Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Hood
Man, what the fuck. I stood beside my Chevy, watching folks scatter like somebody had dropped a bomb in the middle of Edgewood Day. Music was still blasting. Kids were being pulled out of the way. Tables were flipped over. Food and drinks were all over the ground.
And twelve had started pulling into the park. All because this hardheaded-ass woman couldn’t accept that a nigga had told her it was over.
“Bruh.”
I looked over at Cash. He was trying not to laugh. “Don’t.”
“Nah, nigga.” He shook his head. “You called Kaniya?”
“Hell yeah, I called her to get some straightening.”
“You knew what the fuck she was coming to do.”
“I asked her to handle some business for me. I ain’t think she was gonna take it there. She said Adrienne was still running her mouth.”
Cash looked toward the other side of the park. “Looks like business got handled.”
“Fuck you.”
Cash and Guap both laughed. I looked across the crowd. Adrienne was still over there. Her girls had surrounded her, and from where I stood, I could see blood all over her orange dress. That sight did something to me, but I kept my face still.
I shook my head. This shit never had to go this far. All Adrienne had to do was leave me the fuck alone. That was it.
I had tried ignoring Adrienne, and I told her straight up it’s a wrap. Shit, I gave her back everything that connected us. I gave her back the phone. I stopped answering her calls.
I stopped entertaining the arguments weeks ago. I stopped leaving any cracks in the door for her to squeeze through.
None of that shit mattered. Adrienne kept pushing, showing up, calling, and creating problems where there didn’t need to be any. Then she took that shit to Fumi. That was where Adrienne fucked up.
I could deal with Adrienne being mad at a nigga.
She had every right to feel however the fuck she wanted.
Seven years was seven years. I wasn’t taking that away from her.
But feeling hurt didn’t give her permission to make somebody else’s life miserable just because mine was moving forward. That was the part I couldn’t ignore.
Especially somebody who ain’t got shit to do with what happened between us.
“Aye, 12 coming this way,” Guap said.
“I see ’em.”
“You staying?”
“Why the fuck would I leave?”
This was Edgewood. I ain’t getting to jacking with no nigga. Hell, I wasn’t even on that side of the park when shit popped off. I leaned against my car, watching two officers move through the crowd.
Cash looked at me. “You know Adrienne finna blame yo ass for this.”
“She blames me for the fucking weather.”
“That ain’t what I said.”
“I heard you.”
My eyes went back toward her. She was looking around now, searching for somebody, me.
I already knew it. Then her eyes met mine. Even from across the park, I felt that shit slam into me. Adrienne was angry, embarrassed, and hurt, all rolled into one. I didn’t move. I didn’t look away either.
Maybe she needed to see me standing there. Maybe she finally needed to understand. I really didn’t want her, and I wasn’t rushing over there to save her. And I damn sure wasn’t about to apologize for some shit she kept forcing.
Cash followed my eyes.
“Aw, shit.”
“What?”
“Aye, Hood, she’s looking at you like she finna burn your house down.”
“She doesn’t know where the fuck I live.”
“Yet.”
I glared at Cash. “That shit ain’t funny. If she knew what I knew, she should tread lightly because that ass-whooping she got earlier really wanted to put a bullet in her skull.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be.”
Adrienne pushed through the crowd. One of her friends grabbed her arm. She snatched it away.
“Aye, here she comes,” Guap muttered.
I sighed. Of course. Because getting her ass whooped apparently hadn’t taught her a motherfucking thing. Adrienne marched toward me, blood running from her nose, her orange dress stained, and rage written all over her face. Even then, she still looked ready to fight.
“Hood!”
Everybody around us got quiet. I pushed away from the Chevy.
“What you want, Adrienne?”
“You think this shit funny?”
“Do I look like I’m laughing?”
“You sent that bitch after me!”
“I told you to leave the shit alone, and you kept fucking playing.”
“So, you had me jumped?”
I frowned. “Jumped?”
“Yes, motherfucka! Jumped!”
“Nah.” I shook my head. “Don’t rewrite that shit just because you got your ass handed to you. Your friends jumped in, too. That’s on them. Stop lying to yourself.”
“Fuck you!”
“You’ve been doing that for seven years. Look where it’s gotten us.”
Cash coughed beside me. He was trying not to laugh.
Adrienne’s face twisted. “You think that bitch wants you?”
There it was. I rubbed my beard.
“Damn, this ain’t got shit to do with Fumi.”
“It got everything to do with that bitch!”
“Aye, watch your fucking mouth. For real, this shit is getting old fast.”
“Or what? You gon’ send somebody else to fight me?”
“Nah.” I stepped closer and lowered my voice. “But I’mma tell you this one last time, Adrienne.” Her eyes locked on mine. “Whatever you think of me and whatever feelings you still have—bury that shit before yo ass get buried.”
Adrienne stared at me.
“I don’t want the phone back. I don’t want the relationship back. I don’t want to argue with yo ass about what we used to be. And I don’t want you bothering Fumi because you’re mad at me. I promise that if you keep this shit up, you gon’ get yourself hurt bad.”
Adrienne’s eyes watered. I saw it. And for a second, that shit hit me. Despite all this bullshit, I wasn’t finna pretend seven years meant nothing. It meant something. It just didn’t mean forever. That was the part that hurt.
“You embarrassed me,” she said.
“Nah.” I shook my head. “You embarrassed yourself.”
Her jaw tightened. “I hate you.”
“You’ll get over that too.”
She stared at me for another second, then turned away.
“Adrienne.” She stopped. I waited until she looked back.
“Leave Fumi alone.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Or what?”
I looked at her. I wasn’t smiling. I was done with the threats. She heard what the fuck I said. Maybe Kaniya was right. She did need a bullet in her skull.
“Just leave her alone.”
Because if today hadn’t made the message clear, I wasn’t sure what the fuck would. A cop started walking toward us, and Cash pushed away from the car.
“Showtime.” I sighed. Edgewood Day wasn’t even halfway fucking over.
The sun had begun to dip behind the buildings by the time Edgewood Day wound down.
Shit, the music was still playing through the speakers.
A few kids were leaving with balloons. The food trucks were packing up.
The crowd slowly thinned out. Cash leaned against his truck, talking to Guap while I rested against my Chevy.
“Damn...” Cash stretched. “I forgot how many damn people come out here.”
“It’s Edgewood, nigga.” I grinned. “Everybody comes home.”
Guap looked around. “Ain’t been no fights for real.”
Cash laughed. “Shit, Adrienne had her head knocked off.”
“Yep.”
I looked up, and there she was. Fumi. Walking across the park with Journee, Nikki, Alexis, and Nuri. She was laughing about something, her head tilted back. That laugh... I missed hearing it more than I cared to admit.
Our eyes met, and neither of us looked away.
Cash noticed first. “Aye...”
Guap followed his gaze. “Oh... They’re looking.”
“I know.”
I answered without taking my eyes off Fumi. The girls slowed. Then, to my surprise, Fumi broke away from the group. Cash looked over at me.
“Aye, you are expecting this?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
Fumi kept walking, slow but confident. She walked purposefully until she stopped right in front of me.
For a second, neither of us said anything. I took her in. The gold hoops, the big curls. The fitted sundress. That smile she’d been trying to hide all afternoon.
“You straight?” I finally asked.
She nodded. “I’m good.”
“You?”
“I’m blessed.”
Silence.
Fumi looked at me... as if she were trying to figure something out. Then she smiled. “You’ve been acting different.”
I laughed. “Oh, you noticed?”
“Yep.”
“I figured.”
Fumi looked down at the ground, then looked back up at me. “I wanted to tell you something.”
“I’m listening.”
Fumi stepped closer. Close enough for me to smell her perfume. Damn... Don’t do this shit to me. She grabbed a fistful of my T-shirt near my chest and pulled me toward her. Before my brain could process it, her lips were on mine.
Fuck…
Damn, her lips were soft as fuck. The kiss was quick, just long enough... to stop time. The entire park disappeared, except Cash and Guap.
When Fumi pulled away, she stayed close enough that our foreheads almost touched. A slow smile spread across her face. “There...” she laughed softly. “Now we’re even, Hood. Stop playing with me.”
Before I could ask Fumi what the fuck that meant, she let go of my shirt, turned around, and started walking back toward her girls. Halfway there, she looked over her shoulder, still smiling. Then she kept walking.
I never moved. Cash walked over and waved his hand in front of my face.
“Hood...”
Nothing.
Guap started laughing. “Aye, my boy... You still with us?”
I blinked. “Nigga...” I rubbed the back of my neck. “...What the fuck just happened?”
Cash threw his head back, laughing. “I don’t know... But whatever you’ve been doing... keep doing it.”
Across the park, I watched Fumi slip into the crowd with her girls. She never looked back.
Fumi knew exactly what she was doing. That kiss...Wasn’t about the kiss. It was a message. I just hadn’t figured out what the hell she was trying to say.
I unlocked the Chevy. A nigga was still grinning.
“That slick-mouthed grown-ass woman...”
Guap laughed. “What?”
“I think she just started something.”
I climbed behind the wheel. “Nah...” I looked toward the park one last time. “I think she finished something.”
Cash frowned. “What?”
I started the engine. “The chase.”
The Chevy rumbled to life. I pulled away from the curb... still grinning like a damn fool. For the first time since I came home... I wasn’t wondering whether Fumi felt anything. She’d just answered me... without saying a single word.