Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TRINI COLEMAN
“Wait, was that?” Natasha said as we stood there watching Shakur speed away in his car.
Why was he back?
Nobody had seen his face in over three years, and now, he was suddenly back. I didn’t like that shit at all.
I turned to look at Sony and noticed how stressed out he seemed, too, after seeing that Shakur was back.
But why now?
I couldn’t help wondering if it was because of Sincere’s news. My mouth fell when the realization hit me. He was back because he had plans of taking over. It had to be because nothing else made sense.
The way he walked over here like he owned the world and openly challenged Sony, told me that was the reason for his return, and this was something that Havoc needed to know!
“Uh, I need to go,” I said to the girls.
Today was an off day, so I came to chill with a few girls I knew through The Society.
I wasn’t really feeling coming to sit at the basketball court to watch niggas play ball, but thank God I came, or I would have missed seeing Shakur.
I had no idea how long he had been back for, but Havoc needed to know as soon as possible.
As I headed for my car, I watched a series of different emotions play out on Sony’s face. He was beyond stressed. His friends whispering like females didn’t help the situation either. Shakur had clearly issued a warning to Sony and Viper right in front of everyone. He wasn’t hiding!
I tried to call Havoc when I jumped in my car and sighed when he didn’t answer. I’d been calling him for a few days now and was getting the same response.
What the hell was he that busy doing?
Thinking I would just talk to him when I got there, I started my car and headed toward his condo.
My mind was on a thousand. I was truly taken aback after seeing that man after so long. He’d definitely changed.
Three years ago, he wasn’t as muscular as he was now.
It took me about thirty minutes to arrive at Havoc’s crib, and I felt relieved when I saw his car was there. I expected him to be home, because he never really went out like that, unless he was with me or Hell, but lately, he seemed to be preoccupied with something, so there was no telling.
“Once I tell him about Shakur, I’m going to ask him what’s going on with him,” I said out loud as I climbed out of my car.
Havoc wasn’t the loudest person, even when he was around us, he didn’t speak that much, but he wasn’t as quiet as he had been lately. That concerned me, and I knew there was something going on with him.
Since he caught that cold, my best friend had been damn near impossible to get a hold of.
With Shakur back roaming these city streets, occupied was the last thing Havoc should be.
I entered the code and rode the elevator up to his floor. The faint hint of his cologne made me smile.
Thoughts of me coming here daily, maybe even moving, crossed my mind. For too long, I’d hidden my love for him, but maybe now was the right time to tell him!
I nodded, agreeing with myself that this was the time to tell Havoc how I felt. It was obvious he felt the same way; otherwise, why would he keep me around for so long?
He was the one who first approached me, seven years ago, while we had a meeting.
Everyone else usually avoided me, but not Havoc.
He sat beside me and spoke to me the whole night, instantly bringing light to my otherwise darkened world since I lost my parents.
He asked for my number and invited me to come spend the day with him and Hell. We’d been together ever since.
Now was definitely the time. Ocean was a nonfactor. He didn’t love her, and he wasn’t going to marry her, so why miss my chance for something that wasn’t real?
I expected Havoc to either call or text me by now after seeing me on the security camera, but he didn’t.
Playfully rolling my eyes, I stepped off the elevator and swayed my hips toward his front door.
I definitely need to get a key.
Just as I lifted my hand to ring the buzzer, the door opened. I smiled at seeing him until I noticed there was a girl standing behind him.
“Oh, what’s going on, Trini?” Havoc greeted me so casually, like there wasn’t some broad standing there.
She looked at me and smiled.
“This my best friend, Trini,” he said to the girl, not even bothering to tell me who the hell she was!
“You can go in,” Havoc said to me and stepped outside holding the girl’s hand. I watched her closely as she passed, and I stepped into the condo. It was clear to me that he wasn’t going to tell me who she was, so I opened my mouth to ask her myself, but he closed the door in my face.
I scoffed, not believing he just did that shit. Her perfume lingered in the air, further pissing me off. Sucking my teeth, I kicked off my sneakers, threw my jacket over the back of his sofa, and took a seat.
It took his rude ass a whole five minutes before he walked back in, and I was up on my feet before he could close the door.
“Who the fuck was that?!” I demanded.
This man looked at me and chuckled.
“Chill out with all that shit, Trini.”
Pissed off, I folded my arms across my chest.
“No, I want to know who that was,” I said.
“Trini,” Havoc simpered, but he didn’t answer me as if he was avoiding the question.
He took a seat and ran a hand across the back of his neck.
“I uh, didn’t know you were coming,” he said. He then looked at the carpet as if he couldn’t look at me.
“Havoc—”
“Just keep what you saw between us, okay?” he suggested. Again, avoiding eye contact with me.
Wait. Was he trying to protect her and use me to keep that secret?
Havoc fidgeted—and he never did that. He was acting funny.
I stood there watching him, trying to read him, and only at that point did I notice that he was half naked.
He had no shirt on and a pair of ball shorts.
His skin was glowing like he just got done having a shower, but then I remembered her hair looked wet when she passed me.
My jaw fell.
“Did you fuck her?”
His body stiffened, but he didn’t answer. Not that he needed to because the evidence was sitting right in front of me.
Ain’t no way his ass was inside here alone with that girl, half naked, and they didn’t fuck.
My body dropped on the sofa. I was devastated.
“Oh, you called me?” he said, looking at his phone, completely unbothered by how I was feeling. “My bad. I was busy,” he said.
Clearly!
“Do you want something to drink?” he asked. I didn’t answer him, just sat there staring at him in bewilderment.
Havoc chuckled, then stood to his feet and waltzed into the kitchen. I jumped up to follow.
“Who is that girl, Havoc?” I asked again.
“Are you okay? You were calling me,” he said, completely changing the subject, showing me that he was trying to protect this girl.
“Who was—”
“Trini, what happened?” he stared at me. I sighed.
“I was at the basketball court, and I saw Shakur. I came to let you know that he was back in town. Thought you should know, but clearly, you were too busy,” I snapped.
Havoc nodded and said, “Oh, I been known he was back. Saw the nigga weeks ago.”
Again, I was lost for words.
“You knew and didn’t tell me?”
That was a first. We told each other everything.
“My fault. I thought I told you.”
My eyes narrowed at this man before me, whom I was no longer starting to recognize.
His phone received a text, and he looked at it.
“Is that all you came to say? Hell is on his way over, we gotta go somewhere.”
As I stood there looking at his exposed chest. A chest I used to dream of lying my head on, I couldn’t help the pang of jealousy surging through me. He’d given himself to her in a way he hadn’t given himself to me, just as I mustered up the courage to tell him how I felt.
“Yeah, I just wanted you to know,” I said in a low tone. My heart was racing, and anxiety was swirling around in my stomach.
“Thanks, Trini, I appreciate that. Let’s meet up tomorrow,” he said, ushering me out of the kitchen and over to the front door.
“I—” I stopped myself from saying anything because what could I honestly say when he allowed someone who wasn’t me, close to him?
I could deal with Ocean being around because I knew he didn’t care about her like that, but I didn’t know this girl. Like, who the fuck was this bitch, and how did he even meet her?
Havoc opened the door for me, and just as I stepped through it, I turned to him.
“I love you, Havoc,” I said, something I had been holding for years.
He looked at me and smiled sweetly.
“I love you too, Trini. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest until he stepped forward and placed a kiss on my forehead. The type of kiss a father would give to his daughter or a brother to his sister. Not like a lover.
He then waved and closed the door. My body shuddered with the sound of the door clicking.
I stood there completely dumbfounded and feeling rejected. He loved me too—just not in the way I wanted him to.
Turning on my feet, I rushed for the elevator. My soul was crushed. In place of love, all I could feel was pain.
All types of thoughts were rushing through my mind as I hopped in my car and sped out of there. My head was on a swivel as I prayed that I saw that girl because she was gonna tell me who the fuck she was and most importantly, where she came from!
It was so not like Makari to hide someone from me. But it was clear to see that if I hadn’t shown up today, he was never going to tell me about her. Why? Did he plan on keeping this a secret from me?
He was never known to be out there just fucking on females like that, because he didn’t trust people easily, so how was it that this girl could get close to him?
How the fuck did they meet?
Was this something new, or had this been going on for some time? The not knowing was killing me and breaking my heart to know she had him. Had him in a way I didn’t. He’d allowed her to touch him in an intimate way. In a way he never allowed Ocean.
I knew he hadn’t even kissed his so-called fiancée because, as I said, he told me everything! Yet, he didn’t even tell me that he met someone else. He was that comfortable with her to have her in his condo like that. A place I thought he only allowed me.
Ocean couldn’t be in his shit more than ten minutes before he was looking for an excuse to make her leave. But me, he would allow me to be there for hours and sometimes even days at a time. Had he opened himself up to her in that way too?
I felt a pain hit me in my chest, and I willed myself not to cry.
I’d told myself that he probably didn’t sleep with Ocean because he was saving himself for someone more meaningful.
Someone like me. I was just waiting on him to finally see that the perfect woman for him had been right in front of his face this whole time. But he didn’t see me—he saw her.
“Shit!” I screamed and punched my steering wheel. I didn’t even know where the hell I was driving to. That was just how off my game this situation had me.
I suddenly slammed on my brakes when I saw her across the street. This had to be God.
Quickly pulling over, I snatched my keys out of the ignition and hopped out of my car. She was too busy talking to her friend to notice me, but she stopped when her friend made my presence known.
She turned to look up at me. As I stared down at her, I couldn’t see why she thought Havoc would be interested in her. If this was a competition, I knew that I already won because she didn’t look like me.
The girl frowned at me, rolled her eyes, and asked, “Can I help you, Trini?”
“No, but I can help you, Ocean.”
Fuck it, if I couldn’t have Havoc, neither could this unknown bitch!
Ocean frowned.
“Help me with what?”
“By getting some bitch away from Havoc,” I said and smirked.
Ocean’s face changed, and she slowly stood to her feet.
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s someone I’ve seen trying to get her claws into Havoc. I thought I should let you know.”
She frowned and asked, “How do you know?”
“Because I just saw her leave his condo,” I admitted.
“What?” Ocean laughed. “He wouldn’t do something stupid like that knowing I would tell my dad.”
I looked down at my nails and then back at her, pausing for dramatic effect. Then I shrugged.
“Okay, if you don’t believe me.”
I spun around on my heels with a smile on my face, knowing I’d planted the seed.
“Trini, wait? Tell me what you know.”
Bingo!