Chapter （Untitled）
Iknew Harvey wasn’t expecting me to walk into her auditions, but she must have forgotten I was helping her plan my brother’s party. Now, whether Foe and I were on speaking terms or not, I wouldn’t miss his birthday for anything, and that included helping to plan it.
After the auditions, Flex and I decided to get drinks.
It was nice having someone outside of the Zoo family to talk to.
She reminded me so much of Asia. From her style to how she spoke, and even the fact that she danced.
Asia was cool. She lived in the same projects as my mother, and I would see her from time to time when I came home to visit.
When she told me she was fucking with my brother, it reminded me of how small the world was.
Now, we’re here, and Asia is long gone, and Harvey has filled that space.
As we made our way up the street to Layoni’s, I saw Monfua’s truck pass by.
When we reached the door, I realized it was closed.
I wondered if everything was ok with him and his mother.
I pulled my phone out to call Monfua until I remembered that he wasn’t speaking to me either.
However, I was genuinely concerned. I didn’t want to wear it on my face, so I tried to push past my thoughts.
Flex and I jogged back toward her car, quickly getting in as the rain began to come down harder. As soon as we were inside, Flex glanced at me, “Don’t worry about it, I got drinks at home.” She laughed.
When she started the car and the radio came on, the first thing we0 heard was the weatherman advising that a storm was approaching.
I glanced out the window and up at the sky, seeing dark clouds accompanied by a few lightning strikes, followed by a rumble of thunder.
It’s crazy how the current weather symbolizes my life.
I sat back in the seat and got lost in my thoughts.
I figured after Foe’s party, I would tell him about school and the whole money thing.
It was killing me inside because I had never kept anything this serious from my brother, but this situation was different.
I needed him and me to get back to what we were before the argument and before Harvey.
Monfua, on the other hand, I didn’t know what to do about him.
He wanted to try, and at first, I was against it, but after today, I began to consider the idea. Could we fall in love with each other?
I didn’t know what was going to happen with school because I had been checking my application status with TSU nonstop and hadn't received a response. If shit didn’t work out with that, I was going to need Monfua more than I thought.
His title as a husband was about to kick in sooner than he thought.
There was so much going on that I was starting to feel like I was drowning.
By the time I snapped back to reality, we were pulling up to an apartment building.
It didn’t look bad at all. Whatever Flex was doing, whether dancing for money or getting it however she lived, she was making it work.
From the outside looking in, everyone around me made things seem so easy; however, I knew behind every fairytale was a dark story. I just wondered what Flex’s was.
We got out of the car and ran through the pouring rain to reach her door. I tried shielding my head as I ran behind her. I bumped into someone, when I lifted my head to apologize, his face scared me, and I froze. “Watch it, little momma,” he gritted as he held a baby in his arms.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
My eyes landed back on Flex, who was waving me down to follow her. I rushed over until I was inside her place. The first thing I noticed when coming inside was the stripper pole. “You take dancing seriously, don’t you?” I asked.
She set her things down as she walked into the kitchen. “Yes, don’t you have something you're passionate about?”
I did, school, and the thought of letting Kirk destroy that for me made me mad. I glanced at her with a weak smile, “I do, it’s school.”
She grabbed the bottle and made her way toward me. “Sit, don’t be scared, you’re wet but not too wet to sit. You go to TSU?” she asked.
I cleared my throat. “Yes,” I lied. “I start the spring semester.”
She nodded slowly as she poured us some shots. “Dope. What are you in school for?”
“Law.”
“Ok, future attorney.” She laughed.
All of it sounded good, but it was far from my reality. I grabbed the shot glass from the table and took it back. “What’s your real name?” I asked her.
“Porsha, but please call me Flex.”
The thunder and lightning began going off so crazily outside, my head shot toward the window. “Look, if you want to stay until the storm passes, I’m ok with that. I can use the company. Besides, I want to know more about Foe.” She grinned widely.
I smiled. “My brother is not an easy piece of work. A hood nigga at its finest.”
“Mm, I know. I bet he got some good dick too.”
My face frowned. “That’s my brother. I don’t know about all that, but he got a girlfriend like I told you.”
I could see Flex eyeing me like she wanted to say something else. We poured another shot and took them. “So, you said he’s a part of a biker crew?”
I nodded. “The Zoo Boyz,” I mumbled as my eyes caught the lightning strike.
Storms have always sent my anxiety through the roof. I tried to focus on Flex’s and my conversation, but every time thunder rumbled, it scared me. We had been talking about something random when there was a knock at her door. She got up from the chair to open the door while my radar was on ten.
“What are you doing here?” I heard Flex trying to whisper.
I tried to lean forward to catch a glimpse of who was on the other side. They said a few muttered words back and forth when she stepped back to let him inside. An eerie feeling came over me. It felt dark and uninviting.
“Lakia, this is my ex, Scooter. Scooter, this is my homegirl, Lakia,” Flex introduced us.
He nodded. “Sup.”
Flex pointed to the back before she looked at me. “I will be right back, ok?” she said.
I gave her a tight-lipped smile as she and Scooter disappeared in the back.
I sat there as a third wheel, extremely uncomfortable.
The longer I sat, the harder it rained. The sound of Flex and Scooter arguing had become so loud that they out-yelled the storm happening outside.
Suddenly, they fell quiet, and the thunder grew louder.
I couldn’t stay here, not for another second. For all I knew, that nigga had done something to her back there, and I was next. I knew I needed to get the fuck out of here and go to the only place I needed to be.