351 days

A week later

"How you expect me to get you out for jail in three hours?" Bakari asked Amare.

"Better figure it out because I told Adaliyah That I'll take her to a movie." He said.

"Her mom let her out?" Bakari asked.

"If I just said that I'll take her to the movies then what that mean." Amare responded smartly.

"Okay calm down jailbird." Bakari sighed.

"Imma get you out man. I promise." He said before it was time for Amare to go.

________________________________

Meanwhile, Adaliyah suffered from the side effects of Chemo. The thing she hated most, which is why she didn't wanna do it. No cancer patients would but they'd do anything to get better.

"I don't think you can go out today Adaliyah." Her mom said as they cleaned her nose.

She understood why. This was her 3rd nosebleed in only 2 hours.

"Okay." She said tiredly.

"If you get better by the time your little date starts then I'll reconsider." Her mom said. She wanted to make her daughter feel better but she seen it didn't work.

She hated that her daughter had to go through this and to know that she didn't have that much time left crushed her.

"I'm tired." I sighed.

"I know." She hugged me.

I would've loved to go to a movie but I don't think I could leave my bed. I had headaches and nosebleeds all day. A movie is the last thing on my mind.

"Well did you think about taking her to a hospital!" Adaliyah's uncle yelled. Adaliyah already wasn't in the mood.

"It's not that serious. I'm just tired." She mumbled.

"A nosebleed is kinda serious for someone who has cancer."

"You remind me that I have cancer literally everyday. Give it a break." She said.

Adaliyah already have to live with this. She didn't wanna be reminded about it every two seconds.

"A nap is the only thing on my mind right now. No hospitals." She said softly.

"I know but what if it's serious? You never have this much nosebleeds or headaches at all." He asked and all she could do was shrug.

She hoped and prayed that she would feel better in time for the movies, not knowing the predicament that Amare had gotten himself in.

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"No, it wasn't his fault this time mama." Bakari tried to reason with him mom.

Amare has a record, not a good one either. He had a habit of going to jail. He was really trying to change, even before being with Adaliyah.

Now that he's friends with her, he sees that there is more to life than some baby ass gangs.

The more they hung out, the more she taught him. Even if she didn't see it, Adaliyah was slowly changing him for the better.

"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The police saw a black boy with a lot of tattoos, so they did what they did. Mama I swear he was just gonna go get something for his friend." Bakari said.

"What friend?" His mom asked.

"You know that girl, Adaliyah? The one who never came out the house?"

"Yea what about her." She said and Bakari mentally rolled his eyes. She should've caught on by now.

"Mama they been hanging with each other for weeks now. Why you think he been so damn jolly lately."

"Ain't she sick though?" She asked and Bakari sat confused.

"I don't know. I never talked to her." He said and made a mental note to try and get to know her.

"Yea she sick. You know her grandma, Miss Beverly?" She asked and Bakari nodded.

"Yea, she said that her grand baby was real sick with cancer and we did a little prayer for her." She said and Bakari was shocked.

When he saw Adaliyah at her house, she didn't look sick at all. If anything, she looked super healthy.

"I didn't know that." He mumbled.

"But Amare is tryna take her to the movies later because she don't really get out much so please get him out. Do it for her." He pleaded.

"Alright Bakari." She sighed and Bakari jumped up.

"Thank you mama." He kissed her cheek and rushed out the door.

Off to Adaliyah's house.

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"Somebody's here yo see you." Iris rubbed her daughters forehead causing her to wake up.

"Who?" She asked softly.

Bakari walked In with some flowers and a little painting. Iris walked out but stayed close by, just in case.

"How you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm okay." Adaliyah said. She was very confused because she didn't know Bakari at all. She only saw him once but never got to know him like she did Amare.

"Umm. I heard about the cancer thing." He sad awkwardly and Adaliyah sat in shock.

She didn't want anyone to know because she didn't wanna he treated with pity by anyone else. Her mother does it enough.

"I got some flowers and a painting. It's not by me. I mean the flowers are but the painting ain't." He rambled on.

"Thank you." She say the flowers on her bed and admired the painting.

There were blue and purple roses painted all around a gray butterfly.

Her favorite colors.

"Amare did it." He said, breaking her from her thoughts.

"I'm not gone treat you weird because you got cancer. In case you wondering. You're a regular teenager. Like me." He smiled.

Bakari wanted to make her feel comfortable.

"Thanks." She smiled right back at him.

"Aye, you ever watch this show..."

Adaliyah felt good. She had another person to talk too and be herself around. What made it even better was that he knew about her cancer and never made her feel less about herself or weak. He kept his word and made her feel like a regular teenager. Like him.

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"I heard about your little friend." Kendra said and she drove Amare home.

"What friend, Auntie?" He sighed. He wasn't in the mood to be lectured. Especially since he wasn't even hanging with them people no more.

"Adaliyah." She said and his ears perked.

"What about her?"

"I just heard that you got her out the house. That was sweet of you."

"Thanks but I told her that I would take her somewhere so if you could hurry up. No disrespect." He said. He told her to get ready by eight, it was 7:45.

"I understand." Kendra laughed before speeding up.

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"I gotta go and I'm pretty sure you gotta get ready for you little outing with Amare." Bakari said and Adaliyah looked at the time.

She jumped up after realizing that it was past eight only for her to go back down. They spent so much time talking about shows they love and food they liked to eat, she forgot about the movie.

"Calm down. The movie ain't going to where." Bakari helped her up.

"Thank you." She said.

"Bye." Bakari waves like a child.

"I'll see you later." Adaliyah said and Bakari was confused, like always.

"Always say see you later, not bye. Saying by means your gone forever. See you later means you'll be back." She told Bakari the same thing she told Amare.

"Oh well. See you later." He smiled and walked out, giving her some space so she can get ready.

As Bakari was leaving out, Iris stopped him. She wanted to thank him for making her daughter feel normal and safe.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"You're welcome." Bakari didn't know what he was being thanked for but he just went with it.

"Hopefully you'll be back. Maybe bring the other one. Come back for dinner?" Iris asked and Bakari nodded. He was never one to turn down food.

"We'll be there." He smiled before opening the door and walking out without paying attention to his surroundings.

"Oh shit." Bakari held his head.

"Damn nigga look around." Amare said.

"Bro she not even ready." Bakari said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Why was you even there?" Amare asked.

"I wanted to get to know her to nigga. She cool as hell. I know why you like her so much." Bakari smiled right along with Amare.

Adaliyah told him that she didn't tell Amare about her cancer so he promised her that he wouldn't say a thing.

One thing about Bakari, he'll keep a promise.

"Did you get dressed up?!" Bakari joker. Amare wasn't dressed up. He just wore a graphic shirt and some of the nicest pair of jeans he owned.

"This the first time I ever seen you without sweats on? This is a special occasion."

"Shut the fuck up." Amare laughed. The two heard the door open and Adaliyah walked out. Dressed in a large hoodie and some sweatpants. She wanted to keep herself very warm, knowing how cold it gets at night.

"I thought you left and I thought you forgot about me." She said to the two boys that stood y'all in front of her.

"I'm leaving now and why would he forget about you?" Bakari wanted to play wingman. It's the least he can do.

"You don't wanna join us?" Adaliyah asked and Bakari shook his head.

"Y'all kids go out and have fun. Enjoy your little date." He joked and she laughed.

"Do you need a ride home?" Amare asked. He didn't want his cousin walking home this late at night. Bakari didn't live in a neighborhood like Adaliyah, she lived in a beautiful neighborhood with a low crime rate. It was pretty dark out so Bakari took him up on his offer.

"You don't look like you listen to rap. You look like you listen to country music." Bakari said to Adaliyah

"I don't really listen to music at all." She said and Amare and Bakari looked shocked.

"Who don't listen to music? That's like the most important part of the day."

"I have more important things to do." She said and Bakari patted her shoulder.

"Get out nigga." Amare said as he pulled up in front of Bakari's house.

"Thanks. Have fun y'all." he smiled.

———————————————-

"I don't want you to be a basketball player anymore." Adaliyah said as She and Amare sat at the drive in movie. The movie they were supposed to be watching sucked so they've been having a conversation for the past hour.

"You were preaching to me about being a basketball player now you against it." He chuckled.

"I thing you should be an artist." She said and he looked at her.

"Bakari brought me a painting earlier. It had blue and purple roses on it with a gray butterfly." She said.

"I know you did it for me." She said and Amare stayed quite. Of course he did it for her, that wasn't the only painting he did for her. He learned how to draw a while ago. He would always be on punishment and taught himself how to draw, so he can kill time.

"Yea I did." He said and she smiled.

"And you were listening when I talk about my favorite colors." Adaliyah smiled. During one of their many hangouts, Adaliyah rambled on and on about colors. That was the only thing she talked about that entire day. He didn't know why she wanted to talk about colors but he didn't mind.

To her, it looked like Amare wasn't listening. Amare was listening very hard that day while brainstorming on things he could draw for her. After that day ended, he went straight home and got to drawing. He planned on giving it to her the next time he saw her but his plans were stopped by him suddenly going to jail.

"Can you teach me?" She asked.

"Teach you what?" Amare asked and Adaliyah rolled her eyes. "How to draw, duh." She said and he chuckled.

"Duh." He mocked her.

Our of nowhere, he felt Adaliyah's fingers trace the tattoo on his neck.

"Do you regret it?"

"Sometimes. I was young and dumb got tattoos in all the wrong places. On some other days, I think it look hard so I be chilling." He said and she laughed.

Adaliyah wanted a tattoo but she can't get it while doing chemo because she has a higher risk of bleeding or getting an infection.

"What you wanna do next?" Amare asked.

"I think you should choose now. You've been doing everything I wanted to do. What do you wanna do?"

"I'll do whatever you want to do." Amare replied.

"I'm being for real."

"So am I." He said and she huffed before sinking down into the seat some more.

"I want you to teach me how to draw." She said.

"Alright." He said.

—————————————————-

"Be here tomorrow at 4:30." Adaliyah said for the 30th time.

"How many times you gone say it."

"I'm not playing with you." She said from her steps.

"Imma change my mind if you don't go in the house." He joked.

"I'll see you later." She yelled.

"See you." He yelled back before watching her go into the house. Amare got back into his car and drove home.

He couldn't wait for tomorrow at 4:30pm.

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