Nookie (Nookie Series) (6 page)

“Oh, it’s you. I didn’t think your smut ass would show up, after the train you caught yesterday,” he said, loud enough for everyone in the hallway to hear him.

“What are you talking ’bout?” Joy asked, clearly confused.

“Don’t act like you don’t know. You know what happened yesterday,” he said, a smirk on his face.

“Josh, I don’t think this is the place to talk about this,” she said, not understanding where he was going with his statements.

“Why? You worried what everybody would think about you letting me, my cousin and his friends hit that yesterday?” he said, then busted out laughing.

“You fucking liar. You forced me to have sex with you and then acted like it didn’t happen. It was just you there, and I was a virgin,” she said, crying harder, her chest heaving up and down. She turned and looked at the crowd that had formed. She saw the doubt in their eyes. They didn’t believe her, she could tell.

“Virgin? Yeah?” he laughed harder, frowning his face as a show of disbelief.

“Why do you keep laughing? You know what happened. Why are you lying? Tell the truth,” Joy screamed in Josh’s face.

When he only laughed harder and started getting dap from some of the guys in the crowd, she became furious. She moved closer to him and smiled, right before kneeing him in the balls. He fell to the floor, gripping his crotch.

“You lying bastard,” she said as she stepped over him.

He started rolling around, calling her all types of bitches through clenched teeth. Joy kept walking until she was outside. She leaned against the building, crying and screaming and kicking the trash laying around. Her heart felt like it was breaking; she swore she could hear the cracking. After a while, she composed herself enough to continue home, but tears fell from her eyes the whole way there.

Chapter Eight

Tears fell down Joy’s face when she opened her eyes. She lifted one hand out of the water and saw that it was wrinkled and that her palm was pale and peeling. She stood up and reached for the towel that Kevin had placed on the toilet. Stepping out, she wrapped the towel around herself then bent down to let the water out of the tub before taking a deep breath.

Looking back, she couldn’t believe that she took Josh back after that. He came to her house after the incident, crying and begging her to take him back. He said that he didn’t realize how much he needed her until she stood up to him in the hall. He explained that he felt like he wasn’t in control, and that was why he lost it on her. After his tearful begging, Joy fell more deeply into his trap, immediately taking him back and forgiving him. He never once actually said sorry for anything he did. He basically blamed his behavior on her, saying it was her who made him act that way.

“How can I be so fucking stupid?” Joy said out loud.

She finished drying off, cleaned the tub out and blew out the candles. When she returned to Kevin’s bedroom, he was sitting on the bed waiting for her. She couldn’t help but smile at him. He was so cute, and he smiled with his eyes. That alone made her want to forget her problems.

“You feeling better?” he asked.

“Yeah, a little.”

“Well, I ordered Chinese food, if you’re hungry,” he said, removing the towel from around her and sitting her on the bed. He grabbed a bottle of lotion off his dresser and began to massage it into her skin.

“Mmmm,” Joy moaned.

After he had finished massaging her entire body, he placed one of his t-shirts over her head and she slid it on. He pulled the covers back for her to get in. Once she was under the covers, with the pillows propped up, he turned on the TV.

“I don’t usually bring food into my room, but for you I’ll make an exception,” he said, entering the room carrying a tray filled with food cartons. “I didn’t know what you like, so I got a different variety of stuff.” He then handed her a plate.

They watched
Double Jeopardy
as they ate, occasionally talking and kissing during the boring parts. When they had finished eating, Joy took what was left to the kitchen. She placed the containers in the fridge and threw the trash away. By the time she went back to the room, Kevin was asleep. She climbed in beside him and turned the light out. She turned the movie off and flipped through the channels, occasionally stopping on something she thought was interesting. She couldn’t concentrate on anything for too long, however, and soon dozed off.

Chapter Nine

Joy opened her eyes and looked at the clock. It was 9:24 am and she was late for school. Though she hated her school, she did want to graduate and had a math test that day. She got up and looked for her clothes, finding them folded in the chair. She quickly got dressed, taking Kevin’s t-shirt off and putting it on the chair. Kevin woke up just as she was tying her sneakers.

“Good morning,” she said, when she noticed his eyes were open.

“Good morning.”

“I need to leave; I’m already late for school and I have to go all the way home first,” she said, not really wanting to leave.

“Okay, I run you home and then to school, all right?” he said.

“Aight, thank you. I appreciate everything—you letting me stay the weekend and putting up with my emotions and drama.”

“I glad to have you. For some reason, I like being around you. I’m sorry for what you’re going through, and I’m here for you. I must sound like a pussy, but I’m kinda feeling you, already,” he said, smiling.

“I feel the same way. I know it’s early but I feel like I known you forever. It’s so easy with you; it’s like everything just flows,” she said, walking to him and kissing him.

He kissed back, neither of them caring about the other’s morning breath. Breaking the kiss, Kevin got up and quickly threw some clothes on. Two minutes later they were in the car and on the way to Joy’s house.

As they pulled up to her house, Joy noticed someone sitting on her steps. “Shit,” she said.

“What?” Kevin asked, looking in the same direction.

“That’s Josh,” she said in disbelief.

“Don’t worry, I’ll walk you to your door; and if there is a problem, I got you.”

Kevin got out of the car first and went to Joy’s side. Josh got up from the steps and walked in their direction. Kevin opened the door for Joy and she got out, staying close to his side.

“Dis the dude you been wit’ all weekend?” Josh asked, not even looking in Kevin’s direction.

“Leave me alone, Josh. I have nothing to say to you,” Joy said, walking past him.

Kevin took her hand and walked her to the front door of her house. At first Josh just stood there with the smack face on, but he was growing madder by the second and walked to the door.

“Joy, why are you doing this? I just want to talk to you,” he said, trying to remain cool.

“Look, she said leave her alone, so get da fuck outta here,” Kevin said.

“Joy,” Josh continued, ignoring Kevin and grabbing Joy’s arm, pulling her to him.

Kevin moved around Joy and punched Josh in the face. Blood gushed out his nose, some of it splashing on Joy. He let her go and she moved closer to Kevin, grabbing his arm as he was about to hit Josh again. Josh was holding his nose, crying out that it was broken. Kevin took Joy’s house key from her hand and opened the door. He then gave the key back to her and she stepped inside. Kevin stood there until she closed the door. He looked over at Josh, who had taken off his shirt and was holding it up to his still bleeding nose. Kevin sucked his teeth, called Josh a bitch and walked to his car.

Inside, Joy quickly went upstairs and took a fast shower. She threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed her bag and stepped out into the hallway. She could hear noises from her parents’ bedroom but wasn’t sure what they were.
They could be having sex
, she thought as she turned towards the stairs. She dismissed that idea immediately—her parents didn’t even get along, though sometimes that doesn’t matter. She walked to the door and listened. She heard a woman’s laughter. Her mother? Then she heard a guy laugh. Definitely not her father. She listened some more, forgetting about school and Kevin waiting for her. She heard kissing sounds, and then the guy said, “You taste so good.” She backed away from the door with a hand over her mouth. She didn’t know how long she stood there, but she eventually snapped out of her trance then quickly ran down the stairs and out the door.

Josh was gone but his bloody shirt was lying on the steps. She walked to the car and got in, looking around to see if she could spot Josh.

“Damn, you was gone a minute,” Kevin said as he started the car.

“My fault,” was all she said.

“You all right? Don’t let that fool get to you. If you want, I can pick you up after school,” he said.

“I’m not. Just thinking ’bout this test I have today. Oh, and you don’t have to pick me up. I’ll be fine,” she said, distracted.

“You sure? It’s no problem, really,” he said, noticing how weird she was acting.

“Yeah.”

When they arrived at her school, she sat there looking out the window. She hated going to school almost as much as she hated going home. The school was dirty, with roaches as big as her size six feet. The classrooms were overcrowded and most of the teachers could care less. Finally, she reached for the door handle and then turned back towards Kevin.

“I’m sorry. I got a lot on my mind,” she said, kissing him quickly on the lips.

“It’s cool. Try to have a good day, and good luck on your test,” he said.

“I’ll call you later,” she said, then hopped out of the car.

She had to go through the front door because it was so late. As soon as she made it to the guard, she let out a breath. This dude always gave her a hard time when she was late. But he must have read her mood, because he didn’t make his usual comment—“I shouldn’t let you in, but this must be your lucky day.” He would always get too close to her butt and breasts with his electronic wand when he scanned her for weapons, and he always took everything out of her bag when he searched it. For some reason, today he just opened her bag, glanced in and handed it back. He quickly moved the wand up and down, front and back, checked her ID and let her pass. She was surprised, but glad there weren’t any problems. She walked to her third period class, making it in time for her test, which turned out to be easy. She was the first one done.

………………

Having done her test, she decided to leave. She left through a side door that was always open on the inside, then walked to the bus stop. She wanted to be with Kevin but didn’t want to be a nuisance. He was nice, and she didn’t want to abuse his kindness. She walked down Germantown Ave until she hit Chelten Ave, where she waited for the 26. It came soon after she got there. She rode the 26 for a while, got off, then hopped on the 18, which was right there as soon as the 26 hit Chew.

When she got off the 18, she kept an eye out for Josh. She didn’t know where he had gone after Kevin fucked him up. She laughed out loud. Thinking about it now, she should have let Kevin finish the job. Making it to her house without incident, she picked up the shirt and threw it in the trash can by the steps. She then entered the house and went to the kitchen, grabbing a cold can of Pepsi from the fridge before going up to her room.

She looked towards her parents’ room, slowing up her steps, listening for any noise. Hearing nothing, she decided to go knock on the door. There was no answer, so she just stood there. She wanted to know what was going on. Never had she heard her parents having sex; and she didn’t think it was because they were careful, either.

Walking back towards her room, she decided she wasn’t going to care about it. She took a sip of soda and opened the door. Her bathroom door was open, and through the glass of the shower screen she could see her mother and some man fucking. She quickly turned away and closed the bathroom door. They mustn’t have heard her, because the water kept running and Joy could still hear their moans and grunts.