𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵
𝗠𝗮𝘂𝗶, 𝗛𝗜
- - -

𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

the group was on the fifth day of their get away, troy and wiz had officially "made up" but there was still some tension between the two, and overall everybody was having a good time.

so far they had been to the beach, a couple of small local restaurants, a whale watching attraction, a few boat rides across the island, and nights alone with their significant others.

some how the trip was exactly what everybody needed so they could come to terms with themselves kinda like a fresh start for the new year. the group went to this sort of "therapy" where everybody was to write out things they wanted to throw away and let go of and then they burned each piece of paper in a fire as a way of leaving it behind them for new beginnings.

currently everybody was doing their own thing just lounging around the huge house, all except for troy. the girl had went back to the waterfall she found on her first day in maui, she took the same clear path and once again it was empty.

nothing but her and her thoughts occupied the space, she slipped from her cover up, dipped into the water and swam closer to the waterfall.

the water was really nice and felt amazing running over her deep caramel colored skin, it probably sounds cliche but she felt at one with herself and actually felt a sense of peace she had been searching for since everything had happened.

as realization hit, she realized her trip was soon coming to an end and she wasn't ready to leave but she had to and once she was back in town she'd follow up with her unfinished business and settle things so she could live comfortably.
- - -

"where'd troy go?" tootie asked as she walked around the house looking for her friend.

"she said she was going for a walk." whitley answered while snacking on some berries.

"oh." tootie nodded and sat down at the island.

"do you think she's okay?" she asked whitley.

"to be honest t, i don't really know but i know she will be. troy is- she's something different and for the time we've spent with her i can tell she'll be just fine. this is just another set back for a major come back for her." whitley answered strongly.

"i'm glad we met her you know? she reminds me so much of sasha," tootie smiled sadly and looked down at the granite counter tops.

"is that why you've clung onto her?" whitley questioned.

tootie chuckled softly, "is it that obvious?"

"more obvious than somebody wearing poker dots." whitley said and raised her eyebrows in a teasing manner.

"well yeah and of course it isn't in a romantic way, but we have a connection i guess. what is it? um- friend soul mates? me and her just click and i guess it's like the closure i didn't know i needed." tootie confessed.

"well now it's time for you to let go and find somebody of your own, yes troy's gonna be your friend but you need a lover. a companion to hold onto." whitley said pointing at the girl.

"i guess everybody needs somebody, huh?"

"no matter how much we say we don't, we do."
- - -

"how long do you think we'll last?" pookie asked mally.

he looked over at her with a confused look on his face, "i was plannin on forever."

"you mean it?" she asked looking up at him from under her lashes.

"yeah, ion really do all this; feelins and shit but i only see myself witchu. we been through a lot together so you really the only person who could put up wimme." he admitted.

"we have been through a lot, huh?" the girl laughed.

"hell yeah since sandbox days." mally said recalling how long they had been friends.

"i'm scared. scared of the future and growin. i mean yeah, we grown now but it's like what else after this?" pookie said while toying with the blanket that sat on her lap.

"if i knew i'd tell you." mally breathed out.

"well if anything does happen we'll always be friends no matter what, right?" pookie questioned looking for reassurance.

"without a doubt." the couple did the handshake they had made up when they were kids and kissed their thumbs before pressing them together.

"i love you jamal."

"i love you more meena."
- - -

"you ever think bout what would've happened if we didn't meet each other?" a.k asked ace who was sitting across from him.

"hell yeah, all the time." ace nodded.

"that would be some weird shit." a.k bowed his head as he laughed.

"honestly doe, but i'm happy we did meet each other and all us stayed click tight since we was kids." ace said as many memories flooded his mind.

"yeah cause a lot of friendships don't make it outta middle school." a.k said and nodded his head.

"true." the two boys stayed silent for awhile before ace spoke up.

"you think we could quit?" he asked.

"what? runnin the game?" a.k questioned.

"yeah i mean we got a enough money ta do whatever and ta be whatever, so why not? cause we ain't gone be able ta sling forever." he said.

"that is true, why you questionin it na?" a.k asked the boy who shrugged.

"cause i want a family inna couple a years and i want my kids ta be straight and not have ta grow up how we did." ace told his friend.

"i mean i've thought about it, but what imma do? the streets is all i know." a.k twisted his lip as he thought hard about the subject.

"turn yo street smarts into somethin then. we could build a whole legacy or some shit. when we went ta that lil therapy thing it was some i wrote on my paper. i'm ready ta quit." ace spilled.

"i ain't never really thought too much on it but i think it's some we all gotta do especially wit mugga havin the baby and all." a.k spoke.

"time ta clean my hands wit a lot a shit and this just the beginnin."
- - -

"you really love ha ain't it?" mugga asked wiz.

the boy nodded, "with everything in me at this point."

"she good fa you and i know it wasn't easy fa me ta come ta terms wit it at first, but i mean it. i mean look atchu. she broke that bubble you putcho self in and made you happy." mugga said as he laid out everything he had noticed.

"you noticed allat?" wiz asked and laughed a bit afterwards.

"we all did and it don't take a rocket scientist ta see it." mugga shrugged.

"well yeah and i appreciate ha a lot, i ain't think after dasha i was gone find somebody else." wiz said as his leg began to shake.

"but you did and how is that goin." mugga said with a straight face.

"if you can see everything else, you can see how it's goin." wiz said with a slight attitude.

"i can see how much you takin troy fa granted, you got a good female on ya hands and it seems like you'on even care. you could say how much love ha and this and that but have you shown ha that? she goin through hell right na and all you did was apologize a few times and make dead end "promises"." mugga told wiz.

"you ain't ownin up ta your words, what happened ta words don't really mean none anyways? you said that a lot ta be one quiet mufucka. you gotta show ha that you hea and not just hea ta see but hea mentally." mugga coached as he tapped the side of his temple.

"ion know how." wiz confessed quietly as he felt weak and ashamed of himself.

"and i can't tell you how neitha cause that's somethin you gotta figure out on ya own. relationships ain't no walk inna park but boffa ya'll gotta be present equally not fifty fifty but a hundred on both ends."
- - -

it was almost six in the evening as troy walked back into the house. the sun was starting set and she had been at the waterfall since twelve and her fingers had resembled prunes, but she felt good.

she dried her feet on the front door mat and made her way quickly to her room as the cool air from the ac hit her skin.

she went straight into the bathroom and started up the shower, so she could clean her body of todays events and any sand she had tracked anywhere.

the girl used her favorite shea butter body wash to scrub all over her body once she had got the sand from places where it shouldn't have been.

ten minutes had went by and her body was all clean, so she cut off the water and wrapped a dry towel around her body and stomped her feet lightly on the small bathroom rug to dry her feet.

her eyes scanned all of her products before they landed on her shea butter, she dried her entire body before lathering herself with the smooth mixture.

she cleaned her wounds and made sure to flex her shoulder a little so it wouldn't lock up on her later on or throughout the rest of the day.

when she exited the bathroom she went to find something to put on and chose an oversized graphic tee she packed along with a pair of compression shorts and fuzzy socks.

she slipped into the clothes and brushed out her curly install making sure to lay the unit back down and put it up in a messy bun that laid on the top of her end.

as she went to leave the room her face hit wiz's chest as he went to enter the room.

"ow." she laughed and rubbed her nose.

"my fault, where you been?" he asked her.

"just at this waterfall i found." the girl said.

"mm." wiz hummed.

"yup what did you do today?" troy asked as she sat down on the small futon bring up her good leg to rest near her chest.

"none really." wiz shrugged as he replied.

"come sit, you act like i'm gonna bite." troy said and patted the spot next to her.

"you still think i'm mad ain't it?" she asked and he nodded.

"ta be honest yeah." he said.

"i'm not i was just fed up, but i wasn't mad i swear. we got like two days left out here and i wanna enjoy myself." she told him.

"i really am sorry fa everything, i don't know how ta be there when it comes ta shit like this but imma try just bare wimme." wiz apologized and troy took his hand and intertwined it with hers.

"grow together mentally and physically right?" she said with a small smile.

"i know you tryin, so i'm not gone knock you fa that. we both gotta work on a few things but that's just a piece of the pains of growin." troy scrunched up her nose a bit as she spoke.

wiz simply nodded at her words taking in what she said.

"yeah- pains of growin," he muttered under his breath.

the couple stayed quiet as they looked off onto the balcony at the beach, the sun had set already and the waves took over their empty silence.

the two knew they were gonna be okay, this was just a minor push back for them right now but any relationship can successfully succeed if there are set backs because nobody or anything is perfect it's all apart of growing.