Sarayah July 5,2016
I stared out the window of the ridiculously expensive van. Under normal circumstances I would have been excited to be in it, but today everything felt wrong. I'd said goodbye to the only friends I'd ever known, the only home I remembered, and the possibility of seeing my mama again. I lost my whole world. I just wanted to be left alone so I could mourn in peace, but instead I was trapped in a damn van with Beyoncé sneaking furtive glances at me every few seconds. I don't know what it was about her, but her very presence pissed off my soul. I glanced up and caught her staring again. She quickly looked away, and I rolled my eyes. That was how it had been the whole ride to the private airport, the flight to New York and this long ass ride to their house.
I couldn't believe I would be stuck with this woman for the next two years. I looked down at my meager possessions. I'd barely brought anything. I barely had anything to bring. I clutched the picture scrap in my pocket. It was all I really had now. I couldn't even find Mr. Socks. Silly, I know. I'm 16 years old and can't leave a stuffed animal behind, but he was the only thing I had left from my childhood. I would have liked to have him as a reminder of happier times.
We stopped at a set of gates before a security guard sitting in a little office buzzed us in. We passed through the gates and into a luxurious community. The houses were huge and beautiful. I shook my head. I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture, sending it to Vaeh and Kai. Kai immediately responded with foolishness. I smiled sadly down at my phone. I missed home already.
Jay nudged my foot with his, breaking me out of my thoughts. I frowned, moving my foot away from his. He stretched farther, nudging my foot again. I looked up at him, exasperated, and he nodded his head towards his window, smiling knowingly.
"We're here."
I looked out the window and felt my jaw drop. We passed through another set of large iron gates and drove up a long driveway, stopping in front of a white mansion. I could not call that thing a house. It was huge.
Jay got out first and held out his hand to help me get down. I took it without hesitation, too distracted by the beauty of the mansion to remember to be repulsed by him. He grabbed my bag and led me inside.
The inside was even more beautiful than the outside. It was spacious with impossibly high ceilings. There were large windows filling the room with natural sunlight. The walls were white and clean. Clean walls. Crazy. The walls in my apartment were so grimy you couldn't even tell their original color. So, this was new for me. I reached out to touch the wall, then stopped. I didn't want to be the one to ruin it.
The living room had a fireplace. I felt myself getting excited despite myself. I don't know what it was about the idea of an indoor fire, but it always seemed like a rich people thing to me. Never thought I could have one. Now look at me, rolling with people with indoor fires. I took another picture and sent it to Kai, before continuing to explore.
"This is what Annie must have felt like," I whispered to myself, shoving my phone back into my pocket.
The mantle was lined with family pictures. I walked closer. I had always loved pictures. They were like little portals to the past. There were pictures of family vacations, Christmases, birthdays. I paused, taking them all in.
"A lot of pictures of Blue," I mumbled, absently. I walked away, moving around the house.
I examined the paintings hung on the walls. They looked like they came from all around the world. I had never really been outside of Florida. Well, I was in Washington briefly, and I guess I must have lived in New York and, okay. Forget that. I hadn't traveled in the past seven years. My jumbled thoughts were interrupted by Jay clearing his throat. I turned to look at him.
"I hate giving tours so I'm not gonna do that. People always end up forgetting where shit is immediately after you show them, so I'm just gonna show you the important stuff."
Beyoncé shoved him. "Give her the full tour."
I shook my head. "It's fine. He's right. I'll just forget everything. Plus, I'm kinda tired so I'd rather just get this over with."
She turned to look at me, and I turned away, barely hiding my scowl. Jay looked between us before nodding and heading upstairs. I followed him. Beyoncé trailed behind me, giving me space. Good. If she had tried to walk any closer, I probably would've turned around and pushed her down the stairs.
I gazed at the pictures along the wall. There were more pictures upstairs than downstairs. A lot of pictures of Blue. A LOT. I stopped to look at them. Mama didn't have any pictures of me before the age of seven. I was kind of hoping to see some pictures of myself, but guess I was shit out of luck. Wasn't a single picture of me in this whole damn castle. Not one. I kissed my teeth. Shady as fuck.
When I got to the top, Jay was waiting for me. He pointed down the hall to my right.
"The room at the very end is ours. Blue's room is the next room over. Your room is right over here." He turned left and opened a door on his right. He waited for me to walk in.
I walked in cautiously, careful not to touch him. I had already slipped up once, I couldn't let it happen again.
I stepped into a room bigger than my apartment. I looked around, noting the neutral color scheme. This was obviously supposed to be a guest room. It was classy and simple. It had a large bay window at the opposite end, overlooking a huge backyard. A king bed sat against the wall to the left, with a million pillows. Opposite to it, was a beautiful mahogany desk.
I noticed two doors, one farther into the room and another one closer to me. I walked to the closest one and opened it. It opened to reveal a closet the size of a regular bedroom. The walls were lined with shelves and compartments to store clothes and shoes. A plush, white footstool sat in the middle of the room in front of a full-length mirror at the end opposite to me. I blinked a few times and walked out, heading towards the other door.
"Let's see what's behind door number two," I mumbled to myself, feeling completely overwhelmed.
I opened the door and stepped into a spa–sorry–'bathroom'. It had a huge shower with some sort of electronic controls on the side. I would definitely be trying every setting later. I walked over to the 'tub' that looked more like a mini pool. I nodded, trying to play it cool, and walked away pretending to inspect the sink. I didn't want them thinking they could buy me. Especially after talking all that trash. I couldn't lie to myself though, after years of struggling it would be nice to live in luxury, if only for a little bit.
I walked out of the washroom and nodded again, pretending to survey the room. Jay looked at me, with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. He was clearly enjoying himself. He saw right through my act. How annoying.
"Don't worry, Angel, we'll personalize your room later. Make it feel more...homey. Maybe add some roaches. A crackhead or two."
I snorted. I tried to hide my smile, but it was pointless. He knew he got me.
"First of all," I started, crossing my arms, trying to regain control of the situation. "My name isn't Angel, it's Sarayah–"
He shrugged. "Don't care. It's a nickname. You don't get to choose it. I do. So, get used to it."
I narrowed my eyes at his interruption. "SECOND, we did not have roaches."
He shot me a disbelieving look. "See, now I know you lying. Soon as I stepped into that apartment them niggas rolled up on me, a whole gang of them, talking bout, 'run that'."
I pressed my lips together and shook my head, trying my hardest not to laugh. It was surprisingly difficult. Don't get me wrong, I laugh really easily, but only when I'm comfortable. I didn't think I'd be comfortable enough to laugh around him, especially not this quick, but he reminded me so much of Kai's stupid ass. Making up ridiculous stories that didn't have a lick of truth in them but were still funny somehow. It was disarming.
"Whatever, this room ain't even all that. Closet ain't nearly big enough for all my clothes," I joked.
He looked down at the tiny bag he was still holding. "Uh huh. And I suppose that bed isn't big enough for that gigantic head of yours either."
I smirked. "Actually, I was just thinking about how it's the perfect size for me and my boyfriends."
His eyes damn near popped out of his head. I burst out laughing. He shook his head, holding his heart.
"See, you think you funny, but you not gon be laughing when you sleeping on a twin bed."
I laughed harder. He joined me, and for a moment I felt happy. That is until I saw Beyoncé pitifully lurking at the door. She looked like a lost puppy, her brown eyes watching us longingly. I immediately stopped laughing, coming back to reality. This was not my real home. This was not my real family. I did not belong here. Jay looked at me and then Beyoncé, his laughter dying on his lips.
He clapped his hands together. "Okay, so we'll let you get settled. I have to go get Blue anyway. I put both mine and Bey's numbers into your phone so call if you need anything."
I nodded. He gave me one last smile before shutting the door behind them. I jumped onto the bed. It was so comfortable. I stretched my arms out, lounging. So, this was my temporary home, huh? Not bad. Not bad at all.