Chapter 7
Regret
After leaving Gio, I went back to Deja’s house to meet them. My mind was all over the place. I was sure that I was going to be able to talk Gio into going back to Cali, but from the looks of it, that nigga has his mind made up.
The whole drive back, my fingers kept tapping against the steering wheel while my thoughts ran laps in my head.
Gio looked different. Not just physically from after Love beat his ass, but I could tell he was mentally different, too.
That nigga wasn’t trying to hear me.
He heard the words coming out of my mouth, but he wasn’t accepting them.
By the time I pulled up to Deja’s house, music was coming through the windows, and Kenya’s car was parked in front.
I sat in my car for a few minutes, fixing my face before getting out.
I walked up the sidewalk slow, holding my back low by my side.
I kept taking deep breaths, thinking that would help me forget where I just came from, but I knew that it wouldn’t.
After taking my time, I finally reached the door, and as I opened it and closed it behind me, all three of them looked at me.
Renee was sitting cross-legged on the floor, eating chips. Kenya was leaned across the couch, scrolling through her phone, and Deja was standing in the kitchen pouring drinks.
But all those hoes stopped and stared at me.
“What?” I asked, trying to sound normal.
“You tell us,” Kenya responded instantly.
I rolled my eyes and kicked my heels off.
“Ain’t shit wrong…”
“Liar,” Renee said through a mouthful of chips.
Deja walked over slow with glasses of wine in her hand and handed one to me.
“How bad was it?” she asked.
I looked between all three of them before sighing.
“Mann…that nigga is not leaving!”
Nobody looked even a bit surprised.
I sat down on the couch and took a sip of my wine before continuing. “I really thought if he heard it from me, face-to-face, he would just let it go.”
“And what did he actually say?” Kenya asked.
“He basically told me the only way he is leaving here is if I’m coming with him.”
Deja and Renee sucked their teeth at the same time.
“That nigga is obsessed,” Renee voiced.
I stayed quiet.
Because hearing it out loud made the whole situation feel worse.
“He looked off?” Deja asked.
I started to think about his face, the bruises, the swelling, his bloodshot eyes, the way he smelled like Hennessy inside a café. The way he looked at me was like none of that shit mattered.
I exhaled slowly.
“I don’t know how, but Love caught Gio outside the hospital and fucked him up.”
All three of them looked at each other.
“And he still trying to stay around here?!” Kenya asked.
I nodded. “That’s why y’all were right,” I admitted finally. “I should have left the shit alone.”
Kenya sat up beside me and wrapped her arm through mine.
“You were trying to stop something before it got worse. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
“But it’s gonna get worse,” I muttered. “Love is gonna kill him.”
The room went silent for a second before Renee stood up dramatically.
“Let that nigga crash out and act insane all he wants to. You will not pay that nigga any mind anymore and let Love do what he needs to do.”
We all agreed while she disappeared down the hallway.
“What is she doing?” I asked.
Kenya smirked. “You’ll see.”
A few seconds later, Renee came back carrying a notebook, bridal magazines, folders, and a damn wedding planner binder, tossing it all on the floor. We all got down there with her, and I started to look through everything.
My eyes widened. “What the hell is all of this?”
Deja grinned. “Since your head his been all over the place, and you haven’t brought it up…”
“We are!” Kenya added.
“We are in wedding mode, bitch!” Renee finished.
I stared at all of it for a second before looking around at them.
“Y’all serious?”
“We are deadass,” Deja said. “You over there stressed out over an unhinged nigga, when in reality, you are getting married to a rich, fine nigga who worships the ground you walk on.”
“And we need details,” Renee added. “Colors. Dresses. Trip. Everything.”
A laugh finally escaped me for what felt like the first time since the night before.
A real one, not forced, not nervous, just genuine, and honestly, I need that.
“You know what…I love y’all bitches!”
“Aww damn it, Islah, don’t cry,” Kenya warned instantly.
“Too fuckin late,” I said as I tried to wrap my arms around all three of them.
“Thank y’all, for real, I never had friends like y’all, and the whole time I needed friends like y’all.”
Deja squeezed me tighter. “Girl, please, you’re stuck with us now.”
The rest of the day slowly shifted.
Phone came out, Pinterest boards got opened.
Renee kept showing me over-the-top wedding dresses that looked like they belonged in the royal families.
Kenya focused on venues and food.
Deja was already talking about the bachelorette trip and demanding strippers or Love’s friends.
For the first time in days, Gio wasn’t sitting in the center of my thoughts.
Love was. My future with him was, and sitting there in the middle of my friends, wedding books, wine glasses, and our own chaos…
I finally let myself get excited about becoming a wife.
By the time it got dark, I had so many ideas to pick from, and my girls were just as excited as I was.
“Now listen,” I said as I was getting off the floor. “All of this was fun, but now I need to get home to my man. I miss him.”
They all smiled.
“Girl, we know you do. I saw you checking your phone,” Kenya said.
We laughed. “Man, I haven’t been away from him like this. The only thing that was holding me last night was Renee’s feet.”
“Girl, your legs were warm.”
We laughed, and they walked me to the door.
“Next weekend, some more planning?” I asked.
They all nodded.
“We got you, girl. See you in the morning,” Deja added.
I walked out to my car in a better mood than I walked in with, sat the binders and other things on the back seat, and hopped in the car. Before I pulled off, I texted Islah and let him know I was on the way home. He texted back instantly with a smiley face.
That alone made me smile.
The drive home felt lighter than the rest of the week I had. Music was playin’ low, my girls texting the group chat about other wedding things they thought of since I left.
I drove through the city, smiling to myself, for the first time in a minute, everything didn’t feel so heavy.
When I made it home, I parked, grabbed all my things, and made my way through the lobby, still smiling as I gave people a slight nod. On the elevator, I was already thinking about getting into bed with my man and telling him every single thing we talked about.
I finally made it to my door, unlocked it, and as soon as I stepped in, I heard laughing, then feet coming toward me.
“Islah!” Amir yelled out while running toward me.
I almost dropped my binders.
“Hey baby!” I laughed as he wrapped his arms around me.
“You’re back.”
“I am,” I responded, hugging him back tight. “What are you doing here?”
His whole face lit up. “I moved in like Daddy said!”
Before I could even fully process that, Love came around the corner in a black t-shirt and gray sweats with his chains on.
I walked toward him, laying my things on the island, then turning my attention to his hands.
They were swollen, knuckles busted, and the cuts still looked fresh.
“What happened?” I asked low, as I picked his hands up, looking at them while Amir went to the living room.
“I got ahold of Gio.”
I stared at him, thinking he was gonna lie to me, but he didn’t.
“You fought him?” I asked like I didn’t already know.
“I beat his ass,” he corrected me calmly.
I exhaled as he continued.
“That nigga showed up to your job with flowers like shit was sweet.”
My chest tightened. “How did you know where he was?”
“I told you I ran the city, I got niggas with eyes on him, but it’s okay, it will be a next time.”
I swallowed hard, thinking about the meeting I had with him.
“What will happen next time?” I whispered so that Amir wouldn’t hear me.
“Next time I’ma end his life,” Love said straightforward.
The words hit me hard enough to make my stomach twist, not because I thought he was trying to scare me, but because I knew he meant it.
Love must’ve seen the look on my face because he stopped walking away from me and grabbed my waist, pulling me in closer.
“I’m not letting anybody play with what’s mine.”
I exhaled slowly, resting my hand against his chest while trying to settle my nerves.
Then his eyes dropped to everything I laid on the island.
“What’s this?” he asked with a brighter tone.
“My girls,” I said low. “They brought me stuff to start planning the wedding.”
Love's eyebrow lifted.
“For real?”
I nodded. “Yes, we looked at venues, dresses, trips, all kinds of things for me to get an idea of what I want.”
The tension left his face instantly.
“I’m glad you got friends like that. This is what I want your focus on.”
I smiled as he looked through the binders, seeing the lil’ bit of work that we did.
“So now I got a deadline,” he said calmly.
“What you mean?” I asked, confused.
“He needs to be in the ground before our wedding. I be damned if he fucks up our day.”
Love kissed my forehead, then went off to see what Amir was doing, leaving me standing there. Wondering what the outcome of everything was going to be.