2. Bernice
A few months later
“Mom, please!” I swatted her hands away as she picked and pulled at the dress I’d chosen to wear for my junior homecoming.
The sparkling gray dress stopped below my knee with a deep slit up the right side of the gown. The thin straps held up the B-cup breasts I had. I wasn’t blessed with much to work with, but I had enough to fill the top of my dress. I opted to wear a blonde wig with a black skunk stripe. The hair was curled in a water wave pattern and pulled up into a neat half-up, half-down style. I wore a chunky black heel because I couldn’t walk in thin heels to save my life. I needed the extra support of the thicker heel.
“You’re so beautiful,” she complimented with teary eyes. She’d taken so many pictures of me, I was certain she’d run out of storage on her phone.
“Thanks.” My eyes looked away as my cheeks burned from the compliment.
“You’re growing up so fast,” she continued. “I don’t know where the time is going. Before we know it, you’ll be packing up and leaving for college.”
“And I’ll be packing too,” Daddy added as he came from the kitchen with a bottle of water.
My eyebrows met together in confusion. “What do you mean, Daddy?”
“I’m not sending my baby girl out to the wolves in college. I’ll be at every corner watching and waiting for one of these boys to step out of line so I could put them hands on them.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, you’re not. How would you feel if parents were saying the same thing to their sons? You wouldn’t want somebody’s mom or dad to threaten me because I showed interest in their son, right?”
He thinned his lips but remained quiet. Trenton James was a protective man. I was his only child and often made his blood pressure rise because of the spotlight my accolades put on me. He’d begun to grow gray hair from the stress of being my father.
Luckily, my mother, Janice, was his peace. She always found a way to remedy his bad moods. Like always, Mama changed the topic as she pulled me outside to get some pictures of me in the natural light. In October, the sun set a little earlier than usual, so it got dark a little after six o’clock.
The weather was still warmer, so I opted out of bringing a jacket. Instead, I grabbed the black clutch purse Mama bought me. Inside were all the necessities: hand sanitizer, mint gum, my headphones, charger, and money. I had both a debit card and cash. I downloaded the Kindle app on my phone to read the books on Kindle Unlimited. I didn’t expect to have much fun, so I planned to read to pass the time until the dance was over.
While we stood outside, a familiar car pulled up in front of the house. Krash . His car was a bit old, but he took care of it. The black Nissan Altima was a gift from his grandmother. She passed it down to him before she passed away. Krash told me she was the only person in his life who ever cared about his well-being. I told him he had me in his corner too.
When Krash emerged from his car, his gaze met mine, and his face lit up with happiness. He grinned as he took in my appearance.
“You clean up nicely, Bern. I love the dress,” he stated as he rounded the front of his car and made his way toward me.
In the few strides it took him to close the distance, I perused his frame. His hair was freshly cut, and he wore a fitted dark blue suit. The dress shirt underneath was a cream color. His shoes were a cream color with a gold buckle. He looked damn good.
“You do too, Keyshawn.”
He smiled. “You’re the only one who calls me that.”
“I know.”
“Good evening, Mrs. James.” Krash greeted my mother.
“Keyshawn. I appreciate you offering to take my baby to her first homecoming dance. I trust you’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Of course. Bern is always in good hands when she’s with me. I’ll knock anybody out behind her.” To emphasize his point, Krash jabbed at the air a few times, which made me and Mama laugh.
“Krash,” Daddy stated. His voice was in the annoying authoritative tone he liked to put on to scare people.
“Mr. James,” Krash replied.
“I don’t like the idea of my daughter going out with a boy this young, but I trust you will keep her safe tonight?” Daddy asked.
Krash nodded. “I’ve been Bern’s protector since the first day of school. Nobody will bother her. I guarantee that.”
“Good.” Daddy folded his arms over his chest and eyed Keyshawn like a father who would go to hell or jail for his child.
“I got you this,” Keyshawn addressed me. “I know it doesn’t match your dress, but I know your favorite flowers are the, um, al… al, um… don’t make me butcher the name, but you know what they are.”
A smile pulled at my lips. “Alstroemerias.”
I took the pink and white alstroemeria corsage and slid it onto my wrist. Mama poked out her bottom lip as she awed.
“It’s beautiful,” she commented.
“It really is,” I added.
Krash grinned. “I’m glad I did good. I remember you telling me you found the flower unique and underrated, so I went searching for a couple days before I gave up and ordered them online.”
“Thank you.” I walked over to Krash and hugged him. He’d become my best friend in just less than two months. We’d learned so much about each other. It was hard to remember life before Krash, and I prayed I never had to find out what life without him would be like.
“Ready to hit the road?” he asked.
“Wait! I need to get a couple pictures of the two of you together!” Mama exclaimed.
“Mom, please.” I let out a frustrated sigh.
“Aht. Get together and pose.”
Hesitantly, I moved to stand beside Krash. He draped his arm over my shoulder, and I inhaled. His scent was delicious . It wrapped around my nostrils and hugged me tightly. The spice and warm scent reminded me of the men’s collection at Bath & Body Works. I looked into the camera and smiled.
“Y’all are too cute,” Mama cooed.
“We don’t want to be late, Mama. Are you done snapping pictures?” I asked as I took a step away from Keyshawn.
“I’m done. You two be safe,” she advised.
Krash led me to the car and opened the door for me. When we got in, I waved at my parents before Krash beeped the horn and pulled off slowly down the road.
The music bounced off the walls while my classmates jumped around the dance floor. I’d opted to sit in the corner of the room and drink my fruit punch and read a book on my Kindle. As I flipped through the pages in the novel I read, my mind drowned out all outside noise, and I became engrossed in the story. One of my favorite tropes was opposites attract. I loved watching the grumpy man fall in love with the sunshine girl or the nerd fall in love with the bad boy. It was something about watching two completely different beings find solace in each other. The romance was a great contrast from the numbers and symbols of computer science, or the action-packed anime shows I watched.
“Why are you over here ducked off?”
My chocolate brown orbs slid up from my book to the man who interrupted my reading.
“These aren’t my type of vibes, Keyshawn. You know that though,” I answered.
His frown tugged at the corners of his lips. “You should mingle and have fun. Dance with me.”
“I don’t know how to dance,” I responded.
“I got you,” he replied.
He held his hand out for me to take. I sighed and closed my app before I put my phone in the clutch and stood to my feet. With slight hesitation, I allowed Krash to wrap his larger hand around mine. We walked over to the dance floor, and an up-tempo song transitioned to a slow dance song. K-Ci and Jo Jo’s “All My Life” played throughout the venue.
Krash placed his hands on my hips while I placed mine firm against his chest. We swayed to the music.
“You’re doing great,” Krash expressed with a gentle smile.
“Thanks. I feel like I can’t mess up because your groupies are eyeing me like I stole their man.”
Keyshawn’s eyes scanned the room and chuckled. “Don’t even trip about them. You’re my best friend. You know I prefer to spend my time with you. These low substance ass bitches better go play in traffic.”
I shook my head. “You’re too much, Keyshawn.”
“I don’t know why you think that, Bern. Sometimes I feel like I’m not enough.”
I lifted my hands to caress his cheek. “This isn’t how things are supposed to go.”
There were many times when I’d reflect on my friendship with Krash. It all happened fast, but I accepted him as my best friend without any strings attached. Of course, I had other friends, and he had his crew, but we always made time for each other.
“Fuck what’s supposed to be. This is our reality, and I’m going to have your back through everything.” His voice was firm. My lips pulled into a gentle smile as I laid my head on his shoulder and allowed his warmth to pull me into a strong hold.
Moments like these were what I read about in books. One minute, they were best friends, and the next, they were something more. Though we only had a two-year age gap, those two years held a lot of weight. There was a lot of life between us. There was no way we’d work… right?
“Tonight was better than I imagined,” I stated as I glanced out the window.
The sun had set, and homecoming ended at ten o’clock. We were headed to iHop to get something to eat before Krash took me home.
“I’m glad you had a good time,” he replied.
He pulled into the parking lot and helped me out of the car, before we walked in and were seated at a booth in the corner. The restaurant wasn’t crowded, but there was a buzz of chatter around the place.
“What can I start you two off with?” our waitress, Kelly, asked.
“Two lemonades,” Krash answered. “We’re also ready to order too.”
“What can I get y’all?”
“I’d like a steak omelet, with bacon, and original French toast. The lady would like a pancake platter with two buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, and crispy bacon. We’d also like two servings of hashbrowns, crispy.” Krash listed off my order as if it were his own. He held the menus out for her to take, and she did.
“I’ll be right back with your drinks.” Kelly walked off toward the kitchen.
“It’s cool you have my order memorized when we’ve only been here twice,” I commented.
“I have all of your orders from all of your favorite spots memorized.”
“You do?” My eyes widened.
He nodded with a smirk on his lips. “Test it.”
I tapped my index finger against my chin. “Hmm… Cheddars?”
“Spinach dip. Honey hot chicken tenders with broccoli casserole and loaded mashed potatoes.”
“That was easy.” I laughed.
“Give me another one,” Krash demanded.
“You’re really confident.” I tittered. “I’m going to trust your words because I can’t think of any more of my favorite restaurants.”
“Here are your drinks. Your food will be out shortly.” Kelly appeared from behind me. She set the two glasses of juice on the table and walked away.
“I think it’s cool you have your own car and can go wherever you want,” I commented as I looked out at the busy street.
“It’s cool. It’s really the only thing I have left of my granny. Before she passed, she was the only person who cared about me. Now I have no one.”
My heart ached at his words. I clasped my hands and shook my head. “I know we haven’t talked about it a lot, but I want to know more about your family. What’s the story there, if you don’t mind me asking?”
His eyes were hazy as he bit down on his bottom lip. “I trust you, so I guess I can let you in.”
We were silent for a long moment. He took a sip of his water and proceeded.
“My mother left me when I was only a few months old. My father said she got postpartum depression really bad, and for both of our safety, she left. It was me and my dad for thirteen years. She came back into my life the summer after eighth grade. She wanted to make up for all the time she lost, so I was with her a lot, and my father could finally get some time away from me.”
“That’s great,” I added.
“It was… until she overdosed on Propofol. She was an ER nurse and got ahold of the syringes. She shot up, and they found her in the storage closet.”
My jaw practically hit the table as I gasped. “Keyshawn, I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Was it really a loss, though? She gave me a couple months out of thirteen years of living. Then, my grandma passed a few weeks later. My dad took it the hardest. He lost his baby mama and his mother in the same year. He’s struggling, and he takes it out on me.”
The confession made me pause. Keyshawn was in an abusive household. His father took his grief and frustrations out on him. The revelation made me feel bad because Keyshawn was always a light in my life, and I had no idea what he dealt with at home.
“I’m sorry, Keyshawn. I’m so sorry.”
“You didn’t do anything to apologize for. I’m good. I’m always good.”
I couldn’t imagine the pain he felt or the pressure to always hold it together. “No matter what, I’ll never leave your side. You’re my best friend forever, and I’ll always have your back through everything.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Bern.”
Kelly came out and placed our plates on the table. “I’ll come back with warm syrup.”
“Thanks,” I replied to her retreating form.
Krash and I ate in a comfortable silence. Only the buzzing of chatter around us and the scrapes and taps of our silverware onto plates filled the air. My mind raced with the information Krash shared with me. The right thing would have been to tell an adult about his situation, but I didn’t want him to feel as if I’d betrayed his trust. I’d keep his secret and keep an eye on him and his body to see if things were getting worse.
I prayed things didn’t get worse for my friend.
After iHop, Krash took me home. He walked me to the front door and turned me to look at him.
“Thanks for letting me share a part of myself with you tonight,” he said in a gentle tone. He rubbed his hands against the back of his neck.
I smiled. “You protect me, and I’ll do my best to comfort you through this. We have one more school year. Then, you can move away from your dad and never look back. I’ll be by your side every step of the way.”
He smiled. “I know you will, Bern.”
He kissed my cheek as the front door opened.
“Ahem.” Daddy cleared his throat.
“Good night, Keyshawn.” I stepped away from him and offered him a smile.
“Good night,” he replied.
“Drive safe, Mr. Williams.” Daddy ushered me into the house.
Something shifted in our friendship. We’d grown closer, but something changed. We were venturing into uncharted territory. I knew we’d cross the line sooner than later.