Page 10 of Differences

“Nah.”

I surprised myself. Keezy and I always discussed the women we were with or had been with. However, this time, a part of me didn’t want to bring up the night with Taja. I didn’t see her as someone to fuck and then pass off. It was something different about her. In my eyes, she was untouchable, unfuckable with.

“Hmm, I’ll let it slide for now, but I know you, nigga.”

“Man, whatever —”

My phone pinged, drawing my attention to it. It was a text message from my sister. I already knew what it was.

Rae:Can you come over tomorrow? Mom is asking for you.

Me:Raven, I sent money last week. I told y’all I give a lump sum every month, nothing more, nothing less.

The three dots appeared. I stared at the phone, waiting for her to respond.

Rae:It’s not about the money, Wes. Damn! Just come over and see what she has to say.

I didn’t even bother to reply. I closed the thread and chucked down my beer. I could feel Keezy’s eyes on me.

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

I nodded. “Same ol’ shit. They want money, but I already broke them off this month. Motherfuckers are greedy.”

“How much she asked for?”

“She didn’t. She says it’s not about money, but my mama be using Rae as a ventriloquist doll.”

I thought about how close Rae and I used to be before money and my mama getting in her ear. She was the last person in my family I stopped dealing with if it wasn’t from a distance. Raven, but I called her Rae, was my older sister by eight years. She helped my mother take care of me when my dad would go on these episodes of abandoning his family and then return like nothing even happened. Then, he and my mother would go on living as if they didn’t have two kids to care for. No one helped us. It was just Rae and me against the world. When my father did his final disappearing act, he never returned, leaving my mother heartbroken and weak. Rae and I both felt sorry for my mother. She depended on my father a lot, financially and mentally. I made a vow I would take care of her, but over the years, my mother never got out of a funk. To me, it felt as if it was always a handout for her. She eventually got into Rae’s ear, causing her to become a beggar. It broke me to see my sister turn into my mother.

“Wes, just go over and see what they are talking about. It wouldn’t hurt. It could be an emergency.”

I scowled. “Yeah, for money.”

“You never know, man. I’ve been speaking to my dad.”

My eyes widened as I looked at Keezy. His dad had been in prison since he was a little boy, so he literally had to be the dad of the house, making sure he took care of his three younger sisters, Kieran, Koty, and Kassidy. His mom worked two jobs just to keep food on the table. After his father served his fifteen-year bid, his mom welcomed him back with open arms. That shit pissed Keezy off. Once he got his construction business up and running, he went and got his three sisters and has been spoiling them since. While he still helped his mom here and there, the relationship was strained, along with his father. So, hearing him say that they were speaking was a surprise to me.

“Damn, man. How did that happen?”

“Kieran had to have surgery after breaking her wrist playing basketball with a bunch of niggas,” he said, rolling his eyes.

I laughed.

“She called Ma right before the surgery, and they both popped up there. He pulled me to the side, and I listened to what he had to say, including all the apologies and shit. I’m not saying I forgive him, but it’s baby steps.”

I nodded my head. “That’s good shit, man.”

“Appreciate it. Now, like I was saying, go on over there. You never know.”

* * *

Here I wason a Saturday night, walking up to the red brick house I had bought for my mother a while ago. It was a four-bedroom, two-car garage with a huge backyard and a pool that neither she nor my sister ever used. I bought this house because I knew this was something she deserved. However, it wasn’t enough for her. My mom was never satisfied. She wanted more and more. It pained me to know I made a way for myself and set her up, but it still wasn’t enough.

I hesitated not to turn around and head back to my car, but I bit the bullet and knocked. A few seconds later, the door swung open, and my sister Raven stood there with a soft smile on her face. The younger brother in me wanted to reach out and wrap myself in her arms. It had been two months since I saw her, and I missed her deeply, but the cards were laid, and it was what it was.

“Hey, Wes,” she softly greeted.

I studied Raven’s appearance. Even though she was the oldest, she looked as if she could be the youngest. She had darker colored skin, which she inherited from my mom’s side of the family. She had beautiful long locs that were now purple. She always changed the color of them. She had big doe eyes and full pink lips. She was the spitting image of my mother in her younger years. She had a heart of gold, which is why it was so easy for my mother to manipulate her the way she did. Raven’s heart was forgiving, and her patience was out of this world, while I was the opposite.

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