16. Major
I tried. I really tried, but hiding my frustration with Dynastie was damn near impossible. My family didn’t say anything, but I knew they sensed it. Obviously, Dynastie did too.
“I don’t have a problem. I’m tired, and I have an early flight. Good night.”
I hadn’t figured out how to bring up what I overheard, without her knowing I was eavesdropping. Once she knew that, we’d be arguing about me eavesdropping instead of why she didn’t want me to know what happened to our baby.
“You know what? It’s cool. You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but I won’t be on the receiving end of crappy treatment when I ain’t done shit.
I know things between us won’t always be perfect, but if we’ve learned nothing else, I thought we learned how important it is to communicate.
I’ve signed the contracts already, so I’m committed to this project, but we can keep things professional from here on out. ”
She went upstairs, leaving me to consider her words. I chuckled, even though there wasn’t a damn thing funny. In the big scheme of things, I hadn’t done anything to Dynastie for her to assume something was wrong with me. It was probably more about what I didn’t do that raised some red flags.
I hung around downstairs for a while, giving her enough time to do what she needed to do in the bedroom. When I finally went upstairs, I was surprised to find her hovering on the edge of what was now her side of the bed. I thought she’d surely get her shit and go to one of the guest rooms.
I moved around the room quietly, laying out my clothes for the morning, then showering before easing into bed.
Even if I’d decided to tell Dynastie I’d overheard the conversation between her and her therapist, I couldn’t do it tonight.
The topic was too sensitive to discuss when I was leaving in a few hours.
Based on what I overheard, I could only assume she’d gotten an abortion or had a miscarriage. If she’d gotten an abortion, I’d be more hurt than angry, and not for the reason most would think.
I was pro-choice, and if Dynastie were pregnant with my child six years ago, when our communication came to a screeching halt with no reason or warning given, and she decided to have an abortion, I didn’t have the right to be mad.
If that was the choice she made, she did it because she thought it was best for her.
A miscarriage was different and beyond her control. The thought of her going through something like that saddened me, but it would give me some understanding of her feelings about having children. It would give a new meaning to her desire to be mentally and physically ready.
The shift in my mood wasn’t about why our child wasn’t here, but it was more about why she didn’t want to tell me we shared a child.
When I returned from my business trip, I’d have to bite the bullet and have the conversation, regardless of how she would react to my eavesdropping.
It was the only way we’d be able to move forward.
“I expected you to be in a better mood,” Bo said as we drove to the airport.
He’d picked me up ten minutes ago, and aside from greeting him, I’d been quiet.
“Why?”
“After years of being gone, your one true love has returned, and you’ve spent the past couple of weeks refamiliarizing yourselves with each other. You should be bouncing off the walls.”
“I am . . . I was up until yesterday.”
“Would you care to share what happened?”
“You’ll just tell me I’m wrong, which I already know.”
“Then apologize to her and move on.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Do it anyway,” he ordered.
“I will when I get back tomorrow. It doesn’t solve anything right now, though.”
“Many people believe that couples shouldn’t go to bed angry, but I’m not one of those people.
Sometimes, things need to marinate before they are discussed.
It gives you time to think about where things may have gone wrong and allows you to choose your words wisely.
Forcing a truce doesn’t fix the problem. It may actually make it worse.”
“If I had brought it up last night, I could see the situation getting worse. She could sense the change in my mood and was annoyed after she asked if something was wrong a few times, and I told her I was fine.”
“Hopefully, by the time you return, she’ll be open to listening.”
I hadn’t used Bo’s services since Dynastie arrived because I hadn’t gone out much, so we spent the rest of the ride catching up. He had grandkids who meant the world to him, so when I asked about them, he talked about them until we reached our destination.
“Thanks, Bo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded, and I headed into the airport. It only took about twenty minutes to get through security. On my way to my gate, I took my phone out of my pocket to text Dynastie but decided to call instead. The phone rang a few times before she answered, sounding groggy.
“Hello.”
“Hey. I made it to my gate and will be boarding shortly. I wanted to hear your voice before we took off.”
“Okay.”
“I’m sorry about last night. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Brax was already at the gate when I arrived, and Jrue wasn’t too far behind me. When they told me they’d meet me at the airport, I didn’t ask any questions, just trusted they would be there.
I hit the ground running when I landed in Atlanta. My first order of business was a photo shoot for an underwear brand I’d been endorsing for the past few years. It took about two and a half hours, but it was easy work.
Next up was a prerecorded podcast that would air next week, followed by a live radio interview, and finally, a meeting with the executives of an all-natural energy drink brand that wanted my endorsement.
By the time we checked into our rooms, it was after six o’clock in the evening, and I was mentally drained.
“Why did we opt to stay overnight for this trip? I could get on the next flight and take my ass home,” I said as we rode the elevator to our floor.
“We’re in Atlanta, nigga. There’s always something to get into,” Jrue said.
“You were single when we booked the flight,” Brax reminded me.
I nodded as I recalled the conversation we had when Brax booked our rooms. We planned to hit up Magic City and a few other clubs before flying home tomorrow morning.
“I’m in for the night, but y’all enjoy,” I told them as I stepped off the elevator.
“We figured that. Hit us up if you change your mind,” Brax said.
“Y’all just make sure you’re ready to go when the car gets here to take us to the airport in the morning,” I warned.
“Have we ever missed a flight?” Jrue asked with a laugh.
I shook my head as I let myself into my room. They hadn’t missed a flight, but they’d been awfully close several times. Once in my room, I put my bag down, slipped out of my shoes, and sat on the bed to look at my phone.
I didn’t have any missed calls or unread texts from Dynastie. She didn’t sound pissed this morning, but she was half asleep. There was a good chance she didn’t remember our short conversation.
I went to my call log to call her but was distracted by a notification from my security app. I opened the application to watch the video and saw Dynastie leaving and getting into an unfamiliar car, which I assumed was an Uber.
I’d left her the keys to my vehicles and Bo’s number in case she had to go out for anything, so I was confused as to why she was using the rideshare app. Instead of wondering what she was doing, I called her to find out.
“Hello,” she answered, her voice anxious.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“To your parents’ house?”
“To Onyx City. I got a notification that my alarm was disabled.”
“Someone broke in?” I asked because if that was the case, that’s what she should’ve said.
“No. I don’t think so, but I need to go check it out.”
“Lovie, you’re being vague and need to tell me what the fuck is going on.”
She sighed. “It’s my ex. He let himself into my place and damaged a bunch of my shit. He doesn’t know I have cameras in the common areas, so he thought he could go in and out undetected.”
“He still has a key?”
“He must have made an extra copy because I took back the one I gave him.”
“Did you change your security code?”
“I didn’t think I needed to because I took his key.”
“Did you call the police?”
“No. He left and turned the alarm back on like nothing happened. The police wouldn’t see any sign of forced entry and would have to break the door down,” she explained.
“You were planning to handle this shit alone?”
“I’m not a damsel in distress, Major, and I live hundreds of miles from my family. I’m used to handling things alone, or at least until my father or brother can get to me.”
“You have me now, so you don’t need to call either of them or handle the shit alone, especially something like this. Has your ex contacted you?”
“Not until this morning after you called. The conversation didn’t go well, and I blocked him, but he started calling from his work phone. Ultimately, I blocked that number too.”
The thought of my woman being harassed pissed me off. She definitely wasn’t going back to Onyx City alone.
“He wanted to lure you back to town. What time will your flight land?”
“Major, you’re busy. You don’t have to—”
“I’m never too busy to make sure you’re safe. What time?”
“Eleven.”
Onyx City was two hours from Atlanta, and it would probably take me an hour to rent a car. I could be there in three hours.
“I’ll pick you up from the airport,” I told her.
“Okay. Thank you.”
“I love you.”
“Be safe. I love you too.”
I ended the call and immediately called Brax.
“What up?” he answered.
“I need you to rent a car. We’re going to Onyx City.”
“What?”
“I’ll explain on the way.”
“Fine. I’ll get right on it. Hit up Jrue and meet me downstairs in fifteen minutes,” he told me.
“Bet.”