7135 words. Vote and comment because these chapters be beating my ass and it bet not be for no reason. And keep an open mind the whole chapter.
𝘝𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
"Nah I don't eve- stop!" Jade slapped her hands off of his face when she noticed a stray hair near his eyebrow and grabbed her tweezers to pluck it.
"Just let me.. move." Serenity waited for him to stop being extra and relaxed her arms.
"No. Don't touch my eyebrows that shit hurt."
"Curse too much."
"A habit." He dropped his face when he heard her throw the tweezers back in her nightstand and just looked at her, not having anything to do but stare and waste time.
"Stop staring it feels weird."
"Only if you make it weird. You want me to like you and not look at you?"
"Yes." The doorbell rang and she tried getting up to answer it but he held onto her and stood up. He liked being touchy. Serenity began panicking when she felt herself in the air and he just laughed while he walked to the door.
"Tana imma fall put me down!"
"You not that big." He noticed she was insecure about her weight but it really didn't bother him. She was cute in the face and he liked her body.
He held her up with one arm and opened the door with the other, seeing a girl in a middle school uniform and a cart full of cans.
"What?"
"Hi my names India and I was wondering if you or someone you know would be willing to donate to the can drive.." the girl spoke shyly, avoiding looking at his face while he looked directly at hers.
"Sorry nah."
"If you can't donate now you can always stop by the school and drop things off. Bye." She turned around and began leaving, making him stare curiously for a few moments.
"Close the door." Serenity tapped her his shoulder finally comfortable. He did just that and walked back to her room.
When he was quiet placing her back on the bed she raised an eyebrow.
"You know her?"
"Not really." He'd seen her with Ray's little sister Del but they never spoke directly because she was always really shy and quiet.. plus he just didn't talk to people he didn't know, especially thirteen years old girls.
"Oh. She looks young. Aside from the uniform."
"Yeah she like fourteen or thirteen. We playing the game or what? I gotta go in a hour." He looked down at his phone.
"Why?"
"Because I gotta go do something with Zeik. Imma turn my phone off so don't cry thinking I'm ignoring you." Jade sat back down on her bed and grabbed the remote controller.
"Don't use my good remote, and why I can't come?"
"Because I don't want you there? I been with you all day now you wanna cry-"
"I'm not cryingggg!"
"You deadass whining with tears coming out your eyes if you not crying then what is crying? I said I would play C.O.D with you so stop that shit is aggravating." He reached over and mushed her head, eyes still on the tv.
"I win you gotta stay."
"You win imma still leave."
"You gay I don't care. Wanna hang out with a nigga when I'm tryna have sex with you. Move." Serenity mugged him while he laughed at her and shrugged.
"Mad ass."
"Shut up. Y'all sit on FaceTime with your legs crossed, playing fortnite and flirting. Don't say nothing to me."
The more she went off the harder he laughed. To make matters worse Zeik began FaceTiming him and Serenity grabbed the phone before he could answer.
"Move. Acting like a child."
"Nah let it ring. Youn want your boyfriend to be at you?"
"Is jealous of a nigga."
"Nah that shit really got me weak though. Be on FaceTime with this nigga more than me."
"Because we be on the game, talking about bitches with fat asses, cake pops, and drill music. Fuck imma say on the phone with you? You so beautiful marry me? That's gay." He said dryly, picking the remote back up and swiping until he saw the downloaded version.
"Tha- you makin my head hurt. You talk to me like I'm a nigga anyways."
"Nah I could really wild out and forget you a girl. I be tryna be careful with my words."
"And say what?"
"You seen that video with the bitch that put her fist in her ass? The black girl with them stupid ass green contacts?"
"Why would I-"
"Exactly bro. Stick to being my fuck buddy friend you not cut like that."
Jade looked up her with a small smile on his face that was eventually ruined by the feeling of his eyebrow hair being snatched out.
"You wanna know when I realized you was really where it's at?"
"When you first saw me duh."
"Nah. When I asked if you saw that video of the bitch with the cucum-"
"That was fire. It was bigger than yours and she was tiny, like 4'11 with the whole thing in her. Shit is crazy." He didn't know if that was an insult or what.
"And guess what else? I remember meeting you when you was in eighth grade, you was doing that can drive shit. I was at Serenity house and you was being all quiet like always."
"For real? That seems so long ago."
"Not gon hold you son son you was type ug-I'm playin chill. Don't hit me." Jade sucked his teeth and put his hands up when she sat up.
"New subject then because you being rude."
"Like what?"
"Worst sexual experience?" India questioned, straddling him while she began plucking his eyebrows again.
"It wasn't even sex related because I didn't follow through but that shit was terrible."
"When?"
"Junior year. That was my hoe year. Anyways I linked this girl and.. oh god. Okay so boom we both know she about to suck my dick and get out, problem is she don't got her lashes on right, so she look different. I ignore it because I don't wanna be rude and call her a bald eyed bitch-"
"What this have to do with the st-"
"Shut up nigga let me finish. Anyways, she look younger. She's on the verge of pulling my dick out and I grab her hand just feeling real uncomfortable. I put my serious face on and go 'you said you seventeen right?' and she just start stuttering. Keep in mind I asked multiple times because I don't fuck with it."
"Whole time she was fifteen or something?"
"You interrupting me. Shut up. Anyways, she go 'nah. When I said that I was playing.' So I asked her how old she was for real and this bitch say... thirteen. I almost punched her ass in the head. I put her out wit the quickness she started crying and apologizing. Blocked her and never spoke to her again cause fuck that."
"That's.. mmm. She different.."
"I went home and damn near threw up. Seventh grade.. shit made my stomach hurt. Little ass girls really be like that though. I finally opened Instagram and it's freshmen girls in my dm saying they'd.. ion even wanna repeat it. If I end up with a daughter imma be aggravated."
"If I end up pregnant with a girl I know you'll ruin her whole life just doing the most."
"Nah it depends on how she come out. Like people know when they kids be dumb ashit they just don't wanna admit it. If she can understand and respect what I like and don't like I shouldn't have to do the most." He felt her put the tweezers down and sat up, still keeping her on top of him while he spoke.
It wasn't like he wanted to be the annoying dad that harassed every nigga that came around. He'd been the nigga coming around before and to Xander he was still the nigga coming around. Things like that just weren't necessary sometimes. It really depended on the child.
"So what do you like and dislike? Because I already know what I want for any child I have, it just can't be a baby then boom we wing it. Or we don't agree on certain stuff."
"Not rules really, just an understanding? Eli has rules because of who he is and that's what he likes but as he gets older it'll probably change, and I don't wouldn't mind. I don't really know though."
"Until eighth grade leaving without an adult or something isn't even an option. High school? Be home by eight in ninth, nine in tenth, eleven in eleventh, etc. Dating?" She looked at him for that one. She hadn't had a boyfriend until.. him. So she didn't know what to say about it.
"High school. By the time he's fourteen sex should be something I been explained, pregnancy and diseases with that. So if you know about it and you choose to date and risk any of it that's not my problem if it happens to you, you not slow." He made a face, talking like she was Eli unintentionally.
"I- you? Sir."
"Cause thinking about any child of mine getting pregnant or getting somebody pregnant just gets me tight like.. I just wouldn't understand it. You have eighteen years to do what you want, get what you want, and you wanna fuck?"
"Yeah I guess. I never understood why Del was like that but I think some people really do just enjoy it, there isn't always a big explanation behind people having high sex drives. From what I've seen there usually is though."
"From what you've seen? Gir-"
"Yes smart ass. Like me and Del both grew up poor but we adjusted differently. I shut down and she put on a front, that she was really confident and happy with herself. Del started talking to boys and going out and stuff. I wanted to but I didn't have everything she did because there were no boys that wanted to take me out, have sex with me, flirt with me, and buy me stuff. I wasn't a 'bad bitch' but I wasn't raggedy, I was just plain. People who miss out on something usually end up craving it later on." She shrugged, feeling his hands rub over the small of her back.
India didn't speak on her childhood because there was nothing to talk about. Very boring. She spent it looking outside and watching other people play. Everyone knew who she was but that didn't mean she had friends.
"I used to see you. I thought you were pretty." Jade saw her look up from her hands and at him, smiling shyly.
"I thought you were so fine when I was in middle school. First time I remember seeing
you I was in eighth grade and you were in high school, tenth grade I think. I was walking home and this girl was crying and screaming at you outside this store and you was just staring."
"It was Serenity again. Used to piss me the fuck off." He laughed sounding annoyed at the same time.
"She's half that size now. Even her face looks different."
"I told you I liked chubby girls, she a lil stick now."
"Yeah but anyways, I was fan girling thinking you was extra cute because you was tall and all pretty in the face. Whole time you was mean and stuck up." India noticed him looking off like he was getting side tracked and tapped him to ask what he was thinking about.
"Hm?"
"You looked distracted."
"I was just thinking. Nothing important though." Like always he dismissed it because it wasn't something he really felt like explaining.
"If you don't just say that shit.. stop keeping everything to yourself because I wanna hear what you have to say."
"But what if I just don't wanna say it?"
"Well you can't do that because when I let you just not say it you say nobody cares or asks how you feel, which I only avoid because I don't wanna patronize you. But I'd rather annoy you than have you saying I don't care. Now talk."
India didn't always wanna fight him to get him to open his mouth. She even distinctly remembered him telling her 'closed mouths don't get fed and I don't have time to pry yours open' so what did he think he was doing?
After a few moments of them staring each other down he began talking.
"High school. I didn't grow up struggling to eat or nothing because he was doing his shit but she was sick and I didn't really have a female role model or nothing. Nobody really directed me. My ma taught me how to take care of myself physically but that was it. She didn't give me any rules and he gave me a few.. like I couldn't be gay, Zeik's friend, a tutor, or an atheist. But she invited Zeik over anyways."
"Probably why you liked Ochean. You didn't have direction and she gave it to you, even if it was excessive and she was manipulative that's what you sought out for a while. It ended badly so you talked to girls that were push overs and kissed the ground you walked on, kind of like what you were to her." India saw him raise and eyebrow as if he was questioning her logic then it fell and he turned his mouth to the side.
"I liked you because you was so laid back. Thought you was my type then I fucked around and you ain't try to fight me, you just left, then I wanted you even more." Jade admitted, yawning while she looked at him in disgust.
"I-"
"I was like 'damn she really left me. Fuck that bitch. Quitter. I miss her though.' Was crazy. Couldn't believe it."
"You really expected me to just do whatever you wanted and I was slow enough to be that clown at first. No ma'am."
"Because I ain't ever have nobody like.. actually break up with me. But it gave me time to prioritize and shit so I don't regret it, I wouldn't have changed if we stayed together."
"When we first met I thought you just wanted to fuck. But I didn't wanna leave you alone because.. I was slow."
"I'll tell you a secret if you promise to not get mad." He said awkwardly, watching her face turn up. Before he could laugh at how annoyed she looked she had his face squeezed in her hand.
"I'm not promising shit, tell me." India felt him struggle to get loose and let go when she mumbled okay.
"I ain't realize I wanted you for real until the night I was like you my girl now. Like the idea of you being my girlfriend crossed my mind all the time but all it did was cross. It never parked before then." Jade lied, looking at her and they shared a moment of awkward silence.
It took him a few days to really find the right moment to ask, it wasn't on the spot at all and he thought about it all the time. It definitely parked. But he wanted to aggravate her.
Jade busted out laughing when her mouth dropped and felt even worse for laughing when he saw tears. She started to get up but he held her back down and ignored her telling him to move.
"Thats rude as fuck but I don't even care because-"
"Because what?"
When she stopped talking he looked at her sideways and waited for her to finish. Instead of saying anything else she continued crying quietly, making him sit back and look at her crazy wondering if she was for fake. After a few seconds of her wiping her eyes and sniffling he realized she was serious and began laughing again.
"I was just playin stop crying. Bro." When India didn't stop Jade pulled her hands off of her face and shook her shoulders.
Bout to put you in some rice.
"Bubbs you not crying for real. Awww stop crying I was just fuckin with you tighten up. I love you stop like dead as-"
"Bitch I wasn't even crying for real." India dropped her hands from her face and sniffled quietly while he looked at her strangely.
"Let's go." Jade sat up and carried her to the bathroom.
"Where?"
"Where the fuck it look like I'm going? To the moon?"
"No need to be rude. Maybe we going to the bathroom then some where else." She looked at him strange.
"You aggravating me. Take this pregnancy test so we can find out if you gotta deletus the fetus."
"I- you would kill my baby?" India picked her head up and side eyed him but he ignored her.
Jade sat her on the toilet and went in the cabinet two pull out three different pregnancies tests and the pee cup he kept in the bathroom that she'd used for this multiple times before. Even if was cleaned the idea of it sitting in the kitchen cabinet just shook him.
"Pee nigga why you acting confused."
"Because I don't want you in here while I pee."
"... India."
"Okay dang. Don't gotta look like that..."
She peed in the cup, sat the three tests in them the pulled them out, and put them on paper towels while he stood there and stared at them.
India heard the alarm go off after fifteen minutes of them staring at one another and sat up to see what they said. When she didn't respond he peered over as well and chewed on his bottom lip at the results.
"I'm fine." She cleated her throat when he hand went to her back so he took it as a sign that she didn't want to be touched.
"It's probably stress. Don't feel weird about it." He shrugged.
"I don't."
"You seem upset though."
"It's fine." India tried laughing it off while she cleaned up but he knew she felt like something was wrong with her body.
"Girls have weird shit going on all the time. Before you argue with yourself in your head use the other weird pee thing. I can tell you wanna cry."
"I won't. It's whatever. It might be a sign to pump my breaks and I might just be rushing into adulthood faster than I should. There's no medical explanation so far so like I said it might be a sign. Let's go to bed." She ignored the burning in the back of her throat and washed her hands.
Jade wanted to say something comforting but he didn't know what the comforting words were supposed to be. So he just wrapped his arms around waist and kissed her check rather than putting his foot in his mouth.
"Excuse me. I'm going to bed." India mushed his face and began walking away before stopping in the door way and looking around the bathroom.
"What?"
"It'd be nice to come back to a clean house."
"So clean it.."
"Uhm I didn't do it! So how bout you clean it!"
"Uhm no!"
"Uhm yeah cause you dirty!"
"Get the fuck out and go where you was going before you end up going no where!"
-
Veronica looked around when she noticed India wasn't around and hummed to herself. He immediately looked at her annoyed and they both stared each other down waiting for the other to speak. When she kept quiet he realized he'd have to be the bigger person.
"If you not apologizing to her for what you said don't expect her to speak to you it ain't that complicated." Jade pushed his hair out of his face wiping the counter down while Veronica sat at the dining table with her arms folded up.
It was growing but he'd never let it get past his shoulders, that was just aggravating. He'd become more fond of it recently and stopped dying it jet black. It looked black to other people but it was a dark brown that only he seemed to notice. India stressed that it wasn't a big thing but it was to him until recently.
Jade was getting older and his hair just wasn't something he cared about anymore. He didn't mean to get rid of his waves he just stopped getting haircuts honestly.
"I didn't think I was being rude. All I said was-"
"But you know it was rude now so you should apologize. If you don't want to that fine just don't expect her to be nice."
"It's not about being nice it's about respect. If your boyfriends mother comes by his home the least you could do is be polite."
"This is a household, with two grown ass people and a child in it. Both of the grown ass people have their names on the lease, pay bills, and take care of the child. If she said 'you can't come here anymore because I don't like you' I'd have nothing to say considering this isn't my house."
"Respect is a two way street."
"She doesn't respect you because you rude. There ain't no street. Do what you want I don't care." He waved her off.
Eli came out of his room and walked by Veronica and up to Jade, hugging him before making his way to the fridge.
"How old is he? Jesus he got big."
"Turning five in three weeks. He's tall for his age though, like four feet. You hungry or something?"
"Yes. Getting it." He shook his head to tell him he could do it himself then opened the fridge and grabbed the plastic container India labeled as 'Tuesday B' so he knew which one he'd eat.
Tuesday Breakfast
"You label his meals? Like meal plans?" Veronica looked over at the container while Eli sat in the seat across her to get at a comfortable distance then opened it and grabbed his fork.
"He won't eat if I don't."
Jade had talked to more people with Eli and learned that it wasn't autism, he just hadn't been socialized at all when he was with Serenity and it made him extremely introverted. But he did have red-green deuteranomaly colorblindness. Green just looked more red.
"No mato's?" He looked up Jade for confirmation and began eating when he nodded.
"He doesn't eat meat either?"
"Nope."
Veronica wasn't a terrible person. She was a mom, one that had a habit of over stepping and misjudging people. Since she'd had Jade she hadn't done much thinking for herself. Then Gideon randomly left and she was confused, unaware of how to be and what to do.
She was an immigrant from a small island and Gideon was a manipulative asshole. He took advantage and made her into a doll with a battery in her back. He was gone then she didn't know what to do. Now she was 36 with no clue as to who she was, what she wanted to do, or who she wanted to be. For years Veronica was okay with saying she was just.. Jades mom.. and he was an adult now.
"Dad I want new teacher." He chewed on a strawberry then looked over seeing India come out of his room like she'd just woken up.
"You left me I thought we were watching Spongebob." She walked over to him and picked an almond out of his bowl while he stank faced her.
India was beginning to believe Serenity planned on dumping him off on them the entire time, which wasn't a problem at all, it was just sad for him. He seemed perfectly fine and hadn't asked about her too much.
It just hurt her feelings to know Serenity wouldn't answer the phone or call, or text to find out how he was doing. Maybe this was her way of handing over full custody but it was a bitter immature way to go about it.
"You slept when they played and censored the damn with dolphin." He sighed, leaning his head against her while she stood next to him. Veronica's eyebrows raised and she waited for someone to correct him.
"The board game episode?"
"Yes. Mr.Krabs lost and they put dolphin over it."
"Cheap ass. I don't like him."
"He annoy you? Like the lady in street who kept light off before curving?" Him and Jade began having a conversation about it when he was reminded.
"Does he normally curse?" She was trying to not judge it was but it was kind of crazy to hear.
"Not really. He knows he can say whatever he wants to say around me and her but in public, like at school or in a store he doesn't out of respect for strangers who might be uncomfortable around cursing in general. But I don't care if he's not insulting someone." Some people agreed and some didn't but it didn't matter because it was his kid.
"Hands off parenting? You'll do the same if you ever have daughter right? Because that wouldn't be fair."
"Not even hands off because certain things just don't happen for any child I have. If I have a daughter I'm not doing the most. If you underage you not dating or fucking in my house regardless of gender." Jade watched him balance the walnut on the tip of his nose while he stared at it spaced out.
"He get a playground crush yet?"
"I don't know. Highly doubt it. If he's anything like me he won't have a crush till he's at least... eleven. I just wasn't into it."
"You were just a late bloomer. Until you got to 7th grade me and your daddy thought you'd stay short and skinny, then you randomly got taller and your voice got deeper. When you stood next to me and I had to look up at you I teared up." She looked at him standing next to the counter and smiled slightly, remembering when he was half as big as his current size.
"I've been waiting to grow out of my baby face but after my twentieth birthday I realized it was over for me." He shrugged, making India laugh unreasonably loud. It wasn't what he said that was funny it was what he reminded her of.
"I said Clarence was fine with his beard cut short and you was like 'since when you like beards?' All fucking hype for nothing, mad cause you can't grow one. Not even a five o'clock shadow, nothing. Baby face." She grabbed his face and turned it to the side to fake look for something knowing nothing was there.
"That shit ain't funny. Move." Jade slapped her hand away and they began fighting childishly while Veronica watched with her arms folded up.
He looked happy. She wasn't too familiar with that look. She knew he loved her but it wasn't often she'd seen him smiling or laughing growing up.
India's shirt rose slightly and you could see the scars from the incident before, across her stomach, back, arms, legs. It never really occurred to her to ask Jade what happened herself because she already knew she didn't like her so asking about her just didn't cross her mind.
"Dad. Mom is calling." Eli jumped down from his seat and left the bowl on the counter knowing India wouldn't care.
"What?" He let go of India's wrists and grabbed his phone off the table seeing her text messages about being on the way, but they were over an hour old. When he heard the door ring he realized Eli had meant she was knocking.
"Answer." India nodded towards the door and Veronica sat up confused at how annoyed he seemed. When Jade got to the door he opened and looked at her confused while she stood there with her arms folded up.
"Where's my son?"
"Here."
"He's coming home today."
"You're buggin. Again. Thought I made it clear he wasn't going back there."
"You're the one who reported me? Just be hone-"
"Duh. When I got downstairs he started itching and scratching himself, I asked why and he said said his bed was gone so he had to sleep on the couch where that ugly ass dog lays. He was getting bit by fleas and he had no bed despite me buying him one, I did his whole room. How a whole bed disappear and you ain't say anything?"
"Jade they're taking me to court. They want to give you full custody that's not fair! Why are you doing this? He's my son you can't do that to me!"
"Stop screaming. You can't provide for him and you don't try to. You can see him whenever you want but he lives with me until you get it together to tell CPS you want joint custody again. But after proving you can be a parent. Don't cry Serenity I'm really not out to get you, it's not even about you bro."
He saw that she was really in distress over it. Not that he felt bad about what he did, he just felt bad she wasn't in a position to do better and allowed her clouded judgement to get in the way of being a responsible parent.
Jade didn't hate Serenity. He'd said mean things to her hoping she'd be inspired to try harder but she just gave up even more. Tough love from one parent to the other but obviously that didn't work and whatever she had going on needed to be handled because Eli deserved a mom. Of course India was okay with be there for him but if there was a chance to fix their relationship he wanted Eli with his mom.
"I want my baby. I promise I want my baby, I'll do anything just please work with me." She wiped her eyes and put them at her side, taking a deep breath so they could have an actual conversation.
"Then come in." He opened the door and nodded towards the balcony so they could sit down.
Serenity noticed India glance over at her and ignored it knowing it wasn't a look of maliciousness. Elijah must've been in the back because she could hear the TV on while they walked onto the balcony.
"What happened?" Jade sat down and noticed how uncomfortable she was, sitting close to herself and fiddling with her fingers. He'd seen her nervous plenty of times when they were younger but it was obviously more than that.
"My parents ripped me away from you, locked me in my entire pregnancy with no phone, then kicked me and him out twice a month just because. I found out you were in jail when he was two then messaged your mom on Facebook hoping I could get them together since I couldn't take care of him and she blocked me. Why am I a bad parent? Because I'm tired, naive, gullible, and I like drugs. I don't how to be any other way. I want to be a better mom though, I just need to clean myself up. I don't wanna make excuses but it's really hard and I'm not the strongest person or the sharpest knife. I just need help."
"I didn't k- just keep going." The first time he'd heard anything about Elijah was when they'd met in person but he'd just bring it up to Veronica later on.
"I got on antidepressants for my postpartum and when I ran out of fills Joshua got me on Xanax. But I don't really wanna meddle on that, I just wanna get better." Serenity looked up from her lap and he just nodded.
"Get clean like I did. All the way clean. And we can co-parent without a problem. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help when you reached out, ma never tried to say nothing about a baby or you when I was in jail so it's my first time hearing that. Just focus on growing up and trust that he's stable here."
He only did five months so it wasn't a big thing for him to bring up or talk about but hearing that he could've met him way before last year felt like a punch to the stomach.
"And I wanted to apologize for the way I've been towards you and her, not just him."
"Since we being adults I'll apologize for acting like you were some random I used and got rid of. I was mad at you for a lot of shit and I guess it's why I was so passive aggressive and mean. I'm over it though, it's tiring and childish as fuck."
It was definitely a reach for him to say he didn't give a damn about her when they were younger, but he continued to tell her that because he was mad at her for multiple reasons and wanted her to feel bad. Jade was more mature and she was ready to have a civilized conversation, now he could apologize with the both of them being on the same page.
"I accept your apology. Like I was saying I apologize for messing with your relationship and letting my grudge get in the middle of our relationship, as parents I mean. I should still be a mom to my kid even if I'm frustrated with you or anyone else." They both got quiet until he remembered something else he never acknowledged.
"I was wrong for.. having sex with you. It was a lot of other options and I chose you to be an asshole. If I didn't do that we'd probably be in a better space right now so I should take accountability for that too."
"What did I do? Besides not introducing you to Eli. You said it was something else, I don't know what I did." She said honestly, sitting up.
Jade wanted to snap at her about it but he didn't at the same time. It wasn't that he was still angry about the situation itself but how unaware she was of how he felt the entire time.
"I don't wanna dwell on it too much but I felt like we had came to an understanding and when I wanted to actually be with you, you fucked somebody else then dipped out, and the next time I saw you, you was at my door with an attitude and a toddler. So obviously I wasn't that excited to see you but that don't matter, we good? Right, back to you and him."
Serenity just looked at him guiltily and he reared off to the side knowing she already felt bad about it, the look on her face would pass for an apology.
When he saw her he acted like he didn't remember who she was because he was pissed off and confused all at once. But he'd never been one to wear his heart on his sleeve especially over a grudge. People who disappointed him didn't get a reaction out of him, he felt like they didn't deserve one.
Jade liked her as a person more than he did romantically. Even though she annoyed him, wanted too much, and cried too much, she was one of the few people who he could really be himself around. It wasn't a feeling of romantic heartbreak. It just felt like he'd been abandoned and left without closure.
But he felt way better now.
"That shit was weighing on me. Bricks was heavier than you in tenth grade."
"I was not that fucking fat. Maybe like fifteen pounds off from fat."
"You was hefty though."
"Didn't hear no complaints though."
"Didn't want you to sit on me."
"Dragging it."
"Barely. You know you going to rehab though right?" He walked back inside and felt the cold air hit his face.
"For what?" She scrunched her face up walking in behind him.
"Uhm. You a crackhead."
"I don't smoke crack, don't do too much."
"Might as well. I don't even smoke weed like that no more, get like me and you can talk shit too. Until then you a crackhead." Jade heard India walk into the kitchen and eye the both of them.
Serenity looked around awkwardly and didn't say anything. The girl didn't seem like the type to be mad that they were talking so she didn't know what the strange look was about.
"Eli said he'll talk to you if you apologize." She began walking back down the hallway, not acknowledging Jade before she left. Serenity looked at him to ask if they'd upset her and he laughed to.
"No she just start being mean sometimes. If she was mad she would've shoved something off the counter like a kid."
"Stop talking bout me! And come on girl I was watching spongebob." You could here her scream from down the hall.
Serenity looked at the table when she felt Veronica staring at her.
"Hey."
"Hm." She turned her head back to her phone. She liked the girl at one point but now she felt like the girl was a fake ass liar.
"While they talk I wanna talk to you." Jade sat down while Serenity quickly walked away and down the hall.
"About what?"
"She said she texted you on a Facebook two years ago about Eli and you blocked her."
"And?"
"And that's some stupid shit, the fact that you didn't tell me is weird and annoying on top of you blocking her instead of responding. Why you always gotta act like a kid?" He looked at her annoyed and she stood up like she was leaving.
When Serenity was brought up last year she seemed to have a completely different opinion on her. He knew his mom knew his mom wasn't all the way right in the head but she was really outdoing herself today.
"Because I didn't trust her! I liked her until you came home crying about the bitch! Now I don't and what the fuck are you gonna do about it Kai?!"
Jade heard her call him by his middle name and decided to drop it knowing she was really getting upset. He just wasn't in the mood to deal with this. On a regularly day he was at a steady zero but she was about to actually piss him off.
"And I don't like her ass either! Just because you like her don't mean I have to that girl don't mean shit to me so stop making me feel bad about how I feel. If I don't like her I don't like her."
"If you don't like me why you sitting on my furniture in my home?" India peaked her head around the corner at the sound of someone hollering.
"Because it's not yours bitch it's my sons too so I can be here if I wanna be here."
"If I say leave you're leaving I don't give a fuck what he says, if he don't like it he can walk out with you. I won't be called a bunch of bitches where I lay my head."
"Is this you putting me out?" Veronica laughed humorlessly, not really caring while her son leaned against the counter annoyed.
His least favorite sound was India's loud voice, combined with his second least favorite sound.. women arguing. Two of the most annoying things on the planet. Jade loved her tiny cute voice but when it started screaming he wanted to just slap his hand over her mouth.
"Yes. Bye. Get the fuck out."
"Jade." Veronica looked over at him and he looked at her back, deciding to not respond.
"Tell her to get out, she pissing me off." India pointed at the front door.
"Ma I'll come over tomorrow."
"Are you serious?"
"Very. Why should I sleep on the couch over an argument you started?" That was an appropriate way of saying it.
No sex. No kisssies. No little spooning. Can't even be the big spoon matter a fact. Not the move.
Veronica didn't respond and walked out, slamming the door as hard as she could. India just stood there with her arms folded up feeling him stare at her.
"What you lookin at?" He side eyed her.
"Nothing. And don't say I'm being mean because-"
"I don't care what y'all do if I don't have to listen to that shit. Do what you want say what you want I don't wanna be in the middle of anything you two go through, go through that shit without me." Jade dismissed it before she could even start.
"Tell her to stop or stop inviting her over here if you don't want me to bring the problem to you. We wouldn't argue if we weren't around each other and I'm trying to get along with her every once in a while but she's mad rude when I do so why would I keep trying?"
"Or y'all can grow the fuck up without me interfering. Just a thought."
-
Neicy sat on his lap while he scrolled through his phone, cigarette in his other hand on the verge of going out.
"Why do you want me to do this again?" She tried getting up but he held her arm in place.
"Del got my child and lndia is close to her brother. He won't talk to me so I'll get his attention another way." Silas shrugged, putting it out and blowing smoke in her face.
He was tired of being ignored and deemed 'unimportant' by people he'd made. Xander was wealthy because of his sacrifices. Elias, Nasir, and Aaron, where would they be without his efforts? Without the work he put in to give them the chance to touch anything.
"I'll get paid too right?" She looked at him and he raised an eyebrow.
"Paid? I'm not asking them for no damn money." It was clear that he was getting annoyed so she dropped it quickly.
Idk why this chapter was so hard. Anyways. Jade is not perfect idk why people ride him and India ain't either so idk why y'all ride her. They both have flaws so try to stay in the middle and understand one another but the point is never make one wrong and the other one right.
Zions book ain't going back up idc that shit was trash fight me:
Ian update because they keep deleting certain chunks from the chapter and I was ready to give up but I didn't do bloop.
OH AND SUM ELSE. Don't post no shit about Naomi's book and Steppas being similar because you literally dick sucking if you call them similar, literally don't have shit in common. Then say 'idk who made which first' it don't matter because nobody copied anybody leave me tf alone.
Anyways swaggy swag bye.