Keegan (Ch. 3 cont'd)

“Me too,” I said before I realized what I was saying. Mo’Feir was about to do something, and I had no idea what he was going to do. The one thing I could think about was how good he was looking and how great he smelled. I couldn’t even that keep myself focused.
“Oh, you are?” he asked, sounding more seductive, something I rarely heard. He closed the space between me and the wall, pressing himself up against me, and I could feel his heart beat. Finally, the serious face was replaced with a smile.
“Want to walk with me to my truck, baby?” he asked me, moving forward so his lips were just near my ear.
“Sure,” I said trying to that keep my composure. He took my hand and we headed up the hall, then on outside to his truck. The door was unlocked and he got in, sitting sideways so his legs were slightly out of the car.
“I have to go to work,” he said. “I wish I could stay and talk to you.”
Losing myself, oh shit, I’m losing it I thought as he ran his hand over my cheek. With his other hand he pulled me between his legs. He brought his face close to mine then pulled away, embracing me instead.
“I’ll see you later,” he said as he let me go. I nodded, pulling back my hair as he started his truck. Before he was out of the driveway I was back in the house.
“Mmmh,” I heard Carthez say from behind me. “He’s finally trying to show you how he feels?”
“What?” I said looking back at the twin, and I still couldn’t get over how much he looked like his older brother. “Can’t play that off, darling,” Carthez said smiling. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” I said with a nervous smile. He was staring me down with this look in his eyes. I couldn’t put a finger on exactly what it was about that look, but it got to me, almost made me uneasy. “Where does Mo’Feir work?”
“He hasn’t told you?” Carthez asked me as he took some things out of the cabinet.
“Obviously not,” I said, helping myself to some cranberry juice from the refrigerator.
“Well, I wont tell you either,” Carthez said with a smirk on his face. I don’t know if it was a half smile or a smirk, but it looked like a smirk to me.
“Alright, fine,” I said leaning against the counter.
“There is a lot he has to tell you,” he said giving me that look again. “Oh, and Unique will be calling you.”
“Oh, okay,” I said placing my glass on the counter and walking back to the bedroom I was occupying at the time. I took out my luggage case, removed all of my clothes and laid them neatly on the bed. Out of all the thoughts, the one thought that kept running through my head was why hadn’t Mo’Feir kissed me. I reached between the fabric of the case and pulled out my envelope. That was the cost of living, right there. I placed it in one of my shoes laying beside the dresser and pulled out my other shoe box from under the bed.
“Hey, sis,” I heard someone say from behind me. I turned to see Ca’Reighn standing there in the door. She was putting a band around her hear, pulling her dreads back just a little.
“Whatsup? Girl, that is cute what you have on,” I said looking at her gear. She was wearing a black tee with red and green lettering that said ‘REAL BLACK GIRL’, and a pair of faded denim jeans, with black and green lining.
“Thanks,” she said smiling. “You up for breakfast?” She was putting in some earrings now.
“Yeah, sure,” I said.
“Good, because Carthez is cooking it up for us,” she said with a laugh. “Hope you like a five course breakfast.”
“Sounds good enough for me,” I said. She came in the room and sat down on the bed.
“You’re thinking about moving in with Unique?” she asked looking at the shoe box.
“Yeah,” I said pulling my hair back into a bun and pinning it. “Is that a good thing?”
“More than good. She’s the best person to live with. I stayed with her for a while earlier this summer.”
“That’s cool, I was afraid,” I said laughing.
“Word? Yeah, Felix, he husband, he is real cool. Taught me a little bit about being black, and he’s light skinned,” she said laughing. “ Then he has all of his friends. They are like family once you get to know them.”
“For real?”
“Definitely,” Ca’Reighn said looking at my hair. “You ever thought about cutting your hair?”
“Sometimes,” I said honestly. “I don’t know what I would do with it if I did though.”
“Oh there is a lot you can do to it. Trust me. If you ever want to cut it or want something to do to it, let me know,” she said. “I did my own.”
“You did?” I was shocked. He hair looked like it was done by a professional.
“Yeah, something I learned from my mom,” she said running her fingers through her locks.
“What happened to her?” I asked her, hoping she wouldn’t brush me off.
“Crazy shit,” Ca’Reighn said looking off into space. That was the first time I had heard something come out of her mouth that was anger filled. “But that’s in the past now.”
She stood up and walked over to the door. “I’ll see you at the breakfast table.”“Alright,” I said as she walked out, thinking to myself I guess I wont find out any time soon. I hit the shower then went downstairs for breakfast.
*****
It was a little after three in the afternoon and the phone rang. Carthez answered and did a little small talk, then handed me the phone.
“It’s Unique,” he said turning and walking off.
“Hello,” I said feeling close to nervous.
“Hey, what sup?” came a friendly voice from the other end. “Is this Keegan?”
“Yeah,” I said feeling a little more comfortable with her tone. She sounded young, almost like a teenager.
“Alright, cool. I hear you’re going to college out in Atlanta,” she said.
“Yeah, I am,” I said not knowing what to say.
“Well, what college are you planning on going to?” she asked. I heard a few other people walk in the room on her end.
“Oh, I’m going to Georgia State,” I said.
“Cool, Joe’Nathan goes there,” she said. “Where you from?”
“Decatur.”“Oh, well that’s not too far,” she said. “Mo still stayin in Cobb county, I see.”“Yeah,” I said. “You in school?”
“Girl, yes. Senior at Clark right now,” she said sounding even more friendly. I could the smile in her voice.
“Congratulations on that,” I said laying back on the couch.
“Well, the reason I was calling was to see exactly where you were going. I know you’re more than likely going to be okay in my book because you’re Mo’Feir’s friend. But, even though I hate to cut this conversation short, I have to go pick up some people and wake my baby up,” Unique said sounding kind of rushed.
“Alright, it was great talking to you,” I said thinking that it was a quick conversation.
“Yes, same here. Hope to see you soon,” Unique said before she hung up the phone. I put the phone on the table next to the couch and got up to go back to my room. I counted my money for the third time that day, then tried to figure out a way to put it away until I really needed it. I stored everything differently every time I finished with it, and this time I had it all tucked in the back of the closet. I heard my cell phone ringing and went to answer it.
“Yes, hello,” I answered cheerily.
“KEEGAN WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?” I heard my mother yelling through the phone.
“Somewhere away from that hellhole you call a home,” I said, my tone becoming more serious.
“You get back here, and you get back here now. You don’t want me to come and find you!” Mother was raging on the other end and I didn’t give a flying fuck if she was.
“I’m a grown ass woman, and on top of that I’m safe. I don’t have to stay in that house with you any longer than I need to, and my choice was to leave so I’m leaving. Getting an education and making my own life instead of you trying to make it for me,” I said, trying to that keep my composure.
“You know what? Since you want to play the hard way, I am going to make you wish that you had never left here, you hear?” my mother said barely over a whisper. I knew that she was either drunk or high, and I could feel my eyes welling up with tears.
“Momma, I wish that you weren’t like this, and I’m pretty sure things could be different but they aren’t. I tried to help you out, but you have to help yourself. I don’t want to hear you say anything like that ever to me again. I wouldn’t cut you off, but this conversation is over,” I said, and with that I hung up the phone. Tears were streaming down my face and there was no way for me to stop them. As if on cue, Mo’Feir was walking into his bedroom and turned around. I turned to face the bed so that he wouldn’t see me, but it was too late.
“Keegan,” I head him coming up behind me. “Keegan, what’s wrong?”“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said wiping my face, trying to stop the tears. He turned me around to face him. The look he had on his face was focused, yet had a look of sympathy within. He brought his hands up to my face to wipe the last of my endless tears and whispered five words.
“Let me make it better.” With that he pulled me in for a hug, and I held onto that moment, wishing it would last forever. As he sat down on the bed, he pulled me down next to him and held me in his arms. In his arms I felt protected, and I felt at peace. Before I knew it I was sleeping. I dreamed of my childhood days with my father. Back before my mother had turned into what she had become.
*****
I woke up at about ten that night, and Mo was not in the room with me. I got out of the bed and walked across the hall to see him sleeping in his bed. What looked like paperwork was laid out on the table next to his bed, but I didn’t bother it. I climbed into the bed with him and moved as close as possible to him. He was facing me and he opened his eyes, then smiled.
“You alright?” he asked in that low voice of his. I nodded with a smile.
“Good,” he said to that and turned me around, then pulled me closer to him so he could hold me. I could tell he was sleeping seconds after that.
*****
I woke up at three in the morning and forgot where I was. I sat up and looked around, then it dawned on me that I was still in Mo’Feir’s bedroom. I looked beside me to see Mo’Feir wasn’t laying there anymore. Where is he at three in the morning? I thought to myself. I got out of the bed and walked to the living room, then looked out of the window. His truck was gone as well. Going back to my room I put on a pair of basketball shorts and another tee, put on my tennis shoes, then stopped before leaving out to write a note saying that I had gone running just in case he got back before I did. Picking up my phone I went out the back door, then on to the sidewalk. Running was not a passion for me, but it kept me calm and focused when I was thinking. If I didn’t stay calm I would end up hurting someone. I made a few blocks, and stopped to see how long I had been running. Ten minutes. Not bad. I ran for about fifteen more minutes then made my way back to Mo’s house. I saw his truck was still gone, so I made my way back to the back door, then let myself in. Mo’Feir was sitting at the table with his head down. He looked up once I closed the door. He didn’t look tired, but he did look thoughtful. He pulled a chair close to him and motioned for me to sit down.
“But I have to shower,” I whispered. He nodded and got up.
“Cut off the lamp off beside you, baby,” he said in a low tone, and he sounded so sexy. I did as told, then made my way to the hallway. Before I made it there I felt his hands around my waist, then moving up to my stomach. He pulled me back so I could be as close as possible to him, then began stepping forward, turning into his bedroom.
“The twins are gone to some friends house for the night. They left around eleven to go to a party.”
“That explains the truck being gone,” I said lightly. “What are you doing still up?”
“Wondering why I can’t sleep, that’s what,” he said as we neared his bed. I moved away from him.
“I’m going to hit the shower,” I said going across the hall and to my bedroom. He followed close behind me.
“Can we talk when you get out?” he asked with that same thoughtful look. It almost looked as if something was troubling him.
“Definitely. You don’t have to work tomorrow do you?”
“In the evening,” he said sitting down on the bed. “Proceed.”“Wont be long.” I walked to my bathroom and closed the door. I didn’t have to worry about getting dressed in my room because I kept a pair of sleeping clothes in the bathroom closet just in case I couldn’t just up and get dressed in there. My shower was cool and calming, and I could feel sleep creeping up on me. When I got out of the shower I put on a pair of shorts and a sports bra I had in the closet then stepped back in my room. He was laid out on the bed, and I laid next to him.
“We can talk now,” I said looking up at the ceiling. Something was telling me that this was going to be an interesting conversation.