BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER

K A R E E M ' S P O V

I STARE DOWN AT THE LEATHER BOOK IN front of me, my hand trembling slightly as I hold it. 'BIBLE' was printed in the middle of the cover in small letters with a cross underneath it. The cool leather made it feel so smooth as if it would easily slip out of my grasp any time soon. Looking up, I see Talita staring at me, a hopeful glance in her eyes.

"Well?" she asks after an awkward moment of silence.

I let out a deep sigh, my mind scrambling to think of a response. "Man, I dunno. This is-"

"Listen," she quickly interrupts. "Just a page or two. Even a verse. Or at least accept it and you can shove it under your bed when I'm gone. I just want you to have one."

A small sigh escapes my lips as I stare into her eyes, the same honey-colored eyes Chloe had. Chloe. Seeing her broken and tired had killed me, stabbing my right in the heart. Showed how much I had broken her. Only God knows how much of an idiot to treat her the way I did. And to let her go.

"-you're going to be late for practice," Talita reminds me, bringing me back into the present and out of my thoughts. I give a slight nod in reply before heading towards the gym which was a 5-minute walk from where we had been standing. I throw the Bible into my carry-on bag with as much caution as I could, before walking towards the building, passing my dead trees and the usual students, rushing from one class to another.

The gym was beginning to fill with my teammates over the span of a few seconds, due to the fact that no one wanted to be late for practice. Coach had always threatened to kick us off the next few games if we did. And no one wanted to find out if that was really true so we all did our best to come on time as much as possible.

"As my grandmama always said," he had told the team at the beginning of the year, "If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. And if you're late, don't bother coming."

I'm instantly brought out of my thoughts when Coach's whistle lets out a shrill ring, alerting us to start heading toward the locker room.

"I heard Denasia-"

"Did you see that guy-"

"That girl is hella fine."

I rolled my eyes at my teammate's conversations as the team made their way into the locker room. Normally, I would've added his own input but lack of sleep and work had seemed to have silenced me. I couldn't wait for winter break when I would finally be able to do what I wanted.

Maybe even talk to Chloe.

"C'mon, we don't have all day for you guys to make sure you look cute," Coach barked at those in the locker room, causing me to instantly slam my locker door shut and join the rest of the team in heading onto the court. Now, it was time to play.

XXX

"Kareem! Kareem!" a voice shouted from behind me just as I was leaving the gym, causing me to turn around, already beginning to regret what I did as soon as I met with Denasia. Her lips stretched into a smile, her mouth glossed and perfume sprayed all over her clothes again. I hear a couple of the guys wolf whistle as they pass by us only leading me to roll my eyes.

"Kareem, can we talk?" she asks.

"Not in the mood Denasia," I mutter, before continuing my way only to hear her following me. Turning around after a few more minutes, I glare at her. "What do you want Denasia? I'm already trying to avoid the gossip of what happened."

Ignoring the social cue that I clearly didn't want to talk to her, she takes a few steps closer to me before putting her manicured hand on my chest, which I yank off instantly.

"What is your problem?" she shouts as I do so, the flirtatious look on her face now gone and replaced with anger, her perfectly plucked brows furrowing and her full lips now pouting.

"I have a problem? Can't you see I don't like you?" I shout back, clenching my fists, feeling my nails dig deep into my palm, trying to prevent myself from punching anyone.

"Can't you see I do! I want you, Kareem. And I get what I want," she yells, almost wrapping her arms around my waist before I walk away, almost jogging as fast as I could from her before her figure is out of sight. I slow down once I start seeing the outline of the dorm buildings.

"What the hell is that girl's problem?" I mutter, entering my dorm building and clicking the button as fast as I could for the elevator.

XXX

C H L O E ' S P O V

"What in the world happened to you?" Talita's voice asks as I look up from my pillow to be met with Talita as concern filled her eyes at the sight of me.

"How did you even get in here?" I ask, my voice muffled because of the pillow. Talita takes her seat at the end of my bed, ignoring my question.

"Your roommate. But that's not what I came here for?"

"You came here to do what then?" I ask, pushing my body to sit up so I can meet her gaze. Her outfit is the usual one that she wears to class, a black zip-up hoodie with yoga pants varying in many colors. Her braids have been newly down and thrown into a bun, two strands framing her face. She had her life put together.

But of course, you don't. You're an absolute disaster. Maybe if you dressed up more, Kareem would've never hit you.

The voice got more and more ridiculous with each and every single passing day but somehow, listening to it wasn't hard. And maybe, it was right.

"I want Chloe back again," Talita finally says after a long moment of silence. "I want to see the Christ-loving, happy Chloe."

"Well, then I must be wasting your time because I'm not that Chloe anymore," I bite back.

"Chloe," Talita chokes back a sob before tilting her head to the side slightly. "Can't you see we're all worried about you? You haven't gone to class in the longest time or to church or to anything. Miriam told me she saw cuts on your arm the other day. You need help, Chloe."

"That's it? You came here to tell me things I already knew. I know I look like crap Talita. I know I haven't been anywhere. And these cuts," I pull up my sleeve as tears rapidly fall down my face, "These cuts remind me every single day of what I failure I am and how stupid I was to believe I had a heavenly Father who actually cared about me."

By now, Talita's face was mirroring mine as we both had snot and tears stained onto our faces. "Chloe, God does care about-"

I interrupt, not wanting to hear any more of that religious garbage. "Well, where was he when Kareem was beating me for 6 months? Where was he when I was screaming, calling for his help? Where was he when Kareem watched me as I walked away from him, knowing he had sex with another girl? Where was he?"

Talita's eyes widen in shock as my voice gets louder and louder before a cry comes out of her mouth. "Chloe, I didn't-"

I angrily wiped away the tears that had fallen down my hoodie sleeve, my head now banging. "Just go."

"Chloe-"

"I don't want you here right now. Leave Talita," I use my strongest arm to point to the door, tears starting to well up in the corners of my eyes. Talita made no movement, her now glassy eyes feeling as if they were penetrating my soul.

"Chloe, please just-"

I lift my head to the ceiling, annoyance rushing through my veins, before looking back at her. "I said to go."

She bites the corner of her lip before picking her bag off the floor and jumping from the bed onto the carpet. As soon as she puts on her bag, she turns to me.

I ignore her, turning my head to face the window, which revealed the usual business of the campus, where students were constantly heading in and out of the building, some with their friends and others alone.

Talita sighs before I hear her footsteps become quieter and quieter and finally the door is shut closed.

Once I make sure the door is locked, I head toward the bathroom and open the cabinet doors placed under the sink. Behind all the makeup, blow dryer, and edge control, my knife, small and black, lay. My hands itch to grab it which I do in an instant. However, I don't start first. Instead, I stare at the blade in front of me, sharpened to perfection. Sitting down on the tiled floor, I pull up my sleeve, exposing my skin to the cold bathroom. The knife hovers over it, before I graze it across my arm, a sting of pain coming immediately. A smile overtakes my face as I feel the pain, only wishing that physical pain would be the only pain I would have to endure. Just when I'm about to dig deeper in though, my phone buzzes with a notification, a frown coming onto my face as it does. Weird. I never remembered bringing my phone in here.

With the moment now dissipated, I wash the knife, removing the blood that sprinkled onto its sharp blade, before placing it back, behind the shampoo bottle. Taking my phone off the floor, my frown deepens as I notice who texted me.

Talita

God is and was always there C. He still is

sent 4:32 p.m. 

Thoughts? Comments? Questions?

Is anyone loving this Denasia girl?

Vote and tell this story with a friend people.