“I don’t blame you, the females I’ve been around haven’t exactly been gentle or nurturing.”
Gem puzzled at Niro’s sudden statement. Part of her confusion stemmed from the randomness of the confession; the rest was at the fact the confession was being made to her. She cleared her throat as she looked down at her feet. “What do you mean by that?” The conversation grew quiet and Niro stayed that way for a while in the awkward silence. “Heh, nothing. Never mind, I don’t even know why I feel like I can talk to you about this when you’re too scared to even look at me,” he chided.
With her head still lowered she shuffled closer to him and scoffed before turning her head up towards him. “Well, I’m not a punk so wassup? I’m looking at you now aren’t I?” This made him snicker, taking another sip of his drink before continuing to speak. “Yeah…. I don’t know what the fuck Murphy on, you’re truly something else. Anyways…” he began to trail off for a moment, lost in thought before explaining a little about his mom and family.
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Flashback - Niro’s POV
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I was ten when my mom had her first overdose. Teetering between conscious and unconscious thoughts, she’d always sit on our rusty brown couch in our tiny apartment staring at nothing in a daze. When she could remember she had a kid she would always ask me what day it was and where my no good of a father was, even though he’d left us years ago without a word. That particular day, she couldn’t even get her second question out before she suddenly collapsed to the floor, foaming at the mouth.
Panicked, I rushed to try to help her, only to get more scared as the moments went by. I could only think of rushing to the neighbor's house next door to tell them that my mom was on the ground with bubbles coming out her mouth. I remember crying so hard that day that I became sick for the next two weeks as I was placed with my Aunt Joyce while my mom went to the hospital. But that was only the beginning of my nightmare.
“You know what they say about you right? You’re the family’s disappointment: the crackhead’s son who won’t be nothing,” she would say.
Everyday.
I’d wake every morning on the couch in her living room because I was too worthless to sleep in her guest bedroom on the bed or too corrupted to share the room with my cousin Anthony. When I’d come back home from school and be forced to do every chore in the house as if I was her maid or some shit. “You missed a spot,” she’d say, picking up a plate from the drainer. She’d then look down at the floors and frown, furrowing her brow, “You didn’t mop this damn floor like I told your ass too.” Then, like clockwork, she’d smack me upside the head and yell at me for forgetting something as small as the floors or cleaning “my room.” By the time I’d turned sixteen, my mom had been in and out of rehab after having had five overdoses between that time.
I’d longed to see my mom and stay with her, coexisting without really being noticed, but at least I knew she loved me. Besides my Aunt Joyce, I didn’t have any other family that would take me in since I was, as she said, the family’s disappointment. When all I did was be born to a crackhead.
***
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Present - Niro’s POV
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I sat and pondered my memories as I unconsciously started spilling my guts to this girl I had just happened to meet a couple of days ago. ‘Seriously, I'm crazy as hell for this. She doesn’t give a fuck nor does she know me, so what is the point of even saying any of this,’ I thought when I finished my short story. I was expecting her to be drifting into her own thoughts or looking around not paying much attention to me but she actually looked as if she cared about my story. That’s a first.
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Nobody’s POV
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Gem sat quietly listening to Niro as she tried not to flinch at the mention of how he’d been verbally abused by his aunt. She knew that feeling all too well and even more in her own right, but he didn’t need to know that. When he finished, the two sat in a more comfortable silence than before and sat there looking at each other for a while, studying the other like a puzzle they couldn’t solve.
Neither had known the other well nor had they really had the means or want to, yet this very conversation awakened something in them that was indescribable. They found comfort in their conversation and mutual feelings towards the opposite sex. The silence was soon broken by Gem speaking up, “Look, I’m going to keep a band with you because you seem to have been through a lot.” She cleared her throat again. “I don’t know why you felt like you needed or even should’ve told me that just now but I appreciate it. To be honest… I sympathize with you as I wasn’t treated very nice by my family either and looking like this didn’t make it any better.” Gem squeezed her fingers with her hand as she quickly blinked back tears, ‘Damnit, I will not cry in front of this dude again. This is so embarrassing.’
“Umm… but yeah so I reacted that way because you reminded me of that.” She shuffled again, “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that your personality and status in our class didn’t scare the hell out of me. People like you and Murphy- guys in general- don’t talk to girls like me. I stay out the way and get my shit done, that’s it; so, I’m not really even sure why I’m out here with you.” After she was finished, Gem released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding until then.
Then something unexpected happened. Niro slowly took his hand and raised Gem’s lowered head up and pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear as he looked her in the eye. Frozen from the shock of his sudden touch, she simply stared at him trying to figure out what he would say or do next. At this point, Niro had finished drinking whatever was in his cup so the blushing girl figured that he was probably a little tipsy from however many total cups he’d had.
“Uh.. umm-” she started before getting cut off by the feeling of his lips quickly being pressed to her own. It started off slow as Niro slowly leaned into the kiss more and more, closing the space between the two before gently biting her lip asking her for entrance. Confused, Gem kept her lips together, unmoving, before Niro snaked his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. This caused her to gasp, allowing the man to slide his tongue in to dance with her own.
After a short while, the two pulled away slowly trying to catch their respective breaths. “I don’t want you to be scared of me,” the man said following a pause.
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Meanwhile Inside
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“Umm Caleb, are you sure you should be downing that many drinks?” the brunette questioned as she sat on Murphy’s lap with her solo cup in hand. The former was now on his fifth cup of jungle juice and vibin to the music and some girl danced on him. He had been to parties before but never tried any of the drinks because he felt as though he couldn’t trust what was in it. That was, until tonight when Murphy convinced him that since his cousin made them, there wasn’t anything crazy strong in it. And, since he and Murphy had known each other from both being Engineering majors, he felt like he could at least trust him.
“Chill out J, we’re supposed to be having fun right?” he said, chugging some of his drink before placing a hand on the waist of the girl in front of him. Josie rolled her eyes before leaning down to Murphy’s ear, “This is all your fault you know? He’s completely wasted.” Murphy laughed. “Aww come on babe, he’s fine. He’s just having some fun, live a little.” Rolling her eyes again Josie took a sip of her own drink and watched as Caleb danced awkwardly.
After the song was over and had switched to another, the girl stood up on her toes a bit to level with Caleb’s ear. ‘Probably getting his number or something,’ Josie thought to herself. Josie loved to party, but she also loved to vibe; today, she was vibing as she would occasionally playfully twerk on her new beau who welcomed the attention. Josie wasn’t quite sure about what it was, but she was attracted to Murphy’s goofy attitude and his laidback style- even if he could be an asshole sometimes. She smiled to herself as she thought about her time so far with him as Caleb came over to take a seat next to them.
“Yo, how you feeling?” Murphy laughed when Caleb was seated. Caleb grinned and looked at the jock with glazed eyes, “I feel fucking faantastic bruh.” He then looked at Josie and smiled, “I feel great man, thanks for bringing me aaalong J. You know you and Gem are like some of the best friends I’ve made this year. You guys are so niiiceeee,” he slurred as he put a hand on the girl’s shoulder.
After a short pause he leaned in some to the two of them and gave them another glazed look while smiling. “Hhey! Between us friends, I think Gem is very pretty- like, reaaallyyyy pretty and she deserves a niceee and pretttyyy person too,” he said giggling and slurring his words more. Josie puzzled at this for a moment before Murphy said what she was thinking out loud. “Oh shit, bruh gotta crush on Jumbo Germ,” Murphy laughed, holding his stomach as tears sprung from his eyes.
Pissed, Josie rolled her eyes and smacked Murphy on his shoulder, “You’re an asshole.” She then turned and walked away towards some friends she saw, ignoring Murphy’s voice calling after her.
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Back on the Roof
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Gem sat on the roof, face inches away from Niro’s as she tried to understand what had just happened. “Uh..” she began to speak but couldn’t quite find the words she needed as her cheeks continued to flush. She jerked away from Niro and backed up against the roof staring out into the neighborhood around them. “W-w…Why did you do that? What do you even gain from that, besides a story to tell your little friends so yall can laugh at me,” she said as she could feel hot tears rising.
Niro looked down and scratched the back of his head nervously. This only made the girl more upset as she continued fighting back her tears before she quickly got up and started heading towards the ladder to go back downstairs. Before she reached the latch she was stopped by a hand grabbing her arm, “Wait! I’m not doing this because of anyone else, I did that shit because I wanted to.” This helped Gem calm down some, enough to relax and turn back towards him but she couldn’t meet the boy’s eyes. “I- That was my first-” Niro’s eyes widened, “Oh shit! Well, I guess I got lucky huh?” He grinned, not that Gem could see, and let her arm go gently.
“I don’t know if lucky is the word I’d use…” the girl continued to stare at her shoes. “I should get back to my friends,” she said, turning away again. She was then stopped again by Niro before she could reach the latch. “Hold up girl damn! Can I at least get your number?” he said, getting a little annoyed. Gem crossed her arms, “W-why?” “Practical reasons.” This made Gem look up at him with a raised eyebrow, “Practical reasons? Mmm, I guess I could humor you.” ‘It’s not like that kiss meant anything anyway,’ she thought.
After exchanging numbers and a few more glances, the two walked back downstairs and went their separate ways.
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The Next Day - Gem’s POV
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As I stood in my room folding clothes, the events of the previous night played through my head like a black and white movie. ‘One of the finest, most mysterious dudes in my class kissed me. ME! And not only did he do that, but he asked for my number and has actually been texting me.’ I can’t help but feel as though this is some type of dream. That, or some type of huge prank that’ll later blow up in my face when I least expect it.
My mind continued to wander until my phone started to ring. ‘An unknown number.’ “Hmm? Hello,” I say, answering the phone cautiously. “Good afternoon, is this Ms. Gemma Daniels?” the voice on the other side of the phone asked. “Yes, this is her. Who’s calling?” A pause followed before the voice spoke again.
“This is sergeant Timothy Quill from CTPD. We spoke the other day about the robbery at 7/11. I’m calling to let you know that we’ve found a lead on your assailant. He’s African American, roughly 6’4, and wears a silver chain with a cross on it.”
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TO BE CONTINUED...
Thank you all for reading this chapter of 'Stolen Romance'. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one which will be released next week so be on the lookout for that.
A/N: I've taken the liberty of trying my hand at doing perspectives so if that's something you'd like to see me use more to better understand the characters, let me know! :)
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