thing y’all better stop with all that cursing.” My Mama looked at both of us.
“Nobody went to court but me and Mama. You and Trav was too young, Mama didn’t want y’all having to relive that. Cha was going through too much, plus she had the girls so she didn’t go. It was me and Mama there everyday. I know what the fuck I’m talking about.”
“Nah Smoke. Amb ain’t do that. She know his name was Mel. If it was, she would’ve said something.” Cha tried to diffuse Smoke’s anger.
“You think she would mention some shit like that?”
“Y’all niggas trippin’ man.” I waved him off.
“Don’t put your fucking hand in my face nigga. I’m not stupid. I know what the fuck I’m talking about.”
“Nigga you betta back the fuck up.” I stood up because he was all up on me. He was my older brother, but I was most definitely taller than him.
“Come on y’all let’s go outside.” Shandrica took the kids outside.
“Call that bitch back over here. So Mama can look at her. She’ll know Mama.”
“I’m not gon tell you again, don’t disrespect my fucking girl.” I got in his face, with clenched teeth.
“Y’all chill that.” Mook came over to us.
“I ain't scared of yo skeleton ass nigga. i said call that fat bitch back over here.” Smoke got in my face and pushed me.
I reacted and punched him. We were rolling on the ground fighting.
“Oh Jesus.” Mook shook her head leaning on the counter.
“Y’all cut that out!” My mother screamed.
Travis broke us up.
“You gon choose some bitch over your fucking fam?” Smoke said as Travis stood in between us. Blood dripped from his lip.
“You fucking jealous of me, that’s why you came here starting shit. Me and my girl share everything and if she had done that, she would’ve told me.”
“Y’all just shut up!” My mother screamed. “Fighting like some damn animals. Y’all brothers.”
“That nigga ain’t my fucking brother.” Smoke scoffed. “Mel, Trav. Them my fucking brothas. Not this anorexic gerbil looking nigga.” He pushed Travis off of him and slamed the door as he went out.
“That’s not true is it Aug?” Cha asked me. The look in her eyes was one of desperation.
“Hell naw. You think I would be with somebody who did that? That nigga is delusional. He’s a fucking hater, like he always been. He mad cause I’m doing something with my life, and he a fucking, fuck up!” I yelled out the door.
“Goodness gracious.” My grandmother sat down.
“I’mma go check on Smoke.” Mook walked out the door.
“Them Saints played a hella of game yesterday didn’t they boah. Whew!"
“Shut up Travis.” Everybody said in unison.
“Why y’all…you know what? I’mma go outside and enjoy the Georgia air since I’m unwanted in here.” He huffed jokingly and left out.
I sat on the couch, moving my jaw that was hurting from when Jamal punched me.
“I would never choose no mutha-fucka over Mel Ma, you know that. I love Mel more than anything in this world. I would never disrespect him like that.”
“I know baby.” My mother rubbed my back.
“For him to even come at me with that bullshit. You believe me right Cha?” I looked up at her.
“Of course August. I love Amber.”
“You got blood on your shirt let me get you another one.” I took off the shirt and handed it to my mother.
“Boy you and these tats.” She was looking at the one on my back. “What is this one of? A.P.R.”
“Amber Patrice Riley. It’s my girl initials, and I always call her my anchor. She got one and I got one.”
“What’s wrong Mama Shelia?” Cha asked her. I looked at my mother to see a disturbed look on her face.
“Huh? Nothing. Just y’all young folk and these tats. Don’t know when to quit. Where your shirts at?”
“The top drawer in the room.”
My mother left to get the shirt.
The kids, Shandrica and Mook came back in.
“Y’all hungry?” My grandmother asked.
“Yeah.” Everybody said.
“I’ll fix y’all something.” She got up and started looking in the groceries Amber sent.
Travis and Smoke came in.
“Shandrica get our shit we gon stay at a hotel.”
“Nah Smoke y’all can’t do that. Mally having fun with the girls.”
“Drica you heard what I said.”
“Smoke.” Cha sighed.
“If his ass wanna go let him go.” I got up went in the washroom and slammed the door. I sat on the edge of the tub with my head in my palms.
My mother came in and handed me a clean shirt, and closed the door.
“Thank you.” I took it from her.
She sat next to me.
“Every since you was a baby, you been fighting Smoke. He’d pop you upside your head and your little arms just be swinging.” She imitated me as kid.
I laughed.
“Y’all gave me so many headaches. Only person could put y’all in line was Mel. He’ll say Smoke leave Yung alone. Smoke would suck his teeth and be like naw“Mel Man”he messing with me. Mel would be like but Smoke you older.”
There was silence.
“Ma I swear on Mel’s life I would never fuck with nobody that did that. Especially seeing what you went through after the trial. How you said that lawyer was evil to you.”
“She was doing her job.”
“Job no job that’s my brother.” I pulled out my phone and showed my mother a picture of Me and Amber. “That ain’t her is it mama?”
I looked at my mother for answers. Praying to God it was not. Amber was my everything and this would just crush me to dust.
“Y’all look real happy Aug.” She smiled, I saw tears building in her eyes.
“Please tell me it ain’t her.”
“You love her?”
“She my heart. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her.”
She looked at me and kissed my cheek, “It’s not.”
“Thank you.” I looked up to the sky. “I knew Smoke ain’t know what he was talking about.”
“Where y’all take this at?”
“This when we went to Paris. At the love lock bridge. I got some more pics, you wanna see?”
“Let me see.”
I went through all the pics me and Amb took that I could show her, if you know what I mean. And we laughed going through some of them, and I showed her how I threw her a Cinderella party. And showed her some video from it.
“She moving to Philly with me Ma.”
“Is she?”
“Yeah. She not gon be working for a while because she gotta take the Philly bar. But I’mma make sure she straight.”
“I know you will.” She rubbed my back. “I have never seen you so crazy about a woman.”
“I thought it was all crazy when people say you found someone that’s meant for you. Like someone made specifically for you. But I feel that with Amb. It’s like God took my rib and made her with it.”
“I know you ain’t been too good since Mel died. But I’m happy for you, and I’m so proud of you.” She kissed my forehead. “Still Mama’s bighead baby.” She ran her hands through my head.
“Nah Trav the one with that watermelon head.”
“I heard that!” Travis called from the otherside of the door.
We opened the door and Mook, Cha, the girls and grandma were all outside acting like they were just walking pass.
“Y’all some nosey niggas.” I got up and laughed. “Damn.”
Me and my family ate and laughed all night recounting stories and just enjoying each other's company. I can't wait for them to meet Amb.