Chapter 17 Farrah
I sped through the night, trying to make it to my parents’ house as soon as possible.
Ron had told me he saw someone creeping around our place, but he hadn’t called the police because he wasn’t sure what was going on.
I was going to go make sure everything was in order and that no one had vandalized the house.
I knew Mekhi would have had a fit but, luckily, he wasn’t home.
I couldn’t let everything my parents had worked so hard to build be destroyed because of my… association with him.
Ron was waiting on me outside, standing at the end of his driveway.
I parked and jumped out of my car before hurrying toward him.
Only then did I realize that Steel had been following me.
I frowned. I’d assumed that Mekhi sent him home every night once I made it to his place, but maybe I was wrong.
He didn't get out of the car, just leaned back in his seat and watched me.
“Ron, thank you so much for calling–” I began as I walked across the yard.
“Farrah, do you know who that is, or do I really need to call the police?” he cut me off, looking in Steel's direction.
“No, he’s cool. He’s my... friend.”
My explanation left Ron frowning. He looked at me suspiciously and I smiled at him.
“Tell me what you saw,” I said, trying to change the subject.
He gave Steel one last look before turning toward me.
“I saw a man I didn’t know walk up to your door, but he didn’t knock.
Then, he looked in the front windows before walking around to the side of the house.
He was out of my sight for only a few minutes, so I don’t think he had a chance to do anything.
He pulled off in a blue or black Mercedes,” he rattled off.
My eyes widened. If Ron had seen the car, then maybe...
“Did you get a license plate number?”
He sucked his teeth. “Of course, I got the license plate number.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and began typing. I felt my phone buzz with a text seconds later. Smiling, I threw my arms around him.
“Thank you, Ron. You just don’t know how important this is.”
He hugged me back for a moment before pulling away to look down at me.
“What are you planning on doing, Farrah? This could be dangerous. You don’t need to do anything crazy—”
“I'm not! But I do want to check my house to make sure...”
My voice trailed off as another car approached us.
I recognized who it was almost instantly.
Turning, I glared at Steel. He waved at me through his window.
I watched as Mekhi parked and got out of his Audi.
His face was blank as usual, but I could tell by how he was moving that he was not happy.
He walked up on us, but he didn’t stop at some comfortable distance.
Nah, that wouldn’t have been intimidating enough.
Instead, he got right up in my face. I swallowed hard, but I refused to back down.
Staring up at him, I waited for him to speak.
“Get in your car, Farrah, and drive your ass right back to the house,” he gritted out.
Ron looked at me. “To the house? Farrah, what’s going on? I know you haven’t been here, but–”
“It’s good, Ron. Mekhi’s just looking out—”
“Your ‘friend’ from the other night, huh? You hanging around a lot of people that aren't usually in your circle,” he said, eyeing Mekhi up and down.
Mekhi crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled.
“What you tryna say, nigga? And how the fuck is it your business who her friends are?”
He sounded calm, but I could see the warning in his eyes. Unfortunately, Ron didn’t know him that well.
“As her boyfriend, it’s definitely my business—”
Before Ron could say anything else, I started talking, words spilling out of me as I tried to defuse the situation.
“Mekhi, Ron saw someone creeping around my house, and he was concerned enough to call me. I just came over here to--”
“I don’t give a fuck what you came for, shorty. You supposed to be at home, safe, but you wanna come play Ms. Investigator. What were you gon’ do?”
His condescending tone pissed me off. I wasn’t completely helpless, no matter what he might think. And I didn’t need him running interference on everything in my life. My chin lifted defiantly as I scowled at him.
“I was just going to check the house out, make sure everything was okay.”
“So, you thought somebody may have broken in yo’ shit and you were gon’ go in by yourself?”
“No! Nobody broke in because the alarm would’ve gone off and the police would’ve been here by now. They would’ve called me, too. And anyway, Ron was going to come with me!”
Ron looked surprised at my words. "I was?” he asked, his voice higher pitched than usual. He took one look at Mekhi and his pride returned. “I mean, yes, I was.”
Mekhi laughed again as he looked at me. “Shiiiit. You might as well go by yourself.”
Ron’s mouth tightened into a thin line and his narrow chest puffed out.
“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.
“Just what the fuck I said,” Mekhi responded.
“You–”
“Y'all stop,” I pleaded, turning to face Mekhi and positioning my body in front of Ron.
“You ain’t gotta protect yo’ little girlfriend, Farrah. I’m cool as long as that nigga stays in his place. Now, let’s go,” he ordered.
I shook my head. “No.”
He looked down at me like he heard me wrong. I already knew Mekhi didn’t take well to my defying him, and this didn’t look like it was going to go any better than any of the other times. But I owed my parents more than that.
“Why is it that you can't seem to hear the first time around?” he asked.
I wanted to ignore him and do what I’d come to do, but I knew he’d never allow that. So, I decided to try to reason with him.
“Mekhi, I need to check the house. Please.”
I tried to sound as sweet as I could, not that it would probably make a difference. He looked at me for a long minute. Finally, he spoke.
“Give me your keys and stay your ass right here,” he ordered.
I bit back a triumphant smile. “I need to go with you, Mekhi. How will you know if something is out of order?”
He didn’t say anything, just took off across the street to Steel’s car. I watched as Steel got out and they talked for a few seconds. Ron took the opportunity to address me.
“Farrah, how did you get involved with people like them? Is that why that man was around your house? Are you in trouble? If you need help—”
I held up a hand, waving off his worry. “I’m fine, Ron,” I said, watching as Mekhi and Steel approached.
“Let’s go,” Mekhi said abruptly, and I started to lead him to my front door.
“I’m going, too,” Ron announced.
Mekhi shook his head. “Nah. We good.”
“But—”
“Farrah, tell your… friend good night. Hurry up.”
I wanted to smack him for his insolence, but since he was giving me what I wanted, I decided to go along with his command.
“Ron,” I began. “I’m good. Thank you for everything, but we can handle this.” Ron looked like he wanted to object, so I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “For real. Have a good night.”
He let out a long sigh before shooting Mekhi a nasty look. Then, he squeezed my hand back.
“Just let me know if you need anything. Anything.”
Mekhi rolled his eyes, but he let Ron walk off with no problem. I marched toward my house, Steel and Mekhi behind me.
“Give me the keys,” Mekhi said, his voice low.
Wordlessly, I handed them to him. “You don’t have to whisper. No one is here. Even if somebody did break in, they’re gone. Ron saw a car leave and got the license plate.”
“You don’t know who might have stayed behind. Steel and I gon’ split up. You stay with me. Understand?”
I didn’t like that idea. We could cover the house more quickly if we all split up.
“I can—”
“Or go wait in your car,” he cut me off. “Your choice.”
Sighing, I crossed my arms over my chest and waited as he opened the door.
We walked in quietly. He pointed at himself, then pointed upstairs.
Steel nodded and began to search the bottom floor.
I followed Mekhi to the stairs. We crept up them slowly, trying to avoid making any noise.
Mekhi was being careful in case anyone was in the house.
The thought freaked me out. I grabbed his arm as I realized something…
The alarm hadn’t gone off, like someone had disarmed it or something. I knew I had set it the last time I was here.
What? he mouthed at me.
Shaking my head, I mouthed back, The alarm.
He nodded as understanding dawned on him.
I watched as he reached behind him and pulled a scary looking gun from the back of his pants.
I gasped, then clapped a hand over my mouth when he turned around to scowl at me.
Suddenly, I wished I had waited in my car.
This shit had taken a turn for the worst. I moved closer to Mekhi—I would’ve climbed inside his skin if I could’ve.
I sucked in a breath as he slowly pushed open the door to the guest bedroom.
He went in, gun aimed, and I trailed behind him.
The main part of the room seemed empty. He even checked under the bed before making his way to the closet.
He stood in front of the door, then gestured for me to open it.
Standing behind it, I reached for the knob and yanked it open as he swept the small area with the gun in his hand.
No one was in the closet or in the adjoining bathroom, either.
We moved to my room next. Again, Mekhi walked in first and made sure the bedroom area was empty, then the closet.
Everything looked just as I’d left it. I breathed out a sigh of relief.
But as we reached the bathroom door, the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up.
Something was wrong. Maybe it was the fact that the bathroom door was cracked, and I was sure I always pulled it closed.
Maybe it was the bad feeling I had in the pit of my stomach.
Whatever it was, I knew something was off.
I grabbed the back of Mekhi’s shirt. He looked over his shoulder, and I guess my wide eyes and trembling lips communicated how I felt.
He reached back and took my hand, holding it for a minute to reassure me.
I was shocked; the last thing Mekhi was, was sentimental.
Finally, he let go and opened the bathroom door.
I flipped the light switch, and all the breath left me in a sharp exhale.
There, on my counter, were dozens of tulips.
In the midst of them, we spotted a white envelope.
I grabbed it first and opened it. Hands shaking, I pulled out the sheet of stationery and began to read.
Dear Farrah,
You were even more beautiful close up than I realized. Mekhi is lucky. He won’t be for long. I can’t wait to see you again. Soon, pretty girl.
Love,
Trell
I let the paper fall from my fingers as I read the last words, fear stealing through me. Mekhi caught it and his eyes scanned the message quickly.
“Mekhi—”
“Don’t worry about it, Farrah. I got you,” he promised, pulling me closer to his body. I melted into his arms. “I swear, I got you.”