Читать книгу The New World: The Awakening - Leahann Cavanaugh - Страница 8

Chapter 4

All Hope Lost

The next few weeks were a blur. I was so doped up you couldn’t tell you if I was ten or sixty-five. But every day I saw that man and his son. All I could think about was my best friend. I wondered if that boy was him the way he looked at me. The way he would burst into tears every time I made my soul scream out for Jason. Could he still feel me? I couldn’t feel him anymore. Did I die inside? I felt so empty, alone, and cold. So many thoughts ran through my head, through my heart, and through my soul. I kept thinking that there was no one left on earth to love me. So I gave up.

The next morning they rolled me into a common area. I hadn’t spoken since the last day I screamed his name. From behind I heard a woman screaming at the top of her lungs, “I want my niece and I want her now!” Her tone startled the other patients.

“There is no record of Lyric Daniels having an aunt on her mother’s side of the family. Her mother was an only child,” the doctor protested.

“Well, I’m her aunt on her father’s side. Here’s all the paperwork. You will see everything is in order. Release her now!” the woman demanded. The lady wore a fine woman’s long pencil skirt that was black. She wore a red ruffled blouse that ruffled up around her neck and her wrist. She wore her hair in a neat bun and had a fedora hat to match. She reminded me of Alicia Keys. She had beautiful diamond studs in her ears and a diamond tennis bracelet with the necklace to match. She was beautiful, glowing radiantly. I could see her aura. The doctor flipped through the paperwork, upset that everything was in order and that they had to release me to her, or authorities would be called. Since most of the stuff they were giving me and doing to me was illegal anyway, they didn’t hesitate to write up the release forms and cut their losses.

“Lyric dear. Lyric,” the doctor talked softly in my ear. “There’s this lady here who is claiming to be your aunt. Do you know her?”

“I don’t have an aunt,” I said with a dry, raspy voice with not a care in the world.

“There you have it. She doesn’t know you. Please escort this woman off the premises,” the doctor ordered.

The guards started to approach her. The man and his son stood up immediately.

“Wait! Wait, Lyric, look at me, look at me. Don’t you remember me, baby? It’s your aunt Liz,” the lady said as she grabbed my arm. I felt her love, her courage, her strength, her security and stability, and her loyalty to me. I looked at the boy, and he slowly nodded to me as in agreeing to the decision I already made within myself. I turned back to the doctor and informed him that she was my aunt Liz. I was free to go.

As we were leaving, I wanted to yell out, “Jason, wait. Don’t leave. I remember.” But as soon as I felt that way, he disappeared.

After that traumatizing ordeal, Aunt Liz thought it would be best if we up and moved north, away from all the bad memories. I didn’t mind moving but to move away from all my memories; that’s all I had left. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my grandma. That memory I don’t have. I didn’t get to say goodbye to a lot of people, I thought to myself.

“Did you get to say goodbye to your friends?” she asked me trying to hold a conversation during this ten-hour car ride.

“What friends? I don’t have any friends,” I replied because from my memories I didn’t.

“Yes, you do. You used to play with that little light-skinned boy every day, remember?” she tested me.

I didn’t know if she was seriously trying to help me remember or if she was trying to get me caught up and send me to another crazy house somewhere outside of Georgia.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I insisted.

“Come on, Lyric. You know who…” she kept going.

“I don’t know who the fuck you talking ’bout, so please stop talking,” I snapped at her. She was totally taken by surprise. She didn’t expect me to say that, and I didn’t expect her not to do anything about me cursing at her. The rest of the trip was quiet, spent only listening to the radio. We made it to Ohio safely. Thank God. She drove like a bat out of hell, and she didn’t want to stop or take breaks unless it was for the bathroom or food. Her house was a small yet beautiful three-bedroom, two-story house. The dining room was off the living room and connected to the kitchen, which was small. My room was already put together. My name was real big on the wall. There was a queen-size bed with a pink comforter and throw pillows. I hated pink though.

“Is it everything you like?” she asked me.

“I don’t like pink, but everything else is great,” I said honestly.

“Well, tomorrow we can go shopping and decorate it to your liking. I want you to be comfortable.”

“Thanks, Aunt Liz,” I said as I gave her a look, knowing she wasn’t related to me.

I was scared once again, not knowing what was coming next or even tomorrow and there was no one there to hold my hand like I’ve always had and tell me not to worry, that everything was going to be okay.

As I slept, I could see people screaming, trees and grass burning. There was death everywhere.

“Jason! Jason! Jason!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

“Lyric! Lyric! Baby, wake up,” Aunt Liz said, shaking me until my eyes opened. I started to cry profusely.

“I see you remember your friend,” she said.

Not really, I only remember his name and his feeling, I thought to myself. The look in my eyes was what scared Aunt Liz the most.

“What did you see?” she asked me with all her attention directed on me. I was scared to tell her it wasn’t like my other dream.

“Was it like the dream you had yesterday?” she asked me. I shook my head no. In the dream I had the night before, I died and then everybody else died.

“The earth was on fire, and I couldn’t save anybody, and then when it was my turn to be saved, there was no one to save me.”

Aunt Liz just hugged me as if she already knew my dream and how it made me feel. Then I felt something I wish I could’ve kept to myself. We’re all gonna die in 2025, I thought. She raised me up with the most fear I’ve ever seen on a person’s face, like my feelings sealed the fate of mankind. And she said to me, “Don’t think that way.”

“Who said I was thinking? I know,” I said as I turned back, letting her feel my lost hope. She started to cry and walked out the room. I felt her pain, fear, and sadness. I started to cry as well and ended up crying myself to sleep.

The next few years was normal, I guess. I met my best friend Denise my freshman year and our best friend Miles our sophomore year. Being so young in high school, I always felt as if I was being left behind.

Beginning of junior year we as a class started raising money to take a trip to Atlanta.

“Ooo, I gotta go! Do you know how many lowdown brothas it is in Atlanta? Ima be like a kid in a candy store. I’ll have that and that and oh, two of those.” Miles danced around the hallway lockers as if he were really in a candy store.

“I don’t think my aunt would let me go.” I tried to find an excuse not to be bothered with it.

“Why, just ask her. Yo aunt cool,” Denise said as she tried to encourage me to ask.

“She’s been hella protective ever since we moved here,” I reminded both of them.

“Man, if you don’t ask her, we gone ask for you,” Miles threatened me. Usually I didn’t try to call his bluff because ten times out of ten, he was not bluffing. That night at the dinner table I swallowed my pride and asked, “Auntie, we have a senior trip coming up next year and I wanted to know if I could fund-raise to pay and go.” With no hesitation, she said yes.

Wow, I thought to myself, that was easier than I thought. Then as I was leaving the table, she asked, “Where is the senior trip location?”

“Oh, Atlanta. We will only be gone for four days,” I informed her, excited about being able to go.

“I’m sorry, baby, you can’t go,” she said softly, trying not to sound mean about it.

“Why, you just said I can go.”

Without looking up at me, she continued to type on her laptop and said, “Atlanta isn’t safe for you.”

“How come?” I demanded answers.

“Lyric, please don’t question me. I said no.” Aunt Liz ended the conversation with that final word. I was so upset and so disappointed. I was heated literally. I stumped all the way upstairs and slammed the door. When I slammed the door, every light in the house blew out.

Senior year rolled around, and everyone was excited about the trip. Tomorrow was the last day to make the last payment for the trip.

“I’m gone get some bae. I’m gone get some bae,” Miles sang as he slowly freaked Denise’s locker.

“Dude, get yo Mandingo and his buddies off my locker. That’s so damn nasty,” Denise said to Miles.

“You know you want some bae too, Kit,” Miles teased her.

As Miles and Denise discussed their strategies to get dick in Atlanta, my attention was focused outside by the tree in the schoolyard. No one was there, but I could feel it. So I nonchalantly walked outside.

“Aww, shit, there she go again. Lyric! Lyric!” they both yelled out my name as they chased me outside.

“What are you doing, L? We gone be late.” Denise tried to talk me back into the building.

The warning bell went off. “That’s the warning bell, Lyric. Come on, ain’t nobody out here,” Denise said as she slowly walked backward inside. “I tried. You’re on yo own,” she yelled at me as she walked back into the building.

Maybe she was right. I turned to go back in the building, but there was that feeling again telling me to turn around. So I did and there he was.

I couldn’t see his face. Hell, even if I did, I still wouldn’t be able to recognize him. I knew in my soul that the man standing under the tree was Jay. I felt his love. I started to walk toward him and simultaneously he started to walk toward me. I started to run. Then Mr. P came outside and fucked everything up.

“Ms. Daniels, my office now please,” he said.

“Fuck,” I said quietly to myself. I turned my head off of Jay for two seconds, and when I looked back, he was gone. The whole time I was in Mr. P’s office, I couldn’t stop thinking about Jason. I didn’t even care what I was in trouble for.

“Lyric, are you listening to me?” Mr. P asked.

“What? I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,” I replied, thinking he just smacked me with a suspension.

“What? No, you’re not in trouble. I was just saying that a check came in the mail today written on your behalf for the full amount of the trip. I just wanted to tell you that if you get this permission slip signed by tomorrow, you can go.”

“Seriously?” I said, shocked that something like this happened to me. “Yes!” I screamed and thanked Mr. P. I ran to Denise’s class that she was in and opened the door and interrupted the class. I didn’t care. I was happy I could go to Atlanta with my family.

“Yo, Kit, gotta talk ASAP,” I said to her as I ignored every word the teacher said, and so did she.

“Ms. Wilson, sit down,” the teacher said to Denise.

“Be right back, playboy,” she responded and walked out.

“What’s up?” she asked, not knowing how to react.

“Mr. P called me into his office—” I said then she interrupted me.

“See, I told you you shouldn’t be late, nigga a beast when it comes to patrolling these hallways, he don’t play,” she said.

“When did you become a stickler for being on time?” I asked curiously as I waited for an answer.

“Since he said if I’m late one more time, I can’t go to ATL,” Denise informed me.

“Enough said. Well, anyways, Mr. P said somebody sent in a check to cover the trip for me,” I told her.

“Say swear,” Denise said, not believing me.

“Swear,” I repeated.

“Aww, shit, me and my bitch ’bout to light the city up,” Denise said as she started to do her pimp walk.

“I gotta get her to sign this permission slip first,” I reminded her.

“Fuck,” Denise said, pissed off because she thought we were in the clear. Then it hit her. “That’s easy. You know your aunt got those stamps with her signature on it,” she stated.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“She got to, she a lawyer. I bet she do watch,” Denise said as she walked right out of the building.

“Where are you going?” I asked, confused.

“Man, that’s the last class of the day. I ain’t missing nothing, and I was on time. You actually rescued me from killing that man,” she somewhat thanked me.

“You welcome, I guess,” I replied as we walked.

I just knew this plan had to work: Stamp the permission slip, check. Turn it in, check. Sneak out the house—to be continued. Denise answered her phone with the quickness.

“I don’t know how to sneak out,” I shrieked as I looked out my two-story window.

“Girl, if you don’t throw yo stuff out that window, climb yo ass down that decorative ladder and hop yo ass on a bike. I’m gone cut you,” Denise said in a playful voice, but I knew she was serious. I tried to think of other options. I told her I wasn’t coming.

“What! After all the shit we went through,” Denise pitched a bitch as she hung up the phone. What could I say, that I was still afraid of the dark? But for real, it was pitch black outside and the streetlights weren’t working for some reason. As I started to close my window, this incredible urge to jump came over me. It told me to jump. Jump, Lyric! So I did. I jumped in place. I laughed to myself. I turned around and sat on my bed. Then the feeling came back, and it told me to jump out the window now. I laughed to myself and lay down on my bed. All of a sudden, the feeling overpowered me, and it pulled me right into the closed window. Bam! “Fuck, my fucking nose. You little mother fucker.” As I was going off on the window as if it was its fault, I saw the light standing across the street, bright as the first day I saw it.

Jason, I thought, and the light flashed off then reappeared farther down the street.

With no hesitation I opened my window, threw my things out the window, then climbed down the ladder just like Denise informed me. But now my mind was nowhere near getting to school to make the trip. I was following Jason. The closer it seemed I was getting to him, the farther away he actually was. Stuck in my own world, I didn’t realize that the light had led me straight to the school where the buses were loading up for the long trip ahead. Well, at least I made it, I thought. Denise and Miles were happy to see me. I was happy I saw Jason.

Being in Atlanta brought back memories—good memories and bad. It’s crazy how my good memories I can barely remember and the bad ones I can’t forget. Shopping was never my thing. Denise and Miles went crazy when we reached the underground mall until they realized there was nothing really in there.

“Signs everywhere said ‘Renovations,’ knowing damn well this is how it looked on the regular,” Miles said as he pointed out certain things he didn’t like about the mall. I really didn’t care.

I wandered off into a small shop that sold handmade jewelry. As I looked at the beautiful and different-colored jewelry, a gust of wind blew in. Where it came from I couldn’t tell you. No one was behind me, so I ignored it. A little old black lady came out the back of the shop, mumbling to herself. As I was about to ask her the price for a pair of her orange, yellow, and red dangling earrings, I got this strange feeling, the feeling that I got when the lady tried to take me away from my grandma’s house. It was an unsettling feeling. Then that feeling got overpowered by the unfamiliar yet familiar feeling every time I thought I saw Jay. I turned around one more time before I asked my question, and there he was, looking like a grown-ass man. I couldn’t see his face, yet still I started to walk closer to him. Out of the blue the little old lady interrupted my concentration.

“Can I help you, my child?” she said while my back was turned to her. I didn’t want to take my eyes off him. I didn’t want him to disappear on me like he always did. I took the risk because the lady kept talking to me. I looked at her then looked back at him and he was still there. I felt safe.

“Yes, I would like to know how much you would like for these earrings?” I asked, knowing I wasn’t paying over five dollars for them. I looked her in the eyes as I waited for a response.

“Oh my!” she said as her eyes opened up and started to see right through me.

“Are you okay, lady?” I asked. She had that look on her face that I have when I remember something.

“I’m great. I’m great, now what would you like?” she asked, smiling like I just didn’t tell her.

“How much for the earrings?” I asked again as I turned around to see if Jay was still there. He was.

“For you five dollars including tax,” she replied, grinning from ear to ear. That’s when Jason made himself very noticeable.

“Why do you play your games, old woman?” he asked the woman in a language I never heard before yet I understood.

“Jason, sire, on earth,” she said, surprised to see Jason in the flesh.

“Where else would I be but with my queen?” he replied.

“Your queen,” she looked confused, “here on earth. No way, you’re mistaken,” she tried to persuade him.

“Silence!” He put one hand up, and her mouth was closed shut. I couldn’t believe this was Jason, the sweet, innocent boy who would protect me by any means necessary.

“All I want to know is who gave you the money,” he asked.

I was lost. I looked at her and asked, “What money?”

He let her speak. She said nothing. “What money?” I asked again, but this time I asked him.

“The money that paid your way for this trip,” he said.

“Wait, I thought that was money from you. I saw you that day at my school,” I said as I pointed at Jason.

“I was only there because of rumors circulating down here,” he explained. “I would never send for you to come here knowing how dangerous it is for you. Does Liz know you’re here?” he asked.

“How do you know about Liz?” I returned the question. He didn’t respond.

“Tell me!” I demanded.

“Seems like I’m not the only one keeping secrets.” The old woman laughed.

Jason put his hand up, and she started to choke on her own spit. I looked back at him. I didn’t have to say a word; he already knew how I felt. He could feel it.

“Look, lady, I’m kinda pissed right now, so can you please tell us where you got the money, and we’ll be on our way,” I said as politely as I could.

“I saved up,” she said jokingly.

I could tell on Jay’s face he was fed up. He walked up to her and put his hand on her heart and said to her, “Your physical body will show the real age of your soul.” And as he reached up to touch her head, she screamed, “Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you, but I swear I didn’t know about the sting.”

“What sting?” I asked.

“This man came up to me, kinda looked like you, Jason. He said I could make some quick cash. All I had to do is put $400 in my account and write a check to a school in Ohio for that amount and I could have the rest.”

I put my hand over her heart; she was telling the truth.

“Did he tell you why?” Jason asked.

“He just kept saying ‘I fucked up’ to himself,” the old lady replied.

“Girl, I think I got me one.” Denise ran into the store with her camera phone open and ready for me to see her future temporary boo.

“Oh, I see you got yo hands full here. Hi, sweetheart, I’m KitKat, Lyric’s best friend,” Denise introduced herself in a flirty yet protective way.

“This is your new best friend?” Jason said disapprovingly. “This is who you replaced me with?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Denise fired back on the defense.

“I’m just saying I thought I was irreplaceable,” Jason said quietly as he walked out the store.

“Damn, Denise, you just had to speak, huh,” I growled at Kit.

“Damn, I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to talk to the brotha,” she said, apologetic.

I followed Jason out of the store, and Denise followed me. It looked as if his feelings were hurt.

“Give us a minute,” I told Denise as I went to talk to Jason.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as he paced back and forth. He put his hands over his head. “What are you doing?” I was scared of what he might do next. I couldn’t feel him. I couldn’t tell. Before I could ask him why he was upset, he turned around, grabbed my face, and kissed me ever so gently.

“Damn, Lyric won,” Miles said as he admired the kiss that Jason had given me.

“How she win? She didn’t even know about the bet.” Denise demanded a redo, so Miles gave her one. Then Jason kissed me again.

“Ah, Lyric won again,” Miles said happily, rubbing it in Denise’s face.

“Fuck!” Denise said, pissed she was out forty bucks and still didn’t get the type of play she wanted.

“What was that for?” I asked him.

“The first one or the second?” he replied.

“The first.”

“The first one was just because. The second one was because I’m in—” Jason said, but before he could finish, Mr. P ran in and interrupted, “Ms. Daniels.”

“Fuck, dude, every time though,” I whined.

As I was joking around with Denise, I was surprised to still see Jay there in front of my principal and friends. Now even if he did erase my memory again, I have backup memories on standby, I thought to myself.

“Lyric, there’s been an accident,” Mr. P said, trying not to speak too loudly.

“What do you mean there’s been an accident?” I questioned as panic filled my heart. Jason automatically told me to calm down. Everything built up inside me, and I started to get hot. For him to tell me there’d been an accident and the only relative I have on this earth was the only person who could have had the accident, how could I calm down? The light bulbs in the mall started to blow one by one. The closest ones to me went first, and fast. Everyone ducked. Jason grabbed my wrist with one hand and my hand with the other. The pressure instantly started to fade away.

“Lyric, please come with me,” Mr. P signaled for me to come with him.

“Who are you? You’re not one of my students,” Mr. P snapped at Jason like he was my protector.

“I’m a very old friend of Lyric’s, “Jason said respectfully.

Mr. P looked at me, not really sure if he should believe Jason or not, but I nodded to him to let him know that it was okay.

The walk to the surface and two blocks to the buses was quiet. Mr. P really didn’t know how to break the news to me, so he just kept quiet. The whole walk I was quiet. Mr. P thought Jason was crazy because he kept talking to himself, but really he wasn’t. He was answering all my questions.

“I don’t know what happened…I have a clue…I don’t want to jump to conclusions…Everything’s going to be fine. Please don’t worry, my angel,” Jason said to me quietly.

“I’m so worried for my aunt,” I said. “You never told me how you knew about her. Hell, I didn’t even know about her.”

The look on his face said it all, that she wasn’t my aunt. He didn’t have to say a word.

“Angel, please don’t feel that way,” he pleaded. “I swear I only did it to protect you.”

“Protect me? You being by my side, that was how you were supposed to protect me. ‘I promise I’ll take care of you, Lyric.’ Bullshit! Instead of really being there for me when they sent me to that fuckin’ hell where they poked me with needles and played mind games with me, I was all alone. I had no one. You didn’t even let me feel your presence. You lied to me. Sent me hundreds of miles away to live with a fucking stranger instead of letting me stay here with you, where I felt most safe.”

“I’m sorry, I thought I was protecting you,” he cried, not knowing how I remembered all of it, even the stuff before the crazy house. He tried to touch my face.

“Don’t touch me,” I demanded.

“Please, angel.”

“My name is Lyric,” I corrected him.

He stepped back away from me with the most pain I’ve ever seen him in.

Mr. P went on the bus to grab the papers with all of my aunt’s information, and just like that Jason disappeared right in front of my eyes. I fell to the ground and cried harder than I ever cried in my life. This time I didn’t get hot. I started to get cold. I felt betrayed, alone, terrified, lost, and heartbroken.

Mr. P heard me cry. “Lyric, are you crying? Here I come.”

I was bent down on my knees, hands full of tears. All of a sudden two flashes of light through my fingers caught my attention. I opened my eyes, and I was still on my knees in my crying position and Jason was draped over me.

“Why did you come back?” I asked him.

“I couldn’t just leave you there feeling that way,” Jason said with his head held down. I dropped my head. I felt as if I was confused whether I should love him or not.

“Yes, you should,” he answered for me.

I rose from the pavement. “Where are we?” I said, observing my surroundings.

We were at the warehouse palace. He opened the door and let me in. Everything was the same as I had remembered four years ago.

“How do you remember?” he asked me.

“You erased the memories in my head, not in my soul,” I answered. I walked past the pillars, and there it was, my picture—my senior picture and his.

“Where did you get this? I don’t even have a copy yet,” I examined the picture.

He smiled and said, “I have my ways.” He slowly walked past me, never losing eye contact with each other. I looked at him, curious of what he might be up to. Then he did a 180-degree turn and pressed a button on a remote, and Musiq Soulchild’s “Yes” started to play. The anger was gone, and he knew it.

“May I have this dance, my queen?” he asked respectfully.

“Yes, you can, my king,” I replied and took his hand. I began to get hot. I touched my heart, and he spun me around and held me close as we danced to the music. I guess he knew that wasn’t enough, so he started to sing to me, “The answer is yes…”

I laughed and it made me blush. He could actually hold a note. After all this time, I never knew Jay could sing. Then I looked at Jay, and he kissed me. It wasn’t like the first two kisses we shared earlier that day; this one had tongue. A lot of tongue. I tried my hardest not to put my guard down, because last time I was here, my memory got erased. This time I’m not going down so easily, I thought to myself. He was lost in me and I in him. After all these years I’ve known Jay, I’ve never thought to kiss him even though I’ve been in love with him since I met him. He squeezed my waist as if it was helping him control his craving for me.

He stopped kissing me, looked me in my eyes, slowly pulled away from me, and tried to walk away. I didn’t say anything, but when I pulled him back toward me, he had a huge smile on his face like he knew what I was thinking, and he did. I got serious. I thought to myself, This is it. You ready? I put my arms around his neck and started to suck his bottom lip, and he liked it. I could tell because he made noises that made my body hot. He looked at me and kissed me again, flashed, and laid me on the bed very gently.

“Are you ready?” he asked me.

Oh shit! This is happening, I thought to myself.

“Do you want this to happen? You have doubt. I don’t want you to do anything with me that you might regret later,” he confessed to me. I was speechless.

“I know why you doubt,” he said. “You don’t have to say it.”

“I don’t doubt, it’s just…” I tried to explain.

“You want to be married,” he finished my sentence.

“Yeah, you don’t?” I asked, a very important question to me.

“I do, but it’s different,” he tried to explain.

“How is it different?” I tried to understand.

“When we marry, we don’t confess our love to someone else or in front of other entities. We do it privately among ourselves. We become one, and we are bonded for eternity in this life and the ones that follow. We only have one mate, one twin soul. Everyone else is just a learning experience, getting you ready for them. To truly experience real love, you have to find your twin soul,” he said.

“You want to mate with me for eternity in this life and the ones after, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said with no hesitation.

“Then why won’t you let me feel you and know what you are thinking? You can feel me and hear my thoughts, but I can’t do it in return. That’s not fair, and you know it,” I said to him.

“I do it to—” he tried to explain.

“Don’t even say it,” I cut him off.

He was speechless.

What if what he is saying is right? I thought to myself. He cut off all the lights and lay in bed with me.

“I know you worry about your age,” he spoke softly.

“I’m only fourteen. And I want to, but…” I said.

“You want to be married,” he chimed in.

“Yes, but that’s not why I doubt. Every time we get together, you’re so quick to leave. When I need you the most, you’re not there. Not that you do it on purpose, but every time you leave, it hurts. I’m tired of hurting,” I told him.

“What if I could take that away?” he mentioned.

“Will I still remember you?” I asked, concerned about my memories.

“Yes,” he said as he reassured me.

I wasn’t scared anymore. I slowly moved closer to him, heart pounding three times faster than normal. We kissed slowly. While I moved my hands over his creamy eight-pack, just barely touching his skin set me off, and he knew it. I slowly rolled over and positioned myself on top of him. He started to breathe heavily. I grabbed his chin and jerked it to the left as if I was being mean. His dick jumped between my legs. I started to kiss him on his neck. Then using my tongue, I licked in a circular motion. I licked slow then sped up then slow again until I found his spot. He softly moaned and then took off his shirt. He grabbed my ass and gently squeezed it. I started to work my way down to his chest, trying my best not to miss a spot. I put my hands behind my back and took his hands in mine. I placed his hands on each side of his head, stopping him from touching me. As I licked his nipples and ran my tongue down his torso, I caressed his arms and his chest. I kissed his belly button and licked the top of it then the bottom.

Jason’s body started to get hot, and he started to breathe heavily. I’ve never done anything like this before. Hell, I’ve never even seen one until last year, and that was by accident.

I slowly pulled his pants down. I just knew he was a briefs man. His all-black Hanes briefs had the most beautiful bulge rising under them. I kissed it. It jumped. I slowly pulled them down. I really couldn’t believe he was letting me do this, but I wasn’t going to stop now. It was beautiful. I guess the way I was feeling turned Jason on, and it jumped and smacked me in the face.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he moaned.

I looked him in the eyes and stuck my tongue out. I licked his head, grabbed it at the base, and licked it slowly from the base to the head. I put my hands on each side of him and, as Denise would put it, got lost. I sucked his head profusely then made myself choke on it. I couldn’t tell if Jason was moaning, crying, shouting, or all three at the same time. Is this the first time he’s been touched? I thought to myself.

“Yes,” Jason cried out. Knowing that, I made sure I felt like it was worth the wait. I grabbed his shaft with my hand, slightly squeezed it, and started to caress it as I continued to suck like I was trying to find the center of a tootsie pop. I could taste him. He started to shake; his moaning increased. Just when he was about to get there with the quickness, he lifted me off him and slid to the other side of the bed.

“What’s wrong?” I said as I wiped my mouth.

“Nothing,” he whispered heavily. He turned and looked at me out the corner of his eye. I sat there Indian-style, and he slowly turned back around. Then before I could do anything, he swiftly turned around and grabbed me by the knees and pulled me into him. He could feel my excitement. He started to delicately kiss me on my left thigh. My heart started to beat harder. He opened my legs, never losing eye contact with me, then he started to kiss my right thigh. I tried to hold back but I couldn’t any longer, and I let out a moan. As I tried to close my legs, I reached out to stop him, unsure if I was ready to receive the pleasure he wanted to give me. Before I could touch him, he grabbed both of my hands, pushed them back, opened my legs, and said, “You ready?” He spread my lips with his tongue and started to lick my clit in a circular motion.

I cried out, “Oh, Jay!” I reached out, not to stop him but to caress his face while he indulged himself. My whole insides were on fire. I couldn’t keep my legs open. Every breath I took was accompanied with a cry, a moan, or his name. He slowly took his hands and gently spread my legs farther apart. As he sucked and licked my clit, I looked down at him, and I couldn’t help but see his eyes staring right back at me. I tried to grab something to conceal my cries, but the pillows were out of reach. I put my fists in my eyes, feeling somewhat embarrassed that I was so loud. I looked back down at him, and he was still looking back at me. Something was building up inside of me. I screamed out, “Jay, stop!”

“Mmm…mmm,” he hummed. I tried to run, but there was no escape. I frantically pushed on his head, trying to throw off his concentration. Nothing worked. He grabbed me by my outer thigh right below my hips and pulled me closer to him. Every breath was a moan. I could no longer see his eyes or his eyebrows. All I could see was his hairline. The ray of light magnified his freshly cut jet-black hair going up and down in a circular motion. Just looking at his waves made my whole body shake. I couldn’t move a muscle. My body was tight. I couldn’t control it. I screamed out, “Oh shit!” Then another scream followed, “Jay!” I couldn’t help but whimper. I felt like all the energy in my body was suddenly drained from me. I was motionless, unable to move a limb or open my eyes. I lay there with my mouth wide open. That’s what an orgasm feels like, I thought to myself.

Jay looked up at me as he gently kissed and licked me. Then he started back up as if I didn’t just climax.

“Jay, what are you doing?” I questioned, although I already knew the answer. “Stop!” I cried out, not really wanting him to stop, and he knew, so he didn’t. It was like something was holding my entire torso down hostage style, and it turned me on. My hands dramatically moved toward his head, never actually reaching it, flung to the top of the headboard. It started to build again. I could no longer see his eyes as my legs kicked and moved to distract him. It was the only thing I could think of. He took his hands and held my legs open by my knees.

My body started to shake, but it wasn’t me. The entire bed shook. The lamps fell off the nightstands. Pictures and light fixtures fell off the walls. The lights flickered. I didn’t know what was happening. Steam started to rise off my skin. I started to see blood red and then a bright light. I couldn’t describe the feeling. It was a hundred times stronger than the first orgasm I just experienced. Five seconds later, I blacked out.

When I awoke, it was dark and the window that my head was leaned against flashed lights every two seconds. Something made my body shake and made me quiver. I sat up a little to adjust my vision and scope out my surroundings. I was back on the bus, and Miles and Denise curiously stared at me with smiles on their faces. I wiped my eyes and asked them what happened. They both looked at each other, giggling.

“I don’t know, you tell us,” Miles said, wanting to know all the juicy details of my disappearance with the mystery man.

“I can’t remember. Why are we leaving two days early?” I asked as I looked around, trying to see exactly where we were.

“Bullshit, you can’t remember. Nigga was fine!” Miles said in his “oh I gotta have him” voice.

“Who was fine?” I asked, confused at the whole conversation. I drastically searched my pockets and purse for clues.

“You really don’t remember, do you?” Denise said, worried.

“No!” I yelled. I looked in my purse, and there was a pair of earrings that I didn’t remember buying. The bus hit another bump, and I quivered again. With no hesitation I grabbed my vagina and moaned.

“Something happened,” Denise said. Being way more experienced than me, she already knew what I was going through.

“Why are we leaving so early?” I asked again.

“It was a serious earthquake, and Mr. P canceled the rest of the trip,” Miles explained.

“Where was I at?” I asked, waiting patiently for an answer.

“Hell, I don’t know. Mr. P said he heard you crying outside the bus, but when he came out, you were gone, and so was mystery man,” Denise informed me.

“Who is mystery man?” I asked, baffled that they would let me run off with a stranger.

“I don’t know him, but you introduced him to me as Jason,” she said.

I sat straight up. “Jason! What did he look like?” I asked her.

Denise looked confused at the fact that I didn’t remember the one guy that I introduced to her.

“Fuck!” I yelled. “He did it again.”

“He did what?” Miles said, thinking I’d been violated.

“Nothing,” I said. “When did I get back?”

“Like twenty minutes after the quake was over,” Denise said.

“How did I get back?” I asked, digging through my memories—mind and soul.

“He carried you back,” Miles said with the look of lust on his face.

“And you looked happy as hell, so I know something happened,” Denise said with a smile on her face, waiting for me to spill the details.

“I don’t remember!” I yelled again.

“Okay, keep playin’ with us,” Miles said, pissed off I was leaving him out.

“If I remembered, I wouldn’t tell you,” I said, kind of upset that I didn’t remember so I could tell them. They turned around and continued to talk between themselves.

“Do you think she remembers the accident?” Denise whispered to Miles.

“I don’t know. She don’t remember anything else,” Miles whispered back.

I could hear them talk but couldn’t make out the words. They both turned and looked at me through the crack between their seats.

“What?” I asked, wondering what the fuck was going on.

“Should we remind her?” Miles said, looking at Denise.

“Remind me of what?” I asked, concerned because of the looks on their faces. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“There was an accident, Lyric,” Denise informed me.

“Your aunt was in a car accident,” Miles added.

“She didn’t make it,” Denise continued.

I didn’t know how to react or respond. Tears started to roll down my face as I put my head down. Denise stood up and sat down beside me and held me.

“I have no one,” I cried.

“Yes, you do, you got us,” Miles assured me.

“We’re family, and we’ll never leave you,” Denise proclaimed to me as she held me close, shedding a few tears herself. I slowly started to feel sleepy, so I closed my eyes and fell asleep on Denise’s chest.

When I awoke, I was still on Denise. She was fiddling with her phone.

“Where are we?” I asked her with my eyes closed.

“We’re like twenty miles from home,” she said as she readjusted herself as if she wanted me to get off her. I sat up. The sun was shining through the windows, lighting up the whole bus, but I felt lost in the dark. I didn’t know what just happened or what was going to happen next. Honestly, I really didn’t care.