Chapter 20
“Are you sure everything is okay with you?” Keynauri probed.
He had asked me the same question ten different ways since I showed up at his place three days ago. I told him that I was getting some maintenance done at my place, and I wanted to give the workers space. It was a dumb-ass excuse, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
“Why do you keep asking me that?” I sat at his kitchen island, demolishing a bowl of butter pecan ice cream. I moaned at how delicious it tasted with each spoonful and wanted to slap myself for only getting one pint.
“Something is off with you. To be honest, it’s been off for a while.
I thought I was tripping when I was locked up, but you’re keeping something from me.
I don’t know what it is or why, but I can feel it.
We’ve always been connected on a deeper level, which is why I know something isn’t right with you. What’s up?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to keep my eyes anywhere except on him. There were too many secrets to tell, and I didn’t have a clue where to even begin.
“You can look away all you want, but I want answers. All this sneaky shit has me looking at you sideways. You might be grown, but I still want to know what’s going on with you.”
“There isn’t much to tell. I’m figuring life out, Nauri. I go through what every normal young woman goes through in life. Life can be hard at times, but I promise it’s nothing for you to worry about.” I tried to sound confident, but the ache in my chest had me second-guessing.
“Well, what issues are you having? You know if it’s monetary, I’ve got you covered. If some little nigga is playing with your heart, I’ll run down on him. What’s up?”
I appreciated how ready he was to stand up for me, but I wasn’t so sure I deserved it.
My shoulders dropped in defeat as I thought about everything I had been dealing with the last few days.
The day after I caught East and Valor fucking, I got up and took my ass right to the abortion clinic.
The guilt had been eating me alive, and I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that I’d made a mistake.
“I was dating this guy, and things didn’t work out. I really cared about him, but shit went left. A part of me is angry, but there’s another part of me that feels like I wasn’t good enough for him anyway.” I was vague, but honest.
“What makes you think you weren’t good enough?”
“I’ve been through a lot of shit, and he was really patient with me, but I felt like he wanted me to be something I’m not.
I’ve had so much stripped from me, and I just want to live my life.
I know you don’t care for the club hosting, but I love it.
I love being an influencer and making content.
I love getting sexy and throwing ass in the club with my girls.
Being a mother has been one of the biggest blessings in my life, but that isn’t all I am.
” I wiped tears from my eyes because I was tired of crying.
“Do you think it’s something the two of you can work through? It sounds like the two of you might be on different pages, but it’s not impossible to work through if you both establish boundaries and are willing to compromise.”
“Naw, some other shit went down, and there’s no coming back from it. I guess you can say I’m going through my first true heartbreak, and I’m not sure how to handle it. He hurt me, but I can’t bring myself to say he didn’t love me. I know he did.”
The dull ache in my chest came back. I never knew heartbreak could take on a physical form, but I was miserable and sick to my stomach.
It didn’t help that I was also grieving the loss of a child I would never get to meet.
I was supposed to upload a new vlog from the pool party, but I hadn’t been able to drag myself out of bed in order to edit the content.
Mendeecees had been on my ass to make sure I showed up to his music video, so I knew I couldn’t stay in a funk for long.
“I know your sneaky ass isn’t gonna tell me shit else, so I’ll let it go for now. All I ask is that you come to me if you’re in trouble or someone fucks with you. I love you, Boogie.”
“I love you too.”
My phone buzzed, and I saw it was a call from East. I declined it, but he called right back. I ignored it, but then I got a video call from a number I didn’t recognize. I put my headphones in and answered the call after Keynauri left the kitchen.
I damn near fell out of my seat when I saw Valor crying, tied to a chair, in what appeared to be some kind of warehouse or storage unit.
Mascara stained her cheeks, and her eyes were puffy and red.
When the camera moved away from her, I gasped when I saw the masked man staring on the other side of the screen.
“I sent you the address. You have twenty minutes to get your ass down here, and you know I don’t like waiting.” He disconnected the call while I sat there frozen. The voice couldn’t be mistaken, but I was confused about what he had gotten himself into.
Since I was on a time constraint, I hurriedly slid on my Crocs and raced out of the house.
I was too afraid to say anything to Keynauri or anyone else, so I turned off my location and put my phone on DND while I drove.
The GPS said the location was seventeen minutes away, and I wanted to make sure I got there on time.
I pressed my foot on the gas and hauled ass down the road in complete silence.
My heart raced as I tried to put the pieces together in my head.
I expected East to put up a fight for our relationship, and when he didn’t, it made me sad.
He was the one who fucked up, yet he hadn’t made one effort to try to make things right.
It had me questioning if he even wanted to be with me in the first place, and if I were honest, a part of me was afraid of the answer.
The robotic voice of the GPS let me know I was two hundred feet from my destination. I wasn’t sure whether I should call him or not, but before I could even finish my thought, the unknown number called again.
“H-hello?”
“Park in the back and turn your phone off.”
He disconnected without a response from me.
I took a deep breath, then did what I was told. When I got out of the car, I glanced over my shoulder. Paranoia set in, and I wondered if there were cameras in the area. I didn’t want to get caught up in a situation I couldn’t get out of.
When I got to the back door, a big, buff man opened the door for me.
He scared the shit out of me, but I put on a brave face.
He escorted me down the corridor until we reached a back room in the abandoned building.
It smelled more like bleach, metal, and mildew the deeper we walked inside.
When I stepped into the room they were in, my eyes ballooned with fear.
Logic and East were leaning against a wall, passing a blunt back and forth to each other. Both of them had their shiesty masks resting above their faces with guns in their free hands. While I was aware they were in the streets, I never saw them in action.
“It’s nice of you to join us, sis.” Logic smirked. My eyes bounced between them and Valor.
“W-what is this? W-why do you have her tied up like this?”
They both ignored me and continued to smoke.
I started to grow impatient, but I wasn’t in a place to voice my frustrations.
Eventually, once they were finished, East pushed off the wall, swaggering over to me.
He stood close enough for me to breathe in his cologne.
My heart beat wildly as I stared into his dark eyes.
Whenever I looked into his eyes, I always saw love in them, but they were void.
It scared me and hurt my feelings at the same time.
“Go greet your friend,” East instructed, nodding his head in her direction. I swallowed hard before making my way over to where Valor was. When she glanced up at me, I thought she would have remorse in her eyes, but she glared at me as if I had done something to her.
“I told you to be careful of the company you kept, but you never wanted to listen to me. I let you do your thing because I figured you would have to learn your lesson the hard way. The problem came when your hardheadedness started to affect our family.”
My stomach twisted while he spoke, and I had a feeling something wasn’t right. East leaned over and ripped the duct tape from Valor’s mouth, causing her to scream out in pain. I jumped when East lifted his gun, pressing it to her temple.
“Tell her,” he commanded. She must not have been moving fast enough because he gripped her neck with his free hand, making her look at me.
“Okay! Okay! East didn’t know it was me.
I-I came to the house and pretended to grab a bathing suit.
I unlocked your bedroom window so I could come back later when I knew you would be on your way home.
He had no idea he was having sex with me,” Valor admitted.
I didn’t want to believe her, because then I would have to face the reality of what I had done.
“W-why the fuck would you do something so evil! We’ve been friends for years, and I would never do no shit like this!”
“Oh, give me a break. You’ve been pulling this innocent act for years, and I’m tired of it. Everybody thinks you’re so pretty and perfect, but you’re a regular bitch like the rest of us. You aren’t special,” Valor spat.
Her words left me stunned, and I wondered how I missed all of the signs.
Sure, there had been times when she made shady comments or tried to embarrass me in front of people, but it was never bad enough for me to think she hated me.
She was tied to a chair with a gun to her head, but she didn’t flinch when she spoke her truth.
The reality hit home more than I cared to admit.