Page 76 of Just Like Summer

Dania reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You’re going to get through this, K. I promise you that you are.”

“It doesn’t feel like it. It feels like everything has fallen apart. And I don’t know how to put it back together.”

When Dania got Kamilla back to the house, she washed and ate but she refused to move out of the bed. Refused to speak. Refused to let go of her phone, hoping and praying Cairo would call. Love sick, slipping into a depression and the fight within her fading.

Sooner than later, she would have to get up.

thirty-one

“I’m happy you got out the bed today,” Dania hummed, gathering Kamilla’s washed hair into a ponytail. “I was thinking you could come with me to my appointment today and then we can grab lunch.”

Kamilla sighed and continued fidgeting with her nails like she been doing for the majority of Dania wrestling her coils. “I know I should eat…just don’t feel like it. Go without me. You’ve been over here for three days. I’m okay.”

“I told you I wasn’t leaving you. Plus, Nate is busy doing whatever it is that he’s doing,” Dania countered.

“You really got to take care of yourself and that baby, D.”

“And so do you, K. That’s if you’ve made a decision yet,” Dania spoke carefully.

“I couldn’t live with myself if I aborted it,” Kamilla hummed. “I’ve just been trying to figure out how I’m going to have a baby and go to school. I’m sorry I’m such a dark cloud right now.”

“Please don’t apologize. You’re feeling your way through it and that’s actually healthy. The alternative is locking it away and letting it eat you alive,” Dania spoke as a knock sounded against the front door. “You expecting someone?”

“No,” Kamilla groaned, pushing herself up off of the floor and walking a few steps to the door. Upon pulling it open and seeing Aunt J, she attempted to slam it in her face but her foot in the door broke the motion. Aunt J pushed her way in, looked around and huffed. “Why are you here?”

“Must be nice hiding out somewhere that’s not roped off with caution tape and the carpet isn’t soaked with blood. My house is a mess.”

“You let him move in,” Kamilla grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see how you were doing after everything,” Aunt J admitted, but the glint of guilt was short lived. “Especially after your little boyfriend killed your cousin on top of you. Do you know how reckless that is, Kamilla?”

“About as reckless as the cousin who isn’t my cousin trying to violate me after fucking the neighborhood whore? I couldn’t imagine which one you’d rather have. Maybe the violation would’ve sat better with you so you could sweep it under the rug with everything else. Do you know he flushed my mother down a toilet after he shit on her,” Kamilla scoffed and rubbed her hands over her face. The tears threatening to come back.

“Breathe, Kamilla,” Dania coached, the way she’d done for the last two nights.

“Who are you? I’m talking to my niece,” Aunt J snapped.

“And I’m consoling my friend. You know, none of this shit would have happened if you didn’t tell her to come get her shit,” Dania snapped back.

Pulling in a sharp inhale, Kamilla interrupted a brewing argument. “You’re here to talk to me right? Talk to me. So you’re here for what? For real? Hand deliver the rest of your sister’s life insurance so I can go to school? Otherwise, you and I have nothing to talk about, to review, to break bread over.”

Aunt J huffed as if Kamilla asking for what was rightfully hers was annoying her. “There’s no money.”

“What?” Kamilla and Dania sounded off.

“What do you mean there is no money? You were supposed to be holding it. Where is my money for school?” Kamilla charged.

Aunt J laughed mockingly. “You haven’t been concerned with that money for weeks. In here fuckin’ some nigga that can’t even take care of you.”

“That doesn’t have shit to do with my money. Where is it?”

She huffed. “Martez stole it. I didn’t realize it until a couple days ago. I was hoping to be at the house when you came but-”

Dania spoke up, blowing the lid off of Aunt J’s false concern. “You were down the street waiting. How else did the cops get there so fast? How would the cops know where we were? There’s only one common dominator in all of this. You knew who Martez was and as long as he was giving you that mid-ass weed and whatever else, you were cool. He threw her around like a ragdoll and you just sat in your car and waited. Tell me, I’m lying!”

Kamilla’s eyes narrowed. “You set me up?”

“N-no. I wanted to-” Aunt J stammered, as Kamilla moved closer. “They were supposed to get rid of C4. That was the plan to get you back home, with us, where you belonged.”