She don't put it down like you (Ray Ray)

Ray’s POV

Shaunice walked into the room, nothing but a small towel wrapped around her body. Her curves stood out painfully, and I found myself already thinking of the things I wanted to do to her. My eyes roamed her body freely, but before I could fully appreciate her, I knew that my mind was already moving towards someone else.

“Hey, baby,” she cooed, her seductive voice filling the quiet room. “I missed you.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, absentmindedly tugging on the end of my braids. “That’s cool.”

She dropped the towel, revealing her body to me. I gave her a quick once over before turning my attention to the clock. I wanted - no, I needed - it to be 7:30 so that (Y/N) would be off her shift, and I could call her. We haven’t spoke since last week, yet my mind was constantly on her.

“What’s wrong?” she sat herself on my lap. Without waiting for my reply, her lips connected with mine.

My hands reached up to grab her waist, and I didn’t complain when she began to unbuckle my belt. After all, I needed the distraction.

—

I sat across from (Y/N) at a small diner, watching as she pushed her fries around the plate. She had been giving me the silent treatment all night, and I was growing tired of her behavior.

“Damn it, (Y/N),” I slammed my glass down on the table, earning a few nervous glances from other patrons. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Some girl named Shaunice called me last night from your phone,” she said, not looking up from her plate. Her words came out venomous, causing me to freeze. “She said that she was with you now, and I should leave your ass lone.”

“Baby, c’mon-”

“Ray,” she held up her hand to prevent me from speaking. “I like you, a lot. I wish we didn’t have that fight, but I ain’t about to be runnin’ around here knowing that every time something happens, you’re going to be off with some other chic. If y’all are shooting for something, then-”

“We ain’t shooting for anything,” I yelled. When I noticed a man staring at me, I frowned. “Get your old ass out of my conversation. Don’t you have to get back to the retirement home anyways?”

Turning my attention back to (Y/N), I noticed she had a frown on her face.

“Girl, listen. Shaunice ain’t my girl; she’s some random chic I used to bang when I was lonely. Admittedly, I was with her last night, but that was it. A quick fuck.” Smirking, I took both of her hands in mine. “Besides, she on’ hate. She knows she don’t put it down like you.”

Song: She Don’t Put It Down Like You by Joe Budden.

Moving Forward: Finale

“Ugh,” I screamed, burying my face in my pillow. Why did Roc have to be such a
jerk? I finally find the perfect mother for my baby, and he has to go and scare
her off.
“Look Liyah I’m sorry,” I heard Roc call from the other side of the door. He must
have followed me up here.
“Go away!” I cried. When he finally left, I dug out that card Tasha gave me
earlier.
I ran my fingers over the shiney black letters. CEO. I pulled out my phone and
nervously punched in the numbers.
“Tasha Davis, CEO of Interscope Records,” She said, and my heart nearly
skipped a beat.
“Yeah, Tasha,” Ireplied, grinning hard. “It’s Aaliyah.”
___
I swallowed hard, staring at the large glass building in front of me. Interscope
Records. Why am I so afraid? It’s just a building. I took a tentative step inside,
sighing heavily in relief, when the walls didn’t come crashing down.
I followed the directions Tasha had given me. She had agreed to meet me,
and we would go for ice cream. I quietly made my way to her corner office.
“Tasha,” I called, softly tapping her door. When I opened the door, she was
heavily immersed in her work. “If you are busy, I could always come back later.”
“Noo.” She scribbled a few things down, then grabbed her purse. “I’m just
finishing up,” she smiled. “Besides I know this great ice cream place a couple
of blocks over.”
“So tell me about yourself Aaliyah. How’s school?” Tasha asked me, when we
had finally gotten our ice cream.
“School is...school,” I frowned, looking away. To be honest school is the last
thing I wanted to be talking about. Especially since I haven’t been since last
week.
"You don’t like it?” She replied, curiously.
“I mean I just don’t exactly see the point. When am I going to use the formula for
a right triangle?”
“True, but in school I learned a lot of life lessons,” She replied. It’s funny how
talking to Tasha for a few minutes about school almost made me want to go.
“Life lessons? What more life lessons do I need? Living without parents...that
teaches you life lessons. Hopping from foster care place to foster care place
only to end back up at the one you started in, struggling with the pain of being
unwanted...ha. Those taught me a lot,” I laughed bitterly, leaving an awkward silence between us.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, well...It’s not like it was your fault,” Ireplied, shrugging it off. “I have to go
anyway. It’s getting late.”
“Let me give you a ride. My car is right here.”
____
“You must be insane! You drive in NYC! And in a freakin’ benz,” I exclaimed,
settling into the plush leather interior.
“I like to drive,” She laughed. “A little traffic won’t kill me.”
“You must not know how bad it can get,” I muttered, glancing out the window.
“Turn on this street right here,” I announced, pointing to my house on the corner.
“Wait ‘til Roc sees this. There he is now.”
“This is where you stay,” Tasha gasped, and it was like she was remembering
something about my house. I could see tears welling up in her eyes, but she
looked away too fast for me to be sure.
“Yeah..I live here,” Ireplied skeptically. “Why?”
“Nothing..” She retorted, quickly changing her expression. “Well, this was nice.
We should do this again.”
“We should,” I smiled, stepping out the car. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem.”
I couldn’t help but skip up to Roc. Tasha was amazing and beautiful, and she’s
nice too. She’s like the mother I’ve always dreamed off. I made a move to enter
the house, but Roc stopped me at the door.
“Where were you?” He questioned me, roughly snapping me out of my fantasy.
“I was with Tasha. See,” I added, pointing at her benz still parked out front. He
eyed the car distastefully.
“I told you I don’t like her,” He growled, crossing his arms across his chest.
“Why would you go out with her?”
“Why wouldn’t I? She is going to be my baby’s mother,” I attacked, rage filling
my voice. “I like her Roc. Can’t you just be happy for me? She’s perfect. She’s
successful, beautiful, kind, and smart. She runs her own company...Did you
know that? She’s like the youngest, black, female CEO.”
The longer I went on, the more Irealized Roc wasn’t even listening to me. “Roc
are you listening?” I exclaimed, crossing my arms across my chest, but he
ignored me. He just brushed past me, nearly knocking me over, and walked
right up to Tasha’s benz.


Original: wattpad by toughtsmindless

Moving Forward: Part 4

I nervously paced in front of Roc’s door. I went to knock, but I chickened out. I
was about to go back to my room, when Prince came up behind me. “You can
do this,” He assured me. I smiled hoping he was right. He knocked on the door,
then ran off before I could chicken out.
Asshole.
“Since when do you knock on my door?” Roc asked, when he saw me standing
outside his door. “You usually just barge right in.”
“I know,” Ireplied, shyly entering the room.
Roc eyed me skeptically. “You are never this quiet. Are you sick?” He joked,
laughing at my tentativeness.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted, smacking my hands over my mouth, when I realized
what I had said.
“You’re pregnant,” Roc exclaimed. He buried his face in his hands. “Damn it
Aaliyah.” He angrily slammed his fist into the wall, causing me to jump.
“You have to get rid of it,” He demanded.
“What? No I can’t do that to my baby,” I retorted, waves of anger overcoming
me.
He laughed. “You can’t possibly want to keep it. Things are hard enough. And
now you want to add a baby to it.”
“I may not be able to care for it, but someone else will,” I cried, and I could feel
the tears building up again. “I’m not going to kill it.”
“But you know first hand what it feels like to be unwanted,” he muttered.
“You take that back Roc,” I yelled, and I nearly smacked him across the face.
“You know if you had a chance for a better life you would take it.”
“Yeah but--”
“No buts Roc,” I croaked, wiping my tears. “I’ve giving it up for adoption, and
that’s final.”
--
Roc sat next to me in the adoption agency, his lips pursed tightly. I knew he was
upset that I wasn’t going through his oh-so wonderful abortion plan, but there
was no way in hell that I was going to kill my child. His hands were clenched into
tight fists, and then didn’t relax until our name was called by a short, fat woman.
“Hello, Mrs. August,” she greeted me warmly, giving Roc a sidelong glance. “Is
this the...

Her words trailed off as she waited for me to complete her sentence, and softly
explained that he was the uncle of my baby. Immediately, her posture relaxed,
and she offered my brother a pat on the arm for being kind enough to “look out
for me”.
“I know that you’ve been looking over the list of potential parents that I sent you,”
she noted kindly, leading the two of us to her office. “And I know that you picked
out one very fine young woman.”
There was a quick pause in the conversation where the woman ushered us
inside of her small office before checking the time. She shook her head after
reading the time then offered the two of us a seat.
“I picked Tasha,” I reminded the woman, settling myself in one of the chairs. I
noticed my brother tense at the name, but I ignored his behavior. He just wasn’t
going to let go of the fact that I was keeping the baby.
“Oh yes!” the woman nodded her head, and I leaned forward so that I could
read the nameplate on her desk.
“Mrs. Smith,” I said politely. “I thought that I was meeting the adoptive mother
today.”
She nodded her head, her fingers flying through the papers. “It appears she is
running a little late. Once she arrives you will be able to spend some time with
her just so the two of you can get to know each other. But while we wait, it might
be good for you to meet some other couples just to make sure your choice is
final.”
The three of us sat awkwardly in silence until the door opened slowly revealing
a professional woman with a large man standing behind her. She smiled at me,
revealing rows of crooked teeth. I forced myself to smile, already knowing that
she was no longer the top candidate for this child.
Mrs. Smith could tell that Roc and I were disappointed by the choice presented
to us, so she ushered in three more couples. Each couple had something
horrifyingly wrong with them, especially couple two, who were Christians,
planning to adopt in order to cleanse my baby of the sins I had taken a part of
by getting knocked up.
By the time two hours passed, I was damn near ready to kill this fatass lady, but
a knock on the door distracted me.
“Hello,” a gentle voice called out to me, and I looked over in awe at the beautiful
woman standing there.

Now, let me tell you; I ain’t gay or nothing like that, but this woman was bad. She
had this smooth caramel skin that practically screamed “African Queen” along
with hair so nice that it had to have been done at one of those fancy salons only
people like Beyonce and Alicia Keys could afford. And lord let me tell you that
she had eyes prettier than anybody else’s.
“Hi,” I mumbled. “I’m Aaliyah and this is my brother Chresanto.”
Roc frowned at the woman, folding his arms across his chest, and she looked
at him as though something was registering in her brain. Confused, I looked
between the two, but Roc was already glaring out the window.
“Hi Aaliyah, I’m Tasha,” she smiled. “It’s nice to meet y-”
Before she could finish her sentence, my brother stood up. “I hate to interrupt
your little ‘girl-talk’, but we need to leave. We have to meet our friend Prince for
lunch.”
Roc gave the two women in the room a tight-lipped smile, then dragged me out
of the room. Once we made it outside the building, I turned on him.
“What is wrong with you? I liked her,” I glanced back at the brick building,
wishing I at least got to finish the interview. “She was nice.”
“I don’t like her,” he responded.
I stared at him in shock, anger washing over me. “What is your problem? You
just over here gettin’ mad ‘cause I didn’t just get rid of the fucking baby!”
“You don’t understand,” he mumbled. He looked back on the building, a frown
on his face. “Damn, can’t the bitch just leave us.”
Turning around, I saw Tasha walking over to us, her pumps clicking on the
pavement. I smiled warmly at her, hoping that my brother would keep his mouth
closed.
“Before the two of you leave, I wanted to give you my number,” she handed me
a business card with her name with CEO INTERSCOPE RECORDS stamped
at the top. “Call me when you have some time to talk.”
I stood there, staring at the card when the sound of someone whistling made
me lift my head.
“Hey girl,” Prince greeted. “Who’s this beautiful woman?” he raised an
eyebrow, earning himself a laugh from Tasha.
“I’m Tasha; you must be their friend, Prince,” she shook his hand, her smile
never leaving her face.
Prince looked back and forth between Tasha and I. “Y’all look alike,” he
commented. “The resemblance is actually mad crazy!”
Tasha smiled, then hugged me goodbye before quickly making her way down the street. Shortly after she left, Roc slapped Prince upside the head.

“Don’t go around comparing my sister to that woman,” he hissed.
“Hey!” I grabbed Roc’s arm. “You need to chill. She’s adopting my baby.”
“No, she ain’t,” he retorted snatching his arm away from mine. “That bitch ain’t
going nowhere near that baby.”
I stood there my eyebrows raised in disbelief as Roc walked away from me and
Prince. My friend wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders.
“That was harsh, Chresanto!” Prince yelled, addressing Roc by his real name,
something he only did when he was serious.
Without turning around, my brother flipped him off. “It had to be done.”

Part 5...

Moving Forward: Part 3

“Are you gonna waste away like this for the rest of your life,” Roc asked,
throwing a pillow at me.
“I just don’t see the point anymore,” I sighed, focusing my attention back
outside. It has been weeks since I have seen Ray. I’d tried calling him, and
texting him, but I think his number has been disconnected. I even went back to
the bar we met at in search of him, but I didn’t have any luck.
“Why don’t you make yourself useful,” He said, waving ten bucks in my face.
“Mrs. Harris wants you to pick her up some gum from the corner store.”
I glanced up at him, rolling my eyes at his puppy dog face. “Fine,” I muttered,
snatching the money from him.
“Bring me back some chips,” He called after me. “And I want my damn
change.”
I took the stairs two steps at a time only pausing to make sure I didn’t knock
over one of the younger kids. “Hey Mr. Chang,” I smiled, nodding to the Chinese
man who ran the corner store.
“Hello Aaliyah,” he replied, and I giggled. The way my name sounded in his
accent always made me laugh.
I wandered down the aisles grabbing gum for Mrs. Harris and Chips for Roc,
then I made my way to the back to pick up some chocolate chip cookie dough
ice cream for me.
“How’s Mrs. Harris?” Mr. Chang asked me, when Ireached the register.
“She’s good,” I said making conversation with him. While he rang up my
purchase, my eyes wandered around the store until a box of tampons caught
my eye.
“Tell Mrs. Harris I said Hello,” Mr. Chang was saying snapping me back into
focus.
“I will,” I smiled politely.
I shoved a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. When was the last time I had
my period? Shit. My stomach began to turn, and I felt like I was going to be sick.
I ran to the nearest trash can not even caring that I dropped my ice cream. I
heaved up my lunch, and then some.
I wiped my mouth, but that didn’t get rid of the taste. That was weird. I made my
way back up the stairs handing the gum to Mrs. Harris on the way up. I
immediately ran to my calendar.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. I was six weeks late. How could I be so
dumb? I tossed Roc’s chips on the bed, rushing back down the steps. This
can’t be. Maybe I’m wrong.

___
I sat in the back stairwell, and I wanted to die. The image of that ugly little plus
sign was all I could think about. I was pregnant, and Ray is the father. How am I
going to tell Roc? How am I going to be a mother?
“There you are Liyah,” Prince said, stumbling on my hiding spot. “Wait- why are
you crying?”
Hearing that question made me sob even harder. He sat down next to me
taking my hands in his. “You know you can tell me anything?” He wiped away
my tears, and I looked away in shame. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m pregnant,” I whispered, and saying it out loud made me feel ten times
worse. It’s one thing knowing it, but actually accepting it is a whole different
thing.
He wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face in his chest. “I’m
pregnant, and I don’t know what to do,” I cried, my voice cracking.
He was silent for a moment, but it felt like forever. “You have to tell Roc.”
I pulled away from him, staring at him blankly. How could he even suggest
something that aweful? “No I can’t. There is no way,” I gasped. I almost passed
out at even the thought of telling him.
“You are going to have to tell him eventually,” He added, and I knew he was
right.

Moving Forward: Part 2

I lay in bed, staring up at the small cracks in my ceiling. My mind wandered to
the mystery boy I had met last night at the club, and as if on cue, my phone
began to ring. Hesitantly, I eyed the small device, wondering who would be
calling me at 12 A.M. on a monday.
“Hello,” I mumbled, trying to avoid waking anybody else up.
“Hey,” a familiar voice seductively called out to me. “It’s Ray from the club last
night. I was wondering if you wanted to chill.”
Immediately, I sat up, a grin already making its way onto my face. “Sure,” I said,
praying that I didn’t sound too excited. “When do you want to hang out?”
“Umm,” there was a pause, followed by a quiet conversation in the background
before he returned, “I’m just chillin’ right now, so let me know where you’re
staying, and I’ll pick you up.”
Eagerly, I gave him the address before clumsily getting out of bed. Across from
my bed, I saw my roommate roll over, and I froze, scared that I had woke her up.
When she resumed her heavy breathing, I tiptoed to my dresser, throwing on
the first outfit I found.
Closing my eyes, I sent a quick prayer up to God to make sure that my ass
wasn’t gonna get caught tonight, then I made my way out of my room.
Somehow, (praise Jesus!) I made it outside without waking up Mrs. Harris, who
was in charge of making sure curfew was made.
When I the toe of my sneaker made it onto the concrete steps of the building, I
relaxed. The door softly shut behind me, and I sat on the top step, waiting for
Ray.
“You look good tonight,” Ray commented, smirking. He held a hand out to help
me up, and I gratefully took it. “I’m glad you put in effort to look nice for me.”
Smiling, I tried to appear as nonchalant as possible. “Boy, I always look this
good.”
“Well you look good enough to go with me and some boys to the club,” he said.
He lead me down the stairs, his fingertips brushing the curve of my ass. “You
gonna let me buy you a drink tonight?”
“I’ll think about it.”
--
I stumbled into the empty hotel lobby, giggling. Ray looked back at me
mischievously, and I smiled at him. Before I could question him on where he
was taking me, he lead me to the elevators. We made our way inside, his lips
immediately finding mine once the doors closed.
My head swam as my lips moved against his. His fingers roughly grabbed me by the hips, and I moaned when his tongue leisurely dragged across my bottom
lip. I barely had time to open my mouth before the elevators doors reopened.
Ray dragged me out of the elevator, quickly leading me down the hallway.
“You got to be quiet, OK?” he whispered, pressing a finger over his lips. I
nodded dumbly, giggling again when he gently pushed me into the room
labeled Ice Vending Machine.
“Ray,” I slurred his name, my fingers latching onto the front of his shirt. “You
look so hot right now.”
He smirked, sliding his hands underneath my tight shirt. His fingertips brushed
the curve of my breasts, and Ireattached my lips to his.
“You’re so drunk; you know that?” he whispered, unbuttoning my jeans.
Clumsily, I stumbled backwards, but he moved with me, not hesitating to slide
his hands down my pants.
--
When I woke up, I could hear the sounds of someone jiggling the door handle. I
sat up, wincing at the massive headache that was forming at the base of my
skull. Forcing myself to stand up, I located my clothes, that were haphazardly
strewn around the small room. Once I was fully dressed, I turned to face Ray,
frowning, when I noticed he was gone.
“What the hell?” I turned around, smiling sheepishly at the security guard. He
folded his massive arms across his chest. “Now, what do you think you’re doing
in my hotel? Are you staying here?”
I paused, shaking my head. “Nah, I ain’t staying here,” I quietly admitted. “I don’t
live too far actually; I’ll just walk-”
“Now hold on, you lil’ hood rat,” the guard, grabbed my arm before I could even
think about taking a step. He roughly pulled me out of the room, smiling
apologetically at the cleaning staff. “I’m givin’ your raggedy ass to the damn
cops. You must got me fucked up...”
Looking around for Ray, I turned my attention to the guard. The pounding in my
head only intensified when we passed a room with a vacuum on, making it so
much harder to concentrate.

“Did you see a guy here earlier with two braids in his hair?” I asked.
The guard frowned before shaking his head. “Why? You tryna say you were
fucking in my damn hotel? Child, people get ice and other beverages from in
there; they don’t want soda from where yo naked ass has been!”
“N-Nah, I w-wasn’t tryna say that,” I stuttered. “I just couldn’t get home last night,
so I crashed here!”
Ignoring my pathetic attempts at salvaging the small remains of my dignity, he
lead me down the service stairs only stopping once we made it outside. He
handed me off to the first cop he saw, bid me farewell, then watched with a
frown on his face as the cop drove me down the busy streets of New York. The
entire ride, he mumbled under his breath about “this shitty generation” and a
whole lot of other bullshit I didn’t want to think about. By the time he dropped my
black ass off at that station, I damn near praised jesus.
“Hey, Barbara,” the cop waved at the secretary, shoving me over to her. “We
got another minor.”
The secretary eyed me skeptically from behind her desk before typing on her
outdated computer. “What’s this girl’s name?” she asked, squinting to see her
screen.
“Uh,” I swallowed nervously. Could this shit go on my record? Man, I wasn’t
ready to do time. “I’m Aaliyah August.”
She raised an eyebrow at the name. “Well, she ain’t got any previous offenses
in here, John.”
The cop, who must’ve been John, nodded his head in approval. “Well, call up
her guardian to pick her up.” He then turned to face me. “Listen, I’m lettin’ you
walk since it’s your first offense, but don’t let this happen again.”
He gestured for me to take a seat in one of the plastic waiting chairs, and I
obliged grateful that the cop didn’t get me for trespassing. As I slouched down
in the seat, I allowed my mind to wander. Where had Ray gone? Why wasn’t he
there when I woke up? And what the fuck did we even do last night?
“Damn it, Aaliyah,” Roc’s voice snapped me out of my daze. “What the hell is
wrong with yo black ass? You would’ve thought that you ain’t had no decent
home trainin’ with you runnin’ around actin’ like this.”
“Chresanto,” I used his real name, hoping to make him listen. “I can explain.”
He looked at me, shocked by my statement. Huffing, he folded his arms across
his chest. “Explain.”
“Well...” I looked away from him awkwardly. “I don’t exactly remember what
happened, but I know that I ain’t do nothing too bad!”
Shaking his head, he roughly pulled me to my feet. “Do you know how hard it is to get from Manhattan all the way to here? Damn, I can’t believe yo ass. Bet I

ain’t takin’ you nowhere after this.”
Lowering my head in shame, I followed Roc out the door. We walked silently to
the subway station, neither one of us too excited to start conversation. Once we
were safely on the train, I pulled out my phone, sending Ray a quick text. A few
seconds later my phone buzzed, and I opened the reply, only to find myself
reading:
The Verizon Wireless number you are attempting to reach is no longer in
service. For further assistance, please call 222-2342.
Sighing, I called Ray. When the phone stopped ringing, I found myself listening
to a mechanical voice saying, “This number is no longer in service; please hang
up or try again.”
I closed my phone, trying to hide the feelings of shock and disappointment that
were washing over me. My heart stuttered painfully, causing me to gasp out in
shock. Roc glanced over at me curiously, but I ignored him, instead, trying to
focus on regaining my breath.
Why the fuck would Ray ditch me like this?


Part 3...

Moving Forward

Moving Forward is a serie about a girl, Aaliyah, whom is an abandoned teen, living in a foster home with her older brother Chresanto and their best friend Prince. After being impregnated by Ray Ray after a one night stand, Aaliyah struggles to find serenity, uncovering old secrets from her birth family and the reason behind Ray’s mysterious disappearance. Ultimately, Aaliyah’s life takes many sharp turns before she can settle down peacefully with her brother, best friend, and boyfriend.

Characters (in the order of the pictures above): 

• Aaliyah August (Aka Liyah): Lead singer, just turned 16, Roc’s sister, best friends with Prince
• Chresanto August (Aka Roc): Drummer, 17, Aaliyah’s brother, best friends with Prince
• Jacob Perez (Aka Prince): Guitar player, 17, best friends with Roc and Liyah, live in the same foster care place
• Rayan Lopez (Aka Ray): 19, BADASS
• Tasha Davis (Aka Adoptive Mother): CEO of Interscope Records
• Angelo August (Aka Dad): <3
• Craig Crippen (Aka Prodigy’s Dad): COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Interscope Records
• Craig Crippen Jr.  (Aka Prodigy): rich kid, 18  

Fourteen years earlier...

“Mommy, where are we going?”
I watched as she shifted my sister in her arms. “We are going far away from
here,” she whispered. She grabbed my hand leading me up the stairs.
She crouched down in front of me. “Chresanto, I want you to be brave for
Mommy,” she announced, handing me my sister.
“Where are you going?”
“I want you to ring the doorbell, and tell the nice lady inside that you are lost,”
she added, hugging me tightly.
“But that’s lying.”
I heard a loud noise coming from down the street. She must’ve heard it too
because she looked scared. “Don’t come after me,” She pleaded, and tears
began falling down her face.
“Why are you crying? Where are you going?”
She leaned down, kissing me on the forehead. “I love you,” she cried, wiping
her tears with her sleeve. “I’m sorry.”
She got up turning to leave. I tried to stop her, but she kept going. I heard
footsteps, and I ducked down. “You think you can run away that easily,” I heard
someone yell, then I saw daddy appear out of the darkness.
“Daddy,” I called out to him, but he didn’t hear me.
Mommy broke out into a run, but daddy was too fast. He grabbed her dragging
her into the alley. I heard a loud scream. “Mommy,” I cried, but she didn’t come
back.
I rang the doorbell, and a nice lady opened in. “Oh child, what are you doing
here?” She asked.
“I’m lost.”
____
Now...
“Earth to Roc,” My sister Aaliyah, was saying snapping me out of my daze.
“Hand me the mic.”
“Oh sorry,” I muttered.
“What were you thinking about?” She asked, putting the last amp in place.
Aaliyah’s the only family I have. I tell her everything. We have been living in the
foster care system ever since I can remember. Other than Prince she’s the only friend I have. But there are just some things you just keep to yourself.
“Nothing,” Ireplied, forcing a smile on my face.
“Are you guys ready to rock?” Prince yelled, making quite the entrance.
“Of course,” I smiled settling behind my drumset. “At least as ready as I’ll ever
be.”
“We’ll be great,” Liyah replied, sending me a reassuring smile. “I mean if we
weren’t good then we wouldn’t be opening up for the best band here. Would
we?”
“Right,” Prince and Iresponded in unison.
“Alright then,” I grinned, pulling out my sticks. “Let’s do this.”
___
Aaliyah
The curtains opened to reveal the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen, and they were
all here for us. But one guy in particular stood out to me, and I couldn’t take my
eyes off of him. “That was amazing,” Prince was yelling, but I wasn’t really
listening. I was too focused on getting out of there.
“Where are you going?” Roc asked, but I didn’t reply. I knew he would come
after me eventually, but the crowd would slow him down.
I made my way over to the bar, hoping to find mystery man there. “Hey Bobby,”
I called, nodding to the bartender.
“Hey,” He replied. “Great performance.”
“Thanks,” I blushed, brushing a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. I
scanned the bar area, but I couldn’t find mystery guy anywhere. I was about to
head back, when I felt someone tap me on my shoulder.
“I knew you would find me--” I began, holding my hands up in surrender. But
when I turned around it wasn’t my brother who was behind me. It was mystery
guy.
“You were expecting me?” He smirked, raising an eyebrow up at me.
“Sorry I thought you were someone else,” I blushed, mentally kicking myself for
sounding so stupid.
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“No. You. I didn’t mean it like that,” I struggled to explain. I buried my face in my
hands, taking a deep breath.
“Are you okay?” He asked me, and quickly shot my head back up. I completely
forgot he was standing there. I swallowed hard.
He was just so cute and here he was staring at me like I had horns growing out
of my head. “Okay, Let’s start over,” I nervously suggested, holding my hand
out. “I’m Aaliyah.”

“Ray,” he smiled, shaking my hand. “Weren’t you just on stage?”
“Yeah, I think I saw you in the crowd.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, your two braids are hard to miss,” I laughed nervously.
He ran his hand over one of his braids. “Yeah, I guess they are unique,” He
grinned, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of his smile. “Can I buy you a drink?”
“No you cannot,” Roc answered for me.
“Who are you?” Ray laughed, eyeing Roc closely and I desperately wanted to
crawl up into a ball and die.
“I’m her brother,” Roc finished, grabbing my arm. “And I’m taking my sixteen
year old sister home.”
“No, you are not,” I said, shaking out of his grasp. I pulled out a pen, and
scribbled my number on Ray’s hand.
“Yes, I am,” Roc replied, then he pulled me away from Ray.
“Call me,” I mouthed over my shoulder, before he disappeared into the crowd.
When we were outside the club, I pushed Roc off of me. “What is your
problem?” I snapped.
“You know you are too young for him,” He replied, shaking his head at me. “You
turn sixteen last week, and already you think you can act like a grown ass
woman.”
“Whatever Roc,” I muttered, rolling my eyes at him.
I began walking catching up to Prince, who was waiting for us at the corner.
“Come on, guys,” He called, waving us over. “We are gonna be late for curfew.


Part 2...

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