Chapter 21
Diamond found herself spending more and more time with Duke, he was the perfect guy in her eyes.
She didn’t mean to fall but she did, rapidly.
Late nights at Duke’s house turned into early mornings.
Laughter sometimes turned into tears for both of them, they bonded on a different level.
Duke’s bed felt like safety, in his arms, she felt untouchable.
Never once had he touched her even when her body wanted him to.
He made it clear that there was no rush and pussy meant nothing to him.
Diamond would give it to him if she wanted him to have, and she wanted to, bad.
“Duke.” She called out with her head on his chest.
“What’s up?”
“I think I’m ready.”
“It’s right here.”
She briefly looked at his boxers and looked away, she hadn’t told him that she was a virgin. She had no idea why she and so many others were afraid to say that they were virgins.
“I’m a virgin, Duke.”
He shifted a little, “For real?”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“Baby, that ain’t shit to be sorry about. It ain’t too many like you left.”
Just like that, he eased her mind, but his next sentence confused her.
“I don’t want your virginity. I’m a dog ass nigga right now and that’s sacred, save it for somebody special.”
She knew Duke had plenty of females, but Diamond would be lying if she said she didn’t want to be one…the one. Diamond couldn’t do anything but respect his morality, most guys would’ve been proud to be someone’s first.
“I appreciate your honesty.”
“Speaking of honesty,” he took a pull from his blunt, “the streets been talking.”
“Streets always talking.”
“Not like this.”
That made her sit up and look at him, she prayed he wasn’t about to tell her something that would break her heart.
“They talking about Kayla,” Duke said carefully.
Diamond froze, “What about her?”
Duke ran his hand over his face, “I’m hearing she’s fucking with Ace.”
The room went still, all of Diamond’s senses became nonexistent for a minute.
“What?!” She stood to her feet fast.
“Yeah, this shit is not a normal rumor. People been noticing them together, him pulling up on her and spending time.”
Diamond’s blood was boiling!
“That’s a lie. Kayla knows better, she knows that he’s an enemy. She wouldn’t…”
“She already did, I saw her in the car with him.”
That shit fell on her like a two-ton brick, she felt it in her heart. There was no way her sister was that fuckin’ stupid.
“It’s a setup to get to my father, Ace don’t do nothing without a reason. He couldn’t get you to get to me, so he got Kayla.”
“Exactly.”
Diamond slipped on her shoes and grabbed her jacket.
“I’m finna go find her and beat her ass!”
“I didn’t tell you this to go start something, I told you to stop it. The last thing you want her to do is to run to him.”
“Fuck that! I’m about to fuck her up!”
Duke got up and stood in front of her.
“Not like this.”
“Duke, move. That’s my sister,” Diamond snapped, not trying to hear anything he had to say.
“I don’t give a fuck. You run out of here heated, you playing right into Ace’s hands.”
Her chest heaved; she was so fuckin’ mad she could bite Kayla’s face off.
She knew it was family first no matter what!
And to put her father at risk? Kayla was close to being an enemy and that was the last thing anyone wanted to be to Diamond.
Her mind was growing sharper every day, a killer instinct that taunted her daily was surfacing slowly. She wanted Ace’s head.
“Listen to me, you can’t save her by crashing out, you gotta be smarter than him.”
Diamond looked up at Duke with blazing eyes, “I’m gon’ kill him.”
“You ain’t no killer, Diamond”
“Yet.”
Diamond tried; she really did. She kept Duke’s words tucked in her mind, she tried to look at Kayla like her little sister and not a snake, but she was slithering.
The energy in the house was off whenever Kayla walked through the door with an attitude.
That cockiness that she carried in every step.
Diamond felt something in her stomach every time she laid eyes on her, disgust was what she felt.
Diamond laid back on the couch and listened to the TV with her eyes closed. Mia was already in bed because school was getting ready to start back and she had to get out of summer mode.
“Where you going? It’s time to get back in the swing of school routines,” Rich said to Kayla as she stopped walking.
“I know how to wake up for school, you don’t have to talk to me like a child.”
Rich looked up slowly, “You are a child. My child and I said don’t leave out that door.”
Diamond’s head lifted because she could feel the tension building up in the room.
“Y’all just hate to see me moving without y’all.”
Rich stood and walked around the table as Sherry came out of the room with tired eyes.
“I hate that you’re walking around here dressed like a streetwalker! I didn’t raise no hoes.”
“Wait a minute! Rich, don’t talk to her like that, and you better bring it down a notch, that’s your father!”
Kayla laughed sharp, “It’s cool, Ma, we all know Diamond is his favorite.”
Kayla wasn’t done, the bitch had completely lost her mind.
“You love Diamond more, always have. She can do no wrong, she sell drugs alongside you and she gets praised. I get some money and dress nice, suddenly, I’m a streetwalker,” she giggled. “This family is a fuckin’ joke.”
Diamond stood up then, Kayla had her parents fucked up.
“Kayla, chill,” she warned, causing Kayla’s head to snap in her direction like she had been waiting on Diamond.
“Chill? You chill and mind your business.”
Diamond’s jaw clenched. Rich stepped closer to Kayla, but she stepped around him and focused back in on Diamond.
“You think you’re big shit, but you’re not, you’re mad! Mad because I have someone that loves me. Somebody who chose me! Somebody who sees me for me!”
“Who? Ace?”
Kayla froze, Sherry’s mouth dropped, and Rich was stuck.
“Ace?” Rich repeated in a low tone.
Diamond didn’t stop.
“That nigga don’t love you, stupid. He’s using you! He’s watching us through you! You in love with a nigga that daddy knocked out, he a bitch!”
Kayla’s face twisted, “You lying! Anything to make me unhappy, I hate all y’all!”
Rich moved fast, he grabbed Kayla by the neck, “So it’s true?! Have you lost your fuckin’ mind?!”
Kayla screamed and tried to yank free, “LET ME GO!”
He finally released her once Sherry grabbed his shoulder; through it all, she was the only one calm. Diamond was trying to beat her ass, but Kayla was quick; she ran out the door, slamming it so loud the walls shook.
“I told you something was off about her, Daddy.”
Rich dragged his hand down his face, “She just put us on the radar.”
Diamond sank back into the couch with her hands covering her face. She couldn’t believe how her family was falling apart right in front of her eyes. Kayla was wrong…dead wrong.