68. Corinthians #3
"No!" I yelled, getting up from the floor. If my cousins thought for one second that I was giving up on Uri when I'd just got him, they'd lost their minds.
"Cori..."
"No, Uri!" I replied, not turning to look at him. I couldn’t because if I did, I would see in his eyes what I heard in his voice. He was going to agree with them. He was going to say we couldn’t be because it was too much.
That we were too much. That too much had happened, and I wouldn’t accept that.
Not after all this time. Not with everything we'd been through and still had to do.
Us not being together wasn't acceptable.
"Cori, look at me," he softly demanded.
"No," I cried.
"Corinthians." His hand touched my arm, and I jumped.
"Turn around, baby." I did what he asked and immediately wrapped my arms around him.
Uri held me, and I cried into his chest. "I'm sorry.
" He lifted my face to look at him. His eyes, those eyes that I loved so much, searched mine.
"I've loved you since the moment I saw you and never stopped. But-"
I kissed him. Cutting off his words and the fact that he thought we were breaking up. I pushed my tongue into his mouth, trying to make him feel all the things I couldn't say and hoping that he would understand. Our kiss ended, and he rested his forehead against mine.
"I don’t know if I can’t love you," I finally told him. "You made me whole."
Uri lifted his head and nodded. "I know, but you're not safe around me. Keeping you close is dangerous, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me."
"He's right," Krude said from behind me. Something covered my nose and mouth, and I couldn't react in time. The last thing I saw was Uri's eyes before everything went black.
***
I opened my eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where I was. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs.
"Took you long enough to wake up," Psalms said, coming into her living room. She sat on the couch next to me. "I told Krude he can't use his chloroform again."
"I'm going to beat his ass," I mumbled, then rested my forehead against my knees. "Yours too when the room stops spinning."
"Why me?" She laughed softly.
"You let him use it on me."
"Wrong. When I realized what he was doing, I tried to stop him," she replied. "They ended up using it on me, too."
I looked over at her and realized that she looked just as tired as I did.
"We are going to beat his ass," I corrected.
Psalms smiled softly and shook her head. "Nah, they were smart to use it," she replied, and I lifted my brow in surprise. "If they hadn't, you would've fought them all, and I would've helped, and so would've Four. It would've been a big ass fight in that hospital."
"It's going to be one anyway." I moved my arms from around my legs and set my feet on the ground. "I'm going to beat all their asses and Uri's for thinking that this was the right way to go about this."
"He didn't have a choice."
"Yes, he did." I stood and stretched my arms over my head. "He was supposed to choose me and know that I know that we, him and I, could've gotten past this."
"He did pick you," she said, shaking her head. "He picked you by letting you go."
"We don’t do third act breakups," I told her. "Shit is played out."
"What the fuck is a third act breakup?" Psalms asked.
"It's something that happens in books and movies sometimes. When the main characters break up 3/4 of the way through and then get back together. Shit is dumb."
"This isn't that," Psalms laughed. "And you know it."
I smirked, then rolled my eyes. "You're right, but I still think all of this is dramatic."
I left the living room and went to the bathroom. After I peed, I showered and changed into the clothes I kept here. When I came out of the bathroom, my sister, cousins, Uri's cousins, and Uri were waiting for me. I looked over at my sister to see her watching me.
"The next time you use that chloroform on me, I'm going to beat your ass," I said, stopping in my tracks.
Krude smiled, then shrugged. "I thought it was a good idea," he replied.
"Nadine should've never given you that," I replied.
I turned to Uri and watched him. He hadn't moved; his eyes were locked on me.
My heart slammed against my chest. "You gave him the okay?
" He opened his mouth to say something, and my brow went up.
"Remember that I know you, Uri. Better than anyone in this room. "
"I told him to use a little," he replied. He cut his eyes to Krude. "Not enough to knock you out for this long."
"She's strong," Krude said, then relaxed into his chair. "I had to make sure you didn't try and fight me."
"I still might," I told him, then turned to Uri. "Do you think it worked?"
"According to Trey, Robert is planning something," he said, nodding. "He called him in. Said something about being in town. From what we could find, he hasn't left his house yet, though."
"And the boys?"
"With Script and his brothers," Psalms answered. "I talked to them before you woke up. They are taking the boys dirt biking."
"Of course they are," I said, then approached Uri. When I was close enough, he pulled me to him and kissed me.
"Damn, I missed you," he said when the kiss was over. "Don’t sleep that long again."
"It's not like I had a choice," I laughed, then kissed him again.
"Y'all really gotta do that right now?" Krude groaned.
I pulled back from our kiss and laughed. "You really are a hater, you know that?" I wrapped my arms around Uri and rested my head on his chest. His heartbeat was steady and strong.
"Never that. I love Black love."
"Anyway, before he starts, you ready?" Psalms asked, and I nodded. "You sure?"
"I'm ready," I told her. And I was. I was ready to get this shit over with, kill Uri's parents, and move on with my life. I'd spent too many years scared of a situation I had no control over.
"Well then let's go. The plane is waiting."