“Bro what you bouta do?” I asked my friend.
He shrugged his shoulders and frowned. “Nothing really, finna go back home.”
“Well we still got a little bit of daylight, you trying spark up with me?”
I was asking my friend if he wanted to smoke with me. I found that it is unpleasing for me to smoke alone. It’s not that I don’t like being alone, I actually like it… very much. It’s just that whenever I’m smoking alone John always shows up and I don’t like the way that he looks at me and grins.
“Yeah, where you trying do it at?” Said Jerry.
My friend agreed to smoke with me. Now he was asking me where we were going to do the smoking session. I thought for a minute.
“Right up my room.” I said jokingly.
Jerry began snickering loudly.
“Is it cold out?” I asked him.
“It’s windy a little bit.” He said.
“It’s not really that cold, but the wind chill…”
“Ard, just lemme go upstairs and grab my hoodie.” I said to Jerry.
He nodded his head, then I turned around and walked back in the elevator to go up to the third floor.
The elevator door opened when it got to the third floor. I stepped out and walked to my room. As I was walking and passing all the other rooms I started thinking about the little “occurrence” that I had with Violet on the third floor at school. Now that I think back about it. Idk how I managed to escape and get away. It was just something inside. Also the sight of Arnold crying really shook me. For some reason, it reminded me of my father. It was then that I knew, I can’t possibly go all the way with this. That was then, but now. There’s no way that I could ever escape, nor would I want to.
“Are you looking for the bathroom sir?” A doctor asked me in the hallway as I was walking to my room.
“No sir, I’m just going to my room to get my hoodie because I have to go to the library real quick to pick up a book, and then I’m coming back.” I said to the doctor with a straight face.
“Oh okay. Well we have a library in the unit if you want….”
“No sir! That will not be necessary.” I said.
“I’m afraid this is a special kind of book that they only have in that specific library.
The doctor looked at me for a few seconds. He knew that I was lying, but he chose to play along with it anyway.
“Okay, will you be back by dinner time?” He asked me.
“Yes sir! I’m just going right across the street. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
The doctor nodded towards me and continued walking. I hurriedly sped to my room, to avoid running into any more doctor or nurses and have to make up a lie.
I grabbed my hoodie from the closet in my room and I also grabbed a pair of khaki pants that my dad bought me. I put it on with my slippers and walked out the door and into the hallway. No doctors or nurses were in sight in the hallway, I was glad about that. I decided to take my time as I walked to the elevator. The elevator door opened up as soon as I walked up to it. An elderly lady was inside. She had white hair and pale cracked skin, and she had a small black mole on the side of her nose. She smiled at me as soon as the door opened.
“Going up?” She asked me.
“No mam, I’m going down.”
She nodded her head then pushed the button for the elevator door to be closed. Once it closed I pushed the button to access the elevator going down. Once it came up I stepped inside and pushed the second floor, the elevator started to descend.
Jerry was still standing at the same spot. I stepped out and walked up to him as soon as the elevator door opened.
“Come on bro, we out.” I said.
Jerry walked behind as I started heading towards the entrance door that led out the building.
Once we got outside I looked up at the sky. The sun still did not set yet, though it was close, time was still on our side.
“Where to bruh? I’m not trying go far.” Jerry said to me.
He was asking me where we was going to smoke at, and he was also telling me that he did not want to go far. That’s good, I didn’t want to either.
There’s a 7-Eleven which is on the same street as the hospital, on the other side of the corner. That’s where we were going to go at.
“Right here bruh.” I nodded my head towards the 7-Eleven and I began walking towards it, Jerry followed behind me.
Once we got there it had a set of steps with a door entrance to the 7-Eleven at the top. The stairs were black and it had many brown spots on it. I sat down on it, Jerry sat next to me. Then I pulled out the blunt. I then asked Jerry to hand me a lighter. I left my white one in my bag back at the hospital.
Jerry delved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small black Bic lighter and handed it to me. I took it and flicked it. The fire shot up, I looked at it and smiled.
“We finna get FRIED!” I said to my friend.
I then positioned the blunt near the proximity of the lit lighter. Once it lit up I put it in my mouth and took a drag. The smoke filled up my lungs. I held it in for a few seconds, as I exhaled my head started to spin. I took another drag and held it in again. I blew the smoke out as I handed it to Jerry. He took it and began frowning.
“Bro this jawn mad wet! You be making love to the dutch.” He said as he took the blunt and held it up to look at it.
I admit, I have a tendency of… wetting the tip of the blunt while smoking. But that’s just the way that I was. I naturally had a lot of spit in my mouth and it’s always wet. But that’s only because I’m always with Christy and I know that’s what she likes.
“Shut up bro.” I said to Jerry.
Then I took a drag of the blunt. I coughed again and lowered my head. I began thinking. I knew that I should maybe keep my thoughts to myself but for some reason. I was feeling feeble minded and wanted to express my feelings verbally.
“I know you bro, you’re just like me, you gon break my little sister’s heart, I forbid you completely from dating her.” I said to my friend.
He didn’t say anything, he looked down. I could see water well up in his eyes but I didn’t care, this was something that had to be done.
“I love my little sister. She’s all I got. If you break her heart she’s gonna be permanently damaged by it, I have to protect my little sister, from people like you.”
The tears were now completely visible in his eyes. Though they were not falling. He lifted up his head slowly and looked at me with teary eyes.
“You’re right.” He said.
“I’m no good. I smoke, I drink, I have a lot of bad habits.”
“But… Cecilia.” He said.
“She makes me want to change, she makes me want to quit my bad habits.”
“Please bro, I know what I’m asking you for is a lot, but please.”
“You’ve been my friend since kindergarten, and you have grown to know me.”
“You’re just going to have to trust me bro. If you don’t want me to be with Cecilia then I will never talk to her again, you have my word. But I make her happy, and she makes me happy, don’t you want your little sister to be happy?” He asked me.
“Yes… But I also want her to be safe, protected. Can you give her that?”
“Yes. I can.” Jerry immediately responded.
I raised an eyebrow at him, then I took another drag of the blunt and passed it to him.
“Is that… so?”
“Yes it is!”
“I’ll keep her safe, I’ll protect her. You have my word.” My friend said to me.
He then got off the step and got on his knees and folded his hand and made a single fist and started shaking it towards me.
“Please let me have her! PLEASE!”
I took a drag of the blunt and passed it to him as he was knelt on the ground.
“Bro get off the floor. You look like a prostitute on your knees like that.”
My friend laughed and got off the floor, then he started brushing off his pants. He had brown jeans on which looked brand new. Idk where Jerry manages to get his clothes from? Every time that I see him he’s always dressed in new pair of clothing, either shirt, pants, or shoes. I know he didn’t have a job. So, where?
“I don’t care.” I said.
“If you want her take her.”
“I’m just trying look out for my little sister, feel me?”
Jerry nodded his head towards me.
“But I trust you though broski, if you say that you’re not going to hurt her or break her heart, I trust you…”
My friend smiled widely and clasped his hands. Then he spread his arms and started walking towards me to give me a hug.
I quickly held my fist up and punched him in the chest.
“You faggot!” I said.
Jerry held his hand up to his chest where I punched and began laughing. He then took a hit of the blunt. He inhaled and began coughing. I immediately started smacking his back.
“You good bro?” I asked him.
He didn’t say nothing, he only kept coughing. My phone started ringing.
I picked up without looking at the Caller I.D.
“Yeah that’s that gas bro, you gotta take a slow drag.”
“Hello.” I said while rubbing my friend’s back.
“Jason… a slow drag of what?” Christy’s voice came on the other end of the phone.
I had to think fast. Sweat started to drip from my forehead as I stared blankly ahead at nothing.
“Bae we at a barbeque, do you want me to bring you a cheeseburger?” I asked her.