"Who you looking all dressed up for girl?" Elise hyped Mari as she walked in the living room.
It also had a two of Salem's cousins but she didn't mind, she knew them of them and they knew her.
"Hi guys! I'm going on a little date with-"
"Dateee?" Rell looked at her in disbelief before looking around the room, then back to her "dateee?" He repeated
El pushed her lips up
"Mhm, I'm going out with-"
"Don't een' say the nigga name twin. Tell Salem I had no part. Ian een know. Matta' fact I didn't even hear you. I just saw you. Hi Mari."
"Boy shut up. She can go out with whoever she wants." Elise rolled her eyes at him
Namari was about to speak but Kev, Elise other cousin, spoke before her. Now she stood awkwardly watching as they went back and forth
"Huhhh? You don't kno' your brother"
"Don't nobody care bout him, Mari is a single woman. She can go on dates who ever she wants to go on dates with."
"The crash out gon crash out. She gon make the crash out crash out" Rell said side eyeing El
"You sound fucking stupid, actually."
Rell was about to respond but went back to watching tv when his older cousin walked in the living room.
Salem eyed the room before eyeing Namari. She had on a white dress, the top draped off her shoulders, and the sleeves covered her arms. It was getting cold outside. She tied it together with her gold jewelry, she actually wore the chain he gifted her a two years ago.
It was obviously he just woke up. The black sweatpants hung low on his waist and the black wife beater he had on showed the tattoos across his chest and his arms.
"You lookin' all beautiful."
"Thank you!"
"You welcome. Where you goin'?"
"She goin' on a date" Kev said before going back to his phone
Salem looked at him before looking back at her, raising his eyebrows slightly and Namari pressed her lips together. Quite frankly that was never a good sign from him.
"Kev shut the fuck up!" El yelled from the kitchen
"Yea yea" he mumbled back while texting
"A date?" He calmly questioned, staring in her eyes. It was a habit he had, reaching forward a bit feeling the material on the dress that caught his attention. "Where."
"I'm just going to get ice cream then some food Tesekiah.."
"With who?"
"It's gettin' intense chat"
Salem turned towards them.
"Both'a yall niggas get the fuck on"
"I didn't even do shit!" Rell defended his self "that's was him! Ian even kno' she was goin' on a date til' just now."
"All you do is lie. Cannot be trusted." Kev mumbled
Namari watched quietly trying not to laugh. She never understood why they were so scared of Salem. He was the sweetest thing...most of the time.
Before Salem said something back to them familiar small foot steps were heard quickly coming in their direction.
"Daddy!"
"Slow down princess"
He didn't even have to see her to know she was running.
The pace slowed down a bit before she popped up in the door frame and ran towards him, making Salem lift her off the floor.
"You all dressed up. Lookin' all pretty."
"Thank you da! Im going on a date with mommy" she spoke happily mispronouncing a few words but he clearly understood her.
"I know yall feel fucking stupid"
"Bad word T" Soroya spoke and Salem mugged El at the same time
"I'm sorry TT baby. Fix yo' face ugly."
"Boy why yall all in my house?" Siara stood with a hand on her hip
"You kno' you missed us auntie quit frontin'." Kev grinned at her "and we grown now"
She raised her eyebrows
"Since you so grown I shouldn't be making you no food"
"Wait now"
Salem watched as his mom shook her head before walking towards the kitchen.
-
"You need to talk to her Salem"
He sighed, completely ignoring her as he continued to mix the batter she asked him to. Feeling the spatula hit his arm he turned around with a mug.
"Fix that face boy" Siara spoke pointing the spatula in his face
He turned back around and continued mixing
"It ain't nun to talk about momma."
"Salem you love that girl. You still wear your ring."
"Heard you." He mumbled, cracking the egg and began mixing again.
"So I don't see what's the problem. Y'all need to talk, you can't just push all your feelings to the side"
He put the mixer down and stared at her trying not to get frustrated.
"You'n get to tell me how I should handle my feelings 'bout buryin' my child momma. I had a sit there and pick out the suit fa' my child. I had to cut his hair when he was in a casket. You don't kno' how I feel." He stared at her with a blank look on his face "So stop."
"Food almost don- what happened.."
Salem turned around ignoring his father before he started mixing the batter again. As stupid as it sounds, he always wondered when the day would come that he would get over Armani's death. He knew it never would though.
It got to the point to where he stopped looking at baby pictures of him self. Armani was an exact copy of him and he always found his self wondering if he would look like that at whatever age his younger self was.
"I don't know how you feel Salem, and honestly I pray I never do. But Namari knows exactly how you feel so like I said. Talk to her."
He didn't reply, just continued the task she gave him.
• • •
And so I shall begin
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