Ive been thinking about book three a lot lately meaning all my ideas are about onto go on a google document. If you got anymore ideas or thought please let me know.
Ziyah's POV
Angela finally invited me over to her apartment that's across from a walmart in Culver City. It's one of those big buildings similar to Lucas's but more modern with white paint.
"It's Zi Zi!" I hear Sofia scream after I knock on the door Angela advised me to. The door swings open and Angela stands in front of me in one of those mom blouses you see at Ross instead of of her usual forever 21 tops. "See he came right at the time you told him," Sofia says and moves from her spot behind Angela. Maybe it's because she's wearing a french braid rather than those big ass puffballs, but Sofia looks like she's 5 inches taller as she leads me into the surprisingly neat apartment.
Before Sofia leads me any further I hand Angela the red box that I've been holding. "It's just a little housewarming gift," I say.
"Aww Zi, you're too sweet!" she says and grabs the box. She takes the lid off and turns her head to the side as her smile gets smaller. She squints and pulls out the little note which makes her laugh a little. She begins to read it, "Dear Ang, you never used them at home so here." Angela looks at me curiously.
Without looking in the box she says, "You got me condoms?" Eww no.
"Look in the box," Is all I say before Sofia asks what are condoms?
Angela puts the note in her pocket and takes out the white squares. She looks at the coaster and her mouth flies right open. They're just coasters, but on it I got them customized to say, "Angela's place," with a design underneath. It didn't take much, but Angela hugs me and tells me she loves me like I got her diamonds.
Sofia continues to show me around the apartment. "Look Zi Zi we have a balachoni," she says and points to the balcony on the other side of the see through doors. This shit actually looks nice, especially on a day like this where the sky doesn't have any clouds.
"You mean balcony," I say.
Sof holds my hand tighter and shakes her head. "No balachoni sounds better." With Angela only a few footsteps behind us Sofia begins to give me the grand tour of the apartment that's way bigger than I expected. It's already furnished like Angela said with a big gray sofa, small brown coffee table, and a black dining table set that already has little specs of rice and unopened mail on it.
Sofia of course ignores the living room, and the fridge to lead me into her room which is smaller than the one back at home, or my house.
"It's nice Sof."
"Isn't and look!" She points above her bed and on the white walls sits the portrait I drew for her in a frame. It actually looks pretty cool seeing something I spent hours on in a frame even if it is in a 6 year old's room. "I missed you so much!" she screams and wraps her arms around the right leg of my black pants. I pick her up which is way easier now that Im not holding the box.
"I missed you too Sof!" Even though it's only been some weeks, but then again for the past 5 years I've seen her everyday.
"Aww," Angela says from her spot in the doorway. At that I put Sofia down, and look at Angela who for the first time since I saw her in that hospital bed 5 years ago she looks like a whole ass mom. Sofia grabs my hand again like she is somehow going to loose me, and leads me into the next room. For a moment I think she's about to show me Ang's room, but this room is not a master's and smaller than Sofia's. The whole room is pretty much all white and the queen size bed is all nice and made.
"This is your room Zi Zi!" Sofia says. Now Angela's uneasy smile makes sense to me.
"Ang?" I say and she moves from her spot in the doorway.
"It's a guest room, but you're welcome whenever when you want," she says calmly. Angela and I sort of stare at each other until Sofia shouts, "Let's go I'm hungry!"
We go into the kitchen, and Angela looks all motherly as she fixes Sof a bowl of grapes. Sofia goes and watches My little pony with her fruit by the coffee table and begins to sing that annoying ass song. Angela pulls out a chair and sits next to me at the dining table before shooting me one of her looks.
"You're wondering how I can afford this right?" she says.
I look at the fridge and then back at her. "Nah that's your business."
Angela nods and puts some of her hair behind her ear. "So how's Bree?" Another sore subject.
"She's alright," I sort of lie.
Angela bites down on her lip and looks at Sofia then back at me. Changing to another sore subject she says, "Do you think he should meet her?" I don't even need to ask who he is.
Lowering my voice and also looking at Sofia I say, "You sent him all those postcards about her right?"
Angela's eyes fall down on her lap. "Yea," she says weakly.
"And did he even respond?"
Tears begin to fall down Angela's face making me feel like shit. "No," she says and wipes some tears off her face. Shit I hate when she cries, but it only last for a second before she somehow starts to smile. "Zi can we talk about something-"
I don't let her say another word. "Anything," I say and play with some of my dreads.
"You look more muscular," Angela says and she begins to touch my forearms with her purple nails.
"Boxing," I answer and move out of her grasp.
"You get your anger out?" she asks and her smile is now gone.
"What anger?" I ask and Angela rolls her eyes before Sofia runs over to her with her empty bowl. After talking a little more with Angela I take Sofia to the nearby park where she does cartwheels in the grass and makes me help her with the monkey bars. Sofia has mastered her cartwheel so this time she doesn't leave the park with a bunch of dirt on her clothes.
*
My mom got back from New York and as I drive back from Angela's my phone buzzes with her contact. I'm lucky she text me while I'm driving giving me the opportunity not to text back because I'm still pissed about seeing her with that guy. The second she found out he was close she should've told me, but then again I guess I would be fine if I didn't see her hug him at all and didn't see that man's face. Since she's been in New York doing whatever it is she does as an editor of a magazine I've texted her, but only little things like, "I went to registration and got milk." At a stop light I check her text, and I roll my eyes. Mom: Hey baby, I stopped at home, but you weren't there, I'm back at the office be home by the time I get back. That basically means she wants me home before midnight.
I don't respond and throw my phone into the passenger seat while driving in silence because I don't feel like listening to saturated radio niggas. I tap my fingers against the steering wheel and continue driving with my eyes on the slow ass prius in front of me. Due to LA traffic cars clog the streets and people forget how to fucking drive and know when to turn.
"Move you dumb bitch!" A man in the lane next to me yells at a black SUV with a baby on board tag. I kind of want to cuss him out, but I hold onto my steering tighter and make a left down some suburban street. I drive for some minutes sort of knowing where I'm going, but I don't end up at home and instead I find a parking spot right in front of Lucas's building.
My mom said she was at the office and that's probably true, but I sit in my car staring at the front of the building waiting for my mom to come out of the see through doors with that man. She doesn't come out with her dangling beads and sheer shawl, but I don't move my car and run my hands over my face.
I doze off and my mind goes to Daya and if she's seeing her mom, writing, or with Harper and Navia. This isn't new sometimes I just wonder about if she's smiling, and usually I shoot her a text, but I don't want to look at my phone and instead just close my eyes for a moment.
"Yo Nigga the fuck you doing out here!" Lucas's voice booms. I open my eyes to see him standing outside my window with his headphones around his neck and his eyebrows scrunched.
I roll my window down, and Lucas continues to stare me down. "Nothing I was just stopping by," I say sounding like a weird fuck.
"Well get your ass out here, mom's asleep and there's some leftover mac and cheese." It doesn't take much for me to get out of my car and follow Lucas into his place where sure enough a plate of mac and cheese sits on the dining table. I don't have much of an appetite and just sit next to Lucas as he scarfs down his food.
"You sure you don't want any?" Lucas says with his mouth full and his face close to his plate.
"I'm chill," I say. Lucas continues to get every scrape of cheese off of his plate, and after not scrubbing his plate enough he sits back down.
"So you gonna tell me why you're here?" he says.
"Thanks for the welcome, but nigga you know you why."
Lucas looks up at the ceiling, and then back at me with his mouth open. Yuh thats why.
He gets more comfortable in his seat. "Well now that you're here, there's something I need to show you," he stops and moves his head side to side. "Or tell you."
I lean forward a bit. "What? You've seen him?" The last words sort of just slip out.
"Nah, it's not about that, it's about your girl I know what she's hiding," he says. He pulls out his phone and begins scrolling and tapping as my mind goes back to Daya's words when I was at her place. I deadass just wanted her to spit the words out, but I could see in her eyes she just couldn't that's why I didn't press it any further. How the fuck Lucas knows what was in her mind I don't know, but I'm not gonna sit back and not act like I'm curious.
Lucas looks up from his phone. "You want to see it or you cool with secrets?" Lucas plays with the end of one of his mustard dreads. An image of Daya being beautiful flashes through my mind, but it goes away when I realize I hate secrets. I stick out my hand and Lucas places his phone into my palm.
It takes me a second, but I flip his screen over to see a picture of Daya at the school with some tan guy with football shorts. I squint a little bit, and notice this guy is the same guy who I saw at Navia's party starting at Daya like she wasn't mine. The picture isn't too clear, and Daya face is all scrunched up like she's about to say, what? The guy on the other hand is licking his lips making me place the phone on the dining table.
"The fuck is this?"I say still confused.
"Nothing I just saw them together at registration, and that guy looks quite interested so I used my good camera good quality for good." Lucas shrugs like shit is sweet.
"So what the fuck are you trying to say?"
Lucas puts his hands up. "Look you told me your girl was hiding something I just found a possible answer." Before I can argue with him and call him out on alluding that my girl is disloyal he gets up and heads back in the kitchen.
"She can talk to niggas, I don't have a problem with that,"I say. Lucas just shrugs before digging through his fridge. As he gets out a container of food his phone rings on the table.
"Can you get that!" he says. I pick it up to see it's Danielle's number and forgetting who I'm dealing with I don't hesitate to press the accept button.
"Hey Lucas," she begins as I get up from my seat.
"It's Ziyah," I say not hiding my annoyance.
"Oh Ziyah Mr. too cool to add my number, how have you been."
"Fine Danielle." I stand by Lucas as he puts some chicken in the microwave.
"Ooh someone is stingy, you know I got just what you need to feel better." At that I hand Lucas the phone and tell him goodbye before going home. When I get home the house is empty and I collapse on my bed with the picture of Daya and that guy in my mind.