20. Schizo
CHAPTER TWENTY
SCHIZO
I stood there on the balcony, watching Stoney from afar as she sat in the rain. I thought that once it began to pour, she’d come back to the hotel, but nope. She just sat there soaking up the rain.
“Babe, I’m gonna go downstairs and meet Ma in the lobby. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”
I nodded, not even addressing her. Her lips pecked me against the cheek and her presence disappeared. Lightning struck the ocean and that was when I knew I needed to go out there and get that fool off the beach.
I searched Kaylan’s things to see if she had an umbrella ’cause that just wasn’t no shit I walked ’round with. When I didn’t find one, I left the room. By the time I made it out to where Stoney was sitting, I was drenched in rain.
“Stoney?” I called out her name and she didn’t budge. “Stoney!” Her head snapped in my direction and her eyes were bloodshot red. I sat down in the sand alongside her. “What’s going on?”
She sniffled and her eyes diverted to the ocean. Whatever was weighing heavily on her mind, she couldn’t even face me ’bout it. “I got a call from Wade today. He wanted to call and apologize to me for making me be a side bitch for two years.” Our eyes synced and empathy took over me. “Imagine my surprise when he invites me out on a date just for him to be there with his girlfriend of ten years. Do you not know how embarrassing that was?”
Gazing out at the ocean, I debated on if I was gon’ tell Stoney this story ’bout me that lil people knew. Pops covered the shit up so it wouldn’t make it all over the news, but that didn’t mean the shit didn’t happen.
“I was a junior in high school and my girlfriend Dedra meant the world to me. She was my first love. She knew it. Everyone that went to Lee knew that shit too. I had been working hard tryna keep my grades up and juggle playing basketball as well. I just had a game and won. Had twenty-five points by myself alone. We was hype. Headed back to the locker room so we could go out and celebrate. The entire team saw my girl down on her knees giving the coach head. Do you not know how embarrassing that shit was? She in there sucking off a grown ass fucking man.”
“So what did you do?”
“I went home. Sat in my room for the entire weekend while she blew my phone up, showed up at my front door, and I ignored the shit out of her. That following Monday, I got my ass up early for school, went into Pops’ safe, grabbed his assault rifle, and took my ass to school. Let’s just say, Dedra is traumatized for life and Coach Hayes was rushed to the hospital. I’m not allowed anywhere near Lee High School to this day. They tossed me in a mental hospital for seventy-two hours and while I was there, Pops made all that shit vanish. They swept it underneath the rug as if it never happened.”
“That’s crazy.”
“No, what’s crazy is they thought they could play with me. I vowed to never give another woman my heart again.”
“I guess Kaylan changed that, huh?”
“Nope. I love Kaylan but I’m not in love with her. Had you been single, it would have been you meeting me at the altar and not her.” Our gazes lingered. Before I knew it, our lips embraced.
“Schizo!” Scar yelled, and I peeled away from Stoney. “A body just washed up on the other side of the beach. We gotta go!”
I jumped to my feet and ran in his direction. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Stoney still stuck in the spot where I left her. I followed Scar to the opposite side of the beach where there was police everywhere and tape blocking off the body that lay face down in the sand. A crowd formed ’round ’em. Everyone was tryna see who the body belonged to. It had been days since we dumped those bodies in the ocean and they finally wanted to turn up. A cop kneeled down and flipped the body over.
“Uncle Kane?”