Page 10 of Blake University HBCU Chronicles: Nuri & Silas

I t had been weeks since Nuri stepped foot inside her parents’ home, and she hadn’t planned on doing so today either.

But something in her spirit had nudged her—soft, but firm.

It was almost five o’clock when she pulled into the circular driveway of the house she used to call home.

Her stomach twisted the moment she stepped out of the car.

It always did when she was going to see her parents.

Her mother, Nova, was the only reason she still made her way up those stairs and through that tall, heavy door.

The woman had been her refuge her whole life, her softness in a home where she constantly had to shrink herself just to make it through dinner.

Nuri knew deep down that things would never change.

The house smelled like comfort. Her mama had prepared her infamous pepper steak, rice, green beans, and her mama’s signature half-and-half (sweet tea and lemonade.) If love had a scent, it was what came out of Nova’s kitchen.

“Nuri! Oh my goodness, I’m so happy to see you. Come on in. I just finished making dinner. You’re right on time.”

“Yes, Lord! I can’t wait to dig in. You lookin’ good and healthy too, ma. You dropped a few pounds too.”

“I look good don’t I?” Nuri’s mother, Nova gloated as she spun around to give Nuri a full view.

“You something else, ma.”

“Mhm, come on so I can fix everyone’s plate.”

Nuri followed her mother into the kitchen, then took a seat at the kitchen table. The whole atmosphere shifted the second her father stepped into the kitchen.

“Hey, Dad,” Nuri greeted with a smile.

Her father nodded, but didn’t speak back. She didn’t make a big deal because she knew how her father was when he got in his moods towards her for no reason.

“How you feel beautiful?” He asked Nova as he sat down at the kitchen table.

“I’m fine. How was work?” Nova asked, sitting Nuri’s plate on the table, then walking back to get his.

“I can’t complain. It was work as usual,” he answered, cutting his eyes at Nuri. “You got anything you need to tell me and your mother?”

Nuri blinked slow, already bracing herself. “No, not really,” she answered, calmly.

“How was the club the other night?” he asked, raising his brows like he already knew the answer, and was just waiting to corner her with it.

Nuri’s fork paused midair. “Umm...” she stalled, scrambling for an answer. “It went well. I had a good time.” Nuri wondered how the hell he knew she went to the club. She kept it short, but her mind raced with thoughts of Silas.

“Don’t worry about how I know,” he interrupted her thoughts. “Just answer the question.”

Nova, ever the light in the room, leaned in with a smile. “Who’d you go out with, Bre?” she asked, trying to shift the energy. “What did you wear?”

“That black outfit with the lace top,” Nuri said. “The one we got when we went to the mall last month.”

“Ooh, I bet you were the center of attention.”

“I bet your hot ass was too,” her father cut in.

Nuri’s heart dropped, and the air turned bitter.

“It’d be better if you were the center of attention in all your classes—with your grades.”

“What?” Nuri crunched her face up, feeling insulted. “My grades are fine. I’m at the top of my class in everything except math. I’ve got a B-minus in that one class.”

“Well maybe if you gave that class more attention, you’d have an A.”

Nova sat her fork down. “Come on now, let’s not do this today. Nuri is doing an exceptional job in school. Why can’t you ever just be proud of her?”

“You always take up for her when she performs below my standards,” he snapped. “Let me get the fuck outta here before y’all piss me off.” Nuri’s father stood, grabbed his plate, and left the room without another word.

Nova exhaled, brushing his mess off her shoulders like she always had. “Come on, baby. Let’s go to my office. We can finish eating in there.”

Nuri nodded, following her mother's lead.

"I got something for you," she told her with a smile.

Nuri was used to this. Every time her father put her down, her mother built her back up with love and a gift.

Once they entered her mother's home office, Nuri sat down on the couch, as her mother stopped at her desk, pulling out a burgundy velvet box.

"Here you go. I bought this for you the other day," her mother said, handing her the box and sitting down beside her.

Nuri opened the box and gasped. It was a white gold necklace with a delicate ‘Royalty’ script pendant.

"Oh my God! Mom, this is beautiful. You always get me the best gifts. Thank you so much."

"Never second guess who you are. I don't give a damn what your father says, I am so proud of you, Nuri,” her mom swiped the few tears that slipped from her eyes. “I couldn't have asked for a better daughter. Keep doing what you're doing, it's all going to pay off. Trust what I'm telling you."

Nuri’s eyes watered, but she blinked fast. "Yes ma'am."

"You wanna get caught up on The Chi? It's a couple of new episodes. I've been tryna wait for you to come home so you could watch them with me." "That'll work. I planned on spending the day with you anyway." Nuri agreed.

Six Hours Passed.

Nuri got up and decided to crash in her old bedroom.

Her mother had dozed off an hour ago, so Nuri fixed her throw blanket, then left quietly.

She was too tired to drive home. As she ascended the stairs and walked down the hall, she overheard her father talking on the phone, and noticed his door was cracked open.

Eavesdropping, Nuri inched closer to the door, trying to listen to what her father was saying.

“I don’t give a fuck what you gotta do. She’s disposable.

Silas is collateral damage. Fuck him. He think he’s above me.

I’m gone show that muthafucka who really runnin’ shit.

Put her name on all that shit. I’m sending you what you need now.

Don’t fuck this up.” Her father said, then hung up the phone.

He sent an email, then sat back with a mischievous smile spread across his face. Nuri moved quickly so he wouldn't see her, then softly padded to her room that was a short ways down the hall. As soon as she closed the door behind her she received a text from Silas.

Si: What happened between us can’t happen again.

What?!

Nuri replied, but there was no response to follow. Her head spun a million miles a minute trying to wrap her head around her fathers’ words, and now Silas’ text. Her body froze in shock and her hands shook as she stood with her back against the door. She blinked at the screen.

Confused.

Crushed.

Thrown off completely.

What the hell is going on?

Nuri had attempted to go to sleep several times, but between the speed of her thoughts, night terrors, and the ache in her heart—sleep refused to find her.

She lay awake for six straight hours, eyes dry from blinking into darkness.

At four in the morning, she gave up. Tossing the covers off her body, Nuri got dressed in silence and left her parents’ home with the kind of heaviness that had weight.

She didn’t say goodbye. Didn’t leave a note.

Just got in her car and drove through the quiet streets until she made it back to her house—her own space, where she didn’t have to shrink herself to be accepted.

There was no point in going to class. Not today.

Not when her first period was Professor Sullivan.

She'd decided not to go to school because she had Professor Sullivan's class and wasn't ready to face him yet.

Not when she could still feel him in the depths of her body, and still hear his voice in the back of her mind.

Memories of the night they shared flooded her mind and she wondered how something that felt so right be so wrong.

How could something so exhilarating be so fleeting?

Nuri couldn't call it, so she gave herself a day to sit with it until she could accept it.

What happened between us can’t happen again.

It replayed on a loop. A whisper she couldn’t silence.

Nuri took a hot bath, hoping the water would do what time hadn’t.

Hoping she could rinse him off her skin.

But even when she lay still, surrounded by steam and lavender, she didn’t feel cleansed.

Her body was still very much under Silas’ hypnosis.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed loud against the nightstand. “Hello?” Nuri answered, voice heavy with sleep.

“Where you at, chica?” Bre’s voice rang out on the other end, full of life. “It’s not like you to miss class.”

“I know. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Mmm. I just saw your funky ass father,” Bre said. “You want me to beat his ass one good time for you?”

Nuri smiled, but there was no real joy behind it. “Man, fuck him. For real.”

The words came out before she could soften them. Her mind flashed back to his voice—“She’s disposable.”

Her stomach twisted again.

“Alright, well listen… I got a couple more classes. I’ll call you when I’m done, then you can vent. I got you.”

“Okay, boo. Thanks for checking on me.”

“Always. You know I gotcha.”

When the call ended, Nuri dropped her phone on the bed beside her.

She hated lying to her best friend, but until she knew for sure what the hell was going on, there really wasn't much to share.

One thing she refused to do was expose herself or Silas, but she refused to move forward without the answers she needed to give her peace.

She'd use the day to gather herself, and get her emotions under control.

Tomorrow would be a different story. Nuri got up and decided to listen to her newest playlist starting with Mariah the Scientists' new song B urning Blue as she cleaned her house from top to bottom.

She took another shower, made a salad, sat on the couch, and for the first time all day—she breathed. Until her phone vibrated. When she looked down she realized that she had one new text from an unknown caller.