Page 28 of Delirium 2

I was slipping, for sure. But I had good intentions. I’d been supportive—only because I wanted to be. She needed support. Not another bottle shoved in her face. Earlier, she was in The Woods with her hood rat ass cousins, chilling in the courtyard getting fucked up. The minute I seen her leave the crib in an Uber, I got on the jack with Rocc and told him to take his ass to The Woods to keep an eye on her. I understood. The Woods was home to her but before, she had her brothers safety. So, without him, they thought she was naked. However, I wanted it to be known that she was heavily affiliated with us. One look at the all-black whip, with Rocc behind the wheel, niggas would know.

And they knew.

Didn’t take long for news to travel around The Woods.

Zeke hit my line about it earlier. Said he heard whispers about Sereia and Exodus. Muthafuckas got it wrong. Thanks to her gossiping ass ex-boyfriend. But I didn't give a fuck. Didn’t matter to me how she was linked to me, I just wanted muthafuckas to know. And to know she was linked to me was to know not to touch a fuckin’ hair on her head. Didn’t go over that well with Jada but that was a different situation.

“What muthafuckas sayin true? Shorty like a sister⁠—”

“To you,” I pointed out. “Listen… what the fuck do you want, nigga? Damn.”

He sighed. “The name came up again.”

I sat up straight, my ears perking up. “Where at?”

“Kingston. I’m out here with Lavish. Overheard his name standing in the line at the G-station.”

“Think niggas dropped it on purpose?”

Zeke snorted. “Fuck no. It was too casual. How many times now?”

“Too many,” I said after a brief moment of silence.

I was thinking.

Not too much.

Just… noticing.

Zeke didn’t have to tell me the name he’d heard for me to know he meant Jay—Jayceon. Big G was throwing me signs left and right. Thing about that was, I didn’t know if it was a sign of caution or one telling me to pay attention in a good way.

“I’m going to get up with Calvin in the morning,” I told Zeke, letting him know I was interested in giving Jayceon a little attention.

I didn’t put energy into just anybody. I needed a reason and for me, this was a good enough reason.

* * *

Hours later, I was waking up out of my sleep to my dogs sitting next to my bed, watching me. Opening my eyes, I took them in. Poised. Polite. Patiently waiting for me to wake up. I sat up on my elbow, turned over and grabbed my phone. I stared at the numbers, waiting for 5:59AM to switch to 6:00AM. Didn’t take long at all. Once the alarm sounded, I sat the phone down and turned over. Flicking my wrist, I called Prince over. Eagerly, tail wagging, he walked over to the side of the bed where I gave his head a massage. Right after, I gave Princess the same gesture and she walked over.

I massaged both their heads and said, “Good morning. Ready to eat?”

Tails got to wagging more.

I smiled, swung my legs to the side of the bed and stood, sliding my Versace house shoes on. They gave me space but followed closely behind me as I walked off, over to the window to draw the drapes. The sun was the first thing to greet me. The birds, chirping, right after. I closed my eyes, allowing the sun to wash over me for a second before turning to leave the room. Prince and Princess followed.

I jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen where I pulled the refrigerator door open to grab three steaks, garlic butter, bell peppers and a couple of eggs. Once I had everything I needed, I checked the cabinets for a few skillets and shit. I didn’t cook often. Would rather have a quick bowl of cereal, low key. But I knew my way around a kitchen because moms wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. We might’ve been boys, but she showed us how to cook. She was determined to show us how to survive in the real world, without her. I didn’t like it. Hated being in the kitchen, honestly. Would have rather been running around the hood. But I stood, watching her anyway, obedient to not only my mother but God’s will too. Even then. Felt like if she wanted me in the kitchen, watching, He wanted me there too.

Anyway.

I cooked some shit up. Steak and eggs for all of us. Except I seasoned mine with salt and black pepper, cooking in that garlic butter. For them, I used dog seasoning and a little bit of regular butter. They had peppers too. Once I put their food in their bowls, I extended my hand, calling for their paws. Prince was the first to give me his. He barked to remind Princess to give me hers, her attention was so fixed on the food. Once we held hands, I said a short prayer. The minute I said Amen, they attacked their bowls and I went to the island to have my own.

While I ate, I read. Finished the book and looked around the Kindle library for another, stumbling across something called Treacherous Twins by Natisha Raynor. I fucked with the title, so I added it to my library. Because I had shit to do, I decided to get into it later on tonight.

After we ate, I took them on a walk. As soon as I got back to the crib, I showered and afterward, spent a good two hours in my secret place. Before I knew it, it was eleven and I was on the phone with Calvin.

“Good morning,” Calvin answered. Chipper as fuck. Always chipper. Like the nigga was always in a good ass mood.

“Morning. You aight?” I asked, checking in.