Page 9 of Nobody Praying for Me

“I’m sorry you have to go through this because of me.” She pouted, and I saw that her sadness returned like a dark and menacing cloud floating above her head.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. As your brother, you know I’ma always make it happen.”

She sighed with a groan. “I know, but you shouldn’t have to do everything. Like the timing is terrible. Kaos needs a lawyer so he can get his wrongful conviction overturned. You can’t take on the financial burden that comes with having a sick sister too.”

I stopped cooking to give her my undivided attention. “I can and I will take on whatever comes our way. You are not a burden, Oasis, and neither is Two. I would give my life for y’all, so don’t ever think I see either of y’all like that, because I don’t, and I never will.”

I knew she was about to cry before her tears even got the chance to appear. She walked into my open arms, and I rocked us side to side as I comforted her. Since I couldn’t fight their battles for them, the least I could do was provide the money they needed to keep them afloat.

“You still have a beautiful and long life ahead of you, Oasis. So does Kaos. What our family is going through right now is a temporary test of our strength, but I know we’re going to be alright.”

She sniffled with a nod. “I know, but after we get through this, I’m going to need God to take us off the strongest soldiers list because I can’t take anymore.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, because I agreed wholeheartedly. “I’m with you when you’re right,” I joked, making us both laugh.

If Charisma hadn’t cleared her throat, we never would’ve realized she was standing there. Oasis and I looked up at the same time to find her standing in the doorway, wearing the t-shirt I’d given her last night to sleep in. The shirt was so long it came past her knees, or maybe she was just short as hell. Either way, I liked the sight of her in my clothes.

“Good morning,” she said, suspiciously eyeing my sister and me. I could only imagine what was going through her head. But she had to know I wouldn’t bring her home if I had a woman living with me, right? While these were my thoughts, the expression on her face suggested otherwise.

“Good morning,” my sister said cheerily. She released me to walk over to Charisma while I went back to cooking the food. I had to throw out the pancake I was making because it’d gotten burnt to a crisp during my talk with Sissy. “You must be the guest who stayed in his room last night. I’m Oasis, his little sister, but you can call me Sissy.”

She held out a hand for Charisma to shake. I peeked over my shoulder in time to see Charisma’s body slacken before she even sighed in relief. “Whew, girl, I thought I was going to have to beat him over the head with that frying pan over there.” She accepted her hand and shook it. “I’m Charisma.”

My sister bounced excitedly on her toes. “You’re so pretty. Are you his girlfriend?”

I shook my head at the nerve of this girl. “Sissy, stop being rude, and mind your business.”

Charisma snickered softly, using her hand to cover her mouth. “I am not his girlfriend,” she replied, putting a sour taste in my mouth.

I pinned her in place with a glare. “Yet,” I said with an attitude.

She blushed while Oasis squealed and jumped up and down. “Y’all would be so cute together. My nieces and nephews would be so cute too.”

“Ain’t it? I think so too,” I said, encouraging her.

Chrisma frowned, which only made me laugh. I fixed my sister a plate then handed it to her. “Do me a favor and eat in your room while I talk to her. Aight?”

She accepted the plate and nodded. “Okay, cool. I can’t wait until Two calls. I’m going to tell him you have a girlfriend.”

Before I could tell her not to start spreading lies, she skipped out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with the brown-skinned beauty who was watching me pensively. “You feeling aight?” I questioned while making a plate for her next.

“Yeah, I think so. Thank you for taking care of me. I didn’t get sick, did I?”

I shook my head with a smirk. “Nah, you behaved yourself for the most part.” The eggs, bacon, and pancakes were aromatic, and I knew she thought so by her growling stomach. She took a seat at the dining room table after I set her plate there. “You want orange juice, water, or Gatorade?”

“I’ll take the Gatorade. I feel so empty,” she admitted.

I grabbed her a blue one then placed it on the table. After making my plate, I joined her with a bottle of water. We held hands for prayer then began eating our food. Neither of us seemed to be in a rush to speak, and it wasn’t awkward at all. I realized that I liked the feeling of being around her, not requiring work or effort. Everything came as natural as the beams of sunlight glimmering through the curtains.

“Thank you for what you did last night,” she finally said, breaking the ice.

I gulped down some water to wash down my food before responding. “It was nothing. Something about that nigga was off.” Just being reminded of it had my hand clinching into a fist around the water, making the bottle crinkle. “That’s your nigga or something?”

She looked completely disgusted by the idea when I glanced at her. “Ew, what? Hell no! He was someone I trusted but not anymore. Now he’s nothing to me, and I want nothing to do with him.” The more she talked, the smaller her voice, body, and aura got.

Nodding, I allowed her words to ruminate in my spirit before I brought up the conversation I really wanted to have. “Have you ever thought about giving up dancing?” I probed for insight on her mindset surrounding her work. Not to judge her but to see if she was looking for a way out.

She slowly chewed the bacon she’d just taken a bite of. Even though I knew it tasted delicious, her face scrunched into a ball as if a sour taste filled her mouth. “Yeah . . . I would like to, but I don’t have any other skills. Being a dancer is literally all I know. Sometimes, I think of doing something like opening a coffee shop, but it’s a pipe dream.”