Ch. 11 #3
“I heard you, My Baby.” Turning around to face me, that fake ass smile was back. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Afor.”
This nigga is psychotic.
They walked in with Nesh following behind them. I pulled her to the side, and she immediately started assessing me. “Are you okay, bestie?” I nodded as I released a deep sigh rubbing my forehead. “Why the hell are they here?”
“I don’t know, but I do want to hear what’s up. Are you staying?” I inquired.
“Bitch don’t play with me. Do something with this and we’ll handle it when they leave. I’ll play host until you join us.” She handed over the bag and headed for the kitchen.
“If you’ll have a seat in the first room to your left, please. Give me one quick second, and I’ll be right with you,” I said heading to the guest bathroom I’d just called hurl in earlier.
I quickly placed the bag of tests on the sink and closed the door. Entering the living room, Nesh was handing them a bottle of water a piece. Whether she wanted to or not, it was like she entered her role as a COO and gave them respect. That switch up was something lethal.
Taking a seat on the couch that was adjacent to theirs, me and Nesh waited for them to speak first. They came over her wanting details, so I wasn’t opening my mouth until I was asked a question. Volunteering information wasn’t my forte.
“Sorry for his behavior. He doesn’t really understand that owning the city doesn’t mean the people are included,” Klarity jested, but me and Nesh found nothing funny.
“My wife made a joke to lighten the mood. The least you can do is fake a smile,” Royce chimed wearing a hell of a mug on his face.
Me and Nesh’s heads fell to the side simultaneously not realizing we were expressing the same emotion.
He really is crazy. I see where Black gets it from.
I heard Klarity just like he did but what I wasn’t going to do was fake anything.
The Atkins were already causing me hell so behaving like a good bitch wasn’t happening again.
“We heard her,” Nesh voiced. Royce flexed his jaw, and I chuckled. He was going to have a time with Nesh. She wasn’t a do as you’re told kind of bitch.
“Aight, let’s get this shit over with before I flip the fuck out.
Genesis is my baby brother, and I been looking for him for quite some time.
I just learned about him not too long ago and wanted to get a gist of him before popping up on him.
You spent time with him, so I figured I’d kill time and pay you a visit until I’m able to visit him in jail.
We went by your company several times trying to be respectful and patient.
However, you never showed. I told my wife we could pay you a wellness check. Aren’t I thoughtful?”
Little brother? I didn’t think he was that close in relation. I was assuming a cousin, but brother… It made sense now that I was witnessing Royce firsthand. Apples never fell too far from one another.
“What is it you want to know, Royce?” I questioned.
“What happened between y’all two and why you call them boys so late? I heard some things, so I’m confused on why you did it,” he answered.
My curiosity spiked because of that last sentence alone.
What the hell did he hear and from who? I spoke with no one but Nesh about the things me and Black did and I truly didn’t let it be known until today.
Black wasn’t a snitch, and I could tell from the way he looked at me when I was giving the cops the rundown.
“What do you mean you heard some things?” I inquired sitting up.
“Exactly what I said. You gon’ tell me what happened or not? I ain’t got all day.” Royce seemed aggravated with my responses, and I couldn’t help but reciprocate the annoyance.
I looked up at Nesh and she nodded. I guess I had no choice but to tell him what happened. Black was his brother after all.
“Fuck it,” I said throwing my hands up. “So, me and my bestie were in the mall blowing a bag as usual.”
“Okay!” Klarity interrupted cosigning our activities. She was able to get us to chuckle with her outburst.
“Any who, we were shopping and all of a sudden, we hear shots go off. We made our way back to our cars but when I got in mine Bla… Genesis was already there in my backseat. He held me at gun point and told me to come here. We got here, he helped me inside because of my health condition flaring at that moment and that was that. The next day he made a transaction with someone named Zeus giving him the jewelry that was stolen from XXIV Carats and took the money. I called the cops the following night and got him gone. This is my home, and I’m not going to walk on eggshells or allow someone like him to stay here and threaten me nonstop with a fuckin’ gun.
” My story was quite simple leaving out all the details.
That was my business, and I didn’t have to reveal that if I didn’t want to.
Royce laughed at my response and was now sitting on the edge of the sofa. He took a swig of his water and said, “Ain’t you leaving some shit out?”
Oh, he knows exactly what happened. He just wants to see if I’ll tell him the truth or not.
“You’re minding business that’s not yours already. Don’t you think you should be satisfied with what you’re getting?” I was talking shit to him the way I would to Black. I learned being nice would get me nowhere with them.
He stared me down but eventually sat back getting comfortable beside Klarity once more. For the first time since he’d been here, I saw a genuine smile. “I like you, Ms. Afor.”
“Cheyonne, just call me Cheyonne.” If those pregnancy tests came back positive, we would be more than strangers.
“It’s obvious he treated you with some kind of respect or else you wouldn’t have fucked him. Your fibromyalgia, did it flare when he was here?” Tuh. They said you were one of the smartest men in Sage Springs, and I see why. Good job on doing your homework, Royce Atkins.
“You have no right digging into her background like that. That’s her personal business,” Nesh chimed.
“Didn’t I just tell you I don’t need permission to do shit in my city, that includes tapping into your medical records. Answer me, Cheyonne,” he demanded.
“It did and he helped me through it, surprisingly. He’s really caring and gentle despite of his hotheadedness. He listens to me even if he complains at times. He caused my episode, but I got through it faster than I would if I was alone,” I disclosed.
“Cheyonne, why you send my brother to jail? Sounds like he was nice to yo’ ungrateful ass and now he got a record.”
“Royce, you need to speak to her with some respect. You are in her home and wanting information on Genesis, not the other way around. Cheyonne, do you mind if I use your bathroom? I’ve been trying to hold it, but I’ve reached my limit,” Klarity interrupted.
“Yeah, sure. It’s down the hall to your right,” I said pointing in the direction she should walk.
“Thank you.”
Nodding, I gave my attention to her husband.
He was quite pushy and if answering him would get him up and out my face, then I might as well tell him what he wanted to hear.
“Royce, I called the police because he held me hostage in my own home, pulled a gun on me several times, and threatened my life. The news also reported that the security guard was placed in ICU. At the time, I assumed it was him. I only learned that it wasn’t today.
There’s slight regret but once again, at the time, I thought justice needed to be served.
If I could help the security guard get that, then it was what it was. ”
“The hell you fuck him for?” Royce was repeatedly asking the question I didn’t want to answer.
So, this is what you meant when you said I was leaving something out. I guess no stone goes unturned around you, huh?
“How else was I supposed to get him vulnerable enough where I could take my freedom back? Niggas drop their guard for pussy every day. Why not take advantage of that?”
“So, you snitched on the nigga you fucked?” Royce was getting upset. You could visibly see his eyes shifting from calm to irate.
“Baby, calm down. She might be pregnant,” Klarity commented walking back into the room holding a pregnancy test in her hand.
Dammit. I completely forgot I left those on the sink.
“You and your husband don’t know how to mind your business do you?” Nesh inquired walking over and snatching the box from her.
Klarity ignored Toneshia’s rudeness and took a seat beside Royce.
She looped her arm with his and got comfortable yet again.
Neither one of them seemed bothered by our shit talking or aggressive attitudes.
I would be comfortable too knowing the man I was married to held the city in the palms of his hands, especially with no one being able to do shit with him even if they tried.
“Take the test, Cheyonne. We’ll wait,” Royce demanded.
“Excuse me? You’re really entitled, and my business is not yours.
How many more times do I have to say that?
” I shouted. I was annoyed as hell, but I couldn’t determine if it was because of him or the possible hormone change.
He kept butting in things that didn’t concern him, but I was just as curious to know the results.
He kissed the back of his teeth and exhaled deeply letting me know that he too was annoyed.
“I’m really trying to keep my cool and practice these breathing techniques, so I don’t end up back in jail, but you and yo’ fuck ass homegirl got one more time to talk to me crazy and I’m gon’ start making funeral arrangements.
Go take the fuckin’ test, so I’ll know whether or not to add Atkins to your tombstone,” he threatened.