URBAN 2

FIFTEEN

Ashanti

"The fuck do you mean, Jamar is out of pen?" I heard Keem speak angrily on the phone across the room. "Nah, don't fucking call me with bullshit like that, Denzel,"

"Bae," I said in a tired voice, as he woke me up. "What's wrong?" I mouthed as he looked at me.

Keem shook his head and gestured that he'd tell me later. "Nigga, I thought you man had eyes on him," he continued on the phone. "So I've been paying you for no fucking reason? And you didn't think to tell me as soon as he got out of pen? Huh?!"

I hadn't heard Keem in this kinda angry voice in such a longgg time.

"Nah, you man are fucking idiots. Yous had one job to keep an eye on my father and keep him away from me and my family," Keem shouted.

His father?

He paused and kissed his teeth. "You're fucking lucky you're my boy, don't fucking do shit like this again... Gonna have to fix this shit myself," Keem muttered. "... Say no more," he hung up and threw his phone on the bed in frustration.

"What's up, bub?" I asked, rubbing my stomach slightly as I sat up.

"I don't wanna... I don't wanna worry you, it's okay," Keem shook his head.

I frowned. "It's not okay, though? Something mad's happened, right?" I brought my arms forward. "Come, come,"

Keem did a half smile and laid down, head on my laps. I played with his hair softly as he opened his phone. He sighed and put it down again.

"My father... Jamar," Keem started.

"Mm,"

"I didn't tell you the full story about him. Everything I said was true, though. He manipulated me and my family, treated us like shit, had a whole other family behind our backs and only cared about us when we were doing good." Keem shut his eyes.

"Yeah, I remember you told me about him,"

"He'd beat me and Jada for the most minor things then we'd complain to our mum about it and he'd deny ever touching us or say he was 'just disciplining us'. So the abuse became normal to us and we just stopped complaining. Then he left to go to his other family and I was so jealous of his living and gentle he was with them. That's why I ran away, thinking he'd love me the way he lived his second family,"

"Aw, baby," I rubbed my thumb across his cheek.

Keem sighed. "I hated him for not loving me... I was angry, he came back to us when I was about 19. Bare tryna prove himself to my marj and sisters and it worked on them. But I weren't having that bullshit. I know he's a fucking deadbeat, till this day. He doesn't care about any of us,"

I looked at him with sympathy, I knew it hurt to even say that.

"I spent days tryna persuade my mum to kick him out the house before he parked his dumb arse in her yard forever," Keem continued. "One day, though, I noticed the vibe was just off. In the whole house. Jada was out. My mum was out. House was dead silent. So I go upstairs..."

Keem went silent for a couple seconds. He took a deep breath.

"I hear Amaya crying. I ignored it cos age was like 16 at the time, always in her room crying over a nigga on the phone to her friends," Keem shook his head. "I went into my room and sat down. Then I started feeling sick a bit, like something was off. I get up and go towards Amaya's room and... she screams 'get off me', hella loud and Jamar tells her to shut up,"

My jaw dropped, I knew what he was gonna say next.

"I try to get in the room, door's blocked by something from the inside, like a drawer or something. Amaya's fucking screaming and crying. I just saw red and bust the door down." Keem sighs and shakes his head again. "I see Jamar on top of Amaya and... I just black out, I start punching and beating the shit out of that nigga. I thought I was going to kill him there and then,"