TUNNEL VISION

000

"Can you shut the fuck up damn!" Salim screamed back at his mother as tears streamed down her face. "No! I'm talking to you don't walk away!" She said wiping at her face as she looked at her son in pure frustration. "Look at me when I'm talking to you Salim!" She said and Salim turned around, rubbing his bloodshot eyes as the stench of weed he brought in lingered in the air.

"I don't know what to do anymore Salim.I'm trying and your dad isn't here to help me right now so why can't you just give me a break?" Kenya's voice broke as she stared at her son. "I know it's hard right now but-The fuck you know? You haven't been here for anyone since dad got locked up" Salim says interrupting his mother and Teyana looks at him hurt.

"That's not true" she says noticing the door was unlocked. Salim continued to shout at her as Kenya locked the door leaving Selene in the stairwell. She wiped the spare tear from her cheeks sitting up.

She hated when people fought.

She made her way down the steps of the building putting her hands in her hoodie. She felt the wind whoosh against her as she made her way to the apartment she knew all too well.

"Hey aunt kota" Selene said and Aunt Dakota smiled down on the eight year old girl bittersweetly knowing exactly what was happening upstairs. "Where's Solei?" She asked the young girl. "She's at her friends house tonight" she says semi shivering from the cold and Dakota smiles nodding at her in understanding . "I just made dinner. Go sit next to Tou-Tou" Dakota said and Selene nodded skipping into the house.

"You've never had your first kiss before?" Toussaint asked turning to his friend who was staring at the moon in admiration. "No. Have you?" She said turning to look at him with her sparkly brown eyes. "Yup" the boy said lying off his ass and Selene side eyed him incredulously.

"Your lying" she says smirking and he shakes his head. "Okay then, with who?" She questions now fully facing him. "Serenity." He says shrugging knowing how much Selene hated Serenity. "Oh." She says looking down in embarrassment.

The two kids sat as Selene stared at the moon now in a feeling of despair. "I'm just playing with you" Toussaint says nudging her in the elbow laughing and she smacks her teeth laughing with him.

The two fall back into a comfortable silence as they stared at each other while the giggles left their systems. "How do you think it feels like?" Selene says softly and Toussaint shrugs. "We should find out" he says and Selene looks at him confused.

"Are you suggesting we kiss?" She says eyes wide and he nods. "You know Salim would kill you." She says giving him the look and he smacks his teeth. "I'm not scared of him. Plus we're just doing it to find out. It's not like we're dating or anything" he says and she looks at him unsure.

"You promise?" She asks and he looks at her weirdly. "Promise what?" He asks. "Promise it's just to find out" she says answering him and he nods finally getting it. The two kids stare at each other and Toussaint slides one of the girls braids behind her ear.

The nine year old boy leaned in as did Selene and their lips faintly touched leaving a tiny...

Peck.

TUNNEL VISION 

SELENE AMARIS DAVIS