9. Creed
Chapter 9
Creed
W hile adjusting my black Hublot watch on my wrist, I made my way downstairs so I could prepare to leave. Tonight Dylan and the rest of his crew were hosting a race and I was on my way to watch. It had been a while since I’d seen them in action. I had my bottom grills in tonight as I wore dark Levis, and a white, football mesh Off-White jersey with black Off-White tennis shoes.
When I got to the living room, Nakyra was curled up in the corner of the couch with her tablet on her lap and Criminal Minds playing on the TV. Bella lay in front of the couch asleep.
I wasn’t sure if Nakyra had her aids on, so I walked over and tapped her shoulder. Just like I thought, she turned her head with a question in her eyes then reached for her ears.
I grinned at her. “You got plans tonight?”
She shook her head. “Just this.” She wet her lips. Sadness rested in the pockets of her eyes. I knew it was because of my parents. She had come home three days ago upset that my parents had barred her from Rome’s hospital room. At first she must have thought they were joking, because when she attempted to go back to the hospital the next day, she was turned away. Since then she’d been locked in the house. I was surprised to even see her in the living room. She had either been locked in her office or bedroom.
Her eyes fell back on her tablet and she continued speaking.
“I was thinking, there’s this Mexican dish I’ve been wanting to try, but Rome doesn’t like spicy food so I was gonna make it tonight and—” Nakyra’s words halted when her eyes landed back on me once I walked in front of the couch. “Or not…”
Wetting my lips, I looked her over. Before I could even speak, disappointment transformed her face, as if she knew I was about to shut her down.
“I actually already have plans tonight.” My hand brushed over the top of my head.
“Oh. Right, of course you do. I shouldn’t have just assumed, sorry.” A forced smile formed on her face. “I’ll just put the leftovers in the fridge and you can grab some if you’re hungry later.” Her shoulders sank forward. Seeing her like that had me feeling guilty, but I couldn’t say why. Maybe it was because since I’d been staying here, we typically ate together. I believed Nakyra was lonely and enjoyed having someone around to talk to. Now that she couldn’t go to the hospital, she didn’t even bother leaving the house.
“Come with me,” I suggested, digging into my pocket for my phone to check the time.
“No, it’s fine. I don’t want to impose. I’m good at entertaining myself.” She glanced back down at the tablet on her lap.
“You’re not imposing. In fact, the more the merrier. Since being here, all I’ve seen you do is go to the hospital and come back home, outside of when you went with Summer. It’ll be good for you to get out the house.”
She scraped her bottom lip with her teeth. An uncertain look flashed over her face. “I’m not good with crowds. Sometimes it gets too overwhelming.” Her hand brushed over her right ear.
I thought about it for a second. “If it gets to be too much, we can leave. I think it’ll be good for you though. All you do is sit in this house and be in your feelings. Don’t let my parents win and you need some excitement in your life.”
Her lips twisted to the side and her eyes shifted behind me in the direction of the TV. Silence passed between us.
“C’mon… don’t make me beg.” Her eyes landed back on me. One side of my lips tipped upward.
“I have to shower and get dressed.”
“I can wait.”
Her eyes scanned me and she brushed her hand over the top of her ear again. “Okay. Fine.” A soft smile split her face.
Walking over to the couch, I took a seat with my legs gapped and pulled my phone out. “Go ahead and handle your business. I’ll be down here waiting for you.”
____
“Where are we?” Nakyra asked as I parked my truck and turned it off.
The dirt parking lot was full of cars. We were on the outskirts of the city in an abandoned area. The races always took place in off the grid areas to avoid the police.
I turned to face Nakyra. “Ever been to a street race?”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head.
I smirked. “Then prepare yourself because you’re in for a treat.”
Making sure to grab my phone, I climbed out of my truck then walked over to her side to open the door for her. She made no attempt to move, now staring forward with confusion on her face.
“We’re gonna miss everything if you don’t hurry.” I leaned into the car and reached over to unbuckle her seatbelt. Her perfume invaded my nostrils, causing me to pause. It smelled like fruity candy.
“You smell good.” I pulled back and held my hand out for her.
Her cheeks reddened. “Thanks.” She grabbed my hand and I helped her out of the truck. Once she was out and I locked the doors, I grabbed her hand and led her through the cars to where everyone was. The sound of loud music and the crowd of chatter blared ahead.
“We’re really at a street race right now?” she asked, causing me to look over my shoulder at her with a crooked grin.
“Yeah!”
“How did you even find out about this?”
“My best friend hosts them a couple times a month.”
We got to the edge of the crowd. In the center of it all was a bunch of luxury sports and muscle cars. Some cars had people propped on top of them, others people were examining and preparing to get on the track.
“I can’t believe how different you and your brother are,” Nakyra expressed. “Are you sure you two grew up in the same house?” Her words weren’t anything I hadn’t heard before. Rome was too high maintenance for me. While I liked nice things, I couldn’t care less about the rich crowd he surrounded himself with.
Chuckling, I pulled her hand and started through the crowd, making sure to keep a tight grip on her.
Just as I suspected, I located Dylan and the rest of his crew in the center of the crowd. Two cars were parked close to his custom black and red Challenger, with it in the middle.
“Mr. Moneybags,” he joked with a grin on his face when he noticed me approaching. He released his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Camilla, and pushed off the car.
Chuckling, I slapped hands with him using my free hand.
“Camilla, it’s good to see you, sis,” I acknowledged.
She grinned. “Hey Creed!” She stepped forward to hug me.
Camilla and Dylan had been together for two years. The two had a complicated relationship. She was a firecracker who didn’t take his shit but refused to move on at the same time. He was always doing something to make her spazz on him, but after a while I realized the craziness had to be their love language. Being around them, entertainment was sure to follow.
Dylan’s eyes shifted to the side, noticing I wasn’t alone. His brow rose and his head cocked to the side. Looking over my shoulder, I pulled Nakyra into my side.
“Nakyra, this my best friend Dylan and his girl, Camilla. Y’all, this Nakyra.”
“ It is nice to meet you both.” Nakyra released my hand, speaking and signing at the same time. Once, she told me when she met people for the first time she usually signed right away so they were aware she was deaf in case something happened and she wasn’t able to hear them.
Dylan’s eyes bounced between us then he scrunched his face. “You deaf or something?”
“Bae!” Camilla hit him in the stomach, causing him to grunt. “That’s rude as fuck.” She faced Nakyra then surprised me when her hands started moving. “ Please excuse my rude ass boyfriend. It is nice to meet you. ”
“I done told you about putting your hands on me.” He mugged her and rubbed the area she just hit. “I was just curious.”
Camilla rolled her eyes and ignored him.
“I didn’t know you knew sign language,” I interrupted.
Camilla nodded. “My niece was born deaf so to communicate with her me and my family learned it.”
“ Yes, I am deaf. ” Nakyra started to sign, then went straight to speaking. “I can hear with my aids, but it’s loud around here so I might not catch everything.” Nakyra scanned the area. “This is kinda overwhelming. It’s like one big party.”
I leaned down so I could talk in her ear. “Once the races start it won’t be so bad.” Her chin tipped upward and she stared up at me. I smirked and gave her side a squeeze.
“You two together?” Camilla asked, gaining my attention again.
“Oh no!” Nakyra’s eyes widened. “I’m engaged to his brother.”
Camilla’s brows furrowed and her eyes bounced between us. “Oh.”
“Yeah, this my future sister-in-law.” My arm wrapped around her shoulder. “While my brother’s out of commission, I decided to get her out the house.”
“He still in a coma?” Dylan asked.
Nakyra tensed next to me and I squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. I nodded. “Yeah.”
“When we getting started? I’m getting antsy,” Jerrod, a member of Dylan’s crew, asked, walking over. “Oh shit, Creed? I didn’t know you were here.”
We slapped hands. “Yeah, it’s only temporary though.”
Dylan pulled his phone out and checked the time. “In a few. Ay, Creed before we start, come check my baby out. I did some modifications since the last time you seen her.”
“Of course you did. When aren’t you messing with this car.”
“Never. I swear he loves it more than me,” Camilla complained.
“Almost, baby.” Dylan winked at her with a grin.
Camilla rolled her eyes. “Remember that tonight.”
He pulled her into him by the waist and whispered something in her ear, causing her to grin. Pecking her lips, he pulled up and faced me. “C’mon.”
Camilla stepped forward. “I’ll take care of your girl here. You drink, chica?” she asked Nakyra,
“Oh, uh…” Nakyra glanced up at me.
“Camilla’s cool. She’s like my little sister. She’ll look out for you.”
Nakyra nibbled on her bottom lip then shifted her attention back to Camilla. “Yeah, sure.”
Camilla grinned. “That’s what I’m talking about. C’mon.” She reached out and grabbed Nakyra, pulling her away.
“You sure you want her around Camilla’s crazy ass? She might corrupt your girl,” Dylan mentioned.
I peeked over in the direction the girls went. “First, I told you that’s not my girl. Second, that girl’s only crazy because yo’ ass makes her like that.”
He chuckled. “If you say so, man. And nah, she been crazy.” He walked to his driver’s door and opened it before popping the hood open.
Dylan was always messing with his Challenger. From what I knew he had basically rebuilt the car piece by piece to make it the perfect racing machine. Most of the time I didn’t understand the modifications he made when he explained them to me, but I still listened.
Being around Dylan and his crew always kept me grounded. Growing up I never felt like I fit in. My parents were big on image and they always stressed I needed to present myself in a certain manner. While most of the time they ignored me, there were times I was required to be out in public with them to maintain the perfect family image. It was never something I cared for and often tried to avoid. When I became friends with Dylan and came to his side of town, I felt like I was finally able to just be and not have to be someone I wasn’t. We came from two different backgrounds, but that didn’t matter, I always preferred being around him and his crew over the environment I grew up in.
____
“This is insane! I would be terrified to be in a car driving like that!” Nakyra gushed with wide eyes full of excitement. The races had officially started, and just as expected, she seemed to be enjoying herself. She was drinking whatever Camilla had given her and the two seemed to hit it off well.
“Girl, it’s actually fun as hell!” Camilla shouted over the crowd.
Nakyra whipped her head to face Camilla. “You’ve raced before?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’ve been in the car with Dylan a couple times! You think watching is something, it’s nothing compared to being in the action.”
“You’re crazy.” Nakyra shook her head, looking mortified, causing me to laugh.
“So I’ve been told.’ Camilla smirked, downing her drink.
The current race was finishing up and the roaring of the cars grew louder the closer they got. We were close to the finish line, waiting for Dylan to race. His was the final one of the night. I wasn’t sure who the people they were racing against were, but apparently there was underlying street beef being handled on the track.
“I’m gonna go check in with Dylan!” Camilla mentioned before walking off.
“You having a good time?” I asked, leaning closer to Nakyra’s ear so she could hear me.
“I am!” She spoke loudly. “I can’t believe you really do things like this. Do your parents know you hang out at these things?”
I chuckled. “I stopped worrying about what my parents thought a long time ago. They never approved of my friendship with Dylan but I never let them dictate who I hung around.”
“Have you two been friends long?”
“Yeah since I was like fourteen!”
Her eyes focused back on the dirt track just as the cars crossed the line. “I’ve only ever seen racing like this on TV. Seeing it in person is something completely different.” She looked back at me and leaned up so her mouth was closer to my ear. “My heart is beating like crazy.”
A crooked grin split my face as I stared into her orbs. “Aren’t you glad I forced you out the house now?”
The light in her eyes dimmed somewhat, but her smile stayed on her face. “ I am. Thank you .” The faint smell of pineapple and whatever liquor her drink was mixed with brushed over my face. I dropped my eyes to her glossed lips then flickered them back to her eyes. It was dark out, but the headlights from the surrounding cars lit the area up, causing her eyes to seem brighter than normal.
“Your ears aren’t bothering you, are they?” I noted that she’d started to sign.
“ I am fine. It is just loud so it is easier to talk while doing both. ”
“If you want to go sit in the car or leave, just let me know. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
Her smile heightened. “I will.”
The more I was around Nakyra I wondered how she’d ended up with a stick in the mud like my brother.
A small tremor went through her body. “You cold?” I asked, already moving to remove my jacket.
It was a tad cool out. The car engines and large crowd helped some, but there was a breeze.
“I’m fine.”
“Still… here.” I wrapped my jacket around her shoulders.
“Won’t you be cold?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I’m naturally warm blooded. This is enough, I’m good.”
She pulled the jacket around her tightly and her eyelids fluttered. “Thank you.” Her voice was softer this time.
Nakyra faced the track again while I kept my eyes focused on her. My jacket swallowed her slender frame. Her eyes grew wide with excitement as the crowd grew louder, cheering as the cars approached the finish line. It was cute that although she didn’t know what was going on she still jumped up and down, cheering and clapping her hands. My thoughts weren’t even on the race anymore, instead I couldn’t break my attention away from Nakyra.
My brows soon furrowed when her body jerked slightly and a dude stumbled past her. I caught her by the waist and forearm.
“My bad,” the guy slurred as he walked away but that wasn’t good enough.
Releasing Nakyra, I snatched the guy back by his arm. “Ay, man!” he boomed.
“You bumped into the young lady. You need to apologize,” I stated.
“I said my bad.”
“Creed, it’s fine. It was an accident.” Nakyra placed her hand on my hand, but I wasn’t cool with that. He clearly saw her standing there.
“Nah it’s not okay.” My grip tightened as my eyes leveled with his and my lips pinched. “Apologize to the lady, now.” He winced. He was a thin, lanky guy. My hand fit around his whole arm.
“A’right, man. Chill.” He faced Nakyra with pain laced on his face. “Sorry for bumping you.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Nakyra. “You accept it?”
She quickly bobbed her head. “Yeah, it’s fine!”
I glared at the guy one last time before shoving him forward, causing him to stumble. He looked back with a scowl and muttered something but walked away.
“You didn’t have to do that. It was an accident.”
“Doesn’t matter. Dude needed to watch where the hell he was going. While you’re here with me, I’ma make sure you’re good.”
Her lips parted and she blinked slowly. “I-uh-thanks then.”
My tongue dragged over my lips and I nodded. Maybe I did too much, but so be it. Nakyra was having a good time and I wasn’t going to allow some drunk idiot to ruin it.
“Dylan’s finally up!” Camilla announced, bouncing back over and breaking the tension. Her eyes went between the two of us. “Everything okay?” Her brows scrunched.
Nakyra jumped and faced her. “Oh yeah we’re good. Is his car fast?”
Camilla stared at her confused for a second then glanced at me before laughing. “My man’s car is the fastest one out here. Just wait, you’re in for a treat!”
“Hey Camilla girl!” someone called out, causing Camilla to look up. Her mouth turned upside down and she rolled her eyes. The girl snickered and walked off with her friend.
“That girl know I don’t fuck with her. I think she’s tryna be funny.”
“You know if you start some shit Dylan ain’t gone be happy,” I warned.
She waved me off. “I’m not thinking about her. She eyes my man a little too much for my liking but he ain’t crazy.” She examined her nails. “Anyway, I just got a fresh set today, I ain’t about to break a nail beating nobody’s ass.”
Nakyra looked shocked by her words. “Maybe Dylan was right, I don’t think I need to let you around her ass.” I pulled Nakyra closer to me.
“Too bad, this my girl now!” She grabbed Nakyra by the arm and yanked her away from me before sticking her tongue out.
Nakyra laughed. “You said I needed to have more fun, right?”
I eyed her. “Camilla might be too much for you.”
“Whatever, don’t be a hater, Creed.”
She faced Nakyra and started moving her hands, causing Nakyra to laugh again.
“Yo’ ass better not be talking shit about me.”
Ignoring me Camilla said something else with her hands before Nakyra responded.
“ I don’t have anyone around besides my cousin who knows sign so it’s nice meeting someone else who speaks it, ” Nakyra eventually voiced out loud.
“Your man doesn’t speak it?” Nakyra’s face fell and she shook her head. Camilla frowned.
“Look, they’re starting!” I interrupted before Camilla could say anything else. Nakyra was having a good time and her mind seemed to be off Rome, even if it was temporarily. I didn’t want her to get upset again by him or their relationship being brought up.
A girl walked in the middle of the track with a bullhorn, grabbing our attention.
“Let’s go, bae!” Camilla shouted, jumping up and down, clapping her hands.
The crowd grew louder and more hype. Dylan racing always caused this to happen. He was a legend on the track. Whenever it was his turn everyone’s focus was locked in.
The girl finished speaking then lifted the flag in her other hand. As soon as it was lowered, the cars rushed off, causing dust to fly out behind them. Just as predicted, Dylan took an early lead.
“That’s right, baby!” Camilla cheered.
“Go Dylan!” Nakyra cheered along with her, causing me to smile.
Seeing how much she was enjoying herself showed me I’d made the right choice inviting her out tonight. I wasn’t sure how she spent her days before everything with Rome happened, but it was clear she needed to get out and enjoy herself more.