Crossing Roads

Chapter Two

Judiah...

I let the morning breeze hit my face as I sit on a wooden bench. Lifting my ive cream cone I bring it to my lips and slowly lick its smooth surface. In the distance a young white boy stands at the end of the side walk with a stack of news papers.
"Papers, papers, come get your papers!" He yells, his face was dirty and he looked tired. I get up from my seat and waltz towards him.
"How much for one?" I ask and he looks me up and down.

"Five cents." He says gruffly. I hand him a nickel and he snatches it and slaps a paper into my hand. "Papers, papers, come get your papers!" He goes back to yelling. I look at the headlines as I continue to eat my cone.
"Judiah right?" A familiar female voice asks making me look up. The blonde woman from the other day stands in front of me with a flowing white dress.
"Y-yeah... you're name was...?" 
"Mary, my names Mary." She smiles swaying a bit.

"What are you doing out today?" I ask and she pushes her curls from her face.
"Taking my dog for a walk. She's over there." She says pointing to a small dog. I smile and lick my cone again.
"You want one?" I ask and she twists her lips before nodding. "I'll go grab you one, what's your flavor?" I ask.
"Chocolate, I love chocolate." She giggles. I give her a face and shake my head.
"No vanilla is the best but that's what you prefer! I'll be right back." I smile before trotting off to the ice cream stand.

"Can I have a chocolate cone?" I ask and the older man nods before making the order. Seconds later he's done and I pay him before going back over to Mary. "Here you are." I say and she squeals before grabbing it.
"Thank you!" She says before taking a lick. "Don't let my father see me eating this! He says I have to keep in shape for my photoshoot next week!" She gleams. I stare at her in awe as she watches her dog around the park.

She catches my stare and blushes, which makes me blush also.
"Sorry you just um... I just like your face. I mean you have a really pretty face..." I say nervously, stumbling over my words. She giggles and I bite my bottom lip.
"I like your face too. You're a very handsome man." She compliments making my face redden.
"Thank you Mary..." I say softly.

"How old are you?" She asks as we begin to walk around the park.
"Eighteen, you?" I ask taking a bite of my waffle cone.
"I just turned seventeen." She smiles.
"You're still in school?" I shoot another question. She shakes her head and I furrow my brows.
"I graduated last week..." She says softly. She licks her ice cream and a small smudge gets right below her bottom lip.
"You got ice cream right there." I say pointing to my mouth to show her where.

She tries to get it but after the third time of failing I hesitantly bring my hand up. My hand cups her face as I smooth my finger across her skin, removing the chocolate ice cream.
"Thank you." She whispers as our eyes lock again. Someone clears their throat making me remove my hand from her face.
"Mary." The man I seen her with the other day says sternly. I scratch the back of my neck and look down.

"What're you doing with this man? Did he hurt you?!" He asks pulling her away from me. I frown and begin to walk backwards. I look up at her and she holds a glare on the man.
"No he didn't hurt me daddy! Why would he?!" She asks standing up for me.
"You know how they are! Just last week a young girl just like you was raped by a negro!" He hisses. She gasps and stomps her foot.
"Well daddy they aren't all the same! There's plenty of white men that get away with murder and rape around here!" She argues back.

I swallow the lump in my throat as they continue to bicker.
"I'm not taking my chances with him! Lets go!" Her father demands.
"No! Why can't you get over the fact that he's just as normal as us! I swear I hate your generation! You guys made America the way it is now!" Her voice cracks as tears begin to pool in her eyes. With my eyes wide I start to back away again as Mary runs off. The man turns towards me with a ugly glare.

"You stay away from my daughter boy! Or so help me god you'll be hangin' like the rest of 'em." He growls and I quickly nod.
"Yes sir." I get out before he stomps away. I quickly make my way from the park, beyond embarrassed. When I finally get to my small home I unlock the door and push it open. My black cat jumps from her position on the couch and struts over to me.
"Hey pitch..." I mumble as I lock the door behind me.

Her body rubs against my leg and I bend down. I give her a few strokes on her back before swooping her up into my arms. It got lonely over here a lot so she was the most social interaction that I got. Last year my mother passed from some sort of cancer. My father was a wealthy white man who wanted nothing to do with me or her after I was born. He gave her a ton of money to keep her away and that's just what she did.

She locked the money up in a small chest and when I was about Thirteen she told me she'd saved it for me. That never stopped me from working, I'd need to learn how to provide for myself at some point in time so I just got a job. I've not once laid my eyes on the money. I get to my bedroom and swipe my hat off of my head. I toss it on the dresser and slip off my shirt. I throw it on the floor and plop into my head. As I stare up at the ceiling I rub my hand over my bare chest. The sun slowly began to go down and I let my eyes flutter closed.

"Judiah!" I hear a muffled voice call making my eyes shoot open. I see Brandi outside my window and furrow my brows. I get up from the bed and open up the window.
"What're you doing here Brandi? It's getting late." I say and she slips herself in the house.
"Momma's not home tonight, she went out on a date." She smirks as she plops herself on my bed. I sit next to her and raise my brows.
"Really? With who?" I ask surprised.

"Some rich guy!" She says and I chuckle.
"Well... good for her." I smile as she falls back on the bed. I lay back too and place my hand behind my head. After a moment I turn my head to gaze at her but she was already looking at me. She smiles at I let my eyes fall down to her beautifully shaped lips.
"You can kiss me Ju..." She says lightly. I blush and look away from her. "C'mon! Just once. It's not gonna hurt us." She says scooting a little closer to me. I feel my heart hammering against my rib cage as she turns my head to look at her again.

"Brandi..." I whisper as her face come closer to mine. Her lips brush mine and her eyes flutter closed.
"Kiss me." She whispers and I swallow hard. Her lips lock on mine making my eyes close too. She smiles against me and I breathe heavily. Our lips slowly begin to move in sync as they make light smacking sounds. After a moment she pulls away and sighs with a smile on her face. "I've wanted to do that since I was fourteen." She admits. I bite my lip and look away from her. Her head comes to lay on my chest as her hand rests against my lower stomach. My eyes get heavy after a while of silence and I hear her soft snores making me fall asleep.
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