Ch. 2- Real Talk (Keegan)

For the next three hours all I did was toss and turn. Sleep just didn’t seem to be in the picture. I knew it had to be around three in the morning. Thoughts ran endlessly through my mind, and the most consistent one was the fact the Mo’Feir kissed me. I wasn’t thrilled about it, I was angry. Why would he do something as frivolous as that, something that could jeopardize our friendship. Hoping my actions didn’t offend him, I closed my eyes. Feeling myself drifting I said a prayer and let my mind do its thing, hoping for good dreams.
*****
I was up no later than ten that morning. Ca’Reighn was out in the hallway when I walked out there, and she greeted me with a hug.
“Good morning, it’s about time you woke up,” she said cheerily. I smiled and walked on to the kitchen.
“What all are you doing today?” she asked. No later than when she said that Mo’Feir came out of his room.
“You ready for breakfast?” he asked looking over at me. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a blue polo shirt.
“In a minute,” I said walking back to my room to put on some more clothes. I rushed to the bathroom to wash up and grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and a snug T shirt, put my hair in a ponytail, and went back out to the hallway. When he saw me he looked at me strangely then shrugged his shoulders.
“What?” I asked walking beside him up the hallway.
“Nothing, I see that it is hard to get you out of your comfort zone,” he said. I smiled and he laughed lowly. Once we were out in his truck he turned to face me.
“Look, what happened last night was my mistake. I just couldn’t help it. I’m hoping we can pretend that never happened because-”
“Mo! It’s okay, really. We can look past it,” I said and he sat back, rubbing his sideburns with his thumb.
“Okay, so where you wanna eat?”
“Waffle House?”
“Cool with me,” he said and we pulled out of the driveway. We were at the first stop sign in the neighborhood when I decided that I wasn’t hungry. When I told him that he turned and looked at me.
“So, what do you wanna do, cuz I’m not hungry either.”“Well, I could use a workout,” I said. He smiled while pressing the accelerator.
“Wanna go to the gym for a minute?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure,” I said smiling. He smiled back and did a U-turn, heading west instead of east. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and flipped it open. I hadn’t talked on it since I had called Mo’Feir the previous day. I went on and decided to make a call.
“Hello,” she answered dryly. I cleared my throat.
“Hey, momma,” I said, preparing myself for what was to come.
“Keegan Bretony Joe Sheers! Where the hell are you?” she yelled into the phone.
“Somewhere safe,” I said lowly.
“You damn lucky you somewhere safe, cuz I woulda killed you last night if I found you! Now where the hell are you?” she huffed.
“I just told you where I was,” I answered. “Look, ma, I’m not coming home until I think that it’s safe, so you can forget about me returning. If anywhere, I’d rather stay with dad.”
My father had left my mother several years prior to that time. We kept close ties, but he kept his distance from my mother. At one point we tried to convince her into allowing me to stay with him, but she got mad enough to try to kill him, all the while screaming that I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And that had been less than a year ago.
“I doubt you’ll be staying with him. I’d hunt you both down. It would be best if you just came home now rather than staying where you are,” she huffed. When she said that, I thought of the times she beat me for no reason as a child, and how she would get a thrill of it. I frowned.
“Well, I’m sorry, ma, I wont be coming home anytime soon,” I said and hung up. I looked over and Mo’Feir was looking at me with this concerned face.
“You still want to go to the gym?” he asked hesitantly. I nodded and he kept forward. As he drove, I closed my eyes and rested my head on the seat. I wanted to call my dad, but I knew he wasn’t available for a few hours, or at least until he got off work. I let my thoughts run back to good memories to keep my mind off of everything that was going on, and I thought about the first time I had actually hung out with Mo’Feir.
*****
I stood outside of the hotel with Mo’Feir, leaning against the building and listening to music from his truck.
“How long will it take your uncle to get here this time? I could take you home,” he suggested leaning up beside me. I looked over at him and shook my head.
“Nah, you know I’m alright,” I said. “Besides, momma wouldn’t want anyone she didn’t know to bring me home from work.”
“I guess, well I’ll be here until you’re gone,” he responded. I smiled a little and stuffed my hands in the pockets of my hoodie.
“I am too bored,” I said. The song on the radio changed and he stood up straight.
“You know, that is my favorite song,” he said, stretching out his hand. “Dance with me?”
Before I could answer, he took my hand out of my pockets and we were dancing in front of the building.
“Keegan, lighten up, it’s just me. Dance,” he said pulling me closer to him. Just then, my cell phone rang.
“Hello,” I answered, stepping back.
“Keegan!” It was my mother. “Ya uncle wont be able to get you, so try to find a ride home.”“Umm, okay,” I said.
“Bring ya ass on here, too,” she yelled, her speech slurring.
“Yes ma’am,” I said and hung up.
“Everything alright?” Mo asked.
“I need a ride home, my uncle can’t get me tonight.”
“How long do you think she thinks it takes you to get a ride?” he asked.
“About fifteen minutes, and depending on which way you go it takes a few minutes to get home,” I said. “Why?”
“Well, I wanted to just hang out,” he said heading to his truck.
“We can’t be too long, though,” I said as he opened my door and walked around to the other side. Once he hopped in, we headed away from the hotel. I sat there trying my best not to look nervous while we drove for a while around the city, then we ended up around the corner from my mother’s house. He parked the car where we were and got out, jogging to the other side to open my door.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I got out.
“Walking you home,” he said with a smile. I frowned at him.
“No you’re not,” I said. He stopped and looked at me, then shrugged his shoulders. That was his manner of saying ‘whatever’, I guessed. He leaned against his truck and I leaned beside him.
“So, what is your mom like?” he asked me, looking up at the sky. It was dark, but the stars were definitely bright this night. In the distance I heard police sirens.
“She’s a mean ass drunk, and if I didn’t love her so much for being my mother, I would call her a bitch,” I said without hesitating. “What about your mom? How is she?”
He sighed. “She’s the love of my life. She has this smile that seems contagious. I learned almost everything I know from her…” he said sounding as if he were talking more to himself than to me. “She has my heart, that’s for sure.”
I nodded and looked off in the distance. “I have to get going. Momma is going to be calling me again in a second,” I said.
“Okay, you be safe. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said giving me a hug. I nodded and walked off…
*****
“Mo,” I said looking over at Mo’Feir. “I want to go to my dad’s. You think you can drop me off over there later on?”