Chapter 4 #2
"Looks like a sprain." Darius almost smiled.
"That's good, right?"
"It means you're lucky."
He shifted into a cross-legged position on the floor in front of her and carefully lifted Sky's leg onto his lap. "Compression. Ice. Keep weight off it for about an hour. You should be back to normal in an hour or so."
Sky leaned against Celeste while watching him work. "You know," she said softly, "I wouldn't mind being your patient."
Celeste snorted, "Girl..."
Darius continued examining her ankle. The weight of her leg against his thigh didn't remind him of war or soldiers in the army.
It reminded him of how far out of touch he was from real life.
He realized he was getting a woodie. His instinct said let it be.
He looked up and caught them both staring at it.
"I'm serious," Sky insisted. "You just saved my life."
"You fell off a treadmill," Darius reminded her.
"I thought I was gonna die." She looked at Darius and asked, "Can I thank you with a kiss?"
Darius chuckled under his breath. "I don't think a kiss is going to help."
Sky blinked and Celeste burst into laughter.
"Oh my God," Celeste shook her head. "I saw it coming."
Sky grinned. "Fine." She pointed toward her ankle. "Kiss it and make it better."
Darius looked up at her. "You serious?"
"As a heart attack."
He hesitated before lowering his head and placing a brief kiss near the swelling. "There."
Sky stared at him. "No, silly."
Darius frowned. "What?"
"My lips."
Celeste covered her face. "Oh Lord."
Sky placed a hand against Darius's thigh. "If you don't tell, I won't tell."
Darius froze. The smile disappeared from his face. He scanned the gym and saw cameras, and suddenly Brenda's warning echoed in his head. 'I hire professionals.' He looked toward the mirrored walls before returning his attention to Sky.
"I'm sorry." His tone softened. "But I'm not trying to lose my job."
Sky's disappointment lasted all of two seconds before she shrugged dramatically. "Can't blame a girl for trying."
"I hope both of you have a nice day." He smiled and carefully lowered her foot from his lap, then stood and walked back toward the bench press.
Celeste watched him settle beneath the bar before glancing sideways at Sky.
"Are you done embarrassing yourself?"
Sky grinned. "You saw that dick print."
Celeste laughed. "I did."
Sky pointed toward Darius. "You better get him before I do."
Celeste shook her head. "I got my eyes on someone else, but I already know what you gonna say." A small smile tugged at her mouth.
"Who bitch?" Sky asked.
Celeste grabbed her around the waist and helped her up.
"Vicky is fine as hell."
Sky burst into laughter. "Bitch I knew it, but she's off limits. She will curse your ass out if you try her with that freaky shit."
"Ain't no harm in looking." Celeste dusted off her bottom and helped Sky dust herself off.
"You can take your eyes off her." She screeched as pressure landed at her ankle. "Help me to my room."
The gym doors opened just as Celeste wrapped Sky's arm over her shoulders.
"You sure you don't need a wheelchair?" Celeste asked.
Sky winced as pressure touched her ankle. "Bitch, I aint cripple. I can still bop your ass."
"You can barely walk."
"I can still aim."
Their laughter faded into the hallway.
Then Tyreek stepped inside.
His wrist burned beneath the cuff marks hidden under his sleeve. Blood had dried where the metal bit into his skin. His shirt was buttoned wrong near the collar. His hair looked like he'd run his hands through it a hundred times.
He stopped when he saw Darius.
Darius lowered the bar onto the rack and sat up, his brows pulling together.
"What the fuck happened to you?"
Tyreek opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Darius stood, raised his hands, and pointed, pushing his words out. "Bruh... what... the fuck... happened to you? "
Tyreek looked over his shoulder to make sure the women had disappeared before lowering his voice. "It was Brenda."
Darius blinked. "What?"
Tyreek dragged both hands down his face. "She called me to her suite like she said she would."
"I know that part."
"She showed me footage."
Darius frowned. "Footage?"
" Yeah, me and CC."
Darius folded his arms across his chest. "Then what?"
Tyreek struggled for the words. The whole thing sounded crazy in his own head. "She wasn't trying to fire me." Tyreek swallowed. "It got weird."
"What do you mean it got weird?"
"I don't know how to explain it."
"Then explain your wrist and the blood at the bottom of your shirt." Darius studied him for a long moment before asking, "Did she force you?"
Tyreek hesitated. "I don't know."
Darius stared at him but responded quickly. "What the fuck you mean you don't know? Did she threaten you or make you feel like you couldn't say no? Because that's not the same thing as wanting something."
Tyreek threw his hands into the air. "I mean I don't know, damn it!" His voice cracked. "One minute she was threatening my job and the next..." He stopped and rubbed at his face. "I just don't know."
Silence settled between them.
Darius looked away, then back. "Did you tell her no?"
"No."
"Did you want to?"
Tyreek looked defeated. "I ain't trying to cause problems."
Darius pointed toward him. "You are the damn problem, Tyreek." He took a breath. "I brought you here to make money and you're making a fucking mess."
"I know, big bruh."
Darius shook his head.
"You don't know shit. If you did, I wouldn't have to keep having this conversation with you."
He pointed toward the hallway.
"We're surrounded by rich people we don't know. People with power, money, lawyers, and the kind of influence that can bury folks like us without breaking a sweat."
He pointed back at Tyreek.
"You slept with the bride and the maid. And now you're standing here telling me something happened with the hostess."
"It wasn't like that," Tyreek rubbed the back of his neck.
"It doesn't matter what it was," Darius said, stepping closer.
"Every time you think with your dick, you put my money in jeopardy.
You put yourself in jeopardy. You put both of us in situations we don't understand, and then you expect me to clean it up.
" He exhaled sharply. "When this weekend is over, we're going our separate ways. "
Tyreek stared at him.
"I'm done," Darius continued. "You can't keep making reckless ass decisions and expecting loyalty to fix everything afterward."
The words landed harder than a punch.
Darius stood directly in Tyreek's face. "Don't be surprised, you wake up Sunday, and I ran off with the bag."
"I said I'm sorry."
Darius's eyes narrowed. "Man, get yo' sorry ass out of my face."
The gym was silent, except for distant thunder and rain thumping against windows.
Tyreek wiped at his face. "So what now?"
Darius grabbed his towel. "Now, you do your damn job. You keep your head down, finish this weekend, and pray nothing else blows up in your faces."
He started toward the door before stopping. Without turning around, he said, "You know... I heard stories about that woman."
Tyreek froze.
"What stories?"
Darius glanced back over his shoulder. ""The kind staff whisper about when they think rich folks ain't listening.
" Rich people gossip, staff whisper and Folks exaggerate.
I never paid attention because I figured people just be talking.
I lived by the street code. ‘Believe nothing you hear and half of what you see.’ But that don't apply no more.
Not in here." He threw his towel over his shoulder and walked away.
Tyreek remained standing in the middle of the gym. Alone. The money. The women. The excitement. None of it mattered. He looked toward the doors Darius had disappeared through and wondered what scared him more...
The things Brenda had done to him. Or the possibility that he'd just lost the only person who had ever treated him like family.