Page 6 of Standing In The Sun

The men two stepped, and shoulder leaned around the floor like they owned it. It was surreal for the onlookers because it wasn’t something that was witnessed often.

Then, just as quick as the high hit, it plummeted. Lunar turned his face toward the ceiling, something raw and ugly clawing at his chest. His voice cracked, his grin slipping. “Now I’m at the turn up lookin’ lonely…”

Bu pulled him into him, but Lunar was too emotional and lit to even take himself seriously. He gave Apple and her nigga one last look with a Cheshire grin on his face as he leaned closer in their section. “Her nigga wanna be me. But they don’t know I’m fighting demons.”

That must’ve been the last straw because Bently took long strides towards him.

Lunar’s grin never wavered, still taunting Bently—daring Bently to be just as impulsive as he was.

Lunar didn’t even give Bently a chance to say a word before his fist went crashing into Bently’s nose and the world skidded to a halt.

The music seemed to disappear as Lunar waited for Bently to get up and do something. Apple started swinging on him. “The fuck?!”

It didn’t take long before Aku was on Apple’s head and Noodle jumped in ‘cause she was never one to let her best friend fight alone. All hell broke loose with the men pulling everyone apart. French fought the urge to put everyone in the ground ‘bout his daughter but knew Apple was a girl too and he was never one to put his hands on women, let alone a child.

“Lunar!” Tiny’s scream cut through the haze, pulling Lunar back to reality. She was trying her best to get through to him. Once Lunar was set off, it was hard to get him to stop.

Security was on him before he could blink, dragging him out toward the police waiting outside. Emerald City had a no-bullshit policy, and tonight, Lunar was fresh out of grace.

* * *

A full twenty four hours in a holding cell.

It was the longest Lunar had ever spent in jail. His head throbbed from anger pains and he felt out of place since he hadn’t showered. Once all his belongings had been handed back to him, he trekked outside to see the sun sitting high, taunting him.

Instinctively, he shielded his face with his forearm. When his eyes no longer burned, he looked ahead to see who was picking him up. He knew his mama was waiting to tear into him because Tiny was fed up. But she was also a mother.

Tiny loved on her boys just as hard as she gave them gems coated in life’s lessons. For reasons deeper than she knew, her oldest son—the one who’d made her a mommy, was spiraling. Maybe she should’ve made him go off to college because life as a rapper gave him too much freedom. It fed his sometimes impulsive and reckless behaviors, but she loved him regardless.

So much so, that she sat in the truck behind heavy tinted windows while she let Mav handle him.

Mav’s tall frame created a shadow over Lunar since he had quite a few inches on him. “Son,” his deep voice sounded ragged and tired like he hadn’t been to sleep since theirsupposedfun night in the club.

“I know.” Lunar closed his eyes tightly, feeling the disappointment in his pop’s voice. He always felt bad after getting in some shit but never bad enough to give him pause before he did something dumb again.

“What’s up? Talk to me.” Mav’s voice was steady, but there was an edge to it.

It made Lunar’s stomach tighten. He kept his eyes low, staring at the cracked pavement, tracing the worn-out lines with his thoughts. The heat pressed against his back, the sun sitting high like it was watching…waiting…grinning down at him with a cruel smirk.

“Right now?” Lunar’s voice was hoarse, the exhaustion seeping into every syllable as he finally looked up.

Mav cut his eyes back toward the truck like Tiny could hear every word. “Yea, right now. ‘Cause your mama is ready to get on your head.”

Lunar kissed his teeth and turned toward the passenger-side window, watching his own faint reflection staring back at him from a distance. “I just got a lot going on… a lot of shit on my mind.”

Mav let out a sharp breath through his nose, crossing his arms as he shifted his stance. “Like what?! Boy, you got the world in your hands. If you ain’t ready to do right, then give that shit back.” He wasn’t just frustrated, his voice was pleading, demanding, and full of something that hurt more than anger. “We worked hard to give you every opportunity. Don’t let all our hard work be in vain…Don’t letYOURhard work be in vain.”

Once Lunar showed his family he could rhyme, they put all their resources behind him. As he got older and with the guidance of his Aunt Luna, he perfected his craft with the world dubbing him as one of the best out. His first mixtape did numbers, so now the pressure to create something full and black as hell gave him hives. He didn’t know if he could deliver.

Clenching his jaw, Lunar nodded his head like he understood…like he had the strength to carry the weight of it all. But how was he supposed to do right by a world that stole his father before he even got to know him? How was he supposed to wake up every day knowing the only reason their family stood so strong was because of a great man he never got the chance to learn from?

No doubt, he was grateful for the father figure God did give him. Mav was everything plus the anchor and reason Lunar ain’t drift too far. But there was still a hole in his chest that no words, no lessons, no amount of love…could fill. It sat there, hollow and aching, whispering reminders of what was missing every time he tried to step forward.

“That’s enough talking! Bring your ass on, Lunar!” Tiny’s voice snapped from the truck, her window rolled down, her face flushed red from the heat of the words she was about to unleash. Her fingers tapped impatiently on the door, her anger sharp, but underneath it buried deep…was fear.

Fear that her boy was slipping into something he wouldn’t come back from. Fear that no matter how much love they poured into him, he’d still feel like something was missing.

Lunar let out a slow breath and nodded again, this time more to himself than to Mav. He didn’t have the answers, but he knew one thing for sure. No matter how lost he felt, no matter how deep the hole in his chest got, he couldn’t break the people who were still standing here… fighting for him.

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