Belonging to Lust

On her way to the bathroom from her science class, Monique McCoy had heard something like a scuffle followed by voices further down the hall past the bathrooms. She frowned to herself before heading over to quench her curiosity on what was going on down there. It would only be a ten second peek, nothing her teacher should notice, and if so, freak out over. Just as she turned around the corner, Monique stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening in shock. “Holy shit! A-Are you alright over there?”

“Just peachy.” Zaiyia mumbled sarcastically from where she laid on the ground, the sound of her enemy’s feet pounding down the hallway echoing around them. The back of her knee was throbbing in pain from where she got hit from behind by Camilla Lodge, and her baton. Instead of engaging in a fight, she had dropped them a threat or two that sounded way more convincing than theirs before they got up, and ran off. “Ever take the time to just…lay down, and admire the silence of the hallways. It’s nice.”

“Riiiight…” Even having not met this girl before, Monique could hear the sarcasm loud, and clear. Calming herself down now that she sees the situation wasn’t as serious as she thought, she walked over to her side, and crouch down beside her. “Anyway, you look like you use some help getting up, or do you have that all figured out yourself?”

Zaiyia lifted her head, whipping her braids out of her face to look up at Monique suspiciously. She was surprised to find that the young girl looked just like her, at least in terms of skin tone, and hair type. It wasn’t like African Americans were a rarity here, it’s just they were the minority among others. “Yeah, actually, I can definitely use some help. The name is Zaiyia, Zaiyia Halifax.”

“Monique McCoy, at your service.” Monique introduced herself as they both worked together to get her back on her feet. She tried to be as mindful as she could over Zaiyia’s damaged leg, but in order to get her up she had to endure the pain. Once they got Zaiyia on her feet, with her leaning some of her weight on her with her arm secured around her neck, Monique gave her a proud smile. “There you go, hun. I knew you could do it.”

Not being able to resist smiling back, Zaiyia rolled her eyes playfully. “Yeah, well it ain’t nothing.” Her voice turned serious then. “Thank you for this, Monique. It’s been a minute since I’ve met a friendly face in this sea of assholes.”

“Ouch. That bad, huh?” Monique giggled as she wrapped an arm around Zaiyia’s waist, and began to walk them forward.

“Haven’t you heard?” Zaiyia said rather rhetorically.

Monique gave her a confirming nod. Everyone in the school knew about Zaiyia’s situation with Alice, and majority of them were on ‘Team Alice’. Unlike everyone else, she hadn’t picked a side, and hadn’t cared to at the time. “Let’s get you to the nurse’s office so she can check on that leg of yours.”

Zaiyia immediately shook her head, shutting that idea down before it could be put into motion. “No, I don’t need to go there. I’m fine.”

“Seriously?” Monique asked her incredulously as she brought them both to a stop. “Have you not noticed you’re limping?”

Sighing, Zaiyia unwrapped her arm from around Monique’s neck, and stepped back on one trembling leg and the other throbbing with pain. She had to bite her lip to keep from making any sound of discomfort before lifting her face back up to give Monique an almost convincing smile. “See! I can move just fine. No need to worry about little old me getting by.”

Not totally convinced, but at the same time not feeling the need to drag her butt all the way to nurse’s office herself, Monique simply gave her a shrug in response. Seriously, ain’t nobody got time for that. “Only if you’re sure…”

“I am.” Zaiyia answered confidently.

A few seconds passed before Monique gave her a smile, then a nod. “Alright then. See you around, Zaiyia Halifax, and I hope you’ll feel much better then.” She then turned away, and walked back to her science class.

“Yeah…” Zaiyia watched her go before heading back to her locker to re-gather her things. She tried going on with the rest of her day as normally as she could, but the pain was still there, and her walking wasn’t making it better. Besides, her enemies were watching, and had clearly seen she had been dealt with accordingly to them. They’d point, snickered, and boldly smile from a distance, but of course they’d never do that right to her face. That fact was the only thing that made Zaiyia bear through it before it all finally became too much for her. She was three classes away from the end of the day, but she physically couldn’t do it anymore. Around her, the hallway began to empty as time was counting down to the next class. By the time it rang, she was the only person still there. “Fuck.” She mumbled to herself as she whipped out her phone, and went through her contacts. She needed to call someone, anyone, to come pick her up, and take her home. As she scrolled through her short list, she lingered on the name ‘Daddy’. She bit her lip, recognizing the number under the name as Heath. Deep inside, she wanted to call him, and plead for her knight in shining armor to come rescue her…but she couldn’t. He didn’t want her, and until the magical day came when he finally did, she’d have to rely on another knight. She called him Alan. “Yo, I need you to come pick me up right now…it’s an emergency and you’re the only person I can count on right now.”

“An emergency!?” Alan repeated, but in a voice filled with concern despite the fact that she interrupted his greeting of hello. “Yeah, sure! I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”

“See you out front.” Zaiyia informed him before cutting the call short. She just wanted to get home. There was no need for conversations, especially when she was in pain. It took some time, but she limped all the way out of the nearest exit, and to the front of the school to wait on a bench for only two minutes before Alan’s car came speeding into the parking lot. “Damn, he showed up 10 minutes early.” She got up once again, and limped all the way to the edge of the sidewalk where he drove up to collect her.

Alan had noticed she had been limping, and so the second she had opened up the passenger door he was bombarding her with questions. “Were you limping just now? Why? What happened since I left!?”

“Oh you know, it’s just a couple of stupid ass hoes being stupid ass hoes, nothing new there.” Zaiyia flashed him a convincing smile of innocence before buckling herself in, and leaning back to relax in her seat.

For once, Alan stood his ground, and didn’t overlook her situation. “Wait, what!? What does that mean, exactly?”

Zaiyia raised an eyebrow at him. “Seriously? I thought that was clear enough.”

“No, I mean, who are these ‘stupid ass hoes’ you’re talking about? Was it those girls who picked on you in the locker room?” Alan demanded to know as if he had a right to know.

Rolling her eyes, Zaiyia waved a hand as a sign to drop the subject. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I ca-” Alan started, but was rudely cut off by Zaiyia.

“Yes! Yes, you can!” Zaiyia ordered him, glaring at him from the other side of the car before looking away. “Please, just take me home.”

With a sigh, Alan accepted defeat with a nod, and started his car. He had started to drive her home, but manage to convince her to order dinner with him through the drive thru. Together they sat, and ate in the parking lot so she wouldn’t have to walk on her leg before heading back on the road again to her house. As he parked his car along the curb outside her house, Alan turned, and rested his arm across the back of her seat. “I can help you walk to the door, if you’d like. It’s no problem at all on my end.”

Seeing that she’s been a bit too rough on the old boy, Zaiyia gave him a smile, and nodded. “Yeah, sure. After that delicious meal, why not?”

Alan grinned that her mood had finally changed for the better, and hopped out of his car feeling accomplished. He ran around the front to open her door, and help her out. They took their time getting her to the front door, but before that Alan had decided to carry her up the porch steps to make it easy on her. Zaiyia was grateful when he put her down in front of the door. “Thank you so much, Alan, for all you’ve done for me today. Seriously, I owe you big time for this.” Leaning over, she gave him a friendly one side hug.

“Hey, it was no big deal, honestly.” Alan assured her as she pulled out of the hug. “If by any chance you’re not feeling well by tomorrow feel free to give me a call, and I’ll come pick you up.”

“I’ll probably end up doing that if I don’t stay home.” Zaiyia told him as she unlocked the front door, and stepped inside. “See you later, Alan, and thank you again.” He gave her a nod, and wave before she closed the door behind her. Now that she was finally home she wanted to relax in her bed, and sleep…but instead she found herself limping around the kitchen to make Heath dinner despite everything that happened to her at school and what was happening between them. When she was done, she stuck it in the microwave, and placed a note on the little door telling him his dinner was inside. Once that was out of the way, she finally made her way to the guest house, and up into her room to nurse her leg.