This book will be switching from Daya and Ziyah's POV which I am really excited about. I'm a girl so I'm sorry if I don't connect with Ziyah like I do with Daya.
Ziyah's POV
It's the first week of summer break, and I have a girl whose pissed at me. To add onto that shit Lucas is blowing up my phone with all the parties he's planning on going to, and I'm watching some weird ass ponies with stickers on their butts and colored hair.
"I used to wonder what friendship could be!" Sofia sings along with the tv while bobbing her head from side to side. Girl knows the whole song, but when I ask her what her mom is doing tonight she has no clue.
Once again Angela has to do something, and because I was busy trying to get out of the dog house with Daya I missed the not it game about who is taking Sofia. Sofia aint all that bad and I love her, but I've babysat her more than her dad has taken care of her. He's one of those white privileged guys who thinks writing a check every month with a FaceTime call is being a dad, now I haven't seen my dad in some years, but I'm pretty sure that ain't all to it.
"Sof can we please watch something else," I say. She turns her head crosses her arms just like her mother still does.
"Zi Zi your shows are ina-a-a," Sofia struggles to get out syllables. I hate to sound like a narc, but it sure seems like this My little Pony is rodding her brain. Then again she has a slight lisp due to the fact her front teeth are missing. "Ana-prop-eeeit," she concludes. Someone has been snooping on my Netflix profile because I don't even watch tv around Sofia. In the off chance that I do I'm watching fucking Reba for god's sake.
"I told you not to call me that." Zi Zi was cute when she was 2, but now that she's 6 it's time to give it up just like she did with that nasty old blanket.
Sofia's voice gets more high pitched. "Zi Zi sounds better, Brittany said Ziyah is a girl name."
"Word? Well Brittany has a basic white girl name." Shit I forgot about my child proof filter.
Sofia's whole face scrunches up, and I can already hear the question. "What is a white girl name?" Geez I wish Daya was here right now because she's good at answering Sofia's unlimited questions.
I turn back to look at the tv. "Oh look whats her face is in that castle thing." I point to the tv and Sofia who might have a bit of adhd turns her head and goes back to being completely invested. Me on the other hand I start scrolling through my phone which of course leads me to Daya's contact. We're not officially together, but we're close enough, and her giving me the cold shoulder sure makes me feel like we're a couple.
Me: Are you still giving me the silent treatment or can we talk now.
Daya: I don't know, don't you want to talk to Ella
Yeah I deserved that, but I DIDN'T DO SHIT.
Me: You know I only want to talk to you
Daya: You sure?
Me: Positive and stop frontin you know you want to talk to me too.
Daya: Yeah ok I do, but I can't talk right now
Yeah a nigga still in the doghouse, even though I DIDN'T DO SHIT!
Me: k I'll call you later.
Daya: K
I hate to be all dramatic and shit, but damn I felt her anger in that "k." I spend the next 30 minutes scribbling random stuff in the sketchbook Angela got me, until I turn to my head to see Sofia not singing the theme song and knocked out. As usual I pick her up and start walking up the stairs as her thumb is in her mouth. I'm about to reach the middle step when the door flies open and instead of my mom who I was expecting Lucas's head ass walks in. He doesn't even look at me, before he starts talking.
"Nigga the girls at Beverly are freaks!" He practically shouts. Sofia stirs in her sleep on my shoulder then fortunately goes back to her light snoring. Lucas looks at me, and disappointment covers his face. "Damn you Mrs. Doubtfire again," he says and shakes his head of curly fry looking dreads.
"Your zipper down again?" I say and point to his camouflage pants. He looks down and quickly closes the barn yard door. He tries to regain his coolness, but you need at least 5 minutes to come back from having your fly down. At least.
"Give me a second, and wash your hands before you touch shit," I say as Lucas heads into my living room. I carry Sofia whose sound asleep to her room and place her on her bed. She didn't brush her teeth or put on her pajamas like Angela wanted, but I know better than to wake a child up and make them do stuff.
I head back downstairs and sure enough Lucas is sitting on the couch with the channel still on My Little Pony. "Yo I aint going to lie the one with the rainbow hair is kinda cool," he says as I plop on the couch.
"Nah man Applejack is... wait hold up hold up we're not finna sit here and talk about this you got me in trouble," I say and mute the tv.
"What did I do?" Lucas and I exchange looks as I'm waiting for him to tell me he knows about what has been going on.
"Wait you don't know?"
"No ever since school got out I've been busy." Lucas raises his eyebrows which theres no need for, because I know what he means. Since freshmen year when he got lucky at that homecoming party I've known what he means. "So what trouble have you gotten yourself into?"
I pull my phone out of my pocket and go to the screen shot of the text messages I took. "One of your conquests Ella somehow got my number." And ruined the beginning of my summer. Just when Daya and I were about to get to that almost relationship place.
Lucas tilts his head and his face scrunches up as he rubs the little hair there is on his chin. "Wait like Ella likes to cheat on her fella Ella or Ella always tripping like cinderella Ella." I let out a slight laugh even though he's dead serious, and then I go back to my serious expression.
"I don't know, but which ever Ella she is, the bitch wouldn't stop texting me, see for yourself." I throw Lucas my phone and a smirk immediately appears on his face that is being lit up by all of the GRAY bubbles.
He burst into laughter just like I expected him to. "This girl ain't even subtle, 'Come over here and do me right now', Like girl come on use a metaphor or something, that's what I like about the beverly girls they could describe what nasty stuff we were about to do." I just shake my head as normally this would make me laugh, but not right now. Not when Daya is sending me one letter text. Lucas throws my phone back to me, and shrugs. "So let me guess Daya saw these?"
"Yup, and she's mad, but not like mad mad like I'm going to pretend I'm cool, but later be mad."
"Well nigga that's your problem you didn't block Ella who wants you to lick it like nutella, now your ass is suffering the consequences. " Lucas Hamilton the guy who has never had a girlfriend and copied all of my US history notes because he was slumped in class is telling me about suffering the consequences ain't that something. I wanna argue cause I hate that he's right, but I just let it slide.
Lucas and I chill for a bit and he of course takes some food before his mom kills his earbuds and tells him to go back home which lucky for him is only some blocks away. When he's gone for a bit of time I stare at a blank white sketchbook page until a picture of Sofia watching her show sticks in my brain. In this quiet house it's just me, and a developing drawing of Sofia who I'm surprised I haven't drawn yet. Smino's "Amphetamine," plays not too loudly, and I'm in my element, but of course that changes when the door swings open and my mom walks in.
"Hey Baby I'm sorry I can't talk right now," she says and before I can close my sketchbook she scurries up the stairs. Weird, she usually comes home wanting a whole summary of my day with all of those descriptive words Lucas was talking about. The ambiance that I once had is now ruined, but it's late which would usually mean it's time for my goodnight/day wrap up with Daya, but I didn't block Ella which has to be the dumbest thing I've done.
When I get back to my room my fingers float over Daya's contact, and I press the call button. With only one rings she answers. "Hey," I say and spin around in my chair.
"Hey," she says. Her voice is more soothing than tense or what I imagined it to be when we were texting.
"I know I should've blocked her True I'm sorry," I say sort of in the way a child apologizes.
"It's ok we're not together anyway, how was your day?" Damn.
"Watched Sofia, she said she wants to see you." With that statement we begin a whole conversation, and she reveals to me that she's at Harper's and Harper's crazy ass thought she should be mad at me. I don't mind though, because talking to her is everything. She is everything, and if she's ready to be mine I'm ready to call her mine.
She tells me sweet dreams which I find so damn cheesy, but I don't care and my talk with her is the perfect cap to my evening, but Sofia proves there is no such thing as a perfect night cap.
"Zi Zi!" she screams just as I start charging my phone. With no hesitation I go to her room where she sits up in her bed with a frightened face.
"What's wrong Sof?" I ask and go to the side of her bed.
"I had a bad dream," she whines and even in the dark light of her room I can see the sweat on her face.
"What was it about?"
"My friend Brittany went away and she never came back, but then she did come back, but with a monster. " Tears start to come down her face, and I sit in the chair next to her bed that Angela calls "the reading chair." I choose between the many stories on her bookshelf, and pull out some Fancy Nancy book that she loves. The minute I get to the 5th page she's out like a light, and I go back out into the hallway.
I'm about to turn into my room, but the sound of my mom's susurrations makes me follow her muffled voice to outside of her room. This is some shit Angela would do, but I stand outside her door that's slightly cracked open giving me a view of my mom on the phone. Just like her I can sense people's energy and hers was weird from the second she entered the house. She has always been open with me from day one, and the way she walked in it definitely seemed like she was hiding some shit.
Her voice isn't that clear, but I hear a few words here and there. "No they're not ready I don't think they'll ever be." With those words from her I walk away, but I hear one last thing before I go. "I'll never tell them and you'll never see them." Yea she's definitely hiding some shit or someone.