Chapter 40 #2
“Pyrite and Amethyst more than likely have borderline personality disorder. In Pyrite’s case, it’s why he kidnapped Fable.
He was afraid that he would never find someone to love him.
He just so happened to kidnap a woman who loves his ass.
Now that I think about it, it’s also giving obsessive-compulsive disorder for both of them.
” Berkeley answered with a laugh. “Amethyst’s case is a little different.
His entire mindset is to protect Yale at all costs.
He doesn’t care about what he has to do or the ramifications of his actions, which is why they’ve been stuck in this push-and-pull bullshit their entire friendship.
I have no doubt that since he’s met Yale, he’s acted out of character any and every time he thought she was in danger.
No matter what, he’s not going to stop either. Not until he knows she’s safe.”
“Right, so does Citrine act like that?” Clarke said, nodding as she turned back to Mama Diamond.
“No,” she answered with a laugh, and Clarke had the nerve to look disappointed. “Citrine is like his father, temper just as short, but he’s always calm and collected, no matter what.”
“Damn,” Clarke sighed. She turned to Berkeley and crossed her arms. “What’s the cause of BPD?”
“Usually, it’s two factors, abuse or genetics,” Berkeley answered. “I doubt it’s the former, though.”
“So, it’s genetic?” Clarke smiled and then dropped her arms. “Then Citrine has it in him, too? I have to unlock it?”
“It can skip generations.”
“The Lord wouldn’t disappoint me like that,” Clarke said, shaking her head. “It’s in him.”
“Do you realize how dangerous BPD is? Do you see what your sister is dealing with? Have you not spoken to Pyrite a few times? Have you heard how he talks about Fable?”
“It’s kind of romantic,” Clarke replied. It was taking everything in me not to laugh at Clarke and Tulane’s interaction. He was losing his mind, and she was egging him on. Or, at least, I was hoping that she was.
Tulane stared at Clarke, but she put on her headphones that were around her neck and went back to carving her piece of wood, ignoring him.
He turned back to Mama Diamond, pinched the bridge of his nose, and took a deep breath.
“We don’t have time to wait; we need to set up a meeting ASAP.
We need a story, a game plan, and to see what everyone knows.
The fact that Purpose was shot means that the FBI is going to want answers.
Everyone at that party needs to be on one accord; otherwise, we will all end up in jail. ”
“We?” I laughed. “Tulane, you weren’t even at the party. Why are you saying we?”
“Because the past has a way of rearing its ugly head at the worst moments,” he answered.
The sound of the front door opening pulled my attention from the group of people talking, and I turned around just in time to see Amethyst step into the kitchen. His dark eyes went straight to my belly, and instinctively, my hands went to it as if I was protecting my unborn child.
“Sunshine, play with someone else, not me.” He licked his plump lips, then locked eyes with me. “We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t,” I said, shaking my head. “You made that decision six months ago when you sent me away.” I squared my shoulders and made sure I didn’t break eye contact with him. “You decided to ignore what I needed because of whatever reason.”
“I was trying to protect you--”
“You did what the fuck you wanted to do!” I yelled.
Spelman put her hand on my arm to stop me from moving, but I didn’t care.
I was going to say what I needed to say to him.
“You have been making decisions for us since the beginning of our friendship. From the moment I told you my name, it’s always been about what you wanted and how you wanted it. You never listened to me.”
“I’ve heard every fucking word you ever said to me,” he replied. The vein on the right side of his neck started to bulge, but I didn’t care. He was going to hear what I had to say, even if he didn’t like it. “Every single word!”
“But you never listened.” I pulled my arm from Spelman’s grip and stepped into his space.
“You weren’t protecting me by sending me away.
You weren’t protecting me when you decided to work for the Kilmores.
You weren’t protecting me when you tried to negotiate the terms of the race. You were worried about you!”
“What?” His face twisted in confusion. “I haven’t worried about my fucking self in all the years we’ve known each other.
Everything I did was to make sure you were okay.
Yeah, I was stealing cars before I knew you, but I was about to walk away when I found out that you were working for the Kilmores.
I stayed to make sure you were good. Every time you raced, I was there to make sure you came out alive and untouched.
I made less money so you could make more.
I stepped back into that shit for you! I dealt with them because of you.
That last race was supposed to be your last one, remember?
I was staying so you could go. That night, everything changed.
I didn’t know it then, but that shit was a complete setup.
That car? It was put there, the woman who died. She--”
“She was my sister!” I yelled. “Her name was Xavier, and I killed her.”
“She was already dead!” He cut me off, and instantly, my mouth shut. “That’s right! She was already dead! You were set the fuck up from the beginning! Quincy locked you in just like he locked me in! We were played!”
“Wait, what?” I questioned him. “What do you mean she was already dead?”
“Exactly what I said, Sunshine,” he said, shaking his head. “She was already dead. All this shit with Quincy, you marrying Grant, and me working for them? We were set the fuck up. From the beginning, all this shit was planned.”
“Why?” I stepped back and rubbed my stomach. “What the fuck did they get out of all this? Setting us up, killing Xavier, blaming me? What the fuck started all this?”
“That’s what I want to know,” Amethyst said, turning to face his parents and Tulane. “What the fuck happened to make these niggas hate us that much to want to watch us suffer before destroying us?”
The doorbell rang, but my attention was on Tulane. He wouldn’t look at me, which told me he knew something. He may not have been around, but he knew something. The fact that he already had a pass with not only the Stones, but DeCortes, wasn’t missed by me.
“Tulane?” I called out, and he reluctantly looked at me. “You said that Xavier was with Quincy back in the day. What happened to their relationship?”
“It wasn’t Quincy she was with,” he said, shaking his head.
“You said she was with a Kilmore,” I replied. “I know you did because it was the night you told me about Xavier. You said I was married to one of them, and Xavier was with one of them.”
“Exactly, I said, she was with one of them. I never said which one,” Tulane replied. He took his phone from his pocket, and I reached across the island and snatched it from his hands.
“This isn’t the time for your secrets,” I said, handing the phone to Amethyst, who had come to stand next to me. We weren’t on good terms, but right now we're dealing with each other. “Start talking. And start from the beginning.”
“Xavier fucking around with the Kilmores was straight revenge,” he sighed. “You remember I told y’all that Xierra was messing around with a nigga and I killed his wife?” He looked between my sisters and me. “Well, I didn’t tell y’all who it was.”
“Who was it, Tulane?” I asked even though everything in me was screaming not to.
“Jeremiah DeCorte,” he answered.
“Wait, wait, wait, Jeremiah DeCorte as in Exodus daddy? Xierra dated Jeremiah?” Amethyst stepped back and then started laughing.
“Ain’t no fucking way you’re telling me this.
Ex said his parents were in a crash, that it was his daddy’s fault.
It’s why he never forgave him. He said that his daddy deserved to die, not his mama, and now you’re sitting here telling us that it was you?
That you killed that nigga mama because your woman moved on and you couldn’t handle it?
” The look of disgust that Amethyst gave Tulane was killer.
“You took my nigga’s mama, over your fucking pride? ”
“It was an accident,” Tulane replied.
“Tell that nigga Ex that shit,” Amethyst said, his face twisted in anger. “As a matter of fact, tell Madea and Granddaddy that shit and see how they react.”
“They already know,” Tulane said. “I told them a few years ago.”
“Ain’t no fucking way they know and you’re still breathing. Ain’t no fucking way Ex knows,” Amethyst chuckled. “Ain’t no fucking way.”
“Mary and Gabriel know,” Mama Diamond said, finally speaking up. “And I know they know because we were there when he told them. We were there when he told Xierra, too.”
“Hold on,” I said, stepping up. “None of this shit you are saying explains why the fuck Xavier was dealing with the Kilmores. Xierra messed around with a DeCorte. What the hell does that have to do with the Kilmores?”
“Exodus’ mama’s maiden name was Kilmore. She was Luther’s niece.”
“Okay,” I slowly said, trying to piece together what he was saying.
“Doreen had a kid, one that was older than Ex,” Tulane said, and my stomach turned.
There was a cousin, one who didn’t come around often.
I’d asked Grant once why he was never around, and he always said that his cousin liked to stay to himself and that his daddy only called him when things needed to be handled.
“His name is Ny’elle. From what I found out, Doreen kept him around because she thought she could get a check, but his daddy was a deadbeat.
She moved on to Jeremiah. They had a cool relationship, but he didn’t really fuck with lil man like that.
Doreen wanted Luther to keep him, but he said that she had to come and get him after a few years.
Fast forward, she marries Jeremiah, they have Ex, and live their lives.
Then the shit with Jeremiah and Xierra starts up, and you know the rest. The crash was on 40th near Staton. ”
“Staton?” I asked, and Tulane nodded. “That was the same street as my wreck.”
“I know,” Tulane nodded, and a look of guilt flashed across his face again. “I found out the name of the street a few months back.” He wiped his hands over his mouth. “Anyway, her son Ny’elle didn’t have a relationship with the Kilmores.”
“Ny’elle has a relationship with the Kilmores. He came around. I never saw him, but I knew about him,” I interjected, shaking my head. “If Doreen put him up for adoption, how did he find them? How old was he when she put him up for adoption?”
“About six or seven,” Tulane answered.
“And the DeCortes were good with her putting up a kid for adoption?”
“They didn’t know about Ny’elle,” Tulane said, shaking his head. “We.” He pointed to himself and the Stones. “Just found out his connection to them. We don’t even know what he looks like.”
“I know about him,” I said with a small laugh, even though there was nothing funny.
I wiped my hands over my hair and shook my head.
“I may have never seen him, but I knew!” I slammed my hand on the island and glared at Tulane.
“I was dragged into some shit that had nothing to do with me, because of you! Your fucking pride was so damn big that you couldn’t let a woman go, so you plotted to kill her nigga and ended up killing his wife!
You took my friend’s mama from him! You altered his entire existence!
You did that, Tulane! Then your daughter’s lives! ”
“Let me explain, Yale.”
“Explain?” I laughed and shook my head. “There ain’t shit to explain.
I walked around for years, married to a man that I didn’t love because I thought I was saving the one that I did!
That fucking wreck, the one I thought I killed Xavier in, my fucking sister that I had no clue existed, was a fucking setup.
Do you realize they killed your daughter in a crash on the same street as the one you killed Doreen on!
The Kilmores took two lives to your one on the same fucking street!
They named the got-damn street after her; it’s called D.
Kilmore Lane. They did that shit as a reminder to you!
” A sharp pain shot across my stomach, and my hands went to my stomach.
“Sunshine,” Amethyst reached for me, but I stepped back.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” I yelled as Spelman wrapped her arms around me to hold me up.
“I’m not dealing with your ass either!” I mugged him.
My anger was rearing its ugly head, but I was pissed, and mixing that with pregnancy hormones, I was spazzing out.
“When this baby comes, we’ll do the DNA test, but I’m not even going to lie, I hope it’s not yours. ”
“Come on now, Sunshine, you don’t mean that shit,” Amethyst said, shaking his head. “You can’t mean that shit.”
“I do.” I nodded.
“So you’d rather have Grant’s kid?” he said, mugging me.
“Huh? You’d rather that baby be that nigga’s is what you’re telling me?
I’m that bad of a nigga that you’d rather its daddy be a fucking Kilmore?
” Amethyst stepped into my face and glared down at me.
“Well, I got news for you, baby girl, that’s my child in there.
We don’t need a fucking DNA test to prove that.
” He grabbed my chin, not hard enough to hurt me, but to keep my focus on him.
“Ain’t no way in hell you’d ever carry another nigga’s baby.
You don’t want us together? Cool, I’ll respect your wishes.
But understand, I ain’t your daddy. I’ll kill every nigga you think about dating in your fucking face for the rest of our lives.
Then attend each of their funerals. Pick the type of flower you want me to lay on their caskets. ”
“Let her go, Amethyst,” Pop said, pulling Amethyst away from me. “Amethyst.”
“Try me if you want, Sunshine.” He gently kissed my lips, then let my face go and smiled. “Please, try me.”