Chapter 5
FIVE
Amir
With my phone in hand, I scanned the address Joe had sent right before his next text came.
That’s the address. He’s been there for the past few days. Nobody in and out but him.
’Preciate it and no one knows but me.
Yeah, but when your brother finds out, I didn’t tell you shit.
I smirked at the last text. People really weren’t trying to get on Sim’s bad side.
That was cool though. As long as I had what I needed, I would let Joe’s scary ass live.
When word got back to me that he had what I needed, I reached out with an offer he couldn’t refuse.
He was good people and not trying to be on the wrong side of a situation with me or my brother.
Cap was his uncle but they didn’t fuck with each other too tough because Cap didn’t have respect for anyone, not even his own family.
When Cap partnered with Kemp, he cut a bunch of his team so Kemp’s key players had prime positioning.
That took money out of Joe’s pockets, which canceled his loyalty.
I still had to, at the very least, consider it could be a set up.
But this time I was going in with a different mindset.
Locking my phone, I raked my hand down my face, stretching as much as my body would allow.
I was exhausted but couldn’t rest until I was out of here and had tied up a few loose ends.
I had been up early as hell this morning, sitting idly, waiting on them to finish my discharge, but that was how shit worked in here.
Nurses were in and out of my room through the night and opening blinds, letting the sun in at the crack of fucking dawn like I didn’t need sleep.
No matter how many times I cursed their asses out about it, they still did that shit.
Today, I just rolled with it because I was in a good mood. I was going home.
“Mr. Nour?” Looking up from my phone after texting Asim to see if he was coming to get me, I noticed I had company.
The nurse who entered my room smiled a little too hard but I was used to it by now.
Young, old, white, Black, purple, or green, they were all on my dick.
I flirted a little here and there to get my way but never crossed lines because I had enough problems already.
“I have your discharge papers here. I need you to sign in all the designated areas then you’re all set.
Do you need help?” She extended the papers, which I accepted, looking down before I gave her my attention.
“Nah, I’m straight. Thank you though.” I flashed a smile which had her giddy as hell and motivated to shoot her shot.
“Well if you change your mind, I’ll be at the nurses’ station and I’m more than willing to do anything you need.”
“’Preciate it.” I offered a nod and she stayed a minute longer, just grinning, before she actually left the room.
I tossed the papers onto the bed before heading to the bathroom to take a leak so I could get dressed.
The weak ass bird bath I had this morning would have to hold me until I made it home to really wash my ass.
I also didn’t have shit with me clothes wise, just sweats Amir brought, but they would have to do.
At this point, I didn’t care. I was ready to get out of this damn hospital and get with my baby.
We had some things to work out, and whether she liked it or not, we were starting on those things the second I touched down at the apartment.
After taking a leak and washing my hands, I stepped out of the bathroom and found my Louis duffle bag sitting on the bed. Asim hadn’t hit me back, so I was confused about where it came from. Instead of guessing, I stepped out of the room getting Lixx’s attention.
“Asim here?”
“Nah, somebody else.” He smirked and tossed his head toward the nurses’ station, smiling a little too hard when his eyes landed on Learah.
“Ay, don’t get knocked on your ass. Reel that shit in.” He chuckled and dropped his attention to his phone.
“My bad, fam. I didn’t mean no disrespect.”
I shot him a look that had his eyes glued to his phone with hyper focus.
“You can head out. I’m about to be out anyway.”
“Aight do I need to hit Sim up?”
“You do whatever the fuck you feel but I’m telling you to take your ass home.” He nodded and walked off while I looked over at the nurses’ station again, grinning.
My baby showed up. She might not be fucking with me but at least she was here.
I stepped back into my room and dug through my bag, finding a navy Balmain crewneck sweatshirt and matching pants. There were also briefs, socks, and a pair of matching slides.
I stripped down and dressed in everything but my sweatshirt because it hurt like hell to lift my shoulder enough to put shirts on. I would let her help with that.
When she stepped inside the room, her eyes landed right on my bandages before she actually looked at me.
“Hey, Asim texted and asked if I would get you.”
I frowned but got it under control quickly. I had to tread lightly. “You didn’t want to come?”
“No, actually, I didn’t, but I’m sure you already know that.”
“Damn, so we’re really still in that space?”
“Yes, we’re still in that space. Nothing’s changed, Amir.” Her face was stoic but I could tell she was fighting to keep her emotions at bay.
“Aight, bet. Can you help me with this?” I lifted the sweatshirt from the bed and her face got tight like I was holding something diseased.
“Stop looking at me like I’m on some slick shit. It’s still hard to lift this arm.”
Pushing out a puff of air, she rolled her eyes, easing over to me. “Fine, sit down. I can’t reach you up there.”
I handed off the sweatshirt and she moved with grace and light hands, as if I was gonna break.
Another sign that she still cared. She didn’t want to hurt me.
Once I worked my arm through the last sleeve and tugged at the hem to get it around my waist, Learah attempted to step back but I had her right where I wanted, locked between my legs.
“Asim, don’t.”
“Relax, I just want to holla at you for a minute.” My voice was low, pleading in a sense, and I didn’t like that shit. She had me feeling hella needy because she was determined to shut me down.
“About?”
“Us, man. The hell you think? I get that you’re upset but…”
“You don’t know shit, Amir. You’re now an expert on how it feels to have the one person you trust shit on you like you don’t matter.”
“Lear, you know better. I might not have moved right but I didn’t tell you because I was trying to protect your feelings. I knew she wasn’t pregnant, but when she was on that bullshit about coming to you, I had to shut it down immediately.”
“You should have told me. And you had sex with her while we were together. How is that not a violation, Amir?”
“Nah, see, that’s where you’re wrong. We had sex and you told me to keep it pushing. I’m the one who wanted more, so I came back around. I didn’t cheat on you and you can’t put that on me. I’ve been doing right since we decided to really try this.”
Her eyes narrowed but Lear didn’t say anything, because she couldn’t. My decision wasn’t the best but I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“And what if she keeps coming around with that same story, then what? I’m not about to deal with…”
“She won’t because she can’t. Trust me, that’s dead.” She’s dead.
We shared a moment that had her lips parting while she searched for answers I wasn’t about to give, but she knew. Instead, she stepped out of my personal space and sucked in a deep breath.
“We should go.”
“Aight. Let me sign these first.”
I lifted the papers and looked around for a pen.
She handed one over after pulling it from her purse and I scribbled my name in all the right spots.
Learah walked around the room collecting the few items I had here and cleared the small closet that housed the rest before we headed to the nurses’ station.
She didn’t say a word and I let her have her moment.
After refusing to go down in a wheelchair, they handed over care instructions for my wounds and we were out.
She could be mad, emotional, or even confused about how to handle what this was between us, as long as she was clear that she was handling this.
I had already made my mind up. There was no canceling this thing we had going on.
Something about being out of that stuffy ass hospital had me resting easy, or maybe it was knowing Learah was by my side, but the second I hit the passenger seat of her car I was out cold, waking up just in time to realize she brought me to my townhouse instead of the apartment where she stayed.
This damn woman is really trying my fucking patience.
“This where we staying?”
“This is where you’re staying. I need space, Amir. None of what’s going on is an easy fix.”
“Man, you’re tripping like a muthafucker. We can have space under the same roof.”
“No, we can’t. You won’t give me space and you know it. Will you please just let me have this?”
“So what are you saying? You’re done?”
My face was tight while I stared into her eyes, waiting for the lie she was about to tell. There was no way she was done; so if that’s what came out of her mouth, then it was damn sure gonna be a lie.
“No, I just…” She paused, briefly closing her eyes. My attention fell right to those damn lips she pulled in tightly. “I need to figure out what I’m doing and decide how to be with you, Amir. This is hard.”
“It’s hard for me too, Lear. I know you’re not feeling this right now but we can?—”
“No…” Her head shook quickly as hell. “We can’t. Please let me work through how I feel and what I want without having to see and be around you every day.”
I smirked and her face got tight. That was all I needed to hear. She couldn’t be strong with me around. I could break her down.
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Aight bet, you can get that.”