Alone with You

Prologue

Ten years ago . . .

Oaklyn Bridges

“Not it!” we all shouted in unison, sounding like a Baptist church choir, except we were up to no good.

Tonight, the air was humid in a comforting way for a girl born and raised in the South.

Every inhale reminded me of how safe I felt underneath the flickering fluorescent light that kept our neighborhood lit since the sun had long ago gone down.

Because it was a Saturday night, we were all allowed to be out a little later than usual, and for that, we were thankful.

It truly didn’t take much to satisfy a group of teenagers who only wanted a little taste of freedom’s sweetness.

The constant beat from the 808s down the street reminded us that our parents weren’t that far away either.

Every now and then, we could hear them arguing over their card game or tripping about people sneaking away with Styrofoam plates stuffed with food they didn’t help pay for.

It was all the makings of one of those nights where I’d lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to download every single moment to my memory—just because I never wanted to forget any of it.

Soni bumped me with his hip, causing me to roll my eyes.

He stood beside me like a skyscraper with long, lanky arms folded over his bird chest. All the while, I tried my best to hold in my snicker.

He was always getting on my damn nerves, but that was my best friend.

I’d go to war for that boy, and vice versa.

He glanced down at me with that golden light in his brown eyes that always made it easy to trust him.

From the very first time I’d broken down and told him about life at home, he hadn’t left my side.

“Man, I’ll be it,” he blurted out when we realized that everyone shouted at the same time.

Someone choosing to be it was a rare occurrence, but even rarer was Soni choosing to be it.

We all knew he was absolutely going to run each and every one of us down to the best of his abilities.

It made playing with him both intimidating and exciting.

Literally, our little group perked up from his declaration alone. The night had gotten that much sweeter.

Bending down so his lips were by my ear, he whispered, “Better find a good hiding spot, or that ass is mine.”

His breath tickled my ear, forcing me to snicker. I waved him off after a good and hard shove. “Oh, boy, please. You’re not going to catch me.”

“Wanna bet?” he countered with a raised brow.

“I do, actually,” I replied, bucking at him.

He chuckled but not without mushing my head to the side.

“Aight, you have to do my homework for a month if I catch you.” Of course, that was the reward he would go for.

Jasoni was smart as a whip but very lazy when it came to his schoolwork.

He was always looking for someone to do his work for him so he’d have more free time for basketball.

“Free loader,” I mumbled, popping my hip out and planting one of my hands on it. “How you going to survive in the world if I’m always doing your homework?”

His lips twisted to the side as if I’d asked him the stupidest question he’d ever heard.

“Come on, baby. You know I’m going pro .

. . Whatever bullshit they want us to think we need to know to survive in this world will be irrelevant.

Shit, I know how to read, write, count, and my jump shot is wicked. That’s all I need, baby girl.”

He was overly confident but rightfully so.

Everyone knew Jasoni Ward was on his way to become a household name.

Ms. Valencia had him officially playing basketball since he was five years old.

Even before then, though, he was a toddler, playing with soft balls and a toy hoop.

His father, Jeremiah, passed away when he was two years old, but he’d introduced the sport to his son.

It was something Jasoni never let go of.

The second the first number fell from Jasoni’s lips, everyone took off running in their respective directions.

I went running next door to hide behind the Jenkins’ shed on the side of their house.

All that could be heard was my heavy breathing for a minute.

I glanced around the side of the shed to see Soni sprinting in my direction full speed.

I darted toward the street to get back to base, but unfortunately, I felt arms wrap around my waist. He lifted me in the air and spun me in a circle like a baby.

“Put me down! Put me down!” I laughed to keep myself from getting dizzy.

Jasoni finally placed me back on my feet. A breath expelled from my lungs in a huff as I took notice of his arm still wrapped around my waist because he was busy trying to steady me. I took slow breaths, waiting for him to let me go, but instead, his breath was back tickling my ear.

“Told you I’d catch you.”

“You just got lucky,” I retorted. Folding my arms over my chest, I pretended to be upset. “You could’ve at least chased after somebody else first.”

He walked around to stand in front of me, but the fire from where he’d touched my skin remained. “I only chase you, Oatmeal.”

His words were like sweet honey, but it was still thick to swallow.

Sometimes, I wasn’t sure whether he was being friendly or trying to hint at more.

When we entered high school, I started to notice my feelings for him shift.

It started with girls in our class talking about how handsome he was and how they all wanted a ballplayer.

For a while, I didn’t understand why hearing things like that made all the organs in my body decay until the inky tendrils of jealousy were left behind, but now, at eighteen, I knew what it was.

The issue was not knowing how to broach the topic with him.

Too afraid of rejection, I kept my true feelings to myself and was thankful for his friendship.

I pinched my lips together and sighed. “I’m still not doing your homework.”

He shook his head in disappointment. “Wow. So you’re going back on your bet?”

“Yep!” I took off running when he wasn’t paying attention. I planned to pretend like he hadn’t caught me, but someone calling my name stopped me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw my mother’s boyfriend, Tony, waving for me to come over. Nausea immediately washed over me, and I felt like I would faint. Not only did I not want the night to end, but I didn’t want to be left alone with him when my mom left for work in a few hours.

Since I could remember, my mama always had men coming in and out of the house.

It always made life at home uncomfortable.

To make matters worse, they were always men she had to take care of.

So while she was at work, they’d be at home with me.

Most of them wouldn’t even want to fix me anything to eat, so I ate a lot of TV dinners, noodles, and Chef Boyardee.

Sometimes, Jasoni would sneak me food through my window.

That was why anytime I could, I begged Ms. Valencia to let me stay over there with the twins.

Journi and Jasoni were not only my best friends, but they were my soulmates.

I loved those two more than life itself.

I felt heat and knew it was Soni without even having to turn around. Journi came running up on us. It looked like everyone realized Jasoni had quit playing after he caught me. “You want me to ask my mama if you can stay tonight?”

I shook my head. “It’s okay. I’ll see y’all Monday morning for school.”

Soni grabbed for my hand to keep me from walking away, and goosebumps raced up my arm. “You sure?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’s cool. I’m going to go in my room and go to bed.”

I could tell by the fierce set of his jaw that the last thing he wanted to do was let me go. “Oaklyn, come on! Your mama has to get to work!” Toni hollered out. I sighed in defeat when I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Meet us at the car!”

Thankfully, he turned to walk away, so I returned my attention to the twins. Journi came to stand beside me and reached for my hand. “At least we’re graduating in a few months. You’ll be living on campus at USC soon.”

My body felt light and airy just thinking about the freedom that was close enough for me to touch. “Yes, almost to the finish line.”

Journi held my arm while Jasoni slowly stalked behind us. “I can see us now. We’re hitting all the house parties and campus functions. Girl, did I tell you Devin is going to USC too? I can’t wait to sneak into his dorm room.”

Soni stuck his foot out intentionally, tripping his sister up. I was able to catch her because our arms were chained together. “You a fast ass little girl. I’m telling Mommy you said that too. I bet she make you stay at home.”

Journi stuck her tongue out at him, and I smiled because their bickering was my favorite. “I can still sneak in his dorm room, even if I don’t live on campus, hater.”

Jasoni shook his head with pure disgust on his face. Journi was still a virgin, but she loved to get under his skin. He turned his attention to me, and my heartbeat sped up. “Don’t you get any ideas about sneaking into dorm rooms either.”

Before I could reply, Journi spoke up. “Mind your business. I swear, you need a girlfriend so you can stop being so worried about us. Anyways, best friend. Come on.” She yanked me toward the street where we began the walk to their house where everyone was packing up and leaving for the night.

Somebody called Journi’s name, saying she’d dropped her house keys, so she turned around to go back.

I walked back to the sidewalk to wait for her with Jasoni.

“You want me to stay over tonight?” he asked.

I fought back my smile because food wasn’t the only thing he would sneak through my window. Some nights, he would stay with me and sleep on the floor with no complaints. “Ms. Valencia is going to curse you out if you keep sneaking out of her house at night.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not a big deal. For you, I’m willing to face her wrath.” He was on my heels when I turned back to the street to cross it. Before I could reply, though, I heard him yelling out my name. “Oaklyn!”

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground between two cars, and there was a loud noise before tires came to a screeching halt.

I was in a daze when I glanced over my shoulder.

I expected to see Jasoni, but he was nowhere to be found.

When the ringing in my ears stopped, I heard all the noise.

Multiple adults came racing by me. I used the car to pull myself up.

Turning around, I saw everyone gathered a little farther away, and only then did I realize something was terribly wrong.