FIFTEEN
Davia’s phone call fills my mind as I open my eyes to Wednesday morning, staying until the end of the early workout with the guys.
“Sup, bro?” Cairo rasps. “Davia still on your mind?”
“Yeah, she called last night,” I reveal, setting down the dumbells.
His brows fly up. “Shorty called you from Paris ?”
“Paris?” Preston echoes and grabs his towel.
“She wanted to talk,” I explain.
“Why not call her man?” Cairo grates before drinking his post-workout shake.
“She felt like talking to me .” I can’t stop myself from grinning. “We ran into each other on Saturday and spent a little time together. It was nice.”
“I bet it was,” Preston teases, his chuckles muffled as he wipes his face. “Knew you were shooting your shot at the gallery.”
“Ayo, don’t get in trouble over this chick,” Cairo warns. “She has a man. What if he’s the type to pull up on you?”
“It’d be a huge mistake,” Preston mutters, nodding.
Cairo huffs at him and steers back to me. “All I’m saying is I’m not trying to bury you over some bullshit.”
“Relax. Davia and I are cool.”
They both exchange a look.
“That’s what they call it?” Preston jokes, drying under his locs before tossing the towel in his gym bag.
“So what happens next?” Cairo questions me.
A warm sensation circulates under my skin the more I consider it. “It’s up to her. But I can’t lie, man. I want to explore this attraction.”
“Nah,” he immediately disapproves.
“Hell yeah,” Preston encourages with a smack on my shoulder. “If you’re into each other, go for it.”
Cairo punches his arm. “Don’t listen to Pres’s bullshit advice. At your big age, do you really want to sneak around like high schoolers? That gets tired fast.”
“She might drop him eventually,” Preston adds.
“ Might ,” Cairo stresses. “Look, Gran always says anything that starts messy never works out. So leave that girl alone. Go on a date with someone else.”
“Fuck out of here,” Preston laughs. “Man’s senses have locked in on Davia. He wants her .”
Cairo shakes his head. “Bad idea. I’m telling you.”
“At least feel her out more,” Preston advises.
“Yo!” I pat the air with both hands. “Y’all are like two angels on my shoulders going back and forth.”
“I’m the good one,” Preston points to his chest.
Cairo twists his mouth at him. “Yeah, sure.”
They make me laugh. “Look, all I said to Davia was she could talk to me when lonely. We’ll see what happens and take it from there.”
“You know what? I’ll mind my business.” Cairo shifts to Preston, asking, “Sup with you and Moya?”
Preston grins from ear to ear as if he’s been awaiting the question. “That’s my baby. My main.”
His unusual corniness takes us by surprise.
“Wait, you’re serious about a relationship?” I check.
“For sure. I told Moya I’m flawed and working to do right by her.”
“She believes that shit?” Cairo chuckles.
Preston hisses at him. “Yes, ‘cause it’s true. I like her, all right. We’re vibing.”
“Good for you, man.” I pat his shoulder. “How’d y’all meet?”
“She’s my new loc technician,” he replies, smiling. “Met her at a birthday photoshoot I did.”
“Huh. Hope it works out.”
“Thanks for the support, brother,” he says while glaring at Cairo.
Cairo raises his hands. “I’ll believe it if you’re still rocking with her next week.”
Sucking his teeth, Preston picks up his gym bag and throws it over his shoulder. “Anyway, I have to meet a client. Catch y’all later.”
“Cool, bro.”
We bump fists before he heads from the gym.
“What you up to now?” Cairo asks, dropping his bottle in the bag and lifting it from the floor.
“I’m paying Ma a visit at the sober house.”
His face falls. “Kross, bro…”
“I know. But she’s doing better.”
“Listen.” Here we go . “She’s inconsistent. I’m worried about the impact of that on your life when you’ve been on a straight path all these years.”
I rub the back of my neck. “She swears it’s for good this time.”
“Mmhm.” He sputters a short breath. “Catch you later. I’ll stop by the club if I’m not too beat.”
“All right, man.”
We exit into the chilly air and stride to our cars, driving in opposite directions.
Reaching the sober house, I walk inside and look for my mama. Worry mounts with her evident absence, so I approach an attendant. “Excuse me. I’m looking for Mashonda Krueger.”
“Oh.” She bites the corner of her bottom lip awkwardly. “Sorry, Mashonda isn’t here.”
I crease my forehead in confusion. “What do you mean? Where’s my mother?”
“She left two days ago.”
“Two days ago?” I yell. “Why didn’t you stop her? Better yet, why didn’t anyone call me?”
She shifts her weight to one side and gives me a tight look. “Listen, no one’s here by force. We can only help people who want the help. Your mama wanted to leave. There’s nothing we can do about that.” She waltzes off without another word, seeming unbothered.
“The fuck.” I march out of the house and quicken to my car. I have a gut feeling I’ll find my mama on the streets getting her fix.
Dammit. I wanted Cairo to be wrong.
I drive around the city, checking sketchy parts. It feels like an eternity before I spot Mama by dumpsters in an area where I once sold dope when I was a teen.
Furious, I park on the shoulder and charge from the car. “Ma!”
She shudders at my voice. Her dealer bolts through the alley, and she quickly shoves the small bag into her jeans. “Hey, son.”
“What the hell! You promised you’d stay clean.”
She sniffs and rubs her nose. “I’m sorry, Kross. That place is too tight for me. I’m tired of sharing a room with a woman who cries all night.”
“So you’d rather be on the streets selling your body for drugs?” I yank the bag of white powder from her pocket and hold it before her. “What the fuck are you doing? Why can’t you get it together?”
“You don’t understand,” she whimpers, snatching the bag. “You don’t know how hard it is for me—all the demons I have to fight. With this, my head’s free.”
“Free?” I grunt. “You know what? I’m through trying to help you. You don’t love me enough to get clean. You would have done it a long time ago.” I turn to head back to my car.
Mama reaches for my arm. “Kross, baby, wait. Give me another chance. It’s the last time. I promise.”
I pull my arm from her. “Been hearing that since I was a kid. Your promises mean nothing. God help you.” I jump into my car and peel off.
My throat burns from fighting back tears. It hurts inside my chest. I suppress the agony and tell myself no more. My mama and her addiction are dead to me.
No more .