Draft 2

A Hefty Affliction

Kalidas’ world started and ended in the center of New York. The livelier metropolitan area of the Lower East Side was the core of his being till he met her. Musiq seemed like just another girl in Neighborhood high school. But this thin Puerto Rican with beautiful hips, lips, and style had no shame in stealing his life away. Soon after they started dating, his heart was shattered like thick glass. She played too many games, cheating, leaving. His heart was too tender to condone immaturity. But, no mistake defines Kalidas like the one that made him lose the trust of the one he loved. On the peak of his high school career in Neighborhood, he started doing what his momma advised him to do- wait to date.

“K, don’t go foolin’ around with non’a these street girls, you hear? They only after one thang. Now my baby is handsome and got smarts. You be above them. Don’t make me say ‘I told you so son,” his mom warned.

“Yeah ma. I know. Thanks for always havin’ my back. I got you,” Kalidas brushed her off. His mom was always protective, never wanted him out of her sight. But she had a reason. Kalidas got everything he wanted. With almond-shaped hazel eyes, toned abs and biceps, flowing café curly hair, he was developed as can be. Regardless of his mom’s warnings and apprehension, he turned to find Musiq’s blue eyes chasing him down the halls, knocking him out the ring, and blowing the wind out of his diaphragm. Looking back on it, his thoughts stuck, “why did I ever…?” His vivid memory attacked his mental health as he sat in his room about a year after that day, thinking about what could have been had he not gave into those two ocean-like eyes, with waves that drowned out his lungs.

Rage, banging headaches, even anxiety attacks is what that latina led him to. A mixture of a rosy pink and morbid grey lay beneath his eyes, exhausted from sickness, sick from exhaustion. His body trembled to the thought of another lie; he’d think his life was a game of “BS”, a card game to be tampered with, an arena of cheating. Musiq was the carpet under his feet, but she ripped herself away and he’s paused with rug burn. His heart, crashing with an echoing THUD, ripping itself to shreds, has become accustomed to keeping his head up. Eyes looking up, he found his “confidant”. Every single night, like a mom singing her baby a lullaby, Avery was the remedy to his screeching, rotting heart. Inevitably, yet so unexpectedly, she took the steering wheel and spiraled his life in the opposite direction. Avery’s easygoing attitude, understanding, kindness, and inner beauty slowly started to reconnect all the broken arteries, keeping the blood pumping from his love organ. She wrote him poetry many nights, each expressing how delicately she’d treat him, like a white rose in a garden of sunflowers.

I know no one’s perfect but damn you come close
From your mind, to your style, I bet every chick want a dose
A dose of what you got will send my body in total shock
My thoughts run crazy and my heart kind’a wanna stop-
But when I catch myself, I regain composure
You’re rare not like Mr. Clean with hair but like a four-leaf clover
And damn boo let me add how you’re a true soldier
Going through what you been through ain’t no walk in the park
But it’s sick how you can shine and light everything that’s dark.
You got the looks and the attitude to crush a kid’s game
Make her wanna keep you, if you hear what I’m sayin’
“Hey Av, how you doin’?” would be the highlight of my day,
And if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep it that way.
Cause there’s somethin’ about your swag that got me going mad
And damn Usher’s song is tight cause Av, “You got it bad”
I definitely do, but that’s just fine.
I don’t mind, I’m here for you anytime boo.

Twists. Kalidas warding off the tyrant caused rumors, stating that Musiq caught “feelies” and tenderly-coated kisses in Staircase B. Somehow those were the messages that got back to his newfound savior, Avery, at her school, LaGuardia. While he was in a battle of territory, Avery held up the rumors and tried to distract herself from the irrevocable pain she’d feel if the rumors were true.

“Do you love her??” Musiq cried. But even though Kalidas responded with a terrifying yes, Avery sat in her room, crying over every possibility. Hurt, but refusing to show weakness, she sent Kalidas an email:

I know this is unexpected, but I just can’t do this. I love you and I always will, but you expect me to stand here and take all these blows, hearing about you fooling around with your ex. Someone trustworthy told me they saw you in Tompkins Square with Musiq, kissing her! And that isn’t supposed to hurt me? You’re already doing me dirty and it’s only the beginning. I won’t bite bullets for you anymore, I’m covered in your gun powder and it’s burned me to the bone. Goodbye Kalidas.

The closer Kalidas got to the end of reading, the more the waterworks built up. Snapping his phone up to call Avery, he broke into a run. Without reason, his feet moved swiftly across the pavement, as he heard a cherubic voice answer. Immediately, “I DON’T KNOW WHO TOLD YOU THAT, BUT I WOULD NEVER FUCKING DO THAT TO YOU. I LOVE YOU A, PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME.” His projectile tears caught him unexpectedly, and apparently was contagious. Avery began to choke up. Even though she had no trust in him, she had faith for the future, and ended the conversation. “Maybe we can be together in the future Kalidas. I’ll talk to you later.”

Spite took over his spine as his body shook in retaliation. The unusual energy surged over him like a giant heat wave. He wanted to ruin the life of the one who ruined his relationship. So the very next day, he went to school and met with Musiq.

“Baby, have you thought about us?” Musiq asked, giving off easy signals as she slid her long tanned leg up Kalidas’ thigh.

“Yes, and I decided I want you…” Kalidas couldn’t even choke out her name. He knew he only meant that to one girl. He told her to meet him after school so they could make up for lost time, managing to keep a straight face. Musiq, of course, smiled with alacrity as she knew what that signified. Going on through his day, Kalidas did not think twice about the decision he started to make. It seemed as though time flew by. Before he knew it, he was taking the F train side by side with Musiq to her house near Delancey. The supposedly short ride might as well have gone to Coney Island, hours were seemingly passing by. Musiq held onto him tight, playing with his fingers and giggling in his ear. However, Kalidas forcibly smiled through his aching regret. Kalidas anticipated the end of his scheme. He was going to do what the streets called “beat it and leave it”. “This will definitely make her leave me alone, right?” he thought to himself, hoping to destroy her heart the way she had snatched his. All his thinking, he barely noticed she was taking her keys out to open the door to her apartment. 2F; it looked like a door hinged with extra locks, a dungeon with bars he’d never escape from. Begrudgingly, he entered. Musiq started to cry.

“Shh, don’t cry, you got me,” Kalidas snapped. He quietly led her to the room, laid her down and started stripping off particles of clothing. Her firm breasts embraced him as he took the last of her clothes off. When her panties hit the floor, he realized what he was doing, but it was too late to stop. He pushed forward, wasting no time with kisses or neck pleasures. He thrust himself into her wetness, knowing it would be no problem to fit. He let her body feel the false love, let her imagine him catching her every time she falls from grace. As he was committing his sexual sin, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander. Mmm, the smell of Avery’s sweet Coach Perfume she wore daily was filling his nostrils. He became convincingly aroused, imagining another world- another girl, while Musiq thought she was it. Watching her slow movements in sync with his, and hearing her roars echoing off the walls, he knew this was it. He no longer had a connection to Musiq. When he was done proving himself, he got up feeling a gross satisfactory in the pit of his stomach. He reapplied his clothes as quickly as he took hers off.

“Where you goin’? No te vayas bebe,” Musiq’s desperation spoke for itself.

“I gotta go, told my mom I’d be home. Hit you later,” and just like that, it was over. There was only one thing left to do, without question. “Beg my woman to take me back…beg my woman to take me back…” almost chanting within himself. He gave Avery his heart on purpose, and he crushed Musiq’s heart on purpose, but he couldn’t let it show. His conscience ate him alive. He knew if Avery ever found out, there’d be no chance, and betrayal would sweep over her so fast she’d reach a heart attack. She was the victim of his crime. By then, the disease called “love” was killing him inside.