Chapter 11 Amethyst #2
“What do I owe this pleasure?” Cross DeCorte-Strong said, opening her front door. She leaned against the frame, crossed her arms over her chest, and smirked up at me. “And if you lie to me, please understand I will kick your ass.”
“I need some information, Boss Lady,” I said, and she nodded. “It’s about Yale.”
“Are you finally going after her like I told you to do years ago?” she asked, and I nodded. “Good.” She pushed off the frame and turned to walk into the house. She was pregnant and not moving as fast as she usually did, so it didn’t take me long to catch up. “What do you need help with?”
“I’m going to kill her husband,” I said as we walked into the living room.
She sat on the couch and watched me as I paced in front of her.
“Nothing too crazy, nah, that’s a lie. I want the shit to be painful, but I can't even do that.” I shook my head.
“I need to give Yale closure; I can’t do what I want to do then. But that nigga gotta die.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “So exactly what do you need my help with?”
“I need some information on Grant,” I answered.
“That nigga been doing her dirty, and I got a feeling that it goes deeper than what I think I know.” I wiped my hand over my mouth.
“That’s why that nigga gotta die. He’s been playing with my girl’s heart, and she doesn’t even know which is a good thing for her, but I know, Boss lady.
” I patted my chest. “Which means her hurt is my hurt, and I don’t like her to hurt, so again, that nigga gotta fucking die. ”
“Start from the beginning, Amethyst,” she sighed. “I can’t help you if I don’t have all the information.”
I looked over at her and felt a pang of guilt.
She didn’t need this stress, yet here I was, running to her like I did when I was younger and in shit I didn’t have any business being in.
I did it back in the day when Cross was dating her husband, Nine, and he was friends with Citrine.
I wanted to be just like them niggas and run the streets too.
When Nine met and started dating Cross, she was the first person besides my mama to look at me and say “Hell no”.
Whenever I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to, she was right there going off.
We had a special bond, and the years that she’d disappeared were hard.
Now that she was back, we were making up for lost time, and I looked at her like a big sister.
The nickname “Boss Lady” was given because, even though she wasn’t in the game, she was the one in charge.
No one moved if she said not to, and Nine never made one business decision without her input.
“Alright,” I nodded, then sat across from her.
I gave her a brief overview of what had happened, including the business deal I’d agreed to, Yale and Grant’s engagement and wedding, the events leading up to the present day, and the incident involving Grant and Shelly.
Once I was done, Cross sat across from me with a blank expression. “Say something.”
“I’m trying to process this all,” she said, shaking her head.
“I need to hear your thoughts,” I said, and she smirked.
“Hand me that computer,” she said, pointing to the laptop. I grabbed the laptop and handed it to her, then took my seat. Cross opened it, and seconds later, the wall-mounted TV flashed, but nothing happened. “That’s just Xoey working on something for me.”
“Plus twelve?” I asked, and she smirked. “She works for you?”
“Absolutely,” she answered with a nod, then looked up from her laptop. “It’s easier if you don’t ask questions.”
“I have no doubt,” I replied, and she laughed. “What are you looking up?”
“Just trying to see how long they have had you fucked up and you didn’t know it,” Cross answered. “And from the looks of it, they’ve had you that way for a while.”
“Can you find anything out about that wreck?” I asked, and she shook her head. “That shit is sealed, and even I can’t get into it, which is saying a lot.”
“So, you can’t help me?” I sighed. “Fuck.”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t help you,” she said with a laugh. “I just said I can’t get into that, not that it was impossible. I’m going to call in a few favors and see what I can find out.”
“I don’t have time for all that.”
“Then get the answers from the Kilmores,” she suggested, and as much as I respected Cross at this moment, she had me fucked up.
“Oh, just walk up to them and say ‘hey, I realized back in the day that I moved too fast and wanted to make sure my girl that wasn’t my girl was safe and didn’t think my shit through?’ fuck nah.”
“I didn’t say have a polite conversation, Amethyst,” she said, shaking her head. “Fuck their shit up and get your answers.”
“Boss lady-”
“Kill the entire family, Amethyst,” she interjected. “Fuck them, fuck the bullshit. Don’t play games. Don’t leave one person alive who can come back to you now or a million years from now. Kill. Them. All.”
“It’s going to affect--”
“I know, and I promise you she’ll forgive you,” Cross said with a serious expression. “Just kill them all, and she will forgive you.”
“I’m not talking about Yale.”
Cross slowly smiled, and a chill ran up my spine. “I know.”
**
“What do you want to do for your birthday, Amethyst?” my mama asked as I moved around her kitchen. I was here to see my Pop, but he was on a business call, so I was waiting.
“Shit, I don’t know,” I shrugged, then grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and cracked it open. “I’m thinking of just kicking it with Sunshine. Have dinner, chill, you know, nothing crazy.” I put the bottle to my lips and watched as Mama shook her head. “What?”
“You and Sunshine,” she replied with a soft smile. “You know you have it bad, and it’s obvious, right?”
I drank half the bottle, then put the lid back on and set it on the counter next to me.
“Ain’t no reason to pretend like I don’t,” I laughed and shook my head.
“She’s my best friend and the love of my life.
” I gave mama a lopsided grin and shrugged.
“I grew up watching black love, you didn’t think I would seek it out? ”
“I knew you would,” she said as she leaned against the counter.
“It just doesn’t look like what I thought it would.”
“What do you mean?” she questioned.
“Sunshine doesn’t love me like I love her,” I said as I ran my hand through my hair and grunted.
“Oh, baby boy.” Mama sadly shook her head and sighed. “You have no idea.”
I ran my hand over my face and took a deep breath. Nah, she didn’t love me like I wanted her to, but that was my fault. I licked my lips and stuffed my hands into my pockets.
“I’m good with that, though,” I lied. Mama’s face twisted, and I knew she didn’t believe me. “I am.”
“No, you’re not,” she laughed. “You haven’t been since you saw her dating Grant, and I’m not going to lie, I don’t know how you stood next to her in her wedding or by her side the last few years, and it didn’t break you.”
“It did,” I snorted and lowered my head to look at my feet. “That’s the thing, every fucking day since I’ve been in this shit, it’s broken me.”
“Have you ever thought about moving on?”
My head lifted so fast I was pretty sure I had whiplash and stared at Mama like she was crazy. “Move on?” I repeated, and she nodded. “Ain’t no moving on from her, mama. Yale is it for me. She’s the love of my life, the person I want to experience everything with.”
“Then what are you going to do about it?” she questioned and crossed her arms. “You’ve been saying that shit for so long, I’m starting to think you are okay with being on the side.”
“I’m not,” I denied and shook my head. “That’s why I’m here to talk to Pop. I’m about to make some moves. I’m ready for my wife to stand next to me, fuck that nigga.”
“Good,” Mama said, then approached me. She lifted to her tippy toes, kissed my cheek, and smiled at me. “I’m glad you’ve finally realized that’s where she belonged.”
“I’ve always known.”
“Now act on it,” she replied with a nod.
“You ain’t gonna ask me why I’m just now moving?” I questioned.
“I don’t care,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve just been waiting for the day that you stopped bullshitting.
When your daddy told me about your agreement with the Kilmores, I was pissed, not because you did what you had to do to protect Yale, but at the fact that you didn’t trust the people around you to help you get out of that shit.
Your daddy, brothers, and the men y’all call friends would go to war without a second thought. ”
“I didn’t want to put anyone else’s life in jeopardy.”
“You don’t get to make that decision for them, Amethyst,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s their decision.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, even though I didn’t entirely agree. Me doing something stupid to endanger my life was one thing, but dragging anyone else along for the shit I dealt with always made me pause.
“Go on and talk to your daddy,” she said, walking away. “Tell him you’re ready to bring his daughter home, and I bet you he will be the first person by your side.”
“What about you?” I asked as I backpaddled out of the kitchen. I knew how Mama felt about Yale, but I wanted to hear her say it out loud before I went and talked to Pop. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’m tired of waiting on you to be as smart as I know you are,” she laughed.
I stopped walking and tilted my head to the side. “Mama, did you just call me slow?” I asked.
Mama smirked, then shrugged. “I mean, at one point I was sure you were losing the race against intelligence, but that was just my opinion.” She turned and walked out of the kitchen, using the door that led to the living room, and I was stuck standing there, trying not to laugh.
Yeah, her ass called me slow and then some, but that was cool because I was about to prove her wrong.