“Nesha? Is that you crying?” Her head popped up and with the streetlights, I could see her puffy red eyes. Taking a seat next to her on the porch I nudged her shoulder with mine. “Why are you…”
She covered my mouth with her shaking hand. Her eyes were wide, and she kept looking at the door. “Be quiet. He’ll hear you. I don’t want Mr. Ryan to get you too.”
Get me? What did she mean by that?
“Where is Odom?” I guess I must’ve still been talking loud. She took me by the hand and ran to the side of the house. “What’s going on? Why are you out here by yourself?”
O’Nesha looked different than she did in her school clothes. Her Tweety Bird pajamas and matching slippers had been a gift from Odom for her birthday. I remember when he and I snuck to the mall so he could get them. When I gave her the stuffed singing Tweety Bird she blushed and gave me a hug. That was the first a girl ever hugged and kissed me on the cheek.
If I ever had a girlfriend I’d want it to be Nesha. She’s always nice to me and plays with my brothers. Most girls at school were afraid to talk to me or picked on me like the others. But not my Nesha.
“He’s in the house with Mr. Ryan.” She wiped her face. “Why are you out here by yourself?”
She kept looking at the door like she was expecting Mr. Ryan to come out any minute. “Cause Mr. Ryan don’t like when I’m awake late at night. Mrs. Ryan is gone to work an overnight at the hospital, and I stayed awake knowing that he’d try to hurt Odom again.”
Mr. Ryan was a fat dude that wore dingy wife beaters and dirty jeans. He smelled and had this weird look in his eyes.
“Does he beat on Odom?” I knew the answer because I’d seen the bruises on him to know the truth even though he never told me out of his mouth.
Nodding, she squeezed my hand. “Yes, and other stuff. He…” Before she could finish a light came on in the front sitting room. “Shhh. Don’t move. Stay here.” Her small body was able to slide under the porch railing and she sat back in the spot I first saw her in. I thought about running back across the street but knew I wouldn’t make it unseen if that door opened.
“Nesha, who are you out here talking to?” Hearing his drunk voice I ducked further down in the dark.
“No one, sir. I was talking to myself.” The door opened and I watched Mr. Ryan step out onto the porch. With the street’s lights and moon, I took in his disturbing appearance. He was sweaty. Beer can in hand and the front of his jeans were unbuttoned and his belt barely hanging on.
Taking one last look around his front yard, he pointed a hand towards the door. “Get in the house and go to bed.”
“Yes, sir.” Hopping up quickly, Nesha ran into the house without looking back.
Minutes had passed since Mr. Ryan had gone back into the house and the lights had shut off at their house completely, but I stayed where I was. Not because I was afraid but because my mind wouldn’t stop running crazy. I knew he was hurting them. Maybe not Nesha but he was hurting Odom. I wanted to tell Mitch so he could help but I knew Odom would get mad with me. I wanted to help him like he’s helped me, but I didn’t know how.
I waited the whole day to see if I’d run into him at school. It was my last day and I knew if I didn’t catch him now I never would. When I finally saw him coming out of his last class, I started walking towards him but stopped.
Again, he was limping. His left eye was black, and his lip was busted. I also noticed two fingers on his left hand had been taped together.
“Odom!” I shouted his name for him to hear me.
Turning and looking through the crowd, he nodded and limped my way. “Yo, what’s up, Amell?” He dapped me up. Regardless of whatever Odom went through he always smiled and was in a chipper mood.
“Nothing much. You good?” I motioned towards his beat-up face.
He waved me off and started walking. “Yeah, it’s nothing. I got into a fight during PE.” He was lying. I knew he was.
“Oh, I thought Mr. Ryan had done something to you.”
Hearing me say that made him freeze. We had made it out of the school parking lot and heading towards 27th Street going home. “Why would you think that?” His face scrunched up and kept looking around.
“Last night Nesha told me that he hurts you. She was sitting on the porch crying.”
“What else?” He gritted with his fist at his side. Was he trying to fight me?
“That’s it. She was upset and…”
“I’m good, man.” He waved me off laughing. “I can take care of myself.”
Mr. Ryan was hitting him. “Tell your caseworker or something. Maybe they can help you.”
Odom stopped walking and got in my face. “Look, not everybody is able to have Mitch come in and rescue us from our problems.” He spoke so harsh that spit was flying, his nose flaring.
“I’m just trying to help you.”
“You can’t help me,” he yelled. “I got it. I got me and Nesha. I always take care of us.” He shoved me before walking off. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a white shirt on a small body running my way.
“Aye, don’t you be pushing my brother you ole sucker.” Grabbing the back of Cassian’s shirt, I held him back and watched Odom limp home with his head hung low. At one point I thought he was crying from the shake of his shoulders. Instead of butting in like I did, I left him alone.
“Next time you touch my bike I’m going to kick you in the nuts. Keep playing with me, little boy.” Every time Georgia talked, she made sure to talk with her hands and roll her neck. And every time she fussed or yelled, her large puff of brown hair moved around like a cloud of cotton candy hair.
“I dare you to kick me in the nuts and watch me kick you in your flat chest. I ain’t scared of no girl.” In only a pair of khaki shorts and Chucks, Cassian stood in front of her with his bird chest out arguing like he wasn’t the one who purposely flattened her bike tires.
We’ve been living with Mitch and Clover for two months now and everything had changed. The neighborhood in Plantation was night and day compared to the hood over on 19th Street where we used to live. I’d grown used to going to sleep to sounds of loud music, arguing couples, gunshots, and whatever else was going on. It was so quiet in this neighborhood that I became paranoid thinking people were up to no good, especially when the adults came over to introduce their kids to us.
Every week we were getting invited to parties and cookouts. I thought we lived with a bunch of rich white people considering the sizes of these houses. They were baby mansions owned by different nationalities. Even the white people were friendly. Some were really friendly, and the others stuck up their noses, but one thing I knew for sure…they all respected Mitch.
It was now summer, and we got to know all the kids in the neighborhood. Most of them went to the same school as us, Plantation Elementary and High School. A few others went to American Heritage which was a rich school that took pride in giving athletes from the hood scholarships and grants to go to their schools.
I missed my friends, well the little bit I had. Pacino’s father did a lot of personal business with Mitch so he came over a lot, but I hadn’t spoken or seen Odom since that day he got mad at me. When I called the Ryans house and spoke to Nesha she said that he had a lot going on and wasn’t himself lately. Pacino said the same thing and I asked why he didn’t do anything to help Odom and he said Odom never said anything was wrong.