Darden - Covenant

COVENANT

Rashid Darden

Old Gold Soul Washington, DC

2 COVENANT

Old Gold Soul

P.O. Box 11337

Takoma Park, MD 20913

www.oldgoldsoul.com

Copyright 2006 by Rashid Darden

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Covenant is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Other names, characters, and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. First Edition

Cover Design by Neil Wade

ISBN 0-9765986-3-9

RASHID DARDEN 3

For

Kelli Auletta

Keith Fort

and

Lisa Rose Middleton

4 COVENANT

Acknowledgements

Thank you to God for the ideas, the people, the computer, the paper, the ink, and everything else in between. Thank you Carolyn Darden-Stutely for having me. Thank you Roslyn Williams for having her.

A sincere thank you to Sharon Chapman for believing in me. Thank you to Kenneth Whitehurst for going that extra mile. Kenneth Alston, thank you for your support!

Thank you to the other members of the Old Gold Soul Team: Liz Burr, Dwain Cherry, and Johnnie Kornegay. Of course, special thanks to everyone on the yahoo group and my diary readers. Thank you to Robert Denson, Rod McCollum, malik m.l. williams, Antar Wright.

Dennis Williams, Erika Johnson, Erin Meadors, Kristin Hinckle, Dana Luciano, K. Elaine Banks, and Ina Broadnax: thank you for believing.

To my fellow writers, I admire and appreciate you. Thank you for the support and the conversations: Alphonso Morgan, Brent Dorian Carpenter, Lori Lincoln, Kimberly Noelle, Keith Boykin. To my peeps: Nikki, Shari, Jimi, Tomas, Storme, Pape, Dwayne, Issam, Jonathan, Perquita, Jaimi: thank you for being there for me at all times. A special thank you to the LaSalle family. Special acknowledgement to my Brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha, especially Brodrick, Demetrius, Xavier, Brian, Kwame, Barry, Al, Quincy, Gregory, Montre, Darrius, and everyone in the Alpha Authors Collective. Special thanks to the Black House, and Chapters of , GUST, Takoma Station, BLAGOSAH, DC Black Pride, In the Life Atlanta, Red Chair Restaurant, and Chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Federal City Alumnae Chapter of , the Gentlemens Book Club, Sisters Interested in Reading; and at Duke University: the LGBT Center, the Black Student Alliance, the Mary Lou Williams Black Culture Center, and the Multicultural Center. Frederick Smith and Neil Wade. I love you. RASHID DARDEN 5

COVENANT

6 COVENANT

RASHID DARDEN 7

September 1

I woke up in bed next to a glassy-eyed stranger, not knowing who he was, but feeling oddly at ease with him.

What the fuck? I said softly. My eyes adjusted to the harsh rays of sunlight piercing my blinds until I was able to focus on the furry stranger in my bed. His eyes, genuinely made of glass, stared back at me, smiling elated that he had been placed in my care.

A damn teddy bear, I grumbled, grinning on the inside. He wore a Somebody at Potomac University Loves Me shirt over his light brown fur. He wasnt a large bear by any means, but large enough to be noticeable to the visitors of my room. He did it again.

The last thing I remembered from the night before was talking to him, he who had stopped by unexpectedly just to say hello. I was already in bed when he came by. Heavy rapping at the door made me believe that one of my roommates had forgotten their key. I swung the door open, surprised to see him standing there.

Adrian, he said, sizing me up in a deliberate floor-to-ceiling gesture with his head.

Hey, I said, feeling naked in my white sleeveless t-shirt, which clung tightly to my slender torso while my blue basketball shorts slung low on my hips, revealing the white FTL band of my boxer briefs..

Can I come in? he asked, peering around the door and trying to take a glance at my living room.

Um, I said, uncertain whether he was intent on breaking thepact before the school year had even begun.

Dude, just for a minute, he said. You know Im not going to go back on my promise. I justI just had to see you before wewe

Okay, I interrupted. You can stay for a while.

I tried to hide my smile from him, so I quickly walked toward the kitchenette. You want something to drink?

Naw, he said, closing the door behind him. He sat down on the old brown couch and let his old, tattered gym bag fall to the floor at 8 COVENANT

his feet while I got myself a glass of water. I sat in the gray cushioned chair across from him and slowly sipped my drink.

You seem uncomfortable, he said.

Nawjust nervous, I guess.

Nervous? he said, leaning forward on the couch, as close to me as he could without sliding off. I just saw you like two weeks ago, dawg.

You know how we can get, I said. Were just chillin one minute, then the next minutewell, you know.

Yeah, he said. I know. By the way, nice shorts.

I immediately sat Indian style in the chair, trying to hide my slender brown legs underneath me.

You dont get it, he said, laughing.

Whats so funny? I asked with a nervous smile.

Those are my shorts, he said. I looked down again. Sure enough, the shorts werent mine.

I looked at him, seeing a smile wider than the main Quad. It was infectious. Finally, the ice had been broken and I could smile in his presence again.

He was back in my life, if only for a few moments on the night before classes. We both stood up and hugged in the middle of my living room.

I missed you, he whispered, lips brushing lightly against my ear.

I missed you, too, I said to him, through his chest.

You were sleeping, werent you? he asked. He backed away slightly, looking down to my eyes while holding on to my arms.

Almost, I said. I was just lying in bed when you came over. I have a lot to do tomorrow.

Come on, then, he said, letting his hands slide down my arms.

Go back to sleep.

Dude, you know I cant just fall back to sleep now.

Yeah you can, he said taking my hand and leading me to the short set of stairs leading to the bedrooms and bathroom. RASHID DARDEN 9

Which one is yours, he asked as we crept through the darkened hallway.

The middle, I said. He had brought his gym bag downstairs with him as though he planned on spending the night. We entered my dark room, lit only with the light of my computer screen. He sat down at my desk and started checking his email on my Dell. I got under the sheets and laid face up so I could see him.

You ready for class tomorrow? he asked me.

Yeah, I said. Are you?

Yeah, I guess so. I hope I like all of them.

You will, I said. He turned to face me in the darkness and smiled one last time before I fell asleep.

He must have hidden the teddy bear in his gym bag and put it next to me in bed before he let himself out of my apartment. He still loved me. His swagger, his smile, his voice, his deeds they all called out to me, but I couldnt answer. Not then, not yet. There was much work to be done before he and I would be ready to move forward. When I woke up in the morning, I named the bear Miles and put him on my desk. Actually, I named him Miles because I rested him on top of my Miles Davis CDs.

My apartment, located deep in Hurley Village, was already bustling with activity.

Calen was one of my favorite frat brothers and now my housemate. We were initiated together and had experienced many trials and tribulations to make it to that point. When we were at our darkest hour as a pledge class, Calen was one of the few who showed that he was in my corner regardless of the circumstances. From the outside looking in, we made for a rather odd pair. I was of average height, just shy of five feet, ten inches. Calen, on the other hand was six and a half feet tall, 250 pounds easy. He had a beautiful caramel complexion and a baby face, even though nothing else about him was juvenile. His laughter emanating from the kitchen reminded me that we were to wear our fraternity shirts. It was a tradition in our chapter that we dressed in paraphernalia on certain days, like the first day of class or