Show Me You Care (7 page)

“Jordyn, you got a pen?” She looked at me and laughed, before reaching in her bag and handing me a pen. I sat there stunned at the fact that she had an attitude with me about something so little. The rest of the period was quiet; she didn’t look at me or say anything when I asked her for help. I looked down the hall and she was posted up on her locker with Nicole, I guess waiting for the rest of her squad. Nicole tapped her and nodded my way. I guess I was staring too hard. All Jordyn did was shake her head and walk away from the locker towards the exit. I looked down at my watch. We had only been here for two periods but I guess she decided she was going to cut today. I faced TaKiera and pulled her in for a kiss.

“You’re still coming over tonight, right?”

“Of course, baby!” I said, walking to my next class.
Damn, Trey, why you keep running back to this girl?

Kayden:

Due to my mother complaining about everything, my father had decided to take a mini vacation to Barbados for the next two weeks, although I didn’t want to go, seeing that it most likely would hurt Jordyn’s feelings to not be included. I decided to call Jordyn to be the one to tell her instead of letting her read a bullshit ass note.

“What’s going on, Kayden?”

“I just wanted to tell you that dad was forcing us to go with him and mom on a vacation to Barbados.”

“I know already. She was telling your aunt about it. I’m not mad. I’m going to have a mansion to myself for the next two weeks. Come on, Kay, just bring me back something nice, alright?” she said, hanging up on me. I couldn’t tell from her voice if she was hurt or not.  I joined the rest of the family and walked out of the house, leaving the dog some food in his bowl until Jordyn got back home.

Chapter 11:

It was lunchtime and I was going to run my idea by my girls. We sat down at our usual table and all eyes were on me. I went in my bag and pulled out the layout for the store I was thinking about opening. It was going to be a clothing store that sold all my original designs. I had finally found my calling and I was going to act on it, but I needed my girls’ help and support. Shit, we all needed jobs and the money for college since senior year was over in two months.

“Jordyn, you not going to say nothing about that nigga being hugged up with that bitch?” Natalie asked, pointing at them. I just laughed.

“Nah, but what I do want to talk about is this business idea I have.” Everyone was quiet and looking at me. “Aright, so here’s what I’m thinking. What if I opened a store that only sold original designs made by me and if y’all wanted, y’all could work at the store with me.” They all nodded.

“I’m down!” they said in unison. I was hype. My girls were on my team for this so I knew it would be a success.

“What if after this period we go get our tattoos finally?” Shy suggested. We all looked and shrugged our shoulders.

“Let’s leave now!” I said and we all headed to our cars, I turned on my radio and Toni Romiti’s “Nothing On Me” was playing. It made me think of the relationship I had with Trey.

We pulled up to the tattoo shop. We were all scared as hell and it showed on our faces. I was the brave one and decided to go first. I got a dream catcher on my side with a quote that said “Dream your dreams with your eyes closed…but live your dreams with your eyes opened.” I got the quote in red ink. By the time I was done my girls had backed out of getting tattoos and got piercings instead. Nicole and Natalie both got snake eyes, while Shy got her belly button pierced. Not wanting to be left out, I got my belly button pierced as well. We said our goodbyes and I headed home.

I walked in the house and could smell nothing but weed smoke, which was weird since everyone was in Barbados. I continued to walk in the house and I saw Trey sitting on the couch smoking his Blunt. I sucked my teeth and went to my room, slamming the door. My side was extremely sore and I wasn’t in the mood to be around anybody, including him. I picked up my iHome and attached my phone, starting to play Nicki Minaj’s “Pills N Potions.” I felt tears starting to form so I did what I did best and sketched out a couple of new outfits for my soon-to-open store. I looked up and my door was wide open with Trey standing in the doorway. I got up from the chair and laid on my bed, allowing the lyrics to sink in.

“So you really that mad at me?” I sucked my teeth and changed the song. “You really not going to talk to me?” I adjusted myself so I wasn’t applying pressure on my side. “Jordyn!?”

“What, Trey?”

“You not going to talk to me?” he asked, plopping down on my bed and resting his head on my side.

“Oww, get off my side, please.” He sat up with concern in his eyes.

“What’s wrong with you? I shook my head.

“Nothing, just don’t lay on that side.” He gave me a side eye before snatching up my shirt.

“You serious? Yo, Big Jay is going to kill you and you know it,” he said, running his hand over it. “It’s nice, though. I just wish you would’ve said something.”

“It was last minute. Besides, you were with your girlfriend.”

“I don’t recall being with you!” he said, smirking. I shook my head at him.

“You weren’t with me because I ain’t your girl, remember?”

“Oh, really? Well, you my girl now so come give me a kiss,” he said, making his Stevie J face. I leaned over and gave him a kiss. We kissed for forever. I didn’t know where this was going or what we were but I thought I was in love with him. “I love you, Jordyn and don’t let the way I handle business hurt you, alright?” he said, kissing me again. I knew that tonight was my last night being a little girl.

Trey:

After last night there was no way in hell I was ever going to be talking to TaKiera again. We had no reason to talk. The little boy wasn’t mine and I wasn’t in the business of disrespecting my girl. There was no turning back after last night; I was so ready to tell everybody about us you would have thought I was the girl in the relationship. I woke up to an empty bed and my car keys sitting on the dresser. Attached was a note from Jordyn:
Had a Meeting today. See you when I make it to school
. I looked at the time. It was still early and I had no reason to go to calculus since she probably wouldn’t be there. I went downstairs to the room that I stayed in when I spent the night and pulled out an outfit. There was no reason for me to get dressed up. My girl was the only person I cared about. It felt good to be able to call Jordyn my girl. She was my GIRL. Finally I texted Jay and told him how I felt about his sister. He never texted me back. That had me worried, as if he wouldn’t approve of our relationship.

Jayden:

I looked down at my phone, seeing I had a text from Trey. I read it, thinking it was important but instead it was just him confessing his love for my little sister. I shook my head at the text and decided not to respond. I already knew how they felt about each other. It was just up to Trey to make it happen. Jordyn wasn’t hard to please but she was hard to keep. She was hotheaded like our pops and we all knew that. I knew if trey fucked up I would have to run around like
Trey who? Trey? I never knew a Trey
. I laughed at myself, causing my parents to ask me what was so funny. I said nothing and went back to thinking about how different it was going to be when we got home. Big Jay probably was going to beat the shit out of Trey. That was something I couldn’t wait to see.

Chapter 12:
I walked into school happy as hell; it was as if everything was good in my life for once. I had the boy, I had the perfect family, minus Star, and I didn’t have to worry about money for the first time in years. I stood by my locker, hoping to see Trey in calculus class although when I left he was still asleep. I had good news and I hoped he was as happy as I was. I was the owner of a clothing store, “Couture Dior” and it was going to be filled with nothing but my original designs. I was on cloud nine today and no one was going to be able to mess it up for me. I walked into calculus with the biggest smile on my face as I thought back to when I was just a girl who had a crack head for a mother. I sat in my seat and waited for Trey to come but he never did. I sucked my teeth. That put a damper on my day. I walked into the lunchroom and waited at my table for my girls who walked in with sad looks on their faces.

“Jordyn, what are you still doing here?” Shy asked with a confused face.

“What? Where am I supposed to be?”

“You didn’t hear?” Nicole asked. I was starting to get worried.

“Hear what? What the fuck is going on?”

“Trey got shot…” I didn’t even let her finish. I just ran to my car with tears falling down my face. Whoever did this shit was going to die, and I meant that. I called Jayden and told him what was going on. It wasn’t as if he could do anything, being that he was all the way in Barbados. I was nervous as I sped to the hospital. I didn’t know how bad it was. I pulled up to the hospital and was met by his mother. She looked so calm.

“Jordyn, wipe your tears, okay?” I sobbed like a little kid and wiped my face. We sat on the waiting room bench. She hadn’t shed one tear the whole time but here I was shedding tears for the love of my life. In just a few months he went from a stranger to my best friend to my protector and provider. I needed him to be okay; I needed him to be with me every step of the way for the rest of our lives. I sucked up my tears and watch as the doctor finally approached us after hours of waiting.

“Are you the family of Trey…Young?” he asked, pausing to look down at the chart.

“Yes we are,” Ms. Lisa said with nervousness in her voice.

“Unfortunately Mr. Young is in critical condition and may not make it through the night. He was shot five times; three times in the abdomen, and in his neck. A bullet also pierced his lung, causing internal bleeding. We were able to remove all the bullets successfully and stop the bleeding. It’s just on him now. We had to put him in a medically induced coma so he could heal without feeling the pain and also due to the fact he might have tried to pull out the breathing tube.” For the first time Ms. Lisa broke down and I was stuck being the strong one.

“Can we go back to see him?” The doctor just nodded and we headed straight to the back. I gave Lisa her time alone with her son. I watched her break down and scream about not letting the streets take this son from her, too. She walked out and placed her hand on my shoulder and told me she’d see me later. I walked in and cried on his chest. It pained me to see him with tubes running through his body. I said a prayer for the first time in years, hopping God would listen; hoping that he would hear my voice and understand that the world still needed Trey.

It was 6:00 a.m. and I was awaken by the sounds of the machines and nurses checking his vitals. One of the older nurses came up to me and placed her hand on mine, smiling warmly.

“He made it through the night. That’s a step in the right direction.” I gave a faint smile and fell back to sleep for another hour. I watched as the nurses changed his IV medicines and checked his vitals again. They checked them every 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the last time they checked them.

“Jordyn?” I looked up from my phone to see who the voice belonged to. It was the same nurse from earlier. “Jordyn, right?” I nodded my head at the lady. She was roughly in her late thirties or early forties. “I’m Miss Tammy; I’ll be his nurse all week. Honey, it’s going to be a battle but he’s a warrior. I tell you that much. I know my nephew. He’ll fight through this.”

“You’re Ms. Lisa’s sister?”

“Yes ma’am, I’m her youngest sister and the only one who stayed close to her and Trey. I know who you are, Jordyn. I know your background and I know that my nephew loved you more than he loved anyone else. Now he’s in good hands and I’m going to need you get yourself together. Lisa is the strongest of the bunch and she’s been through this before.”

“I’m fine, Miss Tammy. My best friend is going to bring me my homework and some clothes. I’m not leaving his side. As for Ms. Lisa, she’s stronger than a lot of people give her credit for. I don’t know what you mean by she’s been through this before but I know Trey is going to make it.” She looked at me and patted my knee before continuing her rounds. I pulled my chair up to the bed and rubbed his hand. A lone tear fell from my eye.

“Trey, you got this. Stop playing and wake up. Your mom needs you. Shit, I need you. Who else am I supposed to run to when I’m in my feelings? Trey, wake up baby. Just open your eyes, grab my hand, something. Let me know you can hear me. Let me know you’re fighting this, Trey. I love you, Trey. I need you,” I said with tears falling freely from my eyes. I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. By then Shyla was texting me letting me know she was in the lobby with my clothes and homework.

Shyla:

I watched Jordyn walk over to me with tear-stained cheeks. I pulled my best friend in for a hug. I knew Jordyn better than a lot of people did. I knew she was crushed. I also knew how crazy she was and that she was going to search high and low for the person that did this, and I was going to be right by her side.

“Jordyn, how is he?” She just shook her head and that was more than I needed. I couldn’t stand hospitals but I would stay here if my best friend wanted me to. The look in her eyes was asking me to leave, though, and that’s what I did. I handed her her stuff and walked out the hospital. I pulled out my phone and called Jayden.

“Yo!”

“Yo, Jayden? That’s how you answer your phone?”