Ari
We were out shopping and walking through the downtown area of Grand Turk. This place was absolutely beautiful. The water looked like somebody had painted it by hand, the buildings were colorful, and the people were so welcoming. It was peaceful out here.
For most of us, this was our second time leaving New York.
The first time for me was when we went to Belize and I’m not going to even count that as a trip.
Besides Ci taking a trip to California, none of us had ever been to an island for vacation that we could enjoy.
We were like little kids, taking pictures of everything, buying souvenirs, trying different foods, and just soaking up the experience.
Being here made me realize how much of the world I'd been missing.
There was so much beauty outside of New York.
As much as I loved home, I wanted to see more.
I wanted to travel, experience different cultures, eat different foods, and make memories in places I had only ever seen on TV or social media.
This trip opened my eyes to the fact that there was a whole world waiting to be explored, and I planned on seeing as much of it as I possibly could.
“I’m so excited that you invited me to experience this with y’all bestie! I’m so happy for you and Ciera. This is it for you boo, you know Zelan is going to marry you,” Toya said, and I looked at her ass crazy. I loved my baby, but we are far from thinking of getting married.
“Girl, we are not ready for marriage. I still have to graduate, and even after that I plan to keep going. My education is important to me,” I told her.
“I get it, but friend, you don't have to stop going to school. You can have both,” Toya responded as we walked into one of the local shops to pick up some souvenirs.
I smiled at her, but my mind drifted back to earlier that morning.
I had overheard Toya on the phone with her man back home.
She had him on speaker, and the way he was talking to my friend had my blood boiling.
That nigga was disrespectful as hell, barking orders and talking down to her like she wasn't worth a damn.
As strong and outspoken as Toya was, I couldn't understand why she allowed herself to take that kind of abuse from any man.
She deserved so much better than some insecure bum who only felt like a man when he was tearing her down.
I kept my mouth shut because I knew this wasn't the time or place, but I made myself a promise.
If I saw another bruise on my friend, or if she told me that he put his hands on her again, I wasn't staying out of it.
I'm telling Zelan, and one thing I knew for sure about my man, is shit wasn't going to end well for his punk ass.
I’ve seen too many women put up with all kinds of shit from their boyfriend or husband.
They'd make excuses, cover up bruises, and convince themselves that things would get better, only for the cycle to repeat itself over and over again.
Fuck that! I would never allow a man to treat me like that.
I swear, if a nigga ever thought they were going to just sit around and beat on Ari all damn day, they had another thing coming.
After my situation with Mark, hell no! I will kill that nigga, and I put that on everything I love.
I just couldn't sit back and watch that happen to my friend. We weren't on that type of time.
Toya was family, and family looked out for one another.
If she couldn't see that she deserved better, then I was going to make damn sure she knew it. And if her bum-ass boyfriend thought he was going to keep putting his hands on her without consequences, he had another thing coming. Because one thing about us, we gon’ ride for ours. On God!
“Ari, you like this dress? I think it’s kind of cute, I can wear it tonight,” Toya asked.
“Yeah, it is cute sis, you should get it,” I told her, just as some dude walked up to her trying to get her number. He was fine as hell too, but there was nothing finer then my baby. After Toya paid for her items, we were on our way out the door.
“Girl, that nigga was FINE. If they making them like that over here, I may need to move,” Toya stated, and we fell out laughing.
“I must say he was fine, but I only have eyes for Zelan,” I told her.
“Bitch, you better. Don’t nobody got time for the death toll to go up in Grand Turks or New York,” Toya said, laughing her ass off.
“There is Ciera, and the rest of the crew over there,” I said as we began to walk over to where they were.
“Hey, did y’all find anything good?” Grams asked.
“We sure did, did you buy anything Grams?” I asked her, and she pointed at the security guards who were holding her bags.
“I see you, Grams. I wanna be just like you when I grow the hell up!” Toya yelled out.
“Babbby you better take notes, you got a lot to learn fucking with Lai. I’m giving some classes at the school of hard knock, let me know when you ready,” Grams said giving Toya a high five.
“Hey everyone, we need to get back to the house. We have shopped long enough, and Ciera looks tired,” Ms. Simone said as she grabbed Kari’s hand.
Ms. Simone was moving mighty fast. I wonder what was really wrong.
Her entire attitude seemed to have changed instantly, I hope she is alright.
It was a little after one, so I decided to text Zelan to see if he would respond.
Me: Hey baby, is everything ok?
We were almost back at the house, and I never got a response from Zelan. That was so unusual, I could only hope and pray that he and the fellows were all alright.