Chapter 6
J rue
“So, is this shit official, or is this shit official?” Lottie asked, shoving her phone in my face.
“What are you talking about?”
I snatched the phone and scanned the picture on the screen from Supreme’s birthday party. It was a great shot of the decorations and cake. The caption read “The best to ever do it,” and he tagged my business page.
“No wonder the consultation emails have been piling up. Your new man is representing his boo thang.”
I laughed. “Girl, shut up. Are we really getting a lot of requests?”
“Ten so far.”
“Wow.”
“How was New York?”
“It was good to get away for a minute. The first night, I just rested, while Ian took Jeremiah to the studio. When they got back, we all piled up in Eamon’s room and watched movies.”
“So, did y’all do the nasty or not? You know that’s what I want to hear.”
“That’s not even what this trip was about, freaky.”
“Takes one to know one. Girl, stop playing. Did you get the goods?”
“Yes, nosy. Look what else I got,” I said, thumbing the diamond necklace that Ian brought me when he and Jeremiah came back from the studio.
“That’s beautiful, sis. I don’t know about you, but it seems like he’s crazy about you. Please don’t mess this up.”
I laughed. “Girl, I’m not about to play with you.”
“So, when is bae coming back?”
“He’s in California for a couple of days, then he has to go to London for a week.” I pouted.
As we chatted, my door flew open. I looked up to see my brother Jrake storm in, looking like a mad man.
“Boy, you almost got blasted, busting in here like you didn’t have any sense.”
“What the fuck you doing messing around with Supreme McNabb, Jrue?”
“Hold up now. The last time I checked, I was grown.”
“I don’t give a damn how old you are. You not about to be fucking around with the nigga that sent me to prison.”
“How did he send you to prison, Jrake? This is the first I’m hearing of this. I didn’t even know you knew him.”
“Well, I do. How long this shit been going on?” he asked, showing me a picture from his phone.
There was a picture of Ian and I getting out of a cab in New York. Thanks to Eamon, you could barely see me. The article listed me as a mystery girl.
“How in the world did you come to the conclusion that this was me?”
I wasn’t going to let my brother dictate who I dated without a good reason. I just wanted to know how in the world he recognized me. He yanked his phone out of my hand.
“I actually thought that I was tripping until Marlon said he snatched you up from y’all date the other day. You ain’t have no business with his soft ass either.”
I would have sat down and searched for more pictures or angles if it weren’t for my annoying ass brother mugging me like he was out of his mind.
I didn’t know how I felt about someone posting a picture of me without asking for my permission, even if I wasn’t exactly recognizable.
There were enough context clues for my dumb ass brother to put two and two together.
That meant anyone with any amount of common sense could put it together, if they wanted to.
That didn’t mean I was going to let Jrake come into my house trying to run my life. He had made enough mistakes for the both of us. Plus, he was such a manipulator that I couldn’t just take his word for anything. He would say whatever he needed to say to get his way.
“You do understand that I’m grown now, right? You don’t tell me what to do anymore.”
“That nigga wants me dead, Jrue.”
“What did you do for him to want you dead?”
“Why the hell I always gotta be the one that did something? Why you think I’m the culprit every time?”
“That’s because you usually are.”
“End that shit, Jrue.”
“Again, you don’t tell me what to do with my life. I been doing just fine all the time that you were gone, and I’m just fine right now.”
“I don’t want that nigga around my brother, Jrue.”
“You don’t run shit over here. Now you can get the hell out of my house. Don’t return until you remember how to talk to me like an adult.”
“Jrue, that nigga let me rot in prison while he went on tour. You gon’ let dick come between you and your family?”
“So, he put the drugs in your hand and made you sell them?”
“He was supposed to be coming to make a buy from me. Instead, the folks showed up. Now his ass is on every radio station like shit sweet.”
“I hear you, but that doesn’t mean he set you up.”
“Does that nigga know I’m your brother?”
“Why would he? I didn’t even know you knew him.”
“He came to my welcome home party poppin’ shit. Is that where you met him? I bet he’s just using you to get under my skin. I’m not about to let him play with you like that, Sis. He just trying to humiliate you.”
“And you know I’m not about to let anyone play with me either, so why did you even run over here hollering and screaming?”
“I’m not playing with you, Jrue. End that shit.”
The first time Ian called me, it was shortly after Jrake left my house.
I was still reeling from my conversation with my brother, so I didn’t want to talk to him yet.
I didn’t expect for him to be so bothered about me not answering his calls.
When I woke up the next morning, he had sent over breakfast with a bouquet of red roses.
The note attached said that he hoped that I wasn’t being a workaholic and ignoring my man.
Me: Can I just talk to you when you get back to town?
I texted him before I attempted to eat breakfast. The thought of having to end things between us prematurely made me nauseous. I should have known that he was too good to be true. Every time I went against my first mind, I ended up being let down.
Bae: What’s wrong Jrue?
Me: I rather talk in person.
Bae: Are you OK? I’m trying not to worry.
Me: Yes I’m fine.
It felt petty to bring up Jrake’s accusations, but it needed to be addressed. Four hours later, I got a bouquet of pink roses. Four hours after that, I got purple ones. Ian didn’t call me again, which made me feel a little better, but he was still on my mind.
It had been days since Jrake came busting in my house yelling about my relationship with Ian, and I still hadn’t made a decision about how to handle things.
My plan was to give him time to take care of his business and come back before I talked to him in person about the things my brother had accused him of doing.
I sat at my kitchen counter surrounded by different kinds of roses as I stared down at my phone.
Bae: Did I do something wrong?
It was the last message that he’d sent last night.
I still wasn’t sure how to answer that. I wanted to clear his mind, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure about the answer.
Wanting to talk to him in person was making this harder than it had to be.
Once I got my day started, I would break down and call him. There had to be an explanation.
The knock on my door made me jump. I pushed back from the counter and walked over to answer the door. I froze in place when I was met with Ian’s handsome face. His knitted brows illustrated his concern.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were headed to England.”
“You said we needed to talk.”
I peeked over his shoulder and spotted Eamon lingering next to the car. He looked as menacing as ever with his arms folded across his chest.
“Come in. I didn’t expect you to come all the way here.”
“You weren’t answering the phone. I didn’t know what to think. What’s going on, Jrue?”
“Do you know Jrake Peterson?”
“Yeah, I used to do business with him. Why? What’s up?”
“He’s my brother. He said you had him arrested.”
His brows shot up to his hairline. That didn’t feel like a good sign. “Jrake’s your brother?”
“Yes. If y’all don’t get along, why would you be at his welcome home party?”
“You hungry?” he asked.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“You don’t have to. I want to cook for you.”
“What?” I laughed.
“Where is Jeremiah? I’m making dinner,” he said, motioning with his head as he finally stepped inside.
“I am actually hungry. Jeremiah should be on his way home. I was going to ask him if he wanted to order a pizza or something.”
“How do you feel about chicken Phillies? I didn’t want to try to do anything too fancy since I wanted the kid to be here.”
“That actually sounds good.”
“Well, kick back and relax and let me and Eamon get everything going.”
“Are you cooking, or is Eamon cooking?”
“Like I said, I’m cooking. Once I get you fed, we can talk.”
“That works for me.”
“Now can you take me to the kitchen and get out of the way so I can work my magic?”
I grinned like a little girl, deciding not to put up a fight. I loved the idea of someone else feeding me for a change. “Yes, sir.”
“Hey, Miss Jrue.” Eamon spoke to me as he walked through the door, juggling an arm full of bags.
“Hey, Eamon. I hope you’re going to help him cook. I have no faith in this man and a stove.”
“I got you.”
“Man, shut up. I’m not letting you cook for my woman. You must be crazy.”
I tittered as I led them to the kitchen.
I showed them where everything was before Ian made me honor his wish of me getting out of the kitchen.
With nothing else to do, I went to the living room.
As I made myself comfortable on the couch, the door flew open, and Jeremiah busted in like the Kool-Aid man with the giant smile to match.
“Where’s Supreme?”
“Hey, baby brother, my favorite person in the world. I’m doing great today. Thanks for asking.”
“That’s good, Sis. Where’s Supreme? I thought you had ran him off.”
“How would I run him off? I don’t run people off.”
“With that big mouth and trying to shoot him every time you get mad.”
“You have never witnessed me trying to shoot anyone! Why would you say that?”
“I heard Jrake talking about how you shot at that one guy you used to go out with. I wondered what happened to him.” Jeremiah chuckled as he shook his bean head.