Please excuse ANY grammatical errors.

April 14, 1993

~Tia's P.O.V~

"I gotta pee! Stawwwppp!" I whined out.

I squeezed my legs together tight in order to hold back using it on myself. That is the worst thing about getting tickled. My bladder already isn't the greatest. Donald moved his leg in between mines, knowing that it was torturous for my bladder.

"You piss and imma call you Pissy Pussy for as long as I'm around." De said, continuing to tickle me

"Do-DoON-DONALD, LEMME 'LONE!" I tried to break loose.

"DONALD, LEMME 'LONE!" He mocked me in an attempt to sound like a woman, but his deep voice won't allow him to do that. That made me laugh even harder.

"What the hell..." I heard my brother say. When I looked up he was in the doorway. Donald and I turned around in sync. He had this look in his eyes. A look that says it all.

"This ain't what you think it is. Don't overthink it." I finally spoke up after a stare session.

"I know it ain't what it look like, y'all fully dressed, but it ain't what it sounded like. THANK GOD. I came up here and it sounded like you was murdering my sister. I'm not one of them dude- dudes but I was ready." Yasir's left hand came into view and it had a gun in it. I saw him click the safety switch. "Then I come up in here and he's tickling you... In the shower. That still don't sound right though."

My eyes widened. "No!" I quickly sat up shaking my head at Yasir. "He's not doing me any harm." I knew Donald didn't look fazed by his gun though.

"What you was screamin' so loud for then?" Yasir asked me. "Most importantly, why y'all playin' in the shower? That look off as hell." Yasir squinted at us.

"Plenty of reasons, my hair being  one, this man got it wet, and the tickling and whatnot. We started in the room but it just ended up in the shower." That does not sound right, but there's no other way to put it.

"That sounds even worse." Donald said to me, as I got up to turn off the water. "The way you worded it, I mean." He says.

"It sound trifling." My brother shook his head with a disgusted expression.

I shivered from the air hitting my wet body. "It was the only way my brain came up with something at the moment. Why'd you have the water so cold?" I asked Donald.

"I turned the knob and the water came on, I didn't pay attention to what knob." He shrugged and stood up, covering the front of his pants.

"Well, you should get up out them wet clothes in YOUR OWN ROOM." Yasir said to me. "You do whatever, ion care. You can get sick of you want, but my sista, nawww." He told Donald.

"Damn nigga, that was kinda harsh." Donald chuckled at Yasir.

"Why would I change in here anyways? Stop playin' with me dude. YOU KNOW I'm not THAT woman. How'd you even get in? Why didn't the they notify me that you were here?" I said wringing out my shirt.

"I got in from the front door." He said smartly. "But for real, they know I'm your brother and they know me so I just told them to let mw through. AND I'm not saying you are THAT type of woman. Dudes can know that too but coax you into being THAT type of girl. I'm just making it known to the both of y'all that ain't gon' be no hanky panky 'round here. That my sister and I know a lot of people like you back home and everywhere. My sister ain't THAT girl." Yasir said to Donald.

"What that suppose to mean? I ain't trying to do nothing to with yo sister. She set her boundaries and ain't no crossing them." Donald said visibly getting upset at Yasir.

"I'm grown and this is my house. Who are YOU to tell me what to do in my house?" I raised my eyebrow carefully stepping out of the shower.

"I'm you're big brother, that's who I am." Yasir told me. "You a cool guy but I'm just telling you that my sister ain't nan one of yo groupies so don't be on that with her." He pointed to Donald.

"Like I said, I'm not on nothin' with Tia. She cool and ain't none of that." Donald responded to Yasir seriously.

I looked at Donald. "He doesn't mean any harm. He's just looking out. K?" I raised my eyebrows goofily.

"I understand but for him to put me in a box like I just use women don't sit well with me." Donald explained to me.

"You do kinda use women. Like that lady that came to your hotel that one time and tried to throw them dukes up at me. I know you remember that and pretty sure it has happened a few times." I laughed. "Don't front, my dude. Don't front."

He smacked his lips. "That shit don't count. I told her what was up before it happened."

"Okay... Mr. TAKE MY MONEY, MY HOUSE AND MY CARS." I sang swiveling my hips.

"Don't you ever disrespect my music with that horrible voice again." He shook his head laughing.

I threw my hands at him. "Ahh, I can sound good if I want to. I'm just jivin'. When are y'all releasing that album?" I asked him.

"Sometime later this year. Truce?" He asked me.

I hugged him, "NOPE!" I gave him a wedgie, ran out the bathroom, trying not to fall, into my room closing my door and locking it.

"Tia!" He banged on the door.

"What's the matter?" I asked pretending to be concerned.

"Don't give me that!" He banged one more time. "A'ight, imma get you..." I heard his voice trail off, telling me he walked away.

I went into my bathroom, quickly stripped out of my wet clothes, and put them in the hamper. I surely don't want them to smell of mildew. I'll have to make sure that I take them downstairs after I finish showering. After I got out of the shower, and got dressed, I went downstairs to see a freshened up Donald and Yasir eating breakfast, dang near brunch due to the time.

My brother came over my house because they wanted to play video games. They want to see who's better at certain video games. They were going to go over to where my brother lived, but I said they could stay here. It is easier for one person to move from one place to another rather than a bunch of people. That idea also made more sense. Dudes don't think like women... They were both engrossed in a conversation with my cousins. Once Donald noticed me, he mean mugged me, and continued to eat his breakfast.

"Ain't you gon' eat?" Yasir directed towards me.

"Yeah..." I trailed off, looking down at my cellphone.

I have a couple missed calls. I went to the stove amd uncovered the foul from the french toast, and hash browns. Carbs and starches are the worst. I redialed the number that called me, and waited for it to ring. I'm pretty sure the food is cold since we played majority of the time and my long shower. The phone rang twice before someone answered it.

"Hello, someone called me from this number and I'm just returning the call." I said into the speaker.

"This is Detective Lawrence. Is this Tia~Nakia Andrews I'm speaking with?" A deep voice asked me.

"Yes sir, this is she. Is the the detective from the hospital?" I asked.

"Yes ma'am. I was just calling because we believe we found the suspects that harmed you in December. We're doing a police lineup and would like for you to come and identify them." He explained to me.

My body temperature dropped, and my heart sped up at the thought of seeing them again. I don't really want to do this but I don't want them to do what they did to me or worse to anyone else, if they haven't already. I mean, I didn't really think they were looking for the suspects especially since it took THIS long. It is APRIL and that situation happened in December.

I cleared my throat. "Uhh, yeah sure. I'll be there. When?" I asked stopping what I was doing.

"Umm, can you make it by 11:30?" Detective Lawrence asked me.

The clock on the wall reads 10:47. "Yes, I'll be there by then." I told him.

"Okay, we'll see you then Miss Andrews." He hung up. I put my phone in my pocket and stared at no place in particular.

"You okay sis? Who was that?" Yasir asked concerned.

I shook my head snapping out of my thoughts. "Yeah, what'd you say?" I turned around to face him.

"You deaf?" He chuckled. "I said, who was that on the phone and are you good?" He raised his eyebrow at me.

"That was... Nobody. I'm good, I'm fine." I exhaled. Who am I trying to convince more, myself or him?

"You sure?" Donald asked me.

I smiled widely at them, masking my feelings. I'm pretty good at doing that, I've been doing it every since I can remember. "I'm great. Listen, I have to go... do something, but I'll be right back." I told them looking down at the floor.

"Make sure you bring one of them guard dudes with you wherever it is you goin'." Yasir reminded me.

I nodded. "Yeah, Jax is coming. Can someone put the rest of the food up?"

"I got it, sis." Eej said from the island. "What's up?" He asked once he came closer to me.

"Nothing, I have to handle something is all. I'll be right back." I shrugged his hand off of my shoulder.

"I ain't know my mama had another kid." I heard Yasir say loudly from the little table they rest of them resided. I don't have any time for their nonsense, so I just walked off and made my way to the door.

There were currently two of the guards in the booth. "Hey, Jax?" I said stopping the car at the booth.

"Yeah? You need me to come with you?"

"Yes, that would be great." I nodded.

"Can I bring my food with me?" He asked.

"Yes, that's fine."

"Alright." He grabbed his thing and got into the passenger side of the car. "Where we headed to?" He said once he got comfortable.

"Police station." I said very briefly and pulled of after the gates opened up.

"Oh..."

I guess he felt my vibe and knew that I really wasn't in a talking mood. I drove in silence the whole way to the police station. It took a while to get there, but once I made it inside they spoke to me briefly, then lead me to the viewing room. Am I mentally prepared for this? No, but I better get prepared for this.

"I need you to take a close look at each suspect and tell us which ones you recognize." Detective Ramirez explained, and I nodded at her. I looked at every suspect lined up and I recognized one of them.

"Man, what you doin'!? Let's go!" The one I never saw face yelled out to the other one.

My body numbed as another hit came in contact with my head. I groaned loudly, and my head fell back into the snow. My world went spinning more than it was already. I saw the other guys face. They left and I was laying there trying to get enough strength to move.

"Number six." I said lowly, while pointing to him. "Number six is one of them." I looked up at Detective Ramirez.

"Number six. You're sure, right?"

"Positive." I nodded. They requested for number six to speak, and just like I recognized his face, it was just part of procedure.

"Do you recognize anyone else in the line Miss Andrews?" Detective Lawrence asked me.

"No sir." I shook my head at him.

"Okay, next line. You can also request for them to say certain things. Maybe something they said during the robbery and assault." Detective Ramirez said.

The group of men that are currently lined up cleared the room, and another group of men came in holding numbers. I immediately recognized number three. That was the one who got my pants down. I pointed at him and they requested him to speak and I was 100% sure it was him after that.

"Nahh, man." He looked around then back down at me. I shot him in his leg, and he fell to the side groaning.

I pointed to the guy. "Number two is the one. He's the one that tried to- that tried to..."

"I think we're done here." Jax told the detectives.

"We have a few questions. It won't be too long." Detective Lawrence told him.

They asked me the same questions they asked at the hospital and my answers are the same. I understand that they're looking for a pattern but this is mentally draining. Seeing the people that harmed you and wanted to do more harm than they had already done. Reliving the experience while staring into their eyes is horrifying. They can't see me but it's still a traumatizing experience. The police told them that they were identified for a crew other cases of robbery, and rape.

"Need me to drive?" Jax asked me while we walked out of the police station.

"Mmhm." I mumbled lowly.

"Keys?" He asked.

Looking up from my moving feet, I said, "Hmm?" I didn't catch what he had said.

"Keys?" Jax geld out his hand.

"Oh, yeah. Here ye go." I said handing it to him.

"Thanks."

We both got into the car and as soon as he started it up, I turned on the music as a distraction from what happened a few minutes ago as well as what happened in December. That identifying suspect stuff is HIGHLY stressful. I don't even understand why it took so long to gather suspects when there was bloodshed at the scene from one of the perpetrators. As for this music, it isn't distracting AT ALL. In fact, it's making me think deeper into other things as well. The Jackson 5: Good Times played at a medium volume.

🎶We used to dream on a star
How did we get like we are

I think about the good times
Nothing but the good times
I think about the good times
We shared together

It's funny things don't always
Go the way you want them to
Although we're not together
(Although we're not together)
I treasure my experience with you

Oh, like exploring love
Moonlit sky above
Learning how to give
Learning how we should live🎶

Those "GOOD TIMES" are looonnng gone now. Wow, I really wish that I could go back and just redo everything. Go back to the times before ANYTHING ever happened. Maybe I didn't really deal with everything like I thought I had. Maybe I've just been finding ways to distract myself. I feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I stared outside of the window. I felt one fall halfway down my face and I quickly swiped it away.

"Gosh," I mumbled to myself as I stared at my reflection in the window. The pressure in my head began to build up.

"Hey, thing will start looking up sooner or later. Just think, those dudes gon' be locked up. No more looking over your shoulder." Jax spoke up over the music.

"Yeah." I dryly chuckled.

Now the music and my thought were the only thing I heard again. I lifted my left leg up, with my foot flat on the seat, and rested my head atop my knee. We made it home after the semi long drive. We just sat in the parked car.

"Hey, thanks. You can go back to the booth." I told Jax.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" He asked.

I smiled, "Yes, I'm cool."

"Okay," He left the out the car and made his way back to the booth.

Some may say that I'm overreacting about everything, and I honestly feel like I am as well, but I can't help what I'm feeling. I can only deflect/distract myself from the situation. Burying myself in my work now matter if it's school or work, it helps me in that time being. Music is also a distraction, but that doesn't help all the time.

Other than those things, I don't really know how to handle everything. It's like I want to speak to someone about EVERYTHING, but being who I am in character and career, I can't bring myself to. I don't even think that it's a good idea to do so. What if it gets everywhere? The tabloids? They love to twist things around. Why did everything have to happen to me the way it did?

After sitting in the car for forty five minutes of sitting in the car, I lifted up, moved to the drivers side, and turned the car back on. I parked it in the garage, turned off the car and closed the garage door. I opened the cover/sun visor windshield to check my face. My face and eyes were very puffy and red. I'm sure everyone will be focused on what they're doing to even question me about it.

As I opened the entrance to the house, I closed it as quietly as possible. They may be engrossed in what they're doing, but I still don't feel like being questioned. My head is hurting and fogged. Not to mention my chest hurting. I locked the door, headed straight upstairs to my bedroom. In order to do that, I had to speed walk past the room they are in.

"Tia?" It was the voice of Yasir. I jumped from being startled.

"Yes?" I said still faced the way I was.

"Who was that on the phone earlier? What was so important they said that you had to leave?"

"Nothing too important." I shrugged.

"Turn around." He said to me.

"I'm tired and have a headache. I'll talk to you later on." I waved him off and continued walking.

Yasir caught up to me and stood in front of me this time. "What is wrong wit chu? Yo eyes all puffy and face all red. You better be lucky I caught you and De didn't, you lookin' like somethin' straight outta Thriller."

~Yasir's P.O.V~

After taking a leak, I saw my sister speed walking. "Tia?" I called out to her.

"Yes?" Her voice was cracked and congested, and her back still faced me.

"Who was that on the phone earlier? What was so important they said that you had to leave?" I asked her, genuinely wanting to know.

"Nothing too important." Tia shrugged.

"Turn around." I told her.

"I'm tired and have a headache. I'll talk to you later on." She shrugged and continued to walk away.

I caught up with her because I have already let too many things go when dealing with my sister. I stood in front of her, blocking her from moving further. "What is wrong wit chu? Yo eyes all puffy and face all red. You better be lucky I caught you and De didn't, you lookin' like somethin' straight outta Thriller." I joked.

"I'm fine, Yasir. I'm just tired." She smiled.

"God dammit! I am trying! I am trying to be the brother who is close to their sister. You ain't allowing me to be that. You keep blocking me off when I am truly a concerned brother but you keep on- you keep on pushin' me away like we not blood. You closa to them dudes than you is to me.

Imma admit that some of it is my fault but it's on you too. Talk to me, tell me what you be tellin' that gay dude and the big eared one. Come on, man. You gotta let me in. At the end of the day, we blood and they ain't. What is really goin' on in yo head? I been tryna figure out for years since you said you wanted to die when you was a kid. Please, tell me what's going on?" I finally finished.

I was past frustrated at this point but I knew something was wrong with her. Something has been wrong since she was a single digit age. She's spoken to me about needing therapy when a teenage but never went into depth. Maybe it was the little pieces she's told me what happened to her when she was a kid, but I'll never know until she tells me.

"Yasir, I said that I just have a headache. I need to be alone and rest for a little while. My allergies are acting up. Go have fun with the rest of them." She said and walked past me, straight into her bedroom closing the door.
  
I exhaled and looked up at the ceiling. After a while I went back to where everybody else was. Neither of us are good with expression ourselves and showing off our true emotions. We both do it and mama taught us that. The difference between Tia and I is that I'm acknowledging that I don't and actually trying to do better at it. I have been told that by my current girlfriend, Ja'Net. She's helping me a lot with that. Irene was just a little fling before Ja'Net.

"Yo, De?" I called out to the big eared one. Maybe he knows something. I don't want my cousins in our business and I KNOW Tia wouldn't like that.

He turned around to face me. "Don't come to me with no bullshit tryna say I'm tryna sleep with yo sister 'cause I ain't."

"Man, we already had that conversation. This ain't that. Bring you big eared ass out in the hall." I roughly motioned and left back out.

"What goin' on?" De finally asked me.

"You know what's up with Tia? You closer to her than I am, so I suspect that you know what's up."

"What you mean? We was laughing and havin' fun earlier. What's changed?"

"I'm tryna figure that out!" I held my hands out to my side. "Ion know what's goin' on wit' her. She came back home with her face all red and puffy. She just got back. She tell you anything?"

He looked up at the ceiling in thought, I'm guessing. "No, nothin' I can think of at the moment." He looked back down.

"Damn..." I mumbled out.

"Ask that nigga Elijah. He probably know what's up." De suggested to me.

I waved that idea off. "Nahh, me and that nigga just had words earlier. He ain't gon' wanna tell me shit."

"That's her friend, if he her true friend he 'a tell us what's up. But she said that she took that nigga Jax with her. He probably for sure know what is goin' on. He gotta go everywhere she do. Let's go." He walked off and I followed him. He right.

"Tia, yo sister has told me a few thing that I'm concerned about though a while back. After she tells me things, she turn the conversation around to me or something else less important. Like y'all father, she said a few things then it was back on me." Donald spoke up.

I got angry at the mention of him. "Fuck him, he is UNIMPORTANT. He ain't no father to either one of us!"

"No, you ain't understandin' me. I'm telling you that she has something deeper that shes dealing with and that's an add on. I've been trying to figure her out for a while now, and I'm still MOSTLY lost. But I'm saying that she keep runnin' from things. She spoke about childhood, and it was gettin' deep but she quickly changed the subject. SHE ALWAYS DOES IT. It's like she wants to talk about it without goin' too much into depth. I ask her and she throws it off like it ain't nothing." De told me as we exited out the front door of the house.

"One day we slept together-" De started again and I grabbed him by his collar.

"Fuck you say?"

He pushed me HARD almost making me fall to the ground. "Don't you EVER touch me like that! I'm really gettin' tired of yo shit nigga. Fuck is wrong with you? You ain't even let me finish, you over here thinkin' the worst. I told yo ass that I ain't on that with her. She set her boundaries, I respect them and I ain't pass that shit. We slept together as in the same bed. We ain't fuck or none of that shit. She was literally sleep."

"My bad, man." I patted myself, fixing my clothes. "You say that shit first then, it imma automatically think it was somethin' else. Yo lil boney ass got mo' powa than I thought."

"A'ight. As I was sayin', she woke up confused- in a daze but silent. It was one of the scariest things I ever saw. She had no recollection of it the next morning. Now, it could have been just a regular nightmare, but she looked at me like I hurt her. She was crying in her sleep, and that's where we ended up sleepin' together-" He looked at me. "-in the same bed. I was trying to calm her and that's where her confusion kicked in at. She looked like she ain't know me or anything about me. Why does she do that thing with her hand?" He asked me.

"What thing?" I said confused.

"She doesn't like touching anyone or anything with her right hand in particular. With her left touching is only sometimes acceptable, but with her right she snatches it away before contact. She keeps a pair of gloves on her."

"Oh, that. She been doin' that since she was like twelve or thirteen. I think she's a germaphobe. She's always on cleaning mode especially with her hands. It ain't nothin' bad." I shook my head at him.

"But shouldn't she treat both hands the same if she's a germaphobe? Her right hand is ONLY contactable when it's covered." He eyed me.

"I- I ain't ever notice that but since you mentioned it I do now. Ion know, that's weird as hell, but my sister is weird." I told him.

"Ion think she weird, she just different. Ya know? Not like everybody else." De shrugged.

"Yo, you really like LIKE my sister." I cracked up.

"This ain't about me." He said as we made it to the booth. "Yo Jax?" De said to one of the guards.

"Wassup De? What's goin' on?" They dapped up.

"Nothin' much. We came over here to ask about Tia." He motioned for me to talk, since he didn't know everything.

"Yeah, my sister came home and her face and eyes was red and puffy. She said she was leaving and takin' you wit' her. Where y'all go?" I asked.

"She ain't tell y'all?" Jax raised his eyebrows. "I was wondering why nobody else came. But look if I tell y'all, I can lose my job. I don't think she wanted y'all to know if she didn't tell y'all."

"Look man, you ain't gon' lose yo job. It a guarantee you not. Tell us where did y'all go?" I asked him.

"How can you guarantee that? I'm HER worker not y'alls." Jax pointed to the both me and De.

"Did she tell you not to tell us or somethin'?" I asked Jax.

Jax moved his head back. "No, but if she ain't tell y'all it must be a reason."

"Then tell us. We will make sure that you're still employed after. What happened? Where y'all go?" I exasperated.

"Okay, we went to the police station. Tia had to identify the suspects from that one time. You know when she got put in the hospital back in December. She identified them and her spirit was more down than before entering. I asked if she was good and she said yeah. So, I left it at that." He shrugged at us.

"Why she ain't tell nobody? I know that was probably hard to go through alone. She on't tell me shit. Fuck did I do to her that's keepin' her so secretive with me. This shit is serious." I said to myself aloud looking at the ground. "A'ight man, thanks." I dapped up Jax and walked off towards the house.

"Thanks Jax." De told him. "Yo man, Tia is Tia. She ain't gon' tell you shit she don't think you can handle. It's probably a good thing she ain't tell you or me that she was going there. Probably would have did something we shouldn't, and gave them a higher chance of being free. She probably already knew." De told me once he caught up. "Damn, I think I know yo sister more than yo ass. You been around her her whole life and you don't know much. I've been around for a little over a year." He joked, but I ain't think that shit was funny.

"Ain't shit funny 'bout that. There are plenty of reasons for that, but all that matters is that I'm trying right now to be a better brother. I'm trying to change that, but she ain't lettin' me in on her life. It takes two." I said seriously with a tight at him.

"She don't open up to me that much either about things. I observe everything she do and just listen to everything she does express and interpret it for myself. Some things are in front or yo face, man. You gotta pay attention. Other shit, you do gotta ask." De explained to me.

"Don't you think I do that shit?"

"I mean, ion know nigga. You tell me." He shrugged.

"I do that but it don't work."

"Then hang around her more. I'm around a lot, and maybe that's why she's comfortable with telling me more." He suggested.

"Maybe... Me amd my sister ain't got shit in common though to be around each other a lot. The hell you talk about with a sister?"

"Hell if I know, I only got brothers. I ain't like a lot of shit Tia said she was interested in. I ain't like a lot of shit period, but started to once she showed me and we did those things together. If you really want to bond with yo sister you will find a way. Shit, I did." He shrugged as we entered the house.

We went up to her room and I knocked on the door. "You dressed?" I asked through the door. I forgot she has soundproof walls for her room so she probably didn't hear my voice, but I know for sure that she heard my knock. I cracked open the door and saw her turn over in the bed. "Hey." I walked in. She was turned over with rhe pillow over her head.

"Yo ass ain't sleep. I see you breathin' regular." De said sitting down besides her on the bed. He flicked her ear that was a bit visible. "Turn around."

"I'm tired right now. Please leave me alone right now. Both of you." She muffled into the pillow underneath her face.

"Don't give me that." De grabbed the pillow that was on top of her head.

"Look, I'll leave." I spoke up. I mean, she is more comfortable with telling ol' boy what going on than me. "I'll go, but I'll be back. I'm just going back to where everybody else at." I told her.

De looked at me like I was nuts. I shook my head telling him to talk to her. I left and closed the door behind me. He gave some good advice and he proved his loyalty to me about my sister. He was even there at the hospital with her, when I wasn't able to be there due to work her was next to her. So, I trust him for now...

Author's Note: Not what y'all expected, huh? De and Yasir actually cool with each other. Rough start, nice finish.

Word Count: 5,480

Please feel free to like and comment. Feedback gives motivation, and motivation urges me to continue to write.

Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to read another chapter of this story. Thank you for staying despite the slacking.💚🖤❤💜💙💛