Chapter 9 #3
Soft. Smooth. The sound instantly reached into his chest, settling something inside him. Hassan exhaled, closing his eyes, letting the sound of her voice linger for a moment before taking another slow drag from his blunt.
The silence must have unsettled her because she spoke again, her voice a gentle push through the static in his mind.
"What’s wrong, Hassan?"
She already knew. How the fuck does she always know?
A quiet chuckle left his lips as he shook his head, not bothering to answer .
"I’m on the way." Then he hung up before she could respond.
Hassan slid into his car and sped toward Harper’s house, his hands gripping the wheel tight, the sound of her voice replaying in his head.
The only thing he knew for certain— he had to see her .
???
Sevyn lounged on Harper’s couch, half-watching the suspenseful movie Harper had been raving about.
She needed the distraction. When Harper called, insisting on a movie night, she didn't hesitate to say yes. Anything to escape the weight of her emotions. Dorian was out with Roman again, the two of them growing closer by the day, and both Sevyn and Harper were happy for her. Sevyn, on the other hand, was still reeling. Just as she thought she was finally moving on from Braxton’s betrayal, she got blindsided all over again.
A whole month. He had been sleeping with her best friend for a month, and she never saw it coming.
The sting of it all sat heavy in her chest, suffocating her.
“Girl, the girlfriend did it,” Harper announced, snapping Sevyn out of her thoughts.
Sevyn popped a Skittle into her mouth, eyeing the screen. “Nah, it’s the sister.”
Harper gave her a skeptical look. “They’re practically glued at the hip. They’re like me and Hassan—just white and privileged.”
Sevyn chuckled but shook her head. “I grew up privileged, and trust me, that sister is jealous of her brother. They’re nothing like you and Hassan.
” Her voice dipped with irritation at the thought, but she kept explaining.
“The sister was loved, but she never felt it because of what happened to her with her grandfather—his sick ass. And the son? He grew up on love, he had everything handed to him, and now he’s next in line to take over the family business. ”
Harper listened intently as Sevyn continued.
“Even though he had his own struggles, he was still getting the better end of the deal. The sister got resentful, acted off emotion. She probably didn’t even mean to kill her brother.”
Harper sat in silence for a moment before she spoke, her voice quieter than before.
“Damn… so exactly like me and Hassan then.”
Sevyn’s head snapped toward her, confusion etched on her face. “What?”
Harper sighed, staring at the screen like she wasn’t really watching it anymore. “That is me and Hassan. Hood version. Except I’m the son in this situation… and he’s the daughter.” Her voice cracked, and Sevyn straightened up, realizing Harper wasn’t just talking about the show anymore.
"Hassan went through some real shit when he was younger," Harper admitted, her voice softer now, weighed down by emotions she rarely let show. "He didn't even know me or our grandmother until he was sixteen, even though Grandma always knew about him."
Sevyn listened, her expression shifting, softening.
"He had no real family… not until then. And even though I wasn’t raised by my real parents, I still had a family. I had Madea," Harper continued, her voice laced with guilt Sevyn hadn't heard before. "That’s why he acts the way he does. Maybe he resents us for not saving him sooner."
Sevyn shook her head, unwilling to let Harper carry that burden. "That’s not true. He doesn’t resent you two."
Harper exhaled heavily, her shoulders slumping.
Sevyn leaned forward, determined to make her understand. "He loves you both, more than anything. But you have to remember—he’s still new to having a family. It’s always been just him, surviving on his own, and sixteen in Memphis? That’s damn near grown."
Harper nodded, knowing she was right.
"He’s only twenty-five. That means he's only had you and your grandmother for nine years. And now, when he finally feels like he has people who won’t leave him, the one person you both see as a mother is slipping away," Sevyn explained. "He’s not resentful of you, Harper. He resents the situation. He just hasn’t accepted that this is one thing he can’t control. "
Harper wiped at her eyes, exhaling another deep breath, then suddenly let out a short, amused chuckle.
"Bitch, how the fuck do you do that?" she asked, her voice laced with admiration and disbelief.
Sevyn smiled but just shrugged. She never had an answer for it.
Her mother always called her a gift, which is why she nicknamed her Miracle .
Her full name, Sevyn, was chosen because she was seen as perfect—the number of completion.
Her parents had suffered years of miscarriages, heartbreak after heartbreak.
But when Sevyn came into the world, she was the miracle that finally made their family whole.
"I wish I had an answer," Sevyn chuckled, shaking her head as they both sat up.
"Well, bitch, we don’t even have to finish this movie now," Harper said, grabbing the remote and clicking it off.
"Wait, why? It was actually getting good!" Sevyn protested, eyes wide as she watched Harper scroll for something else.
"Because yo ass basically figured the shit out already. Ain’t no point in watching it now," Harper said matter-of-factly.
Sevyn laughed. "I could be wrong. Let’s just finish it, please!" she begged , clasping her hands together dramatically.
Harper rolled her eyes but, like always, gave in. "You lucky I love you, hoe."
Of course, they finished it. And, of course, Sevyn was right. About everything. The sister was the killer. She resented her brother. She acted off emotion. She hadn’t even meant to kill him, but she did.
When the credits rolled, Harper turned to Sevyn with a hard glare while Sevyn burst into laughter, doubling over on the couch.
"Bitch, you spoiled the entire damn movie without even needing to watch that bitch! Wasted my fucking time!" Harper complained, arms crossed.
"My bad! I really didn’t think I was gonna be right," Sevyn wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes. "Maybe you shouldn’t have picked a predictable-ass movie!"
Harper flipped her off, making Sevyn smirk. "When? You know I been waiting to get in that pussy," she teased, licking her lips dramatically.
Harper threw her head back laughing. "Bitch, please! Yo ass wouldn’t go gay for a million dollars."
"For you? Only." Sevyn winked, dragging out the last word in a sultry voice before cracking up again.
"Lemme stop playing," she finally said, catching her breath. "I love my gays down, but I can’t do the cat."
Harper howled with laughter, shaking her head. "You so fucking dumb."
They settled into the couch, curled up beside each other as Summer Walker’s H eart of a Woman poured through the speakers.
The smooth, soulful melody wrapped around them, filling the space with warmth as they scrolled on their phones, occasionally pausing to gossip about something scandalous they saw on social media.
Sevyn reveled in this moment more than Harper could possibly understand.
It made her feel young again—like she were a teenager at one of the old sleepovers at Dorian’s house, doing nothing but talking about boys, sneaking sips of liquor they weren’t supposed to have, and indulging in late-night laughter.
The sound of Harper’s phone ringing sliced through their comfortable silence. Sevyn barely paid attention at first, until she heard her name.
“She’s actually right here. You wanna talk to her?” Harper’s voice was laced with something—excitement, teasing, maybe both.
Sevyn’s head snapped up instantly. She caught the mischievous grin spreading across Harper’s face, her skepticism kicking in immediately. “Who is that?” she mouthed, but Harper ignored her, pretending to be engrossed in the conversation .
Seconds later, Harper held the phone out to her, and Sevyn’s eyes widened. “Who the fuck is this?” she whispered, not daring to take it just yet.
Harper’s smirk grew. “Hassan. Now take it,” she whispered back.
Sevyn’s stomach tightened, but she reached for the phone, pressing it to her ear with a slow, steady breath.
“Hello.” Her voice was smooth, controlled—calm.
But on the inside, she was unraveling. Silence.
Not the awkward kind. Not the empty kind. The heavy, loaded kind.
She could hear his breath on the other end, steady but thick, like his mind was racing. Something’s wrong .
“What’s wrong, Hassan?” she asked, her tone dipping softer, threading warmth through the phone like she could pull him from whatever was on his mind.
Another pause. Then, the deep rumble of a chuckle, low and rough, vibrating through the speaker. Another stretch of silence. Then—
“I’m on the way.” His deep, cold voice cut through the line before the call ended.
Sevyn stayed there, still holding the phone to her ear, trying to process what the hell just happened. The weight of his voice still lingered in her mind, sending a shiver down her spine.
Harper’s voice snapped her back. “What did he say?”
Sevyn lowered the phone slowly, still caught off guard. Her lips parted, the surprise thick in her voice.
“He’s on the way.”
Sevyn sat on the couch, still gripping Harper’s phone, her mind spinning as the weight of Hassan’s words lingered. I’m on the way.
“For what?” Harper asked, her face twisted in confusion. “It’s late as fuck. I’m tired of this nigga pulling up to my house at all times of the—”
“I think he’s coming for me,” Sevyn interrupted, her voice still soft, still surprised.
Harper’s expression shifted from confusion to amusement, her lips curving into a slow, knowing smile. “For you? At this time of night?” She tilted her head before letting out a laugh. “Bitch, he trying to fuck you senseless.”