Chapter 7
“Iget everything I want cause I attract it…”
Harbor
The sweat on my neck only further infuriated me as I tugged on the collar of my shirt.
My legs were like fifty-pound weights as I took slow strides back inside the house.
I could feel the eyes all over me. There was enough speculation about me and Frequency, so this was only adding fuel to an already-blazing fire.
Once I was inside and realized I was alone, I went for the nearest bottle of alcohol that I could find.
Fuck a cup or a shot. I swallowed that shit until my throat burned and I couldn’t breathe.
Gasping for air, I slammed the pint of D’Ussé that Chevy and pulled out down on the counter.
The strong but almost-sweetened taste dripped down my chin, and I brought the back of my hand up to wipe it off.
I replayed everything that Harmonie and I said to one another back and forth.
This was my sister, yet we couldn’t be further apart on the spectrum.
Grabbing the bottle, I made my way to the table where we typically ate breakfast, bottle in hand as I slid helplessly down into a chair that was already pulled out. The bottle rested between my legs, but I brought it to my lips as soon as Ledge stumbled in taking in a few deep breaths.
“Damn, yo’ sister got some bite. Crazy ass.” He dusted his pants off while making his way over to me as I chugged on the cognac in my hand.
“Are you sure she’s gone?” I questioned, eyes lowering to the ground.
“Yeah. I had D make sure she got to the other side of the fence,” he assured me. “So I guess you two aren’t close.” He pulled out the chair across from me and plopped down.
“We were, once upon a time. Before my mama ran off and everything turned upside down. Even then, Harmonie seemed to always have some kind of hidden animosity. She would crack a joke here or there that just took it a little too far. But she was my sister.” I shrugged, and Ledge bobbed his head as if he knew something about it.
“Well, one thing’s for sure, she don’t know shit about you, Free, and everything between y’all.
So don’t let that shit get in your head.
” I was still surprised most of the time when we had conversations how relatable and knowledgeable he actually was.
When we first met, you couldn’t tell me that he wasn’t the devil’s son.
“I don’t need Harmonie for that. Ivana is a walking reminder.” I took the bottle and brought it to my lips once more.
“Shit, don’t let her live in there rent free either. Everything about her being here is a red flag.”
“You weren’t exactly a fan of me when I first got here,” I mocked him, setting the bottle on the table.
“That wasn’t because of you though,” he admitted, one hand resting on the table in front of him.
He was relaxed, but I could tell he was also high.
“Now that I am getting to know you, what I did to you is one thing I will always regret. I took away your choices, your life, and that wasn’t right—”
“That’s true. I still think I got some kind of psychological trauma stashed somewhere.
But…” My chest seemed to lighten, and it was as if my mind had been swept clean.
“I can honestly say now, I don’t know where I would be without that experience.
It could have been worse, and me making excuses sounds…
ridiculous. If people knew that story floating around had some truth to it—” I shook my head.
“But it hasn’t been that in a long time.
We have children now, and I love him, more than I’ve ever loved anybody in my whole life. But he loves her—”
“Nah, he might have love for her, but that shit is dead.” Ledge shook his head.
“I don’t know what he’s said to you, but the nigga been in a mood since you moved out.
He’s short tempered and pessimistic.” Ledge shifted in his seat.
“There will always be some leftover feelings because of Ivy, but what I see and what I’ve been able to perceive for a long time, you the one he wants in his world. ”
“Well, he’s got to come to that conclusion himself,” I declared as Frequency appeared at the door to the terrace.
He walked up on us slowly, eyes drifting back and forth from me to Ledge.
“Everything good?”
“Yeah.” I brought myself to my feet as Ivana waltzed in.
Free’s phone rang, and he immediately went to answer it as she sailed in past him. His eyes never left mine as he hit the speaker on his phone.
“D, what’s good?”
“Somebody just arrived at the gate, claims he’s ya BM’s husband. I haven’t let him in. What you want to do?”
Finally, his attention averted from me to Ivana as she stopped at the counter to make herself a small plate of finger food. Like a rat caught in a trap, her beady ass eyes were struck with surprise. Slowly, she brought a chicken roll up to her lips and took a bite.
“Let him up,” Frequency surprisingly disclosed.
“Okay,” Deviance agreed.
Free tucked his phone back into his pocket and shot knives with his eyes across the room at Ivana.
“The fuck is he doing here?” he commanded, and she simpered.
“I thought this was a family affair, and I want him to meet Ivy,” she answered simply.
“Today wasn’t about that,” Free argued.
“Why? Because Harbor said so?” she questioned, rolling her eyes.
The conversation came to a standstill when the man she was with from the restaurant emerged from the hallway. Ivana perked up as he approached her from behind.
“Hey, baby,” she greeted him with a kiss on the lips.
His hand fell on the small of her back, and he smiled down at her before taking in the rest of us in the room.
“Why are you here?” Frequency couldn’t hold back his contempt.
“I got a gift for the birthday girl. Is this… Harbor?” One brow lifted as he took me in, his eyes filling with appreciation. “Mistro, nice to meet you.”
“Hmm, a pleasure I’m sure,” I mumbled, which only seemed to please him as his lips curled up into a smile.
“We have a stepdaughter in common. We’re family, right?” he remarked playfully.
The front door closed again, and I wasn’t sure who was arriving now.
I was pretty sure most of the guests were already here.
Kara strut inside, ripped jeans hugging her hips, a midriff top hanging off her shoulder, and a pair of wedge sandals gracing her feet.
With her hair in one braid off her shoulder, she beamed from ear to ear.
With a large box in her arms, she sailed into the room with Slice not far behind her.
“Hello, beautiful people—” she sang, right as she lowered the gift and came face-to-face with Mistro and Ivana.
The large display fell from her hands and onto the floor, making a loud thud as a gasp escaped her mouth.
“What is he doing here!”
A crease of confusion wrinkled Frequency’s forehead as he looked from his sister to Mistro.
“What are you talking about?”
“Him!” She aimed a finger at Mistro. “Why the fuck is he here, Free?”
“How do you know my husband?” Ivana demanded, and Mistro didn’t seem surprised nor shaken by the revelation.
He grabbed a crab cake off the platter and plucked it into his mouth.
“Oh, we was fucking around for a little bit,” he responded, chewing the appetizer slowly as his wife’s oval-shaped irises landed on him questioningly.
“Excuse me? What’s a little bit, and how long ago was this?” Ivana commanded, dropping her plate onto the counter and placing a hand on her hip indignantly.
“This is him, Free. The guy that was giving me all those drugs,” Kara revealed. “You’re married? To my brother’s baby mama?”
“What is she talking about, Mistro?” Ivana grew more impatient as the truth unfolded.
“Baby, it’s nothing for you to worry about.” He rubbed her back, condescending as ever.
Like the fact that he had been with another woman and was feeding her drugs was some everyday shit. Ivana flinched from his touch, pulling away from him with a cold glare.
“Nothing for me to worry about that you cheated on me?”
“It’s not what you think. She was a means to an end,” he muttered.
“And what kind of end was you hoping for?” Frequency’s hand went right to his hip, gunplay mode.
Slice and Ledge were also ready and with the shit, so Mistro didn’t stand a chance.
I thought it was bold as fuck that he even showed up here to begin with.
Free didn’t mention anything to me about who he was or what was going on, so all of this was news on top of Kara popping up with even more tea to spill. The hell was going on?
“Um… what’s going on in here?” Ivy’s bewildered voice caught us all off guard.
Her brown button eyes absorbing everything around her. She was perceptive, picking up on the energy from the adults in her life. Ivana immediately put a smile on her face and perked up.
We all needed to do a self-check at this point. Free was still reluctant to back down. Stepping in behind him, I placed a gentle hand on his back, and his spine and rigid shoulders relaxed some.
“Not here,” I said in his ear, and he let out an uneasy breath.
“Hey, ladybug. What do you need?” I stepped around her father to address her.
“I wanted to see if you could come and get on the Ferris wheel with me, please?” she clasped her hands together and pleaded.
“Ivy, what about me?” Ivana cleared her throat.
The childish manner in which she spoke had Frequency looking at her crazy. Ivy looked like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. There was indecisiveness in her eyes as they roamed from me back to her mother.
“We can get on a ride too. Whichever you want. But Ivy, before you do that, there is someone I would like you to meet.” Ivana piped up, circling the island so that she was beside her daughter. “While I was away, I got married. This is Mistro, my husband.” she introduced them.
From across the counter, he waved, and Frequency nearly lost his shit. I placed a hand to his chest, keeping him in place where he stood while Ledge remained behind him, just in case.
“Hi.” Ivy waved awkwardly. “Is that what you all are in here talking about? You being married?”