Stripping Asjiah I (8 page)

“So tell me about yourself Asjiah.”

“I don’t reveal information so whatever it is you want to know you have to ask.” Taking the rubber band out of my hair, I readjusted my ponytail. The humidity was causing my curls to frizz up.

“Are you always this mean or you just scared that once you get to know me you may like me?”
“You’re just full of jokes aren’t you?” I took the ice tea from his hand and took a sip from his glass.
“I thought you weren’t thirsty.”
“I wasn’t, I just wanted some of your juice.” Flirting I licked my lips and turned my attention back to the passing cars.
I felt his hand on my chin as he turned me towards him. I knew I should’ve stopped him but I didn’t hesitate as our lips met and he kissed me. “And I want some of yours.”

Our eyes met in an intense gaze as I felt the heat rise between my legs and my little girl began to thump. I needed to get home before things got out of hand. There had already been enough things in me over the past 24 hours and I couldn’t allow him to be another one. I unfolded my legs and got out of the chair.

“I think I should go home now.”

“Aiight.” Money watched my hips move from right to left as I walked towards the car. Unlocking the doors he waited for me to get in before going
6

over to the driver’s side. “Whatever you want ma.”
*****

“I really had a nice time; I don’t remember the last time someone took me out for ice cream.” Laying back in the soft leather seat I allowed my body to relax as the cool air from the a/c circulated through the car.

“Me too, you’re not so bad for a white girl.” Money smiled revealing a dimple in his right cheek.
“What!” I punched him again pretending to be offended by his comment. “I am not a white girl.”
“Yeah okay, listen to you; “I am not a white girl.”
He sounded like one of the chicks from Clueless and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“You can’t keep hitting me like that A’ your little fists hurt.” “Aww, I guess you’re not as big and strong as I thought you were.”

The light changed green as we turned the corner towards 147th. Approaching my house I could see Angel and his minions along with my cousin LT sitting on the porch.

As we parked, I could feel Angel burning holes through the car. “So can I call you?”
“Money, I have a boyfriend.”

“Who that nigga, CJ? Wasn’t he the reason you were at the bus stop? If you were my girl that shit wouldn’t fly with me. If he was playing his position then you wouldn’t be sitting in my whip. I’d keep you close to me at all times.” Brushing my hair out of my face Money kissed my cheek. “But I can respect that; I’ll fall back for now. Make sure you let him know he got somebody anxious to get in the game as soon as he fucks up.”

I walked onto the porch as Angel brushed past me and went to talk to Money. I couldn’t hear what they were saying but I’m sure it was business as usual. It was always business with Angel.

“What’s up A’?” Gabriel sat with his legs stretched out on the banister rolling a blunt. “Some lil’ nigga came by here a few minutes ago and dropped some shit off for you.”

“Huh? What did he look like?”
“I don’t know; he looked like one of those soft ass niggas you go to school with.”
I shoved Gabriel just enough to make some of his weed spill onto his jeans.

“I’m gonna fuck you up A’.”
“Yeah, yeah.”

“What’s up lil sis?” Freaking a black, Angel joined us on the porch. “You talking to that lil’ nigga Money now?”

Angel and I were like day and night. He shared the same dark complexion as the rest of my mother’s family along with their nose, lips, and some other features. If you let him tell it, he was the sexiest thing walking, but that’s a story for another day. Unless we told people no one knew we were brother and sister. We used to stand in the mirror together and try to point out our similarities when we were younger. My eyes were blue and his were brown. He was dark and I was light. The list of opposites went on and on but at the end of the day he was my brother and I would die for him.

“No I am not talking to Money, we’re just friends.”
“Uh huh.”
“Whatever Angel, shouldn’t you be at home changing Stacey’s diapers?” “Ooh!” Instigating, Gabe laughed at my comment.

“Shut up nigga!” Silencing Gabriel’s hysterics Angel followed me into the house.

“A’, wait up a second,”
“What do you want Angel?”

“Well since you said it like that fuck it then. I was about to tell yo big head ass that I got to make a run up to the Chi.”
“Ooh! Can you bring me back something?”

“I’ll see what I can do little baby.” Angel tapped me on the head like he used to do when we were kids. “But I do need you to drop something off for me.”

“Sure, anything. Just let me know when and where.”

“There’s a bag underneath your bed with an ounce of dro in it. Take it over on 138th to that nigga Anthony and I’ll come by later to get the money from it.”

“Okay. I got you. Get me some shoes. Some fly ass boots or something. Size six! Thank you Angel!”

I grabbed my bags and drug them through the living room careful not to knock anything over. I was surprised CJ dropped them off after the fight we had.
“Well, look who decided to come home.”

My grandmother was sitting in her usual spot at the kitchen table looking me up and down over her glasses. I should’ve known that she was going to have one of her cohorts with her. My aunt Samantha was sitting at the other end of the table next to my cousin Leah.

“So where you been? You couldn’t call? You think you grown because you bout to graduate?”

“Did you even go to school while you were gone?” Sam said chiming in. “Yes I went to school and I was with CJ.”

I grabbed my things and went upstairs to my room before they could start up again. I dumped everything onto my bed and began folding my jeans and hanging my clothes in the closet.

“I already told you that I went to school. If you don’t believe me call them.”

With my back turned to Sam I continued to put my clothes away. “Are you pregnant?”
“What?”

“I know you’re having sex and for you to just up and disappear like that without calling makes me think that maybe you went out and got an abortion. No one ever sees you. You go to school, practice so you say. If you aren’t at work then your with that boy or cooped up in your room. So what’s going on?”

I hadn’t been home for five minutes and now I had to listen to this shit.

“First you’re not my mother. And how do you know I’m having sex? Just because I have a boyfriend that’s what you assume huh? Why don’t you worry about your daughter fucking in the preacher’s house, instead of breathing down my neck? I’m not pregnant and I do go to practice, which is for cheer leading but no one would ever know because no one comes to the games or any of my competitions.” I slammed the dresser drawer, growing tired with her interrogation.

“But since you want to be so concerned I guess you should know that the reason I’ve been gone is because I wanted to get away from here! I can’t wait until I leave to go to school. Maybe then I won’t have to worry about my uncle raping me again!”

I hadn’t meant for it to come out that way but she was getting on my nerves with all her questions and I kind of just blurted it out.
“What did you say?” Sam walked over to my bed and sat down. It was like he was in the room with me and the whole event was being replayed in slow motion.

“I said Cash raped me. Your brother, my uncle, and her son. I let him in the house thinking that he would just use the phone and leave but things got out of hand and he raped me.” I tried not to cry as I envisioned him on top of me again.

“I tried to fight him off of me but it didn’t work. By the time grandma came home CJ was pulling up in the driveway so I got dressed and left.”

I looked over at Sam to see if her face displayed any kind of sympathy or if it looked like she believed me but she was blank, emotionless. She sat on my bed staring straight ahead in silence.

“I know things have been hard for you and Angel since you got here but for you to sit and make up a story like that just shows how much you hate us. It lets me know how ungrateful you are for everything that we have done for you and I can’t believe that you would want to hurt us like that.”

“What! You can’t be serious.” I could feel my face getting hot. “You think I made this up? I just told you I was raped! By your brother! Not by some random nigga on the street but by my own fucking uncle and you tell me that I’m lying? Do you know that shit is called incest? I could’ve called the police. Shit I still can and have his nasty ass locked up and you want to tell me that I’m lying? Look at this shit!” I pulled down my sweat pants to show her the bruises on my legs.

“Does it look like I’m making this shit up? Get the fuck out my room!” SLAP!

“I don’t know who you think you’re talking to but you better shut up. I don’t care what you think may have happened but no one raped you.”

Getting off the bed Sam stopped at the door and turned around. “I bet not hear about you telling this to anyone else or I’ll call Cash myself and have him come and rape you for real while I watch.”

Holding my face I couldn’t believe what I just heard. Not only did she not believe me but she threatened to have that nigga rape me again. I had to hurry up and get away from here. If things went my way I would be leaving to go to Clark in August and it couldn’t come soon enough.

*****

“Hi Asjiah.”
“What do you want?”
I didn’t know how long Leah had been standing in my doorway but I wasn’t

in the mood to talk to her. We were two years apart and ever since I moved to Cleveland they tried to turn us into twins. We got the same toys at Christmas, the same dresses to wear to church, it was sickening.

I was thankful when I got a job and when Angel bought me clothes because I knew Sam wouldn’t pay to dress her in all the different labels that I wore. She tried to be like me down to the way I talked, the way I wore my hair, everything. Sam said I should be grateful that she looks up to me but I’m not.

To everyone else she was the golden child. They thought she was perfect and that I was just some bad influence on her. They compared everything I did to her. I couldn’t piss without them telling me how she wiped her ass. They babied her, held her hand for little shit when I was out here working and trying to make shit happen on my own. They ignored the main thing that would forever keep me and Leah on separate playing fields. She has both of her parents and for that fact alone; she could never be like me.

“I was just coming up to say hi, I see CJ took you shopping.” Leah peeked through my bags trying to see what I got.

I clasped my hands together and addressed her with sarcasm. “Leah, I would love to chat with you but I’m really not feeling it. So unless you have something really important to say, get out of my room.”

*****

After Leah and Sam went home I slid under my bed and retrieved the bag of weed that Angel left. I changed into basketball shorts and a wife beater, grabbed my book bag and walked around the corner.

I was sixteen when Angel started letting me make drops for him. He said that this was a good way for me to learn the rules of the game by seeing it firsthand. I used to sit in his room with him and watch him weigh and bag up different kinds of weed. There were so many colors and all kinds of names and potencies for this shit.

For the most part we kept it simple and stuck to the basics. If you had really good regular then it should be light or dark green, depending on what kind of dro you had it could vary in color from a burnt orange to different shades of green as well. Your buds should always be a healthy size with no seeds. Nobody likes picking seeds out of their shit when they’re trying to roll a blunt. Either way if all else fails, you should be able to smell it. If that shit lights up a room without taking it out of the baggie; then you know you got some good weed.

I never smoked unless you counted that one time I was sitting in the closet with Angel. He used to tuck a towel underneath the door to keep the smoke from escaping. I was sitting in his clothes basket talking to him when he told me to hold his blunt while he went to the bathroom. By the time he came back I had the giggles and I was high as a kite. I really missed him living here.

“I see you out doing big brother’s foot work.” Anthony lifted the screen on his bedroom window and handed me the money.
“If my money comes up short I’ll be back.”
“You know you’re too pretty to be doing this shit A’. Why don’t you come in for a second, get out of this sun?”
I put my hand to Anthony’s face and rubbed his cheek. “You want to cool me off baby?”
Smiling Anthony’s hazel eye’s glistened in the light. “If you let me.” Laughing I stepped back from the window. “You must not value your life. If I go back and tell Angel what you said it’s a wrap for you.”
“I was just playing Asjiah.” Stumbling over his words, his smile was soon erased by fear.
“I thought you’d say that.” I turned and looked back at him as I walked out of his driveway. “When you grow some balls let me know.”