MANCHILD
'noun'
"A boy or adolescent from the streets who was prematurely exposed to and knowledgeable about sex, violence and crime, incarceration, adult responsibility for younger siblings due to a dysfunctional home, and hustling to make a living...
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"Mama told me you have a boyfriend."
I took out my headphones and looked up from my notebook to see Reyna staring at me with a toothy grin. I rolled my eyes. I don't understand why Mama had to run her mouth.
"Is he cute?" She asked me, sitting on the edge of my bed. I scrunched up my face in confusion. Who allowed this child in my room in the first place?
"I don't have a boyfriend." I told her, frankly. Reyna frowned up a little. I gave her a smirk and pulled out my phone, showing her a couple of Kentrell's IG posts.
I watch as Reyna's expression changed frequently. She started giggling before giving me my phone back. "What's with the dents on his forehead?" She asked me. I had to remember how blunt pre-teens are. They show no remorse.
"He got hurt when he was younger and had to wear a halo brace." I explained to her, resuming my position in bed, writing in my journal.
"Halo brace? He broke his neck? Oh, shit!" She exclaimed, getting me to stare at her wide-eyed. She flew off at the mouth just like a normal little kid. I mostly tuned her out until she said something about his looks. "But he must have healed right because he's fine as hell!" She smiled.
"Can you stop cussing so damn loud? You gone have Mama come up here and beat the hell out of both of us." Shit. Since when did Reyna start cussing so much anyway? Probably hanging around those bad ass kids next door. Reyna settled down a little bit. I looked back down at my journal, continuing to right my latest entry. I felt eyes on me after a couple of minutes of silence and looked back up to see her watching me. "You need something?" I asked her. I love Reyna to death and appreciated that she was a typical annoying little sister...but I still wanted to be left alone.
"Do you still have nightmares about Daddy?" She asked me, getting me to stare at her wide eyed. After my dad was killed, I used to have horrible night terrors. I would wake up screaming and writhing in agony. It got so bad that at one point, I had to be hospitalized and placed on suicide watch.
"No..." I told her, drifting off before putting my journal down, "what makes you ask?"
Reyna shrugged. "I don't know. I had a dream about him a couple of nights ago and I woke up crying." She told me. My hurt heart a little. I didn't like hearing that my little sister had a dream that made her sad, especially if it was a dream about Daddy. I guess she could tell that I was a little upset because she stood up quickly. "I'm sorry! I don't want you to get upset!" She told me, afraid that I was angry with her. I stopped her, pulling her back down on the bed and hugging her.
