Chapter SAMARA
SAMARA
The girls begged me to come to this party, and I was not interested.
The only interest I had was seeing Dio. I had been thinking about everything Chevy and Zaria said and wanted to talk to him.
Where we would go from here, I didn’t know, but I wanted to see where his head was.
A part of me was afraid because I wanted my man and didn’t want to be separated from him, but I knew the argument we had felt like the end.
I had decided that if Dio and I couldn’t work it out, I would accept Dean August’s offer and travel abroad for the summer.
It would give me time to think about things other than Dio and my future.
While everyone was having a good time, I started to become an emotional wreck because he and I had been together longer than any of them, yet they were happy, and we weren’t.
When he told me he was pledging, I felt like shit.
I felt like I was being selfish for wanting him how I had him every other time.
Although I didn’t want to come to this party, I figured he would be here and that maybe I could talk to him.
My eyes searched the crowded space, but with everyone wearing masks, I couldn’t tell.
Alyse tried to get me to relax, but I was determined to search this party high and low for my nigga.
I roamed the Chi house, squeezing between people who stood in the hall.
I came across a closed door with no one around.
I gripped the handle to turn it when someone grabbed my hand.
“Don’t.” I looked up to see Apple.
“Why?”
“Because those are the rules.”
“But I’m looking for—”
“It doesn’t matter who you’re looking for. You can’t go in there. Respect it or leave.”
I stepped closer to her because her telling me I couldn’t do something made me want to do it even more.
“Girl, get the fuck out of my way.”
Before she could move, the door opened quickly. That was when I saw Dio standing in the tub as someone sprayed water in his face. Jesaiah came out, closing the door behind him. He looked between us both.
“This room is occupied,” he said to both of us.
Apple looked him up and down and walked off. Jesaiah came closer. “You want to dance?”
“No, I want to go in there.”
He leaned forward. “You can’t, so we might as well enjoy the party.”
My head flew back. I didn’t know what he was on, but the last thing I was worried about was him. Seeing Dio being tortured fucked with me, but at the same time, I knew this was something he chose. I stepped back away from Jesaiah, and he pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Get off me!” I shouted.
The bathroom door opened again. This time, Dio’s and my eyes connected, and for a split second, something dark rested in them, making my stomach sink.
I didn’t want him to think Jesaiah and I were something.
I shoved at him until he let me go. I backed away until I was out of the house, rushing past people until I was on the sidewalk.
I needed to figure out how to get to Dio and talk to him.
I knew nothing about when all this shit was over, but I wasn’t going to wait.
“You’re Dio’s shorty?” I heard a voice behind me.
I turned to see a guy with a little girl in his arms. “Uh, yeah. Why?”
“He’s a strong nigga. He’s going to make it through. You just stay away from that nigga Jesaiah. Sometimes coincidences don’t just happen.”
“So, Jesaiah is purposely trying to destroy us?”
“He’s trying to do something,” he mumbled. “It’s college; nobody plays fair. It’s like psychology. All of it’s a mental judo.”
The guy walked off with the baby. I was headed back into the house when my friends came out. Phoebe and Streets were going back and forth while Paige was trying to be the mediator. “Calm down.”
“Xavier, listen to me!” Phoebe shouted.
He flipped up his visor. “Phoebe, dog, chill!” he shouted.
“Can we go somewhere and talk?”
He glanced down at her. “If I talk to you, will you leave me alone?”
She looked at all of us, then at him. “Yes.”
I watched them walk off to talk about saving whatever they had, while I was on the outside, struggling to find a way to talk to Dio.