Chapter 7 Zora
Zora
The second Semi’s car pulled off, I turned to Malik, ready to curse him the fuck out.
“What the fuck are you even doing here?” I snapped.
He lifted his hands like he came in peace, but I wasn’t fooled. “Zo, I just wanna talk.”
“Talk?” I laughed bitterly, folding my arms across my chest. “About what? Another excuse? Another lie? You ruined every chance you had with me the second you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants. So exactly what the fuck do we have to talk about?”
“It wasn’t like that.” He lied.
I stepped closer, my tone dropping low, so he felt the weight of it. “It was exactly like that, Malik. Don’t stand here and try to rewrite history just because you miss what you lost. I don’t want you. Not as a man, not as a friend, not even as a memory.”
His eyes flickered, showing that he didn’t like what I just said. “So that’s it? After everything, you just gon’ toss me out like I never mattered?”
“Nigga, you stepped out on me like I didn’t fuckin’ matter,” I snapped back. “You don’t get to fuck me over and then act like I owe you some shit. You need to leave…now.”
He shook his head, stepping forward like I would miraculously change my answer. “Zo, come on, baby. We got history. We’ve been through too much for you to stand here acting like I’m some random nigga off the street. You know I love you.”
“Love? Negro, please.” I barked out a laugh. “You’on know the first thing about what the fuck love is. You loved what I gave you, what I carried, how I held you down… and you threw it away for a cheap fuck, so don’t stand in my face and talk that love shit to me.”
“People make mistakes,” he shot back quick. “I made mine, but I’ve been trying to get right. I been thinking about you, thinking about us—”
“There is no us,” I cut in. “You’re thinking about me now because you lonely. Because you see somebody else where you used to stand. That’s not love, Malik… that’s your ego, and you need to get the fuck over it.”
His mouth opened, but I raised my hand to stop whatever he was about to say. “Save it. Whatever you thought you were gon’ get coming here tonight, you wasted your time. I’on want you back, and I damn sure don’t need you.”
His mouth twisted, and I could see the shift clear as day—the fake calm slipping, the jealousy spilling out.
“This about that nigga who just left here?” His tone rose, sharp and ugly. “You letting some random dude slide in while you acting brand-new with me? He’on even know you like I do.”
My blood spiked, but I held his stare steady. “Don’t speak on what you’on know, Malik. He ain’t some random, and even if he was, he still wouldn’t fuck me over the way you did. So don’t stand in my doorway jealous about a man who doesn’t have to beg me to let him in.”
He stepped closer, voice low, like he thought he scared me. “You really just gon’ replace me like that?”
I let out a humorless laugh, shaking my head. “Replace you? Nigga, you can’t replace something I already threw in the trash.” Before he could spit out another word, I gripped the door, swinging it wide. “Get the fuck out. Now.”
He hesitated, but he knew better than to try me. After a beat, he finally backed out, still muttering under his breath.
I slammed the door and locked it, leaning against the wood just long enough to catch my breath.
My fists stayed tight, my chest still rising hard, but none of that was about him anymore.
Malik was my past, a mistake I buried a long time ago, and letting him linger in my doorway only reminded me of everything I’d outgrown.
The part that burned was Semi leaving before I could show him that. He didn’t need to walk off with Malik still standing there. He didn’t need to question if I was still tied to something I’d already cut loose.
Malik was the past. Semi was the problem I wanted to have—even if I kept lying to myself like I didn’t.
***
After the night I had, I went to take another shower and decompress. Steam still clung to my skin when I dropped onto the edge of the bed, with my phone still in my hand. I dialed Tiana first, knowing she’d plug Nia in.
“Wassup, Zo,” Tiana answered. “Why you calling so late? I thought you were having company?”
“Hey, y’all,” Nia announced when she got on the line.
I sighed, sinking back against the pillows. “Y’all not gon’ believe the bullshit that just happened.”
“Oh, this already sounds messy. Spill it,” Nia said.
“Malik showed up,” I said flatly.
“The fuck you mean Malik showed up?” Tiana damn near yelled.
“Exactly what I said. Nigga knocked on my door tonight while Semi was here, talking about he wanted to talk.”
Nia sucked her teeth so loud it made me roll my eyes. “See, I told you he was trifling. He just out here embarrassing himself now.”
“Trifling and bold as hell,” Tiana added. “Girl, Semi better than me, ‘cause I would’ve had Malik picking his teeth up off your porch.”
I rubbed a hand across my forehead. “Semi didn’t do that. He just… left. He told me to deal with Malik and hit him when I got rid of the bum-ass energy.”
There was silence for a second before Nia’s voice slid back in, sharp. “And you mad he left.”
“I’m not mad,” I blurted.
“Yes, you are,” Tiana co-signed. “If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be calling us about it, Zo.”
“Exactly.” Nia laughed. “You’re in your feelings, and it’s not about Malik. It’s about Semi leaving… you wanted him to stay.”
I groaned, covering my face with my hand.
“Listen, Zo, you like him… more than you wanna admit. Stop punishing him for shit Malik did. Semi ain’t that man,” Tiana input.
“And he clearly likes you,” Nia added. “You see how he moved? He didn’t blow up your spot… didn’t make it messy. He respected you and dipped before he did or said something he couldn’t take back. That’s grown man shit.”
I didn’t answer right away, because everything they were saying had already been sitting heavy in my chest.
Tiana’s voice softened, but her words still hit. “So what you gon’ do? Keep acting cold, or call him and let him know he’s not just wasting his time?”
I exhaled slow, finally giving in. “Fine. I’ll call him.”
“Good,” Nia said, and I could hear the grin in her voice. “Go handle that.”
“Bye, Zo,” Tiana added.
I hung up, tossing the phone beside me for a second.
Semi was the one sitting in my chest, the one I couldn’t shake even when I told myself I wasn’t ready.
And if I was being real, I didn’t want to shake him.
I picked the phone back up, thumb hovering for half a beat before I hit his name and pressed call.
He answered on the second ring, his voice low and steady. “Wassup, Zo?”
“Hey,” I said, my tone softer than I wanted. I forced a little breath out and added, “You busy?”
“Nah,” he replied quick. “Not for you. What’s on your mind?”
I shifted against the pillows, staring at the ceiling like it held the right words. “About earlier…”
“What about it?”
“I didn’t like how it ended.” I paused, biting my lip. “I didn’t want you walking out like that.”
“I wasn’t about to sit there while your ex stood in your doorway acting stupid,” he said flatly. “You needed to deal with that, not me.”
“I did deal with it,” I admitted. “I told him whatever he thought he had with me is over, and he knew that before he brought his ass over here.”
There was silence on his end, then a short laugh that held little humor. “Good… that’s the energy I wanted to see.”
I sat up, running my hand through my hair. “Semi, I don’t want you thinking for a second that Malik still has space in my life. He doesn’t. He hasn’t for a long time.”
“I hear you,” he said, calm but clipped. “But you gotta hear me too—I’on compete with no nigga. Especially not one that already fumbled you. That’s not how I move.”
Something in the way he said it hit deeper than I wanted it to. “I get that,” I murmured. “And for the record, I didn’t want you to leave.”
His tone dropped, heavier now. “Then why’d you let me?”
“Because I panicked,” I admitted, my chest tightening. “I didn’t want a fight at my door, and I didn’t know how you’d take it if I pushed back.”
“I told you already…” He exhaled slow. “I’m not them. I’on need to flex for a nigga like that. I’m not here to prove shit to him… I’m here for you.”
That silence came back, only this time it felt thick. I swallowed hard. “I do like you… more than I wanted to.”
“I know,” he said, voice. “That’s why I’ain going anywhere.”
My lips curved despite myself. “You sound real sure about that.”
“I am,” he said. “And I’ll show you when I see you again. And make no mistake, I’m seeing you again soon.”
I shook my head, smiling into the phone. “Goodnight, Semi.”
“Night, mama,” he replied.
The call ended, but the heat in my chest didn’t. Malik had been nothing but deadweight. Semi was steady, certain, and the problem was… I was starting to want every bit of it.