Tyrell by Coe Booth Page A

can you stay with me tonight? I can’t stand being alone. I’m scared.”
    Damn. “I don’t know,” I say. “I don’t know if I can trust my moms no more. She gonna mess ‘round and get my brother put in foster care again.”
    â€œThink about it,” Jasmine say. She wipe her face and getup. “I mean, I know you got Novisha. We don’t have to do nothing.”
    â€œThanks for watching Troy and making sure he okay. I owe you.”
    â€œOkay, then I’ll collect tonight,” she say, smiling real sexy. This girl know what she doing, and I gotta tell the truth, saying no to her ain’t easy. If Novisha ain’t hit me off this morning, I don’t know if I woulda been this strong.
    â€œTy!” Troy finally see me. He leave his two new friends and run over to me, dropping the cardboard tube and jumping on me. Hard.
    So I do what a big brother s’posed to do. I stand up and drop him to the floor. Then I get on the floor with him and we play-fight for a while. I be playing real rough with him sometimes ‘cause I don’t want him growing up all soft and shit. He need to be strong and tough to make it in this world, ‘specially here in the Bronx.
    Jasmine is still standing there, and she start cheering for Troy. “Get him, Troy. Show me what you can do!”
    That get Troy all worked up, and he start fighting back harder. He get on top of me, breathing all heavy and shit.
    Jasmine start laughing. “That’s it, Troy. Yeah!”
    â€œDon’t even try it,” I tell him when he throw his arms in the air like he the champ.
    I slip out from under him, then we just go at it. Fighting like we on the street. He elbow me in the face, and I punch him in the ribs. I can’t believe this little dude is getting my blood pumping this way.
    This the way it used to be with me and my pops. Man, when we used to wrestle, we ain’t stop ‘til both of us was bloody. Heused to kick my ass, laughing the whole time. My moms would be yelling at us, that we was gonna get hurt, but that just made us wanna fight harder. She ain’t understand that guys gotta act stronger and tougher when females is watching them.
    I’m getting tired now, and my wet sneakers is making it hard to move fast, so I just flip Troy over and pin him down on the floor. Then, when Troy can’t move no more, I let him get free. I’m thinking we done now, but the next thing I know he on top of me again, trying to pin me this time.
    Jasmine is still laughing. “That’s it, Troy,” she say. “Get him!”
    â€œA’ight. A’ight,” I tell Troy, and act like he hurting me. I’m tired as hell, but I like how he don’t stop fighting. It’s good to know he can take care of hisself if he need to. “You win,” I tell him. “You got me, man.”
    Troy jump up like he fuckin’ Muhammad Ali. “I win! I win!” He hug Jasmine. “See, I told you,” he say. He got his arms wrapped ‘round her waist, and one of his hands is on her ass, I swear. Damn. They got him in special ed, but Troy know what he doing.
    â€œWow. You’re a great fighter!” Jasmine tell him.
    I lay there on the floor for a second before getting up. “I’ma get you next time, man,” I tell Troy. “Watch your back.”
    He smile, all proud of hisself.
    I kinda wanna smile too, but I don’t want him to see that ‘cause he gonna know I let him win. Shit, life is so fucked up for Troy right now. Someone need to let him win sometime.

FOURTEEN
    By the time my moms get back, me and Troy is upstairs in our room, and he eating the last leftover pancake that I brung back from Novisha house. My moms come through the door carrying three plastic grocery bags like ain’t nothing wrong. She even got the nerve to give me a cold look, like she too through with me. “Oh, you couldn’t bring your