Chapter 10
Ten
Navy Achebe
After a semi-emotional morning with Honor, I walked into work and got straight to business.
As badly as I wanted to sit in my feelings and tear myself apart for not telling him the whole truth, work didn't call for that.
The second I stepped through the door, I shoved every emotion I felt to the back of my mind.
I had a few interviews lined up with basketball coaches, and this time, Tamera made sure everyone who came in actually wanted to fill the position.
I listened, asked questions, and kept my expression neutral even after a few tried flirting with me.
After those meetings, I hopped on a Zoom call with River to discuss opening accounts for all the boys here.
We talked numbers, trust funds, access, restrictions, and making sure every boy who walked out of Gravehart Homes had something waiting for them when life got too hard.
Gravehart Homes was founded through grants and generous donations, but their accounts would be funded by the trust Lucian set up for me when I was born.
There was more than enough money in there for me to share the wealth and still be okay, since the only other time I'd touched it was to buy the property Gravehart Homes sat on.
I offered Honor the money once, tried to use it to get him from under Lucian's thumb, but he didn't want it.
Back then, I thought it was pride, but now I wasn't sure.
After that, I started planning the kids' spring break trip to Disney World. Court approvals, flights, hotel confirmations, security, the itinerary, and everything else had to be locked in. It was a lot of work, but to see the smiles on their faces made it worth it every time.
I pushed away from my desk and went to grab my coffee cup, only to realize it was empty.
I laughed to myself because coffee had been my food all morning.
My body was screaming, and now that things were finally simmering down, my stomach was reminding me that I had been running on empty.
I reached for my phone and hit the group chat to see who wanted to do a late lunch since it was already a little after three.
Me
Lunch??
River
Can't. I have an appointment in a few.
Me
Awee, I still can't believe you're pregnant with twins.
River
Me either, because Crown swore it would be triplets,
Me
Baby C might be hiding.
River
Navy, stop texting me with nonsense.
I laughed at the message and waited for the other girls to reply. Three soft knocks against my office door pulled my attention from my phone.
"Come in," I called out.
"Sorry to interrupt," Tiera said, peeking her head through the doorway. She was the piano instructor I hired for the boys who wanted to learn. "Mekhi asked me to come get you."
"Is everything alright?" I asked, rising to my feet.
"Oh yes, everything is fine," she reassured me. "Mekhi just wanted you to hear the song he learned to play. I think he said it's your favorite."
"Oh," I breathed, my chest softening. "Okay, I'll be right there. Just give me a second."
Tiera nodded before closing the door.
I grabbed my phone and stuffed it in my pocket, then shut down my computer.
Stepping out of my office, I walked down the corridor, peeking in on a few of the other boys on the lower level. Some were sprawled out doing homework, others were watching TV, and a few were arguing over video games.
Before I even made it to the music room at the end of the hall, I could hear the piano spilling down the hallway.
I slowed my steps as the melody carried itself toward me, as if it were meant only for my ears.
Instead of walking in and making my presence known, I stopped at the doorframe and leaned against it.
Mekhi sat at the piano as if the world had finally placed him somewhere he didn't have to fight to belong.
His back was straight, his shoulders loose, and his fingers moved across the keys with a confidence that most grown men didn't possess. He was simply feeling it.
Every note landed perfectly, filling the room with lyrics that weren't being sung yet still felt in my soul.
Tiera didn't guide him through the song.
She just stood nearby with a proud smile, only stepping in every now and then to point out a slight correction.
What impressed me the most wasn't that Mekhi learned to play one of my favorite songs.
It was how he didn't get flustered when being corrected.
He nodded, adjusted his hands, and kept going like the piano was an extension of him.
Mekhi glanced over his shoulder as if he felt me watching him.
"This one's for you, Ms. Navy," he crooned, throwing me a wink before turning back on the keys.
The first few notes of ‘Perfect’ spilled from the piano, soft like déjà vu, but hearing it without Ed Sheeran's voice made it feel different.
The song didn't feel like it was being performed.
It felt more like a reminder of a simpler time when love between Honor and me was all that mattered.
The melody rolled through the room, gentle and patient, imprinting on my heart.
Mekhi was too young to understand the sentiment of what he was playing, but his hands didn't act like it.
He pressed each key with a tenderness he shouldn't have known at his age, as if the melody was familiar to him in a way he couldn't explain, in a way that lived in him.
The melody rose and fell, and my eyes burned before I could stop them.
My vision blurred as my mind dragged me back to Honor and me, slow-dancing in the snow, his forehead against mine, our lips brushing as he whispered, "I love you. "
‘Perfect’ just wasn't a song I liked. It was the song that lived in the background of a night I'd never forget. The song that played while Honor whispered promises against my skin and made love to me so deeply that it changed our lives forever.
Soft mumbles slipped from my lips as I mouthed the words under my breath. "'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love—"
Every note wrapped around me like Honor's arms used to. I swayed as the song swelled, and instead of Ed Sheeran promising forever, the piano did it for him. Mekhi's fingers moved as if they knew exactly what forever felt like, and in a way, he did because he was proof of it.
I sucked in a shaky breath as the notes began to simmer down.
I sniffled, quickly wiping my face and fighting the urge to rush across the room and wrap Mekhi in my arms so tight he'll understand what I couldn't say.
Watching him made my heart ache in a way I wasn't ready for.
His fingers danced over the keys, bringing the song to an end as I stood frozen in the doorway, spiraling mentally because he didn't know. Honor didn't know.
"How did I do?" Mekhi asked.
"You did—" I started, but my words caught. "Um, you did amazing," I pushed out barely above a whisper.
Mekhi beamed and stood from the piano,
"Told you," he cheered, looking at Tiera. "Ms. Tiera thought the song might've been too much to play as an apology."
"Well, she wasn't wrong," I tittered. "Why are you apologizing?"
"For the way I acted the other day," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I shouldn't have let Ant get to me. Wolfe said it's okay to not wanna hit licks anymore.
He said if I'm gon' walk on my own path then I gotta stand tall while doing it 'cause short muthafuckas are always gon' try to pull me down 'cause they'll never have the view I got. "
"Next time, say it without cursing, Mekhi, but Wolfe is right. Never let what the next person says influence how you feel about yourself. Okay?"
"I won't. Fuc…" Mekhi caught himself then chuckled. "Forget Ant."
"Exactly. I'm proud of you, Mekhi."
He smiled again. "Thanks, Ms. Navy."
"You're welcome."
I smiled and pulled him in for a hug.
"Okay, let's get back to your lesson," Tiera said.
Mekhi pulled out my arms and went back to sit at the piano. I turned to leave but then stopped.
"Mekhi."
"Yes, Ms. Navy," he said, turning to look my way.
"What made you pick that song?"
"I asked Wolfe what your favorite song was, and he told me that one, then played it for me, and I sent it to Ms. Tiera."
"Oh, okay."
"Why is it your favorite song?" he asked, catching me off guard.
"Uh, it sounds like love to me, but that's not something you have to worry about. Enjoy your lesson," I stated as my phone buzzed in my pocket.
"Will you be here for dinner?"
"I'm heading out in a few for lunch, but I'll be back."
"Ight."
I turned and walked out of the room, pulling my phone from my pocket.
"Yeah," I exhaled, answering without paying attention to the screen.
"How do you ask the group chat about lunch, then disappear?" Chosyn fussed.
"Sorry," I said, pushing through the hallway. "I got distracted with one of the kids. I'm still down if y'all are. I just have to be back in time for dinner."
"River, Honey, and the twins can't make it."
"Okay. Where do you want to meet?"
By the time I stepped into my office, I was already reaching for my coat. I grabbed it off the back of my chair and slipped my arms into the sleeves.
"There's a new sushi place in Briar Ridge I've been wanting to try, but Wolfie doesn't do raw fish."
"You did tell him they have cooked rolls too, right?"
"Duh, but he wasn't with it, and I didn't feel like arguing."
"That's fine with me. Are you bringing Nix?" I asked as I walked toward the front desk.
"To a sushi spot, Navy? No, she's with Lakelyn for the day."
"Oh, that's nice," I replied, then waved my hand to grab Tamera's attention. "I'll be back in a few hours."
"Okay." She smiled.
"It is nice because I swear, I didn't know motherhood was gonna be the toughest hood I've been to."
"Chosyn, please." I laughed, pressing the button on my key fob to unlock my car door.
"No, I'm dead ass. I even hit up Dreka from a fake number, acting like I was Wolfe."
"Again?"
"Yes again. I need to know if I still got that dawg in me 'cause it be feeling like Nix put a muzzle and a leash on my inner bitch."
"Well, what did she say?" I asked, already laughing.
"She was like, whoever this is, stop playing on her phone because she knows Wolfe is happily married to a bitch with no screws."
"And what'd you say?" I laughed.
"I apple paid her a few hundred because I love a bitch who learned her lesson."
"I cannot with you," I replied, cracking up. "Since you got money to blow, lunch on you?"
"I guess. I’m about to send you the place and leave."
"Okay, cool. See you soon."
"See you!" Chosyn cooed, hanging up.
Before pulling off, I scrolled through my music app until I came across "Prefect". I turned the volume all the way up, hit the repeat button, and drove off, letting my heart bleed in silence over a truth that would never see the light of day.