Chapter 14 Mekhi
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at Steel. To give the nigga credit, he looked me right in the eyes.
“I’m just tryna understand how she was alone long enough for all this shit to happen if you were supposed to be with her,” I said calmly.
“I fucked up—”
“It’s actually my fault,” Farrah broke in. “Someone hit his car, and I insisted—”
Tilting my head, I looked at her. “Was I talking to you?”
I cut her off midsentence. Her mouth dropped open before she sucked her teeth and glared at me.
“You need to stop being so fucking nasty!”
“You need to stop interrupting when people ain’t talking to ya annoying ass.”
“But I’m trying to explain what happened to you.”
“If I wanted your explanation, I woulda asked you. Go sit down, Farrah.”
She looked ready to argue. I pointed toward the brown sectional. Frowning, she stood still.
“Who the fuck you talking to, Mekhi? You don’t tell me when to move. I move when the fuck I– oh!”
She shrieked as I swept her ass up bridal style before dumping her on my couch. She started to stand up, but I pushed her forehead with my index finger. “Move yo’ ass off this couch and it’s gon’ be trouble. I promise.”
She mumbled her shit, but she stayed still. I turned my attention back to Steel.
“Why you leave her?”
“I fucked up. Someone hit my shit. She said she just needed to run in, and I let her. Shit just happened so fast, but it’s my fault.”
“I know she a handful. If you think you can’t handle her—”
“Hello! I’m sitting right here,” Farrah snapped.
I ignored her. “If she too much—”
“Nah, I got this. It won’t happen again,” Steel promised.
Nodding, I dapped him up. “If it does, you gon’ be unemployed and un-alive. I need you to get with Texas and y’all start looking for who this Trell is. Tell him I said work his computer magic. Check in tomorrow.”
“You got that,” he said, before turning and walking toward the front door.
I followed and locked up behind him. Now, to deal with her irritating ass. I walked over to where she was sitting and stood in front of her.
“Why you ask me to look out for you if you not gon’ listen?”
She rolled her eyes. “I do listen. I just needed to run in the store—”
“And look what happened. Describe this nigga to me again.”
“He was tall, brown-skinned, with dark brown eyes. His hair was cut low, and he had a little scar on his chin. He had a big ass birthmark on his eyelid and cheek. He had tattoos on his arm and neck, but I didn’t take the time to see what any of them were.
And he sounded like he was from somewhere else, like he had a little accent like New York or somewhere. ”
I had no idea who the fuck this Trell could be. Her description didn’t make me think of anyone. I was gon’ have to call in some favors and get the convenience store’s video–if they had any. I watched as she stood up and tried to slide past me.
“If you don’t need anything else from me—”
“Where you think you going, Farrah?”
She looked up at me defiantly. “Home.”
“Home,” I repeated. “What kind of alarm system do y’all have?”
“I don’t know, but we have something. I know how to arm it and everything.”
“Nah, shorty. I want more details than that. Call your pops and ask. And I need to know if he’s carrying.”
She looked confused. “Carrying what?”
I sighed. Who raised this girl, man? “If somebody does break in, does he have the means to protect y’all?”
“You mean… like a gun?” Her eyes widened at just speaking the word.
“Just ask him.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“My parents are in Bali.”
“So, you at home alone? Hell, nah.”
I vetoed that shit real quick. No way was I letting her go home by herself.
Not with this Trell nigga out there assuming he could use her to get to me.
I had been pretty easy about having Steel detail her so far—he mostly kept up with her when she was out in public.
But I might have to get real and cover her 24/7.
And I needed to check on my sister and mother in Paris.
Farrah crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at me.
“What do you mean, ‘hell, nah?’”
“I meant just what I said. You can’t go back there by yourself. You don’t have anyone you can stay with? What about your cousin from the ballpark?”
“My cousin lives with my grandmother, and I don’t want my family to know what’s going on. Plus, I don’t want to put them at risk.”
“What about Kera? I know Seth got her covered.”
“Kera is in Dallas for a few days. Look, I’ma just go home, set the alarm, and I’ll be okay.”
“Oh, you’ll be okay, Little Thug? I don’t think so. Why ya ass be acting like you can’t hear? I already told you no.”
“And why you be acting like you run me? I told you what I was going to do!” she insisted.
This girl was extra aggravating, and I wasn’t in the mood. The sooner she learned to listen, the easier my damn life would be.
“I’m not understanding why we have to have these discussions, Farrah. I’m looking out for you and I’ma do it my way. This nigga I don’t know just ran up on you with a message for me. He could try to get close to you again and you think I’ma let you go lay up alone? Nah, shorty.”
I shook my head.
“So, where I’m supposed to go, Mekhi? Huh?”
Rubbing a hand over my face, I thought about what I was about to offer. She’d probably freak out and I wasn’t too eager myself. But I couldn’t leave her by herself.
“When will your parents be back?”
“Two-and-a-half weeks.”
Fuck! That was a long time to deal with this bougie broad, but…
“You gon’ have to stay here.”
Her mouth dropped open. Hell, I was surprised myself. I didn’t like people in my space and definitely not for two-and-a-half weeks. I could put her up in a hotel, but I might as well keep her close to me, if I was going to be looking out for her.
“Are you crazy?” she asked.
“Probably.”
“I-I can’t stay here!”
“You can and you are. I’ll take you to get some of your stuff, but then you coming back here.”
“Mekhi—”
“You ready?”
“You’re not listening!”
I smirked at her. “That’s because you not saying anything worth hearing. Now, let’s go.”
“No! I can go home by myself—”
She was pissing me off now. Farrah was the one person who made me keep repeating myself, shit I did not do. I grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to me.
“You wanna go home by yourself? That’s cool with me, shorty. But remember, just cuz this Trell nigga and whoever else assumes we got a relationship doesn’t make it true. So, when they come torture yo’ ass, I have no reason to try to get you back.”
Her eyes got big as she stared up at me. “You would let that happen?”
“I’m tryna keep it from happening, but you wanna argue. I’m not gon’ keep doing that.”
I let go and she stepped back, our gazes still connected. A few quiet seconds ticked by before she dropped her eyes.
“I… guess I need to go get some things,” she mumbled.
I kept my face blank even though I felt relieved.
“C’mon. Let’s go.”