Will You Stay? (Urban)

16

Domonique

"Boy get up," I yelled, jumping on the bed. The hand turkeys we made yesterday dangled in front of his face. His eyes shot open and his face twisted with annoyance. I don't know why he still makes those faces, he should be used to it.

"Happy Thanksgiving," I said getting off of him. I had little time to come in here and chat before I had to go and check on the food. The turkey would cook slowly all day and I had already picked up the Honey Baked Ham. I would make the side dishes including mac n cheese, stuffing, cornbread, greens, potatoes. Of course I knew Jay wasn't going to be of any help.

"Happy Thanksgiving, D. How this holiday stuff work again?" He sat up and got adjusted to the natural lighting of the room.

"Well I'm making the food right now, Wren and her girl coming around 5 and dinner is at 7." Honestly I hadn't had a good family celebration in a while and I missed it. I just didn't want it to feel like I was forcing this on him.

"D, look at me." He turned my shoulders toward him. "You're calling your family today. Whether you like it or not." I rolled my eyes. I don't know how I feel about them right now, and I usually get pretty upset around this time of year.

Rah and Jordan do actually call me and blow up my phone but I always decline them. Part of me still feels betrayed that they left without me. Yeah I know it was my fault for being stubborn, but I didn't know it was going to be like this. Spending my time alone, reminiscing and trying to move forward all at once. What if they get mad at me for ignoring them? And then there's my mother, who I hadn't spoken to since they left.

What she did hurt me the most. My brothers were going to move away eventually, but I didn't think she'd go with them. I feel like she completely neglected her job as a mother: leading her children in the right path. There's nothing wrong with wanting to make it in life, but it has to be legal. Not all this sneaking they were doing. My vision got blurry as a tear slipped over the edge of my eye.

I hated other people seeing me cry but with Jaylen I just never fought it. "Come here," he sat up and I laid my head in his lap. He stroked my hair slowly to calm me down. It worked, instantly making me feel bad. Here I am crying about my issues, when his are much worse. His can't be fixed, but mine can. I handed him my phone to dial the number.

He rested it on my ear so I could hear. It rang twice before someone picked up. "Domonique?" It was Jordan's voice. The voice of the calm and sensible older brother. The one who talked sense into everybody. I remained silent for a moment, trying to get my thoughts together. I wanted to sob, scream, and laugh all at once. I wanted to tell him how much I loved and missed him, but also let him know I had a lot of hate for him.

Quickly, I thought of my next words. Knowing those two they'd drop the call if I didn't reply quick enough. My brothers were always paranoid they were being tracked. "Y-yeah?" Jay was still caressing me, and I focused on that to control my breathing.

"You good? You alright? Do I need to come down there? Where's Ashanti?" I still hadn't told them about what happened to her. It surely wasn't something I could do over the phone. If I kept it from him it wouldn't end up good either.

"Um, yeah I'm straight. How's Rah?" The wilder, younger brother. The brother that insisted on being his own. I missed them, and hearing Jordan's voice almost made me break down.

"Lil bro straight. I miss you, Domonique. How you been? I been tryna get a hold of you." I tried holding it back, but couldn't resist crying into the phone. Ten minutes later I was still wailing, listening to Jordan breathe on the other side of the line. I felt his heart break in the silence between us.