Searching For the Garden

Chapter 3

Heyyy! Hope everyone is having a good day :)

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Beyonce Giselle Knowels

Shawn and I were sharing the second blunt of the night while we sat on his balcony. I worked on rolling our third one as he took his second donut from our box that once held a dozen. We had been making small talk about numerous things but that's normal for him and I. Our conversations flowed easy. It was around 4 am and the only reason I as up right now was because Shawn woke me up around 3 raving about how it was time to go to this amazing bakery he had been going to since he was younger. Being the natural foodie I am, I agreed to go with him but only after throwing numerous pillows at him.

"So did you have fun at the bonfire?" Shawn asked me with a mouthful of donut.

"First, don't talk with your mouth full. You know Mama Gloria would have your head on a stick if she saw you right now." I spoke before bringing the rello to my lips to begin sealing it, "Two, it was alright. I mean it's not my school so there wasn't really anything there for me."

"True." He handed me the lighter so I could spark the blunt. "You seemed to hit it off with Nicki though."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at him.

"You left me there with her by myself and I didn't feel like just listening to the fire crackle." I took a long drag, feeling my already low eyes get lower. My body began to relax and my mind slowed down. I exhaled before continuing. "On the topic of Nicki, what's the story behind you two? That hug had a lot connected to it." I took another pull before extending my arm out to Shawn.

He eyed me as he took the rello from me.

"Here you go with this shit." Shawn said shaking his head.

"Shawn don't act like this shit ain't my job. It just comes naturally." I rolled my eyes. "So spill."

"I mean it was high school. We were really close, but I guess back then for her it as more brother-sister. She had a lot going on in her family life so we would hang out as much as we could to keep her away from home. I liked her a lot but-"

"Hold on nigga, pass that blunt." I hate when people hold the blunt while they telling a story. Shawn passed it back to me before continuing.

"Like I was saying, I liked her a lot but she didn't see me the same way I saw her. Nicki's a dope ass person so I wasn't about to jeopardize our friendship just because her feelings weren't the same as mine."

I sat back in the chair and let what he said float around in my mind.

"So, you were like protecting her?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that, but I was there for her when she needed me. There were a few nights she would call me and I would go get her and we would just sit in the park until school the next day or until the sun came up. But she never really opened up about what was happening in her house. Nicki's heart has always been bigger than her chest. She takes on the burdens of others and does her best to help everyone." He paused and looked at me. "A lot like someone else I know."

"Whatever." I passed the blunt back to him and thought more about Nicki.

The way she tensed up when she asked her about her current life and the bruising on her neck made feel uneasy. And on top of those things, she pregnant but not only that, she's hiding it. If she and Shawn were as close he described, it would have at least made sense to tell him.

I wanted to ask more questions, but I knew if I need to help Onika I would have to wait for her to come to me about herself.

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.  My phone vibrated against the table notifying me of an incoming call.