3. Cambrie Rhodes #2
The man she talked about didn’t sound like Staten to me.
He sounded cold, ruthless, and he was anything but that when I was with him.
Something in his eyes told me a beast rested somewhere inside him though.
It was in his jawline and that little vein in his temple when he was upset.
Little things I peeped about him very early on.
I could even tell when one of the kids was pushing him a little too far.
Sometimes it was cute, but there were other times I knew he was teetering right on the edge of an explosion.
“He made an enemy that he underestimated. Staten stopped to get gas, and Dame happened to be there and followed him and Rossi. He shot at the car, and Staten shot back. They ended up in traffic, and I believe that’s when your mother’s car was hit,” Sol expressed.
“That’s how Rossi got paralyzed and Staten was shot in the chest. The two of them almost died. ”
“And my mother did die,” I whispered.
“I know it doesn’t bring her back or make it better, but . . . maybe this can give you some closure.” Plum reached out to grab my hand. “It wasn’t something that was done intentionally. On top of that, the doctors said that the aneurysm is what killed her, not the accident.”
“I need another drink,” I huffed, hopping off the couch.
“Let’s order some food. I’ll keep the drinks going, and let’s break out the karaoke machine. We haven’t done that in a while.”
“I don’t know about all that,” I mumbled.
“Come on. It’ll make you feel better!” Plum encouraged. “What y’all want to eat?”
“Some damn ribs!” Sol suggested.
“Girl, I’m with you when you right.” Plum aimed a finger at her and picked up her phone. “Let me call my little plug at Ruby’s Soul.”
Between the two of them, they managed to distract me, but my mind was still on Staten and the kids.
Tavi and Saga had their mother, but Piaget and Rogue were weighing on my heart.
I’d grown closer to the two of them than I could have imagined.
Rogue instantly became like Velcro since we spent the most time together.
One night I even found him under my bed where he had fallen asleep with his favorite blanket.
With Piaget, it was all about getting her to focus.
My girl could go from zero to sixty in a blink.
I decided to sign her up for dance recently and was going to surprise her with her first class next week.
She did enough entertaining when she was home, so I figured why not give her another outlet.
“I can’t just let you sit around here playing what if and moping though, Brie.”
“Why not? I’m also fresh off a breakup.”
“You are not hurt behind Sayer’s trifling ass,” Plum called me out. “The situation is fucked up, but you were one foot in and out the door with that anyway. God just gave you a little push.”
“Wait, who is Sayer?” Sol queried.
“My ex,” I revealed. “The night I met Staten and the kids at the grocery store, I stopped by Sayer’s spot after and found him with Kendra, his baby mama that I knew nothing about. Girl is due any day now.”
“Wow. The audacity.” Sol shook her head.
“Now tell me that wasn’t a sign.” Plum nudged me. “You meet Staten the same night you find out the truth about that fuck nigga. Now you’re living in his house, helping take care of his kids. Brie . . . listen to the Lord, sis.”
“Whatever, Plum,” I scoffed.
“I’m telling you! Everything happens for a reason! Now . . . about that karaoke!”
We sang every heartbreak, old-school song we could think of.
Between the laughing, twerking, and cheering each other on, my voice was gone, my knees were shot, and my cheeks and stomach ached from laughing so much.
Plum kept the drinks coming, and we all took an edible that Sol had with her.
When the food arrived, we kept it up, eating between takes until we were drunk on the floor in front of the coffee table like that Waiting to Exhale scene.
After cleaning the bone of my last rib, I tossed it into the basket with the other four I’d demolished and leaned back against the couch.
Plum came across an unopened bottle of Marek Reserve from the back bottom shelf of our collection.
Neither of us remembered it being there.
Now it was nearly gone since we’d been tossing back shots.
“You know what . . . I ain’t mad at the Marek Reserve.” Plum licked her fingers and brought her glass to her lips to swallow the last of it. “Got me wanting to drunk text a few niggas and see if they trying to be my sneaky link.”
“Girl, don’t do it.” Sol shook her head and bit into a rib. “Especially if you ain’t trying to reignite the fire. That reserve will have a nigga ready to marry you. Trust me.” Sol flashed the fat, teardrop-shaped rock on her finger and finished her food.
“Well, it’s obvious the two of you aren’t going anywhere. Let me go get some more pillows and covers.” Plum gradually pulled herself to her feet and went to the hall closet, where I knew she kept the extra sleeping stuff.
“Thanks, Plum,” I mumbled, climbing onto the couch.
“Girl, you know I always got your back. It’s OK to let other people in though. Don’t use this as an excuse to push him away when that’s not what you want or need.” She went to grab the pillows and blankets and brought them back to us. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” I yawned.
Although I’d just left the apartment I shared with my best friend for the last four years, using my key and letting myself into Staten’s house is where it felt like home.
The warm fragrance of my dinner from last night still lingered in the air when I quietly closed the door behind me.
It was Saturday and just a little past eight a.m. My first week here, I observed that his kids liked to sleep in.
I was glad for it because I usually got up early, so it gave me time to prepare for the day while they recharged.
Sighing, I paused in the entryway to the living room and looked around.
The plan was to come in, grab my shit, and bounce.
Somehow, I quickly got caught up reminiscing about the little time I’d already spent here.
I didn’t grow up with a lot of family. Shit was kind of lonely aside from Plum.
Staten and these kids had filled this gap I didn’t know even existed.
When I was with Sayer, because he was in the streets so much, it left me with a lot of time on my hands.
It’s why I started working so much and went back to school to advance my education.
Keeping myself busy left me with little room to dwell on the lack of connections I had left in this world.
I thought making a difference in these kids’ lives would somehow leave my mark, so I threw myself into that.
Being with Staten and the kids had given me a completely different perspective.
“I was wondering when you were going to get back.” Nadia’s soft, sultry tone indicated that she was expecting someone, but not me.
Pivoting to face her, she was in mid-yawn in a very revealing, black, silk nightie and matching robe.
There was a light beat applied to her face, and she’d pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head.
When her wide-set eyes landed on me, her entire demeanor changed.
That stank face immediately took over like I was the one invading her space.
“Were you expecting someone else?” I cocked a brow and canvassed her slowly.
Plum had given me a pair of shoes and a hoodie, but I still rocked my pajama bottoms when Sol dropped me off. I just wanted to get all my shit and avoid all this. Nadia reached for her robe to conceal herself before tying it with attitude.
“What are you doing here?”
“I live here,” I answered, facing her.
“A temporary fixture,” she rebutted. “As you can see, I am perfectly capable of taking care of things around here.” She popped her neck.
“So it seems. I just came to get my things.” I stepped past her so that I could go to my room.
Nadia wasn’t worth my time. She only got grace as Saga and Tavi’s mother.
My issue wasn’t even with her regardless of her stance with me.
For the next twenty minutes, I tried to pack as quickly as possible but got a text from Plum during the whole thing.
Sighing, I dropped to the side of the bed with my phone in hand.
Bestie: You good?
Me: Trying to be.
Bestie: Did you see him?
Me: He’s not here. I’m almost done.
Bestie: Are u sure about this?
I’d been asking myself that this entire time.
A couple of weeks ago, I packed everything I needed and moved in here.
Doing the opposite had my stomach tight and my palms sweaty.
Deciding this was for the best all around, I shoved the last of my belongings into one of my bags and zipped it shut.
With the keys to the BMW in my hand along with the house keys, I left them on the bedside table.
Gripping one luggage bag in my hand with the other slung over my shoulder, I moved toward the door.
It was already cracked, but when it slowly pushed open and I found Piaget standing there wrapped up in her security blanket, I paused.
“Are you leaving?” she asked, just as Rogue slid up beside her.
This was what I was trying to avoid. These kids had stamped a place in my heart I wasn’t ready for.
Even Tavi, as mean and closed off as she was.
Little did she know, in my line of profession, I only understood her more as she grew more defiant and combative.
In her eyes, I was a threat to everything she wanted, even if it wasn’t possible.
“You two are usually dead to the world around this time. What are you doing up?”
“We were sleeping in Daddy’s room, and he didn’t come home,” Piaget revealed.