CHAPTER 11: GROWING UP

Jason arrived home after a fun evening with Bella. He felt a little better. Being with her for awhile made him forget about everything temporarily. He entered the living room to see his uncle Willie watching TV drinking beer, nothing new there.

"Fun night?" He asked his nephew as he took a sip of his beer.

"Yeah, it was cool," Jason answered as he took off his jacket. He was a little thrown off. Willie has been a bit quiet lately. "I'm gonna go to sleep; I got practice in the morning so…"

"Hey Jason, we gotta talk," Willie said interrupting him.

"Can we talk tomorrow?" Jason asked slightly annoyed.

Willie shook his head. "Have a seat."

Jason rolled his eyes as he sat on the couch across from his uncle. He felt a little weird. He never had sit down talks with his uncle before.

"What's up?"

Wille took another sip of his beer. "Well, there's no easy way to say this, but I'm moving back in with your aunt. We're going to work some things out, and she told me she doesn't want you to live with us."

Jason shook his head in disapproval. Now he understood why Willie was being so quiet lately. He was trying to find a way to kick him out. This wouldn't be the first time this has happened.

"So what's her problem with me? Why can't I stay over there?" He asked.

Willie let out a long sigh; he knew that his ex-wife doesn't want Jason living with them because of all the trouble he caused when he was living with them before. He was skipping school, getting into fights, and it was always constant arguments with Jason. Neither one of them wanted to deal with it, and it was hard for him to explain this to Jason.

"I know you are doing much better now, but let's not forget about what happened when you were living with us. There was a lot of trouble."

Jason angrily stood up, " She's still trippin about that? That was years ago, man! This is bullshit! You gonna choose her over me? You know I ain't got nowhere else to go! Where am I gonna live?"

"Calm down," Willie began, "We have to move out next month, so we still have some time to figure out what we're gonna do with you."

"How the hell you gonna tell me to calm down when-" Jason stopped himself. There was no getting to his uncle. He would do anything to be back with his ex-wife. He had a feeling this was going to happen, which is why he didn't want to live with him in the first place. He walked away angrily to his room and slammed the door.

AJ's long walk from the bus stop to her home was nearly over. She began to look for the gentleman who usually stands outside of her complex with his car, but he wasn't there tonight. She sulked for a bit; she needed to see him desperately because she was running out of supply. She needed a little extra for this evening. She was still in shock about the news she heard about Jason being her brother. She was even more in shock as to why her mother never told her anything about it after all these years. She entered her home and was surprised to see her mother in the kitchen making a meal.

"I thought you had a double tonight," She said as she closed the door and took her jacket off. She made her way into the kitchen and sat at the small dining table.

"My boss cut me some slack tonight. Thank God, because I am tired as hell." Michelle poured a glass of water and gave it to AJ. "How was your visit with your dad?"

"Very informative, I learned something new today. I guess I have a brother, that goes to Richmond, that's on the same basketball team I manage!" AJ yelled as she stood up.

Michelle stopped cooking; she was a bit shocked that her fifteen-year-old daughter was raising her voice to her. She immediately knew what AJ was talking about so she couldn't even discipline her for it. She turned to see AJ. It was hard to look at her; she was so angry.

"So I take it Frank told you," She said calmly.

"Yeah," AJ answered.

Michelle was silent; she began cursing herself for not listening to Monica. She still had bitterness about Frank having children with other women. Even though their relationship ended a long time ago, she hated Frank, and she was still hurt. She hated him even more for opening his mouth and telling AJ. She didn't want AJ to know any of his other children. It was just like Frank to come into someone's life and mess it up. This is why she kept everything from AJ, especially with everything she has been dealing with lately. She wanted to protect her only baby from any more hurt and pain, but seeing the hurt on AJ's face indicated that she failed. It was hard for her to explain everything that happened with Frank. She didn't want to tell AJ that she was still hurt by everything that he had done. AJ is so young and naive at times; it would be hard for her to understand.

"You don't feel compelled to explain anything?" AJ darted, annoyed with her mom's silence.

Michelle sighed, she didn't want to have this conversation with AJ right this second, but she had no choice at this point. She sat down and AJ sat back in her seat as well.

"I'm sorry that I did not tell you AJ; I am. I'm sorry you had to find out like this. There's a lot about your father and me that you don't know about, and I didn't want to tell you."

"Like what?" AJ darted angrily.

"Your father cheated on me multiple times during our relationship. Hell, he even cheated on his other girlfriends before me. I was hurt, and I didn't want you to be hurt too. I know you love your father, but he's not a good guy. If I had my way, you wouldn't be visiting him at all. I knew of his son, and I knew he went to Richmond, and I didn't tell you because honestly I just didn't want you to know. I don't want you to be around him or any of your other brothers and sisters.." Michelle tried to hold back her tears, but AJ didn't seem to be sympathetic.

"So you were hurt, mom? Or are you still hurt? You kept me from my family because you're still upset at him for cheating? You cheat me away from my family because you're still angry?"

Michelle sighed, she was surprised at her daughter's response because it was entirely true. She was still upset at Frank for all of the things he has done, and she hated to admit that she was using AJ as a pawn to get to him. She never felt more guilty in her life. Not only because she held this secret for so long but for not paying attention to AJ as much as she should. AJ was growing up; she will be sixteen in a few weeks. She was a young woman. She wasn't a little girl anymore, and she wasn't able to keep certain things from her like she used to. Another thing that Michelle has been denying. She should have noticed this with the belly ring and the nose ring.

She was still silent, shocked of what AJ said. She didn't think AJ would be able to comprehend love and heartbreak.

"Look, I know you're angry, and I get that. All I can say is that I'm sorry."

AJ shook her head in disapproval and folded her arms. She was too angry to talk to her mother right now.

"You should have told me," She said as she walked away to her room and slammed the door.

Michelle sighed once again. She knew AJ would be cold to her for awhile, and she couldn't control that. She felt like she let AJ down completely as a mother, and their bond would never be the same again. She continued making her meal and grabbed the phone to call her sister.

It was late, and it was getting cold. Timo wanted to go home and get some rest before tomorrow's practice, but Renny was his ride. He had some business to take care of so he had to wait for him. He was sitting on Renny's car, making his deals getting a little extra money. He tried calling Chanel to see if she was interested in accompanying him tonight, but she wasn't answering her phone. He wasn't surprised at all; she was most likely entertaining another guy. He began questioning his sanity wondering why he continues to bother with her. She was always playing games with him, hoping from one guy to the next without any remorse for breaking anyone's heart. It was weird to him because anytime she saw him with another woman, she would get extremely jealous and begin wanting him back. Timo was not one to show any emotions, but he was getting tired of the games Chanel was playing. He wouldn't admit this to anyone, but it would be nice to be with a girl who cared about him. Since none of the other females at his school like him, due to his reputation for being tough, he figured Chanel was the best he could get.

Renny finally came out of the apartment building, with a bundle of cash. He seemed to be pleased with his profit.

"You good little cousin?" Renny asked as they both got in the car and Renny began to drive.

"I'm good," Timo answered with no emotion not wanting to talk about Chanel.

"You good? For real?" Renny asked again. He always knew when Timo was stressed.

"I'm good," Timo repeated with a little annoyance in his voice this time.

"You still worryin' about that girl? I told you not to get involved with her like that." Renny said knowing exactly what was up. He never liked Chanel. She had a serious reputation for being extra friendly with guys. He heard a few rumors that she even spent time with older men he knew. He would never want his cousin to be with a girl like that.

"You don't need to be messin' with that girl, yo. You need a nice girl. Someone who ain't a ho. I know someone, she goes to Richmond. She's a cutie. She has long curly hair; she's nice. I don't know her name though she just buys from me."

Timo sighed, there was only girl he knew of that had long curly hair was AJ. He was surprised to hear that she bought weed from Renny. She seemed like she was the good girl type except her smart mouth.

"Her name's AJ," Timo said as he rolled his eyes. "The one with the mouth."

Renny laughed, "Oh yeah? The mouth? You hit that already?"

"No idiot," Timo answered, not finding Renny's humor entertaining. "The smart mouth, the one always talkin shit. She thinks she smart or some shit!"

Renny laughed, "She can't be that bad. She's cool with me."

"Yeah whatever," Timo answered back.

"I'm just sayin, man. She's a good look."

"Yo, shut up, man!" Timo raised his voice.

Renny laughed a little bit. "I'm just sayin, I know you been talkin about makin a change and all, but you can't do that if you keep messin with these hoes. You gotta be careful who you have around you, man."

"Yeah, I know," Timo said giving Renny an evil glare. He knew that Renny did have a point. He wanted to make a change in his life which is why he wants to get back on the team. Hanging out with certain people would derail him from what he wanted to do. Renny was the only family he had left, but he didn't want to go though his whole life selling drugs. He was scared to tell Renny that he wanted to get back on the basketball team and that he didn't want to sell drugs anymore. He was relieved when he finally worked up the courage told Renny. He was understanding, but now he was annoyed with him talking about AJ. He did agree with Renny, she was cute, but he pushed those thoughts immediately out of his head. Even if he did want her, she wouldn't go for him anyway. He remained silent as Renny continued to drive. He had a lot on his mind, and he didn't feel like talking about it, not even to the only person he could trust.