Page 2 of The Ninth

A piece of me was worried about Cassie and I’s relationship. My parents went on and on about how Kelisha wasn’t going to allow her to visit or keep up how she did. She told my parents that she would always encourage Cassie to, but it’s up to her.

As soon as I thought of her, she emerged through the crowd. She’s fifteen and I’m sixteen, yet I would never be allowed to wear the things she wore.

Her face was beautifully painted in make-up. You could tell her eyelashes were professionally done and not just strips. Her long, black hair fell to her waist. It was what she called a Vixen sew-in. She’s short, but height is the only thing she lacks. She wore the Baby Phat coat I cried over, the matching earrings and dress, fur Ugg boots, a Tiffany bracelet on her wrist, and stacked necklaces. Cassie was very gorgeous. Everyone knew it.

She plopped down next to me. I admired her French tip nails as her shaky hand rose to her face, dabbing the tears on her cheeks. The sweet smell of her perfume filled my nose as I looked into her red rimmed eyes. The way her body hiccupped let me know she was crying and hard. I felt terrible.

“Hey, cousin...” she said sadly.

“Hi, Cassie. I’m sorry about what happened.”

“Shit happens...” The curse word rolled off easily as if she wasn’t worried about who would overhear.

“Grandma and mom are going to ask you to come back to Jeffersonville.”

“I know. The family lawyer warned me of that. It’s all love but, I’m not leaving.”

“Wait, you’re staying?”

“Yeah. My parents wrote in the will that if I wanted to stay with Kelisha and Tatianna, I could.”

Tatianna was Kelisha’s daughter. The same age as Cassie.

“Plus...to be honest? I could never leave Chicago. I may be hurt, but the city will nurse me back. I’ll see you when the service starts.”

With that, she got up and floated away. Every person she passed glanced at her. She couldn’t even make it two feet without someone reaching out and touching her, pulling her in for a hug, giving their condolences while also complimenting her.

Even with both of her parents lying in caskets in front of us, I felt envious. How can two people raised by sisters of the same family live completely different lives?

Chapter 1: Teacher’s Pet Part One

Devyn’s POV

“I’m sorry if you’re feeling as if we’re making you do this...” my mother said softly. “We just believ—”

“Mama, I’m twenty-eight years old. Y’all are not making me do anything. You suggested something, I thought on it, spoke to Cassie, and then made my mind up. If I would’ve said no and it was a problem? That would’ve just been the day I left and found my own way.”

“Who are you popping off at, little girl!” Grandmother snapped. “Toni is just saying—”

“I understand what she is saying. She has said it a thousand times...”

My father looked at me through the mirror. “Be careful!” he warned.

I’ll be turning thirty in just a year and some change. Most people are already into their careers, married, engaged, buying houses. But not me. I have never lived alone. Still with my parents and next door to my grandmother. Still expected to leave my door unlocked and come home at a certain time. Even most people still at home at least have a plan. I have nothing. I’m supposed to be established, yet I’m starting over. But I have to. I can’t keep going on like this.

I missed out on all the fun. When I would take the short drive to UofL to attend college, I did just that each semester. Attend college. I didn’t go to the parties. There were no skateparks, Broadway, or club hopping. I didn’t drive over to Lexington for a fun weekend at UK. No experiences. No core memories. I was just there.

My boyfriend and three best friends lived in Louisville. He was my first and only boyfriend. They were my first real friends. All of that came to an end when I learned of some foul shit going on behind my back senior year. I graduated UofL with my BFA and never went back. I was twenty-one when that ended. There has been no other friend or boyfriend since.

“I bet she spent every single dime Cash left her...” my mother mumbled.

My dad scoffed, “Yeah, but she still made a life for herself. She seems like she is taking good care of herself. She’ll be a great influence for Devyn. A teacher. Lord knows she needs it...”

As much as my parents and grandmother loved me hanging around them, going to Bingo and Sam’s Club to shop, they were tired of me just wasting away. Especially when Cassandra was living it up in the big city. Apparently she was a very successful make-up artist and had the education and experience to back it. They told me drawing in my room and being a barista would get me nowhere. I needed to go to Chicago and let Cassandra influence me to be better.

That broke my heart but they’re not new to that pastime. My drawings were my everything since I was three. I tried to explain that we both got art degrees. We both grew up drawing. Cassie’s career in make-up was just her being an artist in some form. But when I wanted to be a tattoo artist, they said it was a waste and not the same? I’m not giving up on my dream that I’m not so eager to begin. So, Chicago it is.

We made it just outside of the city. I sat up straighter in my seat. Every car drive with the three of them to Chicago was miserable, so I never took it in. As an adult, soaking up the skyline that sat perfectly in the clouds a little away awoke something in me. It was a very small flame, but still a flame. I don’t remember it being this gorgeous.