Twisties

Chapter 2

Tara

I was dumb serious about skipping school. All this mama drama was unneeded. Me and Tati haven't seen her since we were six, so why was she even relevant?

Since I couldn't shake my crappy mood, I decided I needed to go see my fix.

I was walking down McKnight. I didn't like being on this street to be honest. It was too depressing. Trash was just thrown everywhere on the ground and piled up in the gutters. The air seemed thicker or maybe dirty, as if the poor had gotten in the environment. The grass never grew and always remained a dried-out brown, like the lettuce from Walmart. Too many abandoned houses were in the area, but my favorite Jamaican restaurant was a few streets away and Mr. Campbell always gave me extra oxtail for trying my best at school, so I guess it wasn't that bad.

When I got to Club Haze, it was pretty much dead quiet but that was expected during day. At night, the club was poppin. Being that it was the only decent club around here, was how I met Deon. Since he was the owner of the place, he was there every night making sure shit when smoothly and bitches were making money. The very first night I came, he zoomed in on my fat ass, cute face, and decided I needed to be with him.

Nodding to a wandering bouncer as I made my way through the club, I tried to figure out where Deon might be. He could be making the rounds, giving his staff directions for the night, or handling business past the VIP section.

I was nearing the bar, where a bunch of men were sipping on what I thought was Henny. Mind you, it was like ten in the morning. They were laughing at something that probably wasn't even that funny. Of course, I heard a couple of "damns" as I walked by them on the dance floor, acting like they never seen me before. It was a good thing they were drinking though. Deon could be crazy jealous. For their sake and my laziness, I didn't acknowledge them.

I went over and pulled back the curtains to VIP. It was always weird seeing it empty. Just a quiet place dimly lit by blue fluorescents with the slight smell of cheap cologne. I looked longingly at the plush sectional, wondering if I should just take a damn nap and find Deon later. I always get sleepy after talking about shit that annoys me.

Making sure there weren't any weird stains or panties lying around, I crawled onto the couch and passed out.

~

"Hey you two! No fighting!" Mom yelled trying to pull me and Tatiana apart. We were two chubby toddlers pulling at each other's hair, me growling at Tatiana, and Tatiana crying even though she had a tighter grip on mine.

She had knocked my flavored pacifier out of my mouth, so I threw her cookie to the ground and sat on it.

"Tatiana, let go of your sister!" Of course, Tatiana couldn't tell our mother what was wrong; we only knew like 3 words, (Mommy, food, and deadass) but she could see the hurt in our eyes. So, she reached down and tickled our sides. We shrieked and giggled, trying to get away. Mom picked us up and sat on the couch.

Grabbing a hold of our chins, she turned us toward each other. "Look and see what you did bad."

I stared at Tatiana's face and saw faint scratches, blotchy red cheeks, and a tear stained sister.

I felt awful and started to cry. Tatiana started crying even more before grabbing onto my neck, trying to hold me. Mom was trying to hold back tears.

"Hey, I want some love too! Come here you little boogers." She scooped us up into her arms and squeezed tightly.

"My babies, I love you so much."