D.C. was different than I expected, nicer, cleaner and so professional. We had been here two days, wanting to do the tourist thing before my meeting. Chris and Mary had never been here either. We were like the foreign tourists, gawking and taking pictures in front of buildings. I had a blast and it just felt like we were on vacation.
They took me out to a real fancy dinner as a belated birthday present and I felt so grown-up. I got a couple postcards to send to Noorah and Erik. Mary took me shopping for a pantsuit to wear to my meeting, even though I told her I’d rather go in jeans and chucks.
“They aren’t going to give a damn what I’m wearing, I might as well be comfortable.”
But she wasn’t having it. She was at my room first thing the morning of the big day, ready to do my ha
I had been back a couple of days and there was a definite shift in our relationship. Fletch was nervous, even though I tried to reassure him. Sure, Scott made me a great offer, even for part time the money was more than anything I could have expected. Not to mention free college, free housing, it seemed like a no brainer. But I would not leave Fletch. I really didn’t want to leave Chris either, and I really enjoyed some of the other math students. This was my home for now and I wasn’t ready for change. It got to be a week since I had been back and I got a call from Toby. He asked if there was anything else he could do to ease my mind and I told him that I would love to continue to take whatever they could give me, but I would not make a decision until the end of the summer, at the earliest. I wanted this summer with Fletch, he was staying again and taking a full semester.
Javi looked at me, waiting for me to finish my thought, but I wasn’t quite sure how to. “I need to speak to you, alone,” I said to Javi. “Everyone hang tight,” he said, leading me into a smaller room. “What is it,” he said impatiently. “I think you need to get Scott in here for this,” I said, starting to hyperventilate. “Scott is my boss but I am the one knee deep in this shit, so whatever you just figured out, you need to tell me.” I looked out into the room, “this … that … it’s a bomb, a big fucking bomb,” I said breathless. He st
“Rae … Rae …” I heard a man whisper. I shot up, ready to defend myself against whoever was there. My hand flew on it’s own at the figure beside me and a firm hand stopped it before making contact. “Well, it’s good you can at least somewhat try to defend yourself,” Javi said. I wasn’t wearing a bra so I snatched the covers up over myself. “Knocking is this crazy new thing people do, have you heard of it,” I fussed. “I don’t have to knock in my own house,” he said as a matter of fact. Huh? His house?? Shit, was this his bedroom?!
It seemed like Fletch and I were both just constantly being pulled in different directions. He was now 20, and recruiters and scouts were stalking him like prey. Of course, the 49ers were his only interest. Over the next semester and the course of football season, different teams were trying to meet with him, and trying to get him to go visit their operations. It was exhausting for us both and because of Scott’s directive, I couldn’t go with him. The promises of fame, money, endorsements, etc., none of it mattered to me, but I would see that twinkle in Fletch’s eye every time he came home. I didn’t want to admit what was starting to stare me in the face, but our lives were pulling us in very different directions. Either he was flying off somewhere or Toby was coming to fly me to D.C. I insisted that I could get there on my own just fin
As if all the shit I had going on wasn’t enough, I still had finals in two weeks. I had a huge paper to finish and I had no drive. There really wasn’t even anyone I could talk to about this, I couldn’t let anyone know about the potential danger. Corey got in my head and I was now paranoid. Every little noise, every shadow that followed me when I was out of my room. Fletch was being very distant, and blamed it on all the stress he was under, he had even been sleeping in his room some nights, which really hurt. One night I was so lonely for him, I went down to his room to see him, but there were a lot of guys in his room playing video games and being rowdy, so I just left. I had just finished my last final, and I was feeling pretty good about it. I wandered back to my room, ready for a nap and fou
It had been a week since I had last seen Fletch. I felt numb, I felt lost. It just didn’t seem real. I had very vivid dreams where we were together, he was holding me … and yet I’d wake up to an empty bed. I spent hours looking at our pictures, remembering his hands on me. Remembering our trips and our hot sex. I was never going to feel him like that again, never feel his warmth that came to mean everything to me. It was my comfort, my safe place.A few days later I was settled into an apartment ... in Javi’s building. Coincidence? Scott knew I was in a fragile place, mentally and he did everything to keep me busy. Toby was constantly around, I think he had a crush on me, but he wasn’t my type. Hell did I have a type?
~This is part two, Javi's story~I saw things, things no child should ever have to see.I saw my mom shoot up, I saw her almost overdose multiple times. I saw her fucking men, I was forced to watch her get raped more than once.I saw drug deals, I saw people get stabbed, get shot.It was south central Los Angeles, in the late 90’s and shit was just always crazy. The woman who gave birth to me, Lydia, had left Mexico when she was 17 for a better life. She came with a pimp, who promised her the world and then left her as soon as she got pregnant from a john.Lydia should have never have gotten pregnant, and even after that, she could have put me up for adoption, but she was selfish.
I had just turned 13, and sure enough, nobody gave a damn.Lydia and Roy fucked like rabbits and rarely got dressed, it was disgusting so I hardly ever went home. I started finding abandoned houses to go into, which wasn’t hard.You are probably wondering why I call her Lydia, and not mom. Well, she’s not my mom, she hasn’t done a damn thing to deserve that title.She keeps me around to get money from the state, and to try and look like a good mom to her parole officer, plain and simple.I was starting to get a bit of a reputation around the neighborhood for my boxing skills and I finally had something to look forward to, and a way to channel my anger.You might say having my as