Chapter 29
“Hey, boo. How’ve you been?” Shaylyn asked, stepping aside so I could come inside.
I would admit I was still shocked she reached out.
It had been years since the two of us spent any time together.
We would comment on each other’s IG posts, but we hadn’t been in the same room together since I left Trina’s house.
“I’m doing well. You’ve got a nice place, and I love the color scheme.
” I gushed over the decorations in her apartment.
There was something about home decor that fascinated me.
I found myself constantly watching home improvement shows when I was home.
Essex couldn’t stand it, because any time I got a new idea, I would switch up the house.
“Thank you, love. I tried to make the place feel like home. Shane is here too. His ass is probably in the kitchen eating up all of the food.” She giggled.
I followed her into the kitchen, where her brother stood leaning against the counter with a plate in his hands.
“What’s good, Cuzzo?” Shane greeted me with one arm extended for a hug. I giggled, noticing the remnants of dip on his upper lip.
“What’s up, boy? I see you still don’t know how to eat without using your whole face.”
A goofy grin spread across his face. “Aye, I don’t get any complaints from the bitches.”
“Yuck. You could have kept that little detail to yourself. How’ve you been? I see you at the clubs from time to time, but you’re always gone before I can say anything.”
We partied at the same places, but I wasn’t familiar with his group of friends. Most of them looked like they beat bitches for sport, so I steered clear of them as much as possible.
“Yeah, I know. The money be callin’. Sometimes I have to dip out early, you know? Other than that, I’m straight. My little girl is due any day now, so I’m honestly tryna slow down.” He beamed with pride, letting me know he was excited.
“Aww, congratulations. I can already tell by the grin on your face she’s gonna be spoiled rotten.”
“Hell yeah. Her momma has been on my ass about the amount of money I’ve been spending, but I don’t want my girl to go without anything. You know what I mean?”
“She’s gonna be one lucky girl. The way you used to look out for all of us growing up, I know you’re gonna be a great daddy,” I complimented him. Shane and Keynauri used to fight all of our battles on the playground. I never had to worry about a thing as long as they were around.
“Y’all were my first experience being a protector. I kind of fucked up, though, so let’s hope I don’t mess up too badly.” He laughed, but I heard the truth within his words.
“You won’t, and even if you don’t always get things right, I know you’ll do everything you can to make it right.” I patted his shoulder, then walked over to the sink to wash my hands. The aroma from the food had my stomach growling, and I was ready to dig in.
“Look at y’all greedy asses. Ain’t even bother to say a prayer or anything.
” Shaylyn pretended to fuss at us. I paid her no mind as I stuffed a barbecue meatball in my mouth.
Shaylyn prepared a whole spread with meatballs, chicken wings, Rotel dip, pasta salad, and cheeseburger sliders.
I was in heaven and didn’t even try to eat pretty.
“This food is good as hell. I’m sure Big Guy will understand,” Shane uttered with a mouth full of dip.
We stood around the kitchen island and caught up on what was going on in our lives.
It was crazy that so much time had passed since the last time we saw each other, but it didn’t matter, because we fell right back in sync.
After we finished our food, we made our way into the living room, where we played card games and talked shit all night while blasting music.
We laughed and reminisced all night, and it reminded me of a time when life made sense.
“I can’t believe you ended up with East. I remember how much you used to drool whenever he was around. Now the two of you have a family together,” Shaylyn commented.
“I still can’t believe it sometimes. He came through for me when I needed him, and we’ve been locked in ever since. I honestly couldn’t see myself ever being with anyone else,” I admitted. Regardless of our petty arguments, there wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that Essex was my future.
“I know that’s right. I’m happy for you, Cuzzo. Happiness looks good on you. I’m glad at least one of us gets to have a happy ending.”
I heard the somberness in her statement and paused.
“You can still have yours too. We’re still young and figuring things out, so you have plenty of time to turn things around,” I reassured her.
“What about that Craig dude you were messing around with? Isn’t he the one who got you this place and paid for everything?” Shane questioned, spilling some tea I hadn’t been aware of.
Shaylyn leaned forward, grabbing the half-smoked blunt in the ashtray. We continued to play our cards as she lit the blunt. Her legs were tucked underneath her on the couch, and she took a few pulls before she spoke again.
“Yeah, umm, I’m not really fuckin’ with him anymore,” she murmured in a strange tone.
“What happened? Did he do something to you? You already know I’m down to fuck a nigga up,” Shane interjected with his eyebrows raised, waiting for her to explain herself.
“Umm, it’s complicated. We’re still in contact, but the shit is all fucked up.” Shaylyn’s voice cracked, causing me to angle my body to face her.
“What’s going on, Shay? I can tell by your voice that you’re hurt about whatever is going on. What’s up?” I pressed.
“I found out he was married.” She scoffed.
I could tell there was more, so I waited for her to finish.
“His wife showed up here crying a few weeks ago because she saw my place listed in his financial information. He told me they were separated, but she showed me proof, along with a bunch of other shit I wasn’t aware of. ”
“What do you mean? You keep talking in circles instead of telling us what’s going on. Let me know something before I go out here and find this nigga myself,” Shane warned her. Shane had been a hothead all of our lives, and nothing had changed.
“No, bubs. You have my niece to think about. Besides, my situation isn’t worth you throwing your life away for. It’s all over for me, and I’ve accepted it,” Shaylyn replied. Her responses had me on high alert as I stared at her. She took another pull of the blunt before she dropped a bomb on us.
“I have HIV,” she revealed with her eyes looking straight ahead. I sat there frozen, trying to figure out what the appropriate response was.
“W-what? What the fuck do you mean you have HIV? He gave you that shit?” Shane shouted, standing up from his seat with his fist clenched.
“Yeah, he did. I guess his wife was suspicious of his behavior, so she hired a private investigator.
She found out he had been hooking up with prostitutes over there on Cook Rd.
and decided to get tested a couple of months ago.
When she found out about me, she showed up and exposed all of his dirty secrets.
“At first, I thought she was saying it to try and scare me, but then she pulled out her test results. She said they met in high school, and he was the only man she had been with. Isn’t that fucked up?
She stayed faithful to her man and ended up with some shit she could never get rid of.
” Shaylyn had this faraway look in her eyes, and it worried me.
“I got tested, and they confirmed I had it too. When I confronted his ass, he had the nerve to ask me if I could have gotten it from someone else. Niggas are really sick in the head.” Shaylyn wiped the tears from her face while she continued to smoke.
“I’ma kill this nigga,” Shane declared as he paced the room.
“I told you, it’s not worth it. Ain’t shit I can do to change it, and I don’t want you risking your freedom. Craig loves to call twelve when he’s afraid,” Shaylyn urged.
“You think I give a fuck about his pussy ass calling the police on me? He fucked your life up and doesn’t even have the balls to take accountability.
I bet he already knew about his diagnosis and just didn’t say anything.
” Shane’s tone grew more and more aggressive as time went on, and it would only be a matter of time before he exploded.
“Yeah, that was another thing I found out. His wife found out he had been taking HIV medicine, but he peeled all of the labels off. Apparently, he’s had it for years.”
I cuffed my mouth as I gasped in disbelief. What kind of selfish person would intentionally put people’s health at risk and not disclose their status?
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me? Yo, Shay, I’m really about to fuck him up. Why the hell are you just now telling us if you found out weeks ago? This shit is crazy,” Shane ranted.
“I needed time to process everything. Honestly, I thought about not saying anything at all. It’s not like there’s anything y’all could do.” Shay shrugged her shoulders, and her aura became cold.
“That’s not the point, Shay. I’ve been here since you took your first breath. I don’t give a fuck whether or not I can fix it or not. I want to know what’s going on with you. I’m your brother, baby girl. Grown or not, your business will always be my business.”
I dabbed the tears falling as I processed everything.
A part of me felt an immense amount of guilt for not checking with her for so long.
Essex would often ask me about her, but I would brush him off, telling him that we kept in touch online.
Neither of us had a lot of family, so he constantly stressed the importance of maintaining those relationships.
“Please stop crying, y’all. I don’t want you to have pity for me or feel guilty about anything,” she stressed, which only fueled my tears.
“I can’t help it. I wanted to reach out for so long, but I thought you were mad at me after what happened the last time we were all together. We promised each other we would always keep our bond tight, but I dropped the ball.” I wailed.