Chapter 24
“Aww shit! You got us on three-way again. Is Rowdy still doing okay?” Indira said when she connected.
“He’s fine and has been released.”
“Hey, Rowdy!” Talia shouted.
“He’s not with me.”
“Oh, I thought he was staying with you,” she said.
“He is, but he had to make a detour. He’s with his uncle right now.”
“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Indira asked.
“Yes, but I want to tell you face-to-face. Can y’all come over in an hour?”
“I’m at work, but this sounds serious, so I’ll take a long lunch,” Talia said.
She was an event planner and could come and go as she pleased. Indira was in the last year of an MBA program, and if she answered the phone, she probably wasn’t in class.
“It’s serious, but no one is in danger. I’m gonna go to the store to get a few things. Meet me at my place in an hour.”
“I’ll be there,” they confirmed.
I quickly ended the call before either of them asked me any questions. No one in my family knew I was pregnant except for my mother. I made her promise to let me tell everyone and she gave me a week to get it done.
Next, I called Raine and Melodie to see if they were available. They didn’t work at the spa as much since they’d had children, but that didn’t mean they weren’t busy.
“To what do we owe the honor of this call?” Raine asked sarcastically.
“Don’t be like that, sis. Every time I call either one of y’all, your kids or your husbands won’t give you five minutes of freedom.”
They laughed but they couldn’t deny it was true.
“You ain’t wrong, sis. What’s going on? How’s Rowdy doing?” Melodie asked.
I told them the same thing I told Talia and Indira. They would meet us at my place in an hour, if Melodie’s parents agreed to watch the kids.
I arrived at the grocery store and moved through the aisles quickly, getting what I thought I’d need for the next week. Before heading home, I stopped by my favorite deli and got a variety of sandwiches for us to snack on during our impromptu meet up.
When I arrived home, I parked in my designated parking spot which was in the parking lot on the side of the building. After putting my crossbody bag over my head, I got out and went to my trunk, which I’d opened before getting out of my car.
“Hey, Noelani.”
The sound of his voice startled the hell out of me, and I jumped back and grabbed my chest.
“Kenai, what the hell are you doing here?”
“You’ve been out a few days, and I wanted to check on you,” he said.
Although he spoke in a calm tone, his demeanor was off.
“How the hell do you know where I live?”
“I’ve been following you for months. Your parents have a nice home. Is that where you grew up?”
“The fuck you mean, you’ve been following me? Are you crazy?”
“No. I wanted to make sure you got home safe.”
I took another step back as I unzipped my crossbody, slipping my hand inside, and wrapping it around my gun.
“Kenai, while I appreciate your concern, I need you to leave and never come here again. This is an invasion of my privacy, and honestly, quite weird.”
“Noelani, it’s my job to make sure you’re safe.”
“I have a father, brothers, male cousins, and a man to do that. I don’t need you to keep me safe.”
He laughed and it sounded sinister as hell.
“Are you talking about that thug with the braids and tattoos? I cut your tires so I could be the one to save you, but he got to you before I did. If I’d gotten there a few minutes sooner, I would’ve been your hero, not him. Is he still in the hospital, by the way?”
His last question gave me pause because no one at work knew Rowdy had been shot.
I hadn’t even shared it with Yazmeen. As far as everyone at work knew, I was sick, and my absences had nothing to do with Rowdy.
I tightened my hand around my gun, taking a few steps back, adding another foot of space between us.
“Why, umm, why would he be in the hospital?”
“Because I shot him. I wished I’d killed him, but my aim was off because I was nervous. It’s not every day I attempt to kill someone.”
“You shot him? Why—”
“I love you, Noelani, and I can’t have a future with you if he’s around.”
Okay. This nigga is crazy.
“Kenai, I’m not interested in you in that way. I never have been, and I never will be. You’re just not my—”
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” he shouted, putting his hands over his ears.
When he moved aggressively toward me, I pulled my gun from my crossbody, gripped it with both hands, and aimed it at his head.
“Stay back!”
Another sinister laugh echoed through the parking lot, this time much louder than before.
“Dating a thug doesn’t make you a thug. I dare you to shoot me.”
“If you take one more step, I will.”
“You think I won’t?” he questioned, but didn’t move.
My eyes were locked on his, and I saw so many things in his . . . sadness, anger, longing, and insanity. I kept my gun aimed at his head, ready to pull the trigger if he came any closer.
“Noelani! What the fuck!” one of my sisters yelled but I dared not look away from Kenai.
“Call the police before I have to shoot this bastard.”
“Do it! Shoot me! I dare you!”
I’d never pulled the trigger outside of the gun range. I was nervous and scared, but I was also angry, because how dare this nigga think he could bully his way into my life? Tears of anger and frustration fell from my eyes blurring my vision, but I could still see my target.
“Kenai, please don’t make me shoot you.”
“You won’t because you love me too. You know we could be good together.”
“You’re fucking delusional,” I spat.
“Kenai, you have five guns pointed at you. If you want to leave here alive, I suggest you back the fuck away from her and take your ass on.”
I didn’t know which one of the ladies gave him that warning, but he looked in their directions.
I refused to take my eyes off him, not even for a second.
When he looked at me again, his eyes pleaded with mine.
It was hard not to feel sorry for him because he clearly had mental issues, but if I had to pull this trigger, I wouldn’t have an ounce of regret.
“Noelani, tell them we’re in love,” he pleaded.
“That’s not true. Please, Kenai, turn around and—”
“If I can’t have you, no one will!”
As he shouted, he reached behind him while moving toward me.
I pulled the trigger and hit him between his eyes.
He fell forward, and his head landed at my feet.
My sisters rushed toward me, wrapping their arms around me and moving me away from Kenai’s body.
Police sirens could be heard in the background, getting louder with each passing second.
“Are you okay?”
“Did he touch you?”
“I’m calling Sonny.”
“I’m calling Breeze.”
“Somebody call Mama and Daddy.”
“What about Rowdy? Who has his number?”
My sisters rambled off questions faster than I could process. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I felt lightheaded and nauseous. I grabbed the arm of the person closest to me to help keep my balance.
“Lani. Lani. Are you okay?” someone asked.
“I need—I need to—to lay down.”
“We’ll take her upstairs. Y’all wait for the police.”
I opened my eyes and saw nothing but commotion around me. I was lying on the couch, and surrounding me, people were talking. Finally, I found enough energy to sit up and ask what I wanted to know.
“What’s going on?” I asked, and the room went silent for a moment.
“Lani! Oh my God, sweetheart. Are you okay?” my mother questioned as she rushed to one side while Rowdy rushed to the other.
“Baby,” was all he said before he lifted my hand to his mouth, kissing the back of it.
I welcomed his affection, but I was confused as to why my family was in my living room.
"What’s going on?”
“You don’t remember?” my father asked, who was standing behind me. He put his hands on my shoulder and squeezed.
“No.”
Everyone else stood in front of me with their arms folded across their chests, and the expressions on their faces didn’t give me any clues.
“What do you remember?” my father asked.
I ran down everything I remembered about the day with ease, up until I arrived home from the grocery store. For some reason, my heart rate increased, my hands began to sweat, and I felt anxious.
“Lani, what happened when you got home from the grocery store?” Ma pressed.
I squeezed Rowdy’s hand as the memory came flooding back at a rapid rate. I rambled off whatever came to mind, unsure if the order of events was correct because my thoughts were jumbled. I spoke slowly as I processed what had happened.
“I went to my trunk to get my groceries, and . . . Kenai was there. He said he’d been following me.
He knows where Mama and Daddy live. He’s the one that slashed my tires because he wanted to come to my rescue.
He shot Rowdy because he wanted him out of the way.
He said if he can’t have me, no one will.
When he reached behind him, I didn’t know if he had a gun.
I shot him because I thought he was gonna kill me. I killed him before he could kill me.”
“You did,” Ma said.
“He had a gun. It was either you or him,” my father added.
“Taking someone’s life, regardless of the reason, is heavy. How do you feel about it?” Breeze asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I haven’t had time to process it. I know I don’t feel guilty because I remember warning him not to come near me.”
“That nigga got what he deserved. I just wish it would’ve been me who killed him instead,” Rowdy said.
“He’s lucky he didn’t have five bullets to his body because we were ready,” Raine commented.
“Yeah, Sis. We had your back,” Indira added.
“What did the police say? Do I have to go to the station to answer any questions?”
“Officer Downing and his partner agreed to come by tomorrow, but you have nothing to worry about,” Breeze assured me.
My eyes connected with my brother’s, and I still couldn’t read his expression, but he’d been quiet.
“Sonny, what’s on your mind?” I asked.
“A lot, Lani. I don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to you. You’re my first sibling, and I’ve spent almost my whole life protecting you. I feel like I failed you.”
I stood and went to my big brother. He took me in his arms, and we embraced as if we hadn’t seen each other in twenty years.
“Sonny, you didn’t fail me. You made sure I knew how to protect myself if you weren’t around. Don’t you remember how hesitant I was to get a gun and learn how to shoot? You wouldn’t take no for an answer and didn’t give me a choice.”
“I know, Lani, but—”
“But nothing. I ain’t no punk because my big brother made sure of it. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
He released me from our embrace but kept his hands on my shoulders and looked down at me.
“I’m proud of you, Lani. You didn’t panic and did what you had to do.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, I think I heard someone say you were carrying my niece or nephew. You let a nigga named Rowdy knock you up?”
I gasped and put my hand on my head. “Whew. I feel faint. I need to lay down.”
“Nah, that won’t work with me. You got some explaining to do,” Shyne teased.
I loved my family and was grateful they were here to help me get through this ordeal.