Sky's The Limit

xli

forty one | ishaan

I took off after Yo! MTV. Had a flight with me and Rose's name on it as soon as we were done shooting.

After everything that went down— gettin' beat up and jacked— I was too paranoid to keep roaming between boroughs like I've been doing.

Even with the situation being handled, it didn't mean that other niggas weren't waiting their turn for a come-up, whether it be money or just a promotion in street status for gettin' over on "rich and famous" 'Shaan.

So, I got the fuck out of dodge. Autumn was all for it too, her initial refusal for a month-long getaway immediately changing once I healed from my injuries.

Despite the fact that I looked worse than I actually was, she took an immense amount of care when it came to me.

She always did, but I think I awakened her inner-nurse.

With antibacterial creams, bandages, and ice being the foundation of my journey to recovery, her affection came next.

She'd practically moved into my crib, helping with anything I needed and being there to ease any anxieties of my day.

It was like everything I'd been wanting fell right into place.

Granted, I shouldn't have gotten stomped out and nearly killed for it to happen, but this was one of the few positive side effects of an unfortunate circumstance.

So, I let her do whatever she felt was adequate to support me.

With exams being over, we had more time to spend together. Even as I spent more time in the studio, I had a self-imposed curfew.

No more roaming the streets after sunset. Once the sun was clocked out, I'd develop an itchy trigger finger and an unbelievable amount of unease as I traveled.

It felt like everybody was out to get me, and I was ready at any moment to let them feel my wrath.

It was getting unhealthy, so I set my hours in the studio and told my group members that if they wanted to catch me on the mic, it would only be then.

It, of course, meant that I'd miss a lot of the creative process, but at least I was able to spend evenings with Autumn like never before.

And with classes behind us, Autumn had plenty of time to work and nurture the other relationships in her life— including the one with my mother.

Apparently, when she wasn't catering to me, she was keeping my mother in the loop of my life.

It didn't even occur to me that they'd been speaking until Autumn insisted I give her a call for the third time.

It took me a bit of time to come around to doing so, but as I geared up for Yo! MTV and the getaway that would follow, I figured it'd be worthwhile to touch bases with her before I spent the next month out of the country.

Besides, the rest of the year would have me in the studio and then on-the-go for album promotion. The least I could do was clue her in before the storm of fame would sweep me away for good.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ma," I was uncharacteristically nervous as I sat on the floor of my bedroom.

There were so many feelings swirling that it was hard to decipher which was the most prominent.

She was silent for only a handful of seconds before speaking again. "It's good to hear from you, 'Shaany. How have you been?"

"Good... mostly."