Hawthorne Heights [Editing]

twenty-eight

Barren trees decorated the trash filled sidewalks of St. Louis. Cars stayed off of the roads until the salt trucks made their rounds, and even then, no one had a reason to leave their homes.

All around Hawthorne Heights, Christmas songs could be heard from the residents' apartments. Christmas carolers never stepped foot on that side of St. Louis, they were something that they had seen in those white movies on the television.

At only five o'clock in the morning, the heat finally kicked into the apartment for the first time. Aunt Cleo had a new boyfriend that worked down at the gas company downtown. With a little persuasion, she managed to have him send out workers to repair the entire building for free.

"I understand that, Sloane, but you can't just pop up here without notice. Khari has been improving amazingly—don't ruin this for him," Cleo whispered into the house phone.

     Milo played with Khari's bottom lip, trying to distract herself from the decision that she had made. She ignored the conversation, moving her hands to his eyelids so that she could lift them up. Her entire body held an unaccepted heat that accompanied slight nausea.

     She had the happy kind of anxiety, the type that people felt when planning a wedding or graduating. But this undesired fear didn't sit well with her. For all of Milo Locke's existence, she had never been rejected—with Khari being the exception.

      "What do you mean you're already in St. Louis? You can speak with him but only if he wants to speak with you." She paused. "I understand that he's your son, but you have to understand that you really messed him up."

     Khari mumbled, "Stop messing with my face, Milo. I'm tired."

     Milo flopped down onto the air mattress beside him and sighed loudly until he finally turned around to watch her. Flicking his nose, Milo pouted at him. His lips were swollen and red, something that Milo had noticed only happened in the mornings.

     "You should've thought about that before you kept begging me to build a snowman with you. You really had me twisted last night, talm some, Miloo come on! Put on some gloves and some long johns. We went inside two minutes later."

     Khari wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him with a drowsy smile across his face. He rested his head on her stomach and wrapped his other arm underneath her back. Milo wrapped the blanket back around their shoulders and played in his hair despite her intentions. His eyes closed slowly before shutting altogether.

     He mumbled, "Milo, remember how we had that debate about soulmates and stuff?"

     She nodded her head.

      "Mm, tu es mon ame soeur. Je t'adore."

     Milo tugged on his hair playfully, protesting, "Khari, I don't speak French. What'd you say? Wake up!"

*        *        *

     Sloane entered through the front doors of Hawthorne Heights and instantly scoffed at the ants that trailed through a crack in a wall. Her black heels carefully tip-toed past the metal mailboxes to make it onto the dirty beige carpeted stairs.
     Jelani stepped past her and made his way up the three flights of stairs to make it to Cleo's door. He looked past the smell of boiling cabbage, the miscellaneous garland on the broken banister, and even the odd puddle in the middle of the hall.

     His first rapped against the door quickly so that he could speak to his brother before Sloane made it up the stairs. Cleo's bright curlers were the first thing he saw until she snatched him into the apartment and shut the door just as quickly as she had opened it. The aroma of cinnamon and ham welcomed his senses as Cleo pulled him into a hug. Her deep red sweater dress complimented her complexion—like every other color. Even with her age, Cleo remained radiant.

      "Glad to see you again, nephew. How's your family?" Cleo accepted the gifts that he had handed her and placed them under the small tree from the dollar store down the block.

     He sighed, "Everything's great, Auntie. My wife just got a promotion but my office is downsizing so now I'm stuck at home with the kids."

     Loud snores slipped underneath Khari's door making Jelani eye Cleo. He asked, "How is he? What's going on with him? I haven't called him in a while."

      "He's doing better now." Cleo smiled. "He has a lil friend that's been with him every single day. He used to be so annoyed by her, Jelani. He'd come here looking exhausted and say, Aunt Cleo, the girl followed me home again."

     Jelani eyed the minimal decor around the apartment. A picture of a fruit bowl was hammered to the wall behind the couch and a fake potted plant sat atop the coffee table. His fingers tapped against his jeans anxiously, waiting for Sloane's familiar knock to sound on the door.

     He chuckled, "What's going on with them now? You know Khari never had a girlfriend before, right?"

     Cleo opened Khari's bedroom door to reveal his head resting against Milo's stomach and his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Milo's hair shielding her gaping mouth as drool threatened to release. The blanket covered Khari's lower back, nearly falling onto the floor.

     Jelani questioned, "Why are they sleeping on an air mattress?"

      "When Milo started sleeping over here she would sleep in his bed and Khari said that it would be weird if he did too. So he got out an air mattress and would sleep in the living room, but in the middle of the first night, I heard him trying to let the air out so it would fit through the door."

     And then the knock sounded. Jelani sat on the couch and busied himself on his cellphone while Cleo trudged over to the door. She slipped open the lock and came face-to-face with her sister.

     Sloane grinned widely and cheered, "I made it! Where's my baby boy?"

☽

«fireside chat: lol so no, they're not dating in this updated version. sorry 😪 but why don't we take a trip down memory lane of Khari and Milo's relationship...shall we?»

1. Khari saw her first when she was walking down the steps of Hawthorne Heights. He said that her voice gave him chills.

2. At school, Milo was checking him out in the cafeteria and called him the boy with sad eyes. He called her the girl with the pretty eyes. That's the lust aspect of the relationship. How cute.

3. Then, Milo started trying to wear him down and would talk to him whenever she could. Cute, cute.

4. Their opposite personalities show some tensions with some things in their relationship—like most.

5. They didn't instantly like each other. They started out as friends that were somewhat attracted to each other. With that aspect, they were able to get to know each other better without physical relations.

6. They both had a common bond; they felt like they didn't belong in their communities. Most strong relationships develop due to a common connection or flaw.

7. They're comfortable with each other and they support each other.

8. They know key things about each other. Like their favorite colors and such.

And dassit. And only in thirty chapters 🤷🏾‍♀️ Bye guys, thanks for reading! Vote and comment to save a fairy!