Will You Stay? (Urban)

7

Domonique

It felt good that I had someone that cared about me. Someone that actually worried about what I was doing, how I was feeling, all that. The complete opposite of Ashanti. In the beginning we tolerated each other. She was bearable up until she started using.

I swatted away the hands that tried to grab me and hurriedly walked inside and up the stairs. The door was always unlocked at this time. It was my job to come in and lock it because I knew Ashanti wouldn't. However, today the door wasn't open. I dug my keys out of the bottom of my bag and let myself in.

On the couch was a sober Ashanti, someone I've never seen before. She sat quietly on the couch and stared at absolutely nothing. There was no tv because we couldn't afford one so it was dead silent in the small apartment.

"Come sit with me," she patted the area next to her. With her, you could never tell if she was in the right state of mind. I ignored her and went to my room, shutting the door behind me. I kicked my black Timbs off and searched my drawers for something to change into. While I was bent over, Shanti stormed through the door and grabbed a fistful of my hair.

"I fucking told you to come sit next to me, so come on," she said in the calmest voice. Yanking my hair harder, she dragged me to the couch. She pushed me down and sat next to me.

"You think you so much better than me, huh?" She started laughing hysterically. This went on for about ten minutes. I thought she was done so I stood up to go to my room. I was pulled back down roughly and she grabbed a fistful of my shirt.

"I don't want to have to come up to your school and make a damn scene. Get your ass back here early tomorrow, okay? I will fuck you up if I don't see you."  Her grasp loosened and I wiggled out of it and quickly walked to my room. I needed to leave.

Sure, I knew I had to come back, but a couple of days anywhere but here would maybe calm her down. With Jay and his game coming up, I didn't want him to have any distractions. Speaking of which, there was something I had to get together before I left for good.

All I wanted to do was support him, and call my little idea extra, it absolutely was. But I had no problem doing it. I dumped out the contents of my bag. I didn't want him to know  about this project because it was gonna be a surprise. The shirt I bought was going to say something real corny when I was done with it. I had things to iron on it but I don't think it will take a long time. I finished it within an hour and it looked pretty good. The shirt had the number 32 on the back and the front said "You can't get past my best friend," and had a picture of us on the front.

My alarm went off waking me out of my sleep. I rolled out of bed and straightened out the sheets. I liked setting my clothes out before I took a shower and brushed my teeth. I didn't want to wear the shirt and have him see it; it would ruin the element of surprise. I brought out some black jeans that were ripped at the knee from my drawer. I liked to buy a lot of clothes but I'm not really a shoe hoarder. When it got cold I only had a couple of choices for shoes. My timbs were most comfortable so that's what I went with.

I hopped in the shower and the cold water stung my skin. If we didn't have hot water it was because the other tenants used it up too quickly. My breathing hitched while I got adjusted to the water. I lathered my body with soap and washed my face quickly then slipped out. If I stayed naked for too long I would keep shivering. I put on my clothes but not before putting on lotion. My bonnet and scarf were still on my head and I rushed back to the bathroom to care for my face. I rubbed coconut oil for moisture then misted with rose water. I didn't like a lot of make up except for a little highlighter. The last thing to do was drown my lips in clear lip gloss.

I removed my scarf and bonnet, revealing my slicked back puff. After lacing my shoes I grabbed my phone and charger and put them both in my shoulder bag. Outside of my room it was quiet and there was no sign of Ashanti. Luckily I had some mangoes left from the other day. I grabbed one and closed the refrigerator. I was ahead of schedule today and could take my time walking to the bus stop. The air outside was colder than expected, causing me to put on my jacket.