Bullet²

Things had been going okay with Deacon. I mean things could have been better, but who was I to complain? We had been together for maybe a month or so. Deacon did a lot for me.. I mean he kept me in nice clothing, he kept me away from my psycho mother, and he made sure I stayed on track with school and such. I don't know.. There was just something off. He just seemed to be distancing himself from me. I knew his business was keeping him busy as hell, but... I don't know.

Tess: “Tobias what the hell are you doing?”

'' Huh?”

Tess: “You're just staring and shit.”

'' Sorry. I'm just thinking about stuff.”

Tess: “Deacon?”

'' Yeah... He's just been acting really strange lately. I wish he would tell me what's up.”

Tess: “I told you about him.”

'' I know what you told me, and I wish you would stop telling me.”

Tess: “I'm just trying to be your friend.”

'' I understand that, but you keep telling me the same shit over and over again. I'm tired of you telling me what the fuck I should do.”

Tess: “What the fuck are you getting mad at me for?”

'' I'm just tired of this shit. I'm tired of my fucking life. I'm tired of being told what the fuck to do by everybody.”

Tess: “Well don't take that shit out on me. I've never done anything but be your friend.”

'' Whatever.. I'm out of here.”

Tess: “Tobias...”

I got up out of my seat and left out of the cafeteria. I heard Tess yelling for me, but I just couldn't deal with her right now. I knew she was only being a good friend, but I just couldn't deal with it right now. I tried calling Deacon again, but he didn't answer and I got even more frustrated. I just couldn't deal with school right now and I left for the day. Shit was just building up and building up and I was getting so frustrated. I thought about going home, but immediately that train of thought went away. I didn't know what to do, but I called the only person I could think of.

'' Hello?”

Cassius: “Hey... Who's this?”

'' Forgot my number already?”

Cassius: “Maybe I wouldn't have if you called me more often.”

'' I know... And I'm sorry. Things have just been kind of stressful.”

Cassius: “Boyfriend fucking up?”

'' What makes you think that?”

I don't know when the venom crept into my voice, but he definitely noticed.

Cassius: “Hey I'm just kidding... No need to get bent out of shape.”

'' I'm sorry... Like I said, things have been really hectic.”

There was a long pause, and then he started talking again.

Cassius: “So what are you doing now?”

'' Was just calling to see what you were up to. I figured you were at work.”

Cassius: “Nope. I took the week off of work.”

'' That's cool....”

Cassius: “You want to hang out for a bit?”

'' Umm...yeah I mean I wouldn't mind, but I'm at school. That's a pretty good distance, and I don't have a car.”

Cassius: “You know I'll come and get you. Besides, I'm in your area.”

'' I'm trying to get off school grounds, so why don't you pick me up around the corner.... Is Devonshire okay?”

Cassius: “No problem! I'll be there in like ten.”

I hung up the phone and slowly walked towards Devonshire. I could get in trouble for leaving school without a note, but I didn't care. I was so tired of everything, that I didn't care if I got in trouble or not. Our school grounds were so big that it took me the whole ten minutes to get to Devonshire, and when I did, Cassius was already there. I looked at him behind the wheel of his Porsche and I felt good all of a sudden. I knew Cassius was paid, but it was things like this that showed me how well. I had only hung out with him once before, and I had taken the bus to his house. It took over an hour and a half to get there and when I did, I was truly amazed. He lived in a very nice area and he had a very large house. I never asked him what he did, but I hoped it was something legal. Messing around with Deacon was dangerous enough.

I got into the car and just took in Cassius again. He was just as attractive as the first time I saw him. I took in all 6'3” of him. He only had on a wife beater, so I could see the muscles rippling over his body. I finally made it up to his face and I was almost lost in his eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of green. I finally got my senses together and I realized I was staring.

Cassius: “You okay?”

'' Yeah... I'm good. It's just been a minute since we hung out.”

Cassius: “Yeah it's been a minute.”

He started up the car and we got going. I didn't know where he was taking me, but I just went along for the ride.

Cassius: “I'm mad at you. You know that right?”

'' Why?”

Cassius: “I missed your birthday. I had a gift for you and everything, but I never heard from you and I didn't just want to show up.”

'' I'm sorry.”

Cassius: “It's cool Lil' Man. But I do have a small confession to make.”

'' What?”

Cassius: “Well you remember that first day we met? I kinda lied to you.”

I was getting nervous, but I didn't let it show in my face.

'' Okay... About what?”

Cassius: “My age. I told you I was twenty-five, but I'm not.”

OMG... He was older. I had been fraternizing with an old man.

'' Okay... Well... Umm, how old are you?”

Cassius: “Umm... I'm actually twenty-one. I thought you were older when I first stepped to you. When you told me you were sixteen, it threw me off, but I'm so used to telling people that age.”

I just looked at him and busted out laughing. He seemed to think I had lost my mind, but I thought that was funny too.

'' That's not a problem... (laughing) I thought you were going to tell me you were older. Twenty-five was cutting it close, but any older would have just been scary.”

Cassius: “So you're not mad?”

'' Not at all.”

Cassius: “Cool.”

It was quiet for a while and I started to wonder what he had gotten me and it made me feel bad that I had kind of cut him off. We were talking for a while, but once Deacon and I started really getting serious, I thought it was kind of like cheating on him. I settled into my seat and before I realized it, I was sound asleep.

I woke up like an hour later and Cassius was just pulling into a parking spot.

'' Where are we?”

Cassius: “My house. You don't remember what it looks like?”

'' I came in from the other side remember?”

Cassius: “That's right. Well come on.”

I got out of the car and followed him into the house. I saw another car in the driveway, but I didn't know who it could belong to. We got into the house and immediately I went on guard. There was someone cooking here and I wondered who it could be.

Cassius: “I forgot to tell you. My sister Persia is here for the weekend. She comes over every so often since I live so far from home.”

'' Oh okay.”

I had heard a lot of things about his sister. Besides his son, she was his most favorite person in the world. I was anxious to meet her, but I was also a little nervous. I don't know why though. I was just thinking about what I would say to her, when she whipped around the corner. She was simply gorgeous. She was a little darker than Cassius, but they definitely had a strong family resemblance. At 5'8” she was just a couple inches shorter than my 6'0”*. She had long legs, a nice chest and even though I couldn't see her ass, I assumed it was nice too. She had long silky black hair going down her back and she had a beautiful face with sexy lips. Her eyes were a light brown instead of the green ones Cassius had. She had on a wife beater some boy-cut shorts, so I could see exactly how beautiful her body was.

Persia: “Hey... You must be Tobias.”

'' And you must be Persia.”

Persia: “In the flesh. Sorry I look so busted, I was about to hop in the shower.”

'' It's no problem.”

Cassius: “Where you going?”

Persia: “I was going to see if I could borrow the car and go to the mall.”

Cassius: “My car?”

She had a “duh” look on her face and I laughed out loud. He gave her a set of keys and I wondered which car they went to. She skipped out of the room and me and Cassius were alone. I don't know why, but my stomach started knotting up.

Cassius: “Do you want something to drink?”

'' I'll take a Coke if you have it.”

He went over to a large refrigerator and pulled out two cans of Coke. I took mine from him and popped the can open. I let the Coke burn my throat and tried to let it burn away my butterflies.

Cassius: “So what do you want to do?”

'' I'm not sure.”

Cassius: “Well why don't we get in the pool.”

'' Okay.”

He led me upstairs and he showed me where I could change. I didn't have any trunks of my own, so I had to borrow a pair of his. They were a little big on me, but I think they worked good enough. I met him at the top of the stairs and we made our way outside. I couldn't help but compare his house to Deacon's. Even though it was smaller, it felt like more of home, not an office. We walked through the kitchen and down a short flight of stairs until we reached the patio. I saw his pool and I damn near died. It was definitely one of the biggest pools I had seen.

Cassius: “I used to swim in high school. I wanted a big pool to keep my skills up.”

'' Awesome.”

I ran towards the pool and did a cannonball into the water. I created a pretty good splash and then I came up the surface. I watched as Cassius did what I just did, but his splash was a lot bigger. I was a little mad that he got a bigger splash than me, so I challenged him to a Cannonball fight. In the end he won, but I still felt good. He had me by a good couple of pounds. We were horsing around in the water when Persia came down the pebbled steps towards the pool. If I thought she looked good before, she looked so much better when she was done up. I don't know who she was wearing, but she definitely had a sense of style.

Persia: “I'm going Cassius. I wanted to let you know.”

He smiled at her and then she directed her attention at me.

Persia: “It was nice meeting you Tobias and I hope to see you around again.”

I said my goodbyes and turned back to face Cassius. We were truly alone now.

~ ~ ~

I pulled out of Chandra and rolled off of her. I had fucked her like three times and I was feeling damn good. I really liked Tobias, but I still needed pussy. I needed pussy like I needed air.

Chandra: “You staying the night?”

'' Girl you know I got shit to do.”

Chandra: “Yeah you always got some shit to do.”

'' You better calm the fuck down with that shit. You knew what was up when we got together.”

Chandra: “Whatever.”

I climbed out of the bed and looked at this bitch like she was stupid. I couldn't stand when hoes got needy.

'' You lucky I'm over here anyway.”

Chandra: “Whatever Deacon... I don't fucking need you! I don't need you for a mutha-fucking thing.”

I laughed at her ass as I made my way downstairs. I got in my car and started it back up. I was tempted to go over Tobias' house, but I knew his mom would trip the fuck out and I didn't even know if he was there. I had kind of been blowing him off the last couple of days, but I'm sure he thought I was just busy with work. Honestly I had been over Chandra's house and Tiffany's, Rhonda's and Claire's. I had some catching up to do and they were more than willing to keep my dick wet. To be quiet honest, business was practically running itself. I had my crew selling shit all over the city and I was making a fucking killing. I drove to a better part of town compared to Chandra's and pulled up in front of my sister's house. She knew what I did and she was part of my hustle, but she kept her shit low-key. My sister was still in school, so she didn't want shit to be to flashy. I pulled out my spare key and just walked up into the house. She was as quick as ever and she whipped out of the kitchen with a 9mm pointed straight at my head.

Panther: “You almost got your fucking brains blown out.”

'' Just making sure you still on your game.”

Panther: “Do that shit on the wrong day and we'll be burying your ass. Don't fuck with me like that Angel.”

'' Chill out baby girl.”

I took a seat at her kitchen table and just relaxed my body.

Panther: “You want something to eat?”

'' Sure.”

Even though it was still early, she was cooking pork chops, greens, and mac and cheese, so I was definitely getting a plate. I watched my sister work and just admired how she had developed over the years. I remember when she was short and awkward looking, but she had blossomed into a young lady. She went from Atalya Hernandez to Panther practically overnight. She got that nickname for how quiet and deadly she was. She had been in many a scrapes and she was hardly ever touched. Not to mention how dangerous she was with a ratchet*. She had a nice figure and at 5'9”, she could have stepped out of any magazine. With her long red hair and gray eyes, she definitely was a head turner. She put my plate in front of me and I dug in.

Panther: “Where you coming from?”

'' Chandra's.”

Panther: “I thought you were done with that bitch.”

'' She called me missing me and shit, so I hit her up.”

Panther: “Tobias?”

Panther was the only one of my siblings who outright knew about Tobias. I had told her about him before we even had sex. She thought I was losing it at first, but slowly she started to understand and she accepted it for what it was. I couldn't even begin to think of how my other siblings would react if they found out.

'' I haven't really talked to him. He called me a few times, but I was busy.”

Panther: “You're fucked up... You know that right?”

'' Whatever.”

Panther: “Seriously... He's a good kid, and he doesn't deserve that.”

'' I don't want to hurt him, but there are some things that I just can't give up.”

Panther: “Don't you even care how he might feel if he ever found out?”

'' He's never going to find out.”

Panther: “If you say so...”

She gave me a disapproving nod and she returned to her food.

'' Hurry up. I want to drop this package off and get home.”

She gave me the bird and kept eating at her own pace. I just sat back and watched her, I had a lot to think about.

~ ~ ~

'' I can't Cassius.”

He slowly backed up and I could see the disappointment in his eyes. He swam to the other side of the pool and hoisted himself up. I watched as he dried off and went back into the house. I didn't know what to do. I got out of the pool, dried off, and followed him into the house. He wasn't in the kitchen when I got there, and I didn't know where to look for him at. I took off my wet trunks and just wrapped the towel around my waist. I put the trunks back outside to dry and I started walking around the lower half of his house. I saw a large library, an entertainment room, two dining rooms, two living rooms, and another kitchen. I went back to the stairs at the front of the house and walked up them to the second floor. I looked around even more and noticed three bedrooms and two huge bathrooms. There was only one room left on this floor and I hoped he was in there. There was a third floor, but I remember him telling me that it was basically a gym up there. When I stepped in front of the door, it was closed, so I didn't know if I should open it. I went for it and cracked the door open the tiniest bit. I peeked my head in and I saw Cassius sitting at a very nice desk. He was scribbling notes from a tablet into a fancy looking book. I know he heard the door open, but he didn't acknowledge my presence, so I didn't know what to do.

'' Cassius?”

Cassius: “What?”

'' I didn't mean to make you mad. Honestly! I'm just not... I just can't do that.”

Cassius: “I'm not mad at you.”

'' What?”

I walked further into the room and he turned the chair to face me.

Cassius: “I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself. I knew you were seeing somebody, but still.... I'm sorry Tobias.”

'' It's not a problem. I really do like you Cassius... It's just I have to see where my relationship is right now.”

Cassius: “I understand that.”

'' I never did ask what kind of work you did.”

Cassius: “I'm a stock broker. It's pretty lucrative.”

'' Yeah... It seems like it.”

Cassius: “I just came up here to try and recoup. I don't know what came over me downstairs.”

'' Let's just drop it okay?”

Cassius: “Okay.”

I took a seat next to him and he basically just explained to me what he did. It was fascinating, but I could never do that kind of job. But he seemed to love it. He worked for a little while longer and then we basically just hung out. We watched a few movies, and while most of them were dumb, the time floated by. I was so wrapped up in spending time with him, I didn't notice that it was already after 10 o'clock. Persia had come back a while ago, but even her arrival didn't alert us to how late it had gotten.

Cassius: “Damn it's late.”

'' I didn't even know the time went by so fast.”

Cassius: “I was supposed to call my son's mom. Now she's going to have a reason to bitch me out.”

'' How old is your son?”

Cassius: “He'll be a year in a few weeks. You'd love him.”

'' I don't know about that. I'm not good with kids.”

Cassius: “That was before him. He's a great kid and I hope you get to meet him sometime.”

We both looked outside and it was pitch black outside. There wasn't much traffic out this way, so the need for street lights was non-existent.

Cassius: “Tomorrow is Saturday. You could spend the night and I could bring you home when it's light outside.”

'' That's cool. I'm not trying to be roadkill.”

He laughed and we made our way upstairs. I followed him into his bedroom, and just plopped down on his bed. I had every intention of sleeping in another bedroom, but I didn't quite want the conversation to end yet. I watched as he stripped off his shirt and then his pants. I didn't expect him to take off his underwear, but they came off next. All of a sudden I got extremely hot and I knew it was time for me to exit.

'' Well I'm going to go bunk down in one of the other bedrooms.”

Cassius: “You know you can sleep in here. I'm not going to do anything to you.”

'' I know that... I just don't want to tempt myself. Besides you're naked.”

Cassius: “I like to sleep nude.”

'' I can see that. But.....”

Cassius: “Tobias. We're both grown. I'm a responsible adult, and I won't let anything happen. I'd love for you to stay in here, but I can't make that decision for you.”

I thought about it and then just let my guard down. I took off my shirt and pants, but kept my undies on. I slid under the covers and just faced Cassius. Thankfully he covered his lower regions, so I wouldn't have that distraction. We got back to talking and the conversation just flowed so easily. I found myself getting more and more comfortable and eventually I was on my back with my head on his chest. He was casually stroking my hair and we were still just chatting. I wondered what was wrong when he stopped talking, and when I looked down, I saw that he was extremely hard. With the covers covering him, I couldn't tell exactly how big he was, but I knew he was packing. He was at least 9” and thick. I gulped and quickly moved my head off of his chest.

Cassius: “Tobias I'm so sorry.... I'm not trying to scare you off.”

'' I'm fine.”

I faced away from him and just curled up. I wanted to be with him.... I really did, but it was wrong.

Cassius: “Are you sure you're okay?”

'' Yes. I'm fine.”

There were several tense minutes and then Cassius exhaled heavily. I looked back and his hard-on had finally gone down. I smiled inwardly knowing that I got him that hot, but I still kept my distance from him on the bed. The quiet eventually took its toll on me and I fell asleep.

I woke up that next morning and Cassius was spooned up against me. I was nervous for all of a second, but my underwear were still on, so I knew nothing happened. I got from under him and made my way to the bathroom. I did my business and when I came out, he was sitting up in the bed.

Cassius: “Mornin'.”

'' Mornin'.”

I smiled at him and made my way back over to the bed. I could see just the top of his pubes with the way the sheet was covering him and I smiled to myself remembering last night. I crawled back into bed and watched as he made room for me. I felt comfortable enough laying my head on his chest again and he didn't seem to mind or get excited.

'' So what are you getting into today?”

Cassius: “I was thinking about going shopping... Maybe go to the beach. You game?”

'' Yeah. I just need to shower and make a quick call.”

Cassius: “You take this shower and I'll go to another room.”

'' Okay.”

I watched as he got up from the bed and again I saw him in all his glory. I couldn't take my eyes of his piece even though he was flaccid. My eyes jumped back up to his face and he was smirking at me. I quickly turned around and walked to the bathroom. I was so fucking embarrassed. I took off my underwear and got into the jacuzzi-like tub. It was so fucking comfortable. The jets were hitting my body in all the right places and I was loving it. I was moving around the tub and was shocked when one of the water jets started pounding at my hole. I quickly moved, but it was to late and I was horny as fuck. I slowly stroked my dick and tugged on my nuts. I hated jacking off, but Deacon wasn't here and Cassius wasn't an option. The funny thing is, while I was stroking, I was thinking of Cassius instead of Deacon. I slowly crept two of my fingers between my cheeks and stroked over my tight hole. I hadn't had sex in a few weeks and I was definitely feeling it. I slowly pushed one of my fingers into my hole and after I got used to it, I forced in another one. It was painful for a second, but I soon got over that and started enjoying the immense pleasure. I lowered my back as far down as I could without drowning and lifted my legs into the air. It was so much easier to finger myself this way and it was feeling great. I started forcing my fingers in deeper and harder until I was almost ready to cum. I slowed down my stroke, but that couldn't stop the cum that shot out of my dick. It squirted out over and over again, and I sagged back down. I quickly washed off and got out of the tub. I dried off, but only then did I realize I didn't have any clothes. I walked out in just a towel, and Cassius was facing away from me with just a pair of boxers on. He had an outfit laid out on the bed, but he seemed to be contemplating whether he actually wanted to wear it.

'' Cassius?”

Cassius: “What's up?”

'' I don't have any clothes.”

Cassius: “Fuck! I forgot we weren't planning on you spending the night.”

'' What am I gonna do?”

Cassius: “You could go like that... Minus the towel.”

'' Haha... Very funny. Seriously, what am I gonna do?”

Cassius: “I don't know. I'm sure I have some shorts you can fit. My shirts will be a little big, but you can manage until we get into town.”

He had to really dig in his drawers to find something I could fit, and what he did pull out, he told me hadn't been able to wear for like three years. I got one of his overly big shirts and we were ready to go. He set the same set of car keys on the table for Persia, and we were out the door.

We walked into his garage and he let me pick what car he would drive. He really had an awesome selection and he had a number of beautiful older cars. I wanted to go in one of those, but we decided on the Expedition and we were ready to go. Because I didn't have any clothes, the first stop we made was the mall. We looked around for a while, then we went to some clothing shops where they had stuff that was my style. Cassius said he didn't mind me spending his money, but I didn't want to seem like I was taking advantage. He didn't give my worries any concern though, because he ended up buying me every pair of shoes I even glanced at. I was so overwhelmed that I wanted to leave the mall immediately, but he had other plans. We hit up so many stores and by the time we were done shopping, we had to have the mall personnel help us carry stuff and there almost wasn't enough room in the truck he was driving today. I was almost suffocating in new clothing and I started to feel really bad.

'' You didn't have to do that.”

Cassius: “Do what?”

'' Buy me all those things. We really should take some of it back.”

Cassius: “They're gifts.”

'' I can't give you anything in return.”

Cassius: “All I want is whatever time you can spare.”

I smiled at him and then faced the window. Cassius was such a nice guy. But he wasn't my guy.

~ ~ ~

'' You got it.”

Nathanial: “Yeah. It's in the truck.”

Panther. “Come on you guys. Let's get this truck moving.”

Me and Nate jumped into the truck and Panther hit the gas. It was around 12pm, and we had finally got my stash transferred. My buyer had his supply and I had my money. But, I didn't trust them fuckers for a second, and I know Panther didn't. That's why we peeled out so fast. You always had to watch your back in this business, because someone was always looking for a come-up. We drove back to Panther's crib, but we only stayed there for a minute. I dropped half of the cash in her home safe and then we traveled back to my estate.

Basil met us at the door and he catered to my brother and sister as usual. All of my siblings were in on my business, but these two were my main business partners. I took the water Basil offered me and I lead my brother and sister upstairs. I walked into my room and as my eyes roamed over my bed, I remembered the first time I had fucked Tobias on that bed. He was the only one to ever make it there. I usually kept things away from my home, but he was special from the start. The times after that first fuck were even hotter. But for some reason, I couldn't give myself to Tobias alone. I got my mind back on track and took them to my lab. Tobias had seen my brother, but he didn't know him at the time. My brother had asked me who the young kid in my house was, but I told him he was the brother of a girl I was fucking with. It seemed to pacify him, but I don't know if he ever really believed me.

Nathanial: “Sales have been really good, but I think we'd be selling more if we took over Rock's territory. He makes a killing over there in the suburbs.”

'' I'm not trying to start no feud with that nigga. He has a fucking army at his disposal.”

Nathanial: “You have niggas that are loyal to you Angel. All you gotta do is give the word.”

I turned to my sister and tried to read her expression.

'' Panther?”

Panther: “I don't think we need to get greedy, but if we took Rock's area, we'd be on top of the game.”

'' On top?”

Nathanial: “On top!”

Panther: “The question is... Is that where you want to be? We're good where we are Angel, but if we go after Rock's territory, we'll be the top dogs. But that also comes with the rivalry and it makes us targets. We don't have much competition right now, but once you took him down, we'd be in a world of trouble and danger.”

'' Let me think on it.”

Nathanial: “Fair enough.”

We started separating the next batch of Bullets. That was my product. A shot to the system. We had separated over a hundred thousand dollars worth of goods, when my phone went off. I grabbed it up, but when I saw it was Tobias, I let it go to voice-mail.

Panther: “Who was that?”

'' Tobias.”

Panther: “Oh.”

Nathanial: “Who's Tobias?”

'' Possible client.”

Nathanial: “Well call that nigga back. We can take all the business available.”

'' Naw... He's to high risk. I'll call him back later though.”

Nathanial: “Aight.”

I left it there, but I told them to keep going while I went and took care of some things. I called Tobias back and waited for him to pick up.

Tobias: “Hello.”

'' Hey it's me.”

Tobias: “Hi Deacon.”

'' What's up?”

Tobias: “Nothing... I've been calling you for the past couple days and you never called me back.”

'' I know. I'm sorry. It's been really busy here.”

Tobias: “Is there something wrong with us? You would tell me if there was... Right?”

'' Everything is fine.”

Tobias: “Okay.”

'' Baby I gotta go.”

Tobias: “But Deacon... I really... I really wanted to talk to you.”

'' Baby I know, but I'm busy.”

Tobias: “Bye Deacon.”

'' Baby I love you. You know that right?”

Tobias: “Yeah I know. Bye.”

He hung up before I could respond. I knew he was upset. He had every right to be. What if he did know the truth?

Nathanial: “Just a client huh?”

I whipped around and my brother was staring daggers into me.

'' Nate....”

Nathanial: “Are you gay?”

'' I don't owe you an explanation.”

Nathanial: “Like hell you don't. I'm your brother and your partner. I thought we didn't keep secrets.”

'' I'm entitled to any secrets I want to keep.”

Nathanial: “Fuck you then.”

'' Fuck you.”

He came at me and I just swung as hard as I could. He took the punch and he came back with one of his own. We started going at it and for almost twenty minutes, we beat the shit out of each other. Panther had since came up, but she stayed away from us with a bored look on her face. Nate and I always found a reason to fight about something. We finally rolled away from each other. We were both completely tired and hurting all over.

Panther: “Idiots!”

Nathanial: “I deserved to know Angel. I'm your brother and I would have understood. You should have had faith in me.”

'' I'm sorry... I just didn't expect you or anyone else to understand.”

Nathanial: “No worries bro.”

We hugged each other and it was like there was never a fight. The only indication was the pain constantly shooting through my body.

~ ~ ~

Something was wrong. It had to be.

I walked through the sand over to where Cassius was and I sat down beside him. He looked at me with worry in his eyes, but I gave him a smile and he seemed to relax.

Cassius: “Did you talk to him?”

'' Yeah, but he was busy.”

Cassius: “Oh okay. Well are you okay?”

'' Yeah I'm fine. Let's just hang out.”

I watched the water and the people and I just tried to relax. I knew Cassius was still watching me, but I didn't want him to worry about me.

'' Do you want to go into the water?”

Cassius: “Yeah. Let's go.”

We raced to the water and I won by a fraction of a second. I dived into the water and he was right behind me. I surfaced and wiped the salt-water off of my face. It was so nice out here. The water was beautiful. Everything was just beautiful today. I felt Cassius swim up behind me and I turned to face him. The sun was shining off of his eyes and I was getting lost in them again. I turned around and swam away before I did something I would regret. Until further notice, Deacon and I were still together. I made it to shore and just plopped down in the sand. Cassius stayed in the water for a little while longer and then he joined me in the sand. While he was walking, people were basically drooling over him. At 6'3” and 215lbs of muscle, he was definitely deserving of those stares. He had on a pair of swim trunks, but that didn't hide the big ass dick imprint in his shorts. I rolled onto my back so I wouldn't have to look at him. He sat down beside me, but he never talked.

Cassius: “I'm ready when you are.”

'' Okay. Let's go.”

We got our shit together, and we got out of there. We never said anything in the car and it only took about an hour to get me home. I wanted to avoid my mom, but I had locked my window, so I couldn't go in through there. I took out my house key and slowly opened the door. I hadn't been home much in the past couple of days, so I didn't know what I was walking into. Of course the house was a complete fucking mess and the smell of stale alcohol was everywhere. I tried to get to my room as quickly as possible, but my mom was on the couch watching the TV. I set all my bags down and faced her.

Mom: “Where have you been?”

'' Sleepover.”

Mom: “Your school called yesterday... You're suspended.”

'' Why?”

Mom: “You left school without permission. One of the administrators saw you walking off of school grounds.”

'' I needed a break.”

Mom: “And why didn't you come home?”

'' Why would I come here? I have no peace of mind here either.”

Mom: “You must think you're grown. Where did all that shit come from? Huh?”

'' First of all I've had to act like I was grown for the past couple of years. I've basically taken care of myself, so I don't see what this conversation is about. And these clothes were a gift from a friend.”

Mom: “Don't get fucking smart with me and you'll be giving all that shit back.”

'' Whatever. I'm out of here.”

I went to my room and locked the door as soon as I entered it. I got a small bag of clothing and grabbed all of my money. I opened up my window and jumped to the ground below. I was walking out to the front of our house, when I noticed Deacon's car in front of that girls house. My breath caught in my chest and I stopped in my tracks. I flattened myself up against the side of her house and just sat on the ground. I'd wait for him to come out and then confront him. About twenty minutes had passed and I heard yelling coming from inside her door. She was cussing Deacon out and I wanted to know why. I moved closer to the front of her house and just listened as hard as possible.

Girl: “It's always the same shit with you Deacon. You come here, fuck me, and then leave like I'm some kind of hoe.”

Deacon: “You are a fucking hoe Chandra... Why do you think I mess with you? Because you're an easy lay.”

My heart sunk into my stomach.

Chandra: “Fuck you. You ain't never getting this pussy again Deacon.”

Deacon: “Save ya' breath bitch. Get back in the fucking house.”

Chandra: “Fuck you... Spic!”

I heard him laugh as he made his way to the car. I heard his engine turn over and he drove off. The tears streamed down my face and my heart just broke into a million pieces. I knew that he loved women, but I never thought that he would cheat on me. I slowly got up off the ground and walked to the sidewalk. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mother sitting on the porch smoking a cigarette. She was shaking her head back and forth, and I knew she knew what I was feeling. I had never told her, but she knew Deacon and I were an item. I didn't have anyone to call but Tess. I ended up calling her three times because she sent my calls straight to voice-mail the first two times. She picked up on the third attempt and I could tell she was still upset.

Tess: “What?”

'' Tess... I really need somebody to talk to.”

Tess: “I'm busy right now.”

'' Okay. Sorry to bother you.”

Tess: “You sound like you've been crying. What happened?”

'' Deacon. He cheated on me. I heard him talking to this bitch next door.”

Tess: “I'm on my way.”

'' You don't have to come get me.”

Tess: “I said I'm on my way. Get some clothes together.”

I climbed back into my window, grabbed up a bag of things Cassius bought for me and took it outside. Tess arrived in about a half hour and I quickly got into her car.

Tess: “What's all that?”

'' Cassius bought me some clothes.”

Tess: “That's where you went last night?”

'' Yeah. I spent the night over there.”

Tess: “And Deacon cheating has you all bent out of shape?”

'' I didn't have sex with him. He knew I was with Cassius, so he backed off.”

Tess: “We're going to my house.”

'' Are your parents there?”

Tess: “My mom and aunt are.”

'' Your Mom still mad?”

Tess: “Extremely.”

'' Nowhere else we can go?”

Tess: “Nope. So that's where we're going. You're my best friend, so she's just going to have to deal with it.”

'' What has she been saying?”

Tess: “That after what I told you he did to my sister, you should have left him alone. She thinks that you're ignoring the danger he put my sister in. Like she doesn't mean shit.”

'' And how do you feel about that?”

Tess: “I know you and I know that's not how you feel. But I guess that doesn't matter to much anymore.”

'' No it doesn't.”

I watched the scenery pass us by and I just tried to not let my emotions take over.

'' We should get some ice cream and Oreos.”

Tess: “Then we're getting ice cream and Oreos.”

We stopped at a local store and then just went back to Tess' house. I was extremely nervous to see her mom again, but I got out of the car and just stepped into the house. Her mother and aunt were sitting in the living room on the couch and when the door opened, they immediately turned their attention to us. I saw the anger in her mother's eyes and her aunt had a disgusted look on her face. I prepared to leave, but Tess grabbed my arm and pulled me into the living room.

Tess: “Mom... Auntie Roxie... You remember Tobias.”

Mrs. Navarro: “Tobias.”

Roxie: “Hmph.”

Mrs. Navarro: “Tess can I speak to you for a minute? Privately.”

Tess: “Sure Mom. Tobias you know where my room is.”

She handed me the bag of goodies and I made my way upstairs. I knew her mom was about to cuss her ass out, but she didn't seem to mind. I really wanted to leave, but I knew Tess was a lot stronger than me when it came to standing up to people. Besides, she knew her mother and she knew what would work with her. I was only by myself for a few minutes when Tess came in and slammed the door. She bolted the lock and I could tell she was slightly pissed off.

'' What's wrong?”

Tess: “Nothing.”

'' Tess.”

Tess: “It wasn't even my fucking Mom. It was that dumb ass bitch downstairs. She always has a fucking opinion. I hate her.”

'' She's just backing your mother up. I can understand how she feels.”

Tess: “Whatever. She needs to learn how to mind her own fucking business. I hate when she meddles and she fucking cosigns for my mother like a fucking sidekick.”

'' Did you grab any spoons?”

Tess: “Dammit.”

She made a quick dash downstairs and when she came back up she had two bowls, two spoons, and a case of Coca-Cola. We both made a bowl of ice cream and after cracking out the Oreos, we just ate, sat, and talked. I told her everything I was feeling, and I got her advice on the situation with Deacon. I knew he was cheating on me and it was definitely hurting my heart. Tess' advice was to break-up with him, and at the beginning of the conversation, it seemed to be a pretty drastic choice, but I started to see the sense of it. I didn't deserve to be walked on and if he loved me, he shouldn't be fucking that Chandra bitch.

'' Do you have your phone?”

Tess: “Yeah.”

She grabbed her cellphone and handed it to me. I dialed Deacon's number and let it ring. I didn't think he was going to pick up, but he did.

Deacon: “What's up Tess?”

'' This is Tobias.”

Deacon: “Oh okay. What's up baby?”

'' I really need to talk to you.”

Deacon: “No problem. You sound like you've been crying. What happened?”

'' You tell me.”

Deacon: “What?”

'' What's been up with you lately Deke?”

Deacon: “What are you talking about?”

'' You've been blowing me off and I just want to know why.”

Deacon: “I've been busy. You know business and shit is picking up.”

'' You sure it's not because you're fucking that bitch next door?!”

Deacon: “Whoa! What the fuck are you talking about?”

'' I was there earlier Deacon. When you came out of her house. I was leaving out of my window and I heard you and that slack bitch talking.”

Deacon: “Baby... Let me...”

'' Don't fucking baby me. How could you fucking cheat on me Deacon? After everything... Everything we've been through, how dare you?”

Deacon: “You knew what I was about before we got together Tobias.”

'' I didn't know that I would have to worry about you fucking someone else. I thought you cared about me, but on top of that, I thought you were my friend. I thought you would want the best for us.”

Deacon: “I do want the best for us Tobias.”

'' How can you want the best for us when you could do something like this. I trusted you Deacon. I never had a reason not to.”

Deacon: “Tobias... Listen to me. You know how I feel about you. Let me come and get you and we can deal with this together.”

'' I don't want you to come and get me Deacon. I don't want you anywhere near me. I don't want you to call me. I don't want you to come to my house. I don't want you to come to my school. Stay away from me.”

Deacon: “Baby listen to me... I need you okay? I don't know what I would do without you. You can't end everything over this. Tobias be fucking serious!”

'' I've never been anything but serious Deacon. Especially when it came to us, but obviously you weren't. You obviously don't give a fuck about me. So yes... I'm seriously over this Deacon. I can't do this with you anymore.”

Deacon: “Tobias...”

'' Goodbye Deacon. I can't do this.”

Deacon: “Tobias...”

I hung up. He called back several times, but Tess just turned her phone off. I was so happy I was here with her, because I definitely needed a friend. I cried on her shoulder, then on her leg, and then back on her shoulder. I never realized how much I wanted to be with Deacon until I wasn't anymore. So many times, I wanted to turn on her phone and call him back, but my head wouldn't let me. I wanted my heart to get with the fucking program. Finally exhaustion took over and I fell asleep beside Tess. She was still awake, so I don't know what she ended up doing.

I woke up a few hours later when Tess' door opened and her father poked his head in. He saw us sleeping on the bed and he immediately closed the door. I didn't know what would happen in the morning, but I was to tired to care.

~ ~ ~

'' Stop calling my fucking phone Chandra.”

Chandra: “What the hell is wrong with you? When you was in this pussy, you wasn't talking about not calling you.”

'' Well I'm talking about it now. Lose my damn number.”

Chandra: “Well fuck you then.”

She hung up and I immediately felt relieved. I was so fucking tired. It was out of character for me, but I actually spent the whole night crying. I didn't get to sleep until like 5am, and I got woken up to this bitch calling me. My phone rung again and I just knew it was Chandra.

'' Bitch I told you to stop calling my damn phone.”

Panther: “Who the fuck are you talking to like that?”

'' Panther?”

Panther: “Yeah. Who did you think it was?”

'' I'm sorry. I thought it was Chandra.”

Panther: “Didn't you look at the caller I.D.?”

'' No.... What is it Panther? I'm not really in a good mood right now.”

Panther: “What's up big bro?”

'' Tobias found out. He broke up with me.”

Panther: “Deacon I am so sorry. Do you want me to come over?”

'' No. I think I just need to be alone.”

Panther: “Okay. Call me if you need anything.”

'' I will. Thanks Panther.”

~ ~ ~

Tess: “Come on... Breakfast is ready.”

'' Tess... I don't think I can eat at the same table as your parents.”

Tess: “Only my dad is here. My mom went to church with my aunt.”

'' Still... Your father isn't a fan of mine either.”

Tess: “Let's go Tobias. Just come down.”

I got out of the bed and followed Tess downstairs. I smelled waffles and eggs, and that's when my stomach started growling. I sat down at their kitchen table and watched as her father finished cooking. I was extremely nervous and I just hoped he didn't hate me as much as his wife did. He made three plates of food and he placed one in front of me, then Tess and finally himself. After saying Grace we started eating , but I felt like I was being watched. When I looked up, Mr. Navarro was staring straight at me and Tess was staring at him. I tried to go back to eating, but with him staring at me like that, I just couldn't do it. I put my fork down and and just prepared myself for whatever he had to do.

Mr. Navarro: “I can honestly say, that after what we told you about Angel, we thought that you would have left him alone. But that's not the case. My daughter almost died because of him and now he still has a connection to my family. That connection is you and you're connected to my daughter. I don't want that character in any type of association with us. People see you and my daughter and then people see you and him.”

'' What do you want me to say?”

Mr. Navarro: “I want you to understand where we're coming from...”

'' I know exactly where you're coming from. I know Deacon is dangerous and I know you might not like him, but what the hell am I supposed to do?!”

Mr. Navarro: “Watch your tone.”

'' No! I'm tired of this. I'm not with Deacon anymore... Okay? He cheated on me and we broke up.”

Mr. Navarro: “Tobias...”

'' What more can I say? Do you want me to stop hanging out with your daughter? Would that help your image crisis? Well I'm not going to do that. She's my best friend and she always will be.”

I turned to Tess and asked her to take me home. I didn't have to deal with this shit and I wouldn't. She slowly backed away from the table still eying her father, but he didn't say anything and we left. I grabbed all of my shit and we left a few minutes later. Mr. Navarro was standing at the steps as we were coming down them, but he didn't say anything and I didn't acknowledge him.

Tess: “I'm sorry Tobias.”

'' Let's just go.”

She dropped me off back and home and thankfully when I got there my mom wasn't. I could not put up with her shit.

~ 1 Month Later ~

It had been a month of so since my relationship ended, and honestly, I was having a hard time. I really did miss Deacon, but I knew we couldn't be together. Not if he was going to cheat on me. I had kept in contact with Cassius, but he was dating some girl, so he couldn't spend a lot of time with me. I was happy for him though, and apparently he really liked this girl. Tess had been kind of distant lately too. After the blow up at her house, she said our friendship wouldn't change, but it had. I knew how her parents felt about me, but apparently whatever they were saying finally worked on her. One day she cussed me out over nothing and we hadn't talked since. She waved at me around school sometime, but I never responded in any way. My home life was just as horrible. My mom had met some whacked guy named Eugene and he was basically living in our house. He was a real asshole and he was just as bad of a drunk as my mom was. Luckily for me, school hadn't changed much. I was still on top of my game and my grades were spectacular as usual. I had changed a lot of my classes around during Mid-terms, but it made me feel like the new kid all over again.

Kid: “You're Tobias right?”

I looked up and was surprised to see a pretty cute guy standing there.

'' Yeah that's me.”

Kid: “I'm Chance O'Riley. I'm in your Advanced Economics class.”

I looked at him again and realized that I did recognize him for class. He didn't talk much during class. He was kind of a recluse. I don't know why, he was a good looking guy, and obviously he was smart. I noticed that even though he was apparently black, he had light brown hair and blue eyes. He was light-skinned and from what I could tell he was toned, but not bulky and he was at least 6'2”.

'' So what's up?”

Chance: “Well we have that project that's coming up and Professor McAnulty said that we could work with a partner.”

'' Yeah. So?”

Chance: “Well I was wondering if you maybe wanted to work together? I talked to a few of the other people in the class, but they are already paired up.”

'' Well I had planned on doing the project by myself.”

Chance: “Oh okay. Sorry to bother you.”

He walked away with his head held down and I immediately felt bad. He did seem like a really nice guy.

'' I was tossing around a few ideas and some of them were partner oriented. We could go over them if you wanted to.”

He turned around with the biggest smile on his face and I couldn't help but smiling myself.

Chance: “Awesome. I have some stuff too... Did you want to meet up sometime and go over ideas?”

'' Yeah. We could meet whenever. My place is out though. Can we go to yours?”

The smile immediately left his face and a dark look settled on his face.

Chance: “Umm... No. That's not a good idea.”

'' Oh okay... Well we could go out to lunch.”

Chance: “That's a great idea. Do you want to meet up in front of the flagpole?”

'' Sounds like a plan. I'll be there at one-thirty.”

He walked away and I actually felt good about this project. I had planned on doing the project alone, but I could at least check out his ideas.

Classes passed by rather quickly and I quickly made my way to the flagpole. I saw Tess talking to some of her friends, but I turned my back to her before she noticed me. I was only waiting for like five minutes when Chance rushed up to me.

Chance: “I'm so sorry I'm late. I had to hand in some paperwork.”

'' No problem. I was just hanging out.”

Chance: “Cool... You ready?”

'' Yeah. Let's go.”

We walked away from the school and just wondered around town. We ended up at a nice pizza parlor and after ordering a spinach and chicken pizza, we took out our notebooks and started going over ideas. In less then an hour, we had a proposal and we basically just had to pull everything together. We ended up just sitting and chatting, and we learned a lot about each other. He had recently moved to our area, so he felt how I did a few months ago. I also learned that he was 18 and was repeating his senior year because of an accident he was in. I wanted to be nosy, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it. He asked about my family and I basically told him I lived with my mother and my father was deceased. That was all the detail that I felt comfortable divulging.

'' So how did your girlfriend take it when you had to move?”

Chance: “Didn't have one to worry about. I wasn't the most popular kid at my school.”

'' Well some great girl missed out.”

Chance: “Where's your girlfriend?”

'' Umm... Well it's a difficult situation.”

Chance: “How so?”

'' I don't really want to talk about it.”

Chance: “Oh okay.”

He pulled out his cellphone and when he noticed the time, he told me he had to get home. I was happy that we were partners, because he seemed like a really cool guy. He walked in one direction and I walked in the other.

~ ~ ~

'' So what's up?”

Cassius: “Nothing. Just got home.”

'' You were with Taylor?”

Cassius: “Yeah. She's pretty cool.”

'' I'm happy for you.”

Cassius: “Are you really?”

'' Of course.”

Cassius: “Okay.”

'' Well I just called to check up with you.”

Cassius: “Is everything alright with you Tobias?”

'' Yeah... Um... Everything is fine.”

Cassius: “You don't sound so sure.”

'' Everything is fine Dad. I'm just stressed with school and everything.”

Cassius: “Okay Son!.... You know you can tell me anything, right?”

'' Yeah I know.”

Cassius: “Well I gotta go. My baby's mom is at the door.”

'' Okay Cassius. Bye.”

Cassius: “Bye.”

We hung up and I relaxed back on my bed. I was home a lot more than usual since both of my outlets weren't available anymore. Something happened between me and Tess and I broke up with Deacon, so they were no longer in the picture. I looked around my room and took in what was my life. I never had much, but now I didn't have anything. No friends, no boyfriend, no family.... Nothing. I got up out of my bed and went into the kitchen. My mother and her boyfriend were sitting down on the couch cackling at some dumb ass show. As usual, the room smelled like alcohol and I just couldn't take it. I had never been much on cleaning up behind people, but I couldn't take the mess.

It took me over two hours to clean just one room and then I went into the T.V. Room.

'' I'm trying to clean up. Can you guys go watch that in the bedroom?”

Mom: “We're watching it out here.”

'' I understand that, but I'm trying to clean. It smells horrible in here and this place is filthy.”

Mom: “Well we're not ready to move just yet.”

'' You're pitiful.”

Eugene: “Hey watch yourself.”

'' Why are you talking to me?”

Eugene: “Excuse me?”

'' I said why are you talking to me? I didn't say anything to you, so just butt out.”

He stood up in front of me and punched me as hard as he could. I fell back and immediately my nose started bleeding. I expected my mom to cuss at him or something, but she was back to watching the television. I looked back and forth between the two of them, and when my mom never made a move to help me, I got up and walked back to my room. I had no doubt in my mind that I could give Eugene a run for his money, but I was in such a state of shock. He actually put his fucking hands on me. I immediately got my phone and called the one person who still somewhat had my back.

'' Cassius?”

Cassius: “Hey... I'm surprised to hear back from you so soon.”

'' <