Chapter 10
J rue
“You bitch!” Lottie spat as soon as her face popped up on my phone screen.
“What are you yapping about now, girl?”
“When is the wedding? That’s what I’m yapping about.
Don’t act like you don’t know you’re all over the fucking internet.
Supreme shared a picture of you. Now everyone finally knows who the mystery girl is.
I have been on the phone for the past hour fielding questions for the business.
Most people just want to book a freaking meet and greet with his ass. ”
“I have been trying to stay off social media ever since he posted that first picture of me.”
“I’m just pissed that I’ve been out of the loop. How the hell am I the last to know that y’all are social media official?”
“Girl, shut up. I just found out too. You know I don’t like all that attention, so we’ve been trying to keep a low profile.”
“He doesn’t seem to be keeping a low profile. You’re all over his social media.”
“It’s one picture.”
“It’s two pictures!” she countered.
“Don’t stress me out, girl. My nerves are bad enough as it is. I’ve been trying to take it one day at a time.”
“Yeah, so let me ask you something,” she countered.
“What is it?”
“Where are you? This blip on my app has been in the same spot for the last couple of days.”
“I’m at his house,” I mumbled.
“But you’re trying to take it one day at a time.”
“Jrake came to my house and shot at him. He didn’t give a damn that I was standing there, girl. He called yelling and talking all crazy, saying either I could stay out of his way or catch a stray.”
“Girl, what? Why the hell am I just now hearing this?”
“I been so out of it that I didn’t even want to think about it. Supreme brought me to his house that same day, and I’ve been here ever since.”
“Where is Jeremiah?”
“He’s here too. Well, he’s at school right now. I’ve been driving him.”
“Damn, girl.”
“All because Jrake thinks Supreme is the reason he went to prison.”
“Girl, what? Come over. We need to talk.”
“I have to see if I can get out. You might have to come to me.”
“Damn, bae got you on lockdown like that?”
I put her on speaker so I could shoot Ian a message to make sure it was cool for Carlotta to come over. If he wanted me to be here, I needed to be able to have friends over. Well at least Lottie. She was my girl. I had to level with her.
“Honestly, Lottie. I’m kinda scared to go out with how Jrake’s stupid ass is acting. I can’t believe him.”
“Not Miss Boosie Bad Ass scared of something.”
“Oh, trust me, I’m not scared of him. I’m scared of what I might have to do to him. Do you know that if I had my gun I would have been trying to kill my own brother in the heat of the moment? I didn’t know that it was his stupid ass until minutes after it went down.”
“How you found out it was him?”
“He had the nerve to call me! I told you he told me I might catch a stray. I got a bullet for his ass if he comes near me, Lottie. I swear.”
“You can’t let it come to that, Jrue. Call him and talk to him.”
“I have nothing to say to him. He’s letting a hunch come between him and his sister.
He doesn’t even know if Ian set him up for sure.
He says Ian was on the way to make a purchase from him.
He had already sent the money upfront. It wasn’t a little bit of money either.
It was six figures. Before he could get there, the cops showed up.
Jrake thinks that Ian sent the cops. He says he didn’t do it. ”
“What do you think?”
“It doesn’t make sense that he would send his money knowing that the deal wasn’t going down. I believe him.”
“You’re right. I don’t care how much money I got. I’m not flushing no six figures down the drain.”
“No matter if he did it or not. My own brother shot at me. I don’t have any words for him.”
“Damn, I hate this for y’all. I figured when he got out, shit would get better for y’all. He should be trying to be there for you and Jeremiah for a change.”
“Right. Instead, he’s running behind different chicks in our old hood and shooting at niggas behind old beefs. He lost his mind when he found out that Ian’s been spending time with Jeremiah. He says he took his life, now he’s trying to take his family.”
“Wow, I didn’t know he was bugging like that.”
“I’m trying to lay low for a while to give him time to come to his senses before I talk to him.
Ian is good to me. It’s not like he’s dogging me or trying to make me look crazy out here.
He’s been honest and sweet, and I really like him, Lottie,” I said, hating the way my voice cracked when I made that confession.
“Aww, look at my baby. This is a real Kodak moment, sis. I love this for you.”
“Thank you. I’m terrified, by the way.”
“Terrified? Why?”
“Why not? You’ve heard all the horror stories about dating a celebrity. How long will it be before one of his jump-offs throws a drink on me in a restaurant and tells me she’s pregnant? You know I’m slapping the shit out of her.”
“Just think. You could end up with your own show.”
“I don’t want my own show, Lottie. I don’t even want these bloggers posting about me. I don’t want to give people a reason to start trying to dissect my life. I have enough going on with trying to make sure me and Jeremiah are straight. He is my main focus.”
“Mr. Lover Man better be number two.”
“He’s definitely wearing me down.”
“The man got you hidden out at his house, sis. You’re already worn down to the quick.”
“You go to hell, with your petty ass.”
“Send me the address, boop. I’ll see you in a little while.”
Since Ian and Jeremiah were gone to the studio, I had free rein of his house. I kind of wanted to snoop, but mostly, I enjoyed the solitude. I had gotten a lot of work done in the past couple of hours while they were gone. I even had time to cook.
By the time I heard the front door close, I was grateful that they were back. I rushed to the living room but stopped in my tracks when I saw that it was KD instead of Ian. I opened my mouth to tell him that Ian wasn’t home, but the somber look on his face made me hesitate.
“What’s wrong?” I quizzed.
“Grab your phone and purse. I need you to ride with me somewhere.”
“What’s going on, KD? Where’s Ian?”
He didn’t answer me. Instead, he turned and headed back outside. Curiosity made me scoop my purse and keys off the counter before following him outside. By the time I made it to the door, he was already in his car. I got in and looked in the back seat as he backed out of the driveway.
“Are you going to at least tell me where we’re going?”
“To the hospital.”
“What the hell are we going to the hospital for, KD? What happened? Is Ian OK?”
I didn’t wait for him to respond before I pulled my phone out of my purse. He didn’t answer my call, instantly causing me to panic.
“I like you, Jrue, and I’m sure you’re a nice girl, but I can’t have you around my brother right now.”
“What the hell do you mean? Your brother is a grown ass man. You don’t get to make that decision.”
“Obviously, he’s not thinking straight. He’s thinking with his heart and not his head. I have to be the voice of reason,” he explained, turning into the hospital parking lot.
“With all due respect, you can’t be the voice of shit for me. You can drop me off somewhere. I’ll get back home.”
“Your brother is in the hospital, Jrue.”
“What? What happened to him? Did y’all do something to him? Where is Ian?”
“Eamon and Sebastian got him out of here. He wanted me to make sure you were good.”
“What the hell do you mean they got him out of here? What happened?” I asked, pulling my phone out again.
“Go to the third floor. He’s in room 304.”
I climbed out of KD’s car on shaky legs and rushed into the hospital. What the hell was going on? How had this shit spiraled out of control so quickly? I bypassed the front desk and headed straight for the elevator bank.
I hit the up button, and the doors slid open. I stepped on the elevator and rode to the third floor. My hands were trembling as I clutched my purse. Thankfully, I hadn’t been carrying my gun around since I was with Ian most of the time these days. He and Eamon were enough to put my mind at ease.
I stepped out of the elevator wide-eyed, scanning for room numbers. My phone vibrated in my purse, and I opened it to see who was calling. Relief washed over me when I saw Jrake’s number. At least he was well enough to call. I took a deep breath to settle my nerves before I answered.
“Hey, I just made it to the hospital.”
“Sis, I’m so sorry. They drug me away before I could get to him.”
“What are you talking about, Jrake? Get to who?”
“Jeremiah, Sis!”
“What about Jeremiah, Jrake?”
“He got shot, Jrue. Aren’t you at the hospital?”
The phone fell from my hand, crashing into the floor with a thud as my world came tumbling down right behind it.
Mindlessly, I wandered down the hall until I arrived at room 304.
It was crazy how when your life seemed to be going so well, just one thing could snatch the entire ground from beneath your feet.
For hours, I sat at my brother’s bedside, holding his hand. The cops had come and gone, yet I was still right by his side. I should have been with him. No, he should have been with me. I made a vow to take care of him, and I had let him down gravely.
It didn’t matter that the bullets had missed all the important stuff. No fifteen-year-old should be laid up in the hospital suffering from a gunshot wound. It didn’t matter that the bullets were in his leg and back.
My baby was in so much pain. He had barely woken up from all the anesthesia they had him on. I still had no idea what happened.
My phone rang, causing me to scramble to find my purse. Somebody had better tell me something real fucking soon before I started my own investigation. Seeing Ian’s name was only slightly calming at this point. I needed him to explain why the hell there were three bullets in my baby brother.
“Jrue!” I heard his voice as soon as the call connected.
“What the fuck happened to my baby, Ian?”
“They shot him, baby. I know he was my responsibility, love. I tried, baby. You know I tried to take care of him. I know I made a promise, baby. I had to get out of there, but I made sure they took care of him. I’m so sorry, Choc.”
“What the hell do you mean they shot him? Who is they, Ian? He was with you!”
“Your brother or his people. Whoever he had with him. They rode through shooting when we were leaving the studio. When he saw that Jeremiah was hit, he was distraught, but he didn’t even try to fucking check on him. I gotta do something to that nigga, Jrue. I can’t just let this shit ride.”
“My baby brother is already in the hospital. I don’t want any more bloodshed, Ian. This shit is stupid.”
“I don’t know if you’re paying attention, but I’m not the one on the bullshit.”
“Just let me talk to him, please.”
“So, what am I supposed to do? Keep playing dodgeball with bullets until you can talk some sense into that fool?”
“Baby, please just wait and let me talk to him. I know I can reason with him and get him to see how fucking stupid he’s being.”
“Nah, you mean wait and let the nigga kill me first. In case you missed it, he’s not interested in talking, Jrucilla. At this point, neither am I.” He ended the call, shattering my heart with three little beeps.
Maybe thinking that I could continue to deal with Ian was a huge mistake. No matter how wrong Jrake was, he was still my brother. I knew he would never back down. Hot tears stung my eyes as I thought about the situation.
I slipped my hand back into Jeremiah’s. He was the most important thing to me. Not Ian, not even Jrake. I had to make sure that my baby brother was safe, even if that meant that I had to do it alone.