Walking into our small two-bedroom apartment I'm relieved to be home. Today was one of those days where all you want to do is lay in bed, nothing more.
I'm pulling off our coats when Nate saunters out the back smiling that I'm-always-up-to-no-good smile. He's very good looking - tall with light brown eyes, and he's always dressed nice. I've never seen him in sweats or basketball shorts. He's always dressed like he's going out to the club somewhere.
He has two kids with this tall chic - she has to be 6'0. They are always into it about something - mostly about my mom. She hates my mom's guts; she believes my mom stole him for her.
My mom and her had a knockdown drag-out fight last year. She came over here starting some shit. I guess thinking because my mom is smaller that she would have the upper hand, but my mom can fight. She has to because her mouth is constantly moving. They both ended up having to go to the hospital, and Nate's still here.
"Hey Cutie," Nate says. He's standing in the entrance of the hallway.
"Hey," I reply, bending down, taking off Zay's coat.
"Hey, Nay. I drew a picture, want to see?" Zay asks. Nay is what he calls him.
"Sure, little man," Nate replies. No matter what I think about Nate - he's very good with Zay. Anytime he gets his kids he takes Zay with him, and he doesn't let my mom treat him any kind of way when he's around.
Zay grabs his picture out of his book bag and runs over to show Nate his picture of a dinosaur. I just watch him, because I love to see Zay so happy.
"Your mom is gone to play the slots with Chandra. She won't be home till tomorrow. So I'll give you money for pizza," he says all of this with that creepy grin.
"Ok, but you know you don't have to feed me right? I am an adult."
Nate grins as he lets his eyes roam over my body. "Trust me, I know." He walks up to me, and I step back. "I don't know why you act like I'm going to hurt you. I'm not some teenager that can't control myself," he says, handing me thirty dollars. He looks at me and nods his head as if he's answering some unasked question. "All you need is some dick to help you relax and get that stick out of your ass." He steps around me and opens the door laughing at his own words. "Text me when the pizza gets here. I don't want any pork," He tells me as he closes the door behind him.
Shaking that creepy feeling off, I head to my room. After changing into some lounge pants and a t-shirt, I order the pizza. I go ahead and order one large beef pizza and a Buffalo chicken ranch pizza so we can have some for tomorrow.
Feeling a little bored, I start a group message with my friends just to see what they are doing tonight.
Me to Group: Wyd??
Nicolas to Group: Just got home from work about to change clothes and go pick up Reign.
Asia to Group: Got a date with Marcus
Felicia to Group: Not a got damn thing. I got DJ ass tonight, and he's fucking sick.
Asia to Group: Who was supposed to have DJ?
Felicia to Group: Shaquan promised me he would keep him after he came over last night.
Me to Group: I thought you were done with him?
Felicia to Group: I needed some, and he had been calling.
Nicolas: Please remove me from this group
Me: But why😢
Nicolas: You know why and also because Reign always thinks I'm cheating when my phone won't stop beeping from all the back and forth between you three.
Me: I'm only removing you because I love you and want you to be happy
Nicolas: I love you too
Nicholas doesn't care for Felicia that much anymore. He tries to be cordial for my sake, but he would prefer not to be around her. Whenever we hang out as a group, he's always quiet and withdrawn.
Last year Felicia started sneaking around with Nicolas's sister's husband Deshawn. She pretended with Deshawn that she didn't know that he was married. On top of that, she got pregnant and lied to Deshawn by telling him that her baby was his, knowing that it was her on-again-off-again boyfriend Shaquan.
We had no clue as to what was going on because she was lying to all of us. Once, she posted Deshawn as her "man-crush everything" on Facebook. When I asked her about it, she said he gave her a ride, and that was it. Nicolas never saw the post because he's only on Instagram, and that's just for business.
When I asked her why she called her baby DJ and not SJ, she said it was because he looked so much like Shaquan she called him Daddy's Jr. It sounded believable, so I didn't question the lie.
Well, the shit hit the fan when Deshawn was shot by one of Zay's dad Chauncey's boys, and Nicolette, Nicolas's sister, found out about all these secret kids he has. Plus, all the women he was messing with behind her back. Deshawn ended up doing a DNA test on DJ and found out that he was not his son...which a blind man could see clearly. DJ is a light complexion, with big ears, a gap, and those big lips just like Shaquan. So now Shaquan hardly has any dealing with his son because, on paper, he is Deshawn Jr, not Shaquan Jr like we all thought. It was a mess.
Asia to Group: Girl, go find you some new dick. Fuck Shaquan trifling ass. Marcus got a friend...he's cute too.
Felicia to Group: He on the Gram, Snap, or FB I need to see pictures.
Asia to Group: @rollitupJb
Hearing a knock on the door, I rush to grab the pizza. Paying the man, I send a quick text to Nate.
Me: 🍕
Nate: Cool BG
Felicia to Group: He is sexy. Hook me up
Rolling my eyes, I sit my phone down and grab some paper towels. Zay is watching Nemo on Disney, so I sit his pizza on the table in front of him.
Grabbing me two slices, I plop down on the couch and pull up some makeup tutorials on YouTube. I hardly ever wear makeup, but when I do, I like it to look flawless.
"Shit, shit," I whisper as the tears roll down my face. My heartbeat feels like it's about to gallop out of my chest as I try to carefully run through the forest in the pitch blackness. Trying to keep from making too much noise or being seen, I hide behind a tree. My breathing is so rapid I'm not sure how not to make any noise.
Wearing only shorts and a tank, I can feel the cold seeping it's way down to my bones. I cross my arms in front of me, rubbing my hands up and down them to try to keep warm. I try over and over again to wiggle my toes. They feel like they're frozen, from all the caked-on mud mixed with the blood on my bare feet from running across the cold ground, the rocks, and the limbs that are lying around.
Placing my hand over my mouth, I try to stay as quiet as possible and listen. All I can hear is silence and a few insects. There is no rustling of the wind, leaves, or bushes - just silence. Looking around, I can't see anything. The trees are not letting even a slither of the moonlight shine through.
"I can smell you krasotka (beautiful girl). Come out, come out wherever you are." He says the stranger that I can never see, and who keeps hunting me in every dream. My head snaps around, but I can't see shit. I don't know who he is, but his booming voice always seems like it's coming from every direction.
"Please God, let me live," I whisper as I put my hands out in front of me and start moving again. Moving as quickly as I can, I feel around for things like bushes and low tree limbs.
"Deja, why are you running from me, my love?" I hear him say right before an arm wraps around my chest, pulling me close to a hard-body. My eyes go wide like a deer caught in headlights, and before I can scream, his tongue snakes out and licks a slow slimy path up my cheek.
I fix my mouth to scream out but stop when I hear rustling ahead. Looking up, I see a big ass white wolf with red eyes staring at us. He lets out a howl that is so powerful it makes the leaves in the trees start to rustle. The arm that is around me tightens, and the large white wolf takes off running at us. Every time one of his paws hits the ground, it feels like everything is shaking around us. Now being scared for a new reason, I push back, knocking; me and the man holding me; down.
Trying to crawl away, I feel hands grab my leg, pulling me back. I kick out, trying to pull away from the tight hold, but I can't get loose. I turn and look over my shoulder just in time to see red eyes glowing and long teeth coming down toward my leg.
"Deja, Deja, wake up," I jolt up, headbutting Nate.
"Got damn it," he groans out.
I'm holding my head as I groan. "Where is Zay?" I ask, still rubbing my head.
"He's laying over on the love seat sleep. You two need to get in bed. I'm about to have company tonight."
I look behind him and see Gunner and JB. Nodding, I stand and grab up Zay.
"Leave Zay and me some pizza for tomorrow," I say, walking out of the living room.
I lay Zay in my bed and remove his clothes. I will have to set my phone to wake us up ten minutes early to bathe him. I grab my stuff and head to the bathroom. It sounds like their upfront shooting dice, and I'm sure some others are not far behind.
After taking a shower, I walk to the kitchen to see if Nate put us some pizza away.
"It's in the microwave wrapped in paper towels." He already knows I'm checking.
"Thanks." He walks to the fridge and grabs some beers. I grabbed the foil and wrap the pizza up to hide it in the refrigerator. Even if Nate won't eat it, Genesis has no problem. When she's high and hungry, she doesn't care who the food belongs to; if it's in her fridge, she says it's hers.
Nate is just watching me. I don't say anything and just continue my task.
"What were you dreaming about?" Looking over, I see the concern on his face.
"Why?"
"Well, you had this scared look on your face, and you were backing up against the couch. It was like you were trying to get away from something. I called your name several times before you even woke up."
"Nothing really. I've had this recurring dream about something after me in the woods and biting me."
He grins. "Biting you where?"
Rolling my eyes at him, I shake my head. "You're ridiculous - you know that?" He's still grinning. "...but normally I get bit on my neck, but this time it was different. He was about to bite me on the leg."
"What happened differently?"
"You woke me," I say, shrugging. I'm not sharing about the big ass wolf that was about to attack me too. I don't know why. It just seems like I should keep that bit of information to myself.
"Maybe you should change what you're eating."
"Maybe," I say and shrug before walking out the kitchen with him following behind me. The house is crowded with about ten loud men. They are all standing around either waiting their turn, shouting, picking up money, or putting some down. The room has a low fog of smoke from all the blunts being passed around. Genesis would kill us all if she came home to this.
"Go to the back and lock your door," Nate whispers in my ear.
Nodding, I head to the back but bump into Shaquan coming out of the bathroom.
"What's up, Deja."
"Hi, Shaquan. Aren't you supposed to be babysitting tonight?"
He starts laughing. "Lil man sick. He needs to be at home. Felicia's sneaky ass is fine."
He steps closer to me, but I put my hand up to stop him. "You know I always liked you. So why are you acting funny toward a nigga?"
"Ummm, because you fuck with Felicia, and she's my friend. And even if that wasn't the case, you have a kid that you don't take care of. That might be cool with some girls but not me."
"I do take care of my son, and Felicia and me, are not together."
"Hey bro, what are you doing back here?" Nate asks, walking up behind me.
Shaquan smirks. "I was just hollering at Deja...trying to see what's up."
"Nope. I told you to stay away from her."
Frowning, I look up at Nate, but he ignores me as he places his hand on my lower back and pushes me into my room.
"Lock this door," he demands before shutting the door in my face.
Locking the door, I plop down on my bed and grab my phone. It's several texts between Asia and Felicia about a double date they're planning.
Me to Group: Shaquan is over here gambling
Felicia to Group: I should come over there. He would be so mad.
Shaking my head, I lay back and fall to sleep.
🐾
The morning rush just finally settled down, and I'm about to faceplant unto the counter. I'm so sleepy. Nate had company till three this morning. All I heard was arguing and shouting all night. Just when I got to sleep, they would get louder. The only reason Nate put them out was that two of the guys were talking about fighting.
My back is to the counter so I can lean against it and hide how sleepy I am. Denise just went out back for her fifth smoke break this morning.
Feeling someone behind me, I turn and see the giant from yesterday. He's just standing there with an expressionless face.
"Can I take your order?" I ask around a yawn that I try to cover up with my hands.
"Coke and muffin," He mumbles out. His voice is low and deep.
"Ok. What kind of muffin?"
He looks up at the menu. He takes his time before answering. "Banana Nut."
I nod my head and turn to get the muffin. I grab a cup and fill it with ice and coke. Turning to the register, I enter what he has. "Four sixty-two," I say, pushing his coke and muffin across the counter.
He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a wad of money. He flips through the bills before pulling out a five-dollar bill and holding it out. Reaching over-the-counter, I grab the money. I stick his money in the registry and count out his thirty-eight cents. Feeling eyes on me, I look up at him. I smile and reach over to drop the money in his hand, but instead of reaching out to grab his money, he grabs my hand. A sharp, electrical current runs through my body with so much force I have to close my eyes.
When I finally open my eyes, I'm standing in the middle of a field with trees surrounding it. Turning in circles, I look around but don't see anything but trees. I look down at myself and see I have the same jeans and work shirt on. "I must be in a dream...but how? I was standing in the coffee shop."
Hearing noises. I swing around toward the sound. That big ass wolf from my dream is standing in the distance. Fighting the rising panic, I watch as the wolf walks toward me.
My heart is trying to pound out of my chest with each step he takes. Not really knowing if I can outrun a big huge beast of a wolf, I try to run, but my legs won't move. I look down at my legs; there's nothing wrong with them, but I can't move. I try mentally forcing them to move as my panic starts to rise to uncontrollable levels, but nothing.
Glancing back up, I see the wolf is changing or something. I blink a few times, not believing what I'm seeing. "What the fuck," I whisper. The large white wolf is gone. "It can't be possible," I murmur. In its place is a very large, pale, and naked man. I avert my eyes.
"It's the giant from the coffee shop," I think, still looking down at the ground.
When I finally get the courage to look back up, the man is standing in front of me. I try to step back but still can't move my legs. He reaches out and caresses my cheek. For some dumb reason, I want to lean into his touch. "You are losing your mind, Deja," I think. The giant bends down and kisses me, and my whole body feels like a rope is squeezing me and pulling me toward him. Whatever is happening, it's painful because I can feel all the blood in my veins. When I look up into his eyes, they are glowing red.
Gasping, I forcefully pull my hand back, taking me out of whatever that was. I grab my chest, trying to get my breathing under control.
"What did you do to her, you fucking freak?" Denise yells.
I'm looking at my arms, checking to see if something is different. When I don't see anything wrong, I look up to him. He's just watching me with a curious look.
"Are you alright?" Denise asks, rubbing my back. I shakily nod my head.
"Yes," I say, still nodding my head. "Yes."
"You don't have to be afraid of me." A voice says in my head.
Looking around, I can feel myself panicking.
"What?" I ask in my head. I know better than to say anything out loud.
"We belong together," The voice says. My eyes snap to the giant standing in front of me. I know the words came from him. I frown as my eyes search his face for answers. When I get none, I look back over to Denise.
"I'm not feeling good. Can you call someone to cover for me?"
"Yeah, sure," she says with worry in her blue eyes. "Are you sure you are alright? You look pale, and your breathing is off."
"Yeah, I'm just-" I glance back over to the giant. "...I'm just not feeling good. I think I'm coming down with something."
"Well ok. Feel better. I'll come by later to check on you."
"Ok thanks, Denise." Turning, I hurry to the back grabbing my stuff.
"What the fuck has he done to me," I whisper.