Truly #2
Hussein trying to keep her safe, was all she wanted in all of this.
That’s what pushed her towards the altar in the first place.
She just wanted to know that someone had her back.
Tina would never love her beyond what she could do for her.
She wouldn’t ensure she was laid to rest with class; with dignity.
And if anything happened to Hussein, Tina would instantly stop giving a fuck about her.
Hussein wasn’t the man of her dreams but one thing she knew was that when he loved you, it was forever.
“On my way,” Prissy blushed.
Her phone chimed as she hung up. Nisha was texting her after they hadn’t spoken in days.
Nisha: We need to talk.
Prissy: No, we don’t.
Nisha: Either we talk or I tell Hussein everything.
“Prissy, can we talk?” Teddy walked up to her at the time clock.
“No.” She swiped her badge.
“Where are you going? Your shift isn’t over, yet?”
“Family emergency.” She tried to push past him, his body stood solid. “Why the fuck are you here? You’ve never been on so many day shifts in my life. I switched to get away from you.”
“Well, I switched, too. There is no getting away from me, Prissy,” he whispered tight lipped with a firm grip on her elbow.
She yanked away and the new receptionist caught it out of her peripheral. “Everything, ard, girl?” She leaned against the wall; arms folded across her chest.
“I’m good.” She pushed past Teddy and this time he stepped aside.
The receptionist gave Teddy an eye fuck before going back to her desk.
In the car, her phone was chiming again.
Nisha: Either we talk or I tell Hussein everything.
“Ughhhh!!” she yelled, beating on the steering wheel at the red light.
On green she stepped on the gas, rushing to get to her townhouse. Everything she did to ensure her safety led her to one dangerous situation after another. It was a never-ending loop and she was tired of it.
She stormed into the house, slamming the door shut behind her. Downstairs was dark so she ran up the steps. Prissy found Hussein sitting on the edge of his bed, scrolling his phone.
“Cassidy hit your phone because she found Boom’s baby mother,” she started.
She told Hussein exactly how Cassidy died that night. Nisha killed her. She explained as much as she knew about it but told the most important part. Nisha was a cop. Prissy wouldn’t be Prissy if she didn’t tell a lie or two.
“Then she showed up at Tina’s with luggage, and I didn’t know what else to do.” Prissy through her arms up, pacing the room.
Hussein nodded his head, running his hand down his face. He knew prissy had something to do with it, but he wasn’t expecting to hear that. Tina let an undercover in her crib and hadn’t even noticed. She was slipping. Warning her wasn’t on his mind, protecting himself from the investigation was.
“Between TT and Nisha, I feel like I’m being held captive.
” Tears began to spill out of Prissy’s eyes.
“Hussein, I need this marriage.” She sat on the bed next to him.
“If for nothing more than to force Tina to leave me alone. She will continue to do what she wants unless you claim me, protect me.” Prissy begged. “Please.”
“How fast can you put this shit together?” he asked.
Her eyes lit up. She searched his expression.
He wasn’t happy about it, but he was willing to do it.
All it took was her being honest. He said he’d have her back and he meant it.
Guilt for betraying him would return at some point, but right now all she felt was relief that he was the nigga that he said he was.
“Um, a few days.” She dried her eyes, jumping from the bed.
She paced the floor counting with her hands.
“Tina’s backyard is already set up with chairs; we just have to add the details.
I can rush a cake, flowers, catering. I already have a dress that’s being altered.
It’s nothing for you to grab a tux. A week from today,” she said.
“Why does it have to be at Tina’s house?” Hussein asked.
“Because she and I already talked about it. She wanted you to walk out of the jail and right into the wedding. The venue would be the only thing we couldn’t secure at the last minute. Are we really doing this?” she paused.
“Yeah.” Hussein nodded, looking out the window at the cloudy sky. “All I ask is that the boys are there.”
“I get that, but we already tried that. We threw Carmell that birthday party and Jakia refused to drop them off. I doubt she’s going to let them come to the wedding without her.”
“Do what you gotta do, Prissy,” he said, leaving her standing in their bedroom alone.
Her confession was too late. He’d been out the house scrolling through what he missed while he was gone.
He saw the text Cassidy sent about finding Boom’s baby mother.
By the time Prissy told the truth, he’d already come up with a plan to remove himself from the investigation.
As long as Prissy did what he asked her, it would all end in his favor.
JAKIA’S APARTMENT | 3:03 P.M.
The beginning of Khyell’s going away party was spent as Skyzone.
Neighborhood kids attended with the parents chaperoning because Jakia wasn’t watching nobody else’s kids.
They jumped around for two hours before coming back home where he played the game and Peyton made dancing TikTok’s in the living room.
Henni and Fatima sat around table eating crabs with Jakia. Jakia invited them over not wanting to eat crabs by herself.
“Girl school ain’t been out a full week yet, and I’m ready for Peyton to go back. Her ass is eating me out of a house and home. I ain’t seen my man in a week because she wants to be up under me all damn day.” Fatima sucked her teeth, picking through crabs.
“Girl, my two don’t call me unless they want their hair done. I thought when they got older, they’d call more, beg their daddy to let them spend weekends with me, but nope.” Henni sighed.
“Aw, friend.” Fatima gave Henni an air hug.
“I’m not tryna fuck up the mood. Just feeling emotional about Khyell being gone for the entire summer. Carmell’s gonna be off with his secret daddy. It’s like if I can’t be a momma, can’t be an auntie, what the fuck is there to do?” Henni dabbed her eyes.
“House hunting,” Jakia assured her rubbing her arm. “We’re gonna find something so fire that when Khyell gets back home, he won’t even want to go back to Grand Onyx.”
“A whole summer is crazy like you don’t feel like we should be baby stepping this?” Henni pleaded with Jakia.
“I think it’ll be good for him to get away from the chaos going on with the families right now.
Plus, you wanted to push him into private school.
In Grand Onyx Hills he’ll learn there’s more to life than Baltimore City.
And even if I didn’t want to send him, he’d still be going. He already made his mind up.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t have taken him out there when you met with Rashida. You done showed that boy a glimpse of heaven,” Henni argued.
“As someone who has literally traveled the world, there’s no place like home. He’ll be homesick in five days. I’m hoping he gives her Hell until she sends him back,” Jakia whispered with a smirk.
“Smart bitch.” Henni pointed as they laughed.
A knock at the door didn’t seem out of the norm considering they were having a party.
Henni being the closest, turned the knob without looking.
When they saw Prissy standing there, Henni began to cough.
She had a piece of a shell in her throat.
Jakia licked her fingers clean while Prissy looked around inside the apartment until Fatima slammed the door in her face.
“I don’t like her energy.” Fatima scrunched her face.
Henni downed her water until she felt she could breathe again. “What the fuck?” Henni asked, as Prissy started knocking on the door again. “You gonna see what she wants?”
“She can’t want nothing from me.” Jakia rolled her eyes.
“Leave her ass out there.” Fatima waved her hand at the door. Prissy knocked harder this time.
Jakia snatched a napkin from the roll, sucking her teeth as she cleared her hands of crab seasoning. She yanked the door open, stepping into the hallway making Prissy back up.
“You must have the wrong apartment,” Jakia said.
“I don’t.” Prissy smiled. “I came to confirm that the boys will be at the wedding”
“I can’t confirm something that I don’t know shit about,” Jakia folded her arms across her chest.
“Oh, bitch please. You saw it all over social media. I’ve been posting the date for days now.”
“I don’t follow you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“This is a really weird way of getting me to bring my boys to your wedding. Matter fact, I don’t think we can make it. I think we’re going to go to the park that day.” Jakia started to go back inside.
“You can just drop the boys off. What do you think we’re going to do to them? Hussein wants Khyell to be the ring bearer.”
“Then he should come ask me himself because you don’t have good people skills.”
“Nobody has to kiss your ass, Jakia. The boys belong to all of us. We are not there for every moment you have with them, why must you keep pushing yourself into my life with the excuse of the boys? You can drop them off. Hussein has made his decision. Me. We’re getting married whether you’re sitting in the crowd or sitting on your couch.
If you want to watch the man, you’re in love with marry a better woman, then by all means. ” Prissy stormed off.
JaKia stared at the back of Prissy’s head until she disappeared down the steps.
The last thing that bitch would get from her is a reaction.
She was having a hard time believing this wedding was real.
Hussein sending Prissy to invite her was just low down.
Hussein was simply calling her bluff. He had to be.
Otherwise, everything he ever said to her was a lie.
“The fuck did she want?’ Henni asked, when Jakia returned.
“She wanted to invite me to the wedding.”
“On a house visit?” Fatima scrunched her face.