Page 10 of Rayzor: Tell Me It’s Mine II

He went to his room and before I got to mine, I heard him yell as he came running through the halls and dapped me up.

“An upgrade? Hell yeah.”

“Language, lil’ nigga.”

He laughed. “My bad. I appreciate it, Court.” He hugged me.

I upgraded his room with a new system.

“It’s nothing. Enjoy. Gon’ head because you know you gotta go home.”

“I can stay the night.”

“Since when?”

“I mean, Ma’s been gone since earlier yesterday.”

“She ain’t been home?”

“Nope.”

“Where she go?”

“She called me earlier when I was on the way here and said she’ll be back by morning,” he said nonchalantly.

My mind couldn’t help but go left because that shit didn’t make sense. She rarely leaves him alone, and if it was an emergency, why leave him? Theresa always kept eyes on him or kept him in her back pocket. So, leaving wildly like that wasn’t her.

“Call her.”

“Why?”

“You need to make sure she alright.”

“I told you she called me…” he rambled off as he pulled out his phone and called her.

“Yes, Maleek.”

Hearing her voice pierced my chest. She sounded sincere and softer with him. More than she’d ever been with me once shit changed between us. That put me in my head. It felt like a punch in the gut– like it was intentional even though I knew it wasn’t because she didn’t know we were together. That’s just how fucked up shit was in my head.

“Ma, I was just calling to make sure you’re okay.”

“I told you I was, baby.”

He was waiting on me to coach him. I was busy listening to her background, trying to hear anything. It was quiet. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“If that’s all, Maleek, I gotta go. Call you back. Lock up the house when you get back from tryouts,” she instructed.

She didn’t even wait for his reply before hanging up.

“I told you.”

“Aiight. You can stay the night then.”

“Bet.” He smiled as he raced away from me and closed the room door.

* * *

Later that night